Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything-Chapter 547: Three-Year-Old Daoji

Some say it well, the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

This Incense Offering Ceremony was indeed an event that emptied the streets; among the vast crowd, most had come for the three-year-old disciple of Master Puhui.

Everyone was also anticipating what this legendary disciple, said to possess inherent wisdom, would be like.

Yet, to their surprise, the circumstances of his appearance turned out to be like this.

"Just three years old and already drinking alcohol and eating meat? Can such a person truly have a connection with Buddha?" an elder in the crowd muttered under his breath.

It made one wonder if Great Luo Temple was leading people astray. Otherwise, how could there be someone who drank alcohol and ate meat at the age of three?

"Impossible, how could he have a connection with Buddha?"

Of course, relative to others, the novice monks who had failed the Incense Offering Ceremony found it even harder to accept.

The elimination rate was as high as ninety percent, with the majority of novice monks being disqualified.

Yet, they couldn't compare to a three-year-old child who drank alcohol and ate meat?

Of course, this was something the novice monks couldn't accept.

"This is really interesting..."

It's not just others, even Jiang Liu and his companions, upon seeing the three-year-old child that stepped forward, had expressions of surprise and intrigue.

A monk who drank alcohol and ate meat was not strange to Jiang Liu, since he was one himself.

But to drink alcohol and eat meat at such a young age? Wouldn't anyone find that astonishing?

Putting aside what the people next to him were thinking, at that moment, Master Puhui, holding a Great Incense, approached the child.

Though his entrance was marked by drinking alcohol and eating meat, the child clearly understood the significance of the Incense Offering Ceremony, so his young face carried a solemn expression as he knelt before Master Puhui, slightly bowing his head.

The lit Great Incense was lifted, and Master Puhui, without any unnecessary words, pressed the Great Incense directly onto the small head before him.

At that moment, all the murmuring voices dissipated, and everyone's gaze fell on this scene.

No matter the doubts in their hearts, everything had to be spoken by the facts!

The Great Incense touched the tiny head, the incense flame burning without any sign of going out.

Then, the Great Incense was raised, and on the shaven head, a clearly visible scar from the incense could be seen.

"It actually marked him!?"

All the onlookers, seeing the Scar of Precepts appear on the child's head, wore expressions of shock.

The incense scar was proof enough.

To have the incense scar was enough to prove the child indeed had a connection with Buddha!

"This, this can't be, I won't accept it..."

Among the eliminated novice monks nearby, one of them, gazing at the scar on the child's head, spoke in a disgruntled tone.

Over the years, he had diligently chanted the Buddhist scriptures, had abstained from meat and embraced a virtuous life - he had never been disrespectful to Buddha, yet he had not been able to receive the scar.

But a three-year-old child, who even drank alcohol and ate meat, managed to receive it. How was one to emotionally come to terms with such an outcome?

"There's nothing to accept or not accept. Just watch, the Incense Offering Ceremony is just as mystical as this. Fate is the most unfathomable thing..."

Hearing the dissatisfied murmur from the novice monk, an old monk nearby sighed softly and spoke.

It's not just about the incense scar; in this world, there's no such thing as fairness!

Some are born to luxury from birth, while others starve. Is there really any fairness in this world?

Moving on from the appearance of one incense scar, the atmosphere among the onlookers became intense, but at that time, Master Puhui's Great Incense continued its descent.

The second scar quickly manifested on the child's head.

Everyone fell silent, watching intently.

Marking with an incense scar meant having a connection with Buddha and becoming a true monk.

However, the number of incense scars determined the depth of that connection!

The second, the third, the fourth, the fifth...

One scar after another appeared in succession, and with the emergence of these scars, the surrounding area fell into a deathly silence, everyone looked on as if turned to stone.

Mingji Nation's Great Luo Temple's abbot, Master Puhui, himself only had six Scars of Precepts on his head.

Soon enough, six such scars had appeared on the child's head.

Taking a deep breath to calm his own excited emotions, Master Puhui then continued to press the Great Incense towards the child's head.

The seventh made its appearance!

"This child seems to have no ordinary status!" Seeing the seventh scar materialize, Jiang Liu narrowed his eyes slightly.

But that wasn't the end, for the Great Incense in Master Puhui's hand did not extinguish, and then, it descended again!

The eighth scar also appeared!

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

"It can't be, another person with nine incense scars has appeared!?" Looking at the eight incense scars on the child's head, Jiang Liu felt a sense of oddity in his heart.

At this point, it was more than just a simple spiritual connection with Buddhism; it had to be a relationship entangled in countless ways with the Western Spirit Mountain.

"Nine... nine incense scars..."

A moment later, an exclamation pulled Jiang Liu's thoughts back.

As expected, on the bald head of the three-year-old child, there were indeed nine incense scars, leaving onlookers in awe.

The Great Incense continued to fall; this time, however, the burning Great Incense finally extinguished, signifying that this three-year-old child had a spiritual connection with nine Scar of Precepts.

"Amitabha, Amitabha..."

Master Puhui, holding the extinguished Great Incense in his hands, trembled with excitement as it fell to the ground.

Nine incense scars!?

For Mingji Nation, this was an unprecedented and momentous occasion!

"Indeed, indeed, he is worthy of being my disciple. Protected by Buddhist Light since infancy, he truly stands out from the ordinary..." Master Puhui, with a face flushed with excitement, spoke with a quivering mouth.

"Nine incense scars!? Could he be an emissary of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas or an Arhat descended to the mortal world!?" As he saw this, Jiang Liu inwardly mused.

Could it be mere coincidence that in such an unremarkable place, a disciple with nine incense scars has appeared?

Or is it that someone had arranged this from behind the scenes?

"My disciple, you have profound spiritual connections, and now, I will bestow upon you the Dharma name..."

"Daoji!"

Master Puhui spoke, intending to give an appropriate Dharma name to the child before him, but before he could finish, the child, with his head down, spoke up on his own.

"Disciple, what did you say?" Master Puhui looked stunned, surprised by his disciple's interjection, and asked.

"I said, my Dharma name shall be Daoji!" The child looked up and spoke.

"Daoji!? Why do you want this name?" After a moment of Silence, Puhui asked, looking at his disciple.

"I don't know!"

Upon hearing this, the child shook his head slightly, his brows knit in thought, but seemingly unable to recall anything, he said, "I just feel that this name is very familiar, and I wanted it to be my Dharma name!"

"Daoji, huh? There's nothing wrong with this name!" After pondering briefly, Puhui looked at his disciple's determined expression and nodded, saying, "From now on, your Dharma name will be Daoji."

"Thank you, Master!" Upon hearing Master Puhui's words, officially bestowing the name Daoji upon him, the three-year-old child bowed slightly and expressed his thanks.

"Nine incense scars, my goodness, to have achieved nine incense scars..."

As the exchange between Master Puhui and his disciple Daoji concluded, solidifying his Dharma name, many of the onlookers burst into exclamations.

For Mingji Nation, Master Puhui of the Great Luo Temple, with six Scar of Precepts on his head, was already the most revered monk with the highest number of incense scars in the entire nation.

No one expected that someone with nine incense scars would appear today.

Even more astonishing was the fact that this individual was a mere three-year-old child!

"Humph, another bald-headed monk from Spirit Mountain, is it?" Sun Wukong muttered to himself, seeing the little monk with exactly nine Scar of Precepts on his head.

"Nine incense scars, huh? This status is not that of a minor character, like a Biqiu or Azure Crown, in Spirit Mountain!" Zhu Bajie also nodded in agreement.

"Master, you... your complexion doesn't seem quite right..."

While Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie's attention was on the three-year-old Daoji, Sha Wujing was the one who noticed that something was off about Jiang Liu's complexion and spoke up.

Sha Wujing's comment made both Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong also snap back to reality, turning their gazes upon Jiang Liu.

Indeed, their master's complexion certainly seemed unusual.

"Master, what's the matter with you?" Sun Wukong looked puzzled and asked.

However, Jiang Liu did not respond to Sun Wukong's inquiry, seemingly ignoring it as his gaze remained fixed on the young Daoji.

"What did this child say? He wants the Dharma name Daoji?"

"Three years old!? It's been three years since I started the Journey to the West!"

"Could he really be the same Daoji from before!?"

Before knowing the Dharma name, Jiang Liu had not thought much of it and had viewed himself as a mere spectator.

But now, knowing the child's Dharma name and piecing together the clues, it was almost certain—this child before him was indeed the Daoji of the past.

The Journey to the West had been three years, and so was the age of the child!

Daoji had nine incense scars on his head, and so did this child!

Moreover, this child was found and had been sleeping inside a lotus, not necessarily born after a full nine-month pregnancy!

"Just now, I was wondering who could have taught this child such behavior, to drink alcohol and eat meat..."

"If he truly is Daoji and retains some Inherent Wisdom from his past life, would the responsibility for shaping him this way fall entirely upon me?"

Upon this thought, Jiang Liu's expression became exceptionally strange.