Chapter 23: The Descent of the Dhrtarastra, the Retreat of the Six-Eared Macaque

It seemed that if he did not release the Dragon Maiden today, the Six-Eared Macaque would truly turn his wrath upon the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals. Jiang Wang had no desire to waste his time on such matters. Encountering the Six-Eared Macaque was already a piece of wretched luck! If he were to become further entangled with the creature, there was a real risk that he might be forced to descend to the mortal realm to face trials during the future Great Calamity of the Westward Journey. It was improper—highly improper.

At this moment, he only wished to resolve the current situation as quickly as possible and return to the Heavenly Court. Compared to the dangerous mortal world, standing guard at the Southern Heaven Gate was an incredibly comfortable affair. There was no need to manage complex affairs or harbor unnecessary thoughts. One simply stood honestly at the gates, and everything outside had nothing to do with oneself. When bored, one could even slack off or show off in the chat groups.

Seeing Jiang Wang remain silent, the Six-Eared Macaque chattered incessantly: "Hey, you Heavenly Soldier! Lord Monkey is speaking to you; are you pretending not to hear?" The nature of a monkey is to be restless and talkative. Jiang Wang ignored him. He glanced toward the horizon; the Heavenly General had arrived with a contingent of troops. Given the commotion the Six-Eared Macaque had caused, if the General had failed to show up, Jiang Wang would have had good reason to suspect him of being a mole planted by Lingshan within the Heavenly Court. After all, the Six-Eared Macaque was destined to participate in the Westward Journey and was likely a pawn of the Ancient Buddha Dipankara. To allow a colleague to be slaughtered without intervention would surely mark one as a mole. Fortunately, the General’s timely appearance dispelled Jiang Wang’s suspicions.

"You demonic ape, why do you obstruct the path of my soldiers?" The Heavenly General stood upon a cloud, clad in golden armor, his tone filled with displeasure. It was as if a single wrong word from the Six-Eared Macaque would prompt him to strike with the power of thunder.

The Six-Eared Macaque replied with feigned indifference: "Lord Monkey simply cannot stand by and watch you bully others! The Dragon Maiden belongs to the same demon-kind as I; you are arresting a demon, so why should I not be allowed to save one?"

This was pure self-aggrandizement on the part of the Six-Eared Macaque. Because Jiang Wang was standing close to the Dragon Maiden, Yancai, he clearly noticed the clever and spirited girl cast a secret, disdainful glance at the macaque, muttering, "You are the demon; your whole family is demons! This girl is a dragon, can’t you tell?"

Yancai was not wrong. Dragons and demons were not of the same lineage. After the Great Calamity of the Dragon and Phoenix, though the Dragon Clan had declined, they were once the masters of the world; by bloodline, they stood high above. As for the demon race... they were a hodgepodge of creatures, and in terms of bloodline alone, they were worlds apart from the dragons. A powerful demon bloodline might rival a dragon's, but the weak ones were not even fit to tie a dragon's shoes.

"Dragon Maiden, let us go." Jiang Wang ignored her grumbling. Now that the Heavenly General and his troops had arrived, the Six-Eared Macaque would never dare to strike. If he did, the Heavenly Court would surely rain down thunderous punishment, and not even the Ancient Buddha Dipankara could protect him then.

"Very well." Yancai nodded. Together with Jiang Wang, she mounted a cloud and flew toward the General’s party. Seeing Jiang Wang return with the Dragon Maiden, the General gave him an appreciative nod, then said with a hint of trepidation, "Bring the Dragon Maiden into our midst quickly; I may not be a match for that demonic ape below."

"As you command, General." Jiang Wang immediately merged into the ranks of the Heavenly Soldiers. If even the General dared not claim he could defeat the Six-Eared Macaque, there was no need for him to play the hero. When he returned, the monkey did not attack, proving that the creature was wary of Jiang Wang’s status as a Heavenly Soldier.

"Did Lord Monkey say you could leave?" Seeing Jiang Wang openly leading the Dragon Maiden away, the Six-Eared Macaque, who had been relatively calm, suddenly flew into a violent rage. His twelve ears turned blood-red, his clear eyes surged with fury, and golden Buddhist energy erupted from his body, manifesting the silhouette of Achala behind him.

"Is he joking? Is this demonic ape a guardian beast of Lingshan?" The Heavenly General was shocked. The Heavenly Court was the master of the six realms! Lingshan’s influence was vast, but they would never dare to openly clash with the Heavenly Court. What the General could not fathom was that the East Victory Continent was essentially direct territory of the Heavenly Court. It was rich with spiritual energy, and the beings living there, even without cultivation, lived well over three hundred years. Not to mention the many overseas immortal mountains and islands that made up the continent, inhabited by gods and immortals who did not serve the Heavenly Court. Naturally, this land was under the Court's direct jurisdiction, while Lingshan’s territory lay in the West Aparagodaniya Continent.

The General had no time for further thought. Seeing the Six-Eared Macaque manifest his Achala form, he immediately shouted, "Brothers, heed the command! Form the array!"

Heavenly Soldiers possessed low cultivation and limited depth of practice; no matter their numbers, they were no match for a supreme being. Why, then, did the Heavenly Court recruit so many? The reason was simple: they could use the Heavenly General as the focal point to form the Big Dipper Array. This formation was modeled after the seven stars of the Big Dipper—Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang. These seven stars held a unique status among all the stars in the heavens. While all stars were considered the children of Doumu Yuanjun, the others were merely adopted; she had only nine true sons, seven of whom were the Big Dipper.

What made the Seven Stars truly significant in the Heavenly Court, however, were their two older brothers. Their second brother was the Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole, one of the Four Sovereigns. Their eldest brother was the Great Emperor Gouchen of the West, also one of the Four Sovereigns. Their status was equal to that of the Great Emperor Changsheng of the South and Empress Earth. The Big Dipper Array, modeled after these stars, could maximize the strength of the soldiers. Seven Heavenly Immortal-level soldiers forming this array could even trap a True Immortal.

As the General commanded, the soldiers quickly assembled. Jiang Wang did not move, as he was responsible for guarding the Dragon Maiden. The Six-Eared Macaque, ignoring the forming soldiers, brandished his iron staff and charged. Watching from the clouds, Jiang Wang felt the macaque’s state was wrong. Was the ape a fool? His cultivation and realm were roughly equal to the General’s—perhaps slightly stronger due to his age—but against a General and a Big Dipper Array of equal strength, how could he dare to charge headlong?

"Halt!"

Just as both sides were about to engage in a great battle, a deep, resonant voice suddenly echoed across the heavens.