The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 93 - 091: Capturing the Great Saint, Laojun Takes Action

Chapter 93: Chapter 091: Capturing the Great Saint, Laojun Takes Action

Jade Emperor and others arrived at the Southern Sky Gate and looked down to see an intense battle below where it was difficult to determine the winner.

Guanyin asked the Jade Emperor, "Your Majesty, do you plan to also capture the other Demon Kings together?"

The Jade Emperor shook his head and said, "We only need to capture Sun Wukong. The other Demon Kings will be difficult to capture."

Guanyin replied, "That’s very good. I see True Lord and his companion cannot defeat the Demon Monkey. How about I make a move, Your Majesty, what do you think?"

The Bodhisattva had also run out of patience. This Demon Monkey was too formidable, and should not be allowed to continue growing stronger. It was better to nip the problem in the bud.

"That would be wonderful indeed, it’s troubling you to make a move, Bodhisattva!" Jade Emperor expressed joyfully.

Laozi frowned and said, "No need for the Bodhisattva to make a move, I have a Magical Treasure that can capture him!"

But the Bodhisattva said, "There’s no need, Ancestral Taoist Master!"

She threw her Pure Luster Crystal Vase out of the Southern Sky Gate. Laozi’s face changed dramatically upon seeing this. If Guanyin’s Pure Luster Crystal Vase were to hit Wukong, what would happen then? Guanyin simply thought Laozi was being courteous and had been waiting impatiently, finally unable to resist making her move herself. Unlike in a past life where Laozi used the Vajra Bracelet to strike Wukong, knocking him to the ground but not seriously injuring him, and then captured by Erlang Shen and others, this time, what awaited was Guanyin’s Pure Luster Crystal Vase rather than the Vajra Bracelet.

Suddenly, Wukong heard the sound of wind above him, and saw a blue light falling. He thought to himself, "It should be a golden light, why has it turned blue this time?"

Yang Jian and Daoist Equal to Heaven also stopped to look up. The blue light fell extremely quickly, about to hit Wukong on the head in a blink of an eye.

"Oh no, why is it Guanyin’s Pure Luster Crystal Vase?" Wukong was shocked, wanting to dodge, but felt as if surrounded by muck, making it difficult to move an inch.

Laozi quickly rolled up his sleeves, took the Vajra Bracelet off his arm, and without another word, threw it down.

Although the Vajra Bracelet came later, it moved much faster than the Bodhisattva’s glazed vase. With a flash of golden light, it first caught the vase and pulled it in, then fell down on Wukong’s head with a crisp sound, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground, grinding his teeth in pain.

Wukong heaved a sigh of relief, thinking there must have been some mishap on the side of the Heavenly Court. Fortunately, it was still Laozi’s Vajra Bracelet that came after but arrived first, capturing the Pure Luster Crystal Vase before falling on his head. Otherwise, wouldn’t he have been smashed to brain pulp? This strike was much heavier than in his past life, perhaps because Laozi saw the Bodhisattva had moved first and had to act forcefully, yet it did not injure Wukong too severely, which was a fortunate misfortune indeed.

Daoist Equal to Heaven yelled, "Brother Yang, quickly capture the Demon Monkey!"

Yang Jian snapped back to reality, took out the Demon-binding Rope, and bound Wukong with it, rendering him unable to move.

Wukong blinked at Yang Jian, and Daoist Equal to Heaven transmitted a message, "Brother Yang, there’s no need to worry. Old Sun has plans. The old Jade Emperor can’t harm me!"

Yang Jian then felt relieved and tightened the Demon-binding Rope around Wukong. Unibrow Taoist stepped forward, slapped a talisman on his forehead, causing his mana to cease flowing, leaving him with no choice but to surrender.

Unibrow Taoist bowed and said, "The three of you fighting was quite spectacular; I wonder who sent the Magical Treasure to strike. Otherwise, the victory and defeat would still be hard to tell!"

That streak of golden light, after striking Wukong, returned to the Celestial Palace, and Laozi caught the Vajra Bracelet in his hand.

"The Bodhisattva is after all a member of Western Buddhism. This is a matter of the Daoist Celestial Court and the Demon Monkey, it’s better not to involve the Bodhisattva. Here is your Pure Luster Crystal Vase back!" Laozi released the Pure Luster Crystal Vase from the Vajra Bracelet and returned it to the Bodhisattva, speaking indifferently.

Guanyin was secretly shocked inside; the techniques of this Saint were truly exceptional. She had used her mana to strike, which could have killed any Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal with a single hit, but Laozi nonchalantly threw the Vajra Bracelet, capturing the Pure Luster Crystal Vase and reverting it as if he still held back, not killing the Demon Monkey but merely making him fall. It was clear he had intentionally gone easy; otherwise, how could Wukong have withstood such a strike? Even a Green Ox Demon using Laozi’s Vajra Bracelet in the lower realm could have beaten him half to death, let alone Laozi himself?

Guanyin thought to herself, "Perhaps it was Laozi who taught this monkey head his skills, otherwise how could he have reached such a level in his cultivation in such a short time? Do they really think Golden Immortals are mere cabbage? Moreover, the Celestial Palace has countless adept beings, not inferior to Mount Meru in Western Heaven. True Martial Demon Conqueror specializes in annihilating threats to the Way of the Dao, how could he have ignored such chaos caused by the Monkey King in the Celestial Palace? Hook Chen Emperor controls all the demons under heaven and presides over military conquests; with Flower-Fruit Mountain gathering Demon Kings, how could he not intervene? Apart from this reasoning, I can’t understand. It seems the relationship between the Jade Emperor and Three Pure has deteriorated significantly. Could it be that Three Pure want the Demon Monkey to overthrow the Jade Emperor and re-establish the order in the Three Realms?"

Guanyin was unaware of the agreement signed between the Western Heaven Buddha Ancestor and Three Pure regarding the Journey to the West, so she assumed this was a political struggle, that the relationship between Three Pure and the Jade Emperor was poor, and they wanted to seize power opportunistically.

However, if Three Pure wanted to seize power, why go through such complexity? Having Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch summon the God-Beating Whip would suffice. Moreover, most of the experts within the Celestial Palace revere Three Pure as the Patriarch, and just by their call, who among all heroes would dare not follow?

The Three Pure Ones had attained enlightenment at the creation of heaven and earth, whereas the Jade Emperor was only supported to ascend the throne afterwards, previously just a child under Hongjun’s guidance. Who among the mighty ones across the Three Realms would truly respect him? This was much like Emperor Xian of Han during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, where the Three Pure Ones were akin to Cao Mengde, who commanded the emperors to control the princes, and could even easily depose or establish leaders at will.

However, the Three Pure Ones now lacked the energy to do so. The Buddhist sect was becoming overwhelmingly influential, spreading "The Convert Barbarians Scripture" across the mortal world, establishing their doctrine.

Furthermore, Buddhists everywhere proclaimed that Laozi went west through the Hangu Pass and transformed into a Buddha, reincarnating as Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who then became enlightened as Tathagata. Therefore, Buddhism and Daoism were originally one family... These statements comforted the orthodox Daoist sects in the mortal world, boosting their face and easing their difficulties with Buddhism, as Buddhism acknowledged that Buddha Ancestor was a reincarnation of Laozi and showed considerable respect to Daoism. They were shortsighted, failing to see that this was a temporary strategy by Buddhism to spread their doctrine. Once Buddhism became powerful, they would naturally deny "The Convert Barbarians Scripture" and instead claim it was a fabrication by the Daoists.

Yet, the Three Pure Ones seemingly calculated differently and remained uninvolved.

The origin of the Buddha Ancestor from the West was that Laozi had captured Duobao Daoist and then made him convert to the Western Religion, transforming into Duobao Tathagata. Duobao Tathagata, in his mission to spread the teachings, reincarnated as Prince Siddhartha Gautama, embraced Chan Method, and eventually, after awakening under the Bodhi Tree, reincarnated as Namo Amitabha Tathagata, and thus earned his title as the Respectful Ruler of the World. For Buddhists to say Laozi reincarnated to establish Buddhism is merely them aggrandizing themselves. Since the people of the Eastern Land were conservative and Buddhism was a teaching from the Western Regions, it was not easy to spread, so they had to rely on the teachings of Huang-Lao.

Many future sects spread in the Eastern Land by adhering to the main streams like the Huang-Lao School and Confucianism; otherwise, the people of the Eastern Land Dynasty would not have accepted them due to the strong xenophobia in philosophical ideologies.

Guanyin received her magical treasure, raised one hand, formed a Dharma seal, and said, "Since the Ancestral Taoist Master has his plans, I was indeed meddling unnecessarily."

Laozi chuckled softly; he didn’t have much opinion on Cihang’s conversion to Buddhism, as the saying goes, "The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao." There are three thousand great daos; since they have adopted Buddhism, let them be. Laozi was the easiest of the elders to communicate with, which is why Guanyin and others got along well with him. As for Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch and Lingbao Heavenly Venerable, they were the ones they feared most, avoided at all costs!

The Jade Emperor breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "We have finally captured the Demon Monkey, preserving the face of the Heavenly Court."

Laozi thought to himself, "Hehe, the trouble isn’t over just yet! Having secretly prompted Taiyi Salvation Heavenly Venerable to ally with Buddhism, you should have anticipated your fate now."

As the Three Realms are currently unstable, and fate uncertain, the Three Pure Ones concluded it wasn’t feasible to depose or appoint new rulers. If there truly was to be a change of power, it would have to wait until the heavenly decimation occurs, where using the Divine Whip would ensure a successful outcome, a perfect east wind satisfying one’s heart. Stirring up the situation now would only benefit Buddhism.

Upon seeing Sun Wukong captured, the Jade Emperor settled down and ordered Thousand-Mile Eyes and Ears that Reach Around the Corners to keep watch, instructing them to report immediately back to the Celestial Palace if there were any developments.

Bodhisattva Guanyin, realizing the gravity of the situation, dared not involve herself further. If she meddled too much and irritated the Three Pure Ones, she would face significant losses, so she excused herself and left.

The Jade Emperor made attempts to keep her longer, but seeing that the Bodhisattva’s mind was set, he said, "This grand gathering was disrupted by that demon monkey, do honor us by coming again in the future."

Guanyin smiled and replied, "Your Majesty flatters me. Should you and your Royal Mother extend an invitation, how could I refuse?"

Then, taking Muzha with her, she returned to Mount Luojia in the South Sea.

Laozi, smiling genially, asked, "Your Majesty, what will you do with the Demon Monkey?"

The Jade Emperor replied, "First, bring him up to heaven, to the Immortal Slaying Stage, and then we’ll see!"

Laozi, not wanting to discuss further, knew that the monkey had consumed five of his gourds of golden cores, inadvertently forging a Vajra Indestructible Body, but hadn’t yet practiced specific cultivation techniques, so transforming it into Divine Skills was difficult. Without assistance from formidable figures such as True Martial Demon Conqueror and Hook Chen Great Emperor, it was impossible to execute Wukong on a mere Immortal Slaying Stage.

The Jade Emperor could only deploy several Taiyi Golden Immortals and, at most, Daluo Golden Immortals in the Celestial Palace; he dared not casually summon Taiyi Salvation Heavenly Venerable, lest the Three Pure Ones hold him accountable, and he would find himself in an untenable position. Despite his frustrations as the Lord of Ten Thousand Heavens, seeing the Demon Monkey captured at last brought him some relief, thinking that with the help of Western Heaven Buddha Ancestor, he could secure power amidst the turmoil!

The Jade Emperor at once felt ambitious, eagerly anticipating the grand era, ready to confront the Three Pure Ones decisively.

Laozi, comprehending human nature, considered Zhang Bairin’s thoughts naively optimistic. How could a mere minor shake the foundation maintained by the three great saints across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths?

Meanwhile, Yang Jian swiftly brought Sun Wukong to heaven, delivering him to the Celestial Palace, where the heavenly immortals pierced his Pipa Bone, sealed his mana, and untied the Demon-binding Rope before taking him to meet the Jade Emperor.

Yang then returned to Dongsheng Immortal State, reuniting with Unibrow Taoist and Daoist Equal to Heaven, and then returned to Guan Jiangkou.

As for the fate of Sun Wukong, stay tuned for the next episode.