The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 222 - 217: Helping Sima Equal to Heaven in His Fury

Chapter 222: Chapter 217: Helping Sima Equal to Heaven in His Fury

It is said that Chi Songzi drove away the group of demons from the Demon Path, thereby bringing peace to Shushan.

Chi Songzi said, "Now that this matter is resolved, follow me back into Shennong’s Secret Realm. I will pass on to you the Thunder Inducing Dharma Gate from the ’Shenxiao Torrential Rain’."

Enlightenment Dao bowed and said, "Very well, senior, please lead the way."

The two re-entered Shennong’s Secret Realm; Chi Songzi found a mountain peak, sat cross-legged on the top, and began to teach the method.

"The most powerful Taoist magic in this world is the Divine Sky Taoist Magic. Thunder, utterly rigid and yang, strikes down, forcing demons to retreat and all things to turn to ash. The heavens have nine layers, the earth divides into the Nine Serenities, naturally, there are also numerous kinds of celestial thunder. This Purple Dawn Divine Thunder is one of them; others include the Red Sky Divine Thunder, Golden Sky Divine Thunder, and so forth. To conjure divine thunder, one must use one’s vigorous yang energy to connect with the Heavenly Dao," Chi Songzi said slowly, his stick quietly moving along the ground.

He carved a series of incantations and heart method on the hard mountain stone and said, "This is the Thunder Inducing Dharma Gate from the ’Shenxiao Torrential Rain.’ Start by studying this. Conjuring thunder is no small matter; only once you have mastered it may you leave this secret realm."

Enlightenment Dao responded, "Yes!"

Learning the Divine Sky Taoist Magic was not a swift process; it took several years since it was incredibly challenging.

On the other hand, Daoist Equal to Heaven emerged from seclusion, full of energy and spirit after leaving his cave abode and saw several brothers sparring together.

"Seventh Brother, you have finally emerged from seclusion," the Macaques King said with a laugh upon seeing Daoist Equal to Heaven appear.

"Yes! I have finally emerged. However, I have matters to attend to immediately. My other identity in Shushan has come upon a great opportunity and cannot leave," said Daoist Equal to Heaven.

His brothers couldn’t help but feel envious. How could this fellow always stumble upon great opportunities wherever he went? It was truly infuriating!

Ox Demon King asked, "What is it that you need to attend to now?"

Daoist Equal to Heaven said, "This time in Shushan, a member of the Witch Clan appeared; he has stolen the Divine Farmer’s fortune. I fear he may sabotage my plans, so I must find him and kill him quickly."

Although Chi Songzi also aimed to kill Flying Liann, he was currently in Shennong’s Secret Realm teaching Enlightenment Dao the Divine Sky Taoist Magic. Hence, only Daoist Equal to Heaven could undertake this task. If he couldn’t kill him, they could still turn to Chi Songzi. It was best to eliminate Flying Liann sooner rather than later; there was no room for delay!

Having said this, Daoist Equal to Heaven transformed into a breeze and headed straight for the Southern Toad Continent.

This journey took him to Qishan, where Zhuge Liang had emerged several times, but his efforts were consistently thwarted. Though he was the Prime Minister, corrupt officials were rampant in the court, and a once favorable situation was ruined. Exhausted and with his time drawing near—having reduced his lifespan in burning the rattan armor soldiers in the southern barbarian lands—his end was imminent.

Meanwhile, Flying Liann, who had stolen the Divine Farmer’s human fortune, sought someone to crown as the True Dragon Emperor. With the land divided among Wei, Shu, and Wu, all monitored by powerful figures, he could only scheme in secrecy. His gaze fell on Sima Yi, who possessed great fortune, potentially qualifying him to be an emperor of the human world.

Seeing Sima Yi advance troops toward Shangfang Valley to burn Zhuge Liang’s supplies, Flying Liann sensed trouble and thought, "Zhuge Kongming must be a disciple of some Human Sage, clever as a demon. He has already set up a Heavenly Net in Shangfang Valley, and this venture by Sima Yi will likely end in vain."

Indeed, the valley was soon ablaze with fire and screams, the Wei Army engulfed by the inferno!

"This is bad, very bad! I must help Sima Yi!" thought Flying Liann internally, and he hurried to Shangfang Valley, stirring up a strong wind.

Sima Yi, seeing flames on all sides and trapped in Shangfang Valley, embraced his two sons and wept, "The lives of my three family members are over! Zhuge Kongming is so cunning and vicious, treating us as if we were just rattan armor soldiers to be burned."

Amid their loud cries, a gust of wind arose, darkness filled the air, and with a clap of thunder, a heavy rain poured down.

Zhuge Liang’s face changed drastically. As he looked around, unable to restrain himself, he sighed deeply to the heavens, saying, "Why does heaven not aid us, bringing me to such dire straits!"

Zhuge Liang, unaware that Flying Liann had intervened secretly, thought that heaven had spared Sima Yi from dying there and could only lament that Sima Zhongda’s life was not meant to end yet!

As Sima Yi saw the great wind and heavy rain extinguishing the flames in the valley, he couldn’t help but laugh loudly, "If not now, when shall we break out?"

The Wei Army, having regained their spirits from the brink of death, charged forward bravely with renewed vigor. Soon, Wei military generals, led by Zhang Hu with Yin Soldiers, arrived to back them up, clashing fiercely with the Shu Army in the valley.

"Had the Five Tiger Generals not departed, Sima Yi would have surrendered by now!" Zhuge Liang exclaimed with a long sigh.

A later poem commemorates this event, which says:

Wild flames were blown about at the mouth of the valley, unexpectedly quenched by sudden rainfall from the azure skies.

If Marquis’ brilliant strategy could have been realized, how could the mountains and rivers not have belonged to the Jin Dynasty?

As Daoist Equal to Heaven saw a blaze erupt in that mountain valley, only to be extinguished by a malignant wind and heavy rain, he couldn’t help but frown slightly. Calculating with his fingers, he murmured to himself, "This rain does not seem to be the work of the immortals from the heavens, but rather the doing of someone else! I must go and see!"

Indeed, upon his arrival, he saw Flying Liann hidden among the clouds, unleashing fierce winds and torrential rains, which extinguished the flames in Shangfang Valley. He looked down to see Sima Yi charging out of the valley. He couldn’t help shouting in dismay. If only he had arrived a moment earlier and allowed Zhuge Liang to burn Sima Yi alive, how could history not have been changed by him? He felt a torrent of resentment continuously flooding his mind, causing the Three Corpses Deity within him to leap violently as if on fire! Seeing Flying Liann spoil such a favorable situation, he was so infuriated that the Three Corpses Deity within him jumped violently, Samadhi burnt his throat, and the Five Qi collided chaotically within his chest, almost causing him to fall directly from the clouds.

Unable to restrain himself, Daoist Equal to Heaven bellowed, "You infuriate me to death! Flying Liann, how dare you ruin my plans, you shall die!"

Daoist Equal to Heaven, holding the Samsara Pen, charged forward with incredible speed, resembling a soothing breeze as he struck down with a Great Hand Seal!

"Great Compassion Palm!" Daoist Equal to Heaven shouted angrily. His eyes bulged furiously, as Samadhi True Fire emitted from his nose and mouth—an indication of his immense rage, as when Buddha Ancestor becomes enraged, he transforms into Vidyaraja, obliterating all demons.

Flying Liann, taken by surprise by the sudden appearance of the evildoer, was startled and hurriedly invoked his divine skills to defend, but Daoist Equal to Heaven’s palm print had already struck, hitting Flying Liann hard. Though Flying Liann managed to block it, he was still violently smacked down, spewing blood and breaking bones.

Daoist Equal to Heaven, standing on an auspicious cloud, formed a Dharma Seal with his hands and shouted, "Subdue Demon Seal!"

He bent his fingers inward to form the seal, pointing from afar at Flying Liann, and smacked towards his forehead! Immediately, a fierce wind arose, and from the palm of his hand flew a Great Seal that thunderously struck Flying Liann, knocking him down on the clouds, his body drenched in blood. Fortunately, the robust bodily constitution of the Witch Clan spared him from being turned into mere flesh mud by these sudden and heavy blows.

Flying Liann cursed, "Who are you, and why do you attack me?"

Daoist Equal to Heaven retorted furiously, "You, damn creature, always spoiling my plans, how can I spare you! Take this, take this! Today I’ll certainly turn you into ash!"

Daoist Equal to Heaven, pointing one hand to the sky and the other to the ground, declared, "Laozi was born extraordinary, setting foot on the earth and covering the skies; having slain gods and demons to become an immortal, leaving three inches of divine edge within the heart!"

At the sound of thunder, a Sword of Wisdom appeared in Daoist Equal to Heaven’s hand, and a gigantic Dharma Body rose behind him, elegant yet dressed in Taoist Robe, giving off a compassionate feel akin to the Buddha Ancestor. Unleashing the immense Dharma power, Heaven-Penetrating Great Divine Power, he roared again, "Laozi was born extraordinary, striding across the Four Seas and subduing thousands of mountains; among the heaven and earth I am third, presenting you a Great Golden Core to chew!"

With this string of powerful methods executed, he opened his mouth and immediately spit out a cultivated Sharira that spun around, as large as a fist, striking with the sound of thunder. Flying Liann was so terrified that his soul nearly escaped. He quickly sacrificed an ancient shield, crafted during the battles of Chi You and the Emperor in the Ancient Times for the control of the Central Plains—the Witch God Shield. With this shield raised, it provided a great sense of security.

"Bang!"

The Golden Pill Relic struck the shield, making a loud explosion and shattering the shield, leaving it densely webbed with cracks like spider silk.

"Laozi was born extraordinary, with Great Divine Power seeds of Golden Core; even the Bodhisattva must pay tribute to me, a single rage from the poor priest could boil the sea!" With a change in his hand seals, Daoist Equal to Heaven’s Sword of Wisdom blazed up with raging flames, which were Buddha’s flames mingled with terrifying Karmic Fire. Having achieved Buddhahood, he could manipulate some Karmic Fire, and this sword strike could almost dry up the Four Seas, utterly terrifying.

Flying Liann’s shield was instantly shattered by Daoist Equal to Heaven’s Sword of Wisdom, and he emerged from behind the destroyed shield, continuously coughing up black blood, severely injured.

"Spoiling my plans, I won’t rest until I make you kneel and call out ’grandpa’ today!" Daoist Equal to Heaven’s eyes almost burst from their sockets. Having finally found an opportunity to change the situation, but only for Flying Liann to ruin it ruthlessly, he was furiously enraged, unleashing a series of divine powers that left Flying Liann completely powerless to fight back.

Flying Liann, originally a military strategist and not a battle general, although his mana was decent, it still fell short when it came to magic combat.

Daoist Equal to Heaven channeled the Sutra of the Other Shore, a halo of golden light continuously twinkling behind him, resembling a sun, causing a slight ache in one’s divine sense. Flying Liann was driven almost into desperation.

"Die!" Daoist Equal to Heaven swung his sword at Flying Liann, the flames on the blade crackling fiercely as if thunder had struck, causing flying dust and stones and fading the colors of heaven and earth.

Flying Liann was greatly alarmed, rapidly invoking his divine skills, muttering an incantation. His body flashed with Witch Clan runes, a point of vital blood twinkling between his brows, and behind him rose a giant with cow horns—it was none-other-than Chi You! Chi You was also a terrifying figure in his time, at least a creator level being. After Chi You’s death, Flying Liann had acquired his vital blood and fused it into his own body. Now, invoking the power of this vital blood, he immediately transformed into Chi You’s Dharma Body.

"Hmph!"

The Chi You’s Dharma Body, immensely domineering, snorted coldly, lifting his hands and suddenly clamping down on the descending Sword of Wisdom.

Daoist Equal to Heaven frowned, not expecting Flying Liann to still have such a trick up his sleeve. Changing his hand seal, he yelled, "Even Chi You’s Dharma Body is of no use! Today I must demonstrate that you, who spoiled my great plan, are killed once again! Directly infuriating me to death! Kill, kill, kill, kill!"

Daoist Equal to Heaven’s killing intent boiled over, shouting ’kill’ four times, his body igniting with Samadhi True Fire.

As for the fate of Flying Liann, please tune in to the next segment. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Starting Point (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)