Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"You agreed quite readily? Then why did you..."

Sun Wukong's voice paused, and his brow suddenly furrowed. "This is a conspiracy by the Heavenly Court, isn't it?"

"That's right."

Mu Chenxuan gave a bitter smile, "It is a conspiracy, but it is not against the entire Demon Race, it's specifically targeting me!"

"You just mentioned that you were deceived by a wretched person. Are you referring to the Jidu Demon Emperor?"

A sharp glint passed through Sun Wukong's eyes. Having experienced the conspiracies at the summit of Spiritual Mountain in his previous life, his understanding of human nature was no longer as naive as before. From Mu Chenxuan's words, he had roughly guessed the reason.

It was probably still for the so-called power, the power to govern the entire tribe!

"You guessed it? Yes, anyone with a bit of sense could have thought of it, but at that time, I trusted Jidu's words like a fool..."

A hint of self-mockery flashed in Mu Chenxuan's eyes, but more of it was fury and humiliation.

Mu Chenxuan indeed had the idea of reintegrating the Demonic Realm back into the Three Realms. Yet, he knew it was extremely difficult. Originally, half of his tribe had been sacrificed to sever the Demonic Realm from the Ancient Primeval era. The current Three Realms were recreated by the Hong Jun Daoist Ancestor with supreme magical power.

To merge the Demonic Realm, the balance of the Three Realms would inevitably be disrupted, and their Demon Race alone clearly couldn't achieve that.

Thus, this thought merely flashed through Mu Chenxuan's mind and never translated into action, until the Jidu Demon Emperor came to him proposing the same idea. Only then did Mu Chenxuan wholeheartedly get involved and together with the Jidu Demon Emperor, they went to the Heavenly Court through the portal between two realms to negotiate.

The Heavenly Court also took this matter seriously. Guang Chengzi, the leader of the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, and Xuandu the Grand Master, a disciple of the Daoist Elderly Lord and already having reached the Quasi-Saint Realm, which was on par with Mu Chenxuan and even slightly stronger than Jidu Demon Emperor.

These two were representing the Heavenly Court in negotiations, and Mu Chenxuan was very satisfied, never harboring any doubts.

The Grand Master Xuandu proposed that the Three Realms offer three Dragon Veins, and the Demonic Realm offer six to form the Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation, which would be used to stabilize the portal and gradually integrate the Demonic Realm into the Three Realms. The impact of merging the two realms would be minimized subtly.

Mu Chenxuan also thought this proposal was very good, but he never expected that the Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation was not to stabilize the portal but to seal him within it!

What followed for Mu Chenxuan was like a nightmare. The moment the Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation was completed, taking advantage of his drained Primordial Qi, Guang Chengzi suddenly attacked him with the Immortal-Slaying Sword. Caught off guard, Mu Chenxuan was wounded by the Sword Qi, struggling to hold on while waiting for the Jidu Demon Emperor to rescue him.

What he didn't expect was betrayal, as he took a fierce blow from the Jidu Demon Emperor's Heart-Piercing Awl at his back. Grand Master Xuandu borrowed the saintly power of the Supreme Daoist and Daoist Elderly Lord to drive the Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation, gathering the Stellar Spiritual Qi and sealing him away.

After Mu Chenxuan was sealed, the Jidu Demon Emperor tried to take advantage of the situation to invade the Three Realms. The Demonic Realm and the Heavenly Court of the Three Realms engaged in a protracted and fierce battle, with the Demon Race eventually retreating back to the Demonic Realm. The losses of the Three Realms were not small either.

Chan Sect, as the main fighting force, was severely drained of its vitality. The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord merged the Human Sect, Chan Sect, and Jie Sect into one Taoism, abolishing all factions, and the Heavenly Court finally rose to become the true ruler of the Three Realms.

The Jade Emperor became the sovereign of the Three Realms, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord's status was extraordinary, and he built the Doushui Palace on the lowest level of the thirty-third Sky of Resentment, becoming the most authoritative Great Offering in the Heavenly Court.

Although the Primordial Heavenly Venerated felt reluctant, he had to move his place of cultivation to the Miro Palace in the Upper Pure Sky, living a reclusive life away from the affairs of the Three Realms, just like the Leader of Tongtian.

After the Demon Race retreated back to the Demonic Realm, the Grand Master Xuandu sealed both entrances of the portal between the Demonic Realm and the Three Realms, then moved nine mountains to press upon the Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation, concealing its nine Dragon Veins, thus creating what is now known as Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Since then, the Demon Race has never appeared in the Three Realms again, except that some of the tribesmen who didn't manage to retreat in time remained behind, intermarried with the Demon Clan of the Three Realms, and left some mixed blood of half-demon, half-monster, which the world considered to be the Demon Race of the Three Realms.

"Brother Wukong, this is the whole story. I have told you everything, without any deceit. Do you believe me now?"

After recounting the events in detail, Mu Chenxuan's mood shifted gradually from indignation and reluctance to a calmer state. Initially, he thought it would be awkward, but he found it not so hard to accept. These events had already happened, and he could not change them. Speaking out the pent-up feelings in his heart, however, brought him much relief.

Sun Wukong nodded his head slightly, not saying much. He had a profound understanding of being betrayed and could empathize with Mu Chenxuan's feelings. Honestly, how the Three Realms had evolved and changed after the Battle for Divine Enthronement was always a mystery in Sun Wukong's heart.

The records about the Battle for Divine Enthronement within the Time-Space Life-Death Talisman were quite detailed, but there were almost none about what happened afterward. It was well known that the Chan Sect thrived after the Battle for Divine Enthronement, yet in his era, the immortals of the Chan Sect were almost nowhere to be seen.

So there was such a secret about a great war between immortals and demons in between!

All the necessary questions had been asked, and everything that needed to be known was known. Sun Wukong decided not to waste any more time. Breaking the Sealing Formation wasn't a matter of one day or night, so he might as well start slowly from now on!

Controlling his body, he moved forward a small step and entered the coverage of the Stellar Spiritual Qi light sphere. The resistance instantly disappeared completely, but the light sphere also immediately reacted. Nine light bands stretched out from the center of the sphere towards him and began to wind around him.

"Cloning Divine Powers!"

With a thought, Sun Wukong used his Cloning Divine Powers, leaving his clone in place to be tightly bound by the light bands, while he himself stepped back, raised the Ruyi Silver-Hooped Rod with True Solar Fire twining around it, and shouted furiously as he fiercely struck the light bands.

"Heaven-Breaking Seventy-Two Sticks!"

Cudgels appeared all over the sky, fiercely hitting the light bands. Under the Void-Breaking Divine Eye, the Ruyi Silver-Hooped Rod was not wielded aimlessly; each strike hit precisely on the spiral Dao Patterns.

The nine light bands instantly shattered, and Sun Wukong reached out to grab a mass of Stellar Spiritual Qi, withdrawing from the light sphere's coverage before newly formed light bands could wind around him again, then deactivated his Cloning Divine Powers. The light bands that had wrapped around the clone again lost their target and retracted back into the sphere.

"This Stellar Spiritual Qi really is a great thing!"

Slightly loosening his grip, the Stellar Spiritual Qi, sparkling with tiny starlights, floated up in Sun Wukong's palm, forming a fist-sized light sphere. Feeling the refined strength contained within, Sun Wukong couldn't help but utter a sound of admiration.

Without the Sealing Talisman Patterns, the Stellar Spiritual Qi was an excellent resource for cultivation, far more direct than taking Elixir Pills!

Gently holding the Stellar Spiritual Qi light sphere to his mouth, Sun Wukong swallowed it like a piece of cotton candy. His eyes immediately widened, and his body violently trembled. The power contained within the Stellar Spiritual Qi was simply too great and highly refined. As soon as it entered his mouth, it surged toward his limbs and bones.

Sun Wukong's Eight-Nine Profound Skill was driven by this force and began to operate on its own.

Not having time to think further, Sun Wukong immediately sat cross-legged just outside the massive light sphere's coverage and started cultivating. A strange fluctuation spread from his whole body, and with each inhale and exhale, it was as if a gigantic heart was slowly throbbing.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"This guy can actually directly absorb Stellar Spiritual Qi?!"

Mu Chenxuan's eyes widened once more upon seeing Sun Wukong's actions. Stellar Spiritual Qi, unlike earth Spiritual Energy, was the essence of accumulation and contained immense power. Even when he was a Quasi-Saint Realm power, he dared not absorb it directly.

Those who could manage this feat in the Ancient Primeval were only Demon Ancestor Luo Hu, Daoist Ancestor Hong Jun, and Goddess Nuwa, who possessed a Heavenly Demon Body. Now Sun Wukong could also directly absorb Stellar Spiritual Qi; what kind of background did this young man have?

Could it be, like the saintly Demon Clan's Goddess Nuwa, he was naturally born with a Heavenly Demon Body?

Sun Wukong didn't have the time to care how Mu Chenxuan saw him. At the moment, he was caught in the deluge of essence Qi, utterly unexpected that this small mass of Stellar Spiritual Qi contained so much energy. Like a wild river torrent, it surged unceasingly within the meridians in his body.

Fortunately, he had a Heavenly Demon Body, with extremely resilient meridians without the slightest obstruction. Otherwise, such an amount of essence Qi, once clustered, would definitely burst his body instantly!

Of course, it wasn't to say there was no danger now. The meridians of a Heavenly Demon Body were indeed tough but also had a limit to their endurance. He must refine and absorb the essence Qi quickly; otherwise, continuing to wash through the meridians like this would eventually exceed their limit.

Shutting out all distractions and even directly blocking his Six Senses, Sun Wukong fully operated the Eight-Nine Profound Skill to absorb the essence Qi in his meridians, converting them into Primordial Force, incorporating them into his Soul's True Spirit and body, nourishing both his Soul's True Spirit and physical body.

As the essence Qi was absorbed, Sun Wukong's already maxed-out Soul Origin and physical body strength faintly improved anew.

This period of cultivation lasted a full eight years. The Stellar Spiritual Qi swallowed into his body was finally completely absorbed by Sun Wukong. The massive heartbeat fluctuation suddenly receded, and Sun Wukong opened his eyes, a flash of brilliant gold fleeting across his pupils, causing Mu Chenxuan, who had been watching him continuously, to involuntarily close his eyes.

"Such formidable Stellar Spiritual Qi, truly a cultivation saintly item, no wonder it can give rise to a saintly dynasty!"

Overjoyed in his heart, Sun Wukong thought that based on the current situation, just one more absorption of the same amount of Stellar Spiritual Qi would be enough to solidify his current stage of foundation; he could advance to Taiyi Golden Immortal!