Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Perhaps because they were afraid that Wen Jiao would do something stupid, Xuanzang and Wukong held her down and talked a lot to her.

Xuanzang said, "When I was doing my homework early in the morning, I felt uneasy. Wukong said that there was a strange phenomenon in the sky, and a fortune teller was spying on the great way of heaven and earth. He was afraid that the backlash would be so severe that his life would be gone. The child was suddenly frightened and hurried over with them. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be Mr. Yuan."

Wukong said, "There are causes and effects between heaven and earth. Master Xiao Yuan's intentional disclosure of the great Dao was the cause, and his death was the result. I, Sun, was arrogant and ignorant back then, and crossed out the monkey clan's life and death book. The Flower-Fruit Mountain was destroyed by the heavenly soldiers and generals, and all the monkeys and their descendants were wiped out. It's easy for you to save Master Xiao Yuan's soul, but if you interfere with the six reincarnations and it backfires, not only will you be punished, but Master Xiao Yuan's fate will only be more miserable. You must not make a big mistake out of sadness!"

Xuanzang said: "Mother, the Buddha said, 'Love for people is like holding a torch and walking against the wind. It will surely burn your hands.' Love in the world is nothing but the four elements are empty. The origin is destroyed, and the origin is empty. You and Mr. Yuan have ended your fate in this life, mother, you have to let it go..."

Bajie said: "The old must go before the new can come. Without this, there is still... woo woo!" He couldn't finish the rest of the words as Sha Seng covered his mouth with force and dragged him away.

Amidst the chatter, Wen Jiao finally uttered a sound like someone waking up from a nightmare, and then said calmly, "My heart is at peace, you can let me go now."

Xuanzang looked at Wukong hesitantly. Wukong looked at her carefully for a few seconds and took the initiative to let go of her hand.

Wen Jiao placed Yuan Tiangang's body on the ground and called out, "Feng Ji!"

Only then was Feng Ji able to squeeze in from behind the four-member group. When he saw Yuan Tiangang's situation, his eyes immediately became red.

Wen Jiao instructed: "Master Fengji, Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng suffered backlash for stealing the secrets of heaven. Li Chunfeng was seriously injured, and Yuan Tiangang... died."

Her voice was a little choked, but her eyes were calm, like a resolute mountain that remained silent after being crushed by ice and snow: "Logically speaking, now that the master family has fallen, Master Fengji should also be free. But I still want to entrust you to take care of him and Li Chunfeng for me temporarily. I think, with his heart, he would also be happy to see his friend who has been with him day and night for many years take care of his affairs."

Fengji wiped his eyes and said, "Leave it to me... But if I take care of his affairs, what are you going to do?"

Wen Jiao stood up and tidied her messy clothes and hair: "I still have something to say to him, I need to see him again."

Everyone was shocked: "You want to break into the underworld?"

But before they could say any words of persuasion, Wen Jiao had already sunk down and instantly entered the underworld.

Xuanzang hurriedly grabbed Wukong and said, "My mother is too sad. I'm afraid she will do something unwise. Wukong, you should follow her and take care of her."

Wukong scratched his head and said, "It's easy to catch up with Master, as I know the way to the underworld very well. But Master, I don't understand the love affairs of young men and women. I'm afraid I can't persuade them. It's better for Master to go with me. You are her biological child, so the relationship is different."

Xuanzang thought about it carefully and felt that it made sense, so he agreed.

This delay left Wen Jiao far behind. She had no time to think about what the people behind her were thinking or doing, and she just kept running.

Crossing the Yellow Springs Road, all I could see was yellow sand and dust, but no Yuan Tiangang.

She waded across the Forgotten River, and saw ghosts lining the Naihe Bridge. The wind was bleak and there was no sign of Yuan Tiangang.

She stepped onto the Wangxiang Terrace, which was crowded with the dead who were waiting anxiously, and the sounds of ghosts crying, but there was no sign of Yuan Tiangang.

After searching for a long time, she finally saw the familiar purple figure in front of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

The cold water of the underworld soaked her green skirt, dripping down. Across the Forgotten River, she shouted at Yuan Tiangang, "I won't forget!"

The figure was hazy and stood there silently, as if deaf to all sounds from outside.

Wukong and Xuanzang came after him and saw this scene. Xuanzang chanted a Buddhist name and said sadly, "Mother, once the soul of the dead passes through the interrogation of the Ten Kings of Hell, they will forget their past lives. Those with serious sins will suffer in hell, and the rest will be reincarnated again. Mr. Yuan has forgotten everything when he came here. Mother, why do you keep holding him? It's preventing him from reincarnating peacefully. Just let go!"

Wen Jiao slapped Xuan Zang's hand away and said loudly to Yuan Tiangang: "Don't think you can fool me by pretending to be confused. After all, you are the world's number one divine figure. I know you still have intelligence! Yuan Tiangang, I, Yin Wen Jiao, tell you that I just don't want to forget you, and you don't forget me either!"

The soul seemed to tremble, but also seemed not to. It just stood there until it entered the cycle of reincarnation, and never looked back.

The water of Wangchuan River was deep and reflected Wen Jiao's embarrassed shadow. Xuanzang stood behind her, silently reciting the Ksitigarbha Sutra to pray for Yuan Tiangang's soul to be reborn.

"Master, Buddha only gave us eight days to make peace with the mortal world. Now the eighth day is about to pass..." Wukong whispered.

Xuanzang paused in his fingertips, sighed, and insisted on finishing reading the sutra. Then he stepped forward and said to Wen Jiao, "Mother, it's time to leave and go to Lingshan to listen to the seal."

Wen Jiao was still lost in thought, and only woke up after he called her three times: "Wait a minute."

As she spoke, she covered her face with her hands and followed the method that Yuan Tiangang's reincarnation had taught her to calm her mind. She breathed hard, breathed again, and breathed again. Then she put her hands down, revealing a face that was calm and almost clear after the sadness settled. "Yes, it's time to go."

Whether she likes it or not, the person is gone, and she shouldn't stay there forever.

On the Lingjiu Peak, there was a bright light. The sky was filled with golden clouds. In the Great Leiyin Temple, Tathagata sat high on a lotus platform, looking down at the countless sentient beings below.

He looked around with his Buddha eyes, but first looked at Xuanzang: "Xuanzang, the 81st difficulty, have you mastered it?"

Xuanzang took a step forward and stepped out from the crowd, lowering his brows and clasping his hands together: "Disciple, I understand."

"How?"

"I originally thought that the 81st difficulty was the conflict between the three religions, but I realized at the end that this difficulty was actually the eight sufferings: birth, aging, sickness, death, failure to obtain what one desires, meeting with those one hates, separation from loved ones, and the five aggregates, separation from loved ones, meeting with those one hates, and failure to obtain what one desires."

On one side of the team, Wen Jiao trembled slightly.

"How?"

"The Buddha allowed his disciple to stay in the mortal world for eight days. During these eight days, the disciple personally saw the Eastern Xuanmen's "Tui Bei Tu" come out, and the author died and grew old and sick. This is the suffering of life.

"Li Chunfeng was a man of extraordinary demeanor, but he became old and decrepit overnight, and spent the rest of his life bedridden. This is the suffering of old age and illness.

"Yuan Tiangang was a divine figure of his time, but he could not escape the mark doomed in the Book of Life and Death, which was the suffering of death.

"Yin Wenjiao and Yuan Tiangang had a deep love, but they were separated by life and death. This is the pain of love and separation.

"Lü Cai deeply hated the rise of the monks and tried every means to obstruct them, but they never achieved their goal. This is the suffering of meeting those who hate you.

“Yin Wenjiao is a golden immortal, but she cannot spare the life of a mortal. This is the pain of not getting what you want.

"The above-mentioned sufferings are intertwined with each other, like burning fire, and there is no escape. This is the suffering of the five aggregates."

Tathagata nodded and smiled: "My fool has attained enlightenment today, which is gratifying and worth congratulating. Xuanzang, you will be conferred the title."