Great Demon Sun Wukong

After Sun Wukong turned invisible, he slowly approached the Lingxiao Palace. However, he dared not get too close; despite having extreme confidence in his own strength, the denizens of the Lingxiao Palace were no ordinary foes.

Even though Sun Wukong could escape if detected with his current strength, doing so would alert the enemy, and Tathagata might discover the whereabouts of his master and second brother. That would be terribly bad.

Therefore, Sun Wukong simply activated his fiery eyes and golden pupils for a brief reconnaissance. With his current ability, as long as he wasn’t deliberately probing beings like Tathagata with immense strength, it would be quite difficult for ordinary Buddhist Arhats to detect him.

But when Sun Wukong’s gaze swept over the Bodhisattva Arhats either seated or standing on either side of the Lingxiao Palace, his body shook violently. A piercing murderous intent erupted, and in less than half an instant, Sun Wukong knew something was wrong. He quickly withdrew his gaze. But it was already too late.

At the moment Sun Wukong’s gaze exuded killing intent, Tathagata seated on the original dragon throne of the Jade Emperor in the Lingxiao Palace immediately sensed it. And this intent was so familiar, it could even prevent Tathagata from sleeping at night. Before anyone else could perceive what had happened, Tathagata on the dragon throne had vanished.

When he reappeared, he was exactly at the spot where Sun Wukong had been a moment before, but Sun Wukong had already somersaulted away to a far distance.

Tathagata’s face was as somber as water, the hatred and anger in his eyes evident. "Notify all Heavenly Buddhist Soldiers, immediately seal off Heaven. And at the Four Great Heavenly Gates, set the Sumi Locking Spirit Great Formation. Sun Wukong has appeared."

Before the echo of his voice faded away, Tathagata’s figure disappeared again. Clearly, he had personally set out to capture Sun Wukong.

In the previous great battle, Tathagata had summoned over two million Buddhist soldiers and nearly all the top experts from Buddhism, but they had allowed Sun Wukong to slip through their fingers. Moreover, many Buddhist Arhats were wounded. Those injured ones had yet to fully recover. How could this shame and hatred not drive Tathagata to the brink of madness?

He wished he could devour Sun Wukong’s flesh and blood, despite Buddhism’s abstention from meat.

Yet, Sun Wukong had appeared again so soon, and he even dared to gaze impudently upon Tathagata’s grand hall. He was blatantly disregarding Buddhism. If Sun Wukong escaped again this time, Tathagata wouldn’t be able to remain in Heaven. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t have the face for it. Furthermore, it was possible that Tathagata’s position as Buddha might not be secure.

So, no matter what, Sun Wukong must be kept in Heaven this time. Otherwise, Tathagata could not bear the cost. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Tathagata to sense Sun Wukong’s aura. Suddenly, Tathagata erupted with an even more terrifying aura and darted toward the location of Sun Wukong’s aura at a speed far faster than before.

Tathagata knew that even if the Heavenly Buddhist Soldiers could block Sun Wukong for a moment, it definitely wouldn’t be for long. A few breaths would be the limit. Unless it was one of the few Buddha who discovered Sun Wukong, but ever since the last incident, these Buddhas probably couldn’t wait to avoid Sun Wukong.

It seemed that after this matter, it was time to replace this batch of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. A Buddha scared by a Demon Monkey is no longer of much value. As these thoughts flew through Tathagata’s mind, he had already appeared at the North Heaven Gate.

When Tathagata appeared, what he saw was Sun Wukong sending several Golden Body Arhats flying with a single strike of his staff, about to somersault away.

"Demon Monkey, stop right there! You come and go in my Heaven as if it’s a place void of life, which is far too presumptuous. Today, you will stay here," he declared. No sooner had he spoken than Tathagata’s hands formed hundreds of Magical Decrees. Just half a breath later, a massive arm radiating golden light appeared out of thin air.

It then reached for Sun Wukong at a velocity far exceeding the speed of sound. With this one strike, Tathagata used eighty percent of his power, reserving the remaining twenty percent for any other contingencies.

"Tathagata, you old fool, spouting nonsense. Daring to claim Heaven as your own? Today, let me remind you that I, the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong, can return at any time."

An infinitesimal fraction of a breath slower than Tathagata’s golden giant hand, Sun Wukong too clenched his right fist and sent forth an enormous earth-yellow fist that did not fall short of Tathagata’s golden giant hand in the slightest, striking fiercely. In the next moment, a tremendous force spread rapidly.

The Buddhist Soldiers previously hit by Sun Wukong’s Jingu Bang instantly turned into a cloud of dust. The formidable Golden Body Arhats could not withstand the aftereffects of the two’s clash.

Once the atmosphere stabilized slightly, the scene that unfolded showed Sun Wukong standing still, his right sleeve slightly torn but otherwise unharmed. As for Tathagata? He had been pushed back three full steps and his clothes were in disarray, his internal energy roiling. The outcome of this strike was immediately apparent.

Looking at the still domineering Sun Wukong, Tathagata felt a surge of fear in his heart. During their last major battle, Sun Wukong’s strength had suddenly increased manifold, which had allowed him to break through the encirclement. But Tathagata knew that such a sudden increase in strength could not last, and it would surely be followed by severe repercussions.

Yet in today’s battle, Sun Wukong’s strength was so much greater than his own. His strength of seven-tenths power in the strike and the fact that he had used a long-cherished secret technique was hard for Tathagata to accept.

He knew his own situation; while three large steps taken had greatly mitigated the impact, the roiling internal energy was a clear sign of injury, albeit not serious but still an actual injury.

This was harder for him to bear than killing Tathagata himself. The once trivial demon monkey that he could suppress with just one hand had now become an existence that he could hardly contend with. This, nearly drove Tathagata mad.

Just as Tathagata summoned all his mana, preparing for a life-and-death struggle with Sun Wukong, he saw Wukong wave his hand and unexpectedly retract the Jingu Bang into his right ear. Before Tathagata could say anything, Wukong had already spoken, "Tathagata, today is not the day for our final battle. But it won’t be too long. Just wait in your Heavenly Palace.

Wait for me, old Sun, to cause another uproar in the Heavenly Palace!"

After speaking, he transformed into an untraceable golden light, drifting away. Tathagata was left alone, standing there dazedly watching Wukong’s departing figure, slowly dispersing the mana he had just gathered. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to stop Wukong, but that he simply couldn’t. At the very moment he was about to make a move, he suddenly discovered that Wukong’s presence had disappeared.

This startle Tathagata, but when he looked up, he saw Wukong right before his eyes. However, he couldn’t sense Wukong’s presence at all, as if what was before him was nothing but an illusion. Yet, just moments ago, he was forced back three steps by seventy percent of his strength. What kind of illusion in the world could be so powerful?

Tathagata couldn’t believe it, nor did he dare to. But the reality was just so. And all Tathagata could do was to watch helplessly as Wukong left composedly—he had no means to stop him. At that moment, a terrifying thought arose in Tathagata’s mind: it turned out that Wukong didn’t fail to escape in time, but was deliberately waiting for him.

This thought made Tathagata inhale sharply. However, a moment later, Tathagata looked utterly dejected, as though he had lost all his strength, resembling not a Buddha but a downtrodden monk.

At this time, Wukong had already returned to the Coiled Silk Cave. Silently approaching the Flame Giant Egg, Wukong called out, "Master, I’m back. I’ve obtained this cassia branch from The Moon Palace, which can help Bajie suffer less and slightly increase his chances." After speaking, he took out the branch from within his bosom and handed it to Tang Sanzang.

Tang Sanzang nodded slightly, and the Flame Giant Egg quietly opened a gap. Wukong vibrated the branch in his right hand and it instantly turned into powder before drifting into the egg through the opening. A small part fell on the rotating Nine-Toothed Rake, while the majority fell into Sanzang’s palm.

As the cassia powder scattered, the Nine-Toothed Rake seemed to react, its mini form pulsating as if it were beating like a heart. In a single expand and contract movement, it absorbed all of the falling powder before settling back down into quietude. Seeing this, Wukong knew that Bajie had absorbed the cassia powder and that there was no need to worry for the time being.

Not daring to stay any longer, not for fear of the Red Lotus Karma Fire, but for fear of disturbing his master—an even slight miscalculation could cause unimaginable huge troubles for Bajie.

Just as he had arrived, Wukong left without a trace. However, Wukong didn’t return to the stone room where he practiced his cultivation. Instead, he walked straight to the entrance of the Coiled Silk Cave.

The former Coiled Silk Cave was littered with white bones everywhere, with a hundred li radius like a land of death. But so many years had passed, and the cave had turned into a luxuriant primeval forest. The people were gone, the objects changed.

After setting up an Illusion Array at the entrance, a few leaps later he reached the highest tree of the entire forest. Standing at the treetop, hands shading his eyes, Wukong gazed into the distance. In that direction, used to be his home, called Flower Fruit Mountain.

The Flower Fruit Mountain was evergreen all year round, ripe with various fragrant and delicious fruits, and the scenery was extraordinarily beautiful—it was a sight one could never finish admiring in a lifetime. Unfortunately, it was all gone now.

The hands that formed the shade slowly lowered, and then Wukong simply sat on the treetop, like a giant umbrella. He let the breeze blow, his scarlet mantle fluttering wildly with the wind. In this fashion, he gazed in that direction, seated for three days straight.

After three days, Wukong suddenly grabbed towards the morning glow on the horizon with his right hand, and the bright morning sun’s rays flickered noticeably. Subsequently, a dazzlingly golden Jingu Bang appeared in Wukong’s hand. With his left hand holding the Jingu Bang, and his right hand raised, he extended his index finger. At the fingertip, a golden needle made of condensed mana appeared.

With a few swift motions, he inscribed two characters inside the band, then slowly placed the circlet onto his head.