Chapter 395: Heavenly Court's First Suppression of Huaguo Mountain; Eight Demons Gather to Proclaim Themselves Great Sages

"Coward, coward! I have already spared you, hurry off to report the news! Hurry off to report the news!"

Fang Longye was sauntering along, and just as he arrived at the borders of Huaguo Mountain, he saw a massive humanoid figure flying backward, the giant axe in its hand shattering to pieces.

He took a closer look; who else could it be but his old acquaintance, the Giant Spirit God?

"Oh, I'm late~"

Combining this with the words he had just heard from Sun Wukong, it was clear that the Giant Spirit God, just as in the original story, had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Sun Wukong while serving as the vanguard.

"Speaking of which,"

Casting a glance at the disheveled Giant Spirit God, Fang Longye smiled and said, "I still have a Giant Spirit Secret Treasury that I haven't searched yet!"

This Giant Spirit Secret Treasury was something mentioned by that previous Inheritance Mark of the Giant Spirit Clan. Although he had not obtained its exact location, he already knew the general direction.

However, his strength had been insufficient before; let alone being unable to search certain places, even if he could, the thought had never crossed his mind.

For one, he hadn't needed to at the time, and for another, he was worried that if he really found some incredible treasure, his cultivation realm would be far too low to protect it.

Only now that he had both a background and relatively decent strength did he pick up the thought he had previously cast to the back of his mind.

He intended to search the Giant Spirit Secret Treasury to see if there were any clues regarding the Merit Supreme Treasure, the Hongmeng Measuring Ruler, and to make a small fortune on the side.

After all, this secret treasury of the Giant Spirit Clan was a contingency plan specifically set up by the high-level members of the entire Giant Spirit Clan during the Lich Calamity to guard against the unexpected, with the hope that the defeated Giant Spirit Clan could rise again and recreate their glory.

If it could allow the Giant Spirit Clan to rise again, one could imagine how many good things were inside~

Even if there were no clues to the "Hongmeng Measuring Ruler," the collection inside alone was enough to keep him thinking about it in his heart~ As Fang Longye pondered this, the Giant Spirit God had already returned to the camp gate, directly paying respects to Tuota Li Tianwang without offering any excuses, merely saying in a muffled voice:

"That demon Monkey truly possesses vast magical powers! This subordinate could not defeat him and has returned in defeat to accept punishment~"

Li Jing naturally reprimanded the Giant Spirit God as a matter of routine, and the matter was left at that.

After all, having made a deal with the Brahma sect, he had never intended to actually do anything to Sun Wukong~ The Giant Spirit God's failure in the first battle was somewhat beyond his expectations, as he knew the Giant Spirit God's abilities and that he shouldn't have been so useless against that monkey.

At the very least, in his impression, the Giant Spirit God was quite durable~

But regardless, such a battle outcome suited his intentions, or rather, suited the intentions of the Brahma sect.

Without needing a signal from Li Jing, Nezha stepped forward, fully armed and armored, and went directly outside Sun Wukong's Water Curtain Cave.

Since the enemy had come to his door, even though they were sounding the retreat, Sun Wukong would naturally not let it go.

However, unlike the original trajectory, as Nezha was a famous figure in the Three Realms, Sun Wukong, having gained much more knowledge, naturally recognized Nezha.

He would not say things like, "Whose little brother are you? Breaking into my gate, what business do you have?"

Of course, a fight was still inevitable.

However, Fang Longye, having come to his senses, took one look at their duel and lost interest; it was simply unwatchable—Nezha was holding back far too much! Don't look at how intensely they were fighting, appearing evenly matched in a fierce struggle; in reality, for Nezha, he was likely using only thirty percent of his strength.

Fang Longye stopped watching their struggle and shifted his attention to the surrounding void.

With his eyesight, he could naturally see that Niu Mowang and the others had actually arrived, but seeing that the Monkey would not lose the battle for a while, they had not revealed themselves.

Of course,

Even if they wanted to show themselves to help the Monkey fight the enemy, they couldn't. Fang Longye didn't know if others had sensed it, but he himself had faintly sensed that someone in the shadows had been silently watching all of this.

Although no intent was revealed, he knew in his heart that as long as they appeared to help the Monkey, they would certainly be blocked.

After all, the Brahma sect had gone to such great lengths, investing who knows how much, just to stage this Havoc in Heaven, all to make the Monkey famous~ How could they let these few share in that fame? This play was arranged for the Monkey, and others shouldn't think about "stealing the spotlight."

After waiting idly for a while,

Sure enough,

Nezha pretended not to see through the true form of the Monkey's hair-transformation, was approached by the Monkey's true body, and was struck on the left shoulder by a staff, similarly suffering defeat.

Then, the father and son, Li Jing and Nezha, put on a performance, praising the Monkey's abilities, before sounding the retreat and heading back to the Heavenly Court.

Well, the Heavenly Court's first suppression of Huaguo Mountain ended in such an anticlimactic way~

When everything settled, Fang Longye and the others, including Niu Mowang who had been hiding themselves, all revealed their figures and glanced at each other.

Then, with a tacit understanding, they followed Fang Longye and escaped into the Water Curtain Cave.

"Big Brother~"

"Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother,..."

The seven of them exchanged greetings and took their seats, waiting for Sun Wukong to return in triumph.

Not long after,

Sun Wukong, wearing the Phoenix-Wing Purple Gold Crown, clad in the Chainmail Golden Armor, and shod in the Lotus Silk Cloud-Stepping Boots, walked into the cave, jubilant and head held high.

"Congratulations to the Great Sage for defeating Nezha and returning in victory!" After Sun Wukong entered the Water Curtain Cave, the Seventy-two Cave Demon Kings immediately stood up to offer their congratulations.

Even the seven sworn brothers, including Fang Longye, stood up and praised him, saying: "Not bad, Eighth Brother, haven't seen you in ten years, and you can already fight Nezha without losing!"

"How can today be the same as the past? Eighth Brother, I truly look at you with new eyes!"

"Look at this majestic appearance, truly like your Sixth Brother!"

"..."

"Sit, everyone sit!"

Facing the congratulations of the Seventy-two Cave Demon Kings, Sun Wukong could still remain calm, even appearing indifferent to external gains or personal losses.

But facing the praise of his seven sworn brothers, including Fang Longye and Niu Mowang, the Monkey could no longer maintain his composure and burst into loud laughter with a wide grin.

Just like a primary school student facing the praise of their teacher, he was incredibly happy.

When all is said and done, the Monkey was ultimately not someone who could hide his emotions~ After everyone was seated, Sun Wukong immediately ordered people to serve melons, fruits, pears, peaches, and all kinds of delicacies, and together with his seven sworn brothers, the Seventy-two Cave Demon Kings, and all the monkeys and grandchildren in the cave, they drank wine and ate meat to their hearts' content.

He even brought out over a hundred demon maidens to play music and dance spicy dances to entertain the crowd of demons.

After drinking for a while, Sun Wukong, whose face was as red as his own monkey bottom, stood up and said to his seven sworn brothers, including Fang Longye: "Since I have already proclaimed myself the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, you seven brothers can also call yourselves Great Sages."

Sure enough, it had come to this~ Fang Longye thought to himself, though he showed no sign of his thoughts on his face, and clapped his hands, laughing: "Eighth Brother's words are reasonable; I shall call myself the Covering Heaven Great Sage."

Covering Heaven Great Sage—he had thought about this title for a long time. It seemed even more arrogant than the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, but in reality, it did not violate as many taboos as the latter.

You could call him timid or lacking in heroic spirit, but you could not say he was not cautious enough.

Sun Wukong's Great Sage Equaling Heaven sought to be equal to Heaven, and this "Heaven" included the Heavenly Dao itself; it would be strange if it didn't violate taboos. By the same token,

Niu Mowang's title of "Heaven-Leveling Great Sage" is much the same, and it even faintly carries the implication of wanting to pacify the Heavenly Court.

These two fellows, one "Leveling Heaven" and one "Equal to Heaven," it is not impossible that future Calamities will be related to them.

Perhaps for Monkey, it is merely adding a stroke to the Calamities he is destined to face, but for Niu Mowang, his encounters in the original trajectory are truly unworthy of his current background and origins.

Both have backgrounds and foundations; others can descend to reap Merit and Luck and then retreat unscathed, so why is it that when it comes to him, he ends up with his wife and children scattered?

If you were to say his background and foundation are not substantial, yet he is someone who can invite Yunxiao and Zhao Gongming to stand for him as he establishes his mansion and builds his career—does that not count as having a background and foundation? In short, being a little careful is never wrong.

After Fang Longye finished speaking, Niu Mowang pondered for a moment, stood up and paced a few steps, then said in a deep voice:

"Then this old Niu shall be the Heaven-Leveling Great Sage."

Fang Longye and Sun Wukong, one "Covering Heaven" and one "Equal to Heaven"; he is, after all, the second brother among the six people following Fang Longye, so he must at least take a majestic title.

Furthermore, he was born of the Demon Clan, and his nature inherently possesses the disposition a Demon King should have; naturally, he is unwilling to let others surpass him in this regard.

Jiao Mowang did not hesitate much. He is now a member of the Demon Master Mansion, and calling oneself a Great Sage is a tradition of the Demon Clan. He had long since thought of the title he would use as a Great Sage in the future, so he said without hesitation: "Then I shall be called the Fuhai Great Sage!"

Next, Peng Mowang also thought for a moment and said: "Then I shall be called the Huntian Great Sage."

With Demon Master Kunpeng as his father-god backing him, he has always been a lawless character, so naturally, he does not care about taboos in this regard.

When it came to Shituo Wang, he said without a second thought: "I shall be called the Mountain-Moving Great Sage."

Compared to the previous four,

his title of Mountain-Moving Great Sage is not at all domineering or majestic. Even Jiao Mowang's "Fuhai Great Sage" still carries the meaning of overturning the Four Seas.

Like Jiao Mowang and Peng Mowang, this was, of course, something he had carefully considered long ago.

He is a pure member of the Demon Clan and naturally understands the gold content of the title "Great Sage" within the Demon Clan.

In an era when the Demon Clan was prosperous, the title of Great Sage, like the title of Demon God, could not be borne by anyone who was not a Golden Immortal.

The only difference is that the title of Demon God can only be borne by the strongest among the Golden Immortals, while for the title of Great Sage, one only needs to be a Golden Immortal.

Only in this current era, where the Demon Clan is in decline, has the standard for calling oneself a Great Sage been lowered somewhat; one only needs to ascend to Taiyi Golden Immortal to openly and honestly call oneself a Great Sage.

But "virtue not matching the position will surely lead to disaster."

He is not like the few cheap brothers he acknowledged earlier, who are either of noble birth or have extremely solid backing.

Having no background or foundation to speak of, it is naturally better to be low-key regarding the Great Sage title, which is why he chose a plain and unremarkable Great Sage title.

Mihou Wang is the simplest; he was known for "Ventilating" while overseas and was called the Ventilating Demon King, so he logically became the Ventilating Great Sage.

"Ventilating Great Sage~"

Yurong Wang recited it, smiled, and said: "Then I shall call myself the Drives God Great Sage in the future!"

Thus, Fang Longye, Niu Mowang, and the other seven all selected their Great Sage titles.

"Good, good, good!"

Sun Wukong is naturally not as deep-thinking as Fang Longye and the others. He had just won a great victory and received praise from his sworn brothers; he felt an indescribable joy in his heart, feeling as if he were truly as long-lived as Heaven and unstoppable.

Unable to suppress his excitement, he immediately ordered his subordinates in a loud voice:

"Quickly prepare several more sets of banners! On each banner, write the Great Sage titles claimed by my brothers just now, as before, and set them up in order!"

After some subordinates hurried off, Sun Wukong belatedly remembered something. He slapped his forehead, looked at Fang Longye apologetically, and asked: "Big Brother, I forgot that you still hold a post in the Heavenly Court. I wonder if this will cause any hindrance to you?"

Fang Longye glanced at the Monkey, speechless to the extreme, if not for knowing the Monkey's character, who is currently still a straightforward boy.

He would have thought the Monkey had already learned to be cunning in the Heavenly Court and was intentionally dragging these sworn brothers into the water, or was being sarcastic toward him.

"Set your heart at ease, the Covering Heaven Great Sage is the Covering Heaven Great Sage, and the Water Origin Holy Lord is the Water Origin Holy Lord~"

Fang Longye waved his hand, completely unconcerned.

After all, Mr. Lu Xun once said, who doesn't have a few aliases these days? You are looking for the Covering Heaven Great Sage, what does that have to do with me, the Water Origin Holy Lord? With his background, although he does not yet have the ability to cover everything, he still has the power to tell lies with his eyes open and confuse black and white~ While complaining in his heart, his heart suddenly stirred, feeling a change in his own luck, and he immediately looked at the void above his head, only to see his own luck suddenly surge.

However,

the luck that had always been steady suddenly began to fluctuate violently like boiling oil on a hot fire.

Although a large amount of luck was gathering, if he did not have various Merit Spiritual Treasures to suppress it, this gathered luck would have long since dissipated rapidly, and might even have dragged down his original luck, resulting in a loss that outweighed the gain.

"Virtue not matching the position will surely lead to disaster!"

Fang Longye's dojo is in Beiju Luzhou, and these years, even after becoming the Young Lord of the Dragon Clan, he has never cut off contact with the Demon Master Mansion, so he naturally knows the Demon Clan legends that Shituo Wang knows and is very clear about the Demon Clan's tradition of calling themselves Great Sages.

Although calling oneself a Great Sage among demons can indeed attract the admiration of all demons in the world, thereby gaining the favor of a portion of the Demon Clan's luck to bless oneself.

But this Great Sage title was, after all, once the standard for Golden Immortals of the Demon Clan. Now that he is bearing it with the cultivation of a Taiyi Golden Immortal, he naturally has to endure a certain amount of backlash.

Otherwise, those Demon Kings who called themselves Great Sages while at the Taiyi Golden Immortal level in the past would not have either ascended to Golden Immortal or had their paths cut short midway.

Fortunately, he has various Merit Spiritual Treasures; let alone suppressing his own luck, even suppressing the luck of the entire Cangmang Mountain is more than enough.

"Speaking of which, my Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivation claiming the title of Great Sage creates a momentum like flowers on brocade and boiling oil on fire, requiring the use of Merit Spiritual Treasures to suppress it. The Monkey is only a Golden Immortal, how can he withstand it?"

Thinking of this,

he immediately looked at the top of Sun Wukong's head.

He saw that the purple-green luck above his head remained the same, steady and without the slightest fluctuation. No matter how he looked, he could not see exactly how it was done.

"Could it be that because of swearing brotherhood with us, it invisibly shared the backlash for the Monkey?"

Damn it, if that's really the case,

then the Brahma sect is really cunning enough~

"Since I can't see through it and can't figure it out, then I won't think about it~" Fang Longye shook his head, stopped pondering, and continued to drink and chat with Sun Wukong and the others.

Until the Monkey was dead drunk, Fang Longye, Niu Mowang, and the other seven stood up to take their leave.

...... (End of chapter)