Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 236: The New Riche

Zhen Yuanzi was overjoyed upon hearing this. Establishing such a relationship would be highly beneficial to him. Indeed, the Three Pure Ones were upright and honest, not seeking anything from him in return—this deal was truly worthwhile. With his own abilities, it would be effortless to cause trouble for those people. So he readily agreed, “Since the elder says so, I’ll make things difficult for them everywhere—at least for seven days!”
The old Taoist sighed in relief, “With a great immortal’s words, the Taoist sect has hope!” Then he took out a jade piece from his sleeve, tossed it lightly, and it floated in front of Zhen Yuanzi. “If you’re in danger, just break this jade, and I’ll come immediately.”
Zhen Yuanzi treated it as a precious treasure and kept it close to him.
The old Taoist added solemnly, “Don’t tell Liu Er about today’s matter—remember that well.” Zhen Yuanzi naturally assented repeatedly. After seeing the old Taoist off, Zhen Yuanzi was extremely pleased. This was like having fortune come to him while staying at home. Now that he had the talisman from the Supreme Lord Laozi, who would dare to steal the ginseng fruits? With this settled, he could simply stay at home in peace.
Zhen Yuanzi then gathered the monks in the temple and made all the arrangements. His previous rudeness and simple meals had been intentional. He thought, “Most of you became monks halfway through your lives. Since you’ve provoked the Three Pure Ones, giving you some punishment is a way to show respect to them. Anyway, once you’re in this temple, do you think you can just fly away?”
Hearing Wukong laughing heartily, seemingly looking down on him, Zhen Yuanzi grew angry. He had already intended to find an excuse, so he snapped, “You monkey, what’s there to laugh about?”
Wukong replied, “Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi, you’re so imposing! In my opinion, the words ‘heaven and earth’ should be changed to better reflect your true status.”
Zhen Yuanzi asked, “What should they be changed to?”
Wukong said, “Of course, to ‘Zhen Yuanzi’! You’re so powerful that you only need to worship yourself—nothing can compare to you, Great Zhen Yuan!”
Zhen Yuanzi could easily tell Wukong was mocking him, but it suited his plans. With a cold smile, he said, “Sun Wukong, you dare kill heavenly generals, defy heavenly soldiers, and cause chaos in the heavenly palace. You think you’re capable, but you’re still far from being able to act recklessly against me.”
Wukong laughed, “Whether it’s Buddhism or Taoism, they’re all about living beyond worldly concerns. Why get angry? I’m now a disciple of Buddhism and no longer engage in fighting.”
Seeing Wukong pretending to be weak, Zhen Yuanzi snorted and stopped talking.
Wukong, sensing Zhen Yuanzi’s hostile attitude, realized this wasn’t a hospitable reception—it was clearly meant to make him uncomfortable. He resolved in his heart that since Zhen Yuanzi was so rude, perhaps he should use his magic to steal a few ginseng fruits.

At that moment, Bajie stepped in to defuse the situation, saying, “Senior brother, the Great Immortal Zhenyuan is a sage beyond the mundane world; how could he care about such trivial reputations?”
Tang Seng lowered his eyes, lost in thought. Hearing Bajie praise him, Zhenyuan retracted his aggressive stance. Bajie continued, “Back in the Heavenly Palace, I had also heard of the name of Wuzhuang Temple. It’s truly famous—everyone knows of it!” He turned to Wukong and asked, “Senior brother, I’m sure you’ve heard of it too.”
Wukong shook his head and said, “I haven’t heard of it.” He was deliberately trying to annoy the arrogant Zhenyuan, to make him impatient and see what he would do next. Sure enough, Zhenyuan glared at Wukong, cursing inwardly that this monkey was truly infuriating.
Bajie exclaimed, “Senior brother, you’re really ignorant! There’s a treasure in Wuzhuang Temple that’s considered a rare gem of heaven and earth. How can you not know about it?”
Wukong replied nonchalantly, “Oh, are you talking about the Ginseng Fruit? I’ve heard of it, but it’s just ordinary. Calling it a rare gem of heaven and earth is an overstatement.” Zhenyuan merely sneered in silence; he saw through Wukong’s provocation and wasn’t fooled at all.
Bajie grinned widely and said, “Hey, senior brother, eating just one of these fruits can extend one’s life by 47,000 years. Isn’t that amazing?”
Wukong pretended to be surprised and said, “Nonsense! It’s only 470 years. How could it be that long?” As soon as he said this, several disciples from Wuzhuang Temple covered their mouths and laughed.
Bajie insisted, “It’s absolutely true—47,000 years!”
Wukong said, “Bajie, don’t believe such rumors. Who has ever lived for 47,000 years? Show me one if you can. Even if this fruit really has such benefits, a single cut would destroy it completely. That’s why I say it’s useless—plain and simple.”
Bajie argued, “The harm from weapons is something separate to consider.”
Wukong replied, “No matter how good something is, one must have the ability to keep it. In my opinion, the Queen Mother of the West’s Peach Fruits and Lord Laozi’s Immortal Elixirs are the real treasures.”
Hearing the two bicker, Zhenyuan assumed they were in cahoots. But when Wukong mentioned the Peach Fruits and the Immortal Elixirs, he couldn’t help but compare them and asked, “In your view, what are the advantages of these two treasures?”

Wukong said, “The Queen Mother’s peaches and the Lord Laozi’s elixirs are well-known to all, yet no one dares even think of taking them—this is precisely the advantage. Just imagine, if one had to live in constant fear, with others always coveting and trying to steal them, how could the owner live in peace? Such treasures are better off not existing at all!” Wukong had no idea about the man in the conical hat stealing six ginseng fruits; what he meant was the incident last time when the Green Lion, White Elephant, and others tried to steal them. Unbeknownst to him, these words struck Zhenyuanzi deeply. Since the establishment of his Wuzhuang Temple, his fruit trees had only been lost twice. The first time was when Buddha took all the fruits; he could only watch helplessly. He always believed those fruits were given to him by Buddha, so though he felt pain, he accepted it. But just when he thought he had enough strength to protect himself, that mysterious man in the conical hat stole six fruits, causing him even greater pain than losing the entire tree of fruits the first time. Hearing Wukong’s words, Zhenyuanzi sneered, “There are indeed insolent people, but I don’t care about such scoundrels.” Then Zhu Bajie said, “That’s right! Great Immortal Zhenyuan is so renowned that he wouldn’t care about such lowly villains. Since we’re here by chance at Wuzhuang Temple today, could you let us see what those ginseng fruits actually look like?” Wukong couldn’t help but laugh inside—this fool really couldn’t tell when not to speak. The ginseng fruits were Zhenyuanzi’s most precious possession; let’s see how he would react. Zhenyuanzi, seemingly unbothered, said with a sense of pride, “It doesn’t hurt to take a look. To be honest, few people in the world have seen the true appearance of my ginseng fruit tree. Just smelling its fragrance can extend one’s life by three to five hundred years.” The more Wukong watched Zhenyuanzi, the funnier he found him. After all, he had attained immortality after tens of thousands of years, yet he still acted like a nouveau riche. What Wukong didn’t know was that Zhenyuanzi had never had a master to guide him. He relied solely on his ginseng fruit tree for his great fortune. Before attaining immortality, he couldn’t even read properly, let alone understand the principles of self-cultivation. Tang Seng said, “If you want to go, go ahead. I’m a bit tired.” Zhu Bajie replied, “Master, this is a rare sight. If we miss today, we might never get another chance like this.” Tang Seng waved his hand silently and closed his eyes to chant scriptures. Of course, Wukong wanted to take a look. He glanced at Wuhui, who said, “Elder brother, you go ahead. I’ll stay here with the master.” So Zhenyuanzi led Wukong and Zhu Bajie to the ginseng fruit garden.

Upon entering the garden, Wukong couldn’t help but wonder why such a precious thing had no protective formations or barriers at all. Was it really only guarded by Zhenyuanzi alone? In fact, Zhenyuanzi had wanted to set up a grand formation, but after studying many formation books, he still couldn’t figure it out, and the resulting formations were rather weak. So he simply removed them all, making it seem more grand in contrast.

Wukong saw that the ginseng fruit tree was indeed extraordinary—its green branches were lush, its leaves dark and dense, resembling those of a banana plant, and it towered over a thousand feet high. Yet on such a huge tree, the fruits were scarce and hard to find. Counting carefully, there were twenty-one? How could there be so few?

Bajie was delighted, smelling the enticing fragrance, and couldn’t help saying, “If only we could taste these fruits, it wouldn’t be a waste to be alive.” Zhenyuanzi smiled but didn’t reply.

A disciple nearby said, “Back in the day, the Three Stars of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity came here to see the fruits but just took a glance and left, not daring to have such presumptuous thoughts.”

Hearing this, Wukong realized that everyone at Wuzhuang Temple, influenced by Zhenyuanzi, had developed an arrogant attitude. The Stars of Fortune and Prosperity themselves had never seen such a thing, let alone the Emperor of Eternal Life in the South, whose cultivation level far surpassed Zhenyuanzi’s.

The Emperor of Eternal Life in the South specialized in the art of prolonging life, so how could he not come to see such a miraculous fruit as the ginseng fruit? Those three probably thought they could rely on the prestige of the Three Stars, and Zhenyuanzi would hand over the fruits willingly. But Zhenyuanzi lacked discernment and was extremely stingy. The Three Stars, relying on their status, naturally didn’t want to force things.

In “Journey to the West,” Zhenyuanzi still didn’t spare these three fruits.

When Bajie heard the disciple mention the Emperor of Eternal Life, he said, “That old fellow is the least respected. It’s right not to give him any.” Seeing Zhenyuanzi’s haughty expression, Bajie realized he had no chance of getting those ginseng fruits. Reluctantly, he said, “Senior brother, we’ve seen enough. Let’s leave after satisfying our eyes.”

Wukong praised, “Indeed a fine tree. If there were a thousand or eight hundred of them, tsk tsk…”

Zhenyuanzi couldn’t help but say, “That’s easy for you to say. If there were even a second ginseng fruit tree in the whole world, hehe…” The implication was clear.

Wukong asked, “Where did you get this tree?”

Zhenyuanzi was taken aback. He had had the ginseng fruit tree for a long time, but it was the first time someone asked about its origin. So he made things up on the spot: “Back when Pangu created the world, there was only one tangible thing in the chaos—its seed became the tree. This tree lay buried deep at the bottom of the Nine Abysses for hundreds of thousands of years. After attaining enlightenment, I traveled throughout the four great continents. One day, I arrived at the Nine Abysses, and this seed met a worthy master and emerged on its own. I then found this blessed land and planted it here. As the saying goes, a fine bird chooses its tree to perch on—”

“Hahaha…” Wukong burst into laughter, interrupting Zhenyuanzi’s words. It wasn’t intentional—he simply couldn’t hold back. This Zhenyuanzi was truly fearless out of ignorance; the lifespan of the universe was only 129,600 years, so there was no such thing as hundreds of thousands of years. In the chaos, aside from Pangu and the Kunpeng, there were also the Divine Ape of Creation and the Furnace of Creation—but he had never heard of any ginseng fruit seeds. The idea of meeting a wise ruler was utterly absurd!
Zhenyuanzi asked, “Why are you laughing again?”
Wukong bowed and said, “I’m in awe!” Then he turned and pulled Bajie away from the garden.
Upon arriving at the main hall, Wukong saw Tang Seng still sitting quietly, reciting scriptures, while Honghai’er sat idly on the chair. He said, “Master, there’s nothing worth staying for here at Wuzhuang Temple. It’s still early; let’s head west instead.”
Although Tang Seng didn’t say anything, he too was dissatisfied with this place. He stood up and said, “Alright, let’s pack our things and leave.”
Zhenyuanzi had arrived at the hall somehow and stood outside, calling out loudly, “Elder of the Great Tang, it’s rare to meet you here. Why leave so soon? Why not stay a few more days?”