Wukong and his two brothers, along with Jiao Demon King's subordinate, the Dragon Whale, making a total of four people, boarded a ship and headed toward Beiming. Beiming was rumored to be the birthplace of Kunpeng, and Zhuangzi's "Free and Easy Wandering" attests to this, saying, "In Beiming there is a fish called Kun. Its size is unknown, thousands of miles perhaps. It transforms into a bird, called Peng. The back of Peng, also too vast to know, thousands of miles possibly; when angered it flies, and its wings might hang from the clouds of the sky."
The days at sea were particularly difficult; the rotten fishy smell nauseated all four, nearly causing them to vomit.
During these days, Wukong stayed cloistered in the cabin, thoroughly memorizing the Incantation and Heart Method of the Thirty-Six Types of Transformations. His two Primordial Spirits separately cultivated the Thirty-Six Types of Transformations and the Seventy-Two Transformations. Just as Subhuti had mentioned, there was no conflict between them. Instead, like water and fire integrating, like Yin and Yang intersecting, it greatly enhanced his mana.
After a month, Wukong emerged from the cabin, feeling that his cultivation was more or less complete. He was capable of executing most of the Divine Skills of the Thirty-Six Transformations, but some of the Divine Skills were too powerful for his current level of mana to handle. He could not help but lament that in his previous life he was foolish for not learning the Thirty-Six Transformations and instead learning the Seventy-Two Transformations, the former obviously more dominating and powerful.
Ox Demon King and True Lord Erlang also cultivated the Seventy-Two Transformations, but both were more diligent in their efforts. Thus, in his previous life, Wukong was only humiliated when facing these two. But now it was different. If True Lord Erlang dared to show up, with the God-Beating Whip in hand, he would surely leave him disgraced.
Although this God-Beating Whip was a replica, it was genuinely a product of Laozi and contained the special effect of the authentic God-Beating Whip. When faced with beings who held either fruit or god ranks, one lash from the whip would unleash increased might!
When they reached this point, sunlight could no longer penetrate, and the sea area was incredibly dark. If not for the high mana of Wukong and his companions, they would have already lost their way in this darkness. It was said that Beiming could never be reached by sunlight, resulting in eternal darkness year-round. Now it seemed, they had indeed entered Beiming.
Wukong squinted into the distance, still only endless seawater was visible. He cursed, "Is this Beiming? Sight is useless, constantly needing to activate the Heavenly Eye Divine Skill. It's truly troublesome. Brothers, do you know how much longer we must travel?"
The Ox Demon King, leaning lazily by the cabin, said, "Don't know! Old Jiao, I regret it. This past month without a drop of wine, I am almost dying."
Jiao Demon King also couldn't help but give a bitter smile. Just as he was about to speak, the ship suddenly began to shake violently.
"What's that?" Jiao Demon King exclaimed.
"There's something in the water," Wukong shouted, quickly grabbing his Jingu Bang at hand, while the Tai Sui Whip also seemed eager for action.
Hearing that something was about to happen, the Ox Demon King was thrilled, as he was a fearless Devil who loved fighting daily. Sailing on the sea for a month with nothing but the repulsive smell of fish, it was as if it was killing him slowly. Now hearing the commotion, he wished for a demon to jump out and fight with him promptly.
"What do you see in the water?" Dragon Whale suddenly shivered, a chilling wind blowing, freezing to the bone.
Upon careful observation, they saw clusters of ferocious ghosts in the water. These ghosts, transformed from souls unable to reincarnate and enter the Samsara Path, wandered here year after year, eventually becoming fierce ghosts. These ghosts began to howl furiously, then they all started to rock the warship. Although large, the ship was nearly overturned by the densely packed ghosts working together. Fortunately, the light from the God-Beating Whip shone, and Jiao Demon King quickly threw several Crystal Stones into the center of the formation, finally stabilizing the ship.
Wukong hastily raised the Tai Sui Whip, which emitted a red glow, shining brightly in the desolate darkness of Beiming, looking almost like the sun. With a snap of the whip, hundreds of ghosts were instantly shattered and dispersed.
"Be careful, don't let these ghosts overturn the ship, or we'll have to join them!" Wukong shouted, and the other three also quickly cast spells into the seawater, joining Wukong in annihilating the ghosts.
Fortunately, these ghosts had no mana, not even comparable to a Human Immortal, only relying on their large numbers to shake the warship.
Even the bravest of souls with immense mana would sweat profusely at this sight. In this part of the sea, swarmed with ghosts, one could see no end.
Every lash from Wukong's Tai Sui Whip was like Mount Tai bearing down, killing hundreds of ghosts with each strike. However, the ghosts still kept endlessly pushing forward, those at the front desperately pushing the warship, making it wobble continuously, while others tried pulling it down, aiming to sink it.
The Ox Demon King took out an Ancient Lamp, its wick burning with a purple flame. He brought the flame to his lips and blew hard. With a whoosh, the flame fiercely burned even more and turned into a line of fire about a yard in diameter pouring downward. Any ghost touched by the flame immediately screamed in agony, turned into billows of blue smoke, and then entered reincarnation. Wukong was greatly surprised, not expecting the Ox Demon King's Magical Treasure to send them into reincarnation. He had never seen the Ox Demon King deploy such a treasure before and was secretly astonished while guessing the origin of the treasure.
Using the Ancient Lamp, the Ox Demon King blew out sheets of purple fire, sweeping across and killing more ghosts than even Wukong's Tai Sui Whip, leaving behind souls entering into reincarnation. Meanwhile, on the water, Jiao Demon King's prowess was no less impressive. Clenching a spell, he exploded droplets of water in the air, resembling thunderclaps, each burst killing a swath of ghosts, truly living up to the reputation of the Great Saint Who Overturns the Seas.
"Hang your lamp atop the mast; my Divine Whip can't hold up anymore." Wukong shouted as he saw the water ghosts were not only not being eliminated by the four of them but were also gathering in greater numbers.
Ox Demon King hurriedly tossed the lamp into the air, where it steadied and landed firmly on the mast. Then, the sound of Daoist chanting echoed across, coming from a recitation of the "Supreme Cave Mystery Lingbao Vast Sutra of Delivering Sentient Beings." One could vaguely see a Taoist seated within the light of the lamp, slowly reciting the scripture, while the ferocious ghosts in the sea gradually quieted down. The piercing wailing noises slowly subsided, bringing a sigh of relief to the four companions.
"I must say, big brother, you're not being fair. Having such a treasure and not bringing it out sooner, you wasted so much mana!" Jiao Demon King said, feeling quite stifled.
Ox Demon King cried out in dismay, "Old Jiao, I didn't know either! If I had known the lamp had this effect, I would have taken it out sooner!"
Jiao Demon King asked, "Is this the 'Sutra for Crossing Sentient Beings' from Spiritual Treasure Celestial Venerable? Is this Magical Treasure really from Spiritual Treasure Celestial Venerable?"
Ox Demon King simply shrugged, "I don't know whose it is, I found it in the Cave Moyun. When I chose that place for my abode, there was an Ancient Lamp there. I felt it was extraordinary, so I took it for consecration. This is the first time I knew this lamp could send spiritual beings into reincarnation and deliver them."
Jiao Demon King muttered in his heart, thinking how lucky this fellow was, casually setting up a cave abode and stumbling upon a treasure, which truly made him both envious and jealous.
After the scripture of "Sutra for Crossing Sentient Beings" was fully recited, the Taoist in the lamp also disappeared, and then gradually, the ferocious ghosts above the sea dissipated too. Their souls floated in the air, deeply bowed towards Wukong and the others, and entered into the cycle of reincarnation. These ghosts, kept from transcendence since ancient times and living daily in agony, had now been delivered, indeed a grand act of merit.
Wukong smiled and said, "Old Bull, by delivering so many ferocious ghosts you have truly accumulated boundless merit, perhaps even more so than the Buddha of West Cow He State."
Ox Demon King laughed eerily, utterly pleased with himself, "Of course, little brother. You should have known what level of cultivation your big brother has!"
Jiao Demon King and Wukong couldn't help but roll their eyes. This fellow indeed shone with the slightest bit of sunlight, but Ox Demon King's joyful nature also brought some fun to the tedious journey on the sea.
The God-Beating Whip and Ox Demon King's lamp stood on the mast, making the warship sail even more smoothly.
The group then spotted another warship, where a man, clad in Chain Mail and wearing Flowing Cloud Boots, stood towering alongside a large black dog lying beside him.
"True Lord Erlang, Yang Jian," Wukong immediately recognized this old rival from his past lives, surprised that the incident in the North Sea had drawn so many powerful figures.
Yang Jian glanced at Wukong and his companions, and the Howling Celestial Dog that lay by him barked twice but was quickly calmed by him.
Ox Demon King asked, "Is the visitor True Lord Erlang?"
Yang Jian replied, "I was wondering who it was—it turns out to be Ox Demon King from Accumulated Thunder Mountain and North Sea Jiao Demon King."
The group, sensing his arrogant tone, felt displeased, yet it was inappropriate to start a conflict at sea. However, Ox Demon King was itching for a fight and really wanted to battle with True Lord Erlang.
Wukong chuckled and said, "True to form, True Lord Erlang, your words are as arrogant and discourteous as ever."
Yang Jian merely snorted coldly and accelerated his warship away, deeming it unwise to engage in battle at sea, especially against three formidable opponents. Not to mention Ox Demon King, whose reputation was known throughout the Three Realms, even a one-on-one fight might not be guaranteed a victory, and looking at Jiao Demon King and Wukong, their mana was also immensely profound.
"Exactly, it seems that there must be treasures emerging in this Beiming Domain for True Lord Erlang to have come. This Fur God, usually free from desire, but his skills are genuinely significant. Now that he is here in Beiming, it must not be for nothing. Old Jiao, let's speed up the ship; later on, let's scoop up more treasures," said Ox Demon King, rubbing his hands together excitedly.
Jiao Demon King also felt secretly delighted. During this month at sea, they had encountered several warships, some steered by unfamiliar experts of the Immortal Path, others by long-famed deities of Heavenly Court. Their gathering in the North Sea surely signified the emergence of treasures, for although those on the Immortal Path have leisure, they aren't so idle to merely sightsee in the Beiming for no reason.
With the Hundred Ghosts dispersed, the sea's surface once again became calm. The lamp flickered, and the God-Beating Whip sparkled with golden light, guarding this warship as it moved deeper into the Beiming Domain.
To find out what happens next, please listen to the following part.