Chapter 107: Great Battle With Red Boy
However, Wukong taught Red Boy the method.
What he taught was a section of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts for tempering the body and cultivating Qi and preserving spirit, which also included a few magic spells.
This was the method that Ao Tu had once taught to the Taoist Priests of Wuji Kingdom.
Later, Wukong obtained it.
The content of this method was incomplete, and the subsequent content was in the Buddha Statue above the thirty-third level of the Great Prajna Buddhist Pagoda in Wuji Kingdom.
Previously, Wukong had followed Tang Sanzang to sweep the pagoda and comprehended the subsequent content from the Buddha Statue.
However, Wukong only taught Red Boy the earlier part of the method and did not teach the later content.
Because Ao Tu had chosen to hide the later part of the method in the Buddha Statue instead of making it public like the earlier part, Wukong naturally did not feel right about casually telling the later content to Red Boy.
In the following time, Red Boy tempered his body and cultivated Qi and preserved spirit every day. In his spare time, Wukong personally taught Red Boy some martial arts moves.
Ba Jie and Sha Seng also did not want to eat for free, so they taught Red Boy together with Wukong.
Red Boy originally specialized in supernatural powers and was not strong in martial arts, but under the combined guidance of Wukong and the other two, he wielded the Fire-Tipped Spear quite skillfully.
It was just that there was one issue: the method was incomplete.
For this profoundly mysterious cultivation method, Sun Wukong had only taught him a fragment.
Red Boy begged Wukong for the subsequent content of the method.
Wukong could not explain it clearly and pointed Red Boy in the direction, telling him to go to the Great Prajna Buddha in Wuji Kingdom and comprehend the Buddha Statues in the pagoda.
Red Boy did not believe it and thought Wukong was withholding it.
Although Red Boy was young and inexperienced, he could tell that this method was a proper orthodox Taoist method. Wasn’t Wukong telling him to comprehend some Buddha Statue just deliberately brushing him off?
This Uncle Sun of his was truly cunning as a monkey. He had been so diligently serving him these past days without daring to slack off even a bit, yet he still held back and refused to teach him the complete method.
Telling him to go comprehend it at the Buddhist Pagoda.
By the time he went to the Buddhist Pagoda and couldn’t comprehend anything, this Uncle Sun would have another excuse to say his aptitude was insufficient.
Red Boy thought he had seen through everything and did not go to Wuji Kingdom at all. Instead, he continued to respectfully serve Wukong every day in hopes of obtaining the subsequent method.
Wukong did not find it annoying; on the contrary, he quite liked Red Boy. Back in the day at Flower Fruit Mountain, the little monkeys under him had pestered him in the same way, picking fruit and offering fresh peaches for Great King to teach them martial arts.
Ba Jie had food and drink every day without worries and fed Red Boy some moves in his spare time; the days were very enjoyable.
When deep winter arrived, it snowed outside and the weather turned cold.
Fire Cloud Cave was unaffected due to Red Boy’s Fire Qi.
Tang Sanzang and his disciples still lived comfortably.
Ba Jie even had the leisure to drag Red Boy outside the cave to build snowmen; it was unclear who was the child.
Through this period of interaction, Red Boy gradually figured out the personalities and tempers of the four master and disciples.
Tang Sanzang was the Master of the four, a good monk with a compassionate nature and soft ears, but sometimes very stubborn.
Sun Wukong had the highest ability among the four and was usually the best to him, but he was too shrewd and still refused to teach him the subsequent cultivation method.
Pig Bajie seemed somewhat silly and greedy and lazy, but he had real skill when sparring and was said to know thirty-six transformations; he could not be underestimated.
The remaining one was Sha Seng and a White Horse; there was nothing much to say about them.
Red Boy had spent a long time with everyone and developed feelings, so he no longer wanted to eat Tang Sanzang’s flesh.
There were just two things he had not yet achieved.
One was the cultivation method.
The other was to find Sea of Blood Great King for revenge.
Originally, according to Red Boy’s plan, once he obtained the cultivation method and his strength greatly advanced, he could go find Sea of Blood Great King for revenge.
But now, the cultivation method he obtained was incomplete. Although his strength had improved considerably, Red Boy felt there was still a certain gap before he could defeat Sea of Blood Great King.
Red Boy could only continue to delay time and find a way to obtain the complete cultivation method.
When the Beginning of Spring arrived, the weather began to warm slightly, and new buds had started appearing on some resilient trees.
Tang Sanzang prepared to take his leave.
Red Boy said: “Grand Master, please wait before leaving. Although the weather is warming, the snow in the mountains has not melted. Why not wait a few more days until the snow melts before leaving?”
Ba Jie also said: “Master, my little nephew is right. We’ve already stayed this long; a few more days won’t matter.”
Tang Sanzang thought about it and agreed, staying a few more days.
Soon, the snow in the mountains melted, and Tang Sanzang proposed to take his leave.
Red Boy said: “Grand Master, please wait before leaving. These past few days, thick clouds have obscured the moon and the stars are dim. In a few more days it will be Rainwater, and there will surely be heavy rain, causing mudflows in the mountains; it is not suitable for travel! Better to wait a few more days.”
Tang Sanzang saw that Red Boy spoke as if it were true and could not decide, so he stayed a few more days.
After Rainwater passed, the mountains showed the full scenery of spring: willows sprouting branches, pear trees budding, birds chirping, and all things coming to life.
Tang Sanzang was greatly pleased and prepared to set off.
Red Boy said: “Grand Master, why rush to leave? It is now the beautiful spring scenery; why not tour the mountains and enjoy the spring first, and continue the journey another day?”
Tang Sanzang resolutely refused: “No, absolutely cannot stay any longer! This poor monk has already delayed over four months here and feels deeply ashamed toward King Tang. If we stay longer, when will we obtain the sutras?”
Red Boy saw that Tang Sanzang was resolute and knew he could not persuade him further, so he said:
“Then please allow me to set a banquet to see off Grand Master and the uncles. Also prepare some dry provisions for Grand Master and the uncles to eat on the road, to fulfill my filial piety.”
Tang Sanzang said: “This… alright.”
Red Boy then ordered his subordinates to prepare.
Soon the banquet was prepared.
Red Boy invited everyone to enjoy it.
During the meal, Red Boy said:
“Uncle Sun, Second Uncle Pig, please hold off on heading west for a moment. In this Six Hundred Li Drill Mountain, there is a Broken Arm Mountain with a Blood Sea Cave inside, where Sea of Blood Great King is my archenemy; I was previously defeated by him.
You are heading west and will surely pass his Cave Mansion on the way. These days I have received much guidance in martial arts from the two uncles, and I wish to go eliminate this fellow: one, to clear the westward path for the uncles; two, to avenge my previous defeat. What do the two uncles think?”
Wukong laughed: “This is a good thing!”
Ba Jie said while eating: “Good thing! Good thing!”
Red Boy said: “It’s just that Sea of Blood Great King has some ability. I’m afraid if I make a mistake and lose to him, it will lose face for the uncles. Could Uncle Sun and Second Uncle Pig back me up?”
Hearing this, Ba Jie patted his chest: “Little nephew, rest assured, no need for Senior Brother to act; Old Pig will back you up. If that Sea of Blood Great King dares to act fierce, Old Pig will rake him once and make nine holes in his body!”
Red Boy happily said: “Thank you, Second Uncle Pig!”
Wukong laughed: “I’ll go too, I’ll go too. Having been idle this year, Old Sun’s hands are itching.”
Red Boy was even happier and said: “Thank you, Uncle Sun!”
After the banquet, Wukong, Ba Jie, and Red Boy walked out of the Cave Mansion together.
Tang Sanzang said: “Wukong, Ba Jie, be careful.”
Wukong laughed: “Master, no need to worry. I’ll go with little nephew to exterminate that demon and be back in no time; it won’t delay the westward journey.”
Tang Sanzang said: “Don’t be careless!”
Wukong said: “Got it, got it!”
Ba Jie said: “Master, rest assured. With me and Senior Brother going, a little demon is easily subdued!”
Tang Sanzang nodded.
Red Boy led Wukong and Ba Jie; the three cloud-rode together to Broken Arm Mountain, where below was a cave with a Green Stone door engraved with the words Blood Sea Cave.
Wukong said: “Little nephew, you go down first to challenge. Old Sun and Ba Jie will back you up.”
Red Boy said: “Good!”
Red Boy descended the cloud, used the Fire-Tipped Spear to pry up a large stone, and smashed a big hole in the door of Blood Sea Cave.
Ao Tu walked out from inside and, seeing Red Boy, laughed:
“Red Boy, you’ve eaten leopard guts to dare come here and act fierce!”
Red Boy thought with Wukong and Ba Jie backing him he had nothing to fear from Ao Tu, so he cursed: “Old demon, you bully me for being young and repeatedly humiliate me; how can I spare you? Take this spear!”
Red Boy held the Fire-Tipped Spear and charged at Ao Tu.
Wukong and Ba Jie watched from the air.
Wukong carefully looked with his Fiery Golden Eyes and saw it was not an old acquaintance, so he relaxed.
Below, Red Boy thrust with the Fire-Tipped Spear, his moves quite methodical, covering the six harmonies, actions simple and swift: block, seize, stab, collapse; the spear technique precise.
Ao Tu laughed, strolling leisurely as if in a courtyard, easily dodging all of Red Boy’s moves.
Wukong and Ba Jie saw this and said in surprise: “This monster indeed has some skill!”
Seeing his moves ineffective, Red Boy used magic.
Red Boy cast an invisibility spell to hide his form, then an earth escape spell to drill into the ground, arriving under Ao Tu and thrusting with his spear.
Ao Tu stood in place, waiting for Red Boy to emerge, grabbed the Fire-Tipped Spear with his right hand, and with his left pinched a spell, casting finger-to-ground-becomes-steel magic.
Red Boy had drilled out half his body from the ground, with the other half still underground, but under Ao Tu’s move, he was trapped in the earth and could not move.
Ao Tu seized the Fire-Tipped Spear and made to stab Red Boy.
Red Boy was frightened and hurriedly said: “Uncle Sun, Second Uncle Pig, save me quickly!”
Seeing this, Wukong drew his Golden Cudgel and somersaulted toward Ao Tu to strike.
Ao Tu flipped to dodge.
Ba Jie held his rake and struck from behind.
Ao Tu raised a foot and kicked Ba Jie in the stomach, sending him tumbling.
Ao Tu said: “Red Boy, you can’t beat me, so you called for help!”
Wukong saw that Ao Tu was no ordinary foe and said: “Which demon are you to dare bully my nephew here!”
Ao Tu laughed loudly: “Bully him I did, so what! I am Sea of Blood Great King; you little monkey, dare come to die?”
Hearing this, Wukong was enraged and somersaulted forward to fight Ao Tu.
Ao Tu blocked with the Fire-Tipped Spear, parrying Wukong’s Golden Cudgel.
Wukong said: “Good demon, you have some strength!”
Ao Tu said: “Monkey, you haven’t seen Grandpa’s strength yet!”
Wukong grew angry, swept horizontally with the Golden Cudgel, and the two fought together again.
Ba Jie also got up, swung his iron rake, and the three fought together.
The Fire-Tipped Spear was fierce in Ao Tu’s hands, eighteen feet long, changing freely; the shaft blocked the Golden Cudgel, the tip opposed the nine-tooth rake.
Wukong flew into a rage, raised the Golden Cudgel and smashed viciously; the as-you-will Golden Cudgel grew larger and larger, wider and wider, one strike stirring the power of the Four Seas, fully unleashing heaven and earth’s primal chaos.
Ba Jie raised his rake in fury, aiming at Ao Tu’s vital points; the Precious Gold-infused Rake raised flames from the ground, its nine teeth emitting rays of light.
Ao Tu was unafraid, danced his spear to block left and right, arms wielding great power, horizontally blocking the strong enemy; one against Great Sage, fighting Heaven’s Peng, until in the heat he pierced the mountain ridge and broke through the nine heavens.
The three fought from ground to sky, then back to ground, over a hundred rounds, most exhilarating.
Wukong said: “Good demon, you are no nameless monster!”
Ao Tu laughed: “You monkey are deaf; this Great King is named Sea of Blood Great King, how do you not know?”
Here Ao Tu was battling fiercely with Wukong and Ba Jie.
Red Boy quietly emerged from behind.
It turned out that during the three’s great battle, they fought from ground to sky, then from sky to ground; after fighting long, the finger-to-ground-becomes-steel spell lost effect, so Red Boy escaped.
Red Boy saw the three come down from the sky, hid himself behind Ao Tu, and seeing Ao Tu unprepared, Red Boy said:
“Uncle Sun, Second Uncle Pig, be careful; watch me set him on fire!”
With that, Red Boy unleashed Samadhi True Fire, spewing fierce flames and thick smoke toward Ao Tu.
Seeing this, a Third-grade Black Lotus appeared on Ao Tu’s body, protecting himself and nullifying all spells.
The Samadhi True Fire could not touch Ao Tu and all went toward Wukong and Ba Jie.
Ba Jie was instantly aflame, cried out in pain, rolled on the ground but could not extinguish it; he hurriedly stripped off his clothes and threw them away to put out the fire.
Wukong pinched an avoid-fire spell, charged through the fire toward Ao Tu.
The Golden Cudgel struck the Black Lotus but could not move it.
Ao Tu held the Fire-Tipped Spear to fight him again; after twenty or thirty rounds, the fire grew fiercer, thick smoke rose everywhere; Wukong could not stand the smoke stinging his eyes, retreated in defeat, transformed into a swallow and flew away.
Seeing this, Ao Tu turned into a crow, followed Wukong to peck at the swallow.
Wukong flew down from the air into the mountain forest, turned into a chestnut rat and hid in a tree hollow.
Ao Tu chased up, looked around from afar, and saw no trace of Wukong.
Excellent transformation, not a bit of aura leaked, thus able to deceive heaven and earth and evade the three calamities.
Ao Tu’s eyes turned to double pupils, observing time sequences and peering into the past, discovering Wukong’s trail; he turned into a lynx, climbed the tree to dig out the chestnut rat.
Seeing this, Wukong turned into a centipede and crawled down through a tree crack.
Ao Tu turned into a woodpecker and pecked at the tree crack with his beak.
Wukong turned into an Eagle and flew into the high sky.
Ao Tu turned into a giant bow, transformed the Fire-Tipped Spear into an Arrow, nocked it, and shot at the sky, hitting the Eagle; two or three eagle feathers fell, Wukong reverted to original form and cloud-rode away.
At this time, Ba Jie and Red Boy chased from behind.
Seeing this, Ao Tu threw the Black Lotus, covering the two and taking them away. He turned to chase Wukong again.
Ku Song Stream, Fire Cloud Cave.
Tang Sanzang gazed from the cave entrance, watching when Wukong would return.
Sha Seng said: “Master, don’t worry; Senior Brother will be fine.”
Tang Sanzang said: “Wu Jing, this Master is still a bit worried; for some reason, my heart feels uneasy.”
Sha Seng said: “Master, you’re overthinking. With Senior Brother’s ability, would he fear subduing one monster?”
As he spoke, Wukong flew down from the sky in disarray and urgently said: “Junior Brother Sha, quickly protect Master!”
Ao Tu closely pursued from behind, laughing loudly:
“Monkey, where are you going!”
Seeing this, Wukong drew his Golden Cudgel, somersaulted forward, and fought Ao Tu for dozens more rounds.
After dozens of rounds with Wukong, seeing no victory, Ao Tu took out the Black Lotus and covered it over Sun Wukong’s head.
Seeing this, Wukong hurriedly somersaulted away.
Ao Tu lowered the Black Lotus, covering Sha Seng, Tang Sanzang, and the White Horse together inside the Black Lotus, taking them all away.
