Chapter 603
“We’re heading to the Heavenly Sage Temple,” I said, tagging along with Seo Mun-hye.
Zhuge Sa and Mangnyang were both skilled sorcerers, but they decided they were too weak to join us in battle, so it was just the two of us venturing forth. Tang San was still nursing his injuries back at the base. Since the Heavenly Sage insisted on waiting for us at Mount Tai, we finally reached the Heavenly Altar.
After a short wait, the Heavenly Sage made his entrance, eyeing me with a frown.
“You don’t seem very prepared for this, do you?”
“I’ve done my share of prepping,” I replied, recalling the entire day spent planning with Zhuge Sa and Mangnyang.
Truth be told, I wanted to tag along when Gong Gong recovered the Earth Spirit, but he made it clear he didn’t want me complicating things. If only I could have sweet-talked him into divulging the path to the Earth Spirit, but alas, time was not on our side.
‘It’s too tight… This life…’ I shook off those dark thoughts. Now wasn’t the time for pity parties; I needed to focus on the task at hand.
Instead, I asked the Heavenly Sage, “Could you tell me more about the Tripitaka?”
“Huh?”
“Well… I’d like to hear about your past, if possible. How you went from the Monster King to a Great Sage.”
“Why do you wanna know that?” The Heavenly Sage frowned, clearly uncomfortable.
“Sorry, but I’m not keen on sharing my life story with someone I barely know. Frankly, I don’t particularly like you,” he said flatly.
“Ugh…” That stung. The Heavenly Sage seemed sociable enough, but he was surprisingly shy. Yet after a moment, he cracked a small smile.
“Well, it’s not bad that you’re curious about me. Fine, I’ll give you a brief rundown.”
“Please!”
“Once upon a time, I upended the Celestial Realm. Not to brag, but I was a super strong Monster King… no, an unparalleled Monster King. I climbed to the Celestial Realm, where none could stand against me.” The Heavenly Sage said, resting his Ruyi Staff on his shoulder.
“But then, out of nowhere, I got subdued by some mysterious guy. I didn’t kneel even before the Jade Emperor when I was at my peak.”
“Mysterious guy?”
The Heavenly Sage fell silent, clearly not wanting to discuss it. After a moment, he continued.
“Anyway, long story short, I traveled far and wide to Tianzhu with a monk from the Tang Dynasty to recover some scriptures. It was penance for the sins I committed in the Celestial Realm. The Tripitaka was my travel companion at that time.”
“That Tripitaka is one of the Eight Divine Beasts, right? Do you know which one?”
“He called himself a Celestial and claimed to be the oldest among them. His power was impressive; we had quite the fun adventure together.”
Celestial Tripitaka. That title stuck in my head like a charm. The Heavenly Sage continued.
“When we finally reached Tianzhu, I learned a lot from him. My sins were forgiven when I brought the scriptures back to the Celestial Realm. But instead of ruling again as the Monster King, I decided to work in the Celestial Realm.”
“Why’s that?”
He wore a mischievous grin.
“Well, why do you think?”
“Then what scriptures were they?”
“Guess for yourself? You sure are curious.” The Heavenly Sage chuckled before abruptly declaring, “That’s the end of my backstory! Now let’s move on.”
“Okay…”
He seemed to have shared quite a bit, yet ultimately, it felt like he hadn’t revealed anything crucial. He merely told me a bit more about the Tripitaka. The Heavenly Sage had acknowledged me as a companion, but it was clear he didn’t trust me much.
‘But that’s still enough.’ If one of the Eight Divine Beasts was the Tripitaka, there’s no doubt he would be in records from the Tang Dynasty. If I dug into those texts, I could uncover the secrets of the Celestial’s powers, abilities, and secrets.
Upon reaching White Silk Mountain, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens awaited us. The moment we stepped onto the mountain, Yeodong-bin and the Fire Dragon Incarnate morphed into human forms, and the hall transformed into a gathering of Great Immortals.
“Are we all set?” the Heavenly Mysterious Woman asked.
“Yes, we are.”
“Then let’s depart. We must destroy Gong Gong’s curse.” She quickly outlined the plan.
“I’ll handle the Thirty-Three Celestial Towers of the Lantern Daoist. You all take care of the Fire Dragon Transformation.”
“Once we break through, I’ll deal with the Celestial Immortals.” The Heavenly Sage replied calmly.
“Of course, even I would have trouble winning against a bunch of Immortals. So while I’m fighting, you all need to create a gap or let me slip through to strike at the Queen Mother of the West.”
Ah, that’s the plan. I could clearly see the role expected of us by the Heavenly Sage.
‘So that’s why he needed Jin So-cheong.’ To fulfill the role he required, we all needed at least the power of an Immortal. It sounded easy to slip through their tight encirclement, but breaking through the Celestial’s strict formations was no small feat. My tension was palpable.
The Fire Dragon Incarnate said, “Then, let’s go.”
We all climbed onto the now-massive Kunlun Cloud, as the Heavenly Mysterious Woman cast a mist that concealed our figures. As we soared above the Celestial Realm, we caught glimpses of Immortals and spirit beasts, but none suspected a thing.
After traveling around 300 li, we eventually spotted a formidable mountain on the horizon, convulsing with energy, thunder roaring, and storms raging—a sight not commonly seen. I was taken aback, but the Heavenly Mysterious Woman spoke up.
“That is Mount Kunlun of the Celestial Realm. The ritual will be held at the Queen Mother’s palace.”
Celestial Kunlun was nothing like the earthly Kunlun. It towered higher than any mountain I had ever seen, so grand it looked impossible for a human to climb. And the storms raging above made it clear that only a madman would attempt to scale it.
The Heavenly Sage guided the Kunlun Cloud up to the base of the mountain, quickly reaching mid-point. However, when we pierced through the cloud layer, he suddenly halted and released the Kunlun Cloud.
Tydaht!
The Heavenly Sage frowned as if troubled.
“We’ve got an annoying situation.”
“What’s happening? Is the Thirty-Three Celestial Towers here?”
“Nah. We need to go up by another 200 layers.”
He continued, “Looks like the best archer in the Celestial Realm is aiming for us.”
As soon as I heard that, I knew exactly who was after us.
“Y-Yes?!” I stammered, recognizing the legendary archer and Immortal—Hou Yi! He had once shot down ten suns, and he was also the husband of the Moon Palace Vessel. Plus, he was the one who’d killed me twice in my past life! How could I ever forget that?
If the best archer in the Celestial Realm was someone even the Heavenly Sage would be cautious about, it had to be Hou Yi!
The Heavenly Sage sighed, “While I was away for a sec, the Queen Mother stepped up her defenses again.”
“Can’t you take down Hou Yi?”
“I can try, but if he plays coy, it’ll be a real hassle. Even I can’t catch him quickly if he buys time.”
“…Geez.”
Face-to-face, the Heavenly Sage would surely outmatch him in strength. Yet, Hou Yi was an archer who’s skilled at keeping his distance; if he maintained it, even the Heavenly Sage would struggle to land a hit. The Heavenly Sage, resigned, called out.
“Hey, Hou Yi! Can we have a word?”
As if on cue, a floating cart appeared, revealing Hou Yi preparing to draw his bow. He looked at the Heavenly Sage with frosty eyes.
“What the hell are you doing? Why did you leave your post and bring the Heavenly Mysterious Woman and other Immortals? The Queen Mother didn’t give that order.”
“What else? To smash that ridiculous curse’s altar, obviously.”
“Thought so.” Hou Yi snickered, as if he’d expected it.
“Mihu Wang, you’ve been obedient to the Celestial Realm, but deep down you had other plans. Seems today’s the day it comes to light.”
“It’s not just my will, sir. Don’t you want to know why the Heavenly Mysterious Woman rebelled against the Queen Mother?”
At that, Hou Yi shot a glance at the Heavenly Mysterious Woman. She met his gaze calmly.
“Hou Yi, the Queen Mother is the greatest traitor of the Celestial Realm—the one responsible for the destruction of the Three Pure Ones. Furthermore, she has a history of devouring innocent Immortals. I can swear on my honor that this is the truth.”
“…”
“Let us pass. We come to restore justice in the Celestial Realm.”
After a beat, Hou Yi snapped back, “Got it!”
“What?”
“I knew all of that the day I sought the Elixir of Immortality from her palace. But I’m still following the Queen Mother.”
What on earth?
Everyone stared at Hou Yi in shock. He turned away, grumbling.
“The Queen Mother promised me she’d return my wife once everything was over. I can’t just let you through.”
“Your imprisoned wife? The Moon Palace Vessel?”
“Heavenly Mysterious Woman, I know you seek justice. But if you want to save the Celestial Realm and the Human Realm alike, you’ll have to play by my rules.”
With that, Hou Yi’s bow gathered an immense force as he roared, “But… my wife is my priority!!”
Woosh!
In the next moment, Hou Yi unleashed an arrow, powered by overwhelming energy, headed straight for us.
“Dammit!!” The Heavenly Sage deflected the arrow with his staff and charged towards Hou Yi. They danced around like children playing tag, racing each other at blinding speeds.
Hou Yi cackled, [Come on, Mihu Wang! I’ve been longing to finish this once and for all.]
The Heavenly Sage retorted, [Did you want a walloping that bad? You sure are getting bold with your age!]
They soon began their fierce spar right above Mount Kunlun.
Boom!
The sky over Mount Kunlun burned bright as fire filled the air. It reminded me of that day when the Master fought Yeodong-bin. The Heavenly Mysterious Woman watching their clash sighed, “Oh boy. Both of them are top-tier among Celestial Immortals… This won’t wrap up easily.”
“Should we jump in?”
“Not yet. First, we have to keep moving. There’s no time for that. The Thirty-Three Celestial Towers won’t be easy.”
Rumble!
We quickly followed the Heavenly Mysterious Woman’s lead toward the upper reaches of Mount Kunlun. Suddenly, we spotted a barrier adorned with countless rainbow rings, surrounding dozens of blue towers shimmering in the air.
