Honghuang: Creation of the Green Lotus, the beginning of the Three Pure Ones

Seeing the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain who had previously only known how to cause trouble, both the Five Directions Protectors of Buddhism and the Four Duty Officers of Heaven had noticed that something was amiss.

The news was immediately sent back to the Western Paradise and the Heavenly Court. Upon learning of this, the Buddha couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

He couldn't help but think to himself, "It seems that this monkey's ten years in the Fire Cloud Cave were not in vain. He has mastered the Yellow Emperor's military tactics."

Although he was happy, a solemn expression appeared on the face of the Buddha. He then spoke.

"Everyone, Sun Wukong has actually learned how to train troops. This must be related to those saints of humanity in the Fire Cloud Cave."

"It seems that Sun Wukong being taken to the Fire Cloud Cave for punishment was a pretense; the real reason was that the sage of humanity was teaching him."

The Buddha revealed the truth directly, not to undermine Nuwa. After all, this matter couldn't be hidden any longer, so there was no need to conceal it.

Even before the Buddha finished speaking, Guanyin Bodhisattva stepped forward and said, "My Buddha, even so, our Buddhist sect should not interfere. Otherwise, we will surely give the Fire Cloud Cave an opportunity to cause trouble."

"After all, Buddhism cannot spread its teachings among humans without the support of Fire Cloud Cave. Therefore, we should pretend not to know about this matter."

"Moreover, since Sun Wukong has learned the human race's military tactics, it should be the Heavenly Court that is worried, not our Buddhist sect."

"After all, Sun Wukong's military strategy was only useful when he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace. Once he embarked on the journey to the West, it was all about individual combat."

Actually, there was one more thing Guanyin Bodhisattva didn't say: even in a one-on-one fight, this monkey is probably not someone an ordinary person could handle.

Upon hearing this, the Buddha nodded and then turned his gaze to the group of Buddhas and Arhats in the Great Thunder Temple.

Seeing that no one raised any objections, the Buddha said, "Since no one has any objections, then this matter is settled."

After saying this, the Buddha ordered the Five Guardians to return to Flower Fruit Mountain and continue to monitor Sun Wukong's every move.

In contrast to the Buddhist sect's indifference, the Jade Emperor frowned deeply and spoke.

"Emperor Ziwei, you are in charge of the Heavenly Court's military department. I wonder how many troops our Heavenly Court currently has?"

The Great Emperor of the North Pole of the Central Heaven, Ziwei, is not Boyi Kao from the original Investiture of the Gods story. Rather, he is the former Vice Leader of the Chan Sect, Daoist Ran Deng.

After dying in the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, Jiang Ziya bestowed upon him the title of the Great Emperor of the North Pole of the Central Heaven when he conferred the title of gods.

Under the command of the Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole, there is Marshal Tianpeng, who is in charge of the navy. And under the command of the Great Emperor Zhenwu, who is responsible for guarding the north, are the Four Saints of the North Pole.

In the original primordial timeline, the Heavenly Court should also have had a Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King who commanded troops, and the Eight-Armed Nezha, the Great God of the Three Altars and Seas.

However, Li Jing is now an ancestor of the human race, so it's impossible for him to return to Heaven as the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King. Nezha is even less likely to return to Heaven as the Great God of the Three Altars and Seas.

Therefore, military power in Heaven naturally fell into the hands of the Ziwei Emperor, the Daoist Ran Deng, making him one of the most powerful figures in Heaven.

When the Jade Emperor asked, Daoist Ran Deng immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Heavenly Court currently has an army of up to one million available."

"If there is an urgent need to recruit soldiers, I can add another million soldiers within a few days. However, the newly added million heavenly soldiers may lack combat power."

The Jade Emperor nodded in agreement, then continued to ask the Daoist Ran Deng, "So, how does the fighting power of this million-strong army compare to that of the Yellow Emperor's army during the Battle of Zhuolu?" The Daoist Ran Deng replied with a proud expression, "How can mere mortal soldiers compare to my heavenly soldiers and generals?"

The Taoist Ran Deng's confidence did not reassure the Jade Emperor. He directly ordered the Four Duty Officers to play the video of Sun Wukong training troops on Flower Fruit Mountain in the Lingxiao Palace.

Seeing the monkey soldiers with their soaring morale, all the civil and military officials of the Heavenly Court couldn't help but gasp. Even Marshal Tianpeng, who had remained silent, and General Juanlian, who stood beside the Jade Emperor, couldn't help but frown.

The Taoist Ran Deng now understood why the Jade Emperor had asked him how many soldiers the Heavenly Court had.

It turns out that something is about to happen; Sun Wukong's havoc in the Heavenly Palace has already taken an unexpected turn.

In the original primordial era, Sun Wukong's havoc in the Heavenly Palace was almost entirely a solo battle. His sworn brothers, even the seventy-two demon kings of the caves and his forty-seven thousand monkey followers, were merely there to guard Flower Fruit Mountain.

But nowadays, no one can guarantee that Sun Wukong won't lead these elite troops to directly attack the Heavenly Court.

However, having already made his boastful statement, the Daoist Ran Deng naturally couldn't back down now. He directly addressed the Jade Emperor.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, they are merely tens of thousands of demon soldiers. Our Heavenly Army can easily defeat them."

Although the Jade Emperor knew that the battles that the Taoist Ran Deng had commanded before being listed on the Investiture of the Gods had all ended in failure.

But now that things had come to this, he had no other choice, since the Heavenly Court had very few capable men. He couldn't very well lead the troops into battle himself.

Even so, the Jade Emperor still selected several righteous gods from among those who had been conferred titles, those who had experience in commanding troops during the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods.

They were transferred to the command of the Taoist Ran Deng to help him train the heavenly soldiers. This was in preparation for the impending havoc in the Heavenly Palace caused by Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong was naturally completely unaware of this. Besides training his troops, he spent his days visiting friends throughout the Three Mountains and Five Peaks.

One day, Sun Wukong heard someone mention a powerful Bull Demon King on Mount Cuiping. This man was known for his righteousness and had a great reputation among the demons. So he went to Mount Cuiping, hoping to make friends with this powerful Bull Demon King.

Meanwhile, the Mighty Bull Demon King was deeply in love with Princess Rakshasa. Upon hearing that a monkey had come to visit, he couldn't help but frown.

"Madam, I've heard that a monkey king has emerged from Flower Fruit Mountain in the East Sea. But why is that monkey here at our Cuiping Mountain instead of staying in the East Sea?"

Princess Rakshasa swallowed the grapes that the Bull Demon King had fed her, and then said, "Why do you care why he came? You'll know when you see him."

Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King nodded and then bid farewell to Princess Rakshasa. He personally went outside the cave to greet Sun Wukong.

The Bull Demon King's cultivation level was only at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. He was roughly on par with Sun Wukong in the original prehistoric timeline.

However, Sun Wukong's cultivation level is now far superior to that of the Bull Demon King, by more than one realm. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he could destroy him with a flick of his finger.

So when the Bull Demon King saw Sun Wukong, even though Sun Wukong's cultivation level was only at the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, the Bull Demon King was still greatly surprised.

The arrogance on his face vanished instantly, and he respectfully invited Sun Wukong into his cave.

He then said, "I've long heard that a Monkey King emerged from the Water Curtain Cave of Flower Fruit Mountain. Seeing him today, I can confirm his reputation is well-deserved." (End of Chapter)