Praying for Rain in Fengxian County (XI)

Then Ao Tu took out a Golden Elixir.

The room was filled with Golden Light.

Kasyapa quickly put down the fragrant tea, focused his gaze, and carefully examined every golden line on the pill.

Even when Tang Sanzang was attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, he was not as focused as Kasyapa is now.

Ao Tu said, "This humble Daoist has some knowledge of alchemy. This Golden Elixir elixir was refined according to the Taiqing Pill Classic Scripture of the Supreme Purity) and I intend to present it at the Peach Banquet. Venerable Kasyapa serves the Buddha and has extraordinary insight, so I specially request that you, Venerable Kasyapa, take a look."

After speaking, Ao Tu handed the Golden Elixir to Kasyapa.

Kasyapa stopped talking about closing the temple at this point. His gaze followed the Golden Elixir, examining it closely. He brought his large nose close and took a deep sniff of the Golden Elixir, then beamed with delight, exclaiming, "Excellent alchemy! Celestial Worthy, your alchemy is truly superb!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Venerable, please don't deceive me!"

Kasyapa said, "How have I wronged you?"

Ao Tu said, "I came to see you with sincerity, yet Venerable haven't even tasted it, and you still claim it's a wonderful elixir. It's nothing but flattery and perfunctory words. Aren't you just deceiving me?"

Kasyapa was overjoyed upon hearing this and asked, "May I try it?"

Ao Tu smiled and said, "Please."

Kasyapa then swallowed the Golden Elixir elixir in one gulp.

In an instant, the Golden Elixir Creation's power continued to grow, fully restoring all the cultivation he had previously lost.

When Kasyapa was in the Daughter Kingdom, Ao Tu used the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity to strip him of his cultivation, leaving him no different from Mortal.

Although he relied on his extraordinary status in Spirit Mountain to obtain various spiritual items and recover much of his cultivation, Future fully recover.

Not long ago, the Tathagata Buddha instructed Kasyapa to oversee the relocation.

Kasyapa originally planned that after moving the Bodhi Tree, when he went to move the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, he would secretly take some water from the pond and write it as a loss, thinking that no one would know, and his cultivation would be restored.

Unexpectedly, this venerable old Celestial Worthy has come to visit me today; he is truly a person of great virtue.

His body shone with dazzling Golden Light, radiating blessings and virtues, which restored his cultivation.

He didn't recognize the good faith of the believers, and instead made things difficult for them. It was truly unacceptable! Absolutely unacceptable!

Kasyapa quickly poured tea for Ao Tu himself and said with a smile:

"Incredible! Incredible! The Golden Elixir refined by the Celestial Worthy is exactly the same as the one I ate at the Peach Banquet last time!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "To be honest, the Golden Elixir at the last Peach Banquet were refined by me."

Kasyapa was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then his smile widened, and he showered him with endless praise.

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Your Venerable truly lives up to your reputation as someone close to the Buddha. Your understanding of Buddhist Dharma is profound. I am deeply impressed!"

Having said that, he took out a small white jade box from his robes, opened it, and placed three Golden Elixir inside, saying, "Please accept these Elixir Pills, Venerable, and savor them carefully in the future."

Kasyapa, seeing this, glanced at Wukong sitting on the other side, took the jade box, carefully examined all three Golden Elixir pills to confirm they were correct, and then happily accepted them, saying:

"I already know the purpose of your visit, Celestial Worthy Venerable. That Alu is a Youde monk, and I value him highly. To be honest, when I taught him Buddhist scriptures, I considered him as half a disciple!"

Wukong, who had been patiently waiting on the sidelines, heard Kasyapa say this and knew the matter was settled. He couldn't help but speak up:

"How strange! Venerable Kasyapa already considers that Alu as half a disciple, so why didn't he recommend him to Spirit Mountain, and instead had him punished in Fengxian County?"

Kasyapa didn't mind and laughed:

"That's precisely why I dare not recommend him lightly. This is a test for him!"

After speaking, he specially served tea to Ao Tu and said:

"Celestial Worthy, I had a few arguments with Sun Wukong during his rampage at Spirit Mountain, so it is not appropriate for me to recommend him to the World-Honored One at this time. After a few days, I will have Alu perform more meritorious deeds in the mortal realm before recommending him to Spirit Mountain."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Rest assured, Venerable, this matter will not trouble Venerable. I will ask someone else to speak on your behalf, as long as Venerable do not interfere."

Kasyapa, upon hearing this, asked, "May I ask whom the Celestial Worthy wishes to recommend?"

Ao Tu said, "You will know at that time, Venerable."

Kasyapa asked, "What about these Golden Elixir...?"

Ao Tu said, "My disciple will be working under Venerable in the future, Venerable. I hope you will take good care of him."

Kasyapa was delighted and said, "Of course! Of course! How could Buddhist Sect Disciple not look after each other?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "That's right!"

The two then talked for a long time.

Kasyapa discovered that these old Celestial Worthy were very knowledgeable in Buddhist Dharma, and thus they enjoyed their conversation very much.

As dawn broke and the morning bell rang, Ao Tu bid farewell to Wukong and departed.

Wukong said, "We've been delayed for so long, and if we don't ask him for a recommendation, who should we ask?"

Ao Tu said, "I would like to trouble you Great Sage, to make a trip to Mount Wutai and ask Manjushri Bodhisattva for your recommendation."

Wukong said, "Would Manjushri Bodhisattva agree so easily?"

Ao Tu said, "It was already planned. When the Great Sage arrives, he only needs to say, 'Please recommend Bodhisattva to manage the Scripture Pavilion Alu, Bodhisattva,' and Manjushri Bodhisattva will know."

Upon hearing this, Wukong couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, "So the True Lord had already opened up the joints and fixed the internal structure, so why did he still make Old Sun, waste my energy?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "If the Great Sage doesn't make this journey, how can he accumulate Merit? Although the internal arrangements have already been made, the external appearance must also be perfect. Otherwise, Shakyamuni could have simply bestowed the Mahayana True Scriptures upon him, allowing him to reincarnate and descend to the Lower Realm with Golden Cicada. Why would Tang Sanzang have to travel thousands of miles to Journey to the West scriptures?"

Wukong sighed, "Yes! Yes! Old Sun, will go! True Lord, won't you come with Old Sun?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "I need to avoid suspicion! Besides, dealing with Kasyapa has been exhausting; I need to go back to the Flower Realm to rest!"

Wukong said, "You old man, you're incredibly lazy!"

Ao Tu flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.

Wukong then went to Mount Wutai, met Manjushri Bodhisattva, and explained the reason.

Manjushri Bodhisattva had already discussed it with Ao Tu. Upon hearing Wukong's words, he immediately agreed and instructed Wukong to return to Fengxian County to wait while he recommended him to the Tathagata Buddha.

Wukong then returned to Fengxian County.

Manjushri Bodhisattva arrived at Spirit Mountain and waited for some time. Tathagata Buddha the hall to preach, Manjushri Bodhisattva rode a Green Lion and listened attentively.

After the Buddha finished speaking, Manjushri Bodhisattva dismounted from the Green Lion and went to the hall to pay homage with palms together.

The Tathagata Buddha asked, "Bodhisattva, what brings you to this pilgrimage?"

Manjushri Bodhisattva said, "When I came to Spirit Mountain, I passed through Fengxian County and saw a great light of Merit shining in the county. It was from a monk who, seeing the county suffering from drought, did not hesitate to defy the Heavenly Laws to send down Rain Water to save all living beings. He himself locked himself in the deep mountains, enduring great suffering. His virtue is truly profound!"

Upon hearing this, the Tathagata Buddha turned to the the Monks and asked, "Do you all know what kind of place this Fengxian County is?"

An Arhat said, "Reporting to the World-Honored One, Fengxian County is an outer county of India)."

The Tathagata Buddha asked, "Since this is the land of India, when you went down the mountain to do Merit, did you see what the Bodhisattva spoke of?"

Manjushri Bodhisattva holds a profound position, even higher than many Buddha. Naturally, many monks speak up for those he recommends, and even those they have never met claim to have.

Many Arhat and Vajras among the the Monks stepped forward, all saying they had seen them before.

The Tathagata Buddha said, "You Arhat, you have liberated yourselves, yet you look down on others! Fengxian County is a county outside of India, which you have all seen, so why did none of you mention it to me? It is thanks to the Bodhisattva's Wisdom Eye that he told me, and only then did I learn of it."

Upon hearing this, all the the Monks apologized.

The Tathagata Buddha then instructed the two Arhat Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming and tiger to the Heavenly Realm and plead with the Jade Emperor to release the Youde man.