From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Jiang Liu replied.

"Why is it still me?"

"You are the Emperor, the savior. If you don't step up, who will?"

Jiang Liu made it sound like a matter of course.

Upon hearing this, the crown prince could only nod.

Seeing this, Bajie pulled Jiang Liu aside and whispered, "Brother, what you said makes sense, but he's still just a mortal. What if he gets stage fright?"

"Since he is concerned for the country and its people, how could he possibly back down?"

Jiang Liu laughed and said, "To bear the burden of all living beings, suppress ghosts and gods, and stand tall and upright, it's not enough to just have ambition. This is a good opportunity to hone your courage."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy suddenly realized and laughed, "Brother is right. This prince has just come up from the underworld, and the yin energy on his body has probably not dissipated yet. He needs to muster his courage."

"That's true, but if Golden Horn succeeds, we'll succeed later too, wouldn't that be a draw?"

Ba Jing pointed to the phoenix on the altar and said.

"It's alright."

Jiang Liu did not perform any magic.

Half an hour later, the phoenix opened its eyes, which shone with golden light, and spread its wings, soaring into the sky. The civil and military officials were so frightened that they all knelt down in worship, and the king on the throne rose up to watch. They all praised, "It really is a phoenix! The royal advisor is truly skilled! Truly skilled!"

With the praise he received, Jin Jiao felt a bit relieved. He raised his head and asked Jiang Liu, "That monkey, are you willing to admit defeat?"

"Your Majesty, such a trivial skill is nothing to boast about! We can do it too!"

Jiang Liu pushed the prince onto the stage and taught him to recite the Heart Sutra. He secretly cast a spell, which required no lead, mercury, silver, sand, or soil. He only needed to turn the primordial energy around his heart, and the power of the five elements would arise out of thin air.

A spark of light appeared, not a fire from the sky, nor a fire from the furnace, nor a fire from the mountaintop, nor a fire from the bottom of the stove, but a spark of spiritual fire born from the natural fusion of the five elements.

This fire, however, did not follow the traditional five-element generating cycle of wood generating fire, fire generating earth, earth generating metal, metal generating water, and water generating wood. Instead, it "whooshed" into the prince's body.

The crowd gasped in astonishment!

The prince's clothes fell off, his skin turned into glass, and his internal organs, spirit, and head were clearly visible.

That spark of spiritual light resided within an acupoint in the central palace of the prince's head, transforming into consciousness—

Like the stubborn rock that has existed since the beginning of time on the very top of Flower and Fruit Mountain, which is in harmony with the Tao.

Human consciousness is originally nonexistent; it is only after birth that one develops vague emotions, and through parental upbringing, one's values ​​begin to take shape.

Like a monkey born from a stone egg, which transforms into a monkey upon seeing the wind.

Although consciousness has begun to take shape, it is still naive and innocent, acting impulsively. Naturally, it leaves the central aperture and enters the lungs and internal organs, where it wanders aimlessly in all directions as it expands and contracts.

Like a monkey in the mountains, befriending all the beasts and kin to macaques, running and leaping, roaming everywhere, seeking only joy.

Afterward, the nascent consciousness grew, no longer as impulsive as at birth, becoming more settled, and going to the heart with each breath—

As if the monkey had found its source and seen through the great terror, it naturally jumped into the Water Curtain Cave within its heart.

Afterwards, the mind, having experienced the passage of time and developed far-sightedness, left the inner sanctum of the heart, passed through the liver and kidneys, completed a cycle, and finally went to the yang orifice—

Like the monkey seeking immortality, he left the Water Curtain Cave, used a wooden raft to cross two vast oceans, went up the mountain, and found the Patriarch Subhuti.

The Mind Monkey was born from a stone, naturally possessing the Earth Qi of the Spleen; running through the mountains, breathing in accordance with the four seasons, it acquired the Metal Qi of the Lungs; entering the Water Curtain Cave, it became king and ancestor, marking the beginning of civilization, and thus generated the Fire Qi of the Heart; desiring to go to sea to seek immortality, it built a raft and obtained the Wood Qi of the Liver; drifting across two oceans, it mastered the Water Qi of the Kidneys.

This is the end.

Having all five elements in one's mind is already a sign of good fortune!

A glimmer of light emerged from the crown prince's head, drawing upon the essence of the sun and moon, using the prince's five internal organs and five vital energies as its source, to shape his form and transform into a large rooster.

Good chicken!

Poems as proof:

Small head, short neck, large fleshy crown, green ears, silver beak, and white body.

With its black bones and flesh, and vigorous blood and energy, it cries out three times to vie for the phoenix's attention!

Upon seeing that it was a black-boned chicken, all the civil and military officials watching were delighted, for although they were incompetent, they were still natives of the Black-boned Chicken Kingdom. The country was named Black-boned Chicken, and the black-boned chicken was naturally the national bird of the country, which was loved by the people.

"Giggle!"

The black-boned rooster crowed loudly, its eyes bright, its swagger and proudness startling the phoenix, which fell from the sky and hid behind the golden horn, trembling with fear.

"Your Majesty, it is clear at a glance who won and who lost."

Jiang Liu spoke up.

"Nonsense! You must have used some kind of sorcery to frighten this phoenix!"

Golden Horn was furious and argued back.

Jiang Liu laughed and said, "Your phoenix is ​​female, but the black rooster that establishes the Emperor's creation is male. The female is naturally afraid when she sees the male."

Upon hearing this, Golden Horn didn't react, but Silver Horn jumped in front of the king and pointed at Jiang Liu, saying, "It must be this kid who used sorcery!"

The king was displeased, but dared not be angry. He simply said, "The phoenix created by the Golden Horned National Preceptor was trembling with fear because of the rooster created by the Emperor Li Huo. All the civil and military officials can testify to this. What else is there to say?"

The golden-horned bird stepped forward and reported, "Both families are blessed with good fortune. My phoenix is ​​far more noble than that black chicken. However, the phoenix may have just been born and was exposed to the wind, which is why it fell to the ground and gave the chicken its prestige."

Upon hearing the royal advisor change his reason, the king still dared not bring it up, and simply asked, "Then what do you want?"

"Let my phoenix fight that black rooster and see who is stronger!"

Golden Horn had already devised a plan, but he also noticed the change in the king's tone.

He was just a mortal, someone he wouldn't normally take seriously, but now that he needed to deal with Jiang Liu and tear him to pieces, he had no choice but to borrow the king's power.

Without him.

Although the monkey was more violent than in its previous life, it also seemed to be more disciplined, especially towards humans, where it showed seven times more patience.

If he makes the first move, the monkey will probably hit him directly with his staff!

to this end.

As he said this, Golden Horn had to bow slightly, as if to give the king some face.

"it is good!"

Seeing that the Grand Preceptor actually bowed to him, the King was surprised and quickly agreed, saying to Jiang Liu, "Does your imperial concubine dare to release a chicken to fight the Grand Preceptor's phoenix?"

"Why don't you dare?"

Seeing that the king was truly incompetent, Jiang Liu was certain that the thing was beyond saving, so he chuckled and agreed, saying to the Crown Prince, "You, Crown Prince, take the black chicken and go fight that national advisor on the field, so that all the civil and military officials present will understand that your black chicken is the true phoenix of the world!"

"The Emperor's goods are clear!"

The prince picked up the black chicken and went to the center of the arena first. He said to Golden Horn, "Grand Preceptor, I've already entered the arena. What are you still doing outside? Are you afraid?"

Chapter 1474 A Phoenix That Lands Is No Better Than a Chicken

"Why wouldn't I dare?"

Challenged by an ordinary man, Golden Horn blushed and wished he could tear him to pieces, but he had no choice but to enter the arena. With a wave of his hand, he captured the phoenix and threw it into the arena.

The prince put the black chicken down, patted the tuft of white feathers on its head, and shouted: "Black chicken, black chicken, you need a clever trick. Peck at the phoenix and vent my anger."

"A mere black-boned chicken dares to compete with my phoenix?"

Golden Horn sneered, but then he saw the phoenix shrink its neck, its face darkening. It quietly chanted an incantation, infusing the phoenix with magical power, and then kicked it, saying, "Eat that black chicken!"

The black-boned chicken was not afraid at all. It spread its wings, flapped its wings and ran around, blocking the phoenix in mid-air, stretching its neck and pecking wildly.

What a fierce battle!

Poems as proof:

A phoenix descends to earth to battle domestic fowl, a monkey transforms into a chicken with ink-black bones. Clad in colorful plumage, it cries out loudly, its white feathers billowing naturally. With left and right flaps of its wings, it pecks and snipes with its mind's eye.

The phoenix, aided by a hidden golden horn, radiates five colors that illuminate the blue sky. The black rooster's bones hold the power of the five elements, its will passed down through eternal battle. The phoenix and rooster clash, shaking heaven and earth; the phoenix's cry and the rooster's crowing bring the prince to his slumber.

The black rooster and the phoenix fought for dozens of rounds without a clear winner.

The prince was deeply moved, feeling as if he and the black rooster were of one mind, their thoughts as if they were one. Unconsciously, he moved his arms, causing the black rooster to flap its wings and soar into the air, dodging the phoenix's long beak, and then forcefully pecking downwards.

Click!

The black rooster actually pecked open the phoenix's head!

"Very well! A fallen phoenix is ​​no better than a chicken! It will be pecked to death if it fights with a chicken!"

Pigsy patted his belly and laughed heartily.

"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Turning the world upside down is not difficult at all! Why should a pheasant need to transform into a phoenix!"

Ba Jing also clapped and sang, laughing heartily.

The civil and military officials on both sides also exclaimed in admiration: "The black-boned chicken is a national treasure of our country, even more powerful than the phoenix. Truly extraordinary! Absolutely extraordinary!"

Only Jinjiao, seeing the phoenix that had been pecked to death turn back into lead, mercury, silver, and sand, felt a surge of anger rising in his heart and evil thoughts taking hold. He could no longer care about his composure and pounced on the prince.

At the critical moment, Jiang Liu blew a breath, and the black chicken flapped its wings, transformed into a streak of light, pecked through the golden horn's chest, devoured its internal organs, and then emerged from its back.

Jinjiao staggered forward three or five steps, feeling an emptiness in his body. Looking down, he realized that his internal organs were gone. Unable to support himself any longer, he collapsed to the ground.

"What happened to the Imperial Advisor?"

The king was greatly alarmed and hurriedly ordered the eunuch beside him to check.

The eunuch stepped forward and rummaged through Jinjiao's clothes, but found no body, only a golden fox. He exclaimed in horror, "Your Majesty! The Golden Horned Imperial Preceptor was pecked to death by a black chicken! It was a golden fox!"

"How could my brother be a fox?"

Silver Horn's eyes widened in fury. He leaped forward and kicked the eunuch aside.

Pitiful!

The eunuch had already lost his manhood, and now, after being kicked by Silver Horn, he lost his life!

"That monkey must have used some kind of sorcery to create an illusion! Winning is one thing, but why did he have to take my brother's life?"

Silver Horn was burning with rage and could not calm down. He bowed deeply to the king and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to gamble with them again!"

"Grand Preceptor, your brother is dead, why are you still gambling?" Although the king was muddle-headed, he was wise with age and could see that something was wrong.

These outsiders might take the lives of two imperial advisors!