Underworld, Ksitigarbha Cave.
A monster was walking within the cave and went straight to the stone chamber where Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva cultivated.
Atop the stone bed, a ditation cushion, but the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva who should have been sitting in ditation on it was nowhere to be found.
"Has the Bodhisattva left again?" the monster muttered to itself in human speech as it looked around the stone cave.
In the midst of speaking, it prepared to turn around and leave the cave.
However, just as it was about to turn, suddenly, the monster's movents paused slightly, and it glanced toward the side of the stone bed.
There, beside the bed, was an exotic treasure emitting a misty radiance; its golden rit almost taking solid form—it was a golden lotus.
"A Ninth Grade rit Golden Lotus!?"
Gazing upon the golden lotus, the monster's pupils shrank slightly, and it exclaid in a low voice.
rit is usually an intangible substance, but the rit on this golden lotus was visible to the naked eye, suggesting its profound accumulation.
Since Pangu opened heaven and earth, there have been countless treasures like stars in the vast heavens, so natural and so man-made, with many having rit attached to them.
And this Ninth Grade rit Golden Lotus was one of the most famous rit Supre Treasures.
Perhaps only the rit richness of the legendary Heaven and Earth Mystical Yellow Exquisite Pagoda could surpass it by a margin.
Looking at the Ninth Grade rit Golden Lotus, greed flashed in the monster's eyes. After pondering for a mont, the monster transford into a man clad in a black kasaya. He walked to the side of the stone bed, grabbed the lotus, and then turned and left the Ksitigarbha Cave.
...
Of course, Jiang Liu and Sun Wukong knew nothing about these events in the Underworld.
They also knew that these Demon Kings truly had no intention of harming them, so Jiang Liu didn't feel the need to take action against them.
Although in the eyes of Sun Wukong and others, it was quite embarrassing to have their Master taken away before them, since the Master himself did not pursue the matter, and they were just so Little Demon Kings, Sun Wukong and the rest naturally couldn't be bothered to care.
Seeing that Jiang Liu and his companions had no intention of attacking, Duke Guzhi and the others were very pleased, secretly relieved, and then invited them to stay at the Wood Immortal Hermitage, saying they wanted to properly host Jiang Liu and his company.
It was partly to apologize and partly to thank Jiang Liu for the poems he had shared with them.
Delaying their departure for a few days was also quite welco, so Jiang Liu and his companions didn't refuse the warm hospitality, and thus they settled in at the Wood Immortal Hermitage.
"Everyone, please take a seat. Little Tao, let's go find so fruits and mushrooms together. Tonight, we will prepare a fine vegetarian feast to entertain the Holy Monk and his companions!"
After warmly inviting Jiang Liu and his companions to stay at the Wood Immortal Hermitage, Apricot Immortal proactively called out to Little Tao.
"Wait a mont, Miss Apricot Immortal..." However, hearing Apricot Immortal's words, Jiang Liu called out to stop her and said, "My disciples and I are not averse to eating at, so for tonight's al, allow to cook."
You see, when it cos to als, Jiang Liu believed his own cooking to be the tastiest, so he volunteered to take on the task of cooking.
"Eh? Holy Monk, you know how to cook!?" Apricot Immortal looked at Jiang Liu in surprise.
A man who is faithful, has literary grace, and can also cook? He is simply the perfect man!
"Not averse to at? The Holy Monk indeed seems different from other monks!" Duke Guzhi and others also watched Jiang Liu in amazent.
"Holy Monk, it is our honor to host you; how could we possibly allow you to cook yourself?" Duke Guzhi felt it was sowhat improper.
"Hehehe, Lady, you don't know, the food my master makes is unparalleled in the Three Realms! Tonight, you're in for a treat!" Zhu Bajie said, his eyes shining as he grinned and moved closer to Apricot Immortal to chat.
"If that's the case, then we're certainly looking forward to it!"
Hearing Zhu Bajie's words, even Sun Wukong and the others nodded their heads in agreent, while the six demons of Wood Immortal Hermitage looked at each other, all expressing great anticipation.
"With so many people, shall we have hot pot today!?" Sun Wukong suggested with his own opinion.
Hot pot, a al that becos more festive with more people—now with five disciples plus the seven from Wood Immortal Hermitage, twelve people eating together would certainly make for a lively scene.
"Hot pot? That sounds good!" Hearing Sun Wukong's suggestion, Jiang Liu thought about it and nodded in agreent.
Soon, the disciples were all bustling about with familiarity.
As for those from Wood Immortal Hermitage, they exchanged confused looks, clearly not understanding what was going on.
Especially hot pot? That was even more baffling to them, having never heard of it before.
Soon, Jiang Liu brought out the Eight Trigrams Hot-Clear Pot he had crafted before, with one side being a mushroom soup base, incredibly umami, and the other a spicy hot pot base.
Because the Eight Trigrams Hot-Clear Pot had the attribute of enhancing the deliciousness of the ingredients, even just boiling the base made the air filled with a mix of fresh, savory, and spicy fragrances, causing the disciples of Wood Immortal Hermitage to sniff incessantly, their appetites mightily stirred.
"Wow, it slls so good!" Little Tao's eyes widened as she stared intently at the bubbling soup base in the Hot-Clear Pot.
Especially the red spicy base seed to make her mouth water, she swallowed her saliva and said, "Holy Monk, what is this red one? It feels a bit odd but slls really nice!"
"Hehehe, kid, the main thing in there is the spiciness, those chili peppers were snatched from the Demon Realm by I, Old Sun!" Perhaps because Little Tao's height was closest to Sun Wukong's? Sun Wukong seed quite interested in Little Tao and explained with a chuckle upon hearing her words.
"You went to the Demon Realm just to snatch an ingredient!?" Sun Wukong's words made the demons of Wood Immortal Hermitage twitch at the corners of their mouths.
Was this because the Journey to the West for Scriptures was becoming too leisurely? Or did they take their food incredibly seriously?
Anyway, daring to snatch from the Demon Realm just for an ingredient was very much in line with the style of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
It was the first ti for the demons of Wood Immortal Hermitage to have hotpot, and this thod of cooking the base first and then adding ingredients to cook and eat at the sa ti felt very novel to them.
Moreover, the spicy hotpot was already very delicious, especially as the weather was getting colder, eating hotpot beca even more enjoyable.
And besides, the Hot-Clear Pot originally had the attribute of enhancing deliciousness.
Everyone sat around a table, eating hotpot, drinking wine, and with the heartfelt special effect of the Hot-Clear Pot, Jiang Liu and the people of the Wood Immortal Hermitage soon got along very harmoniously, almost like they were old friends who had known each other for many years.
The al ended with both host and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves, and naturally, many were left with a quite a bit of drunkenness.
Those with poorer alcohol tolerance were already fast asleep, snoring loudly.
Those with a slightly better capacity for liquor were conscious but blurred, nonsensically babbling.
Sun Wukong had the highest tolerance for alcohol, but in the end, he was still holding an empty wine jug, tilting it several tis towards his mouth.
Clearly there was no more wine, yet he lay down with a giggly smile, muttering softly about good wine, then toppled over to sleep, the jug in his hand crashing to the ground and shattering.
For a mont, aside from the odd nonsensical remark from soone, Wood Immortal Hermitage fell into quiet, bathed in moonlight that imparted a serene stillness,
However, after half a tea's silence, suddenly, from among the people lying on the ground, Apricot Immortal opened her eyes which were slightly intoxicated, yet fairly clear.
Apricot Immortal surveyed the circle of everyone asleep on the ground, pondered for a mont, and then her gaze landed on Jiang Liu.
She stood up and approached Jiang Liu, whispering softly, "Holy Monk? Holy Monk?"
To Apricot Immortal's calls, Jiang Liu did not answer, only muttered drunkenly, and then turned over.
"This night is as cool as water, and it won't do for you to sleep on the ground like this. Holy Monk, let help you to a room to rest," Apricot Immortal said softly, completely disregarding Jiang Liu's peak-level Returning Void cultivation.
As she spoke, she helped Jiang Liu up and then walked him into her own chamber.
She directly helped Jiang Liu into her room and assisted him onto her bed. She thought for a mont, then went outside to fetch a basin of hot water.
She got Jiang Liu to half sit up in bed, his feet dangling over the edge, then removed his Tiger Charge Boots to carefully wash his feet clean.
After ensuring Jiang Liu was fully lying down on her bed, Apricot Immortal took a deep breath, her own breathing becoming sowhat rapid as she tentatively reached out to help him take off his Gold Silk Buddha Robe.
Pfft...
But at that mont, a soft chuckle suddenly sounded. Although the laughter wasn't loud, it was clearly audible in the silence of the chamber.
"Who's there!?" Flustered and feeling guilty, Apricot Immortal turned her head and called out in a low voice.
There, in a corner of the chamber, a man dressed in a black kasaya, stood watching her, his presence undetected until he couldn't help but let out a laugh.
If it weren't for his laughter, she wouldn't have noticed him at all.
"Who are you!?" Suddenly, the appearance of a mysterious man in her chamber caused Apricot Immortal's expression to alter drastically.
"No, pretend you didn't see and please continue!" the man said, holding back his amusent, speaking to Apricot Immortal.
Engaging in such an act already took all of Apricot Immortal's nerve, her hands trembling. How could she continue with soone watching from the side?
Her face showing offense, Apricot Immortal raised her hand and countless tendrils shot towards the man.
However, the man in the black kasaya just shook his head, "If you really don't want to continue, then I will take Master Xuanzang. I've heard that eating a piece of his flesh can grant longevity!"
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