The Bull Demon King soon arrived astride a cloud at the Plantain Cave on Jade Cloud Mountain.
The wails and cries of the Iron Fan Immortal echoed everywhere. The moment she saw the Bull Demon King approaching, the Demoness flung herself at him, shrieking even more desperately:
“You cursed fool! That ape stole your guise and came here to deceive me! After snatching our precious treasure, that damned monkey reverted to his true form and fled. Oh, I think I’ll die!”
The Bull Demon King replied sternly:
“Enough nonsense! Calm yourself and compose your appearance. When I catch him, I’ll seize the fan, flay his skin, and grind his bones to dust!”
The Bull Demon King’s Pursuit
With that, the Bull Demon King set off in pursuit. Soon, he spotted the Monkey King soaring cheerfully through the skies with the Plantain Fan strapped to his back.
The Bull Demon King, a master of the Seventy-Two Transformations, matched the Monkey King in combat skill—though his bulk made him less agile. Discarding his swords, he chanted a spell, shook his body, and transformed into a flawless replica of Bajie. Detouring to intercept Wukong, he called out with a wave:
“Brother! I’m here!”
Sun Wukong beamed at the sight of “Bajie.”
“Why the rush?” Wukong asked cheerfully.
The Bull King replied:
“The master feared you couldn’t defeat that demon alone. He sent me to help—you know how desperate he is for that fan!”
“All is settled! I’ve claimed the treasure,” Wukong declared, grinning wider.
“You must be weary after such a battle. Let me carry the fan for you,” offered the imposter.
Unaware this Bajie was a fraud, Wukong gladly handed over the fan.
Chanting another spell, the Bull King reverted to his true form and sneered:
“Accursed ape! Do you not recognize me now?”
Enraged, the Monkey King swung his iron rod with all his might toward the Bull Demon King’s skull.
Reinforcements on the way
Tang Monk sat by the roadside, tormented by the scorching heat and thirst.
“Wukong travels tirelessly—he normally spans two thousand miles in an instant. How has he vanished for a full day? He must be locked in battle with that Bull Demon King!”
Turning to Wuneng and Wujing, he asked:
“Which of you will seek him?”
Before soaring eastward on clouds, Bajie tightened his black silk shirt and slung his rake across his back.
Mid-flight, a deafening roar of wind assaulted his ears. Halting his cloud, he beheld the Monkey King and Bull Demon King embroiled in a ferocious clash.
Bajie gripped his rake and bellowed:
“Brother! I’m here!”
Seeing Bajie’s furious assault, the Bull King sensed imminent defeat and fled. The Mountain God materialized ahead, blocking his retreat with ghostly troops.
“Cease fleeing!” the Mountain God thundered. “No deity dares hinder Tang Monk’s sacred quest for scriptures! All realms know Heaven favors his pilgrimage. Why withhold your fan and defy celestial will? Do you court Heaven’s wrath and execution?”
Swan vs. Vulture
Cornered, the Bull King shook his body, transforming into a majestic swan soaring skyward. Wukong barked at Bajie:
“Are you blind? The Bull escapes!”
Neither Bajie nor the Mountain God had discerned the transformation. “Where?” they cried.
“There!” Wukong pointed upward.
“That swan?” Bajie frowned.
“No swan—it’s the Bull’s guise!”
Mountain God fretted: “What’s to be done?”
Wukong shimmered into a Manchurian vulture, arrowed upward, and circled menacingly before dive-bombing the swan with talons aimed at its neck.
Eagle vs. Phoenix
Recognizing the Monkey King’s ruse, the Bull King stretched his wings, morphing into a golden-feathered eagle to counterattack.
Instantly, Wukong shifted into a black phoenix—bane of eagles. Outmatched, the Bull King became a white heron, cawing triumphantly as he fled south. Hovering briefly, Wukong transformed into a crimson phoenix whose regal cry paralyzed the heron—for none dare challenge the king of birds.
Deer vs. Tiger
Defeated, the Bull King plunged to a cliffside, shuddered, and reshaped into a wary deer grazing mountain grasses.
Wukong landed, shifting into a starving tiger that lunged for the deer. Panicked, the Bull King transformed into a massive black-spotted leopard turning to maul the tiger.
Leopard vs. Lion
Catching the wind, Wukong subtly twitched his head, becoming a golden-eyed Asiatic lion—thunderous roar shaking heaven, bronze-skulled might advancing fearlessly.
Bear vs. Elephant
Trembling at the lion’s shadow, the Bull King shifted into a colossal bear seeking to crush his foe with monstrous paws.
The Monkey King dropped to the ground, transforming into a rough-skinned elephant with a python-strength trunk and tusks thick as bamboo trunks. Swinging his trunk deftly, he lunged to grapple the bear.
But with an earth-shaking roar, the Bull Demon King revealed his true form: a colossal white bull with a mountain-sized head, lightning-bright eyes, twin pagoda-like steel horns, and dagger-sharp teeth—over two miles long and half a mile tall.
“Cursed ape! How will you face me now?” he bellowed triumphantly.
Divine Intervention
Channeling their immense magic, the two titans clashed mid-air in a bone-chilling duel. The spectacle alerted celestial guardians—Golden-Headed Protector, Six Gods of Light and Darkness(Six Dhyāni Buddhas of Light and Darkness), Eighteen Monastery Guardians—who swiftly encircled the Bull King.
Panicked, the Bull King fled southward, only to be intercepted by the Dharma King of Ultimate Victory from Mount Emei’s Pure Cold Cave, who thundered:
“The Buddha himself commands your capture!”
Legs trembling, the Bull King veered east but met the Unsurpassed Strength Vajrapani from Mount Sumeru’s Ear-Touching Ridge:
“Where do you flee? Tathagata orders your arrest!”
Trapped, he turned west—blocked by the Eternal Great Vajrapani from Kunlun’s Golden Ray Peak:
“Turn back! The Thunder Monastery’s Buddha forbids your escape!”
Before he could react, Buddhist warriors and heavenly generals descended with cosmic nets. As he tried ascending, Heavenly King Li and Prince Nezha appeared with the Fish-Bellied Vajra Demon and Mighty Spirit General:
“Cease fleeing! The Jade Emperor decrees your capture!”
Resolution and Surrender
Bellowing desperately, the Bull King thrashed his horns and tail. When Heavenly King Li aimed his Demon-Revealing Mirror, freezing his transformations, the Bull King pleaded:
“Spare me! I’ll embrace Buddhism!”
Prince Nezha demanded:
“Prove your sincerity—surrender the fan!”
“The Iron Fan Princess holds it!” the Bull King cried.
At Wukong’s summons, the Four Vajrapanis, Light and Darkness Deities, Monastery Guardians, Heavenly King Li, Mighty Spirit General, Bajie, and mountain spirits converged. Dragging the Bull King to Plantain Cave, they forced him to wail:
“Wife! Hand them the fan if you wish me alive!”
Prostrating herself, the Demoness kowtowed:
“Mercy, bodhisattvas! We gladly yield the fan to Brother Sun!”
Seizing the fan without delay, Wukong led the celestial host eastward on clouds—the true treasure finally secured.
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