Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 132 - 132 132 The Celestial Court is Cautious Falling into Sun Wukong's Trap

132: Chapter 132: The Celestial Court is Cautious, Falling into Sun Wukong’s Trap 132: Chapter 132: The Celestial Court is Cautious, Falling into Sun Wukong’s Trap Although Li Jing was the Demon-Sweeping Marshal of the celestial Court and had been valiant and good at fighting for many years, he was exceptionally quick at dispatching troops.

However, with one day in heaven being equivalent to a year on earth, an hour’s delay in the celestial Court meant that over half a month had already passed on Mount Huaguo.

Many deities of the celestial Court flew out of the Southern Heaven Gate and passed through the dense Gang Wind Layer, only to see a mountain range enveloped in Wu Jing Immortal Clouds emerge between heaven and earth in the distance.

The towering peaks were majestic and imposing.

Seventy-two peaks stood between heaven and earth, exuding an infinite sense of authority and dominance.

On Mount Huaguo, which appeared to be a mortal’s Immortal Realm, there suddenly were countless layers of formations that faintly appeared in the void, seemingly blending with heaven and earth.

However, to Li Jing, who had already stepped into the realm of a Daluo Golden Immortal, it was easy to see through these formations.

Li Jing stood above the clouds, looking at Mount Huaguo in the distance, nearly shrouded by formations, with a cold sneer in his eyes.

“This macaque truly has the audacity of the heavens, knowing full well that we are coming to capture him, yet he dares to deploy such formations, thinking he can block our celestial Court’s army—truly laughable!”

Of course, even though Li Jing looked down on Sun Wukong’s strength and the formations he set up now, he didn’t act rashly right away.

Perhaps his strength wasn’t much in the eyes of the many celestial Court Star Lords, but after all, he had participated in numerous battles.

He was involved not only in the Investiture of the Gods Period battles but also fought with the Great Demons of Beiju Luzhou.

Hence, his ability to command troops was naturally unparalleled among the Star Lords.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to secure the position of the Demon-Sweeping Marshal so easily.

Looking down from the clouds, he saw mist and monster energy pervading Mount Huaguo, with layers of formations that obscured the true appearance of the mountains, as if numerous demons lurked within, waiting in ambush.

The silence was awe-inspiring.

Without having to look closely, Li Jing knew that this time, Sun Wukong must have been prepared.

Li Jing then said, “That monkey has caused great trouble in the celestial Court and has deceived even heaven, even escaping from our hands—he does have some skill.

Right now, the situation is unclear.

Let us not make a move just yet.

We shall observe for a while or send someone to scout out the situation before we capture him in one fell swoop!”

Li Jing’s words reminded them of the recent events, and they all felt somewhat embarrassed.

But Li Jing wasted no words and directly ordered the celestial soldiers to set up camp on an island in the Eastern Sea near Mount Huaguo.

Once the camp was established, Li Jing spoke again, “Four Great Marshals, you go ahead and lead the vanguard.

In this assault, you are only allowed success, not failure.

If you tarnish the reputation of the celestial Court, I will have no choice but to deal with you by martial law.”

The Four Great Marshals stepped forward.

At that moment, they felt rather helpless.

But since Li Jing was personally granted the title of Demon-Sweeping Marshal by the Jade Emperor and was the commander of the troops this time, they naturally did not dare to disobey him.

They could only bow and acknowledge the order.

However, Wen Zhong took a step forward and blocked the path of the Four Great Marshals.

But Wen Zhong directly spoke to stop the Four Great Marshals, who were already prepared to fly on their clouds toward Mount Huaguo.

“Wait, celestial King, everyone should be aware of Sun Wukong’s cunning.

Using the same methods we used against the Great Demons of Beiju Luzhou might not work, and even if we call him out for battle, I’m afraid that macaque won’t show up!”

Hearing Wen Zhong’s words, the Four Great Marshals couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

After all, a being capable of using so many avatars to confuse and attract everyone’s attention, allowing his true self to escape, was a testament to Sun Wukong’s craftiness.

However, when Li Jing heard these words, he frowned.

It was his first command and was already being contradicted by Wen Zhong, which naturally made him displeased.

Moreover, since they never got along well with each other, his dissatisfaction was even more evident now.

But Wen Zhong was, after all, an Orthodox Deity of the Thunder Department and had been the Grand Tutor of the Shang Dynasty.

His status was venerable in the celestial Court, and he had the support of many from the former Shang lineage.

Directly opposing Wen Zhong’s views without consideration wasn’t wise.

And if Li Jing showed dissatisfaction with Wen Zhong, not only the Twenty-Four Star Lords behind Wen Zhong but also Luo Xuan and other deities of the Fire Division would show no favor.

Therefore, after weighing the situation for a moment, Li Jing could only bow his head and then said, “I wonder what the Grand Tutor’s suggestion might be?

You may speak freely!”

Wen Zhong nodded slightly and then said, “Originally, I should not interfere with celestial King Li’s command of troops.

However, this matter concerns our entire celestial Court.

Though I am not very familiar with Sun Wukong, after the previous incident with his avatar, which was able to deceive us, and even…”

At this point, Wen Zhong paused and chose not to continue.

But even if he said no more, the deities present understood.

Wen Zhong was referring to none other than the Jade Emperor.

If it hadn’t been for the Jade Emperor directing them through the Haotian Mirror, they wouldn’t have allowed Sun Wukong to escape so easily.

However, the Jade Emperor, being the Ruler of the Three Realms, was not someone they could criticize.

“What does Military Counselor Wen suggest?”

Li Jing already had a guess, but still asked the question.

“Therefore, my suggestion is that we should first send someone to infiltrate Mount Huaguo to find out what Sun Wukong is up to before we decide on our next step,” Wen Zhong continued after a brief pause.

After Wen Zhong finished speaking, he paused slightly and then said, “What does celestial King Li think of this plan?”

Before Li Jing could answer, Luo Xuan also chimed in, “Actually, I share the same thought.

Sun Wukong, that macaque, is extremely cunning.

If we rashly challenge him, we might fall into his trap.

What’s more, he might use an avatar again.

I believe if we could understand the details of Sun Wukong’s preparations and even locate his true self, we would have a better chance of capturing him!”

Hearing Luo Xuan’s words, the Deities of the Celestial Court present couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

However, the scene made Li Jing’s face somewhat awkward.

The Jade Emperor had initially tasked him with the responsibility of this bandit-surpression mission, yet most people had agreed with the views of Wen Zhong and Luo Xuan.

What did this imply about his position as a Marshal?

Li Jing naturally felt quite disgruntled.

Yet, paradoxically, Li Jing couldn’t find any reason to refute them.

After all, although there was a hint of Wen Zhong taking charge, what he had said was sensible, especially considering that they had recently fought with a mere avatar for such a long time.

If they were to call out a challenge, and an avatar emerged and battled with them again for a similar duration, what would their situation be?

What could it be?

Perhaps they would be weakened without realizing it.

If he were to disagree now, it would not only appear as if he were holding on to his status but also as if he lacked generosity.

Immediately, Li Jing spoke up, “Good, very well, the concerns raised by the two of you are indeed what I, as the Marshal, am worried about.

Since that’s the case, let’s proceed as Military Counselor Wen has suggested!”

If he couldn’t refute, then he wouldn’t.

However, the credit for this mission would be his.

Upon hearing Li Jing’s words, the Deities of the Thunder and Fire Departments sneered but said nothing further, as now was not the time to argue about this matter.

Li Jing, Wen Zhong, and Luo Xuan then discussed further, and after determining the infiltration route,

The Four Great Marshals flew out and infiltrated Mount Huaguo directly.

In truth, Wen Zhong and Luo Xuan had other options for infiltration, but Li Jing’s insistence that the Four Great Marshals take action meant they could only acquiesce.

After all, the true person in charge of this mission was Li Jing, not them.

This bit of face had to be given.

Indeed, the Four Great Marshals of the Ninth Celestial Palace were figures from the Investiture of the Gods Period, originally the Four Saints of Dragon Island, summoned by Wen Zhong to aid the Shopkeeper in the campaign against West Qi.

At first, they achieved sweeping victories, but later, Jiang Ziya summoned the God-Beating Whip, alongside Jin Zha and Mu Zha descending from the mountain, and Manjushri Guangfa Venerable slew the dead.

After their deaths, they were divinely enthroned and became the Four Great Marshals of the Ninth Celestial Palace.

They too were part of the Cutting Teachings Sect, so it seemed quite normal for Li Jing to arrange for them at this time.

The dead moved with incredible speed, transformed into four black shadows, and rapidly rushed into Mount Huaguo, entering a valley, then headed toward the direction where Sun Wukong resided.

Though there were many formations along the way, these formations seemed to be designed to defend against aerial attacks and not ground assaults, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

However, what they didn’t notice was that, as they advanced, a peach tree leaf gently shook, revealing the figure of Sun Wukong.

Simultaneously, ahead of them appeared a forest where some tree trunks had monkey fur on them; with the approach of the Four Great Marshals, these monkey hairs also began to shimmer.

“They’re here!”

Sun Wukong was at this moment watching this scene intently.

Just as Wen Zhong and Luo Xuan of the Thunder and Fire Departments had said, he was prepared.

No matter whether the Celestial Court’s forces intended to attack from above or below, he didn’t care.

Because the formations above were there to deal with these people, and preparations had already been made below.

Now that someone had finally arrived, he had been looking forward to this moment for a long time.

The other party had infiltrated Mount Huaguo to scout the situation, and then there would be Li Jing to suppress it, obviously due to the events of the last encounter.

Though it was a cautious plan,

it also gave Sun Wukong a window to act.

He had even anticipated many tactics.

For example, if the Celestial Court’s forces used the Dragon Palace’s method to enter his cave dwelling, he had already contemplated countermeasures.

But it was evident that these Celestial Court’s people were far more confident than he was, paying no heed to his formations at all.

Of course, even so, Sun Wukong had no intention of underestimating them because, after all, no one knew what might happen later.

It was best to be cautious in order to avoid a mishap.

Above and on the ground of Mount Huaguo, he had set up countless formations.

With the improvement of his Cultivation Level, his proficiency in formations had also increased greatly.

Of course, his intention in setting up these formations was not to win, but rather…