Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapter 86: Chaotic Battle Situation

Wukong said, “It doesn’t matter if we ignore him; those two Great Emperors and three Bodhisattvas are truly difficult to deal with.” The Bull Demon King laughed and said, “If those two Great Emperors take action, they’ll surely be accused of bullying the weak. I wonder who they’ll send next?”
At that moment, a radiant glow appeared in the distant sky. From the heavens, a noble figure in white appeared—this was the Great Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. He wore a golden-leafed crown and a magnificent white velvet robe trimmed with gold, floating on colorful clouds. In his left hand, he held a precious vase meant to bestow blessings upon the world; inside the vase was a branch that spread its shade across the sky, dispelling darkness and clearing away misty willows. A yellow-feathered, red-beaked, white parrot led the way ahead, while behind him stood a young monk wielding an iron staff, looking spirited and handsome. The two of them flew over slowly on lotus-shaped clouds.
This Great Bodhisattva in white was none other than the merciful Avalokiteshvara, who saves those in distress.
Upon his arrival, Avalokiteshvara’s presence brought joy to many heavenly soldiers, who cheered loudly. Even the minor demons on Flower-Fruit Mountain bowed toward the sky. Such was the extent of his fame.
Naturally, Avalokiteshvara first paid his respects to the Purple Microcosm Emperor, then exchanged greetings with the three other Bodhisattvas. Finally, he took Monk Muza with him and went to see King Li of the Heavenly Army. Muza bowed to King Li upon seeing him, as he had little chance to meet King Li while following the Bodhisattvas.
King Li and Avalokiteshvara exchanged greetings. Without formalities, Avalokiteshvara casually inquired about the battle situation. King Li explained what had happened: the Six Constellations were besieged and annihilated silently; an army of 100,000 heavenly soldiers also suffered a crushing defeat; even seeking help from Erlang Shen of Guanjiangkou failed to bring victory. This was already the fourth attempt at siege.
Hearing that even the Holy Lord had been defeated by the demon monkey, Avalokiteshvara frowned in thought but said nothing. He left Muza there to catch up with Nezha and departed alone.
Avalokiteshvara then went to Manjushri and Samantabhadra and began chatting about trivial matters—mostly overseas anecdotes and rare birds and beasts—without touching on the main topic. Manjushri and Samantabhadra understood his intention and sent the Green Lion and White Elephant to scout the surroundings.
Seeing the two beasts walk far away, Avalokiteshvara said with a smile, “After years in seclusion, I didn’t expect such powerful demons to appear on earth.” Manjushri replied, “This time, the Old Lord has posed a real challenge.” Samantabhadra nodded, “Even I couldn’t figure out the trick behind that monkey’s strange move just now.” Lingji Bodhisattva added, “Eight Taiyi Golden Immortals—such a formidable force; it seems even the Buddha himself would need to intervene to win.”
The four of them exchanged glances, all smiling. Avalokiteshvara said, “Since we’re here, how can we not contribute? Otherwise, it would be embarrassing for the Old Lord.”

Manjushri smiled and said, “This time, the Heavenly Court has suffered heavy losses and seen its reputation diminished—truly unexpected.” Samantabhadra shook his head slightly and said, “Great compassion knows no tears.” Lingji added, “Great laughter is silent?” Guanyin replied, “Great enlightenment knows no words.”

Manjushri glanced at the three of them, all wearing enigmatic, profound smiles, and said, “A great defeat seems like a victory!” These three were familiar with each other and exchanged witty remarks in perfect harmony, arriving at the same idea at once.

Guanyin said, “I’ll inform the Purple Micro Emperor later so that they can at least fight a bit to create a semblance of battle; victory or defeat will be determined by fate.” Manjushri replied, “That’s good. It’s not appropriate for us outsiders to intervene.” Guanyin nodded, “Living in the mortal world, even inaction can cause harm—let alone taking action.” Samantabhadra suggested, “Let the Green Lion and White Elephant accompany the army to fight, while we focus on disrupting their formations.”

Wukong, seeing the four great bodhisattvas gathered in the sky discussing matters, grew worried. But then he thought that in “Journey to the West,” it was rare for bodhisattvas to actually harm people; they usually only used spells and magical artifacts. Perhaps this time would be no exception.

After a short while, he saw Guanyin approaching the three great emperors again. After discussing something with the Purple Micro Emperor, who nodded in agreement, clouds began to swirl in the sky, and countless banners rose as they converged above Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Wukong knew that the heavenly troops were about to launch a full-scale attack, so he urgently ordered the four great marshals and the seventy-two demon kings to prepare for battle. Sure enough, the heavenly troops attacked from eight directions.

The first group was led by the Tower-Bearing Heavenly King and Nezha, the Third Prince; the second by the four great astrologers; the third by the four great heavenly kings; the fourth by the Nine Bright Stars; the fifth guided by the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper; the sixth led by the gods of the four directions and the dragon gods of the four rivers; the seventh was led by Wang Lingguan, along with the guardians of the five directions and the Six Ding and Six Jia; the eighth group was headed by Wukong’s son, Muzha, along with the Green Lion and White Elephant.

These eight armies pressed forward with overwhelming force, ignoring any strategic formations, simply charging everywhere from sky and earth. The demons of Flower-Fruit Mountain scattered across the mountain peaks, facing outward.

Before the heavenly troops arrived, spells were unleashed—thunder spells, fire talismans, and earth-shattering curses—all aimed at the demon group. This time, the heavenly troops were clearly well-prepared, catching the demons off guard.

Seeing his own forces in disarray, Wukong ordered the eight great saints to hold off each group of heavenly troops, while he went alone to confront Muzha and the Green Lion and White Elephant.

Mu Zha had long known that Nezha had been defeated by Wukong. Now that he had mastered his skills, he wanted to avenge his brother. He charged forward with his iron rod and fought against Wukong. Mu Zha was not Wukong’s match to begin with, and when Wukong saw that the battle on Flower-Fruit Mountain was turning critical, he became even more ruthless. With his powerful Golden Cudgel, it took just a few rounds for Mu Zha to be overwhelmed and forced to retreat step by step.

The Green Lion and White Elephant hurriedly brought their troops forward to help, but Wukong used his division technique—turning one into three, and three into nine—so that three Wukongs surrounded one, still holding a decisive advantage.

Meanwhile, the Golden-winged Great Peng routed the Four Heavenly Masters, while the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper were forced to flee in panic by the Sea Dragon. Feng Tong defeated the Four Directional Gods and the Dragon Gods of the Four Rivers; Wu Zhiqi repelled the Four Heavenly Kings. When Wang Lingguan encountered Wang Yu, he feigned a few moves before leading the Five Directions’ Deities and the Six Ding and Six Jia back to their formation. The Bull Demon King and Prince Nezha fought fiercely, but since the Bull Demon King seemed relaxed and clearly not giving his all, only the Yellow Lion and Snow Lion from the Lion-Tiger Cave were at a disadvantage against the Nine Bright Stars. Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng was listless, unable to exert even a tenth of his strength. Suddenly, a scream came from within the formation—it was the child of the Yellow Lion spirit, trapped by the fierce flames of the Fire Deity, his skin torn apart by the heat.

The Yellow Lion spirit cried, “Foolish child!” He tried to rush over to save him but was blocked by the Sun and Moon Deities. Mu De Sheng thrived in the dense forest, unleashing his magic—vines covered the ground, trapping the lions and tigers, waiting for the Fire Deity to set the fire. The Snow Lion was severely wounded by the giant axe of Tu De Sheng but continued to fight bravely.

After several failed attempts to break free, the Yellow Lion spirit roared, “Ancestral Saint, save me!”

Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng seemed to wake up from a dream. He raised his head, shook his mane, and saw his descendants injured or fleeing, while the Nine Bright Stars were showing great strength and fighting viciously.

With a furious roar, Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng transformed into his true nine-headed form, standing like a small mountain in the middle of the battlefield. On his left, he lowered his head, snapped his sharp teeth, and grabbed the Fire Deity. With a shake of his head, he flung this renowned Fire Deity high into the sky. The Fire Deity managed to stabilize himself in midair, filled with unimaginable terror, and dared not descend again.

Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng repeated his tactic, throwing out Mu De Sheng and the Sun Deity as well. The remaining six deities, seeing how powerful these nine-headed lions were, quickly turned and fled. Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng did not pursue them; he simply rescued his great-grandson.

The Yellow Lion spirit rescued his foolish child and scolded him harshly. If it weren’t for his ancestor stepping in, that little life would have been lost.

With this move by the Nine Spirits Primordial Sage, the four great bodhisattvas soaring in the sky were terrified. Guanyin remained smiling and praised, “What an excellent Nine-Headed Lion!” Samantabhadra’s eyes sparkled with envy, but he thought to himself that since this Lion King had developed nine heads, it was clear that the Nine Spirits Mystical Art had reached perfection. Though it was a treasure, it would now be hard to capture.

Vimalakirti murmured, “Seeking the Nine Spirits, returning to primordial purity—such an extraordinary beast actually lurks here.”

Manjushri said nothing, his lips tightly pressed together. He glanced at the Nine Spirits Primordial Sage and then at his own green lion, which seemed to be the most vulgar and unpleasant beast under the heavens.

At that moment, Wukong had also repelled Mu Zha along with the green lion and white elephant. With their leader defeated, the morale of the heavenly troops plummeted, and they began to retreat.

Seeing the Nine Spirits Primordial Sage display such great power, the Western Emperor Gou Chen could no longer hold back. He shouted, “What an arrogant Lion King!” Then he took out his male and female whips, ready to strike. The Purple Microcosm Emperor hurriedly stopped him, saying, “Emperor Gou Chen, why use an axe to kill a chicken?”