"Then please follow me, Immortal," the guide said with a smile.
Immediately, the two of them soared upwards through the clouds.
"May I ask your name, Immortal, and where you cultivate?" The guide was getting impatient and wanted to find out Lin Qing's identity.
Lin Qing glanced at the guide indifferently and said expressionlessly, "This is not something you need to know. Just take the side road ahead."
"Yes, yes, I was too talkative, Immortal. Once you cross that array above, you will reach the outside of the Tushita Palace," the guide hurriedly replied, bowing obsequiously.
Ten minutes later, after the two passed through an array, the Tushita Palace appeared before them.
"Immortal, this Tushita Palace is shrouded in an array. We need to inform the people inside. Please wait here for a moment, I will be right back."
Lin Qing waved his hand and said, "No need, you can go back. I can go in by myself."
After saying that, he took out the Jade Emperor's token, and before he could activate it, the array outside the Tushita Palace opened automatically.
Then, to the astonishment of the guide, he went inside.
A short while later, the formation closed again. Seeing that the opportunity to curry favor with someone was gone, the guide had no choice but to leave. However, he did not go far, but waited for Lin Qing to come out from a distance.
As soon as Lin Qing entered the Tushita Palace, he spread his divine sense, and the entire situation of the Tushita Palace appeared in his mind.
"As expected, Laozi is not here; there are only some Daoist boys inside." Lin Qing was overjoyed.
"Haha, with so many elixirs, I won't stand on ceremony. However, I should still keep a low profile."
Lin Qing immediately went into hiding and then began a massive sweep of the Tushita Palace.
"Golden Crow Pill? Profound Origin Pill? Red Calamity Pill? Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill? Forget it, take them all!" Lin Qing took everything that was on the shelf.
"Huh? Nine-Turn Golden Pill?" Suddenly, Lin Qing discovered a pill in a gourd made of magic treasure, with a name attached to it.
"I remember this is the kind of pill that Sun Wukong ate the most at Laozi's place." Lin Qing was overjoyed and put away the gourd of Nine-Turn Golden Pill.
It should be noted that Sun Wukong's body, which even the Execution Platform could not kill, owes much of its strength to this Nine-Turn Golden Elixir.
"Tap tap tap!" Suddenly, footsteps came from outside.
Lin Qing was immediately startled. He waved his hand and returned all the pills he had collected to their rightful owner. Then he slipped behind a pillar and hid.
"Look, the pills are still here. I told you, no one would steal the elixir," a boy with a fan said, pointing at the pills.
"I just heard some noise and came to check it out," another boy said, scratching his head somewhat embarrassedly.
"Do you still think it's like when the Victorious Fighting Buddha came to steal the elixir of immortality? Now the entire Tushita Palace has been encircled by the Jade Emperor, and no one can break in."
"Alright, hurry back. That batch of Nine-Turn Golden Elixir still needs fanning the fire," the boy said, raising the banana leaf fan in his hand.
Then, the other boy nodded, and the two of them hurried back to the alchemy room together.
After they had gone some distance, Lin Qing appeared, patted his chest, and said, "Luckily we weren't discovered, otherwise, it would have been troublesome."
In other words, Lin Qing knew they were refining pills, so he dared not be discovered, because if he were discovered, he would have no choice but to take them down.
The consequence of letting it fall is that the Golden Core will explode if no one is guarding it. After the explosion, Lin Qing will have to leave with only this little bit of the elixir, as he is still thinking about the peaches in the Peach Garden.
Lin Qing looked at the golden pills in front of him, waved his hand, and put all the pills into his storage space. Then, he set up an illusion here.
Unless one's strength reaches the Celestial Immortal realm, whoever comes here will see a pill room complete with all the elixirs.
"All done, let's move on to the next pill-making room!" Lin Qing chuckled and swaggered toward the remaining pill-making rooms.
The Tushita Palace may not have much else, but it has an abundance of elixirs. There isn't even enough room to hold them all. Even when Laozi isn't in the Tushita Palace, the furnace is still running.
An hour passed, and Lin Qing finally collected the last elixir from the pill room.
During this period, Lin Qing encountered more than twenty children, so apart from using invisibility and illusion techniques, he did not use any spiritual power.
In the Tushita Palace, all that could be seen was that he was moving around on his own two feet. If Lin Qing had WeChat on his phone, his WeChat step count would definitely be quite high.
Lin Qing was standing in the alchemy room, looking at the Nine-Turn Golden Pill that was still being refined, and then looking at the four gourds of Nine-Turn Golden Pill on the shelf next to him, his heart was burning with excitement.
Of all the elixirs Lin Qing seized, only the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir was the most precious, and Lin Qing only obtained the very first gourd of it.
Although the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir was readily available, Lin Qing wasn't that stupid.
"I'll go to the Peach Garden first, and then come back to get these Nine-Turn Golden Pills. Hehe, perfect." Lin Qing didn't hesitate at all and directly used the Jade Emperor's token to leave the Tushita Palace.
Chapter 502 The Bald Old Man (Please subscribe, vote, and recommend)
As soon as Lin Qing left the Tushita Palace, the guide who was in the distance came running over eagerly.
"Immortal, you've finally come out. I've been waiting for you here for an hour," said the guide.
Lin Qing frowned slightly and said, "What brings you here waiting for me?"
"Ah, no, it's nothing. I just thought that the immortal might still need my help, so I waited here." The guide, Lin Qing, was a little unhappy, so he quickly smiled apologetically.
"It's alright, do as you please!" With that, Lin Qing flicked his sleeve and transformed into a streak of light, heading towards the Peach Garden.
"Oh, did I say something wrong?" The guide shook his head in distress.
Suddenly, the communication jade talisman at his waist started flashing. He quickly picked it up, and a message appeared in his mind.
"Laozi's attendant has returned from the Ten Thousand Buddhas Assembly, seemingly to retrieve an elixir of immortality."
The guide was already used to this kind of information and there was no need for him to go there. So he put down the jade talisman and slowly headed towards his residence.
After flying for less than fifteen minutes, they saw Lin Qing catching goldfish in a celestial pool ahead.
"Immortal, this is unacceptable! These are the goldfish raised by the Queen Mother of the West. If even one is missing, she will be furious!" The guide was very anxious.
Lin Qing, however, calmly grabbed one and put it away, saying indifferently, "Don't be surprised. This is an order from the Jade Emperor."
Lin Qing felt he had caught enough, so he flew out. At this point, the guide didn't say anything, since it wasn't his business anyway.
"I didn't see anything, Immortal. Laozi's attendant just returned, and I need to go and receive him." Making an excuse, the guide turned and left.
Upon hearing this, Lin Qing was immediately startled and exclaimed, "Wait, you just said that Laozi's attendant has returned?"
"Ah, Immortal, Laozi has gone to attend the Ten Thousand Buddhas Assembly and sent his attendant back to retrieve some kind of elixir," the guide hurriedly stopped and replied.
"Alright, that's all, you can go now!" With that, she turned and disappeared.
Seeing Lin Qing like this, the guide was full of questions, but dared not say anything more, and continued on his way home.
Lin Qing did not continue to the Peach Garden, but instead came to the outside of the Tushita Palace. As soon as the boy arrived, he would capture him immediately.
If the boy were allowed to return to the Tushita Palace, he would definitely be discovered. Therefore, Lin Qing had no choice but to strike first.
After waiting for about half an hour, a Taoist boy dressed in a Taoist robe came flying towards them on clouds.
Lin Qing scanned the surroundings with his divine sense and, after confirming that there was no one else, appeared beside the boy in a flash without saying a word.
Before the boy could react, she struck him down with a palm strike, then channeled spiritual energy into his body, carrying him away to become invisible, and then quickly flew towards the Peach Garden.
The entire process, from knocking down the young Taoist priest to leaving, took only three seconds, and no one noticed it.
Because he was carrying someone, Lin Qing didn't dare to travel at full speed. He carefully spent an hour before arriving at the entrance of the Peach Garden.
Although the Peach Garden was heavily fortified, there were still two golden-armored guards at the only entrance.
This is the only entrance to the formation. Unless the formation can be broken, the only way to enter is through this place.
Although he was invisible, Lin Qing wasn't sure if the entrance had any function that prevented people from becoming invisible, so he didn't go in directly.
Instead, he went around to the other side of the wall, held the token, and lightly leaped into the Peach Garden. The formation automatically opened an entrance, allowing Lin Qing to enter.
Lin Qing stood steadily in the Peach Garden, looking at the unconscious little Taoist boy, casually tossing him to the corner of the wall, and then drooling over the plump, juicy peaches.
"I can't eat it, I can't eat it, I have to save it for my main body." The clone Lin Qing tried his best to suppress the temptation of the food.
"We'd better hurry up and take the peaches away. A day in heaven is a year on earth. Two months have probably already passed in the mortal realm! If we delay, something might go wrong."
Lin Qing immediately walked quickly to a peach tree.
Legend has it that the Peach Garden has 3,600 peach trees, with the first 1,200 of them having tiny flowers and fruits that ripen once every 3,000 years. People who eat them are said to become immortals and attain enlightenment.
The middle 1,200 trees ripen once every 6,000 years. If a person eats them, they will ascend to heaven and live forever.
The following 1,200 plants, with purple veins and fine kernels, ripen once every nine thousand years. Those who eat them will live as long as heaven and earth, and be as old as the sun and moon.
Lin Qing noticed that the peaches on this tree were relatively small, so they must be the ones that ripen only once every three thousand years.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Qing hugged the peach tightly. Just as he was about to exert force, he felt a powerful aura approaching from beneath the ground.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, an old man with a bald head and a cane appeared in circles not far behind Lin Qing.
"This old man greets this great immortal. May I ask if the great immortal has any instructions from the Queen Mother?" The old man, who had no hair and no eyebrows, bowed to Lin Qing.
"You can see me?" Lin Qing was surprised that this old man with such weak strength could see through his invisibility technique.
"I can't see them, but I am the local deity of this Peach Garden. As long as a stranger sets foot here, I can detect it." The old man stroked his beard, then realized that he didn't have a beard at all, and said with a slight embarrassment.
“Great Immortal, if you do not have the Queen Mother’s order, then I will have to notify the guards to arrest you.”
The old man had just taken office, and who knew which powerful immortal would come to steal the peaches of immortality? He couldn't afford to offend them, so he could only speak so politely.
Lin Qing realized he had been exposed. It seemed the old man was on guard at all times, and it was hard to guarantee that he would send out the message when Lin Qing made his move. So, with a flick of his hand, the Jade Emperor Token floated in front of him.
"The Jade Emperor has ordered me to come and pick the peaches of immortality."
“This Jade Emperor’s decree is genuine, but my esteemed immortal, you are unaware that the Peach Garden is under the jurisdiction of the Queen Mother of the West. This token of yours…” the old man said hesitantly.
"Did this guy steal it from somewhere? No, I have to notify the guards outside right away." Thinking this, he secretly made a hand seal to send the message out.
Lin Qing quickly put away the token, then his figure appeared and he said calmly, "In the Heavenly Court, the Jade Emperor is the most powerful. Although the Queen Mother is in charge, it wouldn't be wrong for the Jade Emperor to let me pick a peach!"
Upon seeing Lin Qing's face, the old man suddenly exclaimed, "Ah, you are a celestial being!"
"Hmm? Who are you?" Lin Qing asked, somewhat puzzled.
Looking at the excited old man in front of him, Lin Qing admitted that he had never seen him before.
Chapter 503 It's delicious (Please subscribe, vote, and recommend)
"It's me, Immortal! Don't you recognize me?" The old man suddenly slapped his forehead, remembering something: "Ah, right, my beard!"
"I am the land you rescued outside Qiantang County. Don't you remember me?" The old man stepped forward and covered his chin with his sleeve.