Day and night tour

Chapter 434 Blue and Red Fish

The White Deer Taoist is embedded in the wall of the "Maha Temple" within the "Spiritual Realm".

In the real world, everyone is working together to "push the tower," causing it to shake violently. Inside the "spiritual realm," the "Maha Temple" also trembles violently.
This tremor briefly connected the nearby "spiritual realm" with the nearby real world.

However, due to the special nature of the "spirit realm," people can only hear the sounds within the spirit realm but cannot see what is inside.

Since Yun Ziliang, Li Changxun, and Lu Xingzhou could hear Mr. Bailu's "triumphant" words in the spiritual realm, Mr. Bailu could naturally also hear Zhou Xuan's shouts.

"It's Zhou Xuan, what's he yelling about?"

Bai Lu Fangshi's "timeline" is somewhat behind. While everyone else is already in the timeline of "Yu Heshang's crimes are obvious," he is still stuck in the point of "Zhou Xuan and Yu Heshang conspiring to make human elixir."

His current impression of Zhou Xuan is extremely poor.

"Why am I yelling? I'm waking you up. It's time to wake up from your dream. The alchemy factory is waiting for you to get to work."

Zhou Xuan said irritably, "He's not dead at all. What kind of nonsense is he thinking all day? Living as long as the heavens? Take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror. See if you deserve it."

To wake a sleeping person, one must use drastic measures. Zhou Xuan launched into a tirade of sarcastic remarks at the White Deer Taoist priest.

"Haha, Zhou Xuan, can I take that as you being jealous of me?"

"You are very capable, colluding with that fish monk, and you will achieve even greater success in the future, but so what?"
You still have your own lifespan, and when it's over, you will die. No matter how spectacular your life may be, in the grand scheme of things, you are nothing more than a speck of dust in the universe.

But I'm different. I succeeded. I achieved the supreme Dao.

"..." Zhou Xuan was speechless.
He knew the old man was crazy, but to this extent was something he hadn't expected.

Li Changxun then asked Yun Ziliang, who was standing to the side, "Grandmaster, what is that guy babbling about?"

As soon as he asked the question, Yun Ziliang immediately took off his shoe and started hitting him, yelling irritably as he did so: "I've already told you, don't try to guess what a madman is thinking. What, you're not listening?"

At this time, the Maha Temple was like a walled city; those outside didn't know what was happening inside, and those inside didn't know what was happening outside.

Fortunately, Lu Xingzhou was the only person besides Zhou Xuan who had a clear understanding of the situation both inside and outside the city.

He transformed into a great river and seeped into the "spiritual realm," saying to the wall, "White Deer Taoist, Lu Xingzhou greets you. The master is right, you have never died at all."

"You're helping Zhou Xuan fabricate lies too? Tell Zhou Xuan to quickly abandon his intention to harm me. I've already achieved the Great Perfection of the Cantong Qi, the Mysterious Heaven is Boundless, immortal... Ouch..."

Before Bai Lu Fangshi could finish his boastful words, Lu Xingzhou forcibly interrupted him.

Lu Xingzhou's hand transformed into river water once more, penetrating the wall and grabbing Bai Lu Fangshi, pulling him out in one swift motion.

"I apologize for offending you, Mr. Lu."

After offering his apologies, Lu Xingzhou dragged the White Deer Taoist out like a dead dog.

Lu Xingzhou is an expert when it comes to traveling between the spiritual realm and the real world.

In the blink of an eye, he descended into the real world with the White Deer Taoist.

Yun Ziliang, Li Changxun, the painter, and Yuan Buyu, Zhou Lingyi, Mr. Bai Liu, and others who had come to help but had not yet left Huangyuan Prefecture all turned their gazes toward Mr. Bai Liu.

"You can all see me?"

Bai Lu, the sorcerer, felt a sense of foreboding as he was stared at by those intense gazes.

"Hoo~ho~ho~"

A series of heavy, labored breaths caught the attention of the White Deer Taoist priest, who turned around in the direction of the sound.

He should have kept his head down, but as soon as he did, a chill ran down his spine—he saw a huge fish.

This fish is none other than the Fish Monk.

As old adversaries who had clashed before, how could Bai Lu Fangshi not know that this big fish was the Fish Monk's natal form?

"What happened to that wicked monk, Fish Monk?"

White Deer Alchemist's forehead was dripping with sweat.

Lu Xingzhou then said, "Mr. Bailu, in the Spirit Realm, the Great Master pretended to cooperate with the Fish Monk, but in reality, he used the magician's tricks to lure that demonic monk to the real world so that he could kill him."
Now that the Fish Monk has been brought to justice, your White Deer Mountain should be returned to its rightful owner.

"Ah? The esteemed gentleman is such a virtuous person?"

"That's for sure. If you don't believe me, look at the golden teardrops scattered on the ground. They are the tears of the demonic monk from his suffering."

Lu Xingzhou pointed to the teardrop.

The teardrops, like gel, did not disperse upon landing.
The White Deer Alchemist picked one up, smelled it, and immediately understood.
The tears contained a Buddhist aura, and only the Twenty-One Zen Masters could shed such wondrous tears.

Only then did the White Deer Taoist realize he had wronged Zhou Xuan, and he carefully went to apologize: "Master, it was my old White Deer who was presumptuous."

Zhou Xuan turned his head and glanced at the white deer, then suddenly raised his hands high: "No one will support my lofty ambitions, I will tread the snow myself! To the mountain peak!!"

This passage was very short, so short that even if Zhou Xuan deliberately dragged out his tone, he finished reading it in just a few seconds.

But this passage was very long, so long that Mr. Bailu felt as if a thousand years had passed. While listening, his toes curled up tightly, as if he wanted to dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it.

Society is dead!

He felt utterly hopeless; at that moment, he even wished he were truly dead.

The onlookers laughed heartily.

Li Changxun, always eager for a good show, shouted at the White Deer Taoist, "It's done! It's done! Master Deer, you've succeeded!"

"I can't go on..."

Bai Lu, the sorcerer, blushed with embarrassment. His arrogant words after "achieving the Great Perfection of the Cantong Qi" had turned into sharp boomerangs, piercing him precisely and slapping him in the face repeatedly.

After everyone had laughed and joked, they didn't continue mocking Bai Lu the alchemist—after all, it was just a daydream of an "old alchemist."

The tower push continued, and Zhou Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance, acting as a supervisor.

To be honest, the White Deer Taoist's attitude towards Zhou Xuan has completely changed.

In his eyes, this gentleman was both cunning and resourceful. He leaned closer and whispered, "Master, I promised you beforehand that if you helped me reclaim White Deer Mountain, I would teach you the art of alchemy. I will definitely keep my promise."

"Old Bai, that fish monk resurrected his family using the Human Elixir. Is the Human Elixir really that miraculous? Can it bring the dead back to life and heal flesh and bones?"

The White Deer Alchemist said with a smile, "It's not the elixir that's mysterious, but rather this Twenty-One Zen Master who is truly mysterious."

"how to say?"

Zhou Xuan asked.

The White Deer Alchemist said, "I wonder if you, sir, have ever heard of the ancient Buddha who also refined elixirs?"

"heard."

Zhou Xuan responded.

He had heard Wuya Chan say that after the ancient Buddha met the Taoist Ancestor, he admired the Taoist teachings for a long time. He then began to refine elixirs, wear Taoist robes, and recite Taoist scriptures.

“That’s not all.”

The White Deer Alchemist said, "The Dao Ancestor also gifted the Ancient Buddha two large fish, one green and one red—the Ancient Buddha is a Buddhist, how could he refine elixirs? His elixirs were refined by those two large fish."

"The large blue fish is called 'Cloud and Rain,' and the large red fish is called 'Dragon Transformation.' The red dragon is a ferocious fish that feeds on humans, while the cloud and rain fish is a benevolent fish that feeds on the essence of heaven and earth."

The White Deer Alchemist spoke with great familiarity, saying, "These two fish are the ancestors of all alchemy. The red fish is used to refine human elixirs, and the blue fish is used to refine qi elixirs."

Later, the ancient Buddha gained some enlightenment and merged the two fish, condensing them into a large fish imbued with Zen wisdom, which was called "The Zen Wisdom of the Six Desires."

"So, that's how the Fish Monk came to be? And he's the patriarch of alchemy in the world?"

Zhou Xuan then said, "But this is strange. Since he is the ancestor of all pill refiners, the pills he refines should be extremely powerful. How come after more than a thousand years, he is only qualified to refine pills for Li Shanzu!"

"Ah."

Li Changxun, who was pushing the tower in the distance, turned around and sneezed. "Why does it feel like someone is cursing at me?"

The white-deer alchemist laughed heartily, "Master, alchemy isn't just about having enough skill and knowledge. You have to keep an eye on the furnace temperature every day and constantly monitor the changes in the pills. It's very mentally taxing. Each batch of pills is like a small baby, requiring careful attention."
That fish-monk was lazy and didn't do any physical labor; no matter how skilled he was at alchemy, he couldn't consistently produce good pills.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan gazed at the fish monk and murmured, "Blue and red fish..."

Since the Azure-Red Fish is the Ancestor of Pills, if Zhou Xuan obtains it, he could potentially expand his pill-refining business significantly.

However, these two fish belong to the "Six Desires Zen" sect and have little to do with him. "Fish Monk, you've wasted good things."

After Zhou Xuan finished speaking, he got up and went back to watching the tower-pushing progress. However, he didn't notice...

...The fish monk, who had been paralyzed and unable to move, suddenly changed direction in a bizarre way, with the top of his fish head pointing directly at the fish monk's back...

……

"Boom, boom."

"Get out of the way! The tower is going to collapse!"

After Li Changxun called out, the Maha Pagoda, which had been tossed about by numerous worshippers and was now teetering on the brink of collapse, finally fell down.

The massive tower crashed down, sending up a thick cloud of dust that stung the air and made people's noses and mouths choke.

After the dust settled, everyone saw a bottomless pit.

Inside the pit was a huge, extinguished furnace, and inside lay countless skeletons, the number of which was indeterminate.

Anyway, when Zhou Xuan looked over, he saw patches of white-gray color that hurt his eyes.

Bai Lu, the alchemist, glanced at the remains and couldn't help but shudder. He said, "Master, these bones are the remains of the demon monk after he finished refining the elixir. Moreover, judging from the thickness of the 'ash shell' in the furnace, it should have been cleaned for only a hundred years."

"In just a hundred years, so many people have been killed... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this demonic monk should be torn to pieces." Lu Xingzhou was so angry that he almost broke his teeth.

"There's still movement."

Zhou Xuan's ears were extremely sharp. He caught a rustling sound, like the subtle rustling of a tiny, sharp claw accidentally scratching across the blue bricks.

He glanced at the furnace in the White Deer Mountain and confirmed that the sound was not coming from inside. He immediately turned his head and fixed his gaze on the base of the "Maha Pagoda".

After the tower collapsed, there was a dome-like structure at the base of the tower. Upon closer inspection, he felt that it looked like a fleshy tumor growing at the base of the tower.

“Mr. Lu, over there.”

Zhou Xuan pointed towards the tumor on the tower, and Lu Xingzhou understood immediately, creating a wave that surged towards the tumor.

"boom!"

The wave, carrying immense force, smashed a crater into the massive tower, from which flowed various severed human limbs and fresh remains.

A foul, fishy stench wafted over.

"Squeak!"

"Roar, roar!"

Clumps of furry animals stirred within the burrow, and the cries of rats and bears could be heard.

"This pagoda is full of demons who cooperate with the evil monk and practice in the Maha Temple every day."

"Thank you for your keen insight, sir."

Lu Xingzhou immediately sent out a secret message to the sect, summoning one wandering lantern after another. Today, he could not kill the fish monk, but he could still clean up these mountain spirits and wild ghosts.

For a time, the sounds of killing and fighting were incessant.
At this moment, Zhou Lingyi walked up to Zhou Xuan and said, "Brother, I see that you are very interested in alchemy."

"The elixir business is huge, so of course we're interested."

"But you have to be careful. It was because of you that I learned that this elixir is a business from heaven."

"Don't worry, I'm measured."

Zhou Xuan agreed.

Yuan Buyu then said, "Good disciple, if you are good at alchemy, I believe you can definitely make good pills. When you start refining, if you make a good pill, get a couple for your master to taste."

“Master, I won’t wait until I’ve refined the pills to offer you my respects. I have something good to offer you right now.”

"what?"

"If you walk down the mountain and keep going, you'll see an inn. The mutton buns at that inn are really authentic, with thin skin and lots of filling."

"..." Yuan remained silent.

"Nonsense, you think I don't know? Those are human flesh buns." Yuan Buyu spat, and then, along with Zhou Lingyi and Mr. Bai Liu, their figures faded until they disappeared.

After seeing off his sister and master, Zhou Xuan called out to Yun Ziliang and the others, "Old Yun, let's go back to Mingjiang Prefecture."

"Mr. Lu, farewell."

After greeting everyone, Zhou Xuan bid farewell to Lu Xingzhou, saying, "Don't forget to let the people eat the fish monk raw."

"Don't worry, sir. Even if I forget who I am, I will never forget this important matter."

"However, why is there such a hurry to return, sir? Come to our water village, have a couple of drinks before you go."

"Let's do it another day. I still need to take this Mr. Qingyunzhi to Mingjiang Prefecture to rescue an old friend."

Zhou Xuan pulled the White Deer Taoist priest over.

"My name is Bai Lu, not Qing Yunzhi..." Bai Lu, the sorcerer, said weakly.

……

The group set off immediately, and the White Deer Taoist once again transformed into the "Cantongqi" book and entered Zhou Xuan's secret realm.

Then, Zhou Xuan activated "Divine Soul Day Travel," but just as he was traveling in the day, he returned to his original spot.

"What's wrong, sir?"

The painter and Yun Ziliang both noticed something was wrong and asked Zhou Xuan with concern.

Zhou Xuan glanced back at the fish monk and said, "It seems he won't let me leave."

"Who?" the painter asked.

"Fish Monk".

Zhou Xuan described his feeling just now—when he was swimming in the daytime, it was as if dozens of anchor hooks were thrown out from the big fish, pulling his soul in and preventing him from leaving.

However, these anchor hooks did not seem hostile; they automatically disengaged after Zhou Xuan landed, without harming him in the slightest.

"This wicked monk can actually seduce you?"

Yun Ziliang was also quite surprised. At this moment, Monk Wuya dismounted from the black donkey and walked over, asking with some surprise, "Master, do you have any other sensations in your body right now?"

"Feel?"

Zhou Xuan closed his eyes and concentrated, and after a careful inspection, he found that it was indeed there.

“Zen Master, I feel an invisible hand inside my body, forming characters within me.”

After hearing Zhou Xuan's description, Wuya Chan immediately felt relieved and said, "Then there's no need to worry. The characters forming within your body are 'Supreme Secret'."

The Supreme Secret is the "Buddhist Esoteric Teachings" left behind by the ancient Buddha within the body of the Twenty-One Dhyanas.

"Why are the supreme secrets formed in my body?"

Zhou Xuan asked.

Wuya Chan thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps, he also wants you to witness the rebirth of the 'Six Desires Zen' to thank you for capturing it."

After the death of the Twenty-First Dhyana, the "Supreme Secret" will be activated, carrying the "will of the avatar" of the ancient Buddha, to find a suitable fool to parasitize.

The entire process is called "esoteric rebirth".

"At the time of reincarnation, there are changes in the world, which is also a great Buddhist ceremony. Please stay and observe the ceremony, Master."

What else could Zhou Xuan say? He could only attend the ceremony; he couldn't very well buy a train ticket home, could he? That would be too undignified.

“Fellow monk, I’m bored anyway. Since the Supreme Master won’t let me leave, I might as well see with my own eyes how those angry people of Huangyuan Prefecture will skin you to pieces.”

Zhou Xuan said to the fish monk with a smile.

At that moment, two streaks of light flashed across the tail of the large fish, one blue and one red...

(End of this chapter)