Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Wukong eats copper balls and iron water, Tianpeng mistakenly throws into the pig’s womb. Asking for favorites and recommendations【1】
「Bright Palace.」
The Jade Emperor and Great White Plane exchanged glances; both were utterly dejected.
The Jade Emperor said, "My Close Subject Li, now that all three of those misbegotten beasts have failed, is there any other strategy?"
Great White Plane replied, "It seems I must personally try to convince him."
The Jade Emperor said, "That is inappropriate; he does not deserve your personal intervention."
He added, "Moreover, forcing him to become a demon is ultimately not a glorious affair. Let’s have someone else do it."
Great White Plane looked deeply at the Jade Emperor and said, "Does Your Majesty truly still wish for him to become a demon and join Buddhism?"
The Jade Emperor paused for a moment, then fell silent for a while.
"He does have some talent. But I have ascertained that he didn’t actively provoke my authority; it was those three misbegotten beasts who slandered him."
"However, the strengthened Formation cannot be weakened; otherwise, it would make others laugh at me for changing decrees from morning to night."
Great White Plane remained silent.
The Jade Emperor continued, "To be able to withstand the torture of ’Ten Thousand Arrows Piercing the Heart’ in the second stage is indeed rare. He has already proved he has perseverance beyond the Golden Immortal realm."
"Still, he refuses to leave the Flowing Sand River. It’s hard to say he doesn’t hold a grudge against me and is acting defiantly. Even if he returned to my side, I’d be somewhat uneasy."
Great White Plane nodded and asked, "So, Your Majesty still insists on sending him to Buddhism?"
The Jade Emperor’s gaze grew profound. "There are hundreds of years until the calamity of the Journey to the West. If, during these hundreds of years, he can resist the temptation of Buddhism, I might consider bringing him back and promising him the title of War God."
"If he cannot withstand the temptation, then let him join Buddhism. That can be considered my token of reciprocation to Buddhism."
Either way, he would not be at a loss.
Great White Plane nodded. This was the Jade Emperor he knew. Never taking a loss.
"What should we do next?" Great White Plane asked, puzzled.
The Jade Emperor answered, "The Heavenly Court has so much happening every day that we can’t focus all our attention on him. Occasionally, we will check if he can withstand temptations and emerge from the water as a demon; that’s all."
"When necessary, send someone to tempt or force him to come out and become a demon. If he can endure even temptations from our side, it proves he can truly be trusted."
Great White Plane couldn’t help but mentally give the Jade Emperor a thumbs-up, while at the same time, he felt sorry for Sha Chen.
He felt that a person targeted by both the Immortals and Buddhists could not possibly escape.
No matter how resolute the Great General for Folding the Curtain’s perseverance was, he likely wouldn’t be able to sustain it; it was just a matter of time, perhaps half a month or a year and a half.
Sha Chen was likely to go mad and become a demon. Since the three rhino spirits had already made their intentions known, Great White Plane planned not to meddle with Sha Chen’s matters for the time being.
He would let the situation ferment a little first, then interfere.
The Heavenly Court indeed did not focus its full attention on Sha Chen; after all, they had indeed facilitated the selection for the Journey to the West.
And Sha Chen’s presence had always been considered the weakest in the Heavenly Court’s plans.
Their attention was now mainly on Sun Wukong, Monk Tang, Zhu Bajie, and even Xiaobai.
Sun Wukong was suppressed under Five Finger Mountain. The Heavenly Court ordered the Earth God to feed him molten copper and iron daily, tormenting him. Since Sun Wukong was already a Great Demon King, this was also done to torment him spiritually and physically, making him more depraved.
When Buddhism arrived later, subduing him would become relatively easy.
Otherwise, with his unruly nature and no regard for anyone, Buddhism wouldn’t be able to withstand him.
Sun Wukong was still enduring the molten copper and iron, raging and yelling all day long; not a single deity dared to approach.
This was only the beginning; he had yet to submit.
「Half a month had passed.」
Sha Chen was beginning to attempt to break through to the Peak Immortal Taiyi realm. Even though he had ingested aromatic oils, altered his physique, and practiced the Eight-Nine Profound Art, breaking through to the Peak Immortal Taiyi realm was not so easy. However, he had plenty of patience.
He continued his retreat, continued his Cultivation.
And as he secluded himself, time in the outside world kept passing by.
「Three years later.」
Marshal Tianpeng was reincarnated, mistakenly born into the body of a pig.
In his confused and dawning awareness, he still retained the memories of his former life. However, having lost all his Cultivation, he could only compete with other pigs for food in the sty.
Just as he wailed to the heavens, believing that this life would be spent waiting in the sty to be slaughtered, a ray of Buddha’s light descended from above.
Muzha Walker had arrived.
"Muzha, Muzha, it’s me, Tianpeng, help me!" Marshal Tianpeng, now in the form of a piglet, quickly spoke human words.
Muzha Walker laughed and said, "Marshal Tianpeng, I know it’s you. I’m here to help you."
Marshal Tianpeng was instantly overjoyed. "Please, help me regain my human form, or go up to the Heavenly Court and plead my case to the Jade Emperor!"
"Tell him I know my mistakes, beg for his forgiveness, and ask for another chance to atone and prove my merit."
Muzha sneered inwardly. How could they possibly give you another chance? Your current plight is entirely the Heavenly Court’s doing.
But with a smile, he said, "Marshal Tianpeng, what do you think about joining Buddhism?"
Marshal Tianpeng was taken aback. "Join Buddhism? I’ve never considered it."
"Why would I, the great Marshal Tianpeng of the Heavenly Court, want to become a Monk? I’m not stupid."
Muzha’s smile vanished. "That makes sense. Marshal, you may wait for your opportunity. This Monk has another place to be."
Then, he disappeared, leaving Marshal Tianpeng with a dumbfounded expression.
"Muzha, you brat! You haven’t restored my human form, nor have you agreed to report my situation to the Heavenly Court!"
But no matter how he yelled, there was no answer.
Instead, the owner of the pigsty, a butcher with a knife, came over.
The butcher muttered, "Did I just hear someone talking? There must be thieves eyeing my pigs. It’s better to slaughter them all now and cure the meat to be safe."
And then, he started killing the pigs.
Marshal Tianpeng was nearly scared to death and desperately tried to escape.
By a stroke of luck, he managed to break out of the pigsty, chased by the butcher wielding his knife.
Stumbling around, Marshal Tianpeng was like a headless fly, frantically crashing and running in all directions.
At this time, Sha Chen, who had been in seclusion for over three years, still had not reached the Peak Immortal Taiyi realm.
A prodigy needed at least ten thousand years to ascend from the high ranks of Immortal Taiyi to the peak. With only three years, it was naturally impossible for him to cross that gap so easily.
However, Sha Chen woke up that day and went straight to the medicinal field.
The Mysterious Heavenly Water from the Fog Dew Universe Net had already irrigated the whole field. A lake of true water had even formed nearby, providing a ready supply of water.
Within the field, Immortal Herbs and Spiritual Medicines were ripe and ready for harvesting.
Seeing the mature Spiritual Medicines in the field, Sha Chen couldn’t help but smile. "With this batch of Spiritual Medicines, not only can I reach the Peak Immortal Taiyi realm, but it’s also enough for me to cultivate to the Golden Immortal level!"
Then, he began to harvest, eating the Spiritual Medicines right after picking them.
Pure, natural, and pollutant-free, they didn’t even need washing.
A few hours later, Sha Chen left some as seeds for continued Cultivation and stored the remainder.
He continued to sit cross-legged, a pile of Spiritual Medicines in front of him.
These were the Spiritual Medicines he needed for his next breakthrough, conveniently placed before him for easy access.