A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1406 Crisis Resolved, Mission Accomplished! (Please Subscribe!)
Huaguo Mountain is located in Aolai Country of Dongsheng Shenzhou. Hua Shier flew there according to the directions in his memory. He felt that this world was larger than he had imagined. He estimated in his heart that Shenzhou was at least ten times larger than the real Earth.

Before even arriving, one could see in the distance where the sky met the sea, a dense and intricate network of nets covering everything.

Golden and silver rays intertwined to form a giant net covering hundreds of miles, enveloping the entire Flower and Fruit Mountain.

Runes flowed and divine light flickered on those golden and silver nets, clearly containing powerful sealing power.

Upon approaching, it became impossible to enter directly; the net was layered upon layered, airtight.

Hua Shier waved his hand, and General Guo Shen, one of the six brothers from Meishan behind him, understood. He rode a cloud forward, channeled his magic power, and said loudly:

"Listen up, guardian generals of the net of heaven and earth! I am Guo Shen, a general under the command of Erlang Shen, the Manifestation Saint. I have come with my master on the orders of the Jade Emperor to capture the demon monkey! Open the camp gates immediately and let us through!"

The sound was loud and clear, penetrating through layers of netting and reaching inside.

Before long, the net of heaven and earth opened a door.

The Four Heavenly Kings—Dhritarashtra, Virudhaka, Virupaksha, and Vaishravana—came out of the gate together with Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, to greet them.

There was also a young general, riding on wind-fire wheels and holding a fire-tipped spear with the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, full of heroic spirit. He was none other than the Great God of the Three Altars and Seas, Nezha the Third Prince.

When Nezha saw Hua Twelve, his eyes lit up. He rode forward on his Wind-Fire Wheels and warmly cupped his hands in greeting:
"Senior Brother Yang, it's been many years! How have you been?"

Hua Shier learned through his clone's memories that Nezha and Yang Jian were both disciples of the Chan Sect, fought side by side during the Investiture of the Gods, and had an excellent relationship.

He immediately stepped forward and greeted the Four Heavenly Kings and Li Jing one by one.

Finally, when Hua Shier reached Nezha, he suddenly smiled and opened his arms to give Nezha a hug:
"Junior brother, long time no see!"

Nezha was taken aback by this enthusiastic gesture, but still smiled and hugged back.

After they separated, Hua Shier looked at the Wind Fire Wheels beneath Nezha's feet with interest in his eyes:
"Junior brother, how about I borrow your Wind Fire Wheels for a couple of years?"

He made up his mind that if this brother dared to borrow, he would accept it, and once he left this world, he would never come back!

Upon hearing this, Nezha's forehead creased with three black lines:
"Senior brother is joking. Back during the Investiture of the Gods, we camped in front of Chuanyun Pass. You lent me two baked flatbreads for dinner that night, and I still haven't returned them. Now you're eyeing my Wind and Fire Wheels?"

This time, Hua Shier was completely speechless.

The matter that Nezha mentioned could not be found in the memories of the clone he received. It's not that the clone was lying, but it was probably too trivial to be worth remembering. Just like a normal person, who would remember borrowing a needle and thread from a stranger in a certain year and month?

He chuckled sheepishly, "Junior brother, you've been keeping track of those two pancakes since King Wu's conquest of Zhou? That's quite an achievement! No wonder you're so petty, you're not tall!"

Nezha: "."

The Four Heavenly Kings standing nearby couldn't help but chuckle, but they couldn't laugh out loud, so they had to hold it in.

Li Jing nodded slightly, thinking to himself that his nephew Yang Jian was indeed insightful. This rebellious son was indeed narrow-minded; didn't he see that I was inseparable from the pagoda?

After joking around with Nezha, Hua Twelve turned to Li Jing and asked seriously:

"Your Majesty, how was the battle going?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jing and the heavenly soldiers and generals present all looked ashamed.

Li Jing sighed and said, "Nephew, that demon monkey is incredibly powerful and resourceful, especially skilled in transformation. We are ashamed to say that we were unable to defeat him."

Hua nodded, pondered for a moment, and said:
"I have come here precisely to challenge him to a contest of transformations. I request that you gentlemen remove the Heavenly Net from the top, leaving only the four sides open, so that I may engage him in battle. Regardless of the outcome, I will have my brothers to support me. Please do not interfere, lest you disrupt the formation."

Li Jing immediately agreed: "Don't worry, my dear nephew, we will cooperate."

Nezha, standing to the side, moved his lips, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

He originally wanted to say that, like during the Investiture of the Gods, if the two brothers joined forces, no matter what tricks the demon monkey had up his sleeve, they would surely be no match for him.

But Nezha was ultimately proud and arrogant. After all, he was no longer a deity, and he had become the Great God of the Three Altars and Seas, and the Great Protector of the Heavens. So he never said the words "two against one".

Li Jing gave the order: the Four Heavenly Kings each took their place in the four directions, and the 100,000 heavenly soldiers rearranged their troops and removed the top part of the Heavenly Net, leaving only the area around Flower Fruit Mountain.

Hua Shier had the six brothers of Meishan lead the Grass God to guard the outer perimeter, while he himself rode the clouds to fly over Huaguo Mountain.

Looking down from this high vantage point, one can see that Huaguo Mountain truly lives up to its reputation as the ancestral vein of the ten continents and the source of the three islands.

Towering peaks, craggy rocks, ancient trees reaching for the sky, and fragrant herbs.

A waterfall, like an inverted Milky Way, cascades down from the mountaintop into a deep pool, creating a thousand layers of white waves—that is the Water Curtain Cave.

At the foot of the mountain, a group of monkeys formed a neat military formation. Although they were not as well-trained as the heavenly soldiers and generals, they still had their own order and discipline.

A large banner stood in the central command post, bearing the four characters: "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven".

Surrounded by a multitude of monkeys, it exudes an imposing aura.

Hua Shier saw the monkeys and a thought struck him. He considered his options. If he just lazed around, he wouldn't have to exert much effort, but there would be no benefit either. Perhaps...
He descended from the clouds, hovering in mid-air, and called out loudly to those below:
"I am Yang Jian, the Second Gentleman of the Guanjiang Estuary! Summon the Great Sage Sun Wukong to come out and meet me!"

Upon hearing this, the monkeys below the mountain stirred into a commotion.

They had naturally heard of Erlang Shen's formidable reputation. A little monkey rushed into the Water Curtain Cave to deliver the news.

Before long, with a loud 'boom,' the waterfall burst open, and a beam of golden light shot out from it.

A golden light landed, revealing a figure—it was none other than the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong!

He wore a phoenix-winged purple-gold crown, a golden chainmail armor, and lotus-silk cloud-walking boots, and held a Ruyi Jingu Bang (a magical staff). His fiery eyes shone brightly, and his entire body exuded an untamed, soaring demonic aura.

As soon as Sun Wukong appeared, he looked Hua Twelve up and down, a hint of amazement in his eyes—this Erlang Shen's appearance was indeed extraordinary.

The monkey chuckled, "Interesting, interesting! Those heavenly soldiers and generals keep calling me 'demon monkey,' but you, little general, call me 'Great Sage.' You're truly not of this world!"

Hua Shier also found it interesting. In the eyes of others, Sun Wukong was a crude and vulgar monkey, but after interacting with him, both "Mr. Sun" and the "Sun Wukong" in front of him could speak eloquently, obviously having received a good education when he was learning his skills at the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars.

After Sun Wukong finished speaking, his eyelids suddenly twitched, and a barely perceptible hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

He stared at Hua Shier for a long time, his doubts growing stronger.

But he quickly regained his playful demeanor, slung the golden cudgel over his shoulder, and said with a grin:

"Young man, are you Erlang Shen? The Jade Emperor's nephew?"

Hua Shier winked at the monkey, then pointed his three-pointed, double-edged sword at it:
"Enough talk, let's fight one-on-one!"

"Alright!" Sun Wukong laughed heartily. "I've heard you also have seventy-two transformations. How about we have a contest of our transformation skills first?"

Without waiting for Hua Shier's reply, Sun Wukong's body trembled, and golden light shone brightly around him.

Countless golden hairs flew out from his body, multiplying in the air into ten, then a hundred, then a thousand. In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of Sun Wukongs appeared all over the mountains and plains!
Each one was exactly the same, wearing a purple-gold crown, golden armor, and holding a golden cudgel; even their expressions and movements were identical.

Tens of thousands of monkey kings shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens!
"I'm afraid you won't succeed!"

Hua Shier also shouted loudly, and divine light shone from his body.

He also swayed his body and used the technique of creating a clone.

In an instant, countless silver-armored divine generals split off from Hua Twelve, numbering in the tens of thousands!

Each one resembled Erlang Shen, clad in silver armor and a golden crown, wielding a three-pointed, double-edged sword, exuding an imposing aura.

"Kill!" Sun Wukong gave the order, and tens of thousands of his clones moved in unison.

"Fight!" Hua Shier commanded his clones to meet the attack.

In an instant, the silver-armored general and the golden-armored monkey king were locked in a fierce battle in the sky and on the ground of Flower Fruit Mountain.

Swords and clubs flashed and crisscrossed, while magical spells and supernatural powers filled the sky.

The golden and silver light intertwined and collided, unleashing a deafening roar.

The energy fluctuations spread like a tide, causing the wind and clouds to change color and the sun and moon to lose their light.

The onlookers, including Li Tianwang, the Four Heavenly Kings, 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals, and even the celestial beings in Heaven who were observing the battle through their clairvoyant and clairaudient abilities, were all dazzled and bewildered. The battlefield was filled with so many clones and the changes were so rapid that it was impossible to distinguish which was the true form of Erlang Shen and Sun Wukong.

But what they didn't know was that there was no real body on the battlefield!

The real Sun Wukong and Hua Shier were no longer on the battlefield of Flower Fruit Mountain.

Just moments before, during the chaotic battle between the clones, Hua Shier secretly used spatial magic he had learned from other worlds to silently open a mirror space, pulling Sun Wukong's true form and himself into it.

Inside the mirror space, there was only chaos and nothingness, with only two people standing facing each other.

Sun Wukong stopped joking and stared warily at Hua Twelve with his fiery eyes, his eyes full of doubt:

"Yang Erlang, what exactly are you up to? Also, for some reason, I, Old Sun, feel an inexplicable sense of closeness to you. Otherwise, no matter how skillful you are, you wouldn't be able to pull me into this barrier so easily."

He paused, then pointed his golden cudgel:
"Speak! After all this trouble, what exactly do you want to say? You just said you could help me via telepathy, but how exactly will you help?"

Hua Shier sheathed his three-pointed double-edged sword and said solemnly:

"Great Sage, the Jade Emperor is furious this time. Ten thousand heavenly soldiers have surrounded the mountain, forming a tight net. You are doomed this time." Sun Wukong scoffed, "Them? I, Old Sun, can come and go as I please!"

“You might be able to leave,” Hua Twelve shook his head. “But what about your monkeys and their offspring? They have already committed a heinous crime by following you in your rebellion against the Heavenly Court. If you are defeated, they will surely suffer, with less than one in ten surviving. If you leave, they will undoubtedly die.”

These words struck a nerve with Sun Wukong.

He feared nothing and no one, except the children of Flower Fruit Mountain.

The net has indeed been cast; he himself might be able to break free, but what about his monkey offspring?
Seeing Sun Wukong remain silent, Hua Shier continued, "I have a way to help you save them, but you have to offer something in exchange."

A glint of light flashed in Sun Wukong's eyes: "You can save my children? How?"

“I have my own way of handling this.” Hua Shier didn’t answer but asked in return, “You tell me first, are you willing to make a deal?”

Sun Wukong stared at Hua Shier for a long time, then suddenly laughed:

"Alright! I believe Yang Erlang is not a faithless man. If you can really save my monkey cubs, I, Old Sun, can also go all out and have some fun with those cowards from Heaven! Tell me, what do you want?"

Hua Shier also smiled, a hint of cunning in his smile:

"I heard that you caused a ruckus at the Peach Banquet and kicked over Laozi's alchemy furnace. I want some peaches that are nine thousand years old, as well as Laozi's elixir."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Yang Erlang, I never expected you to be such a remarkable person! Alright! Deal!"

He chuckled and pulled the golden cudgel from his ear. With a gentle shake, a small opening suddenly appeared at one end of the cudgel.

Sun Wukong reached in, rummaged around for a while, and pulled out several crystal-clear peaches as big as bowls, as well as several shimmering jade bottles.

"Of the nine-thousand-year-old peaches, only these few remain. I, Old Sun, have eaten most of them myself. I've also snatched some of Laozi's elixirs, and they're all here."

Sun Wukong handed the items to Hua Shier, asking, "Is this enough?"

Hua Shier took it, scanned it with his divine sense, and was overjoyed.

There are six peaches, each radiating a spiritual aura.

There were more than a dozen bottles of elixirs, each labeled: Nine-Turn Golden Elixir, Purple-Gold Elixir, Resurrection Elixir, Creation Elixir...

"That's enough!" Hua Shier quickly put the items into his storage space. After thinking for a moment, he took out a few more items from his space and handed them to Sun Wukong. "Take these; they might come in handy."

It contained a stack of talismans, several bottles of healing pills, and a few disposable defensive magic items. These were all products he created while practicing weapon crafting in his spare time. They couldn't compare to immortal artifacts or spiritual treasures, but they could still withstand an attack from a celestial being.

Sun Wukong took it, looked at it, and a hint of warmth flashed in his eyes, but he still remained defiant:
"I, Old Sun, have no need for these!"

"It's better to be prepared," Hua Twelve said solemnly.
"Great Sage, I see that you have great fortune. This calamity may not be a disaster, but rather an opportunity. However, if you do get this opportunity, you should be more careful and think carefully about how this opportunity fell into your lap!"

Sun Wukong gave Hua Twelve a deep look and nodded:

"I, Old Sun, understand."

"Alright, it's time to go out." Hua Shier waved his hand, and the mirror space dissipated.

The two reappeared above Flower Fruit Mountain, continuing their battle of clones. From the outside, it appeared as if they had never left.

Hua Shier suddenly shouted, "Monkey demon, take this!" The three-pointed, double-edged sword transformed into a silver streak, slashing straight at Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong brandished his golden cudgel: "Well done!"

The blades clashed, unleashing a deafening roar. The shockwave swept in all directions, shattering most of the clones surrounding the two.

As soon as they got serious, their true forms were immediately locked onto by the Heavenly King Li and other celestial beings above them. Similarly, the Thousand-Mile Eyes and Wind-Following Ears in the Heavenly Palace also locked onto their location, and at the same time, the Demon-Revealing Mirror broadcast the situation to the Jade Emperor.

The real battle has only just begun.

But Hua Shier knew in his heart that the outcome of this battle was already predetermined, and he had already obtained what he wanted.

Next, he just had to put on a good show and then go back to Guanjiangkou to "seclude himself."

The two first sparred in martial arts. In terms of moves, they were evenly matched. However, in terms of strength, Hua Shier was holding back. Not to mention Sun Wukong, who hadn't yet entered the alchemy furnace and achieved indestructibility, even if he were to unleash his full power later, his opponent would be no match for him.

The two fought from the ground to the sky, and from the sky to the water.

Then Sun Wukong, with a flick of his body, transformed into a skeleton shrimp and fled swiftly through the sea.

Hua Shier wasn't afraid of him at all. He shook his body and transformed into a toad, kicking and rolling his tongue around as he did so, employing a strategy of mutual restraint.

Seeing that it couldn't dodge, the skeleton shrimp trembled and with a bang, it turned into a giant cloth, which covered the toad's head.

Hua Twelve transforms into giant scissors, ready to snip.

Sun Wukong transformed from a fishing net into a stone, which was about to break the scissors.

Hua Twelve immediately transformed into a well, waiting for the stone to fall!

Sun Wukong, with a bang, transformed back into his original form and pointed at Hua Twelve, cursing, "You cheat! You didn't even transform into a well!"

Above the clouds, Nezha nodded repeatedly: "That's right, senior brother, this is too cheating. Rock-paper-scissors, how can you get out of the well? It's a move that was banned when King Wu attacked King Zhou. No wonder you didn't return the sweet potato you borrowed. You just like to cheat. Bah, I despise you!"

His father and the Four Heavenly Kings all looked at him. This is about subduing demons and monsters, do you think it's just a child's game?

Sun Wukong and Hua Shier exchanged two blows with their weapons, but Sun Wukong did not gain the upper hand. He then transformed into a swift and soared into the sky.

Hua Shier transformed into a shotgun, well, that's a bit too flashy. He became a Zhuge Repeating Crossbow, and the bolts flew like a submachine gun. Somewhat embarrassingly, not a single shot hit its mark; that guy was flying too fast.

At this moment, seeing that their king was constantly at a disadvantage, the monkeys and their offspring immediately formed a battle formation and charged forward.

One of Hua Shier's clones had been waiting for this. With a wave of his hand, a mirror space appeared, shoving all the monkeys and their offspring from Flower Fruit Mountain into it.

Sun Wukong glanced gratefully at Hua Shier, then feigned anger: "I, Old Sun, will fight you to the death!"

Hua Shier sneered: "You think I'm afraid of you!"

With a whistle, the Divine Eagle and the Howling Celestial Dog charged forward.

Sun Wukong immediately protested: "I, Old Sun, challenged you to a duel, and you unleashed your dogs? I'm done!"

After saying that, he turned around and left, leaping onto his somersault cloud and somersaulting over the net, disappearing into the distance.

Hua Shier pursued relentlessly, but in reality, the distance between the two grew ever wider.

Just then, a voice from the heavens suddenly said, "Let me lend him a hand; this golden circlet can strike down all things."

The next instant, a bright light, as fast as lightning, struck Sun Wukong on the head with a "duang," knocking him off the cloud.

Hua Shier stepped forward and stomped on Sun Wukong's back: "Monkey, is your head buzzing?"

Sun Wukong retorted, "A sneak attack and unleashing the dogs? That's not the act of a hero!"

The two openly competed, but in reality, they were exchanging glances. Hua Twelve meant, "Monkey, your opportunity has arrived." Sun Wukong replied, "I don't care about opportunities. I just want to know who threw the toilet seat!"
Li Tianwang and the Four Heavenly Kings caught up and used the Immortal Binding Rope to tie up Sun Wukong. Then they bowed to Hua Twelve and said, "Congratulations, True Lord, on capturing the demon monkey!"

Nezha curled his lip and said, "Senior brother, your victory was not honorable!"

Hua Shier: "When adults are talking, children shouldn't interrupt!"

Nezha was about to say something when his father shoved him aside. Li Tianwang said to Hua Twelve:
"Nephew, well, the demon monkey has been captured, but what about those little monkeys who rebelled with him?"

The Four Heavenly Kings nodded in agreement: "That's all thanks to them! True Lord, quickly release those little monkeys so we can kill them one by one!"

Sun Wukong shouted, "Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. If you dare to harm my monkey descendants, I'll never forgive you!"

Hua Twelve, however, said, "I will discuss this matter with the Jade Emperor myself!"

Seeing this, Li Tianwang could not force the issue and had no choice but to give up. He led his heavenly soldiers and generals back to the Heavenly Court.

The six Mei brothers and the Thousand Two Grass Gods were not appointed officials of the Heavenly Court and could not go to the Heavenly Palace to pay homage. Only Hua Twelve went up with them, but he was treated coldly. After the Jade Emperor summoned Li Tianwang and his son and the Four Heavenly Kings, and then handed Sun Wukong over to Laozi for refining, he was finally summoned to the palace.

Upon arriving at the palace, the Jade Emperor merely offered a few words of praise before ordering that the sworn brothers be rewarded with a hundred golden flowers, a hundred bottles of imperial wine, a hundred elixirs, rare treasures and pearls, brocade, and other items.

As for the previous decree's mention of "promotion and generous reward after success," it was not mentioned at all. Instead, the decree asked the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain why they weren't handed over to Li Tianwang for handling.

Hua Shier was displeased, but he couldn't show it, so he said:

"I intend to make the strong monkeys serve as grass gods and the weak as servants, to brew monkey wine for me, and to make them work until they die. That will be my punishment!"

The Jade Emperor's face showed displeasure, but he ultimately said nothing, waving his hand: "It's best not to cause any trouble. Go now!"

Hua Shier left the Heavenly Palace, but he was unhappy. When they needed him, the imperial edict called him "my nephew," but after the matter was settled, they didn't even mention his promotion. Is that the attitude they have?

He sneered inwardly, wondering if he should add fuel to the fire when Sun Wukong broke free of the furnace and wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace.

This matter is still some time away. For the Heavenly Court, it is forty-nine days, but for Hua Twelve at Guanjiang Estuary, it will be forty-nine years later. So he can take his time to consider it.

Back at Guanjiang Estuary, he distributed the Heavenly Court's rewards and settled the monkeys. Hua Twelve explained to them that it was their King's will. Upon seeing the peaches, the monkeys immediately believed him and became very obedient.

Having arranged everything, Hua Shier announced his seclusion, returned to the temple, sat cross-legged, communicated with the system, and left this world!