Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 74, Rewards Settlement [Seeking First Subscription]

Meanwhile, Ao Tu unleashed the Dragon-Binding Rope.

Seeing this, Nezha quickly wrapped the Hun Tian Ling (a magical ribbon) around his body to block the Binding Dragon Rope.

Ao Tu flashed his five-colored divine light and swept away the Hun Tian Ling.

Nezha was terrified and was immediately entangled by the Dragon-Binding Rope.

After capturing Nezha, Ao Tu retrieved the Black Eagle Banner, and the sun, moon, and stars reappeared.

Just as Wukong was enjoying the fight, he suddenly saw the world brighten again and exclaimed in alarm, "This is bad!"

Kui Mulang clutched his waist, got up from the ground, and quickly unfolded the array.

Upon seeing this, Wukong quickly somersaulted away.

Li Tianwang and his men were unable to dodge in time and were trapped by the formation. They were captured shortly afterward.

In the palace's backyard, the Nine Luminaries Star Lord and the Fire Department soldiers were all tied to pillars.

There aren't many pillars in total, how could they possibly tie up so many people?

The only option is to tie several people together and to the same pillar.

Four more people were tied to the pillar where Sha Wujing was already tied, making it extremely uncomfortable for them to be crammed together.

Pigsy laughed, "Brother Sandy, now you know I was right!"

Sha Wujing sighed repeatedly and said, "I wonder when our senior brother will be able to rescue us."

Just then, Kui Mulang and the others brought Li Tianwang over, bound and gagged.

Actually, there were some heavenly soldiers and generals captured along with Li Tianwang, but those people were not important; they were just small fry, so they were simply thrown out. Only Li Tianwang was captured.

Kui Mulang looked around the field and saw that all the pillars were tied up, leaving no place to put Li Tianwang. Suddenly, he saw Zhu Bajie.

Pigsy really knew how to save energy. While everyone else was standing, he loosened the ropes and sat on the ground, making it much easier for him than for the others.

Seeing this, Kui Mulang walked over, kicked Zhu Bajie, and said:
"Pigsy, stand up!"

Pigsy said, "I won't stand up! I won't stand up!"

Kui Mulang ignored him and grabbed him. After Zhu Bajie stood up, there was an empty space next to him, which Kui Mulang stuffed into Li Tianwang, and then tied the two of them up together.

Pigsy cried out, "Ouch, it hurts so much and it's so tight! Please loosen my bonds!"

Kui Mulang said, "Stop talking nonsense, or I'll gag your pig mouth!"

At this moment, Ao Tu walked in carrying Nezha.

Kui Mulang hurriedly said, "Senior."

Ao Tu nodded and said, "Go down and recover from your injuries first, and be careful to guard against Sun Wukong."

Kui Mulang nodded in agreement and then took his leave.

Ao Tu looked at the situation and saw that there was nowhere to tie Nezha up, so he grabbed Nezha's hands and feet, tied them together, and then hung him on the eaves.

Nezha struggled back and forth, but his magic was firmly sealed, and no matter how hard he struggled, it was in vain. He could only swing back and forth with the rope.

Ao Tu pinched Nezha's little face and laughed:
"Little Nezha, haven't you grown up yet? Why are you still swinging on this swing?"

Nezha said, "Demon dragon, if you're so capable, let's go outside and fight one-on-one without using any magic weapons!"

Ao Tu said, "Come down from up there first, and I'll agree."

Nezha was so angry that he swayed back and forth on the rope, unable to get down no matter what he did.

Ao Tu laughed heartily, turned around and left to rest behind the palace.

After days of fierce battles, Wukong and Nezha went to the Heavenly Court, visited Gouchen, and borrowed the black eagle. Ao Tu's system progress had reached 168 days.

There are only twelve days left until the reward of the Ancestral Dragon's Essence Blood, which is half a year away.

It's practically a done deal.

Even if Ao Tu released Tang Sanzang and his disciples to go west at this point, it would still take them quite a while to leave Baoxiang Kingdom, enough time for Ao Tu to receive a reward.

Not to mention that this ordeal is not over yet.

Ao Tu spread the Hun Tian Ling (a type of brocade) on the soft couch, placed the black eagle flag beside it, put the pagoda on the table, and then rested.

That Hun Tian Ling is truly a wonderful treasure. It's like a celestial brocade, and lying on it feels like being on a cloud. It also has the fragrance of lotus roots, making it fresh and comfortable.

Poor Nezha, his precious treasure was forcibly taken away and used as a "mat," while he was left hanging from the eaves, unable to break free.

For some reason, Pigsy was overjoyed to see Nezha and said to Sandy, "Brother Sandy, we're about to leave!"

Sha Wujing asked in confusion, "Second Brother, how do you know?"

Bajie said, "Look, Nezha is tied up here. We're not far from getting out."

Outside, after escaping the battle, Wukong somersaulted to the Western Paradise, to the Great Thunder Temple on Mount Ling.

After Wukong arrived at Mount Ling, he met with the Buddha and recounted the events that had transpired.

After learning the whole story, the Buddha exclaimed, "Venerable Guanyin!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva said, "Disciple is here."

The Buddha said, "Go and subdue that demonic dragon, so that Tang Sanzang and his disciples can continue their journey west."

Guanyin Bodhisattva said, "Disciple obeys."

The Buddha opened his palm, and a fist-sized pearl flew out and was placed in the hand of Guanyin Bodhisattva, saying:

"This is the treasure of Dipankara Buddha. If you place this treasure on your head, you can create a world of myriad realms. That demonic dragon has weak magic power, and even if it has supernatural abilities, it cannot subdue you."

Guanyin Bodhisattva was overjoyed upon hearing this, accepted the magic weapon, and rode with Wukong on auspicious clouds, leaving Mount Ling and arriving in the sky above the Kingdom of Treasure Elephant in a short while.

Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed as Qin Tianjun and the others, holding hammers and drills, struck the ground every now and then.

Wukong said, "The Bodhisattva has arrived."

Upon seeing this, Qin Tianjun and the others bowed slightly and addressed him as Bodhisattva.

Guanyin Bodhisattva asked, "Has that demonic dragon ever appeared?"

Qin Tianjun said, "The clouds are thick; I haven't seen what's below them." Guanyin Bodhisattva then asked, "Did you hear any sounds?"

Qin Tianjun said, "There was thunder, but I didn't hear any sound."

Seeing that she couldn't get any information from him, Guanyin Bodhisattva said, "Wukong, go down and challenge him to a duel."

Upon hearing this, Wukong descended from the clouds and landed outside the palace.

Hearing the commotion, Kui Mulang and the others came out to fight, releasing a formation that sent starlight falling and trapping Wukong inside.

Guanyin Bodhisattva stood on the cloud and saw Wukong being taken away by the formation. She flung out the willow branch from her jade bottle, which resembled a blue divine chain that stretched across the sky, breaking the sky in two and blocking the starlight. Then, she turned the jade bottle upside down, with the bottom facing the sky and the mouth facing the ground, and aimed it at the constellations such as Kui Mulang. She uttered a word to collect them, and the twenty-eight constellations were collected into the jade bottle.

The formation was broken, and Wukong emerged from it.

Guanyin Bodhisattva descended from the clouds, which transformed into the Kang Jinlong.

Wukong asked, "Bodhisattva, what are you doing transforming?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva said, "I was afraid that the demon dragon would be cunning and escape, so I transformed myself to subdue it."

Seeing this, Wukong also chanted "Transformation!" and transformed himself into Kui Mulang.

The two entered the main hall but did not see Ao Tu.

As you walk further in, you see that in the backyard of the main hall, people are crammed together with various celestial officials and deities tied to the pillars. Nezha is hanging from the eaves, and Tang Sanzang is tied to a corner of the wall.

Wukong poked Nezha, who was about to scold him when he saw Wukong change his monkey face, and realized that it was Wukong in disguise.

Wukong asked, "What about the demon dragon?"

Nezha said, "That demon dragon suddenly became happy this morning for some reason, drank some wine, and is now resting in the back hall."

When Pigsy saw Monkey, he cried out, "Brother, quickly untie me! I've been tied up for days, and my whole body is numb!"

Wukong said, "Idiot, keep your voice down! Wait a little longer, and I'll get you out of here!"

Pigsy then fell silent.

Wukong and the Bodhisattva walked towards the back hall.

Upon entering the inner hall, they saw Ao Tu wrapped in the Hun Tian Ling (a magical sash) and sleeping on a soft couch.

Guanyin Bodhisattva stepped forward, and with a flash of her hand, a hoop appeared, which she placed on Ao Tu's head.

Ao Tu suddenly opened his eyes, and the hoop in Guanyin Bodhisattva's hand immediately turned into a wine cup.

Guanyin Bodhisattva smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please drink some wine."

Ao Tu looked around and suddenly, the White Bone Demon staggered in and said:

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! All twenty-eight constellations have been taken away!"

Upon seeing this, Guanyin Bodhisattva realized that she had been exposed, so she stopped pretending and immediately revealed her true form.

With a jewel atop her head, a vase in her hand, a lotus pedestal beneath her feet, and a willow branch in her hand, she struck at Ao Tu.

Ao Tu ducked, and five-colored divine light appeared on his body.

Guanyin Bodhisattva, whose head was adorned with a radiant pearl, said, "You wicked creature, I don't know where you learned this supernatural power, yet you can no longer show off your might before me!"

Ao Tu did not answer. With a flash of five-colored divine light, he took Guanyin Bodhisattva inside.

Wukong was shocked to see this. The Buddha had clearly stated before that the precious pearl could manifest a world of countless heavens and could not be contained. How could the Bodhisattva have been taken away now?

Wukong quickly turned around and somersaulted away.

After Wukong left, Ao Tu's forehead veins bulged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Upon seeing this, the White Bone Demon rushed forward to support Ao Tu, calling out in concern:

"My king, what's wrong with you?"

Ao Tu said, "Hurry up and go from the back, don't worry about me!"

Before the White Bone Demon could say anything more, Ao Tu leaped into the air, smashing through the palace and transforming into a five-clawed golden dragon, flying outside.

Outside, thunderclouds rolled, and Ao Tu soared among the clouds, emitting bursts of dragon roars.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the dragon scales on his body were broken layer by layer, his dragon eyes were bloodshot, and his dragon roar was tragic.

The reason is that the precious pearl atop Guanyin Bodhisattva's head is the very treasure from which Dipankara Buddha attained enlightenment. Within this pearl lies a complete universe, a treasure of the Great Luo realm. How could Ao Tu, with his Golden Immortal body, possibly contain it?

Let alone its weight, it is as heavy as the weight of all realms.

Even an ordinary Golden Immortal couldn't budge it by the slightest.

Ao Tu, however, forcibly absorbed it into the Five-Colored Divine Light.

Ao Tu was not strong enough to take Guanyin and the pearl in, but because his divine light contained five elemental treasures, its power was enhanced, and thus he was able to take them in together.

However, even though it was taken in, Ao Tu could not withstand the pressure, and its dragon body cracked and its scales fell off.

The next moment, the five-colored divine light on Ao Tu's back could not be maintained and shattered with a crash. Guanyin Bodhisattva fell out from it and sat on Ao Tu's dragon back.

Guanyin Bodhisattva held a vase in one hand and grabbed Ao Tu's dragon horn with the other, chuckling, "You wicked creature, why don't you convert? Quickly come with me to the Western Paradise!"

The scene at this moment is described in a poem:
Lightning flashes across the clouds, and divine generals spread across the vast sky.

A golden dragon soars to the heavens, and Guanyin sits atop its body.

The stars enter the pure bottle, the prince is bound to the eaves.

The Great Sage fled far away, and the Corpse Demon transformed into a chilling wind.

Ao Tu turned around, looked at the Guanyin Bodhisattva on his back, blood spilling from his mouth, and laughed, "Guanyin, see you another day!"

But then a ray of sunlight shone down from the sky, and Ao Tu's enormous dragon body vanished from the sight of the gods.

Guanyin opened her hand in astonishment, completely unprepared for this situation.

She was sitting on the dragon's back, and to prevent it from escaping, she was even holding onto its horn with one hand. Yet, even so, the dragon still managed to escape!

How did that demonic dragon disappear?

Guanyin Bodhisattva was unaware that this technique was actually: the technique of transforming into a rainbow.

(End of this chapter)