Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 254 - 248: The Peacock is the Buddha’s Mother, The Phoenix is My Buddha’s【Seeking Subscription and Monthly Pass】_1

Chapter 254: Chapter 248: The Peacock is the Buddha’s Mother, The Phoenix is My Buddha’s【Seeking Subscription and Monthly Pass】_1

The phoenix was born, and the world was astounded. Deities revolved, while myriad Buddhas came to pay homage. Heavenly deities hurriedly perked up, while the Buddhas of Lingjiu Mountain chanted melodiously. However, what the deities and Buddhas did not expect was that they were unable to find the birthplace of the phoenix. They only knew that the bright light seemed to originate from Aparagodaniya.

Yet Aparagodaniya is so vast, how could anyone know the exact location?

Still, they all emerged from their retreats, planning to search for traces of the phoenix.

During Dragon Han’s First Calamity, the dragon, phoenix, and Qilin were supremely powerful beings.

Even now, they remained synonymous with strength.

Only the Qilin lay hidden, few in number, while the phoenix lay dormant, scarcely seen.

Only the Dragon Clan was still active on the stage of the Three Realms, though there were hardly any pure True Dragons left.

Those that existed were merely mediocre mixed-blood dragons.

If nurtured, The Phoenix Clan could possess the ability to destroy the heavens and shatter the earth.

Moreover, with their powerful innate talents, whether as mountain-guarding beasts or mounts, or even for Cultivation, they were the top choice.

Even Tathagata could not help but claim his mother was the Peacock Buddha Mother, who descended from a phoenix, making the phoenix his maternal grandmother.

Hence, all subsequent phoenixes were his relatives.

This provided a perfect excuse for the followers of Buddhism to descend from the mountain and search for traces of the phoenix.

「In the midst of the Flowing Sand River.」

Sha Chen had not imagined that the birth of a phoenix could cause such a stir. Had he known, he might as well have pan-fried and eaten it. He preferred to be low-key, wishing for simplicity. The high-profile emergence of the phoenix was not to his liking. Nevertheless, he was unaware of it.

At the moment, observing the three little fledgling phoenixes in the nest, Sha Chen furrowed his brows.

He complained, "All wrinkled, dead ugly."

In fact, they weren’t ugly, but they didn’t have the beauty of a phoenix as Sha Chen had imagined. After all, they were newborn. Besides, they hadn’t even grown their full plumage, and as the saying goes, a featherless phoenix is inferior to a chicken. Chickens aren’t even appealing to look at, let alone a featherless phoenix.

Jade Rabbit, however, said, "They look very pretty to me, aww, General, these are our children! Look, red, white, green, how beautiful."

She brought lots of food and drink, placed them in the nest, and then cupped her chin with both hands, watching the three phoenixes struggle to hatch from their eggs.

"They are really too beautiful, our children, General, these truly are our children. Do you think, once they grow up, they will be as lovely and charming as I am?"

Sha Chen said, "How do you know they’re girls?"

He was about to pry open the phoenix’s claws to see what was different underneath when Jade Rabbit held down his hand.

"General, if you want to check, check mine; they haven’t grown up yet."

Sha Chen’s face twitched with embarrassment.

Jade Rabbit then said, "General, they are our children, and as their father, you should give them names."

Sha Chen took a deep breath. He really didn’t want to name them. As for Jade Rabbit’s words, he had become immune.

CRACK! CRACK!

The eggshells completely shattered, and the three phoenix cubs hatched. They chirruped and grew in size as they faced the wind, stopping only when they were as big as millstones.

However, they still couldn’t fly and wandered about.

Seeing Sha Chen and Jade Rabbit, their eyes and bodies shone with excitement.

White, green, red—three colors.

The three fledgling phoenixes had a formidable presence, with the Cultivation of Golden Immortals, yet behaved like children.

Upon seeing Sha Chen and Jade Rabbit, they spoke human words.

"Daddy, Mommy!"

He didn’t want to respond. First, the titles were disgusting, and second, he and Jade Rabbit were not a couple.

But Jade Rabbit responded eagerly, her heart melting with Sweetness. "Aw!"

She then urged Sha Chen again to name them.

Overtaken by her insistence, Sha Chen said, "Well, well, since my surname is Sha, and they were hatched by me, they can take my surname. And since their beaks all look like melon seeds, let’s call them Sha Gua, Sha Zi, and Sha Bi."

Jade Rabbit fell silent for a moment, then said, "General, could you be serious for once?"

Sha Chen coughed and pondered seriously. Finally, he slapped his forehead and said, "Let’s just call them by their colors: the white one Xiaobai, the green one Xiaoqing, and the red one let’s just call Fa Hai."

As Jade Rabbit listened to the first part, she nodded in approval, but when she heard the last part, she grimaced as if she had eaten something distasteful.

With a wronged pout, she said, "General, can you please stop making a fuss? What kind of a name is Fa Hai? It’s like an old man’s name."

Sha Chen coughed and responded, "No more fuss. Xiaobai, Xiaoqing, and Xiaohong will be their milk names. When they grow up, we will give them formal names."

Jade Rabbit finally nodded in satisfaction. Although the names were still quite common, they were simple, a return to simplicity and truth.

What’s more, these are only milk names. When they grow up, I can give them new formal names, she thought. These are my children with Sha Chen! Jade Rabbit couldn’t help but giggle to herself, feeling wonderfully Sweet and content.

Sha Chen, however, was constantly sighing. If only these phoenix eggs were fried and eaten, how nourishing they would be! Such a pity, he lamented. Now that they’ve been born and gained spiritual wisdom, killing and eating them would seem very strange.

Seeing Sha Chen shake his head and sigh, Jade Rabbit’s heart clenched, and tears dripped down as she said, "General, don’t you like them? They are your children, aren’t they? Even if there is no blood relation, what does that matter?"

"As long as they love me and you, that’s enough, General. You can’t abandon the four of us just because there’s no blood relation. We haven’t done anything to wrong you, and besides, we all truly love you."

Sha Chen’s cheek twitched. He felt that Jade Rabbit’s words didn’t seem quite right. But what’s done was done.

Now that the phoenixes have been born, and I can’t eat them, I’ll just have to raise them to be my enforcers, Sha Chen resolved. I certainly won’t raise idlers here.

The three phoenixes had incredibly strong auras. They were born as Golden Immortals, and after just half a month of instruction, they already fully understood human speech. Furthermore, in that half a month, their intelligence became equivalent to that of seven- or eight-year-old children, making them extremely clever.

During this time, Jade Rabbit carefully taught them, imparting some basic knowledge to them as if they were little girls.

In fact, she herself was still a blank slate, even showing some childish femininity, and repeatedly instilling in the three phoenix sisters the idea that she was their mother and Sha Chen was their father.

To prevent any other woman from bewitching them in her absence, Jade Rabbit emphasized time and again that all other women were bad, and even if they managed to gain their father’s affection, they could only be concubines.

After all, I am the legitimate wife, she thought.

Every time Sha Chen heard her instructing them, he would secretly pull the three phoenix sisters aside and warn them not to listen to Jade Rabbit’s nonsense. However, they had already been brainwashed. Although they still obeyed Sha Chen obediently, they firmly accepted Jade Rabbit’s words.

Three months later, the three phoenix sisters transformed into the shapes of seven- or eight-year-old girls: one in white, one in green, and one in pink.

Xiaobai wore her elegant black hair partially tied up with a white ribbon to prevent it from spilling over.

Xiaoqing also tied up her hair, but in a style known as "skyward crown." When it came to Xiaohong, she had her hair done up in two buns bound with a red ribbon, resembling Nezha’s style.

At this time, they had the normal intelligence of adults but the emotional intelligence or mentality of seven- or eight-year-old girls.

Like blank slates, they were very unfettered.

This was quite normal because they hadn’t been exposed to the outside world, only Jade Rabbit’s teachings.

Jade Rabbit treated them as little girls, and even if the three phoenix sisters could take on the appearance of adults, she wouldn’t be happy. She wanted them to remain like children for now.

As if they were little girls who would never grow up.

And during instruction, she filled their heads with children’s knowledge, ensuring that no matter how old they got, their mentality would likely remain childlike.

When Sha Chen saw this, he didn’t intervene for the time being. Once the three phoenix sisters reach adulthood and are of adult age, I will guide and teach them to have the mentality appropriate for their age, he decided. For now, I’ll let them enjoy their childhood.

The phoenix sisters had incredible talent for Cultivation. Born as Golden Immortals, Jade Rabbit taught them about life, while Sha Chen instructed them in Cultivation.

They didn’t need Elixirs for their Cultivation. Instead, they perched on the phoenix trees, absorbing the essence of various Elixirs from the immortal fields, which was enough to strengthen them.

Initially, their presence caused some loss of potency in the Elixirs, but after the sisters completed their Cultivation cycle, they started exhaling Qi, which fed back into the Elixirs.

This actually enriched the potency of the Elixirs, promoting their growth, increasing their effects, and shortening their maturation time.

Upon seeing this, Sha Chen was overjoyed.

I hadn’t expected the three phoenix sisters to have such miraculous benefits! Sha Chen marveled. Each of them is adept at nurturing Elixirs.

Sha Chen thus passed on Shen Nong’s Elixir Manual to them, teaching them how to identify various Elixirs and guide them in cultivating and then feeding back into the Elixirs after their practices.

It must be said, Sha Chen’s decision was very correct.

The sisters really had a natural sensitivity and keen sense of smell for Elixirs. With guidance, they exhaled even more often, and the Elixirs fared even better.

Some First-class Elixirs might even reproduce one or two additional plants, Sha Chen thought. Perhaps in a hundred years, these thousands of First-class Elixirs could double or even triple in number, or possibly more.

Thinking of this prospect filled Sha Chen with excitement. He was also filled with anticipation. His initial impatience with the three sisters vanished, replaced by great care and protectiveness.

The phrase he emphasized the most was, "You are all my children, my most cherished children. Remember to be filial to your father."

The sisters would reply, "We will be filial to mother as well."

Sha Chen added, "That’s not necessary."

Later, Sha Chen also trained the sisters to follow in the path of Shen Nong, tasting all types of herbs to gain insight and a better understanding of the essence and uses of the Elixirs, thus becoming better at nurturing them.

To ensure a greater number of Elixirs in the future, Sha Chen decided to sacrifice some of the Elixirs from the Post-Heaven Earth to accelerate the sisters’ education in Elixir knowledge.

One day, the eldest sister Xiaobai came to find Sha Chen and said, "Daddy, you asked us to learn from Shen Nong by tasting various herbs. Later on, do you think Shen Nong found meat tastier?"