Chapter 988: The Daoist Subdues the Demons

The following spring.

Prince Jin raised his army and marched north to attack the Imperial Court.

From the moment the great army marched out of the borderlands, the briefly peaceful world was plunged into chaos.

The Imperial Court deployed over a hundred thousand troops to suppress the rebellion, and the struggle between the two factions grew increasingly fierce. Prince Jin dispatched two of his retainers.

One was a demon, the other an evil spirit.

When the two emerged beneath the city walls, gusts of yin wind howled and demonic energy surged. The soldiers of both armies were struck with terror at the sight.

The Imperial Court, however, seemed prepared for this.

"We beg the True Master to grace us!"

At that shout, a figure in Daoist robes stepped onto the battlefield.

The Daoist priest, grasping a pestle, said, "Mountain demon and wild ghost, why do you interfere in the affairs of the Mortal World?"

The demon and the spirit furrowed their brows. "Old ox-nose! State your name!"

"This poor Daoist is Wuwei, and I have come specifically to capture you."

With those words, the Daoist flicked his fingers and summoned a downpour. Amid the rain, two bolts of the Thunder Art plummeted straight toward the demon and the spirit.

"Boom!"

The thunder roared, terrifying the two creatures as they scrambled to dodge.

One Daoist battling a demon and a ghost.

The soldiers on both sides watched with wide eyes. It was a sight they had never witnessed before. A clash like this was akin to immortals fighting; they had no way to intervene.

"Yin winds rise! Come, changui!"

The demon opened its mouth and spat out several changui. The fierce ghost raised its hand, whipping up gusts of yin wind. Instantly, ghostly energy billowed outward, and torrential resentment wrapped around its body as it lunged at the Daoist.

The Daoist raised the pestle in his hand and simply gave it a light tap.

The changui scattered, and the yin energy was completely repelled from his body.

Seeing this, the demon and the spirit frowned.

That brief exchange laid bare the depth of the Daoist's cultivation; they knew he was far beyond their ability to match.

Before the two could make another move, another voice bellowed from the military tents.

"Old ox-nose, this Great Sage will fight you!"

A monkey demon clad in golden armor and wielding a long staff somersaulted into the battlefield, landing firmly in front of the demon and the spirit.

Seeing this, the two breathed a sigh of relief and promptly retreated.

The monkey demon scratched his head, his face splitting into a grin. "Ox-nose, eat my staff first!"

As he spoke, he flipped his long staff. It abruptly elongated, smashing down toward the Daoist.

In the eyes of the soldiers, the suddenly expanding staff seemed to blot out the sky and cover the sun.

"What is that..."

"Retreat! Fall back!"

The mass of soldiers hastily scrambled to clear a path. The staff swelled in their vision, threatening to crush them into meat paste the very next second.

The Daoist furrowed his brow. Raising a hand, he softly chanted, "Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, Heaven and Earth, Dark and Yellow..."

His fingers formed hand seals, channeling his magical power.

The Daoist vaulted into the air, a Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams array manifesting beneath his feet.

A thunderous rumble followed.

"Rumble!"

Instantly, the mountains and rivers trembled, horrifying both armies.

The Daoist gave a soft snort and raised the pestle in his hand.

"Grow!"

In the blink of an eye, the dharma instrument expanded. With a wave of his hand, he struck the long staff, knocking it away.

The long staff shrank and flew backward, but the monkey demon gave a light leap and caught it firmly.

"You've got some cultivation," the monkey demon said, scratching his cheek with a laugh. "But we've barely started! Heh."

The monkey demon plucked a handful of hair and let it fall into his palm.

He blew a breath.

"Whoosh~"

In the blink of an eye, those hairs transformed into one monkey after another, all identical to him.

The horde of monkeys born from the hair instantly burst into a noisy clamor, brandishing their staffs and swarming the old Daoist.

Seeing this, Daoist Wuwei muttered under his breath, "Scattering Beans to Form Soldiers..."

He paused, then immediately began to chant an incantation.

"Demons and devils, monsters and ghosts, hear my Daoist scripture!"

The Daoist chanted the scripture, deploying Divine Abilities and techniques, subduing the demons with his voice alone.

Instantly, under the power of the Daoist scripture, the countless monkey demons surging forward collapsed one after another, reverting into hair and fading away.

Seeing this, the monkey demon waved his hand in a wide arc, showing a touch of displeasure. "Ugh, no fun, no fun at all. What a trash Divine Ability. I thought you were actually strong."

With that, the monkey demon unleashed another technique.

The Daoist met his charge, and the two became locked in a fierce, inseparable duel across the battlefield.

In the rear of the Jin Army, Prince Jin watched the monkey, unable to stop himself from muttering, "To think this monkey has such immense ability..."

Prince Jin was briefly overcome with pleasant surprise, feeling as if he had picked up a priceless treasure.

"Ox-nose!"

The monkey's playful nature surged. He taunted the Daoist, "This Great Sage possesses Seventy-two Transformations! Dare you fight against them?"

Wuwei, hearing this, replied, "The Great Sage in the books is not this great sage of yours. In the end, you are nothing but a macaque."

The monkey demon's expression abruptly changed. He roared furiously, "Hah!"

"You're asking for a beating!"

Saying so, he brandished his staff and charged in for the kill.

Relying on the dharma instrument in his hands, Daoist Wuwei met him blow for blow. The two were evenly matched, trading attacks back and forth.

Daoist Wuwei realized this monkey was a genuinely troublesome foe, every bit as cunning and unpredictable as the one in the book.

However, because of his earlier provocation...

...the monkey demon had exposed flaws. A slight messiness had crept into his staff techniques.

Daoist Wuwei seized upon this and continued, "There is a chapter in the book called the True and Fake Great Sage. A fake, in the end, is still a fake."

"Hah! Hah!"

The monkey demon's face flushed bright red as he roared twice. "I'm furious!"

Daoist Wuwei let out a great laugh and continued to clash with him.

As they fought on, the monkey demon's flaws multiplied. The Daoist seized his chance, driving his pestle squarely into the monkey demon's chest.

With a heavy bang, the monkey demon flew backward.

His long staff fell to the ground. The monkey demon glared at him, finally realizing what had happened.

"You deliberately provoked me! You damn ox-nosed Daoist, you actually schemed against me!"

The monkey demon clutched his chest, unable to quell his anger.

Daoist Wuwei glanced at him and simply said, "Step down."

The monkey demon snatched up his staff, wanting to fight again.

But halfway there, he was called to a halt by the spirit and the demon.

"The Prince has given the order. Great Sage, retreat for now. This old Daoist cannot be defeated by brute force."

"Great Sage, calm yourself! Do not fall for the old Daoist's trick again. He belittles you precisely to enrage you, all so he can capture you! Reconsider, Great Sage!"

After this persuasion, the monkey demon cooled down.

This ox-nose had a great many tricks hidden up his sleeve, and for a moment, the heat of battle had gotten to his head.

Left with no choice, he retreated, leaving behind a fierce threat: "Next time this Great Sage sees you, I'll beat the absolute piss out of you!"

Seeing the monkey being convinced to return, Daoist Wuwei couldn't help feeling it was a pity. If they had tangled a bit longer, he might have found an opening to capture the monkey demon and eliminate the future threat entirely.

Once the monkey demon returned to the tents...

He sat down to the side in a huff, completely ignoring Prince Jin, who was seated in the position of honor.

Prince Jin didn't mind. He immediately looked toward the crowd in the tent. "Who among you can step forward to fight?"

"To answer Your Highness, that Daoist Wuwei hails from Qingxian Temple. He had a fortuitous encounter in his early years that allowed him to comprehend cultivation. With his spring rain spiritual energy, he is truly a formidable foe!"

Prince Jin remained silent for a moment before asking, "I have countless extraordinary talents in my camp. Is there truly no one who can defeat that Daoist?"

The people in the tent exchanged glances. Some were unsure of themselves, while others knew they were outmatched and didn't even dare to raise their heads.

That was until one person stood up.

"Amitabha. This old monk, Hui'an, is willing to give it a try."