txolops Chapter 109 Baoxiang Kingdom: Demons Steal the Golden Elixir
Chapter 109 Baoxiang Kingdom: Demons Steal the Golden Elixir
Li Fa rescued the Yellow-Robed Monster, dragged him along, and flew hundreds of miles in one breath, finally landing on a desolate mountain.
The yellow-robed monster, still shaken, immediately bowed and said, "Thank you so much for saving my life, fellow Daoist! May I ask what past relationship we have that you would deign to help me?"
But then Li Fa wiped his face, revealing a completely different appearance. He looked like this:
He wore a blue crown, his face was as blue as indigo; his eyebrows were like iron lines, his eyes were like cold pools; three strands of black beard hung down to his waist.
He wore chainmail, a blue cloak over his back, a black jade belt around his waist, and black cloud boots on his feet.
Upon seeing this, the Yellow-Robed Monster was terrified and cried out, "Brother, why have you come down to the mortal realm too?!"
It turned out that Li Fa had used the transformation technique to become the Horned Wood Dragon. The Yellow Robe Monster recognized him as the head of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, and was therefore greatly surprised.
Do you know how Li Fa changed?
It turns out that after his transformation and upgrade, he could perform transformation techniques without seeing the true appearance of people, which was truly impressive.
Furthermore, the Yellow-Robed Monster was grateful to him for saving him, so he couldn't recognize that he was an imposter.
Li Fa sighed and said, "Brother Kui Mulang, your deeds have been exposed!"
The yellow-robed monster's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "What happened?"
Li Fa said, "Are you still pretending to be confused? The Jade Emperor ordered the four great celestial masters, Zhang, Ge, Xu, and Qiu, to take their roll call. Since you were not among them, he knows you have descended to the mortal realm as a demon."
The yellow-robed monster's expression changed drastically, and he said, "This... what should we do?"
Li Fa said, "I came to rescue you out of consideration for our brotherhood. To tell you the truth, the Heavenly Court has already dispatched heavenly soldiers and generals, and they will bring you to justice soon. Do you know the crime of failing to report for duty?"
The yellow-robed monster said, "I have been in the mortal realm for a long time and cannot remember the heavenly laws. Please explain, brother."
Li Fa said: "The first punishment is caning, the second is demotion, the third is caning, and the fourth is stripping him of his divine office and banishing him to the mortal realm."
Furthermore, you have secretly fled to the mortal realm and committed numerous evil deeds. For both crimes combined, according to the law, you should be beheaded and your head displayed to the public. You will inevitably have to go to the Demon-Slaying Platform to suffer the torment of being hacked and chopped, your soul scattered and never to be reincarnated!
Upon hearing this, the Yellow-Robed Monster turned ashen-faced, knelt down with a thud, and hugged Li Fa's leg, saying, "Since you've come down, Brother, you must have a way to teach me. Please, Brother, save me!"
Li Fa helped him up and said, "If I couldn't save you, I wouldn't have risked coming down to the mortal realm. But this trouble has gone too far, and I'm powerless to help you. I can only point you in the right direction."
Li Fa said, "Have you forgotten about Sun Wukong?"
The Yellow-Robed Monster was taken aback: "That Monkey King? Why bring him up?"
Li Fa said, "Back then, he proclaimed himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace, stole peaches of immortality, stole imperial wine, and stole elixirs of immortality. What great crimes did he commit?"
The Jade Emperor captured him and subjected him to all sorts of tortures, from chopping and hacking to lightning and fire, yet he remained completely unharmed. Why? Because he had consumed Laozi's elixir and, in his Eight Trigrams Furnace, forged an indestructible body!
The yellow-robed monster's eyes lit up, then dimmed again. He said, "Brother, you mean... but what about Laozi's Eight Trigrams Furnace... if we go in like this, won't we really be refined to death?!"
Li Fa said, "Brother, you're confused! When did I ever ask you to go to the Eight Trigrams Furnace? We're going to the Tushita Palace! Laozi is skilled at refining elixirs. Not to mention six- or seven-turn golden elixirs, he can make several gourds of nine-turn golden elixirs."
When the time comes, we'll enter the palace, go to the alchemy room, steal a few gourds, eat them, and even if we can't become indestructible, we can at least be reborn.
By then, even the Execution Platform will be powerless against them. What can the Heavenly Court do, even if they send pursuers?
Upon hearing this, the Yellow-Robed Monster's heart pounded.
He was originally a star spirit descended to earth, so naturally he knew the wonders of Laozi's elixir. If he could obtain this opportunity, how could he not escape his punishment?
But then I thought about it again and felt that something was not right.
Something just doesn't feel right, but I can't quite put my finger on it right now.
So he said, "Brother, your plan is brilliant, but... but I've never been to the Tushita Palace before, and I'm unfamiliar with the place. What if..."
Li Fa waved his hand and said, "It's alright. I have my own ways. You wait here for a moment while I change my appearance and take you inside."
Having said that, he turned around, and in a flash, transformed back into the appearance of a child. And so he was:
Her hair was styled in two buns, and she wore a black silk robe; her face was as white as powder, and her lips as red as cinnabar; her eyebrows were clear and her eyes were bright, her teeth were white and her lips were red. She truly had the air of an immortal.
Upon seeing this, the yellow-robed monster was greatly surprised and asked, "Brother, what is this...?"
Li Fa said, "Brother, you may not know this, but I am actually the Golden Horned Boy under Laozi. He was borrowed by the Bodhisattva of the South Sea a few days ago, so I transformed into his appearance and was able to trick the Tushita Palace."
The man in the yellow robe said, "Brother, your plan is brilliant! But when have you ever seen this Golden Horn?"
Li Fa said, "When you were away, the Jade Emperor had previously issued an order, sending me to deliver a message to Laozi, which is why I had a brief encounter with this Golden Horned Boy."
Upon hearing this, the Yellow-Robed Monster nodded and said, "Brother, your considerations are thorough. What is your plan, younger brother?"
Li Fa said, "Brother, transform into a small insect and hide it in my sleeve. I will take you into the Tushita Palace, and when the opportunity arises, you can go and find the elixir yourself."
The yellow-robed monster nodded in agreement, then transformed into a moth and flew into Li Fa's sleeve.
Li Fa leaped into the clouds and headed straight for the Tushita Palace outside the Thirty-Three Heavens.
Before long, they arrived outside the palace gates.
There were two boys guarding the palace gate.
Seeing Li Fa approach, he smiled and said, "Senior Brother Golden Horn, weren't you borrowed by the Bodhisattva of the South Sea? Why are you back?"
Li Fa said, "Please forgive my rudeness, my two junior brothers. I left in a bit of a hurry and forgot something, so I've come back to retrieve it. By the way, is Master in the palace?"
The two boys said, "Master went to preach to Lord Yuanshi and hasn't returned yet."
Li Fa was overjoyed, thinking to himself, "Heaven is truly helping me!"
He nodded and led the yellow-robed monster swaggering into the Tushita Palace.
There were dozens of alchemists in the palace. When they saw him enter, they assumed that it was Senior Brother Golden Horn returning and they all bowed to him.
Li Fa nodded to each of them and headed straight for the alchemy room in the backyard.
Once inside the alchemy room, Li Fa closed the door and whispered, "Brother, this is where Laozi refines elixirs. Go and find the elixirs yourself, I'll keep watch outside."
Kui Mulang flew out from his sleeve, revealing his true form. Looking around, he saw cabinets covering the walls, layer upon layer, containing countless elixirs.
He was overjoyed, but remained outwardly calm, simply smiling and saying, "Thank you for your guidance, brother. However, I am new here and do not know what level of Golden Elixir these gourds contain. Do you recognize them, brother?"
Li Fa said, "This... I don't quite know either. You can open it and see for yourself."
Kui Mulang nodded, casually opened a gourd, poured out a few golden pills, and smelled wonderful.
He didn't rush to swallow it, but instead picked up a pill and played with it in his hand, saying, "Brother, I've been in the mortal realm for many years and haven't returned to the Heavenly Court for a long time. May I ask, brother, is the Twenty-Eight Mansions still on duty every three days and every five days?"
Upon hearing this, Li Fa felt a chill run down his spine, but calmly replied, "Naturally, it will remain the same as before."
The Yellow-Robed Monster continued, "Then I suddenly remembered that back then, if someone missed their shift for the first time, they would be fined; if they missed it again, they would be caned; if they missed it a third time, they would be demoted; and only if they missed it a fourth time or were a repeat offender would they be dismissed and investigated."
"Only those guilty of heinous crimes are banished to the mortal realm. Why did you just say you wanted to sentence someone to beheading? I'm foolish; could it be that the heavenly rules have changed since I was down there for thirteen days?"