Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

Spirit Pearl!

Nezha had recovered his Spirit Pearl's origin!

Three Flowers Gathering at the Top will eventually come to an end, and now the origin of the Spirit Pearl is secure!

If it had been the Nezha of the past, he would indeed not be a match for the current Mu Zha, who had cultivated for so long by Guanyin Bodhisattva's side.

Mu Zha's strength had greatly increased since the Battle of Divine Enthronement, while Nezha, given the limitations of the Lotus Incarnation and the restraints imposed by Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing, saw his strength not increase but decrease over the years.

Mu Zha was confident he could suppress Nezha, yet it was only upon clashing that Mu Zha realized Nezha's strength was vastly different from what he remembered!

Not only had Nezha's cultivation broken through to the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm, but his combat power was also incomparable to before. The ethereal shadow of the Spirit Pearl on his forehead absorbed all the forces Mu Zha unleashed against him, making it seem as if all of Mu Zha's attacks and spells were entirely ineffective in front of Nezha.

Mu Zha fought with increasing alarm and anger because Nezha wasn't even using his full strength; it was as if he was toying with him.

"Nezha, show your true skills and fight me!"

Mu Zha roared furiously. He could tolerate Nezha's strength surpassing his once more, as Nezha had always been the strongest among their three brothers, and Mu Zha never intended to compete for anything. But under these circumstances, he couldn't bear Nezha deliberately holding back and toying with him!

Mu Zha wanted to discipline Nezha on behalf of Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing. If Nezha had defeated him outright, Mu Zha could console himself with being lesser in skill. However, Nezha's current approach of stringing him along constituted a great insult to Mu Zha.

"Second brother, why must you do this to yourself?"

Brothers understand each other's character very well. Nezha could tell what Mu Zha was thinking with a single glance. After heaving a sigh, Nezha's eyes suddenly snapped open, and three auspicious clouds appeared above his head, releasing the Three Flowers atop him.

His mana surged dramatically, and with a thrust of his spear, he shattered Mu Zha's double-hook sword's defense, striking Mu Zha and sending him flying in the direction of Ran Deng Buddha and the others.

"Puff!"

Mu Zha spat out a mouthful of reverse-flow blood, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted. Guanyin Bodhisattva reached out and formed a cloud of auspicious energy to catch him, and the next moment, the cloud flew off toward the horizon. Nezha gave Guanyin Bodhisattva a grateful look.

It was clear that Guanyin did not want Mu Zha to witness the upcoming scene, to avoid his emotional struggle, and hence sent him back to Mount Luoja in the Southern Sea.

"Nezha!"

Ran Deng Buddha and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva flanked Nezha, one on each side, with unkind expressions on their faces. Erlang God Yang Jian, somewhat concerned, flew up, joining Nezha's side, and placed his hands on Nezha's shoulders. "When I heard of your death, I grieved for a long time. I never expected you, lad, to fake your death and escape, and even advance in your cultivation!

You should've given me a heads-up!"
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"Brother Yang Jian, I'm sorry. I kept it a secret because I was afraid that the news of me being alive would cause trouble if Li Jing found out too soon. I didn't mean to worry you," Nezha apologized to Erlang God Yang Jian with a smile.

"Nezha, so are you saying that it was the Demon Monkey Sun Wukong who helped you escape? And your current cultivation and abilities are also thanks to him?" asked Erlang God Yang Jian, a glint flashing in his eyes.

"That's right! Brother Wukong is the most formidable person I've met among my peers!" Nezha's eyes shone with admiration, but then he seemed to feel it was inappropriate to praise Sun Wukong so highly in front of Erlang God Yang Jian, so he quickly added, "You are also very powerful, Brother Yang Jian!"

"The most powerful among our peers, eh? I really must see this for myself one day!" Erlang God Yang Jian's eyes narrowed slightly. So far, he had never met a match among his peers, and even the Six-Eared Macaque and the Bull Demon King seemed slightly inferior to him. Nezha had always held him in high esteem, but now he praised Sun Wukong so highly. What kind of skills did this Demon Monkey possess?

"Brother Yang Jian, Brother Wukong saved my life. All the past misunderstandings have been cleared up. I've officially left the Heavenly Court and joined Flower-Fruit Mountain.

You shouldn't help them anymore!" Nezha said seriously to Erlang God Yang Jian, aware of the latter's complicated relationship with the Heavenly Court due to his mother, which had always caused tension between Yang Jian and His Majesty the Jade Emperor. This tension was the reason Yang Jian was not subject to their beck and call!

This time, Yang Jian had come to attack Flower-Fruit Mountain largely to avenge Nezha. But now that Nezha was unharmed and had actually grown in cultivation strength by escaping the limitations of the Lotus Incarnation, with the recovery of his Spirit Pearl's origin, it seemed Yang Jian no longer had any justification to continue the crusade against Flower-Fruit Mountain.

"Nezha, are you truly certain you want to join Flower-Fruit Mountain?"

Erlang God Yang Jian slightly furrowed his brows. He did not look down upon the Demon Clan; just as the Human Race had good and bad people, so too did the Demon Clan have benevolent demons and malevolent ones. It was simply a matter of differing stances, and it was not a question of one side being just and the other evil.

However, as things stood, Flower-Fruit Mountain was still too weak and far from being a match for Heavenly Court and the Buddhist Kingdom of Western Heaven.

"Big Brother Yang Jian, you haven't seen Big Brother Wukong. I believe in him, and the future of Flower-Fruit Mountain will definitely be much brighter than it is now! Of this, I have no doubt!"

A light flashed in Nezha's eyes, filled with confidence and fervor. Indeed, Flower-Fruit Mountain was not yet very strong—that was because it had had too little time to develop. Yet, its foundation might not necessarily be weaker than that of Heavenly Court or the Western Paradise.

Given enough time to grow, Nezha believed that the future could surely catch up with or even surpass Heavenly Court and the Western Paradise!

But the current problem was, would Heavenly Court and the Western Paradise grant Flower-Fruit Mountain enough time to develop?

"Ancient Buddha, Two Honored Bodhisattvas, please assist our Heavenly Court in eradicating these Flower-Fruit Mountain demons. Our Heavenly Court will surely offer heavy gratitude!"

Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing bellowed, entreating Ran Deng Buddha, Manjusri Bodhisattva, and Guanyin Bodhisattva for help. The faces of the Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Race abruptly changed, for they knew Ran Deng Buddha and the others were not easy foes. Their aura was unfathomable, but without needing to sense it, they knew it had to be above that of a Da Luo Golden Immortal.

Should they join the fray, even if Nezha had now broken through to the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm, it would probably still be difficult to avert the downfall of Flower-Fruit Mountain!

"Amitabha, Heavenly King Li needn't be polite. Our Buddhist Sect and Heavenly Court are like branches from the same tree. Confronting the evil demons is our unreserved duty. Heavenly King Li, when you report this back to His Majesty the Jade Emperor, it will suffice. Leave these rebellious traitors devoid of ruler and father, Nezha and these demon fiends of Flower-Fruit Mountain, to us!"

Ran Deng Buddha gave Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing a Buddhist salute, his face solemn and dignified. However, when he turned his gaze to Nezha and the Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Race, his expression shifted.

"Guanyin, Manjushri, you handle Nezha; I will personally undertake the conversion of those ignorant demons!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a terrifying aura rose from Ran Deng Buddha's body—it was that of a Half-Step Saint!

Ran Deng Buddha's aura had been at the peak level of a Quasi-Saint, but upon unleashing his full strength, it had reached the level of a Half-Step Saint. In an instant, the heavens and earth darkened, and a vast pressure bore down on every member of the Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Race as if the sky were collapsing.

"It's the Twenty-Four Heavens formed from the Sea-Calming Pearls! That old fellow Ran Deng has merged the Twenty-Four Heavens into himself!"

With a flash of light from his Heavenly Eye, Erlang God Yang Jian glanced at Ran Deng Buddha and perceived the twenty-four small worlds, vaguely visible within the Buddha's Light behind him. These were the Twenty-Four Heavens, transformed from twenty-four Ocean-Calming Pearls.

The Sea-Calming Pearl was an item belonging to Mount Emei's Mount Luofu Cave's Jie Sect Da Luo Golden Immortal Zhao Gongming during the Divine Enthronement war. Later, it was deviously seized by Ran Deng and brought to the Western Paradise, transforming into the Twenty-Four Heavens, a place for the Buddhist Sect to cultivate.

However, their entrance had always been controlled by Ran Deng, the past Buddha of the Buddhist Sect. It was unexpected that he would merge them with himself, reaching the level of a Half-Step Saint!

Now, Ran Deng Buddha appeared to have severed one vestige of his past self. Unfortunately, he lacked sufficient merit to break through to the Saint level of the Heavenly Dao. Nevertheless, even as a Half-Step Saint, he was an exceedingly terrifying entity, and there was nobody in Flower-Fruit Mountain that could stand against him!

"You demons, failing to recognize the times and rejecting your heavenly decree, do you truly believe that no one can subdue you?"

Shadows of the Heavens emerged slowly behind Ran Deng Buddha, his figure becoming indistinct as if blending into the Heavens. The next moment, a barrage of heavenly fire meteors and thunder light began to shoot out, raining down upon the entire Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Race.

"All demon brethren, retreat into the Primordial Unity Grand Formation Barrier!"

Leng Xuan cried out in alarm, shouting loudly. The Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Race, who had paused convening their grand formation due to Nezha's breakthrough, quickened their pace to retreat within Flower-Fruit Mountain's Barrier.

Leng Xuan, Jiao Demon King, and the Five Great Demon Kings, along with the Through-Arm Ape Monkey Sun Wushuang, Chaos Demon King Sun Tong, and others, rushed towards the vault above, each wielding their weapons to block a swath of thunder and fire within a particular area.

The Primordial Unity Grand Formation Barrier of Flower-Fruit Mountain was not yet fully restored and could not withstand further impacts; they had to block the onslaught themselves.

The Six-Eared Macaque also wished to rush forward but was stopped by Erlang God Yang Jian: "Six-Eared Demon Monkey, your opponent is me!"

"Three-Eyes, are you out of your mind? Nezha is unharmed, you've seen it with your own eyes. Why still stand against Flower-Fruit Mountain?"

The Six-Eared Macaque, face full of anger, pointed his Heaven-supporting Iron Staff at Erlang God Yang Jian and yelled.

"I am here by the decreed will of the Jade Emperor to assist Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King in the campaign against Flower-Fruit Mountain. If I were to stand idly by without doing anything, it would be hard to explain my actions. I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to pass. Even if it's just for show, why don't you keep me company here and watch the battle unfold?"

"Keep your 'watch' to yourself!"