Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 449 - 443: The Heart of the Jade Emperor [Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets]_1
The Heavenly Court was in turmoil following the capture of the Black Bear Spirit, the Spider Spirit, and others like Red Boy and Lady Di Yong. However, it had been about ten years since their arrest. Despite constant turmoil and high vigilance, no decisive action had been taken, and the Heavenly Court had grown somewhat negligent.
But some did not slacken in their diligence—namely, Zhao Gongming’s people. Zhao Gongming had informed Sha Chen about this matter two to three years prior and had been waiting for Sha Chen to make a move, but there had been no changes. Sha Chen seemed genuinely indifferent to the fates of the Black Bear Spirit and the others, as if he truly had no connection to them whatsoever. Zhao Gongming was furious, but helpless.
It was at such a time that the Six-Eared Macaque appeared, only to be captured as well. Zhao Gongming sensed that the Six-Eared Macaque might be related to Sha Chen, or at the very least to the Black Bear Spirit and the others. He deliberately had the guards of the Heavenly Prison lower their vigilance, simply to see if they were indeed connected. As a result, the Six-Eared Macaque truly did dominate the Heavenly Prison, even inquiring about Red Boy and the others. Zhao Gongming became even more convinced that the Six-Eared Macaque was definitely there to rescue them. The fact that the macaque himself was captured left Zhao Gongming puzzled. How could the Six-Eared Macaque possibly save anyone now? The only possibility he could conceive was an inside job collaborating with outside forces.
For this reason, the Heavenly Prison was tight on the outside but lax on the inside, where staff members audited each other and were mutually suspicious. Zhao Gongming had been waiting for that inside collaborator to appear, but so far, there had been no news.
「A month passed.」
Zhao Gongming began to doubt. Is there really such a collaborator? There should be one; I can’t be mistaken. But no one came.
During this month, the Six-Eared Macaque had already established supreme rule in the Heavenly Prison, because his strength there was truly formidable. The Heavenly Prison was desolate, so it didn’t hold many powerful detainees; a Daluo Golden Immortal was already considered top-tier there. And since the Six-Eared Macaque was a mid-level Da Luo, it was normal for him to assert dominance. What’s more, his combat power was much stronger than those of the same rank; when he fought, the other Daluo expert prisoners were basically no match for him.
「One day.」
The Six-Eared Macaque encountered Red Boy and others like the Black Bear Spirit, who were also asserting dominance in the Heavenly Prison. These individuals were closely monitored by the Heavenly Prison, but they were free during their designated roaming time, which is when battles would ensue and some would dominate. Red Boy, with his superior strength, naturally assumed dominance, thoroughly subduing the other prisoners. The Black Bear Spirit was Red Boy’s able assistant, also managing to keep the other prisoners from daring to challenge their authority.
On that particular day, Red Boy and the Six-Eared Macaque met. Zhao Gongming was called over by Xiao Sheng to watch; they wanted to see how these individuals would interact and how they might attempt an escape. They even transmitted the events unfolding there to the Bright Palace, right before the Jade Emperor.
The Jade Emperor was also paying attention to the situation, albeit with an expressionless face. He spoke sporadically about other matters.
"Yunlou went to the Guanghan Palace, said something, and then left?"
"And she visited the Jinghe Dragon Palace afterwards?"
Listening to his subordinates’ reports, the Jade Emperor frowned. "Did she visit any other places?"
His subordinate reported, "She did. She visited quite a few other places, all of them home to very important figures in the Heavenly Court. According to these individuals, Yunlou was issuing invitations, saying that Li Jing’s birthday banquet was imminent and they were invited to the feast."
The Jade Emperor’s eyes flickered. "Since when did Li Jing have the clout to invite all the immortals to his birthday banquet?" he said, then added, "It seems the Li Family intends to forge closer ties with the immortals."
Initially, the Jade Emperor suspected that Li Zhenying was connected to Sha Chen, as the people she met seemed too suspicious. First was Chang E, whom the Jade Emperor had long suspected of being one of Sha Chen’s allies, so he was always waiting for someone to make contact with her. Then Kui Mulang appeared, which raised the Jade Emperor’s suspicions, though it also seemed somewhat unlikely. After all, it was well known that Kui Mulang had contested with Sha Chen over the Pixiang Jade Maiden. Kui Mulang loathed Sha Chen so intensely he wished to eat him alive, let alone kill him. He had even vowed they were irreconcilable enemies. However, after Sha Chen defeated him, Kui Mulang quieted down. For this reason, Kui Mulang should have no connection with Sha Chen! the Jade Emperor had thought.
However, Kui Mulang’s power was growing rapidly. This led the Jade Emperor to harbor some doubts, as it seemed everyone connected to Sha Chen also experienced a swift increase in strength. Kui Mulang had far surpassed the other twenty-eight constellations; he was definitely not ordinary. It was only logical that Kui Mulang had mastered the 72 Polymorphic Transformations and the Eight-Nine Profound Art; after all, he was once a disciple of a Saint. Therefore, the Jade Emperor simply treated Kui Mulang as a suspect, not a key one.
The Jinghe Dragon King, on the other hand, was considered a key suspect by the Jade Emperor. But since the Dragon King had voluntarily relinquished his authority, it was not appropriate for the Jade Emperor to take action against him. Now that Li Zhenying had met with these suspects, the Jade Emperor naturally had reason to suspect her of being one of Sha Chen’s people, thereby casting doubt on the entire Li Family.
But then, Li Zhenying also met with other immortals of the Heavenly Court. This made the power-hungry Jade Emperor suspect that Li Jing was not siding with Sha Chen, but rather intending to amass the support of the immortals and consolidate power.
The Jade Emperor snorted. "Li Jing, Li Jing, it seems the lesson you were given was not enough. You still want to use your birthday celebration to win over the court officials." He muttered to himself for a moment, "What I give you is yours; what I don’t, you must not covet. When will you understand this!?" Then he shook his head.
Without further suspicion, he turned his gaze to the mirror reflecting the events in the Heavenly Prison. The events were so monotonous that the Jade Emperor felt bored and somewhat indifferent. The Six-Eared Macaque had clashed with Red Boy and fought for a long time; after being defeated, the Six-Eared Macaque went into hiding. Red Boy then declared he would trample Liuer underfoot, to show who was the true overlord of the Heavenly Prison.
It was a very dull prison drama, seemingly without any interesting developments, and it offered no hint that the Six-Eared Macaque was there to rescue anyone. Even Liuer seemed not to recognize Red Boy, which raised doubts about the accuracy of Zhao Gongming’s judgment.
Heavenly Official Pang stood silently at the Jade Emperor’s side.
The Jade Emperor glanced at him. "Old Pang, Zhao Gongming believes the Six-Eared Macaque might be here to save someone. I’m not convinced. What do you think?"
Heavenly Official Pang replied, "I concur with Your Majesty’s assessment."
"Boring," the Jade Emperor said. "It’s true that the Six-Eared Macaque can also perform the 72 Polymorphic Transformations and the Eight-Nine Profound Art, but Zhao Gongming is really making a mountain out of a molehill. He is the Six-Eared Macaque, able to hear all sounds of the myriad worlds and secretly listen to the Saints’ teachings. It’s not strange for him to learn the Eight-Nine Profound Art and the 72 Polymorphic Transformations. To suspect him of being in league with Sha Chen on such grounds is to overestimate Sha Chen!"
This time, however, Heavenly Official Pang did not agree. Instead, he said, "Your Majesty, Sha Chen was the one who killed Emperor Zhenwu and crippled the Golden Winged Dapeng. His strength should not be underestimated!"
The Jade Emperor paused for a moment, then responded, "Indeed, I underestimated him before. But if we are to suspect everyone capable of performing the Eight-Nine Profound Art and the 72 Polymorphic Transformations as his people, then plenty of powerful beings from the Three Realms would need to be arrested!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
Heavenly Official Pang fell silent again. This was indeed the case. The Eight-Nine Profound Art and the 72 Polymorphic Transformations were not particularly rare; they were even quite common cultivation techniques among the Three Pure Ones Sect. However, cultivating them required great insight, and many disciples of Saints only learned a fraction. Moreover, many disciples wouldn’t even try to master the Eight-Nine Profound Art. After all, they were often accepted into discipleship with pre-existing skills, and switching to the Eight-Nine Profound Art would mean altering their fundamental techniques—an exceedingly difficult task. As for the 72 Polymorphic Transformations, while they might attempt to learn some, very few could truly understand or master them.
Being one of the four great Spirit Monkeys, the Six-Eared Macaque possessed exceptional talent; mastering the Eight-Nine Profound Art and the 72 Polymorphic Transformations was not surprising. To judge the Six-Eared Macaque as one of Sha Chen’s people based on this alone is surely not accurate, the Jade Emperor thought. Besides, the events in the Heavenly Prison are far too mundane. If the Six-Eared Macaque truly is one of Sha Chen’s people, how could he possibly stage a rescue like this? There’s no visible way!
「In the following days.」
Zhao Gongming deliberately provided more opportunities for Red Boy and the others to interact with the Six-Eared Macaque. He even stopped confining them, allowing them to wander within the cellblocks of the Heavenly Prison, though their shackles remained on.
But even so, they made no further moves. They continued to fight over territory, vie for dominance, and recruit followers. The Jade Emperor grew tired of watching and eventually stopped altogether. After all, he couldn’t waste time on this; he, the Jade Emperor, was famously occupied with his ’ten thousand celestial maidens’ daily.
Zhao Gongming, however, was frowning deeply, the pressure immense. If nothing happens soon, I’m going to lose the Jade Emperor’s trust! he fretted. Moreover, his colleagues in The Mysterious Altar Department within the Heavenly Prison had already begun to suspect each other, losing mutual trust and even their faith in him as their Chief Deity.
Who exactly is the inside collaborator? Zhao Gongming wondered. How are Red Boy and the Six-Eared Macaque supposed to contact this person? And what is their escape plan? He still couldn’t fathom it.
