Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapter 64: The First Invitation to Battle

Taibai Jinxing said cautiously, “When I went to subdue him in the mortal world, I had no idea the demon monkey had committed such grave crimes. By law, he deserves death! Yet I dare to suggest that we should continue to try to bring him under our rule instead of resorting to force.”
“How bold of you!” snarled the Jade Emperor.
Seeing the Emperor’s anger, Taibai Jinxing knelt down and said, “Your Majesty, please forgive my rash words. I spoke so as to consider the best interests of our heavenly court.”
“Hmph! Then explain yourself. I want to hear your reasoning. If it doesn’t convince me, I’ll make you clean the South Heavenly Gate,” said the Jade Emperor.
Taibai Jinxing replied, “There are three advantages to bringing the demon monkey under our rule. Allow me to explain in detail.”
“Get up and speak,” ordered the Jade Emperor.
Taibai Jinxing stood up and continued, “First, the demon monkey is extremely powerful. If we attack him head-on, our heavenly troops will suffer heavy losses. But by bringing him under our rule, we won’t lose a single soldier. Second, Huaguoshan is a blessed land full of talented people. Our heavenly court lacks such a prime location in the mortal world. If we bring the demon monkey under our control and gradually take over the demons there, it will become a foundation for eternity. Third, the demon monkey has eight brothers, all of whom are no weaker than Taiyi Golden Immortals.” He paused deliberately at this point.
A wave of gasps filled the hall, and the Jade Emperor suddenly stood up. “Is that true?”
Taibai Jinxing nodded. “At first, I thought I was mistaken, but after talking with them for some time and checking each one, it’s indeed the case!”
The Jade Emperor paced back and forth in the hall, clearly annoyed. He waved his hand and said, “Go on!”
Taibai Jinxing continued, “Even without counting those forty or fifty thousand minor demons, how many heavenly troops would be needed to fight against those eight Taiyi Golden Immortals? If we can bring them under our control, our heavenly court’s combat strength will nearly double, benefiting both our power and fortune. Even if we can only gain one or two of them, it will cause discord among their brothers. Over time, their brotherly bonds will weaken, and despite their current strength, they will become insignificant.”
Li Jing was upset and said, “It’s all about boosting others’ morale while undermining our own. My son Nezha is also a Taiyi Golden Immortal. You must remember that even among Taiyi Golden Immortals, there are differences in strength. The strong ones can rival Hunyuan, while the weak ones are inferior even to ordinary immortals. Brother Changgeng, don’t let this scare you.”
Taibai Jinxing replied, “Six of those Star Host Generals never returned. With such strength, it’s obvious whether they are strong or weak.”
Li Jing said, “Although the Twenty-Eight Stars are immortals, they lack experience in battle. They’re only good at capturing mountain spirits and wild beasts. In a large-scale battle, they’d be caught off guard, or maybe even fall for the demon monkey’s schemes.”

The Left Assistant Emperor was displeased upon hearing this and stepped forward, saying, “The Heavenly Court is the leader of our Taoism. The world is unified—there are no wars. All twenty-eight constellations were appointed by the Jade Emperor, so how could there be any mistakes?”
Nezha, seeing that his father’s words had hurt others, quickly stepped in to defuse the situation with a laugh, saying, “Your Majesty has misunderstood. My father is eager to avenge the six heavenly generals and spoke hastily. Please forgive him.”
The Right Assistant Emperor gave him a subtle signal, thinking to himself, “Now is the time for the Heavenly Court to unite against external threats. How can we allow personal disputes?”
Taibai Jinxing was quite familiar with the Tower-Bearing Heavenly King and wasn’t annoyed by his sarcasm. Instead, he smiled and said, “After having a long conversation with the demons on Flower-Fruit Mountain, I must admit it’s embarrassing, but it’s only today that I realized there are wise ones among the demons, no less capable than you and me. If we have to fight against such demons, I’m not being presumptuous, but victory will be difficult.”
The Jade Emperor finally stopped walking back and forth and slammed his palm on the desk, saying, “Stop arguing! I’ve made up my mind!”
Taibai Jinxing still had doubts. What confidence did the Tower-Bearing Heavenly King have in sending troops to subdue the demons? And who had leaked the news about the deaths of the heavenly generals?
Hearing that the Jade Emperor was about to announce his decision, he quickly assumed a respectful posture to listen to the imperial decree.
But the Jade Emperor didn’t rush to speak. He sat back down on his throne and said, “The demons on Flower-Fruit Mountain are powerful, and we can’t afford to delay. Tower-Bearing Heavenly King, with the full strength of the Heavenly Court, you go down to subdue those demons. What are your chances of success?”
The Tower-Bearing Heavenly King replied, “How can the light of a firefly compete with the brightness of the full moon? If I can get the help of the Four Great Golden Buddhas, the Nine Bright Stars, the Four Great Taoist Masters, the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper, the Five Directional Deities, and the Six Ding and Six Jia, along with 100,000 heavenly soldiers forming an impenetrable net, and if I can also enlist the help of the Great Lord of Saving Suffering and the Northern True Martial Lord to lead the charge, then we will surely succeed in one go!”
Seeing Li Jing’s confidence, the Jade Emperor’s expression gradually softened. He glanced around at everyone in the hall and smiled, saying, “Such a deployment does seem thorough. With the might of our Heavenly Court, who could possibly resist? Taibai Jinxing, receive the decree!”
Taibai Jinxing quickly replied, “I’m here!”
“As for those two lords, you still need to go and invite them. Tell them this battle is crucial, and hope they’ll spare no effort.”
“I will strictly follow your orders!” Taibai Jinxing said respectfully.
The Jade Emperor continued, “Li Jing, I still appoint you as the Grand Marshal for Subduing Demons. Nezha, the Third Prince, will be the vanguard. Go down to the mortal world and display the might of our Heavenly Court!”
“All other immortal officials and generals shall follow the command of the Tower-Bearing Heavenly King.”
“Far-Sighted One and Wind-Listening One! You two will stay at the South Heavenly Gate to observe the battle and report promptly—no mistakes allowed!”
A chorus of responses came from the hall: “We shall obey the order!”

Li Jing and Nezha led the gods out of the grand hall, leaving only Tai Bai Jin Xing behind. Jin Xing thought to himself, “The Jade Emperor has been especially talkative today; perhaps having ruled the palace for ten thousand years, he’s now eager for battle.” Seeing that most of the others had left, he decided to exit as well.

But the Jade Emperor called him back and said calmly, “If the two celestial lords decline, there’s no need to insist.”

Jin Xing was stunned. Just moments ago he had urged them to “spare no effort,” so why had their attitude changed? Though puzzled, he dared not ask and instead went to find the two celestial lords with many thoughts in mind.

Upon arriving at the Zi Xiao Palace, the gatekeeper recognized Tai Bai Jin Xing right away and hurried forward to greet him. Jin Xing waved him off with a smile, saying, “There’s urgent business here; please forgive any lack of courtesy.” Without stopping, he stepped inside.

The gatekeeper said, “If Jin Xing is here to see the Supreme God, he might end up coming back empty-handed.”

Jin Xing suddenly retracted his foot from stepping over the threshold. “What? Isn’t the Supreme God at home?”

The gatekeeper replied, “He’s been away for many days.”

Tai Bai Jin Xing bowed and turned to leave, then hurriedly flew to the Qing Hua Chang Le Realm, the Dong Ji Miao Yan Palace—where the Supreme Lord Tai Yi saved the suffering resided.

The distance from the North Heavenly Gate to the East Heavenly Gate wasn’t far. There, a fairyland unfolded before him: layers of colorful clouds, dense purple mists. Tiles shimmered with golden flames, and the gates were flanked by majestic jade beasts. Flowers filled the palaces surrounded by red clouds, while the sun shone through the trees veiled in green mist. Truly, it was a place surrounded by countless deities and blessed with prosperity.

It wasn’t Jin Xing’s first time here, so he had no time to admire the scenery. He headed straight for the palace gates. When the two Taoist boys at the entrance saw it was Tai Bai Jin Xing, one stepped forward to greet him while the other rushed back to give an announcement.

Jin Xing climbed the steps and saw the Great Emperor of Dong Ji Qing Hua waiting at the entrance of the hall. Feeling greatly honored, he rushed up the steps two at a time and said, “How dare I trouble the celestial lord to greet me! I’m truly guilty.”

The Supreme Lord who saved the suffering smiled and said, “It’s rare for Jin Xing to come here. What harm is there in greeting him once?”

The lord invited Tai Bai Jin Xing into the grand hall and asked with a smile, “It’s been a long time since Jin Xing last visited my humble abode. I’ve recently acquired some excellent immortal tea—surely you won’t want to miss it.”

Jin Xing smiled bitterly and said, “Lord, in the past I might have considered it a fortune, but today I have no time for tea. The Jade Emperor has ordered the Tower-Bearing Heavenly King to descend to capture demons, leading an army of hundred thousand celestial soldiers along with various gods, generals, and marshals. The Jade Emperor asked me to come and invite you to lead our troops—there’s really no time to delay.”

The Supreme Lord Tai Yi saved the suffering was surprised. “Which demons are so bold as to warrant such a large force?”

Jin Xing replied, “There are eight leaders in total, living on Flower-Fruit Mountain in the Eastern Victory Continent. These demons are truly audacious; they’ve already killed six celestial beings, which has angered the Jade Emperor.”

“Such a thing actually exists?” Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun was also shocked. “The Heavenly Court is the legitimate authority of our Taoism. How can we tolerate this? It’s understandable for heavenly troops to be sent to suppress them. But I wonder what kind of demon or spirit created this monster and how it managed to reach such a level—its fortune is truly remarkable.”
Jinxing said, “Among these eight, the leader is a monkey demon, and there’s also an old ox with a high status. Among the others, there are monkeys and birds; it’s hard to tell them apart.”
Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun was stunned and murmured, “Monkey demon, ox demon…”
Jinxing, anxious, thought the Tianzun was speaking to him and replied, “That’s right. The Tower-Bearing Heavenly King is currently mobilizing troops and will set out on an expedition soon. Tianzun, what do you think…”
Jiuku Tianzun returned to his senses and smiled slightly. “If there’s a matter at the Heavenly Court, I have no reason to refuse. But I’ve been busy with important matters lately and won’t be able to leave even for a short while.”