Chapter 378: Wishing to Show Off and Inviting Sworn Brothers Again; King Yama's Indulgence Has Hidden Reasons

Let us speak of how, after Sun Wukong feasted his seven sworn brothers, he drank until he was dead drunk, and while in a stupor, was dragged by two ghost messengers to the Netherworld.

Under the indulgence of the Ten Kings of Hell, this Monkey let himself go, wantonly crossing out his own name and the names of all other monkeys from the Life and Death Book, provided they were listed.

Immediately following this, he fought his way out of the Netherworld.

Yet, just as he had fought his way out of the city where the Netherworld was located, he suddenly tripped over a straw rope that had come from nowhere and could not help but fall.

Waking with a start, he looked around and saw he was still under the pine tree by the Iron Plank Bridge at Water Curtain Cave, and could not help but laugh: "Truly a dream of Nanke!"

Just as Sun Wukong rose and stretched, he heard the four senior generals and the crowd of monkeys cry out: "Great King, how much wine did you drink to sleep through the night and only wake up now?"

Sun Wukong laughed: "Sleeping is a small matter, but I dreamed of two people who came to drag me away and brought me outside the city gates of the Nether Realm, only for me to wake up just now."

He did not forget to show off his heroic bearing before the monkeys, describing it vividly:

"So this Great King displayed his Great Divine Ability and shouted all the way to Senluo Hall. I argued with those Ten Kings of Hell, looked at our Life and Death Book, and crossed out all our names; we are no longer under those fellows' jurisdiction."

Hearing that Sun Wukong had erased their death records, the monkeys kowtowed in gratitude, crying out: "The Great King is merciful!"

Once Sun Wukong finished speaking of his havoc in the Netherworld, the four senior generals immediately had people notify the various demon kings in the caves of Huaguo Mountain, telling them all to come and offer congratulations.

Seeing this, Sun Wukong thought of his seven sworn brothers who had left not long ago, and could not help but think to himself:

"With the Ten Kings of Hell having such a great reputation, I, Old Sun, have done such a great deed; if I don't show it off before my brothers, it's truly like wearing fine clothes in the dark."

"Moreover, the Sixth Brother and Seventh Brother are both of the monkey kind; even if they have already had their names removed from the Life and Death Book, they have quite a few monkey demons under their command!"

He thought happily: "This time, I must really save some face before the Sixth Brother and Seventh Brother!"

Thinking of this,

Sun Wukong could no longer restrain himself; he immediately had his subordinates send out more invitations, inviting his seven sworn brothers to come over for another small gathering.

Or rather, to show off.

We shall not speak of Sun Wukong celebrating his havoc in the Netherworld.

Let us speak of the area behind Yinshan, where there is a magnificent palace with constant Brahma sounds, the place where that Netherworld Sect Leader, Dizang Wang Pusa, converts evil ghosts.

At this time, the Ten Kings of Hell were all sitting in the Due Dian within the Yinshan ashram, saying to Dizang Wang Pusa, who sat high on a lotus throne: "Bodhisattva, the matter you entrusted to us has been settled!"

"This poor monk has caused the ten Compassionate Kings to suffer a grievance."

Dizang Wang Pusa, in a white monk's robe, pressed his palms together and bowed to apologize to the ten Kings of Hell.

"The Sect Leader speaks too seriously!"

The Ten Kings of Hell hurriedly returned the gesture.

The person before them was no ordinary being; not only was his strength extraordinary, making him one of the few with Great Divine Ability in heaven and earth, but his origins were even more terrifying.

Or rather,

It was precisely because they knew his origins that the Ten Kings of Hell, who also had extraordinary origins, were so polite to him, or rather, held him in awe.

Having said that,

If it were a truly virtuous high monk, there would actually be nothing to fear; after all, "a gentleman can be deceived by what is right," and the same applies to virtuous high monks.

But who let the face of this big bald head, Dizang Wang Pusa, be too terrifying beneath his kind exterior? Or rather, too evil~

In fact, few people know,

That this Netherworld Sect Leader, Dizang Wang Pusa, who shouts slogans in the Brahma sect such as "I will not become a Buddhist until hell is empty" and "If I do not enter hell, who will?", appears to be a virtuous high monk who pities the world.

Is actually one and the same as that Bojun Mozhu who obstructed the Dharma of Rulai.

Yes, that's right, the famous Dizang Wang Pusa of the Brahma sect is actually the other side of the Brahma sect's mortal enemy, Bojun Mozhu.

And it is not an incarnation, but an existence equivalent to his true self; accurately speaking, it should be called a Dao body.

Although it is now rumored in the world that Dizang Wang Pusa was a disciple of the Western Sect from long ago.

But in reality, Dizang Wang Pusa has not appeared for many years; he is the Brahma Dao body that Bojun Mozhu slashed out when debating the Dharma with Rulai.

However, because those with Great Divine Ability can already reverse the long river of time, the moment Dizang Wang Pusa was born, he reversed his own anchor point to the ancient era.

Therefore,

Even those who are also possessors of Great Divine Ability only vaguely knew the truth, sensing that Dizang Wang Pusa had an unusual connection with Bojun Mozhu, and had no way to conclude that the relationship between the two would be like this.

As for the Daluo, it goes without saying,

At the time of Dizang Wang Pusa's birth, although the various Daluo could sense that the long river of time had changed, they only felt an abnormality.

They were all still unable to figure it out~ It was only because the Ten Kings of Hell relied on Houtu Niangniang and were listening to her preach at the time that they happened to hear Houtu Niangniang say "interesting."

After some questioning,

They learned of this secret~ In short,

Although the origins of the Ten Kings of Hell themselves were also extraordinary, they were ultimately no match for the one-body-two-sides of Dizang Wang Pusa and Bojun Mozhu; they were now merely Daluo.

In this way, how could they not be polite to Dizang Wang Pusa, not to mention that they still had requests of him.

"This poor monk will write this matter into a memorial, and trouble Qin Guangwang to send it up to Heaven one day to present to the Jade Emperor."

Dizang Wang Pusa did not act overbearing, and remained polite to Qin Guangwang.

"I shall certainly serve!" said Qin Guangwang.

"As for the matter the ten Compassionate Kings entrusted to me~"

After pondering for a moment, Dizang Wang Pusa transmitted his voice to the Ten Kings of Hell: "The ten Ancestral Witch seniors have already agreed to completely sever the final bonds and entanglements with you all; from now on, the ten Compassionate Kings are truly free!"

He paused, then said: "Actually, with the years of incense-burning affection the ten Compassionate Kings have had with Houtu Niangniang, there was no need to entrust this poor monk to act as an intermediary; you could have just asked directly."

The Ten Kings of Hell shook their heads and smiled bitterly; it was precisely because of such deep incense-burning affection that the ten brothers could not bring themselves to ask Houtu Niangniang.

The matters they had entrusted to each other had both been resolved.

Therefore, after some tea, the Ten Kings of Hell immediately rose to take their leave: "In that case, we shall not disturb the Bodhisattva's cultivation!"

"The affairs of the Netherworld are busy, so this poor monk will not keep you all." Dizang Wang Pusa rose to return the salute to the ten kings.

Immediately, he lowered his head to look at the big-eared monster crouching by his lotus throne and said:

"Diting, send off the Ten Kings of Hell for me!"

"Yes, Bodhisattva!"

After the beast replied, it led the Ten Kings of Hell out of the palace.

Beiju Luzhou, Cangmang Mountain.

"Great King, the Handsome Monkey King of the Water Curtain Cave on Huaguo Mountain has sent someone again with an invitation, requesting your presence at a banquet!"

As Fang Longye was cooling off under the shade of the pines in his own Cave Abode garden, Ao Ying brought over an invitation and said.

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Longye was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself that it had only been two days since he attended Sun Wukong's birthday banquet, so why was the Monkey sending another invitation? Could it be that this fellow had become addicted to receiving gifts? Thinking about it, it was truly possible~ It seemed the Monkey had learned bad habits over these years~ After some hesitation, Fang Longye immediately reached out to take the invitation, opened it, and was instantly stunned.

"Causing such a ruckus in the Netherworld so soon?"

Had I just happened to catch the scene of the Monkey King getting drunk, his soul entering the Netherworld, and wreaking havoc in the Netherworld? Thinking of the heavy drinking at the Monkey's birthday banquet a few days ago, Fang Longye couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

"Eh?"

Just as he was laughing, Fang Longye's expression suddenly shifted; ripples rose within his spiritual platform, and his entire consciousness instantly shifted to the Shuiyuan Shengjun Mansion in the Heavenly Court.

It was because ever since he was enfeoffed as the Water Origin Holy Lord,

he had left his Divine Dao avatar in the Heavenly Court to preside over matters there.

"Holy Lord~"

The pearls on the palace dome shone with brilliant radiance.

Fang Longye tidied himself up, moved from the inner hall to the main hall, and summoned the steward Meng Lingkuan.

"Go prepare the carriage; the Great Heavenly Venerable is about to hold a Great Court Assembly, and I must head to the Lingxiao Treasure Hall~"

"Understood."

It was an imperial decree from the Jade Emperor, received through the Water Origin Holy Lord talisman he carried, summoning a Great Court Assembly.

Fang Longye guessed that it was most likely about the Monkey's affair.

A short while later,

the Shuiyuan Shengjun Mansion opened its gates, and a carriage of gold and jade slowly emerged; Fang Longye sat upright upon it, heading all the way toward the Golden Palace Cloud Palace and the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.

At the same time, Fang Longye's true body in the Earth Immortal Realm also set out, heading toward Huaguo Mountain~

Dongsheng Shenzhou, Huaguo Mountain.

Colorful clouds drifted gloomily from the mountain peaks, rising and swirling, appearing like a raised canopy or a precious banner with drooping wings, resembling the thick glaze of ancient porcelain, with heavy colors permeating all around.

With every gust, the pine wind blew, soaking the surroundings in green.

Fang Longye rode the clouds to Huaguo Mountain, and before he had even descended, he saw a Straw Mat placed by the stream under the shade of the pine trees, with Niu Mowang and six others sitting in a circle.

"Big Brother, come quickly, we've been waiting for you!"

Mihou Wang was the most restless; seeing Fang Longye's figure, he hurriedly stood up to greet him.

Fang Longye smiled, walked a few steps to their side, flicked his robes, sat down at the head of the group, and said with a smile: "It seems I'm late again!"

Niu Mowang said with a smile: "We haven't been here long either. Eighth Brother, where were you just now?"

"That's right,"

Mihou Wang said to Sun Wukong upon hearing this: "Now that the eldest brother has arrived and everyone is here, you can tell us the details of the ruckus in the Netherworld!"

Sun Wukong was a person who loved to show off; hearing Mihou Wang's words, he immediately began to dance with excitement:

"That day, I was hosting a birthday banquet. After seeing you all off, I was already a bit tipsy. After returning to the cave, I drank joyfully with the little ones in the cave, and before I knew it, I fell asleep drunk..."

"Haha! Those Ten Kings of Hell are truly famous in name only; they are all cowards~ Little brother here took out the Golden Cudgel, and I scared them so much they were trembling, almost hiding under the table~"

"... After erasing the Life and Death Book of all monkey-kind like that, little brother fought my way out of the Nether Realm in a few strikes, and after stumbling outside the city, I returned to the world of the living."

In order to show off in front of his sworn brothers, Sun Wukong recounted the story of his havoc in the Netherworld, filled with disdain for the Ten Kings of Hell.

"Good!"

"Eighth Brother has truly greatly boosted the reputation of our Demon Clan!"

"Your Third Brother here has long found the people of the Netherworld unpleasant. Well fought, well fought!"

"......"

Fang Longye and the seven, including Niu Mowang, clapped and cheered for Sun Wukong along with the monkeys of Huaguo Mountain, but privately, they exchanged knowing glances with one another.

"This monkey,"

Niu Mowang and the others looked at the arrogant Sun Wukong in the center, their thoughts surging; he truly had great courage to dare to wreak havoc in the Netherworld all by himself.

They were not monkeys who knew nothing of the Honghuang; they knew many secrets of the world.

The Netherworld was not simple; there were many great powers within it. How could a mere Golden Immortal monkey stir up trouble at will? If there wasn't some scheme behind it, even a ghost wouldn't believe it. If someone really tried to follow the monkey's example and stir up trouble in the Netherworld, they wouldn't even know how they died.

The seven looked at each other, their eyes flickering, and without prior agreement, they began to transmit voices to each other behind Sun Wukong's back, opening a "small group" chat~ Niu Mowang transmitted to the others: "This monkey truly has a background! Even the Ten Kings of Hell were persuaded to play along with his act."

Although Niu Mowang had never seen the Ten Kings of Hell in person, he knew the power of the ten Yama kings.

Sun Wukong was a mere Golden Immortal, and he scared them into trembling? Who was he trying to fool? But he also knew Sun Wukong's personality; although he liked to show off, he would never lie.

As such, this was something to ponder~ "Ten Kings of Hell~"

Peng Mowang transmitted to the others: "These Ten Kings of Hell are not simple; they are the incarnations left in the Netherworld by the ten great Ancestral Witches, excluding Xuanming, after Houtu Niangniang attained the Dao as the Lord of Reincarnation. Their origins are truly significant."

"That can't be, Fourth Brother~"

Shituo Wang questioned:

"Everyone in the Honghuang knows the temper of those ten Ancestral Witches; how could they possibly play along with a junior like the monkey and demean themselves?"

Just as Peng Mowang was about to explain, he didn't expect Fang Longye to speak up and help him explain to Shituo Wang:

"Fourth Brother is actually not wrong. These Ten Kings of Hell are indeed incarnations of those ten Ancestral Witches, and Mengpo of the Netherworld is the incarnation of that Xuanming Zuwu."

"That is correct,"

Mihou Wang continued, "In fact, even this Mengpo was an avatar specifically carved out by those eleven Ancestral Witches using a drop of their own essence blood, fearing that Houtu Niangniang would be too lonely alone in Youming."

"But who would have thought that these avatars left behind by the eleven Ancestral Witches in the Underworld would actually become the anchors for their return from the nether void after the Lich War."

"To be fair, if not for the avatars they left in Youming, it would not have been so easy for the eleven Ancestral Witches of the Witch Clan to return after their fall."

"At the very least, they would not have returned as early as the Recent Antiquity era, far surpassing the Demon Emperor Donghuang."

Shituo Wang realized with a start:

"I understand now. The true body is the true body, and the avatar is the avatar. I fear that these Ten Kings of Hell have gradually developed their own intentions throughout the passage of time."

"Correct,"

Peng Mowang nodded and said.

For the mighty,

an avatar is, by nature, a relatively independent individual from the true body and will possess its own thoughts.

For instance, among the various avatars carved out by my own Father God, the most famous is Zhuang Zhou of the Human Race, the Nanhua Zhenren of the Daoist lineage! Especially since the true bodies of those ten Ancestral Witches had once fallen in the Lich War, it allowed the avatars they left behind to develop independently.

Things that those ten Ancestral Witches would not do, or would disdain to do, their avatars carved out long ago might not necessarily refuse to do or disdain to do.

"In short, the waters here run deep!" Jiao Mowang concluded.

"That is right," Fang Longye reminded, "The Dragon King of the Four Seas has already submitted a memorial to the Jade Emperor, claiming that the eighth brother forcibly demanded a Weapon and armor, and Dizang Wang Pusa has also accused him of disrupting the Underworld. The Jade Emperor originally intended to send troops to capture the eighth brother, but as a result of Jinxing Laoguan's persuasion, it was changed to an offer of amnesty, and Wenqu Xing was ordered to draft the edict, with Jinxing Laoguan to deliver the amnesty."

Niu Mowang and the others were not surprised.

They were neither surprised by Fang Longye's well-informed news, nor by the Heavenly Court's method of handling Monkey.

They merely took a deep look at Fang Longye; it seemed that it was under the instigation of this cheap elder brother's subordinate that Monkey caused trouble in the Longgong, right?

And if it weren't for your tacit approval, the Dragon King of the Four Seas wouldn't have filed any complaints, would they? What is this "hiding one's merit and fame" act you're putting on here!

Damn it, seeing the looks in the eyes of Niu Mowang and the other five, Fang Longye could not help but roll his eyes inwardly.

Good grief, looking at me with those expressions one by one, as if each of you were so innocent.

After some exchange, the seven of them, including Fang Longye, stopped their private conversation and turned to drink with Sun Wukong; there would not be many more times to drink with this monkey in the future. (End of chapter)