Donghuang Ziji

Chapter 917 Wukong Breaks the Stubborn Void

The nine-headed green lion was born when Chu Tai gathered the nine qi from the Qingyun Chariot and used his golden elixir to activate his spirituality. His cultivation was not inferior to those cultivators who had practiced hard for tens of millions of years. It was comparable to a third-grade cultivator, so naturally his speed was not slow.

When entering the Lingxiao Palace, he happened to see several immortals reporting on the chaos left behind by Sun Wukong when he left the Heavenly Palace, and they all talked about how to deal with it.

The Emperor above remained silent until Chu Tai entered, then he smiled and said, "The Emperor is here too? I guess you also know what happened today, why don't you tell me how to deal with it?"

Chu Tai looked at the immortals below, and one of them stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Horse Master left his post without permission and violated the Heavenly Law. He should be severely punished, otherwise where is the Heavenly Majesty?"

An immortal nearby looked at Chu Tai and knew that although the emperor rode a nine-headed lion, his aura was pure and peaceful, and he was obviously not a person who liked to kill. So he stepped forward and said, "Emperor, Sun Wukong is just a demon immortal from the lower world. He doesn't know etiquette and doesn't know the importance of things. If we mobilize a large army for him, we will not be able to show the power of the heaven. Why don't we be merciful and give him another chance?"

Chu Tai did not respond when he heard this. Instead, he glanced at the Flower-Fruit Mountain on earth, then turned back to the Emperor of Heaven and said, "I thought you wanted me to be a witness, but I never thought you wanted me to get involved in such a mundane matter. You have clearly made your decision, so why drag me into this?"

As they were talking, Qianliyan and Shunfenger came to report that there was a tall pole erected on the Flower-Fruit Mountain, with a flag on the pole with four big characters "The Great Sage Equaling Heaven" written on it.

Upon hearing this, the Heavenly King Li, who was standing in front of the group of gods and immortals below, immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this demon is ignorant of the height of heaven and earth, and presumptuously claims to be a master. I am an incompetent official, so please allow me to subdue this evil spirit."

The Emperor did not answer, but looked at Chu Tai and asked, "What do you think, Emperor?"

"It's up to you to decide."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor of Heaven immediately appointed Tota-Bearing Heavenly King Li as the Great Marshal of Subduing Demons, and appointed Nezha as the Great God of the Three Altars and Sea Assembly, and ordered all the gods to cooperate with Li Tianwang to go down to the mortal world to subdue demons.

Although Li Tianwang was given a higher title and ordered to subdue demons, there were many emperors in the heavenly army, so he did not dare to act on his own, so he summoned the Four Heavenly Kings, the Giant Spirit, the various spiritual officials, the Four Guardians, and the Nine Stars Officials.

During this time, Chu Tai called Nezha and said, "The monkey's teacher is no small matter, and his methods are not ordinary. You must not be careless when fighting him."

After saying that, he took out an illusory five-colored peacock feather from his sleeve, handed it to Nezha and said, "If you fall for his tricks, throw this thing out and take him down."

All the immortals and gods present were extraordinary. They could tell at a glance that the peacock feather given by Chu Tai was extraordinary. It was condensed from the essence of the five elements of the pre-natal and post-natal. All changes of the five elements of the pre-natal and post-natal would be affected.

After Nezha kowtowed to express his gratitude, he followed his father out of the South Heaven Gate and arrived at the Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Meanwhile, in the Heavenly Palace, an immortal had cast a spell to project the scene from the lower world into the Lingxiao Palace.

Seeing that Li Tianwang asked the giant spirit to test the waters first, the Emperor looked at Chu Tai and said, "Daoyou, what do you think of this situation?"

Chu Tai looked around and saw that no one noticed what the Emperor said, so he realized that the other party was chatting with him privately.

Therefore, Chu Tai was too lazy to continue pretending to be interested in the subsequent story and said bluntly: "Your Majesty already knew about the subsequent changes, so why ask me?"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor of Heaven asked again, pointing at the Giant Spirit God, "So what do you think of this god?"

Hearing this, Chu Tai immediately understood that the Emperor of Heaven was not referring to the battle below whose outcome had already been determined, but something else.

Chu Tai looked at the giant spirit. That general was tall, more than ten feet tall, wearing divine armor and holding a Xuanhua axe. His eyes were gleaming with brilliance, shining like a sun furnace, and endless divine light was flowing away.

"No! Why is the aura in this light a bit turbid?"

After staring at the giant spirit's eyes for a while, Chu Tai narrowed his eyes slightly and asked in surprise, "This giant spirit is not a single god, but countless less impure spirits gathered under the concept of the giant spirit?"

After saying that, Chu Tai looked back at the Emperor of Heaven and whispered, "You want to guide those spirits to be good in this way? Aren't you afraid of destroying the position of the Giant Spirit God?"

"What do you think the Giant Spirit is, fellow Daoist?"

Chu Tai was stunned for a moment when he heard this. The Emperor of Heaven whispered, "The Giant Spirit God was originally the Lost God. He was originally the God of moving mountains and opening rivers. However, as time passed, his legend, power, and status continued to diverge. He gained the position of River God by opening up the river, which was gathered in the hands of the Yellow River God. The power of moving mountains was lost as the mountain gods of various places took their positions. The legend of opening mountains was also divided by other immortals, and part of it fell into the hands of Erlang Shen and his nephew."

"Now, the only powers left for the Giant Spirit God are those related to strength, power, and physique."

"When I found him, his divine authority was already difficult to establish, but he still insisted on his own pioneering ideas. Therefore, I gathered many spiritualities in him and gave him the position of a heavenly general, allowing him to travel between the human world, coordinate the movement of mountains and the diversion of rivers, and benefit the human world."

"On the one hand, this move is to hope that the perseverance of the giant spirit and the gradual improvement of the way of development can guide those dead souls to good. On the other hand, it is also for the stability of the giant spirit's status, so that he can gradually improve his way of development by leading the dead souls to good."

“The two complement each other.”

After saying this, the Emperor of Heaven pointed to the many turbid spiritual lights on the body of the Giant Spirit, which gradually faded away from their filth and revealed their true nature during their repeated battles with Sun Wukong. During this period, most of the filth disappeared in the battle between the Giant Spirit and Sun Wukong, and a small part gathered on him as Sun Wukong's emotions changed.

Chu Tai's eyes widened and he asked, "How could this be?"

"Why not?"

The Emperor of Heaven asked back, pointing in the direction of Sun Wukong: "Why not take a look at the nature of this monkey head."

Chu Tai looked and discovered that after seven years of training in Fangcun Mountain, Sun Wukong's essence had undergone obvious changes. With the help of the Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hand, a faint but real immortal nature was condensed.

This nature can’t be destroyed by a thousand disasters, can’t be destroyed by ten thousand calamities, it’s neither born nor destroyed, and it’s eternal and free. Even if it’s polluted so much that all the immortals and gods are powerless, for this nature, it’s just a little wind and frost, and it’s difficult to erode its nature.

"Is this the first-grade true way? No, it should not be completely perfect. It seems that it needs the help of the Ruyi Jingu Bang to be completely perfect, just like the banana fan and the Bagua furnace in the hands of Taishang Laojun. Only when they are combined can they be a first-grade treasure. But this characteristic is real..."

Chu Tai felt something in his heart and looked at Sun Wukong below, with some thought in his eyes.

"So, this is why you keep repeating this history? You are using his characteristics to eliminate filth and guide all beings to goodness?"

Chu Tai carefully recalled the Journey to the West stories he knew. No matter how future generations evaluated it, Journey to the West was originally a story that persuaded people to be good. From a certain perspective, what the Emperor of Heaven did at this moment was also in line with the essence of this story.

The Emperor glanced at Chu Tai, as if he saw his problem, and a hint of emotion appeared in his eyes.

"The fellow in the cycle of reincarnation should have told you that he has persisted until now. No matter how many times it repeats, no matter how much darkness and suffering he witnesses, as long as sentient beings remain kind, he will never feel tired or sad."

"The same is true for the monkey head."

"Well, let me think about it. When he broke through the stubbornness and knew the truth, what did he ask me..."

The Emperor of Heaven fell into deep thought, and then the voice of Sun Wukong came from his mouth.

"Old Heavenly Emperor, you sit in the Sky Palace day and night, experiencing countless disasters, but you are powerless to destroy all living beings. Don't you feel tired? To all living beings, you are just doing useless work, just like pushing a rock up a mountain. Every time before reaching the top of the mountain, the rock will roll down, and this cycle will repeat endlessly."

After saying this, the Emperor of Heaven’s tone changed and returned to his original state: “Watching all living beings do good, why are you tired?”

"Well, that should be the sentence. The monkey asked me to help him, and then he sat in front of me and gave up the fruit of his ten thousand years of hard work, and merged it into the Ruyi Golden Cudgel. From then on, in countless worlds, as long as this monkey worshipped Fangcun Mountain, cultivated the Great Heavenly Immortal Art, and then took the golden cudgel, he would be blessed by the fruit of the Tao, and continue to practice. Then, when the world was destroyed, generation after generation, he would give up the fruit of the Tao and merge it into the golden cudgel, and finally create the Sun Wukong in front of you."

"His existence also makes me more interested in the current changes in Journey to the West. Maybe next time, another person will wake up and become the new Sun Wukong?"

After hearing this, Chu Tai was silent for a long time, then he stood up and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, please have mercy on me, Great Saint, please have mercy on me."

The Emperor waved his hand, hiding the perception of the immortals and gods around him, not letting them focus on this place, and smiled: "This is not mercy on my part, I am just fulfilling my duty as the Emperor of Heaven. As for that monkey head, I didn't expect him to persist until now and become a great help in sweeping out the filth among us."

"It's a pity that he is only a living being in the Taiqing world after all. If he wants to achieve the first-class truth you mentioned, he still needs a lot of time to polish himself."

After saying that, the Emperor pointed at the battle below and said, "The Giant Spirit God did well this time. He lasted two more moves than the last time. It seems that the spiritual power gathered in his body this time is more adept at fighting, and his way of opening up should have improved a little, so he was able to find a flaw in the monkey head. Next, I wonder if Nezha can make a breakthrough."

At the same time as the Emperor of Heaven spoke, Nezha rescued the giant spirit whose Xuanhua axe was broken and went to meet Sun Wukong.

With Chu Tai's previous reminder and the previous temptation from the giant spirit, Nezha did not dare to be careless when facing Sun Wukong. Two heads grew on both sides of his neck, facing three directions. He waved his hands, which turned into six arms, wielding the demon-slaying sword, demon-chopping knife, demon-binding rope, demon-subduing pestle, embroidered ball, and fire wheel, and used many methods to besiege Sun Wukong.

Wukong was frightened when he saw this, and he turned his body and also turned into a three-headed, six-armed being. His golden cudgel swung in the air and split into three, which were then held by six hands to block the many attacks that were coming down on him.

The many changes of the golden hoop seem simple, but it actually contains infinite changes, allowing the three sticks to easily defend against many attacks from all around.

After several battles, Nezha realized that Sun Wukong's methods were not simply transformation techniques. He threw out the demon-binding rope to bind Sun Wukong, and when Sun Wukong dodged, he stretched out his hand and pulled the air hard. A red silk flew out of the void and danced in the air like a dragon.

With a turn of the wrist, the red silk rolled up, covering the sky and turning it into a dark red. The fire wheel turned, burning with blazing golden flames like the scorching sun, emitting golden flames all over the sky, burning in all directions along the red silk.

"it is good!"

The Emperor of Heaven clapped his hands, looked at Chu Tai and said with a smile: "Daoyou is indeed a variable. As soon as you came, this child sensed some information from other time periods and gradually took back his treasures in those heavens and earth. If he can go further, he can become the second Sun Wukong."

Chu Tai did not answer when he heard this. He looked at Nezha below and knew that things were not that simple.

The essence of Sun Wukong has far surpassed Nezha. Even if Nezha can slightly escape the influence of the current time period because of his own existence, it will be difficult for him to compete with Sun Wukong.

The most important thing is that Sun Wukong has already mastered some of the true nature of the Dao, and many illusions cannot be seen through by outsiders.

After he deliberately dropped a hair during the battle and transformed it into his true form, which supported Nezha instead of himself, the outcome became clear.

Seeing Sun Wukong jumping out from the side and swinging his stick at him, Nezha dodged hurriedly. The peacock feather he had collected flew out, and the Five Elements Avenue took shape, transforming into five-colored rays of light that rotated up and down. The overlapping five-colored light circles held the golden hoop and flew left and right. The light circles continued to expand, trying to catch the golden hoop.

Under such threat, Sun Wukong was shocked. He turned his wrist and the golden cudgel started to spin rapidly, breaking free from dozens of light circles. Then he somersaulted to the side and watched the peacock feather in the void gradually dissipate.

Nezha was unable to catch up and saw the peacock feather dissipating, so he could only go back to report to the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li, saying that he was no match for Sun Wukong.

Li Tianwang had already seen the situation clearly. After hearing Nezha's report, he sighed and said, "You have tried your best, but I underestimated the magical power of this monkey. We should not continue to fight him. Let's go to the upper realm to report and let His Majesty make the decision."

As he spoke, Li Tianwang waved his command flag, and the mighty expeditionary army withdrew to the heaven.

Sun Wukong on the Flower-Fruit Mountain looked at the departing heavenly soldiers and generals. Standing on the top of the mountain, he waved the golden cudgel in his hand, but he couldn't find the previous feeling of breaking the peacock feather. He couldn't help feeling a little annoyed.

"I'm sick!"

After cursing under his breath, Sun Wukong returned to the Flower-Fruit Mountain to enjoy a banquet hosted by the other monkeys to celebrate their victory.

Moreover, this banquet also attracted many powerful monsters from the four continents.

When the Heavenly Court sent out heavenly soldiers and generals, they felt something in their hearts and were all cautious and vigilant, fearing that they would become the targets of the Heavenly Court's establishment of authority.

After seeing the Heavenly Army heading towards the Flower-Fruit Mountain, they all breathed a sigh of relief. But then they became nervous again when they sensed the fighting atmosphere coming from the Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Now that the Heavenly Court has been defeated, many demons have begun to think about joining the newly promoted Great Saint of the Demon Clan.

Sun Wukong also accepted everyone who came to him. He recruited those with average cultivation as his subordinates to strengthen the forces of the Seventy-two Demon Kings, and made those with strong cultivation his brothers, or let them fight with the Seventy-two Demon Kings.

Among them, the six most powerful ones are sworn brothers and are collectively called the Great Sages.

(End of this chapter)