Chapter 9: Unfathomable Heart of the Supreme Haotian

Wukong had gotten the Buddha Beating Staff and was exceptionally delighted, repeatedly twirling it in his hand. Yet, upon reflection, he realized this staff was nearly identical to his Jingu Bang, the only difference being the somewhat eerie patterns on it. Such a resemblance, if noted by those in the Buddhist sect or the Heavenly Court, would surely reveal his oversight. Even if they did not notice, they might still execute him because of the "rebellious" patterns inscribed on his staff.

Considering the tyrannical nature of Buddhism and the Heavenly Court, Wukong could only sigh and murmur to himself, "When my mana grows deeper, I will then settle scores with them." With that thought, he changed his Dharma Decree with a flick of his hand, and the Buddha Beating Staff instantly transformed into a long spear, "Enough of that, this spear can also serve as a staff!"

Due to this delay, another day passed by and night fell.

Wukong shrank the long spear to the size of an inch and tucked it into his sleeve, then walked out of the cave at a leisurely pace.

While walking, he looked up at the star gods in the sky. They seemed ordinary, but each star was home to a Heavenly General.

These stars were governed by the Ziwei Great Emperor in the Celestial Palace, and the Jade Emperor would often send out Heavenly Soldiers and Generals to battle demons in the mortal world and to quell disturbances from the Demon Abyss in the Northern Region... The generals who accrued merit were bestowed a star, whose power they could cultivate with, doubling their efforts.

Wukong silently sensed the arrangement and changes of the star gods above and listened intently to the sounds of nature.

Ever since devouring Tang Sanzang's spiritual essence, Wukong felt the Hongmeng Purple Qi inside him grow denser, and the cultivation of its techniques became much quicker. However, these techniques were shrouded in mystery, not easy to master completely. Nevertheless, they were better than nothing; though not entirely proficient, their use was still much more potent than the ordinary Dharma Gate.

Wukong thought to himself, "Now I have regained my past cultivation level, and even exceeded it by much! Another retreat would likely be of little use."

In this moment, he realized he had encountered a bottleneck in his cultivation; he was now a High Immortal, just a step away from becoming a Superior Immortal!

In years past, when he was but a mere High Immortal, ignorant of the vastness of the skies and the depth of the earth, he had ascended to the Heavenly Court. Only later did he learn how many Taiyi Golden Immortals were in that Celestial Palace! Had any of them stepped forward at that time, he would have been beaten black and blue, with no chance to humiliate the Jade Emperor by making him hide under a table.

It seemed that the Heavenly Court too was a jumbled mess, with each to their own. Even the Jade Emperor's edicts could be met with lip service while being defied in secret.

******

At the Ninefold Heavens above.

After passing through a layer of thunderclouds, there lay the Celestial Realm.

The spectacle above was truly dazzling, with cranes soaring, carps leaping over the dragon gate, elk running about, and heavenly steeds crossing the skies.

Many unidentified immortals, either riding on cranes or aboard heavenly steeds, hurried off in all directions.

The Celestial Realm was boundless and vast, taking shape since Pangu split Heaven and Earth. Later, the Demon King Di Jun used Mount Buzhou as a foundation to establish the Heavenly Court. Then came the contest between the witches and demons, Mount Buzhou was broken by Gonggong, the Heavenly Court collapsed, both sides grievously wounded. Later, with the resurgence of the human path, Jiang Shang conferred the deities, and the Heavenly Court was rebuilt. This Heavenly Court was but a part of the Celestial Realm; deeper within lay countless dangers, like the Weak Water River, which sent shivers down the spine of many immortals. Perhaps only saints would dare to traverse the innermost depths of this Celestial Realm.

"Tian Peng is dead?" Chang'er couldn't help but laugh heartily upon hearing this news, "That faithless man, good riddance! His death compensates for the lonely misery I have suffered for hundreds of years."

Chang'er danced frantically, her beautiful silhouette in Guanghan Palace enough to break hearts.

From Chang'er's demeanor, it seemed that she and Tian Peng shared a substantial history, and Tian Peng appeared to have failed her expectations. Thus, upon hearing of his death, Chang'er became deranged with joy.

This tale is unrelated to our story, so let's pause here.

Meanwhile, the Jade Emperor, upon receiving the news, furrowed his brows and lightly tapped his fingers on the desk.

"All four of the scripture-seeking pilgrims are dead?" the Jade Emperor asked incredulously, furrowing his brows.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is indeed so. I have just returned from the Western Heavenly Buddha Land, and the news is absolutely certain," said Li Changgeng, the Tai Bai Venus.

The Jade Emperor's frown deepened, "That's impossible... Bodhisattva Guanyin has profound mana, and with the Buddha Ancestor covertly assisting, how could these scripture-seekers have died?"

Li Changgeng replied, "It is unknown who possessed such immense power, using great divine skills to obscure the divine foresight. Neither the Buddha nor the Bodhisattva sensed the imminent danger to the group of disciples in time. By the time the Bodhisattva arrived, General Juanlian had his arms severed and died upon a single kick, Marshal Tian Peng's head was smashed by a staff, the Dragon Palace Crown Prince had his throat slit with a sword... As for that monkey, he has renounced Buddhism and escaped to the Demon Abyss in the Northern Region."

"Crack!"

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor's jade cup shattered into fine powder in his hand, seemingly in disbelief.

The Jade Emperor asked, "Concealing fate, such a formidable technique, even the Buddha Ancestor is helpless against it?"

Taibai Jinxing replied, "I only know that the ones who ambushed the Scripture-Seeking Emissary were five experts. Among them was a young man, whose portrait I have brought here."

With that, he slightly raised his fingertip and employed the Mirror Technique, shaping an image of Wukong out of thin air.

The Jade Emperor frowned and thought to himself, "Seeing this person does make me quite displeased!"

Of course, he was displeased. Back then, Wukong had forced him to hide under the desk, how could he be happy? Although Wukong had altered his appearance now, the Jade Emperor still had this feeling, which was the so-called predestined inevitability.

The Jade Emperor said, "Even if we were to dispatch all the heavenly soldiers and heavenly generals to search the Mortal World, I'm afraid it would be of no use. This person has powerful mana and changing his appearance would make it even more difficult to locate him!"

Taibai Jinxing nodded.

The Jade Emperor said, "That monkey possesses great prowess, but upon encountering several people, he found himself helpless, even resulting in the death of his younger brother and the capture of his teacher. This shows the divine skills of these people! Furthermore, they left not even a trace, and the Buddhist Sect couldn't find a single clue, which shows how clever their minds are. Such characters are rare in the world. The number of those who possess such ability can be counted."

Taibai Jinxing said, "However… the Buddha Ancestor has already sent people to investigate, and those suspects all have alibis proving their innocence."

The Jade Emperor fell silent.

"How did that monkey manage to escape from Bodhisattva Guanyin's grasp?" the Jade Emperor continued to inquire.

"That monkey is cunning. Taking advantage of the Bodhisattva's unguarded moment, he dealt a heavy blow that injured the Bodhisattva, and then he fled," Taibai Jinxing said with a hint of mockery and pleasure in his brows, seeming quite satisfied with the news.

Even the Jade Emperor stroked his beard, and the anger from before eased significantly.

When Wukong wreaked havoc in the Celestial Palace years ago, many deities superficially complied but secretly opposed. Left with no choice, the Jade Emperor put aside his dignity to request Bodhisattva Guanyin's help, only to have that scoundrel make a show of power. Guanyin clearly could have captured the monkey, yet deliberately refrained, leading to the involvement of the Buddha Ancestor. Since then, the Heavenly Court's influence has been significantly diminished due to the influence of the Buddhist Sect.

"Ha-ha, Changgeng, you must be jesting. The Bodhisattva's mana is profound; how could he be injured by a monkey?" said the Jade Emperor.

"Would I dare deceive Your Majesty? It is said that the monkey with a few strikes made the Bodhisattva spit blood and break bones, nearly severing the Primordial Spirit from the body. It was the monkey who became fearful, wary of the 'Tightening-Crown Spell', and did not dare to pursue further, heading straight to the Northern Region, into the Demon Abyss," Taibai Jinxing reported with a neutral expression, yet he was inwardly extremely satisfied.

"Oh! Alas, what a pity," said the Jade Emperor, not knowing whether he pitied that Guanyin let the monkey escape or that the monkey hadn't beaten Guanyin to death.

"There's another matter I'd like to report to Your Majesty," said Taibai Jinxing.

"Let's hear it," said the Jade Emperor, sensing it was bad news but still patiently waiting to hear it.

"Recent disturbances in the Mortal World include undead horrors. Zombies have been prowling at night, sucking the brains and extracting the hearts of mortals," Taibai Jinxing declared.

"Hmm... Leave that matter to the Buddhist Sect or the Taoist Sect. It's not the concern of the Heavenly Court," waved the Jade Emperor dismissively.

Taibai Jinxing had finished reporting and was about to withdraw when he was stopped by the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor instructed Taibai Jinxing, "Convey my decree, command the Four Heavenly Kings and the Twenty-Eight Mansions and others to descend to the Mortal World and assist the people of the Western Heavenly Buddha Land in investigating this matter."

Taibai Jinxing accepted the command and left.

The Jade Emperor was somewhat skillful in his speech; by adding "assist" to his order, it meant that the Four Heavenly Kings and the Twenty-Eight Mansions were merely to make an appearance to support the Buddhist Sect, in essence, just to save face.

The Jade Emperor, with hands behind his back, lamented, "I thought that after the monkey's havoc in the Celestial Palace, there would finally be peace in the world! Yet who knew another Demon King of Chaos would emerge, slaying Tian Peng, Juanlian, and even the Crown Prince of the Dragon Palace. Judging by the methods used, one can tell these people act decisively. It appears that Golden Cicada's reincarnation is likely doomed as well, and that monkey has indeed fled to the Northern Region's Demon Abyss... Truly, it's one problem after another. And as long as that monkey lives, with his vengeful nature, he is bound to be a great future trouble."

The Mortal World is divided into four areas: Eastern Divine Region, Western Heavenly Buddha Land, Southern Ridge Demon Mountain, and Northern Region Demon Abyss.

Within these regions, the Eastern Divine Region is where the Human Race congregates, naturally with many cultivators, but it is mainly inhabited by ordinary people, governed by the Great Tang Dynasty, with the Emperor succeeded by Li Shimin; Western Heavenly Buddha Land is the land of the Buddhist Sect, with many Buddha Bodhisattvas dwelling there, dominated by Tathagata who presides over the Great Thunderclap Monastery; Southern Ridge Demon Mountain is mostly inhabited by members of the Demon Tribe, among which the Dragon Clan and the Golden Crow Clan are especially renowned; the Northern Region Demon Abyss is the most mysterious and unfathomable, plunging unknown thousands of feet deep, teeming with demons, and rumored to be where many great figures' demonic hearts have fallen, becoming evil demons.

There have been numerous disturbances in the Northern Region Demon Abyss, all suppressed by the Celestial Court. Each disturbance was extremely severe, causing unrest throughout the four lands. These incidents have even alerted Tathagata several times, and on one occasion even incited Amitabha Buddha atop Mount Sumeru to take action personally!

In summary, the Heavenly Court commands great power, and so do the Buddhist and Taoist Sects, with the Mortal World's forces being extremely formidable and not to be trifled with.

Now that the monkey has fled to the Northern Region Demon Abyss, if the Jade Emperor wishes to kill him, careful consideration is needed, as it might provoke yet another disturbance, which would only weaken the Heavenly Court's influence further. Moreover, with the monkey having injured Guanyin, the damage is to the reputation of the Buddhist Sect. After careful consideration, the Jade Emperor felt it was better that the monkey had escaped and left it to the Buddhist Sect to deal with!