Chapter 20: Fate is Already Sealed

  One day, the Jade Emperor suddenly felt a strong urge to descend into the mortal world. He saw that within the four seas, the divine land was filled with music and dance, and the country was prosperous and the people were at peace, which made him feel delighted. As the ruler of the three realms, wasn't all this his achievement? While touring the East Sea, he came across a country holding a ceremony to worship heaven. The altar was filled with offerings for him to enjoy, so the Jade Emperor happily went forward to partake in them.

  However, at this moment, a strange and powerful gust of wind suddenly rose from the sea, its strength so great that even the Jade Emperor was shocked. Along with the wind came waves that covered the sky and earth, instantly engulfing the entire country. Even the Jade Emperor felt powerless to help. The power of this monster was something he had never seen before.

  Fortunately, this gust of evil wind was strong but had not yet taken shape, and it only lightly disturbed for a moment before dispersing.

  The sacrificial rites were disrupted, the offerings were completely destroyed, and even the entire country where the sacrifice was held was submerged in seawater. The Jade Emperor was furious and wanted to return, deciding to go back to the Heavenly Court to investigate this matter further.

  Just as he was about to ascend to heaven, he suddenly saw a world in distress. The entire world was flooded with water, mountain floods burst forth, ice and snow intertwined, as if history was repeating itself, like a hell on earth. Demons and monsters roamed everywhere, killing recklessly without restraint.

  The Jade Emperor was stunned for a moment, and the great crisis had already arrived. He was suddenly controlled by a powerful energy, unable to move or shout. He could only stare blankly as death approached, and even the great god who governed life and death in the three realms revealed a hint of fear.

  Just as he was about to be crushed, the heavens suddenly changed, the winds and rains were controlled, and the mountains and rivers stabilized. The oppressive energy beside the Jade Emperor also disappeared without a trace. The Jade Emperor, who had gained new life, wanted to find out the reason for his rescue, but saw only four stars streaking across the sky: one like a stone, one like a lotus flower, one like a heavenly eye, and one that was dim and unclear, surrounded by purple energy, but he did not know what it was.

  The Jade Emperor woke up with a start, only to find it was just a dream. However, his body was already drenched in sweat, as if he had really gone through life and death. Seeing that the sky was already bright, he summoned the maid to change his clothes and wash his face, preparing for the morning court.

  Just as he was about to put on his clothes, the Tian Gong suddenly shook, and the palace maid standing beside him stumbled and fell, even the golden silk yellow robe with jade belt was torn open.

  The Jade Emperor was greatly shocked, thinking that the events in his dream had come true. He hastily performed a ritual to find the source of the disturbance and saw that it came from the mortal realm. This terrifying energy could reach the Ninth Heaven, so one can imagine what kind of situation the mortal realm would be in. Mountains collapsed, rivers flowed backwards, cities were overturned, and countless mortals died.

  The Jade Emperor traced the source of the vibration to be from the East Sea. At this time, the waves in the East China Sea were surging into the sky, and the entire sea was like a violently shaking water basin that could not calm down for a long time.

  Just then, amidst the turbulent waves, two rays of light suddenly shot out from the bottom of the sea, closely followed by a gigantic dragon over a thousand meters long.

  "Leave behind the divine needle." The giant dragon roared, rising up a massive wave that cut off Li Mu and Sun Wukong's path of retreat.

  "Li Mu, I treated you as an honored guest, but you helped someone steal my treasure. What kind of logic is this?" Ao Guang roared in anger. The two dragon whiskers on his mouth quivered slightly, showing that he was already furious to the extreme.

  Li Mu disagreed, saying with disdain: "Old Dragon King, as the ruler of one sea, how can you be so inconsistent? You and Gui Xiang promised my brother that if he could lift this object, you would give it to him. Why are you now coming back to ask for it?"

  In short, Long Wang was unreasonable and refuted. But he didn't want to swallow this dumb loss either. After all, the Dinghai Divine Needle was a big deal, and without him, the East Sea would be in chaos, and now it's already turned upside down.

  "I can give you anything else, but the Dinghai Shen needle is too important, you must return it." The Dragon King transformed back into his true form, which was his best state for battle. It seemed he wanted to take it by force.

  The Ox King and the Crocodile King had been waiting here for a long time, seeing the conflict arise, they immediately flew over.

  Jiaomo Wang had always looked down on the dragon tribe and sneered, "Old dragon, you are shameless, don't you put my eight brothers in your eyes?"

  Sun Wukong was originally a hot-headed person with a bad temper. Whatever he got his hands on naturally belonged to him, and others shouldn't even think about taking it back. Moreover, he had just obtained such a suitable piece of equipment, so where's the logic in putting it down? Since the old dragon is being so unreasonable, why not use this opportunity to test the power of the Ruyi Jingu Bang?

  "Brothers, get out of the way and let me try this old mud loach." Sun Wukong spoke as he acted, leaping up with his rod at the ready. Just think about it, a rod weighing 13,500 catties coming crashing down - what kind of power is that? The weight alone was more than Ao Guang could bear, not to mention the added strength from Sun's hand.

  Ao Guang hastily dodged and hid in the clouds.

  But he was no match for Sun Wukong, even in his best fighting state, his speed was not even a tenth of Sun Wukong's. After just a brief entanglement, the Dragon King was completely exposed, with only the intention to escape and no strength to fight back.

  In the rolling waves, Ao Bing revealed half of her body closely watching the battle in the sky. Seeing Li Mu, she was shocked and had an impulse to rush up and meet him. But her father's life and death made her worried.

  Watching Ao Guang retreat without any way out, Ao Ning became extremely anxious, the demonic energy inside his body stirred up again, and his eyes gradually turned blood red.

  In an instant, Li Mu felt that familiar intimacy again. Turning back to look, he saw a golden dragon rushing towards the evil energy, its target locked onto Sun Wukong.

  "Qing'er!" Li Mu was shocked, he hadn't expected Ao Qing to fall ill at this time.

  But at this time, Li Mu wanted to intervene but it was already too late, with his limited strength, intervening in such a struggle would be suicidal. He could only watch as the monkey fought against two dragons, not knowing who to root for in his heart.

  Niú Mó Wáng and others did not intend to intervene, standing on one side with tens of thousands of yāo troops watching the excitement, facing off against tens of thousands of shrimp soldiers and crab generals who had floated to the surface. Following the principle that "the enemy does not move, I do not move", if the enemy moves first, they will launch a collective attack. Lǐ Mù also couldn't ask them to intervene, after all, this would be very damaging to Hóu Zi's self-esteem.

  The monkey pair fought with two, not only without fear but also more brave. The golden hoop rod in his hand danced with a mighty wind, each rod carrying great power. The speed of the swing was so fast that even the air below couldn't escape.

  Looking at Ao Guang and Ao Bing, father and daughter, even if they joined forces, they were completely no match for Sun Wukong. In just over a dozen rounds, they were already battered and bruised all over. Ao Bing had by now completely lost her rationality, only madly pouncing on Sun Wukong while forgetting the danger to her life. The more she went crazy, the greater her energy became, and the stronger Li Mubai's affection for her grew.

  At this time, Li Mu could no longer care about this inexplicable feeling, and only hoped that the monkey would spare his life and not hurt Ao Ning.

  "Get out!"

  The monkey let out a loud roar and kicked away the Condensed Ice that was about to bind him, striking it with his staff like a dragon king.

  The Dragon King thought that such a distant distance would not hit himself, but the Golden Hoop Rod suddenly became thicker and longer, and it was about to smash him into a pancake. Ao Bing, who was flying upside down, saw this scene and suddenly let out a painful "Ah!" cry.

  "Monkey, don't kill him." Li Mu saw things getting out of hand and hastily stopped the monkey.

  Sun Wukong thought it was impossible to retrieve the stick at this time, so he could only exert his strength and retrieved five-tenths of it. However, even with just five-tenths of the Dragon King Ao Guang's power, his body fell like a meteor, heavily smashing into the surface of the sea, forming a huge whirlpool.

  "Hiss——"

  Ao Bing's body was stable, his eyes had already turned red like blood, a black aura surrounded his whole body, and the scales also turned into dark gold. His entire body shot towards Sun Wukong like an arrow. Even if it meant risking his own life, he wanted to make the person who hurt his father pay the price.

  How could Sun Wukong be afraid of such a small dragon? After fighting until now, he didn't even hurt a single hair. He stood still, his eyes fixed tightly on Ao Bing.

  "Stop, Jing Er."

  Li Mufei stepped forward and blocked Sun Wukong's path, calling out to the black dragon that had long lost its rationality.

  "Wood, get out of the way!" Sun Wukong was shocked and was just about to pull Li Mu aside.

  Ao Bing's speed suddenly slowed down, and he stopped in front of Li Mu, about one zhang away. His ferocious face struggled, his painful expression heart-wrenching. Ao Bing suddenly trembled, painfully wailing. After a while, the black air dissipated, and he gradually regained his senses.

  Things have gotten to this point, and no one wants to see it. Especially Li Mu, who was caught in the middle, felt a bit guilty towards Ao Ning.

  "Go and take a look at your father the king." Li Mu couldn't help but feel some sympathy, so he glanced sideways at Sun Wukong and said something to him before flying off alone towards the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits.

  Sun Wukong had an indifferent expression, lovingly stroking the Golden Cudgel, and said to the group of demons: "You little ones, follow Old Sun back."

  Vast and majestic, tens of thousands of demonic creatures floated by on a black cloud, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye. Only leaving behind a ravaged sea surface, countless floating fish and shrimp corpses, silently accusing.

  The calm after the storm is somewhat frightening, and more oppressive.

  The Jade Emperor in the Heavenly Palace witnessed the whole process with his own eyes, and many capable immortals also watched it. In the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, the attitudes of the immortals were different, and they discussed it in a flurry.

  The Jade Emperor told everyone about his dream and asked for their opinions.

  Marshal Li Jing, holding the Demon-Subduing Tower with one hand, took a big stride forward and said: "Your Majesty, today's events have fulfilled this dream. I think that troublemaker must be that monkey. Now that we have obtained divine weapons, if we don't capture him soon, he will cause even more chaos in the future."

  Li Jing's words were met with immediate approval from many people, and Tian Peng Marshal and other generals from various routes all echoed in agreement: "Please have Your Majesty issue a sacred decree as soon as possible, we are willing to go and capture the monkey demon."

  Tai Baijin Xing smiled and shook his head, saying: "The Heavenly King's words are incorrect. That monkey demon was born from the spiritual root of the immortal stone, and is one of the four monkeys that stir up the world - the Ming Ling Shi Hou. Although it is reckless today, if it can be tamed, it will surely bring blessings to the heavenly court."

  The two sides had different opinions, one advocated for capture and the other for amnesty. The Jade Emperor did not know whose opinion to listen to and was annoyed by the argument at the time.

  "Lao Jun, you're good at interpreting dreams. Can you tell me what my dream means?" The Jade Emperor turned his gaze to the Supreme Old Lord, hoping he could help him make a decision.

  The Supreme Elder smiled and waved his sleeve, saying: "Your Majesty, this is a dream of good and bad fortune, with both good and bad omens. In the end, it will turn from bad to good fortune, and you will pass through this calamity."

  "Old Master, why must you speak in riddles? Speak clearly." Tianyou Marshal was a straightforward person who didn't like to think too much.

  The Supreme Elder concentrated his mind and said solemnly, "Recently, there will be a demon causing chaos in the world, and the three realms will experience a great calamity. However, Your Majesty's words are too vague, and this old man cannot infer which kind of demon it is. But one thing is certain, it is not that monkey."

  Li Jing's face was somewhat lost as his judgment was denied again, and he asked: "Old Master, how can you be so sure it's not that monkey demon?"

  The Old Master said, "Your Majesty, do not be impatient, let me explain slowly. Firstly, the Monkey King of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits is a divine stone monkey, an ancient spiritual breed, not a demon or evil spirit; secondly, Your Majesty's dream has already revealed that this calamity is just beginning to sprout, and the monkey's magical powers have already been established; thirdly, this monkey is not only not a troublemaker, but rather a meritorious official who will save the Three Realms. Does Your Majesty remember that among the four stars, one of them transformed into a stone?"

  The Jade Emperor suddenly realized and hastily said, "Right, right, right! Now that I think about it, there is indeed a Linggen Xian stone." He also thought of the other three and asked in succession, "What does Lao Jun think the other three will be?"

  Everyone looked forward to Tàishàng Lǎojūn with eager anticipation, but at this moment he still wanted to sell a suspenseful story, making people hate him so much that their teeth itched.

  Lao Jun saw that Xiaozi was about to have an outburst and slowly said: "There is one who is far away in the sky, yet near at hand."

  "Who is it?" All the immortals asked in unison, their faces filled with anticipation as they looked at the Venerable Lord of the Origin. Being gazed at by the Lord, each of them felt their heart racing, thinking that they were the great hero who would save the Three Realms.

  Lao Jun said: "Among them is a lotus flower, which is the Third Prince Nezha."

  Nezha was young and proud of his accomplishments, hearing that he was the great hero who saved the three realms, he was overjoyed.

  "Another one of the eyes is Your Majesty's nephew, Erlang Shen Yang Jian. As for the last person, a mass of purple energy, I don't know what it is." The Great Supreme Elder said.

  Originally, there was a title that was snatched away by someone, and the immortals were somewhat disappointed. But when they heard that the last one was not even known to Lao Jun, they suddenly had some expectations again. Those who had a slight connection with Zi immediately began to imagine, and even thought it was themselves.