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

Chapter 171 News from the Tushita Palace
"Father, do you think Master... will he help us or not?" Tang Sheng's voice was less playful than usual.

"I don't know." Chen Guangrui's voice was very calm. "If it were five hundred years ago, when he made a ruckus in the Heavenly Palace, he would definitely go. But now, I'm afraid he won't."

Tang Sheng tilted his head in confusion.
"Why not go now? Master is so capable, who can stop him?"

Chen Guangrui looked down at his son and reached out to rub his little bald head, "Because he now has a weakness."

"Weakness?"

"Yes, it's the place I'm most afraid of getting hurt, the place I'm most afraid of being poked." Chen Guangrui looked at the lush forests of Huaguo Mountain.

"These monkeys and their offspring all over the mountain are what he is most afraid of losing now, and what he dares not gamble on the most. With a weakness, no matter how capable he is, he will hesitate and weigh the pros and cons. He can no longer act recklessly and break the sky like before."

Tang Sheng nodded as if he understood, then scratched the back of his head and muttered, "So we're out of help?"

Chen Guangrui silently rode the clouds.
"Yes, it's hard to find help. We should be grateful if Li Tianwang doesn't cause us any trouble; don't count on his people. The meaning of the Tushita Palace is very clear: this time we can only rely on ourselves."

"What about the mortal world?" Tang Sheng asked, tilting her little face up, still unwilling to give up.
"Father, you must know a few capable helpers in the mortal realm, right?"

Chen Guangrui gave a helpless twitch of his lips. "There's an old Taoist priest who's a master at fortune-telling, but when it comes to fighting, he can't even beat you. And there's an old Dragon King? He's good at guarding his territory, but if you ask him to go head-to-head with Buddhism, he'd be scared out of his wits."

"Oh, and there's also a little white dragon. He was originally a designated servant of the Buddhist sect, but he insisted on going out on his own. No matter how I tried to persuade him, he wouldn't listen. I don't know how he is now."

Chen Guangrui spoke of the Third Prince of the West Sea Dragon King without batting an eye, showing no remorse whatsoever.

The two rode the clouds forward, surrounded by a vast sea of ​​clouds. Tang Sheng sighed like a little adult, mimicking Chen Guangrui by putting his hands behind his back, his little brows furrowed tightly.

"This won't work, that won't work. How can we, just the two of us, fight against Li Tianwang, and how can we make Buddhism suffer? We can't really expect me to use that gourd that pretends to be heaven to trick a few more thugs, can we?"

"A gourd that holds the sky?" A low voice suddenly emerged from a thick cloud nearby.

Chen Guangrui and Tang Sheng were both startled and looked in the direction of the sound. They saw the white cloud part, and the heads of the Golden Furnace Boy and the Silver Furnace Boy popped out, their faces showing excitement at sneaking out and a hint of guilt.

"Brother Jinlu! Brother Yinlu!" Tang Sheng exclaimed in surprise, his previous sorrow vanishing completely. He would rather die than tell anyone about the trick he had told people with the gourd.

Chen Guangrui wasn't too surprised, but raised an eyebrow slightly, "How did you two get out? Does your ancestor know?"

The Golden Furnace Boy immediately put on a stern face and adopted a serious expression.
"Ahem, of course we are... well, concerned about Brother Kui Mulang's affairs. We heard you're going down to the mortal realm to be Li Tianwang's deputy. Isn't that like a lamb entering a tiger's den?"

The Silver Furnace Boy nodded vigorously, eager to speak.

"That's right, that's right! We were so worried about you. That Li Tianwang has such a deadpan face and such an arrogant air about him. He doesn't look like a good person at all. He'll definitely make things difficult for you at every turn. You don't have any help, so how are you going to help Brother Kui Mulang get revenge?"

"So, you came here specifically to tell me this?" Chen Guangrui looked at them.

The Golden Furnace Boy looked around, lowered his voice, and asked mysteriously, "Mr. Chen, do you still remember the Yellow Wind Monster?"

"The Yellow Wind Monster?" Chen Guangrui certainly remembered that earth-shattering Samadhi Divine Wind.

"Yes!" Silver Furnace Boy couldn't help but interject again, speaking rapidly.
"Back then at Mount Sumeru, he killed that bastard Lingji, and with his head in hand, he personally told Brother Kui Mulang and us that he owed you, Chen Guangrui, a huge favor. As for what it was, he didn't say, only that if you ever need anything in the future, just come to him."

The Golden Furnace Boy quickly added more, his eyes conveying a reminder.

“This Yellow Wind Monster is no ordinary monster. You’ve seen his Samadhi Divine Wind; it’s terrifying. If you can get him to help you, it will be a great asset.”

“He went west!” Silver Furnace Boy added.
"When he parted ways with us, he said that this was his habit from then on: whenever he encountered injustice, he would take care of it and would go west to make his way in the world."

He imitated the Yellow Wind Monster's tone, trying his best to appear reliable.

Chen Guangrui's heart skipped a beat. The grudges and entanglements between the Yellow Wind Monster and Buddhism were indeed an unexpected choice. He looked at the two boys with a hint of inquiry, "Did he send you to tell me this news?"

He pointed upwards in the direction of the Tushita Palace.

"How could that be!" The Golden Furnace Boy immediately straightened his back, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Are we that kind of people? What kind of relationship do we have? Brother Kui Mulang's affairs are our affairs. Why would we need the Ancestor's orders?" His tone was filled with resentment at being looked down upon. The Silver Furnace Boy nodded vigorously, his little face turning slightly red.

"That's right, we're here to help you sincerely!"

But then, as if remembering something, the Silver Furnace Boy scratched his head, his voice lowering slightly, tinged with embarrassment.
"However, our ancestor did indeed come looking for us this morning..."

The silver-burning boy continued, carefully taking out a small jade box from his robes.
"The Ancestor said that even if the two of us hadn't come, this still had to be delivered to you. He said that you are now the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses, in charge of the Heavenly Horses of the Imperial Stables, and have the authority and seal. Here, along with this Spirit-Controlling Rhinoceros Pill specially refined by the Ancestor..."

He handed the box to Chen Guangrui,

The ancestor said, "After taking this pill, combined with your seal, your control over those celestial horses and any other spirit beasts will be ten or a hundred times stronger. Whatever you want them to do, they will almost certainly do it, as easily as... as controlling your own hands and feet."

"The Spirit-Controlling Rhinoceros Pill?" Chen Guangrui took the jade box, opened it, and saw that inside was a pill the size of a longan, radiating a warm, jade-like luster.

"How should I refine this?" Chen Guangrui is now addicted to refining pills, and he wants to try it out whenever he sees one.

"The ancestor said that your cultivation level is not high enough, and refining such pills takes too long and delays things."

The Golden Furnace Boy finally spoke up, tacitly acknowledging that Laozi had indeed given instructions.
"So I specially refined this into a gentle medicinal power that doesn't need refining. It melts in your mouth and its medicinal properties go directly to your spiritual aperture, specifically to complement your seal. Take it now and try it out."

Chen Guangrui looked at the pill, then at the two boys, and his lips twitched. The ancestor was certainly being very "caring," even considering that he couldn't refine the pill. He felt clearly being looked down upon.

"Hmph, what's a man born between heaven and earth, refining a few pills!"

Chen Guangrui's competitive spirit was ignited, and without saying a word, he picked up the pill and popped it into his mouth.

As Jin Lu had predicted, the elixir instantly transformed into a cool and refreshing nectar, flowing down the throat.

Contrary to expectations, the medicinal effects were not overwhelming. Instead, it was like a gentle rain seeping into parched earth, silently penetrating every part of the body and eventually converging deep within the mind, creating a strange resonance with the authority seal of the弼马温 (Bima Wen, a high-ranking official in charge of horses).

He closed his eyes, and his mind stirred slightly.

Not far away, several cranes that were leisurely preening their feathers seemed to receive an invisible command and instantly stopped moving. Then, under Chen Guangrui's mental "command," they took flight in unison and quickly changed formation in the air.

In just a few breaths, these cranes actually formed a huge and twisted "S" shape in the air.

Before the three little guys, Jinlu, Yinlu, and Tangsheng, could recover from their astonishment, the flock of cranes changed again, and a huge, twisted "B" shape suddenly appeared in the clouds.

"Wow!" The Silver Furnace Boy's eyes widened in astonishment, his mouth gaping open wide enough to fit an egg, and he excitedly jumped up and down, pointing at the sky.
"Mr. Chen, what kind of powerful formation is this? What kind of mysterious talisman are these two characters? They look unfathomable and contain immense killing intent!"

The Golden Furnace Boy also frowned, trying hard to discern something from the distorted crane shape, and muttered to himself,
"Indeed... I have never seen such a formation before. It is neither a symbol nor a formation, yet it is a perfect whole, subtly conforming to some kind of... um... indescribable rhythm."

"I haven't fully figured out this formation either; you all still need to work harder."

Chen Guangrui withdrew his thoughts expressionlessly, and the cranes immediately regained their freedom, scattering in all directions in a daze.

"There's no formation involved," Chen Guangrui coughed lightly, his tone flat and indifferent. "They were just placed randomly."

Looking at the two children who were both bewildered and eager to learn, he quickly changed the subject, "However, this elixir is indeed very effective. With this, we have more to rely on."

He felt an even stronger connection with the birds and beasts in his sea of ​​consciousness, almost like an extension of his own arm, which boosted his confidence considerably.

As for the Yellow Wind Monster, Chen Guangrui looked westward, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

If there are no helpers, then the Yellow Wind Monster can only be one person. However, this guy carries the head of Lingji Bodhisattva wherever he goes, which makes him too conspicuous, and his mental state is somewhat worrying.

"As for the Yellow Wind Monster, we can talk about that another time. The most urgent thing is to go and see our Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King who is in charge."

(End of this chapter)