One person above Qing Huang Ting

Chapter 805 Laozi
Crane Immortal hurriedly stepped over the threshold of the Tushita Palace, blocking Hu Xiuwu's view. He took a breath before speaking:
“I have been ordered by my master to come and guide the True Man to tour the Tushita Palace.”

The position of the Crane Immortal in the Tushita Palace is similar to that of Venus in the Heavenly Court.

They were all chief stewards and diplomats, handling many trivial tasks and diplomatic missions. When dealing with the Green Ox Demon, it was also the Crane Immortal who acted on behalf of the Tushita Palace. It was also during that time that the Crane Immortal met Hu Xiuwu and spoke well of him.

At the same time, Venus also holds the position of Geng Metal Star and is a war god, so he was present when he was fighting Sun Wukong.

Crane Immortal is the patriarch of the Feathered Clan in the Heavenly Realm, the steed of the immortals, and the supreme ruler of the birds of the Nine Heavens. Therefore, he is in charge of all matters concerning the birds of the Heavenly Court.

When Angri Xingjun went missing, he led the roosters from Pixiang Palace to Dou Niu Palace to take up their posts. He was also the one who conferred ordination upon the chief of the Hai Dong Qing clan.

At the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord's place, it was also he who handled the mess left by the Angri Star Lord for the Queen Mother of the West of Kunlun.

Crane Immortal welcomed Hu Xiuwu into the Tushita Palace and said to Green Ox Demon, "Old Ox, you stand guard at the door. If any guests come, tell them that the Tushita Palace is closed today for alchemy and that no guests are being received."

The Green Ox Demon leaned on his steel spear, patting his chest with his other hand: "Don't worry, Elder He, I know exactly what to do."

The fact that the Tushita Palace invited a wanted criminal from the Heavenly Court clearly indicates that the criminal had violated the Heavenly Laws.

Although both the Green Ox Demon and the Crane Immortal held divine positions in the Heavenly Court, they were fundamentally still people from the Tushita Palace.

When the interests of the Tushita Palace conflict with those of the Heavenly Court, the interests of the Tushita Palace take precedence, and its rights are protected.

If Laozi wants to see Hu Xiuwu, they must prepare to receive him, prevent the news from spreading, and keep their mouths shut.

After giving his instructions to the Green Ox Demon, the Crane Immortal smiled gently and politely to Hu Xiuwu:

"Please, please."

The Crane Immortal led the way, and the vermilion gate of the Tushita Palace creaked and slowly closed. Outside the gate, the Green Ox Demon transformed back into his original form, wearing a Vajra Bracelet on his nose, and hung himself on the hitching post in front of the gate.

The two jade lions returned to their original state and silently guarded the Tushita Palace.

Although he was supposed to be guarding the gate, he couldn't appear too tense, lest anyone immediately notice something amiss at the Tushita Palace today.

As usual, the Green Ox Demon stayed at the door, lazily ruminating on the herbs in its stomach, its surface relaxed but its inside tense.

No matter how simple and unadorned the Tushita Palace may be, it is still in comparison to the Lingxiao Palace.

In reality, the Doushuai Palace was larger than the Wudang Taoist Temple and the Tianshi Mansion of Longhu Mountain, and even the current imperial palace in the capital city could hardly compare with it.

The palace walls and corridors are long and deep. Even if an immortal were to travel swiftly, it would still take some time to walk into the depths of the Tushita Palace, to Laozi's alchemy room, without flying away.

Walking through the Tushita Palace, Hu Xiuwu suddenly spoke up: "Immortal Crane, do you know that it is because of you that I wanted to come and see Laozi?"

Crane Immortal was flattered and puzzled, so he could only politely say, "I have only listened to your teachings a few times and have absorbed some of your Daoist essence. If you appreciate me, it is because you have seen the Supreme True Scripture from me."

Hu Xiuwu looked straight ahead and said calmly, "I'm not flattering you, I'm telling you the truth."

"It is Crane Immortal's way of doing things that makes me believe that Laozi is different from the Jade Emperor."

He was only willing to meet Laozi because of the Crane Immortal's way of doing things, and he held a glimmer of hope for Laozi.

In the predecessor of "Black Myth," "Dou Zhan Shen," Laozi was an absolute villain, almost the ultimate villain in the game, and all the conspiracies and schemes were related to him.

Hu Xiuwu was always worried that this setting would be used in "Black Myth".

However, in the Shadow God Diagram, Crane Immortal shows a subtle sympathy for Angri Star Lord's plight, and when dealing with the Spider Cave, he does not directly execute the Fourth Sister who knows the truth, but says that he wants to refine the Fourth Sister into an immortal pill.

This is unusual for the Heavenly Court. The reason why the Crane Immortal went to the Spider Cave and the Yellow Flower Temple was to erase all evidence that Kunlun was using immortals for research at the Yellow Flower Temple.

Logically, he should have executed his fourth sister, who had discovered the truth about Huanghua Temple, on the spot, instead of taking her back to the Tushita Palace and claiming that she had been made into an elixir of immortality.

What happened to the last demon who claimed he wanted to refine an elixir of immortality? Sun Wukong kicked over the Purple Gold Eight Trigrams Furnace and escaped from the Tushita Palace.

The Crane Immortal is from the Tushita Palace; he couldn't possibly be unaware of this matter. He said that bringing his fourth sister to the Tushita Palace was merely to give the chosen one a chance to save a life.

It was precisely because the Crane Immortal left room for maneuver and was somewhat humane that Hu Xiuwu was willing to believe that Laozi could be won over to the mortal camp by such a Crane Immortal.

However, the hermit of the cranes was of course unaware of what would happen in the future, so he was puzzled and anxious about Hu Xiuwu's sudden statement.

Having spent so long in Heaven, I can't help but overthink things.

What did he mean by those words? Was he implying something?

Hu Xiuwu's genuine emotions left Crane Hermit silent the entire way, unsure how to respond.

It wasn't until Crane Immortal led Hu Xiuwu to the gate of a blue stone courtyard that the double-eaved hip roof of the main hall in the courtyard peeked out from the blue wall. The crouching beasts such as owl tails and dragon mouths on the roof ridge looked curiously at Hu Xiuwu, this unfamiliar face.

The seated lions on either side of the gate were more composed, watching and wary of Hu Xiuwu, yet not...
Hu Xiuwu looked up, but they pretended to be dead and remained motionless.

These crouching beasts, hanging beasts, and the jade lions at the entrance of the Tushita Palace are different from the divine beasts such as the owl tail and dragon mouth that were actually found to guard the Lingxiao Palace. These crouching beasts were all inanimate objects.

However, because it was located on the roof of Laozi's alchemy room, at the entrance of the Tushita Palace, it was nurtured by the elixir energy day and night and developed sentience, thus becoming a divine artifact to protect the house.

Upon arriving at the alchemy room, Crane Immortal pointed and said, "Master is waiting for the True Person in the alchemy room. Master wishes to have a private conversation with the True Person, so I will not go in."

Hu Xiuwu picked up the Spring Nourishing Sword, transformed it into a whisk, flicked the whisk, held it in his bosom, and strode into the alchemy room.

Seeing this, the crane hermit half-stretched out his hand, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped himself.

Is it really appropriate to let him take the sword in?
However, it is Laozi inside. So what if Hu Xiuwu goes in with a sword?

The master didn't pass on a message to him, and Crane Immortal couldn't stop Hu Xiuwu, so he could only stand anxiously at the entrance of the alchemy room.

As Hu Xiuwu entered the alchemy room and passed through the courtyard, he saw a purple-gold Bagua furnace standing in the center of the main hall.

The furnace displays a purple-gold color, and the Eight Trigrams and Eight Scenes are displayed on its body.

The six divine fires beneath the Eight Trigrams Furnace never go out, never ceasing.

An old Taoist priest in a wide robe held a banana leaf fan and slowly fanned out a whirlwind to maintain the flames of the Six Ding Divine Fire.

Needless to say, the old Taoist who fanned the fire was none other than Laozi.

Hu Xiuwu was about to step forward to pay his respects when Laozi raised his fan, signaling Hu Xiuwu to stop: "Wait, wait, this batch of pills is almost ready."

　Regarding the alignment of Laozi, there is some off-screen information. Unlike the era of "Dou Zhan Shen," the censorship is now more stringent. No matter how the game company designs the plot, it is impossible for them to portray a traditional Chinese deity as a villain.

　　The characters Maitreya Buddha, Lishan Laomu, and Guanyin, who are real-life deities, are not shown to be good or evil in the story.

　　The plot of "Ne Zha 2" is unconventional, but it also fictionalizes a senior disciple of the Jade Palace as the villain.

　　Therefore, it's highly likely that Youke won't portray Laozi as a villain, or at least he'll be left ambiguous, which leaves a lot of room for fan fiction.
　　(End of this chapter)