The four disciples headed westward, and on this day, as they approached a narrow wooden bridge, they discovered a man lying on it.
This man was dressed in blue, with delicate brows and handsome features, appearing quite young and was soundly asleep.
"There's someone sleeping soundly on the bridge, Bajie, go and wake him up so we can pass; remember to be polite," Tripitaka, riding his horse, said to Bajie standing beside him.
The Six-Eared Macaque at that moment lifted his Jingu Bang onto his shoulder and stood still, observing.
Why is this monkey called Six-Eared Macaque? During the Journey to the West, a controversy over the true Monkey King arose between Sun Wukong and this monkey, which was so indistinguishable that it escalated all the way to the grand hall in the Western Heaven. There, the Tathagata Buddha killed not the Six-Eared Macaque, but Sun Wukong! The Buddha Ancestor performed a devious switch to deceive everyone.
Bajie muttered, "Big Brother stands right there, why must it be poor old me who goes to wake him up!"
Tripitaka frowned and retorted, "Just go if I tell you to, why the fuss!"
Sha Monk added from the side, "Second Brother, Master is right!"
Bajie was even more annoyed, thinking, "This fellow, always chiming in with 'Second Brother, Master is right; Second Brother, Big Brother is right' nonsense!"
Thus, Bajie circled around the Six-Eared Macaque and stepped onto the bridge. He intentionally stomped heavily, hoping to wake the young man, but found him utterly unaware, snoring loudly. Bajie felt both annoyed and amused by the man, who had chosen to sleep on the narrow bridge as if he were blocking the way on purpose.
"Hey, hey, hey! You there, boy, hurry up and make way for the Buddha!" Bajie shouted.
The young man remained deaf to the call, still deep in his slumber.
Bajie, displeased, picked up his rake and jabbed at him, but the young man continued to sleep soundly.
Bajie formed a Dharma Decree with his hands, flicked lightly, and a spark flew towards the young man's nose.
The young man suddenly rolled over, dodging the spark, which immediately fell into the river below the bridge.
"Creating trouble from nothing!" Bajie realized this man was feigning sleep and, in a burst of anger, raised his rake and struck down.
The young man rolled over again, dodging it, and Bajie, irate, swung his rake repeatedly in an attack!
The young man then rolled toward the edge of the bridge, propped himself up by the hands, and opened his sleepy eyes, blurting out, "Who's the blind fool disturbing my grand dream? Come here and kneel for mercy, and I might spare your life."
This young man was none other than Wukong. The once harmonious disciples heading west had long since developed rifts, with Wukong particularly displeased with Bajie!
No sooner had these words fallen than Bajie heard someone shout, "Bajie, watch out!" followed by a heavy blow to his back, causing him to spit blood and fly out like a cannonball, landing in a disheveled heap, unable to get up for a moment.
Sun Wukong could still be seen lying at the end of the bridge, yet another Wukong stood in the middle of it.
Even if Bajie was not at his best, Sun Wukong wouldn't have been able to knock him out and make him spit blood with one move; it was only because he had underestimated the situation, and moreover, Wukong had used a cloning technique. With such an unexpected move, Bajie was defenseless and being knocked out was inevitable.
The others were also shocked, wondering who this formidable demon was. Seeing this, the Six-Eared Macaque didn't hesitate, picked up his Ruyi Golden Cudgel, and charged forward, stirring the mountains and rivers with his swing aimed directly at Wukong!
Wukong's cultivation had just recovered, having spent days refining the inner core of a Marshal and mastering many mystic arts from the Hongmeng Purple Qi. Yet, he did not grow complacent, well aware of Six-Eared Macaque's capabilities, and dared not clash with him directly. Forming a Dharma Decree in his hands, he cast the Five Elements Escape Technique and slipped to the side of the bridge.
The Six-Eared Macaque sneered, "Demon, take this stick!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Wukong felt every hair on his body stand up. He immediately shifted his body, pushed off the ground, and slid diagonally away. He had moved barely a foot when a golden stick fiercely struck toward him, causing Wukong to break out in a cold sweat. Seeing his attack miss, the Six-Eared Macaque's form flickered as he continuously swung his cudgel in pursuit, filling the air with a barrage of stick figures, enveloping Wukong within.
In a desperate move, Wukong invoked the "Primordial Golden Bell Shield", striking out with both palms everywhere around him. A dome of golden light surged, forming a huge bell that enclosed him. The relentless barrage of cudgel strikes fell upon the Golden Bell Shield, causing it to sound continuously, ready to shatter at any moment.
"Fellow Daoists, if you don't act now, my life is over!" Wukong roared loudly.
Then, four piercing, thunderous noises were heard. Sensing danger, the Six-Eared Macaque immediately abandoned Wukong and charged back toward Tripitaka.
Four beams of white light, sharp as swords and fast as lightning, struck—two of them hit Sha Monk on his arms, severing them instantly! Sha Monk, caught up watching Wukong battle the Six-Eared Macaque, was caught off guard and suffered severe losses, losing his arms to Xie Xiaofeng and Yan Shisan in a single strike!
Wukong's cultivation was meager compared to the others; his role was to distract the disciples. The actual deadly attacks were by the four great Sword Masters!
Xie Xiaofeng stomped directly on Sha Monk's chest, breaking all his ribs and kicking him a hundred yards away.
The Six-Eared Macaque cried out, "Brother Sha!"
Tripitaka saw that he was about to be kidnapped by Ximen Chuixue when the Six-Eared Macaque, desperate, was intercepted by Ye Gucheng. Ye Gucheng, holding an iron whip, faced the Six-Eared Macaque, but the techniques he deployed were not of the whip but of the authentic swordsmanship! The Six-Eared Macaque aimed to break all spells with brute force, swinging his 13,500-jin heavy staff with such vigor that it wielded a force of at least 100,000 jin!
Ye Gucheng skillfully performed the "Returning Wind and Brushing Willow" maneuver, deflecting most of the force, stepping back while pinching a Dharma Decree in his hand. Immediately, all the surrounding grass and trees transformed into flying swords, covering the sky and stabbing towards the Six-Eared Macaque, looking somewhat like the Grand Assembly of a Thousand Swords!
Ximen Chuixue grabbed Tripitaka and threw him towards Wukong, then turned and sent a burst of sword qi at the Six-Eared Macaque.
The Six-Eared Macaque swung his Golden Hoop Staff mightily, impervious to water, all the grass and trees transformed into swords shattering, he dispersed Ximen Chuixue's sword qi and then lashed out two strikes, with brilliant golden light flashing like tidal waves toward Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue!
The Six-Eared Macaque also had high mana, so Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue naturally did not dare to block it directly, each dodging out of the way.
Just as the Six-Eared Macaque was about to turn back to save Tripitaka, Xie Xiaofeng and Yan Shisan, who had appeared behind him at some unknown time, struck like lightning, their bodies wrapped in an immensely sharp aura, directly blocking the macaque's dual strike! Yan Shisan's punches and kicks transformed into swordplay, astonishingly performing his own ultimate technique "Life Seizing Thirteen Swords."
The universe seemed to darken in an instant, as thirteen sword qi shot across, attempting to split heaven and earth!
The Six-Eared Macaque was secretly alarmed; aside from that younger Taoist who was slightly weaker, the cultivation of these four rivals was not below his own. If he were slightly negligent towards the thirteen sword qi, he might have perished on the spot! Was the journey to the Western Heaven not pre-arranged by the Tathagata Buddha? Why then was the journey filled with such danger? Seeing Bajie badly wounded and Sha Monk had two arms severed, and taking another grave kick, his life was undoubtedly at risk!
The Six-Eared Macaque bellowed, sprouting three heads and six arms, and each exerted spells to block Yan Shisan's swordmanship directly.
"This monkey has a Vajra-Indestructible Body and can't be killed easily! Just grab Tripitaka and go!" Wukong shouted, "This trip to the Western Heaven is a conspiracy by Buddhism, filled with designed dangers and false security, our actions are likely already alarming the Buddha of Western Heaven."
When the Six-Eared Macaque heard Wukong reveal the secret of the journey to the Western Heaven, he was greatly shocked and, caught off guard, took a hit that severed one arm, leaving him with three heads and five arms.
The white horse transformed into a human figure, holding a sword, and thrust it directly at Ximen Chuixue's back!
Ximen Chuixue's eyes flickered coldly, and turning, he struck with his sword, striking first though he moved later, as if cutting through the dawn's light. Followed by a spurt of blood, the transformed Little White Dragon fell dead from his thrust!
Ximen Chuixue squinted slightly and blew the blood off his sword, stating indifferently, "Had you not used a sword, perhaps I would have spared you!"
The Six-Eared Macaque was too busy dealing with Yan Shisan and Xie Xiaofeng to notice this scene.
"Bajie, we were once brothers, but at that time, I was still naive. Now, having ventured through life and death, I've gained profound understanding! Today, I cannot let you go, please do not blame me," Wukong said, knocking Tripitaka unconscious with a palm, grabbing his neck, and confronting Bajie with a somber face.
You are, Master..." Before he could finish, Wukong opened his mouth and spewed out a green stick, which was transformed from Hongmeng Purple Qi and made green merely to deceive others.
With one strike of the stick, thousands of peach blossoms bloomed, shattering the Primordial Spirit and the consciousness of Bajie.
Former Marshal Tian Peng thus perished!
Little did Bajie dream that it would be his own senior martial brother who would kill him.
The moment these two perished, Bodhisattva Guanyin on South Sea's Penglai Island immediately sensed it and exclaimed in shock, "Something has happened!"
Suddenly, she flew off the lotus, speeding towards where the master and disciples were.
Having killed Bajie and seen Ximen Chuixue kill the Little White Dragon, and Xie Xiaofeng kicking Sha Monk to death, Wukong felt strangely relieved; his skin pores flaring open, his heart's knot untangled, and causality resolved by a large part, the only remaining task was to kill and consume Tripitaka!
"Golden Cicada, today, your death cannot be avoided!" Wukong lifted Tripitaka and walked off, while the four Sword Masters jointly repelled the Six-Eared Macaque and then soared on their swords, following Wukong.
The five displayed their extreme speed, nearly reaching the speed of light, darkening the skies around them rapidly.
"Heaven-Defying friend, promptly employ your technique to obscure the heavenly secrets!" Xie Xiaofeng said.
Wukong nodded, circulated the Hongmeng Purple Qi inside him, and sent out a Dharma Decree, making the others feel as if they had lost something.
"Excellent technique! Even Tathagata himself couldn't locate us now!" Yan Shisan laughed loudly.
Wukong tore up all of Tripitaka's clothes, handed the naked Tripitaka to Yan Shisan, and said, "If I carry him, I won't be as fast as you, better you take him."
"No harm," Yan Shisan responded.
"Heaven-Defying friend, why strip him of all his clothes?" Ye Gucheng inquired, perplexed.
"It's likely that those clothes had some tricks set by the powers, better safe than sorry," Ximen Chuixue voiced, hitting the nail on the head.