"Master, do not panic, the heavens will not seal all paths. Let me, Lao Shun, carefully explore and see if there is a way through the mountain," the Monkey King comforted Tang Monk.
Nowadays, Tang Monk trusted the Monkey King more and more, especially after the ordeal with the true and false Monkey King. He always felt that he had wronged the Monkey, and thus his attitude towards him was even more trusting than usual.
"Go and come back soon!" Tang Monk instructed.
The Monkey King smiled, bade farewell to his fellow disciples, and mounted the Auspicious Clouds, rushing into Flame Mountain. He had just flown to the edge of the mountain when a blast of flames struck him head-on, panicking him so much that he quickly descended from the cloud.
He took a deep breath of cold air and said, "It’s actually the Samadhi True Fire!"
To know that Samadhi True Fire, although not uncommon in the three realms, stretched for hundreds of miles in such a vast and mighty sea of fire. It was the first time he had encountered such a phenomenon.
"Why does this flame look so familiar? And what is the Scholar up to, sensing his presence in this fire?" muttered the Monkey King.
"Scholar, why don’t you come out!" screamed the Monkey King towards the mountain summit; his voice echoed through Flame Mountain, causing the flames to sway rhythmically.
"Could you not shout so loudly, as if afraid that others might not know I am hiding here?" A voice came from the sea of flames, and Lu Yu, dressed in a green robe and holding the Treasure Vase above his head, slowly emerged from the sea of fire with a glowing Fire Brick in hand.
The Monkey King laughed and said, "Who told you to hide inside and not come out when you sensed my presence? Why didn’t you immediately come to see me?"
"I have urgent matters to attend to; how could I immediately come out? It’s also fortunate that my adversary isn’t here at the moment; otherwise, your shouting would have killed me," Lu Yu complained.
"What adversary? Tell me, and let Lao Shun fight for you. My hands have been itching for some action anyway," said the Monkey King, all energized, rolling up his sleeves to prepare for a big fight.
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"It’s that Patriarch of the Nether River I told you about before. He is currently scheming here, and I secretly thwarted his plans. If he learns about it, I will have no peace," explained Lu Yu.
"So, it’s that fellow. I’ve been looking for a chance to teach him a lesson for you. Now is the perfect time. I’ll go find his trouble," said the Monkey King.
"His true body resides in the Sea of Blood, and he now controls Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan. Don’t rush; your chance to act will come," said Lu Yu.
"What treasure does this Patriarch of the Nether River possess that he dares to scheme here?" inquired Bajie, who had arrived unexpectedly.
The Monkey King turned his head and asked, "You fool, how did you get here?"
"You looked uneasy just now, and I sensed something was off. I secretly followed you to see what trouble you were stirring up," Bajie explained, then turned his head and greeted Lu Yu. As the three of them were no strangers to each other, they dispensed with the formalities and quickly got down to business.
"Beneath Flame Mountain, there lies a Rules of Water and Authority, formed by the Nether River through his machinations. I used a spell to block his path, hence he cannot retrieve it," said Lu Yu with a smile.
After pondering for a while, Bajie asked, "Could it be the Rules and Authority left by Lady Xiang?"
This time, Lu Yu was surprised; he sized up Bajie and said, "Indeed, they were left by that innate Divine Spirit."
"Was it you who mentioned to me last time the Lady Xiang, who lived during the era of the Eastern Emperor Taiyi?" the Monkey asked.
"Exactly, it was him. Initially, two saints from the West tried to revive the vitality of the West, but there was no water source. Eventually, in the era when divine spirits descended, they killed Lord Xiang and Lady Xiang in Xiniu Hezhou, and their bodies were transformed into a water source that nourished the earth. This act awakened the vitality of the West again, and thus their limitless merits elevated them to the status of saints," Scholar replied.
Bajie laughed and said, "No wonder the Patriarch of the Nether River was tempted. I heard that he was born with a ’Rule of Water’ which someone cut off, leaving him inherently deficient. This defect has allowed him to be suppressed by Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha over the years. Now, his desire to seize this rule and authority is surely because he hopes to complete his foundation and advance further."
Lu Yu saw the expression on Bajie’s face and also smiled, saying, "It seems you are also interested in this, Second Brother?"
"To say I’m not interested would be a lie. Who among those who cultivate the Water Arts wouldn’t want to obtain the Rules of Water? This is a treasure that could make one’s future cultivation path much smoother. Don’t tell me you don’t want it, Lu Yu," Bajie countered.
"Lu is not talented. I obtained a Rule of Water not long ago; thus, this rule is optional for me, as long as the Nether River doesn’t get it," Lu Yu humbly spoke.
Bajie was very surprised as he looked at Lu Yu, feeling that the man before him was even more inscrutable. The ’Rules of Water’ were not something common; countless people had searched for years without yield, yet Lu Yu had recently obtained one quietly, which made Bajie feel a sense of envy.
"You are indeed lucky," Bajie said sourly.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yu laughed heartily, feeling very pleased that the former Marshal Canopy would say such a thing.
The Monkey, however, kept circling around Lu Yu, which led a somewhat exasperated Lu Yu to ask, "What are you wandering about for?"
"This brick in your hand, it looks more and more familiar to me. Have I seen it somewhere before?" the Monkey asked.
"Probably in the Eight Trigrams Furnace!"
The Monkey suddenly realized, exclaiming, "That’s right, that’s right, this is a fire brick from the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Back in the day, I suffered a lot because of it. Isn’t this an item from the Elder Lord? How did it end up in your hands?"
"What if I said I found it, would you believe me?"
"Did you pick it up in the Tushita Palace by any chance?"
"When you escaped the Eight Trigrams Furnace, you kicked it over and a fire brick fell out. It ended up here, which is how Flame Mountain came to be today. I took this brick out from the heart of Flame Mountain," Lu Yu explained softly.
The Monkey then awkwardly said, "Ah, I never thought that this place was actually created by my hand. If Master finds out, he’s going to scold me again." Explore more at freewebnovel
However, Bajie’s eyes gleamed cunningly, and he said, "This Rule of Water is indeed a precious treasure. It would be hard to watch it slip away."
"Patriarch of the Nether River holds a grudge, and if he finds out who has the rule, we would face endless harassment. After all, his spells are best at controlling puppets," Lu Yu also felt troubled. He neither wanted the Nether River to have the rule nor did he want to expose his own existence.
"The only plan for now is to muddy the waters. Then, the Nether River will certainly become a target for everyone. Whoever it is will definitely deal with him first, and we will have the opportunity to fish in troubled waters," Bajie pondered and then said.
"You may fear him, but I certainly don’t. Let him try to block me on my journey westward," Bajie said cheekily, well aware of his and his companions’ importance to all the saints. If the Nether River dared lay a hand on him, he would face dire consequences.