Although Zhu Bajie was a nominal disciple of Xuandu and served in the Heavenly Court, he had never met Jin Jiao and Yin Jiao.
However, he had heard of the attendants of Taishang Laojun, and it was precisely Jin Jiao and Yin Jiao. Now that these two fellows also possessed Laojun's magic treasures, everything made sense. As long as the Monkey was not foolish, he should go find reinforcements!
Outside the gate of the Tushita Palace, Sun Wukong knocked incessantly but the door remained shut.
Sun Wukong snorted and decided to force his way in!
Alas, the Tushita Palace seemed to be surrounded by a formation, and he couldn't break through!
At this moment, Sun Wukong felt dejected. What should he do? Was Laojun not at home?
So, Sun Wukong took another somersault cloud and descended from the Heavenly Court, heading towards Shouyang Mountain. If he couldn't find Laojun, couldn't he find Xuandu? That was Laojun's eldest disciple!
Upon arriving at Shouyang Mountain, Sun Wukong shouted loudly, "Great Master Xuandu? Are you home?"
At this moment, the formation of Shouyang Mountain opened, and Xuandu walked out. Seeing Sun Wukong, he chuckled, "You impudent monkey, what are you shouting about here?"
Sun Wukong immediately grabbed Xuandu and said, "Great Master, quickly, my master has been captured by monsters, save us quickly!"
Xuandu was speechless. Your master has been captured, and you're not saving her, but asking me to? He then calculated with his fingers, and indeed, it was Jin Jiao and Yin Jiao. He hadn't expected Journey to the West to reach this stage yet!
After all, he had been in seclusion recently and hadn't paid attention to matters in the Great Desolation!
"Alright, don't be anxious. I'll take you to find my master!" Xuandu said.
The two then entered Shouyang Mountain, and Sun Wukong was speechless. So Taishang Laojun was here! No wonder he had shouted himself hoarse outside the Tushita Palace without anyone responding!
"Laojun, quickly, quickly, urgently!" Sun Wukong said upon seeing Taishang Laojun.
Taishang Laojun flicked his sleeve. There was nothing he could do, the monkey wouldn't let go.
"Impudent monkey, let go!" Taishang Laojun said.
Sun Wukong sheepishly released his hand and said, "Laojun, your magic treasures have been stolen. Those two fellows who claim to be King Jin Jiao and King Yin Jiao stole your gourd and the diamond bracelet!"
Taishang Laojun nodded and said, "Let's go, I'll accompany you to take a look."
With that, the two rode clouds towards Pingding Mountain.
Upon arriving above Pingding Mountain, Taishang Laojun said, "You go and challenge them!"
Sun Wukong nodded, jumped off the cloud, and shouted, "My son, your Grandpa Sun is here again!"
King Jin Jiao and King Yin Jiao immediately emerged from their cave dwelling. King Yin Jiao sneered, "Monkey Sun, you've even lost your weapon, and you're still so arrogant?"
King Jin Jiao also smiled proudly, took out the diamond bracelet, and hurled it towards Sun Wukong.
However, the diamond bracelet flew directly into the air and landed in Taishang Laojun's hand.
Seeing the diamond bracelet disappear just like that, the two monsters looked up and saw Taishang Laojun. They immediately knelt and said, "Greetings, Master!"
Taishang Laojun waved his hand, and Jin Jiao and Yin Jiao immediately retreated their demonic forms, becoming two exquisitely carved boys who flew to Taishang Laojun's side.
Taishang Laojun then said, "Alright, you hurry and rescue your master!"
Sun Wukong pouted and snorted. He hadn't disciplined his attendants well enough, and now his attendants had descended to the mortal realm as demons. He was dismissed with just a word? As he was about to say something, Taishang Laojun had already disappeared. Sun Wukong, feeling helpless, could only rush into the cave dwelling to rescue people!
As for those minor demons, they met a tragic end, being slaughtered by Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing.
Leaving Pingding Mountain, Zhu Bajie teased, "Brother Monkey, how did you lose your weapon?"
Sun Wukong rolled his eyes. How dare you mention me? Damn it, if you guys had held on for a few more rounds, there wouldn't have been so many problems.
Seeing that Monkey was in a bad mood, Zhu Bajie dared not provoke him further and silently followed behind them, continuing their journey.
The master and his disciples set off again.
However, as they passed by Fire Phoenix Mountain, they all stopped. This was because a dense flame permeated the area, as if the entire mountain was burning. This mountain stretched for a hundred miles, blocking their path westward.
"My goodness, what's on this mountain? How can it keep burning?" Zhu Bajie exclaimed in surprise.
Tang Sanzang stepped forward to examine it, but quickly retreated. There was nothing he could do, the flames on the mountain were too powerful. He then said, "Disciples, what do we do now? We are heading west, and this mountain is so vast. Taking a detour would delay us."
Sun Wukong said at this moment, "Master, I'll go take a look!"
With that, he soared into the air and entered Fire Phoenix Mountain.
Upon entering, Sun Wukong didn't feel uncomfortable. After all, he had been through the Eight Trigram Furnace of Taishang Laojun, so why should he care about this small flame? He looked around and roughly estimated the area, then shook his head. Detouring would be too far, but what to do about the fire in the mountain?
As Sun Wukong pondered, a woman emerged from the flames. She glanced at Sun Wukong and with a wave of her hand, an endless torrent of flames surged, directly blasting Sun Wukong away.
Sun Wukong got up, looked back into Fire Phoenix Mountain, and quickly fled.
"Master, I'm back!" Sun Wukong was somewhat disheveled, as he had been inexplicably struck just now. The other party's casual blow could send him flying, indicating that their cultivation was likely stronger than his.
"Wukong, how is it? What happened to you?" Tang Sanzang asked, looking at Sun Wukong with confusion.
Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing also looked over. Zhu Bajie said, "Brother Monkey, what happened to you? Did you get beaten? Why are you so disheveled?"
Sun Wukong glared at Zhu Bajie and said, "Master, I've seen it. This mountain stretches for a hundred miles, and detouring would be very far. However, there is a path within the mountain that can be passed, but the surrounding flames must be extinguished first."
Tang Sanzang was immediately troubled. Extinguishing the fire? It wouldn't be that easy.
"Hey, isn't it just extinguishing a fire? Brother Monkey, don't you know the Four Dragon Kings? Ask them to spray some rain, and it'll be done!" Zhu Bajie said nonchalantly.
Sun Wukong thought this was a good idea and immediately took a somersault cloud to the East Sea.
In the Dragon Palace, the Old Dragon King of the East Sea said in surprise, "Great Sage, aren't you following Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West? How do you have time to visit me?"
After having a couple of drinks, Sun Wukong said, "Old Dragon King, I have something to ask for your help. We are passing by Fire Phoenix Mountain, where flames are rampant. I hope the Old Dragon King can bring some rain to extinguish the fire so we can pass."
Ao Guang heard this and shook his head, saying, "Great Sage, you may not know, but we have heavenly decrees for summoning clouds and rain. You must seek the Jade Emperor for this. Only with an imperial decree can we summon clouds and rain. Otherwise, we cannot escape the blade on the Tortoise Back Platform."
Sun Wukong was stunned. Was bringing rain so troublesome? He could only cup his hands and with a somersault cloud, went to the Heavenly Court.
At this very moment, in the Hall of Lingxiao, the Jade Emperor looked unhappy. This fellow Di Xin had summoned him to court, but it was all his decrees, having nothing to do with himself. Why then did he drag me here?