Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage
Chapter 205 - 198: The Formation Traps the Four Gates of the Heavenly Court

Chapter 205: Chapter 198: The Formation Traps the Four Gates of the Heavenly Court

The siege of White Elephant City was nearing its end, and the Tang army launched the final assault.

Inside White Elephant City, the defending soldiers, running short on food, resorted to slaughtering their warhorses for meat, digging up grass roots, and eating tree bark. What little they could eat, they had eaten. Already exhausted and lacking energy, how could they still have the strength to defend the city? Xue Rengui sent troops to feint attacks every other day, causing the city’s leaders to live in constant fear, yet mockingly said the Tang army’s bark was worse than its bite.

Eventually, Xue Rengui switched from feinting to launching real attacks, and swiftly breached the northern city gate. The defense forces lacked the will to recapture it and instead retreated into the inner city. The Tang army took over the outer city like a hot knife through butter, immediately commenced the attack on the inner city, giving the enemy no respite.

In that moment, the city resounded with cries that rent the sky, arrows flew like locusts, human lives were as cheap as grass, blood flowed like rivers, and corpses piled up like mountains.

White Elephant City had fallen.

The last stronghold of Tianzhu had also fallen, and the King of Tianzhu set himself ablaze within the Imperial Palace. Fortunately, with the abundance of Tang soldiers, they quickly extinguished the flames, preventing greater loss. Many soldiers couldn’t help but weep after breaking through White Elephant City, as these years of conquest had indeed been far too long.

Xue Rengui ordered the soldiers to collect Buddhist icons from the homes of the civilians but forbade them from extorting property, on pain of death. Soon, they had gathered tens of thousands of Buddhist statues which they placed in the square and set ablaze. Afterwards, the soldiers distributed statues of the Three Pure Ones Revered Taoist for the civilians to worship.

Now that Tianzhu had fallen and Buddha had been defeated, it became apparent that the Taoist Sect was more formidable than the Buddhist Sect. After coming to this realization, the civilians no longer resisted and began to convert to the worship of the Three Pure Ones.

Upon receiving the news, Li Zhi immediately dispatched officials to manage the area and then prepared for the ceremony at Mount Tai. After all, having achieved such a monumental expansion of territory, it was indeed astonishing that the vast lands of Tianzhu were now part of Great Tang’s domain.

While Great Tang was busily making preparations, Wukong did not rest either. The five leaders of the great clans trained day and night in the Five Elements Formation, so as to master it quickly and then proceed to Mount Buzhou to retrieve the Eastern Emperor Bell.

In the world of cultivation, where years pass like days, a year had flown by in the blink of an eye. At last, the five had practiced the formation to perfection, without any hesitation or difficulty.

"Good, let us begin planning. We move in three days!" Wukong commanded, setting the date for retrieving the Eastern Emperor Bell to three days later.

The three days passed even more swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.

Wukong counted his troops, proceeding with the previously designed plan. Yuan Hong was to guard the Western Heavenly Gate, Wu Zhiqi the Eastern Heavenly Gate, Sun Wukong the Northern Heavenly Gate, and Shen Gongbao and Ksitigarbha King the Southern Heavenly Gate. This time, they intended to trap all the Heavenly Court’s troops within, preventing them from coming to aid the Jade Pool. Then Wukong would quickly shake Mount Buzhou, take the Eastern Emperor Bell, withdraw all the troops, and the Jade Pool would be destroyed in one fell swoop. This would undermine the foundation of the Queen Mother and the Heavenly Court would surely feel the blow.

Commanders, taking with them scores of Daluo Golden Immortals, headed towards the Four Heavenly Gates in the east, south, west, and north. Shen Gongbao first laid out the foundation of the Wanxian formation and distributed it to the other three forces. Once they reached their respective destinations and took control of the Wanxian formation, even if the Four Great Emperors of the Heavenly Court came, it would take time to break through.

At the Southern Heavenly Gate, Dhritarashtra, Vaisravana, Virupaksa, and Virudhaka stood guard, with Clairvoyant and Clairaudience keeping watch. However, under Ksitigarbha King’s mighty Divine Skills and with Diting claiming to hear any sound within the Three Realms and Six Paths, Clairaudience could not hear anything, and with Ksitigarbha King casting Great Divine Power to blind Clairvoyant, the Heavenly Court’s eyes and ears were rendered useless.

"Ascending Dragon Fist!"

A Daluo Golden Immortal from the Divine Dragon clan made the first move, revealing his form, and threw a punch. Instantly, an enraged dragon burst forth from his fist, followed by a loud shout, "Dragon Fighting in the Wilderness!"

Over a hundred golden divine dragons materialized, entwining Clairvoyant and Clairaudience, resulting in a spray of blood. Before they could fully react, another roar came: "Azure Dragon Playing in the Water!"

"Boom!"

This series of Ascending Dragon Fist strikes, with its unmatched power, struck like thunder and infiltrated like fire. Clairvoyant and Clairaudience couldn’t even respond before they were killed by this potent combination of punches.

These two had already been struck by Jiang Ziya’s God-Beating Whip and had ascended to the Deification Platform. This time, they would not ascend again and died on the spot.

The Four Heavenly Kings were shocked and before they could react, a Daluo Golden Immortal from the Serpent Clan used the Heavenly Serpent Nine Transformations Divine Skill. In an instant, it was like fireworks exploded, shaking the fields, shattering the clouds, and causing the Southern Heavenly Gate to tremble. Then, the Demon Tribe’s experts joined the assault, each using their Ultimate Skills. Thus, the Four Heavenly Kings met their inglorious end at the hands of a Demon Tribe group attack, dying without even a chance to fight back, like dying with undrawn swords.

"Activate the Wanxian Formation!" Shen Gongbao and the Golden-Winged Great Peng King roared together.

Thirty Daluo Golden Immortals each conjured a Dharma Seal and threw out a meditation cushion before sitting on it. Shen Gongbao raised a flag and planted it in the center of the formation as the formation’s eye. Ksitigarbha King leaped and sat atop the flag, guarding the formation’s eye, and with Diting taking the lead in the Wanxian Formation, they completely besieged the Southern Heavenly Gate.

The deaths of the Four Heavenly Kings, Clairvoyant, and Clairaudience naturally alarmed the Heavenly Court, and someone rushed to the Imperial Palace to report to the Jade Emperor.

"What? The Demon Tribe has attacked the Southern Heavenly Gate?" the Jade Emperor exclaimed, thinking to himself, "Why are these demons attacking my Heavenly Court first instead of the Buddhist Sect? The Buddhist Sect was crippled after the battle at Mount Putuo and should have been taken down in one fell swoop. Strange, truly strange."

"Twenty-Eight Mansions, go to the Southern Heavenly Gate at once to investigate the situation. Do not engage the enemy in battle," the Jade Emperor ordered hastily.

The Twenty-Eight Mansions did not dare to be negligent and went straight away.

In no time, the Twenty-Eight Mansions had already returned and reported, "Your Majesty, the demons have only set up a great formation outside the Southern Heavenly Gate and have not launched an attack."

The Jade Emperor felt even more perplexed in his heart.

After a short wait, another report came from the guardian of the Eastern Heavenly Gate, stating that Wu Zhiqi, leading ten Daluo Golden Immortals, had killed the guardian of the Eastern Heavenly Gate and set up a great formation outside the gate, sealing off the Eastern Heavenly Gate. The Jade Emperor furrowed his brows upon hearing this, an ominous feeling starting to arise within him. What were this group of demons trying to do? There must be some conspiracy, or else they would not simply trap the people of the Heavenly Court without allowing them to leave.

"Report, Your Majesty, at the Western Heavenly Gate, the Long-Armed Ape Yuan Hong, leading thirty Daluo Golden Immortals, has killed the guarding Heavenly General and set up a large formation on the outside, trapping the entire Western Heavenly Gate," another guardian reported.

Before the Jade Emperor could speak, another report came in, saying, "Your Majesty, Sun Wukong has led ten Daluo Golden Immortals to kill the guardian of the Northern Heavenly Gate, and they have set up a large formation around it, trapping the Northern Heavenly Gate and preventing entry and exit."

"I understand. You may go now," the Jade Emperor said coolly, as if he were devising a strategy behind the scenes.

A leader must have this kind of presence; even if one lacks this confidence, one must feign it—only then can subordinates be reassured.

"My officials, what do you think?" asked the Jade Emperor.

"Hmm... whenever something abnormal occurs, there must be demons at work. These demons are only surrounding us without attacking; could it be they want to encircle us like the Tang army surrounded White Elephant City? But we are deities who do not need food, so what exactly are they aiming for by doing this?" The Jade Emperor pondered to himself, playing with two dragon balls in his hand, feeling quite uneasy.

Li Changgeng, the Tai Bai Gold Star, stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said, "Your Majesty, this situation is abnormal. The Demon Tribe is not attacking the Buddhist Sect but instead is trapping the gates of the Heavenly Court. Sun Wukong is not one to act rashly, and now that Great Tang has just settled the situation in Tianzhu, when the Buddhist Sect is at its weakest, they should be attacking there instead of provoking our Heavenly Court, which is unreasonable." He glanced at the Jade Emperor and continued, "All under heaven are attracted to benefits, all hustle and bustle are for benefits. The actions of the Demon Tribe must also be for profit, but what benefit does such behavior bring them?"

The Immortal Officials of the Heavenly Court couldn’t help but muse and ponder upon hearing this. Tai Bai Gold Star’s words made sense; without any benefit, why would the Demon Tribe do such a pointless act?

Suddenly remembering something, the Jade Emperor slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Summon the troops immediately, and open the Four Heavenly Gates for me. If we go too late, the Jade Pool will be in jeopardy!"

Tai Bai Gold Star was also taken aback, exclaiming, "The goal of this group of demons is the Jade Pool?!"

"Immediately summon Dong Ji Qianhua Great Emperor, Nan Ji Changsheng Great Emperor, Bei Ji Xuande Wudang Great Emperor, and Central Palace Ziwei Great Emperor, and let them each lead their troops to attack the Four Heavenly Gates. We must open one!" the Jade Emperor commanded.

"Your Majesty, if we divide our forces to attack, I fear it won’t be easy. It might be better to concentrate our forces in one place," suggested the Star Lord of Fire Virtue.

The Jade Emperor mused, "If we are to attack, the Northern Heavenly Gate and the Eastern Heavenly Gate would be the easiest to breach. Unfortunately, those two gates are too far from the Jade Pool. The nearest would be the Southern Heavenly Gate and the Western Heavenly Gate. However, with so many experts stationed at both the Southern and Western Heavenly Gates, it would be extremely difficult to break through. Therefore, let us focus on attacking the Western Heavenly Gate. The four emperors must set out immediately!"

Yóu Yì Ling Officer, bearing the Jade Emperor’s Dharma Seal, sped away using Soaring Earth Golden Light and instantly arrived at Qianhua Palace.

"Dong Ji Qianhua Great Emperor, receive the decree!"

Dong Ji Qianhua Great Emperor rushed out anxiously, bowed, and exclaimed, "Dong Ji Qianhua Great Emperor Lv Dongbin receives the decree."

Yóu Yì Ling Officer proclaimed loudly, "By decree: Demons of Southern Ridge wreak havoc in the Mortal World and now seek to attack Our Heavenly Court, having already trapped the Four Heavenly Gates to the east, south, west, and north. Dong Ji Qianhua Great Emperor Lv Dongbin is specially ordered with the other three great emperors to break through the Western Heavenly Gate. This is the decree!"

Having received the decree, Dong Ji Qianhua Great Emperor hurried to muster troops and gather personnel to attack the Western Heavenly Gate.

Yóu Yì Ling Officer, without stopping for rest, then employed Soaring Earth Golden Light to rush to the Palace of Eternal Life to deliver the decree to the Longevity Emperor. Afterwards, he rushed to the Central Palace to deliver the decree to Ziwei Great Emperor, and only after that did he deliver the decree to the True Martial Great Emperor. After this series of dispatches, he was so exhausted he was gasping for breath and could barely enunciate the decrees clearly.

"The Demon Tribe is probably aiming for the domain of Queen Mother of the West... There are nine thousand pan peach trees there, not to mention an Eastern Emperor Bell!" The Ziwei Great Emperor understood in his heart, "If I don’t exert myself this time, the Jade Emperor might take the opportunity to reprimand me. Well then, I shall dispatch half of the experts from my Ziwei Palace. If necessary, I will take action personally."

Intelligent and astute, Ziwei Great Emperor had already deduced the intentions of the Demon Tribe.

The Four Great Emperors of the Heavenly Court assembled their troops and headed toward the Western Heavenly Gate, combining their efforts to break through it.

What the outcome will be, please listen to the next installment. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)