As the saying goes, "The misty smoke and clouds drift along, unbothered by the changing seasons, forgetting the passage of years."
Jiang Tong'er resided in Ling Tai Fang Cun Mountain, within the Three Stars Cave, where he "spoke" of the Wood Mother.
Unbeknownst to him, time passed swiftly, and three years had gone by.
In the Three Stars Cave, apart from Jiang Tong'er, most had departed, leaving only him to guard the place.
Tong'er felt no unusualness, focusing solely on his cultivation.
After three years of cultivation, he had yet to "speak" to the Wood Mother.
The Wood Mother was like a true demon, possessing eight forms, and could not be restrained.
Even if he spoke a thousand words, upon mentioning one form, the Wood Mother would take on another, rendering his efforts futile.
Jiang Yuan had no choice but to speak slowly, hoping that one day he could bring the Wood Mother back to the right path.
One day, Jiang Yuan sat in the cave's library, taking out scriptures from Buddhism and Daoism, attempting to derive principles from the texts to speak of the Wood Mother.
Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door, suspecting that a cultivator had arrived.
Jiang Yuan thus went out, finding himself alone in the Three Stars Cave, with all matters under his control.
He opened the cave door wide and saw a man outside.
The man, seeing the "mountain's celestial child," bowed deeply, chanting, "Disciple is wholeheartedly devoted to the Dao, disciple is wholeheartedly devoted to the Dao."
Jiang Yuan helped him up and said, "Why do you bow to me?"
The man replied, "Celestial child, I am a disciple seeking the Dao and learning to become an immortal. I have heard there is an old immortal in the mountains, so I came to pay my respects!"
Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "My master is out and not here today. Please come back later."
The man insisted, "Disciple is wholeheartedly devoted to the Dao!"
Jiang Yuan replied, "It is not that I do not teach you the Dao. My master has been away for many years and is not in the residence."
The man knelt down and bowed his head.
Jiang Yuan felt helpless, trying to reason with him, but the man was stubborn and would not listen.
He waved his sleeve, intending to leave.
The man’s eyes rolled, and he took out a piece of gold the size of a fingernail from his sleeve.
He thought to himself, "As the saying goes, 'Fighting for fame and profit is all for money.' Today, this little ghost is difficult to deal with; if I give him some money, it will save me trouble. In the future, when I cultivate the Dao, I will have countless riches, using a small investment to gain a large return."
Having thought this, he handed the gold to Jiang Yuan, saying, "Celestial child, please take me inside. I am wholeheartedly devoted to the Dao!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan was about to return to the residence when he suddenly felt a surge in his liver meridian.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was the Wood Mother’s greed that stirred, causing qi to surge in his lower dantian, tempting his desires.
This Wood Mother, once she entered his liver meridian, often incited his greed, truly a general of desire.
Fortunately, Tong'er had previously used Daoist spells to drive away the two spirits, preventing them from obstructing him.
If he spoke of the Wood Mother, the two spirits would trip him up, and he would surely suffer.
Jiang Tong'er thought to himself, "I must quickly teach the Wood Mother to return to the right path."
Seeing Jiang Yuan unmoving, the man thought the celestial child had developed a mortal heart and secretly rejoiced.
Jiang Yuan ignored the man and turned back to the residence.
The man blocked his way, saying, "Celestial child, I am wholeheartedly devoted to the Dao! If this is not enough, I still have more!"
Jiang Yuan said, "I have already told you my master is out. Why do you not listen? Cultivation is about cultivating the heart. If you teach the heart to seek fame and profit, how can you be devoted? If you wish to cultivate the Dao, even the side paths are not allowed, let alone the right path. My master has left the residence; if you wish to wait, then wait here in the mountains. If not, then go."
Having said this, Tong'er ignored him, closed the middle door, and returned to the Three Stars Cave.
This time, the temptation of gold stirred the Wood Mother, and he had to be on guard, lest he truly fell into the Wood Mother’s path.
Tong'er returned to the quiet room, sitting cross-legged on the mat, and focused his mind back into the liver meridian, where he saw the Wood Mother present.
The Wood Mother appeared with a pig's face and said, "Why don’t you want gold? If you have gold, go down the mountain to find a good man; it won’t take much effort!"
Jiang Yuan replied, "I am not seeking you for this. Do you truly not wish to return to the right path? To protect the primordial spirit and cultivate the elixir together?"
The Wood Mother then transformed into a tiger face, angrily saying, "I will not cultivate! How do you expect me to do so? I am your liver, sustaining your desires. If you want me to protect the primordial spirit, then fulfill all eight desires for me. Only then will I protect the primordial spirit and cultivate it together! You just want me to indulge in killing, stealing, lust, laziness, alcohol, money, false speech, and incense offerings; only when these are fulfilled will I return to the right path!"
Jiang Tong'er felt anger in his heart upon hearing this.
If he allowed the Wood Mother to speak like this, wouldn’t it ruin his cultivation? After hundreds of years of hard work, it would all be in vain.
He allowed his heart monkey to bring the golden spirit, and the thought horse to appear outside the meridian.
The Wood Mother, seeing such a display, was frightened, for the heart monkey and golden spirit were the most effective against her.
The Wood Mother bluffed, saying, "What do you intend to do?"
Jiang Tong'er stood up and pointed at the Wood Mother, declaring, "Today, will you return to the right path or not? If you do not return, I will bring the heart monkey and golden spirit to subdue you!"
The Wood Mother, increasingly frightened, trembled and revealed a desire form, saying, "We are one and the same! Do not harm our harmony! I will cultivate the elixir with you, but my heart is still unsatisfied. What can you do?"
Even with the heart monkey and the two spirits assisting, the Wood Mother could not uphold the precepts.
Sooner or later, calamity would arise.
If he were to succeed in cultivating the elixir, and the Wood Mother remained unsatisfied, he would surely face death and the loss of the Dao.
Jiang Tong'er had no way to deal with her, so he had to let the heart monkey and the others leave.
He looked at the Wood Mother and asked, "How can you uphold the precepts and return to the right path?"
Seeing the three had left, the Wood Mother gained some courage and said, "When you fulfill the eight desires, I will return to the right path!"
Jiang Yuan had no choice but to leave.
In the room, Jiang Yuan opened his eyes, not knowing when he would gain the method to bring the Wood Mother back to the right path.
This Wood Mother was indeed difficult to "speak" to, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, greedy for wealth and lustful, delighting in killing and nonsense, gathering all sorts of vices within her.
Among the five, the heart monkey was difficult to subdue, the golden spirit hard to burn, the thought horse hard to tame, and the Wood Mother hard to persuade; each had its own difficulties.
Jiang Tong'er thought to himself, "How can I make the Wood Mother willingly submit?"
He still did not understand and could only go to the library, searching for a clue among the scriptures.
...
Spring returned and summer arrived; a year had passed.
Jiang Tong'er devoted himself to "speaking" to the Wood Mother, hoping to achieve the elixir path soon.
He flipped through the scriptures but found no method, so he entered the room for quiet cultivation.
One day, when Tong'er could not find the method in the scriptures, he sought it in a great dream.
Jiang Tong'er recalled the "Journey to the West," where the Wood Mother was akin to Zhu Bajie.
How did Zhu Bajie submit? It was through the Bodhisattva's guidance, leading him to become a seeker of scriptures in the West.
Where could he find a Bodhisattva?
Relying on speech alone would not teach the Wood Mother to return to the right path.
The Wood Mother was where desire resided, and relying on speech would not work.
The Wood Mother repeatedly mentioned, "Indulge in killing, stealing, lust, laziness, alcohol, money, false speech, and incense offerings," insisting that unless these were fulfilled, she would not return to the right path.
How could he respond to this? If he answered, the two spirits would rise again, and sooner or later, he would face death and the loss of the Dao.
If he did not answer, the Wood Mother would not comply.
"The Wood Mother is difficult to speak to, difficult to deal with!"
"Among the five, three have been subdued, yet the Wood Mother here lingers without returning. When will I cultivate the Golden Elixir and glimpse the mysteries of the Long Life Dao?"
"Primordial spirit, why do you not guide me?"
Jiang Yuan sighed in helplessness.
Just as he was lamenting, he suddenly felt a great tremor in the lower dantian.
His primordial spirit seemed to understand his intent, and a clever idea emerged in his heart.
"Fight?"
"That fellow truly is a dead pig not afraid of boiling water. What use is fighting? Am I to beat her into submission and then teach her to speak?"
"Can the primordial spirit receive the precepts?"
Jiang Yuan suddenly realized, and a flash of inspiration appeared.
The ancestor said, requesting the Wood Mother relies on "speech."
It is impossible to beat the Wood Mother without speaking to her.
If he could teach the heart monkey to subdue the Wood Mother and then "speak" to her, this speech would be the primordial spirit speaking, not him teaching her.
The primordial spirit has the ability to receive the precepts.
Jiang Yuan finally understood how to request the Wood Mother.
He further spoke of the primordial spirit's spiritual prowess surpassing before.
He invited the three to come, and the primordial spirit was much stronger than before.
Now, hearing his words, it even pointed the way for him...
(End of Chapter)