Chapter 19: The Divine Soldier Emerges, Stirring Up the Nine Heavens

  "Hmmph!"

  "Roar!"

  Outside the Water Curtain Cave of Mount Huaguo, a vast open space was crowded with people, and the sound of ghosts and monsters shouting and cheering filled the air. The demons were excitedly shouting and waving flags, all trying to get a glimpse of the two great demon kings' contest.

  It has been seven or eight days since the eight great demon kings gathered. The eight of them were Niu Mo Wang, Jiao Mo Wang, Peng Mo Wang, Shi Tu Wang, Mi Hou Wang, Yu Ji Wang, Mei Hou Wang, and Li Mu, the newly appointed Di Mo Wang. Every day they drank wine and made merry, completely forgetting about worldly affairs, solely indulging in the joy of this heavenly blessed land, their compatible natures blending together in delight.

  At this time, Lion Camel King was competing with Bull Demon King to test their strength, causing a stir in the entire Huaguo Mountain again. The Bull Demon King claimed to be the Great Power Bull Demon King, and this title was not given in vain. But Lion Camel King was not convinced, and he insisted on competing with him. The two of them were comparing their strength in front of the Water Curtain Cave, with one hand tied behind their backs and the other hand pressing against each other to compare their strength.

  The rules of the game are that neither side is allowed to bend their waist, nor take a step back; whoever moves loses.

  Both were on the side of the demon king, with the strength of nine cows and two tigers. As they started to fight, it was indeed a battle between Wangwu and Taihang, neither gaining the upper hand. Amidst the cheers of the crowd, Sun Wukong and Li Muzi occasionally exchanged some banter. The Bull Demon King's power grew stronger with each passing moment, his body emitting an overwhelming aura that forced people to retreat.

  Looking at the Lion Camel King, sweat began to appear on his forehead, and as he bore the force, the stones under his feet were actually ground into powder, and his entire foot had sunk in. This was not over yet, as he was forced back by the old cow's energy, his whole body was pushed backwards, and a deep mark was drawn out from under his feet.

  "Ah——"

  The old ox let out a loud roar, and its body suddenly emitted a burst of energy. A surge of power shot out from the center of its body, sending the Lion Camel King flying backward. The other nearby great demon kings and cave masters hastily cast spells to avoid it, barely escaping disaster. As for the smaller demons that had crowded in around them, they were knocked over like wheat in an autumn breeze.

  After the surge of energy passed, Li Mu burrowed out from the ground. To say nothing of the four great demon kings, even the island masters around him were basically above Li Mu in terms of strength. However, Li Mu reacted quickly and managed to avoid the aura wave of the Ox Demon King by hiding underground.

  At this time, Lion Camel got up and walked back, sincerely saying: "Brother Niu, I, old lion, have admitted defeat."

  In the end, everyone came to a conclusion that competing with the Great Bull Demon King in terms of strength is simply asking for trouble.

  "Haha——"

  Everyone burst out laughing.

  After trying it out, Old Cow's enthusiasm was greatly aroused, and he loudly said: "Bring wine, let's all drink to our heart's content."

  After finishing speaking, a little demon quickly ran to fetch wine and poured a bowl for each person.

  "Come on, let's go!" Old Cow raised a bowl of wine, eight people clinked their cups together and drank it all in one gulp.

  How many joys in life can compare with this?

  Having drunk to their heart's content, the Unicorn Ghost King suddenly suggested: "Niu Mo Wang, Mei Hou Wang, you eight people have similar interests and appreciate each other, why not become sworn brothers? Since I've come to join in, let's establish a title for our group."

  "It's indeed, yes." As soon as this suggestion came out, everyone echoed in agreement and made requests. If the eight of them were united, what couldn't they accomplish?

  "If there were eight great kings ruling together, they wouldn't have to put up with that heavenly court's arrogance."

  "We await your esteemed instructions."

  ……

  Everyone came here, one is to come for the fame of Sun Wukong, and the other is that everyone was originally a person with a pleasant personality and made friends widely. They looked at each other and no one disagreed with becoming sworn brothers.

  In the midst of tens of thousands of demons, Li Mu and others arrived at the Wutai Mountain Pavilion to offer eight fine wines. The eight people lined up in a row, each stating their name: "I am Niu Mo Wang, Jiao Mo Wang, Peng Mo Wang, Shi Tu Wang, Mi Hou Wang, Yu Ji Wang, Mei Hou Wang, Di Mo Wang."

  "We eight men respectfully invite the Goddess of Earth to witness our oath, we become sworn brothers for life and death. We do not ask to be born on the same year, month and day, but we ask to die on the same year, month and day. If anyone betrays this oath, they will willingly accept the punishment of heavenly thunder and earthly fire, their soul and spirit will scatter."

  A bowl of wine, drunk in one gulp.

  Shattering an empty bowl, laughing loudly towards the sky.

  In this magnificent mood, I'd rather point to the sky and pursue the six paths than be a celestial being. Isn't the purpose of cultivating immortality to seek freedom?

  Eight people in order of age, Niu Mo Wang is the eldest brother, second is Jiao Mo Wang, third is Peng Mo Wang, fourth is Shi Tuo Wang, fifth is Mi Hou Wang, sixth is Yu Ju Wang, seventh is Mei Hou Wang, eighth is Di Mo Wang.

  Watching everyone let go of their inhibitions, without any reserve, Li Mu also fully immersed himself in it, enjoying the moment. He forgot about his master's teachings, forgot about the beauty who was still suffering from illness at the bottom of the sea, as if the entire world only had this sky and earth.

  The demons cheered and jumped for joy, drinking freely without restraint. Regardless of gender or social status, the wine in their bowls never stopped flowing, and the entire Mount Huaguo was filled with the fragrance of wine.

  The Unicorn Ghost King was a rough man, but rough men often hit the nail on the head. He held up a cup of wine and swayed forward to toast with the eight demon kings, and when he reached the high ground, he suddenly felt a heroic passion surge in his heart. Looking at the sky with disdain, he suggested: "Your Majesty, you are originally connected to heaven, why not come up with a loud nickname?"

  "Nickname?"

  Eight people were stunned, thinking that it was indeed the case. The powerful demon kings basically all had domineering nicknames, for example the Mixed World Demon King who was killed by Sun Wukong was a nickname, and his real name was unknown.

  "Old Bull claims to be the Great Power Demon King, we all have nicknames, why take another one?" Yu Jiaolong said.

  "No, no, no, Old Six, your idea is wrong." Li Mu smiled slightly and walked over calmly, saying: "You didn't understand Hei Mang's meaning. Eldest Brother's abilities are unparalleled in heaven and earth, who among the heavenly ones can compare? Why not call him Ping Tian Da Sheng?"

  "The Great Sage Equaling Heaven!"

  "This is good, but Wooden has ideas." Monkey Sun scratched his cheek, smiled slightly, and then urged: "What about the others?"

  Now the only one who hasn't gotten drunk yet is probably Li Mu alone, his alcohol tolerance isn't for show. After thinking for a moment, he continued to say: "Lao Er is well-versed in water magic, and is a true dragon descendant from ancient times, being called the Great Sage of Overturning the Ocean wouldn't be excessive."

  "Overlord of the Ocean?" The Jiaomo Wang nodded, seemingly quite satisfied.

  "The old three volumes are Peng, the ancients said that Peng rises to nine heavens and travels ten thousand miles a day. Since you can roam the sky and play with the earth, why not be called the Great Sage of Mixed Heavens."

  "Haha, the Great Sage of Mixed Heaven, Old Peng likes it." The Demon King Peng was overjoyed and took a big gulp before continuing to listen.

  "Among the four and five elements, he is good at the art of moving mountains, why don't you call him the Great Mountain Moving Sage?"

  "Old Fifth comes and goes like a ghost, his spirit is unpredictable, he changes in many ways, how can he be called the Great Sage Equaling Heaven?"

  The Lion King and the Monkey King nodded in satisfaction.

  "Even an immortal would have to retreat three times before Lao Liu's abilities; why not call him the Great Sage who Drives Away Gods?"

  Yu Wang was overjoyed, his greatest pride being that even the gods did not dare to provoke him, and he stirred up trouble in both the human and demon worlds.

  Li Mu glanced at the monkey and teased: "Old Seventh Monkey's strength is ordinary, at most it can rival Heaven, why not just call it Qitian Dasheng?"

  Sun Wukong was impatient, and upon hearing the first half of the sentence, he felt somewhat displeased. However, when he heard the title "Qitian Dasheng", his face lit up immediately. He scratched himself, then scratched Li Mubai and laughed: "Mubai, old Sun likes being Qitian Dasheng."

  Li Mu smiled and continued: "As for me, the youngest brother, I am the weakest in terms of ability and have no skills to speak of. I'll just come along for the ride and call myself the Great Saint Who Stands on the Ground."

  "Good!"

  "You're indeed worthy of being called Lao Ba."

  Seven people are as brothers, they interact with each other and befriend each other, why would they care about the strength of Li Mu?

  "The Proclaimer, the Lone Horned Devil King, recited again: 'The Heavenly Grand Sage Cow Demon King, the Ocean-Covering Grand Sage Crocodile Demon King, the Heaven-Mixing Grand Sage Peng Demon King, the Mountain-Shifting Grand Sage Lion Camel King, the Wind-Passing Grand Sage Gibbon King, the Spirit-Controlling Grand Sage Yu Hou Wang, the Heaven-Equalling Grand Sage Beautiful Monkey King, the Earth-Standing Grand Sage Earth Demon King.'"

  "We, the multitude, follow the Eight Great Saints, and will surely shake the Three Realms."

  Monkey Sun raised a cup of wine and said loudly: "You guys, quickly prepare the mast and flags, and set up eight big flags right here."

  The monkey spoke and immediately went to prepare for the demon king.

  Although Sun Wukong is not the strongest among the eight, everyone comes to Huaguo Mountain for Sun Wukong, and naturally they implicitly regard Sun Wukong as their leader. After all, the real master of Huaguo Mountain is Sun Wukong, not the other seven. As soon as he speaks, someone will immediately go and do it.

  Li Mu was the weakest in terms of strength, but over the past few days, he had gained new insights into Wei Tianjing through the guidance and teachings of others, learned a few more spells, and his strength had increased significantly.

  A group of men got together, and apart from drinking, they only had martial arts competitions. Li Mu was naturally clever and had a high level of comprehension, so he picked up many things quickly. Adding to the fact that he already had some foundation, now he just needed to review it again, so it's natural that his speed would be much faster than those who were new learners. However, every time the others competed, Li Mu still couldn't get a hand in.

  However, every time Sun Wukong competed with others, he couldn't exert his full strength because he didn't have a suitable weapon. On the contrary, when competing with Peng Demon King, the Nine-Ringed Tiger-Headed Sword was actually broken by Peng Demon King's Golden Halberd.

  "Old Seventh, your weapon is too poor, greatly affecting your strength." Peng Demon King looked at Sun Wukong's gloomy face, not knowing whether to comfort or sympathize.

  "Monkey, come with me to Tongyuan Mountain. My master has many divine weapons and treasures, there must be something you like." Li Mu looked at the monkey's gloomy face and felt like laughing.

  He lost to the Japanese Cow Demon King in a test of strength, to the Alligator Demon King in a swimming competition, to the Roc Demon King in a speed contest, to the Lion Camel King in a mountain-climbing competition, to the Gibbon King in a shape-shifting contest, and to the Weasel King in a wit contest. The only one who could give him some confidence was Li Mu, but even Sun Wukong wasn't interested in competing with him. As a result, he ended up drinking the most wine over the next few days.

  Sun Wukong was moved by Li Mu's words and couldn't help but feel a little excited, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he said to Li Mu: "Hurry up, hurry up."

  At his speed, going back and forth to Tongyuan Mountain would take no more than the time it takes to finish a cup of tea. The monkey was impatient and didn't even bother to explain before pulling Li Mu away to fly off.

  The Bull Demon King and the Alligator Demon King had just finished their contest, when they saw Sun Wukong riding on his cloud, hastily urging Li to hurry up. They curiously asked: "Old Seventh, Old Eighth, where are you two going?"

  The Peng Demon King recounted the events of just now, and everyone burst out laughing. Li Mu was about to step onto the Monkey King's筋斗云 (a type of cloud), but the Jiao Demon King suddenly thought of a simpler method and said: "Why bother going far when you can find it nearby? The East Sea is one of the four great seas, with countless treasures accumulated over the years. Why not go to the East Sea to borrow a weapon?"

  Pengmo Wang and others were also knowledgeable, knowing that the East China Sea was rich in treasures, and they all agreed with Jiaomo Wang's approach. The monkey was impatient, without waiting for Li Mu to finish speaking, he said "this idea is not bad" and dove headfirst into the sea. Li Mu helplessly watched the splashing water, thinking that his plan had fallen through again.

  The Monkey King was worried and said, "Old Seventh is hot-tempered, if he can't borrow the weapon, he will turn the East Sea upside down."

  The Demon King nodded and said, "Old Five is right, we all know the monkey's skills. These days, we can win against him because of the weapons in our hands and his impulsive nature that prevents him from exerting his strength. If it were a bare-handed match, I'm not sure if we would be his opponents." When mentioning the Dragon King, the Demon King's tone was clearly disdainful. Although he was also a descendant of the ancient true dragon, his bloodline was one level lower than the dragons', so he was often looked down upon by them. Now that he had cultivated unparalleled magical powers, he naturally wouldn't put those dragons in his eyes.

  "I'll go, I'm more familiar with the East Sea." The plan may not have worked out, but brotherly matters still need to be taken care of. Li Mu said, and quickly dove into the sea.

  When he arrived at the Dragon Palace, the Dragon King had already received Sun Wukong in the Crystal Hall. Ao Guang knew that Sun Wukong was not someone to be trifled with, as his brothers were all legendary figures in the demon world, so he carefully tried to satisfy Sun Wukong's demands. Li Mu arrived at the Crystal Hall and stood aside without speaking. The Dragon King knew that Li Mu was one of the Eight Great Saints, and his attitude towards him became even more cordial.

  At this time, the Dragon King had already sent someone to fetch several weapons. Li Mu had seen these things before, and none of them could compare with the Nine-Ringed Tiger Head Knife of the Demon King of the Mixed World. As soon as the things were brought out, Sun Wukong's eyebrows furrowed, his face displeased, staring at those knives and clubs. Li Mu hastily stepped forward to stand beside Monkey, fearing that he would destroy this thousand-year-old Dragon Palace if he was unhappy.

  Fortunately, the monkey's patience was not as scarce as everyone imagined. Although he had a quick temper, he was actually the most patient one.

  "Can't be, can't be! Old Dragon King, you're in charge of this vast ocean, how could you try to fool me, old Sun, with these inferior goods? Bring out something heavier!"

  The Dragon King thought for a moment and said to the Turtle Prime Minister: "Go get the 3,600-pound nine-pronged fork."

  The tortoise prime minister led a group of shrimp soldiers to the treasury, and after a while, three shrimp soldiers carried a long fork over. Looking at them swaying back and forth, the dragon king was worried that the thing would fall off and damage many treasures. Watching, his forehead was sweating slightly.

  Sun Wukong jumped over and grabbed the nine-pronged fork, which weighed three thousand six hundred catties. In his hands, it was as if there was nothing, spinning with a loud whoosh, making people's eyes dizzy. Li Mu had long known that Sun Wukong was formidable, but others were stunned. Ao Guang secretly praised Sun Wukong for being truly extraordinary and was glad he hadn't clashed with him.

  "It's too light." Having just started to wield it for a few circles, Sun Wukong tossed the nine-pronged fork aside and said, "Get me a heavier one."

  With his previous performance, the Dragon King was extremely dissatisfied with Sun Wukong's overbearing behavior, but still reluctantly said: "Bring me the 7,200-catty Heaven-trampling Boots."

  After a while, the eight shrimp soldiers shouted slogans and came out of the treasure house, seeing them carrying a golden square halberd on their shoulders. Even with all eight of them, it was extremely difficult to lift.

  Sun Wukong saw that there was a play and was overjoyed. From his seat, he did a flip and somersaulted over, grabbing the Heaven-Defending Sword in mid-air before landing lightly on the ground.

  This seven thousand two hundred catty Fang Tian halberd, Li Mu had never seen before. The monkey only felt that it was extremely heavy in his hand, much heavier than the nine-ring tiger head knife. The monkey became excited and started dancing on the spot. He saw him jumping up and down alone, stabbing left and right, busy with joy. But after a moment, he still felt that it wasn't suitable for him, and shouted again: "Not good not good, change to another one that's even heavier."

  "Is it still not enough? Great Sage, I really don't have anything better than this." The Dragon King said with a bitter face. Although he knew that Sun Wukong was not easy to deal with, he had indeed brought out his best things, which was the most generous the Dragon King had ever been.

  The tortoise marshal was quite dissatisfied with Sun Wukong's overbearing behavior, but based on his strength, he indeed couldn't give the Dragon King a headache. So he thought of another plan, which would make Sun Wukong lose face completely. He said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, there is still one more thing in the treasury, why not let the Great Sage try it? If he can lift it, then we'll give it to him; if he can't, then he can't blame us for not treating our neighbor well."

  The Dragon King thought for a moment and indeed there was such a treasure. However, this matter was of great importance, so he didn't dare to make a promise easily.

  The monkey didn't care about all that and urged hastily: "With such a treasure, take me there quickly, quick."

  The Dragon King hesitated for a moment, and then he understood the meaning of the Turtle Prime Minister. He gritted his teeth and made up his mind, saying: "Follow me."

  It was that long and narrow corridor again, although it was the second time he walked through it, Li Mu still felt a bit eerie. The warm seawater also gradually turned icy cold, just like walking into an icehouse. Li Mu always felt that there was a kind of familiar intimacy here, stronger than the first time. But when he tried his best to find it, he couldn't feel any existence.

  Walking through this long and winding passage, I arrived at the deepest part of the ocean, where the Dinghai Shen Zhen stood upright in the bottomless abyss, motionless. Only that strong and intense aura of a king still intimidated this space.

  Sun Wukong raised his head and gazed up at it, sizing up the legendary needle, and for a moment he was also stunned.

  The Dragon King was rather pleased with himself and said, "Great Sage, this is the treasure of my Eastern Ocean that calms the sea - the Magic Pin that Holds Down the Sea. It weighs 13,500 pounds; if you can lift it, I'll give it to you."

  In his opinion, this needle as big as a mountain was something that this skinny little monkey couldn't even lift.

  "Old Dragon King, the Dragon Palace has such a treasure, but he won't let me take a look. If it weren't for my seventh brother coming to borrow a weapon, I wouldn't have had this good fortune." Li Mu came over to Monkey's side, not forgetting to speak ill of others first.

  In fact, he could see the Dragon King's intention, if Sun Wukong couldn't lift the Dinghai Divine Needle, he would probably lose face and not dare to come to the Dragon Palace again. Li Mu didn't want Monkey to suffer a loss, in his opinion, Monkey wouldn't be able to lift the "needle" which was tens of thousands of times larger and heavier than him.

  "I'll go take a look." The monkey had no idea that the Dragon King had set up a trap and excitedly stepped on the筋斗 cloud to measure the Dinghai Divine Needle. Li Mu wanted to advise, but it was already too late.

  Looking at Sun Wukong, who was as insignificant as a fly in front of Ding Hai Shen Zhen, the Dragon King and his Prime Minister both had a hint of a sinister smile on their lips, as if they were waiting to see the monkey's joke.

  Sun Wukong stepped on the筋斗云 and circled around the Dinghai Divine Needle. The divine needle, as if seeing an old friend it had been separated from for a long time, suddenly emitted a brilliant golden light, especially the four characters "定海神针" which shone even brighter in the darkness.

  What's going on here!

  The Dragon King and the Turtle Prime Minister were shocked, staring at the Dinghai Divine Needle in a daze.

  The monkey arrived at a position halfway up the waist and pushed with his hand. The Dinghai Divine Needle swung as if it had no weight, stirring the entire Eastern Sea into turmoil.

  The entire Dragon Palace was in a state of panic, with everyone looking at the sea surface with a bewildered expression. Ao Ning, who had been separated from Li Mu for a long time, suddenly felt anxious due to this commotion. He didn't know whether he was worried about himself or that person who made him feel uneasy.

  Above the sea surface stood tens of thousands of demons, and the six great sages including Bull Demon King were standing in the cloud layer. Seeing the sea surface suddenly shaking, they thought that Sun Wukong and Li Mu had started fighting with the dragon tribe, and were about to rush in to help. But just as they arrived at the sea surface, it returned to calmness. The Macaque King hastily said: "Wait a minute, let's not be impatient, maybe they haven't started fighting yet."

  All of this, Sun Wukong was completely unaware of, and he looked at the Dinghai Divine Needle with relish, just like appreciating a beauty. The monkey thought to himself: This is indeed a good treasure, if only it were a bit smaller.

  The Dragon King saw the sea surface calm down, and a hanging heart suddenly returned to his stomach. But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw the Dinghai Divine Needle suddenly shrink by one circle. Immediately afterwards, it continued to shrink in circles.

  This, this...

  Li Mu stared blankly at this change, never expecting that the monkey would have such a move, and that such an extraordinary divine instrument could transform.

  Actually, he had no idea that the Dinghai Divine Needle was tailor-made for Sun Wukong. As soon as Monkey King thought about it, the needle seemed to understand his mind and changed accordingly.

  Followed by its change, there is a big seal on it.

  Sun Wukong was overjoyed, and upon seeing the suitable size, he grasped it in his hand. On one end of the golden hoop, a line of words was written: "Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod, weighing 13,500 pounds."

  The monkey was overjoyed and shouted twice: "Haha, the compliant golden hoop rod, the compliant golden hoop rod!"

  Before everyone could react, the seal on the Golden Hoop broke, and a dark black gas suddenly emerged from the depths of the Extreme Ocean. This was followed by an earthquake. The entire ocean shook violently, fish and shrimp were unstable, houses swayed and were about to collapse. Suddenly, the sea waves roared, their voices reaching the heavens.

  At that moment, Li Mu and Ao Ning, though in different places, had a suffocating feeling at the same time. However, their feelings were different. Ao Ning looked around in horror, like a frightened lamb facing the most ferocious wolf alone. While Li Mu was slightly excited.

  Everyone was shocked by this sudden change, but no one noticed that dark black air.

  It's here! Please give me your support!