Chapter Five: The Afterhand

  Twelve Heavens of Heaven's Court

  "Haha, Great Sage, I'm here! I didn't expect you guys to move so quickly!"

  "Old brother, you're too slow! How's it going? Did you get it?"

  "Haha, no need to say more, look at this."

  After finishing speaking, this strange creature took out another golden hoop from its arm and spat out a small fan from its mouth.

  "Brother Monkey is indeed clever. Not only did you take the golden armlet, but you also brought back the banana fan. This time, let's see what the Venerable Taishang Laojun will use to hit me."

  "That old fellow has been riding on me for thousands of years, this little price is worth it. Great Sage, let's not say more, we'll continue to fight upwards. By the way, has Bull Demon King arrived? Why didn't he come with you?"

  "Old Cow is at the Western Heaven Gate, hurry up and go to assist her with one arm, inside and outside respond, open the Western Heaven Gate. I'll continue to fight upwards. Ah, Brother Chui, bring the 28 Star Constellations together."

  "Great! This time we can finally have a big battle, and it's alongside Old Cow. Haha, exhilarating, exhilarating!"

  Thirty-Three Skies, Departing from Hatred Heaven Palace

  "Old Lord, Old Lord save me! Old Lord, hurry up and save me!"

  "Wen Quan, brother, what's wrong with you being so flustered? This is the crucial moment for me to refine the elixir, don't disturb me!"

  "Goodness gracious, what's the point of refining elixirs now? That monkey has already fought his way up to the Heavenly Palace and is almost at the Jade Emperor's Lingxiao Hall. If you don't take action, Old Master, that monkey will overturn your Eight Trigrams Furnace again!"

  "Alas! Alas! It's all over! Follow me, I'll go get that golden armlet and banana fan. How did this monkey start fighting again?"

  Lao Jun hastily put down the elixir in his hand and rushed to the Treasure Pavilion.

  "Ah, where's my golden bangle? Where's my banana fan? This, this... my green cow is gone too!"

  Only the empty Treasure Pavilion and Cowshed were seen, where was half a shadow. Lao Jun hastily pinched his fingers and said: "It's bad, my green cow stole my treasure to help that demon monkey. You go and inform Yu Huang, I'll go ask my junior brother Tongtian Jiao for help, let Yu Huang hold on for a moment. Hurry up, hurry up."

  "Yes, yes, Lord Lao has worked hard."

  The Bull Demon King of the Western Heaven Gate

  "Haha, old cow, it's been hundreds of years since we last met?"

  "You this green bull, still so sturdy. Having served as the old master's mount for several hundred years, you've finally made it to today, what a suffering for you."

  "What's the point of saying this, at first my brothers thought I was useless, but only I could do this kind of thing. Fortunately, fortunately, I wasn't controlled by that old master for hundreds of years in vain. That old master's golden hairpin and banana fan are now my treasures, and I don't listen to his orders anymore."

  "Never mind, never mind, don't mention this. Later, brother will definitely catch that old servant and avenge me."

  "Alright. Haha, by the way, where's Lao Jiao? Why haven't I seen him?"

  "He and Zhu Bajie are having a magic fight at the bottom of the Heavenly River. Originally, Laolao planned to lead his troops to the North Heaven Gate to assist Dapeng, but unexpectedly, Zhu Bajie suddenly quarreled with Laolao, saying that the heavenly river guards were originally his soldiers, and as a result, Laolao killed them all, leaving none, making Laolao accompany him."

  "Haha, this Zhu Bajie is really pitiful. Never mind, I'll go and persuade him. Brother, you go to the North Heaven Gate to assist Da Peng."

  "Alright, be careful, brother."

  "Uh-huh."

  At this time, Zhu Bajie was fighting fiercely with the Alligator Demon King. Both of them were skilled in water battles and their abilities were almost equal, so after half a day, they still hadn't determined a winner. Pigsy's nine-toothed rake danced with great vigor, but the Alligator Demon King couldn't get close to him. He had no choice but to use his purple bell to summon a water dragon that clashed with the rake.

  Just as the fight was getting intense, a strong gust of wind blew by, forcibly separating the two. Before Zhu Bajie and Ao Bing could continue their battle, the rhinoceros monster stood between them.

  "Alright, alright, we're all family, why must you fight like this?"

  "Old Boar, you come and judge for yourself. He promised that after I let him through the Heavenly River, he wouldn't harm my 800,000 heavenly soldiers. But as soon as he came in, without saying a word, he started killing, all 800,000 of them! Not one was left for Old Pig. Who else should I fight if not him?"

  "You stinky pig, you're talking about me? As soon as I came in, your heavenly soldiers rushed up, am I not supposed to fight back? Am I supposed to let your heavenly soldiers kill me?"

  "That's it, you can't kill them all, after all, I, the old pig, have been the Tianpeng Marshal for several thousand years, and now they're all dead."

  "I say Tianpeng, isn't it true that in war there are no dead people? However, Lao Jiao has indeed gone too far this time. Alright, I'll let Lao Jiao compensate you, is that okay?"

  "Old brother Li, you said so yourself, then how can he compensate me?"

  "This, old turtle, you'd better say something."

  "Hmph, considering it's for the sake of the monkey, I won't bother with you. Aren't you going to the Moon Palace to rescue Chang'e? I'll accompany you."

  "Haha, that's more like it. Old Brother Monkey, tell Brother Sun Wukong for me, I won't go to the Heavenly Palace to cause trouble, I'll go to the Lunar Palace to cause trouble instead."

  "Alright, go ahead, it's been many years, but I still can't forget Chang'e. You two be careful, the Moon Palace has Wu Gang guarding it, so be cautious."

  "Alright, hurry up and help my Monkey King, I heard Yang Jian has arrived."

  Yang Jian, also known as Erlang Shen. A demigod with boundless strength and infinite magical powers, able to conjure soldiers from scattered beans, proficient in the Eight-Nine Mystical Arts, possessing seventy-three transformations, with a divine eye on his forehead, wielding a three-pointed double-edged knife forged from the five-colored stones used by Nüwa to repair the heavens, accompanied by the celestial hound Houtu.

  Although he is the nephew of the Jade Emperor, due to his mother's affairs, his relationship with the Jade Emperor is not very good. "Listening to the declaration but not listening to the tune" has become another laughing stock in Heaven. So today, when the heavenly court is in danger, the Jade Emperor can only send someone to invite Erlang Shen. As for whether he will come or not, even the Jade Emperor does not know.

  "Report, Your Majesty, Erlang Shen Yang Jian has led the Mei Shan brothers to come and assist in the battle. They are now fighting with the Monkey King at the 24th Heaven."

  "It's fortunate that he still remembers the affection between us two, otherwise I really don't know what to do. This monkey may have Yang Jian to contend with, but what about the other demon kings? Honorable ministers, who has a good strategy?"

  Your Highness, everyone remained silent, and no one was a fool. This time, the demon tribe had obviously been planning for a long time. But what about Heaven? The prolonged peace had almost made Heaven forget what war was like.

  "Useless things, what's the point of me raising you all? Do I have to take the field myself?"

  "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Wenqu Xing has just come to report that Taishang Laojun has set out to find his junior fellow apprentice Tongtian Jiao. Moreover, Ziwei Dadi, Gouchen Dadi and Beiwu Dangmo Dadi have arrived at the Heavenly Court, and are rushing towards the Western Heaven Gate, Eastern Heaven Gate and Northern Heaven Gate. I believe they can definitely hold them off for a while. Once Tongtian Jiao arrives, that monkey will surely not be able to escape."

  "Well, it can't be helped."

  The Southern Heavenly Gate: Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen

  "Haha, Monkey King, it's been hundreds of years since we last met, your magical powers have grown stronger."

  "That's that, I've suffered quite a bit of sin over the past few hundred years. But you're not much better off either, still evenly matched with me."

  "Never mind, monkey. Family members know their own business. I knew you weren't using your full strength, otherwise I would have lost long ago. But I also had no choice, the Jade Emperor is my uncle after all, even if I don't like him, I still can't ignore this familial relationship. Alas, what a pity."

  "Haha, your eyesight is even better than before! When I was causing chaos in Heaven's Palace, you were one of the ones who fought me to the death. Now it seems you've learned to be a bit more clever and won't risk your life for Jade Emperor anymore. Since that's the case, I won't make things difficult for you either."

  As soon as he finished speaking, the Golden Hoop Rod suddenly expanded violently in the wind, and then swept horizontally, blocking Erlang Shen.

  "Six ears, through arms, still not showing up."

  As soon as the voice fell, two figures suddenly appeared out of thin air, looking about 70% similar to Dasheng. They wore golden armor and crimson cloaks, holding a bright silver staff in their hands. Unlike Dasheng, one had six ears on his head, and the other had an extremely long arm. It was none other than Liu'er Mihou and Tongbi Yuanhou from the Four Monkeys of the Mixed World.

  Just as Sun Wukong was about to leave, a heavenly sword suddenly flew in from the sky and stabbed straight at his face. The flying sword came with extraordinary ferocity, and Sun Wukong dodged too late, only able to block it hard. With a loud "clang", Sun Wukong retreated three big steps, his golden hoop rod trembling uncontrollably in his hand.

  "Who dares to launch a sneak attack on me, Sun Wukong? How ruthless!"

  Only saw two clusters of clear clouds floating in the sky, with two old Taoist priests standing on them.

  "Haha, I thought it was someone else, but it's just two old cow noses. Taishang Laojun, why aren't you in your Liuhentian refining elixirs? What are you doing here?"

  "You mischievous monkey, it's been a thousand years since you caused chaos in Heaven, yet you still haven't learned your lesson and dare to be so insolent in Heaven again? Moreover, you even dared to instigate my Green Bull to steal my treasure, truly detestable."

  "Senior brother, no need to say more. This demon monkey has some magical powers, and withstanding my Exterminating Immortal Sword for one strike only made it retreat three steps, interesting. Senior brother, fall back and wait for me to set up the sword formation, then we'll exterminate this monkey."

  "Be careful, brother, this mischievous monkey has many tricks up his sleeve, don't be careless."

  The Taishang Laojun had barely finished speaking when the Tongtian Jiao's four divine swords were already unsheathed, swirling around Sun Wukong's head before settling in the southeast, northwest, west and north directions. However, just as this was happening, another unexpected event occurred.

  A jade dust whisk suddenly appeared on Sun Wukong's head, followed by a loud laugh: "Wukong, my old brother, what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time? You've actually provoked the Tianxian Sect Master to take action himself! And he's even formed the Zhuxian Sword Array. If this array is successful, Wukong, my old brother, you're in grave danger."

  "Haha, so it's Town Elder Yuan after all. No big deal, no big deal, this kind of bullying the weak and intimidating the young thing, I, Old Sun, have long been used to seeing such strange things, doesn't matter."

  As Sun Wukong finished laughing, Tongtian Jiao and Taishang Laojun looked towards the same empty space. Tongtian Jiao's mouth curled up with a scornful smile, saying: "I thought it was someone else who dared to block my sword array, but it turned out to be the master of the Earth Immortal, Zhenyuan Daxian. What? Are you so bored in your Five Elements Temple that you came here to stir up trouble?"

  "Haha, you can't say that! Sun Wukong is my sworn brother. If my own brother is bullied by someone, how can I as the older brother just stand by and do nothing? Otherwise, people will think we brothers are useless. Right, little brother Wukong?"

  "Haha, Town Leader said it right, but it's not just some people who have master brothers. Haha."

  This time, the provocation has already moved the Tian Xian Sect Master to true anger. He thought that as the Tian Xian Sect Master, his status was noble and respected, who would have dared to do so on an ordinary day?

  Anger comes from the heart, but I couldn't afford to offend that monkey with my words.

  "Monster monkey, if you only have sharp teeth and a pointed mouth, then this is your burial ground."

  The five fingers changed, and the four immortal swords flew outwards. The sword body's radiance suddenly appeared. "Be careful, Wukong younger brother! This old Taoist has expanded the range of the sword array. Let us join hands to break this formation."

  "Good."

  No time to say more, Sun Wukong transformed into the body of the Heavenly Giant Ape, and then in a flash, a Buddha with a golden armor appeared, holding the Golden Cudgel, formally taking on the form of the Victorious Fighting Buddha. The two powerful transformations brought thunder and lightning as they struck the Swords of Execution and Entrapment in the south and north respectively with one rod. Meanwhile, Sun Wukong himself was about to leave with the Sword of Extinction. At the same time, Zhenyuanzi waved his hand, and a tree branch-like magical treasure appeared in his hand, he pinched his fingers together to form a spell seal, thinking of going to destroy the Sword of Execution.

  Then, a deafening roar was heard, and a surge of magical energy burst forth, shaking the entire 24th Heaven's heavenly soldiers to the point where they were tumbling over each other. When the sound dissipated and the true yuan calmed down, inside the sword array, Sun Wukong and his two clones were trembling non-stop, their hands cracked open at the tiger's mouth, with large amounts of fresh blood flowing out. And Zhenyuanzi was also disheveled, holding a broken tree branch in his hand, trying to calm down the chaotic true yuan within his body.

  This time they clashed, and it was clear who was superior.

  Sun Wukong raised his head and looked at Tongtian Jiao Zhu outside the formation, his eyes were about to split with anger.

  Because Tongtian Sect Master's energy was calm and peaceful, it was clear that he had not suffered any damage. Zhenyuanzi's face was cold and stern, but in his heart, a huge wave was surging. Sun Wukong and himself had already cut off two corpses, yet they still had such a big gap with Tongtian Sect Master. This time, it seemed that the chances of success were slim.

  "Haha, is this all you're capable of? You insignificant ants dare to rival the heavens? Let me, the leader of this sect, put an end to you."

  With a wave of his large sleeve, a streak of green light flashed by, and it was that top-grade pre-heavenly spiritual treasure, the Qingpingsword.

  Just as the green light was about to pierce Sun Wukong, it was blocked by a Bodhi branch.

  "Almighty, using the great to deceive the small, doesn't seem right, does it?"

  Before he could even see who was coming, Sun Wukong murmured: "Master, Master?"