Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

Then Sun Wukong opened his mouth and blew, and all the sleepy bugs flew out and crawled into the nostrils of the heavenly soldiers, warriors, fairies, and palace maids.

Instantly, the fairies, palace maids, heavenly soldiers, and warriors all seemed to turn into limp crabs, unable to stand steadily, dizzy and lightheaded, and fell asleep on the ground.

Sun Wukong chuckled, clearly delighted. Everyone in the Jade Pool was completely under his spell, not a single one was awake. Sun Wukong made no attempt to hide and swaggered into the Jade Pool.

Upon entering the Jade Pool, Sun Wukong couldn't wait to devour the exquisite nectar and various celestial wines. These celestial wines were extraordinary; after only two or three sips, Sun Wukong was already dizzy, lightheaded, and thoroughly intoxicated.

In his drunken stupor, Sun Wukong suddenly thought, "Oh no! Oh no! What if those guests arrive soon and see me? What if they capture me?"

Chapter 479 Stealing the Golden Elixir

In his dazed state, Sun Wukong thought to himself, "It would be bad if others found me. I'd better hurry back to my residence to rest."

He stood up unsteadily, rode on auspicious clouds, and flew away from the Jade Pool.

No sooner had Sun Wukong left than Li Xiuyuan reappeared in Yaochi. Looking at the mess in Yaochi, Li Xiuyuan shook his head helplessly. Then, he once again followed behind Sun Wukong.

Of course, this time, Sun Wukong didn't forget to collect all the celestial nectar and delicacies from the Jade Pool. These celestial nectars were special products of the Heavenly Court, with a very rich and mellow taste, and were extremely rare.

"This monkey is really drunk. Is this the way back to the Great Sage Equaling Heaven's residence? This is clearly the way to the Thirty-Three Heavens, the Heaven of Separation from Hatred." Seeing Sun Wukong take the wrong path, Li Xiuyuan couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Although he knew that Sun Wukong had gone the wrong way, Li Xiuyuan did not remind him, but still carefully followed behind him.

The Heaven of Separation from Hatred is the thirty-third heaven, the residence of Laozi (the Supreme Lord Lao). Sun Wukong took the wrong path and wandered in. Upon seeing the plaque outside the door, he immediately realized his mistake and was about to turn away when he suddenly thought, "I've often heard other immortals talk about this old official, but I've never had the chance to pay him a visit. Now that I've come all this way, I might as well go in and meet him."

Without further hesitation, Sun Wukong went straight into the Tushita Palace, only to find it deserted and desolate.

It turned out that Laozi and Dipankara Buddha were preaching on the three-story Zhuling Dantai, with celestial boys, generals, officials, and clerks standing by to listen. Sun Wukong, unaware of this, assumed Laozi was refining elixirs in his alchemy room and barged in.

Inside the alchemy room was a golden alchemy furnace. Although no one was watching over it, the flames inside were still burning fiercely.

Beside the alchemy furnace were five large purple-gold gourds. Sun Wukong picked one up and shook it. It made a gurgling sound inside. Sun Wukong was immediately delighted. He uncorked the bottle and smelled it. A rich aroma of medicinal pills wafted out.

Inside that purple-gold gourd were golden pills, each the size of a longan, round and shiny.

Sun Wukong was overjoyed, recalling that when he was at the Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, in the Xieyue Sanxing Cave, Li Xiuyuan had given him a Nine-Turn Golden Pill, which allowed him to leap into the realm of a Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Although the golden pills inside these gourds don't seem to compare to the Nine-Turn Golden Pill that Li Xiuyuan once gave him, the combined golden pills from these five purple-gold gourds are probably not bad either.

"I wonder how much my cultivation will increase if I consume all these golden pills?" The effects of the immortal wine had not yet worn off, and Sun Wukong was still in a drunken state, almost completely devoid of any motivation.

Looking at the five gourds of purple-gold pills, Sun Wukong couldn't resist the urge to swallow them all.

He picked up the purple-gold gourd, poured out a golden pill into his palm, glanced at it, and liked it more and more. Sun Wukong tilted his head back and swallowed it. Then, Sun Wukong picked up the purple-gold gourd again and swallowed it all as if it were a candy candy.

After swallowing all five large purple-gold gourds, Sun Wukong couldn't help but let out a burp. Each of the five gourds contained at least twenty or thirty pills, making the total number of pills in the gourds astonishing. Moreover, all the pills were made from various rare and precious materials, full of spiritual energy, and were not easy to digest, let alone so many pills in the five large purple-gold gourds.

It's already a miracle that Sun Wukong didn't explode from the spiritual energy contained within so many golden pills. It would take hundreds of years to digest them; it's simply impossible for him to refine them all in one go.

The golden pills were so filling that Sun Wukong's stomach felt like it was about to explode. In an instant, Sun Wukong, now fully energized and sober, thought to himself, "This is bad! This is bad! This disaster is greater than the heavens; if the Jade Emperor is alerted, my life will be in danger. Go! Go! Go! It would be better to go down to the mortal realm and be king again!"

Sun Wukong rode his somersault cloud and flew down towards Flower Fruit Mountain.

After Sun Wukong left, Li Xiuyuan flashed into Laozi's alchemy room and found it in a mess. Five large purple-gold gourds were scattered on the ground, all of their stoppers pulled out, and not a single golden pill was left inside.

"I wonder what the two saints, Jieyin and Zhunti, used to exchange for these five gourd-shaped golden pills with Laozi?"

Li Xiuyuan did not believe that Laozi, with his cultivation level, would be unable to foresee Sun Wukong's movements. The reason why Laozi left at this moment must be because he had made some kind of deal with the two saints, Jieyin and Zhunti.

Otherwise, even if he went to preach, there would be a reason why the entire Tushita Palace wouldn't be completely empty. The reason there isn't is probably because Laozi was afraid that someone would be there and discovered by Sun Wukong, causing problems with the plan, so he took everyone from the Tushita Palace away.

Although Sun Wukong was not weak, his strength was still insufficient for the two sages, Jieyin and Zhunti, who had planned ahead. Therefore, the two sages conspired with Laozi to have Sun Wukong enter the Tushita Palace and consume the golden pills from Laozi's five purple-gold gourds to enhance his cultivation.

However, he did not know what conditions the two saints, Zhunti and Jieyin, used to reach this deal with Laozi.

His strength is still somewhat low, and he hasn't reached the required level, so it's impossible to know for sure.

Inside the alchemy room, there was a row of shelves displaying gourds filled with pills, but they were all empty, not a single gourd containing a pill. Before Sun Wukong entered, there were five purple-gold gourds filled with pills, but unfortunately, Sun Wukong had already swallowed them. The five purple-gold gourds were scattered on the ground.

"Am I going to enter a treasure mountain today and leave empty-handed?" Looking at the alchemy room, which was now devoid of any golden pills, Li Xiuyuan couldn't help but frown.

.............

Chapter 480 Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace

In the entire alchemy room of Laozi, apart from the alchemy furnace placed in the middle, there was nothing else of value.

Sun Wukong had consumed all the golden pills from the five purple-gold gourds, leaving only five empty purple gourds, each a little over a foot tall. Although those five purple gourds could barely be considered magical artifacts, their grade was far too low, and Li Xiuyuan simply didn't care for them.

"If it were the purple-gold gourd that Laozi used to store the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir, that would be great, or even the white jade bottle that holds pure water would be fine too."

I can't help but think of the two treasures of the Golden Horn King and the Silver Horn King in Journey to the West. As long as the enemy responds to the call, they will be taken into the treasures.

Just as Li Xiuyuan was about to turn and leave, he suddenly smelled the fragrance of medicinal pills in his nostrils.

“This is…” Li Xiuyuan stopped and looked at the alchemy furnace in the alchemy room.

The alchemy furnace was taller than a person, its entire body a purple-gold color, arranged according to the Bagua (Eight Trigrams). Inside, flames roared, and wisps of black smoke billowed out from the furnace.

"Isn't this Laozi's Eight Trigrams Furnace? Judging from its appearance, it seems to be a primordial spiritual treasure."

Li Xiuyuan's heart stirred; he couldn't leave empty-handed after entering this treasure mountain.

He used his supernatural powers to put away the Eight Trigrams Furnace, isolating it from all its aura. This Eight Trigrams Furnace was extremely effective at refining elixirs and treasures; countless golden pills were refined by Laozi himself. Moreover, almost all the famous magical treasures in Journey to the West were forged in this Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang (Golden Cudgel), Marshal Tianpeng's Nine-Toothed Rake, and the Purple-Gold Bell around the neck of the Golden-Haired Hou, the mount of Guanyin Bodhisattva, are all incredibly powerful.

The Bagua Furnace, capable of forging these treasures, must also possess considerable power.

Having put away the Eight Trigrams Furnace, Li Xiuyuan disregarded everything else and leaped into the air, transforming into a streak of rainbow light as he flew out of the Tushita Palace.

"I've taken away Laozi's Eight Trigrams Furnace. When Laozi comes back and sees it, he'll probably be furious."

As he flew out of the Tushita Palace, Li Xiuyuan thought to himself, "However, the secrets of heaven are in such a state of confusion that even a sage would find it difficult to calculate anything. Moreover, Laozi is only an avatar of a sage, and his strength is not necessarily that great. Besides, when I entered that alchemy room just now, I concealed all my aura. It would be impossible for Laozi to discover me."

"Besides, even if he discovers me, I'm not afraid. If he really provokes me, I'll set up the Great Array of Heavenly Gods and Demons and wipe him out."

Once Li Xiuyuan sets up his Heavenly Divine Fiend Formation, even a sage could put up a fight against him. The Supreme Lord Laozi is merely an avatar of a sage; if Li Xiuyuan were to deploy the Heavenly Divine Fiend Formation, he might actually be able to destroy the Supreme Lord Laozi.

"Moreover, the Pangu Palace of the Wu Clan is also in my hands. That Pangu Palace has defensive capabilities that are no less than the Heaven and Earth Exquisite Pagoda. If I can't win in the end, I can just hide inside, and he won't be able to do anything to me."

Just as Li Xiuyuan moved the Eight Trigrams Furnace from the alchemy room, Laozi, who was lecturing to Randeng and others, already sensed it.

Sitting upright on the high platform, with a three-foot-long silver beard, wearing a yellow Bagua Taoist robe, and holding a whisk, the Supreme Lord Laozi, who exuded an air of otherworldly elegance, suddenly changed his expression and couldn't help but stand up from the futon in a flash.

"What's wrong, teacher?"

The disciples below looked at each other in confusion and asked.

Laozi said, "This is bad! Something has happened. I must hurry back to the Tushita Palace to check."

Ran Deng, who was standing to the side, said, "Laojun, what could possibly go wrong? Wasn't everything agreed upon? How could anything possibly go wrong?"

The arrangement for Sun Wukong to break into Laozi's Tushita Palace and consume the elixir was preordained by two Buddhist sages and Laozi himself, and Laozi was aware of this. Therefore, logically speaking, Laozi shouldn't have been in such a hurry.

Laozi didn't even glance at Randeng before quickly getting off his prayer mat and hurriedly flying towards his Tushita Palace.

The children and the deities who were listening to the lecture below quickly followed behind Laozi.

Laozi said, "Everyone except those from my Tushita Palace should stay here and not go with us."

The Eight Trigrams Furnace was, after all, his livelihood; he needed it for refining pills and crafting magical artifacts. Now that it had been stolen, if word got out, it would likely become a laughingstock among cultivators worldwide.

"It is Laozi." Laozi spoke, and those people dared not follow any longer, stopping one by one. Only the few Daoist boys under Laozi and Dipankara Buddha continued to follow.

The group rode on clouds at breakneck speed, and before long, Laozi had returned to the Tushita Palace.

The gates of the Tushita Palace were wide open. Laozi, disregarding everything else, slipped into his alchemy room.

The door to the alchemy room was also open, and the inside was a mess, with five purple-gold gourds rolling around on the floor.

"My Bagua Furnace!"

Upon entering, Laozi was immediately stunned. The Eight Trigrams Furnace, which had always been placed in the center of the alchemy room, had disappeared, leaving the entire room empty.

The celestial attendants and Dipankara Buddha behind Laozi also entered. Seeing Laozi stunned, they were all somewhat puzzled and didn't quite understand what was going on. The silver attendant of the golden and silver attendants asked, "What's going on? Why are there so many purple-gold gourds filled with golden pills on the ground? Where are the golden pills inside the gourds?"

Yintong picked up a gourd and shook it; it was empty, there was nothing inside.

Yin Tong immediately cried out, "Oh no! Master's alchemy room has been robbed! All of Master's golden cores have been stolen!"

The Buddha Dipankara thought to himself, "These golden pills were all agreed upon back then. Why does Laozi have this expression? Could it be that he's regretting it now and feeling sorry for himself?"

Just as Ran Deng was pondering, Jin Tong, one of the two boys, noticed something was wrong and asked in confusion, "Where is Master's Eight Trigrams Furnace?"

Upon hearing Jin Tong's words, the remaining people immediately realized what had happened. "Yes, where did the Eight Trigrams Furnace go?"

Chapter 481 Capturing the Demon Lord

"When we left, there were still some pills being refined in the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Master didn't take the Eight Trigrams Furnace away. Now that we're back, where is the Eight Trigrams Furnace?" Yin Tong said.

Jin Tong asked, "Could it be that Master's Eight Trigrams Furnace has also been stolen?"

The golden boy and the silver boy looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief.

At this moment, Dipankara Buddha finally understood what had happened, and exclaimed in astonishment, "What? Laozi's Eight Trigrams Furnace has been stolen? That monkey is too audacious!"

"Buddha, what monkey?" asked the Golden Boy and the Silver Boy.

Dipankara Buddha immediately realized he had let something slip. Laozi definitely hadn't told the two Western Saints about the agreement he'd reached. He quickly waved his hands and said, "Nothing, nothing, nothing, you two must have misheard."

Dipankara Buddha said, "Laojun, what should we do now? Should we go and capture the person who stole your Eight Trigrams Furnace?"

The person the Buddha Dipankara mentioned who stole the Eight Trigrams Furnace was none other than Sun Wukong. After all, the sages had long ago planned that the five large purple-gold gourds of elixir in the alchemy room were meant for Sun Wukong. However, they did not expect that Sun Wukong would be so audacious, not only stealing the elixir but also taking away Laozi's Eight Trigrams Furnace.

The Eight Trigrams Furnace was practically Laozi's bread and butter. Now that Sun Wukong had stolen it, even if the two Western Saints were backing him up, Sun Wukong still had to be punished.

The original agreement didn't include a clause allowing Sun Wukong to steal the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Even if Laozi were to take action against Sun Wukong, the two Western Saints couldn't say anything.