Erlang Shen didn't make a move, but asked, "I don't know what heinous crime you committed that made the Jade Emperor so angry."
In his eyes, Lin Qing was like a pig or a sheep to be slaughtered, easily killed at will. After all, there was no comparison between a peak Great Luo Golden Immortal and a Celestial Immortal.
Just as the two were talking, the Meishan brothers and Xiaotianquan arrived and stopped behind Erlang Shen.
"It's nothing much, I just uprooted all the peach trees in the Peach Garden, took all the elixirs from the Tushita Palace, and oh right, I also uprooted the ginseng fruit tree at the Wuzhuang Temple."
Lin Qing said it casually, not caring at all how much of a shock his words caused in the hearts of Erlang Shen and the others.
"What? Is this true?" Erlang Shen shouted.
Lin Qing said noncommittally, "Of course it's true. Otherwise, why would someone as insignificant as me, a mere Celestial Immortal, be sent to capture me, the number one war god of the Three Realms?"
"Haha, you're quite good. It seems that today we'll not only be able to enjoy dragon meat, but also taste the ginseng fruit, peaches of immortality, and elixirs." Erlang Shen laughed heartily.
"Woof woof woof!" the Celestial Dog barked excitedly.
"Looks like we're in for a treat today," the Meishan brothers said with smiles.
You should know that only the great immortals of the Heavenly Court can eat these things. Even Erlang Shen can only eat a three-thousand-year-old peach every five hundred years.
As for the ginseng fruit, Erlang Shen had never even seen it before, let alone his followers.
"Haha, you call yourself the number one war god in the Three Realms, yet you couldn't even tell that I was just an avatar?" Lin Qing laughed disdainfully.
"Hmm? A clone?" Erlang Shen's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and then his third eye on his forehead, which had been closed, suddenly opened.
"I misjudged you; I didn't expect you to be an avatar. But so what? Does that mean I can't find your true form?" Erlang Shen said calmly, retracting his third eye.
"The Celestial Hound." Erlang Shen glanced at it.
"Woof woof woof!" the Celestial Dog responded with a bark, and then, under everyone's gaze, transformed into a lewd, disheveled man.
Then, the Celestial Hound roared, "Boundless Heaven and Earth, Tracking for Ten Thousand Miles!" and began sniffing in all directions.
Finally, their gaze settled on the west, which was the location of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Assembly.
“Master, it’s over there,” said the Celestial Hound, stretching out his hand.
"Look, I've found you!" Erlang Shen came to the side of Xiaotian Dog and gently stroked its head, while the latter enjoyed it immensely and even stuck out its tongue happily.
"Haha, that's right. I'll tell you the truth too. My current true form is inside Guanyin Bodhisattva's jade bottle. If you're so capable, go find Guanyin!"
"As for the immortal peaches and ginseng fruit I obtained, I have used special methods to send them back to my original body. Now, I will take my leave!"
Lin Qing politely bowed to Erlang Shen and the others, and then his body began to gradually turn into starlight, finally dissipating into the world.
"Master, what do we do now?" asked the Celestial Hound.
Erlang Shen sneered, "Hmph, they're really courting death. Let's go to the Western Paradise, but first, let's collect some interest!" Then he casually cast a spell and flew westward.
Meanwhile, in Lin Qing's temple in Qiantang County, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck down from the sky.
Chapter 507 Leiyin Temple (Happy New Year)
With a deafening roar, the temple collapsed under the lightning, and Lin Qing's statue was shattered into pieces. This was truly a bolt from the blue.
This sight terrified the worshippers outside the temple, who stared in horror at the destroyed temple.
"Quickly, someone come here! Go and rebuild the temple! We must ensure that the Immortal Master Temple stands tall in Qiantang County!" Master Zhang reacted immediately and shouted.
"Yes, we can't let the Immortal Master Temple disappear. The Immortal Master Temple is the guardian deity of our Qiantang County."
Immediately, a large number of people began to respond. However, at this moment, a discordant voice rang out: "Wait, we can't build it."
All eyes immediately turned to the source of the sound.
"Why can't it be built?" Master Zhang asked Xiaoqing with a frown, completely ignoring her identity as a thousand-year-old serpent demon.
"The culprit who destroyed the temple is Erlang Shen, who is also..." Xiaoqing pointed to the sky and continued, "Even if it is rebuilt, it will still be destroyed."
"Then how will we worship the immortal master in the future?"
"Yes, how are we supposed to worship the immortal master now?" many people said.
Seeing this, Master Zhang asked Xiaoqing again, "Fairy, what advice do you have for me?"
Xiaoqing said softly, "We can't build temples, but we can bring the statues home to worship. As for the statues, you can find the craftsmen who made them before."
"That's right! We can invite the immortal master home to worship him." Master Zhang suddenly realized, this was truly a wake-up call.
"Yes, yes, let's invite the master home; maybe that will make it even more effective."
Lin Qing, 1,700 years ago, knew nothing about what was happening here, since he and his clone were not in the same time and space.
Only when he travels to the next world will those memories exist in his mind.
"Tears of the Void, rest in peace. I'll miss you." Lin Qing poured a bottle of Wahaha on the ground, as a way of remembering the passing of Tears of the Void.
Because this world is of a very high level, and the Void Tear wanted to travel through time, especially to 1,700 years ago, this time travel exhausted all of the Void Tear's energy.
Furthermore, it extracted its primordial power, which caused the indelible damage to the Tears of the Void, ultimately leading to its destruction.
"Alright, let's play for a while and wait for the system to return. As for when it will return, Lin Qing has already asked the system."
"No matter how much time has passed in the future, the system will take at least one day to return, and at most ten days. So, Lin Qing just needs to wait."
As Lin Qing's clone dissipated, a Lin Qing slowly appeared inside Guanyin Bodhisattva's jade bottle at Leiyin Temple.
This is certainly not his original body, but another clone, which will only appear after the first clone dissipates.
When the clone appeared, Guanyin Bodhisattva frowned slightly again, and then began to calculate on her own.
This action was naturally noticed by the Buddha, who asked, "Great Bodhisattva Guanyin, is something the matter?"
Upon hearing the divination results, Guanyin's expression changed slightly, then she said expressionlessly, "Something has happened. Let's not talk about my Purple Bamboo Grove, but the Heavenly Court will suffer a great loss."
"And there are also Zhi Zhenyuan and Laozi." As she spoke, Guanyin looked at the two sitting side by side, a half-smile on her face.
"Hmm?" Zhenyuan Daxian and Laozi both began to calculate the time with their fingers.
"Oh no, my elixir!"
"Oh no, my ginseng fruit!" When the result of the deduction came out, the two of them changed their expressions instantly.
"Please be patient. You can refine the elixir if you run out, and you can grow ginseng fruit again if you run out," said the Buddha, whose whole body radiated golden light.
"This time it's even more vicious than that Monkey King, who stole my ginseng fruit tree. I can't even figure out where my fruit tree is now," Zhenyuan Daxian said anxiously.
"No, I have to get back quickly." That ginseng fruit tree was his lifeline, and he was so anxious he was jumping up and down.
"I also need to go back to the Tushita Palace. All the elixirs I've painstakingly refined over hundreds of years are gone!" Laozi looked utterly heartbroken.
Just as the two were about to leave, a loud voice came from outside: "Yang Jian greets the Buddha and Guanyin Bodhisattva." Yang Jian entered alone.
"Amitabha, it is Erlang Shen who has come. My apologies for my disrespect. I wonder what brings you here?" The Buddha said in his usual manner.
"Three-Eyed Boy, do you think the Heavenly Court is no good and want to become a monk?" A burst of laughter rang out at an inopportune moment.
"Hmph, you stinky monkey, do you want to taste what it's like to have your tail cut off?" Erlang Shen looked disdainfully at the Victorious Fighting Buddha sitting on the futon.
Before Sun Wukong could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the Buddha, who said, "Layman Yang, what brings you here?"
Erlang Shen: "I've come to capture the evil dragon Lin Qing, who has committed heinous crimes."
"Buddha, we will take our leave now." Zhenyuan Daxian informed Laozi and then prepared to depart on a cloud.
"You've come here because of the evil dragon Lin Qing, who stole the ginseng fruit tree, the peach orchard, and the elixir of immortality from the Tushita Palace?" Guanyin Bodhisattva said calmly.
“That’s right, exactly.” Erlang Shen nodded in response.
"What? The culprit is in Leiyin Temple? Could it be...?" Laozi and Zhenyuan Daxian looked at the Victorious Fighting Buddha in unison.
Everyone knows that the Victorious Fighting Buddha can perform seventy-two transformations, so it's possible that this evil dragon Lin Qing is actually him in disguise.
"Why are you all looking at me like that? Amitabha, I, Old Sun, am thinking of it." Sun Wukong's temperament had long been worn down.
The Buddha looked at Sun Wukong, whom he had trained, with satisfaction, and then remained silent, watching the events unfold as if they were a play.
“No, that evil dragon Lin Qing is not the transformation of this monkey,” Erlang Shen said, shaking his head.
"Then who exactly is this evil dragon? Where is it now?" Zhenyuan Daxian asked indignantly.
"Then we shall ask Guanyin Bodhisattva for guidance." Erlang Shen looked at Guanyin Bodhisattva.
“Namo Amitabha Buddha, that’s right. I imprisoned the evil dragon’s true form in the jade bottle several months ago,” Guanyin said.
"Then what are we waiting for? Quickly release that evil dragon and make him return what he stole!" Zhenyuan Daxian said anxiously.
"Now, I don't know what method that evil dragon used to escape from my jade bottle, leaving only a clone inside." Guanyin said with some helplessness, then gently flicked the jade bottle.
Chapter 508 Reunion! (Happy New Year)
A halo of light flew out from the jade bottle, then landed on the ground and transformed into a tall man wearing a golden robe, with dragon horns on his head.
"Oh my, everyone's here! I'm truly flattered!" Lin Qing looked around and then smiled.
Erlang Shen's third eye flashed with white light, and he said, "Indeed, it's another clone. Guanyin Bodhisattva, I wonder if your jade bottle is its true form?"
The meaning of this statement is quite clear: even he would have to put in a lot of effort to escape from inside the jade bottle, let alone Lin Qing.
"You monstrous dragon! Quickly return my ginseng fruit tree, or I will surely annihilate your soul and condemn you to eternal damnation!" Zhenyuan Daxian roared angrily.
"If you're so capable, then find my true form. I'm still here because I want to see what Leiyin Temple is like."
"Not bad, this is truly high-end, domineering, and classy!" Lin Qing looked around Leiyin Temple.
"You're quite something, kid. You've done something that I, Old Sun, wouldn't dare to do, haha!" Sun Wukong laughed heartily.
"I am Lin Qing, greetings to the Great Sage!" Lin Qing, who grew up listening to his stories, felt a strange affection for him.
"How dare you ignore me! You deserve to die!" Zhenyuan Daxian roared in anger, unleashing a powerful spell at Lin Qing.
Lin Qing didn't even glance at the attack. Instead, he said to Guanyin, "Guanyin, I've uprooted all your purple bamboo grove. It should be a wasteland now."
"How about it? Are you angry? Haha!"
With a flick of her whisk, Guanyin Bodhisattva neutralized Zhenyuan Daxian's attack, and then began chanting scriptures to suppress his anger.
"Lin Qing, don't be so smug. Do you think you can be so arrogant just because you're in a clone? You're underestimating me. I have countless ways to find your real body through clones."