Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

“Father,” Chenxiang patted Liu Yanchang’s shoulder, “he knows that you are missing Mother again.”

"Why are you still up so late?" Liu Yanchang put down the wine bowl in his hand.

"Father, do you miss Mother?" Chenxiang asked.

Liu Yanchang moved his lips, and after a long while, he finally uttered, "What's the use of thinking about it?"

Seeing Liu Yanchang's appearance, Chenxiang became even more determined to rescue her mother. In the blink of an eye, the person in front of her suddenly disappeared again.

Chenxiang then came to his senses that his father had already passed away, and that everything he had just experienced was an illusion.

He secretly swore to the moon that from now on he would practice martial arts diligently, improve his skills, and rescue his mother as soon as possible so that his family could be reunited.

Thinking of this, Chenxiang suddenly remembered Li Xiuyuan. His master was so amazing that he could definitely help him find the Heaven-Opening Axe. He decided to tell Li Xiuyuan the secret of the Lotus Lantern as well.

With his eyes closed, Chenxiang used his mind to transmit his voice, "Master, Master..."

A moment later, Li Xiuyuan descended from the sky and came before Chenxiang. "Master," Chenxiang called out.

Li Xiuyuan nodded. "I understand. But the road to splitting the mountain to save your mother is fraught with difficulties. Are you really confident that you can persevere?"

Chenxiang nodded vigorously, his expression solemn. "Yes, I know, but I must rescue my mother no matter what!"

"Alright, from now on, I will help you find the Heaven-Opening Axe and teach you more spells. You must practice diligently." Although Chenxiang and Xiaoyu both liked to call him master, Li Xiuyuan still didn't like to call him master in front of them. After all, in other people's eyes, they were usually quite old.

"Master, do you know about the Lotus Lantern? My mother said it's an extremely powerful magical artifact. She said that finding it would allow one to escape the pursuit of heavenly soldiers and generals and master supreme magic." Chenxiang trusted Li Xiuyuan completely.

“I know,” Li Xiuyuan naturally knew that the Lotus Lantern was an ancient magical artifact. With the Lotus Lantern protecting him, no one could harm him in the slightest. “This is one of the ancient divine lamps. The highest level of cultivation is to achieve the unity of man and lamp.”

Thanks to Xiaoyu's thorough cleaning, the lantern shop is now completely transformed. Li Xiuyuan can even see his reflection standing on the ground. Xiaoyu was dusting off the high places with a feather duster when she caught sight of Li Xiuyuan coming over. She hopped down the ladder with a grin, went to his side, and dusted him thoroughly from head to toe with the feather duster.

"Master is covered in dust, let Xiaoyu help you clean yourself up."

Li Xiuyuan grabbed the duster, but he used too much force, scattering chicken feathers all over the floor. He coughed awkwardly twice and asked, "Why are you alone? Where's Chenxiang?"

“Chenxiang went out for some fresh air; they said it would be good for her recovery,” Xiaoyu replied.

Li Xiuyuan nodded. After these days of recuperation, Chenxiang's health had gradually improved, and they could soon set off to find the Lotus Lantern. The Lotus Lantern was an exquisite magical artifact; once they found it, rescuing the Third Holy Mother from the Mountain-Splitting Axe would be much easier.

Seeing that Li Xiuyuan was no longer speaking, Xiaoyu assumed that he was still upset about Chenxiang's father, so she squatted down to pick up chicken feathers and said, "Actually, Master can go with Chenxiang. It'll be good for his health to get some fresh air and relax."

Seeing that she had placed the chicken feathers she had picked up on the table, Li Xiuyuan beat her to it, moved his fingers, and cast a spell, instantly restoring the feather duster to its original state. Xiaoyu turned around happily, only to see Li Xiuyuan rummaging through the cabinet.

"Master, what are you looking for?" Xiaoyu asked.

"Nonsense, we're looking for food."

"Master will always be the biggest eater. You'll squander the Chenxiang family's lantern shop one day." Xiaoyu pouted and skipped over to Li Xiuyuan's side.

Li Xiuyuan, holding the few hard steamed buns, turned around and almost bumped into Xiaoyu. He then picked up her two little hands and placed the plate in her hands, saying, "Go heat it up."

"Oh," Xiaoyu said playfully, sticking out her tongue.

Li Xiuyuan prescribed medicine for Chenxiang for two more days. After seeing that he had fully recovered, he had Xiaoyu close the shop, and the three of them continued on their journey.

According to what the Three Holy Mothers said in their dream, the three of them headed towards the Crimson Flame Mountain. The further they went, the hotter it became. Li Xiuyuan thought to himself, no wonder this place is called the Crimson Flame Mountain. It is indeed extremely hot, just like the Flaming Mountain described in Journey to the West.

Xiaoyu is a fox with thick fur, so it gets even hotter. She keeps begging Li Xiuyuan and Chenxiang to get her water. They provide at least five buckets a day. Although it's troublesome, it's a trivial matter for Li Xiuyuan.

Ahead lay a vast expanse of barren land, the scorching sun baking the earth. As far as the eye could see, amidst the endless red soil, there was a continuous mountain range, with flames rising ten feet high from its slopes.

Xiaoyu was limp at this moment, clinging to Li Xiuyuan's arm with both hands, her cheeks flushed, sticking out her tongue, "Master, have we arrived? It's so hot here."

On the other side, Chenxiang, just like Xiaoyu, grabbed Li Xiuyuan's other arm and said, "This should be Chiyan Mountain, just like the storyteller described."

Li Xiuyuan couldn't help but recall the scene when he first met Chenxiang. This guy was really asking for a beating! It turns out that after all this time, he still secretly thought of himself as a storyteller!

Li Xiuyuan said, "We'll be there in a few dozen miles. The Bull Demon King should be with his concubine. Let's finish this quickly."

"Hey, Master?" Chenxiang looked up at him, puzzled. "How did you know that the Bull Demon King has a concubine?"

Xiaoyu, on the verge of death, answered Chenxiang directly, saying, "Chenxiang, you forgot, Master can calculate."

"Yes, I can calculate." Li Xiuyuan was sweating profusely.

Chapter 1177 Crimson Flame Mountain

The distance of several dozen miles was something Li Xiuyuan could cover in half an hour, but he had a thick-skinned fellow by his side, and both of them melted when exposed to heat. Their cultivation levels were not high enough, so it took them several more days to arrive.

As they approached the foot of Crimson Flame Mountain, Li Xiuyuan looked up and saw the towering mountain, its flames raging as if about to engulf the three of them. Xiaoyu had fainted on the ground, calling for water intermittently, while Chenxiang was in no better condition, looking half-dead.

Having no other choice, Li Xiuyuan chose a spot, used his Heavenly Thunder Palm to create a cave, and then conjured up thick, dark clouds to block the cave entrance.

He held Xiaoyu in his arms and went into the cave with Chenxiang. Xiaoyu had just recovered but still needed to drink water. Chenxiang was also like a wilted leaf, struggling to move. Li Xiuyuan had to go out and find water himself.

Water was hard to find in the Flaming Mountains, so Li Xiuyuan could only leap into the air and look down from high above.

After finally calming down the jealous Princess Iron Fan, the Bull Demon King led his men to the fox spirit's place. When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they found that a new cave had opened up on Crimson Flame Mountain. Dark clouds blocked the cave from the outside, protecting the inside completely.

"Which deity has come to stay?" the Bull Demon King asked the little bull spirit beside him, only to see the little creature shaking its head repeatedly.

The little ox spirit said, "Your Majesty, I do not know which deity you are; I must ask my wife to find out."

"little things."

The Bull Demon King looked at the dark clouds again, wondering which great god it was. Anyone who could open a cave in Crimson Flame Mountain and manipulate dark clouds must be extraordinary. Could it be the Monkey King?

The Bull Demon King waved his hand and said, "Let's go explore with the King."

Upon reaching it, the Bull Demon King found the cloud as hard as a copper wall and iron barrier, impossible to push open. He mustered his strength, took a half step back with one leg, and his two giant horns gleamed on his head.

"Hi!"

The old bull rammed forward violently, and in an instant the mountains shook and the earth trembled, finally opening a gap in the dark clouds.

"Hehe, it's open now." The Bull Demon King placed his palm on the small wound and used his magic. From the wound as the center, dense cracks spread outwards from the surface of the dark clouds.

As Chenxiang was talking to Xiaoyu, the mountain shook violently, followed by a loud "bang!" as the dark clouds at the cave entrance exploded and vanished into nothingness.

A burly man with a full mane and two huge horns on his head came charging forward, looking fierce, followed by two little bull demons.

The leading bull demon walked and shouted, its voice echoing like firecrackers in the cave.

"Monkey, why didn't you greet me when you came to Old Ox's place?!"

As the Bull Demon King walked and looked around, he saw a man and a woman deep in the cave. The man was a handsome scholar, and when he looked at the woman, the old bull almost had blood spurting from his nose.

It turned out that Xiaoyu was too hot, so she took off her outer clothes and lay there wearing only a light pink inner garment. Apart from a thin rope tied to her back, there was nothing on her back. Her smooth and white back was exposed to the air, and her rounded shoulders and her already beautiful face were now flushed, making her extremely alluring.

The Bull Demon King swallowed hard and walked straight toward Xiaoyu, but was blocked by Chenxiang.

"Pretty boy, how dare you stop me!"

The Bull Demon King raised his hand to strike, but something rammed into his abdomen and sent him flying five steps away. When he looked again, he saw that there was another pretty boy in front of the pretty boy.

The man had one hand behind his back, squinted and looked him up and down, then chuckled and said, "So this is the famous Bull Demon King."

The Bull Demon King twitched his big bull nose and carefully observed the man. He was indeed a pretty boy with a gourd magic weapon hanging from his waist, but his cultivation was exceptionally profound. In addition, considering the attack just now, he must have opened this cave.

Old Niu waved his hand generously, laughed heartily, and asked, "May I ask which deity you are, brother? I, Old Niu, have failed to greet you properly."

Li Xiuyuan said, "You don't need to know that."

"Then, what is the relationship between that young lady and the young hero?" The Bull Demon King was still eyeing Xiaoyu. Such a stunning beauty was a rare sight indeed.

“That young lady.” Li Xiuyuan turned around and glanced at Xiaoyu lying there. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets. This, this, this, Xiaoyu... she was so hot and sexy at the moment.

"Young lady... you old bull demon, what are you plotting?! This is my sister, dare to touch her and see what happens." Li Xiuyuan was furious at the thought of this old bull being a lecherous scoundrel. What kind of person dares to covet their Xiaoyu?!

Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King's nostrils flared with anger, his face contorted with dread. Li Xiuyuan, however, was unafraid of him, thinking that he could simply kill the old bull and transform into his likeness for greater freedom of movement within the Crimson Flame Mountain.

The Bull Demon King forced himself to calm down. This person was probably really capable. He had no idea who would win if he fought him. If he lost, how would he face others in the future?

After much deliberation, the Bull Demon King decided to swallow his anger for now and said, "It was I who was blind and did not recognize your greatness. Please forgive me."

"Your Majesty." A little bull demon behind him, finding it unbelievable, called out to the Bull Demon King.

The Bull Demon King simply nodded to Li Xiuyuan and led the two little bull demons out of the cave.

With a wave of his hand, Li Xiuyuan reinforced the dark clouds blocking the cave entrance.

Chenxiang finally caught his breath, sat down on the ground, and asked, "Master, is that the Bull Demon King?"

“Yes,” Li Xiuyuan glanced at Xiaoyu again, suppressing his nosebleed, and asked, “What’s wrong with Xiaoyu?”

Chenxiang shook his head and said, "She's been like this since you left, but she can still talk. Xiaoyu, say something."

Xiaoyu couldn't even move her eyelids anymore, and managed to utter a soft "hmm" from the bottom of her throat.

Li Xiuyuan was startled. Could this child have died from the heat?!

He quickly knelt down to check her pulse. "It's nothing, Xiaoyu just has heatstroke. She'll be fine after a rest."

Li Xiuyuan took the gourd from his waist and handed it to Chenxiang, whose lips were already cracked, saying, "Chenxiang, you drink first."

Chapter 1178 Encountering the Bull Demon King

"Thank you, Master." Chenxiang took the gourd with a beaming smile, and took several big gulps. He found the water to be clear, sweet, and refreshing, penetrating his heart and soul.

Satisfied, Chenxiang called out a few times, wiped the water from his mouth, returned the gourd to Li Xiuyuan, and asked, "Master, have you drunk it?"

Li Xiuyuan was taken aback at first, feeling extremely guilty. If this child knew that he had secretly drunk some on his way back, he would really lose all his glorious image. He quickly put on a wise and sage-like demeanor and said, "Master doesn't need to drink, and he won't feel thirsty."

"Master's skills are truly profound."

Li Xiuyuan looked at Chenxiang, whose face was full of admiration, and awkwardly tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Then he turned to look at Xiaoyu. Although Xiaoyu had some cultivation, it was very weak. Moreover, for some reason, he felt that his two disciples' cultivation had been suppressed repeatedly since they entered Chiyan Mountain. It seemed that there were still many strange things about this place.