Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

At this moment, Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, appeared quite nervous and said, "The demon has already been caught in the net. You Nine Luminaries Star Officials, go and assist it to prevent the demon from escaping. After I, the Heavenly King, unleash the pagoda, I will capture the demon within and return to Heaven to report!"

The Nine Luminaries Star Officials dared not disobey, and all went down to investigate. The Sun and Moon Star Officials were on the left, while Rahu and Ketu were on the right.

In the center are the five star officials representing metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, each wielding a celestial treasure, who descend to the mortal realm to subdue demons.

Li Tianwang had already raised the pagoda high in his hand, waiting to close the net before subduing Li Xiuyuan inside the pagoda and returning to Heaven to claim his reward.

Li Xiuyuan was indignant and muttered to himself, "A mere little god, yet he has such a grand presence."

Just then, the net of heaven and earth suddenly tightened, about to bind Li Xiuyuan tightly. The Nine Luminaries, each in their respective positions, stood ready.

How could Li Xiuyuan simply surrender and wait to die? Even though this inescapable net couldn't catch him, being bound was still quite uncomfortable.

At this critical moment, Li Xiuyuan's God-Slaying Spear shot out from the sky, piercing through the Heavenly Net. The 100,000 heavenly soldiers who formed this Heavenly Net were naturally bound to it, sharing its fate. Instantly, they were all severely injured, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

However, Li Xiuyuan did not give up. Why? It was because the God-Slaying Spear had only managed to puncture a small opening, and Li Xiuyuan was unable to escape.

Li Xiuyuan could easily transform into a wisp of smoke and escape through the opening, but if he did so, with so many people watching, he would lose face immensely.

Without hesitation, Li Xiuyuan picked up a God-Slaying Spear and began tearing and shooting at the net from left and right. In just a few moments, he had ripped the net to shreds.

Li Xiuyuan flicked his spear and tossed the tattered net aside. This net, formed from the essence of hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers and generals, was simply discarded by Li Xiuyuan.

The already weakened heavenly soldiers revealed their true forms one by one, falling from the sky and plummeting to the ground.

Li Xiuyuan brandished his God-Slaying Spear and addressed the terrified Nine Luminaries Star Official before him: "Kneel down immediately and call me Grandpa, and I, the Buddha, will spare one of you few wretched gods."

The Nine Luminaries Star Officials are respected by many immortals in the heavens, so they would never tolerate such an insult. If they were to actually do this, their lives might be saved, but the news would inevitably leak out, and they would probably not be able to stay in the heavens in the future.

At that moment, the Nine Star Officials secretly agreed that saving face was the most important thing, so they decided to fight Li Xiuyuan together.

As a quasi-saint, Li Xiuyuan was well aware of their thoughts, and immediately laughed and said, "Very well, very well. You few deities also know the principle that starving to death is a small matter, but losing one's chastity is a big matter. I, the Buddha, will give you a chance."

"If you nine immortals can withstand a single blow from my spear without dying, then I, the Buddha, will spare you, you worthless gods."

After saying this, Li Xiuyuan raised the God-Slaying Spear high, and in an instant, the God-Slaying Spear grew several times larger, becoming over a hundred feet thick, just like the Sea-Stabilizing Needle.

Li Xiuyuan laughed and said, "You bunch of scoundrels, take this spear from me!" With that, Li Xiuyuan swung his spear.

The Nine Star Officials dared not flee, for if they did, they would likely not live long. Although they knew they were no match for them, they each unleashed their own magical treasures to block the attack.

The God-Slaying Spear is a supreme innate treasure with magnificent divine power. How could such a Nine Luminaries Star Official possibly withstand it?

At this point, the Sun Star Official cried out, "We are destined for this calamity," thus accepting his fate.

Just then, Li Xiuyuan sneered. He was dealing with the Nine Luminaries Star Officials when Li Tianwang, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, disregarded his dignity, released his pagoda, and launched it towards Li Xiuyuan.

Li Xiuyuan turned to Li Tianwang and sneered, "What a shameless Li Tianwang! Watch as I, the Buddha, smash your broken pagoda into a rubble!"

Then, Li Xiuyuan took out the acquired spiritual treasure, the Wind Spirit Fan.

Chapter 519 Four Duty Officers

Li Xiuyuan revealed the Wind Spirit Fan with the intention of sending Li Tianwang's exquisite pagoda to the South Heavenly Gate.

As soon as the Wind Spirit Fan was unleashed, Li Xiuyuan directly fanned the exquisite pagoda above his head, instantly creating a strong wind. The exquisite pagoda, which was originally under the control of Li Tianwang, was swept up by the wind and blown into the sky.

Upon seeing the fierce winds, Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, immediately tried to summon the Immortal Du'e to borrow his Wind-Stabilizing Pearl, but the Immortal Du'e had already vanished. He could only watch helplessly as the exquisite pagoda was blown high into the heavens.

At this moment, Li Xiuyuan was quite imposing. In the blink of an eye, the Nine Luminaries Star Lords had already been swung to the ground by the God-Slaying Spear, each one deeply smashed into the soil, their fate unknown.

Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, lost all his men in an instant, and his exquisite pagoda was blown away by Li Xiuyuan, leaving him all alone.

Seeing Li Xiuyuan charging towards him, Li Tianwang was at a loss and cried out, "I am the Grand Marshal of the Three Realms for Exterminating Demons! Which deity is here? Who will save me!"

Just then, a voice transmitted out: "King Li, don't panic, we two are coming!"

Li Tianwang felt extremely fortunate and thought to himself, "Truly, Heaven has not forsaken me." He then asked, "Which deity are you? Please show yourself."

At this moment, the two great gods in the sky appeared.

One was white-robed, the other black-robed. Both were hundreds of feet tall, and they were none other than the Day and Night Wanderers who had previously helped him disperse the clouds.

Although the Day and Night Guardian God wasn't particularly famous, Li Tianwang, having spent many years in the Heavenly Court, knew that the Day and Night Guardian God controlled the day and night with two divine flags, and that his power was no less than his exquisite pagoda. Perhaps this could resolve the crisis.

Li Tianwang said, "I beg the two great gods to capture this demon!"

That night, the wandering gods spoke in unison, saying, "This demon has an extraordinary origin; the two of us are probably no match for him."

Li Tianwang became extremely anxious and hurriedly asked, "What should we do?"

Then the wandering deity spoke up to comfort him, saying, "Heavenly King, do not panic. The Great Heavenly Venerable has a clear view of the battle situation here from within the Lingxiao Palace. He has already dispatched a large army to assist us. Although the two of us are no match for the demons, we have the Divine Banner in our hands. Relying on the Divine Banner, we should be able to hold them off for a while. Once the reinforcements arrive, we can surround and annihilate them!"

Li Tianwang was overjoyed upon hearing this and sighed, "I never expected that the Great Heavenly Venerable had foreseen this. I am truly flattered. I urge the two great gods to quickly defend against the enemy, for that demon has already attacked."

The day and night wandering gods all looked at Li Xiuyuan and cursed, "You audacious monster, why don't you submit to death!"

Immediately, the two gods each unleashed two large banners and slashed at Li Xiuyuan.

These two flags are extraordinary. One is white. The other is black. The change of the world was entirely due to these two divine flags.

Those two divine banners were extremely terrifying, radiating black and white divine light, giving off an aura of overwhelming power. Suddenly, these two banners represented day and night.

The two divine banners slashed towards Li Xiuyuan, but Li Xiuyuan felt as if the entire world was pressing down on him!

Li Xiuyuan was unwilling to admit defeat. These two day and night wandering gods were only minor gods, and their two divine flags were not of high rank. They could only rely on the pressure of heaven and earth.

Li Xiuyuan laughed and said, "All that power is nothing compared to my spear!" He then raised the God-Slaying Spear and charged toward the two divine banners that were slashing toward him from the sky.

The two divine flags collided with the God-Slaying Spear, and a scene that surprised the Day and Night Wanderer appeared. The two flags were directly knocked away and their divine power was greatly reduced when they collided with Li Xiuyuan's God-Slaying Spear.

Seeing that both flags had been taken down at the same time, the two gods were so frightened that they dared not linger. They turned around, raised their divine light, and fled.

Seeing that the two gods hadn't even bothered to pick up their banners before slipping away, Li Jing dared not linger. He followed the two gods directly to the South Heavenly Gate.

Li Xiuyuan was unwilling to let go and chased after them closely. Although Li Xiuyuan could capture these few spirits with his teleportation, he deliberately followed them.

He was on the ground, while the Jade Emperor was in the heavens. Reinforcements came wave after wave, all coming to kill him. What was this all about?

Li Xiuyuan knew, of course, that Li Tianwang must have fled to the South Heavenly Gate, so Li Xiuyuan hatched a plan to wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace.

Inside the Lingxiao Palace, high above the nine layers of clouds, the Jade Emperor, gazing at the image in the Kunlun Mirror, roared in fury, "What a disgrace!! Why haven't the Four Duty Officers, the Six Ding and Six Jia arrived yet! How can the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends be so slow?!"

At this moment, the Queen Mother spoke up, "Your Majesty, I see that this demon is extremely powerful. How about we invite the Five Great Emperors?"

The Jade Emperor sighed deeply, "My Heavenly Court is truly lacking in talent. Very well, send someone to invite the Five Great Emperors."

Meanwhile, in mid-air, the Day and Night Wanderers were running ahead. Li Tianwang, having lost his pagoda, dared not be careless and was also fleeing for his life. Li Xiuyuan not only followed closely behind Li Tianwang, but also occasionally called out, "Don't let the god get away!"

To her surprise, the more Li Xiuyuan called out, the faster Li Tianwang ran, but no matter what she did, she couldn't shake off Li Xiuyuan.

Just then, the Day and Night Wanderers encountered the Four Directions Officials who had come to their aid. The Day Wanderer said, "The demon is behind us, please hold it off for a while." After saying that, he ran away in a panic, leaving the four officials of Time, Sun, Month, and Year quite puzzled.

A moment later, the four officials bumped into Li Tianwang again and greeted him, saying, "We have seen the Heavenly King."

Li Tianwang hurriedly said, "The demon is right behind us. Please hold it off for a while. I'll go and ask the Great Heavenly Venerable to send reinforcements!" Then he made his escape.

The four officers looked at each other, at a loss. They had come to support Li Tianwang, but now that even Li Tianwang had run away, they really didn't know who to support.

Just then, Li Xiuyuan arrived and shouted from a distance, "Little brat, stop blocking my way!!"

The four officers realized that this was the very demon that Li Tianwang and the Day and Night Patrol Gods had been referring to. The four officers immediately shouted, "Demon, halt! Demon, halt!"

Chapter 520 Attacking the Heavenly Palace

Unexpectedly, Li Xiuyuan suddenly pierced through space and arrived next to the Fourth Duty Officer. Without saying a word, he thrust his God-Slaying Spear at him.

The four officers on duty were no match for the lightning-fast shot, and they all fell from the sky, their fates unknown.

Li Xiuyuan, having thoroughly enjoyed his stabbing, grabbed the God-Slaying Spear and rushed forward again!

However, halfway there, thirty-six divine generals and seventy-two earthly demons appeared and came to block the road.

Li Xiuyuan wasn't about to give up. He thrust his God-Slaying Spear forward again, scattering many immortals to pieces. Li Xiuyuan knew, of course, that the Jade Emperor was watching him through the Kunlun Mirror. So he roared, "With a wild thrust of my spear, I'll roam the world!"

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor was instantly enraged and roared, "You can't even subdue this demon! Where is the majesty of my Heavenly Court?! Why haven't the Five Great Emperors arrived yet?! Go and urge them on!"

Li Xiuyuan, disregarding everything else, stabbed the 108 constellations with his God-Slaying Spear, leaving them either dead or wounded. He then sighed, "Alas! A bunch of worthless gods, truly boring. Very well, I, the Buddha, will send you all to the Western Paradise!"

After saying this, he took out the Wind Spirit Fan and waved it around, but no wind rose. It turned out that it was the True Man Du'e who had arrived.

Then Master Du'e revealed the Wind-Stabilizing Pearl, which finally stopped the Wind Spirit Fan. Li Xiuyuan, however, had an idea in mind.

Although this Wind-Fixing Pearl isn't of high grade, it has wonderful uses, so it's better to take it. That way, when using the Wind Spirit Fan again, there will be one less nemesis. Then, Li Xiuyuan laughed loudly, "Buddha, I've taken a liking to your pearl! You little brat, hand it over quickly!"

Master Du'e was unwilling to give up, knowing that Li Xiuyuan possessed formidable magical power and was certainly no match for him. Of the thirty-six stratagems, retreat was the best.

Master Du'e took the Wind-Fixing Pearl and ran away. But how could he keep up with Li Xiuyuan? In the blink of an eye, Li Xiuyuan appeared in front of Master Du'e.

Master Du'e panicked, not knowing what to do, and retreated repeatedly.

Li Xiuyuan laughed and said, "Little Mao Shen, give the Wind-Fixing Pearl to the Buddha." Then Li Xiuyuan snatched the Wind-Fixing Pearl away.

Looking at the pale-faced True Man Du'e, Li Xiuyuan laughed and scolded, "What a disobedient little devil." Then Li Xiuyuan kicked True Man Du'e back to the mortal realm.

At this moment, Li Xiuyuan took out the Wind Spirit Fan again and said to the many gods, "I will send you to the Western Paradise, and you can also catch up with Tathagata Nasus!"

Then, Li Xiuyuan activated the Wind Spirit Fan, and instantly, a strong wind arose, blowing all the immortals and gods to the Western Paradise.

Meanwhile, Li Tianwang had already run far away, but Li Xiuyuan was not afraid. Catching up with Li Tianwang would only take a moment.

Li Tianwang had already arrived outside the South Heavenly Gate and saw the Four Heavenly Kings on duty that day. Li Tianwang finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Four Heavenly Kings, guard the Heavenly Gate well, or another demon will come to attack!"

Just as the Heavenly King spoke, Li Xiuyuan suddenly appeared and shouted, "Where are you running, Heavenly King?"

A shout startled Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, so much that he nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly called to the Four Heavenly Kings, urgently saying, "Four Heavenly Kings, hold them off for a moment! Allow me to report to the Great Heavenly Venerable!"

The Four Heavenly Kings, each wielding a celestial weapon, stepped forward to meet the enemy, but they were no match for Li Xiuyuan's God-Slaying Spear.