Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Rescuing Zixia, Furious Battle at Jade Pool Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Rescuing Zixia, Furious Battle at Jade Pool The most painful thing in this world is the interminable waiting.

The Stone had been waiting for eighteen years, yet still had not caught a glimpse of the celestial maiden. Thus, with a faint call that seemed to emanate from the depths of his heart, a voice that said “Jingu Bang,” he saw a golden iron rod flying towards him from above the eastern sea. He then grabbed it in his hand and immediately felt as if it was connected to him by blood.

“She must be suffering from the torment of that vile Queen Mother. I have to rescue her!” The Stone lifted his Jingu Bang and stood atop a mountain peak, gazing up at the sky.

A sudden and inexplicable rage filled his heart, and he cursed inwardly, “Who are they to lord over us? Who are they to look down on all beings? Who gave them the right to arbitrarily control others’ freedom and life and death!”

Over the past eighteen years, he had practiced the Thirty-Six Transformations to perfection and advanced his cultivation level, achieving the realm of Taiyi Golden Immortal.

With the Somersault Cloud beneath him, he ascended towards the heavens.

After passing through the fierce winds and the layer of thunderclouds, he saw a majestic and towering Celestial Palace standing upon the clouds, with a gate that could be passed through—this gate was known as the Southern Heavenly Gate.

The Stone made his way to the Southern Heavenly Gate, only to be obstructed by the Four Heavenly Kings and the heavenly beings with thousand-mile eyes and favorable winds for ears.

“What demon dares to run wild in the Heavenly Court?” the Heavenly King Dhritarashtra scolded.

“I am here to find someone,” the Stone said.

“Who are you looking for?” the Heavenly King Vaisravana asked.

“I’m looking for the Queen Mother,” the Stone said so.

“If you’re looking for the Queen Mother, then go to the West Kunlun. This is the Heavenly Court, not the Jade Pool!” the Heavenly King Vaisravana said helplessly.

“Oh! Then how do I get to the Jade Pool?” the Stone asked again.

“Just head west from here.” the Heavenly King Vaisravana instructed.

After the Stone had left, the Heavenly King Virupaksa remarked, “Where did that wild macaque come from, with the audacity of a mountain leopard.”

The Heavenly King Vaisravana then laughed, “Haha, just ignore him. If he wants to see the Queen Mother, how could he possibly enter the Jade Pool?”

Actually, the Heavenly Court was connected to the Jade Pool, but would they make it easy for the Stone? So, the Stone had no choice but to take a long detour.

Arriving outside the Jade Pool, the guards with cold faces stopped him.

The Stone shouted, “I want to see Zixia!”

A Heavenly General sneered, “Zixia? The fool who lingered in the Mortal World without permission a while ago? She’s been thrown into the Earth Fire Prison by the Queen Mother, enduring the torment of a thousand fires gnawing at her heart!”

The Stone was shocked and exclaimed, “What did you say!”

The Heavenly General replied, “Go back where you came from, or don’t blame me for getting rough!”

Though he said “don’t blame me for getting rough,” he had already made his move, with his iron spear thrusting towards the Stone’s chest! Enraged that Zixia was suffering in the realm of the immortals, a fury rose within the Stone, his eyes turning blood-red. The Jingu Bang suddenly slid out from his ear and landed in the palm of his hand, swiftly growing in size.

The iron spear struck his chest, emitting a clang as if it had hit steel.

With a swing of his staff, the Stone struck the Heavenly General on the head, rendering him soulless. The surrounding Heavenly Soldiers were startled and rushed over, but the Stone swung his staff, sending out sharp bursts of energy that turned the encircling hundreds of Heavenly Soldiers to ash in an instant.

“Quick, report to the Queen Mother, this demon monkey is formidable!”

The Stone stormed his way into the Jade Pool. That day, the Queen Mother had gone to discuss matters with the Jade Emperor and was not in the Jade Pool, so the great masters there had also left, allowing the Stone to breach the unguarded gates. The Stone charged into the Jade Pool, smashing everything in his path. Countless imposing palaces collapsed as he killed no fewer than a few thousand people. As he still couldn’t find Zixia, he grew more anxious, grabbing a Heavenly General and using the Soul-Searching Great Method to learn the location of the Earth Fire Prison before hurriedly employing an Escape Technique to get there.

This place was where the Heavenly Court punished sinners, consisting of eighteen levels.

The first layer was the Heavy Water Prison, the second the Knife Mountain Prison, the third the Flaying Prison, the fourth the Earth Fire Prison…

Zixia was in the Earth Fire Prison on the eighth layer. The Stone, wielding his Jingu Bang, charged in but was suddenly stopped by someone.

This person had an extremely high level of cultivation, likely one of the Daluo Golden Immortals Subhuti had spoken of!

The Stone didn’t care, swinging his staff at the man’s head. He freely maneuvered through the Thirty-Six Transformations, but his opponent was formidable, wielding a Treasured Sword, and managed to defeat the Stone in just three moves.

The Stone roared furiously, his eyes blood-red. For every extra moment Zixia suffered, his heart ached more. Suddenly, his Golden Core released traces of three thousand Great Dao patterns. His combat power instantly soared to the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm. With a swing of his staff, the void distorted, catching his opponent off-guard and sending him flying with one blow.

The Stone knew he had to seize this opportunity to finish him off. Clenching a spell in his hand, he executed the technique to shift mountains and boulders, summoning hundreds of the Jade Pool’s artificial hills and hurling them down upon his enemy!

His staff swept through like a dragon, turning anyone who drew near into dust, with only that Daluo Golden Immortal able to contend.

The Daluo Golden Immortal, having blocked hundreds of artificial hills, charged over, thrusting his sword towards his Niwan Palace.

With another change in the spells cast by Stone’s hands, a massive Great Mountains and Rivers Seal descended, its weight unbearable for any ordinary person. The Daluo Golden Immortal hadn’t expected Stone to possess such formidable magic. Caught off guard and unable to escape, he was crushed by the Great Seal, and with a single strike of Stone’s staff to his head, his Primordial Spirit was obliterated within the Niwan Palace.

“Zixia, where are you!” Stone roared as he scampered about within the Earth Fire Prison.

“Hmm…”

As if hearing that familiar voice, Zixia, nearly tormented to unconsciousness by the celestial flames, let out a faint hum.

Following the sound, Stone finally found her. At that moment, her face was haggard, her body covered in blood, her collarbones pierced by two swords, making her appear somewhat ferocious at first glance. This scene deeply pained Stone’s heart as he agonizingly pulled the two swords from her collarbones.

Zixia opened her eyes, looked at him, and smiled, “Why have you come?”

Stone replied with a silly smile, “I’m here to save you!”

Zixia shook her head, “You should leave quickly. By doing this, you’re bringing a deadly disaster upon yourself.”

Stone retorted, “I don’t care about any deadly disaster, I just want to be with you! When I’m with you, I feel joyful and happy; when you’re gone, every day is like a year, and my heart feels like it’s being cut with knives. Rather than living like that, I would rather die! Freely shedding blood and tears before a confidant!”

Zixia asked, “If you were to die, who would wear the magnificent armor, stepping on the seven-colored clouds to meet me?”

Stone hugged Zixia close and used an Escape Technique to make their way out.

Once they arrived at the Jade Pool, they found themselves surrounded by Heavenly Soldiers and Generals. Intruding into the Jade Pool of Queen Mother of the West was a crime punishable by death!

“Don’t worry about me, save yourself! With me as a burden, where could you possibly escape to?” Zixia said, her voice filled with desolation.

“No, I absolutely will not!” Stone said, frowning.

Queen Mother, regally dressed, came down from her chariot, reprimanding, “How audacious, Zixia, to collude with demons and cause chaos in my Jade Pool! This time, I will definitely have you cast into the Six Paths of Reincarnation to endure the suffering of a hundred lifetimes!”

Gathering her strength, Zixia flung off Stone’s hand and knelt down, pleading, “I beg Your Majesty to spare Stone’s life, I am willing to bear the punishment in his stead!”

Before Queen Mother could reply, Stone pointed the Jingu Bang at her, angrily bellowing, “You are the lowly Queen Mother who tormented Zixia for eighteen years? Today, your head will surely fall!”

With a loud shout, he raised the Jingu Bang, striking down towards Queen Mother’s head like splitting a mountain.

The surrounding Heavenly Soldiers and Generals were shocked as a streak of sword light cut through the air, fending off the Vajra Staff and then heading straight for Stone’s face.

The Jingu Bang in Stone’s hand changed in size as he wished, and with a twist, he deflected the sword light before swinging his staff once more towards Queen Mother’s waist.

But the sword light was like a persistent maggot, looping back towards his face!

Enraged, Stone, unable to strike Queen Mother due to the powerful interruption, and recognizing the impressive cultivation level of his adversary, spun the Golden Hoop Staff tightly, blocking the sword light, and on a closer look, saw that his opponent was the blue-robed Lv Dongbin, the Great Emperor of the Eastern Extremity Qinghua!

“Fellow Taoists, help me capture this scoundrel!” Lv Dongbin commanded.

The other seven Taiyi Golden Immortals simultaneously made their move, each raising their Magical Treasure, forming a grand formation known as Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea.

Not daring to clash head-on, Stone feigned a couple of moves before returning to Zixia’s side, “In a moment, I will carve out a bloody path for us, and you must seize the opportunity to escape. In the next life, I will find you again!”

With tears streaming down her face, Zixia clutched his arm, “Let me accompany you…”

Stone’s expression, however, was resolute to the point of severity, “I’ve already said, in the next life, I will surely find you!”

Zixia was stunned, biting her lip as blood trickled from the corners of her mouth. She nodded forcefully, “Alright! I will wait for you for five hundred years. If you don’t come, I will take my own life.”

Finally, a smile crept across Stone’s lips, “Good, wait for me!”

With that, Stone let out a long howl as his Divine Soul ignited, his combat power skyrocketed several times over!

The onlookers, frightened by his fierce fighting style, hesitated to engage, which gave Stone the opportunity to break through the weakest part of the encirclement with Zixia. The Golden Hoop Staff swung through the void, with millions of staff shadows falling down.

As to their fate, that will be revealed in the next chapter.