Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 81 Treasure Hunt in the Lotus Cave (Part 7)
Meanwhile, Ao Tu captured Sun Wukong.

On the other side, Sha Wujing protected Tang Sanzang, warily watching their surroundings.

At this moment, King Golden Horn arrived with a group of lesser demons and surrounded the master and his disciple.

Tiger Vanguard was the first to charge out, wielding a tiger-headed broadsword. He fought with Sha Wujing for more than twenty rounds, but showed signs of being slightly defeated.

Upon seeing this, the White Bone Demon flew out and released a gust of yin wind from her hands.

At King Golden Horn's command, all the lesser demons rushed forward, some with knives, some with sticks, some with guns, some with hooks, some with spiked clubs, some with tridents, some with nine-section whips, and some with iron caltrops, and attacked Sha Wujing.

Sha Wujing brandished his magic staff, struggling to resist the horde of demons, but even a hero is no match for so many. The lesser demons held him down by his legs, arms, and nose, making it impossible for him to move.

King Golden Horn took out a precious bottle from his bosom, called the Jade Purification Bottle, and offered it up. He then smashed it on Sha Wujing's head, knocking Sha Wujing straight to the ground.

The little demons tied up Sha Wujing with ropes, then tied Tang Sanzang up as well, and bound the two to the back of a horse. Leading the horse, they cheered all the way back to their cave.

On the other side, Ao Tu also took Sun Wukong and returned to his cave with Silver Horn King.

King Golden Horn and King Silver Horn raised their glasses and said:

"Thanks to your brilliant strategy, elder brother, we were able to capture Tang Sanzang and his disciples in one fell swoop. My brother and I raise a toast to you both!"

Ao Tu raised his glass and said, "Please!"

The three drank together, and all the demons in the cave were filled with joy.

Ao Tu, holding the purple-gold-red gourd, said to the Silver Horn King:
“Brother, I have encountered some obstacles on my path of cultivation. Today I saw that your gourd is a primordial object. May I borrow it to study and comprehend it?”

Upon hearing this, King Silver Horn said, "Brother, what are you saying? These are all my own treasures. Feel free to take them and study them."

Ao Tu said, "Alright, let's drink!"

King Golden Horn and King Silver Horn shouted, "Drink!"

After the banquet, the demons rested, and Ao Tu took the treasure back to his room to study it.

This purple-gold-red gourd is a primordial treasure. Ao Tu comprehended it and saw that primordial laws were evolving, with endless wonders and infinite changes, all interconnected, a unified chaos.

Ao Tu verified the laws within the gourd against himself, and they resonated with the innate laws within his body. Ao Tu observed and comprehended them one by one, knowing where the laws within his body were complete, where they were insufficient, where they were missing, and where they differed.

Ao Tu has 18,000 dragon bones and 129,600 dragon scales, which together constitute the number of one Yuan.

Each dragon bone and each dragon scale is imprinted with countless laws, and looking at them is like seeing into the universe, as if one could see the birth and death of all things and the changes of the cosmos.

Ao Tu studied each point carefully, not daring to miss a single detail.

If there is even the slightest negligence on the path of Tao, it will be destroyed in an instant.

Through contemplation, Ao Tu discovered that he could understand ninety percent of these innate laws, such as the Five Elements, Yin and Yang, inhalation and exhalation, and creation.

There was only one law, independent of the others, seemingly existing within chaos, within primordial chaos, beyond profound mysteries, and above the beginning of time, incomprehensible and unfathomable.

As Ao Tu observed the laws, his brows furrowed more and more, his mind becoming so absorbed that he could not extricate himself. It was as if he had fallen into chaos, and a giant's image flashed before his eyes, along with lotus flowers, jade discs, and giant axes that seemed to float by.

Ao Tu couldn't see clearly and tried to look closely, but his mind was quickly exhausted. He spat out a mouthful of blood and fell down on the spot.

Soon after, the little demons serving outside the door noticed the situation and quickly reported it.

Upon hearing the news, Jinjiao and Yinjiao rushed over, but they were helpless and did not know how to treat him.

At this moment, the purple-gold gourd, for some reason, floated in the air and spewed out a stream of primordial chaotic energy, which hit Ao Tu's face. Ao Tu moved and gradually opened his eyes.

King Golden Horn exclaimed joyfully, "He's awake! He's awake! I thought this gourd containing the elixir was useless, but I never knew it had such a function!"

The Silver Horn King said, "That's strange. Why has this gourd never acted like this when it was in my hands?"

Ao Tu slowly woke up, and the gourd fell into his arms on its own.

King Golden Horn and King Silver Horn hurriedly asked, "Brother, what happened to you just now?"

Ao Tu said, "Just now I was contemplating the Great Dao and became so engrossed in it that I inadvertently lost my focus."

King Golden Horn exclaimed in alarm, "Brother, you must be careful! If you lose your true spirit on the path, even the gods cannot save you!"

Ao Tu said, "I understand. I will definitely not dare to take any more risks in the future."

The Silver Horn King said, "It's all my fault for forgetting to remind you. This gourd is a treasure from the beginning of time, containing sixteen innate laws. You must never try to comprehend it! I once tried to comprehend one of them, and immediately my mind and spirit were exhausted, and I vomited three liters of blood. I dared not touch it again, and just treated it as a container for people!"

Hearing Silver Horn King's words, the Purple Gold Red Gourd couldn't help but shake unhappily in Ao Tu's arms.

Ao Tu calmed down the purple-gold gourd without saying anything more.

In fact, he had already mastered the eleven laws contained within the Purple Gold Red Gourd.

Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Yin, Yang, Creation, Transformation, Swallowing, Spitting.

On the other side, Wukong was bound by the Golden Rope and imprisoned in a cell with Tang Sanzang and the others.

The little demons outside are building a stove.

The clever and resourceful insects directed a group of lesser demons to build a giant stove.

"The Great King said that tomorrow we'll put Tang Sanzang and his disciples in an iron pot and stew them. We must set up the stove today so we can all enjoy Tang Sanzang's flesh together tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, the little demons diligently began building the stove.

The clever and cunning insect then directed several lesser demons to bring over a large amount of firewood.

A little demon asked, "Boss, why are we carrying firewood?"

The meticulous ghost said, "How can you be so stupid? Of course, you have to test the newly built stove first, otherwise it won't work!"

The clever insect said, "We should also heat up that big iron pot and add some oil to it, otherwise the meat stewed in the new pot won't taste good!"

The little demons nodded as if they understood, then continued to work diligently.

Anyway, they just need to do whatever the king tells them to do. Inside the cell, Pigsy said with a mournful face:

"We're doomed, we've all been caught! Those monsters said they're going to stew us tomorrow, and we don't even know who'll go in first or last."

Sha Wujing said, "Second Brother, why are you bothering with this?"

Bajie said, "Think about it, the ones that went into the pot first sank to the bottom and didn't die from the boiling, they drowned; the ones that went into the pot later were on top and were boiled to death."

Sha Wujing said, "It would be better to drown!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang felt a little frightened and asked, "Disciples, is there any way for you to escape?"

Bajie said, "Even our eldest brother has been captured and is tied up so tightly, there's nothing we can do!"

Wukong said, "Master, don't be afraid, I'll find a way to get you out of here!"

Pigsy said, "Your hands and feet are tied, how can I save you?"

Wukong said, "I have my own way."

Wukong, shuffling his body, moved closer to Sha Wujing and said, "Brother Sha, bite off a tuft of my hair."

Sha Wujing opened his mouth and bit off a tuft of hair.

Wukong transformed the hair into a file and told Sha Wujing to file open the ropes and release him.

That golden rope is a treasure; how can it be cut open?

It's really okay.

It turns out that although the golden rope couldn't be broken by filing, it had a gold ring at the end, which was added later and connected to the rope. That ring could be filed open, and once the gold ring was filed open, the golden rope would naturally be untied.

Sha Wujing bit the file and cut the golden ring in half, and the rope naturally fell out of the ring.

Wukong escaped, took the Golden Rope, and untied the ropes binding Tang Sanzang and the others. He then used a sleeping spell to make the guarding demons fall asleep, and carefully led Tang Sanzang and the others out of the cave.

At this time, King Golden Horn and King Silver Horn were both in Ao Tu's room, so they failed to notice that Wukong and the others had escaped.

Wukong led his master and fellow disciples out of the cave and headed west.

Tiger Vanguard walked through the cave and found it strangely quiet. Upon closer inspection, he saw that all the little demons were asleep, so he quickly reported to Ao Tu.

Upon hearing this, the Golden Horn King and the Silver Horn King exclaimed in surprise:

"That monkey managed to escape from the golden rope! Brother, what are we going to do?"

Ao Tu said, "Don't rush, come with me, let's catch him again."

Ao Tu led the Golden Horn King and the Silver Horn King out of the cave and chased after them on a cloud.

Before long, they saw Tang Sanzang and his disciples.

Tang Sanzang was urging his horse to travel quickly, with Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing protecting him.

Ao Tu said, "Tang Sanzang, where are you going!"

Wukong turned around and said, "Oh no, Master, let's go!" Zongyun came forward and fought with Ao Tu.

On the other side, Golden Horn faced off against Sandy, and Silver Horn faced off against Pigsy.

A fierce battle.

Ao Tu leaped into the air and soared into the heavens.

Wukong caught up with him in a somersault and struck with his staff.

Ao Tu extended his dragon claw, revealing a vast, sharp claw, its scales gleaming.

Wukong struck the dragon's claw with his staff, sparks flying everywhere.

"So tough! You've gotten quite capable, you demon dragon!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Likewise, likewise!"

The two clashed, and Ao Tu reached out with his claws and swung his tail, the dragon's roar shaking the heavens.

Wukong also unleashed his full power, and the golden cudgel grew to be dozens of feet long, striking forward and backward, flying up and down.

After the two fought for a hundred rounds, Wukong plucked a handful of hairs, chewed them up, and used his Body Transformation technique to create an avatar, which he then attacked Ao Tu.

Ao Tu used his supernatural powers of having three heads and six arms to block all the monkeys from all directions.

Seeing this, Wukong also transformed into a three-headed, six-armed being and began to fight Ao Tu.

The two fought for another hundred rounds, until the clouds and fog dispersed, and the sun and moon lost their light beyond the nine heavens.

A poem says:
A wondrous incarnation beyond the body, with three heads and six arms. Scales and claws flash with fire and lightning, an iron rod shakes ten thousand mountains. Its power astounds the heavens, its divine abilities cleave the clouds, hundreds of battles cannot break it, even the sun and moon lose their luster!
After fighting for a long time, Ao Tu's blood flowed and the laws manifested. Somehow, as the fight went on, his right dragon claw came together and chopped down like an axe.

In an instant, Ao Tu's magical power was depleted at an alarming rate, and his claws faintly tore open the heavens and earth, causing chaos to swirl.

Ao Tu was surprised and immediately stopped his movements, withdrawing his attack.

For some reason, Wukong on the other side felt a great alarm bell ringing in his heart, as if he was about to face a huge crisis, but it only lasted for a moment and the feeling quickly dissipated.

Wukong thought to himself, "Could it be that the fight has disturbed the Heavenly Palace and attracted the attention of the Heavenly Realm?"

We can't keep going on like this.

Wukong took out the Golden Rope and said, "Demon Dragon, now, Old Sun has a treasure too!"

Ao Tu composed himself and, seeing Wukong take out the Golden Rope, he took out the Purple-Gold Red Gourd.

Wukong had previously inquired about the matter and knew that the gourd would only accept people if it agreed to his request, so he was not afraid and released the Golden Rope to bind Ao Tu.

(End of this chapter)