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Nezha secretly thought he was no match for the enemy, but still accepted the order and set off on the Wind Fire Wheels. The two True Lords helped each other up. True Lord Tianyou sighed, "This monkey's cultivation is astonishing. I fear it will be difficult for them to subdue him. We should report to the Jade Emperor immediately and send troops to encircle and suppress him."

True Lord Yisheng suddenly realized, "Where are they going?"

True Lord Tianyou gazed into the distance, "It looks like... Tushita Palace!"

[Sun Wukong broke into the empty Tushita Palace, finding no trace of Laojun or any of the immortals. He stumbled into the pill room, where only the Eight Trigrams Furnace was burning fiercely. Beside the furnace, five gourds filled with Golden Cores were lined up.

Around the pill room, tiered treasure shelves were displayed, laden with various precious gourds. Each gourd had a slip of paper attached, indicating the name of the pill within.

Sun Wukong gazed at the pill furnace and the gourds filled with Golden Cores, his face beaming with joy. "These are treasures of the immortals! Since I attained enlightenment, I have understood the mysteries within and without. I truly need Golden Cores to aid me. Today, by chance, while Laojun is away, I shall try a few fresh ones."

With that, he poured out all the Golden Cores from the gourds by the furnace and swallowed them as if he were munching on roasted beans. His gaze then swept over the treasure shelves, and he darted forward, grabbing a few more gourds and emptying them.

Just then, Zhuang Yan rushed into the pill room. Seeing the scene, he berated sternly, "Monkey! What are you doing?"

Sun Wukong looked up abruptly, startled, "Uncle, why are you here?"

Zhuang Yan did not answer, and shouted again, "What do you have in your hand?"

Sun Wukong lowered his head and chuckled, "These are Laojun's Golden Cores. Would you like to try some, Uncle?"

Zhuang Yan said coldly, "You stole the Peaches of Immortality and disrupted the Peach Banquet, and now you are stealing Golden Cores. You have already committed a crime! And you still dare to laugh!"

These words completely sobered Wukong. Cold sweat broke out on his brow. He thought to himself, This is a disaster of heavenly proportions! If the Jade Emperor is alerted, my life will be forfeit. I should return to the lower realm and become king immediately!

He cupped his hands towards Zhuang Yan, "Uncle, I will visit you at Danchi Ridge another day. Your nephew will take his leave now." With that, he leaped, intending to flee.

However, Zhuang Yan formed a hand seal and cast a spell, grabbing Wukong from the air and pulling him back. Grasping him by the neck, he laughed, "Where do you think you're going to escape?"

Wukong knew his Uncle's abilities and stopped struggling, pleading, "Nephew knows his mistake. I beg Uncle to let me go."

Zhuang Yan rebuked angrily, "You have cultivated for many years at Mount Fangcun, yet your wild nature remains untamed! Today, I will escort you to face the Jade Emperor!"

Wukong retorted, "Uncle, why are you so heartless?"

Zhuang Yan snorted coldly, "I worked diligently for a hundred years to attain a mere seventh-rank immortal position, yet you, monkey, caused trouble and became the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Today is a good opportunity to earn merit with your head. Don't worry, I'll bring you fresh fruit every year."

Suddenly, a voice called from outside the pill room, "Spirit Platform Prefecture Lord, have you captured the demon monkey?"

Zhuang Yan replied, "Third Prince Nezha, come quickly and assist!"

Wukong seized the opportunity and hurled the gourd fiercely at Zhuang Yan's face. With a thud, Zhuang Yan staggered and fell to the ground, releasing his grip on Wukong.

"Ouch!" Zhuang Yan cried out in pain as he stumbled backward. Just as he was about to fall out of the pill room, Nezha lunged forward and caught him.

Zhuang Yan took the opportunity to store the gourd Sun Wukong had thrown into his Infinite Space. A smile briefly flickered on his lips before he quickly suppressed it. He rubbed his cheek and roared, "You insolent monkey, how dare you!"

Sun Wukong chuckled, plucked a tuft of his fur, blew on it, and instantly transformed into dozens of clones. These clones not only looked identical but also possessed the same martial arts and magical skills. In a flash, they surrounded Zhuang Yan and Nezha.

Nezha was about to unleash his Three Heads Six Arms to fight when Zhuang Yan stopped him, "Don't be rash! We can't afford to damage Laojun's pill room."

"Then what's your plan?" Nezha asked urgently.

Zhuang Yan smiled without answering. Suddenly, he activated One Thought Capture, shouting at the clones, "A golden light flashed, and a handful of monkey fur was in his palm."

"Brilliant!" Nezha exclaimed. "Is this the same divine ability that captured the Heavenly Sin Blade last time?"

While the two were speaking, Sun Wukong, seeing that the situation was unfavorable, suddenly blew a fierce gust of wind. Sand and stones flew everywhere in the pill room, the treasure shelves collapsed with a roar, and countless gourds flew towards them. Although the Eight Trigrams Furnace did not move, its flames were extinguished, and thick smoke instantly filled the entire pill room.

Nezha's eyes watered from the smoke. Just as he was about to pull Zhuang Yan away to retreat, he saw him busy collecting all the flying gourds into his sleeve. Nezha looked closely and noticed that three gourds Zhuang Yan had stuffed into his sleeve were clearly labeled Taiyi Purple Gold Pill, Jade Lotus Purple Gold Pill, and Jiangzhen Great Returning Pill.

In an instant, Nezha felt as if the smoke was no longer so choking. Golden light erupted, and he directly manifested his Three Heads Six Arms form, shattering half of the pill room. He reached out to grab the remaining gourds.

Zhuang Yan was quick-witted. With a single incantation, he swept away all the gourds Nezha had just grabbed. Nezha became furious, and all six of his arms grabbed Zhuang Yan's neck, "Give me back my Golden Cores!"

Zhuang Yan easily broke free and laughed, "What's the hurry? If Laojun investigates, these will be safer with me."

Hearing this, Nezha immediately retracted his Three Heads Six Arms form, returning to his original appearance. He looked at Zhuang Yan with disbelief, "Laojun is an incarnation of Grand Supreme Venerable of the Dao, the Dao Ancestor who created heaven and earth. Can you truly hide it from his dharma eye?"

Zhuang Yan smiled confidently, "If those gourds are in my custody, Laojun will absolutely not detect it. When the heat dies down, won't it be delightful for us to split them?"

Nezha stared at Zhuang Yan for a long time before finally nodding, "I'll trust you this time. If you dare to deceive me, I will report you."

"How could I lie to you?" Zhuang Yan laughed heartily. Just as the two were about to leave the pill room, Nezha suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no! That monkey has escaped!"

Zhuang Yan pressed him down, "It's good that he escaped. If he hadn't, how would we account for the stolen Golden Cores?" Nezha's gaze suddenly sharpened, "You clearly had the monkey captured just now, but you were repelled by a gourd. Did you deliberately go easy on him?"

Zhuang Yan smiled calmly, "Didn't you and the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King join forces before, and you were still defeated by him?"

"That's different! I truly couldn't defeat him..." Nezha stopped halfway through his sentence, his eyes widening, "Well played, Spirit Platform Prefecture Lord, you are so cunning!"

Zhuang Yan narrowed his eyes and smiled, "What? You don't want the Golden Cores anymore?"

Nezha's expression changed immediately, and he affectionately put his arm around Zhuang Yan's shoulder, "Hahaha, I'm cunning too! We have a life-and-death friendship."

"Just like the deep bond between you and your father?" Zhuang Yan teased. Nezha was immediately speechless.

At this moment, thick smoke billowed from the pill room, soon engulfing the entire Tushita Palace, appearing like a sea of fire from afar. Grand Supreme Elder Lao, who was discussing the Dao with Ancient Buddha Dipamkara at Zhu Ling Dan Tai, suddenly stopped and looked towards the hall. The immortal attendants and divine generals standing on either side turned their heads. They saw Laojun count on his fingers, his expression suddenly changing, "Not good! My Golden Cores!"

Laojun hastily bowed to Ancient Buddha Dipamkara and took his leave. He hurried towards the pill room with the immortal officials. Amidst the rolling black smoke, Zhuang Yan and Nezha stepped forward to pay their respects. Laojun flicked his whisk, "Why are you two here? Who caused this disturbance?"

"It was that demon monkey!" Nezha answered first. "After wreaking havoc at the Peach Banquet, he fled here and stole the immortal pills. When we arrived, he used shapeshifting techniques to hinder us and extinguished the furnace's flame."

As Nezha finished speaking, an immortal attendant rushed out in a panic, shouting, "Master, this is bad! All the Golden Cores in the pill room are gone!"

"How could this be?!" Grand Supreme Elder Lao clutched his chest, grief-stricken. "My Golden Cores!"

He suddenly turned to glare at Zhuang Yan and Nezha, flicking his whisk and pointing, "Spirit Platform Prefecture Lord of Qingjing Pavilion, come with me."

Understood. Zhuang Yan quickly followed.

Nezha suddenly tugged at Zhuang Yan's sleeve. The latter turned back and blinked, giving him a reassuring look. Watching Zhuang Yan disappear into the pavilion, Nezha still held his breath—after all, he was facing Grand Supreme Elder Lao.

Inside the pavilion, before Lao Jun could turn around, Zhuang Yan's wide sleeves fluttered.

A flash of seven-colored rosy clouds, and sixty-six gourds were neatly stacked on the gold-inlaid Eight Immortals table.

Grand Supreme Elder Lao turned and saw this, chuckling as he pointed at Zhuang Yan: "Good lad, you're quick. His gaze swept over the table and he added, "It seems that impudent monkey only ate the five gourds by the elixir furnace?"

"Precisely, the rest have been returned to their rightful owner." Zhuang Yan cupped his hands. This was exactly why he had intercepted them from Nezha.

Lao Jun nodded and stepped forward, dividing the gourds into two piles: forty-nine on the left, seventeen on the right.

"Keep these." He pointed to the left pile. "Some of these elixirs are useless to you; you'll need to discern them yourself. The Essence of Purity Meditation Method is a path of harmony. Taking elixirs is not forbidden, only their efficacy will differ."

He then pointed to the right pile: "These are for Nezha. He is an embodiment of lotus roots, and these elixirs are perfect for his use. But like that monkey, most of the medicinal power will be trapped within him. In the future, he will inevitably have to go through the Eight Trigrams Furnace."

Lao Jun suddenly smiled and asked, "Can you refine the medicinal power yourself?"

"I knew this would happen." Lao Jun lightly tapped his whisk. "Remember the classifications and put them all away."

Zhuang Yan was surprised: "You're not keeping any?"

"Keeping them would only add to my troubles." Lao Jun waved his hand. "They will be of greater use to you. In the future, when you take in disciples or subdue mounts, these Golden Cores will come in handy."

Zhuang Yan rolled up his sleeves and collected all the gourds, bowing solemnly: "Thank you, Lao Jun."

"Don't thank me," Lao Jun stroked his beard and smiled. "Thank the monkey who took the blame."

After bidding farewell to Lao Jun and leaving the pavilion, Nezha eagerly stepped forward: "How was it?"

"All settled."

"Excellent!" Nezha jumped up and clapped his hands.

Zhuang Yan added, "Lao Jun wants you to go in."

Nezha immediately composed himself, straightened his robes, and entered the Pure Pavilion.

Nezha walked out of the elixir room with Grand Supreme Elder Lao, grumbling as they walked: "Lao Jun, how can you suspect us? How could we be the ones who stole the elixirs?"

Lao Jun flicked his sleeve and said, "Besides that monkey head, only you have been here. Naturally, I had to investigate."

Nezha's sword-like eyebrows shot up. "We kindly helped you capture the demon, only to be met with such suspicion."

Lao Jun suddenly pointed at the collapsed elixir room: "If your intention was to capture the demon, why would this elixir room be damaged?"

Nezha's expression froze: "When I manifested my true form to subdue the demon, it was inevitable that the surroundings would be affected."

Lao Jun suddenly grabbed Nezha's wrist: "Well said, Third Prince! So it was you who destroyed my elixir room! If you don't compensate me, I will certainly report it to the Jade Emperor!"

Nezha's eyes darted around: "Such a major incident as the theft of immortal elixirs goes uninvestigated, yet you're bothered about the elixir room?"

"Oh dear!" Lao Jun suddenly came to his senses. "My entire furnace of Golden Cores..." Before he could finish, he had already ascended a cloud and headed straight for Lingxiao Hall.

After Lao Jun left, Nezha pulled Zhuang Yan to a secluded spot and eagerly rubbed his hands together: "Quick, let's divide the Golden Cores!"

Zhuang Yan took out seventeen gourds and handed them over. Nezha immediately jumped up: "Only these? We must split them equally!" He then lunged to search Zhuang Yan.

Zhuang Yan dodged with a flash and chuckled: "There were actually twenty gourds. Giving you seventeen is already fair. Take a closer look; they are all top-grade Golden Cores."

Nezha inspected them and found ten gourds of Jade Lotus Purple Gold Pills, and the remaining seven gourds were also precious items. Only then did he break into a wide smile: "You know what's good for you." He unfurled his sleeves and collected them all.

"This commotion has caused such a stir, the Jade Emperor will surely send Heavenly Soldiers to hunt down the demon monkey." Nezha grabbed Zhuang Yan and they left, hurrying to Lingxiao Hall to await orders!

In Ziwei Palace, the Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole was discussing matters with the Great Emperor Changsheng of the South Pole.

Great Emperor Changsheng said with concern: "The world's karmic energy is accumulating. Within a hundred years, a great disaster may occur."

Great Emperor Ziwei sighed: "The immortals have avoided calamity for too long, causing the karma to be difficult to dissipate. The calamity of Buddha-Demons in the Buddhist Sect is a prime example."

"I have already submitted the list of those destined to face the calamity to the Jade Emperor, but there has been no reply for a long time," Great Emperor Changsheng shook his head.