Chapter 37: The Divine Eye Opens, Revealing the Truth of Immortal and Mortal
The fierce battle was imminent; there was nothing more to be said. Yet, just as the fight was about to begin, Sun Wukong was suddenly seized by a strange sensation—the feeling that a pair of eyes were hidden behind him, watching every unfolding event with secret scrutiny.
This feeling was so intense that Sun Wukong could not help but be suspicious. He glanced up at the Celestial Palace, and the sense only grew stronger within his heart. Why did it feel as if unseen eyes were constantly spying upon them?
In truth, that was exactly the case. There truly was a gaze observing all that transpired atop the Celestial Palace.
The Divine Domain abruptly advanced, unlocking the “Divine Eye” ability and instantly raising Chu Xiaoyu’s status as an “Immortal Lord” to unprecedented heights. With the activation of the Divine Eye, both the immortal and mortal realms, the heavens and the earth, all things became visible at a glance.
“Take this, Monkey! Face my halberd!” Yang Jian roared in fury, brandishing his mighty weapon with a vow to skewer Sun Wukong straight through.
Yet Yang Jian underestimated Sun Wukong’s prowess. With the bodyguarding arts of the seventy-two transformations of Earthly Fiends, he could ascend to the heavens or descend into the underworld—how could he be so easily impaled? Impossible!
Sun Wukong darted aside in a flash, vanishing with the speed of light.
A thunderous crash resounded! Yang Jian missed his mark, instead smashing a gaping hole straight through the Southern Heavenly Gate.
“Three-Eyes! Let’s return the courtesy! You try to skewer old Sun with your halberd; now old Sun will strike you with my cudgel.”
“Here comes old Sun! Take that! And this!”
With a thought, Sun Wukong caused his magical staff to expand a hundred thousand-fold, soaring upward like a titan, and brought it crashing down upon Yang Jian.
With a reverberating boom, Yang Jian was sent hurtling from the Southern Heavenly Gate all the way to the Eastern Gate.
A wretched howl escaped him. His bones shattered, Yang Jian collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
Damn that monkey! One blow from that staff nearly sent him straight to the King of Hell.
Yang Jian, Third Prince Nezha, Lei Zhenzi, and Li Jing the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King were famed as the Four Great War Gods of the Celestial Palace. Never had they imagined that in a single round, Yang Jian would be sent flying by a single swing of Sun Wukong’s staff, from the Southern Gate to the Eastern Gate—a pitiful sight indeed.
The assembled deities atop the Hall of Supreme Harmony could scarcely bear to watch Yang Jian’s sorry plight.
The Jade Emperor drew a deep breath. Who could have thought that a mere monkey would possess such formidable might, so much so that even Yang Jian was not his match? In the Celestial Palace, there were precious few generals capable of withstanding such force.
Taibai Jinxing, seeing the Jade Emperor’s deeply furrowed brow, offered a suggestion. “Your Majesty, I have a matter to report.”
“Speak!” commanded the Jade Emperor.
“Your Majesty, from what I have observed, this monkey is no ordinary being. He studied under the Patriarch Bodhi on the Mountain of Mind and Heart, mastering the seventy-two transformations of the Earthly Fiends and many other magical arts. To imprison him in the celestial dungeons would not be easy.”
“Hmph! From what you say, are you suggesting we simply let the monkey go?” the Jade Emperor demanded angrily.
Taibai Jinxing hastily waved his hands. “Your Majesty, you misunderstand me. Even if I had the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard, how would I dare to defy you? My meaning is simple—since this monkey is so unmanageable, why not give him a way out?”
He paused and continued, “Your Majesty, as you know, Her Majesty the Queen Mother has recently complained of a pest outbreak in the Orchard of Immortal Peaches. The trees are suffering, and no solution has been found.”
“And why is that?” the Jade Emperor asked in confusion.
Taibai Jinxing explained, “My suggestion is straightforward: since the monkey is causing such trouble, why not send him to the Queen Mother’s orchard? If he can rid the garden of its pests, that would be a great service—his merits would counterbalance his faults, and the matter would be settled.”
It was just a lost heavenly steed, after all. The imperial stables were overstocked; one more or less made no difference. The decision now rested on the Jade Emperor’s shoulders.
After some thought, the Jade Emperor found reason in Taibai Jinxing’s words. This wild monkey was not to be trifled with. If even the mighty Yang Jian lost to him in a single round, it was best to give him a way out and appease him, lest he cause further chaos.
“Very well, let it be as you say. Go and discuss it with the monkey. I am weary and do not wish to see him.”
Thus, the farce of the lost horse ended in the Jade Emperor’s reluctant concession.
No more tending horses—now off to the Queen Mother’s orchard to fight pests?
The Orchard of Immortal Peaches! Sun Wukong did not hesitate for a moment; he agreed at once. A pie had fallen from the sky and landed squarely on his head, leaving him dizzy with delight.
Wonderful! Marvelous! Good days were here again.
And so, the monkey was sent off in high spirits to the Queen Mother’s peach orchard.
As the vermilion gates swung open and Sun Wukong entered the orchard, the sight before him left him stunned.
An entire courtyard full of peach trees.
It was said that the Queen Mother’s orchard contained twelve hundred peach trees—front, middle, and rear.
The trees at the front bore fruit every three thousand years; ordinary mortals who ate them could ascend to immortality and join the ranks of the celestials.
The middle trees bore fruit every six thousand years; those who ate them would attain immortality.
The trees at the rear bore fruit every nine thousand years; those who ate them would shine with the sun and moon, and their lives would match the heavens and earth in longevity.
“So this is the Queen Mother’s orchard? Impressive indeed, but why do all these trees look so wretched?”
Every tree was infested with dense swarms of finger-sized insects, a horrifying sight. Some trees had been gnawed bare, their leaves reduced to nothing—truly pitiful.
Sun Wukong remembered Taibai Jinxing’s words. The Jade Emperor had said that if the monkey could eliminate the pests, his past offenses would be forgiven and the matter of the lost horse forgotten.
“Heh, how hard could this be? Just a bunch of bugs—watch old Sun take care of them.”
Sun Wukong plucked a handful of hair from his head, blew upon it while chanting an incantation, and in an instant, tens of thousands of monkeys sprang into existence.
With a single command, the monkey army set about the task of eradicating the pests.
Yet, beyond all expectation, though they thought the job would be done in the blink of an eye, the pests reproduced faster than they could be killed. For every insect slain, two larvae immediately appeared. In the space of a heartbeat, needle-sized bugs grew to the size of a finger and spread chaos everywhere.
The bizarre and terrifying speed of their growth left Sun Wukong utterly aghast.
No wonder the immortals had handed this thankless task to him.
So that was the truth? Even celestial magic was powerless against these dreadful pests? Indeed, not only was it useless, but it seemed only to make their breeding even more ferocious.
“Curse that wretched old Taibai! Tricked me again!”
The orchard continued to suffer, and Sun Wukong leaped about in agitation. It seemed he would have to seek help from his old master after all.
“Somersault Cloud! Come!”
Vaulting onto his cloud, the monkey soared away in search of aid.
PS: In a few more chapters, the monkey will soon be pressed under the Five-Finger Mountain by Big-Eared Tathagata! And it will finally be time for Chu Xiaoyu, the Immortal Lord, to make a dazzling entrance! Please add to your collections, vote, and support in every way—your encouragement is deeply appreciated!