The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 84 - 083: Wukong Seeks Help at Three Stars Cave

Chapter 84: Chapter 083: Wukong Seeks Help at Three Stars Cave

Wukong left the Southern Sky Gate and headed straight into Dongsheng Immortal State, making for Flower-Fruit Mountain.

He performed his cloud-somersault, moving at astonishing speed, and having just reached the state of a Daluo Golden Immortal, he flew wildly, arriving in Ao Lai Kingdom in no time.

With another somersault, Wukong entered the heart of Flower-Fruit Mountain, where a little demon spotted him and shouted, "The Great Saint has returned, the Great Saint has returned!"

The Six Great Demon Kings hurriedly came out of the cave just in time to see Wukong descend from his cloud.

"Well, I’ll be damned, I thought you were having too much fun in the Heavenly Court to remember us brothers and wouldn’t come back," the Macaques King couldn’t help but curse.

"Ha-ha, Fifth Brother, don’t be upset, don’t be upset! I’ve had a great opportunity in the Heavenly Court, how is my cultivation now?" Wukong said with a laugh.

Upon closer inspection, everyone was shocked to find that Wukong had indeed reached the realm of a Daluo Golden Immortal, expressing their amazement by saying, "You’ve actually become a Daluo Golden Immortal?"

Wukong let out a mischievous laugh and said, "Dear brothers, follow me into the cave abode, I’ve got some goodies for you."

The six brothers, curious about what benefits Wukong had garnered in the Heavenly Court, all followed him into the cave. Inside the cave abode, Wukong released the Swallowing Dragon Stele, and with a flash of light from the dragon’s eyes, piles of Immortal Peaches, precious fruits, and fine wines appeared, leaving the six brothers utterly dumbstruck.

"The Heavenly Court was planning to hold a banquet for the Peaches of Immortality, but Old Sun here managed to steal all the peaches meant for it. I wonder if it’ll piss the Jade Emperor off to death?" Wukong chuckled, taking a bite from a peach that ripened once every three thousand years, "These peaches are filled with innate True Qi, mortals who eat them can instantly become Human Immortals, and the other two types can turn one into an Earth Immortal or Heavenly Immortal straight away."

Ox Demon King couldn’t help but shout, "Damn it, Monkey, you’ve stolen all the peaches from the Heavenly Court? That’s some feats you’ve got!"

Wukong, brimming with pride, said, "Let’s also hold a peach banquet, gather all the demons of the world, and stand against the Heavenly Court toe-to-toe. What do you think, Big Brother?"

Peng Demon King chimed in, "Seventh Brother is right. Our power is still far less than that of the Heavenly Court. Why not use these peaches to hold a feast of our own, gather all the mighty demons, and then we can truly stand against the Heavenly Court!"

The Seven Great Saints were already of no small renown, and over the years, many weaker Demon Kings, oppressed by the Heavenly Court, had come to pledge allegiance.

Suddenly remembering someone, Wukong realized there was an individual of vast divine powers, possibly on par with the second or third level of Daluo Golden Immortals, and said to Peng Demon King, "Third Brother, you’re faster than I am. I remember a powerful figure, could you help me invite him over?"

Peng Demon King asked, "Who is this? How powerful are they?"

Wukong replied with a smile, "This is a great demon, whose mana is probably that of a Daluo Golden Immortal of the second or third level, but her innate divine ability is extremely formidable. She once managed to sting the Buddha Ancestor with a move, reversing his palm strike and causing Tathagata to cry out in pain."

Peng Demon King was alarmed and said, "There’s such a person? I shall go and take a look and return shortly."

Wukong described the Scorpion Demon’s cave abode, and the Peng Demon King transformed into his true form, a Gold-Winged Great Peng. With a loud whoosh, he traveled tens of thousands of miles, much faster than Wukong.

Peng Demon King reached the Women’s Kingdom and the Pipa Cave but did not find the Scorpion Demon. Irritated, he returned to the Water Curtain Cave and scolded, "Rowdy Monkey, you dare to mock me! There is no Pipa Cave!"

Wukong frowned and said, "Ah! That’s right... The Scorpion Demon stung Tathagata, he certainly wouldn’t let her face go unpunished. He must have captured her and then placed her on the Journey to the West to be one of the Eighty-One Tribulations... Foolish, foolish!"

"That fairy is extremely dangerous. Her trident fork is naturally two pincer claws. When she stings someone, it hurts terribly because of a hook at the end of her tail called ’counter-horse poison.’ She herself is a Scorpion Demon. Previously, she was at VLOOKUP(A1246,[1]Sheet1!$A:$B,2,0) and overheard the Buddha discussing sutras. Tathagata pushed her unintentionally, and she turned around and stung the left thumb of Tathagata, causing even him pain that he could not endure. Tathagata then ordered Vajra to capture her, and here she is. To save Tang Sanzang, other than seeking help from another, it’s difficult for me to approach her," Wukong mused.

Wukong recalled the original words of Bodhisattva Guanyin, considering how Tathagata had been stung by the Scorpion Demon, how could he let her off easily? Surely she was subdued by the Buddhist sect and then sent to the Journey to the West to become one of the Eighty-One Tribulations. Later on, Wukong had to call upon Mao Ri Ji to subdue her. Logically, since Mao Ri Ji’s mana was weak, even though he was her nemesis, it should not have been so easy to kill her—clearly, there was something fishy about it. And by now, Mao Ri Ji had already been killed by the seven brothers.

The Eighty-One Tribulations, it seems, were mostly arranged by the Daoist and Buddhist sects. Wukong couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He had originally thought to use these Peaches of Immortality to ally with powerful demons, but that tactic, it seems, would probably not work after all.

Peng Demon King asked, "What are you talking about? What Journey to the West?"

Wukong then said, "Never mind, let’s keep these Peaches of Immortality for ourselves. If we want to contend with the Heavenly Court, those demons and monsters probably do not have the guts like we do! And besides, even if we win them over with the peaches, they would only be profit-driven lowlifes. How could they be willing to risk their lives for each other as we would? It is better to distribute these peaches to the Seventy-Two Cave Demon Kings, hold a little Peach Banquet, cultivate them well, and maybe even produce a few formidable Golden Immortals."

Wukong then remembered something and suddenly said, "I’ll take three thousand Purple Patterned Yellow Core peaches to give away. You all wait here for me, and when I return, we shall drink our fill once more."

Wukong took three thousand Peaches of Immortality with the Swallowing Dragon Stele and set off, riding the clouds straight to Southern Toad Continent, then to the old site of the Slanted-Moon Three-Star Cave.

"Disciple is grateful for the care from my master and senior sister. I have now obtained quite a few Peaches of Immortality and have come especially to offer them. Although I consider myself brave, I have also caused a disaster of colossal proportions. Should I encounter calamity, I implore the Elder Patriarch to show mercy and lend a helping hand. Disciple bows deeply in thanks to Elder Patriarch!" Wukong placed the three thousand peaches in the mountain meadow and kowtowed in the direction of the mountain gate.

Though the place was now desolate, Wukong felt certain there was someone there!

Subhuti was no ordinary figure; at the very least, he must be as powerful as a high-ranking expert like those of the Ming River. Otherwise, how could he be one of the schemers in this grand affair? Wukong knew that his future path would be fraught with hardships and dangers, and he needed to tread carefully. If his unassuming old master could lend a hand, there was no doubt that would change bad luck into good fortune. However, his old master was mysterious and preferred not to show himself, making it difficult to ask for his help.

Wukong left behind three thousand Peaches of Immortality, knelt and waited for an hour, but his master did not show up, leaving him very disappointed.

Just as Wukong was preparing to stand up and leave, suddenly a flash of blue light appeared, and there stood Wusheng, who said, "Wukong, what trouble have you gotten into that you did not obey your master’s orders and instead ran back to the Three Stars Cave to seek him out?"

Wukong gave a wry smile and responded, "I was schemed against and have offended the Jade Emperor, and now I am in a great deal of trouble."

Wusheng frowned and said, "Who has schemed against you? Just tell me, and your senior sister will avenge you."

Wukong replied, "I don’t know who it was. Senior sister, may I enter the cave and pay a visit to our master?"

Wusheng shook her head and said, "Master has said he will not see you again, so don’t waste your effort. I will take these Peaches of Immortality and later give them to master, and I’ll speak on your behalf in front of him to see if he is willing to lend you a hand."

It looked like Wukong was going to return empty-handed, yet Wusheng ultimately showed up. It seemed that this senior sister, although cold on the outside, was warm-hearted and extremely protective of her own junior brother, daring to defy the master’s wishes to meet him. Wukong secretly rejoiced in his heart, thanked Wusheng with a few bows, and said, "Then I will trouble senior sister to speak well of me to our master. If disaster befalls me in the future, maybe master will save my life."

"Hold on," Wusheng suddenly said as Wukong was about to leave.

"Does senior sister have any advice?" Wukong asked.

"I need to tell you that the Three Stars Cave will be moved elsewhere. Also, that stele you brought out just now, let me have a look at it," said Wusheng.

Wukong took out the stele, and Wusheng glanced at the words on it, all thousand plus of them, first committing the character for "sword" firmly to memory, then examining the rest one by one. Wusheng had studied the Sword Dao; this character was evidently of great assistance to her. These characters descended from heaven, their origins unknown, veiled in mystery, and contained a special power. If one could comprehend the true essence of these characters, then one could also acquire the power within them. Confucius managed to use these characters as divine skills because he understood their essence.

"All right, thank you. You should go now," said Wusheng.

"Does senior sister have any more advice?" Wukong asked.

Wusheng took a look at him, considering the monkey head to be quite manipulative, and then said, "You should just clearly understand the situation and not be too hasty to draw conclusions, lest you end up harming yourself in the end."

Wukong appeared contemplative, gave a bow, and said, "Thank you for the guidance, senior sister. I will take my leave now."

With a wave of her hand, Wusheng collected all the Peaches of Immortality, saying, "Go."

Wukong took to his cloud and left, while Wusheng also went her way on her cloud.

When Wusheng arrived at Patriarch Subhuti’s feet, she knelt down and said, "Master, Wukong has brought three thousand Peaches of Immortality, saying that great calamity is upon him, and he hopes that you can lend him assistance."

Patriarch Subhuti frowned slightly and said, "That monkey head, did he say anything else?"

"Nothing more," replied Wusheng.

Then Wusheng took out the three thousand and more Peaches of Immortality from her sleeves, laying them on the ground, their fragrant scent wafting through the air.

Suddenly remembering something, Wusheng said, "He also mentioned that someone is plotting against him, but he doesn’t know who it is."

Patriarch Subhuti’s frown deepened, and he sighed, "That monkey head really is clever!"

Wusheng said, "Master, Wukong’s filial piety is commendable. Why not help him this time?"

But Patriarch Subhuti gave a wry smile and said, "How do you know I haven’t helped? Let’s not speak of this any further. Take care of these Peaches of Immortality for now, and later on, send them to Doulu Palace."

Wusheng nodded in agreement.

"Do you still remember the characters from the Swallowing Dragon Stele?" Patriarch Subhuti asked again.

"I remember. I will write them down for master to see," said Wusheng, fetching the necessary writing materials and copying down the characters from both sides of the Swallowing Dragon Stele.

As she wrote each character, they would vanish from the paper, and the image of the character in Wusheng’s mind also became hazy.

"Hmm... you may go," said Patriarch Subhuti, waving his hand, his brow even more furrowed as he once again used great magical power to reproduce the thousand-plus characters of the Xia Dynasty Dragon Seal.

To find out what happens next, please wait for the following segment.