Teaching Disciples in Jade Flower Prefecture (14)

Meanwhile, the Taoist Taiqian spoke respectfully as he explained the Heavenly Dao to the Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy.

Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy disagreed, saying:

"Brother Dao, your words are far too arrogant. Shakyamuni Buddha of the Western Heaven was a naturally divine being who renounced his Throne to become a monk, established a Sangha, preached the Sacred River, and attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. He is the World World-Honored One of the Western Heaven. How can you say he is lowly?"

Upon hearing this, the Taoist Taiqian smiled and said:

"How pitiful! How pitiful! I never imagined that you, a dignified Celestial Worthy, would have such poor hearing!"

Upon hearing these insulting words, Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy was angered and said, "I tried to reason with you, why did you utter such vile words, fellow Daoist!"

Taoist Taiqian, "Since the Celestial Worthy has no hearing problems, why does he utter such empty words?"

Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy said, "When did I utter any empty words?"

The Taoist Taiqian, "I have already stated that my name Taiqian, meaning utmost humility, and my words and actions are naturally extremely modest. Yet you accuse me of being arrogant, which is utter nonsense! Shakyamuni was merely a junior, yet he dared to call himself the Western Heaven World-Honored One; it is truly laughable!"

Upon hearing this, Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy wondered to himself, "Who is this Daoist Daoist, and why is he so arrogant?"

Meanwhile, Wukong, having fallen into the East Sea, was dazed and confused, water filling his mouth and nose. He was awakened by being poked by several lobsters. Recalling what had happened, he angrily exclaimed, "That Daoist! How dare he ambush me, Old Sun!"

So Somersault Cloud back and saw Daoist Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy. He then drew his staff and shouted:

"You daring Daoist, how dare you ambush Old Sun, Old Sun! Take this!"

Upon seeing this, the Taoist Taiqian dodged away.

Wukong came to fight again.

Taoist Taiqian swayed slightly and dodged again.

Wukong used over a dozen moves, all of which were easily dodged by the Taoist Taiqian. Unable to exert any force, he instead felt his muscles and bones aching from exhaustion, and couldn't help but say:

"What Daoist! Could he be a mudfish spirit, so slippery? Celestial Worthy! Celestial Worthy! This Daoist is formidable; please come and help this old man!"

Upon hearing this, Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy thought it wouldn't hurt to test him, so he threw down the Precious Sword on his back and struck at the Taoist.

Seeing this, the group of Kirtimukha Sangharama, Six Ding and Six Jia, and the Four Duty Gods also surrounded and came to help.

Bajie and Sha Wujing each took their weapons, leaped onto the clouds, and joined Wukong in the fight.

The Taoist Taiqian simply smiled, and auspicious Celebration Cloud appeared above his head, the size of an acre of land, emitting five-colored rays of light. Golden Lamp and square cups fell down in droplets, like water dripping continuously from an eave.

Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy was greatly alarmed upon seeing this. He pounded his fist into his chest three times, and in a split second, he managed to retrieve the Precious Sword that he had already thrown down.

After the Lion Slave had struck a hundred or so blows and his hands were tired, Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage finally had a chance to advise, "Master! Please don't offend him!"

Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy, having restrained himself too forcefully, held his breath to calm down and said to Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage, "I can see!"

The other gods, unable to retract their power, unleashed it all upon the "Celebration Cloud Golden Lamp," turning all their Supernatural Ability powers and magic into ashes.

Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing joined forces to fight, but Taoist Taiqian simply stood still and let the three of them fight for three hours, from noon until Sun, without suffering any damage to his body.

Bajie and Sha Wujing were both panting heavily, unable to ride the clouds any longer, and fell down.

Seeing that he couldn't break through, Wukong had no choice but to give up. He went to Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy's side and said, "Old Celestial Worthy, why did you stop?"

Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy said, "I am old and ailing, my magical powers are failing, I cannot lift the Precious Sword, and I cannot help you. I hope the Great Sage will forgive me. I am taking this wretched creature back to my palace!"

Wukong asked, "Then who can defeat this Daoist?"

Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy said, "This..."

After a moment's thought, he said, "Great Sage, your Western Heaven Shakyamuni Venerable possesses great magical powers. Why not invite him to break this curse?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong tried to persuade him to stay.

Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy dared not linger and hurriedly led the Lion Beast Boy back to the Heavenly Realm.

Below, the Taoist Taiqian instructed Bai Ze and his generals to capture Tang Sanzang and his disciples, the King of Jade Flower Prefecture, and the Prince, and imprison them in the Prison Cave.

The Eldest Prince cried out, "Master Sun! Save me! Save me!"

Taoist Taiqian laughed and said, "This monk can barely save himself; you'd better seek help from someone else!"

Wukong said, "Daoist, don't be so smug! I, Old Sun, will go and ask the Buddha to subdue you!"

The Taoist Taiqian, "I fear you are too slow, so I will escort you on your way!"

Having said that, he swept his sleeve across the ground.

Wukong quickly Somersault Cloud away.

Unable to escape, he was swept away by the sleeve and instantly landed on Spirit Mountain.

Wukong rubbed his head, grinned, and stood up. While cursing the Daoist for being ruthless, he instructed Vajras to announce that they needed to see the Buddha.

Tathagata Buddha heard that Wukong was requesting an audience, he immediately ordered Venerable Alu to go out and greet him.

When Wukong met an acquaintance, a look of joy appeared on his face.

Alu asked, "Why is the Great Sage grinning like that, baring his teeth?"

Wukong said, "To tell you the truth, on my Journey to the West I encountered a Daoist Old Sun in so much pain! I have come to see the Buddha to ask Buddha to investigate who that Daoist Daoist is."

Alu said, "Please! Please!"

Wukong went inside and met the Tathagata Buddha, explaining what had happened.

Upon hearing this, the Tathagata Buddha opened his Wisdom Eye and looked around. He saw the Taoist Taiqian, but did not recognize him.

Wukong pleaded, "I beg the Buddha to use his great power to save my master!"

The Tathagata Buddha said, "I don't recognize that Daoist Daoist either. Since Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy cannot subdue him, I'm afraid no other Bodhisattva can either." He then called to Kasyapa, "Go and invite the Randeng Ancient Buddha."

Kasyapa went to invite him, and returned some time later, saying, "World-Honored One, Randeng Ancient Buddha was picking Lotus Flower on the Snow Mountain the other day when he unfortunately fell and injured his leg, and is unable to come."

The Tathagata Buddha said, "In that case, go and invite the Medicine Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Light!"

Kasyapa went to invite him, and after waiting for some time, he returned and said, "World-Honored One, the Medicine Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Light has lost his Gourd and is searching for it, so he has no time to come."

The Tathagata Buddha sighed, "In that case, only I can go and save them."

Wukong exclaimed with delight, "I have done this favor, and I am so fortunate to have received the Buddha's presence!"

The Buddha then emerged from Vulture Peak, accompanied by five hundred Arhats, three thousand Jieti deities, and Kasyapa and Aru, and arrived at Leopard Head Mountain in Yuhua County, India.

The Tathagata Buddha continued to look with his Wisdom Eye, but still could not see through it. He remained cautious, thinking that Randeng and Bhaisajyaguru were both absent for some reason. He had no choice but to descend the mountain, but he could not act rashly. Therefore, he said:

"Wukong, this mountain is cramped and inconvenient for casting spells. Go in, transform yourself, and rescue your master and fellow disciples. If that Daoist comes after you, don't argue with him. Lead him to me, and I will explain things to him."

Upon hearing this, Wukong exclaimed joyfully, "Excellent! Excellent! I'm off!"

After saying this, Wukong transformed into a Fly, with thin legs and feet, flying silently, hovering around the hills and fields. It didn't bite, but it would shed tears and often burrow into the cracks of eyes. This was a tiny Fly.

Wukong flew into the cave and saw a banquet being held there. Two Taoist were sitting at the head of the table. One was the Taoist Taiqian, and the other, whom he recognized, was the Taoist Baoshan, who was carrying a sword and a banner.

The Seven Lion Spirits below all served with utmost respect.

The Taoist Taiqian and the Taoist Baoshan addressed each other as "Brother Daoist," indicating a close relationship.

Wukong said, "Daoist under heaven are one family. It turns out these two know each other. If I had known, I would have pleaded on their behalf. But since we have already invited the Buddha to descend, it's no longer appropriate to plead."

So he turned and flew to the Prison Cave, lay down to sleep under the guard, and revealed his Original Form.

Having lived in the Prison Cave for a long time and experienced many things, Tang Sanzang was pleased to see Wukong, but not surprised.

The King and his three sons were both surprised and delighted, overjoyed beyond measure.

The Eldest Prince asked, "Master! Can you summon some gods or Buddhas to rescue us?"

Wukong laughed and said, "Don't worry, disciple. This time, I've invited the Tathagata Buddha from the Western Heaven Paradise. I guarantee you'll be rescued!"