Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 109 Battle Against Red Boy (Thirteen)
Meanwhile, Wukong went to Heaven to seek help and requested an audience with the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor laughed and said, "Wukong, what brings you here again? Did you encounter some monsters on your journey to the West?"

Wukong said with a troubled expression:
"Your Majesty's prediction is correct. When I was protecting Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West to retrieve the Buddhist scriptures, we encountered a Blood Sea King, a truly ferocious demon, at Drill Mountain, six hundred miles from Xiniu Hezhou. He is not only highly skilled in martial arts but also possesses a black lotus that protects him from all magic, making him extremely difficult to defeat. He has kidnapped my master and fellow disciples. I beg Your Majesty to have mercy and send troops to rescue them."

The Jade Emperor asked, "Do any of you celestial officials know what treasure the black lotus that Wukong spoke of is?"

The assembled celestial officials and generals looked at each other, completely bewildered.

Venus said, “Your Majesty, I have heard that Buddhism has the Golden Lotus, which is the result of merit; Taoism has the Blue Lotus, which is the mystery of creation; and the Netherworld has the Blood Lotus, which is born from the sea of ​​blood. But what kind of treasure is this Black Lotus?”

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor looked at the Jiazi Tai Sui God and asked:

"Jiazi Tai Sui, you just said that the Three Realms are peaceful and free of demonic influence, so why are there monsters blocking the path of the pilgrims now?"

The Jiazi Tai Sui God hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the Three Realms are at peace and there is no great chaos. This demon is just an isolated case. Your Majesty can send Li Tianwang and Nezha, the Third Prince, to lead troops down to the mortal realm, and they will be destroyed in no time."

The Jade Emperor said, "As the Jiazi Tai Sui reported, I hereby order Li Tianwang and Nezha, the Third Prince, to lead troops down to the mortal realm to exterminate the demons."

The Jiazi Tai Sui deity exclaimed with delight, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Li Tianwang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, my son Nezha is still seriously injured and I'm afraid he cannot fight."

The Jade Emperor said, "I hereby order the Tai Sui Department: Jiazi Tai Sui, the Year-Ruling Tai Sui, the Day-Roaming God, the Night-Roaming God, the God of Increasing Fortune, the God of Losing Fortune, the God of Manifesting the Way, and the God of Opening the Road, to accompany Li Tianwang down to the mortal realm to exterminate demons."

The Jiazi Tai Sui deity said, "This..."

The Jade Emperor looked over.

The Jiazi Tai Sui God hurriedly replied, "Yes, sir!"

Li Tianwang mustered his troops and generals, and the gods of the Tai Sui Department gathered together to descend to the mortal realm with him.

A cycle of sixty years is called a Jiazi, and there are sixty Tai Sui deities in total. The Jiazi Tai Sui is the head of them all, also known as the Jiazi Tai Sui Jinbian General. The other fifty-nine are listed in order, including the Yichou Tai Sui Chen Cai General, the Bingyin Tai Sui Geng Zhang General, and so on.

Including the other divine generals, there were more than seventy people in total.

Wukong looked at the group of gods. Although there were many of them, he was not entirely at ease.

These people are not as strong as him, how can they subdue that demon?

However, Wukong couldn't speak directly in front of everyone, so he said to Li Tianwang:

"Heavenly King, that monster's abilities are no less than mine, Old Sun. I wonder how you intend to subdue him?"

Li Tianwang said, "I have not yet seen that demon and do not know its details, so it is not appropriate to speak lightly."

Wukong said, "I don't know where that monster came from. His martial arts are about the same as mine, but with that black lotus, I can hardly defeat him."

Upon hearing this, Jiazi Tai Sui said, "Great Sage, do not worry. Have you not heard that one thing can subdue another? The Heavenly King has a pagoda that can suppress that black lotus. When the Great Sage fights that demon, we gods will all help him. We will surely help the Great Sage defeat that demon."

Upon hearing this, Wukong thought that with so many divine generals around, they could at least offer some assistance, so he agreed.

The gods descended from the heavens to the mortal realm, to the Broken Arm Mountain, above the Blood Sea Cave.

Raise the Heavenly King's banner and beat the war drums.

Jiazi Tai Sui said, "Great Sage, go down and challenge first. Let the demon use the Black Lotus, and then the Heavenly King can use the Pagoda to suppress it."

Wukong said, "Alright, I'm off."

Wukong descended from the cloud and landed in front of the Blood Sea Cave. More than ten days had passed, and the gate had been repaired.

Wukong raised his golden cudgel and smashed the door open with a loud bang, shouting:

"Monster, come out and meet your grandpa Sun!"

Ao Tu was lying in the cave, being fed grapes by the White Bone Demon, when they heard a loud noise outside. Tiger Vanguard came in to report:

"Your Majesty, Sun Wukong has broken down the cave door and is shouting and cursing outside!"

Ao Tu said, "Sun Wukong must have called for reinforcements. You all stay in the cave and keep an eye on Tang Sanzang. I'll go out and fight him!"

Tiger Vanguard and White Bone Demon replied, "Yes!"

Ao Tu fastened his blood-stained robe, picked up Red Boy's fire-tipped spear, stepped out of the cave, and met Sun Wukong, saying:
"Sun Wukong, you fled in disarray last time, why are you coming to your death again this time!"

Wukong laughed and said, "Demon, this time Grandpa Sun will show you what you're made of!"

Ao Tu said, "You talkative monkey, take this!"

Ao Tu thrust his spear forward, but Wukong met it with his iron cudgel.

Ao Tu wielded his Fire-Tipped Spear, thrusting, stabbing, blocking, and parrying; Wukong wielded his Golden Cudgel, chopping, smashing, sweeping, and parrying. The two engaged in a fierce battle, a contest of immense strength, and fought to a standstill, with neither gaining the upper hand.

In terms of martial arts alone, neither can defeat the other.

Ao Tu possesses many supernatural abilities, but he cannot use them at this time because he needs to conceal his identity.

Wukong possesses the power to transform heaven and earth, but because his master and fellow disciples are still in the cave, he cannot use it.

From the sky, Li Tianwang watched the two fighting below and exclaimed in surprise:
"Where did this demon come from, that it possesses such power?"

Everyone said they didn't know.

The Heavenly King asked, "Why doesn't the Heavenly King use the Demon-Revealing Mirror to examine the origins of this demon?"

Li Tianwang said, "I came in a hurry and didn't bring the Demon-Revealing Mirror."

The Jiazi Tai Sui said, "Very well, let's help the Great Sage get rid of this demon first. I see that the Great Sage and that demon are evenly matched. Who is willing to lend the Great Sage a hand and force that demon to use the Black Lotus?" The Day Wanderer and Night Wanderer stepped forward and said, "We are willing to go!"

Li Tianwang said, "Alright, please go, you two divine generals."

The two gods, the Day God and the Night God, descended from the clouds and attacked Ao Tu.

Seeing this, Ao Tu laughed and said, "Sun Wukong, you monkey are truly treacherous! You can't beat me, so you call for help!"

Wukong said, "Demon, you captured my master and harmed my nephew. What honor do I have with you? Take this!"

The two were locked in combat.

Wukong swayed, revealing three heads and six arms, and came to fight Ao Tu.

Ao Tu also flashed, revealing three heads and six arms, to fight Wukong.

The day-roaming deity and the night-roaming deity came to help.

On this day, the wandering god had a face as blue as indigo, hair as red as cinnabar, three eyes, and carried two spiked clubs. He was the first to strike at Ao Tu.

The Night Wanderer was tall, standing two zhang high, dressed in a black robe and carrying a sword. He attacked Ao Tu together with the Day Wanderer, but was half a step behind.

Ao Tu was fighting with Wukong while holding a gun. When he saw the Day Wanderer coming with a spiked club, Ao Tu freed one hand, clenched his fist, and swung it hard, breaking the spiked club. The force of his fist did not diminish, and he swung it into the Day Wanderer's chest, splitting the Day Wanderer's body apart and sending him flying two thousand miles away.

When the Night Wanderer saw this, he was so frightened that he dropped his sword, turned around, and flew into the sky on a cloud.

Ao Tu flew off to chase after the Night Wanderer.

Wukong came to stop Ao Tu.

The two flew from the ground to the sky, fighting even more fiercely. The aftershocks knocked down the heavenly soldiers, and their power shook the gods.

The gods were alarmed by the demon's unusual ferocity.

Li Tianwang, holding the pagoda, already had some experience. Seeing that the situation was not right, he silently retreated behind the crowd.

The Grand Duke Jupiter of the Jiazi year rarely descends to the mortal realm to subdue demons, but in this critical moment, he commands, "Quickly, cast a spell to aid the Great Sage!"

The gods busied themselves casting spells.

The God of Increased Fortune and the God of Decreased Fortune, one wielding a sword that increases fortune and the other a sword that diminishes fortune, cast spells at Ao Tu.

The God of Manifestation and the God of Opening the Way, one holding a jade seal and the other a halberd, used their magic to strike at Ao Tu.

The sixty Grand Dukes, including the Jiazi Grand Duke, spread out throughout the heavens, each wielding divine weapons and magical treasures, and unleashed their spells upon Ao Tu.

Then there were four duty officers: the year-duty god, the month-duty god, the day-duty god, and the hour-duty god, each holding a jade pen, a token, a jade axe, and a jade mirror, who all used their magic to attack Ao Tu.

These four officials were originally there to secretly protect Tang Sanzang, but they came to help because they also belonged to the Tai Sui Department.

In an instant, all sorts of spells, magical treasures, and divine weapons came at Ao Tu: those that used fire, water, mountains, wind, thunder, ice, souls, blood, curses, incantations, incense, divine light, and manifestation techniques; knives, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, forks, jade pens, tokens, jade axes, jade mirrors, precious seals, precious fans, precious umbrellas, precious flags... all kinds, overwhelming the sky.

Ao Tu was struck on the left shoulder by the precious seal and jade axe, and was burned by fire and splashed with water; he was struck on the right shoulder by the precious umbrella and precious fan, and was struck by lightning and blown by wind; his forehead was illuminated by divine light and pressed down by a mountain, and knives, spears, halberds, axes, hooks and forks all fell on his head.

Ao Tu withstood these attacks, his left arm was slightly red from the blows, his right arm was slightly blue, a few hairs fell from his forehead, and three or four drops of sweat appeared on his forehead. He continued to fight Wukong while wielding his Fire-Tipped Spear, and the two fought to a standstill, with neither gaining the upper hand.

The gods grew increasingly panicked as the battle raged on, thinking to themselves: Before they joined the fight, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and this monster were evenly matched, with neither gaining the upper hand. Now, with nearly a hundred gods on their side attacking together, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and this monster were still evenly matched, with neither gaining the upper hand.

Isn't this a bit ominous?
The gods were tempted to retreat, but since everyone was fighting the monster, no one could leave first.

As time passed, Ao Tu and Wukong fought for two hundred rounds. Ao Tu's muscles and bones were relaxed, and his divine power was circulating within him, making him feel increasingly exhilarated.

With a push of his left hand, divine fire burst forth, burning down about ten Tai Sui gods.

With a push of his right hand, the divine water surged forth, cascading down a dozen or so Tai Sui gods.

With a snort, divine thunder roared, blasting down more than ten Tai Sui gods.

With a cough, lightning pierced through the clouds, striking down a dozen or so Tai Sui gods.

With a single breath, a hurricane erupted from the heavens, engulfing more than twenty divine generals and scattering them without warning.

When the gods saw this, they were so frightened that they all fled.

Seeing the gods flee, Wukong turned around, somersaulted on his cloud, and disappeared without a trace.

Seeing that Wukong had left, Ao Tu turned around and attacked the divine generals.

The Jiazi Tai Sui cried out in panic, "The demons are fierce! Where is Li Tianwang? Where is Li Tianwang? Use the tower! Use the tower!"

Li Tianwang had already retreated to the heavens. Upon hearing this, he activated the pagoda, sending down its precious light, which shone upon Ao Tu.

A black lotus appeared above Ao Tu's head, emitting light that blocked the precious light of Li Tianwang's pagoda.

As Jiazi Tai Sui fled, he cried out, "Li Tianwang, quickly lower the tower and use it to trap the demons!"

Upon hearing this, Li Tianwang pretended to be deaf, fearing the pagoda might be lost, and dared not lower it down.

Ao Tu then unleashed several bolts of lightning from a distance, striking in all directions. Two of them struck the Jiazi Tai Sui, tearing its divine robes and turning its face into a charred mess.

However, the Jiazi Tai Sui was indeed worthy of being the head of the year's Tai Sui. It possessed some divine power and withstood two divine lightning bolts from Ao Tu without falling down. Instead, it staggered and fled in the chaos.

Ao Tu used the Black Lotus to collect all those with weak divine power, those who didn't have time to escape, and those who were knocked down from the clouds.

(End of this chapter)