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

Chapter 437: Working in Heaven
"The vitality of this earthworm fairy insect is really astonishing. I have occasionally been lucky enough to catch one or two of them in the past, but they react very quickly and will break off their bodies and escape in an instant, making it difficult to guard against them."

"After a few days, those earthworms that we thought had been eradicated suddenly appeared again from nowhere. There are more of them than before. They are like weeds and can never be eradicated."

"It is a real infestation of earthworms, and it is endless. What shall we do?"

In the southeast corner of the Peony Garden, the attendant Shenying had a distressed look on his face, holding his head in his hands and sighing.

"Okay, I understand. I already know the tricky part about this earthworm fairy insect."

Xiao Chen responded.

These earthworm fairy insects have the innate ability to "regenerate severed limbs". Even if their bodies are cut in half, they can escape quickly, survive, and continue to cause trouble.

Therefore, if you want to catch them, you have to catch a whole insect, otherwise it will be in vain.

To catch these earthworms, you need to master the "soft power" and not use too much force, otherwise these earthworms will use the force to break their bodies and slip away again, causing your efforts to fail.

Fortunately, Xiao Chen was well prepared and had a plan in mind.

He took out a "beast-binding rope", which was the standard weapon of the heavenly soldiers. It was an extremely strong and flexible rope.

As the king of toads, King Jinjiao has an extremely flexible long tongue and is naturally good at using all kinds of rope weapons, which he uses with ease.

He can simulate his own "toad's long tongue" and use this "beast rope" to catch these earthworms.

"These earthworm fairy insects have been appearing in this area recently, causing a lot of annoyance and confusion for people."

The attendant Shenying pointed to the southeast area of ​​the Peony Garden and introduced it with concern.

"Okay, I know about it, and I will find a way to solve it."

Xiao Chen nodded, looked at Princess Wansheng, and said:

"Brother Long, please send some water over."

Although he was not good at the art of escaping underground, it was not difficult for him to force out these earthworm fairy insects.

After a heavy rain, earthworms will be forced to come out of the ground to breathe because the soil is saturated with water. This is their habit.

Therefore, after the rain, there are often many earthworms on the ground.

Princess Halloween was born into the dragon clan. She was best at controlling water and was also well versed in the ways of plants. She was able to strike a good balance and not damage the roots of the peonies.

"Okay, Brother Guoshan, I understand."

Princess Halloween nodded slightly and came to the well next to the garden.

She just waved her hand lightly, and the well water seemed to be endowed with spirituality. It immediately gushed out like a dragon emerging from the water, all rushing towards the ground of the peony garden.

Princess Halloween closed her eyes lightly with a solemn expression. She immersed herself in the art of water control, precisely controlling the depth and humidity of each drop of water in the soil.

Not long after.

The land in four or five places in the peony garden rolled around, and many earthworms emerged.

However, Xiao Chen just glanced at them indifferently and did not take these earthworms seriously.

These are just ordinary earthworms, not yet mature, and are exactly the kind of earthworms normally needed in a peony garden. They do not harm the garden.

After a while.

The rolling of the land became more and more violent, as if some huge monster was about to break out of the ground.

With a loud "boom", four or five half-meter-long huge earthworms suddenly emerged from the soil like a few ochre-colored lightning bolts.

You know, earthworms are toothless creatures. However, because these earthworms have been absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and eating magical flowers and herbs in the peony garden for a long time, they have undergone amazing evolution and have grown teeth, tentacles, and horns... Their appearance is extremely weird.

It can already be called "half earthworm and half dragon".

This reminded Xiao Chen of the strange beast in the earth recorded in ancient books - the ground snake.

The Tang Dynasty's "Youyang Miscellaneous Records" once recorded: "The Nine Abyss Earth Snake hides under Mount Tai. Its breath becomes miasma, and the flesh and bones of those who touch it will decay."

Look at these half-dragon, half-worm earthworms. Their mouthparts are like a spiral abyss, covered with inverted dragon teeth, flashing with cold light; their eyes are fierce, as if they want to devour all the plants and trees; their body surface is hardened like black armor, extremely hard; they have rotten flesh wings on their backs, emitting a disgusting smell; they spew out "rotten water and rotten soil" from their mouths, and wherever they go, flowers and plants wither and the land rots.

These insects, without knowing their place, attacked Xiao Chen and Princess Halloween fiercely.

When a toad catches an earthworm, it naturally does it with its hands.

The target has already appeared.

The "beast-binding rope" in Xiao Chen's hand was instantly swung out like a snake emerging from a cave.

The "beast-binding rope" drew graceful arcs in the air, as flexible as a toad's long tongue, and swung a few times in the air, making crisp sounds.

Now that the target has been revealed.

Xiao Chen swung the "beast binding rope" in his hand, and the "beast binding rope" was like a toad's long tongue, lashing out in the air a few times, pulling out those earthworm fairy insects one by one and putting them into the iron can.

In an instant, the earthworms were trapped one by one, unable to move. Xiao Chen skillfully put them into the iron can that had been prepared long ago, and the action was done in one go.

Afterwards, Princess Halloween raised her jade hand and controlled the water, causing it to slowly return to the well like the tide receding, as if nothing had happened.

Xiao Chen gently handed the iron can containing the earthworm fairy insect to the Shenying waiter and said:

"Shen Ying, please take a closer look. Are there any evil insects left that have not been caught?"

The waiter Shenying hurriedly took the tin with both hands, opened it impatiently, took a closer look, and suddenly a trace of hatred flashed in his eyes, and he said angrily:

"Yes, it is these evil insects that have committed many evil deeds. Thank you for your trouble, brothers."

Xiao Chen waved his hand and said with a smile:

"It's okay. It's just a small matter. It's not worth mentioning."

Now that the task was completed, the attendant Shenying, with gratitude, solemnly signed the mission token on behalf of Mudan Garden.

Xiao Chen and Princess Wansheng prepared to say goodbye and took the mission token back to Tianlu Pavilion to report.

Just as they were about to be discharged from the hospital.

Xiao Chen looked up inadvertently and saw a female fairy with two fairy children, floating towards them on auspicious clouds.

This fairy has a light figure, graceful as a startled wild goose, and elegant as a swimming dragon. Every step seems to be on the clouds, light and graceful. Her posture is like a light cloud covering the moon, hazy and mysterious; it flutters like snow blown by the wind, smart and graceful.

Looking at her face again, her eyebrows are as black as ink, curved and thin, and graceful, as if it is a beautiful painting carefully drawn by God; her lips are bright red and rosy, and her teeth are white and white like jade. When she smiles, it seems that she can charm all living beings in the world; her eyes are bright and charming, and when she looks around, they are sparkling, deep and charming.

This woman is truly stunningly beautiful, with an extraordinary temperament and absolutely beautiful looks. She is like a fairy flower blooming in the sky, so beautiful that it takes one's breath away.

Xiao Chen had naturally seen so many fairies that he had become "face-blind", but at this moment he couldn't help but be stunned.

There is no other reason. No one knows who this fairy is, but her appearance and temperament are indeed extraordinary.

Even though Princess Wansheng was confident that she had "a beautiful face and great talent", she was still slightly startled when she saw this fairy and sighed softly:

"This female fairy is so beautiful that she is extraordinary."

Seeing the two heavenly soldiers staring at her, the fairy didn't care. She was still graceful and composed as she landed in front of the peony garden.

A fairy boy came forward and knocked gently on the door.

The attendant Shenying hurried out to greet him with a respectful look.

The fairy asked softly:
"Is Sister Mudan in the garden today?"

The attendant Shen Ying bowed slightly and replied:
"Lord Luoshen, Lord Peony Goddess is out today and is not in the garden."

Xiao Chen was standing nearby. When he heard the name "Lotus Goddess", he suddenly realized:

"This female fairy turned out to be the Goddess of Luo River, Mi Fei, the previous life of Zhen Ji Zhen Mi..."

"No wonder it's so beautiful..."

Speaking of Luoshen, perhaps everyone may feel a little unfamiliar, but speaking of Zhen Ji, everyone is much more familiar with her.

Luoshen, the goddess of Luo River, Mi Fei.

Cao Zhi once wrote "Ode to the Goddess of Luo River", in which he conceived of his encounter with the goddess of Luo River, Mi Fei, and their mutual longing and love.

But the original name of "The Goddess of Luo River" is not actually "The Goddess of Luo River".

The original name given by Cao Zhi was "Gan Juan Fu", also known as "Gan Zhen Fu".

The meaning of "Gratitude for Zhen" is: "During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Zhi of Wei failed to get Zhen Yi's daughter, and he forgot to sleep and eat. Zhen Yi later married Cao Pi, who was slandered to death. In the middle of Huangchu, Zhi came to the court, and Pi showed him a jade-carved and gold-belted pillow that was a relic of Empress Zhen. When Zhi returned, he was about to rest on the Luo River, thinking of 'Empress Zhen', so he wrote "Gratitude for Zhen". "

Zhen Ji's real name was "Zhen Mi" and according to legend she was the incarnation of "Mi Fei, the Goddess of Luo River".

Because in ancient times "鄄" was the same as "甄".

Later, Cao Rui, the son of Zhen Ji, thought that "Gan Zhen Fu" violated his mother's taboo, and that the name "Luo Shen Fu" was too explicit and had a bad influence.

It needs to be changed.

"Gan Zhen Fu" was then renamed "Luo Shen Fu".

"Zhen Ji's previous life as the Goddess of Luo River..."

"December Narcissus Goddess..."

"Daffodil Fairy..."

Xiao Chen thought to himself and glanced at the fairy. He remembered the record in Romance of the Three Kingdoms: "Zhen's jade-like skin and beautiful appearance are so beautiful that they can overturn a country." Looking at the goddess of Luo River in front of him, she really lived up to this reputation.

According to "wild history", Cao Cao had a habit of liking other people's wives, and people called it "Wei Wu's style".

There are "unofficial histories" that record: Cao Cao had long heard of Zhen Mi's peerless beauty, and after the war he sent heavy troops to surround Zhen Mi's mansion.

However, Cao Pi ignored everything, ordered the soldiers to retreat, strode into the mansion, took Zhen Mi away, and protected her carefully.

After the war, Cao Pi solemnly asked Cao Cao to marry Zhen Mi and snatch the woman his father liked.

After seeing Zhen Mi, although Cao Cao could not forget this stunning beauty, he did not want to compete with his son for his wife, so he went with the flow and gave Zhen Mi to Cao Pi.

This is: "Two Caos compete for Zhen Mi."

Because daffodils grow by the water, their posture is elegant and graceful, like fairies floating on the water, so people regard Luoshen as the "daffodil fairy."

Luoshen also became the "Daffodil Goddess of Twelve Months" among the twelve flower gods in heaven.

……

After hearing what the attendant Shen Ying said, Luoshen sighed slightly and said softly:

"Well, it's just a coincidence. I was planning to invite Sister Peony to my Narcissus Courtyard for a chat."

"We are sisters who love each other very much. We wanted to take advantage of this free time to get together, chat and appreciate the flowers."

"I don't know what Sister Mudan is doing these days. I can't find her anywhere."

"I came here several times, but came up empty-handed. It really made me wait so long."

As she spoke, a trace of helplessness and loss appeared on Luo Shen's face.

……

After the matter was settled, Xiao Chen and Princess Wansheng hurried back to Tianlu Pavilion on the eighth level.

They collected the fifty daily salary points for completing the insect catching task in the Peony Garden, and then went straight to the task list to take on the next task.

……

This afternoon.

Xiao Chen and Princess Wansheng took on the task of "The Difficult Pegasus" and rushed to Luoxia Mountain.

In the mountains and forests, the celestial horse "Tayunzhui" is wild and unruly. It neighs, its hooves fly, and it rushes through the mountains and forests.

Xiao Chen and Princess Wansheng subdued "Tayunzhui" and returned to Tianlu Pavilion in exchange for thirty Tianlu points.

……

The next day, it was still dark and the night was as dark as ink.

Xiao Chen and Princess Wansheng hurried to Tianhe.

They dived into the Tianhe River to look for wild and fresh golden turtles.

This wild golden turtle is needed by the Pixiang Hall. It is said that dishes cooked with it are extremely delicious.

In fact, there are domesticated golden turtles in heaven, but the Pixiang Palace does not use them and prefers this wild golden turtle.

However, Xiao Chen is the Toad King and Princess Halloween is from the Dragon Clan. Both monsters are good at water, so catching a golden turtle is easy for them.

Coincidentally, when Yang Guoshan and Yang Long were in the mortal world, they were also sons of fishermen. They grew up by the sea and were good at water.

Xiao Chen and Princess Halloween successfully captured the golden turtle. After completing the mission, they received another 30 Tianlu points.

……

Day three.

Xiao Chen and Princess Wansheng rushed to the Tianhe Dam that was pierced by a meteor.

At this time, many heavenly soldiers and generals had gathered around the dam.

Xiao Chen and Princess Wansheng, as well as a group of heavenly soldiers and generals, rolled up their sleeves, moved stones, and performed magic to repair and reinforce the dam.

After some effort, the dam was finally repaired.

However, this mission still only added 30 Tianlu points.

……

In Tianlu Pavilion.

Xiao Chen looked at the many thirty-point and fifty-point tasks on the task list, his brows furrowed, feeling helpless.

He still needs several thousand Tianlu points to reach ten thousand and be promoted to Golden Armored Heavenly Soldier.

"We have to find a way to do something big. We have to save this little bit by little somewhere."

Xiao Chen frowned secretly.

Working in heaven is too exploitative.

These ordinary heavenly soldiers, pure cattle and horses of heaven, are difficult to deal with.

……

The passage of time in the Supreme Heaven is naturally different from that in other heavens.

It is true: "One day in heaven is one year on earth."

Thirty-three days in heaven.

The Moon God and the Moon God came to the outside of the Tongming Palace.

The Tongming Hall is located in front of the Lingxiao Hall. Four Heavenly Masters, Zhang Daoling, Xu Jingyang, Ge Xianweng and Qiu Hongji, are guarding the Tongming Hall.

The Four Heavenly Masters are responsible for receiving memorials from all parties and audiences with gods, and are an important bridge for communication between the Jade Emperor and the outside world.

The Jade Emperor is the master of the three realms, and is actually very difficult to see.

Ordinary gods can never see the Jade Emperor.

If the gods have something to report, they must first wait patiently outside the Tongming Hall to be summoned. Then, the four great celestial masters will respectfully present the memorial or request to the Jade Emperor.

Just like when the Dragon King of the East Sea went to the Heaven to file a complaint against Sun Wukong, he waited anxiously outside the Tongming Palace. Finally, it was after the Four Heavenly Masters reported to the Jade Emperor that his grievances were heard by Heaven.

To a certain extent, the Four Heavenly Masters are like the Jade Emperor's secretaries. They are familiar with the Jade Emperor's preferences and decision-making methods, and can accurately convey the Jade Emperor's will.

Although the Lingxiao Palace is magnificent, it is not often used.

Generally speaking, when the Heavenly Court holds a grand court meeting and the immortals discuss politics together, they will handle affairs in the Lingxiao Palace. This is the "court meeting of the immortals", also known as the "outer court".

The Tongming Hall is the "Emperor's Inner Court" where the Jade Emperor conducts his daily office, makes confidential decisions, and handles emergency reports.

Some small matters in the three realms, such as the rain in Fengxian County, the fight between the real and fake Monkey King... were all handled by the Jade Emperor in the Tongming Palace.

……

Outside the Tongming Palace, clouds are like a web, fairy mist is vague, and the dense air is lingering.

Suddenly, Taiyin Star God and Yue Lao came together. Their steps were light but the solemnity between their brows could not be concealed.

Zhang Daoling, the leader of the Four Heavenly Masters, was dressed in a dark Taoist robe, with white hair and a youthful face. He looked like an immortal and had a natural aura of majesty. Upon seeing this, he quickly stepped forward, bowed, and asked:

"What is the Taiyin Star Lord doing here?"

Taiyin Xingjun bowed slightly, his face solemn, and said in a deep voice:
"There are indeed some important matters that require an audience with the Jade Emperor."

Zhang Daoling's eyes were as sharp as torches. He scanned the body of Taiyin Xingjun and asked:

"What's the matter?"

Taiyin Xingjun frowned slightly and said with his red lips:

"Tianshi, this is not the place to discuss matters. You need to meet the Jade Emperor in person before I can explain in detail."

"I hope the Heavenly Master will report to me."

After saying this, Taiyin Star Lord looked at Zhang Daoling with an earnest gaze.

"Um……"

Zhang Daoling heard this, hesitated for a moment, nodded and agreed:
"In that case, please follow me. Your Majesty is fishing in the back garden right now."

Taiyin Xingjun and Yuexia Laoren then followed Zhang Daoling, passed Tongming Palace, and walked towards the back garden of Tongming Palace.

Along the way, fairy flowers and exotic plants competed with each other in beauty, and cranes and magical birds danced gracefully, which was a beautiful sight.

When Taiyin Xingjun reached the depths of the back garden, he saw the Jade Emperor dressed in gorgeous clothes and wearing a crown, sitting upright on the dragon throne, fishing leisurely by the pond.

The God of Metal, also known as Taibai Jinxing, stood beside the Jade Emperor, being extremely respectful and putting bait on the string for him from time to time with skillful and careful movements.

The "curtain-pulling general", wearing golden armor and holding Thoreau's staff, stands majestically beside the Jade Emperor. His eyes are like lightning, scanning the surroundings vigilantly, quietly guarding the Jade Emperor's safety.

(End of this chapter)