Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 241: The White Bone Spirit

Although Zhenyuanzi had suspicions, he dared not express them outright, let alone question Laojun directly. As soon as he entered Laojun’s Douluo Palace, he felt an overwhelming presence—powerful and unfamiliar, unlike that day’s atmosphere.

He wasn’t originally a cunning person, and with no other choice, he recounted the whole incident to Laojun. After listening, Laojun frowned and asked, “Did that person reveal his name?” Zhenyuanzi replied, “No.”

Laojun glanced down at Zhenyuanzi and said, “That man is quite bold. He must be pretending to be me, trying to stop the pilgrims from proceeding, then stealing the Ginseng Fruits while you and Sun Wukong are fighting! Haven’t you seen through this trick of ‘the fisherman profits from the fight between the heron and the clam’?”

With Laojun’s guidance, Zhenyuanzi finally realized it and said, “Exactly! The Ginseng Fruits must have been stolen by that man!”

Laojun replied, “Your Ginseng Fruits are said to be nurtured by the essence of heaven and earth, so they are indeed rare. But in my view, they’re not necessarily better than the immortal pills I’ve crafted myself.” Then Laojun took out an immortal pill and tossed it to Zhenyuanzi.

Zhenyuanzi took it and examined it carefully. Indeed, this pill was of extraordinary quality—not only as good as the Ginseng Fruits but also more precious due to its healing powers.

Zhenyuanzi’s doubts were resolved. With such skill in pill-making, how could Laojun possibly covet someone else’s Ginseng Fruits? He said, “I certainly wouldn’t dare doubt Laojun in the slightest. But that man is deceitful and might tarnish Laojun’s reputation, so I came to report this.”

Laojun replied indifferently, “If he dares to show up again, I won’t spare him!”

Hearing this, Zhenyuanzi realized he had suffered a loss for nothing, and Laojun wasn’t interested in dealing with it. Seeing the Lingbao Daoist silent and Laojun with closed eyes, he sighed softly, returned the pill to Laojun, and said, “Disciple takes his leave!”

Laojun said, “I’m giving this to you. Come visit if you have time. Our Taoist sect values simplicity. As long as you stay calm, avoid trouble, you’ll be safe. Don’t place too much importance on material things. This pill is for you!”

Zhenyuanzi thanked him repeatedly. Visiting Douluo Palace hadn’t been in vain after all. The Three Pure Ones truly possessed profound cultivation and were generous—such an exquisite immortal pill meant nothing to them. As Zhenyuanzi left Douluo Palace, he suddenly thought of the man with the conical hat. It seemed very likely that he was behind this! But even that man couldn’t defeat him—what should he do?

Zhen Yuanzi pondered for a long time before making up his mind: upon returning, he would quickly eat the six fruits on the tree and never let others take advantage of them again. No matter who came after, there would be nothing but an empty tree—hmph!

As for Tang Seng and his three disciples, after leaving Wuzhuang Temple, they traveled west for over ten days before encountering a treacherous mountain. From afar, the mountain was covered with overlapping peaks and ravines, with tigers and wolves in groups and pythons in flocks. Mysterious mists and winds blew constantly, and thorny bushes and ghostly shadows filled the air.

How could Tang Seng not be alarmed by such a scene? He pulled back the reins and dared not move forward. Wukong, unsure where to use his powers, laughed loudly, swung his iron staff, and roared at the mountain. Immediately, wolves and insects fled, tigers and leopards ran away, and the dark clouds dispersed. Overjoyed, the elder praised repeatedly, “Truly worthy of the Great Sage’s fame!”

Wukong said, “It was just scaring some insignificant monsters. Seeing the strange evil aura of this mountain, it’s better to be cautious!”

Tang Seng sat on his horse while Wukong stayed close by. As he had expected, this mountain was the dwelling place of the White Bone Lady. It was unknown whether she would still dare to show herself after seeing his formidable powers.

The mountain stretched for at least two or three hundred miles. After walking for half a day, the four of them and their horse were extremely hungry and thirsty. Tang Seng said, “Wukong, there are no villages here. You need to go far to fetch some food.”

Wukong shook his head and said to Wuhui, “Younger brother, you go and ask for food. I’ll protect the master.”

Wuhui naturally obeyed Wukong and flew away on clouds, while Wukong waited at the spot. After a while, Zhu Bajie said, “I need to relieve myself. There hasn’t been a flat spot along the way—hmph!”

Tang Seng sighed. Zhu Bajie complained the whole time, showing no true devotion to Buddhism. Though he had suffered setbacks since meeting the old man, it wasn’t serious enough to scold him. Wukong said, “Zhu Bajie, be careful.”

Zhu Bajie replied, “Relieving myself? I’ve done it for thousands of years. What’s there to be careful about?”

Wukong cursed, “Idiot, be careful of monsters!”

Zhu Bajie said, “If monsters come, I’ll stink them to death!” He stepped back a few steps. Wukong shouted, “Do you want to get beaten? Go to the downwind side!”

Grumbling, Zhu Bajie walked forward another dozen steps, hid in some bushes, and lifted his clothes. Just as he was about to squat down, he suddenly looked ahead and his eyes widened. On the mountain path was a graceful woman. Dressed like a village girl, her simple attire couldn’t hide her stunning beauty. Though she wore only light makeup, her charming gaze was still captivating.

The fool didn’t bother with using the restroom; he rushed onto the road in a few steps and headed toward the woman. Seeing Bajie approaching, the woman clearly panicked. She dodged to the side while shouting at Tang Seng, “Elder, save me!”
Tang Seng said loudly, “Don’t be afraid, kind lady. He’s not a villain!”
The village girl stood on tiptoes, went around Bajie, and rushed toward Tang Seng, clutching her chest as she cried, “He’s not a villain, but he’s even uglier than one! Elder, save me!”
Out of compassion, Tang Seng tried to go to her aid, but Wukong pulled him back. Staring at the suddenly appearing village girl, Wukong used his secret technique, and immediately her true form was revealed—she was indeed a pile of bones. Wukong thought to himself that she must be the White Bone Spirit. Yet these bones were nothing special; they weren’t the result of a corpse becoming a spirit, nor did they possess any magical power. Normally, bones turning into spirits shouldn’t be possible. Upon closer inspection, Wukong realized the mystery lay within the bones—a powerful energy was hidden inside, driving them to cast spells. This energy was familiar to Wukong. After a brief recall, he immediately identified its source: it was the formidable spirit he had seen in the Three Realms Desert!
Without time for further thought, Wukong remembered what had happened to the Monkey King in “Journey to the West” and didn’t dare kill this spirit with a stick. Moreover, the spirit was quite strange, and Wukong wanted to uncover its origins.
So Wukong drew a circle three zhang in diameter on the ground with his iron staff. This circle gathered the power of Hunyuan magic. Though invisible, it was extremely powerful. With Wukong’s current magical strength, even an ordinary Taiyi Golden Immortal would find it hard to enter.
Sure enough, when the spirit approached the circle, it dared not go any further and only cried sadly outside the circle, “Elder, save me!”
Tang Seng snapped, “Wukong, why are you pulling me around?”
Wukong looked at the spirit and sneered, “Master, how could a village girl appear in such a remote place? We’d better be careful.”
Tang Seng thought for a moment before stopping and asking, “Kind lady, where do you live? Why are you here alone? There are many wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards in these mountains. You—”
Bajie said from behind, “Kind lady, it’s hard for you to travel alone. Why not find a companion to walk with? That way, you’ll have someone to look out for you!”
Wukong laughed and said, “If you go east, we’ll go west. How can we be companions?”

The ghost said, “This elder is wrong. My home is in the west. I was kidnapped by villains and taken to the mountains. Those villains fell off a cliff and died. I got lost alone and then met a few elders.” As he spoke, he began to cry, his tears mixing with the rain, evoking pity. “My parents at home don’t know where I am; they must be extremely worried.”

Bajie rubbed his hands anxiously and said, “Master, please take a look… We monks should be compassionate…”

Tang Seng replied, “Very well. In that case, rest for a while. Wait until my young disciple returns with alms, and then we’ll head west together.”

The ghost found a rock to sit on, looking pitiful. From time to time, he would steal glances at Bajie, then show fear, before turning his gaze to Tang Seng and instantly adopting a pleading expression. Wukong found it amusing. The ghost’s acting was truly excellent; if he lived in later times, he would surely be a talented actor.

Tang Seng felt uneasy under the ghost’s gaze, so he closed his eyes and began chanting Amitabha. After a while, Honghai returned on a cloud, holding a bowl filled to the brim with white rice, which he handed to Tang Seng.

Tang Seng took a few bites before saying, “Give some of this to that female donor.”

Honghai glanced at the woman and grew suspicious. Though he couldn’t see her true form, he sensed something was wrong with her. He demanded, “Where are you from? How dare you try to deceive my master here?”

Bajie stepped forward quickly and said, “She’s already pitiful enough. Don’t scare her.”

The ghost naturally refused to eat. Bajie quickly emptied the bowl of rice, which was only enough for him to eat a few bites. Tang Seng said, “Bajie, take care of this female donor. Let’s go.”

Bajie was more than happy to do so. He reached out to pull the woman along, but she recoiled in fear at his rugged appearance. Tang Seng sighed and said, “Wukong, you go instead.”

Wukong laughed and said, “Master, it’s inappropriate for a man and a woman to touch each other. Let Wuhui go instead.”

Wuhui replied, “Alright, I’ll lead this sister on her way!” With that, he grabbed the woman and said, “Let’s go ahead!” Although the woman walked away, she kept looking back, her beautiful eyes fixed on Tang Seng. Helpless, Tang Seng mounted his horse and closed his eyes, hoping not to see her and thus avoid distress.

Wukong flew in the air, staying close to Tang Seng the whole time, lost in thought. He never expected that the White Bone Spirit would be a great ghost from the three realms.

A ghost is a kind of existence similar to a primordial spirit, but ordinary ghosts are formless and intangible. Though they can harm people’s souls, they cannot possess them or enter reincarnation. They can only wander between heaven and earth in this eerie state.

Most souls that become ghosts do so because they were overly attached to worldly desires in life and refused to enter the cycle of reincarnation. Such ghosts can form human shapes using their spiritual power alone, creating a semi-physical body, making it difficult even for Wukong to determine whether they can possess another body. He still remembered Lingbao Daozun saying that this ghost was trapped by him in the three realms. This ghost favors fire and dislikes wood; it takes refuge in soil, suggesting it possesses extraordinary evasion skills. No wonder in “Journey to the West,” the Monkey King could never completely defeat the White Bone Spirit, who always managed to escape. Now it seems that even the White Bone Spirit’s body at the end was merely a vessel for the ghost’s soul, not its true form. After considering this, Wukong realized that not even as a Taiyi Golden Immortal, let alone in his current status as a Hunyuan Golden Immortal, he didn’t know what method could be used to control this ghost. Although this mountain is close to the Wuzhuang Temple, it’s likely that Zhenyuanzi also has no way to deal with this ghost and can only turn a blind eye, pretending not to see it. It’s astonishing that this ghost even desires Tang Seng’s flesh; it’s probably just a pretext—its true aim is to seize Tang Seng’s body, which has been cultivated over ten lifetimes!