Journey to the West: From Stealing the Teachings of Patriarch Bodhi to Becoming a Saint Through a Hu

Yuan Li nodded and thought to himself.

"That's right, but it's very bad. I've traveled back in time to the Black Bear Spirit from 500 years ago. Even if all the gods and Buddhas were invited, they probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the real and the fake. In reality, I am the Black Bear Spirit, and the people of the Six Immortals Temple might have designs on me."

Although Yuan Li was seeing Yan Zu's expression, it couldn't be hidden from those with profound magical power.

He only wanted to live for a hundred lifetimes, not to be reborn for a hundred lifetimes. But at least for now, as long as he stayed in Black Wind Mountain, the only way the people from the Six Immortals Temple could threaten him was to come to his door.

The demoness whose ram horns he had taken went to Chechi Kingdom. If Yuan Li were to go to Chechi Kingdom alone, he might face immortals blocking his way. With insufficient cultivation, he would have no choice but to submit.

Yuan Li took out a Yangli Pill from his pocket, his eyes filled with helplessness. He couldn't care less about anything else; he had to improve his cultivation first and then find a way to prevent the deadly scythe hanging above his head from falling too soon.

Seeing that Yuan Li remained silent, the amiable toad spirit wisely withdrew outside the cave.

After Yuan Li took the Yangli Dan, he began to close his eyes and regulate his breathing.

The toad spirit's politeness towards him could only be attributed to Yuan Li's knowledge of alchemy.

Yuan Li swallowed all the sheep-strength pills and fell into a deep sleep on the animal-skin bed in the cave. When he woke up, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Because he had swallowed the sheep-strength pills, Yuan Li had once again turned into a black bear spirit with a black face and hairy ears.

"My magical power has increased for nearly two years."

Walking out of the cave, which was located on a small hill, I immediately thought of the name of the toad spirit, Qi Keduo.

These past few days, Qi Ke has been serving him tea and water in the cave, taking very good care of him. Yuan Li stayed in the demon cave for a few days.

In short, I will stay in Black Dragon Mountain and not go anywhere else. In my next reincarnation, I will find another way to escape the Six Immortals Temple.

At this moment, everything seemed calm and peaceful. However, Qi Keduo had just returned from Black Wind Cave and quickly walked over upon seeing Yuan Li.

Qi Keduo chuckled and said, "Black Bear Leader, the King wants you to go to him to learn alchemy. The Azure Wolf Spirit and the Flower Snake Demon are both here, so don't keep the King waiting."

"Alright, then I'll head to Black Wind Cave," Yuan Li agreed.

A gust of black wind arose, and it quickly rushed towards the Black Wind Cave, dozens of miles away, where it revealed its true form once again.

Upon arriving at the Black Wind Cave and meeting the Black Bear Spirit, Yuan Li still bowed.

The Black Bear Spirit's two sworn brothers were present, and the three demons set up their stances around the Seven Star Alchemy Furnace, intending to jointly comprehend the art of alchemy.

Two or three hundred years ago, Laozi (Taishang Laojun) used the Tao Te Ching to spread his teachings, but he transformed into Laozi and the time he spent spreading the teachings was short. For Zhongnan Mountain, it was a great opportunity.

The black bear spirit spoke calmly, but there was a hint of surprise in his eyes as he looked at Yuan Li.

"Patrolman, come quickly and join us in comprehending the art of alchemy. Come before the Eight Trigrams Furnace and probe it with your divine sense and magical power to understand the art of alchemy."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Li walked to the Seven Stars Eight Trigrams Furnace and followed the instructions of the Black Bear Spirit.

He channeled his divine sense and magical power into the Seven Stars Eight Trigrams Furnace.

They immediately realized that a bridge had been built between the different divine consciousnesses and magical powers of the Supreme Dao Scripture.

Canglang Jin said, "Third brother, this is the black bear spirit I met in the Dali Cave a hundred miles away. He and our eldest brother are practically twins. Even the magic weapons and cultivation techniques they use are exactly the same."

The snake demon, dressed in a white robe, laughed heartily. He had already been chatting with the two of them about this for quite some time. The snake demon said to Yuan Li, "Patrolman, since you have no title, I can only call you Black Bear Spirit. If you have enough strength, you will be my brother. I don't have a title either, but our second brother, the Azure Wolf Spirit, has the Daoist name Ling Xuzi. You should also call him Ling Xuzi."

Yuan Li then replied, "I understand."

The four demons then began to study alchemy together. After three days, Yuan Li's alchemy skills had improved slightly. He let out a long breath. There were little demons guarding the cave, so no one came to disturb him.

Just as Yuan Li's gaze was wandering, the black bear spirit in the cave suddenly said, "Three days ago, I fought with Bai Xuan Daoist of the Six Immortals Temple. Bai Xuan Daoist's Taoist magic is powerful. He is the abbot of the Six Immortals Temple and is indeed not easy to deal with. That's why I called two sworn brothers. Bai Xuan Daoist will definitely not let this go. He will ask the Taoist priest of Zhongnan Mountain to subdue me. He will only promise me benefits if I refine the Thunder-Subduing Pill for him."

The black bear spirit changed the subject, saying to Yuan Li with some ill intent, "Patrolman, why don't you go and investigate the situation for me? Even if you can't refine the Thunder-Subduing Pill, I will still rescue you."

Yuan Li had anticipated that the Black Bear Spirit would bring up this matter, but it would require him to take a risk, which he was naturally unwilling to do.

But his skills were insufficient, so he could only take orders from others.

The idea that the Black Bear Spirit would come to his rescue seems unreliable.

But is there still a choice?

Even if he leaves Black Wind Mountain, he will run into the eyes of the Six Immortals Temple. Isolated and helpless, he will be like a lamb entering a tiger's den, and he can only nod and agree to this job.

They were just studying cultivation techniques together, and now he's being told to jump into a fire pit – it's hard to accept.

Yuan Li, with his dark face and hairy ears, was filled with resentment, but forced a smile and said, "I see. I am willing to investigate the truth for Your Majesty. I only ask that Your Majesty spare my life, and I will be extremely satisfied."

Yuan Li cupped his hands in greeting. The wolf spirit and the flower snake demon, who had witnessed this scene, seemed to have known all along, and looked at Yuan Li with pity in their eyes.

If there were no other options, the Black Bear Spirit, whose wicked scheme had succeeded, would most likely have gone to the Six Immortals Temple to refine the elixir himself.

At this moment, the extra Yuan Li could serve as the Black Bear Spirit's consumables. Looking at Yuan Li with a clear conscience, it seemed that he was willing to die.

Black Bear also began to care about Yuan Li's life or death.

He realized that Yuan Li's talent for alchemy was no less than his own, and his last bit of doubt about Yuan Li's background vanished in an instant.

The black bear spirit continued, "Patrolman, I do not wish to abandon you. How about this, I will also make an appearance. When unrelated people see the two of us black bear spirits, they will likely not harm you."

"Yes, Your Majesty. My alchemy skills are inferior to Your Majesty's, and I am afraid I am unable to refine elixirs of such high quality," Yuan Li said worriedly.

The black bear spirit explained, "You don't know the specifics yet. The Six Immortals Temple wanted me to go and refine pills so that I could learn from their alchemists how to refine Frey Pills. Not knowing their intentions, I never responded."

Yuan Li suddenly realized that it was just about becoming an alchemy apprentice.

The Six Immortals Temple was located near the Kingdom of Wusizang. The three great demons, including the Black Bear Spirit, brought Yuan Li to the Six Immortals Temple.

The Black Bear Spirit was unwilling to become an apprentice, but Yuan Li was willing to accept it.

In Journey to the West, he had never heard of the Six Immortals Temple. He only knew that Yun Zhongzi of the Chan Sect in Zhongnan Mountain was at the level of a Great Luo Golden Immortal or a half-step Quasi-Saint at this time.