Chapter 424

Without his magic treasure, Huangmei is like a tiger without its fangs; the postnatal human seed bag is one of Huangmei Laofo's proud magic treasures.

Using this treasure, he had dealt with not a few high-level demons, but for some reason this treasure was suddenly stolen.

"Damn, it must be you, this damned monkey head, who stole my magic treasure; quickly return my magic treasure." Huangmei Laofo, while blocking the attacks of Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, said through gritted teeth.

"It must be this damned monkey and this foul pig, who together stole my magic treasure; no wonder they dare to come after me fearlessly. If I had the postnatal human seed bag, I could easily deal with these two."

"You old man, your spellcraft is not bad, but your martial arts have made no progress at all; after all these years, you're still as lousy as ever."

Sun Wukong's form kept changing; he held his iron rod, flourishing it, and fiercely struck Huangmei Laofo's head, giving the old man a thump.

Whether demon, immortal, or Buddha, besides spellcraft, one also needs to cultivate martial arts.

In martial arts, Sun Wukong can be said to be among the top tier of the Three Realms; only figures like Erlang Shen Yang Jian, the Third Prince Nezha, and the Bull Demon King can match him.

Huangmei Laofo's strength, if he could use spellcraft and magic treasures, Sun Wukong might still be wary a bit, but with his spellcraft broken and his treasure taken away...

This guy's martial arts can only be described as sparse and ordinary; indeed they are not even as good as his disciple's— that monk, bound hand and foot and kneeling in the snow, Sun Wukong still acknowledges his martial arts.

Even stronger than he, his master.

"Monkey brother, why are you wasting words with this old man? This newly established Small Lei Yin Temple has harmed who knows how many people."

"My old pig's friend, the Snake General of the Tortoise and Snake Two Generals, died at the hands of this Huangmei old man; the Tortoise General has been sealed here for several hundred years, and I, Old Pig, want to avenge my friend." Zhu Bajie showed no mercy toward Huangmei Laofo; at this moment he reverted to his former position as Marshal Tianpeng.

His body and magical power have returned to their peak condition, so fighting comes naturally to him; indeed his current state is even a bit stronger than Sun Wukong's, after all Sun Wukong has only retrieved three basic instruments.

"Damn, damn, who stole my postnatal human seed bag?"

"That's not yours; it belongs to Maitreya Buddha. Do you really think your master doesn't know what you've been up to? For hundreds of years he hasn't come back to demand the postnatal human seed bag, yet you truly treat it as your own magic treasure."

"This guy is too arrogant! Do you really think this treasure is yours? It belongs to your master Maitreya Buddha; back on the Journey to the West, he deliberately let you steal it."

"Back then, when they dealt with my old self, it was also an idea of the Buddhist sect; even your ability to cultivate peacefully here is thanks to Maitreya Buddha's permission."

"Now that Wu Tian Great God has decided to deal with you, Maitreya Buddha will surely take back the postnatal human seed bag; do you really think you can occupy Maitreya Buddha's magic treasure? He is one of the few with the deepest magical power in the Three Realms."

"If he can't even guard his own magic treasure, what future Buddha of Buddhism is he?"

"You monkey head, I don't need you to teach me to die; come see my Golden Body Technique." Huangmei Laofo roared, his body quickly turning golden, impervious to blades and spears, immune to water and fire.

"Heh, you don't deserve to be called Golden Body Technique; I'd call it a Gilding Method at best—only slightly more profound than that tiger demon's bronze head and iron bones." Sun Wukong gave a cold snort and mocked.

Compared to the Golden Body Technique displayed by the bodhisattvas and the various Buddhas of Ling Mountain, Huangmei old man's Golden Body Technique is utterly inferior.

"Senior brother, let's break his Gilding Method together." Zhu Bajie shouted, his nine-tooth rake dancing with tiger-like vigor, and smashed directly at Huangmei Laofo.

Sun Wukong also swung his iron rod, fiercely striking Huangmei Laofo's leg; on the other side, Zhu Bajie's rake also hit his back.

The two master-brothers each struck once, directly forcing him to kneel; then Sun Wukong stepped firmly with one foot on Huangmei Laofo's face.

"Wait, how could I lose? I am a Buddha, I am the future Buddha." Huangmei Laofo obviously could not accept his defeat; even though he was laid on the ground by the combined strikes of Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, he muttered incoherently.

"How could I lose? Why would I lose? After leaving Ling Mountain and parting from my master, I thought from now on I'd have the freedom of birds soaring high and fish swimming wide."

As it turned out, who would have thought that after just a few hundred years of carefree ease, they would meet such an end.

"You bastard, you're truly a lunatic—you yourself are a lunatic, the disciples you taught are also a bunch of lunatics. Look at this Little Leiyin Temple; there isn't a single proper cultivator— they're all just a pack of demons and evil monsters! Rest assured, I, Old Sun, have already performed salvation for them." Looking at Huangmei Laofo lying on the ground, already gone mad, Sun Wukong spoke.

"Master, master, I know I was wrong, please forgive your disciple, please forgive your disciple! Save me, save me." Huangmei Laofo suddenly began shouting loudly toward the west.

"This time we can't win, but we've brought reinforcements— you've done so many evil deeds, Milefo won't bother with you." Zhu Bajie, shouldering his rake, spoke.

Since Wutian Dashen wants you dead, Milefo's side will naturally have Wutian Dashen intervene; they've done this many times on the Journey to the West, and those yokai without background or backing are all killed this way.

"Master, save your disciple; from now on I will surely follow you and cultivate properly on Spirit Mountain, never again daring to entertain heretical thoughts— please forgive me just this once!" At this moment, Huangmei Laofo continued to shout loudly without restraint, hoping that Milefo would appear, that his own master would appear, and save him once more.

But he could no longer hear his master's voice, nor could he see that laughing master again.

"Hahaha! How laughable and pitiful— in the end it's all for nothing! Huangmei, Old Sun will send you off on your final journey." Sun Wukong gave a cold snort, brandished his iron staff, and swung it at Huangmei Laofo's head.

With a crack, Huangmei Laofo's spirit shattered, his skull burst like a watermelon, and strands of his soul floated out, directly drawn past by Luode using his fruit ability.

He also obtained the most orthodox cultivation method of Spirit Mountain.

"Monkey Brother! If we beat this old monster to death, will Milefo blame us?" Looking at Milefo, whose skull had been split open by the blows, Zhu Bajie spoke with some apprehension.

"You idiot, you're always scared of tigers ahead and wolves behind— what's there to fear? Anything, I, your senior brother, can bear it alone; this old Huangmei died at Old Sun's hands." Sun Wukong shouldered his true steel iron staff, gave a cold snort, and spoke.

"What do I have to be afraid of? I'm just worried, but with Wutian Dashen backing me, I should be fine." Zhu Bajie spoke hesitantly.

Now we can only hope that Wutian Dashen really has the clout to suppress Milefo; this is the first person they killed who had an extremely strong background and backing.

"If we can successfully kill him, it means his master no longer wishes to look after him— rest assured on that." Sun Wukong smiled, patted Zhu Bajie's shoulder, then grabbed Zhu Bajie's ear and twisted it hard.

"Ow, Senior Brother, what are you doing? It hurts, it hurts, it hurts— stop pulling, stop pulling my ear, Old Pig; I, the little one, can't take your torment." Zhu Bajie hurriedly spoke.

"Hmph, now that you know it hurts, you idiot— after returning to your true form, your ears are indeed no longer as big as before, and the feel in hand isn't as good either; why not change back into your original pig shape? Old Sun thinks that dirty look suits you better.

"You monkey‑head, Old Pig risked his life to come save you, yet you don't even say thanks and keep mocking me— if I'd known, I'd have let that plague‑ridden monkey die outside and not bothered with you." Zhu Bajie spoke.

"Hahaha! You idiot, you're still the best— let's go! We're going to see Wutian Dashen; this time the matter he entrusted is finally completed.

The two nodded at each other, left the main hall of Leiyin Temple where Huangmei was, turned back, and returned to where Luode and the others were.

"Great Sage, Great Sage Grandpa, and Marshal Tianpeng, you're back— you don't know, just now I, Old Ma, actually saw a big shot— Milefo has appeared." As soon as the two appeared, Ma Tianba rushed over and spoke.

"Milefo has appeared— he, he, how did he speak?"

"What else could he say? After chatting with Wutian Dashen for a while, I tell you, Wutian Dashen is the world's second primordial dragon, and also the true master of the netherworld's Yin bureaucracy, Yintianzi." Ma Tianba spoke. Actually speaking frankly, he doesn't know what the post of Yintianzi represents, because such a title has never appeared before; the Taiyin Star Lord does exist in heaven.

The true rulers of the netherworld should be the Five Direction Ghost Emperors, the Ten Hall Yama, and the Buddhist Earth Store Bodhisattva.

But Milefo mentioned Yintianzi, and Yintianzi's status seems high, so he said that.

"What is Yintianzi? Old Sun has heard of the Five Direction Ghost Emperors, the Ten Hall Yama, and the Taiyin Star Lord in heaven, but never of Yintianzi?"

"Idiot, you used to be Marshal Tianpeng, you know more— have you ever heard of this title?" Sun Wukong turned his head to look at Zhu Bajie and asked.

"Monkey Brother, I've never heard of this Yintianzi either!" Zhu Bajie carefully searched his memory.

But still they found no records related to it; the only thing somewhat similar seems to be just the Taiyin Star Lord.

It's obvious that, aside from top‑level god‑like adepts, nobody else in the world knows the title Yintianzi, for it can be called the Netherworld Emperor, the Netherworld Sovereign, the ruler of the Yin realm, and the controller of the law of death.

"Wutian Dashen, what does Yintianzi mean?" Sun Wukong turned his head to look at Luode and asked.

Not understanding and then asking— that's one of the monkey's strengths; it's far better than those who pretend to know when they don't.

"Yin Tianzi is the master of death, the wielder of deathly divine power, the sovereign of all the dead beneath heaven, governing the death of all things in heaven and earth." Luode simply gave Sun Wukong a brief introduction of his identity.

As soon as these words were spoken, the monkey's eyes lit up. "The master of death, the ruler of death over all things in heaven and earth—how good, how good!" Those heavenly gods, the Three Realms and Six Paths, now fallen into such chaos—isn't it all because of that one phrase 'eternal life'? How many people has this sentence harmed, how many lives has it ruined!

Beside him, Zhu Bajie also instantly understood how exalted this position was, but now, Buddhism and the Heavenly Court have completely seized control of the underworld's authority.

If he wishes to retake the underworld, he will inevitably have to face a great war.

It looks like Elder Brother Monkey is determined to follow him, sigh— in the end, will we still be someone else's pawn?

There's nothing to be done; our strength is too weak, we can never be the one who moves the pieces! "Now I understand, Great God Wutian, Old Sun has already retrieved the third fragment; next I will go for the fourth." Sun Wukong nodded and spoke.

"Great God Wutian, well, this is the time to go to my old master's Flaming Mountain, right?" Ma Tianba stood aside and asked.

As long as this lord arrives at Flaming Mountain, the little king won't be able to stir up any waves; even if he doesn't go, the present Great Sage Sun will go, and the old king will certainly return the Great Sage's belongings to him.

"Elder Brother Monkey, this matter isn't urgent; I've heard that over at Mount Wu we need to deliver a gift to the Zhu family manor, and your sixth root artifact is hidden in the Pan Si Cave. Why don't you come with me, Old Pig? Let's first go to Pan Si Ridge, then head to the Huanghua Temple on Purple Cloud Mountain—what do you think?" Zhu Bajie spoke.

If his old lover doesn't go see her, that old lady will probably die soon; no matter what, he must make the trip—not for anything else, just to let him see the Marshal Tianpeng again.

Before, I was a pig, I had no face to see him, no courage to see him, and indeed could not see him.

But now, with Great God Wutian backing him? Plus, having returned to his original form, Zhu Bajie's courage immediately rose.

"Why don't you, Old Pig, go to Pan Si Cave yourself? I'll head on ahead to Flaming Mountain." Sun Wukong said.

"Elder Brother Monkey, you're joking? No matter what, you have to come with me! Those few spider spirits are no match for Old Pig.

"But that Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord—you know how formidable he is; his golden light, white-eye divine ability is something even you can't withstand, let alone Old Pig!" Zhu Bajie spoke.

"But I am deeply worried about Elder Brother Bull's safety, and I don't know how he has been faring these years." Sun Wukong said.

"Elder Brother Monkey! I do know a bit about the situation with the Bull Demon King—Red Boy, although he wants your left-behind things, hasn't dealt a deadly blow to his father; Elder Brother Bull should be able to hold out a while longer; let's first go to Pan Si Cave!"

"Moreover, Pan Silin still has an acquaintance harmed by you; we, we must persuade Great God Wutian to go rescue him." Zhu Bajie spoke.

"Oh, I was wondering why you, pighead, keep wanting to go to Pan Si Cave—after all this fuss, you just want to see your old lover, now that you've returned to the guise of Marshal Tianpeng, you're eager to show off." Sun Wukong flashed a hint of a smile, gave Zhu Bajie a wicked look, and said.

"Elder Brother Monkey, this is one aspect, but there are two other matters; one of them still concerns you—your previous incarnation as the Heaven's Chosen One has committed quite a few misdeeds; you'll find out when you go to Pan Si Cave." Zhu Bajie said, a wicked smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

The old spider's several daughters—except for the sixth, who is his own, the other five girls were all born from her several sisters.

Among them, one girl ranks fourth; unlike the other maidens, her hairstyle is that of a married wealthy woman, not the unwed style that other spider spirits braid.

Back then there was a Heaven's Chosen Monkey who, without cause, rushed into Pan Si Cave and formed a karmic tie; in the end he died, the matter settled, yet he threw the blame onto his own senior apprentice! "What does this have to do with me, Old Sun? Bajie, explain clearly." Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes and spoke.

"Hehe! You'll know when you go, but the main matter is still the Huiyue Demon Lord—he's a pitiful fellow, because back then he helped your senior apprentice, you.

"leading to his transgression, he was transformed into a being neither human nor ghost; if possible, Monkey King, you must beg Great God Wutian to save him." Zhu Bajie sighed and spoke.

These damned gods, these damned Xikunlun, for their own benefit, have even harmed the heavenly constellations.

"Huiyue Demon Lord? That name sounds like it might be related to the Mao Ri Star Lord?" Sun Wukong asked.

Huiyue and Mao Ri—these names are reversed, and he is also called a demon lord.

"You'll find out when you go; the Heavenly Court still has a lineage of the Queen Mother of the West there, but they have sown bitter fruit!" Zhu Bajie sighed and spoke.

"Since even you, you idiot, have spoken up, then fine—I, Old Sun, will go with you; let's first head to Pan Si Cave!"

"Go meet your old lover, then go meet the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord—"

After Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie had settled on the route for their next stop, they immediately reported to Luode, indicating they wanted to head to Pan Si Ridge.

"Then let's go to Pan Si Ridge! Wukong, I still have something to tell you—when Maitreya Buddha and I were chatting earlier, he said he was in the Pagoda.

"He brought a deceased acquaintance to see you, but to meet that person you must first find all of your root artifacts." Luode said.

This true war god of the Heavenly Court, Erlang Shen Yang Jian, would by any means drag him into his own entourage.

After all, the Heavenly Court's three chief troublemakers—one openly rebellious, one secretly rebellious, one always ready to rebel—must be well utilized.

"Now I understand, Great God Wutian; Old Sun knows—once I have gathered all the root artifacts, I will naturally return once and go to the Pagoda to see him." Sun Wukong said.

Erlang Shen Yang Jian, this time Old Sun owes you a great favor. (End of chapter)