Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 228 - 222: Release Sun Wukong【Please subscribe and vote monthly】_1
Sun Wukong laughed and said, "So it’s the river sprite of the Flowing Sand River. I didn’t expect he had some courage, but he only managed to strike Li Jing’s son."
He said arrogantly, "I, Old Sun, over a hundred years ago, was beating their fathers."
Li Bai shook his head and said, "Wukong, a brave man doesn’t dwell on his past valor. Now, you can only watch them strut their stuff."
Sun Wukong’s mood immediately sank.
He snorted, "If I were to gain my freedom, they would definitely pay the price."
Li Bai then said, "This is where you are inferior to Sha Chen. Although he was demoted to the mortal world, struggling to survive in a place like the Flowing Sand River, he could still rise up and fight back against injustice. But you? You can’t do anything but bow your head and admit defeat."
Sun Wukong couldn’t withstand this kind of provocation.
After hearing what Li Bai said, he roared, "I, Old Sun, have never admitted defeat!"
He roared, "In the heavens and on earth, I alone am supreme! I, Old Sun, will never admit defeat! We are born free; who dares to lord over us?"
Sun Wukong’s eyes turned bloodshot as he roared, "If I gain my freedom, I will shatter the Lingxiao Palace, ascend Lingjiu Mountain, and rip Old Tathagata’s head off to kick it like a ball!"
Li Bai asked, "Is that true?"
Sun Wukong angrily said, "True! Do you doubt me?"
Li Bai smiled and said, "I believe you. You are Sun Wukong, The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, a pillar of heaven and earth; in the Three Realms and Six Paths, you alone are supreme."
Sun Wukong’s pride was finally satisfied, but then he became a bit discouraged and said, "Alas, it’s a pity that I, Old Sun, can’t get out."
Bold aspirations cannot be fulfilled if life ends prematurely.
But Li Bai smiled and said, "Don’t worry, I will help you get out. However, if you get out with your current strength, you would undoubtedly die."
"Forget about shattering the Lingxiao Palace or ascending Lingjiu Mountain; you probably couldn’t even make it out of Aparagodaniya, let alone return to the Mountain of Flower and Fruit."
Sun Wukong asked, "Then what do you propose?"
Li Bai looked toward the west and saw the vast expanse of rosy clouds in the distance—the aura of a million celestial soldiers and generals, and also people from Buddhism.
With a slight smile, he said, "I will teach you the complete Thirty-Six Transformations, to complete your repertoire of transformations. I will also heal your Fiery Golden Eyes, restoring them to the Illusion-Breaking Divine Eyes. Furthermore, I will pass on to you the Three Pure Ones Da Luo Law, to help you better comprehend the principles of Da Luo. Within three years, you must reach the High Order of Daluo Golden Immortal. No problem, right?"
Sun Wukong was stunned, overcome with a mix of joy and disbelief.
"Although I’m currently only at the Early Stage of Daluo Golden Immortal, that’s because I’m restricted and cannot cultivate. Otherwise, I would have already reached the Middle Level of Daluo Golden Immortal long ago! If I also had the Da Luo Method, the complete Thirty-Six Transformations, and the Illusion-Breaking Divine Eyes, then forget the High Order of Daluo Golden Immortal—even reaching the Peak of Daluo Golden Immortal wouldn’t be a problem!"
Of course, Li Bai didn’t believe it. Sun Wukong’s talent was extraordinary, but the elixirs and various other substances within his body were probably almost depleted.
Being able to reach the High Order of Daluo Golden Immortal within three years was already his greatest expectation.
The Peak of Daluo Golden Immortal was something he didn’t dare to imagine.
Sun Wukong said, "Old Li, do you really know all this?"
Li Bai replied, "Yes, and I will also teach you as quickly as possible. Then you’ll have three years to succeed in your cultivation. When the time comes, I will naturally have someone let you out."
Sun Wukong, surprised, said, "Old Li, it’s not you who can let me out?"
Li Bai said, "I can’t let you out, but don’t worry, someone else can. Your task is to comprehend what I’ve taught you within this time and break your seal in three years, achieving a breakthrough all at once."
Joy and surprise warred within Sun Wukong. Then he said, "Old Li, you’re being so good to me. What are you really after?"
Li Bai fell silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "I want to see a bright and clear world. In three years, I want that patch of sky to vanish like smoke."
With that, he pointed toward the golden auspicious clouds above the Flowing Sand River in the west.
Sun Wukong was stunned, his face full of astonishment. Then, with a serious expression and a defiant laugh, he said, "Even if you hadn’t said it, I, Old Sun, would make them vanish like smoke!"
Li Bai spoke seriously, "Remember these words: ’Know when to stop.’ You must keep them in your heart, engrave them in your mind. If you get caught, don’t mention me."
Sun Wukong assured him repeatedly that he would never reveal anything.
Li Bai’s words made him feel as if he were facing his own master.
Just like his master, he was not allowed to disclose his identity, was told to know when to stop, and was treated exceptionally well.
Li Bai then imparted to Sun Wukong the Thirty-Six Transformations, the Three Pure Ones Taoism, and the Illusion-Breaking Divine Eye that Sha Chen had taught him.
In reality, other things aside, the Illusion-Breaking Divine Eye, being an innate talent mutation rather than a Divine Power, was not easy to teach.
But since Sun Wukong’s eyes were naturally Illusion-Breaking Divine Eyes, all Li Bai needed to do was heal Sun Wukong’s eyes.
Curing his Fiery Golden Eyes would suffice.
This actually wasn’t too difficult. For Sha Chen, whose alchemy talent was no less than Immortal Huolong’s—so much so that even Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad wanted to take him as a disciple—refining such an Immortal Pill posed little problem.
He had already refined such Immortal Pills and then had Fairy Chang E deliver them out, sending them to a certain place where Li Bai was to retrieve them.
Contactless delivery.
Li Bai didn’t meet Chang E either, so his identity wasn’t exposed.
After imparting the cultivation techniques and Dao Techniques to Sun Wukong and healing his eyes, Li Bai bid farewell and left.
Sun Wukong asked, "Old Li, where are you going?"
Li Bai replied, "If I stay any longer, my identity might be exposed, and then all the gods and Buddhas will come to execute me."
Sun Wukong said, "Can’t you stay?"
Li Bai answered, "If I don’t leave, will you help me?"
Sun Wukong said, "I will help you."
Li Bai paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Fool, help yourself first."
Then he turned and departed with a flourish, leaving Sun Wukong standing there dumbfounded. Only when Li Bai was long gone did Sun Wukong remember to shout.
"Old Li, when are you going to have someone release me?"
No voice replied, yet two characters appeared on the ground—Three Years.
Sun Wukong erased the characters, his gaze becoming serious and solemn.
When Old Li left, he was afraid his identity would be exposed. It seems he’s having a hard time. If I gain my freedom, I must protect him and ensure no one bullies him.
Sun Wukong then began to practice the Dao Techniques that Li Bai had taught, continuously contemplating them in his heart.
His mana and Legal Body could not advance, but his thoughts could not be fettered.
His comprehension continuously deepened. Moreover, as a Spiritually Attuned Stone Monkey, he had a profound understanding of Dao Techniques, and his insights progressed as if divinely aided.
Once the seal was broken, whatever realm his insights had reached, given enough resources, he would be able to advance at an astonishing speed.
「Flowing Sand River.」
Sha Chen stood with his hands behind his back; no one could have guessed the incredibly audacious decision he had just made.
The celestial soldiers and generals outside were swaggering arrogantly; they probably never imagined that a great demon king would emerge in three years.
Releasing Sun Wukong was a decision Sha Chen had made after deep deliberation.
His plan was to have Sun Wukong draw Buddhism’s attention away from him. As his own strength grew, Buddhism’s scrutiny and focus on him had intensified.
No. This absolutely will not do. It’s detrimental to his lying low and affects his cultivation. Therefore, the best solution is to divert Buddhism’s attention.
Tianpeng had also grown stronger and could indeed draw some of Buddhism’s fire, but he hadn’t become a significant enough threat for Buddhism to be overly concerned about him yet.
As for Xiaobai Dragon, his status—whether alive or dead—was currently unknown, and Buddhism likely paid him little mind.
Jin Chanzi’s reincarnation had probably recovered his memories by now, but he hadn’t matured enough to influence Buddhism’s decisions.
Thus, Sha Chen didn’t have many cards left to play.
Although there were many other demons Buddhism intended to subdue, and many of their schemes he could disrupt to foil their plans.
But that was like trying to quench immediate thirst with distant water.
Now, with a great army pressing down on his borders, who knew what might happen.
Moreover, releasing Sun Wukong wouldn’t just attract the attention of Buddhism and the Heavenly Court. If Sun Wukong could remain at large, it would undoubtedly cause Buddhism a massive headache.
At that point, perhaps they wouldn’t spare Sha Chen a single glance.
However, all this was predicated on Sun Wukong being powerful enough not to be instantly defeated by Buddhism again.
If Sun Wukong were suppressed again, the surveillance would likely become even stricter, and Sha Chen would lose any opportunity to approach him.
Trying to release Sun Wukong again would then be exceedingly difficult.
Furthermore, Sun Wukong was different from him in one key aspect: Sun Wukong had genuinely rebelled. If his seal were broken, his crimes would still stand, and the Heavenly Court and Buddhism hunting him down would be perfectly justified and lawful.
That would inevitably lead to endless trouble.
Sha Chen could only resolve to find a way, when the time came, to help Sun Wukong hold out a little longer. As long as Sun Wukong had enough space and time to cultivate and elevate his cultivation base, that would suffice.
Everything else was unimportant.
While Sha Chen was lost in thought, Li Jing had already dispatched forces to issue a challenge.
The first to be dispatched were the Mighty Miracle God, the Heng Ha Generals, and their contingents.
The Mighty Miracle God had become much more subdued. Previously arrogant, he had believed Sha Chen was no match for him. But now, a man’s reputation precedes him, and he was afraid.
The probability of him being killed in action was higher than that of his mother remarrying if his father died.
The Heng Ha Generals weren’t faring much better, but with orders from above, they dared not refuse to issue the challenge.
They could only secretly pray that Sha Chen would continue his glorious tradition of ignoring their provocations.
As soon as the Mighty Miracle God took the field, he stated the reasons for apprehending Sha Chen.
It was indeed because of the Li Family brothers, coupled with the crime of Sha Chen harboring a demon. They demanded he surrender the Black Bear Spirit.
"Sha Chen, be sensible! Hand over the Black Bear Spirit! Also, you are to follow us to the Lingxiao Palace to accept His Majesty the Jade Emperor’s judgment. You will be tried for injuring Bodhisattva Hongfa and Tripmatser Huian, and for killing four Arhats! Then, you will receive your punishment!"
After speaking, the Mighty Miracle God was also somewhat nervous.
He desperately prayed Sha Chen wouldn’t fly into a rage and resist to the death. I don’t want to die!
Li Jing also spoke loudly, "Sha Chen, the Mighty Miracle God has announced your crimes. You now have only two paths before you."
"One, come out and submit to capture, and ascend with us to face your punishment. Two, resist desperately, and we shall capture you and escort you to the heavens to be punished. The former means less suffering; the latter, certain death."
At that moment, Sha Chen, inside the Flowing Sand River, received a system prompt.
"Detected that the host is faced with the Heavenly Court’s arrest decree. You have the following options:"
