Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled Chapter 447: Plotting for the Peach of Immortality

Gou Chen’s original spirit fled frantically toward the sky’s apex. Knowing that Wu Kong would not let him go, Gou Chen realized someone was attacking him from behind. If he returned and reported it, the Heavenly Court would surely investigate further.

Wu Kong deliberately gave Gou Chen some distance to gain. When he caught up to the twenty-eighth heaven, he suddenly struck, destroying Gou Chen’s original spirit before returning.

Seeing Gou Chen killed and the Great Lord of Saving Sufferers nowhere to be found, with most of the Heavenly Court generals dead or in flight, only a few remaining, the ten great masters of the Spirit Mountain surrounded him. Alone, he could not hold his own. So he drew a circle with his strange walking stick, and Maitreya and Guanyin immediately felt a powerful magical force surge toward them. The willow branches were lifted as if by a strong wind, and the posterior bag flew back uncontrollably.

The two hurriedly retreated, while the Elder Qing Ling stepped out of the combat circle, leaving countless green shadows in the air. Instead of flying toward the thirty-six heavens, he headed east, seemingly toward the Kunlun Immortal Island.

Knowing they couldn’t catch up with the Elder Qing Ling, Guanyin and Maitreya didn’t waste effort. At that moment, Wu Kong descended and said, “Today, the Heavenly Court has been turned upside down.”

Seeing Wu Kong return unharmed and realizing his cultivation had far surpassed before, Guanyin could guess what had happened to the Great Lord of Saving Sufferers. She asked, “Wu Kong, what are your intentions?”

Wu Kong replied, “The Heavenly Court has always shown weakness. With Gou Chen and Dongji dying, there are hardly any usable people left. I just want to lure them out of their hiding place to see what secrets the Heavenly Court truly holds.” As he spoke, Wu Kong felt emotional. If the Three Pure Ones were still alive, with their knowledge of the Heavenly Court, they would surely uncover many things. It was a pity that the Primordial One only mentioned the use of the Heavenly Court’s Creation Furnace, and he himself had focused mostly on Buddha, paying little attention to the Heavenly Court.

Maitreya said, “This has caused quite a stir. The Jade Emperor will surely be furious.”

Wu Kong said, “Let’s stay out of the spotlight for now!”

Guanyin and Maitreya immediately understood Wu Kong’s intention, but they asked together, “Where shall we hide?” It was well known that Guanyin lived on Mount Luojia and Maitreya on the Spirit Mountain. Did they really have to move?

Wu Kong scratched his head, realizing he hadn’t thought this through. The Jade Emperor wasn’t stupid. How could he believe Guanyin’s word alone and go after Buddha? If he wanted revenge, he would pursue Guanyin and Maitreya instead. So he laughed and said, “This is really troublesome.”

Guanyin said, “Why worry about that? Above the Five Elders of Taoism, no one else is known. Let’s go to Fangzhang Island!”

Maitreya said, “That old Taoist had remarkable cultivation just now, and those two magical artifacts were extremely strange. Since the Five Elders of Taoism are all equally famous, the other four must be similar as well. We won’t get any advantage today.”

As they spoke, five figures emerged from the Kunlun Immortal Island in the east, each clad in a color corresponding to one of the five elements, and soon arrived nearby. The one in the center wore yellow and said in a deep voice, “Guanyin, Maitreya, you two have gone astray.” Guanyin knew that the man in yellow was the Yellow Emperor, one of the Five Elders of Taoism, and from his demeanor, he seemed to hold the highest status among them. Guanyin replied, “You follow Taoism, I follow Buddhism—how can there be any going astray?” The Yellow Emperor, seeing Guanyin’s calm and unyielding attitude, asked calmly, “Did the Tathagata send you here?” Guanyin did not answer. Since she had declared herself a Buddha, she did not wish to involve the Tathagata; Buddhism has its own principles, while the Tathagata does not. The Yellow Emperor continued, “Taking over the Ten Continents and Three Islands is not a big deal. With Guanyin and Maitreya’s reputations, even if we give them those lands, what harm is that? But harming the Six Emperors is a capital offense!” Wukong, listening from the side, realized that the Five Elders of Taoism were not entirely isolated from the world—they knew of Guanyin and Maitreya. Yet this old Taoist’s cultivation surpassed his own, and he could not gauge his true strength; it seemed roughly on par with that of the Yellow Emperor. Wukong felt slightly uneasy. The situation had instantly changed, and with the Five Elders united, they would surely have the upper hand. He thought to himself that even if he revealed his true form, he must not let Guanyin and Maitreya suffer. Then Maitreya laughed and said, “A capital offense? Do you think you can sentence me?” The Yellow Emperor spread his arms, and the other four Elders dispersed, surrounding the three of them. Although there were ten great saints outside, the five of them paid them no attention. The Yellow Emperor asked, “So what if I can sentence you?” Maitreya did not answer. Suddenly, a voice came from afar, “You cannot!” The voice was not loud, but it carried an irresistible authority. Wukong was overjoyed—it was Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva who had arrived. A gust of wind blew, and Diting, carrying Ksitigarbha, entered the formation of the Five Elders. Ksitigarbha said, “I dared not sentence them, but you can?” The Yellow Emperor, seeing Ksitigarbha’s arrival, showed no fear at all, only slight surprise. “Ksitigarbha? Why have you stepped into this mess?” Ksitigarbha glanced at Guanyin and Maitreya and said, “How can the Buddhist sect allow itself to be humiliated?” The Yellow Emperor nodded. “It doesn’t matter if you join us.” Wukong observed the positions of the Five Elders—they were arranged at varying heights, covering each other while still leaving room for movement. At the same time, the five of them turned their hands, unleashing five identical beams of multicolored light. Guanyin frowned and grabbed Wukong, throwing him upward with great force. Wukong shot out like an arrow from a bow. Looking down, he saw the multicolored lights merging into one massive sphere that enveloped Guanyin, Ksitigarbha, and the four of them, with the figures of the Five Elders also hidden within.

Wukong was right; the five of them had indeed set up a highly powerful formation, known as the Creation Mysterious Light Formation. The Five Elders of Taoism guarded the Mother Peach Tree, possessing purest essence of creation. Each also used a branch of the Mother Peach Tree as a magical weapon. After spending ten thousand years nurturing colorful rays of light within it, they created this astonishing formation.

This formation was originally meant to protect the Mother Peach Tree, but today, the Jade Emperor was furious and resolved to kill Guanyin and Maitreya at all costs.

Previously, since both Maitreya and Guanyin were under the rule of Buddha in the Western Heaven, the Jade Emperor dared not act rashly. But now that Buddha had left Mount Ling, becoming mortal enemies with Maitreya, and more importantly, it was said that Randeng had already died, what was there for the Jade Emperor to fear from Maitreya? As for Guanyin Bodhisattva, though the Jade Emperor was unaware of her estrangement with Buddha, her claim of being sent by Buddha to cause trouble across the Ten Continents and Three Islands seemed far from credible.

Guanyin must not have known the true nature of her relationship with Buddha, which was why she falsely claimed to act on Buddha’s orders. Her motives were obvious—she wanted to drive both the Heavenly Court and Buddha to mutual destruction.

Connecting Guanyin and Maitreya, the Jade Emperor came to what he believed to be the correct conclusion: Maitreya wanted to seize Buddha’s position as the supreme ruler of the world—Buddha was in a hurry!

In Buddhism, aside from Randeng’s followers, there were no other candidates for Maitreya to rely on. His alliance with Guanyin Bodhisattva was inevitable. The Jade Emperor thought his judgment was impeccable. Seeing that Gouchen and the Heavenly Lord of Relief had both been harmed by Maitreya and Guanyin, he, in a fit of anger, sent the Five Elders of Taoism to protect the Peach Tree.

The Queen Mother of the West was worried and urged the Jade Emperor to think carefully before acting. But the Jade Emperor had long been frustrated—his Netherworld had been destroyed, his grievances went unheeded, and even the magical pills from the Ten Continents and Three Islands were about to be taken away. How could he bear it?

As for Wukong, knowing Guanyin’s intentions, he realized that since Ksitigarbha had arrived, the others should be able to protect themselves. There was no need for him to get involved; his lack of skills would only be a hindrance.

Still riding the momentum from his ascent, Wukong looked up at the sky and unleashed the secrets of the Mysterious Void Technique. The scenes of the thirty-six heavens became vivid before his eyes. Suddenly, an idea struck him—since those five Elders were guarding the Mother Peach Tree, it meant there was plenty of space around it. If he could steal a few peaches…

At this thought, his heart pounded violently. The allure of the immortal peaches on the Divine Ape was beyond description in words. Previously, he hadn’t harbored such thoughts—first, because he didn’t know much about the Heavenly Court and dared not act rashly; second, since Laojun and Randeng had promised to fetch the peaches for his cultivation, he saw no need to do it himself. But now that Randeng was gone and Laojun was severely injured, recalling the arrogant demeanor of the Bodhisattva Nili and the immense power of the Great Sun Tathagata, he could no longer suppress his desire for the peaches.

He set off immediately, using his invisibility technique to its fullest extent before returning to his true form. The matter of the peaches was of utmost importance; at this moment, he didn’t care whether he was in Mu Zha’s body or not—only his ape form felt most agile.

In an instant, he arrived at the Thirty-Six Heavens. Seeing the numerous palaces in the sky, Wukong began to wonder where he could find the mother tree of the peaches.

“Peach Ancestor, Peach Ancestor, if you were born of creation, please let me know,” he thought to himself. Yet he also knew that although the Peach Ancestor was born from the essence of Pangu’s creation, it merely provided nourishment for the Divine Ape—how could it become sentient?

Unaware of it, he arrived at the Peach Garden. Wukong remembered that it was located on the Immortal Island of Western Kunlun and was under the control of the Queen Mother. Therefore, the mother tree of the peaches should also be under her jurisdiction.

In the Heavenly Court, the most important places were the Jade Emperor’s Lingxiao Palace and the Queen Mother’s Jade Pool. The possibility of the peach tree being in the Lingxiao Palace was extremely low, as it was crowded with various immortals, posing many inconveniences. Having made up his mind, Wukong headed toward the Jade Pool.

The Thirty-Six Heavens were eerily quiet, with few immortals around. When Wukong reached the Jade Pool, he saw the Jade Emperor’s chariot parked at the entrance, making him immediately cautious. He had heard that the Immortals withthousand-mile eyes andwind ears ears often accompanied the Jade Emperor—both possessing extraordinary powers, one for seeing from afar and the other for hearing from afar.

But Wukong thought, “Even if you’ve mastered the secrets of the Mysterious Sky Art, can you surpass me? My sharp eyes even make Xuan Nu feel inferior. And no matter how powerfulwind ears ears may be, it still can’t compare to Diting.”

Wukong opened his eyes and looked—there was no one inside the Jade Emperor’s chariot. Passing through the walls of the Jade Pool palace, he saw the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother sitting together with worried expressions, occasionally raising their cups to drink or frowning in deep thought. At this moment, all they could talk about was the great trouble that Guanyin and Maitreya had brought to the Heavenly Court.

Looking further back, Wukong saw numerous palaces in the Jade Pool, with countless layers of walls. There were thousands of palace maids and immortals. As he gazed deep into the Jade Pool, he spotted an unnamed courtyard. In the back garden of this courtyard, he saw over a hundred immortals sitting in a circle, back against the wall, facing outward.

Within this wall stood a towering peach tree over a hundred zhang high. Its trunk and branches were as if forged from gold, and its leaves resembled those carved from jade. An otherworldly aura enveloped it, exuding boundless natural beauty. Upon seeing it, Wukong was overjoyed; even someone without discernment could tell that this must be the “Peach Ancestor.” Noticing that the Jade Emperor and Empress were engrossed in conversation and that his supernatural senses were not at work, he mustered the courage to climb over the wall. Although among those hundred or so immortals there were a few powerful sages, Wukong thought that if he stole the peach and fled, no one else would likely be able to catch up to him. After all, wasn’t Wukong born to steal peaches?