Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 70, Encountering a Demon in the Black Pine Forest (Part Fourteen)
However, Laozi said that no one from his palace would descend to the mortal realm.

Wukong laughed and said, "I know, I know. I didn't come to you to check on the demons. It's that the king of Baoxiang Kingdom died unjustly, and the princess is all alone and pitiful. I'm begging you, sir, to give me a pill to revive the king."

Laozi said, “My servant is not with me and has no elixir on him. You should go and save your master first. If the king’s soul has not entered the cycle of reincarnation, then go to the Tushita Palace to find me and I will give you a elixir of resurrection.”

Wukong said, "Then it's settled. Thank you! Thank you!"

The divine official then inspected the Nine Luminaries, the Twelve Earthly Branches, the Five Dippers of the East, West, South, North, and Center, the Milky Way constellations, and all the holy beings in the heavens, and found that none dared to stray from their positions. He also inspected the area outside the Dipper and Ox Palace, finding that out of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, only twenty-seven were reversed, with the Kui Star missing.

The priest reported, "Your Majesty, Kui Mulang has descended to the mortal realm."

The Jade Emperor asked, "How long has it been since you were in Heaven?"

The priest said, "It's not past the fourth hour of the month. We make our rounds every three days, and it's been thirteen days now."

The Jade Emperor said, "Thirteen days in heaven is equivalent to thirteen years in the mortal realm." He then ordered his subordinates to bring him to the mortal realm.

The remaining twenty-seven constellations received the decree and followed Wukong and Nezha out of the Heavenly Gate to the territory of Baoxiang Kingdom.

This round trip, along with the time spent surveying the stars, took half a month.

Upon arriving in the Kingdom of Baoxiang, among the twenty-seven constellations, there were seven constellations of the Western White Tiger: Kui Wood Wolf, Lou Golden Dog, Wei Earth Pig, Mao Sun Rooster, Bi Moon Crow, Zi Fire Monkey, and Shen Water Ape.

Now that Kui Mulang has descended to the mortal realm, six out of the seven remain.

The six men, who were close friends with Kui Mulang, pleaded with Wukong on his behalf:

“Great Sage, let’s cease fighting and allow the six of us to go down and persuade Kui Mulang to return to his rightful place and release your master and junior brother.”

Wukong said, "Alright, you can go."

The six then descended from the clouds and walked into the palace.

Upon seeing this, Kui Mulang said to Ao Tu:

"Senior, we have indeed alarmed the heavens. My six colleagues have descended to the mortal realm. What should we do?"

Ao Tu said, "It's alright. Let them in, and I'll capture them. If you can persuade them to surrender, that would be best. If not, tie them up with Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing."

Kui Mulang said, "These six people have always been on good terms with me. I beg you to show mercy, senior. I will definitely persuade them with kind words."

Ao Tu said, "Alright."

The six constellations entered the palace without hindrance and walked into the main hall.

Ao Tu was seated at the head of the group, with the White Bone Demon beside him and Kui Mulang below him.

The constellations asked, "Kui Mulang, why are you blocking the Great Sage's path? And who is this person?"

Kui Mulang said, "This senior is named King Lingshan. He bestowed this formation upon me so that I could block that monkey. My brothers, why don't you come with me and stay here to jointly manage the formation? The benefits will be immeasurable."

Upon hearing this, the six constellations looked at Kui Mulang and asked, "What kind of monster is the Great King of Ling Mountain? Kui Mulang, why were you bewitched by him?"

Kui Mulang said, "My worthy brothers, how could you know of the senior's supernatural powers? It is not that I was bewitched, but rather that I have been deeply indebted to the senior and cannot fail to repay his kindness."

Upon hearing this, the six constellations all disbelieved it and looked at Ao Tu, saying:
"You audacious demon, how dare you bewitch us, the celestial beings! What do you think!"

The six constellations each cast their spells, striking at Ao Tu.

Ao Tu remained unmoved, and with a flash of five-colored divine light, he swept away all six people.

Within that divine light were five treasures: a three-tiered golden lotus, a peachwood staff, three-light divine water, a five-fire divine flame fan, and a branch of earth. The five elements circulated and suppressed the six people in an instant.

With another shudder, the six people tumbled out of the divine light, all unconscious.

Ao Tu said, "Tie him up in the backyard."

Kui Mulang obeyed the order and tied the men to a pillar in the backyard.

Seeing this, Pigsy said to Sandy, "This must be reinforcements that our senior brother has invited."

Sha Wujing asked, "How do you know?" Zhu Bajie replied, "Look at the clothes those people are wearing. Aren't they the robes of celestial stars?"

Sha Wujing examined it carefully and said, "Yes, this must be a divine general that our eldest brother invited from heaven. We won't be able to get out of here for long."

Pigsy said, "I think it's still early. Brother Sandy, you should take advantage of the fact that you're not tied up too tightly now, move around and find a more comfortable position."

Sha Wujing asked, "Why?"

Bajie said, "There are only a few pillars here, and I estimate that they won't be enough for long. Then we'll have to tie everyone together. You should find a comfortable spot first, so you don't suffer later."

Sha Wujing said, "No, our eldest brother will rescue us soon."

Pigsy said, "You, if you don't listen to me, you'll suffer the consequences."

Bajie arched his body and rubbed against the pillar, finding a comfortable spot.

On the other side, the six constellations slowly awoke and, upon seeing themselves bound, exclaimed in surprise, "What kind of supernatural power is this? It's incredibly powerful!"

Kui Mulang said, "It's all your fault for not listening to my advice and ending up like this. If you had been willing to come with me to join the senior and jointly take charge of the great formation, things wouldn't have turned out this way."

Upon hearing this, the six constellations all exclaimed, "Kui Mulang, how can we, the constellations of the Heavenly Palace, be subservient to others! What kind of formation makes you so devoted?"

Kui Mulang took out the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Formation Diagram and said, "Have you ever seen this formation before?"

The six constellations paused their words the moment they saw the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Formation Diagram.

The stellar laws and supreme Dao revealed on the array instantly captivated the group, leaving them mesmerized and unable to tear themselves away. "This...this array..."

Lou Jingou couldn't help but exclaim, "Those three stars in this picture look like the stars in my Lou constellation!"

Wei Tu Zhi said, "There is also a star in my Wei constellation!"

The Pleiades rooster said, "There are two stars in my Pleiades constellation!"

Bi Yuewu said, "There are two stars in my constellation, Bi!"

The Fire Monkey said, "There are four stars in my constellation, the Zi constellation!"

After looking for a long time, the water ape asked anxiously, "Why are there no stars in my constellation, Shenxiu?"

Lou Jingou, a man of great knowledge, said, "This map seems to be arranged according to an ancient star map. In ancient times, the stars of Orion and us were not in the same position."

Kui Mulang laughed and said, "Shenshui Ape, I have sixteen stars on this map. If you agree to jointly command the great formation with me, I will give you one so that you can comprehend the great Dao in the map with me. How about it?"

The Water Ape said, "Kui Wood Wolf, how dare you do this? Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?"

Kui Mulang said, "Don't be afraid. I asked the senior, and he promised to take the blame for us. We were all coerced into taking the charge, so even if we are punished, it won't be severe."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of all the stars lit up.

The Water Ape said, "That can't be done like that! As one of the Seven Mansions of the West, if you want me to take charge of the formation, you should at least give me five stars!"

Kui Mulang laughed, "Two, that's the most I can get!"

The ape said, "Four!"

Kui Mulang said, "Just two. If you don't agree, I'll release the other brothers first."

Lou Jingou said, "Let me out! I am most skilled at wielding formations. I only need three stars from my Lou constellation!"

Outside, Wukong, Nezha, and the other constellations looked down.

Wukong said, "These six people have been gone for a long time, why haven't we heard from them yet?"

The other constellations also said, "Strange! Strange! There isn't even the sound of fighting."

(End of this chapter)