Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled, Chapter 446: The Start of the Slaughter

Qingling Shilao, the Azure Emperor, wore a crown of green jade and a green feathered robe. Clouds beneath his feet swirled like a coiling azure dragon. Upon seeing Guanyin appear, he spoke without hesitation—his five-colored radiant light blazed brightly, shining at both Guanyin and Wukong.

Wukong had once entered the Lantern-Burning Buddha’s light barrier, where it was warm and peaceful. But seeing the Lantern-Burning Buddha use that light to severely injure the Bodhisattva of the Plow, he understood that everything in the world could be used as a weapon.

The five-colored light in Qingling Shilao’s hands was vastly different from the Lantern-Burning Buddha’s. Despite his immortal appearance, the light was terrifying: white like bones of the dead, red like flowing blood, black like ink on tombstones, yellow like soil that consumes souls, and green like ghostly flames in the dark. Four of these lights surrounded Guanyin, while only one red light, like a bloodied sword, struck at Wukong. Clearly, Qingling Shilao did not take Wukong seriously and intended to kill him in the first strike.

Seeing the might of this blood sword, Wukong realized it was beyond even a Taiyi Golden Immortal’s ability to withstand, let alone a Hunyuan Golden Immortal. Thus, he dared not resist and waited for the Bodhisattva to save him.

Guanyin Bodhisattva naturally wanted to save Wukong. With a twist of her willow branch, she pulled Wukong in front of her. Yet the blood sword spun in the air, chasing after Wukong relentlessly, while the other four lights descended together, enveloping Guanyin.

These five lights were not the power of the Five Elements, yet they bore their colors. Though Guanyin had heard of Qingling Shilao’s name, she knew very little about him. These lights resembled both divine powers and magical artifacts, and since they were not driven by the Five Elements, she did not know how to deal with them.

In desperation, Guanyin poured out the Weak Water from her Pure Vessel onto the five lights. The Weak Water penetrated the lights, dimming them slightly, but their force remained unrelenting. In a moment of urgency, she threw out the Pure Vessel.

The vessel, originally no taller than a foot, instantly grew to over ten feet in diameter, protecting Wukong and Guanyin beneath it. The five lights vanished silently as if mud cows had sunk into the sea.

When Guanyin retrieved the vessel, she felt a surge of hidden energy within it. She calmly neutralized it without showing any change on her face, yet was astonished. Her Pure Vessel could originally hold the water of an entire sea. With her growing cultivation, it now seemed to contain more than two seas. Yet even the water from two seas could not fully dissipate the power of those five lights—truly unexpected.

While she was surprised, Qingling Shilao was even more incredulous. He was an elder of Taoism. Though his cultivation was not as profound as that of the Three Pure Ones, having spent time with the Jade Emperor and Empress, he had been fortunate enough to be among the first to guard the Peach Tree. Over the years, he had practiced under the Peach Tree, achieving far greater progress than others.

Before he arrived, he had only heard that Guanyin was one of the finest among the Hunyuan Jinxian. It was only after fighting her that he realized she was not just a Jinxian but had already reached the status of a saint. When God Gouchen saw Qingling Shilao engaging in battle with Guanyin, he felt much more at ease. The Five Elders of Taoism were the highest beings in the heavenly court; even if Qingling Shilao couldn’t capture Guanyin, he would surely win. He had already seen Venerable Maitreya approaching from afar and went up to intercept him, saying, “How does the Buddha from the East have so much free time?” Maitreya laughed and replied, “Nothing much, just taking a leisurely stroll.” God Gouchen felt frustrated and angry. The Spiritual Mountain in the West was hundreds of thousands of miles away from the Ten Continents and Three Islands. How could someone take a leisurely stroll here? Didn’t he know this was under the jurisdiction of the heavenly court? Though that was true, Venerable Maitreya was someone he couldn’t afford to provoke, so he politely said, “Since we’re in a place under the heavenly court’s control, I invite the Buddha to the Jade Pool for some wine and conversation.” Maitreya waved his hand and said, “It’s more lively here. Hey, is that Guanyin? Why is she wearing black clothes?” Seeing that Maitreya was chatting with him, God Gouchen helplessly replied, “I don’t know either.” Maitreya glanced around and said, “That Taoist’s cultivation method is quite strange. Where did he come from?” Before God Gouchen could answer, Maitreya added, “He must be here to steal treasures from the Ten Continents and Three Islands!” God Gouchen smiled bitterly and said, “Buddha from the East, you’ve got it backwards. That Taoist is Qingling Shilao, one of the Five Elders of Taoism, while it’s Guanyin who steals treasures.” He thought Maitreya would be surprised upon hearing this, but instead Maitreya nodded and said, “He should steal them. He should.” God Gouchen was shocked and asked, “Why would the Buddha say such a thing?” Seeing that Guanyin was at a disadvantage against Qingling Shilao, Maitreya moved swiftly to stand between them, laughing and saying, “Does the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism begin here?” God Gouchen hurriedly followed and said, “Buddha from the East, Guanyin belongs to the lineage of Tathagata. You must see clearly!” Maitreya replied, “Tathagata is not a true Buddha; Guanyin is a true great bodhisattva!” God Gouchen naturally didn’t understand what Maitreya meant, but he realized Maitreya was going to help Guanyin. So he signaled his thunder generals to surround them. When the Ten Elders of the Spiritual Mountain saw action, they immediately used their divine powers to charge into the thunder generals’ formation. These ten elders had previously fought in the Buddhist hell alongside Ran Deng and had all survived, making them extremely powerful—each at least at the level of Hunyuan Jinxian. When they entered the thunder formation, they were like tigers among sheep and quickly scattered the thunder generals, rendering them unable to organize themselves again. Maitreya didn’t hesitate. He shook his posterior bag and threw it over Qingling Shilao’s head. God Gouchen and Venerable Jiu Ku together attacked, but were stopped by Venerable Bai Xiong.

Seeing Venerable Bai Xiong fighting one against two, Wukong’s fighting spirit surged. He rushed over to rescue the Heavenly Venerable of Relief, saying with a smile, “Old man, take this stick from me!” The Heavenly Venerable of Relief had failed to snatch the Xuanyuan Bow from Wukong earlier and already resented this Mu Zha greatly. He held his dust whisk upside down and swung it at Wukong. Wukong pretended not to dare to block it and used a golden light to dodge, cursing, “Old thing, who uses a dust whisk upside down?”

Seeing that Gou Chen could still handle Venerable Bai Xiong, the Heavenly Venerable of Relief thought, “I’ll kill you first, you ignorant brat!” He flashed forward and closed in on Wukong, summoning thousands of dust threads that formed a giant net. Wukong once again used aDunDun to escape, cursing, “You undead old fellow, are you trying to fish?”

The Heavenly Venerable of Relief said nothing and chased after him again. After several such exchanges, Wukong had led him far away. The Heavenly Venerable of Relief naturally realized this, but he knew Mu Zha’s cultivation was merely that of a Taiyi Golden Immortal; he had only managed to dodge a few times thanks to his agile movements.

Seeing that the Heavenly Venerable of Relief stubbornly followed, Wukong turned around and said, “Take another stick from me.” This time, he threw his full strength into the strike. The Taiyi Heavenly Venerable of Relief, sensing the immense power of the strike, grew alarmed and raised his dust whisk to block it, his Bagua treasure robe glowing brightly.

How could he know that this Mu Zha was actually the already saintly and wise Monkey King Wukong? No matter how powerful his dust whisk was, it was no match for this strike. The Heavenly Stick shattered the handle of the dust whisk and struck the Heavenly Venerable of Relief right on the head. His body fell to the ground. Without any mercy, Wukong leaped forward and crushed his escaping vital spirit.

Wukong was not a cruel person. Even though the Heavenly Venerable of Relief had once harbored thoughts toward the Nine Spiritual Saints, those plans had failed. Moreover, the Qilin had already retrieved this section for his son. His decision to kill the Heavenly Venerable of Relief came after seeing Qingling grow old. The Heavenly Court hid countless powerful forces. Unless these visible enemies were eliminated one by one, it was likely the Jade Emperor and Empress would remain unmoved. After all, the more chaotic the Heavenly Court became, the better for him. At this point, there was no room for compassion. Besides, from what Guanyin had said, the Heavenly Court seemed just as tyrannical as the Western Heaven.

In this world, being overly cautious and compassionate was unwise. Even the phoenix and Ran Deng had perished in the Buddhist hell, and even the Three Pure Ones, despite their great powers, were forced to retreat to recuperate. How could he not be extremely careful?

Open attacks are easy to avoid, but hidden threats are hard to defend against. There seems to be no one truly formidable in the Heavenly Court on the surface; even Zhenwu and Ziwei maintain secret connections with Qitianling. Yet the force of the Eight or Nine Golden Immortals is truly terrifying. On top of that, Qingling Shilao has appeared today—why hadn’t the Three Pure Ones mentioned him before, yet did Guanyin have heard of him?

Other than the Great Emperor of Saving Suffering, Wukong thought to himself that only five of the Six Imperial Lords remained. If he found the right opportunity to kill Gouchen as well, the Heavenly Court would be left with almost no one usable.

He turned back but did not reveal his form. Everyone saw the Great Emperor of Saving Suffering chasing Muzha. If he appeared now, wouldn’t it arouse suspicion? Hiding his whereabouts, he observed Maitreya and Guanyin working together, fighting fiercely against Qingling Shilao. Although Qingling Shilao’s five-colored glow was eerie, Guanyin could manage to cope with it using her Pure Bottle and Weak Water. Maitreya, on the other hand, skillfully used his magic bag, expanding and contracting it to keep Qingling Shilao busy.

Suddenly, Qingling Shilao stepped back, his five-colored glow disappearing. He turned his wrist and took out a strange walking stick—twisted and unevenly shaped.

Upon seeing it, Wukong immediately felt a strange sensation. The stick exuded a strong sense of primordial energy, as if he had seen it somewhere before. In an instant, he realized it wasn’t a walking stick at all—it was a branch, a branch from the Mother Peach Tree!

The Mother Peach Tree was something Pangu had created specifically for the divine ape, using the essence of his own primordial energy. Every branch and leaf was a treasure—how could its branches be used as weapons?

At this thought, Wukong felt a pang of sorrow. He had come to the Ten Continents and Three Islands to disrupt the situation, and the Heavenly Court’s anger must not be directed at Qitianling. So he had to put aside his desire to seize that branch for now.

Looking at God Gouchen, he was already at a disadvantage in his fight against Venerable Bai Xiong. Venerable Bai Xiong was the top disciple of the Lamp-Burning Seat, his cultivation nearly reaching saintly levels. Yet he had never carried a weapon. If it weren’t for being wary of God Gouchen’s twin whips and golden staff with black hammer, he would have captured Gouchen long ago.

Apart from God Gouchen and Qingling Shilao, the rest of the Heavenly Court’s members were at most at the level of Golden Immortals like the Great Emperor of Saving Suffering. They had been utterly defeated by the other nine venerables on Ling Mountain. Many had lost the will to fight and fled somewhere unknown. Though fleeing from battle would incur punishment, it was still better than dying.

Wukong sneaked forward. Seeing that Venerable Bai Xiong and God Gouchen were gradually moving away from the crowd, he silently closed in. At that moment, God Gouchen’s back was turned to Wukong, who was fully focused on guarding against Venerable Bai Xiong—how could he expect someone to strike from behind?

Although Gou Chen had extensive combat experience, his cultivation level was ultimately insufficient. Being attacked by a being who had already achieved sainthood, the consequences were obvious. Wukong thrust his Tianji Stick like a spear, piercing straight through Gou Chen’s back and out through his chest. With another powerful lift, Wukong threw Gou Chen in front of Venerable Bai Xiong. How could Venerable Bai Xiong miss such an opportunity? He slammed his palms together, dealing a fatal blow to the severely injured and weak Gou Chen, leaving him lifeless.