“The Heavenly Court has run into trouble this time, have you heard, friend?”
“Of course, I’ve heard. This Handsome Monkey King Sun Wukong, with his innate abilities and divine powers, has fought twelve battles with the Third Prince of the Sea Assembly, Nezha, without either gaining the upper hand! The demon tribes of the Five Continents are in an uproar.”
“Hmph, who would have thought the Heavenly Court would see such a day!”
Oh?
Near the Five Continents, in a great world realm.
Li Changshou, wearing the skin of Old Daoist Virtual Puti and dressed in a dark robe, heard this news at a gathering place for immortals.
Little Nezha fought twelve battles with Wukong. This made no sense.
Li Changshou lifted the tea before him, sniffing it at the tip of his nose, confusion flashing across his eyes.
Could Nezha now contain his killing energy through twelve battles without erupting?
At present, Nezha still possessed the innate Dao body of the human race, and his killing energy had become his hidden trump card in battle. If Nezha went all out, the current Wukong should theoretically be unable to withstand it…
Perhaps he had misjudged Wukong’s strength?
Li Changshou pondered briefly in his heart, secretly casting the Wind Speech Spell, and the conversations from several immortal gathering places within ten thousand miles came flooding in.
His Void-Bright Dao heart suppressed his main body as Li Changshou transformed into an emotionless information processor, gathering as much news as possible about the battles between Nezha and Wukong.
The twelve battles were confirmed to be true, lasting over a month, with fights occurring roughly every three days.
Nezha had used his killing energy, but each time before it could go out of control, he was unable to completely suppress Sun Wukong.
Sun Wukong grew stronger with each battle, and neither could overcome the other;
The Heavenly Court found itself in an awkward position, somewhat unable to advance or retreat. Nezha’s stubborn temperament had emerged, and now he wouldn’t listen to anyone, seeking out the monkey for battle every time he recovered.
This battle truly established the Handsome Monkey King’s reputation.
Because Nezha could gain the upper hand each time, it further proved his abilities, and the name of Third Prince of the Sea Assembly grew increasingly resounding.
Li Changshou couldn’t help but mutter to himself…
Had the Dao Ancestor’s control over the script become so weak? This seemed quite different from the Journey to the West he remembered.
From another perspective, the one in an awkward position was Li Jing, not the Heavenly Court. The Heavenly Court was full of experts, and if the Jade Emperor truly became angry, he could simply command one or two experts with his divine authority to descend and capture the monkey in an instant.
Though Nezha and Sun Wukong were crowned with the title of strongest Golden Immortals, no matter how skilled they were in battle, they couldn’t withstand the fall of magical treasures and the binding of formations.
Li Changshou calculated in his heart as his immortal consciousness slowly spread out, almost covering the entire great world realm.
This place was very close to the Five Continents, naturally having many traces of demon tribes;
Li Changshou quickly found the demon tribe’s ‘stronghold’ and, after a brief investigation, understood how the battle at Flower Fruit Mountain appeared from the demon tribe’s perspective.
‘The demon tribe is finished.’
The battle there had been used by the Dao Ancestor to lure more demon experts to Flower Fruit Mountain, making it the first holy land of the demon tribe, thereby capturing all the remaining ancient vitality of the demon tribe in one net.
The delayed battle…
The evenly matched Nezha and Wukong…
The increasingly excited demon tribe, and the silent Heavenly Court…
In this game of chess, the Dao Ancestor had no opponent and must be quite lonely.
Li Changshou stopped the Wind Speech Spell, used for the first time by ‘Virtual Puti,’ put down his teacup, and left the place.
He was on his way back.
Originally, Li Changshou had timed his return to the Five Continents with Sun Wukong’s second ascension to Heaven to make final preparations.
Though previously warned by the Dao Ancestor not to return to the Five Continents, now that it was time to lay all cards on the table, there was no need for such considerations.
Sometimes in life, one needs to take on certain risks;
The opportunity lay ahead, and he had to take a chance, even if… there was only a 0.02% chance of victory.
Everything that could be done had been done, now it was just a matter of finding the right moment.
Flying out of this great world realm, ‘Virtual Puti’s’ figure gradually disappeared into the void, hiding in the deepest part of space and time, floating at the boundary of the Three Realms and Five Elements, slowly approaching the Five Continents.
Meanwhile, in the Kunpeng Secret Realm, Li Changshou opened his eyes after a long absence, about to show a slight smile of victory, when he suddenly saw…
Uh, why had the interior decorations changed again?
Warm-colored curtains hung everywhere, with bright red wedding characters pasted up.
Li Changshou: …
He was about to face a decisive battle with the Dao Ancestor, yet the rear was forcibly ‘raising flags’—
And it was the cursed black flag of ‘marriage right after defeating the Dao Ancestor’!
Ah, this.
Li Changshou frowned in concentration, steeling his heart to immediately go marry Yun Xiao and Ling E, but then thought that such behavior would be somewhat hasty.
As a Long Life Immortal, the rising star of the primordial chaos, top-tier Great Luo of the world, holder of the Balance Dao, and one of the few beings most feared by Dao Ancestor Hongrun, he couldn’t always be superstitious about his previous life’s ways.
Moreover, Yun Xiao and Ling E hadn’t spoken up about it;
It wasn’t a major problem.
At this moment, the situation in the primordial chaos had indeed reached a critical point, and if he didn’t arrive in time, it could greatly diminish the effect of the final battle.
Destroying the Dao Ancestor wasn’t his ultimate goal;
Undoing the constraints that had bound the primordial chaos since before the separation of heaven and earth was what he most wanted to do.
“Cloud? Junior Sister?”
Li Changshou called out softly, his voice traveling to the soundproofing formation in the corner, only to find no one within.
His immortal consciousness swept past, no formation could block it, and he could see Yun Xiao, Ling E, and several female immortals drinking tea in a distant hall, each with some needlework beside them.
Innate Powerful Beings personally sewing red veils… this could be considered adapting to local customs and respecting human traditions.
After some thought, Li Changshou left a jade talisman floating before him, inscribing several sentences about subsequent arrangements.
Then, he ordered the Four Plum Generals to operate at full power, infiltrating the primordial chaos world in all directions, ensuring connection with ‘Virtual Puti’ while also activating two backup false bodies.
One was a karmic demon, whose Dao heart couldn’t rid itself of demonic nature.
One was a Celestial Immortal cultivator from the Central Divine Continent, whose Dao heart was imperfect due to guilt, thus giving outside demons an opportunity.
These two targets had been secretly ‘cultivated’ for several hundred years. At this time, Li Changshou didn’t proceed with both simultaneously, but carefully handled them in sequence, creating a second primordial spirit like Virtual Puti.
Named Number Two and Number Three.
Using his mind in two ways, Li Changshou controlled that karmic demon, quietly heading toward Flower Fruit Mountain from the northeastern border of the Western Oxhead Continent, along the edge of the Northern Vastness Continent.
Number Two didn’t need to do much, just hide there and watch, confirming the timing of each ‘step.’
This couldn’t be investigated through divination anymore.
Otherwise, it would be like two countries at war, with one still using the enemy’s satellite guidance technology—it would be too easily countered.
Li Changshou drove Number Two’s incarnation, hiding all along the way while digesting Number Two’s memories, and gathering many firsthand reports.
The demon tribe had lost patience, and many ancient great demons who had survived until now were restless, publicly declaring support for the Handsome Monkey King of Flower Fruit Mountain.
The demon tribe had initiated a ‘Seven Little Sages’ plan, aimed at promoting seven experts to become demon tribe idols… ahem, to become demon tribe role models, gathering demon hearts, and then smoothly coexisting with the Heavenly Court.
They didn’t dare to truly rebel anymore, but rebellion could become a means for the demon tribe to seek shelter with the Heavenly Court.
Actually, the demon tribe couldn’t be blamed for such unrealistic thoughts; their memories of Li Changshou had been cleansed by the Dao Ancestor, and though they were wary of the Heavenly Court at this moment, they weren’t truly afraid.
If not for those blue ripples, when Sun Wukong first gathered demon forces at Flower Fruit Mountain, the remaining powerful demons would certainly have swarmed in and killed this stone monkey who didn’t know heaven’s height or earth’s depth.
The deterrence of Shou.
Li Changshou settled Number Two not far from Flower Fruit Mountain, leaving part of his consciousness there.
Then, he shifted his consciousness to Number Three, departing from a sect in the Central Divine Continent toward the Northern Vastness Continent.
Nominally going to gather herbs, but going to see the current situation of the Northern Continent’s tribal people.
Number One incarnation was naturally Virtual Puti, now slowly approaching the Edge of Sky and Sea in the South Sea. His first stop would be Spirit Mountain, nominally to find Saint Accepting Destiny to see if they could unlock the Heavenly Dao’s seal on the Dao realm.
In reality, he wanted to visit that Golden Cicada about to be born.
He wasn’t a petty immortal deity, having long let go of past grievances.
He was going to trouble Golden Cicada purely for the big picture!
Serious face.
Operating on three fronts, with three false bodies either still or in motion, Li Changshou found that familiar feeling and burning fighting spirit ignited in his heart.
His Void-Bright Dao heart suppressed it, maintaining calm.
[This third battle has yet to determine victory or defeat.]
…
In the bamboo grove of the Purple Void Palace.
Some Dao essence flowed as the grey-robed Old Daoist appeared again behind the imposing Old Daoist. This was the personification of Heaven’s Will—though previously suppressed by the Three Sovereigns of the Human Race, it still retained considerable power.
“How is it?” the Dao Ancestor asked slowly.
The grey-robed Old Daoist replied in a deep voice: “It has been confirmed once—in the Kunpeng Secret Realm, they are indeed preparing for the grand wedding of Li Changshou with Yun Xiao and Ling E. Kunpeng will also return to the Kunpeng Secret Realm.”
“Oh? A wedding?”
The Dao Ancestor showed a slight smile, then shook his head slightly.
The grey-robed Old Daoist walked to sit before the Dao Ancestor, glanced at the scene shown in the Creation Jade Disc, and asked: “Are you going to send him a wedding gift?”
“No need,” the Dao Ancestor sighed, “One who cannot escape human desires, how can they speak of balancing heaven, earth, and living beings?”
The grey-robed Old Daoist said: “Friend, you seem somewhat displeased by this.”
“Not at all,” the Dao Ancestor looked at the grey-robed Old Daoist and said slowly, “After the Journey to the West tribulation is complete and we merge, it will be the final meaning of heaven and earth.
Friend, do you have any other concerns?”
The grey-robed Old Daoist was silent for a while before saying: “This poor Dao was not originally a living being, but rather the thought of the Heavenly Dao, also the thought of heaven and earth, appearing when the ancient primordial chaos was about to shatter.
Friend wishes to unify heaven and earth, with intention toward heaven and earth, this poor Dao naturally has no concerns.”
“Good.”
“When will you have Wukong raise the banner of rebellion against Heaven?”
“Today.”
The Dao Ancestor showed a slight smile, pointing his finger at the Creation Jade Disc.
Within the disc, the scene outside the Water Curtain Cave of Flower Fruit Mountain immediately appeared.
In the sunlit area, the Handsome Monkey King Sun Wukong was lying beside his stone throne, happily eating a bunch of bananas.
At his side, several Demon Kings were praising Sun Wukong’s valor—these were the demon tribe ‘newcomers’ who had previously formed a sworn brotherhood with Sun Wukong, the executors of the demon tribe’s [Seven Little Sages] plan.
At present, except for Bull Demon King, the other five sworn brothers were all present, having just arrived.
Though Sun Wukong was the youngest and ranked last in the brotherhood, he vaguely already had the manner of an ‘elder brother.’
Can’t help it when you have the biggest fists.
Dragon Demon King was heard laughing: “Worthy brother, you’ve now made a name for our demon tribe, beating the Celestial Soldiers and Generals until they’re in sorry shape, truly venting anger for our demon tribe!”
Roc Demon King opened his bird beak and cursed:
“This Heavenly Court doesn’t know how to recognize talent, not knowing our sworn brother’s abilities! Just arranging an Imperial Horse Keeper position, isn’t this looking down on us!”
“Ah,” Sun Wukong said with his mouth full of banana, laughing: “Now we just need to repel these Celestial Soldiers, let them know our prowess, and they won’t dare to offend my Flower Fruit Mountain again.
Elder brothers, will you join the battle formation later?”
“Yes!”
The five Demon Kings agreed readily, each quite decisive, their eyes burning with rolling battle intent.
Suddenly a voice from the side said: “Great King! Now that you’ve raised our demon tribe’s banner high, you should take a more resounding title!”
Sun Wukong turned his head to look—it was a Demon King who had come to join Flower Fruit Mountain early on.
Other Demon Kings immediately chimed in, speaking of the necessity of taking a resounding title, one worthy of his abilities.
Handsome Monkey King was a bit too elegant.
Unable to resist the demons’ persuasion, Sun Wukong nodded, and the assembled demons spoke up one after another, titles bouncing out, the scene becoming quite chaotic.
Suddenly a little monkey shouted: “Great King, your abilities surpass the Heavenly Court, your divine powers are stronger than the Heavenly Court, why not call yourself Great Sage Equaling Heaven!”
“Oh?” Sun Wukong blinked, savoring it carefully, feeling this title was truly mighty, also venting the spite from his previous Imperial Horse Keeper position.
He declared firmly: “Then Great Sage Equaling Heaven it is! Children, make a great banner and hang it at the mountaintop!”
The monkey tribe responded thunderously, and Dragon Demon King and Roc Demon King were also excited, each settling on their titles, ordering their demon soldiers to immediately sew banners.
Half a day later, thunder rolled over Flower Fruit Mountain, and heaven and earth grew dark.
Seven great banners slowly rose from the mountaintop of Flower Fruit Mountain, each with different patterns and styles, yet equally majestic and indescribably impressive.
Look at that central banner written with ‘Great Sage Equaling Heaven’, with three banners on each side written with Great Sage Matching Heaven, Great Sage Covering the Sea, Great Sage Mixing Heaven, Great Sage Moving Mountains, Great Sage Penetrating the Winds, and Great Sage Driving Away Gods.
Though Bull Demon King hadn’t arrived yet, his title and banner were made with the help of his brothers.
Boom!
Heaven’s might suddenly descend, transforming into roaring thunder, purple lightning illuminating the six figures standing under those banners.
At Flower Fruit Mountain, demon energy reached the sky!
In a rocky valley wall not far away, Li Changshou watched this scene through his great demon incarnation, feeling somewhat emotional.
When no Saint appears, demons claim to be Great Sages.
Presumably, the assembled deities in the Heavenly Court must be getting restless now, after all, passionate experts like Brother Zhao might feel Flower Fruit Mountain was too noisy and casually strike down with one palm.
The Dao Ancestor should be controlling things from behind, so there was no need to worry about this matter.
Next should be the Heavenly Court’s second attempt at pacification, having Sun Wukong go to the Heavenly Court to be the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.
Who knows what choice the Wukong he had taught would make, whether he would easily bow to the Heavenly Court; speaking fairly, Li Changshou hoped that Wukong could uphold the character of ‘righteousness.’
As long as Wukong made his choice, he could step in at any time to dismantle the stage of the Journey to the West tribulation.
It was up to him.
After all, this was his second most satisfactory disciple—his most satisfactory disciple was naturally the monkey’s senior sister Long Ji.
Golden Roc had come with skills already learned, so the emotional connection wasn’t as deep as with disciples taught from scratch.
At the Edge of the Sky and Sea in the South Sea, ‘Virtual Puti’ entered the Five Continents, quietly heading toward the Western Oxhead Continent.
In the Purple Bamboo Grove of the Purple Void Palace.
The Dao Ancestor raised an eyebrow, looking beyond the Creation Jade Disc, naturally discovering Virtual Puti’s figure, and couldn’t help but shake his head slightly.
The grey-robed Old Daoist asked: “Old Patriarch Puti has broken his promise, he can be directly eliminated.”
“He might still be useful,” the Dao Ancestor said slowly, “Such an obedient Saint’s disciple is rare indeed. He’s only returning to find Accepting Destiny, to see if they can unlock the Heavenly Dao’s shackles.
Continue watching the Kunpeng Secret Realm closely. The most crucial moment of the Journey to the West tribulation is about to arrive—don’t let them return to cause trouble.”
“Good,” the grey-robed Old Daoist’s form slowly dispersed, “For heaven and earth’s eternal existence.”
“For heaven and earth’s eternal existence.”