Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

However, the Heavenly Court had ample reason to campaign against him, claiming he had stolen every last Peach of Immortality from the Peach Orchard of Immortality and had eaten all of the Nine-Turn Golden Pills that Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had concocted for the Jade Emperor.

"This is a trap!" the Monkey assured himself, and with that thought, he could not help but bitter laugh.

Always proclaiming himself the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, holding his head high, he had never imagined he'd be manipulated like a clown to the applause of others. Now, with his great error made, he had no chance to turn back, leaving the ever-competitive Monkey feeling deeply dejected.

After his dejection came anger, rage blazed in his heart. He bellowed skyward, unwilling to be played by others. Now that Lu Yu had eliminated his concerns from behind, he could finally unleash himself and wreak havoc, no longer hesitating. His spirit to battle against the heavens erupted, scattering the clouds in the sky.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Just then, a sudden report arrived that the grand army of the Heavenly Court was approaching, and the Nine Luminaries Star Lords were already calling out challenges outside.

"Good, since you force my hand, how about I create the chaos you so desire!" At that moment, the Monkey bristled with the intent to fight, desperately needing to vent. He donned his battle robes and took out his Ruyi Jingu Bang, then charged out of his cave.

Seeing the Nine Luminaries Star Lords at the entrance, he didn't say a word and raised his iron rod to strike. Seeing his aggressive demeanor, the Star Lords also drew their weapons, not daring to take him lightly.

"What's gotten into this monkey, has he swallowed gunpowder? Usually, when he sees us, he's all smiles, calling us brothers, but today, he starts fighting without a word."

"Be careful, this monkey has gone mad. Don't get careless and get injured; his Ruyi Jingu Bang is no trifling matter."

While the Nine Luminaries Star Lords were still inwardly grumbling, the Monkey was already fighting furiously, not caring about past relationships. His iron rod blocked and parried left and right, causing the nine Star Lords endless grief.

As seasoned members of the Heavenly Court, they knew well that there was a great secret behind the Monkey's repeated defiance of Heavenly Stripes without consequence. The funniest part was that he had even been officially titled the Great Sage Equalling Heaven. Now, respecting the prestige of the Heavenly Emperor, they had to take action.

Seeing the Monkey in a frenzy, they already felt the desire to retreat. They exchanged looks, and dragging their weapons, they fell back in defeat and rushed to the central army tent, where they said to Devaraja, "This Monkey King is extraordinarily valiant! We couldn't stand against him and have fled from the battle."

Devaraja Li Jing merely furrowed his brow, looking at the nine Star Lords with a sense of speechlessness. He knew that Sun Wukong's rage was not ordinary, but the Star Lords were also competent, not supposed to falter so quickly. A glance told him these folks were not putting in their full effort.

He understood, though. The Monkey's origins were extraordinary, and he generally had a good relationship with everyone. Moreover, this time the Jade Emperor had clearly used the Monkey as an excuse to reduce everyone's share of the Peaches of Immortality — who could be happy about that?

Therefore, he said nothing else, thinking it best to finish the mission swiftly. He then dispatched the Four Great Heavenly Kings, the twenty-eight Star Immortals, and the one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers, arranging them into eighteen layers of heaven and earth nets.

Seeing this, the Monkey felt no fear. Knowing that the Scholar could now take care of his lineage of Monkeys and Monkey descendants, the current Sun Wukong was free of any concerns; this was when he was at his strongest.

The stronger the enemy, the more it ignited his fighting spirit. Holding his iron rod aloft, he faced the vast array of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals without any fear, and yelled, "Take this stick from yours truly, Old Monkey!"

The Golden Hoop Rod suddenly grew as tall as the heavens; the Monkey King also employed the Great Divine Power of Law of Heaven and Earth. As he swung the Golden Hoop Rod, it whipped up a fierce wind that swept across the heavens and the earth, the East Sea roiled in an instant with towering waves crashing against the sea surface, causing many aquatic tribes below to flee in panic.

East Sea Dragon King Ao Guang looked at the swaying Crystal Palace and could not help but sigh, "Alas! My poor Dragon Palace, what sins have we wrought!"

The Four Great Heavenly Kings, fourteen star immortals, twelve Celestial Branches, protective deities from all five directions, four ministries, stars of the east and west, two gods of the north and south, Five Great Mountains, every celestial saw the monkey's posture and knew he was infuriated.

"Well, this Monkey is really angry, displaying such an attitude."

"Nonsense, if you had a scandal as big as stealing all the Peaches of Immortality pinned on you, you'd explode too."

"I'm scared, it's better to step back, this monkey obviously doesn't recognize anyone now, getting hurt by him wouldn't be worth it."

"That isn't good though, how would we explain this to the Jade Emperor?"

"What explanation do we need? Blame the stolen Peaches of Immortality on the monkey, push him to take the fall—who would believe that? He's not foolish enough to eat all the peaches himself; could his small frame handle it?"

"Who doesn't know his little schemes? This time the Peaches of Immortality had matured once in nine thousand years; he wouldn't let such divine substances enter our mouths."

"Say less, after all, he is the revered Heavenly Emperor, returning empty-handed wouldn't look good superficially. Below are seventy-two Demon Kings; if we capture one or two, it'll look better."

As this was said, everyone's eyes lit up—who would want to antagonize the monkey in his current state? Capturing a few Demon Kings would also count as completing their task.

So a strange scene unfolded on the battlefield: many immortals avoided the monkey whenever they saw him and rushed toward other demon kings who were desperately charging forward; those unwitting demon kings, originally hoping to make a name for themselves, ended up as scapegoats.

This chaotic battle lasted from day to night, and the monkey had almost vented his frustration. Seeing that it was getting dark, he was too lazy to continue entangling with the celestial gods. Using an external technique, he pulled a handful of hairs, chewed them, and shouted, "Transform!" Instantly, he turned into hundreds of Great Saints, all wielding Jingu Bangs.

The immortals of the Heavenly Court quickly stepped aside, shouting, "Impressive, Monkey, truly formidable!" However, their faces showed no signs of distress, only shouts from their mouths.

Seeing this, Li Tianwang was at a loss for words. Indeed, these fellows had been mingling in the Heavenly Court for a long time, each skilfully doing the bare minimum.

However, he felt this was acceptable as well; at least he, as the commander, could report to the Jade Emperor. They failed to capture the Monkey, but all his subordinate Demon Kings were caught, which counted as a merit.

Thinking this, he waved his hand to let the indolent fellows retreat, pondering how to report to the Jade Emperor, given that the formalities still had to be observed.

The monkey returned to his cave and counted his troop, finding none of his monkey or monkey grandchildren missing. On the contrary, those demon kings and Demon Soldiers who had surrendered were all captured, filling his heart with myriad emotions. He looked around at the frightened monkeys and began to comfort them, "Victory and defeat are common for soldiers.

The ancients said, 'To kill ten thousand enemies, you lose three thousand of your own.' Moreover, the captured leaders were merely tigers, leopards, wolves, badgers, and foxes. None of our kind was harmed, so why worry? Although he forced me to use the Doppelganger Technique and retreat, he still set up camp at the foot of our mountain.

Let's guard vigilantly, have a hearty meal, get a good night's sleep to restore our spirits. Tomorrow, watch as I use the Great Divine Power to capture these Heavenly Generals and avenge the others."