Man in the heavens, wins by lying down to prove the truth

Chapter 346 The Pill Refiner in the Absolute View, the Descendant of the Immortal Family

"This tastes so good, my darling."

Pigsy was extremely envious, but he said that when he was in heaven, he had seen the immortals from overseas offering this fruit to the Queen Mother of the West to celebrate her birthday. He had seen it, but had never eaten it.

It takes ten thousand years for a short-headed person to produce thirty of these spiritual fruits. How rare are they?

It is said that only the Three Pure Ones, the Four Emperors, and the Five Elders of the Five Directions can taste it; others should not even think about it.

Bajie's heart stirred slightly, but he touched the collar around his neck, vaguely intending to tighten it and strangle him, while making a mournful face on his face.

"You're wrong, you're wrong, Grandpa Collar, please don't torment me."

As soon as Pigsy finished speaking, the evil thoughts in his heart subsided, and the necklace finally quieted down.

Originally, Bajie meant abstaining from the five pungent vegetables and three forbidden foods.

Now it has become abstaining from killing, stealing, adultery, and lying. Not to mention going astray, even the slightest thought will cause him trouble.

After suffering several hardships, Pigsy became more and more obedient.

Tang Sanzang's three disciples, plus a dragon horse, were both restrained by others.

Sha Wujing was extremely cautious; if he didn't remain steadfast in his pilgrimage, he would continue to suffer the pain of being pierced by flying swords. The white horse was also burdened with sins; now it only hoped to be exonerated and attain enlightenment, which could also be considered a form of restraint.

Only the old monk himself said that he had not made much progress along the way.

In this world, cultivation focuses solely on cultivating the mind.

Once you've reached the right level of mental fortitude, nothing else matters. All sorts of miraculous elixirs, treasures, and exotic flowers and fruits can help you improve your cultivation level.

This scene was witnessed by those in the Taiyi Heaven.

In the mountain pavilion, Zhou Cheng and Zhenyuan Daxian sat facing each other, talking about how the mysterious light reflected and gave rise to the Wuzhuang Temple.

"In that case, I promised the Bodhisattva that I would help him do something, but it seems that I will not be able to help him now."

Zhenyuan Daxian simply smiled as he watched this scene, clearly indicating that the incident of causing a ruckus at Wuzhuang Temple was also arranged back then.

Zhou Cheng laughed and said, "That's not necessarily true. I wonder if I'll be lucky enough to taste this Herbal Elixir from the Great Immortal?"

Upon hearing this, even Zhenyuan Daxian was taken aback. Such things had absolutely no effect on the Wuji Dao, not even satisfying one's appetite.

The Great Dao of Limitless is above all principles, it manipulates creation, and can conjure all kinds of spiritual objects out of thin air.

The things that appear out of thin air here are truly created from nothing, from nothing to something.

This ginseng fruit is a treasure for ordinary people; just smelling it can make one live to be 360 ​​years old.

Eating one grants immortality and allows one to attain enlightenment through unorthodox means. If one were not subject to the five decays of a celestial being at the age of 47,000, one would have an inexhaustible lifespan.

Moreover, in this world, the Great Dao revolves, taking from the surplus and giving to the deficient.

Therefore, even if one possesses countless methods to prolong life and various protective treasures, one who has not achieved immortality can only live forty-seven thousand years.

At the age of forty-seven thousand years, the five signs of decay will occur, causing the six senses to dissipate, all phenomena to turn to smoke, and return to the universe. There is no way to escape, no way to hide.

Even if one becomes immortal, there will still be calamities, namely the three calamities of wind, fire, and thunder.

Thunder is heavenly thunder, which is under the jurisdiction of the Thunder Department Heavenly Venerable, and only those with great supernatural powers can resist it.

This calamity is an external one; if protected by elders of the sect, there is no danger.

Wind and fire represent inner tribulations, formed from the interaction between one's own golden elixir and the Great Dao.

The stronger you are, the stronger the disaster will be; there will always be one stronger than you, and once the wind and fire strike, you will surely die.

Similarly, only those who cultivate great supernatural powers and reach the end of the Great Dao can be free from this calamity; otherwise, they can only seek refuge from disaster.

These methods of avoiding disaster are even more complicated and numerous, but in short, they all involve hiding one's own golden core and sacred embryo.

The Golden Elixir is without leakage; as long as one can hide away, one can avoid interacting with the Great Dao and establish one's own set of rules.

"This item has gained a bit more luster since it has caught the eye of the Celestial Venerable."

Zhenyuan Daxian knew that since this virtuous person had spoken first, it was because he wanted to taste the fruit that grew on the tree.

If it were something I conjured up myself, there would be no need to tell him.

As for the reason, Zhenyuan Daxian understood it after only a moment's thought.

Naturally, it was necessary to 'help' them through this calamity.

With a wave of his sleeve, Zhen Yuanzi performed a magic trick, plucking four spiritual fruits from a distance.

"Please offer this fruit to the Heavenly Venerable."

Zhenyuan Daxian picked up a fruit and bowed to Zhou Cheng.

“In that case, I will try this precious fruit from the Great Immortal.”

Zhou Cheng picked up a ginseng fruit. Tang Sanzang mistook it for a child because it was about the size of a palm, moving its hands and feet around, nodding and swaying its head, just like a living person.

……

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Meanwhile, inside the Wuzhuang Temple, Pigsy, Monkey, and Sandy were recounting what they had overheard earlier.

"Our master is just an ordinary person and can't recognize treasures. That's a ginseng fruit! If it were me, Old Pig, I definitely wouldn't be polite."

The old pig grumbled, imagining, "Only by eating one ginseng fruit at a time can one truly enjoy it."

The traveler chuckled and said, "This herb-rejuvenating pill is very effective for that master, but it would be useless for us to eat it."

Sha Wujing thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense. I'm just curious, though. I wonder what such a treasure tastes like."

"Without a second thought, the taste of that ginseng fruit must be absolutely unparalleled!"

Pigsy couldn't help but complain that his mouth was watering, and the more he complained, the more he craved something.

As fate would have it, the two young Taoist disciples, Qingfeng and Mingyue, finished eating the fruit and went back to their guest room to fetch tea to offer to Tang Sanzang. They overheard Bajie shouting something about how delicious the ginseng fruit was, saying things like, "Eating them one by one is so satisfying... The taste of ginseng fruit is unparalleled." This immediately aroused their suspicion.

Qingfeng immediately looked at Mingyue and said, "Mingyue, did you hear that long-beaked monk say that the ginseng fruit tastes amazing, and that it's delicious to eat them one by one? Could it be that he stole our treasure?"

"Oh no, brother! Quickly go and count them to see if the number of fruits is correct!" Mingyue asked hurriedly.

The two brothers hurriedly entered the ginseng garden, leaned against the trees, looked at the fruits on them, and began to count them.

They counted back and forth, repeating the count seven or eight times, until they were certain there were only twenty-two fruits.

Mingyue asked, "Brother, do you remember how many fruits there were in total?"

Qingfeng said, "I remember there were thirty fruits in total. When Master opened the garden, he ate two fruits, so there should have been twenty-eight left. Just now, two were picked and offered to Tang Sanzang, so there were twenty-six left. Now there are only twenty-two on the tree, which is four short."

Upon hearing this, Mingyue said it was the same as what she remembered, and quickly said, "No doubt about it, it must be that group of villains. There are four of them, they must have stolen them to eat, one for each of them. Tang Sanzang is their leader, we should just curse Tang Sanzang."

The two boys left the ginseng garden and went straight to the hall. They glared angrily at Tang Sanzang, pointing at him and hurling insults and profanities at him.

"You thieving, rat-headed monk, you stinking, short, and tall demon monk..."

The two boys launched into a tirade of rude shouting, which even the usually timid Tang Sanzang couldn't resist, and he quickly inquired, "My two celestial attendants, what is this commotion about? Why not speak calmly instead of resorting to insults? It's extremely rude!"

Qingfeng said, "You are deaf and cannot understand my words. You four wicked people stole my ginseng fruit and you won't even let me say anything?"

Tang Sanzang immediately asked, "May I ask what the ginseng fruit looks like?"

The junior brother, Mingyue, retorted, "What I just offered you was a ginseng fruit. How dare you say you don't recognize it?!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang was taken aback, but he uttered a Buddhist chant and said, "Amitabha! I see that fruit looks like a three-day-old child, how dare I eat it, how dare I eat it? The fairy boy has wronged an innocent person."

Seeing Tang Sanzang say this, the two fairy boys, who had cultivated magical powers, were able to tell whether a mortal was lying.

Then Qingfeng said, "Brother, could it be that they didn't steal it?"

Mingyue sneered, "Brother, don't be misled. Even if the monk didn't eat any, did that mean his men didn't steal any?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang thought about his three disciples.

Apart from Sha Wujing, the others were all hot-tempered and couldn't make up their minds for a moment. So they said, "The two fairy boys have good concerns. In that case, don't rush. Let me call them over and ask them. If they did steal it, I'll make them compensate you."

Mingyue couldn't help but sneer, "Compensate? Can you afford to compensate? That ginseng fruit is a rare celestial treasure, with only thirty appearing every ten thousand years. It's unique in the heavens and the earth, except for this place. Eating one can allow mortals like you to live for forty-seven thousand years. How can you compensate?"

The arrogant attitude of the two boys made Tang Sanzang unable to bear it any longer.

Tang Sanzang clasped his hands together and said, "My eldest disciple caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago. Which of the heavenly generals could defeat him? If he stole it, I have the ability to compensate you with fruit."

Before long, the pilgrim and his entourage were summoned to the hall.

Then the traveler spoke up, "Master, we've borrowed this precious kitchen, and the vegetarian meal we've prepared is almost ready. Are you hungry?"

"But that's not the matter. Let me ask you something else." Tang Sanzang shook his head and continued to inquire, "In his temple, what kind of ginseng or immortal fruit looks exactly like an infant? Did you steal any of them?"

Upon hearing this, the traveler shook his head: "I pretend to possess the Primordial Chaos, and in terms of status, I am no different from their master. If I wanted to eat, I would have asked their master for a fruit; why would I steal it?"

"Pah, what a load of bull!"

The two young Taoist disciples, Qingfeng and Mingyue, did not recognize Sun Wukong. They said that they had not left the temple for 1,200 years and would not know about the changes in the outside world.

Upon hearing this, the pilgrim was immediately displeased: "How could I, Old Sun, lie to you? Back then, I became a disciple of the Patriarch in the Taiyi Heaven and received the Great Law, which allowed me to roam freely throughout the heavens."

"I, Old Sun, have eaten countless peaches from the Queen Mother of the West. I've also consumed five gourds of Laozi's Nine-Turn Elixir. Why would I care about your Herb Rejuvenation Elixir? How can it compare to the Nine-Turn Elixir?"

Immediately, the two young Taoist priests hesitated, wondering if they had miscounted and had lied to them.

After apologizing again, the second Taoist priest went to check the garden again. He said that there were indeed four fruits missing.

The two young Taoist priests discussed it briefly, then mentioned the altar and used a ritual to summon the local earth god of Longevity Mountain.

"I have met the Earth God."

How could the local earth god accept such a courtesy? He quickly stepped aside, then cupped his hands and said, "Two young immortals, is there something you need?"

Then Qingfeng asked, "May I ask the local earth god, have you seen anyone enter this garden to take fruit?"

“I did not see anyone, but I saw a hand reach out from the east and pick four fruits from the fruit tree.”

Mingyue was shocked when she heard this and said: "Picking fruits with bare hands?"

“Pick the fruit with bare hands!” the land deity said earnestly.

Suddenly, the gentle breeze and the bright moon met each other's gaze.

This ginseng fruit tree is a spiritual object, corresponding to the five elements.

If it is not struck with gold, even a true immortal could not remove it.

"There really is someone stealing fruit!" Qingfeng looked at Mingyue.

Mingyue continued, “Our Taoist temple is located at the root of the earth, where there are earth immortals residing in this world. Even gods and Buddhas in heaven and on earth cannot enter without a sound, so it should not be an outsider stealing the fruit.”

Inside the Taoist temple, besides the two of them, there were only Tang Sanzang and his group of four.

Qingfeng seemed to remember something and said, "That monkey said that he is pretending to hold some Hunyuan Fruit position, so he is actually a person like our master. Only he has the ability to pick fruit from the tree."

Mingyue said, "If that's the case, let's go and question them."

Qingfeng quickly grabbed Mingyue, saying, "Brother, that thieving monkey can pick fruit with his bare hands. What kind of supernatural power is that? Even our eldest brother can't do it. How can we do anything to him?"

Upon hearing this, Mingyue immediately realized its merit and asked, "Brother, what should we do?"

Qingfeng pondered for a moment, then suddenly had an idea. He said, "Why not put the medicine in their tea and food and coax them to eat it?"

"When Master returns, if they are truly innocent, we can apologize. If they did steal the fruit, Master will use his great power to deal with them."

"It's reasonable and reasonable."

……

Meanwhile, the two fairy boys busied themselves, and while the four masters and disciples were eating, they brought tea and cups to apologize to the group.

"Four elders, we were wrong. We checked the fruit and found that none was missing. We had miscounted."

Mingyue bowed respectfully, while Qingfeng served tea as a small apology.

However, the traveler immediately sensed something was amiss.

However, by manipulating his eyes to reveal yin and yang, and creating the illusion of double pupils shining like the sun and moon, he was able to see past events and immediately knocked over Tang Sanzang, who was about to drink tea.

"Master, this tea has some kind of poison in it, you can't drink it."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang was greatly alarmed. The teacup in his hand fell to the ground and shattered into pieces with a loud crack, splashing tea everywhere.

Now, Qingfeng and Mingyue were startled and immediately used a magic trick of a terrestrial immortal to disappear into the ground.

"That thief, he's fast!"

Wukong glanced at the hand seals the two were making and immediately understood their earth immortal techniques. He then used them as well, saying that he would capture them and question them carefully.

However, this method of escaping underground failed before it could even be used.

It felt as if someone had used a magic that turned the earth into steel; the land was terrifyingly hard, as if it were protected by an ancestral earth immortal.

"Hmph, what do you mean by 'sharing the same rule with the world'? I, Old Sun, don't know about it, but neither have Pigsy and Sandy. They're just big talkers."

As the saying goes, "The monk may run away, but the temple can't. Let's smash up their temple and knock down their trees, then see if they still dare to hide!"

Meanwhile, Sun Wukong pulled the golden cudgel from his ear, and with a single, hasty swing, houses collapsed and ruins appeared on all sides, turning a Taoist temple into rubble in the blink of an eye.

The ginseng fruit tree was uprooted, leaving Qingfeng and Mingyue, who were hiding, terrified.

"Brother, disaster has struck! This demon monkey has ruined the alchemist in my Wuzhuang Temple and severed the lineage of my immortals! How am I going to explain this to Master when he returns!"

"Don't panic, don't panic. Take good care of yourself, and once Master returns, you must tell him what happened!"

The two brothers, their faces long and mournful, hid underground, not daring to utter a sound.

(End of this chapter)