Great Demon Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong held his breath and focused his attention, continuing to watch. After Chang'er asked her question, the voice suddenly raged, "Do you dare to question my decision? Let me tell you, you do not yet have the qualifications. If it weren't for me, you would still be nothing but an ignorant Chaotic Heavenly Dao. Now go, once this task is completed, the reward I promised you will naturally not be a problem, and this small world will be entirely yours!" The voice was equally indistinguishable, and Chang'er's face lit up with joy, she nodded in acknowledgment and then respectfully retreated.

Subsequently, the scene changed to one of jubilation and music, a scene which was all too familiar to Sun Wukong, for he had visited this place and caused a huge ruckus. This place was none other than the Western Queen Mother's Jade Pool, and the scene of the banquet and music was the Peach Banquet. Only, this particular Peach Banquet was held during the three hundredth year Sun Wukong was pressed under the Five Elements Mountain. Originally, the Peach Banquet should have been held three hundred years earlier, but it had been delayed due to Sun Wukong's mischief, who not only ruined the Peach Garden but also caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace, forcing the Western Queen Mother to postpone the event by three hundred years.

Speaking of peaches, we must delve a bit deeper here. The peach trees are Innate Spirit Roots, of the same level as the Ginseng Fruit Tree owned by Zhen Yuanzi, the Ancestor of Earth Immortals at Five Villas View. However, while there is only one Ginseng Fruit Tree, there are a whole garden of peach trees. Both being Innate Spirit Roots, the Ginseng Fruit and the peach trees possess the effect of seizing Creation from heaven and earth; however, they share another common ability, which is to enhance the cultivator's level. This is a very safe method of improvement without any side effects, unparalleled by any Elixirs of Immortality, not even the Immortal Pills refined by the Supreme Elder Lord could compare.

And this was exactly why Zhang Youren married the Western Queen Mother; owning the Peach Garden, Zhang Youren possessed the Western Queen Mother, hence Zhang Youren could become the Supreme Immortal Emperor_Jade Emperor, who had survived 3,200 calamities and was revered as the most naturally wondrous and supremely true Hao Tian Golden Emperor. The Western Queen Mother, as the foremost among female immortals, was formed from the most exquisite Qi of Chaos from the West. In the heavens and the earth, across the Three Realms and in all directions, female cultivators who ascended to immortality were under her jurisdiction. According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, in ancient times when the Yellow Emperor battled the tyrant Chi You, Chi You changed form multiple times, commanding winds and rain, blowing smoke and spewing mist. The Western Queen Mother then dispatched the Mystical Maiden of the Nine Heavens to teach the Yellow Emperor the arts of the Three Palaces and Five Intentions, the strategies of Yin and Yang, the art of the Taiyi Offensive, the methods of the Six Rens and the Six Dous, the mechanics of the Yin Talisman, and the texts of the Five Victories of the Spiritual Treasure. The Yellow Emperor thus defeated Chi You in central Ji. After Emperor Shun ascended the throne, the Western Queen Mother once again sent envoys to bestow upon him the White Jade Ring, the White Jade Pipe, and a map of the lands, enabling Shun to expand the Nine Provinces of the Yellow Emperor into twelve. Therefore, she already belonged to the class of Daluo Golden Immortals. Being masterfully spiritual in both body and spirit, she was not bound by life or death and could freely control the gathering and dispersal of her spirit, unmatched in heaven and earth.

Whether it was the immortals of Heaven or the Buddhas of the Western Paradise, none did not wish to enhance their cultivation, so the Western Queen Mother's peaches were considered treasures in everyone's eyes, the most precious of them all. Thus, by controlling the peaches, the Jade Emperor practically controlled the most prized thing of his time—peaches equated to cultivation, cultivation equated to eternal life, and the Jade Emperor equated to peaches equaling eternal life. Similarly, Zhen Yuanzi, owner of the Ginseng Fruit Tree, became the revered Ancestor of Earth Immortals.

In this world, only two kinds of people can stand at the peak: one is he who controls enough and significant secrets, and the other is he who controls what the majority yearns for. There's a saying that rings particularly true—if you hold all the secrets in the world, then you become the ruler of this world.

Returning to our story, seeing the immortals and the Buddhas of the Western Paradise enjoying the Peaches with such convivial banter, Sun Wukong could hardly restrain his itching teeth. Damn the Western Queen Mother, these peaches, all exude the Spiritual Charm of ordinary mortals. Just when Sun Wukong was gritting his teeth in anger, a woman seated at the place of honor next to the Western Queen Mother suddenly stood up.

"Your Majesty, the Jade Emperor, I, Chang'er, wish to seize the opportunity of this Peach Banquet to dance a number for the esteemed immortals to enhance the joy of the feast. May I have your permission?" The woman who stood up, of course, was Chang'er. Chang'er was the undisputed number one beauty in the entire Immortal Realm, desired by all, yet due to her unique status, everyone could only lament in hopeless longing. Now that Chang'er herself offered to dance, the immortals were naturally thrilled, each excited beyond measure at the prospect of witnessing Chang'er's dance, an opportunity not to be missed. The Jade Emperor was not as excited as the other immortals, but he was quite surprised, nonetheless, and he immediately nodded in agreement.

Chang'er made a slight bow in return and then, with gentle steps, moved to the center of the Jade Pool. Then, with just a few simple movements of her sleeves, countless stars seemed to streak across the distant skies, encircling Chang'er in the void, creating an enchanting spectacle. Although Sun Wukong also found Chang'er's beauty to be extraordinary, he didn't experience any unique feelings. However, he soon exclaimed in surprise because the scene before him suddenly transformed from an observer's perspective to what seemed to be someone's field of view.

Soon, Sun Wukong saw a desk appear in the scene, and on that desk, there was a plaque printed with four golden characters: Tianpeng Marshal. "Could this actually be a scene from Bajie's perspective? This is utterly astonishing; how did they manage to do this?" Previously, Sun Wukong had assumed that these were memories of someone being displayed in this unique space by some means, but now it had changed to Zhu Bajie's viewpoint, which was very strange. Could it be that someone had stolen Bajie's memories?

Amidst his confusion, Sun Wukong continued watching patiently. In the scene, Chang'e had already begun to dance gracefully, her exquisite beauty enhanced by the dazzling stars surrounding her body—an ethereal sight even Sun Wukong had to admit. But as he kept watching, he noticed something wrong. To his astonishment, and near helplessness, Chang'e began to slowly undress within the image.

In less than the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, Chang'e had stripped down to just a pink bellyband, which did little to conceal her graceful figure. The endless allure became evident as she danced. While Sun Wukong blanked out, unsure of what he was seeing, another scene emerged next to the first, the space distorting. His gaze and attention immediately shifted to this new scene—it was his first encounter with two simultaneous images.

Then, Sun Wukong's expression turned quite bizarre, because in this second scene, in the Queen Mother's domains at the Peach Banquet, likewise, Chang'e was dancing in the center. Almost everything matched the first image. The only difference was that in this scene, Chang'e was clothed. Though her dance steps matched those of the first scene, the disparity between being clothed and unclothed was significant. The second picture displayed only the sublime beauty of a woman without any hint of seductiveness.

Almost instantly, Sun Wukong understood. As realization dawned on him, rage uncontrollably rose within his heart. "Damn it, someone's setting Bajie up—no, it must be the work of that androgynous voice that ordered Chang'e. So that's how it is. No wonder on the journey to the Western Paradise, Bajie always claimed he was framed. After encountering Chang'e's Jade Rabbit, not once did Bajie act out of turn. His obsession with Chang'e likely wasn't out of admiration, but rather a question, a demand for an explanation. Undoubtedly, Bajie must have felt immense injustice. He had always wanted to meet Chang'e face to face for an answer."

At the Peach Banquet, Bajie saw Chang'e nearly naked, dancing before him, compounded by too much wine, leading him to take untimely actions. That was the cause of Bajie being demoted from Tianpeng Marshal to a pig. The Peach Banquet was very particular about behavior and speech. Even a misplaced word or gesture could lead to severe punishment, and Zhu Bajie's actions were, indeed, a grave taboo.

But now, with the help of these magical images, Sun Wukong knew the truth of the matter: Bajie had been framed. And as Chang'e herself had said, there was nothing Bajie could do to defend himself. Even if he claimed he saw Chang'e performing a striptease for him, who would believe it? And after so many years, even Bajie himself had no idea he had been framed.

Sun Wukong was furious. After being exiled to the Lower Realm, Bajie suffered tremendous humiliation to the extent that even now, although Bajie's cultivation had reached the Dao Transformation Primary Grade, he still wore the appearance of a pig-headed humanoid. He could use transformation techniques to revert to his original form as Tianpeng Marshal, but his true form remained pig-headed. When Bajie was demoted, his soul entered the path of beasts, and only a thorough cleansing could change that, which would mean Bajie would no longer be himself.

Even the current Sun Wukong found it impossible to restore Bajie to his original appearance, and Bajie seemed to have long since resigned himself to his fate.

"Ah, the poor blockhead. From the exalted Tianpeng Marshal to a mere pig, the stark contrast never drove Bajie to despair. That is indeed Bajie's strength. If it were me discovering there's no recovery, I doubt I would have the courage to go on living," reflected Sun Wukong.

And for the part following in the scene, Sun Wukong could already guess the outcome: at the Peach Banquet, Tianpeng Marshal not only behaved coarsely but also made advances on Chang'e. In a fit of rage, the Jade Emperor condemned him to the Lower Realm to live as a pig forever, where even cycles of reincarnation were useless! (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote with a recommendation ticket or monthly pass at Starting Point (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)