txolops Chapter 153 Wuji Kingdom - Reward Settlement
Chapter 153 Wuji Kingdom - Reward Settlement
Li Fa was overjoyed to see Manjushri fall, and he quickly rode the wind on a cloud to catch up and finish him off.
Just then, a loud shout rang out from the horizon: "Wait!"
This sound was as loud as a great bell. Li Fa looked up and saw thousands of auspicious clouds and auspicious wisps of mist on the eastern horizon. It was the Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun descending to the mortal world.
It turned out that the Celestial Venerable sensed that his divine artifact was not in Manjushri's hands and feared something might happen, so he came to check and happened to come across this incident, so he quickly stopped him.
The Heavenly Venerable descended from the clouds and landed before the Golden Palace, saying to Li Fa, "Plasma, you have quite the audacity. Manjushri Bodhisattva is a Western Arhat, how dare you use such force?"
Li Fa said, "Your Majesty, it is not that I wanted to harm him, but that he wanted to harm me. I was merely defending myself."
Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Venerable sighed and said, "Enough! I don't want to get involved in your affairs. Please do me a favor and let him return to the West."
Li Fa said, "Since the Heavenly Venerable has made a request, this humble Taoist dares not refuse."
Upon hearing this, the Celestial Venerable pointed a finger at the Green Lion and said, "You wretched beast, why aren't you taking your master back?"
Upon hearing this, the blue lion indeed carried Manjushri on its back, held the golden cudgel in its mouth, and headed west.
The Celestial Venerable then looked at Li Fa and said, "The Divine Dividing Jade Disc belongs to me. Now that you have finished using it, return it to me."
Li Fa took out the jade disc from his bosom, presented it with both hands, and said, "This humble Taoist had no choice but to steal it. Thank you, Heavenly Venerable."
The Heavenly Venerable accepted the jade disc, nodded, and said, "Now that this matter is settled, I shall take my leave!"
After speaking, he rode away on auspicious clouds.
The Tang Monk and his disciples, the king's family, and all the officials were dumbfounded when they saw what had happened.
The pilgrim stepped forward, patted Li Fa on the shoulder, and laughed, "You rascal, why did you transform into a white crane to fool me?"
Li Fa said, "I wouldn't dare, I'm just afraid that if the Great Sage knew my true identity, he wouldn't be willing to help me."
The pilgrim said, "I am not one to hold grudges. Moreover, thanks to your help at Pingding Mountain, my master was saved. I am more than grateful."
Tang Sanzang then stepped forward and said, "Amitabha, this humble monk apologizes to the Taoist priest on behalf of the Bodhisattva, and hopes for the Taoist priest's forgiveness."
Li Fa said, "Elder Tang, there's no need for that. This is a matter between me and Lingshan, and has nothing to do with you, Elder."
The king, accompanied by his queen and crown prince, knelt before Li Fa and Tang Sanzang, kowtowing and saying, "The lives of my entire family were saved by your kindness. I have no way to repay you, so please let the Daoist Master rule over us. I am willing to lead my wife and children to live as commoners outside the city."
Li Fa helped him up, saying, "Your Majesty, there's no need for such formality. Monks are guided by compassion; how could they possibly covet your empire?"
They then invited Tang Sanzang, but Tang Sanzang refused, as he was only interested in worshipping Buddha and seeking scriptures.
Then they invited the Monkey King, who laughed and said, "To be honest, if I were willing to be an emperor, I could be the emperor of all the kingdoms and provinces under heaven. It's just that we are used to being monks and are so lazy."
If one becomes emperor, one must keep long hair, stay up at dusk and dawn, feel uneasy upon hearing border reports, and be filled with sorrow and helplessness upon witnessing famine.
How can we possibly accept this? You can remain your emperor, and I'll remain my monk, and we'll go back to our spiritual practice.
Unable to explain further, he instructed Bajie to bring out the soaring crown, jade belt, ochre robe, and carefree shoes for the king to change into.
The king, unable to refuse, had no choice but to put on the crown, the ochre-yellow robe, the jade belt, and the carefree shoes, ascend the throne, and declare himself king, granting a general amnesty.
Just then, the East Pavilion was opened and a grand banquet was held. At the same time, an imperial edict was issued to summon painters to paint the joyful portraits of Li Fa and the four disciples of Tang, which were then enshrined in the Golden Palace.
The next day, Tang Sanzang and his companions prepared to depart.
The king could not force them to stay, so he could only exchange the travel documents and send the master and his disciples away.
Li Fa also took his leave. The emperor, along with his three concubines, the crown prince, and his ministers, presented Li Fa with national treasures, gold, silver, and silk as a token of their gratitude.
Li refused the punishment and offered it to Tang Sanzang, but Tang Sanzang refused it as well, only urging Wukong and the others to carry their horses and set off early.
The king felt very bad, so he arranged the imperial carriage and invited Li Fa and Tang Seng to sit on the throne. He ordered two groups of civil and military officials to lead the way. He, along with the three empresses and the crown prince's family, carried the carriage and pushed the wheels to see them off out of the city. Only then did he dismount from the imperial carriage and bid farewell to everyone.
Once outside the city, Li Fa also had to bid farewell to Tang Sanzang. The reason was simple: the Merit Chart had issued rewards and new tasks, and he wanted to take a closer look.
After bidding farewell to Tang Sanzang, Li Fa went alone to a secluded place to examine the merit record:
[Target for Rescue: Wuji Kingdom]
[Rescue successful]
[Unemployment Assessment]
Rewards received:
[Optional Reward 1: Ten Jiazi of Mana from the "Creating Heaven and Earth Technique"]
[Optional Reward Two: Mastery of All Eighteen Martial Arts]
[Optional Reward 3: Creating Land from Rivers (Supernatural Power: Can create land out of thin air by parting waters.)]
[Optional Reward Four: Commanding Wind and Rain (Supernatural power: Summon winds and rain at will.)]
[Optional Reward 5: Five Elements Formation (Formation diagram, requires five elemental treasures to set up, and cannot be broken by anyone less than five Great Luo Golden Immortals.)]
The following line of small print states: You may choose any two items.
Li Fa's gaze skipped over the first four items and landed on reward five.
Five Elements Formation Diagram...
Li Fa's heart pounded.
It takes at least five Great Luo Golden Immortals to break this!
What a terrifying formation!
If this formation can be set up, even if multiple Grand Luo Golden Immortals attack, it will remain invincible.
However, this formation requires treasures of the five elements to be set up.
Suddenly, a thought struck him: it seemed that after the Kingdom of Wuji, the next calamity would be Red Boy.
Red Boy...
Samadhi Fire...
fire……
Isn't one of the Five Elements treasures precisely located here?
"This is it." With that thought, Li Fa silently recited in his mind, "Choose five, the Five Elements Formation Diagram."
In an instant, a golden light flew out of the catalog and landed in his palm.
It was an ancient array diagram, neither paper nor silk, warm to the touch, with the subtle flow of the five elements.
Li Fa unfolded the map and examined it closely. He saw that it depicted mountains, rivers, and the positions of stars, with densely packed runes and annotations that were mysterious and profound.
He put the diagram into his sleeve and then looked at the remaining four options.
Mastering all eighteen martial arts skills would be of little use to him. He already possessed top-notch marksmanship and indestructible strength; even if he couldn't defeat someone with martial arts skills, he wouldn't be killed. Martial arts were merely icing on the cake for him.
As for dividing rivers into land and summoning wind and rain, although these are ancient supernatural powers, they are not very useful to him for the time being.
That leaves only the power of ten Jiazi (a unit of time in Chinese astrology).
Although his cultivation speed is now extremely fast, the magical power he has accumulated over six hundred years of arduous training is not insignificant. The more magical power he has, the more secure he will be.
"Choose one, the power of ten Jiazi (a unit of time)."
The moment the thought crossed his mind, a vast surge of magical power flooded into his body like a tidal wave.
He felt his magical power surge in his dantian, like a river flowing into the sea, and his whole body felt incredibly comfortable.
He clenched his fist, and sure enough, his magical power increased greatly.
We'll have to wait and see what happens next.