Chapter 203
For the next period of time, Hanuman lived a happy and fulfilling life.
In the past, he only watched the villagers work, but now he is personally involved in it.
When faced with unfamiliar matters, Hanuman did not act rashly, but instead consulted other villagers before attempting to do the work himself.
Hanuman had a novel enthusiasm for everything and was willing to put in the effort to do it well.
Even the most discerning villagers would approve of Hanuman and give him a thumbs up.
Two months later, as Hanuman was carrying water to irrigate his fields, an idea suddenly popped into his head.
"It's easy for me to carry water, but it's not easy for the villagers. How convenient it would be if the water could irrigate the fields on its own and then flow back into the river after it's used up!"
He was carrying water without realizing it, and clear water was gushing out of the buckets as if it had come to life and was flowing into the fields of each household.
Not too much, not too little, just right.
They irrigated one house after another, but there was no sign that the water would run out.
Hanuman walked to the edge of the field and put down the carrying pole; the two buckets still had more than half a bucket of water left.
The next day, the village chief found Hanuman and earnestly told him not to do such things again.
"Everyone has their own obligations. If you do things for them, it will easily breed lazy people."
Hanuman scratched his head. Although he didn't remember doing it, he couldn't be wrong to remember what the village chief said.
Under the Bodhi Tree, Hebe looked at the scene within the halo, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Sure enough, even the alternate version of the Monkey King is just as talented and kind-hearted.
She focused her attention back on the Great Radiant Light.
After the Immortal Zhongyou held a ceremony to help the Sugarcane King ascend to the Pure Land, his fame spread far and wide.
But no one asked him to become the kingdom's priest.
The reason is simple: the Sugarcane King never appointed a crown prince.
Therefore, with his sudden ascension, the entire country was plunged into chaos, with various nobles, tyrants, and kingmakers taking turns to appear.
A perfectly good country has been split into several parts out of thin air.
The already chaotic Ganges Plain is now engulfed in war.
On the contrary, the Immortal Jiyu took this opportunity to lower his status and became a priest and master worshipped by several kingdoms.
Although Kashyapa was slow to react, he could still see clearly that this was the Immortal Jiyu taking revenge on his friends.
—I clearly addressed you as the Great Immortal during the fire ritual.
This was already considered a request for reconciliation, but the friends simply ignored it.
Who do you think he rejected? It was a born Brahmin, the most noble of Brahmin Immortal!
Immortal Jiyu harbored resentment because of this, but he dared not vent it openly.
The reason is simple.
Among all the immortals, who is the most skilled at cursing? Of course, it's the Ragged Ascetic.
Now that the Ragged Ascetic has been utterly destroyed by his friends, even if Ji Yu had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to directly engage in a dark duel with them.
This humble garment is a manifestation of Shiva's inspiration for childbirth; it is blessed by this version and can withstand the test of time.
Extremely abundant...? Well, let's take a look at the contemporary ruler Kashyapa, in the distance.
However, curses are not the only reason why immortals are revered.
They also possess the final right to interpret the Dharma.
Immortal Jiyu admitted that he couldn't compare to the newcomers in terms of code and computing power. But when it came to using tricks, even ten of them couldn't catch up.
It can be said that the friends went to great lengths to invite the various kings and painstakingly sent the Sugarcane King to the Pure Land.
They put in a lot of effort, but in the end, the Immortal Jiyu ate the peaches.
Kashyapa once strongly advised the Immortal Jiyu not to do this.
As a survivor of the previous era, Kashyapa understood the consequences of his actions.
He personally witnessed the Dasha Group's complete collapse and annihilation right before his eyes.
However, the Immortal Jiyu coldly replied, "Thank you for your kindness, Great Sage Kashyapa. I have no intention of fighting against you all; I am merely fulfilling my duty. Isn't the Dharma of Brahmin about teaching others?"
Kashyapa was speechless.
He had already reminded Jiyu so many times, which could be considered as doing his utmost.
"I have fulfilled my duty as the master of life," Kashyapa said. "In that case, I wish you success."
After Kashyapa left, Jiyu sat in the magnificent palace and sneered.
What is this... actually thinking it's the master of life?
They don't even consider who they can boss around.
274 Leading beasts to devour people
As the Sugarcane King's kingdom fell into division, the already chaotic Ganges Plain descended into utter chaos.
However, among nearly twenty countries, there are still relatively "peaceful" regions.
For example, the Ayodhya, ruled by Dasharatha, and the Puranas, ruled by Banjoku King, were both first-rate powerful kingdoms.
Dasharatha, through blood ties and strategic maneuvering, maintained the stability of the Ayodhya's territory by forging alliances with distant states and attacking nearby ones.
Banjoku King, with his outstanding martial prowess, conquered and expanded the territory to be the largest among the Sixteen Kingdoms, but he still felt it was not enough.
This king, who was prone to massacring entire cities at the drop of a hat, invited the Immortal Jiyu and his sons to perform Agni Puja with great wealth and gifts, hoping that he could kill his enemies like a demon and intimidate other countries in the upcoming war.
As the name suggests, the Agni Puja refers to the worship of Agni Vedic fire god.
This is a deity who was elevated from the kings of the Sarkaz, and it was he who established the image and tradition of the Aryans as being fond of killing, conquering, and destroying.
Even the Aryans themselves feared this king more than they respected him.
However, after the arrival of the Vedic Age, this king lost his ferocious side and became the embodiment of sacrificial fire.
Isn't this precisely what makes Bharata great?
Our Bharata is truly too strong, we win!
As Immortal Jiyu can't help but hum a tune when he thinks about it.
On the other hand, the Agni Puja is not a daily offering ritual. Such rituals with a strong specific purpose are collectively called Soma rituals.
It has extremely strict requirements for priests, sacrificial sites, and rituals.
Of the seven types of Soma rituals, the Agni Puja is the second most difficult.
The most difficult one is the "Ashvamedha".
During the sacrificial ceremony, the strongest and finest horse is selected and released into the wild to roam freely for a year.
At the same time, the king must lead his army to accompany the horse, and if the horse wanders into other countries, he must force the country to submit, or else he must conquer it by force; once victorious, the defeated king must join the victor's procession as an attendant, or else he will be ridiculed.
When the year was up and the king returned home with his horses, a grand ceremony was held.
They sang Vedic hymns, slaughtered horses, or used other animals as sacrifices; this ritual was lengthy and costly.
So here's the question: why didn't Banjoku King hold Ashvamedha? Was it because he didn't want to?
Hey, if he could conquer all the countries, why would he need to hold any so-called sacrifices?
Immortal Jiyu finished singing a hymn, he sat down to rest on the ground. At this moment, he saw his two sons coming together.
The two young men exchanged a glance and bowed to their father with their hands clasped together.
"Father."
"Hmm. Please sit down." Immortal Jiyu pointed to the empty chair next to him. "I guess it's your turn soon."
Before the two young men could speak, Immortal Jiyu revealed their purpose.
"No matter how much you look down on your friend, he has now become an immortal. Your brothers provoked him at the fire festival, and it is their own fault that they were cursed and turned into commoners."
The Immortal Jiyu coldly replied, "Even the Ragged Ascetic was defeated in front of you all. Among the remaining immortals, who can contend with you all in terms of curses?"
"My tattered clothes won't do, my master Kashyapa won't do, and I certainly won't do."
The two young men panicked instantly. "Then, does that mean our brother is destined to be a lowly commoner in his next life?"
"Quiet!" Immortal Jiyu glared at them. "What kind of behavior is this, all this commotion and noise!"
After finishing his tirade, Ji Yu sighed, "Once a curse is uttered, it cannot be changed. Not even by our own friends. But there is still a way to remedy it, and that is to hold a grand sacrificial ceremony..."
Could it be that—
"It seems you're not entirely stupid!" Immortal Jiyu sighed again. "I promised Banjoku King to perform the fire ritual for him, not for his sake, but for yours."
"They are already destined to be outcasts in their next life, but what about the life after that? And the life after that?"
"If any of you can attain enlightenment and become an immortal, then perhaps the arrival of the curse can be postponed indefinitely."
The Immortal Jiyu smiled smugly, "This is the Dharma, the Dharma that belongs only to us Brahmin! Sages like you, who are of Kshatriya descent, will never be able to understand it."
The two brothers exchanged a glance and immediately beamed with joy.
"Haha, Father is indeed farsighted!"
"Yes, Father, we love and respect you! Please accept our praise!"
Immortal Jiyu smiled slightly.
When the two brothers finished their greetings and were about to leave the palace, he seemed to remember something and called them back.
"Don't say this outside. Keep it to yourself." The Immortal Jiyu said calmly, pointing to the ground. "Banjoku King is a born demon. He possesses a terrible ferocity within him, but it has not yet awakened."
The two young men looked at each other in bewilderment.
What a joke! This Banjoku King, who slaughters entire cities at the drop of a hat based on the height of a wheel, is described by his father as someone whose "ferocity has not yet awakened"?
So he's still holding back from killing me, right?
"As long as no one awakens the ferocity within him, Banjoku King will not become a demon."
Immortal Jiyu frowned. He felt once again that his children were indeed useless.
What is there to fear? They are noble Brahmin, and if Banjoku King were to raise his sword against them, he would be committing the grave sin of Brahminicide.
As for those lowly people slaughtered by Banjoku King, what do they amount to? They're just numbers after all.
It was actually a blessing that those untouchables were killed by the Kshatriya Banjoku King.
However, this Banjoku King is quite foolish, trusting me so much. Ji Yu thought to himself.
Apart from coming in person on the first day of the sacrificial ceremony, he never came again afterward.
With such a fickle and ungodly heart, how could he possibly achieve anything?
The Immortal Jiyu chuckled and shook his head, then continued chanting the hymn to the God of Fire.
Meanwhile, in the Wang family's garden.
Banjoku King is hunting.
The Agni Puja has many taboos. During the sacrificial period, he cannot wage war against external forces, nor can he arbitrarily find a reason to torture his servants to death.
Hunting is excluded, as it is the proper way for Kshatriya to train their archery skills.
Today was a perfect day for hunting, Banjoku King was in excellent form, firing fifteen arrows in quick succession, each one hitting its prey.
But he still felt it wasn't enough.
"Look at these prey, they're either rabbits or pheasants!" Banjoku King shook his head disdainfully. "Too vulgar, how can they be worthy of my status as a king? I want to hunt a tiger, or a lion, or at the very least a stag."
As he spoke, Banjoku King suddenly flew into a rage again, and he lashed out with his whip at the servants around him.
He whipped and cursed, "You vile lackeys! With so many of you, my prey will run away at the slightest sound!"