Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled Chapter 491: Regret at Delaying Progress
Wang Lingguan, with the highest cultivation level, seemingly became the leader of the group. He said, “Good, then let’s travel day and night without pause toward the Netherworld.”
The King of Holding the Country asked, “Didn’t we take a huge detour on our way here earlier?”
Wang Lingguan replied, “If we went straight there, we might encounter people from Qitianling. To the north of Beiju Luzhou, there’s no one for thousands of miles. By heading east along the Golden Heaven and Silver Earth, we’ll naturally face no obstacles.”
The three Kings of Heaven agreed, “Your wisdom is truly remarkable, Great Lord!”
The four of them didn’t dare delay. They unleashed a golden light and headed straight for the Netherworld. Soon, they reached the northeast of the four great continents, where the Pillar-Piercing Jade Mountain stood.
As they arrived there, Wang Lingguan suddenly saw figures moving in the Golden Heaven and Silver Earth. His heart tightened—those who could enter such a place were surely not ordinary, and they were beyond his and his companions’ ability to deal with. So he hurriedly tried to move away. But before he could go far, a dark light flashed before him, and two strangers in yellow appeared.
The four of them immediately froze. Wang Lingguan saw that the two men had expressionless faces and seemed ordinary, but their movement skills were terrifying—he couldn’t even tell where they had come from. Wang Lingguan tried to appease them, saying, “Elder brothers, we’re just passing by.”
One of them replied, “By our master’s orders, we’re here to capture you four!”
Before the four could respond, the man raised his hand, and an invisible barrier enclosed them. The two men in yellow then moved toward the Golden Heaven and Silver Earth.
Wang Lingguan thought that with their cultivation levels, they would surely die once they entered the Golden Heaven and Silver Earth. To his surprise, there was no sensation inside the barrier at all—even the strong winds seemed trapped outside, showing just how powerful these men in yellow were.
They continued until they reached the foot of the Pillar-Piercing Jade Mountain. There, more than twenty men in yellow stood in midair, with a beautifully decorated throne at the center, occupied by one person. Wang Lingguan was extremely astonished upon seeing this person.
He recognized him—he had seen him at the Peach Festival before. It was none other than the Great Immortal Huangji Huangjiao. Huangji Huangjiao held a special position in the Heavenly Court. Everyone knew he was of high rank, but no one knew of any great achievements of his, so it was unclear just how powerful he really was.
During the great battle on Kunlun Island, Wang Lingguan was still the ruler of the Netherworld’s Yama Hall and naturally wasn’t aware of the battle between Huangji Huangjiao and Bodhisattva Nilī. But seeing Huangji Huangjiao sitting at the center, exuding an air of supreme arrogance, Wang Lingguan naturally felt admiration for him.
Huangji Huangjiao glanced at the four of them and asked indifferently from above, “Where are you four going?”
Wang Lingguan hesitated slightly. He had just offended Qitianling, and now he wasn’t sure which side Huangji Huangjiao belonged to. He didn’t know whether to tell the truth.
“If you don’t speak, die,” said the Yellow-Horned Immortal.
The four felt an immense pressure wash over them, instantly throwing them into chaos. How could the might of a Heavenly Saint be borne by a Taiyi Golden Immortal? The weakest among them, the King of Many Hearings, fainted on the spot.
Wang Lingguan forced himself to speak, “I… I’ll tell you…”
When the pressure faded, Wang Lingguan dared not hide anything and recounted everything about the siege of the White Rhinoceros King from start to finish. The Yellow-Horned Immortal listened with slight disappointment—clearly, what Wang Lingguan said held no value for him. The construction of the Hall in Heaven and Earth by Qitianling was no longer a secret; how could he not know? The King Ksitigarbha seizing the Netherworld had also happened long ago.
After Wang Lingguan finished speaking, the Yellow-Horned Immortal seemed tired. He said to the man in yellow who had captured them, “Kill them.”
Wang Lingguan cried out urgently, “Please spare my life, noble immortal!”
The Yellow-Horned Immortal ignored him, lowering his eyelids and never looking at Wang Lingguan again.
The energy barrier vanished, and fierce winds of gold and silver swept in like blades, instantly turning the four into flesh paste. In their final moments, Wang Lingguan stared intently at the Yellow-Horned Immortal. He faintly felt that every move of the Yellow-Horned Immortal resembled someone else’s…
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In the Yin-Yang Cave of Qitianling, the Creative Divine Ape was at a critical stage of its cultivation.
Out of the thirty-six thousand-zhang jade rods, only one remained. This last rod resembled a giant milky-white incense burning, shrinking visibly with each passing moment.
The more creation the divine ape absorbed during cultivation, the better—higher its cultivation level, faster its absorption. At this moment, the five divine apes were striving to reach the level of Heavenly Saint.
The Yin-Yang Divine Ape continuously harnessed creation. Back then, it had been passively forced to absorb creation by the Kunpeng; though it hadn’t exerted any effort itself, it remembered every stage clearly.
Reaching the level of Heavenly Saint required swift action, with no room for delay. Helping all five reach this realm at once posed a tremendous challenge even for the Yin-Yang Divine Ape.
The five elemental divine apes each had different cultivation methods. Though metal, wood, water, fire, and earth originated from yin and yang, at this critical moment, all five elements needed to be utilized simultaneously—none could be ignored.
The five-colored paths of creation divided the creation from the last thousand-zhang jade rod equally. The five elemental divine apes followed the cultivation methods transmitted by the will of the Yin-Yang Divine Ape to harness this creation. When half of the jade rod was consumed, Wu Zhiqi showed the first signs of change!
Wu Zhiqi originally had white hair all over his head. Now, ripples like water spread across his body, making him appear illusory. Only his white hair swelled dramatically, floating in the air like white seaweed rippling on the surface of water.
The Yin-Yang Divine Ape sighed in relief. Wu Zhiqi truly was the most experienced divine ape—sure enough, he was the first to break through the Tian Sheng realm. After another moment, the Divine Ape King Yu’s eyes emitted two streams of red light. Those rays, as tangible as solid matter, struck the stone wall and created two deep holes.
There were still four hundred zhang of the Thousand-Zhang Jade left. The Wind-Driving Divine Ape became the third to pass the threshold, surrounded by blue light that radiated an endless vitality.
When the Arm-Extending Divine Ape reached the Tian Sheng realm, a yellow light spread throughout the cave. By then, only one hundred zhang of the Thousand-Zhang Jade remained!
Wukong had the highest cultivation level. He had long surpassed the peak of the Tian Sheng realm and stepped into the Yin-Yang realm. His eyes, once flickering intermittently, now shone steadily. Sitting above, he watched the five divine apes practice while pondering how, having reached such a realm, he still couldn’t remember past events—truly baffling.
Seeing the Thousand-Zhang Jade dwindling, Wukong grew anxious. He reached into his bosom and touched the jade box containing two flat peaches.
Finally, the Arm-Extending Divine Ape crossed this realm, bringing Wukong much peace of mind. Even if the one or one hundred zhang of Jade weren’t enough for the Intelligent Divine Ape to surpass the Tian Sheng realm, those two flat peaches would suffice. As the one with the highest cultivation, Wukong had gathered at least fifteen or sixteen of the Thirty-Six Thousand-Zhang Jades. Later, out of compassion, he deliberately slowed down his cultivation. The Yin-Yang pair cast disapproving glances at him but said nothing.
Having absorbed so much essence, Wukong realized that the power of one flat peach was roughly equivalent to one Thousand-Zhang Jade, proving that the name “Thousand-Zhang Jade” was well-deserved.
The Thousand-Zhang Jades obtained from Yingzhou Island and Fangzhang Immortal Island, though named as such, were actually only seven or eight hundred zhang in length. In terms of richness in essence, they paled in comparison to these Thirty-Six Thousand-Zhang Jades.
The remaining one hundred zhang of Jade were given to the Intelligent Divine Ape. Already weaker than the other divine apes, he had a stubborn personality, preferring to practice alone. Lacking favorable opportunities, he received the least essence among the five divine apes.
The one hundred zhang of Jade vanished in an instant, yet the Intelligent Divine Ape showed no sign of progress. With a thought from the Yin-Yang Divine Ape, the cloth bag holding ordinary flat peaches floated up, and the peaches scattered into the air. The Yin-Yang pair quickly extracted the essence from the peaches, transforming it into red essence that entered the Intelligent Divine Ape’s body.
If the Thousand-Zhang Jade was insufficient, ordinary flat peaches could serve as a substitute—a viable solution. Yet, despite their abundance, these peaches contained relatively little essence. In half an hour, the Intelligent Divine Ape had absorbed all the essence from the peaches in the cave, yet still showed no signs of advancement.
The Yin-Yang Divine Ape showed a look of disappointment and sighed softly. Seeing that Yin-Yang seemed intent on stopping, Wukong without hesitation threw the jade box from his arms and transmitted a message, “There are two more!” Without hesitation, Yin-Yang took the jade box and replied, “This is yours; it must not be used!” Before Wukong could argue, the Yin-Yang Divine Ape waved his hand, closing the seven circles, and the seven divine apes all landed on the ground. Wukong asked urgently, “Why can’t it be used?” Seeing how eager the Yin-Yang Divine Ape was to enhance the powers of the five divine apes, he knew that once they reached the realm of Heavenly Saints, they would be extremely useful. Yet even so, Yin-Yang still wouldn’t allow the intelligent divine ape to consume the peaches from the Mother Tree—how could he not be anxious? The Yin-Yang Divine Ape said, “You’ll understand later.” Wukong glanced at the intelligent divine ape and asked, “Are we giving up just like this?” The Yin-Yang Divine Ape replied, “Today we fell short due to my mistake. I didn’t expect your cultivation to be so low; otherwise, we wouldn’t have ended up with insufficient power.” The five elemental divine apes all looked ashamed. Wukong waved his hand and said, “Their low cultivation isn’t their fault. Is there no way to fix it?” The Yin-Yang Divine Ape replied, “If the seven divine apes train together, it will double the effect. If they’re not all together, to help the intelligent one break through, we’d need at least five thousand-foot-long jades—where can we find those?” Wukong said, “There’s always a way. We can seek help from Laojun, Zhenwu, Xuannu, and others. I’m sure we can gather some power!” The Yin-Yang Divine Ape said, “Laojun has already taken away the Peach Garden. Ordinary peaches can suffice, but right now, you and I need to handle something important.” After thinking for a while, he sighed and said, “Sigh, we can only wait.” The intelligent divine ape asked, “What are the consequences if we don’t reach the realm of Heavenly Saints?” The Yin-Yang Divine Ape replied, “Consequences? If all five of you reach that realm, you’ll be able to stabilize this world. Even if the Great Sun Tathagata appears, he won’t be a threat!” Wukong thought for a moment and said, “Why do we need all five of them? Surely we won’t just stand by?” Yin-Yang gave Wukong a meaningful look and said, “You and I? We’re meant to transcend the heavens.”