txolops Chapter 145 Wuji Kingdom: The Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell
Chapter 145 Wuji Kingdom: The Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell
Li Fa rode his tiger straight up to the Thirty-Three Heavens and arrived at the Tushita Palace.
One of the gatekeepers recognized him and said with a smile, "It's Daoist Plasma! The Dao Ancestor is in the alchemy room. You may go there yourself."
Li Fa straightened his clothes and entered, only to see Laozi sitting upright on a futon, calming his mind and regulating his breathing.
He stepped forward, bowed, and said, "This disciple pays respects to the Dao Ancestor."
Lao Jun opened his eyes and said calmly, "You've come. What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?"
Li Fa laughed and said, "Dao Ancestor, I have come here to ask you to bestow upon me a Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill to save a person who died unjustly."
Laozi asked, "Do you intend to save the King of Wuji Kingdom?"
Li Fa said, "That's right. The king was killed and his kingdom was seized by the Green Lion Demon. I cannot bear to see the kingdom change hands and the wronged soul unable to be reborn. I beg the Dao Ancestor for mercy to grant him a pill to save his life."
Lao Jun said, "You do have some courage. Since you have a compassionate heart, I will lend you a hand."
Having said that, he took out a purple-gold gourd from his sleeve, poured out a pill, and handed it to Li Fa.
It was the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill.
Laozi instructed, "This pill is the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill."
Li Fa accepted the elixir, bowed in gratitude, and said, "This disciple will humbly follow the teachings of the Dao Ancestor."
He then bid farewell to Laozi, mounted a tiger, and returned directly to Baolin Temple.
Meanwhile, Tang Sanzang and his disciples were anxiously waiting when they suddenly heard a tiger's roar. Li Fa had landed in the courtyard. Everyone rushed forward to greet him.
Tang Sanzang clasped his hands together and said, "Daoist Master, you've finally returned! I wonder if you've obtained the elixir of immortality?"
Li Fa smiled and said, "I have successfully completed my mission."
Having said that, he went to the king's corpse, stuffed the Nine-Turn Resurrection Pill into its mouth, took out the Overturned Water Bowl, released the king's ghost contained inside, chanted the incantation, and pushed it onto the corpse.
The corpse suddenly shuddered, its face turning red.
Before long, the king opened his eyes, looked around blankly, and saw himself lying on the ground surrounded by several monks and Taoist priests. He was so frightened that he sat up abruptly and said in a trembling voice, "Where...where is this? I...I wasn't dead?"
Tang Sanzang quickly stepped forward, put his palms together, and said, "Your Majesty, do not panic or be afraid. This humble monk is a monk from the Great Tang Dynasty of the East who went to the Western Paradise to obtain scriptures. It is this Daoist Yunhe beside me who possesses profound supernatural powers and personally went to the Heavenly Court to obtain the elixir of immortality, which helped you return to the world of the living and be reborn."
The king then remembered what had happened and was overcome with grief, bursting into tears: "How bitter I am! That sorcerer took my life, and my body was left in the well for three years. I never imagined this day would come!"
After crying for a while, he turned over and knelt down, kowtowing to Li Fa and Tang Sanzang, saying, "Benefactors! Benefactors! I have no way to repay you, please be my benefactors to avenge me, reclaim the kingdom, and punish that evil Taoist!"
Li Fa helped him up and said, "Your Majesty, there's no need for such formalities. I have a question for you, and I urge you to answer it truthfully."
The king said, "My benefactor, please ask whatever you wish, and I will answer to the best of my knowledge."
Li Fa turned to look at Bajie and asked, "Bajie, you said you saw two yakshas carrying two corpses, a man and a woman, at the bottom of the well. Do you remember what they looked like?"
Upon hearing this, Bajie proceeded to describe the appearances of the two corpses in detail.
Before he could finish speaking, the king's expression suddenly changed drastically. He fell to the ground, tears streaming down his face, and wailed, "Those...those are my queen and the crown prince!"
My Queen is thirty years old, dignified and virtuous, a model of motherhood in the palace; my Crown Prince is just twenty, intelligent and filial, a true pillar of the state!
That hateful demon! Not only did he take my life, but he also cruelly slaughtered all my wife and children! This hatred is irreconcilable and will never be forgotten!
Everyone was stunned upon hearing this.
Tang Sanzang clasped his hands together and chanted the Buddha's name, sighing, "Amitabha! The sins are grave! This demon is extremely vicious, harming the king and destroying his family; it is truly against Heaven and a grave offense!"
Pigsy said angrily, "That scoundrel is a real scoundrel! I've seen countless monsters and spirits, but I've never encountered one as ruthless as this!"
Sha Wujing also said, "Master, this demon is extremely wicked, and we must not stand idly by."
Sun Wukong sneered, "Why are you all in such a hurry? I, Old Sun, think there's something fishy about this whole thing."
Tang Sanzang asked, "Wukong, what's going on?"
The pilgrim said, “Master, think about it. That fake king has occupied the kingdom of Wuji for three whole years. If he really wanted to harm the queen and the crown prince, why would he wait until today to do it? He should have eliminated them long ago and sat on the throne in peace.”
Upon hearing this, the king wept and said, "Elder, you are unaware! After my death, I repeatedly appeared in the dreams of my wife and children in the palace. They must have already suspected the true form of that evil sorcerer. It seems that the wicked demon, fearing his deeds would be exposed, cruelly killed me! I beg you, my benefactors, to quickly seek justice for me!"
The pilgrim waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, since I've run into this, I'll naturally intervene. Tomorrow morning, we'll enter the city and expose the fake king's true colors in front of the entire court!"
Pigsy said, "Brother, that fake king is incredibly powerful. How can we expose him?"
The pilgrim laughed, "What's so difficult about that? The real king is right here. Tomorrow in the Golden Palace, he'll publicly expose the true and false king. I, Old Sun, will then strike him with my staff, and that demon will reveal his true form on the spot!"
Tang Sanzang nodded and said, "Wukong is right. But since that fake king can transform into the appearance of a king, he must have some skills. We must be careful."
While listening to their discussion, Li Fa had already begun to make his own plans.
If the two corpses at the bottom of the well are the real queen and the real prince, then any queen and prince appearing on the platform must be fake.
But if it was truly a monster who harmed people on its own initiative, why would the body be handed over to the Dragon King of the Well for collection and care?
How could a demon who descended to the mortal realm without permission command a dragon god from the depths of the water?
Unless someone gave the Dragon King the order in advance.
Who can give orders to this dragon king at the bottom of the well?
It's highly likely that the Buddhist sect secretly instructed them!
But who could be the one from the Buddhist sect to intervene? Li Fa was completely baffled.
Suddenly, he thought of the original work.
In the original story, the fake king of Wuji Kingdom was the mount of Manjushri Bodhisattva!
The one that the Buddhist sect sent this time is very likely Manjushri!
No wonder the mission of the Merit Chart is to save the Kingdom of Wuji, not the King of Wuji!
It turns out that the king, queen, and prince were all imposters.
But now that the king has been resurrected, the queen and the crown prince are still at a loss.
Thinking of this, Li Fa suddenly had an idea.
Since you know it's a trap, why don't you give him a way to escape?
Having made up his mind, Li Fa said to everyone, "Elders, Your Majesty, instead of discussing this here, why don't you all rest for a while and go directly to the Golden Palace for a confrontation tomorrow morning?"
Everyone agreed with this reasoning and went to rest. Let's leave it at that for now.
Once they were alone in the private room, with no one around, Li Fa took out the Dragon Skin Seven-Star Whip, made a hand seal, chanted an incantation, and shouted "Change!"
But then the Seven Star Whip transformed into a golden light and landed on the ground, turning into an identical "Li Fa". Even the Youdu Xuan Tiger under his crotch transformed into a fake one.
Li Fa flicked out two more drops of blood essence, and sure enough, the fake Li Fa finally became truly human. He responded when called and knew how to dodge when hit; it was truly mysterious.
This is exactly:
The Bodhisattva's compassion is boundless; think carefully and be cautious.
Who knew that there was a scheme within a scheme, and that there was always something even more powerful within the strong.