Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Who dares to undergo tribulation within the Heavenly Court?"

It was not only the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord and his companions who sensed the abnormal fluctuations coming from the Heavenly River; everyone else in the Heavenly Court also widened their eyes in astonishment, their faces filled with horror.

To dare undergo the Black Sun Wind Catastrophe within the Heavenly Court was simply courting death!

As everyone knew, the spiritual energy within the Heavenly Court far surpassed that of the Mortal Realm and the Netherworld, known as the Immortal Spirit Qi. The higher one went, the denser the Immortal Spirit Qi became, which was more beneficial for cultivation. But at the same time, if it triggered a natural disaster, the power would be several times that of the disasters in the Mortal Realm.

Therefore, whenever the immortals and gods of the Heavenly Court had a breakthrough, they would leave the Heavenly Court and descend to the Mortal Realm. No one had ever directly hidden from disaster or undergone tribulation within the Heavenly Court.

"Someone, go quickly to the Heavenly River to investigate; see who dares to boldly undergo tribulation within the Heavenly Court!"

Upon the decree from the Jade Emperor, a host of heavenly soldiers and generals hastily rushed towards the Heavenly River, and some of the immortals from the Heavenly Court also couldn't restrain their curiosity and proceeded to the Heavenly River.

Above the Heavenly River, Sun Wukong's figure had already been entirely enveloped by the black Yin Wind, making it impossible to discern his appearance. The only thing the assembling immortals and generals saw upon reaching the riverbank was the huge wind mass in the midst of the Heavenly River.

They were very clear about the severity of the Black Sun Wind Catastrophe; moreover, the tribulation Sun Wukong was undergoing was an intensified version of the Black Sun Wind Disaster. No one dared to get close; touching it could mean death.

"Who exactly is undergoing tribulation in the Heavenly River, hiding from disaster? They are far too bold!"

"No matter who it is, they must be a master, skilled and bold. Otherwise, how would they dare to undergo tribulation in the Heavenly Court, unless they wished to die?"

"It might just be a fool who doesn't want to live. Just wait and see, eight or nine times out of ten, this person will die under the Black Sun Wind Disaster!"

"I think not! How about we make a bet?"

"Let's bet! Say, what are we betting on?"

"..."

The immortals and heavenly soldiers and generals started discussing among themselves, and some even began to bet on Sun Wukong's fate. However, Sun Wukong himself was unconcerned. The power of the Black Sun Wind Disaster had reached its peak, and the next strike would definitely be far more powerful than the sum of all previous Yin Winds.

If he could withstand this strike, he would have successfully survived the Black Sun Wind Disaster.

Once the Black Sun Wind Disaster ended, the black Yin Wind would disperse, and Sun Wukong's form would be exposed to everyone—that would be disastrous!

Up until now, the Heavenly Court was probably still unaware of Sun Wukong's existence. Sun Wukong had not planned to enter the vision of the immortals and the Jade Emperor in the Heavenly Court so soon. He needed to wait more years and prepare further.

"Boom boom!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The final onslaught of the Yin Wind began, producing a sound like thunder and lightning. A massive Yin Wind Tornado surged out from the wind tunnel, overwhelmingly pressing down on Sun Wukong, enveloping him entirely.

The Yin Wind Tornado lasted for several breaths, then suddenly shook violently and completely dissipated. Everyone widened their eyes, looking into the dispersing black Yin Wind, but they did not see Sun Wukong's figure; the dispersed wind circle was empty.

"Splash!"

A very faint sound of water splashing echoed, and some alert immortals turned their heads towards the direction of the sound, finding nothing.

"Haha, I told you, daring to undergo tribulation within the Heavenly Court is simply seeking death! Now he's probably blown into oblivion by the Black Sun Wind Disaster, right?"

"A bet is a bet! Pay up, pay up!"

"Damn! Low-grade celestial crystals, you actually have the nerve to offer those? Quickly switch them for medium-grade ones; of course, if you have high-grade ones, even better..."

The immortals all thought that Sun Wukong had been obliterated by the Black Sun Wind Disaster, each wearing a look of gloating excitement. Those who had made bets began to collect their gambling debts, completely oblivious to the fact that the purple-robed fairy who had been standing on the riverbank had vanished without a trace.

Some ten meters beneath the waters of the Heavenly River, the purple-robed fairy stared at Sun Wukong, who was embracing her, with a face full of shock and anger. When the black Yin Wind of the Black Sun Wind Disaster had dispersed, a large hand had pulled her directly into the river—it was Sun Wukong.

Moreover, Sun Wukong had also swiftly immobilized her with a Body-Freezing Technique, and now, except for her eyes, she couldn't move anything on her body, unable to even speak. This way, she was brought by Sun Wukong from the bottom of the Heavenly River towards the Southern Heavenly Gate.

After reaching the river section closest to the Southern Heavenly Gate, Sun Wukong finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, those immortals hadn't discovered his whereabouts; he had managed to escape this predicament. However, there was still one trouble that needed settling.

Sun Wukong turned his gaze towards the purple-robed fairy in his arms and spoke solemnly, "This old Sun will now release the Body-Freezing Technique on you. You must not shout or scream, otherwise this old Sun will not be polite. Understand?"

The purple-robed fairy nodded, and Sun Wukong recited a spell to release the Body-Freezing Technique.

"You, let go of me!"

The fairy in purple could not hide the flush of embarrassment on her face. Although Sun Wukong had released her from the body-freezing technique, his warm, large hand was still tightly wrapped around her slender waist, their bodies pressed together. She could even feel the heat emanating from Sun Wukong's body.

"Err, sorry."

It was then that Sun Wukong realized their posture looked somewhat intimate. A flash of awkwardness crossed his face, and he let go, clearing his throat, "My dear fairy, I mistakenly entered the Jade Pool Water Pavilion, it was not my intention to offend. It has all been a misunderstanding, please adhere to your promise not to tell anyone you have seen me. Farewell!"

As his words fell, Sun Wukong's figure swayed and turned into a fish, darting out of the water, then transformed into a bird flying towards the Southern Heavenly Gate. Before the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals could react, he had already smashed a large hole in the barrier of the Southern Heavenly Gate and swiftly vanished.

The guardians at the gate only saw the plump backside of a white swan wobbling in the clouds for a moment, and by the time they thought to chase, Sun Wukong was nowhere to be seen.

"Was I seeing things? A bird broke through the barrier of the Southern Heavenly Gate?"

"No, you weren't seeing things! Look, there's a big hole in the barrier!"

"We should report this to the Heavenly King immediately!"

"Report what, damn it! What can we say? Say a white swan broke the barrier of the Southern Heavenly Gate and flew away? That all we saw was a swan's backside, and didn't even catch a feather? Are your brains smashed by a door, don't drag us into your foolishness!"

Sun Wukong had not gone far but was hiding invisibly among the clouds, his ears perked up listening to the conversation among the guards at the Southern Heavenly Gate. Hearing them decide to cover up his escape to avoid punishment, a sly smile hooked at the corner of his mouth.

He then mounted his Somersault Cloud and left the Southern Heavenly Gate, heading towards the East Victorious Divine Continent.

At the Jade Pool Holy Land, in the pavilion of the water pavilion.

"Zi Lan!"

Zi Ling Fairy entered the pavilion and tapped Zi Lan Fairy on the shoulder, "What are you thinking about? Sitting here daydreaming all by yourself!"

"No, nothing..."

Zi Lan Fairy snapped out of her daze, her eyes flickering.

"Nothing? You don't look like it's 'nothing', tell the truth, have you fallen for some charming, dashing immortal? Our immortals and gods of the Heavenly Court aren't supposed to fall in love so casually, but the Queen Mother dotes on you so much. If you ask her, and I put in a good word, maybe she'll arrange your marriage, hee hee!"

"Tch! You nosy goose! It's probably your own heart fluttering, yet you accuse me! Have at you, I'll tickle you silly!"

The two women began to play around in the pavilion. Zi Lan Fairy didn't mention her encounter with Sun Wukong, not even to her best friend, Zi Ling Fairy. She always felt there was some special connection between her and Sun Wukong; her intuition told her that it certainly wasn't their last meeting!

Perhaps, it wasn't their first either!

In the East Victorious Divine Continent, Aolai Kingdom, Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Sun Wukong rode his Somersault Cloud back to Flower-Fruit Mountain. It had been nearly three hundred years since he had left; he wondered how the Monkey Tribe was doing now and how many had achieved cultivation.

"Demon King, you have provoked us at Water Curtain Cave Heaven time and again — do you really think Water Curtain Cave Heaven is undefended?"

Landing on the cliff above the waterfall outside the Water Curtain Cave Heaven of Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong concealed his presence and observed the standoff between the two groups in the clearing in front of the waterfall pool, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"The Demon King, right? Oh yes, there was such a fellow; I had almost forgotten about him."

Sun Wukong remembered that, returning from his learning in the Three-Star Cave Heaven in his previous life, he indeed had vanquished a self-proclaimed Demon King along with his minions — quite mercilessly, in his rookie excitement. Only later did he learn that this character was also a part of the Monkey Tribe, known to humans as the Mountain Fiend, much larger than the usual monkeys.

Had he not killed him but instead recruited him, he would have been a significant ally.

In this life, this Demon King had indeed come to cause trouble for the Monkey Tribe of Flower-Fruit Mountain again — some things seemed destined to repeat. However, it looked like he hadn't gained much of an upper hand...

"Sun Wushuang, don't you get cocky! You got away last time, but this time, I will definitely chop you into eight pieces!"

The Demon King glared murderously, especially at the ape in the front holding an iron staff, taller and more erect than an ordinary monkey, and growled menacingly. He thrust forward with his saber, which was over three feet long, bringing it down like Mount Tai.

Sun Wukong, watching from the sidelines, clearly saw that the ape holding the iron staff was a Through-Arm Ape, one of the Mixed-World Four Monkeys according to the Tathagata Buddha. Unlike the Intelligent Stone Monkey and the Six-Eared Macaque, Through-Arm Apes and Bare-Butt Horses, though also among the Mixed-World Four Monkeys, could co-exist in the world simultaneously.

Seeing the Demon King's saber approaching, the Through-Arm Ape sneered, cried out "Well met!", and with a swing of his iron staff, parried the Demon King's saber. He followed through with a diagonal sweep, entangling the Demon King in battle.

"This lad's not bad; another character has indeed arisen among the Monkey Tribe of Flower-Fruit Mountain!"