The Heavenly Court.
The God of Wealth stood respectfully in front of the main hall, while the Jade Emperor sat on his dragon throne and sized him up for a long time.
“There are no outsiders here, just you and me. Gongming, tell me honestly. Did you see the escaped White Bone Demon when you went to the mortal world this time?”
“Your Majesty, I didn't see her,” the God of Wealth replied respectfully.
“I heard that the White Bone Demon is extremely beautiful. Even the unenlightened Monkey King treated her differently. You used to dislike going to the mortal world and dealing with mortals. But recently, there's a rumor that you went to the Marriage Hall. Is that true?” The Jade Emperor stood up and leaned forward to test him.
“I encountered many interesting things in the mortal world. I heard a lot of prayers from ordinary people in the God of Wealth Temple. Someone asked me for a good marriage. Since Your Majesty allowed me to go to the mortal world to find her but I failed, I just did a little favor in my spare time,” Zhao Gongming replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.
The Jade Emperor smiled but said nothing. He paced back and forth in the main hall. “Do you know that the stele without inscriptions has cracked? This is a very serious matter, indicating that a sage has appeared in the mortal world. The Heavenly Court may face a major upheaval.”
“I've heard about it,” Zhao Gongming said, bowing. “But I don't understand. Why would the appearance of a sage affect the Heavenly Court? Isn't it the Buddhas in the Western Heaven who should be most worried?”
“Such ignorance!” the Jade Emperor scolded loudly. “This sage is different from the ordinary ones. This person may change the pattern of the Three Realms, and the Heavenly Court will surely be affected.”
Zhao Gongming said slowly, “Is this related to the White Bone Demon?”
“Naturally!” The Jade Emperor squinted slightly and stared closely at Zhao Gongming's reaction. “You've been a god for so long. Don't you even have this kind of awareness? The Heavenly Court and the Western Buddhas used to know every move of the White Bone Demon clearly. Her death was supposed to be when she met the Monkey King. But now, something unexpected has happened, and even the Monkey King seems to be on the verge of breaking free from the Buddha's palm again.”
What?
Zhao Gongming looked up, greatly shocked.
Back then, the Monkey King caused a great disturbance in the Heavenly Court, throwing the whole place into chaos. If it weren't for the Buddha's suppression and imprisoning him under the Five - Element Mountain, the situation of the Heavenly Court today might be completely different.
Everyone knew that as long as the Monkey King was in the Buddha's palm, he would never be able to escape.
But now...
“Is this true?” Zhao Gongming was extremely surprised. “Doesn't he have the tightening headband? How can he escape the Buddha's spell?”
“Hehe!” The Jade Emperor couldn't help but sneer. “I heard this from the Supreme Lord Laozi. For now, keep it a secret. We don't want the Monkey King to run wild again and take my throne.”
“...” Zhao Gongming thought to himself that the Jade Emperor was really joking.
Since he couldn't get any useful information from Zhao Gongming, the Jade Emperor was too lazy to continue probing.
“Go ahead. Keep looking for the whereabouts of the White Bone Demon. As soon as you get any news, report it to me immediately.”
“What about the Western Heaven...”
“Discuss it with me first, and then we'll talk about it.”
“Yes!”
After leaving the main hall, the God of Wealth went to the Tushita Palace of the Supreme Lord Laozi.
Zhao Gongming knew very well that although the Supreme Lord Laozi had joined the Heavenly Court and established his palace in the Jade Emperor's territory, his status and cultivation were far above the Jade Emperor's.
As for why he came to see him, Zhao Gongming couldn't explain clearly. He just wanted to see the old gentleman.
“Here you are?” Unexpectedly, as soon as the God of Wealth entered the Tushita Palace, he saw the Supreme Lord Laozi standing in the courtyard waiting for him. “I've been waiting for a long time.”
“Your Majesty,” the God of Wealth was quite surprised but still followed him inside.
The Supreme Lord Laozi, also known as the Moral Heavenly Lord, waved his whisk and walked through one door after another, leading him straight to the back hall.
“Your Majesty knew I was coming?” The God of Wealth was a bit confused about what he had seen and heard today.
Why did he feel that many things were different this time when he came to the Heavenly Court?
“Naturally,” the Supreme Lord Laozi sat on the cushion and motioned for Zhao Gongming to sit down.
Although Zhao Gongming was a bit confused, he still patiently waited for the Supreme Lord Laozi to speak first.
“You went to the mortal world this time with the task of finding the White Bone Demon. May I ask if you've met her?”
“No,” the God of Wealth replied instinctively.
“Haha,” unexpectedly, the Supreme Lord Laozi stroked his beard and laughed after hearing his answer. “You've definitely met her.”
“Huh?” Why was this his reaction?
Was there something wrong?
Or did the Supreme Lord Laozi use mind - reading on him?
“Yes, I've lived longer than you, and it's not for nothing,” he said cheerfully as he poured a cup of tea for Zhao Gongming. “Although I can't set up a divination formation to get the answer, I can always get what I want by observing your expression and reaction.”
The God of Wealth was helpless. He thought to himself that the old gentleman was in the mood to play riddles with him.
“I know you have many questions. Since you've met the White Bone Demon, I'm sure she's not an ordinary little demon,” the Supreme Lord Laozi said, seeing the faint worry between the God of Wealth's eyebrows.
“Yes. I heard that she was just a little demon who had just taken human form recently, but I couldn't see her true form. I also don't know why there are so many doubts about her,” since the Supreme Lord Laozi had guessed it, he didn't hide it.
“Because she's not the real White Bone Demon. The Western Heaven is worried that if the White Bone Demon doesn't die, the journey to the West won't be complete. Without successfully completing the Buddhist scriptures - fetching calamity, Tang Sanzang may not be able to bring the Buddhist scriptures from the Western Heaven to the Central Plains.”
“If she's not the White Bone Demon, then who is she?” the God of Wealth was extremely shocked and couldn't help but stand up excitedly. “Why did she become the White Bone Demon? Where did she come from?”
“Calm down,” the Supreme Lord Laozi said, looking at his impatient appearance. “That girl is very beautiful, and she made your mortal heart stir. Is that true?”
“I...” The God of Wealth suddenly stopped. His ears turned red, and he lowered his head to take a sip of tea.
“It's all fate, all fate,” the Supreme Lord Laozi sighed after getting an affirmative answer from his speculation.
...
Yang Xue dedicated herself to cultivation. She meditated every night until dawn. Thanks to the powerful power of the “Immortality Scripture,” she actually reached the late stage of body tempering in just ten days!
What surprised her even more was that when she accidentally opened the book without inscriptions, she faintly saw golden words on it.
Although they were very blurred and the words were not clear or complete, she was really sure that there was something on this book of heavenly secrets!
Could it be that as her cultivation increased, she would be able to see the contents of the book?
She was just a little short. Yang Xue was a bit anxious and wanted to break through her current cultivation level as soon as possible to see what was written on the book.
But after practicing breath - adjustment for more than ten days, she knew that to break through a level, she had to accumulate merit and cultivation.
The fastest way was to sew up corpses!
She hadn't been a forensic doctor for a long time and hadn't been in contact with corpses for a while. She was a bit reluctant to sew up corpses again.
After all, who in their right mind would deliberately go against corpses?
But now, in order to see the contents of the book as soon as possible, she had to take the plunge.
At night, after Yue Bai had lulled the child to sleep and Fang Fang and Duo Duo had also fallen into dreamland, Yang Xue quietly left the room.
Yue Bai had been staying at the inn to take care of Xiao Shan recently because of him. Her feelings for Xiao Shan were getting deeper and deeper, and she couldn't bear to leave him.
But Yang Xue planned to continue observing. After all, foxes were very cunning, and she had to observe carefully.
When she came to the burial ground on the outskirts of the city, Yang Xue suddenly felt a powerful resentment.