Chapter 1: The Eight Precepts Master

  "Journey to the West", one of China's four great classical novels, has been thriving for over 400 years and is still widely acclaimed by people.

  Especially in modern times, when the cultural context is discussed nationwide, "Journey to the West" has once again become a hot topic among people. Various related books and audiovisual works have emerged one after another, and some have even built a "Journey to the West" palace in Beijing and Taipei. Every time tourists flock here during holidays, they won't miss this kind of cultural scenic spot on their rare happy rest day.

  Unlike the many tourists around him, Qu Wen's mood is slightly heavy. Because in four years of college, it passed in the blink of an eye, and before he could even prepare for anything, graduation was already upon him. Looking back, most of his time in the last year was spent online, drinking, and skipping class. If not for his roommates' strong insistence, he wouldn't have come here to take a graduation trip with them.

  Qiu Wen's parents were ordinary working-class people. After experiencing the ten-year turmoil and a series of changes in the early days of reform, they had lost more than half of their willpower. Now that they had finally managed to raise their son into a university student, it was also considered a contribution to the country's construction.

  Before the last semester, his father had told him that after graduation, everything would depend on himself. The two of them had been busy for most of their lives and it was time to slow down and enjoy life.

  Just this one sentence made Qu Wen feel too embarrassed to ask his parents for money again.

  There were four brothers in the dormitory, and except for his family, the other three had good family conditions. So the three of them got together and took advantage of their last few days together to take Quwen on a tour of several nearby small towns at their own expense. Quwen's personality was quite easy-going and he wasn't good at refusing others, so many times he ended up doing chores for the dormitory and helping with their university assignments. Because of this annoying personality, most of the time he went online or skipped class under the strong persuasion of the other three.

  But the song is heartfelt thanks to these three brothers, who have fostered a deep affection for each other over the past four years. Without them, my university life would be dull and uninteresting, and when I'm old, there won't be many happy memories to speak of.

  "It's rare to have a rest day, why don't these people stay at home and take a break? What are they coming here for?" Lao Si Jiang Hao couldn't help but mutter as he gazed out at the crowded throngs of people. Unbeknownst to himself, he was also contributing to the congestion, snapping away with his Canon camera.

  "You must have read too many books, usually busy with work during the day and studying at night. If it weren't for holidays, who would have time to play around?" Zheng Wei, also known as Lao Da, replied with a trendy pair of sunglasses on his face and a dazzling summer outfit that made him look exceptionally handsome and stylish. Thanks to his name, everyone in the class respectfully called him "Wei Ge". Unexpectedly, he accepted it gladly and responded solemnly, "What's wrong with being Wei Ge? It means I'm very capable."

  "Older brother, you're wrong. This guy has never read a book before. For him, every day is Sunday and he doesn't know how important holidays are to ordinary people." The second brother echoed in agreement. His name was Wu Xia, which was quite interesting. It's likely that his father had watched too many martial arts movies. However, this guy didn't disappoint his father's expectations. He was tall and strong, with a robust build, just like the heroic warriors of ancient times. Even his mouth was full of the rough and bold flavor of a heroic warrior.

  Qu Wen heard the laughter and smiled silently, following the three people as they continued walking towards the main palace.

  The Journey to the West Palace is located on an island called Yangma Island, also known as "Ji Island". From a bird's-eye view of the entire island, it is like a masterpiece of nature, carving out this piece of sacred mountain and beautiful island with its clear and elegant spirit. The main palace is located in the east of the island, with magnificent buildings, rich and majestic, with a unique Babylonian architectural layout, combined with various modern high-tech means to set off, gathering a large number of historical allusions from ancient and modern times at home and abroad, myths and legends, with a unique artistic technique presented to tourists. The characters in the palace are naturally vivid and lifelike, paired with a grand and majestic background, making visitors feel as if they are really in a fairy-tale palace.

  Since it's called the Journey to the West Palace, the scenery inside naturally features characters from Journey to the West as the main theme. The statues of Tathagata Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva and Qitian Dasheng are always crowded with tourists, one batch after another, seemingly never having a moment of emptiness.

  Qu Yuan's parents were devout Buddhists, and under their influence, he would always pay his respects with a bow whenever he visited temples.

  But he's not in the mood to join in the revelry, his mind preoccupied with where to find work after parting ways with his brothers. He can't just do nothing and go back to his parents' place to freeload. Turning around, he arrived at the Buddha statue of the Pure Land sect, which was the least crowded, and knelt down on one knee.

  The title of the Cleansing Altar Envoy was given to Zhu Bajie after he achieved Buddhahood in Journey to the West. According to the book, after the completion of the scripture retrieval, the Tathagata saw that Zhu Bajie had made great contributions in escorting the scriptures and, considering his lazy nature and large appetite, specially appointed him as the Cleansing Altar Envoy, in charge of managing the offerings given by humans to all the gods and Buddhas. If compared to human positions, it would be equivalent to the current Director of the National Treasury or General Manager of a major bank, belonging to a high-ranking official position.

  "Marshal Tianpeng, I see that you're quite idle too, so I came to pay my respects. However, your fate is better than mine; after going through 81 tribulations, you at least managed to become a Net坛使者, which is at least a high-ranking executive in a large corporation. But I've studied for over a decade and can't even find a job. Since I came to pay my respects today, let's follow the usual custom and make a wish; if one day I become successful, I'll definitely come back to give you a golden statue." Qu Wen finished speaking and respectfully knocked his head three times on the ground, causing the surrounding crowd to burst out laughing. People came here just for fun and entertainment, who would really take the characters seriously, especially the most useless character in Journey to the West - Pigsy?

  Qu Yun doesn't care about all that, in his opinion, worshipping the Buddha is just worship, worshipping Guanyin is also worship, and worshipping Zhu Bajie is also worship. What's important is sincerity. I wonder how many of the tourists kneeling down to worship the Buddha have a sincere heart. It's even more laughable that on every first and fifteenth day of the month, people go to temples to worship the Buddha, after giving incense money, they naturally pray for and ask for things from the gods, hoping to fulfill one or several wishes, which in a sense is more like a transaction with the gods.

  Compared with those who pray for wealth and nobility, longevity and happiness, Qu's wishes seem much smaller.

  After finishing the worship, I took out 10 yuan from my wallet and put it into the donation box in front of the statue of Zhu Bajie. Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine, as if someone was staring at me from the shadows, their piercing gaze penetrating deep into my heart.

  He gave a sudden start and looked around nervously, but except for the statue of Zhu Bajie Buddha in front of him, all the tourists were admiring the scenery in the temple and no one noticed his movements.

  Just as he raised his head, Zhu Bajie's eyeballs suddenly moved slightly, and although it was only for an instant, he saw it clearly.

  Qu Wen saw the situation and couldn't help but change his expression, scared to take a big step back, and in the chaos, he happened to bump into the pillar of the great hall. A severe pain came from the back of his head, and before he could even cry out, he felt a blackness in front of his eyes and immediately fainted.

  "Unbelievable! After waiting for thousands of years, I finally met a timid little brat! Hey, hey, get up, it's raining, time to eat, and Teacher Cang is here!"

  In a daze, Qu Wen only felt a stinging sensation on his face, like scorching fire, as if he had been slapped hundreds of times. When he finally opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by vibrant flowers and drifting clouds, everything seemed like a dream or an illusion, as if he was in a paradise. After taking another look, he saw a "person" standing beside him and couldn't help but let out a terrified scream.

  "Oh no, a monster!"

  "Monsters? What monsters? Dare to wreak havoc on my old pig's turf, watch me, Buddha, annihilate you with a single strike of my nine-toothed pitchfork!" The speaker's eyebrows furrowed, and a nine-toothed pitchfork materialized in his hand. With a stomp, he soared into the clouds, searched around the vast horizon, then slowly descended back to Qu Wen's side. He punched Qu Wen's head with a heavy fist: "What nonsense are you spouting, kid? You've even messed up my own divine realm of consciousness. Besides us two, where did these monsters come from?"

  This guy didn't say a word, it was fine. As soon as he opened his mouth, he almost scared the soul out of Qu Wen. He shook his hands back and forth: "Don't eat me, don't eat me, I have cancer, SARS, AIDS, eating me will be bad for your body..."

  Shouting and staring at this "person", his face was as big as a moon plate, his ears were wide like a palm fan, his long mouth and nose, his whole body was covered with thick brown bristles, wearing a fashionable palm-print short-sleeved shirt and a pair of blue denim shorts. If you say it looks like a human, it's better to say it's a hippo wearing human clothes, a very fashionable and elegant hippo. But he kept shouting "Master Buddha, Master Buddha", did he not know that his appearance was exactly the same as the pig demon in Journey to the West?

  Upon hearing this, the man seemed to understand something and gave Wuneng a severe blow on the head, scolding loudly: "You little brat, you wouldn't think that Buddha is a monster, would you? Listen carefully, I am the messenger of the pure altar under the Tathagata, originally the Marshal Tianpeng, Zhu Bajie!"

  Zhu Bajie

  Qu Yun suddenly felt that his brain was not enough, wasn't this a character from Wu Cheng'en's pen? How could he appear in front of him. Was he dreaming? He had worshipped the Buddha statue in the Journey to the West temple before, so it wasn't surprising to dream about him now. Thinking about it, he pinched his thigh hard, and a sharp pain immediately entered his brain, "Ah"! He shouted out loud again.

  "No need to pinch anymore, you won't wake up immediately no matter how hard you pinch, unless I let your primordial spirit return." Zhu Bajie waved his hand and the nine-toothed rake in his hand disappeared. He squatted down. "You can rest assured, not only will I not harm you, but I'll also give you some gifts."

  "A gift!" Seeing Pigsy's kind face, Qu Weng slightly calmed down and couldn't help but curiously ask: "Pigsy the Great Sage, aren't you a busy person? What brings you to find me?"

  "Hahaha!" Zhu Bajie almost burst out laughing at Qu Weng's words: "You think everyone is a great writer, but Wu Cheng'en's writing is so mediocre. If it weren't for me, the Buddha, pointing him in the right direction, he wouldn't have been able to write such a masterpiece that will be passed down through the ages. Unfortunately, this guy forgot about my kindness and attributed all the credit to my senior brother. Of course, my senior brother is indeed quite capable, but only slightly better than me, just a little bit." Zhu Bajie's voice grew softer as he spoke, feeling particularly guilty.

  "I came to you for a reason, do you know that since Wu Cheng'en wrote Journey to the West, people have revered my senior brother to the point of worship, but no one has ever remembered my hardships, nor has anyone sincerely knelt down to me." As he spoke, Zhu Bajie suddenly grasped Qu's hands and his eyes shone with tears, as if seeing a lifesaver. He was extremely excited and said: "You are the only person in over a thousand years who sincerely worships me and wishes to cast a golden statue for me. I, old pig, thank you..."

  Pigsy said with tears streaming down his face: "In the first thousand years after I became a Buddha, I made a great vow that whoever would be the first to kneel down and sincerely pray to me, I would accept him as my disciple and teach him the immortal art. And you are the one who has fulfilled my wish, so I have decided to take you on as my disciple, whether you like it or not."

  Qu Yun was left speechless by Zhu Bajie's words, and even if all this were not too strange and absurd, he had no intention of becoming a monk or achieving immortality.

  It is said in ancient times: there are three unfilial acts, and having no descendants is the worst. In any case, one should leave some incense for the two elderly at home.

  "No way, no way!" Qu Wen exaggeratedly waved his hands. What a joke! He was still a virgin, how could he become a monk without experiencing the pleasures of life? "I'm not going to be a monk, I still want to carry on the family line!" Qu Wen said with a serious face.

  "Who says that if you worship me as a master, you have to be a monk? If I could, I wouldn't want to bear this Buddha identity either. Enjoy the mortal world... Sora Aoi, Yuka Osawa, Nana Ogura..." Zhu Bajie chuckled and recited the names of fifty popular AV actresses in one breath, then asked: "Do you know what kind of heart method I cultivated before becoming a Buddha?"

  Pigsy asked the right person, Qu Weng's greatest pleasure since childhood was reading books. Except for "Dream of Red Mansions", he had read each of the other three great classics at least three times, and naturally remembered the content written in the book, but didn't know if it was consistent with reality. He recalled that in Chapter 19 of "Journey to the West", Pigsy made a summary of his own cultivation, saying that he suddenly met a true immortal, had the opportunity to worship him as a teacher, and first obtained the transmission of the "Nine Turns Great Reversion Elixir", with work day and night without stopping. Then he learned again "Week flow kidney water into Huachi, Dan田 supplement warm warmth"; finally, it was "Infant girl matching yin-yang, Ling turtle absorbing all golden crow blood". It's clear that Pigsy learned a lot of things, including alchemy, superior Taoist methods, and... the Taoist dual cultivation and absorption techniques.

  "According to what's written in the book, you should have learned alchemy, superior Taoist methods and the art of gathering and supplementing."

  "That's right, that Xiao Wu guy wrote it all down, and you know everything too. It saves me the trouble of explaining it to you one by one." Zhu Bajie nodded in agreement, clearly very satisfied with Qu's writing.

  "But didn't you already convert to Buddhism? How can you still practice Taoist mental methods? Isn't Buddhist mental method stronger than Taoist mental method?" Qu Yun was puzzled by this, in Journey to the West, Buddha is a transcendent existence beyond Taoism, and most immortals practice Taoist skills, that is to say, Buddhist Dharma is more powerful than Taoist Dharma.

  Pigsy shook his head: "Although I am now a Buddhist, it does not mean that Buddhism is stronger than Taoism. The heart method of Taoism is the supreme heart method refined for thousands of years in China, which is actually higher than Buddhism. Since Jiang Ziya became a god, the ancient immortals all retreated from the world, and Taoism gradually faded out of the mortal stage. The monarchs of successive dynasties feared the divine power of Taoism and secretly suppressed the practitioners, causing Taoist techniques to decline in the mortal world. I practiced worldly heart method, although I was sealed as a superior god early on, but I couldn't help moving my mortal heart, and finally received punishment from the Jade Emperor, and had no choice but to enter the empty gate."

  The text translates to: "Entering the world's heart method is still understandable, it is a very special school of Taoism, different from most Taoist heart methods. It emphasizes practicing and improving oneself in the mortal world, including romantic love and desires. One of the Eight Immortals, Lü Dongbin, practiced this entering the world's heart method, which led to his famous romantic story with the Peony Fairy."

  "So you're saying that after learning from you, I can also get married and have children?"

  "Alright, of course, even if you marry ten or eight more it's not a problem. Your master is the messenger of the pure altar, in charge of human offerings, and naturally won't let you go without benefits. I'll allocate some food and salary from various gods and Buddhas to you, ensuring that you enjoy endless wealth for life." Pigsy said, his expression changing, rarely becoming serious: "Are you willing to acknowledge me as your master now?"

  If that's the case, then becoming a disciple of Zhu Bajie isn't impossible either. If you let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it would be better to buy a block of tofu and smash your head against it instead. Qu Wen was overjoyed in his heart and knocked his forehead three times: "Master is above, I offer my respects as your disciple."

  Zhu Bajie burst out laughing: "After Master became a Buddha, he spent thousands of years cultivating a special skill called Ling Jue. It can stimulate the potential of the whole body through the brain and has the ability to distinguish between true and false like your Master's Fire Eye Golden Crystal. After learning it, you can hear from all directions, smell from thousands of miles away, sense spiritual consciousness, and don't need to practice, just absorb more spiritual energy." As he spoke, a sly smile flashed across his face, and he beckoned Qu Wen to come closer: "When you reach small success, you can also use it to peek at beautiful girls."

  Pigsy's words are somewhat exaggerated, and he can't possibly recognize all things in the world, nor can he achieve the effect of Sun Wukong's fiery eyes. However, among ordinary people, he is definitely a transcendent existence. Imagine being able to hear distant conversations, perceive slight movements, and sense special objects - what a huge advantage that would be! And Pigsy has been practicing asceticism for thousands of years, with the main purpose probably just to peek at beautiful women.

  Pigsy finished speaking and didn't care if Qu Weng had any more questions, raised his right hand, and a silver light flashed on his fingers. He said seriously: "Since the time for the Immortals to communicate with mortals is limited, I will now pass on my skills to you, so receive them well..."

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