Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"You, release me..."

Ao Mo'ang had not expected that Sun Wukong would become so formidable; he was caught by the throat and found himself unable to retaliate, his strength sealed in an instant. He couldn't muster any energy, and his eyes were filled with terror.

Although Sun Wukong had always been strong in the past, he was never this terrifying!

What on earth had happened to this monkey?

"Speak up! I, Old Sun, am not patient! If you don't talk, then I'll directly search your soul!"

A fierce look flashed across Sun Wukong's face; he simply had no intention of waiting for Ao Mo'ang's ramblings. With a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and heavenly generals attacking Flower-Fruit Mountain and his absence, what state was Flower-Fruit Mountain in now? Exactly which experts had the Heavenly Court dispatched?
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"Don't, don't search my soul! I'll talk!"

Ao Mo'ang's face changed. Soul Searching was a kind of secret technique and a forbidden art at that. The caster could precisely obtain the desired memory information, but for the one it was used on, it was a great trauma to the divine soul. Common people might become idiots at best, or at worst, their souls could scatter.

Even for cultivators, it could cause a huge impact to the divine soul, and severe injuries were inevitable. At worst, it was possible to never advance an inch in cultivation ever again.

Ao Mo'ang did not want his path to immortality to end here. He was waiting to inherit the throne of the Dragon King of the Western Sea and one day unite all the dragon race under heaven!

"The armies of the Heavenly Court have been laying siege to Flower-Fruit Mountain for years. In the beginning, they said there were heavy losses, but later His Majesty the Jade Emperor dispatched Erlang God Yang Jian to assist. He broke through the combined strike formation of Flower-Fruit Mountain. It's said that people like Ran Deng Buddha from the West also went to support the battle..."

Before Ao Mo'ang could finish, Sun Wukong shook his hand and tossed him aside. Wukong was well aware of Erlang God Yang Jian's strength. Even under his influence, the demon folk of Flower-Fruit Mountain had significantly improved their cultivation, yet none could contend with Erlang God Yang Jian, let alone with the Ancient Buddha Ran Deng!

During the battle for divine enthronement, the Ancient Buddha Ran Deng was the vice sect hierarch of the Chan Sect, known as Daoist Ran Deng, whose strength was already formidable. What's key was his extreme craftiness and shamelessness. To achieve his goals, he would stoop to any level. Few immortal gods could lose face like he could.

To seize Zhao Gongming's Ocean-Calming Pearls, Daoist Ran Deng schemed relentlessly, ultimately leading to Zhao Gongming's death and the Twenty-Four Ocean-Calming Pearls falling into Ran Deng's hands.

After joining the Western Cult and becoming its past Buddha, Ancient Buddha Ran Deng, it's said he refined the Twenty-Four Ocean-Calming Pearls into the Twenty-Four Heavens, which could be used by Buddhist followers for cultivation. In times of confrontation, they could call upon the Buddha's power of these heavens, making them formidable.

With someone like this participating in the attack on Flower-Fruit Mountain, how could Sun Wukong not be anxious?

"Somersault Cloud!"

"Shrinking Earth into Inches!"

Mounting the Somersault Cloud, Sun Wukong activated the divine skill Shrinking Earth into Inches, turning himself into a streak of light and racing towards Flower-Fruit Mountain with extreme speed.

Hopefully, it's not too late!

No, he had to make it in time!

Wait for me; you all must wait for Old Sun to arrive!

At the boundary of Flower-Fruit Mountain, outside the mountain gate's barrier, the Seventy-Two Heaven-Shocking Staff of the Six-Eared Macaque and the Twenty-Four Heavens Buddha Palm Shadows of Ancient Buddha Ran Deng collided and dissipated after a stalemate, neither gaining the upper hand.

However, the attack that Ancient Buddha Ran Deng was directing toward Jiao Demon King and the others had halted.

"What an impressive Six-Eared Macaque!"

Ancient Buddha Ran Deng turned his gaze to the Six-Eared Macaque, a sharp gleam in his eye, "No wonder the Ancestral Buddha insisted on having you join our Buddhist Sect. Indeed, you are a prodigy! It's just that there's too great a difference between your cultivation and mine; this move won't harm me!"

"Damn it, this bald thief is too strong!"

When the strike did not succeed, a sense of dread instantly surged in the heart of the Six-Eared Macaque. The Seventy-Two Heaven-Shocking Staff was his ultimate move, even Samantabhadra Bodhisattva couldn't withstand it, yet Ancient Buddha Ran Deng had intercepted it with such ease. He did not even turn his body, simply summoning the Buddha's power of the heavens!

This bald thief's strength was too overpowering! He simply was not on the same level as the Six-Eared Macaque. No wonder Jiao Demon King and Leng Xuan were having such a difficult time defending!

A flash of shock in his eyes swiftly passed, but soon the Six-Eared Macaque's eyes once again ignited with blazing combat fervor. Even if he was no match for the Ancient Buddha Ran Deng, he had to fight with all his might. Before Sun Wukong could return, they must not let the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist Sect breach Flower-Fruit Mountain!

Such thoughts weren't exclusive to the Six-Eared Macaque. Jiao Demon King and the other Five Great Demon Kings, Leng Xuan, Through-Arm Ape Monkey Sun Wushuang, and Chaos Demon King Sun Tong all shared the same determination and acted accordingly. After exchanging a glance, they all simultaneously launched an attack at Ancient Buddha Ran Deng.

The cultivation strength of Ancient Buddha Ran Deng was far superior to theirs, and if they kept defending passively, they wouldn't last long. Offense was the best strategy!

"Foolhardy!"

Ran Deng Buddha snorted coldly. If he were merely at the Quasi-Saint cultivation level, he might have been somewhat flustered in facing so many attacks, but he was already a Half-Step Saint. He had thoroughly severed the Good Corpse among the Three Corpses and accumulated a considerable amount of merit.

Although it was not sufficient for him to become a Saint, the Heavenly Dao had already acknowledged his existence. As long as his merit reached completion, he could break into the Saint Realm just like the Tathagata Buddha.

To Ran Deng Ancient Buddha, the attacks from the Six-Eared Macaque and the others were alright, but merely alright, and posed no threat to him. He could break them with a flip of his hand!

With a wave of his palm, Ran Deng Buddha did not use the power of the Twenty-Four Heavens this time, but instead, a bright lamp appeared before him. This was his Lifebound Divine Sarcophagus Lamp.

There are four Innate Divine Lamps in the Three Realms: the Jade Purity Crystal Lamp of Primordial Heavenly Venerable, the Eight Scenic Palace Lanterns of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, the Sarcophagus Lamp of Ran Deng Buddha, and the Treasured Lotus Lamp of Goddess Nuwa. Possessing one of the four Innate Divine Lamps, Ran Deng Buddha's Sarcophagus Lamp naturally held extremely frightening power.

Inside the Sarcophagus Lamp burned a grey flame, one of the Four Great Heavenly Fires known as the Netherworld Ghost Flame. This flame directly connected to the netherworld, burning through physical bodies and directly igniting the soul's true spirit. Once touched, it was as impossible to remove as a persistent ulcer, making it one of the most difficult-to-handle among the Four Great Heavenly Fires.

The moment the Sarcophagus Lamp was deployed, it released a vast expanse of grey flames spreading in all directions. The attacks of the Six-Eared Macaque and the others were firmly blocked upon contact with the Netherworld Ghost Flame. Even the power of their attacks was ignited by the ghost flame, not reaching Ran Deng Ancient Buddha by a whisker.

"Hiss!"

The Six-Eared Macaque and the others all inhaled sharply. They had never seen such a terrifying magical treasure before; just a single bright lamp left these powerhouses helpless. The Half-Step Saint of the past, the Western Buddhist Sect's Ran Deng Ancient Buddha, was he really that formidable?

"Transfer your strength to me, and I will set up a formation to boost Six-Ears' power!"

Almost in an instant, Leng Xuan saw the current situation clearly. Relying on their strength alone, let alone facing Ran Deng Buddha one on one, even joining forces, they estimated, would be no match for him. The only way was to concentrate their power in one person, temporarily raising his cultivation strength with the combined might of everyone.

This might grant them a chance to contest with Ran Deng Buddha, or at the very least buy some time.

The obvious choice was the Six-Eared Macaque!

With the Bull Demon King still recuperating within the Flower-Fruit Mountain Water Curtain Cave Heaven, the Six-Eared Macaque was the one on Flower-Fruit Mountain who could wield the most destructive force from his cultivation strength.

Concentrating everyone's power onto him, forcibly enhancing his cultivation to the level of a Half-Step Quasi-Saint or even Quasi-Saint, his ultimate move, Seventy-two Heaven-Shocking Staff, might pose a threat to Ran Deng Buddha.

Leng Xuan, the strategist of Flower-Fruit Mountain, commanded the highest authority second only to Sun Wukong. Upon his statement, the Jiao Demon King and the others, without even asking, directly transferred their strength to him.

Leng Xuan didn't waste any words, and amid the motions of his hands, he set up a formation to amalgamate and concentrate the power, eliminating the conflicting forces between them, before transferring it to the Six-Eared Macaque.

"Big Brother Leng, what is this...?"

Shock and disbelief flickered in the Six-Eared Macaque's eyes. He hadn't expected Leng Xuan to value him so highly that he would stake their last chance on him, and he was even more surprised that the Jiao Demon King and the others would agree without speaking a word, unreservedly passing their strength to him!

"Calm your mind and accept the power. It's all up to you now!"

Leng Xuan cut off the Six-Eared Macaque's words and shook his head, "Six-Ears, use your ultimate move to teach this bald donkey a lesson! Don't let us down at Flower-Fruit Mountain!"

"Don't worry, Big Brother Leng, I understand!"

A gleam flashed in the Six-Eared Macaque's eyes, and the look of gratitude vanished as swiftly as it arrived. Senses brimming with formidable power, a proud battle intent emerged from the Six-Eared Macaque:

"Ran Deng, you bald donkey, you want to obliterate Flower-Fruit Mountain? Let's see if your Grandpa Six-Ears agrees!"

"Seventy-two Heaven-Shocking Staff, break for me!"

The preparatory stance of the Seventy-two Heaven-Shocking Staff move was executed, and the charging process was shortened by several times compared to before. Almost instantly, the move was ready, and a fierce staff stroke thundered towards Ran Deng Buddha's Sarcophagus Lamp.

Endless staff shadows materialized, but unlike the previous two times, they nearly coalesced into substance this time, containing immense destructive power that dispersed the Netherworld Ghost Flame and struck hard upon the Sarcophagus Lamp.

"Ignorant demon monkey, to think you can break my Sarcophagus Lamp, pure foolish daydreams!"

Ran Deng Ancient Buddha's pupils suddenly constricted, a cold glint flashing at the bottom of his eyes. The Six-Eared Macaque's combat power had suddenly increased several fold, actually giving him a sense of threat.

Although it was only a sliver, he was a great power within the Half-Step Saint Realm, while the true cultivation of the Six-Eared Macaque was merely at the Taiyi Golden Immortal level, and this was surely startling!

Below Saints, all are mere insects, and though Half-Step Saints haven't truly reached the Saint Realm, even a touch of it is not simple. Half-Step Saints can also communicate with the Heavenly Dao to borrow power, albeit far less than a Heavenly Dao Saint, but even so, the world had few who could stand against him. And now, there was one more under these circumstances: the Six-Eared Macaque!