Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 100 - 100 100 Tianpeng Visits Again

100: Chapter 100 Tianpeng Visits Again 100: Chapter 100 Tianpeng Visits Again Being in the celestial Court, one must have a backing, otherwise how could one get by in the celestial Court.

Martial Virtue Star Lord had understood this principle through his many years in the celestial Court, it was just unfortunate that he had never been able to find such a backing for himself to rely on in the celestial Court.

Unable to rely on the Daoist Sect, he could only turn to Buddhism, though that was also not easy.

This summoning by Li Jing, he felt the opportunity had come.

“This celestial King has always heard that you have great respect for Buddhism and have been looking for an opportunity to join under the banner of Buddhism.

Now there is a chance, and I hope you will grasp it well.

If you can hold onto it, then there will be no need for me to recommend you, as Buddhism will surely take you in!”

Li Jing sat in his chair at this moment, his voice stern as he spoke.

“Oh?

Is what the celestial King says true?”

Martial Virtue Star Lord, upon hearing this, his face lit up with joy as he hurriedly asked.

“Of course, why would I deceive you on such a matter!”

Li Jing let out a dry laugh, then continued, “You also know that Macaque is the one Buddhism has chosen to kickstart the Journey to the West, the Calamity of Measurement, and you’re aware that His Majesty intends to help Buddhism with the Calamity!”

“And you, as the person in charge of logistics in the celestial Court, if I’m not wrong, the Imperial Horse Censor is under your jurisdiction, isn’t it?”

Li Jing looked towards the Martial Virtue Star Lord and asked.

Hearing this, the Martial Virtue Star Lord had also understood.

“Indeed it is so!”

Pagoda-Carrying celestial King Li had sought him out this time for Sun Wukong.

In fact, during this time, not only had Li Jing been observing Sun Wukong, Martial Virtue Star Lord too had not neglected to pay attention to Sun Wukong.

However, to his surprise, Sun Wukong had been diligent in his duties, hardly making any mistakes.

Thus, there hadn’t been any opportunity for him to curry favor with Li Jing.

“Presumably, you already know why this celestial King has sought you out this time!”

Li Jing looked at Martial Virtue Star Lord meaningfully.

“Your subordinate understands.

I wonder what instructions the celestial King has for me; I will definitely follow the arrangement!”

The words of Li Jing were clear enough, even if Martial Virtue Star Lord were foolish, he had already grasped the implication of Li Jing’s words.

Li Jing’s summoning him was to have him use his authority to trouble Sun Wukong a bit.

However, how to trouble him would depend on Li Jing’s arrangement, after all, he still needed something from Li Jing, so he had to owe this favor to him.

As long as he accomplished this task, he could have Buddhism as his backing, which was extremely important for him.

Li Jing nodded, then said, “Since we’ve spoken openly, this celestial King shall not hide anymore.

As the Martial Virtue Star Lord in charge of the celestial Court’s logistics and being Sun Wukong’s superior, when you visit the Imperial Horse Censor one of these days, make that monkey lead a horse for you personally.

Then, you can find fault with him, and as long as Sun Wukong loses patience and quits, you can bring him before the Ninth celestial Palace and accuse him of negligence!”

“With His Majesty’s intentions, by then, naturally, I don’t need to tell you, you will also know whom His Majesty will favor!”

Upon hearing Li Jing’s words, the Martial Virtue Star Lord nodded repeatedly.

This kind of fault-finding with a subordinate was something Martial Virtue Star Lord had done many times; it was quite easy for him.

“Do you understand?”

Seeing that Martial Virtue Star Lord was nodding repeatedly, Li Jing then said.

“I understand!”

Seeing Martial Virtue Star Lord had grasped his point, Li Jing nodded repeatedly too and then waved his hand, “Go now!”

“Thank you for the guidance, celestial King.

I will go immediately, and you can await my good news!”

Martial Virtue Star Lord respectfully stood up, bowed to Li Jing, and then swiftly left Li Jing’s mansion, heading straight for the Imperial Horse Censor where Sun Wukong was.

There was no time to delay; he needed to take care of things quickly.

…

Imperial Horse Censor.

A group of registrars, supervisor assistants, and deputy supervisors was attending to tasks such as cleaning the horses and feeding them with hay.

Everything was in perfect order and Sun Wukong, having finished the Imperial Horse Censor’s daily tasks, was alone in the inner hall, studying routes for escape.

Without a few suitable escape routes, he simply could not practice with peace of mind.

After all, if a Great Demon were to attack Heaven, they could enter from any gate, and he would need to pick the most suitable route to take at that moment.

No matter who would take charge in the celestial Court in the future, his only hope was to ensure his safety.

Moreover, he had heard that Emperor Gouchen had descended to the lower realm to suppress the Great Demons in Jambudvipa so as to prevent any major upheaval in Jambudvipa upon Demon Master Kunpeng’s return.

So, it seemed indeed possible that an attack could really be launched from there.

And with the meager information, he could gather, he could only design several optimal escape routes from all four gates, lest he encounter trouble.

If an actual assault were to happen, he would mount a Celestial Horse and flee following those routes.

After all, Celestial Horses could disregard countless obstacles.

Just as Sun Wukong was imagining what might happen in his mind, a voice rang out.

“Is Pilgrim here?

Marshal Tianpeng has come to visit!”

A deep voice sounded outside of the Imperial Horse Censor.

It was none other than the returning Marshal Tianpeng.

Compared to his first visit to the Imperial Horse Censor, Marshal Tianpeng was much more polite this time.

“This guy came back so quickly!”

Sun Wukong was somewhat surprised; it had only been a few days since he rode out, and sure enough, the Celestial Horse was very fast.

After all, the visitor was Marshal Tianpeng, and through the introduction of his subordinates, he understood that this Marshal Tianpeng was the first disciple of the third generation of the Human Teachings Sect, holding a lofty status, someone he could not afford to offend.

With this in mind, Sun Wukong tucked away the map of escape routes into his bosom and then directly walked out.

His cultivation level was still in the early stage of Taiyi Golden Immortal.

Of course, it was slightly improved compared to the beginning.

After all, this was the celestial Court, and if there was no sign of improvement in oneself, that would be somewhat strange instead.

After walking out of the great hall, he saw the figure donning silver armor and holding a nine-toothed rake entering the Imperial Horse Censor, accompanied by a Celestial Horse.

The Registrars, Supervisor Assistants, and other officials of the Imperial Horse Censor also gathered around.

One of them led the Celestial Horse away.

“Marshal Tianpeng pays his respects to Pilgrim!”

Seeing Sun Wukong coming out, a look of joy appeared on Tianpeng’s face.

Noticing that Sun Wukong’s aura had improved significantly from a few days before, Marshal Tianpeng couldn’t help feeling surprised.

In just a few days, Sun Wukong was on the verge of breaking through the early stage of Taiyi Golden Immortal.

His talent couldn’t be deemed anything but strong.

After all, even among the immortals in the celestial Court who had reached the level of Taiyi Golden Immortal, it was possible that there would be no change for the rest of their lives.

This was not something that could easily change regardless of one’s location.

Had he known that Sun Wukong had already reached the early stage of Great Luo, Marshal Tianpeng would have been even more shocked.

The various officials present knew that their supervisor had come out and that Marshal Tianpeng must have some matters to discuss with their lord, so they all dispersed.

In the blink of an eye, only he and Sun Wukong were left in the great hall of the Imperial Horse Censor.

“Marshal Tianpeng has returned the Celestial Horse, may I ask if there’s anything else?”

Sun Wukong looked somewhat surprised at the lingering Marshal Tianpeng.

“Nothing much, I’ve just been preoccupied with what Pilgrim mentioned last time!”

He had been thinking about what Sun Wukong mentioned these past few days.

A respected man does not stand under a dangerous wall, and since he is a marshal, he would likely be the first to be affected if something big happened.

With this in mind, Marshal Tianpeng grew somewhat nervous.

It wouldn’t hurt to find a back-up plan.

In the midst of speaking, Marshal Tianpeng raised his hand and set up a magic spell, enveloping them within it.

“Oh?

What did I mention last time?

Marshal, you might be misremembering something I said!”

Sun Wukong certainly didn’t want to be caught by Marshal Tianpeng holding the handle again; as long as the map of escape routes was with himself, he would not admit to anything.

“Hahaha, Pilgrim is still upset about what happened last time.

I apologize for the offense I caused previously, I hope you won’t hold a grudge!”

Seeing Sun Wukong pretending to know nothing, Marshal Tianpeng couldn’t help but flash a wide smile, then with a flash of light in his hand, a bottle of Immortal Brew appeared.

“This Immortal Brew was gifted to me by the Queen Mother of the West during the feast at Yaochi last time, and it is the finest wine under Heaven.

Today I present this wine to you, hoping to erase any resentments between us from last time!”

Marshal Tianpeng approached smilingly as he said this.

“Oh?”

Sun Wukong became interested; he heard that the Immortal Wine of Heaven Realm contained celestial and earthly spiritual objects and was a treasure for cultivation.

Seeing Sun Wukong’s interest, Marshal Tianpeng quickly approached, then opened the Immortal Brew.

A rich Immortal Qi dispersed, filled with nature’s spiritual energy and a terrifying fragrance.

Even those who knew nothing about wine couldn’t easily resist it after smelling this aroma!

“This is the Hundred Flowers Immortal Brew from the celestial Court, made by the Queen Mother of the West from nearly a hundred types of spiritual plants and rare flowers in the Imperial Flower Garden, fermented for three thousand years and aged in cellars for three thousand years!”

Sun Wukong had heard of it, no wonder it possessed such strange fragrance and contained such rich Spiritual Energy.

Sun Wukong himself loved wine, and seeing such a superior Immortal Brew, he naturally felt impatient.

But to compromise himself for a bottle of Immortal Wine wasn’t worthwhile.

It was still best to figure out what Marshal Tianpeng wanted to do first.

“I wonder, why does Marshal Tianpeng bring out such Immortal Brew?

I, Old Sun, am a bit hesitant to accept rewards for no merit!”

Sun Wukong swallowed.

“Hehe, I just want to know the escape routes you’ve found, Pilgrim.

Don’t worry, I, Tianpeng, will surely not speak of it!”

Marshal Tianpeng also loved wine greatly.

At the feast in Yaochi, the Queen Mother had only rewarded him with two bottles of the Hundred Flowers Immortal Brew.

Generally, he didn’t drink it, occasionally indulging in just a small cup.

Now, he was giving away one bottle because he was truly worried; otherwise, he wouldn’t have done so.

Seeing Marshal Tianpeng’s serious look, Sun Wukong observed him carefully and didn’t think he was faking.

He couldn’t help but nod.