I'm already a Great Luo Golden Immortal, how come you're only Martial Saints?

The Black and White Impermanence, who were once just over a meter tall, grew to be a hundred feet tall.

The same was true of Bai Wuchang; the two messengers descended in their true forms, both with blue faces and fangs, their bodies radiating a powerful ghostly aura.

Stimulated by the ghostly energy, the Soul-Locking Chains transformed into countless strands of pitch-black, icy black energy, like thousands of snake bodies, dancing wildly and instantly weaving into a giant net that blots out the sky, completely sealing off the space where Sun Wukong and Ning Chen were located!

A chilling wind howled, ghosts wailed, and space completely froze, cutting off any escape route!

"Oh no!"

Sun Wukong's expression changed drastically. He swung his iron rod and smashed it hard against the chains, but only blinding sparks flew out.

The chain net contained the laws of the netherworld and was extremely sturdy; it was beyond the ability of Sun Wukong to break through at this moment!

Ning Chen was extremely anxious and subconsciously wanted to use the Sun and Moon Pearl and the Golden Mirror to protect himself and kill the enemy, but he found that the magic treasures were all in his physical body in the mortal world!

At this moment, he was just a wisp of soul, and had not cultivated the method of communicating with the underworld, so he could not use any of the various methods!

As the Soul-Locking Chains coiled around them like venomous dragons, the Black and White Impermanence's enormous ghostly claws also slammed down, their chilling death aura nearly freezing and tearing the souls of the two brothers apart!

Am I really going to fail here today?!

At this critical moment, when life hangs by a thread!

Deep within Ning Chen's soul, the Tao Te Ching, which he had studied day and night and which had long been integrated into the very essence of his soul, seemed to sense the immense crisis Ning Chen was facing at this moment, and suddenly emitted a brilliant light!

"The Tao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. Profound and mysterious beyond profound, the gateway to all wonders..."

The silent, solemn Daoist voice resounded loudly in Ning Chen's sea of ​​consciousness and even throughout the entire sealed Netherworld space!

The purple-gold characters, exuding an ancient, profound, and supreme aura, emerged from the depths of Ning Chen's soul like a brand, surrounding him and making him appear as if a Dao Ancestor had descended to earth!

The light was not scorching, but it carried a powerful force that could purify evil spirits!

Where the purple-gold radiance shone, the eerie wind suddenly stopped, and the ghostly howls ceased instantly!

The soul-locking chains, which danced in the sky and contained endless death energy, were like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun, emitting a hissing wail. The black mist evaporated violently, and countless runes collapsed, instantly becoming dim and even beginning to melt away inch by inch!

The true form of the Black and White Impermanence, with its green face and fangs, twisted violently.

"This...this is...the Daoist essence of a sage?!"

The voice of Bai Wuchang was filled with endless horror.

"The Eight Views Palace... the Tushita Palace... the Supreme Sage?!"

Black Impermanence's voice even changed tone, and he exchanged glances with White Impermanence.

"He, he is... a disciple of the saint?"

The purple-gold radiance slowly receded, and the Daoist chant gradually subsided. However, the Black and White Impermanence dared not act rashly again, and their enormous true forms instantly shrank back to their normal size.

They bowed repeatedly in Ning Chen's direction.

"Your Excellency, please forgive me! I was blind and did not recognize your greatness! I did not know you were a disciple of a sage! I have offended you greatly, and I deserve to die a thousand deaths! I deserve to die a thousand deaths!"

"Please, Your Excellency, show mercy! This humble deity will allow them to pass immediately! Allow them to pass immediately!"

Black Impermanence didn't even dare to raise his head.

Ning Chen never expected that the Tao Te Ching would have such a terrifying deterrent effect in the Netherworld. It seems that even the ghosts and gods of the underworld have to give way to the sages' lineage!

He breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice.

"Now that you know, quickly open the passage and send us back to life!"

"Yes, yes, yes! I will obey the Immortal's decree!"

Black and White Impermanence felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and quickly got up and began to perform hand seals.

The ghostly chains that had sealed off the space quickly dissipated, and the mist ahead parted to reveal a passage shimmering with a faint white light, leading to the bright and warm human world.

Sun Wukong scratched his head and muttered to himself.

"Goodness gracious, junior brother, that Tao Te Ching is even more powerful than I imagined! Why do I fall asleep as soon as I read it?"

"Let's go! We'll talk about it when we get back."

Ning Chen dared not linger, fearing that saying too much would lead to trouble.

He pulled Sun Wukong along and stepped into the white light passage.

Light and shadow flashed before his eyes, and a familiar dizzying sensation came over him. Ning Chen slowly opened his eyes, but before he could see everything clearly, he was still in a daze.

Then I heard the voice of the Bodhi Patriarch.

"Wukong, Wuchen, your mortal tribulations are over, why don't you return quickly!"

A golden vortex appeared before the two, emanating the familiar aura of Fangcun Mountain.

The two exchanged a glance. Sun Wukong looked at the monkeys lying all over the ground, and with no more worries in his heart, he grinned and stepped into the whirlpool one after the other with Ning Chen, disappearing from the Water Curtain Cave.

……

In the underworld, the Black and White Impermanence reported the events that had just occurred.

On the stage, King Qin Guang, whose face was as white as paper and who wore a tall crown, looked puzzled. He stroked his long beard and said calmly without making a sound.

"I understand. You wait here, I will report to the Supreme Saint and inquire about the matter!"

In the Tushita Palace of the Heaven of Separation from Hatred, Laozi, with his eyes half-open and half-closed, was guarding the furnace of elixirs. In a state between sleep and wakefulness, he was suddenly informed by a servant boy.

After hearing what the boy said, Laozi immediately revealed a meaningful smile.

"No such person found in the Book of Life and Death. Is his surname Ning and given name Chen? Heh, interesting, very interesting..."

He then spoke to the boy.

"I understand. Tell King Qin Guang to ignore it and let it be..."

Suddenly, Laozi's expression changed, and he exclaimed in surprise.

"Damn it, the fire for this batch of Spirit Elixir has gone wrong again."

He was furious and hurriedly walked outside, shouting repeatedly.

"Ox, ox, come quickly! Come with me to see the Jade Emperor. That King Qin Guang ruined a batch of elixirs, and he must compensate me..."

A robust blue ox chewed on the herb in its mouth, rolled its eyes, and silently complained to itself.

"Sir, you're trying to extort money from them again..."

In the underworld, King Qin Guang looked at the exorbitant compensation claim in his hand, his already pale face turning even more bloodless. He looked at the Black and White Impermanence kneeling below the stage, trembling with fear.

"I only asked you to invite Ning Chen down for a chat, and what did you do? You've caused such a huge mess! The Supreme Saint is demanding compensation, which will be deducted from your salaries!"

"No...no!"

The Black and White Impermanence cried out in their hearts, "We only captured a soul, we didn't even touch a hair on his head, why do we have to pay with a batch of Nine-Turn Purple Gold Pills?"

The expenses listed on this bill are so high that even if they worked for another hundred years, they still couldn't pay them back!

At this moment, they wished they could slap themselves hundreds of times. The disciples of a saint were delicate and precious; how could they, mere minor immortals from the underworld, afford to offend them?

..........

Ning Chen felt a cool breeze brush against his face. He opened his eyes and saw the familiar stone-tiled roof with the marks of time.

The air is filled with the unique, refreshing essence of the plants and trees of Fangcun Mountain.

He sat up abruptly and realized that he was lying on the simple stone bed in the Fangcun Mountain shelter without even realizing it.

On the opposite stone bed, Sun Wukong lay sprawled out, snoring loudly, with a glistening drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.

"Was everything that happened just a dream?"

Ning Chen rubbed his temples, a huge sense of absurdity rising in his heart.

The battles at Flower Fruit Mountain, the revelry at Water Curtain Cave, the heroic deeds of enfeoffing four generals, and the journey to the Netherworld—all these are vividly remembered, yet seem so illusory.

Could it be that all of these were just a pipe dream?

Just then, Sun Wukong woke up, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

He sat up blankly, scratched the back of his head, and muttered to himself.

"Junior brother, I... I had a strange dream. I dreamt that we went back to Flower Fruit Mountain, killed that damned Demon King, went to the underworld, and fought with the Black and White Impermanence... Heh, that was great! That was great!"

Ning Chen's heart skipped a beat.

"Senior brother, you dreamed about it too?"

"Junior brother, you too... no, that wasn't a dream!"

Sun Wukong reached into his robes and pulled out an object, a palm-sized, neither gold nor jade, with a surface covered in charred cracks and a dim spiritual light.

It was the fragment of the protective mirror that blocked the thunderous strike of the Golden Mirror from the side of the Mischievous Demon King!

After slaying the Demon King, Ning Chen tried it out, but the Divine Realm did not provide any improvement. He knew then that the Heart-Protecting Mirror was not meant for him, while Wukong treasured it like a precious gem.

After all, this monkey king was really too poor.

He had no magical treasures on his body, and when he embarked on the journey to the West, he only had the Sea-Stabilizing Needle, an acquired spiritual treasure.

Ning Chen felt a pang of sadness as he watched the scene unfold, and he began to plan how he could get a few magical artifacts for his senior brother to play with in the future.

Sun Wukong's eyes widened as he looked at the fragment of the breastplate in his hand, then at Ning Chen.

"Junior brother! That wasn't a dream! Look! Since this mirror is here, everything in the dream was real!"

Ning Chen's pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately understood.

Everything that happened before was not a dream!

It was the Patriarch who, with his great magical power, instantly summoned them from the distant Flower and Fruit Mountain of Dongsheng Shenzhou back to the Lingtai Fangcun Mountain of Xiniu Hezhou!

This fragment of the breast-protecting mirror is irrefutable evidence of what the two brothers had experienced!

Just then, the clear voice of a boy in blue robes came from outside the theater.

"You two junior brothers are awake? The Ancestral Master has ordered you to go to the cave immediately to receive instruction."