The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 288 - 253: Heart of the Flame Mountain - Monkey Frustrated

Chapter 288: Chapter 253: Heart of the Flame Mountain - Monkey Frustrated

It has been a long time since Wukong passed through the Women’s Kingdom, and he had yet to encounter the Six-Eared Macaque. It seemed that Tathagata thought Wukong had become sincere, and besides, his mana was so high that releasing the Six-Eared Macaque would only get it killed; thus, the matter had to be dropped.

Now, he arrived at Flame Mountain, which was said to have been formed when he destroyed Laojun’s pill furnace in a previous life, causing the flames within to pour out. However, this time, he hadn’t damaged Laojun’s furnace, let alone released any flames. It seemed that the Three Pure had played a trick again, only framing it on Wukong.

Wukong thought to himself, "Before, I let the Six-Eared Macaque be killed, but my Primordial Spirit temporarily resided in the Heavenly Dao, clear about the successive disasters. It was clear that the Six-Eared Macaque went to borrow the Banana Leaf Fan from the Banana Leaf Cave and it took several tries before he obtained the fan to extinguish the fire of Flame Mountain."

The fire of Flame Mountain, neither big nor small, was a nightmare for mortals, but for someone like him, a Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal who had already reached perfect harmony, it was merely child’s play. The fire was not an ordinary fire; perhaps it really contained a trace of the fire from Laojun’s furnace, otherwise, any immortal would have simply summoned the wind and called the rain to extinguish it.

The fire of Flame Mountain grew fiercer upon encountering water; ordinary water could not contain it, only the Banana Leaf Fan of Princess Iron Fan had an effect.

This Banana Leaf Fan specifically subdued all fires in the world. If you waved the fan at the source of the fire, irrespective of whether it was innate or cultivated, it would be extinguished in one flick.

"Why do I feel that Flame Mountain is extraordinary? The Women’s Kingdom represents extreme Yin energy, while Flame Mountain is ultimate Yang! Yin and Yang complement each other, just like a natural formation. No wonder, drinking the river water from the Women’s Kingdom would result in pregnancy! There truly is something curious about this," Wukong briefly pondered and soon figured out the profound secret between Flame Mountain and the Women’s Kingdom.

Women represent Yin, and the river water of the Women’s Kingdom is extremely Yin and soft, causing even men to conceive and bear children when they drink it; the flames in Flame Mountain, perhaps containing a trace of the Purifying Purple Fire from Laojun’s furnace, are as fierce as thunder and extremely yang. This indeed forms a balance of Yin and Yang.

Flame Mountain and the Women’s Kingdom seemed to form a formation, but it was unknown why such a formation was laid out.

Drenched in sweat, Tang Sanzang was stripped down to his underwear, unable to help but sigh, "Why is the weather so intensely hot, as if I’m in a furnace, I’m about to be roasted dry!"

Sha Wujing fetched some water and offered it to Tang Sanzang, saying, "Master, I just inquired around, and this place is called Flame Mountain!"

Tang Sanzang lamented, "No wonder it’s called Flame Mountain; I feel like I’m being roasted in flames, I’m nearly dead!"

Sha Wujing added, "Yes! This Flame Mountain was formed by the flames falling from the sky, extremely torrid. Numerous bodhisattvas and Buddhas have come here to use their divine skills, but they haven’t extinguished the fire of Flame Mountain yet! It’s very difficult for us to cross it! Unless we fly over it from the sky."

Tang Sanzang objected, "That won’t do! Having traveled tens of thousands of miles, I have never let you fly carrying me on your backs. With sincere hearts, even metal and stone will open, we must be sincere! Someone think of a way to help me cross this Flame Mountain."

Wukong then said, "I once had an elder brother in Flower-Fruit Mountain named the Ox Demon King, and his wife, Princess Iron Fan, possesses a fan rumored to extinguish all the fires in the world. I’ll go and borrow the Banana Leaf Fan from her to extinguish the fire of Flame Mountain."

Tang Sanzang joined his palms together and said, "I appreciate it, Wukong, go and return quickly! Let’s first retreat from this Flame Mountain to avoid being roasted into dried meat."

Covered in dripping sweat, Tang Sanzang, a mere mortal, was nearly fainting from the intense heat, supported away by Bajie and Sha Wujing. Even these two, whose cultivation was slightly weaker, found the heat unbearable, let alone Tang Sanzang. Only Wukong, now immune to both water and fire, could truly be affected unless he was thrown directly into Laojun’s furnace to be incinerated to ash.

Wukong thought, "The Banana Leaf Cave is nearby, and Princess Iron Fan is Laojun’s adopted daughter. This ordeal also involves the arrangement of the Three Pure! Let’s see how this goes!"

Wukong leaped up and headed straight for the Banana Leaf Cave. In no time, he arrived in front of the cave.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law!" Upon arriving at the cave entrance, Wukong immediately shouted aloud.

"Who’s calling?" Princess Iron Fan opened the door and seeing it was Wukong, she said, "So it’s you, Macaca. My husband told me you’ve betrayed and abandoned your oath, going alone to Western Heaven to seek enlightenment. I’m puzzled why Hooked Chen Great Emperor hasn’t struck you dead with a thunderbolt!"

If someone in the demon race swears before the statue of Hooked Chen Great Emperor, the oath will reach Hooked Chen Palace. If someone breaches it, they naturally suffer the torment of being struck by a myriad of thunderbolts.

Wukong thought to himself, "The physical bodies of Daoist Equal to Heaven and Enlightenment Dao are still near Flower-Fruit Mountain, this is not proper to say."

Just as he was about to explain, he saw Princess Iron Fan blink rapidly.

Wukong felt an instant alert; this was another act in the face of circumstances. With the divine skills of those in the Buddhist sect being vast, who knows if someone could see and hear, so there must be no mistakes.

Wukong loudly proclaimed, "All is void, all is emptiness! Only by entering my Buddhist sect can one achieve the Great Dao and attain True Fruition! Sister-in-law, I am journeying to Western Heaven with the Great Tang Elder to seek the scripture, and this is purely for the salvation of all beings to gain True Fruition. Unfortunately, the flames of Flame Mountain are fierce, and we are unable to pass, so I have specifically come to borrow the Banana Leaf Fan from you!"

The Yin aspect of Princess Iron Fan’s Banana Leaf Fan still had methods to restrain it, such as using magical treasures like the Wind-Calming Pearl. But if Yin and Yang were combined, the power would be formidable. Even using eighteen thousand and nine hundred Wind-Calming Pearls wouldn’t work, a single wave of the fan would incinerate both the physical body and Primordial Spirit along with the Three Souls and Seven Spirits to ashes.

Princess Iron Fan feigned anger, her face flushing red, and she shouted, "This Macaca, treacherous and slippery-tongued, argues so forcefully in front of me! Watch out!"

Princess Iron Fan drew her magical sword and immediately attacked Wukong! With her limited skills, how could she be Wukong’s opponent? Wukong, with just two moves, grabbed Princess Iron Fan by the shoulders and tossed her onto a chair.

Princess Iron Fan’s eyes darted about, and she shouted, "Son, come help quickly!"

Only then did Wukong realize that Red Boy had not appeared to block the way in this life, yet here he was, revealing himself.

Suddenly, Red Boy appeared, his feet mounted on Wind-Fire Wheels and wielding a Fire-tipped Spear, bursting forth from Banana Leaf Cave, shouting, "Who invited this monkey? How dare you trouble my mother?"

Wukong smiled and said, "I am your uncle, step aside quickly, I am just discussing important matters with your mother!"

Princess Iron Fan said, "Son, attack him! He wants to steal our Banana Leaf Fan, how can we allow that?"

Red Boy, unable to contain his anger, said, "So you came to steal our Banana Leaf Fan! Take this, monkey head, taste my spear!"

"Damn it, this little nephew is really serious huh!" Wukong saw Red Boy swinging the Fire-tipped Spear with great momentum, targeting it at his vital spots. If he was hit even once, he would immediately become paralyzed, his Primordial Spirit unable to escape, making it easy to capture or kill him in an instant.

Red Boy was spewing Samadhi True Fire from his mouth, wielding the Fire-tipped Spear with considerable skill, Wukong glanced and thought, "Laojun really spared no expense, this Red Boy actually has the level of a Daluo Golden Immortal! Who knows how many elixirs he has secretly consumed!"

Wukong, now unafraid of Samadhi True Fire, possessed profound mana; such small flames were no match for him, unless it was high-level divine flames like the Purifying Purple Flame.

"Playing with fire is unwise! Summon Wind, Call Rain!" Wukong lightly shouted, activating the Heavenly Bead’s Thirty-six Transformations, Summon Wind and Call Rain, and soon a fierce storm erupted.

Caught off guard, Red Boy was drenched by the heavy rain. The flames on his Fire-tipped Spear were extinguished, as were the flames on his Wind-Fire Wheels, and even the Samadhi True Fire he spat was snuffed out. Startled, he turned and ran.

Wukong sneered, "Where do you think you’re going, nephew?"

Princess Iron Fan then appeared from the side and shouted, "Monkey head, watch the fan!"

Wukong, aware of the Banana Leaf Fan’s power—having witnessed Mahoraga struggling against it—became alarmed to see her attacking with the fan so abruptly.

"Unmovable Fundamental Seal!" Wukong formed a hand seal, invoking Acala’s Unmovable Fundamental Seal, which granted unshakable firmness like a mountain.

However, Princess Iron Fan’s fan was of the innate level, and if it combined with the one from Doulu Palace, a single wave could easily obliterate him!

Wukong’s physical body wasn’t as resilient as Mahoraga’s. Previously, when the Equal to Heaven Taoist arm-wrestled Mahoraga, he had won by trickery using the Layered Wave Force. If Mahoraga had realized this sooner and gone all out, the Equal to Heaven Taoist wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Wukong was the VLOOKUP(A1300,[1]Sheet1!$A:$B,2,0), and the Equal to Heaven Taoist was the Tongbei Monkey. The VLOOKUP(A1300,[1]Sheet1!$A:$B,2,0) was not particularly known for strength. Although also possessing divine power, it was quite inferior compared to monsters like Mahoraga.

"Whoosh!"

A gust of wind arose, making Wukong’s fur stand on end, his face’s skin flapping wildly, his clothes billowing, and hurling him uncontrollably into the air.

"Oh no!" Wukong cried out as he somersaulted through the air, flying thousands of miles away, and eventually landed at Zhen Yuanzi’s Wuzhuang Temple.

Zhen Yuanzi, noticing something falling from the sky, captured it with his Universe in the Sleeve, and was surprised to find it was Sun Wukong!

Zhen Yuanzi couldn’t help but smile, "Wukong, what brings you here, younger brother?"

Wukong shook his head and clambered to his feet, saying, "I was just escorting Elder Tang through Flame Mountain region, planning to borrow Princess Iron Fan’s Banana Leaf Fan, when I was hit by her fan and sent flying here. Had I not maintained the Unmovable Fundamental Seal, I might have been fanned all the way to Southern Toad Continent, or even Dongsheng Immortal State."

Zhen Yuanzi’s expression darkened, "I will go with you to confront them!"

The Banana Leaf Fan was a Magical Treasure of Laojun, and Wukong being handled by Laojun’s people meant that Zhen Yuanzi, as an elder brother, could hardly keep his face from darkening.

The future developments are yet unknown, please listen to the next part to find out. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to support the author by voting for it at qidian.com, your monthly votes and recommendations are the greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)