Demon-Slaying at Lion Camel Ridge (III)

Meanwhile, Xiao Zhenying begged Ao Tu to intercede for her.

After hearing the whole story, Ao Tu ruffled Xiao Zhenying's hair and asked, "Did you really use the Samadhi True Fire?"

Xiao Zhenying nodded seriously and said, "I've used it, but I'm not proficient yet."

Ao Tu said, "Then use it one more time, let me see how much you've mastered it."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhenying raised her fingers and made a hand seal, spewing fire from her eyes, mouth, and nose, which scattered all over the ground. Because it was difficult to control, much of it landed on Ao Tu.

Xiao Zhenying exclaimed "Ah!" and quickly stopped the Dharma Incantation, reaching out to pat the Flames on Ao Tu's body.

Ao Tu smiled and gently pressed down with his hand, extinguishing all the remaining Fire Qi.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Zhenying exclaimed joyfully, "If Older Brother True Lord could teach me this magic, I wouldn't have to watch as the Samadhi Fire burned off Father's beard next time!"

Ao Tu said, "This is difficult, even more difficult than the Samadhi True Fire."

Xiao Zhenying said, "Even if it's difficult, I'm sure I can learn it."

Ao Tu nodded, put her down, and measured her height. She had grown so fast; she was already a finger joint taller than Nezha.

Ao Tu said, "Li Zhenying, you have learned the Samadhi True Fire in just a few days, and you are indeed capable in Alchemy. I wish to take you as my disciple, so that you can stay by my side to fan the fire, tend the furnace, grind medicine, and make pills. Are you willing?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhenying knelt down in deep bow and said:

"I am willing, but my parents have given me life and raised me, and I must inform my father of this important matter of becoming his disciple, lest he be unwilling."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "It's alright, I'll go talk to Heavenly King Li, I guarantee he'll agree."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhenying happily stood up and asked, "Master, how will you tell my father?"

Just as Ao Tu was about to speak, someone else came in from outside.

It turned out to be Taibai Jinxing.

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Look, the persuader has arrived. With this old man here, are we afraid Tongtian?"

Xiao Zhenying exclaimed joyfully, "It's definitely possible! It's definitely possible!"

Taibai Jinxing approached from afar, laughing, "What jokes are you making of this old man, True Lord?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "I wanted to take the Heavenly King's daughter as my disciple, but I was afraid the Heavenly King would not agree. We were just discussing it when you arrived. This is just the right time. No one else can persuade you on this matter, only you, Old Star, can."

Upon hearing this, Taibai Jinxing looked at Xiao Zhenying.

Xiao Zhenying quickly bowed and greeted him.

Taibai Jinxing laughed and said, "It is the Creation order of things to learn from a master. As for the Heavenly King, I will certainly persuade the True Lord on his behalf."

As he spoke, Taibai Jinxing took out an object from his bosom—a Wisdom Lotus —and gave it to Xiao Zhenying, saying:

"This Lotus Flower is one I found by chance a few days ago. I saw it was unclaimed, so I kept it. Today, I'm giving it to you as a small gift to celebrate our occasion."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhenying dared not accept it on her own. She looked at Ao Tu and, seeing her master nodding with a smile, bowed and thanked him before accepting the Lotus Flower.

Ao Tu said, "By the way, I wonder what brings you here today, Elder Xing?"

Taibai Jinxing said, "I almost forgot something important, True Lord. His Majesty requests your presence. Please follow me."

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu said, "Since His Majesty has summoned us, we must not be negligent. Zhenying, you should go home first. After I have seen His Majesty, I will go to the Cloud Tower Palace to discuss the matter of accepting disciples with the Heavenly King."

Xiao Zhenying listened and obediently agreed.

Ao Tu then left the Flower Realm with Taibai Jinxing to see the Jade Emperor.

Upon arriving at the palace, the Jade Emperor instructed a celestial official to produce a diagram, which turned out to be the diagram of the Zhou Tian Star Array, and returned it to Ao Tu.

Upon seeing this, Ao Tu spoke to the Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor:

"Your Majesty, I have always been greatly favored by Your Majesty. I have already memorized the Formation in this diagram, and taking it would only be icing on the cake. In my opinion, it would be better to place it in the Dipper Department as a preparation for dealing with enemies, so that it can be controlled when encountering difficult demons in the future."

Upon hearing this, the Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor laughed and said:

"You! You! If I were to leave this Formation Diagram in the Dipper Department, it would be too much of a waste for you. How about this, you keep the Formation Diagram. We will establish a new residence to the west of the Douniu Palace, and you will concurrently serve as the Western Heaven Savior Celestial Worthy, leading the immortals to Shifting Stars and Changing Dippers, and set up a grand formation. What do you say?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "It's entirely up to Your Majesty."

The Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor laughed and said, "I'm afraid the Queen Mother of the West won't release them yet. I'll have to prepare even more gifts!"

Taibai Jinxing and Ao Tu both laughed.

After leaving the palace, Ao Tu and Taibai Jinxing headed towards the Cloud Tower Palace.

On the way, Taibai Jinxing laughed:

"Now that Your Great King has become the Celestial Worthy of Salvation, Heavenly King Li will certainly not object to the matter of becoming your disciple."

Ao Tu nodded and said, "Indeed! Indeed!"

The two entered the Cloud Tower Palace.

Led by Divine Attendant, they entered the temple and went inside. There, they saw a reclining chair where Xiao Zhenying was lying, her bottom sticking up, swaying and fast asleep.

Seeing his unseemly sleeping posture, Ao Tu quickly walked over, ruffled his hair, and said, "Didn't I tell you to go see the Heavenly King? Why are you sleeping here? Get up, don't be rude!"

Nezha rubbed his eyes groggily and got up. Seeing it was Ao Tu, he asked, "What are you doing?"

Ao Tu then realized it was Nezha. However, because his eyes were Dao Wound and he was far away, and the siblings looked almost identical, he had mistaken him for someone else.

Since it was Nezha, his sleeping posture didn't matter, so he pushed Nezha aside and said, "Go to sleep." Then he and Taibai Jinxing went inside.

Upon entering through the second-floor door, Heavenly King Li greeted them and invited them inside.

Be more enthusiastic towards Taibai Jinxing, but more indifferent towards Ao Tu.

Once inside, the three of them took their seats in turn.

The Attendants served them Immortal Tea, Heavenly King Li then inquired about their purpose.

Taibai Jinxing then acted as an intermediary, explaining Ao Tu's intention to take Li Zhenying as his disciple.

To their surprise, Heavenly King Li agreed immediately after a moment's thought, without requiring much persuasion from the two men.

Unbeknownst to the two, Heavenly King Li also had his own way of dealing with the world.

Although he disliked Perfected Lord Taixi, he knew that Perfected Lord Taixi was a capable Taoist with upright character and was a true follower of the righteous path.

His daughter became his disciple, learning Supernatural Ability powers and moral character, so she naturally agreed.

If it were any other father, he would at least consider that his daughter was too young and would not be able to bear letting her leave home to become a nun.

However, Heavenly King Li was a heartless man. He had sent his three sons out of the family to learn martial arts at a young age, so he had no regrets and readily agreed.

The three were delighted and set a date for the formal apprenticeship ceremony, each inviting a respected immortal to witness the event.

After this matter was settled, Ao Tu bid farewell to Taibai Jinxing and descended to the mortal Lower Realm, transforming back into Demon Dragon to obstruct the Journey to the West to the West.

Ao Tu first found the Blood Sea Incarnation.

In the battle of Pansi Ridge, many Demon died or were injured, and the remaining Demon inevitably felt fear.

After Ao Tu arrived, he placed the Soul-Scattering Gourd and the Purple-Gold Red Gourd into the air, which transformed into two realms.

The demons looked on and saw that all the demons who had died earlier were living well in the two realms, so they felt relieved.

A sharp-eyed Demon noticed the difference between the two realms: the Soul-Scattering Gourd was filled with Baleful Qi, while the Purple-Gold Red Gourd was peaceful and serene. He then asked, "Third Great King, why are these two worlds so different?"

Ao Tu said, "The Purple-Gold Red Gourd is a peaceful realm. Those Demon who disliked fighting in their previous lives can enjoy themselves here. The Soul-Scattering Gourd is a Baleful Qi realm. Those Demon who loved fighting in their previous lives can take up official positions here, whip the Evil Souls inside, and even cultivate with the help of the Baleful Qi. It's a win-win situation."

The demons were overjoyed upon hearing this and were no longer afraid of death.

Ao Tu then instructed the demons to head towards Lion Camel Ridge.

The seven Spider Demon also wanted to go, but Ao Tu thought their cultivation was too weak and told them to return to Pansi Ridge. However, the seven insisted on following, and in the end, they went with him.

The Many-Eyed Monster also followed.

The demons then went to Lion Camel Ridge.