"Let's go, it's getting late, Liangsheng, there's no need to see me off."
The annoying chirping of cicadas echoes one after another in the surrounding lush green woods.
Behind the towering mountain gate, a paved blue brick path extended out. A group of people gathered in front and behind to walk to the mountain gate. A figure less than four feet tall, carrying a golden hoop, turned back to the scholar in the back and raised his hairy palm, "After I go west, I will come back to visit you and stay at the village for a few days. When I go, you must take me to see the prosperity of the world."
The wind blew through the woods, making a rustling sound. Above the mountain path, a scholar who had taken off his Qilin cloak and was now dressed in a green shirt and white robe, with the Xuanyuan and Kunlun mirrors hanging from his waist, walked up to the monkey and bowed.
"Brother, wait for your brother to return."
On one side, Hong Lian came over with some wine. A farewell wine is always needed. Lu Liangsheng lifted up his wide sleeves and held up the wine glass: "Brother, you are going west, the journey is long, so I prepared some wine for you!"
On the other side, Sun Wukong took the cup handed to him by the woman, lowered his head to smell it, and laughed: "It's not as good as the nectar from heaven, but it's worth drinking! Drink it up!"
"Drink up!"
Lu Liangsheng laughed, lifted his sleeves and drank it all, then he finished the second cup and looked over at Zhu Ganglie, Fahai, and the big man reciting scriptures. Hong Lian was about to hand it to the monk, but suddenly he withdrew his hand and said, "Master, you are a monk, you can't drink alcohol, use tea instead."
"..."Fahai was rarely moved by the scene of sworn brotherhood. He had just reached out to take the wine, but when he heard these words, he looked at the teacup that was brought back in silence. He held it in his hand silently and drank it all with Lu Liangsheng over there.
Then they talked a little more about the journey to the west. The monkey carried his stick and walked down the mountain without looking back. Zhu Ganglie stayed where he was, looked at the scholar for a moment, nodded, bowed casually, then turned and left, with his belly exposed, waving his long sleeves, and humming the little tune he learned from Hong Lian, as he swayed down the mountain path behind him.
"Sir, they're gone." Hong Lian reminded softly.
Over there, Lu Liangsheng was lost in thought as he looked at the long stone steps and the figures that were gradually moving away. After a long while, he came back to his senses, pursed his lips, and chuckled.
"Yeah, we should go too."
He spoke in a low voice and held the hand of the woman beside him. He had not felt it before, but now when it was time to leave, the reluctance hidden in his heart surged out.
"Hong Lian, go pack your things."
After hearing the young master's instructions, Hong Lian looked at the surrounding scenery reluctantly, nodded obediently, and floated to the attic. Lu Liangsheng turned his eyes to look at Qiyou over there.
"I'm leaving now, what about you?"
"Wherever the old demon goes, I'll go there!!" Qi You came up and hugged Lu Liangsheng's arm. After saying this, he quickly added, "And my sister!"
Over there, Qingfeng and Mingyue looked at each other and raised their hands as well.
"Master, we still have you. We haven't seen the sky yet. It must be very beautiful. When Master has a mansion, we can be your boys! We can also light the furnace and look after the alchemy room!"
The soft sunlight shone on the handsome face. Lu Liangsheng couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips as he looked at them. Warmth rose in his heart. He touched the top of the heads of the two little guys and nodded.
"Okay, I'll take you away, but you have to enter my book 'Boundless Mountains and Seas'." As he said this, he looked away from the two children and Qiyou, and looked at the door of the attic. Hong Lian packed her bag and dragged the bookshelf out, still looking around. When she came over, she asked, "Master, is there anything else you need to take away?"
Lu Liangsheng frowned, then looked around and said "Let me think about it" when a white light suddenly burst out from the bookshelf, illuminating the partition fence. A gust of yellow sand swirled, and the outline of a burly figure was revealed in the diffuse dust.
"Gongsun Liao? Didn't you go to the northwest desert?"
Seeing that person clearly, Lu Liangsheng was a little surprised. The White Wolf Demon King waved his hand to collect the yellow sand and looked at him in confusion. He spread his hands and said, "When did I say I wanted to go to the desert? I was just bored and went to your book to visit the world in the painting. It's quite interesting. Oh, by the way, where is the old toad?"
Beside her, Nie Honglian's eyes widened. She remembered that she felt like she had forgotten something, so she grabbed the scholar's sleeve and said hurriedly, "Ah... I was just saying that something was missing. Master Toad hasn't come back yet!!"
"Master... seems to be still sleeping in the woods..."
Delayed for a while by the swearing-in ceremony and the farewell ceremony, Lu Liangsheng finally remembered and looked outside the mountain gate with a frown. The cicadas were still chirping one after another. The slightly slanting sunlight shone on the nearby foothills. On the large bluestone in the woods dappled with sunlight, a white toad with a bulging belly suddenly opened its eyes, sat up, rubbed its eyes, looked at the sky, and its eyes widened suddenly.
"broken!"
He jumped up with one hand, leaped onto the head of the old donkey crawling below, and flapped its webbed feet hard.
"Still sleeping, you lazy donkey, hurry up and carry me back!!"
The old donkey slowly opened his eyes, rolled them upwards, snorted with disdain, stretched his muscles and bones slowly, and then walked slowly, swishing his tail. The toad was so angry that he grabbed his ears and shouted, "I'm afraid the sworn brotherhood over there is over, he has ascended to heaven, and your master has gone to heaven!!"
Hearing this, the donkey's body froze, and its swinging tail even stopped moving. The next moment, the moment its hoof, which had not yet fallen, touched the ground, it shot out and turned into a trail of afterimage, rolling up a long cloud of dust and swooping down the foothills. The Toad Taoist pulled at the donkey's ears, his body floating in the air, his cheeks concave by the wind, his long tongue dragging outside his lips, and his voice was intermittent.
“Slow down, slow down… Ouch…”
The hooves rolled up lightning as they rushed down the mountain. They saw four figures in front of them and did not avoid them. They rushed past them like the wind and waves. The cassock was blown by the wind and waves and hit Fahai's face. The big man who was carrying the scriptures turned around and sat down on the ground. The monkey put down his hand and saw the afterimages. He laughed and said, "That toad can ride a donkey?"
“What… is… your… business!!”
The intermittent words were dragged back into the forest with a long chant. The figure followed the old donkey straight up the stone steps. The moment he rushed into the mountain gate, the old donkey saw Lu Liangsheng, Hong Lian, Qingfeng Mingyue gathered in the courtyard. The hoof suddenly stopped, rubbing against the floor tiles, scratching long cracks, and the donkey's body tilted sideways at a distance of less than half a meter before it stopped. Suddenly, it braked sharply, and the short figure above its head flew out with its tongue dragging.
Bang!
A rough big hand was raised and steadily caught the flying figure. Gongsun Liao looked at the Toad Taoist with his eyes rolling around in his sockets with great pride.
"Thank me quickly, or you will be embarrassed again."
On his palm, the toad with its two short legs drooping raised its webbed feet to open his fingers, and jumped to the ground to straighten its robe. Over there, Lu Liangsheng put the bookshelf on the old donkey's back, asked everyone to stand together, and then unfolded "Boundless Mountains and Seas" and took the Taoist temple they were in into the painting. In the original attic courtyard, only the paved blue bricks remained.
"Old Toad, come in later. I will take them in to have a look inside first!" Gongsun Liao was a little excited. There was a whole new world in that book. Now that the last Wanling Formation had been repaired, the world inside was actually not much different from the outside. Even the birds inside could be roasted and eaten.
As he said that, he got into the book first, leaned out half of his body and waved to Qi You Hong Lian, "Come in quickly, I have opened a path, just follow the magic power and come over!"
Lu Liangsheng nodded to them and Qingfeng Mingyue: "Follow them, otherwise it will be bad if the Heavenly Dao finds out."
The two girls and two boys hesitated for a moment, gritted their teeth, and turned into a wisp of green smoke and floated into the book. Lu Liangsheng took a look at the book and cast his gaze at the Toad Taoist. Just as he was about to speak, the Toad suddenly took a step back and sighed.
"Forget it, Liangsheng. I won't go there. Those places in heaven are not suitable for me, and they can't satisfy my hunger. Besides, I'm a demon, and I might cause you trouble."
"Master."
Lu Liangsheng was stunned for a moment. At the critical moment, such a sudden change made him frown. He was about to dissuade him when suddenly a voice came from the sky.
"Lu Liangsheng! The time has come, it's time to go!"
In the bright sky, white clouds were moving, causing thunder to roar and turning into a golden light that fell from the sky. Below, Lu Liangsheng looked at his master who was standing silently with his head down, and his eyes became moist. After so many years of companionship, they finally had to part ways, and both of them still felt an unspeakable pain in their hearts.
"Master..."
He murmured softly and slowly closed his eyes. Under the golden light, he didn't know when he would see him again. "Master... then... then take care of yourself. From now on..."
Over there, Toad Taoist's eyes also sparkled with tears. He sniffed, listened to his disciple's words, and nodded repeatedly, "Liangsheng, don't worry, your master..."
At this moment, Toad suddenly raised his head and slapped his forehead: "It's bad, Liangsheng, my gourd and the wardrobe are gone!!"
Staring at the falling golden light, he quickly spread his flippers and ran. The moment he landed, he stepped on the stone that the old donkey had just cracked. He staggered forward and fell to the ground. The words in his mouth became unclear, leaving only a "gurgling" sound. He rolled over a few times and hit the tip of Lu Liangsheng's shoe, and stopped.
He touched his head and sat up. When he looked up, he murmured, "It's over."
The golden light that filled the eyes instantly enveloped them, illuminating the scholar, the old donkey, and the Taoist Toad who was sitting on the ground. The next moment, it slowly rose up and floated into the air, with the toad hugging itself with its webbed feet and one webbed foot on its chin, with an expression of 'I knew it would be like this'. It floated up in annoyance and looked at the gradually shrinking mountainside outside the golden light.
On the other side, Lu Liangsheng was suspended in the air, his robes fluttering. Golden light particles danced in all directions, seeping through his robes and into his body. He had an indescribable feeling all over his body, as if he had been reborn. The vertical lines on his forehead that had originally disappeared glowed, and then faded away, leaving behind a light blue line. His skin gradually tightened in the golden light, with winding golden light lines that then sank into his body.
He gently clenched his fist, and a circle of golden ripples appeared in the air - this was divine power.
Lu Liangsheng unclenched his fists, turned his gaze, and looked towards the southeast, as if he could see farther. Countless mountains, rivers and streams flew past his sight, and the fleeting scene finally stopped at the winding mountains and the village at the foot of the mountain.
In the courtyard full of morning glories, the cypress trees in the yard swayed gently in the wind. The old woman who was shaking the washed clothes and hanging them on the rope subconsciously stopped her actions and looked up at the sky. Sun Yingxian, who was under the old tree behind her, was holding a book and reading slowly and softly. Then she stopped, put down the book, stood up and looked up.
In the fields, Lu Laoshi, who was pulling the donkey, stopped and looked back. Xiao Xian pushed open the doors and windows of the attic, revealing the dim west sky. There seemed to be both concern and happiness between the clouds in the sky.
“Brother!!” The woman put her hands to her mouth and shouted towards the sky which was shining with rosy clouds.
The sound echoed and there was faint thunder, as if in response.
A golden beam of light rose into the sky. Lu Liangsheng pursed his lips, as if he had heard the words coming from him. He shook out his sleeves, folded his hands, and bowed down.
"Dad, Mom! The child is gone—"
The golden light disappeared into the clouds, leaving no trace behind.
…
There was no trace left in heaven and earth. Fortunately, there were some people with high cultivation in the world who saw this scene. They ran around shouting and writing immortal books. They were the earthly cultivator Lu Liangsheng from Qixia Mountain, who ascended to the Immortal Pavilion in golden light.
"We are on the path of cultivation, and we must follow in the footsteps of the past. We must not slack off!"