Donghuang Ziji

Chapter 921 Sun Wukong Rebels Against Heaven

"This monkey actually started eating right away."

Chu Tai couldn't help but laugh as he watched Sun Wukong devour his food.

"That monkey is naturally like that. Since it was a child, it has loved pure and spiritual things. Now that its Dao nature is perfected, its natural nature has reappeared, and its inner light has emerged. Naturally, it will not restrain itself. When it sees something it wants to eat, it will eat it."

Chu Tai nodded at the Heavenly Emperor's reply: "This monkey has been wild since childhood. Although he was guided by Fellow Daoist Bodhi and understood the etiquette of respecting teachers and valuing the Way, he has not yet understood the role of order and rules in society and interpersonal relationships. Previously, he obeyed the Heavenly Rules because of his respect for you and his desire to befriend those around him, not because he wanted to. In terms of cultivation, suppressing oneself in this way is not a good thing."

"That's true. By letting go of his inhibitions and consuming the peaches of immortality, his cultivation level has advanced further. Now, he's not much inferior to me."

Chu Tai sighed with emotion, and the Heavenly Emperor added, "His mindset will be even more effective when facing the Heavenly Demon."

"Too."

Chu Tai nodded. The Path of the Heavenly Demon inherently includes the changes of the seven emotions and six desires, so one naturally needs to be extremely careful when facing its influence.

People like Chu Tai are completely enveloped by the Dao Fruit; their joy and laughter, their sorrow and tears, are all under their control. They simply don't deliberately suppress their emotions, which is one way of dealing with it.

Sun Wukong is like this: he eats when he wants to eat and sleeps when he wants to sleep. Eating and sleeping are both out of his own nature, and it is also a way of dealing with things.

In fact, Sun Wukong's interactions with the Heavenly Demon are even more interesting.

Before Chu Tai and the others made their move, there might have been some subtle signs that the Heavenly Demons could sense. But Sun Wukong couldn't sense them at all. He might have had the thought even after he had already made his move.

It can be said that Sun Wukong is a demon-slaying sage specifically designed to target heavenly demons.

“With such cultivation and such ability, I won’t be able to stop him if he starts causing trouble. I’ll just stand by and help clear away the turbid energy. You can handle what’s in front of him.”

Chu Tai's words made the Heavenly Emperor shake his head and laugh, "You know, although this monkey is powerful, your supernatural powers are still above it, and even your lion cub has the ability to temporarily suppress it."

"Yes, my lion cub is also capable of suppressing him, but that's when he's not wielding the golden cudgel. After this ordeal, the cudgel in his hand has become even stronger. If I go down to fight him, I might just unleash the true power within him."

Chu Tai paused for a moment, then slowly said, "I have no interest in being beaten up by a Monkey King who has one foot in the first rank, and who is also a monkey full of anger."

"Then let us trouble the Buddha to come again."

While Chu Tai was communicating with the Heavenly Emperor, Sun Wukong had also ruined a lot of the peaches in the Peach Garden.

Unlike the Sun Wukong in Chu Tai's memory who intentionally deceived, the current Sun Wukong knows he has done wrong and is willing to report it, explaining his problem of embezzlement.

But when Sun Wukong ate too many peaches, his vital energy surged, which helped him break through his original realm, but also made him drowsy and fall asleep under the tree.

When the others discovered it, they were already surrounded by many guardian spirits, divine generals, and powerful warriors.

When Sun Wukong tried to explain, many people who already disliked him began to criticize him.

In the past, Sun Wukong would have cared about what these people thought, but now that his cultivation had broken through and his true nature had returned, he was at his most unruly. Hearing the angry curses, he became enraged and attacked. In a few rounds, he knocked down the surrounding gods, warriors, and guardian spirits. Then, he turned around and fled back to the mortal world.

Sun Wukong's actions this time have angered many people. Although this world is not as dark as the Shangqing world or the period after the Journey to the West, the power left by the Heavenly Demon still affects the gods and immortals of this world.

Peaches of immortality are among the few spiritual roots in the world that can directly suppress or even purify turbid energy, making them an essential item for many immortals in their cultivation.

Now that they had been completely devoured by Sun Wukong, they were naturally furious and submitted petitions demanding severe punishment.

The Heavenly Emperor issued a decree, ordering the Four Heavenly Kings to cooperate with Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, and Nezha and his son. He also personally appointed the Four Duty Officers, the Five Directions Protectors, the Twelve Earthly Branches, the Nine Luminaries, the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Thirty-Six Thunder Gods, and the gods of the Five Sacred Mountains and Four Rivers, each leading over 100,000 soldiers, to set up eighteen nets to surround Flower Fruit Mountain.

Yellow winds rolled in, obscuring the sky and darkening the earth; purple mists rose and shrouded the ground in gloom.

As the net of heaven and earth descended, the stars appeared in broad daylight, their light scattered and intertwined, as if weaving a net across the sky. Countless starlight guided the order of heaven and earth, forming an enormous cage that swayed and fell.

Furthermore, the power of the gods and lords of the heavens is also enhanced, and concepts such as destiny, cause and effect, life and death, good and evil, and order are constantly intertwined with the net, covering the void layer by layer, encompassing everything, and cutting off the possibility of the creatures in Flower Fruit Mountain leaving.

Meanwhile, in the East China Sea, numerous water gods and sea gods, in conjunction with the earth gods, mobilized the earth's veins, energy veins, and water veins, driving ocean currents, air currents, and water currents to intertwine and flow together, forming a dense spider web that enveloped Huaguo Mountain layer by layer.

It naturally includes the divine power of many mountain and water deities, and even the blessings of the gods of the underworld, which intertwine all matter, life, and breath.

This eliminated all possibility of escaping Flower Fruit Mountain by using the Five Elements to create a transformation.

These changes were imperceptible to the monkeys around Sun Wukong, while the demon kings of the seventy-two caves could only vaguely sense that something was amiss.

Only Sun Wukong could see the terrifying nature of the eighteen-sided net before him.

At the same time, he also saw the essence of these inescapable nets: they were the embodiment of the order of the Heavenly Emperor who reigned high above the nine heavens, ruling over the three realms, six paths, and ten directions; they were the combination of all cause and effect, destiny, energy, and matter in the entire world.

Through the Heavenly Net, Sun Wukong also understood some of the Heavenly Emperor's thoughts.

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is. My whole life has been dragged forward by you?"

Sun Wukong laughed wildly, looking like a madman, and swung his golden cudgel fiercely towards the heavens.

Its unwavering will, tinged with rage, even pierced the heavens and disrupted the jade tassels on the Heavenly Emperor's crown.

"How brave!"

Upon seeing this, the gods and immortals who had descended to earth were furious and, while rebuking them, each used their own methods.

In an instant, the Thunder God struck his chisel, the Wind Goddess fanned the wind, the Lightning Goddess raised her mirror, the Rain Master waved his fan, the Star Lord struck his chime, and the Nine Luminaries shone brightly... Under the layers of supernatural powers, even Sun Wukong was forcibly defeated.

As soon as he stood still, thirty-six more thunder gods unleashed their power simultaneously. In an instant, lightning danced wildly, silver snakes raged, and in the void, thunder spells such as Jade Pivot Thunder, Jade Palace Thunder, Heavenly Divination Jade Pillar Thunder, Upper Clarity Great Cave Thunder, Fire Wheel Thunder, Watering Dipper Thunder, Wind and Fire Thunder, Flying Swift Thunder, and Arctic Thunder intertwined, creating a thunder net beneath the Heavenly Net.

Following this, the twelve Heavenly Thunder Gods, including Shenxiao Thunder God, Wufang Thunder God, Xingyu Thunder God, Xingfeng Thunder God, Xingyun Thunder God, the twelve Earthly Thunder Gods, including Zhengshan Thunder God, Faxie Thunder God, Sheling Thunder God, the twelve Human Thunder Gods, including Shouwen Thunder God, Shedu Thunder God, and Chuhai Thunder God, appeared, cooperating with the thirty-six Thunder Gods to perform the Thunder Prison.

Countless silver and thunder dragons, as thick as dragons and with heads and tails, roamed everywhere, filling the void.

Sun Wukong's expression changed slightly. Just as he was about to use his abilities, the four officials in charge of the year, month, day, and hour, along with the twelve Yuan Chen (twelve earthly branches) including Shenhou, Daji, Gongcao, Taichong, Tiangang, Taiyi, Shengguang, Xiaoji, Chuansong, Congkui, Hekui, and Dengming, stood in the void, and a sun crown appeared in the void.

As this object manifested, Sun Wukong felt that the time sequence around him was distorted, and his own time was being affected.

The twelve Earthly Branches shone brightly, leaving shadows on the sun's corona that seemed to change in an instant, yet remained eternally still. The four Duty Officers stepped forward and recorded the events in a chaotic manner. The originally smooth flow of time suddenly exhibited impossible situations such as advancing, reversing, pausing, and jumping.

Such a situation would not normally occur, since all living beings need the help of time to stabilize order.

However, now that Huaguo Mountain is bound by the Heavenly Net, the order of this area has been established, which is why the Four Duty Officers and the Twelve Yuan Chen have the basis to take action.

Under their influence, Sun Wukong could still maintain his physical transformation, but his monkey followers, the seventy-two demon kings of the caves, and their soldiers could not withstand it. Some were transformed into infants, some aged instantly, and some even died in the underworld. Sun Wukong's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You are utterly shameless! It's one thing for us to engage in a magical duel, but you actually dared to attack them directly?"

Sun Wukong's body swirled with light, his golden hairs danced wildly in the wind, and with a swing of his golden cudgel, the sun's corona shattered instantly, turning into a sky full of flowing light.

The sequence of events was disrupted for a moment, then a void appeared. The four duty officers looked surprised and tried to stabilize it, while the twelve earthly branches were terrified and dodged left and right.

But as soon as the sixteen gods of time began to move, the golden cudgel fell again, turning them all into ashes.

"not good!"

Upon seeing this, the gods outside the world showed expressions of horror. As the Four Duty Officers and the Twelve Earthly Branches fell, the order of time immediately broke through the entire world, and the operation of the Heavenly Net and Earthly Net also paused for a moment.

The thirty-six thunder gods and thirty-six thunder officials all took action, attempting to first suppress Sun Wukong and then reshape the Dharma bodies of the sixteen gods in charge of time.

But Sun Wukong was furious at the moment, how could he tolerate it? He swung his golden cudgel continuously, shattering the thunder cage. The other gods tried to stop him, but the golden cudgel he was polishing only became more and more dazzling, and in the darkness, a trace of true treasure light seemed to emerge.

As the Heavenly Net shattered, Chu Tai, back in his Qingxuan Mansion, leisurely took out the Green Branch, shook it casually, chanted incantations, and silently drew power from the Eastern Emperor Bell.

The sweet dew fell to the ground, the water shimmered, the mist rose, the blue lotus bloomed, and the four duty officers and the twelve earthly branches manifested one after another.

The newly formed Four Duty Officers hurriedly bowed to Chu Tai: "This humble god thanks Your Majesty for your benevolent grace in casting your spell to save us."

Chu Tai raised his hand, signaling the four duty officers to step aside, and said gently, "You should exercise your divine authority to stabilize the universe and restore order. Do not let the Great Sage Equaling Heaven's wrath disrupt the order of the Three Realms and Six Paths."

The twelve Yuan Chen who then awoke also bowed and were escorted to the side by him, where he gave them careful instructions.

Then the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Thirty-Six Thunder Gods, and the gods of the Five Sacred Mountains and Four Rivers all manifested before Chu Tai, and he asked them to return to their respective places to take charge.

One of the thirty-six thunder gods looked at Chu Tai with some worry and said, "Your Majesty, Sun Wukong has already torn apart the Heavenly Net, and only the Nine Luminaries Star Lord is left to stop him. It won't be long before he attacks the heavens. We need to return to the Heavenly Palace quickly to protect Your Majesty."

The words seemed to have a hidden meaning, and Chu Tai's face darkened slightly, knowing that the other party had misunderstood his thoughts. However, he acted quickly, waving a green branch to stop the Thunder God, and then shook off the sweet dew to restore his energy. He slowly said, "Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun has been waiting for a long time in the Lingxiao Palace. You don't need to worry."

As he spoke, Chu Tai flicked his finger, and a water mirror appeared, reflecting the scene inside the Heavenly Palace.

The Nine Luminaries fought and retreated with Sun Wukong, step by step back to the outside of the Lingxiao Palace. During this time, all the celestial beings made their moves, and the gods and generals of each palace manifested one by one, but they were all easily killed by Sun Wukong.

It wasn't until outside the Lingxiao Palace that Wang Lingguan and Erlang Shen stepped forward, their oppressive aura finally suppressing Sun Wukong's attack.

Surrounded by a bloody aura and a murderous intent soaring to the sky, with celestial soldiers and generals appearing indistinctly all around, as numerous as mountains and seas, Sun Wukong looked up and saw the valiant celestial general holding a three-pointed double-edged sword and leading a black slender dog, as well as the divine general beside him wearing golden armor and holding a thunder whip. He sneered, "Isn't this Erlang Shen and Wang Lingguan? What, is there no one left in the Heavenly Realm? You two have to take action."

Wang Lingguan remained silent, while Erlang Shen sighed and said, "I don't want to fight you, much less join forces with others to suppress you. But since we meet on the battlefield today, these words are superfluous; let's see what we've got!"

After speaking, the third eye on his forehead opened, and a ray of golden light appeared, illuminating the past, present, and future.

Sun Wukong felt a little wary and quickly dodged. The Celestial Hound appeared out of nowhere and almost bit his calf.

Then, Wang Lingguan brandished his thunder whip, sparks flying everywhere. Each spark exploded in the void, producing a new thunder whip that surrounded Sun Wukong.

But Sun Wukong knew that these thunder whips were just illusions, not real ones; the real killing move was still from Erlang Shen.

That day, Tianmu observed Sun Wukong's many transformations, and Wang Lingguan cooperated to suppress Sun Wukong. With the Crescent Bow hidden behind them, once Sun Wukong revealed a flaw, his vital energy would be scattered, making it difficult for him to transform for the time being.

But Sun Wukong could not escape. As the upheaval in the Heavenly Palace subsided, the gods from all directions manifested and came toward the Heavenly Court.

Guanyin of the South Sea stood on the cloud and said to Laozi, "Although Erlang Shen is able to defeat Sun Wukong, this monkey is very powerful and skilled in transformation. I'm afraid we can't capture him in a short time. Why don't we throw down my jade bottle and hit the monkey? Even if we don't kill him, we can at least make him stagger so that you can catch him."

Upon hearing this, Laozi laughed and said, "This matter is originally a matter of my Heavenly Court. How can we trouble the Bodhisattva to take action? Besides, your jade bottle is made of porcelain. If you hit it accurately, it's fine, but if you hit the Golden Cudgel, it will shatter."

Laozi's words were not unfounded. The golden cudgel embodied Sun Wukong's true Dao and was of the highest rank. Although Guanyin's jade bottle was powerful, its quality was slightly inferior, and it was not a hard object. If the two collided, it was hard to say whether the jade bottle would be intact.

Most importantly, now is not the time to stimulate the inner power of the Golden Cudgel to continue to awaken. Laozi then took out the Diamond Bracelet from his sleeve and threw it down, hitting Sun Wukong on the head and causing him to fall. The Howling Celestial Dog then bit his calf, preventing him from escaping.

Erlang Shen and Wang Lingguan rushed forward and used magic to bind it with golden ropes and immortal chains, preventing it from continuing to transform.

(End of this chapter)