Journey to the West: Demon Emperor: Beginning as a Little Toad

Chapter 434 Twelve Flower Gods
heaven.

The eighth layer.

Tianlu Pavilion.

……

"Ahaha, when I go to Guanghan Palace, I must see the alluring dance of the fairy Chang'e and feast my eyes!"

A heavenly soldier shouted excitedly.

"Humph, I want to drink the bath water of the fairy Chang'e... Bah, bah, bah, I was wrong, I want to go to Guanghan Palace to chop down that osmanthus tree and show off my skills!"

Another heavenly soldier corrected his own gaffe with a smile, causing laughter from those around him.

"Yes, we want to chop down trees too!"

Although a group of new recruits were a little timid, they were eager to try and agreed.

……

Sure enough, as soon as the task of "going to Guanghan Palace to chop down trees" was posted, those experienced old heavenly soldiers rushed forward like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey, and snatched up all the tasks in an instant.

Everyone wants to try Chang'e meat and see what it tastes like.

Of course, Chang'e meat is not something that soldiers like them can eat.

But look at Chang'e, she never breaks the law and no one can stop her.

……

"The dragon has escaped into the Tianhe River. We need to go to the Tianhe River to find the dragon and capture it..."

"Note: The water in the Tianhe River is unfathomable, and the dragons are extremely ferocious. It requires someone who is extremely good at water to be able to handle this task."

"Tianhe sailors are given priority."

This task issued by Liu Lei of the Dragon Tamer also rewards 50 Tianlu points.

Some of the heavenly soldiers had excitement gleaming in their eyes and were eager to try, as if they had already seen themselves taming dragons and terrifying the heavens with their heroic figures.

However, some of the heavenly soldiers looked timid and retreated, knowing full well that the Milky Way was too deep and the dragon was too ferocious to handle.

……

"Liu Lei of the Yulong clan..."

Xiao Chen stood in the crowd, staring at the names on the task list, thinking about something.

In ancient times, there were two people who were extremely good at raising dragons. One was Dong Fu, the Dragon-Raising Clan, and the other was Liu Lei, the Dragon-Tunning Clan.

It was recorded in the "Jiuzhou Yaoji" that "Dongfu liked dragons, so Shun sent him to Taoqiu to raise dragons, and then gave him the name of the Dragon Raising Clan."

The Zuo Zhuan, Zhaogong 29th Year, describes in detail how Emperor Kongjia of the Xia Dynasty got two dragons. Liu Lei learned the art of raising dragons from the dragon-raising clan. Later, due to his outstanding achievements, he was given the title of "Dragon Tamer" and was responsible for the raising of royal dragon livestock.

Du Yu's notes to Zuo Zhuan also mentioned that the Yulong clan mastered the secret method of "disturbing dragons" and were able to tame dragons to drive them, which was truly a great magical power.

The "Yunji Qi Qian" even records that Liu Lei has been ranked among the immortals due to his perfect merits and has become a respected god in heaven.

……

"Liu Lei is probably just like Lu Ban. He had a special skill in the lower world and was a master in his area. After his death, he was recruited by the heavens, ranked among the immortals, and was granted the immortal scroll."

Xiao Chen pondered secretly in his heart.

The dragons raised in heaven often have unfortunate fates.

These dragons either become "food dragons", becoming a delicacy in delicacies such as "dragon liver and phoenix marrow"; or become "mount dragons", serving as carriage pullers for gods at the level of Jade Emperor or Emperor...

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen couldn't help but shook his head and glanced at Princess Halloween.

Sure enough, when Princess Halloween saw this task, she clenched her fists and looked angry.

When the rabbit dies, the fox will also be sad.

What about the same clan?
If someone were to taste the "Perilla Toad" there, the Toad King would definitely be furious.

"Ao Yao, don't be impulsive, let's look at other tasks."

Xiao Chen transmitted the message to Ao Yao through the "Mosquito Brand Wireless Phone".

……

"Several earthworms have been born in the peony garden of the Imperial Garden, and they have become a phenomenon."

"They are good at burrowing into the ground, are cunning and ferocious, and like to eat the roots of flowers."

"We need a heavenly soldier who is good at escaping underground to catch this earthworm fairy insect."

“Requirement: Do not damage the roots and stems of the flowers.”

"Reward Tianlu points: 50 Tianlu points."

The person who issued this task was the Peony Fairy, one of the Twelve Female Flower Goddesses.

Although the Peony Fairy is also a rare beauty in heaven, she seems a little overshadowed by the light of the Fairy Chang'e, the most beautiful woman in the Three Realms.

At this time, the task of cutting down trees in Guanghan Palace was released.

The heavenly soldiers all rushed to Guanghan Palace to chop trees just to catch a glimpse of the peerless beauty of the fairy Chang'e.

However, not many people were competing for the mission to catch earthworms in the peony garden.

"Hey, catching earthworms seems simple, but it's actually very difficult."

An experienced celestial soldier looked at the task list, shook his head and sighed.

"Brother Zhang, why is this?"

A recruit asked in confusion.

"The flowers in this peony garden are all precious flowers that Your Majesty often comes to admire. They are very delicate."

"If you try to catch this earthworm fairy insect, and accidentally damage the roots of the peony flowers and destroy the property of the heaven, you will be in big trouble..."

"This responsibility naturally falls on you."

The experienced heavenly soldier explained patiently.

"That's it..."

When the recruit heard this, his face changed and he began to back down.

This task may seem easy, but it is actually extremely risky and could lead to disaster if you are not careful.

……

"Ao Yao, let's go to this peony garden to catch earthworm fairy insects."

Xiao Chen took a quick look and found that the Tianlu points for this task were as high as 50, and the reward was quite considerable, so he proposed this to Princess Halloween through voice transmission.

Princess Wansheng frowned slightly when she heard this, and said with some embarrassment:

"King Jinjiao, I don't know how to catch earthworms."

"It's okay. I'm good at this."

Xiao Chen spoke confidently.

He, King Golden Horn, is the king of toads, and toads are the natural enemies of earthworms.

For an adult toad, earthworms account for about 5%-20% of the toad's menu (depending on the density of earthworms in the toad's habitat).

A single adult toad can catch three to five earthworms in one night during the rainy season.

It can be said that the Toad King knows the habits of his food, the earthworm fairy insect, very well.

However, growing flowers and plants is Princess Halloween's specialty, and it would be safer to have Princess Halloween looking after her.

"Okay, King Jinjiao, I'll listen to you then."

"You have more Tianlu points. All the Tianlu points you get will be accumulated on your head."

"When the time comes, you will be promoted to a golden-armored heavenly soldier, or even a heavenly general. Look, Huang Feng and I will be deployed under your command."

Princess Halloween analyzed.

Xiao Chen heard this and said with a smile:
"exactly."

"This way, it will be more convenient to do things."

After saying that, Xiao Chen walked forward and took off the task card without hesitation.

……

There are twelve flower gods in heaven: the plum blossom god in January, the apricot blossom god in February, the pear blossom god in March, the peony god in April, the pomegranate god in May, the lotus god in June, the begonia god in July, the osmanthus god in August, the chrysanthemum god in September, the hibiscus god in October, the camellia god in November, and the daffodil god in December.

These twelve flower gods take turns in succession in December, bringing different flower scenes to the world every month.

……

Peony Garden, on the sixteenth day.

Xiao Chen and Princess Halloween took the mission token and went to the sixteenth day. After verifying their identity token and mission token at the ladder, they entered the sixteenth day.

To be precise, "Peony Goddess" does not refer to a single person, but an official position, referring to the female fairy who takes care of the peonies in the imperial garden.

This official position is the same as Bi Ma Wen, except that Bi Ma Wen is a fairy official who raises horses, while the Peony Flower God is a fairy official who raises flowers.

There may be multiple "Peony Gods", or "Peony Fairies", and the Peony Gods in each stage are different.

When the Peony God is promoted or demoted, a new Peony God will take office.

……

"The Peony God..." Xiao Chen thought of the Tang Dynasty, a peony god in heaven, Yang Yuhuan, also known as Yang Guifei.

Yang Guifei is truly the embodiment of "wealth and splendor, prosperous times and extravagance". Her face is like a bright spot in the prosperous times, graceful and elegant, with a beauty like no other. She is truly a fairy walking out of peony flowers.

The Song of Everlasting Regret records Yang Yuhuan as follows: "She looked back and smiled, and all the beauties in the palace were pale in comparison."

The saying "Only the peony is the true beauty of the country, and the capital city is moved when it blooms" is not at all exaggerated when used to describe her.

Yang Guifei's elegant temperament is the perfect symbol of the peony goddess.

……

Among the four great beauties, some are so beautiful as to make fishes sink to the bottom of their chests and geese fall to the ground, some are so beautiful as to make the moon hide in shame on flowers, and Yang Guifei is the one who is "shy of flowers".

Legend has it that during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, Yang Yuhuan went to the garden to enjoy the flowers and relax. As soon as she touched the flowers, the petals immediately shrank and the green leaves curled up and drooped, as if the flowers were too shy to compete with her beauty.

Therefore, Yang Yuhuan was given the name "shy flower".

In fact, it is not that the flowers are shy, but that Yang Guifei is the peony god who has descended to earth.

People don’t know the god of flowers, but flowers do know the god of flowers.

Flowers are under the command of the flower god, so how dare they compete with him for beauty?
Flowers can only be shy.

……

The Tang (Zhou) Emperor Wu Zetian once wrote a poem to urge flowers to bloom, namely, "Announcement of the Imperial Decree to Visit Shangyuan on the La Day":
"Tomorrow I will visit Shangyuan Garden, to herald the arrival of spring. The flowers must bloom overnight, and not wait for the morning breeze to blow."

In the dead of winter, Wu Zetian issued an order to the twelve flower gods, ordering all flowers to bloom.

The eleven flower gods were afraid of the power of the Emperor and bloomed at the same time despite their respective blooming seasons.

Only the peony flower god adheres to the natural time and his divine duty and refuses to bloom.

Wu Zetian was furious and burned all the peonies in the capital. She also banished the peonies from Chang'an, the capital, to Mangshan in Luoyang, where they were surrounded by countless tombs.

This action angered the peony god at that time.

The peony god then reincarnated into the human world as Yang Yuhuan, one of the four great beauties, also known as Yang Guifei. With her peerless beauty and extraordinary charm, she brought chaos to the Tang Dynasty and ultimately destroyed its destiny.

There was once a story that "King Zhou wrote obscene poems", which angered the goddess Nuwa, attracted Su Daji, and disrupted the Shang Dynasty.

Later, Emperor Wu of Tang burned peonies, which attracted the attention of Yang Guifei, the goddess of peony, and brought chaos to the Tang Dynasty.

Every sip and every bite is destined by heaven.

……

But just like Su Daji, after the fall of the Shang Dynasty, she was liquidated and punished by Nuwa.

The peony god was also punished by heaven.

Peony is the king of flowers, and the Peony God is the chief of the twelve flower gods, with an extremely respected status.

However, one cannot defy fate.

The Peony God returned to heaven and was demoted.

The Peony God was deprived of the responsibility of nurturing peonies and was instead ordered to take care of the apricot blossoms, becoming the Apricot God.

Yang Guifei, the gorgeous and charming woman like a peony in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, died at Mawei Slope in the flames of the Anshi Rebellion.

That year was the time of February when apricot blossoms were in full bloom and light rain. "The beauty died, and apricot blossoms were flying all over the sky." From then on, Yang Guifei was given the name "Goddess of Apricot Blossoms."

During the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, the peony flower, which represented the beauty, grace and elegance of the country, eventually withered like the "peony flower of the heyday of the Tang Dynasty".

The peony flowers are withering, and apricot petals are flying all over the sky, mourning for Yang Guifei.

In the heaven, the original "Peony Flower God" has returned to his place and was demoted to "Apricot Flower God".

……

"I wonder who is the current Peony Fairy in Heaven..."

"It's the Peony Fairy who had an affair with Lu Dongbin, the White Peony..."

"It's still Yang Guifei's previous life..."

Xiao Chen pondered.

The four beauties are so beautiful that they can make fish sink to the bottom of their chests and geese fall to the ground, and the moon hide in shame on the flowers. Each of them is unparalleled in their beauty.

However, Xiao Chen was not very interested in the Peony God. His mind had already flown to another flower god - the Lotus God.

Xiao Chen is more interested in the "Lotus God".

There is no other reason. Just count the days. The Wu-Yue War has just ended.

The lotus god at this time should be Xi Shi, the first of the four great beauties, who was praised as "the beauty that could make fish sink to the bottom of the water".

In fact, in the human world, people often describe peerless beauties as "fairies from heaven descending to earth."

But in heaven, fairies are everywhere.

The most beautiful woman on earth is no more than this in heaven.

Xi Shi, whose original name was Shi Yi Guang, was a washerwoman in Zhuluo Village at the foot of Zhuluo Mountain in Zhuji. She was born with natural beauty and was extremely gorgeous, stunningly stunning the whole city and the whole country.

Xi Shi once helped Yue to defeat Wu in the "Wu-Yue War".

Perhaps, there is some kind of mysterious relationship between "Xi Shi" and "Yue Nu Aqing", who was transformed from the Lady of the Nine Heavens.

Xi Shi was originally a woman who washed silk by the river. She was known as "Xi Shi Washing Silk". She had an indissoluble bond with water and was good at growing lotus. Later, she was canonized as the "Lotus God" by the heaven and grew lotus in heaven.

In the world of Journey to the West, Xi Shi has of course always existed and is widely known.

The Scorpion Spirit once said: "I am as beautiful as Xi Shi and even more graceful."

Tang Seng said: "That's why the King of Yue has been burying the body for a long time."

……

What the Scorpion Demon and Tang Monk talked about was the story of the Wu-Yue War and Xi Shi.

At present, the Wu-Yue War ended about two hundred years ago, and Xi Shi should have only been in heaven for a short time.

Xiao Chen secretly calculated in his heart:

"Perhaps I can go to the Lotus Garden to take on some tasks and take this opportunity to chat with Xi Shi."

"Maybe I can get the secret of the Wu-Yue War from her..."

"Find out about the Vietnamese girl Ah Qing..."

"Perhaps, we can uncover the mysterious connection between the Fairy of Flowers and the Lady of the Nine Heavens..."

……

The location of the peony garden is clearly marked on the mission card.

Xiao Chen and Princess Halloween arrived at the sixteenth heaven according to the instructions on the mission card.

After showing their mission cards and identity cards, they entered the Sixteenth Heaven Layer.

Xiao Chen and Princess Halloween walked along the winding path, through layers of clouds and mist.

An hour later.

Xiao Chen and Princess Wansheng came to the peony garden.

In the peony garden of heaven, the fragrance of flowers is rich and refreshing, the colors are colorful and dazzling, and all kinds of fairy peonies are blooming, vying for beauty, like an extraordinary and gorgeous painting.

These peonies are incomparable to any other flowers on earth and are all treasures from heaven.

……

In the world of gods, there is a group of boys who assist the god of flowers by diligently watering the flowers and weeding them every day. They are called "servants of the god of flowers."

……

In the heavenly realm, in the peony garden, the fragrance of flowers fills the air and the scenery is pleasant.

A flower god servant with a face like the Mid-Autumn moon, hair like a knife cut, eyebrows like ink painting, and a face like peach petals, is holding a kettle and watering the peonies.

He was originally a fairy stone in the peony garden. Later, he was enlightened by the "Fairy of Flowers", the leader of the flower fairies, and was given the name "Shen Ying".

Ying: "A beautiful stone that looks like jade."

The attendant Shenying is responsible for watering and weeding the peony garden, assisting the peony god and carefully tending to every peony flower.

However, at this moment.

The attendant Shenying seemed a little absent-minded when watering the peonies.

After watering the flowers, the attendant Shenying quietly picked up the kettle, walked through the peony flowers, and came to a hidden corner.

The attendant Shenying gently parted the lush peony flowers, revealing a delicate and slender grass.

This little grass looks listless and sickly.

But its leaves are bright green, and the branches are covered with "bright crimson small fruits", which looks quite strange.

"Little grass, come and drink the nectar water."

A trace of pity flashed in the eyes of the attendant Shenying, and he sprinkled all the nectar in the pot onto the grass.

The nectar water fell like drizzle, nourishing every inch of the grass.

Miraculously, the grass got better with the nourishment of the nectar and became more energetic.

What’s even more surprising is that this little grass actually made a human voice:
"Brother Shenying, is this nectar water just for me, or are there shares for other little grasses and flowers as well?"

(End of this chapter)