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Chapter 1 – Dark Heaven Village

I was heading towards the place where the Celestial Sage resided, accompanied by Seo Mun-hye. Zhuge Sa and Mangnyang were talented sorcerers but lacked the strength to join the fight at this moment, so we decided it was best for just the two of us to go. Tang San was still recovering from his injuries and had chosen to stay behind at the base. The Celestial Sage had indicated that he would wait again at Mount Tai, so we finally arrived at the Heavenly Altar of Mount Tai.

After a while, the Celestial Sage appeared at the altar, eyeing me with a frown.

“You don’t seem very prepared, do you?”

“I’ve done my best to prepare.”

I’d spent a whole day formulating plans with Zhuge Sa and Mangnyang. Honestly, I wished to join Gong Gong when he recovered the Earth Star from Dark Heaven Village, but Gong Gong had clearly taken a stance distancing himself from us. It was evident he didn’t want the hassle of my company as we navigated through Dark Heaven Village. If we had more time, I might have grilled him to learn the path to the Earth Star, but alas, that was a missed opportunity.

‘It’s too rushed… In this lifetime…’

I shook off the negative thoughts and tightened my resolve. This wasn’t the time to be whimpering; I had to concentrate on the present.

I turned to the Celestial Sage with a question.

“Could you tell me more about Tripitaka?”

“Huh?”

“Well… If possible, I’d like to hear about your past. How you went from the Monster King to the Celestial Sage.”

“Hah… Why do you want to know that?”

The Celestial Sage scrunched up his face in displeasure.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have the habit of sharing my past with someone I’m not close to. To be honest, I don’t even think highly of you.”

“Ugh…”

The Celestial Sage appeared friendly, but he was surprisingly shy. After a moment of seriousness, he let out a chuckle.

“… Well, it’s not bad if you show some interest in me. So, let me tell you a bit.”

“Please do.”

“In the past, I once overthrew the Celestial Realm. Not to brag, but I was a pretty strong monster—no, an unrivaled Monster King. I ascended to the Celestial Realm, but most couldn’t stand as my rivals.”

As he spoke, the Celestial Sage rested the Ruyi Staff on his shoulder.

“But then, I was suddenly suppressed by some mysterious being that barged into the Celestial Realm. I didn’t even kneel before the Jade Emperor when I was at my peak.”

“A mysterious being?”

“…”

The Celestial Sage seemed reluctant to discuss the matter further. After a brief silence, he continued.

“Anyway, due to some circumstances, I ventured far to Tianzhu with a monk from the Tang Dynasty to retrieve scriptures. It was part of the arduous journey to atone for my sins against the Celestial Realm. At that time, Tripitaka was my companion.”

“I heard that Tripitaka is one of the Eight Parts of the Divine. Do you know which one?”

The Celestial Sage replied, “He referred to himself as a Celestial Being and claimed to be the oldest among the Eight Parts of the Divine. His power was considerable, so we had quite an entertaining journey together.”

“Celestial Being…”

Tripitaka, the Celestial Being. I engraved that title in my mind. Then the Celestial Sage continued.

“When we arrived in Tianzhu, I was able to hear many stories from him. I managed to bring the scriptures back to the Celestial Realm as a price for my quest, but I decided to work among the Celestial Greats as a consultant instead of returning to rule as the Monster King.”

“Why?”

He made a mischievous expression.

“Why, you ask?”

“Then what scriptures were they?”

“Guess? You seem quite curious.”

The Celestial Sage laughed as he teased me, then decisively said,

“That’s the end of my past stories! Now, let’s go.”

“… Okay.”

It felt like I had learned a lot, but in reality, he hadn’t shared anything significant at all. He had merely offered a bit more context about Tripitaka. The Celestial Sage had accepted me as a companion for now but clearly didn’t trust me completely.

‘But that’s enough.’

If Tripitaka is indeed one of the Eight Parts of the Divine, he must surely have left his mark in the literature or records from the Tang Dynasty. By looking for those records and investigating his past, I could uncover the powers, abilities, and secrets of the Celestial Being.

When we arrived at White Silk Mountain, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens was waiting for us. As soon as we reached White Silk Mountain, Yeodong-bin and the Fire Dragon Sword transformed into their humanoid forms, instantly turning the venue into a gathering of Great Immortals. The Heavenly Mysterious Woman asked me,

“Are you all set?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s depart. We must destroy Gong Gong’s command.”

The Heavenly Mysterious Woman briefly outlined the operation.

“I will deactivate the thirty-three radiant towers of the Lantern Taoist. You all will deal with the Fire Dragon’s transformation.”

“Once we break through that, I’ll take on the consultants.”

The Celestial Sage calmly stated.

“Of course, even I would find it difficult to win against that many consultants. So, during that time, you all must manage to break their formation decisively, or I need a chance to escape and strike Queen Mother of the West.”

That was the plan. I grasped the roles the Celestial Sage required from us.

‘So that’s why he needed Jin So-cheong.’

To fulfill the role he demanded, we would need at least the capability of the consultants. Though it sounded easy to create an opening, how could one simply break through the stringent encirclements of Celestial Immortals? I felt my tension mounting involuntarily.

The Fire Dragon Incarnate spoke, “Let’s go.”

Swish, swish!

We all climbed onto the massively transformed Jindukun, and the Heavenly Mysterious Woman sprayed her mysterious mist to conceal our forms. As we departed White Silk Mountain and soared through the Celestial Realm, we occasionally spotted some immortals and spirit beasts, but none of them gave any indication of recognizing us.

Eventually, after flying around three hundred li, amidst the horizon, we could see a massive mountain with a turbulent aura, thunderbolts crashing down, and fierce winds howling around it. Such ominous weather was rarely seen, and as I was taken aback, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman remarked,

“That place is Kunlun Mountain of the Celestial Realm. The ritual is being held in the palace of Queen Mother of the West.”

The Kunlun Mountain of the Celestial Realm towered higher than any mountain I had ever seen from the ground, majestic and so distant it seemed nearly impossible for humans to climb it. The entire mountain was engulfed in thunderstorm, making it unfeasible for anyone in their right mind to attempt an ascendance.

The Celestial Sage rode Jindukun to surpass the foothills of Kunlun Mountain, quickly climbing to the midsection. However, when we reached a height above the cloud layer, he suddenly stopped and released Jindukun.

Tydaht!

The Celestial Sage frowned, seeming vexed.

“There’s a troublesome guy here.”

“What’s the matter? Isn’t the thirty-three radiant towers here…?”

“No, we need to go about two hundred more spans up.”

The Celestial Sage noted, “It seems the best archer in the Celestial Realm is aiming at us.”

“……”

Hearing that, I quickly realized who was targeting us.

“Yeo(?)!”

Recognized as Hou Yi, the legendary archer and a consultant! He had once shot down ten suns, the son of the deity Jejeun, and was also the husband of the Moon Palace lady. Moreover, I could never forget him because he’d killed me twice in my past life!

If he was indeed the best archer in the Celestial Realm, it made sense that even the Celestial Sage would be wary of him!

The Celestial Sage exclaimed, “While I was briefly absent, Queen Mother of the West has stepped up her security.”

“Can’t you take down Yi?”

“I could, but if that guy keeps avoiding us, he’ll become a real nuisance. Even for me, if Yi tries to stall, I won’t be able to catch him quickly.”

“… Hm.”

If we fought purely with brute strength, the Celestial Sage would certainly win. However, Yi was more of a ranged combat specialist, not a melee fighter, which meant if he controlled his distance, even the Celestial Sage would find it hard to take him down easily. The Celestial Sage then shouted loudly, as if resigned.

“Hey, Yi! Can you come out for a second? Let’s talk!”

Swoosh!

Then, shortly thereafter, a floating cart appeared in the air, revealing Yi, who was stringing a massive bow.

With a cold gaze, Yi looked at the Celestial Sage and asked,

“What’s going on? Why did you recklessly break away from the formation and bring the Heavenly Mysterious Woman and other immortals? Queen Mother of the West didn’t issue such orders.”

“Why else? Naturally, to smash that damn command of Gong Gong!”

“Hmph, I figured as much.”

Yi sneered as if he had expected this, continuing.

“Mi-hu Wang, you’ve been obedient to the Celestial Realm for ages, but it seems you had an ulterior motive. It’s about time your true colors were revealed.”

“This isn’t solely my will, dear Sir. Are you unaware of why the Heavenly Mysterious Woman has rebelled against Queen Mother of the West?”

At that, Yi glanced at the Heavenly Mysterious Woman. She met his gaze calmly and stated,

“Lord Yi, Queen Mother of the West is the greatest traitor of the Celestial Realm and the one who eradicated the three purities. Furthermore, she has accusations of having devoured innocent immortals. I stake my honor on the fact that this is true.”

“……”

“The path must be cleared! We’ve come here to restore the justice of the Celestial Realm.”

Then, a short while later, Yi brusquely replied,

“I know!”

“……?”

“I’ve known since I went to her palace to retrieve the altar of immortality that she was the one behind this. Still, I will follow Queen Mother of the West.”

What on earth does he mean?

Everyone looked at Yi, bewildered. Yi turned his head away, wearing a displeased expression, and continued,

“Queen Mother of the West told me that once everything was over, she would return my wife to me. I can’t let you just walk away.”

“Your wife, sealed on the moon… the one in the Moon Palace?”

“Heavenly Mysterious Woman. You know you represent justice. Following your word is the only way for both the Celestial Realm and the Human Realm to survive.”

Woooooo!

A tremendous energy gathered on Yi’s bow. He roared fiercely,

“But… my wife is even more precious!!”

Tu-quaang!

In the next moment, an overwhelmingly powerful arrow was shot from Yi’s bow, hurtling our way.

“You damn old man!!”

The Celestial Sage deflected the arrow with his Ruyi Staff while simultaneously charging at Yi, as if playing tag, with the Celestial Sage’s sword form and Yi’s cart soaring through the air at blinding speed! Yi was cackling loudly.

[Come on, Mi-hu Wang!! I’ve been wanting to settle this with you for a while!]

The Celestial Sage snorted back defiantly.

[Did you really want to get hit that badly? I’m treating you with respect, and you’re getting too big for your britches!]

It seemed they were starting to spar with terrifying speeds in the skies near Kunlun Mountain.

Kwahwaaaang!

Instantly, the western sky above Kunlun Mountain was engulfed in flames. The sight of the sky blazing brought back memories of the time the master and Yeodong-bin clashed. The Heavenly Mysterious Woman, watching their fierce battle, sighed.

“This is a serious problem. Both of them are among the very best in the Celestial consultants… it won’t be settled easily.”

“Shouldn’t we join in?”

“… No. For now, we must advance. We don’t have time. The thirty-three radiant towers of the Lantern Taoist are not easy to deal with.”

Pa-at!

Shortly thereafter, we followed the Heavenly Mysterious Woman’s movement techniques towards the upper part of Kunlun Mountain in the Celestial Realm. There, dozens of rainbow-colored circles of barriers were visible, and surrounding that barrier were several dozen blue towers radiating a gentle light, floating around.