The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 126 - 123: Wusheng Delivers a Stele at Guan Jiangkou

Chapter 126: Chapter 123: Wusheng Delivers a Stele at Guan Jiangkou

On this day, Patriarch Subhuti was meditating in the Quiet Room when he saw Xia Dynasty Dragon Seals materializing between his fingers.

Though he was a scholar of heavenly beings, he couldn’t fully understand the inscriptions on the Swallowing Dragon Stele and could only deduce them one by one, turning them into small worlds, and casting each character into them.

Prior to this, no one had taken the Swallowing Dragon Stele seriously, thinking it was just someone’s trick. It was only after it flew away on its own that people realized how precious the characters were, but only a few dozen had been left in the human world.

After a long while, Patriarch Subhuti manifested the last character and, closing his eyes in affirmation, said, "So that’s how it is, the Heavenly Dao has indeed been reversed. No wonder that Macaca is so intelligent! Calculating these characters consumes too much cultivation strength, no wonder others are not interested in these inscriptions."

The Swallowing Dragon Stele recorded that Wukong, influenced by the power of the Rebirth Box, reversed the Heavenly Dao and returned to more than five hundred years ago, but the name signed at the bottom was an unexpected one—Fuxi.

Subhuti muttered to himself, "Celestial Emperor Fuxi, truly remarkable. If such a character hadn’t emerged, I fear the next heavenly calamity might truly have been insurmountable. But what mysteries do the other eight Swallowing Dragon Steles hold? Even Saints can’t resist the reversal of the Heavenly Dao; no wonder my own memory is completely gone! In my previous life, I did not intervene, perhaps due to someone’s instructions; this scheme has indeed been laid out grandly!"

Subhuti recalled everything with his eyes closed, considering that if Wukong knew his philosophy well, then what was recorded on the Swallowing Dragon Stele was likely correct. Otherwise, how could a demon monkey that had just been born be so clever? Despite this, he still found it quite mystical, after all, time had been reversed for more than five hundred years, truly unbelievable.

With a sweep of his large sleeve, the mysterious runes immediately dissipated into nothingness, as he thought to himself, "The other eight Swallowing Dragon Steles likely contain more than just ordinary matters."

Suddenly, a black coffin appeared before his eyes, the very one that Wusheng had brought back from the Map of Mountains and Rivers.

"How did you get here?" asked Subhuti indifferently.

"I have just awakened and have brought a stele for your disciple!" replied the coffin.

Out of nowhere, a huge Swallowing Dragon Stele appeared, and the giant dragon glanced at Subhuti, saying, "Primordial Limitless Indestructible Great Luo Golden Immortal cannot be deduced."

Subhuti simply smiled faintly and waved his sleeve, causing the Swallowing Dragon Stele to shrink down and fall into his hand.

The coffin trembled twice and said, "Find me a place abundant with True Qi that is also hidden; I need to recover my strength as quickly as possible."

"Luoyang is the Dragon’s Eye of The Eastern Land, but its fortunes have been severed by a single sword strike, and the Dragon Qi of the capital is gradually shifting to Chang’an. How about I send you to Luoyang? After all, the current dynasty should be nearing its end," suggested Subhuti.

The coffin hesitated for a moment before replying, "That’s all well and good, but I’m afraid it might not be safe."

"Within the Dragon’s Eye are seated the Hundred Sage Scholars; they preside there, and outsiders dare not enter lightly. It’s not a matter of safety but of supreme security," Subhuti said with a smile.

"Alright, send me inside Luoyang’s Dragon’s Eye then. You’ve calculated quite well, fearing karma, and even let me give the final push to the demise of the Han Dynasty," the coffin said.

"You are untainted by karma, so what is there to fear?" replied Subhuti.

A portal appeared in the air with a wave of Subhuti’s large sleeve, and the coffin entered the hole, arriving shortly thereafter within the Dragon’s Eye of Luoyang. This display of divine skill, astonishing to witness, joining this location with Luoyang’s Dragon’s Eye with great magical power— how many in the world could achieve such a feat?

After sending the coffin away, Subhuti called out, "Wusheng, come in!"

Wusheng entered the Quiet Room and bowed, saying, "Master, what are your instructions?"

Subhuti handed her the Swallowing Dragon Stele and said, "Give this stele to that Macaca."

Wusheng nodded her head and asked, "Has Master understood the inscriptions on the Swallowing Dragon Stele?"

Subhuti shook his head and replied, "Cannot say, cannot say! If I spoke out, I’m afraid someone would hear."

Wusheng, hearing this, dared not ask further. She took the Swallowing Dragon Stele and inquired, "Where is that Macaca’s second body?"

"He’s at Erlang Shen’s Temple of True Monarch in Guan Jiangkou, stealing his incense offerings. Go find him there!" Subhuti instructed.

Wusheng chuckled and said, "That Macaca, after giving Yang Jian the complete method to the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Transformations, still refuses to be at a loss, stealing others’ incense. I shall go now!"

"Go, go," said Subhuti.

Without further words, Wusheng left the Quiet Room and headed towards the Southern Toad Continent.

Upon reaching Guan Jiangkou, she entertained the thought of teasing him a bit and turned herself into a mortal. It was still very early, just before dawn, and no mortals had yet come to offer incense at the Temple of the True Monarch.

She entered the main hall and saw the towering statue of Erlang Shen. As she summoned her divine skills, she saw the Daoist Equal to Heaven sitting cross-legged within the statue, absorbing the incense to refine his Sharira.

"This Macaca has quite the good fortune, Amitabha, I can’t even cultivate those scriptures, yet he’s already cultivated a Sharira! It truly makes one envious!" Wusheng thought to herself.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven was pleased to see a mortal arrive outside. People were coming so early today; there must be a generous amount of incense. Wusheng saw the statue emitting a hazy brilliance. The mortals must think the True Lord has manifested himself, which is why the incense has been so plentiful these past few days.

Wusheng spoke, "I ask the True Lord to grant my wish, and I hereby offer up incense."

She bowed deeply, and the Daoist Equal to Heaven inside felt his Primordial Spirit tremble. With a thunderous crash, the statue collapsed, and he was directly ejected from it. He was secretly shocked, thinking, "Who is she, that I cannot withstand a single bow from her?"

The Daoist Equal to Heaven, after all, had too little mana to withstand Wusheng’s bow.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven said, "Who are you?!"

Wusheng smiled and said, "You’re not very honest, stealing incense from others here."

The Daoist Equal to Heaven joyfully said, "Senior sister, it’s you! Your bow really scared me to death."

Although Wusheng had changed her appearance and temperament, she had forgotten to change her voice, which the Daoist Equal to Heaven immediately recognized.

Wusheng revealed her true appearance and said, "You have caused a great disaster by breaking the Southern Sky Gate with a single shot. Master sent me to bring you to the Heavenly Court for the Jade Emperor’s judgment."

The Daoist Equal to Heaven was startled and said, "You can’t be serious? Senior sister, don’t scare me, or you might scare me to death."

Wusheng laughed heartily and scolded, "You still know fear? When you shot that arrow, you didn’t think to hold back your strength, and you almost killed the Jade Emperor. If you had killed him, you wouldn’t be able to live either."

The Daoist Equal to Heaven listened, inwardly alarmed. He had nearly killed the Jade Emperor, but then he relaxed, sure that Wusheng was just joking with him. Patriarch Subhuti was so mysterious; how could he listen to the Jade Emperor? A thought struck him, and he realized that the only one who seemed to have broken the Southern Sky Gate was the Three Pure Ones. He chuckled and said, "Senior sister, tell me honestly, is our master Laojun?"

Wusheng replied, "Isn’t our master called Subhuti?"

The Daoist Equal to Heaven, hearing her evade the question, could only helplessly clasp his hands together and say, "I don’t know what senior sister wants with me this time?"

Wusheng shut the gates of the Temple of the True Monarch and brought out the Swallowing Dragon Stele, saying, "Master has acquired this stele and instructed me to deliver it to you."

The Daoist Equal to Heaven silently exclaimed, "Indeed! This Swallowing Dragon Stele must really be one of the nine!"

The Daoist Equal to Heaven, knowing it was a gift from his master, didn’t hesitate to accept the third Swallowing Dragon Stele into his pouch, saying, "Thanks to master and senior sister. Hehe, I always trouble you to run errands for me, senior sister. I really feel guilty about it!"

Wusheng tapped his head and said, "You better not cause any trouble recently, or else if you’re caught, I’d like to see what you’d do!"

The Daoist Equal to Heaven thought to himself, "I won’t tell you I have a third body hidden in Flower-Fruit Mountain!" He clasped his hands and said, "Senior sister, you broke Yang Jian’s statue, so you must help me fix it. Otherwise, when Erlang Shen finishes his retreat, I’ll have a hard time explaining."

Wusheng snorted and used the Five Ghosts Transporting Great Method, summoning five little ghosts and said, "You help me repair this statue, and you will bear the consequences if you fail."

"Yes, yes, Great Immortal, we will not neglect our duties and will repair the statue immediately!" the Five Ghosts hastily bowed in agreement.

The five little ghosts brought in mud and water and began to repair the statue while the Daoist Equal to Heaven escorted Wusheng out of the Temple of the True Monarch.

Wusheng said, "Turbulent times are approaching, take care of yourself! And another thing, the age-old slaughter is set to arrive in a little more than twenty Jiazi. In these thousand years, you must not be negligent. Strive in your cultivation so that you don’t turn to ash when the time comes, dishonoring our sect."

The Daoist Equal to Heaven’s expression was solemn as he responded, "As a disciple, I will certainly dedicate myself to cultivation and dare not slack off. Senior sister, please go in peace. Give my regards to our master; I miss him dearly."

Wusheng nodded and rode the clouds away.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the Taoist temple, thinking, "Brother Yang’s retreat will probably last a hundred years this time. The Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams is quite difficult to comprehend. Although he only needs to understand the principles related to the Seventy-Two Terrestrial Sha Transformations, it’s not easy. In that Bagua World, I spent eight whole cycles!"

One cycle is one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years; eight cycles amount to more than a million years. The divination methods of Celestial Emperor Fuxi are unfathomable, not something the average person can grasp.

To find out what happens next, please tune in to the following episode.