The Battle in Journey to the West-Chapter 78 - 0 Hidden Swallowing Dragon Stele in Peach

Wukong thought to himself, “The old Jade Emperor has invited me into the Peach Garden to stand guard, isn’t this just setting me to guard something only to steal it from myself? Hehe, although the positions in the Heavenly Court are prestigious, they are indeed overshadowed by the Three Pure Ones, making it quite a miserable affair. These Three Pure Ones are like Cao Mengde at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, with the Jade Emperor playing the role of Emperor Xian of Han, using the emperor to command the princes.”

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The Jade Emperor knew that letting Wukong guard the Peach Garden was essentially setting him to guard and steal from it, yet he had to do it, which made him feel extremely stifled.

As Wukong entered the garden, seeing the abundant peach trees, he felt reflective and thought to himself, “Back then, the Three Pure Ones paved the way for me, yet I was clueless, consuming countless Peaches of Immortality and Laojun’s Immortal Pills without refining them, simply letting the Innate True Qi slip away. Later, even when I was constrained by the headband, my cultivation and magical power could no longer progress! Now, given another chance, I definitely won’t make such basic mistakes again.”

Thinking about his past life, he couldn’t help but laugh a bit. He had been too brash and naive, truly thinking that a bit of mana made him unbeatable. On his journey to the West, he gradually realized the intricacies of dealing with those utterly ruthless demons. Before he had a chance to fully awaken to these realizations, Tathagata had already made his move with a strategy akin to “the prince and the pauper,” using an intricate plan that even the Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch might find a bit challenging.

“Great Sage, Great Sage, there are a total of three thousand six hundred peach trees here. The first twelve hundred trees have small blossoms and fruits, maturing every three thousand years, and mortals who eat them immediately attain enlightenment and become immortals; the middle twelve hundred trees, with abundant flowers and lush fruits, mature every six thousand years, and those who consume them can ascend in broad daylight, obtaining eternal life; the last twelve hundred trees are cuttings from the Mother Peach Tree, with purple patterned yellow cores, maturing once every nine thousand years, and one who eats them will live as long as heaven and earth, their ages coinciding with the sun and the moon,” said the Local Deity, bowing.

Wukong thought to himself, “The old Jade Emperor is truly wealthy, those Peach of Immortality could create many powerful beings! Yet, true cultivation must come from one’s own progressive realization. Otherwise, it’s merely an illusory height. A Great Luo Golden Immortal raised on peaches is probably not as formidable as a Taiyi Golden Immortal who has attained his position through his own arduous cultivation.”

In the initial days in the Peach Garden, Wukong behaved unobtrusively, not wandering around. Every day, he checked in and went to inspect the peach trees after the roll call.

One morning, he reached the deepest part of the Peach Garden and saw a Rainbow Peach Tree. This tree bore crystal-clear peaches, which he had never seen in his past life.

“Could this be the Mother Peach Tree? Wasn’t it supposed to be planted by the Queen Mother herself in the Yao Pond?” This Rainbow Peach Tree was not very tall, about six meters high and only about one inch thick, but the peaches on it were robust and juicy. Wukong thought that these peaches seemed similar to the ones he had eaten on the Rotten Peach Mountain at Slanted-moon Three-star Cave, yet they appeared even more vibrant in color.

Wukong took a few steps forward when the peach tree suddenly moved and dove directly into the ground.

Wukong exclaimed, “You think you can escape?!”

He quickly utilized his mana, grabbed a handful of soil, and threw it into the air, then applied the Earth Escape to chase after the tree underground, pursing it towards the radiating rainbow light.

The Rainbow Peach Tree kept diving deeper, and Wukong continued to pursue. The soil in this part of the Peach Garden was different from the outside, rich in nutrients and with a considerably thick layer. Wukong dipped down about more than two kilometers deep but still couldn’t catch the tree. He quickly recited an oral spell, his body emanating a yellow glow as he employed one of the Thirty-Six Types of Transformations, the Five Elements Great Escape. This escape technique sped up his pursuit considerably, but the deeper he went, the greater the resistance became; while the peach tree, unfazed by such constraints, continued to dive away relentlessly.

Wukong quickly shook free of the Great Year Whip, cast it toward the peach tree, but the tree, possessing a heavy spirit, flickered and escaped to another spot.

“Still running? I’ll see where you can run to!” Wukong cursed, but he was also worried that the peach tree would flee to the Yao Pond; if it alarmed the Queen Mother of the West, that would be rather unfortunate.

Tree and monkey, one chasing and one fleeing, dipped deeper and deeper, and suddenly Wukong saw a huge stele.

The peach tree fled behind the stele. Wukong did not bother to look at the inscriptions on it and merely chased after, but the stele suddenly emitted a burst of golden light. Like thunder that doesn’t allow you to cover your ears, it struck Wukong, scattering the yellow light of his Earth Escape and pressing him with surrounding dirt nearly to the point of bursting. Frantically, he operated the Method of the Five Elements Great Escape, finally easing the pressure, but the immense force had already caused blood to stream from his nose.

The stele was thirty feet high and ten feet wide, inscribed with mysterious characters. Wukong recognized one of them, written by Confucius: the character for “sword.” He exclaimed in surprise, “Is this the Swallowing Dragon Stele from the time of the Xia Dynasty?”

On closer inspection, the perfectly squared stele seemed to be carved into a dragon shape; the body of the dragon formed the stele, and the dragon head at the top bit into the topmost part, as if biting its own tail!

The Xia Dynasty was a flourishing era, founded by Da Yu the Great and ruined by the hands of Xia Jie, after which Cheng Tang established the Shang Dynasty.

The Xia Dynasty was also a mystical age. The characters on this Swallowing Dragon Stele were rumored to have descended from the heavens and worshipped by the Human Emperor of that time who then mobilized the entire nation’s power to create the Swallowing Dragon Stele and engraved them on it. Even the earliest historical texts do not record these characters, not crafted by Cangjie, seeming as natural as if born by the heavens. Some scholars believe that the Xia Dynasty Dragon Seal was a script invented by the most ancient and mystical dynasties, yet even those among the People of the Immortal Path, who had existed since the creation of the heavens and the earth, did not recognize these characters; how could they have been invented by an even more ancient and mystical dynasty?

Wukong brushed aside the dirt near the left of the Swallowing Dragon Stele and suddenly saw a pitch-black coffin underneath, identical to the one Wusheng found in the Sheji Chart.

“Incredible, incredible, this is the Swallowing Dragon Stele from the time of the Xia Dynasty! How did it end up here in the Heavenly Court’s Flat Peach Garden?” Wukong marveled in amazement.

The Swallowing Dragon Stele was a feat of the entire Juxia Nation to suppress the national destiny and was a Divine Artifact. After Xia Jie lost the support of his people and the Xia Dynasty was about to collapse, the stele flew away by itself.

The characters from the Swallowing Dragon Stele also spread out, but not many; the few Xia Dynasty Dragon Seals obtained by Confucius were likely those that traveled outward. As a profound scholar and a sage of Confucianism, he astonishingly deciphered the profound secrets hidden in these Xia Dynasty Dragon Seals, enabling him to use these mysterious characters as Divine Skills, which was awe-inspiring.

Suddenly, a voice came from the coffin: “The Rainbow Peach Tree brought you here; this Swallowing Dragon Stele should rightfully be controlled by you, as you are the one destined by heavenly decree.”

Wukong flinched and hurriedly said, “Senior, who are you? Why hide in a coffin? Please come out and speak.”

Yet another voice from the coffin said, “Do not prattle, the Swallowing Dragon Stele belongs to you now!”

Wukong instinctively swallowed his saliva. The Swallowing Dragon Stele, a Divine Artifact used by the Great Xia Dynasty to suppress the national destiny, possessed boundless power! If he held it, he could surely sweep across all directions.

The dragon on the Swallowing Dragon Stele seemed to come alive, opening its eyes and sweeping a glance at Wukong. It spoke, “Profound Stone Monkey, foremost among the Four Great Celestial Monkeys, born of the Heaven-mending Merits fortune, crossed the Eastern Sea, entered the Southern Toad Continent, subsequently took refuge in the Slanted-moon Three-star Cave, apprenticed to Subhuti, cultivated for seven years, learned the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Transformations, secretly grasped the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Transformations, and finally achieved the Dao of Immortals. Born to embody the Will of Heaven’s Dao, through the arrangement of a tall person, time and space were reversed, transcending the Heavenly Dao, thus receiving the heavenly decree!”

Wukong was astonished; he had no idea whether the Swallowing Dragon Stele was a living thing or not, but it had unveiled his profound secret in a moment, causing cold sweat to cover his entire body.

After saying this, the Swallowing Dragon Stele immediately closed its eyes and returned to silence.

“Very good, very good… It truly did not disappoint me. After all, I have found the one most suited to carry the heavenly decree!” There came a burst of laughter from the coffin.

The Rainbow Peach Tree appeared again, and from it fell the largest Peach of Immortality, surrounded by a halo of rainbow light, landing in Wukong’s hands.

Wukong felt the world spin around him, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

The outcome is yet uncertain, please tune in next time for the resolution.