Although Ran Deng was not well-liked in the Chan Sect, it cannot be said that his cultivation was low or his Taoist skills were not profound. He was originally a master of severing one corpse, and after joining the Chan Sect, he became even more proficient in the Jade Purity Saint's Great Law. Even when he was thwarted by Zhao Gongming, it was because Zhao Gongming's magic weapon was too powerful. The battles between cultivators are not entirely based on cultivation level. Sometimes, the quality of a magic weapon directly determines the strength of a cultivator's combat power.
Later, during the Investiture of the Gods, Randeng devised a plan to steal Zhao Gongming's magic weapon. He then devoted himself to Buddhism, studied Buddhist teachings, mastered the great methods of three sages, and had the experience of listening to the Dao in Zixiao Palace. He also used the Yin-Yang Pearl to create two worlds, and his cultivation level rose all the way up. Even Tathagata, who mastered the methods of five sages, dared not disrespect Randeng.
The two were not much different from each other. After a while, Randeng was also immersed in the Great Dao spoken by the Taoist Master Taiqing, savoring the experience.
Suddenly, Randeng's mind stirred, and he silently calculated with his primordial spirit. He was immediately startled and thought to himself: This is bad! Just as he was about to get up and leave, he heard the Taiqing Daoist across from him call out to him.
Then, the Taoist Taiqing said, "Why are you leaving, fellow Daoist? You haven't said a single word in this discussion of the Dao. How can you leave?" When the immortals below heard that Randeng was leaving, they were enjoying listening to the great teachings of the Taoist Taiqing, but they also wanted to hear the great teachings of this Buddha. So they all urged Randeng to stay.
Ran Deng, at a loss, glanced at the smiling Taiqing Daoist opposite him, sighed inwardly, but said nothing more. He then focused on his sermon. Although the monkey was of great use to Buddhism, Taiqing Daoist's open scheming could not be ignored. He could only consider the monkey's misfortune. Although he thought this way, he didn't know exactly how he saw things.
Suddenly sober, he realized, "This is terrible! This calamity is greater than the heavens! If the Jade Emperor is alerted, my life will be in danger. Go, go, go! I'd better descend to the mortal realm and become a king!" He fled from the Tushita Palace, not taking the old route, but using a magic spell to escape through the Western Heavenly Gate. He then descended on a cloud and returned to the Flower Fruit Mountain. There he saw banners flashing and halberds gleaming; it was the Four Generals and the Seventy-Two Cave Demon Kings practicing their martial arts. The Great Sage shouted, "My minions! I'm coming!"
The monsters dropped their weapons and knelt down, saying, "Great Sage, how kind you are! You've left us here for so long without coming to see us!" The Great Sage replied, "Not long, not long!" As he spoke, he went deep into the cave. After the four generals finished cleaning and resting, and bowed in worship, they all asked, "Great Sage, what position have you held in Heaven for the past hundred years?" The Great Sage laughed and said, "I remember it was only half a year, how can you say it was a hundred years?" The generals said, "One day in Heaven is equivalent to one year on Earth." The Great Sage said, "I am glad that the Jade Emperor has shown me favor and has indeed appointed me as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, built a Palace of Equal to Heaven, and established two offices, the Tranquility Office and the Peace Office, staffed with celestial officials and guards. Since I have nothing to do, he has put me in charge of the Peach Garden. Recently, the Queen Mother of the West held a Peach Banquet, but she did not invite me. I went to the Jade Pool before she invited me and stole all the celestial delicacies and wine. After leaving the Jade Pool, I stumbled into Laozi's Palace and stole five gourds of golden pills there as well. I was afraid that the Jade Emperor would punish me, so I left through the Heavenly Gate."
The monsters were overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately prepared wine and fruit to welcome him, filling a stone bowl with coconut wine and presenting it to him. The Great Sage took a sip and immediately spat, saying, "Not good, not good!" Generals Beng and Ba said, "The Great Sage ate celestial wine and delicacies in the Heavenly Palace, so the coconut wine is not very palatable to him. As the saying goes, 'Whether it is good or not, it is the water of one's hometown.'"
The Great Sage said, “Even if you’re not close, you’re still fellow countrymen. This morning, when I was enjoying myself in the Jade Pool, I saw many bottles and jars under the long corridor, filled with jade nectar and precious liquor, which none of you had tasted. Let me go and steal a few more bottles, and each of you can drink half a cup, and you’ll all live forever.” The monkeys were overjoyed. The Great Sage then left the cave, somersaulted, and used his invisibility magic to go straight to the Peach Banquet. Entering the Jade Pool Palace, he saw that the people who were making wine, preparing lees, carrying water, and tending the fire were still fast asleep. He grabbed two of the larger ones from under his arms, and carried two more in each hand, then turned back on a cloud and returned to the cave. They held a celestial wine party, each drinking several cups, and were very happy.
Meanwhile, the seven fairy maidens, having been immobilized by the Great Sage's spell, were freed only after a full cycle. Each carrying a flower basket, they returned to the Queen Mother and reported, "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven used his magic to trap us, which is why we are late." The Queen Mother asked, "How many peaches did you pick?"
The fairy was terrified and knelt down, saying, "There were only two baskets of small peaches and three baskets of medium peaches. As for the large peaches, there wasn't even half a peach left. I suppose the Great Sage stole them all. Just as we were searching, the Great Sage unexpectedly came out and began to torture us. He then asked who we had invited to the banquet. We told him what had happened at the last meeting, and he froze us and disappeared. We have only just been able to come back to our senses now."
The Queen Mother was furious upon hearing this and immediately went to see the Jade Emperor to recount the events. Before she could finish speaking, the group of people who had made the wine, along with the celestial officials, came to report: "We don't know who disrupted the Peach Banquet, but they stole the Jade Elixir and the eight delicacies and a hundred other dishes." Then, four great celestial masters came to report: "The Supreme Dao Ancestor has arrived."
The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother went out to greet them. After Laozi finished his salutations, he said, "In my palace, I refined some Nine-Turn Golden Elixir to serve Your Majesty at the Elixir Gathering, but it was unexpectedly stolen by a thief. I am reporting this to Your Majesty." The Jade Emperor was alarmed upon hearing this. A short while later, a celestial official from the Qitian Palace kowtowed and said, "The Great Sage Sun has neglected his duties. He went on a journey yesterday and has not returned since; his whereabouts are unknown." The Jade Emperor's suspicions deepened. Then, the Barefoot Immortal appeared and reported, "I was summoned by the Queen Mother to attend the gathering yesterday. I happened to meet the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, who told me that Your Majesty had decreed that he invite us to first go to the Tongming Hall to perform the ceremony before attending the gathering. I followed his instructions and returned to the Tongming Hall, but Your Majesty's dragon carriage and phoenix palanquin were nowhere to be seen, so I hurriedly came here to wait." The Jade Emperor was even more alarmed and said, "This scoundrel is falsely conveying an imperial decree and deceiving you, my esteemed minister! Quickly order the investigating officials to search for this scoundrel's whereabouts!"
Nine gods descended to the mortal realm to capture the monkey, and the battle raged on.
Now, the monkey had caused trouble in Heaven, enraging the Jade Emperor. He ordered his men to descend to the mortal realm to capture him. The spirit official received the decree and immediately went out to investigate, gathering detailed information. He reported back, "The one who has disrupted the Heavenly Palace is none other than the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!" He then recounted the entire incident. The Jade Emperor was furious and immediately dispatched the Four Heavenly Kings, along with Li Jing and Prince Nezha, and mobilized the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Nine Luminaries, the Twelve Earthly Branches, the Five Directions Protectors, the Four Duty Officers, the Eastern and Western Stars, the Northern and Southern Gods, the Five Sacred Mountains and Four Rivers, and all the celestial beings—a total of 100,000 heavenly soldiers—to set up eighteen nets and descend to Flower Fruit Mountain to surround and capture the scoundrel, ensuring his punishment. The gods immediately mobilized their forces and left the Heavenly Palace. Upon their departure, they witnessed—a yellow wind rolling in, obscuring the sky, and a purple mist rising, shrouding the earth in darkness. All this was because the monkey had deceived the Jade Emperor, causing the saints to descend to the mortal realm. The Four Heavenly Kings held supreme command, while the Five Directions Protectors mobilized the vast army. Li Tuota commands the central army, Nezha leads the vanguard. Rahu is the head inspector, Ketu follows closely behind. The Moon is spirited, the Sun shines brightly. The Five Planets are known for their heroes, the Nine Luminaries love to contend. The Yuan Chen stars, Zi, Wu, Mao, and You, are all powerful celestial warriors. The Five Plagues and Five Sacred Mountains are positioned east and west, the Six Ding and Six Jia move left and right. The Four Rivers' Dragon Gods are divided into upper and lower ranks, the Twenty-Eight Mansions are densely packed. Jiao, Kang, Di, and Fang are the general leaders, Kui, Lou, Wei, and Mao are adept at churning. Dou, Niu, Nu, Xu, Wei, Shi, and Bi, Xin, Wei, and Ji are all capable. Jing, Gui, Liu, Xing, Zhang, Yi, and Zhen, wielding spears and swords, display their might. They stop the clouds and descend to the mortal world, setting up camp before Flower Fruit Mountain.
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