An Ill-Fated Fall into Pansi Cave (26)

Meanwhile, Bajie went to Heaven to request troops.

Upon hearing that Wukong had been injured, the Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor asked:

"Your Elder Brother possesses Vajras body; what treasure could possibly harm him?"

Bajie said, "Your Majesty, it is a strange whip. It doesn't cause any injury when it hits someone, but it causes excruciating pain. My Elder Brother said that this thing is definitely not from the mortal world. Please, Your Majesty, investigate where this treasure comes from."

The Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor nodded, looked at the assembled immortals, and asked, "Do any of you Immortal Household know what kind of treasure that strange whip is?"

Taishang Laojun laughed and said, "Your Majesty, this old Daoist knows about this."

The Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor asked curiously, "What is your origin?"

Taishang Laojun said, "In the early days of Human Race, a great sage tamed the six domestic animals, which led to the prosperity of Human Race. This strange whip is the very thing that tamed those animals."

The Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor said, "So that's how it is. So that's its origin."

Bajie said, "Wrong! Wrong! If it were a sacred treasure, it would be Merit Artifact. That whip is a weapon of Baleful Qi, and has no Merit whatsoever."

Taishang Laojun said, "You only know one thing, not the other. After the whip tamed the six domestic animals, Heaven and Earth bestowed Merit upon it, making it Merit Artifact; later, it no longer tamed the six domestic animals but instead tamed people as slaves, thus dissipating the Merit and becoming a treasure of Baleful Qi."

Upon hearing this, Bajie finally understood the origin of the whip. He quickly bowed and thanked the Dao Ancestor, then asked, "Please Dao Ancestor, guide me on how to break that Precious Whip?"

Taishang Laojun laughed and said, "Breaking that thing is actually not difficult. That whip only strikes the guilty and those who flee. You and your disciples were injured by it, so you must have committed a wrong, which is why you are in so much pain."

Upon hearing this, Bajie felt deeply ashamed and had no choice but to explain the whole story, which caused all the immortals to burst into laughter.

The Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor laughed and said, "That monkey's old habits have kicked in again. This trouble was to be expected! This trouble was to be expected!"

Bajie pleaded, "Your Majesty, please send some Heavenly Soldiers and Generals to rescue my Elder Brother!"

Upon hearing this, the Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor immediately ordered Heavenly King Li Third Prince Nezha, to lead troops Lower Realm to assist him.

Upon receiving the imperial decree, Heavenly King Li mustered his Heavenly Soldiers, and led Nezha and Bajie down to the Lower Realm.

Before long, they arrived at the Yellow Flower Temple.

Bajie said, "Heavenly King, that Demon's treasure is incredibly powerful! You must be very careful!"

Heavenly King Li, "It's none of your business! I act with integrity and have never done anything wrong, so I have nothing to fear from that Demon's Precious Whip!"

Seeing this, Bajie didn't say anything more.

Heavenly King Li ordered his Heavenly Soldiers to form a battle formation, completely surrounding Yellow Flower Temple, beating drums to boost morale, with Nezha as the Vanguard, to annihilate the Demon.

Hearing the drumbeats, the Many-Eyed Monster led his Spider Demon demons out to fight.

Seeing this, Bajie seized the opportunity to sneak into the temple and head straight for the Prison Cell, hoping to rescue Tang Sanzang and the others.

Two Daoist were guarding the Prison Cell. When they saw Bajie barge in, they each drew their Precious Sword, their faces Zhengning, and charged at Bajie!

Bajie initially intended to kill the two men, but then he remembered Lord Lao's words that the whip was only for the guilty. If he killed them, he would inevitably be tainted by sin and suffer the lash. So he bent down and pushed the two men to the ground, then stepped forward and pressed down on them, knocking them unconscious.

Hearing the commotion, Tang Sanzang and his companions in the prison looked out.

Bajie hurriedly said, "Master, Elder Brother, I've asked Heavenly King Li and Third Prince Nezha to come and save you!"

Wukong asked, "Why are there only two of them? Have they found out the origin of that treasure?"

Bajie said, "I've found out that the treasure only harms those who have committed crimes and are trying to escape. That's why Heavenly King Li and Third Prince Nezha Lower Realm. Neither of them has committed any crimes, so they have nothing to fear from the treasure!"

As he spoke, Bajie recounted the origin of the treasure that Lord Lao had mentioned to Tang Sanzang and the others.

Upon learning of this, Tang Sanzang sighed and admonished the Human Way, "Wukong, Bajie, Wujing, I have long taught you not to do anything dishonest in secret, but you did not heed my teachings, which is why you have met with this misfortune."

Bajie said, "Who would have thought there was such a treasure?"

Tang Sanzang said, "Even without such a treasure, we cannot do this!"

Wukong said, "Master, let's not talk about this now. Let's go out first. That Demon has some power, and with the help of seven junior sisters, I'm afraid that Heavenly King Li and Third Prince Nezha will have difficulty subduing him and things might go wrong. Let me go out and help them."

Tang Sanzang listened and said no more.

Bajie raised his Rake and smashed the cell door. Wukong jumped out and walked outside.

Bajie carried Sha Wujing on his back as usual and led Tang Sanzang out.

Once outside, they saw Nezha fighting the Many-Eyed Monster, and seven Spider Demon battling the Heavenly Soldiers.

Heavenly King Li stood on the clouds and never came down.

Upon seeing this, Wukong drew his Golden Cudgel and said, "Demon, take this!" With that, he stepped forward to fight.

Upon seeing this, the Many-Eyed Monster shook its clothes, revealing Thousand Eyes that emitted a dazzling Golden Light and a dense yellow mist, which enveloped Wukong and Nezha.

Once inside, Wukong and Nezha were as if trapped in Copper Bell and iron barrel, unable to move forward or backward. The dazzling Golden Light was blinding and captivating; the dense yellow mist seemed to spew fire; it blotted out the sun and moon, its turbulent aura creating a hazy atmosphere, leaving the two panicked and with nowhere to escape. Wukong panicked and somersaulted upward, crashing into the Golden Light and falling headfirst. When he reached out to touch it, he found that the skin on his head had become soft.

Nezha drew his demon -Demon-Slaying Sword, kicked his Wind Fire Wheels, and slashed wildly in all directions, but he could not break through the Golden Light and yellow mist. Instead, he was left feeling weak and numb all over.

Nezha asked, "Monkey, you fought this Demon before, do you recognize what kind of Supernatural Ability this is?"

Wukong said, "How could I recognize him? When I fought this Demon before, I saw him take off his clothes and knew he was about to use his Supernatural Ability, so I turned around and left without going forward. Now, I heard from Bajie that the Demon's Precious Whip only strikes those who have committed crimes and are trying to escape, so I rushed forward to fight the Demon, but I ended up falling into this Golden Light again. I can neither escape nor fight back. What should I do?"

Nezha said, "Let's figure out a way to get out first, then ask His Majesty for troops."

Upon hearing this, Wukong looked closely and saw that all around him was Golden Light and yellow mist. He couldn't go up, so he could only go down. He transformed into a pangolin, also known as a carp scale, with four iron claws and bright eyes, and began to dig downwards.

Ao Tu saw this from afar, pointed his finger, and used a spell to turn the ground into Pointing to the Ground Turns It to Steel, making it as hard as Vajras.

Wukong's two claws landed on the ground as if on metal or stone; he couldn't get them to move and instead injured his five fingers, causing them to ache. He had no choice but to transform back and said in distress:

"This Demon's Supernatural Ability was a perfect technique, effective from all directions, leaving no opening whatsoever. We had no choice but to surrender."

Nezha, refusing to believe in evil, threw out the Universe Ring, which struck the Golden Light and flew back, hitting Wukong on the head with a "thud," knocking Wukong to the ground.

Nezha asked, "Monkey, are you alright?"

Wukong covered his head and said, "My scalp was already injured, and then you hit me like that. Sooner or later it will become a chronic illness, a rotten pus-filled mess."

Nezha said, "You monkey head, you weren't afraid of being chopped by swords or axes, what's wrong with you now?"

Wukong said, "In this Golden Light and yellow mist, I am exhausted and naturally cannot compare to before."

With no other option, the two resisted for a while longer before being captured.

Seeing that Wukong and Nezha had been captured, Heavenly King Li was thrown into chaos. He immediately sounded the retreat and fled.

Upon seeing this, the eldest sister swung her Saintly Whip and struck Heavenly King Li on the back.

Heavenly King Li was immediately overcome with pain, cried out "Ouch!" and tumbled down from the clouds.