Volume 1: Unsayable Chapter 52: Meeting the Lion Monkey

Tongfeng, seeing that Wukong had remained silent for a long time, tentatively asked, “Should we go down and take a look?”
Wukong smiled and said, “It’s better not to get involved in this mess.” Tongfeng didn’t understand Wukong’s intention, but knowing that Wukong was wiser than himself, he naturally had no objections.
The three left that place and continued southward. In Wukong’s memory, Xiniuhézhou had the most demons, so the chances of finding a demon there were much higher.
Previously, the three had traveled by flying high in the clouds. Wukong thought to himself that perhaps they had gone too fast and missed all the demon lairs. After all, demons were good at hiding, so it would be better to fly low, though slower, to ensure nothing was missed.
So the three landed and flew along, chatting and laughing the whole way, not feeling bored at all. Whenever they saw beautiful landscapes, they would stop to admire them, enjoying themselves freely.
One day, they faintly saw a city ahead. The Bull Demon King said with a smile, “We’ve arrived in a mortal kingdom. What should we do?” Since entering the world, Wukong had only wandered around the Three Mountains and Five Peaks. Although he had visited Aolai Country twice, it was for the sake of learning the “Qi Tian Staff Technique” and he hadn’t had time to explore. Now, he grew curious about how the people there spoke and lived, so he thought of going to the mortal world just to see what it was like.
He shared this idea with the Bull Demon King and Tongfeng, but both shook their heads in refusal. The Bull Demon King said, “What’s there to see in those commoners and villagers?” Tongfeng added, “Entering the mortal world will hinder our cultivation. If you want to go, go ahead. I’ll wait here.” Seeing their expressions, Wukong had no choice but to give up. He said, “If that’s the case, I’ll go and see what kind of place this is. At least that way I’ll know the direction.”
Using his Earth Escape technique, he approached the city. From afar, he saw three large characters engraved in gold on the city tower—“Yuhuazhou”!
Wukong was both surprised and delighted. Yuhuazhou—this name appeared on the journey to the West, associated with the Third Prince learning skills and the Stick Feast… He was all too familiar with this place.
He immediately returned and exclaimed, “Great news! Great news!”
The Bull Demon King asked, “What’s so wonderful?”
Wukong replied, “I asked the locals here, and they all said there are many demons here, and they’re extremely powerful.”
The Bull Demon King said, “It’s fortunate you went to investigate. Otherwise, we might have missed it. Since there are demons, let’s go and find them quickly. The three of us together—even if those demons have nine lives, they won’t be able to escape.”

Wukong suddenly felt a shiver in his heart. Nine lives? Heaven—weren’t there a Nine Spirits Sacred Being in Yuhua State? But after thinking it over, he felt much more at ease. The Nine Spirits Sacred Being appeared in “Journey to the West” as a challenge deliberately set by someone; logically, it shouldn’t be here at this moment. Tang Seng’s quest for the scriptures hadn’t even begun yet, so if the Nine Spirits Sacred Being were here, that would indeed be strange.

“Good, then the demon’s lair is seventy li north of the city,” said Wukong.

After circling around the city and reaching the north, they indeed detected a faint demonic aura in the distance. The Bull Demon King laughed and said, “It’s strange—this faint demonic aura suggests the demon is hesitating, unsure whether to remain a demon or become an immortal.”

Wukong replied, “Brother, you’re joking. How can a demon become an immortal?”

The Bull Demon King laughed heartily. “Brother, are you really that foolish? Six of the Twenty-Eight Constellations are made up of beasts. Becoming a demon or an immortal just takes a moment’s decision. Leaving others aside, even with my skills, I could easily make a living in the Heavenly Court.”

Wukong thought for a moment and realized it was true—there were many beasts among the immortals in the Heavenly Court. Noticing the mocking expression on the Bull Demon King’s face, he knew it was easy said but hard done; going to the Heavenly Court might come at a great cost.

After traveling forty or fifty li, they suddenly saw several mountains in the north shaking, with muffled noises coming from them. Clearly, this wasn’t the work of ordinary people. The three exchanged glances and, driven by their skill and courage, sped northward.

Upon entering the mountains, they saw two figures rising on a high peak. One was dressed as a Taoist priest, with a radiant glow above his head, wearing a feathered robe. In his hand was a ten-zhang-long whisk, with straight white threads resembling steel needles pointing at the monster across from him.

The monster itself was eight or nine zhang tall, with upright fur all over its body. From its neck stretched eight huge lion heads, swaying ominously and looking extremely imposing.

Some of the lion heads opened their mouths wide as if ready to devour, some narrowed their eyes at the Taoist priest, while others glared angrily—each with a different expression, all deeply terrifying.

The Taoist priest spoke, “You little lion beast, why don’t you submit? I shall grant you eternal life!”

The lion head on the left replied, “Delusional! Our race was born of heaven and earth and rules over all beasts. How could we submit to you?”

The Taoist priest smiled and said, “Do you know who I am? In this world, there are few who aren’t under my control!”

Suddenly, the second lion head on the right opened its mouth, its voice completely different from before. It roared, “Even if you were the Jade Emperor, you can’t control me!”

The Taoist laughed heartily, “Little lion-man, how bold you are! Once I capture you, don’t be so stubborn—or else you’ll suffer greatly.” He waved his dust whisk, and the originally straight strands turned into supple threads that moved at incredible speed, wrapping around the eight lions.

Wukong sent a message asking, “It’s clearly an eight-headed lion in sight. Why is it called a lion-man?”

The Bull Demon King replied with a smile, “An ordinary lion can at most rival bears and tigers, but this lion-man makes all beasts avoid him at all costs. If he roars on his left, mountains crumble and the earth splits; if he roars on his right, rivers turn upside down and seas erupt. When he grows a ninth lion head, and that middle head roars, it will bring about chaos in the world.”

Wukong suddenly understood—these eight lions were none other than the Nine Spirit Saints, only one head was still missing, likely because their cultivation wasn’t complete.

Wukong asked, “I wonder who of the two will win.” The Bull Demon King said, “That goes without saying. Do you know who that Taoist is?” Wukong naturally didn’t.

The Bull Demon King explained, “That man is one of the Four Emperors—the Eastern Extreme Azure Flower Emperor, also known as the Great Lord Taiyi Who Saves from Suffering.” Wukong was shocked. The Great Lord Taiyi Who Saves from Suffering—wasn’t he the master of these Nine Spirit Saints? He had thought the saints were naturally Taiyi’s mounts, never expecting to witness this battle to subdue them himself.

Just then, someone reported, “Those eight lions are about to give up!”

Wukong saw that Taiyi’s dust whisk was entwined all around the Nine Spirit Saints. Those threads seemed made of some unknown material. The third lion head from the left spat out fierce flames, yet the threads remained intact.

As the saying goes, softness can overcome hardness. Unable to use his strength, the Nine Spirit Saints rolled in the air, with their eight heads firing fire, ice dust, or poisonous water—all aimed at Taiyi.

Wukong said, “That’s fierce. Let’s see how that old Taoist can defend himself.”

The Bull Demon King replied, “None of the Four Emperors are ordinary.”

Suddenly, an Eight Trigrams mirror appeared on Taiyi’s back and blocked in front of him, shielding him from the ice, fire, dust, and smoke. The Nine Spirit Saints roared in anger and tried to flee, but those thin threads were extremely tough—after all this struggle, not a single one had broken.

Watching the Nine Spirit Saints struggling in the web of threads, Wukong unconsciously felt pity for them.

Seeing Wukong’s reluctant expression, Fengtong hurriedly warned, “This man is truly formidable. Even if the three of us attack together, we likely won’t be able to harm him.” The Bull Demon King also said, “The Heavenly Lord of Saving Sufferers already possesses the cultivation level of a Hunyuan Golden Immortal. If he wanted to capture this Lion Monkey, it would be as easy as flipping his hand. He’s just trying to humiliate it and subdue it, which is why he’s gone to such lengths.”

At that moment, many small demons emerged from several holes in the ground—yellow lions riding elephants, Bai Ze lying with foxes—over a hundred in total. They knelt and cried out loudly to the heavens, “O gods, out of mercy, spare the life of our ancestor! O gods, out of mercy…”

The Nine Spirits Sacred One’s eyes were filled with rage as he shouted, “You wretched beasts! How can our clan bow down to others? Scram back to your caves!” Fueled by fury, his eight giant mouths opened simultaneously as he roared at the heavens, “Why is life so full of hardships?” Then his entire body radiated light; with a shake of his neck, his eight lion heads merged into one, and he declared, “Heavenly immortals of the nine realms, ghostly immortals of the netherworld—respond to my call!”

The Taoist priest chuckled and said, “Your Nine Spirits Mastery isn’t complete yet—how can you use this ultimate technique?”

Suddenly, the Nine Spirits Sacred One’s head swayed from side to side and transformed into nine heads. In this critical moment, he had achieved mastery over his mystical powers.

Suddenly, dark clouds rolled in the sky, and the sound of battle echoed from afar, shaking the earth. The Heavenly Lord of Saving Sufferers sneered, “Even a grain of rice can emit light?”