Chapter 2 The Shoes of the Barefoot Immortal

Chapter 2 The Shoes of the Barefoot Immortal

Chapter 2 The Shoes of the Barefoot Immortal

The Barefoot Immortal is a respected old immortal in the heavens. He often encourages the younger immortals who are confused about life. In the heavens, from the Jade Emperor to the unknown immortals who have just entered the immortal register, they all respect him very much. Even immortals who have never met him, as long as they see an old man with a pair of dark bare feet, they know that it is the Barefoot Immortal and will greet him warmly. The Barefoot Immortal enjoys this feeling of being respected. From time to time, he will go to the place where the younger immortals gather, teach them some fairy world experience, and talk about ideals. The immortals will surround him like a life mentor and listen to his teachings carefully. Whenever he sees the younger generations no longer confused because of his words, and then casts admiring and grateful eyes to him, the Barefoot Immortal will feel that there is nothing happier than this.

Just now, the barefoot immortal successfully broke through the ninth level of the Golden Daluo Immortal. Before this, the only person in the heavenly realm who had such an achievement was Taishang Laojun. He couldn't wait to end his retreat and was ready to find those younger immortals and accept their admiring eyes. The barefoot immortal left the house, and the two children guarding the door saw him and hurriedly saluted respectfully. Along the way, he met several familiar immortals, who also greeted him warmly. But for some reason, he always felt that the few people he met today felt strange. It seemed that two pairs of eyes were always looking down from time to time, as if looking for something. The barefoot immortal walked for a while and finally arrived at the Heavenly Book Pavilion, which is the knowledge base of the heavenly realm, and the younger immortals love to gather here. Soon, the barefoot immortal was surrounded by a group of immortals who had just ascended to the heavenly realm. The barefoot immortal explained to them the experience of cultivation, and they listened quietly. After talking for a while, the barefoot immortal felt that something was wrong. In the past, these fairies would listen carefully to whatever he said. But today, they seemed to be distracted and could even hear someone laughing. The barefoot fairy finished his lecture hastily and walked back in a depressed mood. But suddenly, he heard a voice behind him shouting, "Barefoot fairy, stay!"

The barefoot immortal looked back and saw that it was a fairy who had just ascended to the fairyland, named Lingmeng. He asked, "Fairy Lingmeng, what's the matter?"

Ling Meng lowered her head, blushing, and looked shy and hesitant. She slowly said, "Master, can you tell me what you use to wash your feet? How come your big feet, which were so dark before, suddenly became so white, tender, and dazzling? They don't look like the same feet as before."

After hearing this, the barefoot immortal looked at his own big feet. Sure enough, the pair of big feet that were originally dark and had extremely rough skin now looked white, tender and watery. It turned out that the immortal technique practiced by the barefoot immortal was different from that of others. Others practiced by breathing in and out from the dantian to warm up the inner elixir. The Shenzujing practiced by the barefoot immortal was based on the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of the foot. The pulse energy was emitted from the sole of the foot and circulated throughout the body. Therefore, after practicing to the extreme, his feet became crystal clear and smooth, different from ordinary people. The barefoot immortal then thought of the cause and effect. It turned out that it was because his feet had changed in appearance that he attracted other people's strange eyes and was laughed at by others. It was a pity that he, a great Daluo Jinxian, was now laughed at by these younger immortals. He said helplessly: "This is the secret method of this immortal. When practiced to the extreme, the feet will be as white as jade. But these are just some small details, don't worry too much."

Fairies in heaven are more interested in beauty than women on earth. When Ling Meng heard this, she was immediately delighted and said, "There is such a secret method. Can the immortal teach me too? I would like to be your disciple."

The barefoot immortal said, "This is my unique secret technique, which I have never passed on to others." After that, he hurried back to his house, closed the door, and did not go out for three days. However, he learned from the servants in the house that the news had spread everywhere, and they secretly called the barefoot immortal "the jade-footed immortal". The male disciples laughed at him for having a pair of women's feet, but the celestial maidens were very interested in his jade feet and wanted to learn from him how to maintain beautiful feet. The barefoot immortal was so ashamed that he hurriedly ran to his old friend Taibai Jinxing's house without telling anyone, hoping that Taibai would give him a solution.

Seeing him like this, Taibai Jinxing couldn't help but laugh and said, "If these feet were on any little girl, one would want to touch them. But on an old man like you, it's too inappropriate! Also, your feet are beautiful, but they are too big, and they are not proportional to your short and fat body!"

The barefoot immortal retorted: "You are such a frivolous old man, and you are also an expert on feet, yet you still come to make fun of me! Now that I am in this state, I dare not even leave the house, for fear that others will laugh at me. Can you give me some advice, what should I do?"

Taibai Jinxing said: "What's the difficulty? Can't you just hide your feet? Just because you are called the Barefoot Immortal, can't you wear shoes? If you put on shoes, who can still see what your feet look like?"

The barefoot immortal said, "Hey, brother, you don't know. The Shenzu Sutra I practice is based on the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of the foot. Therefore, my feet often sweat, more than a hundred times that of ordinary people. If I wear shoes, I will get athlete's foot and it will itch badly."

Taibai Jinxing said: "If that's the case, then ordinary shoes really can't be worn. But it may not be impossible to find a pair of precious boots that you can wear."

The barefoot immortal asked, "What do you mean?" Taibai Jinxing said, "I've heard that Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East China Sea, has a pair of dragon whisker boots made of dragon whiskers. They are said to make people walk very fast and leave no footprints on water. It is said that dragon whiskers are a treasure of the dragon clan and are impervious to water. If you get these boots, you won't have to worry about your feet sweating all the time!"

The barefoot immortal was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "Thank you for telling me, I will go to the Dragon King and ask him for the precious boots." After that, the barefoot immortal flew on a cloud and headed straight for the East China Sea. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the East China Sea coast. Then he recited a magic spell to avoid water, and dived into the water and headed straight for the Dragon Palace. The Yaksha and a group of shrimp soldiers and crab generals who were patrolling the sea were alarmed and reported to the Dragon King, "There is a barefoot person outside, and he is coming to the Dragon Palace."

The Dragon King said, "I think the barefoot immortal has arrived. Come with me to greet him!" The Dragon King led a group of water creatures to welcome the barefoot immortal in, served him tea and prepared a feast, and then asked, "I wonder why the immortal has come?"

The barefoot immortal said, "To be honest, I used to be barefoot, but lately I've wanted to find a pair of shoes to wear. But my feet sweat so much that I can't wear ordinary shoes. I heard that you have a pair of dragon-beard boots that are a treasure, so I came to ask for them! Don't worry, if they fit my feet, I will definitely give them to you in vain. I will exchange my treasure with you."

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King ordered his men to take out the precious boots and said, "It takes a hundred dragon whiskers to make a pair of these dragon whisker boots. A dragon needs to change its whiskers once every thousand years, and it can only shed two whiskers at a time. There is only one pair of these in the Three Realms. These boots are not afraid of water or fire, and can be made larger or smaller according to the shape of a person's feet. If a person wears them, crossing mountains and rivers is as easy as walking on flat ground. They are indeed a treasure. I just don't know if they are comfortable to wear. If the immortal likes them, please try them." After he finished speaking, the shrimp soldiers and crab generals had already held the precious boots and put them on the barefoot immortal. The precious boots were indeed as expected. The barefoot immortal had a big foot, so the precious boots also became much bigger, and they were just right for him. The barefoot immortal took two steps to the left and two steps to the right in the dragon whisker boots, and ran around the Dragon Palace several times, which was just a blink of an eye. Looking back, the boots were already full of sweat.

The barefoot immortal smiled helplessly and said, "These dragon-beard boots really are water-tight, but they have become a container for stagnant water!"

Seeing this, the Dragon King ordered the shrimp soldiers and crab generals to help the barefoot immortal take off his precious boots. The poor shrimp soldiers and the unlucky crab generals had just taken off their precious boots when they felt a foul odor coming from their noses, which made the shrimp soldiers roll their eyes and the crab generals dizzy. The turtle prime minister shrank back into his turtle shell, and the old Dragon King covered his hooked nose.

Upon seeing this, the barefoot immortal stamped his feet and dug them deep into the mud on the seabed, saying repeatedly, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Ever since I became a golden immortal, I haven't dared to wear shoes for thousands of years, and that's why!"

The Dragon King said, "Great Immortal, I have learned a lot about your magical powers today! It seems that these dragon-beard boots can't help my sweaty feet. Great Immortal, you should look for them somewhere else, maybe there will be something that fits my feet."

The barefoot immortal smiled and said, "I remember when Sun Wukong made trouble in Heaven, all his lucky shoes were given by you old dragon kings. You four sea dragon kings have more treasures! I'm sure there are many precious shoes in the West Sea, South Sea, and North Sea. Why don't you ask them? If you find a suitable one, I will thank you with a generous gift."

The old dragon king had no choice but to beat the drum and ring the bell. In a moment, he summoned the three dragon kings of the sea to see him. They were Ao Run, the dragon king of the West Sea, Ao Shun, the dragon king of the North Sea, and Ao Qin, the dragon king of the South Sea. The three met Ao Guang outside the Dragon Palace and asked, "Brother, why did you beat the drum and ring the bell to summon us?"

Ao Guang said: "It's true that people are afraid of being famous just like pigs are afraid of being fat! Now everyone in the Three Realms knows that there are many treasures in the Dragon Palace. Before, the Monkey King came to ask for weapons and armor, and now here comes the barefoot immortal to ask for shoes."

The three Dragon Kings were surprised when they heard this: "Barefoot Immortal? Doesn't he not wear shoes? Why is he asking for shoes?"

Ao Guang said, "Oh, don't mention it! That guy used to have a problem with sweaty feet, so he never wore shoes before. I don't know why, but now he suddenly has a whim and says he wants to find a pair of precious boots that can be worn even with sweaty feet. Just now, he tried the dragon beard boots in my palace, and when he took them off, he almost killed all the water creatures in my East China Sea! Do you have suitable shoes? Give him a pair and send him away!"

The Dragon King of the West Sea said, "I originally had a pair of lotus silk cloud-walking shoes, but I gave them to the monkey last time."

The Dragon King of the South China Sea said, "If you want pearls, agates, amber, jade, corals, emeralds, and the like, I have plenty, but I don't have any shoes."

The Dragon King of the North Sea said, "I do have a pair of thousand-year-old ice silk boots. They are made of thousand-year-old ice silk. They are warm in winter and cool in summer, and they absorb sweat and allow for ventilation. They are specially designed to treat sweaty feet. Why not offer these boots to the immortal? Perhaps they will suit his taste."

Ao Guang said quickly, "Okay, okay! Then I'll have to trouble you, my dear brother, to have someone bring it here quickly."

The Four Seas Dragon King presented the thousand-year-old ice silk boots to the Barefoot Immortal and said, "These ice silk boots are the treasure of the North Sea. They are as thin as cicada wings, breathable, cool, sweat-absorbent, and strong. It can be said that they combine the advantages of all shoes in the world. There is no better pair of shoes than these. You may as well give them a try, Immortal!"

Unexpectedly, the barefoot immortal took one look and shook his head, saying, "No! No! It's not suitable!" The Dragon King said, "Immortal, you haven't even tried it yet, how do you know it's not suitable?"

The barefoot immortal said, "These shoes are too thin and too transparent! I want boots that cover my feet. Wouldn't it be the same as not wearing any shoes?" The four sea dragon kings were at a loss when they heard this. Because these dragon kings lived in the Dragon Palace and Water Palace all year round and rarely had the opportunity to go to the heaven, they had never seen his original black feet before. So although they felt that his feet were a little strange now, they couldn't figure out what was strange for a while, and didn't understand why he had to cover his feet. So they asked in confusion, "Why do you have to cover your feet?"

The barefoot immortal blushed immediately and was not willing to talk to them, so he said, "Oh, forget it! Forget it! Since you don't have anyone suitable here, I'll look somewhere else." After that, he used his magic power to release the sea, leaving the four dragon kings looking at each other in bewilderment.

The barefoot immortal was not able to find his shoes and was in a very low mood. He didn't know where to go after going out to sea, so he just lay on the beach in a daze. He saw a group of men, women, old and young, playing barefoot on the beach. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind, thinking that it would be better to change others instead of wronging himself. Thinking of this, he immediately came up with a plan, flew back to heaven on a cloud, and went to find the celestial being Lingmeng, saying that he promised to teach her his unique immortal method, but there was a condition.

That day, Ling Meng asked, "What are the conditions?"

The barefoot immortal whispered something in her ear, and Ling Meng screamed, "Ah! Isn't this asking me to be a servant girl?"

The barefoot immortal said, "How can you say I am a maid? If you want to learn my Shenzu Sutra, you must understand the meridians on the feet. If you want to understand, you must practice. Otherwise, how can you practice well? It's just like a doctor learning medical skills. You have to practice constantly."

Ling Meng heard this and nodded, not quite understanding, "It seems to make sense."

The barefoot immortal quickly struck while the iron was hot and said, "Young man, don't be afraid of hardship! As the saying goes, only those who endure the most hardship can become the best. I can guarantee that as long as you are determined to study hard with me, sooner or later you will be able to achieve the Daluo Jinxian and become the supreme being in the heavens!" Ling Meng was immediately attracted by the bright prospects described by the barefoot immortal. With a firm look in her eyes, she looked at the barefoot immortal and said, "Okay, I promise you!"

In this way, the barefoot immortal successfully received his first female disciple and taught her the Divine Foot Sutra. Soon, Ling Meng mastered the essence of it, and her feet became as white as jade. When the other fairies in the heaven saw it, they were extremely envious and begged Ling Meng to help them to become the barefoot immortal's apprentice. In this way, more and more celestial beings worshipped the barefoot immortal as their master. Even the most beautiful woman in the heaven, such as the fairy Chang'e, did not want to lose her title of the most beautiful woman in the heaven because her feet were not as beautiful as others, so she worshipped the barefoot immortal as her master. The barefoot immortal was finally able to implement his plan.

On this day, the barefoot immortal came to the heavenly library again, gathered a group of young immortals, and said: "You younger immortals, you only know how to practice and work all day long. This is not good, you must learn to enjoy life. Put down the books in your hands, today I will take you to relax."

A fairy in the crowd said, "Didn't the Great Fairy say before that we fairies should work hard and practice, and not indulge in pleasure? Why has it changed now?"

The barefoot immortal frowned and said, "You are a stupid and ignorant little immortal. You really don't know how to adapt. Relaxing after work and practice is for us to better devote ourselves to future work and practice." The younger fairies were speechless after being refuted and had to follow the barefoot immortal.

The barefoot immortal brought a group of small immortals to the outside of his newly built mansion and pointed at the magnificent building and asked, "How is it? Is it magnificent enough?"

When the fairies saw it, they all said, "It's really big and magnificent. I wonder where this is?"

The barefoot immortal said, "Take off your shoes, and you will know after you go in."

A bunch of fairies were surprised and asked, "Why do you have to take off your shoes?"

The barefoot immortal asked, "When you visit someone's home, do you have to wear shoes?"

The fairies said, "We are still 500 meters away from here. We haven't even touched the gate yet, how can we say we are home?"

The barefoot immortal said, "If you come to my place, you must take off your shoes after 500 meters."

The fairies had no choice but to take off their shoes and walk in barefoot. After walking for a while, they finally arrived at the gate of the mansion. They saw a large plaque hanging above the gate with the two characters "足道" written on it. Someone who had been waiting for them led them in one by one and asked them to lie on the jade bed. Then the goddesses came to wash their feet and massage them to dredge their meridians. The goddesses not only washed their feet clean and white, but also used foot massage techniques to make these fairies who worked too hard on weekdays feel exhausted, as if they were reborn. The fairies had never enjoyed such a good life before, and they begged the barefoot fairy to come here often.

The Barefoot Immortal smiled and said, "I feel the most sorry for you younger generations. Actually, there are no other rules for coming to my place. You just have to take off your shoes after you are 500 meters away when you come, and you can put your shoes on after you are 500 meters away when you leave."

All the fairies nodded and replied: "How difficult is that? We must abide by the rules!"

In this way, more and more gods came to the foot massage parlor of the barefoot immortal every day. From a distance, you can see gods with bare white feet walking towards the foot massage parlor one after another, and then walking out with bare white feet one after another. No one paid attention to the barefoot immortal's feet anymore. Gradually, even many old gods in the heaven joined in and ran to the foot massage parlor from time to time. Among them, two were the most diligent. Who do you think they were? The first one was Nezha the Third Prince. It turned out that the guy had a dry and cracked sole problem because he always flew around on the wind-fire wheel. Since he went to the foot massage parlor of the barefoot immortal, this problem has been cured. Another one is Marshal Tianpeng. He simply likes to be with beautiful women, so he comes here whenever he has time. After experiencing this foot massage hall, all the gods in heaven praised it highly. Therefore, the barefoot immortal got a nickname, and everyone respectfully called him "the ancestor of foot massage."

There was only one person who was not very happy, and that was Taishang Laojun. In the past, there was only one person in the heaven who was called the ancestor, and that person was called "Taishang Daozu". Now, a barefoot immortal suddenly appeared, and he was called the ancestor by using such a despicable method as "foot massage". How could the barefoot immortal's methods be compared with his? The more Taishang Laojun thought about it, the angrier he became. It just so happened that at this time, his favorite disciple, Marshal Tianpeng, had drunk a few more glasses of wine at the Peach Banquet and was so bold that he actually flirted with Chang'e in the foot massage hall. Chang'e was unwilling to be humiliated and reported it to the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor was furious and wanted to kill Tianpeng. It was only thanks to Taibai Jinxing's intercession that he was spared. It was a pity that Tianpeng was beaten with two thousand hammers and demoted to the lower world, and was mistakenly reborn as a pig. It was really pitiful! Laozi was furious and ignored the dissuasion of the Taoist children. He came to the foot massage parlor shouting and wanted to find the barefoot immortal to argue.

Seeing that he was scolding him, the barefoot master was not willing to give in and shouted, "Where did you come from, old man? How dare you wear shoes to enter my foot massage parlor?"

Taishang Laojun scolded: "You shorty, why are you doing such a cheap foot massage? How dare you call it a foot massage parlor? You are simply defiling the word Taoism!"

The barefoot immortal said, "What do you know? Taoism is in everything in the world, and footwork is also Taoism! It's just that your practice is still shallow and it's difficult for you to comprehend it."

When the Supreme Lord heard this, he was about to break the stick that he was pointing at the barefoot immortal. He gritted his teeth and said, "I am the founder of Taoism. How dare you say that I am shallow in Taoism. Well, well, today I will let you experience what the real Taoism is." After saying this, the Supreme Lord threw the whisk in his hand and hit the barefoot immortal on the forehead. The barefoot immortal was not to be outdone and threw the cattail leaf fan in his hand. The two magic weapons collided in the air, each showing its divine power. The immortals in the Foot Dojo had never seen such a scene before, and their eyes widened. Some said, "We should go and persuade them." Some said, "Are you going to die? These two are both Daluo Jinxian. This is a real fight between immortals. Can we stop them? It's better to hide aside!" Just as the immortals were discussing, the two people fighting above had intensified. The Supreme Lord threw out the diamond bracelet, and the barefoot immortal untied his belt. One of them was waving a palm leaf fan that he usually used to make alchemy and burn fire, and was about to smash it. The other took off his false teeth and threw them as hidden weapons. The heaven was shaken and the ghosts and gods cried. It was not until the supervising spirit officer reported to the Jade Emperor that the two immortals stopped.

At this point, the two had become enemies, and quarrels and fights between them had become commonplace.

(End of this chapter)