Da Zaojun

After Song Wuji finished speaking, his confidence increased considerably, leaving Shen Houzi and Shu Shu dumbfounded.

But thinking about it, there's actually nothing wrong with that statement.

They couldn't bring themselves to say these words, so they could only kneel down and prostrate themselves: "Grandpa Laojun, we brothers know we were wrong. From now on, we are willing to protect the Kitchen God, glorify the human way, and establish laws and regulations for the human way."

As soon as the two of them spoke, the others also began to plead for mercy.

Song Wuji didn't know if it would work or not, but he sincerely prayed a few times, completely forgetting what he had vowed before: that he didn't believe in any gods, Buddhas, or Bodhisattvas.

Now that we've arrived at the Heavenly Palace, isn't it normal to take a few treasures?

Xu Gou, a long-time employee here, reminded everyone to be careful and not to take anything without permission before leading them to the alchemy room.

The alchemy room was already open, and several cow hoof prints could be seen.

Song Wuji asked, "This ugly ox is still an ox, is it related to Laozi's horned green ox?"

"Laojun's ox is his mount, and the ugly ox is an image of plowing the fields. In terms of the stars, it is the Golden Ox Star, which is the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl."

"After offending the Queen Mother, the Golden Ox Star no longer holds the position of the Ox. Now, it is an old yellow ox of the Heavenly Plow Star. To be precise, it is the younger brother of the Bull Demon King. The Ruyi True Immortal who used to guard the Abortion Spring has taken over the position of the Ox."

"This one does have some connections; he once grazed with Laozi's ox! He received some guidance from him and is also a deity."

"Great! The entire Bull Demon King's family has been given government jobs!"

"It was he who, along with Brother Ma, encouraged Brother Long and Brother Hu to descend to the mortal realm."

The Rooster said, "Brother Ma also has a background. He was a celestial horse that the Great Sage personally took care of when he was the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses. With the Great Sage's power to subdue the Mind Monkey, he restrained the Mind Horse and became the leader of the celestial horses when galloping across the Milky Way, becoming one of the Nine Chariots of the Heavenly Emperor."

"Brother Long was previously sitting on the Heavenly Emperor's Column."

"Brother Tiger is the Tiger God, a mountain lord from the lower realm. He was favored by the White Tiger Supervisor God and served as a figurehead in the Tiger Palace for a while."

"The Rabbit Rabbit is the wife of the male Rabbit Rabbit."

The Rooster truly lives up to its reputation for being a master of gossip; it knows the origins of the twelve zodiac animals and the earthly branches perfectly, without any omissions.

Song Wuji asked, "Then which rabbit was the one who married Tang Sanzang in the mortal realm?"

"Of course it's a male rabbit!" said the Rooster. "If it weren't a male rabbit, how could it fight the Great Sage shirtless? And what kind of elixir is that pestle pounding?"

"That's not right either. If you put the pestle on, it's like a male rabbit; if you take it off and use it as a weapon, it's like a female rabbit."

Song Wuji found it rather unbearable to hear.

When Song Wuji entered the alchemy hall of the Tushita Palace, he found that it had also been completely looted. Looking at the hoof prints all over the ground, he thought, "The ox must have stolen it."

"The pills that Laozi refined include raw and cooked pills, golden pills and herbal pills, and pills that have undergone nine, eight, three, and five cycles."

"He took them all without even checking their properties. What was he planning to do? Try to emulate Sun Wukong?"

Song Wuji said, "How many pills does this ox want to eat? Has it never eaten any before? Why doesn't it leave any for those who come after it?"

"There's some ash from the alchemy furnace here!" Shenhou rummaged through the Bagua Furnace, whose fire had already been extinguished.

Song Wuji said, "The ashes from the alchemy furnace are also useful, take them with you!"

Zishu said, "There are a few pills that have rolled and spilled on the ground!"

The dog repeatedly said, "I can identify elixirs! I can identify elixirs! Let me see!"

But then they saw the rat pushing several pills that looked like Maltesers.

"This is a raw pill, it hasn't been reheated yet!"

"No wonder that old ox didn't like it."

"What does this taste like? Can I eat it?" the Snake asked.

"The elixir needs to be refined by reheating the fire, otherwise it cannot be transformed into a golden elixir."

"Among these pills, I see Yin-Yang Longevity Pill, Yin-Yang Creation Pill, Yin-Yang Purification Pill..."

The dog carefully examined each item: "Once I return to the cauldron, I can refine it to the sixth level!" "Don't let any of the gourd, pill bottle, or herbs escape!"

Song Wuji became the ringleader, taking everything he could carry away, but in reality, he didn't take much: some lead, mercury, cinnabar, sulfur, mica, arsenic, gold...

It looked like it was for refining heavy metal pills, so Song Wuji took it with him.

"Is there anything with text on it?"

"Only those with written text are precious. If it were written by the Dao Ancestor himself, then it would be extremely valuable!"

Wei Yang exclaimed, "I've found one with words on it! I've found one with words on it!"

He immediately came carrying a silk book in his mouth.

[Tao Te Ching]
Song Wuji looked at the words written on it, which were things like: "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao."

Xu Gou said, "This is the scripture that Master usually recites when he shakes his head and leads a group of Taoist priests in their morning prayers."

Song Wuji's eyes lit up: "Good stuff!"

He immediately treasured and kept it.

They searched again, even the rat holes, but found no other treasures. Only then did they leave, saying, "Let's go check out the weapon-refining hall."

The entire group of zodiac animals were full of energy, completely engrossed in what they considered a treasure hunt.

The fire in the weapon-refining hall had not yet been extinguished. Song Wuji pushed open the door and went in. There was not a single weapon inside. Even the hammer that Laozi swung was gone. Only an anvil that could not be taken away remained.

Some of the already forged innate divine steel on the left and right were also taken away.

All that's left are some iron slag.

Song Wuji also collected the iron slag. Then he sighed, "You really moved it all out cleanly!"

"Rat and Monkey, take another careful look. Is there any surviving treasure?"

Immediately, a row of zodiac animal earthly branches appeared, their eyes almost touching the ground.

"I've found a needle!"

The Rat has once again achieved great success.

It's clear that besides dealing with kitchen waste, they probably also have some talent for treasure hunting.

[Sun Needle]
It was forged in the eyes of the Great Sun Tathagata, and Laozi refined it from the tangible to the intangible, and from the intangible to the tangible, repeating this process nine times to create a spiritual treasure.

Song Wuji said, "This is a good treasure. The Bodhisattva Pilanpo refined an embroidery needle from the eye of the Pleiades Star Lord, while Laozi refined it from the eye of the Great Sun Tathagata. I don't know who did it first."

Song Wuji attempted to communicate with the spirit, but the golden needle responded only, revering the virtue of the Great Sun Fire and not the fire of this human realm.

Song Wuji thought to himself: If I were to say "Zhong Cheng," wouldn't I become the sun too? You look down on me, the Kitchen God, don't you!

He immediately said, "Then you might as well stay here and collect dust!"

The Golden Needle of the Sun, being a spirit, did not want to be eaten by dust. It said, "You have barely met the requirements, but you will need some of my food to nourish your spirit."

What kind of food do you need?

"What a stroke of luck!"

"Without good fortune, I would just be a magic weapon. Now I am a spiritual treasure. After I was forged, Laozi had a moment of weakness and his hand trembled, causing me to fall to the ground. He has never been able to find me since!"

"Even the Supreme Sage's eyesight is failing and his hands are trembling?"

He really is no different from an old Taoist priest in the mortal world.

Song Wuji said, "I have already obtained the Heaven-Creating Furnace, so I will naturally bestow some blessings upon you."

"Fine!"

(End of this chapter)