The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 92 - 090: Ultimately Hard to Escape from Fate

Chapter 92: Chapter 090: Ultimately Hard to Escape from Fate

Yang Jian, the Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest, and Unibrow Taoist Priest hurried towards Dongsheng Immortal State, after all, their Taoist arts were supreme. In no time, they arrived at the foot of Flower-Fruit Mountain, witnessing the encampment established by the Heavenly Court’s Army.

The encampment was haphazardly organized, a clear sign of how hard the Heavenly Court’s Army had been hit.

As Yang Jian and his companions approached the camp’s entrance, he said, "Quickly inform King Li that I have come to assist in the capture of the demon!"

The guards at the gate hurriedly reported to the central command, saying, "Report, Great Marshal! Erlang Shen, Yang Jian, and two other Taoist priests have arrived claiming they are here to capture the demon."

Upon hearing this, King Li was overjoyed, never having imagined that Yang Jian would come. Highly regarding Yang Jian’s skills, which he had witnessed since the ancient times of Divine Enthronement, he surmised the capabilities of Yang Jian’s companions would not be any less. Rapidly, he led his son Nezha and the Four Heavenly Kings out of the central army camp to the gates to welcome them.

Seeing Yang Jian, King Li could not contain his joy, "True Lord Erlang, it is good that you have arrived. This demon monkey is exceedingly fierce; we must rely on your prowess to capture it!"

Yang Jian introduced his companions to King Li, "These are my two Taoist friends: Unibrow Taoist Priest from the Maoshan Sect of Taoism of the Heavenly Masters, and the Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest."

At the mention of "Equal to Heaven," King Li felt his heart skip a beat, startled by Wukong’s infamy, and thought to himself, "This Taoist has quite the nerve to adopt such a name, isn’t he afraid of bringing disaster upon himself?" He then respectfully clasped his hands together and said, "Pagoda-bearing Heaven King Li Jing pays his respects to Unibrow Taoist Priest and Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest."

The Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest chuckled inwardly, thinking, If King Li knew he was actually Wukong, would he be scared out of his wits?

Unibrow Taoist Priest saluted with his hands and said, "There’s no need for formalities, King Li. We have come to witness the might of this demon monkey."

The Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest also said with a smile, "I wonder what divine skills and transformations this demon monkey possesses? We shall confront him shortly."

King Li welcomed everyone into the camp, saying, "This demon monkey is full of tricks, possessing vast divine skills and has mastered the Thirty-Six Types of Transformations, along with a multitude of unique magical treasures. Do not underestimate him! My son Nezha was injured at his hands."

Yang Jian thought to himself, "This Macaca really stirred up quite a mess, fearless about the scale of the commotion, even daring to sweep the entire Peaches of Immortality from the Flat Peach Garden."

"Even if the demon monkey is formidable, surely he cannot be the opponent of so many?" Unibrow Taoist Priest asked, not fully aware of the situation.

King Li elaborated, "Unibrow Taoist Priest may not know that the demon monkey also has six brothers, all giant demon fiends with vast divine skills! However, lately, that second brother, Jiao Demon King, has disappeared somewhere, and with the other five brothers at his side, he is hard to deal with."

Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest said, "Later on, we will trouble King Li to intercept his five brothers, while we capture the demon monkey, so you can report back to the Jade Emperor."

Overjoyed, King Li rubbed his hands together and said, "Thank you so much to both Taoist Priests and True Lord Erlang!"

Meanwhile, Wukong was aware that the Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest and the others had arrived at the camp, so he set down his wine cup.

"Brothers, my clone and Yang Jian have arrived. I’m going to issue a challenge shortly, allowing themselves to be captured. Other immortals will come to entangle you soon; you just need to revel in the slaughter but be sure not to ruin my plan," Wukong said to his five brothers.

"Hmm... We’ll follow our younger brother’s plan," the five demon kings replied.

If Jiao Demon King knew he had missed such a grand affair, one wonders if he would stamp his feet in frustration, as he always loved to join in the excitement.

Wukong took out the Swallowing Dragon Stele and left a good portion of the Peaches of Immortality inside Water Curtain Cave, saying, "Keep these well, brothers. They will also help win over hearts with the Peaches of Immortality."

"Understood," said the Ox Demon King, slapping Wukong’s shoulder.

Wukong laughed, "Let’s go and have a grand killing spree."

The other five demon kings rose to their feet, donned their armor without calling for any troops, each carrying their weapons and magical treasures, and headed straight out of Water Curtain Cave towards the Heavenly Court’s Army’s encampment.

When they reached the outskirts of the Heavenly Court’s Army’s encampment, Wukong began to issue his challenge.

"Report! Great Marshal, the demon king of Flower-Fruit Mountain is issuing a challenge outside," the scout reported within the camp, shouting loudly.

Yang Jian laughed, "Good, haha! Perfect timing. We’ll trouble King Li to deal with the five great demon kings, and we’ll take the demon monkey to the heavens."

King Li glanced at the commanding officers surrounding him, including the True Gods of the Five Peaks, the Nine Luminaries, the Eighteen Star Lodges, the Four Heavenly Kings, the True Person Xu Jingyang, Nezha, and others. If they all could not handle the five great demon kings, then they might as well eat dirt; they definitely could not afford to lose face. The previous loss was because they were unguarded and got disrupted by Yu Rong King’s surprise attack, which made them as helpless as headless flies, unable to fight back effectively.

"Very well! We will trouble True Lord Erlang and the two Taoist Priests to handle the demon monkey, while we manage the other five great demon kings," Xu Jingyang said.

"Thank you, True Person," replied Yang Jian.

Leading the other officers, King Li exited the camp, formed their battle lines and pointed at the six demon kings, saying, "You fiends dare to oppose our Celestial Palace without repenting, continuing to grow more audacious! Today I offer you one last chance, surrender or we will imprison and behead all of you!"

Ox Demon King chuckled scornfully, "King Li, you sure put on quite an act of authority. Who, just a moment ago, was beaten so badly that they nearly wet themselves in fear?"

Li Jing nearly had his nose bent out of shape with anger and cried out, "Very well, Ox Demon King, today you shall witness our might!"

A host of generals charged forward, with Xu Jingyang, who possessed the highest mana, engaging the Ox Demon King in combat; but, with the Ox Demon King wielding the Purple Flame Lantern in his hand, that magical treasure’s power was immense. Even with the Water Deity Star Lord joining the fray and an array of constellations supporting from behind, they managed not to be overpowered.

Meanwhile, Yu Rong King sought out Huang Feihu to engage in combat. Furious, Huang Feihu charged with his divine ox, followed by Wen Pin, Cui Ying, and others. The True Gods of the Five Peaks joined forces to attack Yu Rong King, but the Macaques King suddenly leapt into the battle to aid Yu Rong King against the True Gods of the Five Peaks and the supporting constellations.

Naturally, Peng Demon King and Lion Camel King took on the other eight of the Nine Luminaries. Nezha, despite his injuries, could only support from behind, seizing the chance to launch a surprise attack. The Four Heavenly Kings joined forces with the Nine Luminaries to battle against both Peng Demon King and Lion Camel King.

Yang Jian stepped forward, blocking Wukong’s path, and cursed, "Demon, take my blade!"

The Tri-Point Double-Edged Divine Edge cleaved through the air with a fierce wind, stinging the skin of one’s face.

Wukong feigned a strike with his staff and turned to flee, while the Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest shouted, "Demon, don’t run! Face my divine skills!"

Inwardly he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself, for only the Unibrow Taoist Priest was out of the loop. However, he was dissuaded by Yang Jian, who asked him to support from behind, arguing that this matter concerned the Heavenly Court. Considering that the Unibrow Taoist Priest did not favor taking the place of an immortal and held little affection for the Heavenly Court, he agreed to help only if the situation became dire.

The Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest, joined by Yang Jian and the Unibrow Taoist Priest, chased after Wukong, heading to another quiet place to continue.

Wukong declared, "Now’s the time to see who’s superior! Behold my magical treasure!"

The God-Beating Whip shook violently, as thick as a large fighting staff and dozens of feet long, striking directly at Yang Jian’s head. Yang Jian was startled by the remarkable effect of the imitation God-Beating Whip, and had to swiftly uncurl the Tri-Point Double-Edged Saber, while reaching for the Immortal-slaying Sword with his other hand to block the strike.

The Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest cried out, "Good demon monkey, do not harm my comrade!"

He then drew talismans in the void and launched them, sparking a cacophony of thunder and lightning. Wukong summoned the power of his Jingu Bang, bursting the talismans with a single hit.

Wukong then raised the Great Year Whip, intent on testing his own battle strength. His Thirty-Six Types of Transformations worked smoothly in tandem, particularly the ability to "Manipulate Creation," which he was just beginning to grasp. The technique held terrifying power, capable of twisting the very fabric of the universe. Yang Jian and the Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest also wanted to test their skills, so they too went all out. Two against one, they still struggled to prevail!

Owing to the nature of his cultivation technique, Yang Jian’s rank remained at the first level of Daluo Golden Immortal, making it hard to progress. Whether he could achieve further divine transformation was left to fate, but relentless battling became one path forward for him.

When he raised both the Pair of Male and Female Whips at the same time, their might was extremely terrifying, turning into two divine dragons, one yin and one yang, perfectly embodying the ultimate principle of the Taoist Sect.

"Such Taoist arts are truly formidable. This demon monkey should not be taken lightly!" the Unibrow Taoist Priest pondered secretly, observing the fierce battle. He did not intervene, deciding instead to watch how it unfolded. The fight was so enthralling that he almost didn’t want to interrupt it.

Wukong roared, "Do you think you can overcome me by ganging up against one?"

He then raised the Seven Stars Sword, which emitted sword qi that crisscrossed all around. Even compared to Yang Jian’s Immortal-slaying Sword, it seemed a cut above. Laojun’s treasures, even the counterfeits, were incredibly formidable, beyond what an ordinary magical treasure could match. No wonder people of the Immortal Path coveted the divine treasures and elixirs that came from the hands of the Three Pure Ones.

"The Seven Stars Sword? Is that the divine sword of the Morality God?" the Unibrow Taoist Priest couldn’t help but be deeply surprised.

Yang Jian and the Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest combined their attacks, the latter using methods from the Sutra of the Other Shore and Yang Jian utilizing the Eighty-Nine Mystical Techniques, along with their relentless use of magical treasures, managing to hold their ground.

Wukong was feeling quite pleased within. Yang Jian’s combat prowess was already high among Daluo Golden Immortals, and together with the Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest, also a distinguished fighter, he allowed them to go all out and yet was able to match them evenly, which was an impressive feat in itself.

Their battle lasted a day and a night, with victory impossible to discern.

In the Heavenly Court, the impatient Jade Emperor asked the Queen Mother, Bodhisattva, and Laojun to accompany him to the Southern Sky Gate to see the situation for themselves.

Yang Jian, enthralled by the prolonged battle, did not want Wukong to ease up or give in and quietly sent a message, "Keep going, keep fighting! It’s been a long time since I’ve had such an exhilarating fight. That baldy last time was only good for a sitting meditation contest, which was hardly entertaining."

Wukong inwardly sighed with a bitter smile; fighting two at once and still not able to determine a winner after such a long time was proving to be an extreme challenge for him.

The Unibrow Taoist Priest watched the battle with relish, showing no inclination to get involved. The magic combat was too captivating – the Thirty-Six Types of Transformations, the Seventy-Two Variations, the Pair of Male and Female Whips creating yin and yang, and the Trishula displaying divine might... Watching the trio battle, he found many enlightenments stirring within him.

Wukong mused with a wry smile, "It seems this life won’t let me escape Laojun’s clutches after all. I’m destined to be thoroughly thrashed."

As the Jade Emperor and his entourage arrived at the Southern Sky Gate, they looked down to find the battle still unresolved, causing them to frown deeply.

For Wukong’s fate seemed unclear with the world now vastly different than before, to learn of his destiny, please listen to the tale hereafter.