The Battle in Journey to the West-Chapter 27 - 0 Assessing the Situation to Resolve
Chapter 27: Chapter 027: Assessing the Situation to Resolve Disputes
Chapter 27 -027: Assessing the Situation to Resolve Disputes
Great Brahma, wishing to convert Wukong into the Buddhist sect and claim credit with Tathagata, ended up clashing fiercely with him after their conversation broke down.
Great Freedom Heaven, Duowen Heaven, and Sun Palace Sovereign together recited Buddhist True Words and cast the Great Thunderclap Spell around Wukong. The sound of Buddhist chants was ceaseless, yet they couldn’t convert Wukong, as his three Primordial Spirits remained vigilant and beyond their control. After a period of recitation, Wukong had already taken Jingu Bang in hand and aimed a blow at the crown of Sun Palace Sovereign’s head, intending to break through their weakest link.
Sun Palace Sovereign held a lotus in hand, showing a Sharira atop his crown. Besides cultivating the Three Flowers and Five Qi, followers of the Buddhist sect also needed to cultivate a Relic Golden Body.
As the Sharira settled atop his crown, Wukong felt as if Jingu Bang was sinking into a swamp, difficult to strike down. He then bellowed mightily, “Grow, grow, grow!”
Instantly, Jingu Bang expanded rapidly, slamming down like a massive pillar onto the Sharira above Sun Palace Sovereign’s head. The blow dimmed the Sharira’s golden light and caused Sun Palace Sovereign to spit blood. With a ruthless stomp from Wukong, the deity was sent flying, landing atop a mountain and creating a huge crater.
“You audacious demon, how dare you injure Sun Palace Sovereign!” shouted Great Freedom Heaven furiously. He hadn’t expected Wukong to be unaffected by the True Words and to injure Sun Palace Sovereign so quickly. While he pondered why Wukong was immune to the True Words, Sun Palace Sovereign was already kicked away, his fate unknown.
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Great Freedom Heaven charged forward, transforming into a being with five heads, three eyes, and four arms, each holding a fork, conch, pot, and drum – four Magical Treasures. He thrust the fork towards Wukong’s heart, Sanskrit flowing on the weapon, signalling its formidable power. Wukong, not daring to underestimate it, parried with Jingu Bang and moved in to engage in close combat, intending to knock him away. These Buddhist experts were mostly proficient in mana and Divine Skills – their Magical Treasures formidable – yet their martial prowess was somewhat lacking. Without utilizing their Divine Skills, and relying solely on physical combat, they would be knocked down in no time. Back during the Divine Enthronement catastrophe, many Immortals who relied solely on martial arts in battles with the mortal world’s Military Generals nearly lost their lives; they had no choice but to resort to Divine Skills.
Certainly not as skilled in combat as Wukong, Great Freedom Heaven blew his conch. Wukong suddenly felt as if he were deep in a swamp again and roared as he activated the “Five Elements Great Escape” from the Thirty-Six Types of Transformations, dodging past Great Freedom Heaven and delivering a powerful strike to his back! However, as if Great Freedom Heaven had eyes on his back, he shook the drum which sounded three times, each like a thunderclap. Wukong felt his Primordial Spirit jolted as if struck by lightning and was hit by a Great Hand Seal from Duowen Heaven, grimacing from the pain. Fortunately, his exceptional innate gifts and robust body spared him from death.
“It seems I’ve had too few encounters with the Buddhist sect; I suffer greatly the moment they bring out their treasures!” Wukong thought to himself. As Great Freedom Heaven approached, Wukong conjured the God-Beating Whip, shaking it twice, enormous as a beam.
“The God-Beating Whip!” Great Freedom Heaven, a divine being restricted by the Heavenly Dao, feared this weapon profoundly.
The God-Beating Whip struck with Eighty-Four Talismans shining like eighty-four suns, descending to crush him to death.
Great Freedom Heaven dared not be careless. Recognizing this wasn’t the genuine article, he nonetheless raised all four Magical Treasures in defense, forming a great array in the sky. Wukong’s strike pounded on the array, causing the Magical Treasures to tremble as if they were about to shatter, dimming the golden light intermittently.
Wukong sent forth a doppelganger to take advantage of the situation, landing a hit on Great Freedom Heaven who staggered back, coughing up blood and collapsing to the ground amidst a billow of dust. Just as Wukong prepared to beat the fallen enemy, Duowen Heaven intervened. The doppelganger was no match and quickly pulled back. Wukong brandished the God-Beating Whip, striking towards Duowen Heaven.
Duowen Heaven was terrified, nearly having his soul leave his body. He swiftly employed an Escape Technique, dodging desperately to avoid the God-Beating Whip.
However, before even catching his breath, he saw a red whip lash towards him. It felt like Mount Tai was crushing down, leaving him immobile and taking a direct hit to the chest, flesh torn asunder. With a single strike, his chest was a gory mess, and he passed out from agony.
Wukong, a Taiyi Golden Immortal in the Heavenly Human Realm, fused with the Heavenly Dao, his mana flowing endlessly. Great Freedom Heaven, a Daluo Golden Immortal in the Karmic Realm, had only recently advanced to this realm and had not yet fully consolidated his mana. Additionally, he had underestimated Wukong and did not expect him to possess such a treasure, resulting in his injury. In an instant, all three eminent deities of the Buddhist sect were defeated, prompting Great Brahma to grow anxious.
“Erlang Shen, my friend, I’ll assist you!” Wukong called out, intent on landing a crushing blow on Great Brahma with the God-Beating Whip.
“You insolent demon monkey, you shall not harm the protector of our Buddhist sect!”
A raging shout accompanied a golden light descending from the sky, blocking Wukong’s path. It was none other than Emperor Shi.
Emperor Shi wore a Treasure Crown and was adorned with necklaces, wielding a Vajra Pestle. His awe-inspiring appearance marked him as a powerful Daluo Golden Immortal.
Without a word, Wukong swung the God-Beating Whip at Emperor Shi’s crown. Emperor Shi, recognizing the danger, dodged hastily, aiming merely to entangle Wukong and prevent him from joining Erlang Shen against Great Brahma, lest he be at a disadvantage.
Great Brahma was no match for Erlang Shen and was gradually losing ground. Even though he had manifested a Golden Body and raised his Sharira, he struggled against Erlang Shen’s Eighty-Nine Mystical Techniques. This technique was impenetrable and impervious to both blade and flame. Moreover, with Erlang Shen’s diverse transformations — now pressing down as a mountain, now swooping in as a golden eagle, now constricting as a lengthy snake — he posed a considerable challenge. Finally, wielding the Immortal-slaying Sword and Demon-Revealing Mirror, Erlang Shen pressed Great Brahma into a frenzied defense. If Wukong joined the fray, Great Brahma might indeed face demise.
“Worry not, Emperor Shi, I am here to aid you!” Suo Jie Dragon King arrived.
“Demon monkey, don’t get carried away!” Moon Palace Sovereign also rushed in, brandishing his Magical Treasure for the kill.
“You injured my three protectors, demon monkey, meet your end!” Another attack from Wei Tuo of the Heavens came.
For a moment, Twenty Heavens and several others joined the fray, and Wukong, despite wielding the God-Beating Whip, struggled to match them.
“Damn it! You Buddhist baldies dare to gang up on my brother, prepare to die!”
Suddenly, a great white ox with its head lowered charged from the horizon, striking the Dragon King Suo Jie’s dragon body with such force that the dragon stumbled, scales bursting apart. Two bloody holes were gored by the ox’s horns, and he rolled to the ground, toppling a hill in his wake. This great white ox was none other than the Ox Demon King in his true form, a hundred zhang tall with hooves as large as beams. Charging wildly, not even a Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal would dare to take him head-on with their physical body alone. The Dragon King Suo Jie, caught off guard while transforming to besiege Wukong, never anticipated the Ox Demon King to suddenly appear and grievously wound him with a headbutt.
The Jiao Demon King also joined the fight, flicking his finger and unleashing torrential rivers from the Map of Mountains and Rivers. These transformed into water thunder bombs that exploded upon impact, causing chaos and a misty veil of water to ascend.
Seeing the opportunity, Wukong leaped out of the melee, put away the God-Beating Whip, and joined forces with the Ox Demon King, the Jiao Demon King, and the Dragon Whale. Meanwhile, Yang Jian wrapped up the Great Brahma with the Demon-binding Rope, exiting the skirmish to join the group of four. After a slap from Yang Jian knocked Great Brahma unconscious, there was no further struggle.
The Sun Palace Sovereign, At Ease Heaven, and Duowen Heaven, whom Wukong had injured, picked themselves up off the ground and regrouped with their allies, glaring hatefully at Wukong and his companions.
With teeth bared and lips curled back, the Ox Demon King transformed into his minotaur form, wielding the Mixed-Iron Staff and astride the Water-Repelling Golden-Eyed Beast, ready for combat.
On the ground, the Dragon King Suo Jie writhed continuously before transforming back into human form, his clothing tattered and blood-stained, looking extremely bedraggled.
On one side stood numerous elite practitioners from the Buddhist sect, intimidating enough that the remaining dozen or so Various Heavens who had arrived seemed to make the others slightly apprehensive.
“Release the Great Brahma!” demanded Emperor Shi with a stern face.
Yang Jian was straightforward in loosening the Demon-binding Rope with a flick of his hand and tossing the unconscious Great Brahma over, which Emperor Shi caught. As a gesture of gratitude for not delivering a fatal blow, Emperor Shi bowed his thanks to Yang Jian.
In his mind, Emperor Shi thought, “Yang Jian is a Celestial Deity of the Heavenly Court. Our Buddhist sect presently has the upper hand against fewer opponents, and we risk displeasing the Heavenly Court. Many experts have also come from the Heavenly Court, including the Eight Star Deities of the East and the Third Prince Nezha, all of whom possess formidable divine skills. If conflict truly breaks out, it will be difficult to settle.”
Although Yang Jian did not always get along with the Jade Emperor, he was, after all, Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun of the Heavenly Court. If the Buddhist sect indeed bullied the few, and subsequently the experts of the Heavenly Court arrived, it would certainly lead to a major battle. Furthermore, the Eight Immortals of the Upper Caverns had come to the North Sea, especially Lu Chunyang, the reincarnation of Donghua the Great Emperor, whose cultivation was immensely profound.
Emperor Shi had his plan in mind but couldn’t show weakness verbally, so he asked, “Why does Erlang Divine Lord insist on troubling our Buddhist sect?”
Yang Jian replied, “Your Great Brahma intended to forcibly convert our comrade, who refused, naturally leading to conflict. If it had been one-on-one battle, I would not have intervened, but to gang up on one, wouldn’t that mean ignoring my existence, Yang Jian?”
Hearing this, Emperor Shi knew they were at fault and had already received a secret message from Great Freedom Heaven. He responded, “Ah! Well then, let us drop the matter here.”
The other deities didn’t want to let it go, especially the injured Dragon King Suo Jie; how could he just let things be? But Emperor Shi sent a hushed transmission, using the Buddha Ancestor as a shield, suppressing the animosity in each of them, so no one dared to speak out of turn for the moment.
Both parties exchanged forced smiles, and what was a misunderstanding seemed to resolve without further issue.
Emperor Shi, carrying the unconscious Great Brahma, departed with his companions on clouds. They still had to locate the pivotal point of the Map of Mountains and Rivers. With that Magical Treasure under control, wouldn’t they be able to manipulate these people at will?
Wukong gave a bow of thanks, saying, “Thank you, Brother Yang, for lending your aid. Alone, I might not have been a match for them.”
Wukong was well aware that these people feared Yang Jian’s connections. He and others like the Ox Demon King lacked such powerful backing, so naturally, the Buddhist sect wasn’t intimidated. However, if they knew that Wukong’s sister Wusheng might also be here, and that her mana was incredibly deep, who knows how interesting their expression would become.
To find out what happens next, please tune in for the following chapter.
