Journey to the West: Sun Wukong's Advice System
Chapter 94: Seventy-Two Days Since Ascension to Heaven

Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Seventy-Two Days Since Ascension to Heaven

Tongming Hall.

The Jade Emperor, in a white robe, stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing out at the vast expanse of Heaven, his eyes shimmering as if galaxies swirled within them.

Taibai Venus stood respectfully at his side, also lost in thought.

"What has Sun Wukong been up to recently?" the Jade Emperor suddenly asked.

Taibai Venus couldn’t help but laugh, "Great Sage is currently leading the officials of the Refining Fire Hall, distributing newly forged Spirit Guiding Instruments to the celestial soldiers and generals everywhere, making his presence felt like he’s inspecting troops."

"He sure knows how to show off," the Jade Emperor said with a smile. "It seems it’s time to give him more responsibilities, to prevent him from meddling in other matters when idle."

Taibai Venus immediately grasped the Jade Emperor’s intention and, after a moment of contemplation, said, "Your Majesty, I am still somewhat concerned,

Great Sage has updated the armaments of the celestial army, and this achievement is visible to all, but can his strength really keep those proud, fierce generals of the Earthly Fiends in check?"

The gods and generals of the Earthly Fiends, many of whom had earned extraordinary military merits during the Divine Enthronement War, certainly included some formidable masters among them.

"Haven’t you always had a high opinion of him? Why would you underestimate him now?" the Jade Emperor smiled, "Before his ascension, after only ten years of cultivation, he was able to overpower the Bull Demon King, the Flood Demon King, and six other Demon Kings. Have you calculated how much time he has spent in Heaven?"

Taibai Venus calculated with a pinch of his fingers: "Sixteen days as the Supervisor of the Heavenly Stables, twenty days at the Refining Fire Hall’s Armory, five days as the overall coordinator for the Martial Arts Assembly, and thirty-one days as Vice Hall Master of the Refining Fire Hall,

adding up to precisely seventy-two days, which coincides with the number of Earthly Fiends."

The Jade Emperor nodded slightly, "Seventy-two days here are equivalent to seventy-two years in the lower realms. His strength would hardly have stood still, would it?"

Twirling his beard, Taibai Venus of course believed in Sun Wukong’s talent, but the cultivation of a Daluo Golden Immortal was incredibly difficult.

Early Daluo phase, middle phase, late phase, and completion – each step forward was thousands, if not tens of thousands, times more difficult than the previous stage of cultivation.

Sun Wukong must be stronger than before, but by how much?

After some thought, Taibai Venus cautiously said, "Your Majesty, I think the situation with the Earthly Fiends is complex. It may be wiser to wait a bit longer to avoid compromising more important matters."

"Wise?" The Jade Emperor turned to look at him, "Do you find Li Changgeng always cautious in his duties, but do you think that monkey can ever be cautious? If we continue to let him act as he does, there’s no telling what ground-shaking contrivances he might come up with."

"This..." Taibai Venus, twirling his beard, fell silent.

Not long ago, the Grandmaster had come for a secret consultation with the Emperor, and he had been present, thus he knew Sun Wukong had created a new kind of inlaid Spirit Guiding Instrument.

According to the Grandmaster and the Emperor, this magic treasure could offset the inherent weakness of lower-level cultivators, potentially strengthening the overall power of the Three Realms without currently posing a threat to the immortals and Buddhas of the Nine Heavens.

The problem was, if Sun Wukong was left to tinker away, who could say when he might invent even more powerful, mass-producible magic treasures?

"Go call him over," the Jade Emperor said, turning once more to gaze upon the endless expanse of Heaven, "True Martial has sent a message from the lower realm and, combined with the clue on Bai Huaxiu, it’s time to take action."

Having heard this, Taibai Venus felt he had advised sufficiently and fulfilled the duty of a close minister. He said no more and immediately left Tongming Hall to find the Great Sage Equalling Heaven.

He eventually found Sun Wukong, who was distributing weaponry to the naval forces downstream of the Milky Way River, looking as impressive as if Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy were merely assisting him.

In attendance were the new Armory Commander Deng Chanyu, Craft Commander Wu Wenhua, and Smithing Commander Wu Wenhua. As for the Procurement Commander of the Heavenly Nobility, Ji Shuqian, he had been dispatched by Sun Wukong to the lower realm to collect materials for Artifact Refining.

"Brother, keep a few extra pieces for me, leave a few extra for the Milky Way River Navy," Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy seemed to be constantly muttering.

"There are no extras," Sun Wukong maintained his posture.

"Then craft me a fine set of armor," Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy leaned in closer to say, "With ten or eight powerful Magical Spirit Patterns on it."

"Go away!" Sun Wukong shoved his huge face aside, then saw Taibai Venus approaching and took the initiative to greet him, "Old Star Lord, what brings you to this place of military supply?"

Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy along with Deng Chanyu, Wu Wenhua, and others quickly paid their respects.

Taibai Venus returned their salutations one by one and then said to Sun Wukong with a beaming smile, "Great Sage, His Majesty summons you. Please accompany me to Tongming Hall."

"Your Majesty wishes to see me?" Sun Wukong’s agile eyes swirled as he speculated.

He then delegated his current tasks and followed the attendant to Tongming Hall.

Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy watched Sun Wukong leave, feeling sentimental, "This monkey is about to get promoted again."

Since he ascended to Heaven, he has always been the Supervisor of the Milky Way River Navy and has never been moved.

Yet this monkey has been promoted repeatedly, seemingly without end.

Upon arriving at Tongming Hall, Sun Wukong respectfully saluted the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor didn’t waste words and directly asked, "Sun Wukong, would you like to become an Earthly Fiends Marshal?"

Sun Wukong was somewhat surprised. He had guessed it was a promotion, and he thought it would be to the position of Master of the Refining Fire Hall, but he did not expect the Jade Emperor to directly offer him the command of the Earthly Fiends!

This position was previously held by the Divine Skills True Immortal who, after attaining the status of Quasi-Saint, resigned from the position of Earthly Fiends Marshal.

It wasn’t until after they intercepted weapons gathered by the Demon Sect that Divine Skills True Immortal was then ennobled by the Jade Emperor as the Martial Emperor.

The position of Earthly Fiends Marshal, however, had remained vacant ever since.

Having been in the Heavenly Court for so long, Sun Wukong of course understood that once he took this position, he would be seen by various powers as a true scion of the Jade Emperor, just like the Martial Emperor.

Therefore, the Jade Emperor did not directly appoint him but asked if he was willing to take the position, which was essentially a formal overture.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, but Wukong did not hesitate. After his initial surprise, he smiled and said, "I am flattered by Your Majesty’s high regard. Old Sun is willing to accept."

If the Jade Emperor could use him to oppose the Chan Teaching, why couldn’t he use the strength of the Jade Emperor to deal with the Buddha Sect?

So, let the allegiance begin with this occasion!

"Good," the Jade Emperor also smiled, "Let’s skip the idle chatter. I need you to take complete control of the Earthly Fiends within one day, so you can descend to the world and coordinate with the Martial Emperor to eradicate the Demon Sect."

"Have you located the Demon Sect’s lair?" A spark flashed in Sun Wukong’s eyes.

"Close enough," the Jade Emperor nodded.

"Then Your Majesty can rest assured, Old Sun will take control of the Earthly Fiends as quickly as possible," Sun Wukong assured, patting his chest.

Subsequently, led by the Grand Duke Jupiter, he headed to the Earthly Fiends’ campsite near the Northern Heavenly Gate.

En route, the Grand Duke Jupiter reminded him, "Great Sage, the Earthly Fiends have many soldiers and generals, and the internal situation is very complex. You must be cautious when you arrive."

Sun Wukong inquired with a smile, "Oh? What complexities are there?"

The Grand Duke Jupiter explained, "Just so the Great Sage knows, aside from the forces led by the Four Imperial Great Emperors and various departmental deities, the Heavenly Court has three major armies with formidable strength: Heaven’s Stars, Earthly Fiends, and the Milky Way River Navy,

Heaven’s Stars are led by Marshall of the Central Altar Ne Zha, the Milky Way River Navy by Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy, and they are generally united internally.

Different from these two armies, the Earthly Fiends are full of different factions. It was only by his overwhelming might that the Martial Emperor managed to keep those proud and fierce officers in line."

Sun Wukong discerned the underlying concern in the Grand Duke Jupiter’s words, that he might not be strong enough, so he laughed and said, "So tell me, Elder Star Lord, who are these proud and fierce officers of the Earthly Fiends?"

The Grand Duke Jupiter said, "The Earthly Fiends use the Innate Eight Trigrams to divide their forces, consisting of eight divisions, each with nine battalions, making the total number seventy-two.

For instance, the god general of the Qian division is Yuan Hong, the Four Idle Stars Monarch. He is a white ape who cultivated to immortality and was the Shang Dynasty’s Great Marshal of Soldiers and Horses during the Divine Enthronement War, leading his troops to defeat the Zhou army multiple times.

His strength was not inferior to that of Yang Jian, and only after Yang Jian borrowed Lady Nuwa’s Map of Mountains and Rivers was General Yuan captured,

Yet his physical strength was immense, and the strong warriors of the Zhou camp still could not kill him. It took Jiang Ziya using Daoist Lu Ya’s Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife to behead him."

"He was a real man!" Sun Wukong praised, then inquired, "Who else is there?"

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