Honghuang: Eat a Hunyuan Daluo

Kui Mulang and Jin Chanzi hit it off immediately. They ate a constant stream of delicacies every day, roasting bear paws one day, stewing deer penis the next, and tiger offal stew the day after. Jin Chanzi ate until his mouth was greasy and he was extremely happy.

Sun Wukong and his companions settled down in Baoxiang Kingdom, spending their days sightseeing, eating, drinking, and having fun, without ever mentioning rescuing Jin Chanzi.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed, and the Buddhist community finally could no longer sit still.

In the Great Thunderclap Temple, in the main hall, Amitabha Buddha frowned and asked, "How long have Jin Chanzi and the others stayed in Baoxiang Kingdom?"

Guanyin calculated with her fingers and then said, "Reporting to the World Honored One, we have been staying for more than a month."

Amitabha Buddha frowned and said, "This stop has been going on for far too long. If this continues, when will the journey to the West ever end?"

Upon hearing this, Guanyin immediately said, "World Honored One, this Kui Mulang is a person of the Heavenly Court. Why don't I go to the Heavenly Court and ask them to urge him on?"

Amitabha Buddha nodded: "Very well, then you should go to the Heavenly Court! When you go to the Heavenly Court, remember to tell them that the journey to the West is of great importance, and it is something that the three paths of Heaven, Earth and Man all agree on. Just go through the motions, why make such a big deal out of it?"
"Delaying the westward journey is a minor matter; delaying the spread of the Dao among humankind is a major one; but disrupting Sage Bai Jing's plans is a much bigger one. Furthermore, if their obstruction causes problems in the primordial world, no one can bear the consequences."

Guanyin nodded and remembered Amitabha's words.

Then he rode the clouds and arrived at the Heavenly Court.

No one stopped Guanyin from entering the Lingxiao Palace along the way. After arriving at the Lingxiao Palace and meeting Haotian, Guanyin bowed and said, "This humble monk greets the Great Heavenly Venerable."

Haotian waved his hand and said, "So it's Venerable Guanyin. What brings you to my Heavenly Court today?"

Haotian despised Guanyin, a traitor, to the core. Looking across the entire prehistoric world, which saint's disciple would dare to openly betray his sect and join another's lineage?
Therefore, his attitude towards Guanyin was extremely perfunctory.

Guanyin naturally noticed Haotian's disdain for him, and too lazy to engage in pretense with Haotian, she directly told him about the Kui Mulang of Baoxiang Kingdom.

After hearing this, Haotian sighed and said, "Alas! Logically speaking, it is our Heavenly Court's duty to undertake the journey to the west, after all, it concerns the primordial world."

However, the Heavenly Court has been facing a severe financial deficit in recent years. If the Buddhist sect can provide some assistance to the Heavenly Court, Kui Mulang will surely allow them to pass.

Otherwise, we'll just have to wait a while longer. As for delaying Saint Bai Jing's westward journey, that's even less of a concern, since the choice is in your Buddhist sect's hands, isn't it?"

Guanyin's expression changed slightly. He never dreamed that the dignified Lord of the Heavenly Realm, the one who nominally governs the operation of the primordial world, would actually engage in such extortion.
After a few moments of silence, Guanyin asked, "May I ask, Great Heavenly Venerable, what resources does the Heavenly Court lack?"

"I haven't counted what resources are lacking, Venus, why don't you tell the Venerable One quickly?"

Venus immediately stepped forward and took out a long list from his robe: "Your Excellency, these are all the items needed by the Heavenly Court. If Buddhism can gather them, the Heavenly Court will be eternally grateful."

Guanyin glanced at them and said, "Nine Heavens Mysterious Gold, Three Lifetimes Flower, Reincarnation Fruit." These things are all rare resources, many of which are medicinal materials for refining the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir. They are quite valuable even in the prehistoric world.

Guanyin forced a smile: "Our Buddhist sect will do its best to help the Heavenly Court find these things, but the journey to the West is of great importance. Great Heavenly Venerable, please make that Kui Mulang release our Buddhist sect's calamity as soon as possible."

Haotian waved his hand dismissively and said, "Haste makes waste. Don't rush, don't rush!"

Haotian has been the Heavenly Emperor for countless millennia; he is no longer a naive newcomer.

Want to head west? No problem! Just bring the benefits. Or try to get something for nothing? Well, you'd better wait and see!
Seeing Haotian's firm attitude, Guanyin knew that this was the outcome of the trip. He didn't waste any more words and returned to the Great Thunder Temple in a dejected manner to report the situation to Amitabha Buddha.

"Great Celestial Venerable, now that the Buddhist sect knows we won't send anyone to persuade Kui Mulang, will they send someone to forcibly suppress him?"

"It doesn't matter. Do you think we're the only ones without people?"

Returning our attention to Mount Ling, Amitabha Buddha's face turned ashen upon learning of Haotian's intentions: "What a blatant act of bullying by the Heavenly Court! They want to share in the fortune and also gain benefits from our Buddhist sect. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world."

"Kui Mulang, one of the Twenty-Eight Constellations of Heaven, is easily suppressed by our Buddhist sect. Guanyin, you and Manjushri should go to the Wave Moon Cave to suppress Kui Mulang and bring Jin Chanzi out. The rest is none of your concern."

Guanyin and Manjushri nodded in agreement, and the two flew together to the Wave Moon Cave.

Soon, Guanyin and Manjushri arrived above the Wave Moon Cave.

"Is Kui Mulang in the cave?" Guanyin used her secret technique of transmitting sound over thousands of miles, and her voice rang out like thunder, booming into the Wave Moon Cave.

A moment later, Kui Mulang flew out of the Wave Moon Cave. He looked up at Guanyin and Manjushri and said with a disdainful expression, "Who do we have here! It's Cihang Daoist and Venerable Manjushri! No, you've switched allegiance to the Western Sect now, so it should be Guanyin Bodhisattva and Manjushri Bodhisattva."

Guanyin and Manjushri's faces darkened instantly upon hearing this. Why did Kui Mulang speak so rudely?

Guanyin said expressionlessly, "Where is there any Western religion now? We are all Buddhist disciples. Don't forget that the Buddha of our Buddhist sect is still your senior brother Duobao from the Jie Sect."

“Brother Duobao is the Lord of the Desire Realm. In Buddhism, most things are still decided by Amitabha Buddha, right? Otherwise, it wouldn’t be you who came.”

Guanyin was speechless for a moment.

Manjushri took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and then directly changed the subject, asking bluntly, "Kui Mulang, do you know your crime?"

Kui Mulang looked up in confusion: "What crime have I committed?"

"You are incredibly audacious, obstructing the pilgrims from their journey to the West to obtain the scriptures. Isn't that a crime?"

Kui Mulang sneered, "I am one of the Twenty-Eight Constellations of the Heavenly Court. Even the Great Heavenly Venerable has not punished me. What are you? Do you even deserve to punish me?"

Even Guanyin couldn't help but say, "Kui Mulang, illness comes from the mouth and disaster comes from the mouth. You'd better watch your words."

"What? You're resorting to violence because you can't win an argument?"

Guanyin was furious at Kui Mulang's shameless behavior. She produced the Jade Bottle and poured all her power, the power of a peak Great Luo Golden Immortal, into it, then hurled it at Kui Mulang.

Kui Mulang's expression changed slightly. He immediately summoned a precious sword and swung it with all his might. The sword was covered in sword energy, and he used its killing power to blast towards Guanyin's jade bottle.

However, Kui Mulang said that even if he were to reveal the truth, he would only be at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, and would be no match for Guanyin in the slightest.

Although the killing power within the blade energy was strong, it was crushed into powder before it even reached Guanyin. Then, the jade bottle, carrying overwhelming force, struck Kui Mulang.

"Pfft." Kui Mulang spat out blood and collapsed to the ground, his breath immediately becoming weak.

Guanyin frowned upon seeing this and said, "Kui Mulang, don't pretend to be dead. I held back ninety percent of my power in that last attack. Get up now and hand over the pilgrim, and this matter will be over."

Kui Mulang remained silent with his eyes closed, pretending to be dead.

"If you continue to play dead, we may enter your Moon Cave," Manjushri said coldly. Kui Mulang remained motionless.

Guanyin also lost her patience and turned to Manjushri, saying, "Let's go in and find Jin Chanzi first."

Manjushri nodded in agreement.

Just as Guanyin and Manjushri were about to go inside, a rough male voice came from the Wave Moon Cave: "Junior Brother Kui Mulang, why haven't you returned after so long? Could something have happened to you?"

"Let's go out and take a look."

As they spoke, two figures slowly emerged from the Wave Moon Cave.

The figure walking in front wore a fish-tail crown, had a face like a red date, a red beard and hair, three eyes, and wore a bright red Bagua robe, his whole body was crimson.

The other figure was also dressed as a Taoist, wearing a bright red robe, with a face as blue as indigo, hair as red as cinnabar, a huge mouth with fangs, and three wide-open eyes.

Upon seeing the two figures, Guanyin and Manjushri felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

These two were none other than Luo Xuan, the God of Fire, and Lü Yue, the Plague Immortal!

Lu Yue looked up, glanced at Guanyin and Manjushri, and asked, "What are you two doing here? Where is my junior brother Kui Mulang?"

Luo Xuan glanced around and spotted Kui Mulang lying on the ground, covered in dust and barely alive. He pretended to be anxious and ran over to help Kui Mulang up: "Junior Brother Li Xiong, are you alright?"

As he spoke, Luo Xuan took out a spirit pill from his storage space and put it into Kui Mulang's mouth.

The elixir transformed into a warm, trickling stream upon entering the mouth, slowly merging into Kui Mulang's body.

Kui Mulang opened his eyes and weakly asked, "I...I'm not dead yet."

"What nonsense are you spouting? With your senior brother here, who can take your life?"

Upon hearing Luo Xuan's words, Kui Mulang immediately burst into tears: "Senior brother, my life is miserable! The Buddhists, relying on their superior cultivation, attacked me without distinguishing right from wrong. Please, senior brother, avenge me and prevent the cultivators of the world from looking down on our Jie Sect and our Master."

Luo Xuan gently laid Kui Mulang down and said softly, "You rest here. Leave the matter of teaching them a lesson to your senior brother."

Guanyin was completely numb and quickly explained, "I held back ninety percent of my power; I couldn't hurt him at all."

"He withdrew ninety percent of his power? And wasn't injured? My junior brother, if he hadn't been lucky, would have perished at your hands long ago." Luo Xuan said, his face grim as he looked at Lü Yue: "Senior brother, what do you have to say?"

"What else can we do? We have to fight back!"

Upon hearing this, Guanyin quickly said, "Fellow Daoists, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!"

Luo Xuan didn't want to hear him say anything more. A strong wind blew in mid-air, howling. Luo Xuan summoned three thousand fire crows. In an instant, the terrifying high temperature distorted the scorching void.

"Quasi-Saint!" Guanyin and Manjushri exclaimed in unison.

Their cultivation levels were still at the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, yet Luo Xuan had already reached the Quasi-Saint realm!

In mid-air, a fierce wind howled, and the three thousand fire crows that Luo Xuan summoned transformed into a blazing sea of ​​fire, with crimson light illuminating the heavens and the earth, distorting the void, and rolling heat waves.

Guanyin and Manjushri exchanged a glance, their expressions solemn, knowing that the power of the Quasi-Saint was far beyond their reach.

"Manjushri, join forces!" Guanyin shouted, and the jade bottle in her hand shone brightly. A stream of clear nectar transformed into a long river and rushed towards the sea of ​​fire, attempting to use water to extinguish fire.

Manjushri then unleashed the Azure Lotus Banner, its azure light swirling and transforming into a protective barrier. At the same time, he brandished his Vajra Pestle, unleashing a thunderous attack on Luo Xuan.

Luo Xuan, expressionless, formed a hand seal. Fire crows cried out in unison, transforming into three thousand fiery spears that, with the force of burning the heavens, pierced towards Guanyin's River of Sweet Dew.

Although the river was vast, it instantly evaporated under the intense heat of the fire spear, turning into a sky full of white mist, unable to withstand its power.

"Not good!" Guanyin's heart trembled. She used her magic power again to condense the nectar into a giant Buddha statue made of water and light, intending to suppress the fire spear.

However, Luo Xuan flashed and arrived in front of the giant Buddha of water and light. A crimson flame spear appeared in his hand at some point. With a flick of the spear tip, firelight pierced through the giant Buddha like a dragon. Water vapor scattered, and Guanyin's breath hitched, causing her to retreat several steps.

At the same time, Manjushri's Vajra Pestle struck with lightning, but Luo Xuan neither dodged nor evaded. With a wave of his hand, three thousand fire crows condensed into a giant fiery palm, forcefully shattering the lightning. Although Manjushri's Azure Lotus Banner protected his body, it was shaken by the residual force of the fiery palm, causing the banner to sway and its azure light to dim.

Manjushri gritted his teeth and summoned another sword in his hand, its sword energy surging, attempting to disrupt Luo Xuan's offensive.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Guanyin made a hand seal, and a golden chain flew out from the jade bottle, wrapping around Luo Xuan and trying to trap him.

Luo Xuan shook his head and said, "It's nothing but a trivial skill!"

After speaking, Luo Xuan raised his hand and pointed, and a crimson beam of light appeared out of thin air. Wherever the beam passed, the golden chains shattered inch by inch, and the sword energy dissipated completely.

Immediately, the fire crows around him transformed into a whirlwind, carrying endless flames, enveloping Guanyin and Manjushri within it.

"Not good, retreat!" Guanyin shouted urgently, but the Fire Crow Whirlwind was as fast as lightning, instantly trapping the two of them.

Under the scorching heat, Guanyin's nectar barrier quickly dried up, and Manjushri's blue lotus banner also began to crack.

Luo Xuan moved like a ghost, thrusting his crimson spear twice, striking Guanyin and Manjushri on the shoulders respectively.

"Pfft!" Both of them coughed up blood at the same time, their figures retreating violently, their auras weakening. Guanyin's jade bottle almost slipped from her grasp, and Manjushri's sword even broke in half.

The outcome was decided. Luo Xuan withdrew his supernatural powers and coldly looked at the two, saying, "You injured my junior brother, and you deserve to die. However, I will spare your lives for the sake of Senior Brother Duobao. But you must compensate my junior brother, and you must also prepare what the Great Celestial Venerable told you to do as soon as possible, otherwise the journey to the West may not be able to continue."

Upon hearing Luo Xuan's words, Guanyin and Manjushri knew perfectly well who had instigated Kui Mulang's behavior today, but they dared not say anything more and could only turn and leave.

Two days later, the Buddhist sect sent a large amount of resources to the Heavenly Court, and Kui Mulang also received a considerable amount of compensation.

With money exchanged for goods, Jin Chanzi was naturally sent out of the Wave Moon Cave.

However, after completing his mission, Kui Mulang did not return to Heaven immediately. Instead, he stayed in Boyue Cave, intending to spend his life with Baihuaxiu before returning to Heaven to report for duty.

After returning to Baoxiang Kingdom, Jin Chanzi reunited with Sun Wukong and the others, and they continued their journey westward. (End of Chapter)