Volume 1: Unsayable Chapter 92: Raging in Heaven

Wukong transformed into a being hundreds of feet tall, while the Golden-winged Roc and the Bull Demon King also revealed their true forms. The Bull Demon King, with his formidable physique, was the first to awaken and stride forward. That massive white bull stood unshaken as swords, spears, and halberds were thrust at him; instead, many of those weapons shattered. Wukong followed up with his Sky-piercing Staff technique, wielding a staff three times thicker than the pillars in the Brightness Hall. With each swing, none dared to confront him, driving the heavenly soldiers into chaos. The Golden-winged Roc moved swiftly, targeting those sneaky villains who tried to attack, striking with lightning speed and leaving no chance to defend. In just a short while, not a single enemy remained around the three of them—everyone stood at a distance, watching.

Seeing how cowardly the heavenly soldiers were, Wukong shouted, “Hey! Bring out that old, degenerate Jade Emperor to answer for himself! You lot, who rule heaven yet lack integrity, still dare to repeatedly invade my Flower-Fruit Mountain territory! Heaven has its laws, and earth has its rules—how can it be up to you alone to decide everything? If you don’t give me an explanation today, my three companions and I will destroy your stronghold!”

Most of the heavenly generals retreated, and only Tai Bai Jin Xing stepped out of the Brightness Hall, bowing and saying, “Great King Sun Wukong, why has things escalated to this extent? How did you even reach heaven?”

Wukong sneered, “Stop talking nonsense! Just make that Jade Emperor come out and admit his mistake!”

It was absurd—the Supreme Heavenly Emperor, the ruler of all heavens, held the highest status. How could he possibly admit fault to an ordinary demon king? Tai Bai Jin Xing tried to buy time by saying, “Great King, nothing happens in isolation. Let’s downplay this incident and sit down to discuss how to resolve it properly, how about that?”

Wukong roared, “You seem quite old. Go down quickly, or my staff won’t show mercy!”

The gods, seeing Wukong’s calm demeanor amidst the army, admired him deeply—such a figure was truly among the best among demons.

Meanwhile, Li Tianwang, who carried the pagoda, couldn’t stand the monkey’s domineering attitude and shouted, “You audacious monkey! Soon, you’ll have no place to die!” He knew the Buddha was powerful, but since the Buddha hadn’t arrived yet, his voice trembled with fear.

Wukong chuckled and said, “Fine! If you won’t come out, I’ll beat you into coming out!” He swung his staff at the roof of the Brightness Hall.

Though the Heavenly Palace was exceptionally sturdy, it could not withstand Wukong’s blows. The shiny bricks and interlocking tiles instantly turned to fragments. Unrelenting in his fury, Wukong struck again, hitting the main pillar in front of the Tongming Hall. The pillar swayed several times before collapsing, accompanied by a thunderous crash. The entire entrance of the Tongming Hall was reduced to ruins, leaving many gods who failed to dodge covered in dust and dirt.

The Bull Demon King laughed heartily from behind and said, “Well done! Now watch me, old Bull!” He rushed forward and charged at the pillar of the Tongming Hall. With another deafening crash, another pillar slowly collapsed and hit the ground, causing the entire hall to vibrate.

The Jade Emperor, who was inside the hall, heard the intense fighting outside and panicked, shouting, “Hurry and summon the Buddha from the Western Heaven!” After the four bodhisattvas left for a long time with no sign of progress, the Jade Emperor disregarded protocol and sent the Lingguan and Yisheng Zhenjun to fetch the Buddha again.

The Lingguan and Yisheng Zhenjun left the Heavenly Palace through the Western Heaven Gate. Less than a hundred miles away, they saw the four great bodhisattvas along with Anuo and Gayasa surrounding an ordinary-clothed monk—none other than the Buddha of the Western Heaven. The two quickly bowed and said, “That demon monkey, along with a roc and a demon bull, has reached the front of the Tongming Hall and is destroying the buildings. The Jade Emperor sent us to ask the Buddha to come and save us! The situation is urgent; please forgive us, Buddha.”

The Buddha smiled and said, “Since I have come, nothing will go wrong. Please lead the way, my holy guardians.” At that moment, the Buddha removed his ordinary clothes, ascended to his lotus throne, and took on his six-foot-tall true form, surrounded by a radiant glow that shone for a hundred miles as he headed toward the Tongming Hall.

Meanwhile, Wukong and the Bull Demon King were fighting fiercely. The Golden-Winged Roc saw a strange glow in the west and was overjoyed. Without saying goodbye to Wukong, it vanished in an instant, disappearing without a trace.

Wukong already knew the Roc’s intentions. Seeing its haste, he sighed inwardly. Those who went to summon the Buddha would surely mention his presence, so the Buddha would surely be prepared. Though the Roc was clever, it was too eager for quick success and would fail to achieve great things.

Seeing this radiant light, the gods all showed joy on their faces and exclaimed, “The Buddha has arrived! How can that demon monkey remain unchallenged?”

Wukong paused for a moment, feeling uneasy. He waited for the Buddha’s arrival, ready to take a gamble. He had no idea what the outcome would be. After all, staying trapped on Flower-Fruit Mountain would lead to the same fate sooner or later, so he decided to try anything possible.

The radiant light grew closer, revealing a six-foot-tall Buddha in his true form, seated on a lotus throne, surrounded by the four great bodhisattvas and the two great elders, exuding even greater majesty and splendor.

Wukong quickly called out to the Bull Demon King, “Second brother! Our great enemy has arrived—run away quickly!” The Bull Demon King laughed foolishly and said, “Who isn’t our great enemy?” He transformed into his true form as a white ox, fearless even of gods and Buddhas, and charged straight at Buddha.

The four great bodhisattvas, seeing such boldness in this white ox that it dared to attack the Buddha, jointly rebuked it and stepped forward to block its path. The demon-subduing staff in the hands of Bodhisattva Lingji took on its true form—a magical staff shaped like a flying dragon. This staff transformed into an eight-clawed golden dragon, which swiftly pounced on the Bull Demon King’s back, its sharp claws digging in, causing blood to splash forth immediately.

The Bull Demon King became enraged, let out a loud roar, and sped even faster. Manjushri and Samantabhadra sent green lions and white elephants to block its path, but the giant white ox shook them aside and charged far away. Guanyin Bodhisattva frowned slightly, already holding the willow branch from her pure vase. The tip of the willow branch turned into countless threads, encircling the Bull Demon King.

Indeed, this old ox was formidable. It thrashed its hooves and managed to break free from the willow threads, its two sharp horns aimed straight at Buddha.

Venerable Kasyapa picked up a lightlotus and placed it on top of the Bull Demon King’s head. Affected by the flower, the ox acted as if possessed, its speed dropping sharply. It began to circle in place. After just two circles, Guanyin Bodhisattva cast another spell, and the willow threads grew, tightly wrapping around the giant white ox, preventing it from escaping.

At this point, Buddha closed his eyes slightly, never opening them even once throughout the entire ordeal.

Trapped by the willow threads, the Bull Demon King instantly reverted to his true form. Lying on the ground, he angrily demanded, “Bodhisattva, why have you captured me?” Guanyin replied, “You are unruly and defiant; you can only remain a demon. I am taking you in on behalf of Buddha to lead you to the Land of Ultimate Bliss and grant you a proper fate.” The Bull Demon King roared, “What Land of Ultimate Bliss? Go deceive those foolish men and women! I come from Taoism and have nothing to do with your Buddhism!”

The bodhisattva did not respond but continued casting spells. The willow threads penetrated deep into his body, and in just a moment, the once lively Bull Demon King became listless. Guanyin smiled and said, “Stop struggling. Now that you have no magical power left, come into my pure vase. I’ll find you a good place later.” With that, she retracted the willow threads, raised her pure vase, and sucked in the Bull Demon King’s massive body.

Seeing the Bull Demon King slowly flying toward the Jade Pure Vase, Wukong’s heart burned with anguish. He used a magic trick to transform himself and rushed over, grabbing the Bull Demon King’s ankle. Shouting angrily, he said, “You foolish ox! I told you to run, but you chose to walk straight into your doom.” The Bull Demon King, already convinced that he would be made a slave by Guanyin, was disheartened. But when he saw Wukong grabbing his ankle, his forward momentum stopped.

He was overjoyed. With great effort, he took out the elixir given to him by Wukong from his bosom and put it in his mouth. Indeed, the effects of Laojun’s Nine-Revolution Golden Elixir were extraordinary. In just a breath, the Bull Demon King felt his strength returning. Though not as strong as before, he could now resist Guanyin’s power to subdue him with her pure water vessel.

Three more breaths later, the Bull Demon King had enough strength to escape. Having narrowly escaped death this time, he dared not fight again. He said to Wukong, “These people are truly formidable. Let’s flee together!”

Wukong grabbed the Bull Demon King’s ankle, used all his strength to throw him backward, and shouted, “Go first, brother. I’ll follow soon.” The Bull Demon King could no longer fight. Knowing that Wukong possessed the ability to ride the Cloud Climbing Vase, he realized escaping wouldn’t be difficult, so he dashed away without looking back.

Guanyin hadn’t expected the Bull Demon King to have such an amazing elixir. Seeing her captive slip away, she vented her anger on Wukong. Though furious inside, her face showed no trace of it as she still smiled and said, “So you are the ruler of Flower-Fruit Mountain, known as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?”