Black Myth Series: Wukong Fights with God Erlang (part 3)

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As they were shouting, Erlang Shen arrived and asked, "Brothers, where did he go?" The gods replied, "We had him surrounded here, but he disappeared." Erlang Shen, with his phoenix eyes wide open, saw the Great Sage transformed into a sparrow perched on a tree. He then reverted to his original form, put away his divine blade, took out his slingshot, and transformed into a hungry eagle, spreading his wings and flying to strike. The Great Sage saw this and quickly flew up, transforming into a large cormorant, soaring into the sky. Erlang Shen saw this, shook his feathers, and transformed into a great sea crane, diving into the clouds to pursue him. The Great Sage then descended into a ravine, transformed into a fish, and plunged into the water. Erlang Shen reached the ravine and, seeing no trace of him, thought, "This monkey must have gone into the water and transformed into a fish or shrimp. Let me transform again to catch him." He transformed into a fish eagle, hovering over the water. The Great Sage, as a fish, was swimming downstream when he suddenly saw a bird that looked like a kingfisher but with uncolored feathers, like a heron but without a crest, like a stork but with uncolored legs. "It must be Erlang Shen transformed, waiting for me!" He quickly turned and swam away. Erlang Shen saw this and thought, "A fish that turns away must be him." He dived and pecked at the fish. The Great Sage leaped out of the water and transformed into a water snake, swimming towards the shore and hiding in the grass. Erlang Shen, failing to catch him, heard the water splash and saw a snake dart away. Recognizing it as the Great Sage, he transformed into a gray crane with a red crest, resembling a pair of sharp pliers, and flew to catch the water snake. The water snake jumped and transformed into a flower partridge, standing clumsily on the marsh. Erlang Shen saw this lowly transformation—a flower partridge, the lowest and most promiscuous bird, mingling with all other birds—and did not approach. He reverted to his original form, took his slingshot, and aimed a shot at the partridge.

The Great Sage took the opportunity to roll down the cliff and transformed into a small earth temple: his mouth became the temple gate, his teeth the door panels, his tongue the Bodhisattva statue, and his eyes the windows. Only his tail was hard to hide, so he made it a flagpole. Erlang Shen reached the cliff and saw no fallen partridge, only a small temple. He looked closely and saw the flagpole at the back. Laughing, he said, "It's that monkey again, trying to trick me. I've seen many temples, but never one with a flagpole at the back. It must be him. If I go in, he'll bite me. I'll punch the windows and kick the door panels first!" The Great Sage heard this and was alarmed, thinking, "How ruthless! The door panels are my teeth, the windows my eyes. If he breaks my teeth and blinds me, what will I do?" He leaped into the air and disappeared.

Erlang Shen searched frantically and soon met the four commanders, Kang, Zhang, Yao, and Li, along with generals Guo Shen and Zhi Jian, who asked, "Brother, did you catch the Great Sage?" Erlang Shen laughed and said, "That monkey transformed into a temple to trick me. Just as I was about to punch the windows and kick the door panels, he escaped again. How strange!" They all looked around but saw no trace. Erlang Shen said, "Brothers, guard and patrol here. I'll go up and search for him." He leaped into the air and saw Li Tianwang holding the Demon-Revealing Mirror with Nezha in the clouds. Erlang Shen asked, "Tianwang, have you seen the Monkey King?" Tianwang replied, "He hasn't come up. I'm watching him with the mirror." Erlang Shen recounted the transformations and the capture of the monkey army, saying, "He transformed into a temple, and just as I was about to strike, he escaped." Li Tianwang laughed and said, "Quickly, Erlang Shen, quickly! The monkey used invisibility to escape your camp and is heading to Guanjiangkou." Erlang Shen, taking his divine blade, hurried to Guanjiangkou.

Meanwhile, the Great Sage had already reached Guanjiangkou, transformed into Erlang Shen's likeness, and entered the temple. The ghost judges did not recognize him and knelt to welcome him. He sat in the middle, inspecting the offerings: Li Hu's three sacrifices, Zhang Long's vow for protection, Zhao Jia's petition for a child, and Qian Bing's prayer for health. Just then, someone reported, "Another lord has arrived." The ghost judges looked and were shocked. Erlang Shen asked, "Has the Great Sage been here?" The ghost judges replied, "We haven't seen any Great Sage, only a lord inside inspecting." Erlang Shen rushed in, and the Great Sage revealed his true form, saying, "Young lord, no need to shout. This temple is now mine." Erlang Shen immediately raised his three-pointed, double-edged divine blade and struck. The Monkey King dodged, pulled out his needle, and transformed it into a staff, countering the attack. The two fought noisily out of the temple, half in mist and half in cloud, battling back to Flower Fruit Mountain, alarming the Four Heavenly Kings and others, who tightened their defenses. Kang and Zhang met Erlang Shen and, with combined effort, surrounded the Monkey King.

Meanwhile, the Great Strength Ghost King had reported back to the heavens. The Jade Emperor, Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Queen Mother, and the celestial ministers were discussing in the Hall of Divine Mist. "Erlang Shen has gone to battle, but there's no news yet," said the Jade Emperor. Guanyin clasped her hands and said, "Your Majesty, let us go to the South Heaven Gate to see the situation." The Jade Emperor agreed, and they all went to the South Heaven Gate. Heavenly soldiers and strongmen greeted them and opened the gate. They saw the heavenly soldiers surrounding the area with nets, Li Tianwang and Nezha holding the Demon-Revealing Mirror in the clouds, and Erlang Shen surrounding the Great Sage, fighting fiercely. Guanyin said to the Old Lord, "How about Erlang Shen, whom I recommended? He is indeed powerful! He has the Great Sage surrounded but hasn't captured him yet. Let me assist him." The Old Lord asked, "What weapon will you use?" Guanyin replied, "I'll throw my willow branch from the clean bottle at the monkey's head. If it doesn't kill him, it will at least knock him down, allowing Erlang Shen to capture him." The Old Lord said, "Your bottle is fragile. If it hits his head, fine, but if it hits his iron staff, it will break. Let me help instead." Guanyin asked, "What weapon do you have?" The Old Lord replied, "I have a weapon made of refined steel, tempered with my elixir, imbued with spiritual energy, resistant to water and fire, and capable of capturing anything. It's called the 'Diamond Ring' or 'Diamond Snare.' It has protected me since I crossed Hangu Pass and transformed barbarians into Buddhists. Let me throw it at him."

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