Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

The Glycyrrhiza Garden was a place where the Empress collected and cultivated rare flowers and exotic herbs from the three realms and six paths. Within this garden, the variety of rare flowers and exotic herbs was enough to dazzle anyone.

At this moment, Fairy Zixia carefully transplanted a breathtaking cedar, merely a foot tall, from the Glycyrrhiza Garden into a flowerpot.

This cedar appeared quite extraordinary, about a foot high, looking very delicate and quaint in the flowerpot, but in the void around it, countless tiny snowflakes appeared out of nowhere, gently falling upon this bonsai cedar, truly a miraculous sight to behold.

In front of the Glycyrrhiza Garden, several Heavenly Soldiers and Generals were anxiously waiting.

The Empress was waiting for this very cedar. If they missed the right time, it would be an unbearable offense!

To the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, the Empress and the Great Jade Emperor were beings with complete power over life and death.

If one of them was in a bad mood, even just smashing a Colored Glaze Cup could directly result in being demoted to the Mortal World, which was quite telling.

After a long wait, at last, they saw Fairy Zixia carrying a pot with the cedar and hastened to greet her.

Even though they were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, they dared not scold her and instead wore smiling faces, saying, "Fairy, is it ready? Let's hurry to report back to the Empress!"

"Certainly!" Fairy Zixia nodded and said, then promptly, the group of them quickly headed toward the Empress.

...

A man clad in armor, looking to be in his forties or fifties and appearing very rough, was currently riding on the back of an exotic beast, coincidentally passing by the nearby Glycyrrhiza Garden.

Following behind this man were dozens of Heavenly Soldiers, and just then, this man witnessed the scene unfolding before him.

With thick eyebrows and large eyes, he raised them slightly in surprise and said from atop the exotic beast, "How strange, she's just a fairy from the Glycyrrhiza Garden, yet those Heavenly Soldiers are treating her with such courtesy!"

Speaking of status and position, Heavenly Soldiers and Generals were akin to the armed guards in a Mortal World's Imperial Palace, whereas a fairy of the Glycyrrhiza Garden? She was but a low-level palace maid.

In terms of status, Heavenly Soldiers and Generals should rank higher, and yet, they were so amiable to a fairy that tended to flowers and plants? Naturally, it was surprising.

"Reporting to Star Monarch!"

As the man's remark ended, one of the Heavenly Soldiers, seemingly aware of the reason, stepped forward two paces and said, "As far as I know, this fairy is named Zixia. Although her status is not extraordinary, she knows a very important person and is friends with this individual, so..."

"Oh, I see!" Hearing this explanation from his fellow soldier, the man suddenly nodded in realization. In that case, it was no surprise.

But as soon as his words fell, he felt something was amiss. He turned back, fixing his gaze on the speaking soldier, "Are you hiding something from me? Who is this important person the fairy is friends with?"

"This..." Faced with the Star Monarch's query, the soldier's expression showed hesitation and difficulty.

"What, can't you tell me?" Seeing the soldier's troubled look, the man's expression grew stern.

Indeed, he hadn't been mistaken; this fellow was deliberately concealing something from him.

Under the man's oppressive gaze, the soldier hesitated for a moment before finally answering, "It's... the Great Sage Equal to Heaven..."

With the name of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven mentioned, the other Heavenly Soldiers lowered their heads, pretending they hadn't heard, and dared not look at the Star Monarch's face.

Hearing the name of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the questioning Star Monarch's face also stiffened for a moment, then darkened as he said, "What nonsense about the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, he's just a rascal monkey who has committed crimes. He once stole peaches, pilfered Golden Cores, and disrupted the Empress's peach banquet. He's already a criminal. How could you still honor him with the title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven? Seize him and execute twenty strokes with the rod!"

"Star Monarch, I was wrong, I was wrong!" Hearing he was to be punished simply for mentioning the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's name, the soldier hastily begged for mercy.

However, the Star Monarch's face was grim, showing no sign of relenting, and soon someone dragged the soldier away.

The other Heavenly Soldiers likewise bowed their heads, daring not to speak.

Anyone with the slightest understanding knew that the Star Monarch of Warring States and the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, had a feud that went way back. For the Star Monarch of Warring States, the very existence of Sun Wukong was a taboo.

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After meting out punishment to the soldier, the Star Monarch of Warring States sat quietly on his exotic beast, not in a hurry to leave, as if waiting for something.

The soldiers behind him kept their heads down, not daring to speak, quietly waiting as well.

Sitting on the back of the exotic beast, the Star Monarch of Warring States wore an expression dark as still waters, his mind involuntarily flashing back to long-ago scenes.@@novelbin@@

For a long time, the Star Monarch of Warring States had placed great value on the hierarchical structure of the Heavenly Court, so when Sun Wukong first arrived at the Heavenly Court to be conferred an official post, the Jade Emperor inquired what rank should be granted, and the Star Monarch of Warring States put forth his suggestion, directly recommending Sun Wukong to the Imperial Stables to become a Stable Attendant.

In the view of the Star Monarch of Warring States, a demon monkey rising from the Lower Realm was only worthy of being a minor official like a Stable Attendant, which in itself was an elevation of his status.

If it hadn't been for the sake of the Jade Emperor's pacification efforts, wouldn't all those from the Lower Realm merely be Immortal Maidens and Divine Power Warriors, the lowest of Odd-Job Persons?

Stable Attendant, though a minor position, is still considered an official title, isn't it?

But who could have known that disaster was brewing at that time? When someone went to the Imperial Stables to lead a horse and asked the Stable Attendant to lead one for them, this tiny official, far from being grateful for the recommendation, refused them outright.

Thinking back to the time when he disputed with a mere Stable Attendant, what was even more humiliating was that he was actually whipped by the Stable Attendant...

It was as if a general from the Mortal World was whipped by a stable boy in the barracks.

This incident had become a lifelong shame for Star Monarch of Warring States!

Although later on, Sun Wukong fully displayed his divine skills, and losing to him seemed like an honorable defeat.

However, for Sun Wukong, the title of Stable Attendant was a disgrace not to be mentioned by others. Likewise, for Star Monarch of Warring States, being whipped by the Stable Attendant was an even greater disgrace!

Tap, tap, tap...

Let's not mention the heart of Star Monarch of Warring States, remembering the embarrassing incident, feeling both ashamed and angry, and awkwardly embarrassed. At this time, a sound of light, nimble footsteps arose.

It was Fairy Zixia, who, after presenting the cedar, was hopping and skipping joyfully towards the Glycyrrhiza Garden.

Star Monarch of Warring States lightly squeezed his legs against the exotic beast he was riding, which naturally understood its master's thoughts and charged straight towards Zixia.

A cry of alarm rose as Fairy Zixia was knocked to the ground.

Fairy Zixia felt a blur before her eyes as she was knocked down, feeling as though her body had fallen apart, extremely uncomfortable.

When she collected her senses and looked up, she saw a ferocious beast staring at her, and atop that beast, a divine general clad in armor, looking imposing, was also glaring at her with bell-like eyes.

"You disrespectful slut!" Before Zixia could speak, the Star Monarch's hand whipped out, and a lash materialized, smacking across Zixia's face with a crack.

With a scream, Fairy Zixia's fair and delicate face immediately bore a vicious whip mark.

"This is a sacred area of the Heavenly Court. What kind of behavior is this, hopping and skipping around? You dare to collide with my divine carriage; do you wish to die!?" Giving Zixia a lash across her face and seeing the bloody, blurred mark on her pretty face, Star Monarch of Warring States felt extremely satisfied, and spitefully said.

Grievance filled Fairy Zixia as she looked up at Star Monarch of Warring States, her heart brimming with injustice...

It was he who had bumped into her, causing her to fall to the ground, yet he turned the blame on her first, striking and insulting her!

Upon ascending to the Heavenly Court, Fairy Zixia felt that the place was nothing like the beautiful vision she had in her mind, and now she felt even more disappointed.

While in the Mortal World, she had always heard about the beauty of the Immortal Realm, but now she realized beneath the Heavenly Court's facade of beauty lurked filth and evil which made it no different from the Mortal World!

"You wretched slut, you dare to glare at me!? Apologize at once!"

Seeing that Fairy Zixia was just covering her cheek and staring back at him, Star Monarch of Warring States felt even more unable to save face.

Originally, Star Monarch of Warring States had not planned to do much but to give her a small punishment; after giving her a whip, he expected her to beg for mercy, and that would be the end of it.

But she refused to apologize!? To beg for mercy!?

How could Star Monarch of Warring States possibly back down now?

With her hand covering her cheek, blood seeping through her fingers, Fairy Zixia bit her lip hard, holding back the tears welling in her eyes, refusing to let them fall, just staring back at Star Monarch of Warring States, remaining silent.

"You wretched slut, if you seek death, then you cannot blame me!" Seeing Fairy Zixia looking like this, Star Monarch of Warring States flared up with nameless anger.

With anger in his heart, he again furiously whipped down with the lash in his hand.

In the past, an unruly monkey of low status dared to defy him.

Today, another one of low identity does the same?

Could it be that they think I, Star Monarch of Warring States, am a soft persimmon to be squashed?

Crack, crack, crack!

The whip fell upon Zixia in quick succession, leaving seven or eight blood-streaked marks on her body in an instant.

The sight made the nearby Heavenly Soldiers turn their heads away, unable to bear watching.

Just as Star Monarch of Warring States was getting carried away with whipping, suddenly, a fair little hand appeared, catching his wrist at just the right moment and preventing the whip from coming down any further.