Honghuang: My understanding is beyond belief. I am the first immortal of Jiejiao.

However, before he finished speaking, Nezha, who was standing next to Lin Zhu, suddenly turned cold!
He was now a half-step quasi-saint, and his aura was incredibly fierce. Without any visible movement, he appeared in front of the boy in a flash. A hand covered with crimson flame patterns, like an iron clamp, instantly grabbed the boy's throat and lifted him off the ground!

"Uh... huh..."

The boy's eyes rolled back as he was being pinched, and his limbs struggled in vain, but he couldn't budge Nezha at all.

Seeing this, Lin Zhu not only did not stop it, but also showed an approving smile and nodded.

"Not bad, you've improved. You know how to uphold the boss's dignity now, you have the style of my Ninth Heaven Prison."

He casually waved his sleeve, as if to brush away non-existent dust, and turned to leave, saying indifferently.

"Since the master here isn't in a hurry, why should I meddle? Let's go, Nezha, we can still make it back in time for lunch."

He had no intention of getting involved in this mess, much less risk offending the possible culprit, whom even he found troublesome, because of other people's grudges.

Just as Lin Zhu turned around, about to take a step forward—

"Wait a minute!"

A slightly hurried and flustered voice came from the sky! Auspicious clouds surged, and an old man dressed in a Bagua Taoist robe, wearing a fish-tail crown and holding a whisk hurriedly rode the clouds back. He was the master of this place, Laozi!

At this moment, Laozi no longer possessed his usual ethereal and composed demeanor. His Taoist robe was even stained with some dust, and his face showed undisguised panic and a hint of...heartache.
Lin Zhu stopped and lazily glanced back at him, her tone slightly teasing.

"Oh, Laozi is back? Look at your temple, it's almost burned to the ground, and the disciples are either dead or scattered."

Just now, some ignorant fool pointed at me and started cursing. Tell me, what should we do about that?

Upon hearing this, Laozi's gaze instantly fell on the boy who was being held up in mid-air by Nezha's neck and was still struggling in vain. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes!
Without offering any further explanation or questions, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped the boy hard across the face, under the astonished gazes of the crowd!

This slap, seemingly casual, contained the terrifying power of a saintly, benevolent corpse!
"Oh!"

A muffled sound!
The boy's head, like a watermelon struck by a boulder, instantly detached from his neck, flying away with a blinding spray of blood! Nezha casually tossed the headless corpse to the ground, where it twitched a couple of times before going still.

Laozi's eyes were icy cold. He didn't even look at the boy's corpse. He gritted his teeth and spoke as if he were filled with endless rage.

"Those who offend the God of Hell and utter arrogant words deserve to die!"

His ruthless and merciless methods sent a chill down the spines of everyone present! It was clear to everyone that Laozi did not want to give Lin Zhu any excuse to retaliate, and was even willing to kill his own attendant to appease Lin Zhu!
Seeing this, Nezha released his grip, stared at the headless corpse for a moment, then grinned and gave Laozi a thumbs up.

"Laojun, you are mighty!"

Laozi completely ignored Nezha's "praise". In a flash, he arrived next to the boy's flying head, reached out and grabbed the boy's terrified primordial spirit that had just dissipated!
While he roughly searched the boy's soul to investigate the details of what had happened, he also sternly rebuked him, as if he were explaining to Lin Zhu.

"Neglecting his duty, he caused the destruction of the Tushita Palace and the theft of the elixirs! Now he dares to offend the God of Hell, he deserves to die a thousand deaths!"

The soul-searching process was extremely brief. As the search continued, Laozi's face grew increasingly dark, eventually turning ashen!
His anger intensified, and without saying another word, he clenched his fist tightly!
"Pfft!"

The boy's primordial spirit didn't even have time to utter a scream before it was crushed like a fragile bubble, turning into specks of spiritual light and completely annihilated!
Soul fly away!

Lin Zhu coldly observed Laozi's series of swift, ruthless, and merciless actions, but he was fully aware of the situation.

This old man, seemingly cleaning house and venting his anger, is actually... probably in a hurry to silence someone, or to cover something up.

Moreover, his anxiety was not solely due to the destruction of the Tushita Palace.

"Laojun," Lin Zhu suddenly spoke, his voice still lazy, yet carrying an air of all-knowing insight.

"It seems you're in a hurry."

Laozi's body stiffened slightly as he looked at Lin Zhu.

Lin Zhu revealed his signature, seemingly innocent smile, and stretched out one hand in front of Laozi.

"I have always been happy to help others."

"Alright then, I know who the real culprit is. As for the reward... I won't ask for much, just one Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Pill, how about that?"

"What?! You know the real culprit?!"

Laozi was greatly alarmed and almost blurted out, but then his face showed an extremely troubled and pained expression.

"Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Elixir?"
"This... God of Hell, you are unaware, but all the elixirs in my palace, including the Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Elixir, have been stolen by that wicked villain! Now... now there isn't a single one left!"

He beat his chest and stamped his feet, looking heartbroken and devastated that his family's wealth had been confiscated.

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhu's smile remained unchanged, but his deep eyes stared at Laozi for two seconds before he said nothing. He simply withdrew his hand decisively, turned around, and walked away.

"Hey! Prison God, wait! Wait!"

When Laozi saw that Lin Zhu was really about to leave, he became anxious and, no longer caring about pretending to be poor, rushed forward to try to stop him.

Lin Zhu kept walking without turning her head, and simply tossed out a sentence.

"In my business dealings, I always pay cash on delivery and never extend credit."

Laozi's outstretched hand froze in mid-air as he watched Lin Zhu's retreating figure without hesitation. His facial muscles twitched, and his eyes struggled with conflicting emotions. Finally, just as Lin Zhu was about to leave the area of ​​the Tushita Palace, he stomped his foot violently, as if making a decision, and shouted in a voice trembling with tears.

"Wait! Prison God, please wait!"

He frantically searched his sleeves and waist for a long time before finally, as if cutting off a piece of his own flesh, carefully pulling out a seemingly ordinary white jade porcelain bottle that exuded a subtle Daoist charm, and tremblingly handed it to Lin Zhu.

"This...this is my...last...Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Pill..."

Lao Tzu's voice trembled, filled with reluctance and heartache.

Lin Zhu then stopped and turned around, his face still calm and composed. He casually took the porcelain bottle, didn't even look at it, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Thanks."

He uttered those two words, turned around again, this time without any hesitation, and took Nezha with him, transforming into a streak of light and disappearing into the distance.

Laozi stood there, holding his empty hands, staring blankly in the direction Lin Zhu had disappeared. After several breaths, he suddenly realized! Wait!

He took the elixir! But who is the murderer?!
He didn't tell me at all!!!

"Lin—Zhu—!!!"

A roar, filled with extreme anger, frustration, and a sense of being mocked, suddenly burst from Laozi's throat, shaking the entire ruins of the Tushita Palace!

"How dare you cheat me out of my pills!!! You shameless scoundrel!! I will never forgive you!!!"

Laozi stood there, his chest heaving violently. He felt a surge of pent-up anger stuck in his throat, unable to rise or fall, making him feel like he was about to vomit blood!

The destruction of the Tushita Palace, the killing of the boy, and the theft of the elixir were already enormous losses and humiliations. In the end, the evil star Lin Zhu tricked him out of his last Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Pill!
This is simply adding insult to injury; we've lost both our wife and our army!

Just as he was consumed by rage and had nowhere to vent his anger, celestial music drifted from the sky, and auspicious clouds paved the way. It turned out that the Jade Emperor's Nine-Dragon Incense Carriage was passing by.

The Jade Emperor sat upright on his chariot and clearly saw the tragic state of the Tushita Palace below. He frowned slightly, signaled the procession to stop, and looked at the disheveled and ashen-faced Laozi, asking him with some concern.

"Laojun, I passed by this place and saw that your Tushita Palace... seems to have suffered a calamity? Why does it look like this? I just thought I heard you calling out... the God of Hell?"

When Laozi saw the Jade Emperor, he grasped at the straw and disregarded all decorum. Filled with grievance and indignation, he briefly recounted what had happened, emphasizing how the Tushita Palace had been ravaged by villains and how Lin Zhu had taken advantage of the chaos to "trick" him out of his Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Elixir.

"...Your Majesty! You must do justice for this old minister!"
That Prison God Lin Zhu, as a enforcer of the law, not only failed to uphold justice for the old minister, but also took this opportunity to extort and swindle him out of his last life-saving Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Pill! How is such behavior any different from that of a bandit?!

Lao Tzu spoke with tears streaming down his face, beating his chest and stamping his feet in frustration.

However, the Jade Emperor's expression was somewhat subtle after hearing this.

He pondered for a moment, but instead of flying into a rage and rebuking Lin Zhu as Laozi had expected, he waved his hand gently and spoke in a conciliatory tone.

"Laojun, you are mistaken. It is merely a Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Pill, an external possession. Why be so concerned about it?"

He paused, a hint of "appreciation" even appearing on his face, and continued.

"I know Lin Aiqing well."

Although he was unconventional in his actions, he was exceptionally intelligent, meticulous, and possessed a strong sense of justice and integrity.

Now that he's taken you... uh, taken your golden core, he must already have a plan in mind. He'll definitely do everything in his power to find the real culprit and bring justice to you, Lao Jun!

The more the Jade Emperor spoke, the more convinced he became of his analysis, and his tone grew increasingly certain.

"As for this pill, it must be what Minister Lin needs for his investigation, or it may be closely related to this case."

"Laojun, please put your mind at ease. Don't let a mere pill cause a rift with Minister Lin. If word gets out that you're stingy with a single pill and hindering the investigation, wouldn't that ruin your reputation for quiet cultivation and high moral character?"

These words were spoken in a grand and dignified manner, praising Lin Zhu and giving Laozi the high praise of "considering the overall situation," thus effectively blocking any subsequent accusations or demands from Laozi!
Laozi stared wide-eyed at the Jade Emperor, utterly unable to believe his ears!

A mere Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Pill?!

Exceptional intelligence? Unwavering righteousness?!

I ruined my reputation?!
He felt dizzy and almost couldn't catch his breath!

This Jade Emperor... is clearly biased towards Lin Zhu! He's even resorting to this kind of "moral blackmail" to shut himself up!

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty..."

Laozi pointed at the Jade Emperor, his fingers trembling, so angry that he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

The Jade Emperor, however, seemed oblivious to his near-death state, and smiled gently, offering words of comfort.

"Please rest assured, Lord Lao. I have noted this matter and will urge Minister Lin to solve it as soon as possible. I have other important matters to attend to, so I will not stay any longer. Take care, Lord Lao."

After saying this, the Jade Emperor's dragon carriage and ceremonial procession started up again, surrounded by auspicious clouds and filled with celestial music, and departed directly, leaving only Laozi standing there like a wooden stake struck by lightning, frozen in place, staring in the direction the Jade Emperor had left, unable to recover for a long time.

A cold wind blew by, carrying the burnt smell of the Tushita Palace, bringing a bone-chilling cold.

Laozi felt a deep sorrow, an indescribable resentment and profound helplessness entwining his heart like a poisonous vine.

First, he was robbed by thugs, his family destroyed, then the God of Hell took advantage of his misfortune to extort divine pills, and finally, he was subjected to such "muddying the waters" and "moral blackmail" by the Jade Emperor... When has Laozi, the Supreme Lord, a dignified sage and benevolent corpse, ever suffered such a series of humiliations?!
……

In stark contrast to the bleakness and sorrow of the Tushita Palace and the grief and indignation of Laozi, there was laughter and merriment in the Nine Heavens Prison, with people clinking glasses and exchanging toasts.

Lin Zhu and Nezha returned to the Heavenly Prison and immediately set out a banquet. Lin Zhu casually placed the white jade porcelain bottle containing the Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Pill on the table, picked up the wine pot, and filled Nezha and himself with wine.

"Come on, Nezha, bottoms up!"

Lin Zhu raised his glass, a genuine smile of joy spreading across his face.

"Today, we celebrate another 'achievement' in our Nine-Layer Heavenly Prison: we have obtained a Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Elixir!"

Nezha was also beaming with excitement, and he raised his cup with both hands and clinked it heavily with Lin Zhu.

"It's all thanks to Boss's strategic planning! I admire you! Cheers!"

The two men downed their drinks in one gulp, looked at each other, and burst into laughter, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

As for the tragic state of the Tushita Palace, the loss of Laozi, and the trouble that the golden elixir might involve... who cares?
"This golden elixir is a very good thing."

Lin Zhu picked up the porcelain bottle, played with it in his hands, and marveled at the powerful medicinal properties and Daoist charm contained within it.

"In a critical moment, it can be worth a life. Keeping it in our warehouse adds a layer of value to our inventory."

Nezha nodded repeatedly, deeply agreeing.

"The boss is right! Following the boss, we can always turn danger into safety and even reap unexpected rewards!"

They clinked glasses, chatted and laughed, enjoying the "harvest" and joy brought by their "hard work," completely without any psychological burden. As for the Supreme Lord Laozi, who had suffered heavy losses and even received a "lecture" from the Jade Emperor, his current mood was not within their consideration. (End of Chapter)