Journey to the West: Sun Wukong's Advice System
Chapter 116: Find Someone Who Can Fight, Take the Lead

Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Find Someone Who Can Fight, Take the Lead

"Whom should I ask for help?

Even without inquiring with the Martial Emperor, Wukong had already made his calculations; it was only the Jade Emperor’s attitude that he found inscrutable.

After returning to the Earthly Fiends’ camp, he summoned the Star Lord of Loneliness from his array of divine generals, Yuhua, and instructed him to relay a message to True Lord of the Mysterious Altar, Zhao Gongming, inquiring if Zhao wished to seek revenge. If so, he should bring several capable fighters.

""Revenge? Capable fighters?"" Yuhua’s expression turned serious, and he immediately understood Wukong’s intention.

Since Zhao Gongming was his teacher’s uncle, he naturally knew what the revenge was for.

During the Divine Enthronement battle, it was the Taoist Lu Ya who had used the Seven-Arrow Nail Book to take Zhao Gongming’s life, consigning the Quasi-Saint, ranked first among the Sect of Interception’s four major external disciples, to the Investiture of the Gods.

This was a life-and-death enmity, a grievance that had destroyed his path to enlightenment and severed his immortality. It could not possibly be forgotten!

Yuhua took his leave with the command, but instead of going directly to see Zhao Gongming, he headed for the dazzling river of stars north of the Milky Way to pay respects to the Divine Mother Jin Ling of the Golden Spirit in the Doumu Divine Palace.

""I pay my respects to my teacher’s predecessor."" Yuhua saluted, his usually proud demeanor replaced with great respect. He related Wukong’s request for Zhao Gongming’s assistance to her.

The Divine Mother Jin Ling, with a golden crown atop her head and draped in a golden robe, paced slowly within the hall. After listening, she stopped walking and gazed into the vast river of stars: ""It seems it’s about to begin.""

About to begin?

Yuhua did not understand, but since his teacher’s predecessor hadn’t elaborated, he dared not inquire further.

""Just do as the Earthly Fiends Marshal has said, and make no mistakes,"" the Divine Mother Jin Ling instructed further.

""Yes,"" Yuhua saluted respectfully before taking his leave to find True Lord of the Mysterious Altar, Zhao Gongming.

He was not surprised by his teacher’s decisive response.

Although the Sect of Interception’s ennobled gods had always treated the Heavenly Emperor’s edicts with perfunctory compliance, this time Wukong was on a mission to subdue demons on behalf of the Heavenly Emperor.

If the Sect of Interception deployed Quasi-Saint level powerhouses, it would be tantamount to announcing that the ennobled gods of the Sect of Interception were aligning with the Heavenly Emperor.

But the reality was not the case.

First, this was a battle to subdue demons, and with Wukong seeking the Sect of Interception’s help, their involvement was a matter of righteousness.

Secondly, with Zhao Gongming’s avenging to be done, even more reason to act!

Finally, the Sect of Interception owed a debt of gratitude to Wukong.

Previously, at the martial assembly, it was the spirit guiding instrument crafting method taught by Wukong that finally allowed the Sect of Interception to triumph over the Chan Teaching once.

With righteousness, vengeance, and gratitude all present, the Sect of Interception had no reason not to act.

The Divine Mother Jin Ling, as if aware of Yuhua’s thoughts, murmured after her disciple had departed, ""Though one has thoughts, being in the game, one cannot see the whole picture; how can everything be so clear?""

...

The Earthly Fiends’ camp.

By the time Yuhua had returned, Wukong had already discussed and arranged the pre-battle deployment with the Martial Emperor. He then convened the eight divine generals to pass down the related deployment arrangements.

Yuan Hong, Deng Jiugong, Huang Tianxiang, Yuhua, Hong Jin, Zhang Kui, Zhang Guifang, and Jiang Huanchu—all were delighted at the prospect of battle.

Hadn’t they been training all this time just for this day?

Previously, under the command of the Martial Emperor, the Earthly Fiends had been a celestial army adept at waging war.

Now, equipped with spirit guiding instruments and having practiced the powerful Eight Extremes Soul Extinguishing Formation, the overall strength of the Earthly Fiends was even stronger.

From the eight divine generals, to the seventy-two arrayed celestial generals, and on to the seventy-two thousand celestial soldiers, all were eager for battle.

Seeing this revitalized celestial army, the Martial Emperor himself could not help but exclaim in admiration: ""Wukong truly has the makings of a grand marshal.""

"Your Highness overpraises me; such little tricks aren’t worth mentioning," Sun Wukong said with a self-deprecating smile. "With just a bit of effort, they became utterly devoted."

The True Martial Emperor chuckled, having caught a glimpse of the monkey’s love for showing off, but he was sincerely impressed nonetheless.

Beyond the changes within the Earthly Fiends division, during the preparation for the battle, he had witnessed Sun Wukong’s military talent first-hand.

It was baffling how this monkey, who had never fought a war, seemed to have amassed experiences from thousands upon thousands of battles.

Subsequently, they joined forces.

Beneath the True Martial Emperor’s command were not only five hundred spirit officials, but also the turtle and snake generals, the Five Thunder generals, the giant quid and lion, fierce beasts, poisonous dragons, and the like, all with celestial soldiers at their ranks.

Though their numbers were few, each one was more than capable in war.

This left Sun Wukong filled with envy; when could his children of Fruit Mountain possess such strength?

Once the pre-battle arrangements were completed, Sun Wukong proposed that he and the True Martial Emperor go ahead of the others, with the generals following their orders.

On their way, the True Martial Emperor already knew what Sun Wukong intended and laughed, "You’re planning a bold move, aren’t you?"

Not long ago, this Earthly Fiends Marshal had spoke of the utmost caution.

Sun Wukong chuckled and explained, "The pre-battle planning, calling for reinforcements—all necessary steps have been taken. The only thing missing is scouting the enemy. If we send our subordinates to the treacherous lands of the North Sea on a reconnaissance mission, just a tad of carelessness could reveal them.

If we alert the enemy, then all our prior deployments would be in vain.

It’s better for us to take action ourselves, catching the enemy off guard, striking at their hearts; not giving them any chance to react is what being truly cautious means."

The True Martial Emperor smiled, "All this talk, but isn’t it just because this way is more satisfying to you?"

Sun Wukong bowed slightly, "Your Highness is truly a kindred spirit of mine!"

Of course, this was indeed more cautious.

Before even reaching the North Sea, the two exchanged a smile and both transformed—Sun Wukong into a nine-headed insect and the True Martial Emperor into the Eternal Dragon King.

At the same time, Sun Wukong plucked a tuft of his fur and transformed it into the Cangyun Blood Spirit Stone of the Mang Oxen tribe and the Ancient Stele of the Fox Clan.

With these items in hand, they crossed the North Sea and entered the fog-enshrouded land of North Ming.

...

The land of North Ming was near the extreme end of the North Sea, where there was a mountain named Youdu Mountain, and from it flowed black waters.

At this moment, inside a cave dwelling on Youdu Mountain, there stood many altars with blood-red flames flickering within each, despite the absence of wind.

Moluo sat on a throne above, his forehead and brows covered with demonic patterns, which gave him a fierce appearance.

He stared at the Daoist in black before him: "Your Highness Demon Emperor, nearly eighty-one days have passed, and yet your men haven’t returned to report. It seems you don’t wish to open the Eye of the North Sea and search for the Ancient Heavenly Court."

The calm Daoist in black, Lu Ya, replied, "Just wait a little longer. The nine-headed insect never fails. It will surely obtain the Cangyun Blood Spirit Stone and the Ancient Stele of the Fox Clan."

Moluo sneered, "If we had done it my way, we would already have those two items in hand by now, without all this trouble or wasted time."

Lu Ya knew what Moluo was anxious about and shook his head gently, "Don’t worry, within my Demon Court, there still remain many weapons and treasures. The Demon Sect can choose first when the time comes, and the rest will belong to my Ancient Demon Clan."

After speaking, he simply sat there, waiting quietly.

If the Demon Sect’s people took action, it would inevitably lead to slaughters. The Eternal Fox King would be easy to handle, but the Buffalo Demon King was a tough bone to chew. If they caused too much commotion, it could have repercussions for him.

So, of course, it was necessary to collect cautiously and then, without any of the Three Realms noticing, open the sealed Eye of the North Sea to find the fallen Ancient Heavenly Court and retrieve that lost item.

Moluo sneered again, but said nothing more, just staring at Lu Ya with his dark and demonic-patterned eyes, pondering unknown thoughts.