Journey to the West: A clone sacrifices to the heavens, possessing boundless magical power.

Longevity Hill, in front of Wuzhuang Temple.

Tang Sanzang reined in his horse and dismounted.

Three apprentices, carrying luggage and leading a white horse, followed closely behind.

Upon arriving at the mountain gate, one sees a stone tablet inscribed with ten large characters: "Wanshou Mountain, a blessed land; Wuzhuang Temple, a grotto heaven."

Looking at the two vermilion gates, a couplet hangs on either side: "The immortal abode of eternal life, the Taoist family that lives as long as heaven."

Sun Wukong, carrying his golden cudgel, tilted his head and examined it for a moment, then suddenly grinned and sneered.

"Such arrogance."

Sun Wukong scoffed and turned to Tang Sanzang, saying, "Master, this Taoist is so arrogant. When I made a ruckus in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago, I never saw such a boastful couplet in front of the Jade Emperor's Lingxiao Palace. What does 'living as long as the heavens' mean? I want to see what kind of three-headed, six-armed person he is."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang frowned slightly and scolded, "Wukong, stop talking nonsense. When monks are traveling, they should value harmony. There must be a Taoist temple in this deep mountain. It must be a place where a highly accomplished person has attained enlightenment. If you, you impudent monkey, cause any more trouble, don't blame me for reciting the Tightening-Headband Mantra."

Sun Wukong pursed his lips, said nothing more, and simply scanned the temple with his Fiery Eyes.

Pigsy grunted twice, put down his load, and said, "Master is right. Monkey, you're such a chatterbox. Who cares about some immortal abode? As long as we have vegetarian food to eat and a warm bed to sleep on, who cares who we live with?"

Sha Wujing remained silent, but simply reorganized his luggage.

The four of them climbed the steps and pushed open the door to enter.

Two young Taoist disciples came out to greet them; they were Qingfeng and Mingyue.

The two boys, seeing that Tang Sanzang had a dignified appearance and was wearing a cassock, knew that he was the holy monk from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East, whom their master had instructed them to send.

"Could it be Elder Tang from the Tang Dynasty?" Qingfeng stepped forward and bowed.

Tang Sanzang quickly returned the greeting: "Amitabha, this humble monk is indeed the one who came here by chance to stay the night and ask for some food."

"Please come in, Elder. My master has already given instructions."

The two children welcomed the four of them, master and disciples, into the main hall.

Tang Sanzang washed his hands and prepared to offer incense and pay his respects. When he looked up, he saw that in the center of the hall, there were no statues of the Three Pure Ones or the Four Emperors, but only a scroll with the words "Heaven and Earth" written on it.

There was an incense table next to it, with a gold-lacquered incense burner on it.

Tang Sanzang was puzzled. He inserted the incense into the burner and turned to ask, "Two immortal boys, along my journey, every Taoist temple I've encountered has enshrined the Three Pure Ones and the Four Emperors. Why does your temple only enshrine the characters for Heaven and Earth?"

Qingfeng's face showed arrogance, and he slightly raised his chin: "Elder, you may not know this, but my master is worthy of the title 'Heaven' above the character, while he is not worthy of the title 'Earth' below the character."

Tang Sanzang was greatly surprised: "What does this mean?"

Mingyue picked up the conversation, her tone full of pride: "The Three Pure Ones are my master's friends, the Four Emperors are my master's old friends, the Nine Luminaries are my master's juniors, and the Yuan Chen are my master's guests. In this world, there are naturally very few people that my master can worship."

Upon hearing this, the hall fell into an instant silence.

Followed by.

"Hahahaha!"

Sun Wukong clutched his stomach, laughing so hard he nearly fell to the ground, his golden cudgel clanging against the bricks.

"Oh my, this is hilarious! What big talk! Aren't you afraid of biting your tongue?" Sun Wukong pointed at Qingfeng and Mingyue, tears welling up in his eyes from laughing. "You two brats, what are you pretending to be, hiding in this desolate wilderness? The Three Pure Ones are friends, and the Four Emperors are old acquaintances? I, Old Sun, never saw anyone like you at the Peach Banquet back then!"

Qingfeng Mingyue's expression darkened, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes.

Although they were children, they had lived for over a thousand years, and had never been mocked like this by a monkey with a thunder god's mouth and a thunder god's face.

"You impudent monkey, don't be so presumptuous!" Qingfeng shouted.

Sun Wukong leaped up and landed on the offering table, looking down at the two boys: "What? Did I misspoke? What's your so-called master's name? Tell him to come out, I want to see what he's made of!"

"My master, the Great Immortal Zhenyuan, has gone to Heaven to listen to a lecture on the Primordial Dao Fruit at the invitation of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable. He is not in the temple!" Mingyue replied coldly.

Sun Wukong burst into laughter again: "This is getting more and more outrageous! The Primordial Heavenly Lord invited him? I bet he went to some hidden corner of Heaven to mooch elixirs!"

Upon seeing this, Tang Sanzang was terrified and quickly pulled Sun Wukong off the offering table.

"Wukong! You wretched creature, shut your mouth!" Tang Sanzang roared, then turned to the two boys and bowed repeatedly. "My two celestial children, please calm your anger. My disciple is a wild monkey from the mountains and doesn't know any manners. Please forgive him."

Qingfeng Mingyue snorted coldly, turned away with a flick of his sleeve, and ignored Sun Wukong.

If their master hadn't specifically instructed them not to provoke these disciples before leaving, they would have already activated the temple's protective barriers and suppressed the monkey.

Outside the Wuzhuang Temple, at the library.

Shen Feng, who had just stepped out of the library, stopped at the steps and listened to the conversation of his fellow disciples. From their snippets of conversation, he learned that Qingfeng and Mingyue were currently entertaining distinguished guests.

"The time has come."

Shen Feng thought to himself.

……

Aoki-bo Market, Tranquil Abode.

Fan Yuan, who was sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes.

"arrive."

Fan Yuan stood up, his eyes cold and sharp.

The game at Wuzhuang Temple has already begun, and he must act immediately as well.

He immersed his consciousness into the [Primordial Myriad Appearances Mirror], and a new clone made from ordinary spiritual materials landed on the outskirts of the market.

"Let's go to White Tiger Ridge."

Fan Yuan gave the order; this was the fifth bait he had given to the White Bone Demon.

The White Bone Demon was inherently suspicious, and her previous deaths had already aroused her suspicion, but greed would drive her to continue devouring.

Fan Yuan summoned this clone to continue testing the demon's abilities, while also diverting the White Bone Demon's attention. He knew that he had been targeted by this demon and that he had to be on guard whenever he left the market to avoid falling into her hands.

After an incense stick has burned.

The [Primordial Myriad Manifestations Mirror] in the sea of ​​consciousness trembled slightly; the clone had already died.

Fan Yuan looked at the feedback and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"The White Bone Demon and her two attendants were indeed not there."

Having confirmed that everything was alright, Fan Yuan no longer hesitated.

He left the inn and the market, and Fan Yuan pushed the "Wind and Cloud Control Technique" to its limit, heading straight for Longevity Mountain.

He stopped a full twenty miles away from where the ginseng fruit tree was located.

This is the outer gate of Wuzhuang Temple. Although the earth spirit tide is nearing its end, cultivators still come and go in an endless stream, lingering near the outer gate, hoping to encounter an opportunity to enter the temple.

The outer disciples of Wuzhuang Temple were already used to this.

"Twenty li."

Fan Yuan estimated the distance; this was the maximum distance his clone could currently project.

"Now, it's up to the temple."

Next, Fan Yuan focused all his attention on Shen Feng, the clone inside Wuzhuang Temple.

This was undoubtedly a high-stakes gamble with a slim chance of survival. To try to deceive everyone and safely bring the ginseng fruit out and hand it over to its original owner was practically a pipe dream.

However, even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, Fan Yuan was willing to take the gamble. The ginseng fruit, which blooms once every three thousand years and bears fruit once every three thousand years, contained real lifespan. For cultivators, there was nothing more tempting than this.

Moreover, even if it fails, the only loss would be two clones, so this deal is worth a try.

He took a deep breath and made up his mind again.