Journey to the West: With a supernatural understanding, he entered Fangcun Mountain at the beginning
Chapter 26 - The Doushuai Palace

Chapter 26: The Doushuai Palace

The Monkey King rode the clouds, swiftly passing by the pavilions and towers of the Heavenly Palace. Suddenly, ahead appeared an immortal, barefoot and floating towards him – it was the Barefoot Immortal.

The Monkey King laughed and said, “Barefoot Immortal, where are you going?”

The Barefoot Immortal paused for a moment, then looked at the Monkey King and said, “Ah, it’s you, Great Sage! Tonight is the Queen Mother’s birthday, and I’ve been invited to attend the Peachtree Banquet.”

The Monkey King’s eyes turned, a plan forming in his mind. He said, “I see! I, too, am going to attend the Queen Mother’s Peachtree Banquet, but you may not know, Immortal, that this year the banquet has been moved to another location. You might be heading in the wrong direction.”

The Barefoot Immortal looked confused and asked, “It’s always been held at the Jade Pool; why this change this year?”

The Monkey King chuckled, “Perhaps it’s due to some special arrangement. You go ahead first, Immortal. I need to inform the other immortals.”

The Barefoot Immortal nodded and said, “Ah, I understand now. Thanks for the heads up!” He then rode his cloud off in the opposite direction to the Jade Pool.

The two immortals met in the clouds, each with their own intentions. The Great Sage plotted cleverly, while the Immortal was too trusting.

Their encounter was subtle, all because the Peachtree Banquet had been moved.

The Monkey King headed straight for the Jade Pool, while the Barefoot Immortal only realized his mistake later.

The morning sun shone brightly, and the clouds glowed with golden light. The Jade Pool appeared above the clouds, like a delicate and translucent palace, surrounded by celestial energy. The water of the Jade Pool was as clear as a mirror, shimmering in the light, reflecting the beauty of the world.

The Monkey King, with a somersault cloud, arrived at the Jade Pool. He saw the delicious food, fine wine, and divine treats, with nectar dripping from the leaves. His anger grew as he thought, “How dare they not invite me, the Great Sage? This Peachtree Banquet will not happen!”

The Monkey King plucked a hair from his body and transformed it into several sleepy insects, causing the Jade Pool’s attendants to fall into a deep sleep. Seeing this, the Monkey King was secretly pleased and entered the Jade Pool.

He saw the tables full of fine food, wine, and delicacies. The Monkey King’s appetite was uncontrollable, and he devoured everything without restraint, drinking and eating with delight. The food was delicious, and the wine intoxicating. The Monkey King enjoyed himself, forgetting the troubles of the world.

On a lotus leaf in the Jade Pool, Qin Chuan transformed into a dragonfly, watching the drunken Monkey King and thinking to himself, “To make such a great immortal as the Monkey King drunk like this, these immortal wines must be no ordinary product. The gods and Buddhas across the heavens are fighting for ‘merit’ in the Journey to the West, and they are clearly not sparing any expense.”

At his current level, having stayed in the Heavenly Palace for so long, Qin Chuan understood the Journey to the West like the back of his hand.

The entire Journey to the West was like a gigantic merit cake, and the deity who would enjoy most of it was the Buddha of the Western Paradise, sitting on the lotus throne of the Great Thunder Sound Temple.

However, this birthday banquet had a well-known rule: based on one’s level of participation in the Journey to the West, they could cut off countless small pieces from the huge merit cake.

The Buddhist sect’s rise had led to a mixture of hostility, indifference, and manipulation, but merit was a valuable thing.

In the ancient prehistoric era, after the Dao Ancestor Hongjun, the first saint in the world was one who achieved sainthood through merit.

The merits of Heaven’s Dao had infinite uses: they could aid in cultivation, weapon forging, alchemy, law creation… anything could benefit from it. Such a wonderful thing—whether in the Heavenly Palace Daoist Sect or within the Buddhist sect, with its many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas—who wouldn’t want it?

Merit protected the body like a cloud, shielding one from calamity for eons.

The Buddhist sect naturally knew they couldn’t hoard the entire merit cake to themselves. If someone with great power came and flipped the table, the Buddhists would suffer as well.

So, as long as the Journey to the West proceeded smoothly, the Buddhist sect would generally turn a blind eye to most things.

If someone with great abilities intervened to stop the Journey to the West, perhaps we would see the Buddhist sect, after having sealed the gods, rapidly rise and even threaten to surpass the Daoist sect.

The Queen Mother had even taken out peaches from the last ten thousand years—these divine nectars were certainly not in short supply. After the Journey to the West, it seemed likely that much merit would be distributed.

Qin Chuan silently thought to himself that, with his current strength, it was impossible for him to stop the Journey to the West.

Since that was the case, he decided to get involved, seeking the greatest benefits, and quickly elevate himself. This was also why, knowing the plot’s development, he had not stopped the Monkey King’s actions.

The Monkey King emptied the Jade Pool’s divine treasures, wine, and nectar in a drunken stupor. Staggering and intoxicated, he flew on the clouds, unknowingly reaching the thirty-three heavens’ Leihen Tian Doushuai Palace.

“Doushuai Palace? Isn’t this the Daoist temple of the Supreme Lord? How did I end up here?”

The Monkey King was still drunk. Seeing the gates of the Doushuai Palace and finding it deserted, he simply pushed open the door and stormed in.

Stumbling, he entered the alchemy chamber and saw a cauldron with flames blazing. Around it were five gourds. Upon closer inspection, the gourds contained golden pills.

The Monkey King was overjoyed and said, “I’ve long heard that the Supreme Lord’s alchemy is unparalleled in the three realms. Today, I’m fortunate to obtain these golden pills.” He poured out the golden pills from the five gourds, swallowing them all in a single gulp.

As the pills entered his stomach, the Monkey King immediately felt light as a feather, and much of his drunkenness vanished. He thought to himself, “Oh no, this is bad. I’ve caused an even greater disaster than before. If things get exposed, my life could be in danger. I need to return to the Great Sage’s residence and let Qin Chuan know. He has the emperor’s token; it should be fine. I’ll return to the mortal realm and become king again.”

At this moment, the Monkey King’s thoughts were jumbled, and his guard was down. Suddenly, a hand grasped his wrist. The Monkey King was startled and was about to break free when he saw that it was Qin Chuan. He breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly, “Qin Chuan, I’ve really messed up this time. I should go back to Flower-Fruit Mountain first.”

Qin Chuan held the Monkey King and made a gesture for silence, his gaze falling upon the Bagua Furnace in front of them.

[Observe the Six Ding Divine Fire in the Bagua Furnace and comprehend the True Fire of the Sun.]

Wasn’t the Supreme Lord’s Bagua Furnace supposed to contain the Three-Immortals True Fire? Qin Chuan was momentarily confused but didn’t pursue it. He then turned to the Monkey King and said, “You monkey, I turned my back for a moment and you’re already causing trouble again!”

The Monkey King awkwardly scratched his head and said, “This can’t be blamed on me! That Queen Mother was in the wrong, not inviting me, the Great Sage, to the Peachtree Banquet!”

“Then how did you end up in the Supreme Lord’s Doushuai Palace?”

The Monkey King, also confused, replied, “Maybe I was drunk and wandered in by mistake… Forget it, Qin Chuan, I’ve really messed up this time. I should go back to Flower-Fruit Mountain.”

Qin Chuan released the Monkey King’s hand, smiling as he pointed to the surrounding walls of the alchemy room. Every grid on the wall held a gourd containing medicinal pills. He said, “Well, since you’ve already caused the trouble, there’s no point in stopping now. You can’t just leave empty-handed.”

The Monkey King was delighted to hear this.

…