They've all become top scholars in the imperial examinations, and you're telling me this i

Chapter 112 Tathagata, I am your Grandpa Sun!
At the foot of Wuxing Mountain, in a farmhouse courtyard where peaches are planted, Yuan Shoucheng is holding a plump, juicy peach and eating it with gusto at a worn-out bamboo table.

"Mmm! Old man, these peaches of yours are absolutely superb!" He praised them, his mouth stuffed full, juice dripping down his chin without him even bothering to wipe it away.
"Sweet and juicy, crisp and refreshing, wow, in all my years, this is the first time I've ever tasted such a fresh and delicious peach!"

The old man leaned back in a recliner under the tree.

"Of course! This peach tree in my yard is the best in the area, the only one of its kind for miles around. It's imbued with the spirit of the mountains. How can the fruit in the market compare to mine?"

His cloudy eyes gleamed with pride accumulated over many years.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shoucheng quickly took another big bite.

"Oh my, I was wondering why you're so healthy, old man! It turns out you've grown up eating these spirit peaches! If you keep eating them for a few more years, you're guaranteed to live to be a hundred and become a centenarian!"

"Haha, thank you for your kind words, sir! Thank you for your kind words!" The old man slapped his thigh with joy, and all the wrinkles on his face smoothed out.

Chen Guangrui, standing to the side, also held a peach. He knew that Yuan Shoucheng seemed to be speaking casually, but he had secretly performed a divination.

Taking advantage of the old man's good mood, Yuan Shoucheng quickly dropped the peach pit and pulled Chen Guangrui to the woodpile in the corner of the yard, a little further away from the recliner.

"Hey, I'm telling you, Top Scholar," Yuan Shoucheng lowered his voice, his fawning smile instantly turning into a worried expression.

"Just now you chanted and performed some fighting and banging on those two local gods and even brought up the name of the Tushita Palace to scare them. That was a clever move."

He gestured with his greasy thumb, genuinely admiring them. He knew that the mountain god and the land god were at odds with the Five Directions Protector, and he also knew that Guanyin, the living Bodhisattva, might be coming. But why couldn't they connect the dots like Chen Guangrui did and bombard them with questions that left them dizzy and confused?
Yuan Shoucheng could only admire him, but then he changed the subject...
"But the problem is, what about the effect? ​​My left eyelid is twitching badly, and I have a bad feeling about it. Those two petty officials are as timid as pinholes; they're probably scared out of their wits after hearing what you said and dare not speak. Or perhaps..."

He lowered his voice even further, "Or else, they might turn around and run to inform the Five Directions Exorcists. Either way, the Five Elements Mountain is a bit dangerous for the two of us right now, so let's leave as soon as possible."

He became more and more anxious as he spoke, wringing his hands in frustration and glancing repeatedly toward the gate.

Chen Guangrui remained calm and spoke gently to the old man, "Old man, could you sell me a few more peaches? I want them fresh and crisp, wrapped in clean leaves and placed in a bamboo basket."

"I'll wrap them for you right away!" the old man hurriedly agreed, struggling to get up to pick the peaches.

Yuan Shoucheng's eyes widened at Chen Guangrui's actions. He took a step forward and grabbed Chen Guangrui's sleeve.

"What kind of time is this? We're in a crisis! You still have the mind to ask him for peaches? Where do you think you're going with the peaches?"

Chen Guangrui picked up the large peaches the old man had wrapped up. "Wait a minute. Even when you're drawing a bow and shooting an arrow, you have to wait for the arrow to fly for a while before you know the result. What's the rush?"

He glanced at the massive shadowy outline of the Five Elements Mountain outside the courtyard. "Besides, Ao Lie, the Third Prince of the West Sea Dragon Palace whom you've been longing for, is still waiting for us to fish him out at the bottom of Eagle's Sorrow Gorge. If you just leave like that, will you still get that huge karmic benefit?"

"Pick them up, of course we have to pick them up!" Yuan Shoucheng blurted out, then added with a bitter face,

"But we're barely able to protect ourselves right now. Even if that Third Prince of the Dragon is a good catch, we'd have to be alive to rescue him, right? What if..."

Before he could voice the terrifying hypothetical scenario following his "what if," his gaze inadvertently swept over the low mud-brick wall of the courtyard, and suddenly he froze as if struck by lightning, his mouth agape, wide enough to fit an egg, the rest of his words stuck in his throat.

Following Yuan Shoucheng's horrified gaze, behind the mottled earthen wall, two half-heads and four frightened eyes were peeking out furtively.

It was the very same Five Elements Mountain Land God and Five Elements Mountain God who had just been making them guess.

The earth god was frantically gesturing towards the courtyard, sweat beading on his forehead, his mouth silently opening and closing: "Immortal... Immortal..."

They looked like two children who had made a mistake and were eager to confess to their parents but were afraid of being beaten. They had no trace of divine authority.
The courtyard fell silent for a moment, with only the rustling of the wind through the peach leaves and the soft creaking of the recliner under the old peach tree.

Yuan Shoucheng snapped back to reality, his hand trembling so much he almost dropped the peach he'd just handed him. He forced a look more like a grimace, and through gritted teeth managed a weak utterance, resigning himself to his fate.
"I...I'll go to hell...Scholar Chen, you're ruthless! I'm on this pirate ship now, there's no getting off, even if you kick me out, I won't get off!"

Yuan Shoucheng and Chen Guangrui walked out as if nothing had happened. After confirming that no one was around, the local earth god and mountain god ran up to Chen Guangrui and Yuan Shoucheng and knelt down with a thud.

"My lord!" The earth god's voice trembled with tears; this time, he no longer concealed it, clearly having gone all out.
"The lesser gods are truly wronged! Those Five Directions Protectors, they... they've bullied us too much!"

The mountain god kowtowed repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes! They're enjoying their retirement up there, leaving all the work to us two! Patrolling the mountain, delivering messages, guarding against this and that... We've been running around in the wind and rain for over six hundred years, putting us through so much trouble!"

Yuan Shouchang's small eyes darted around, and he immediately adopted a look of shared indignation. He stepped forward and offered a helping hand, saying, "Get up, get up! These Five Directions Protectors are utterly despicable! Speak your mind, and the Immortal will stand up for you. We are all one family!"

His words were tactful, expressing concern while subtly shielding Chen Guangrui from view, while he himself remained in the background observing the situation.

Encouraged, the landowners became bolder. "If they're happy, fine, but if they're not, they'll find fault with us in every way! If the mountain wind blows too strong, they'll say we're being lazy; if the dew is too heavy, they'll say we're neglecting our duties. They'll often make us patrol the mountain again, or punish us by making us guard the mountain pass day and night. If we're even slightly careless, or if we're a little slow..."

He shrank back, subconsciously touching the spot where he had been beaten. "It was a brutal beating, they didn't treat us like gods... no, they didn't treat us like human beings!"

The mountain god nodded vigorously in agreement, his face filled with lingering fear and frustration.

"Yes, yes, sometimes, even all five of them, the Five Directions Protectors, aren't all there. They rely on the fact that this is a place personally sealed off by the Buddha, thinking no one in the world dares to cause trouble, so... so they sneak away, leaving only one or two to guard it, considering that their duty done. The rest, who knows where they go to enjoy themselves!" "What? Sneak away?" Yuan Shoucheng's eyes widened in surprise; this time he was truly astonished.
"Didn't the Buddhist sect always make grand pronouncements to outsiders, portraying this defense as impregnable? So... it turns out it's just the two of you doing the hard labor?"

The land nodded with a pained expression.
"Your Excellency, you are wise to see that we make it sound like we are surrounded by gods and protected by bodhisattvas, but in reality it's just the two of us. And as for delivering the meals, those iron balls and molten copper, we delivered them on time. It's exhausting!"

He went on and on, pouring out all the grievances he had accumulated over the past few centuries.

"And that's not all!" The mountain god seemed to remember something more important, glanced around, and lowered his voice to almost a whisper, "Those Jiedi lords, they really know how to make a profit."

"Benefits?" Yuan Shoucheng's heart skipped a beat, his ears perked up involuntarily, and his small eyes gleamed instantly, but he restrained himself from showing it too obviously, only leaning forward slightly as if he wanted to hear more.

The land understood and replied.

"That's right! The demons on the nearby mountains all know that Five Elements Mountain is a sacred Buddhist site, guarded by someone personally appointed by the Buddha. Those demons with connections want to get on the good side of the guards..."

He paused, "Especially that black bear spirit from Black Wind Mountain, every few days he would send his very shrewd disciple, or occasionally come in person, to deliver gold and silver to the Five Directions Protectors. They were all good stuff, shiny and bright!"

The mountain god's tone was tinged with envy and a hint of resentment: "Every time they come, they come with big bags and small packages. The disciple or the black bear spirit just stands in front of the mountain and whistles, sometimes even startling the monkeys. When the Jiedi lords hear this, they send a messenger down to collect the things. They don't let us interfere at all, let alone stop us. Instead, they expect us to pretend we didn't see anything."

Upon hearing "the Black Bear Spirit is giving away gold and silver," Yuan Shoucheng's eyes twitched violently, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

Chen Guangrui had been listening calmly until now, when he slowly spoke, "You all need to keep evidence of these things; you might need it later. Also, remember that: just do your duty. Deliver the iron pellets and molten copper to that monkey on time to keep him alive. The rest…"

His gaze swept across the land and mountains.
"No matter what the Buddhist sect does, what the Five Directions Protectors give orders, or what demons outside are making arrangements, we will not care! Your talismans were given to you by our Taoist sect. You only need to remember this: keep a close eye on your food and don't let it go wrong in the slightest."

"Yes, yes, I will remember your teachings, Immortal! I will certainly do my duty well!"

The local earth and mountain gods, as if granted a pardon, nodded their heads like chickens pecking at rice, their faces filled with tears of gratitude. For them, being able to climb the ladder to the Tushita Palace meant finding their greatest backer, enough to dispel all their fear of Buddhism.

After bowing repeatedly, they sneaked away and disappeared behind the earthen wall once more.

Once the two little spirits had run far away, Yuan Shoucheng could no longer maintain his composure and slapped his thigh, exclaiming, "My goodness! That black bear spirit... what on earth is he trying to do?"

He rubbed his hands together and paced around the yard twice.
"He's a demon leader deep in the mountains, with hardly any followers left. He's been fasting and chanting Buddhist scriptures for two hundred years, yet he's running off to deliver gold and silver to the guards of Five Elements Mountain? Is he trying to curry favor? To build a connection? Why is he trying to establish this relationship? Does he really think he can become a Buddha?"

Chen Guangrui frowned, his right hand unconsciously stroking his chin as he fell into deep thought.
He certainly knew the ending of the Black Bear Spirit in Journey to the West, but he didn't expect that there were so many scenes before that.

He looked up at Yuan Shoucheng, who was scratching his head, and asked, "Old Yuan, can you calculate the cause and effect of this?"

Yuan Shoucheng's face immediately fell, and he shook his head vigorously.
"No, no, I already said, Scholar Chen, please spare me! As long as it involves the Five Elements Mountain, this monkey, and the Five Directions of Buddhist Priests, I feel my skull tingling just from the thought of it. I can't calculate it, not even a little bit. If I force myself to calculate it, I'm afraid my old bones will just die right here and turn into ashes!"

Seeing that Chen Guangrui didn't insist anymore, Yuan Shoucheng breathed a sigh of relief, but his brows remained furrowed.

"This place is a huge quagmire; all your skills in calculating the heavens and the earth are completely useless here!"

Chen Guangrui nodded, his expression returning to calm, but his eyes sharpened.
"It's good that you can't figure it out. If you can't figure it out, they can't figure it out either, so we have a chance."

He looked up at the majestic and oppressive silhouette of the Five Elements Mountain.

“Now that the local earth god and mountain god have been disturbed, it would be too conspicuous for the two of us to appear together at the foot of the mountain. Old Yuan, go and take a look around the Guanyin Temple area and see if there is any new activity there.”

"Me?" Yuan Shoucheng's small eyes darted around, and he instantly understood Chen Guangrui's concerns.
“Alright, I, Lao Yuan, can handle this job. I’m an expert at spying and playing tricks!”

He deftly brushed the dust off his Taoist robe. "Then you..."

Chen Guangrui said, "I'll go to the foot of the mountain and take another look."

He walked to a secluded corner, his magical power swirling slightly around him. His figure and appearance blurred and changed, and when he came out again, he had become an ordinary mountain villager dressed in coarse clothes and carrying a wood-chopping knife. His features were indistinct, and he could be easily lost in a crowd.

This was precisely the minor ability he gained from the Nine Revolutions Soul-Dividing Pill after becoming a Fire-Burning Daoist—the ability to manipulate the flow of energy and change appearance.

Yuan Shoucheng clicked his tongue in amazement, "Hey, Scholar, you've got some skills! I'll go check out the Zen temple then, be careful!"

After saying that, he quickly slipped into the narrow path leading down the mountain.

Chen Guangrui checked the direction, and carrying the basket of peaches, he followed the path that the white-haired old man with the ox had led him along, heading towards the depths of the Five Elements Mountain, towards the direction where the Monkey King was suppressed.

The valley was silent, with only the sound of the wind blowing through the bare rocks.

Before even approaching the center of the valley shrouded by the massive, five-fingered rock formations, a powerful, defiant voice pierced the thin air, rolling in like thunder and echoing repeatedly through the mountains:
"Buddha! I am your Grandfather Sun!"

(End of this chapter)