Chapter 122: Peach Feast
"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name.
Namelessness is the beginning of heaven and earth; name is the mother of all things.
..."
The life of the Green Bull Demon.
The quiet room in Hangu Pass
The moment when Laozi's blade fell on the bamboo slips.
The sky and the earth suddenly changed color.
Everything lost its color at this moment.
Only my small space is left, the color remains the same, shining brightly.
Wisps of rosy light swirled and rose, and an indescribable mysterious aura emanated from him.
Boom!
Thousands of purple lightning flashed in the sky. It was clearly daytime, but it was pitch black, as if the world was ending.
This is Heaven being angry because someone is describing it in words.
Every time Lao Tzu carved a word or a sentence, heaven and earth trembled.
Countless evil shadows of demons surrounded him, howling like ghosts and wolves, cursing him, bewitching him, attacking him, trying to make him stop leaking the secrets.
But at the same time, humanitarian merits continued to emerge, forming a colorful light shield to protect him, isolating the evil shadow of the devil outside and sheltering Laozi inside.
Laozi is the incarnation of the Supreme Sage in the mortal world, but before his merits were completed, he did not have the memories and cultivation of the Supreme Sage and was just an ordinary mortal.
He used words to explain the great principles, which was stealing the secrets of heaven, but it was a great merit to humanity and the human race.
It should be noted that humanity does not specifically refer to the way of the human race, but the way of all living beings, the way of all living things!
Insects, fish, birds, beasts, demons, gods, Buddhas, all living beings with consciousness, soul and intelligence are practicing humanity!
The same is true of the human teachings of the Supreme Sage. They are the teachings of all living beings, not the teachings of the human race.
It’s just that the human race is the protagonist of the Heavenly Dao after the Lich, and the only protagonist. Their luck is so strong and they are loved by the Heavenly Dao so deeply that they are far beyond the comparison of the previous protagonists of the Heavenly Dao.
This is also the confidence that the human race dares to use the character "人" (people), which is the same as humanity, as the name of their race in their own language!
And the facts have proved that the confidence of the human race is not exaggerated!
Nowadays, Xuanmen, Western religion, and even small religions such as Brahmanism and Asura religion are trying their best to preach among the human race.
The believers gradually changed from including creatures of all races to being mainly human.
Even demons and monsters, after they have successfully cultivated, will definitely find a way to transform into human form and learn the language and knowledge of humans.
The human race is gradually becoming the main body and even the core of humanity!
In this way, the status of human race as the protagonist of the world will no longer be shaken!
It is because the saints saw this that, before leaving the Three Realms, they reincarnated into the human race, forming a deeper causal relationship with the human race and allowing their own Taoist traditions to flourish forever among the human race.
Li Anran is not aware of these inside stories yet, and his mind is completely focused on the "Tao Te Ching" in front of him.
Because of his previous accumulation and sedimentation, he was able to understand the contents recorded in the "Tao Te Ching".
However, it is not an easy thing to fully understand and comprehend.
However, even if he only witnessed the entire process of Lao Tzu writing the "Tao Te Ching" once, his gains were enormous.
When Lao Tzu finished writing the "Tao Te Ching".
A ray of golden light burst out from the bamboo slips on which the "Tao Te Ching" was written, rushing straight into the sky and tearing a hole in the dark clouds.
Dazzling crystal light hung down from mid-air, like a long rainbow formed by billions of light particles. The golden light rippled, the long rainbow burst, and transformed into layers of clouds and colorful lights.
There was also purple air coming from the east for 30,000 miles, countless flowers fell from the sky, and golden lotus emerged from the ground.
Li Anran was completely immersed in it.
In a trance, he saw the words in the "Tao Te Ching" flying out, like shining golden light, circling in his field of vision, and like the sound of a huge bell, echoing in his ears endlessly.
Entered the state of enlightenment that all practitioners dream of!
When Li Anran woke up again, it was thirty-three years later!
Things like enlightenment can take a long time or a short time, but basically, the longer the time, the greater the gains!
Li Anran's enlightenment took thirty-three years!
Although his cultivation level did not increase, his soul was tempered and sublimated, becoming crystal clear, with divine light flowing and faint wisps of purple air lingering.
In addition, his understanding of Tao is completely different from before!
It is difficult to describe in words the benefits these two brought him.
The simplest and most brutal point.
Even though he is still at the same Golden Immortal realm, the strength he can exert now is several times greater than before!
If he fights the Green Bull Demon again, he doesn't need Nezha's help and he is confident that he can defeat him within 300 moves!
However, this was also the first time he read the entire Tao Te Ching.
Looking back in the future, although the gains will still be considerable, they will not be so exaggerated.
"As expected of the Supreme Saint's incarnation in the mortal world, he is simply different! The bamboo slips recording the Tao Te Ching have so many human virtues and blessings, I'm afraid they will directly become a treasure of virtue!"
"And that diamond cutter, it has been tempered and infused with so many Dao-protecting skills, no wonder it is so powerful!"
Li Anran thought of the scenes in the life of the Green Bull Demon and felt envious.
What followed Laozi to heaven were not only the Green Bull Demon and the Taoist boy beside him, but also the clothes on his body, the diamond cutter on his wrist, and the scrolls engraved with the "Tao Te Ching".
With the blessing of humanity's merits, all these ordinary things have become magical treasures of merits!
Among them, bamboo slips and vajra have gained the most humanitarian merits.
The former has the merit of recording, and the latter has the merit of protecting the law.
What made Li Anran even more jealous was actually Yin Xi!
After Laozi completed his merits, he actually gave him the "Tao Te Ching" directly!
This magic weapon is worth Li Anran’s entire fortune!
Li Anran suppressed the urge to continue comprehending the Tao Te Ching and stood up and left the meditation room.
Before he went into seclusion, he considered that this time it might take him a long time, so he made arrangements in advance and instructed the gods and immortal officials to proceed as usual.
If there is any big problem that cannot be solved, just wake him up.
However, Li Anran never expected that it would take a full thirty-three years for his enlightenment to come!
"For the immortal gods, time is really worthless!" Li Anran couldn't help but sigh.
During these thirty-three years, he has not been awakened by the divine officials or immortal officials, which means that nothing major has happened.
But, after all, so much time has passed, it would be inappropriate for him not to go out.
"Sir, are you out of the prison?"
Outside the quiet room, heavenly soldiers and generals are waiting day and night.
As soon as Li Anran went out, heavenly soldiers and generals came to greet him.
Soon, the news of his release spread throughout the prison.
A group of gods and immortal officials quickly put down their work and came to report on their work during this period.
They were not surprised that Li Anran had been in seclusion for thirty-three years. Those who could become divine officials of the Tianlao Palace were at least celestial immortals.
They also all have the experience of seclusion for decades or even hundreds of years!
On the contrary, what really surprised them was that Li Anran’s seclusion lasted no more than half a year each time over the years.
This is also one of the reasons why they all agree that Li Anran is selfless and dedicated to his work.
As the divine officials and immortal officials came forward to report their work, Li Anran quickly learned about some of the things that had happened in the past thirty-three years.
First of all, it is the heavenly court.
There were many major events, but not many of them had anything to do with him.
For example, the Purple Fairy among the Seven Fairies married the mortal Dong Yong because she had secret feelings for the mortal man. As a result, she was stripped of her fairy status by the Queen Mother and sent into the cycle of reincarnation, where she had to be reborn to cultivate again.
For another example, Han Zhongli, the cowherd boy of Taishang Laojun, was enlightened by Li Tieguai and became an immortal after experiencing nine reincarnations. The time was exactly the same as when the Green Bull Demon was captured and brought back to heaven.
etc.
There are only two things related to Li Anran.
The first thing is that three years ago, because the Queen Mother did not invite him to the Peach Banquet, the Yellow Fang Monster displayed his magical power of controlling the heavens and the earth outside the South Heaven Gate, transformed himself into the size of a mountain, and waved his trunk like a pillar of heaven, causing a big commotion.
This was originally a scene about the green-haired lion monster in Journey to the West.
But in this world, because of Li Anran's existence, the green-haired lion monster has been taken back by Manjushri Bodhisattva.
The one who performed Pinxixi’s low-profile version of “Havoc in Heaven” was the old elephant with yellow teeth.
The purpose should be the same as before, which is to learn from Sun Wukong and establish prestige among the monsters by making trouble in Heaven.
The second thing, of course, is the Queen Mother’s Peach Banquet.
The reason why he said that the farce of the green-haired lion monster in the original time and space and the yellow-toothed old elephant outside the South Gate of Heaven is a low-profile version of the Monkey King's Rampage in Heaven.
One reason was that they dared to display their magic powers outside the South Heaven Gate to scare the heavenly soldiers and generals, but they did not even get close to the South Heaven Gate and quickly returned to Xiniu Hezhou, and then made a big fuss about the incident.
Secondly, the Queen Mother’s Peach Banquet is held once every 365 years.
Today, there is still sixty years to go before the Peach Banquet, and they say that the Queen Mother did not invite them, which is just a crude imitation of monkeys.
However, as the Prison God and Guansuo Star Lord, Li Anran is one of the 365 gods in Heaven and is qualified to attend the Peach Banquet, and his position is relatively close.
Before that, he still needed to prepare birthday gifts for the Queen Mother and present them in front of all the immortals.
This matter concerns the Queen Mother's reputation. It's not a big deal, but it's not a small one either.
But he cannot slack off and must prepare in advance.
According to the priests.
Except for the time when the monkeys made trouble in Heaven.
As one of the 365 righteous gods, he would be able to get one purple-striped, yellow-core peach that ripens once every 9,000 years, one medium peach that ripens once every 6,000 years, and four small peaches that ripen once every 3,000 years.
However, considering that the monkey had eaten all the peaches, big and small, ripe and raw, in the Peach Garden, it is hard to say what the situation will be like at the Peach Festival today.
"It's a troublesome thing!" Li Anran felt a little annoyed by it, but was more curious and expectant.
After all, the Peach Banquet could be said to be a first-class feast in the Three Realms, and he was well-known for the reputation of the peaches. He had wanted to taste what they tasted like since his previous life.
Compared to the many major events that took place in Heaven, the Heavenly Prison was much calmer.
First of all, there are the prisoners.
After two hundred years of cleaning.
There are very few monsters in the mortal world who dare to rebel. Occasionally, some are caught and taken to heaven, but it is mostly because of killing or injuring mountain gods, land gods, river gods, dragon kings, and the like.
Most of these monsters have reached the level of True Immortal or Heavenly Immortal. They did not intentionally become enemies of Heaven, but they failed under impulse.
There are not many gods in heaven who dare to violate the heavenly rules. They have all been frightened by Yang Jian's ruthless methods. In addition, there is Jiazi Jikao hanging over their heads. They are more honest than each other, and their work efficiency has increased countless times compared to before.
During these thirty-three years, the total number of monsters and sinful immortals sent to the Heavenly Prison was only more than ten.
The heavenly soldiers and generals followed Li Anran's instructions and imprisoned them in the heavenly prison. Nothing unexpected happened during that time.
The only thing that Li Anran needs to deal with is the matter of Zhu Bajie.
After learning that Zhu Bajie was captured and brought back to Heaven, Emperor Donghua went to the Jade Emperor to plead for Zhu Bajie.
The Jade Emperor, taking into consideration that Zhu Bajie had once shed blood and made great contributions to the Heavenly Court, decided to give him a lighter punishment. He only sentenced him to imprisonment in the Heavenly Prison for one hundred to thirty years, and then let him go down to the mortal world to become an immortal.
The gods in the three realms are divided into five levels: "Heaven, Earth, Gods, Humans, and Ghosts".
The celestial immortals are those who hold positions in the heavenly court and are listed as immortals. People like Li Anran, Nezha and Yang Jian are among the top celestial immortals.
Earthly immortals are immortals who manage an area in the lower world. Yang Jian in the past and the Three Holy Mothers now are both earthly immortals.
Gods are deities who are worshipped with incense and offerings, such as mountain gods, land gods, water gods, and river gods.
Human immortals are a general term for mortals who have cultivated to become immortals. They generally do not serve in heaven. They include demon immortals like Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, as well as some humans who have cultivated to become immortals.
Ghost immortals are the creatures with merits in the mortal world who are transformed after death and serve in the underworld, such as the Black and White Impermanence, Judge Cui, and the Yin Cha.
Emperor Donghua also received an imperial decree allowing him to come to the Heavenly Prison to see Zhu Bajie for the last time.
However, Emperor Donghua was a very rule-abiding person. After learning that Li Anran was in seclusion, he did not let the heavenly soldiers and generals disturb him.
Instead, he asked them to wait for Li Anran to come out of confinement and then notify him, and then he would come to the Heavenly Prison to see Zhu Bajie.
As a result, the wait lasted for thirty-three years.
It turns out that Zhu Bajie was sent to the journey to obtain Buddhist scriptures by Emperor Donghua!
Li Anran was not surprised by this.
In the past life, many people analyzed that Zhu Bajie was a follower of Taishang Laojun, and the evidence was the Nine-toothed Rake and the fact that Zhu Bajie had eaten the Nine-turn Pill.
In fact, it is not so.
This Nine Revolutions Pill is not only possessed by Taishang Laojun, but also by Emperor Donghua!
And it is mentioned in the chapter about the ginseng fruit tree in Journey to the West!
In addition, judging from the fact that Zhu Bajie and the Monkey King threw the statues of the Three Pure Ones into a cesspool in Chechi Kingdom, it is impossible that he has any relationship with Taishang Laojun. Instead, he has a grudge against Xuanmen!
And because of a false desire to be a mortal, Emperor Donghua was forced to reincarnate and become the disciple of Li Tieguai!
It is understandable that Zhu Bajie feels resentful!
Li Anran immediately ordered his heavenly soldiers and generals to invite Emperor Donghua.
"The prison god."
Emperor Donghua received the news and quickly rode a cloud to the outside of the Tianlao Palace.
After some greetings .
Emperor Donghua took out the Jade Emperor's edict.
The content inside was to allow Emperor Donghua to enter the Tianlao Palace to see Zhu Ganglie for the last time.
Li Anran led Emperor Donghua to the cell where Zhu Bajie was imprisoned.
Although Zhu Bajie was one of the four members of the Journey to the West group, Li Anran did not give him any preferential treatment and treated him the same as other monsters who had committed crimes.
During the past thirty-three years, Zhu Bajie has been eating copper pills and drinking iron juice every day. It is obvious that he has become thinner and the flesh on his face has become sunken.
This was because he had practiced the Nine Revolutions Yuan Gong, otherwise, his current condition would have been even worse.
"Master."
As soon as he saw Emperor Donghua, Zhu Bajie threw himself over, weeping and begging, "I know I was wrong! Master, please save me! Please save me!"
