Chapter 68 Beneath Mount Wuzhi
While the two were talking, they heard intelligence from outside. It turned out that Sheng Hong had already opened the city gates and surrendered, which brought them great joy.
"Congratulations, my lord, for capturing Yonzhou!" Hu Shengliang eagerly congratulated Lu Zhang.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Haha, it seems that this Sheng Hong is also a man who knows the times, so we have spared our army a campaign."
As they left the camp, indeed, they saw Sheng Hong already kneeling outside the camp with the City Lord's Seal in his hand. They quickly helped him up and said, "General, your ability to turn from darkness to light is a fortune for me, Lu Zhang. I hope you can discard past grudges and join me in ending this era of chaos."
At this moment, Lu Zhang was indeed seizing a golden opportunity, and naturally, he treated Sheng Hong with utmost courtesy. Having been in official circles for a long time, Sheng Hong knew how to respond naturally in such circumstances, and the atmosphere was very pleasant. Naturally, Lu Zhang entered Yonzhou without shedding blood, laying the foundation for his unification of the region.
At the foot of Mount Wuzhi, the Earth God and the Mountain God watched the fading rosy light and involuntarily sighed in relief. They knew that during this period, the protective guard had been on constant vigil at Mount Wuzhi to prevent the Great Sage from escaping until it was confirmed that the Buddha Ancestor's Golden Suppression Charm could suppress the Monkey, only then did they return home.
As minor deities, they had to be constantly careful in front of these powerful beings, fearing that a careless offense might affect their destiny.
"Who would have thought that the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, with his illustrious reputation, would end up in such a state!" The Mountain God lamented as he looked at the distant Monkey being suppressed. That being, who once was so spirited that they, mere minor Gods, never had the chance even to meet him, had now fallen into such a plight, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Isn't it just! Fate is so unpredictable; I think it's better to live a quiet life." Old Earth God touched his long beard, expressing his sentiment.
Just then, a surge of moisture suddenly enveloped the entire Mount Wuzhi, and soon a light rain began to fall, gradually enveloping the mountain in clouds and mist.
"Strange, since Mount Wuzhi is under the Buddha Ancestor's Golden Suppression Charm, a place bathed in Buddha Light, how can rain fall here?" The Mountain God looked at the sparse raindrops and wondered.
"Who knows, why worry so much about it! Better to mind less business. Why not join me for a drink inside?" the Earth God quickly pulled on the Mountain God's arm, dragging him into his Divine Realm to have a drink.
As a minor deity for many years, he knew well the wisdom of keeping oneself safe. This mysterious rain surely indicated someone using magic secretly, but for someone to break through the barrier outside Mount Wuzhi and enter, that person must be very capable.
Now, with the other Gods attending a heavenly council in the sky, if they annoyed the newcomer, their weak strength would surely not withstand it.
The rain continued to fall gently, showing no sign of increasing. The Monkey looked at the raindrops falling before him, his parched tongue licked the rainwater off his face, reminding him of the water of Huaguo Mountain. He wondered how the little monkeys were doing. Thinking of this, the Monkey's face turned melancholic.
A faint sound of footsteps snapped the Monkey out of his thoughts. Knowing that no one could enter this area for miles around, the Monkey was very alert.
Raising his head, he saw a man walking out of the white fog, wearing a slightly faded green robe and ordinary cloth shoes, with a Treasured Sword at his waist, and a handsome face. It was Lu Yu.
"Monkey, are you okay?"
When Monkey heard this familiar voice, the once proud and stubborn Great Sage Equalling Heaven could no longer control his emotions and shed tears.
Lu Yu slowly walked up to Monkey, looking at the tearful creature before him, his heart was also filled with desolation—this proud being had finally reached this point.
He struggled to squeeze out a weak smile and said, "This isn't the Monkey I know, the one I know wasn't so fragile—that was the Great Sage Equalling Heaven who rivaled the heavens and battled the earth!"
Lu Yu tried to comfort Monkey, but he too was feeling the strain inside. Seeing the once always radiant Monkey reduced to this state was disheartening, and knowing Monkey's fate yet being powerless to change it ignited anger within Lu Yu. He hated that his own mana was too insignificant to alter Monkey's destiny.
He could only force a smile to comfort Monkey, which was perhaps a way of comforting himself as well.
Life might just be like this, sometimes after all the efforts and struggles, you still find yourself without results, leading to regret and frustration. But that is life, it just pushes you to keep moving forward.
"Scholar, you've seen the joke I've become. Now confined in a cage, I can no longer chat freely with you!" Monkey composed himself a bit.
"You're wrong about that, Monkey. As long as you are here, I am here too. We can talk on Huaguo Mountain, we can converse on Mount Fangcun, but not on Mount Wuzhi. You say you're in a cage, but I see it's your heart that's caged. The you I knew was once clear-hearted, but now you're blinded by the explosive power you've unleashed."
"You have all your limbs, your mana is still with you, and since you're imprisoned here it means your life is not in danger. There will come a day when you can leave, so why give in to despair?"
These words were softly spoken by Lu Yu, but to Monkey, they struck like thunder, prompting him to seriously reflect on his actions. He realized he had indeed been arrogant and complacent, thinking no one could match his mana, yet he couldn't even escape the palm of Tathagata.
"You're right, I was indeed blinded by power; otherwise, I would have noticed something was amiss earlier," Monkey said, also somewhat annoyed. Throughout his journey, which had seemed smooth and effortless, he now realized, upon calm reflection, that his destiny seemed to have been manipulated by an unseen hand, pushing him towards this outcome, yet he was clueless about the intentions behind it.
Now, it's truly laughable, he who styled himself as the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, thinking hardly any of the myriad Buddhas could best him. Now, considering that those powerful beings were hidden behind the scenes, who knows how many means they had? His actions were probably nothing but a joke in their eyes.
"Scholar, tell me, will we ever see our mentor again!" Monkey suddenly asked.
This question caught Lu Yu by surprise—how had Monkey guessed? Discover exclusive tales at empire
"How did you guess?"
Monkey pointed upwards and said, "That day after I caused Havoc in Heaven and through successive battles reached the threshold of the Five Qi leading to the Yuan, Tathagata used the Five Qi in his chest to form the Mount Wuzhi that suppressed me.
If I had exerted all my strength, I might have been able to break free, but as soon as the Golden Suppression Charm was applied, I was rendered completely immobile as if I'd met my nemesis."
"During these days and nights of rumination, I've come to realize that what seemed like a Golden Suppression Charm was actually a cause and effect, a cause and effect of imparting teachings."
When Monkey spoke these words, his eyes were filled with desolation. His whole life had been magnificent because of the Bodhi mentor, who was like a father to him in these three realms, yet it turned out to be just a scheme.