txolops Chapter 32 The Bodhisattva Subdues the Demon
Chapter 32 The Bodhisattva Subdues the Demon
"Fake?" Sun Wukong exclaimed in surprise. "What does the Bodhisattva mean by that?"
The Bodhisattva laughed and said, "That fellow probably has some kind of story behind him, but the secrets of heaven are obscured, and the gods and saints cannot see it. He killed Lord Xiongshan and transformed into his appearance, and then he beheaded Silver-Headed Jiedi. Silver-Headed Jiedi cried before the Buddha, and I was on Mount Ling at the time, so I knew about it."
Sun Wukong, true to his cleverness, understood immediately and quickly asked, "According to the Bodhisattva, this was the same person who subdued the White Dragon Horse the previous year?"
The Bodhisattva nodded and said, "It is indeed him."
Wukong jumped up angrily and cursed, "That little thief is truly despicable! He's tricked me, Old Sun, time and time again!"
The Bodhisattva said, "Don't be angry, I have my own way to subdue him."
Wukong asked, "Is the Bodhisattva going to subdue both of them at once?"
The Bodhisattva said, "That's right."
Then he turned and summoned the Dragon Girl, who brought out a jade bottle and handed it to the Bodhisattva.
Seeing the Bodhisattva accept the jade bottle, Wukong laughed and said, "Bodhisattva, we're going to subdue demons, what are you doing with that bottle?"
The Bodhisattva said, "You do not know that my pure bottle contains the Three Lights Divine Water, which is a primordial treasure."
The first is sunlight, which contains the essence of the sun. If you get even a little bit of it, even if you are a great immortal, your body and soul will be worn down and your spirit damaged.
Secondly, moonlight contains the energy of Yin. If it is touched, even volcanic magma will turn into ice and freeze.
Thirdly, starlight contains the god of the Milky Way. If you wipe it away, it will cloud your six senses and impair your five perceptions, leaving you at the mercy of others, like fish on a chopping board.
When these three waters are separated, they are treasures for warfare; when combined, they are the holy medicine for healing. Even if you are reduced to a single drop of blood and a fragment of bone, you can be brought back to life, and your true spirit will never perish.
Upon hearing this, Wukong exclaimed with delight, "What a wonderful treasure! In that case, let's go ahead!"
The Bodhisattva said, "No rush. If we go directly, he might run away. We need to think of a way to trick him."
Wukong laughed and said, "I have a plan!"
He then told the Bodhisattva about the Black Wind Monster's invitation to the demons to celebrate his birthday. So the two of them transformed into Jin Chi and Ling Xu Zi respectively, and came to the Black Wind Cave.
Upon arriving at the cave, Wukong took out the two pills from his pocket, plucked a hair, and blew on it to turn it into a tray.
The Bodhisattva asked, "Wukong, what's wrong with you?"
Sun Wukong said, "Bodhisattva, you have been away from the mortal world for a long time. We have come to offer birthday wishes, shouldn't we bring some gifts? Look, there are two elixir pills in this plate, which are our gifts to that demon."
The Bodhisattva smiled helplessly and said, "You silly monkey."
So he broke off a willow leaf, blew a breath of magic on it, and it transformed into a magical umbrella.
The two reached the entrance and recognized the cave-guarding demons, saying, "Immortal Lingxu and Elder Jinchi have arrived."
They relayed the message while simultaneously guiding the others.
Before long, the black bear spirit indeed came out to greet them.
Li Fa was following behind. When Li Fa realized that the people who came were Ling Xuzi and Jin Chi, he became cautious.
These two, one he killed and the other scared to death by it, are now here.
Li Fa thought to himself, "One of them must be Sun Wukong, but the other? Could it be Guanyin Bodhisattva?"
He was immediately horrified, and the technique of transforming wind and clouds was already secretly in his hand.
As he was still pondering, he heard the black bear spirit say, "Lingxu, thank you for your presence, sir. Oh, Master, you've come too! What an honor to have you here!"
Sun Wukong, in his transformed form, said, "This humble Taoist respectfully offers two immortal pills, which I dare to claim as a thousand years of life."
The Bodhisattva, in disguise, Jinchi, also said, "This old monk respectfully presents a precious umbrella to celebrate Your Majesty's birthday."
The black bear spirit, unaware of the trap, reached out to take it.
In an instant, Sun Wukong revealed his true form, overturned the plate, and began to strike with his staff.
The Bodhisattva flicked his hand, sending out a hoop that flew into the air, spinning rapidly, heading straight for the Black Bear Demon.
Upon seeing this, Li Fa was about to transform into the wind and escape.
But then the Bodhisattva took out a drop of water from the vase, which was the Moonlight Divine Water!
Her drop of water was colder than the deepest hell and more frigid than the Yellow Springs, completely enveloping Li Fa and rendering him unable to move.
The Bodhisattva ignored him and instead revealed her true form, chanting a spell, which placed the headband directly on the black bear spirit's head.
The black bear spirit was furious and drew his spear to stab, but the Bodhisattva chanted a spell, causing the black bear spirit to drop his spear in pain and roll around on the ground.
The Bodhisattva said, "You wicked creature! Can you now take refuge in the Buddha?"
The monster kept saying, "I'm willing to surrender, I only beg for my life!"
Fearing he would waste time, Sun Wukong was about to strike when the Bodhisattva quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't kill him; I have other uses for him."
Sun Wukong said, "What use is there in keeping such a monster alive if we don't kill him?"
The Bodhisattva said, "There is no one to guard my Mount Luojia. I will take him to be a great guardian deity of the mountain."
Sun Wukong laughed, "Indeed, he is a merciful savior, his spirit unharmed. If I had such a spell, I would recite it a thousand times! This time, even if there were ten thousand black bears, I would teach him a lesson!"
The black bear spirit, writhing in pain, knelt on the ground and pleaded, "Spare my life, and I will convert to the true path!"
This is truly the Bodhisattva displaying his divine powers, and the Black Bear Spirit attaining enlightenment!
Meanwhile, Li Fa was trapped by the Bodhisattva's Moonlight Divine Water, making it difficult for him to escape.
Suddenly he remembered the spilled water bowl, so he recited a divine incantation in his heart, and sure enough, he collected that drop of moonlight divine water into the bowl.
Li Fa felt his body relax instantly, and he could move freely again.
So he dared not delay and transformed into a black wind, rushing outwards.
"How dare you, you wicked creature!" Guanyin frowned slightly, clearly not expecting Li Fa to be able to take away the Moonlight Divine Water.
The Bodhisattva's vase spun again, and this time two droplets of water flew out—the Sunlight Divine Water and the Starlight Divine Water!
The divine water of sunlight transformed into a golden rainbow, as scorching as the sun descending, and shone directly on Li Fa's back.
The starlight and divine water scattered into countless starlight points, drifting and sprinkling, blocking all escape routes in all directions.
Li Fa felt an unbearable burning pain in his back and knew he couldn't endure it, so he took out the alms bowl again and collected the Sunlight Divine Water.
In the end, only the Starlight Divine Water remained. After all, the alms bowl was only a mid-grade innate spiritual treasure. In addition, Li Fa's magical power was only three hundred years old. Having already absorbed the sunlight and moonlight, he was powerless to activate and absorb the starlight.
In desperation, he used the Water Escape technique from the Five Elements Great Escape, flowing into a mountain stream and escaping!
Seeing that Li Fa had run away, the Bodhisattva shook his head and said, "What a pity, what a pity!"
Sun Wukong scratched his head, exclaiming, "How did this fellow get away! Bodhisattva, why did your Three Lights Divine Water fail to work?"
Guanyin said, "This person possesses a rare innate treasure, capable of absorbing my divine water, and also knows the Five Elements Escape Technique. I wonder what his origins are..."
Wukong asked, "What should we do then?"
The Bodhisattva said, "There is no need to worry. Although this scoundrel is cunning, he has no intention of harming the Tripitaka. My actions today are merely to teach him to join my Buddhist community."
Wukong asked, "Didn't the Bodhisattva already take in a mountain god? Why does he want to take in another one?"
The Bodhisattva smiled and said, "Although Luojia Mountain has one, Putuo Mountain is still missing one."
Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Bodhisattva is so greedy that he has lost his treasure."
The Bodhisattva slapped the monkey's head and laughed, scolding, "I still have a hundred or so drops of that divine water; it's not too precious. But you, you impudent monkey, hurry up and take the Buddha's treasure back. Serve Tang Sanzang well, and don't be lazy and cause trouble again."
Sun Wukong said, "I am deeply grateful that the Bodhisattva has come from afar, and I should return the favor by seeing him off."
The Bodhisattva said, "No need to see me off."
Sun Wukong then took the cassock, kowtowed, and departed. The Bodhisattva, along with the bear, returned directly to the sea.