The Great Way to Truth, Starting from Jiazi Laodao

Chapter 127: Manta Ray, Invitation from the Rising Sun Sect
The white light was so fast that it flew straight into Xuanming's arms, but was flicked away by his finger. The white light flew backwards for a hundred miles and suddenly came back.

This time he didn't rush towards Xuanming, but ran towards the carp dragon and hugged it like an octopus, refusing to let go.

The carp dragon was startled and struggled hard, but could not get away. Xuanming took a quick look and found that the fish looked strange, like a carp, with a fish body and bird wings, with gray patterns, a white head and a red beak.

"It turns out to be this thing."

He suddenly realized.

The "Records of Strange Beasts" records 360 kinds of strange beasts. It was a gift from Shanghai Fengming at the promotion ceremony of Qiuzhen Temple. It records the strange species of manta rays. This kind of magical beast was also recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" in the previous life:

The manta ray swims in the West Sea and flies to Wuzhou at dusk.

The red turtle gave birth to the bright moon, whose depth is so deep that it cannot be found.

Things are constantly changing, how can we calculate their ups and downs?

……

This fish often travels in the West Sea and swims in the East Sea. It likes to fly at night. Its sound is like a phoenix. It tastes sour and sweet. Eating it will make you crazy. If it is seen, the world will be prosperous.

This fish is highly sought after by Confucianists and farmers. It has a gentle temperament, seeks profit and avoids harm, is auspicious to watch, and is also regarded as a good omen by the people.

Before Xuanming could think about it, a sound of breaking air was heard, and several streams of light rushed straight here, surrounded the carp dragon, and acted domineeringly.

These are several crabs that are about ten feet long, with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a crab. Each of them holds a gun or a spear, with eyes wide open and a ferocious look. Each of them exudes the aura of a person at the peak of the fourth level of spiritual training.

They came quickly and left even faster because they saw Xuanming. Although they didn't know what level of cultivation this old Taoist had, he must be extraordinary since he could ride a several-foot-long black turtle as a mount.

Even though they envy the flesh and blood and auspicious aura of the manta ray, their life is more important. The reason why the four heroes of Crab Claw have been able to live such a comfortable life over the years, in addition to their brotherhood, is that the key is to judge the situation, be able to bend and stretch, and know how to make choices.

Although he admired the courage of the four monsters, Xuanming had no intention of letting them go. These four crabs had heavy karma and had harmed many innocent creatures in the past. With a snap of his fingers, thunder fell from the sky. The four crab monsters had no time to react and were beaten back to their original form as four hairy crabs.

The scales are rosy and give off a meaty aroma. Although I haven't tasted it, the color and aroma are already excellent. To this day, Xuanming's control over the Five Thunder Technique has reached perfection and is extremely skillful.

However, Xuan Ming did not eat them. He simply waved his sleeves and threw the four hairy crabs thousands of miles away. At the same time, he set up a magical ban. The sea creatures that had grudges with these four monsters would come following their senses and share the hairy crabs, taking revenge for their grudges.

After doing this, Xuanming glanced at the manta ray, which was sensible and immediately let go of the carp dragon. He waved his sleeves again, and the manta ray was thrown into the subsequent transformed thundercloud. He didn't want to be implicated.

The manta ray was thrown into the clouds like a cannonball, with thunder roaring and crackling. He was electrocuted and his eyes turned white, but he still flapped his wings hard, going in and out of the sky, fighting the thunder and lightning.

"Let's go!"

Xuanming took the turtle and the carp dragon away. Since the problem had been solved, there was no need to stay any longer to avoid any more trouble. As for whether the manta ray could survive the transformation, he didn't care. The two were not related. He had already helped the auspicious beast. If he succeeded in surviving the transformation, everyone would be happy. If not, it was also fate. It was the monks who sent the Buddha to the west, not the Taoist priests.

---

Half an hour later, a white light staggered and flew straight towards the carp dragon. The latter wanted to dodge, however, facing the manta ray that had already survived the transformation calamity and was promoted to a great demon in the Qi training realm, the carp dragon had no way to avoid it and was embraced again.

Afterwards, the manta ray shrank in size and stuck to the carp dragon. Ignoring the carp dragon's look for help, Xuanming ordered the spirit turtle to continue on his way.

As for the two fish, he could see clearly that they were destined to be together, or rather, the manta ray had a unilateral crush on the carp dragon, and coupled with its auspicious beast instinct, it was prepared to rely on them.

Xuanming was too lazy to meddle in the affairs of the younger generation. If they could get along, everyone would be happy. If they couldn't, then so be it. In short, just let nature take its course. Anyway, this manta ray had no karma and its aura was pure. It was a good thing for it to devote itself to the Truth-Seeking Temple. This fish forced a connection with him. Could he still stop it and prevent good things from coming to him?
Heading westward and going against the flow, Xuanming headed straight for Floating Cloud Mountain. It took him two months to get there, but only a few days to leave. At dusk, he returned to Qiuzhen Temple with the three beasts.

Excited bird calls rang out, and a black swallow that was patrolling the forest flapped its wings and landed on the spirit turtle that had shrunk to a few feet in size. It called Xuan Ming twice affectionately, then lowered its head to peck at the turtle's back and poked its head out, full of curiosity. The spirit snake on its back especially made Xuan Yan stare at it with a burning gaze.

The cries of deer echoed in Floating Cloud Mountain. The spirit beasts who received the news came like a tide. The spirit deer Changshou took the lead, moving all four hooves and running like the wind. He rushed in front of Xuanming, and his cry was full of accusations. He blamed the master for not calling him for this trip. It was not until Xuanming snapped his fingers and gave the spirit deer a slap on the head that the fool finally behaved himself.

Spiritual butterflies, spirit bees, spirit cranes...

Many spirit beasts surrounded Xuanming, like stars surrounding the moon, and they crowded around Xuanming as he walked towards Cangdao Peak. Even Fuyun Mountain was emitting waves of joy, which only dissipated when they reached Wendao Temple.

After a long journey, Xuanming rested in the thatched cottage and slept for three days and three nights. The other spirit beasts circled around the manta ray, some were curious about him, and some liked the scent of him.

On the fourth day, the sun rose in the east and the morning light was dim. Xuanming stretched lazily, had breakfast, gave some pointers on Changning's practice, and then went to the Sutra Library to read scriptures and gain enlightenment.

Walking in the mountains and rivers, trying to understand the supernatural powers, observing the sky and the earth, collecting energy, and participating in the Tao of heaven and earth...

Xuanming's life returned to its previous rhythm. During this period, he gave "Insights on the Way of Formations - Part 2" to Changfengzi. Now, this fourth-generation disciple's attainments in the way of formations are only stronger than those of the third-generation Taoist priest, which shows how talented he is in this area.

Time passed slowly, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye. It was already the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. The many plants on Floating Cloud Mountain began to turn red and yellow. After a year of brewing, the fire veins of Chiyao Mountain had completely merged with Floating Cloud Mountain. The spiritual energy of this mountain range was becoming more abundant, and compared with before, its cultural heritage was richer.

At the moment when the fire vein and the earth vein merged, Xuanming walked out of the Taoist Temple, raised his hand and sacrificed a towering tree, about five hundred feet tall, the whole tree was fiery red and burning with flames. It was the Xuan-level spiritual root Endless Wood.

Boom!

Along with the endless fire veins of falling wood roots, the entire fire vein shook violently, and it gained a bit more inspiration. Floating Cloud Mountain also rose higher, and the inspiration surged. The mountain rose hundreds of feet high, and it became more vibrant and prosperous.

After doing all this, ignoring the shocked looks of Xuanxu and Xuansu, Xuanming gave a few simple explanations and returned to the Taoist Temple. Half a month later, when the autumn yellow gradually deepened, Xuanming returned to Floating Cloud Mountain for a month before leaving the mountain again, walked down the mountain, rode a deer, and headed straight out of the mountain.

This was because he was invited by the Rising Sun Sect not long ago. He took a look at the invitation, thought for a moment, agreed, and went down the mountain to accept the invitation.

(End of this chapter)