The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 103 - 101: A Great Fire Engulfs the Celestial Palace

Chapter 103: Chapter 101: A Great Fire Engulfs the Celestial Palace

Wukong caused Havoc in Heaven, and after defeating Wang Lingguan, thirty-six Thunder Generals from the Thunder Department arrived.

Wukong had already received instructions from Laojun. He fought with no reservations, not worrying about offending anyone. After all, he was destined to be suppressed by Tathagata under the Five Elements Mountain. So, he might as well enjoy the battle rather than endure five hundred years of solitude! Meanwhile, the Daoist Equal to Heaven could carefully devise his plans.

During the fight with Yang Jian and Daoist Equal to Heaven, he had already sent his third Primordial Spirit into Daoist Equal to Heaven’s body. Should he find the Six-Eared Macaque, he would kill it and then take over its physical body to seize the initiative during the Journey to the West!

At this moment, Jiao Demon King was still in seclusion, and his five brothers were indeed searching for the Six-Eared Macaque quietly, but without any success. Wukong wondered if maybe the Six-Eared Macaque had not yet been born, or Tathagata had hidden it away.

There the thirty-six Thunder Generals of the Thunder Department arranged their formation and shouted, "Demon Monkey, witness the thunder!"

The thirty-six thunder generals formed the Heavenly Stars Formation, and each revealed a Thunder Sword in hand. These Thunder Swords, forged from Heavenly Thunder, possessed extraordinary power. They relied on these swords to unleash thunder. Officials from various departments would refine a Magical Treasure for themselves. For example, the Constellations had forged the Constellation Sword to enhance their Divine Skills with their Dharma Swords.

A terrifying Divine Thunder descended from the sky. Holding the Jingu Bang, Wukong met it head-on. With a swing of his staff, a thunderous boom echoed, like two meteors colliding. Sparks of gold splattered in all directions, scattering the lightning.

"Quick! This demon monkey is formidable, and we cannot subdue him easily. Strike him with more thunderbolts!" cried Wang Lingguan.

The thirty-six Thunder Generals were also startled, not expecting Wukong to be so powerful that he dispersed their massive thunderbolt with a single blow.

Wukong sneered, "You bunch of cowards, couldn’t you see that even the Jade Emperor failed to kill your grandfather on the Immortal Slaying Stage? Yet here you are, overestimating yourselves, asking for a beating?"

All thirty-six Thunder Generals poured their strength into their Thunder Swords and unleashed them. Sword after sword of thunderbolts came roaring, like divine dragons. Wukong’s body shimmered, and he transformed into a being with three heads and six arms, each hand wielding a Magical Treasure, moving with an impenetrable rhythm. The Thunder Swords were all blocked from getting anywhere near him.

The thirty-six Thunder Generals were secretly terrified, not expecting Wukong to be so formidable that he remained unscathed by their myriad techniques.

Wang Lingguan scratched his head in frustration, "Hold him off for a moment. His Majesty is heading to Yao Pond; just make sure this demon monkey does not chase and kill His Majesty."

The thirty-six Thunder Generals were merely cannon fodder, sent to die, but thankfully, they weren’t entirely lacking in ability. In the political struggle, there must be sacrifices. Perhaps these Thunder Generals were not the Jade Emperor’s staunch loyalists, but the Thunder Department still needed to show a stance—I did make a move, it’s just that I couldn’t stop the demon monkey, that’s all.

Without a Great Emperor-level expert taking action, even several Heavenly Masters excused themselves for closed-door cultivation; Wukong was naturally unstoppable.

The doors of Hook Chen Palace were shut. Great Emperor Zhenwu made excuses to go to Western Heaven to request Tathagata’s presence. Great Emperor Ziwei was uninvolved. Emperor of Eternal Life was a disciple of the Primordial Lineage. There was also Great Emperor Qinghua, but the Jade Emperor dared not ask him to act, lest he expose his own lack of strength, and furthermore, invite the wrath of the Three Pure Ones—a loss far outweighing the gain.

Inside Yao Pond, a group of experts guarded the Mother Peach Tree. If the Jade Emperor took refuge in Yao Pond, he would be relatively safe. Even if Wukong truly intended to kill him, it wouldn’t be easy.

The thirty-six Thunder Generals repeatedly unleashed their Divine Skills to block Wukong. With three heads and six arms, Wukong was unstoppable, batting away every Thunder Sword with his Jingu Bang and God-Beating Whip. Some swords were even smashed to pieces on the spot.

"This demon monkey is so formidable!" everyone silently lamented.

Lightning storms raged over the VLOOKUP(A1309,[1]Sheet1!$A:$B,2,0), and civil officials fled to their own residences, fearful of being caught in the crossfire. In a wild frenzy, Wukong struck down anyone of slightly lower cultivation—straight to their death.

In no time, corpses piled up like mountains!

Indeed, Great Emperor Zhenwu had gone to Western Heaven, but hearing that Ancestral Earth Immortal Zhen Yuanzi had appeared in West Cow He State, he went to visit him instead. Engrossed in their conversation, they temporarily forgot about visiting Tathagata. The fact that Zhen Yuanzi could remain independent in Buddhist territory showed his might, as even Dipankara Buddha had left in frustration.

Wukong jeered, "You really don’t know whether to live or die! Your grandpa was struck by twenty-four divine thunders from your Thunder Department on the Immortal Slaying Stage and stayed unharmed, yet you, his underlings, dare to challenge me!"

Referring to himself now as "grandpa," now as "your grandfather," Wukong infuriated the group of heavenly generals. A ferocious battle ensued in a world that seemed to lack the Three Talents.

Suddenly, Wukong channeled a Divine Skill called "Whirlwind and Return Fire," a Saint’s secret Technique from the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Transformations, quite formidable in its own right. With a pinch of his spell, he tossed it into the sky and used his staff to inscribe the character "Xun" in the void—an insight gained from the Bagua World. As the character materialized, a violent wind arose.

This Divine Skill, as the name suggests, used wind to ignite fire. This was no ordinary fire, but the Purifying Purple Flame from Laojun’s Furnace. The Purifying Purple Flame had an extraordinary origin—the first flame since the creation of the world, merged with the first purple light of heaven and earth, of limitless power. Certainly, when used in Alchemy, it greatly expedited the process. It goes without saying that Laojun’s achievements in Alchemy and Artifact Refining owed much to not just the Bagua Oven but also the crucial assistance of this Purifying Purple Flame.

The soothing wind howled as if it would blow away people’s souls. With a change in Wukong’s spell, the wind swept through the thirty-six Thunder Generals, and fire immediately followed. A vast expanse of purple flames surged like a purple ocean overturned upon them.

"Ah! That’s Laojun’s Purifying Purple Flame, let’s retreat quickly!" shouted someone who recognized the flame.

Wukong blew on the flames, and instantly, a vast palace complex caught fire, burning so fiercely it was a pitiable sight. But what sort of fire was truly good?

It was precisely:

A great fire soared to the Nine Heavens, violet flames roared down to the Yellow Springs.

Immortals and Buddhas all retreated, even Laojun began to worry.

The Thirty-Six Thunder Generals, buffeted by the Soothing Wind, nearly had their souls scattered to the winds, feeling the chill rise from the Bubbling Spring acupoint in their feet.

"This isn’t good, the wind from this demon monkey contains the ’Guifeng’ from the Three Calamities and Five Tribulations!" someone cried out. But the chill that originated from the soles of their feet had already passed through their viscera and reached every part of their bodies, instantly reducing their internal organs to ashes along with their Primordial Spirits, leaving not even their souls behind.

The Guifeng is an extremely cold wind between heaven and earth, which rises from the Bubbling Spring acupoint at a person’s feet, then passes through their viscera, destroying everything in its path. Without a method to avoid the Three Calamities and Five Tribulations, encountering such a natural disaster only leaves one to wait for death.

When Wukong unleashed the Soothing Wind, it secretly contained a strand of Guifeng, indeed a divine skill for ambushing others, and something he had comprehended within Laojun’s Furnace. "Xun" represents all the winds under heaven, Bagua represents the origin of this world, and having comprehended the Bagua, how could Wukong not be formidable? This trip into Laojun’s furnace had truly brought immense benefits. The malicious wind Wukong blew forth instantly killed all the Thirty-Six Thunder Generals; blown by the Guifeng, it ignited the flames at the Bubbling Spring point, instantly burning them to death.

Wukong couldn’t help but secretly exclaim, "I didn’t expect the wind to be this fierce. One really can’t underestimate the Three Calamities and Five Tribulations."

The Three Calamities and Five Tribulations are the nightmare of those on the Immortal Path; among them, the most fearsome is likely this Guifeng, followed only by the Nine Tribulations, which are also difficult to pass. However, Wukong possesses the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Transformations taught by Subhuti, a method that allows one to avoid the Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations once cultivated. There are many methods in the world, most of which teach ways to evade the Three Calamities and Five Tribulations as well as the Nine Tribulations; otherwise, countless cultivators would perish during their practice.

Watching as Wukong killed the Thirty-Six Thunder Generals and countless Heavenly Soldiers in one fell swoop, even setting the surrounding palaces ablaze, Wang Lingguan felt his scalp tingle and turned to flee.

Wukong cursed, "Where do you think you’re going, little Wang Lingguan?"

Wang Lingguan knew he definitely couldn’t stop Wukong, and to charge forth and die for nothing would be foolish.

Wukong had no intention of letting Wang Lingguan escape. With a whoosh, he breathed True Qi onto the Seven Stars Sword, and in an instant, the sword shone brilliantly, transforming into seven cold stars that flew out and landed on Wang Lingguan’s back.

Wang Lingguan cried out in pain, "Ah!" Before the sound could fade, the seven cold stars exploded on the flesh of his back, blooming in an instant like seven plum blossoms, which were in fact the pattern of seven bloody flowers blasted out from his back.

Poor Wang Lingguan, whose aeon’s worth of cultivation dropped like a pie in the sky, was nailed dead by the Seven Stars Sword forged by Laojun.

Struck by the Seven Stars Sword that transformed into seven cold stars, Wang Lingguan died on the spot, those cold stars striking not merely flesh but his Primordial Spirit. Striking his back, a surge of the power of the seven stars flooded in, killing his Primordial Spirit into a mass of ashen dust, leaving him utterly dead.

In a previous life, the two had fought to a draw, but this time, Wang Lingguan could only harbor resentment in the Yellow Springs.

Wukong performed a spell to sever Wang Lingguan’s head and hung it on his waist. The oncoming Heavenly Soldiers were so terrified their legs became as soft as dough, almost collapsing on the ground.

"Make way!" Wukong bellowed furiously, like a thunderclap, using the secret technique of the Buddhist Lion’s Roar, which also seemed like a Taoist Mantra.

A Heavenly Soldier in front, frightened out of his wits, clanged his weapon to the ground, pleading, "Great Saint, spare my life, spare my life!"

Wukong sneered coldly but was suddenly confronted by a streak of firelight from the side. A nine-toothed rake swung violently toward him.

Wukong turned and lifted his Jingu Bang staff, deflecting the rake. Then with a fierce swipe of the God-Beating Whip, crack, it struck the chest of Heavenly Cover.

That strike almost split Heavenly Cover’s Primordial Spirit in two, his chest exploded into a blur, and he was flung away, promptly using the water escape technique to dive into the Heavenly River.

Wukong grinned and thought, "This fellow does have some guts, knowing full well he can’t defeat me, yet he still dared to make a sneak attack."

Wukong paid him no more attention, the head of Wang Lingguan hanging from his waist glaring fiercely, as if it were the head of Xiang Yu severed by Liu Bang, still capable of terrifying even in death.

The already weakened Heavenly Soldiers, upon seeing the head of Wang Lingguan, dared not make a move and stepped aside one after another.

To find out what happens next, please follow the continuing story.