Interesting Journey to the Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom (XI)

Meanwhile, Wukong put away his Golden Cudgel and fought with the Patriarch Styx.

The Patriarch Styx said, "Good monk, you do have some courage. Tell me, will you fight with words or with fists?"

Wukong asked, "What about a verbal fight? What about a physical fight?"

The Patriarch Styx said, "In literary combat, we rely on techniques, discuss martial arts, and show off our skills to determine the winner! In martial arts combat, there are no fancy moves. You and I stand here, each exchanging three moves; whoever can't stand still loses!"

Wukong laughed, "Alright! Alright! We're not going to play games. I'll stand right here and teach you three moves!"

The Patriarch Styx said, "If I strike first, you will lose, and I'm afraid you won't admit it. I'll let you strike first!"

Wukong couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.

The Patriarch Styx said, "Monk, what are you laughing at? Are you going to fight or not?"

Bajie laughed from the side, "Hua Yunlong, you still don't know that my Elder Brother has Copper Head and Iron Brains! Let alone three moves, even if you fight me three hundred times, my Elder Brother won't even flinch!"

Upon Ground-Digging Tiger this, "What a boastful monk! Big Brother, I'm skilled in martial arts; I'll take the first blow for you! Let's teach this monk a lesson!"

Upon hearing this, the Patriarch Styx thought to himself that as Ancient Times deity, he didn't want to lose face by Cult Leader Wukong a couple of moves. He figured this man could take his place, so he agreed, saying, "Alright, you fight for me!"

Ground-Digging Tiger stepped forward, assumed a horse stance, and swung his arms.

Wukong laughed and said, "Come! Come!"

Upon hearing this, the Ground-Digging Tiger swung his fist, which struck Wukong squarely on the forehead with a loud "thud," as if he had hit a copper ingot. The impact cracked all five of the Ground-Digging Tiger's fingers except for his thumb.

"Ouch! Ouch! Big Brother, this monk's head is made of bronze, harder than Copper Bell!" Ground-Digging Tiger cried out, clutching his hand.

The One-Eyed Dragon said, "Monk, that punch doesn't count!"

Wukong laughed and said, "Son, you've changed your mind? How can it not count?"

The One-Eyed Dragon said, "I can see clearly that you're wearing Copper Hoop, and that punch just now landed right on it. Do you dare to take off the headband so I can punch you again?"

Wukong laughed, "If you take this headband off, you won't even be able to be a beast in your next life!"

The One-Eyed Dragon was furious upon hearing this and said, "You dare curse me, you monk! Take this kick!"

After saying this, the One-Eyed Dragon hooked his left foot but did not make a move. He circled behind Wukong and kicked out at the back of Wukong's leg.

That kick is incredibly vicious; it targets the hamstrings. One kick from that point and even Vajras wouldn't be able to stand.

Seeing how ruthless the Thieves was, Wukong also became fierce. His legs were like two Heaven-Supporting Pillars supporting the sky, slamming into the ground to take the kick head-on. With a burst of energy, he shattered the bones in the One-Eyed Dragon's left foot.

The One-Eyed Dragon rolled on the ground, clutching his leg and screaming in agony:

"Big Brother, this monk is incredibly skilled! You must avenge us!"

The Patriarch Styx stepped forward and said, "Good monk! You have some skill! You've withstood two moves."

Wukong chuckled, "Hurry! Hurry! There's only one more move! After that, it'll be my Old Sun!"

Upon hearing this, the Patriarch Styx raised his arms, assumed a fighting stance, and said, "Monk, are you ready to catch this?"

Wukong Earthly Way nonchalantly, "My son! Come quickly!"

Patriarch Styx stepped forward and thrust out a palm.

Wukong vanished in an instant.

Because the Patriarch Styx's palm strike was quite powerful, although he didn't use his full strength, he wasn't holding back either. Wukong was caught off guard, lost his balance, and was accidentally slapped into Flower-Fruit Mountain.

The thieves exclaimed in surprise, "That monk has incredible lightness skills! He disappeared in the blink of an eye!"

Bajie was filled with doubt and called out "Brother!" twice, but there was no response.

The Patriarch Styx said, "Fat Monk, your senior brother couldn't hold on, so I've won!"

Bajie that no matter how much he called out to Wukong, he didn't come out, Bajie became a little guilty. Unsure of the Thieves's background, he slowly retreated, intending to escape.

Seeing this, the fallen Ground-Digging Tiger hurriedly shouted, "Don't let him get away!"

Upon hearing this, all the thieves stepped forward.

Bajie quickly dragged his Rake and ran away.

The thieves grabbed his arms, pulled his legs, tore at his clothes, and grabbed his ears, preventing Bajie from escaping.

In Bajie moment of desperation, Pigsy raised both hands and sent seven or eight thieves flying, then ran away in a flash.

The thieves fell to the ground, groaning incessantly. One had a broken leg, another a broken arm. Because it was night, they couldn't catch up with Bajie and could only accept their bad luck.

In the Heaven, Ao Tu laughed and said to Guanyin Bodhisattva, "Wukong's Somersault Cloud has improved again; he left without even doing Somersault Cloud just now!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva rolled her eyes at Ao Tu and asked, "What has Wukong done to offend you this time?"

Ao Tu asked, "What makes you say that?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva said, "How could I not see it? Wukong has been enlightened for several years, how could he possibly defeat the Patriarch Styx? The original plan was to test the Pilgrim, but now they're bullying Wukong. Isn't it because Wukong somehow offended you, and you deliberately plotted against him?"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu laughed and said, "You've really misunderstood me. Although Wukong's words may be a bit inappropriate, am I the kind of person who holds grudges? I'm doing this for his own good!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva said, "Ha, you're the most eloquent! You taught Wukong to stand still and exchange three blows with the Patriarch Styx, and you even said it was for Wukong's own good!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "How could you possibly know what I'm thinking?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva asked, "What are you thinking?"

Ao Tu said, "If I teach Sun Xingzhe Sun Wukong, even if he suffers some hardship, he'll still thank me!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva listened but did not understand the meaning.

Ao Tu didn't say much, and rode with her on Auspicious Clouds, but couldn't stop sighing on the way back.

Guanyin Bodhisattva said, "Why are you sighing? I will be cooking for many more people tomorrow, and I haven't sighed at all."

Ao Tu said, "If you find it tiring, I'll help you."

Guanyin Bodhisattva said, "You only have sweet words."

Ao Tu said, "That's right. But do you know why I sighed? You said before that Wukong had been enlightened for several years, so how could he possibly defeat the Patriarch Styx? Yet my years of enlightenment are still less than Wukong's. I am as insignificant as an Wukong. When I fought the Styx Ancestor to Minghe death, not only did I not receive any help, but I didn't even receive any verbal support. Now, thinking about it, who in the world is more lonely than me!"

Upon hearing this, Guanyin Bodhisattva couldn't help but look at Ao Tu with a complex expression.

Ao Tu remained calm, speaking only in quiet words as he recounted his bitter experiences.

Guanyin Bodhisattva felt a pang of self-reproach. She had forgotten that although her disciple acted recklessly, he had only recently attained enlightenment and had few close associates in the world to help him. She had promised to support him on the Great Dao immortality, and they should have been close Dao Companion. How could she have been so harsh on him today? It was truly inappropriate!

Seeing Guanyin Bodhisattva blaming herself, Ao Tu suppressed a smile and calmly went back with her.

I went to sleep that night, so I won't go into details.

The next morning, Guanyin Bodhisattva prepared the meal and brewed warm tea before calling Ao Tu to get up and eat.

Meanwhile, Wukong slept on Flower-Fruit Mountain for a night and was woken up by a little monkey.

The little monkey asked, "Where are you from, old monkey? I've never seen you before."

Wukong opened his eyes, feeling soreness and numbness all over his body. He looked around and felt that his surroundings were familiar. He asked the little monkey in front of him:

"What Immortal Mountain is this? What Cave Abode is this?"