Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapter 91: Interception Battle

Tongfeng looked around and said, “What a magnificent mountain range! It can easily accommodate six or seven hundred thousand people!”
Erlang Shen added, “The area around Guanjiangkou spans a thousand miles and is a forbidden zone of the Heavenly Court. You can live here with complete peace of mind—no one will disturb you!”
Tongfeng bowed and said, “Then I must thank the Exalted Sage. With the huge number of demons on Huaguoshan, this migration comes at a time when people’s hearts are unstable. Your place is perfect for bringing peace!”
Erlang Shen replied, “That’s true, but we still need to be cautious on the journey ahead.”
Tongfeng was also worried about this and said, “Your words are wise. I still need your help to arrange things here. My brothers and I must return to protect our families.”
Erlang Shen smiled and said, “I can’t assist with that.”

In the Tongming Hall of the Heavenly Court, things were extremely lively.
Many immortals gathered in front of the hall upon seeing the arrival of the three emperors and four bodhisattvas. They all stepped forward to pay their respects, inquire after their well-being, and exchange greetings. No one paid attention to the outcome of the battle; the Heavenly Court had become a place for casual chatter.
These were no ordinary people—they knew what was important. They entered the hall solemnly, first paying respects to the Jade Emperor. Ziwei Emperor bowed and said, “I led a hundred thousand elite soldiers to the mortal world, with the aid of bodhisattvas, heavenly kings, and star generals, yet we still lost. This is not due to the soldiers’ shortcomings but my own failure as a commander. Please punish me, Emperor!”
The Jade Emperor already knew the outcome and waved his hand to tell Ziwei Emperor to stand up. He said, “Ziwei, you’ve been through much hardship on this mission. What fault do you bear? This defeat is the will of heaven, not our fault.”
The Jade Emperor then turned to the four bodhisattvas and said with a smile, “There are such powerful demons on earth, causing great embarrassment to our Taoism. I’m sorry for letting you witness this.”
Guanyin joined her hands and stepped forward, saying, “Great Sovereign, we cannot show excessive mercy when facing such demons. With the Heavenly Court suffering defeats, these demons are becoming arrogant. This could lead to great disasters.”
The Jade Emperor laughed and said, “Even if disasters occur, do they really dare to come to heaven?”
Just then, the Thousand-Eye messenger entered the hall and reported, “The demons on Huaguoshan in Eastern Victory Continent have somehow made plans. They are now packing up their belongings, with all the minor demons leaving to avoid danger.”
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall exchanged puzzled looks. If the demons on Huaguoshan had won so many battles, why would they flee to avoid danger?
The Jade Emperor’s face darkened. He suddenly felt as if he had been outmaneuvered. Could these demons have foreseen his plan to send powerful figures to subdue them? If they all left, his punch would go empty again!

Seeing the Jade Emperor’s displeased expression, Taibai Jinxing stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, the demons on Flower-Fruit Mountain must have fled out of fear of heaven’s wrath, worried that the heavenly troops would return. In such a small area, even if there are a few powerful demons, how could they possibly resist our heavenly court? With repeated attacks, their strength will eventually be depleted.”

The Jade Emperor asked, “What’s your opinion?”

Taibai Jinxing replied, “In my view, this is the perfect time to intercept them halfway and catch them off guard. With the demons displaced and their morale low, attacking now should yield twice the result with half the effort!”

The Jade Emperor pondered for a while and said, “Jinxing’s words make sense. Then let’s dispatch troops immediately to at least buy some time!”

Thus, the Jade Emperor ordered the Tower-Bearing Heavenly King, the Four Heavenly Kings, the Heavenly Masters, and the Twenty-Eight Stars to lead the heavenly troops to earth to fight the enemies. The goal was not to capture them but merely to disrupt their morale and keep them in turmoil.

The Tower-Bearing Heavenly King received the order and descended to earth. Though he had long lost his fighting spirit, this was a case of intercepting them en route, which was similar to defeating an enemy army, so he expected to achieve something this time.

Among the demons on Flower-Fruit Mountain, only a few could fly; many smaller demons had to walk on foot, which naturally slowed them down.

Wu Zhiqi hesitated back and forth, worried that someone might fall behind. Suddenly, he saw clouds gathering in the sky and cried, “Someone is coming!”

The demons who could fly rose into the sky, while those who couldn’t drew their weapons and spread out on the ground, ready for battle.

From afar, Li Jing cursed under his breath. These demons actually moved in an orderly manner—seizing them by surprise was no longer possible. Warfare relied on morale, and once they launched this attack, there was no way to retreat. So Li Jing ordered his messenger to send the signal: “Attack!”

This battle was even more fierce than the previous ones, as the heavenly troops and the demons of Flower-Fruit Mountain had already developed deep hatred after fighting each other time and again. Once they clashed, it was a fight to the death.

Fighting between immortals was vastly different from that among mortals. The sky was filled with cold winds and eerie mists. On the heavenly side, flags fluttered brightly, while on the ground, the demons’ weapons shone. The gleaming helmets reflected the red sun in the sky like silver chimes, and the shiny armor resembled towering icebergs. Great halberds, lightning-fast swords, mist-piercing spears… One weapon after another clashed in the air, creating a chaotic scene with blood flowing like rivers.

Although Wu Zhiqi was strong alone, he couldn’t stop many heavenly generals. The demon kings of various caves were far weaker, lagging far behind the Twenty-Eight Stars. Once the heavenly generals entered the ranks of the demons, they slaughtered them like tigers hunting lambs. It seemed that Flower-Fruit Mountain was about to suffer a heavy defeat in this battle.

Suddenly, two figures appeared flying from afar—it was Wang Yu, the Wind-Bringer. Wang Yu drew his Demon-Slaying Sword and charged into the ranks of the heavenly soldiers, slaughtering indiscriminately. Who could withstand him? As he neared Li Jing, Nezha, envious of his sword, drew his own Demon-Slaying Knife and confronted him. The two fought side by side for twenty or thirty rounds before Nezha was forced to retreat.

Seeing reinforcements, Wu Zhiqi focused on dealing with the Twenty-Eight Stars. Master of Water summoned his powers to the extreme, sending waves of water arrows from the ground that transformed into ice blades mid-air, swirling everywhere and targeting the Twenty-Eight Stars. These ice blades seemed to have eyes of their own; though they might not inflict serious harm, they certainly threw the Twenty-Eight Stars into chaos. These beings were originally under the control of the Purple Micro Palace, and the Purple Micro Emperor wasn’t very interested in fighting demons. They all knew full well that this battle was merely perfunctory. The demons of Flower Fruit Mountain each had unique fighting styles and great powers—who would want to fight to the death?

Meanwhile, Wang Yu had pushed Nezha back and now faced Li Jing, the Tower-Bearing Heavenly King. The Four Heavenly Kings, seeing their leader in danger, rushed to rescue him. But Wang Yu, already bloodthirsty, had no intention of targeting Li Jing alone—he just wanted to kill as many as possible. He drew his sword and challenged the Four Heavenly Kings.

With the Wind-Bringer’s arrival, the battlefield below changed rapidly. His movements were as swift as the wind, leaving no trace. Unnoticed, he set up several formations, trapping many heavenly soldiers and reversing the balance of attack and defense.

On one side, intricate traps entangled the soldiers’ limbs, while on the other, pits and mist made it seem as though they were trapped in clouds…

Seeing that the heavenly soldiers would suffer further losses if the battle continued, Li Jing ordered the retreat. This battle came quickly and ended just as swiftly, but both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Heavenly Court and Flower Fruit Mountain had fought many battles before, but this time the Heavenly Court gained a slight advantage.

Fortunately, though Flower Fruit Mountain suffered heavy losses, its foundation remained intact. The three of them reorganized their forces and continued to move forward, heading straight for Guanjiangkou.

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In the Hall of Brightness, the Ears-of-the-Wind suddenly reported, “Your Majesty, the demons of Flower Fruit Mountain are not only migrating—they are also discussing attacking heaven right away!”

The Jade Emperor was shocked and paced back and forth behind his desk, muttering, “These demons are truly bold—actually daring to attack heaven! What shall we do? What can we do…?”

Avalokiteshvara said, “Your Majesty, please calm down. Since these demons dare to disrupt the Heavenly Court, we shall ask Buddha to descend and subdue them. No matter how powerful they are, they will surely be captured.”

The Jade Emperor, seeing this as a lifeline, repeated, “Thank you, venerable one. Please go and invite Buddha here at once so that peace can be restored.” Avalokiteshvara bowed and bid farewell to the Jade Emperor, then left with Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Lingji for the Western World.

The Jade Emperor felt slightly relieved upon seeing the bodhisattvas go to invite Buddha. But since the distance varied, those demons could reach heaven much faster. He asked, “My lords, since these demons dare to invade the Heavenly Court, who will go and stop them?” No sooner had he finished speaking than a messenger arrived, reporting that outside the South Heavenly Gate, a monkey, a roc, and an old ox were charging in fiercely. Dozens of heavenly generals at the South Heavenly Gate were already fighting against these three, and it seemed they would soon be overwhelmed. The Jade Emperor looked around—the four bodhisattvas had left, and the Emperors of Ziwei, Gouchen, and Changsheng had also disappeared without a trace. He then shouted, “Send troops to guard the Tongming Hall! If those demons get inside, what kind of order will that be?” At his command, the immortal officials and heavenly generals gathered in front of the Tongming Hall’s entrance, forming a tight barrier that left no gap. Wukong and his companions had already broken through the South Heavenly Gate. Most of the heavenly soldiers and generals recognized these fierce fighters—those renowned and skilled warriors in the Heavenly Court had all been defeated by them, so how could they possibly stand a chance? Thus, before even engaging in battle, they already lost heart.