Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Take!"

Having struck down Indra with a heaven-shaking blow, Sun Wukong looked somewhat regretfully at Vishnu and Lutoro, chanted a Dharma Decree to recall his clones, then turned and mounted his Somersault Cloud. He flew along the Yellow Springs road toward the direction of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realms. Originally, he had wanted to deal with Vishnu and Lutoro as well, but now it seemed impossible.

The Asura King, Sovereign Mara Papiyas, was coming, and his cultivation was at the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm. For now, Sun Wukong had no intention of contending with a powerhouse of the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm. It was better to avoid confrontation.

By the time the Asura King, Sovereign Mara Papiyas, arrived on the scene, Sun Wukong's figure had already vanished at the edge of vision. He couldn't help but feel inwardly shocked; this guy could actually fly on a cloud in the Netherworld, and his speed was so fast!

"Vishnu, Lutoro, are you both alright?"

Glancing at Vishnu and Lutoro, the Asura King, Sovereign Mara Papiyas, frowned. Both were injured in many places and looked extremely ragged.

Normally, with the strength of Vishnu and Lutoro, it wouldn't have come to this. But they had been frightened out of their wits by Sun Wukong, desperate to escape without much thought of resistance, which resulted in them getting battered by Sun Wukong's clones. However, compared to the Netherworld Ghost Mother and Indra, who had lost their lives, the two felt extremely lucky to be alive.

"Demon King, if you had been even a moment later, we wouldn't have been able to save our own lives!"

Vishnu and Lutoro, faces filled with unsuppressed terror, cried out to the Asura King, Sovereign Mara Papiyas.

"What on earth happened? Who is that person, and how could you have provoked such a powerful being?"

Sovereign Mara Papiyas glared at Vishnu and Lutoro, displeased with the pair's pathetic display, as they had truly disgraced the Asura Tribe. He had been too far away to get a clear view of Sun Wukong, nor could he discern Sun Wukong's exact level of cultivation.

However, judging by the might exhibited by the blow that struck down Indra, the power was certainly vastly superior to Indra and the others, probably not much weaker than himself. How could Indra and the others have provoked such an enemy?

"He is a demon monkey who calls himself the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong, not from our Netherworld but presumably from the World of the Living."

Vishnu and Lutoro recounted their enmity with Sun Wukong, causing Sovereign Mara Papiyas's frown to deepen significantly.

"Great Sage Equalling Heaven? What arrogance to dare claim to be Equal to Heaven. Truly presumptuous! Are you certain you're not mistaken, that Sun Wukong is really just at the Taiyi Scattered Immortal Realm?"

"Absolutely certain!"

"That's odd! A Taiyi Scattered Immortal dares to come to the Netherworld to show off his power. Sun Wukong's courage is indeed huge, no wonder he dares to call himself the Great Sage Equalling Heaven!"

Sovereign Mara Papiyas stroked his chin thoughtfully. Generally, when immortals from the World of the Living enter the Netherworld, their strength is affected by the Netherworld Ghost Qi, causing a drop of ten to thirty percent.

However, according to Vishnu and Lutoro's account, Sun Wukong's strength was not only undiminished but also freakishly strong, unlike anything a Taiyi Scattered Immortal should possess – even those at the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm had never seen such a formidable person. Why would such a person come to the Netherworld?

"Right, several years ago, the Human Book was used, and the barrier between the two realms of the Netherworld and the World of the Living was sealed, and thereafter unsealed. Could it be related to this Sun Wukong?"

Suddenly, Sovereign Mara Papiyas remembered an incident. As the Demon King of the powerful Asura Tribe in the Netherworld, and a Da Luo Golden Immortal realm powerhouse, he naturally was attuned to events in the Netherworld. About five or six years ago, there was an odd disturbance in the Netherworld when the barrier to the World of the Living was sealed, only to be unsealed not long after.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But for the next three hundred years, no one from the Netherworld could travel to the World of the Living. Clearly, someone had used the Human Book.

Only the Ten Yama Kings of the Netherworld had the power to do this. Sovereign Mara Papiyas had sent people to investigate the city of the dead and heard rumors of some 'demon immortal' causing havoc in Hell, nearly destroying the entire city. King Qin Guang sealed the barrier between the two realms in anger; after that, there was no more news, and nobody knew where this 'demon immortal' had gone.

Could it be that the demon immortal who caused such an uproar in Hell was this Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong?

"Demon King, Ghost Mother and Indra have both died at the hands of that demon monkey, a provocation against our Asura Tribe. You must not let that demon monkey go. Capture him, tear him to pieces, and avenge Ghost Mother and Indra!" Vishnu and Lutoro groveled on the ground, pleading with Sovereign Mara Papiyas.

"Weeping and wailing – what a disgrace! All of you mute your voices for your king!"

Sovereign Mara Papiyas's brows furrowed as he scolded them in a deep voice, "How I conduct affairs is none of your concern to teach! Indra and Ghost Mother were blind to provoke an opponent they couldn't confront, their deaths were well-deserved! My Asura Tribe has no need for such blind and useless trash!"

"Yes, yes! Forgive us, Demon King. We acknowledge our faults and plead for your forgiveness!"

The faces of Vishnu and Lutoro turned pale. They hastily quieted their cries and kowtowed to admit their wrongs to Sovereign Mara Papiyas. More than Sun Wukong, they feared this Asura King. Now that the ancestor of the Nether River secluded himself in the depths of the Sea of Blood to cultivate, the entire Asura Tribe was under the rule of Sovereign Mara Papiyas.

Angering him could mean a fate not much better than that of the Ghost Mother and Indra.

"Enough. Hurry back and cultivate. Do not emerge until you reach the Realm of the Taiyi Golden Immortal, lest you bring more shame!"

Sovereign Mara Papiyas waved them off impatiently. Vishnu and Lutoro, as if pardoned, hastily agreed and turned to flee toward the River of Oblivion, plunging into it and vanishing from sight.

"Although it was Ghost Mother and Indra's own blindness that sought death, this is the Netherworld – our Asura Tribe's territory. To kill my clanspeople on our ground shows no regard for me or the ancestor! Those two did say something sensible; we cannot let that Demon Monkey off so easily!"

Watching Vishnu and Lutoro leave, a gleam of cold light flashed in Sovereign Mara Papiyas's eyes, his gaze narrowed as he looked in the direction of Sun Wukong's departure. That direction led toward the Bottomless Abyss where the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realms were located. What could Sun Wukong possibly be up to, heading there?

"Interesting! I want to see just how capable this Demon Monkey who dares to call himself the Great Sage Equalling Heaven really is, and what his intentions might be!"

A sly smile curling at the corner of his mouth, Sovereign Mara Papiyas soared up into the sky, following in the direction where Sun Wukong had flown.

However, he dared not travel at full speed like Sun Wukong, who was flying close to the Thundercloud Layer filled with Chaotic Nether Thunder, but rather followed the path of Yellow Springs at an altitude of dozens of feet above the ground, relying on wind maneuvering. He supposed that Sun Wukong couldn't sustain his pace for too long, anyway.

Meanwhile, after flying for a day, Sun Wukong descended from his Somersault Cloud. This was the Netherworld, different from the World of the Living. Though he had acquired a new Primordial Force, the quantity was too small to sustain the consumption of cloud flying. Flying with the Immortal Force in the Netherworld also greatly reduced his speed, barely faster than wind maneuvering.

"That Demon King probably won't catch up, right?"

Since Indra addressed Sovereign Mara Papiyas as the Demon King, Sun Wukong didn't know who exactly he was, but assumed he must be a strong member of the Asura Tribe.

Sun Wukong's goal was to pass through the Hell Path of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realms and venture deep into Hell's Yellow Springs, find the junction between the Netherworld and the World of the Living, and leave the Netherworld to return to the World of the Living. He wasn't interested in a deathmatch with the Netherworld's powerful beings.

Initially, Sun Wukong hadn't intended to stir trouble in the Netherworld, but a ruckus in the Netherworld had trapped him here, forcing him to take the route of Yellow Springs, cross the Naihe Bridge, and challenge the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realms and the depths of Hell's Yellow Springs.

It was frustrating enough, and all he truly wished for was to leave the Netherworld and return to Flower-Fruit Mountain. However, sometimes trouble finds you even when you don't seek it.

Just crossing the Naihe Bridge should have been straightforward, yet he encountered the Ghost Mother. Sun Wukong had been extremely tolerant, merely injuring her without going for the kill, hoping that a stern warning would suffice to deter her and her allies. But the Ghost Mother had dared to lead a chase and even launched a sneak attack.

To endure once is magnanimity, to endure twice is foolishness. There's a saying: when patience is exhausted, there's no need for more. In seeking the Dao and cultivating immortality, one seeks freedom and enlightenment, not reciprocity of kindness for malice or swallowing one's pride!

Sun Wukong exploded into action, ruthless in his attacks, killing Ghost Mother and Indra, who had ambushed him, one after the other. He vented the aggravation in his heart and now only hoped for smoother sailing ahead without further complications.

The domains of the Netherworld were far more vast than Sun Wukong had imagined, with the Netherworld's realm being only a tiny part of it. Even after crossing the Naihe Bridge, the journey to the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realms was long and arduous. No wonder an ancient saying goes that the road of Yellow Springs is long and winding. Such monotonous travel truly lacked interest.

Especially since the fusion of the two kinds of Primordial Forces had been interrupted by Indra's sneak attack, and Sun Wukong hadn't fully indulged in the process. So, he decided to use his Cloning Divine Powers to summon his clones.

His true body shrank to the size of a broad bean and hopped onto the collar of a clone, letting the clone carry him on the path while he continued to absorb the Nether Qi and cultivate.

After passing half a month in this way, they finally saw the end of Yellow Springs path: a cliff and a deep abyss – the arrival at the Bottomless Abyss of the Netherworld. Below this abyss lay the passages connecting the various parts of the Netherworld, the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realms where souls are sent to be reborn.

Inside the collar of his clone, Sun Wukong had absorbed enough Netherworld Ghost Qi, converting it into Nether Primordial Force and fusing it with the Immortal Force within his body. Up to this point, he had successfully converted most of his Immortal Force. With no spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the Netherworld, he could not continue further.