Journey to the West (Black Myth)

In the sky, where Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing had been merely a spectator, he watched as Sun Wukong's aura suddenly surged. In an instant, he realized that the monkey had inexplicably broken through due to Ne Zha's provocation!

Li Jing was filled with frustration. It was already known that the monkey had reached the Taiyi True Immortal stage and possessed great powers. Hadn't he just effortlessly knocked out the Golden Immortal God of Great Strength with one blow? Now, with his breakthrough to the Taiyi Celestial Immortal stage, Li Jing feared for his life, given his role as the Grand Marshal of Demon Suppression.

With a resentful glance at Ne Zha standing on his Wind Fire Wheels, looking bewildered, Li Jing hurriedly ordered a retreat of the hundred thousand celestial soldiers, positioning himself among them and surrounding himself with trusted commanders, including God of Great Strength and other officers.

Ne Zha, witnessing this, was momentarily stunned and then filled with resentment. Who knew that pesky monkey could break through just from a few provocations? Curse the heavens for being so unfair! All he could do was bitterly order a retreat.

At that moment, a thunderous roar echoed across the sky, like rolling thunder.

"Ne Zha, brat! Today I, Sun Wukong, shall kill you!"

Hearing this, Ne Zha, in a panic, sped back to his ranks.

Before Sun Wukong even finished speaking, he vanished from his spot, reappearing above Ne Zha with a shout, bringing his glowing Golden Staff down onto Ne Zha's head.

"Ne Zha, brat, die!"

With a resounding "bang," Ne Zha’s body was shattered by Sun Wukong's strike. Mist filled the sky, as his body, being formed from a lotus, lacked true flesh and blood.

From the ranks of the one hundred thousand celestial soldiers came a "grief-stricken" cry.

"Ne Zha, my son!"

"Oh, the anguish!"

"Hurry! We must return to the heavens and request Your Majesty to send more troops to capture that demon monkey!"

With terror in his voice, Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing shouted as he sped skyward, the celestial soldiers following him, retreating with the thunderous sound of rolling thunder as rapidly as they had arrived.

Meanwhile, in the sky, Ne Zha wasn’t truly dead, his Primordial Spirit twisting and raging, "Sun Wukong! Even today you cannot kill me! My master will skin you and crush your bones someday, making you endure what your brother suffered!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a furious shout erupted from the clouds over Flower Fruit Mountain.

"Ne Zha, brat! For insulting my brother, today your soul will be utterly destroyed!"

At the entrance of Water Curtain Cave, The Six-Eared Macaque, Six Paths, let out a thunderous roar and, without heeding Shi Yue's advice about timing, shot up into the sky.

In midair, his monkey face twisted with agony, as if bearing immense pain.

Simultaneously, Shi Yue's figure also flashed, appearing in the sky, standing in the void, forming a triangular encirclement around Ne Zha's Primordial Spirit with the others. However, as a Primordial Spirit, it was an ethereal existence, and without special powers, truly annihilating it was no easy task.

Sun Wukong's eyes glowed fiercely, and seeing Six Paths appear with apparent intent to use some ability, he held his peace.

With a tortured scream, Six Paths' forehead split open, blood streaming down as a golden light suddenly shot forth from his brow.

"Eight-Nine Arcane Art!"

Ne Zha screamed in terror. The golden light from Six Paths struck Ne Zha's writhing Primordial Spirit, followed by a shriek of agony.

Within mere moments, the Primordial Spirit was dispersed by the golden light, vanishing without a trace, utterly annihilating the soul! Yet this was not the end!

At that moment, Six Paths' aura surged wildly, though his expressions showed immense pain as if enduring unbearable suffering, causing Shi Yue and Sun Wukong to be both delighted and worried.

In an instant, the energy around Six Paths transformed, the agony dissipating from his monkeyish face. When he opened his eyes again, a third eye appeared on his forehead, opening and closing with an uncanny aura!

Six Paths smiled and said, "What I practice isn’t the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, but the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art; it's different but not inferior."

Sun Wukong, his eyes red, looked at Shi Yue and then laughed, "This is great! Our Flower Fruit Mountain has grown stronger, even less fearful of The Heavenly Court."

Shi Yue was equally moved by their words. Though Sun Wukong and Six Paths could be seen as naive and fearless, they also seemed freer than he was.

Understanding much that lies ahead made Shi Yue more cautious, yet he felt a tinge of embarrassment. He, too, had reached the Taiyi Celestial Immortal stage; destroying Ne Zha would be effortless. Yet he overthought things instead of acting as freely as they did.

Ultimately, one should meet force with force and adapt to change as needed. Despite the inevitable destiny of the Journey to the West, where no action could avoid fate’s challenges, why not embrace freedom?

With nowhere to hide, why not cease trying to hide, enjoying the thrill of settling scores? Timing or no timing, if you want to kill, then kill! After all, there's little need to fear Perfected Taiyi. So what if he's a disciple of a sage? The entire Journey to the West era spans just a thousand years; it's his brothers who are the true protagonists of this era!

In "Journey to the West," the highest cultivation level seen among characters is merely Da Luo, with the only potential sage appearing being none other than Patriarch Bodhi. Clearly, this master is an extraordinary figure; otherwise, why would he appear when other sages do not?

Understanding this, Shi Yue relaxed and smiled at his two companions, saying, "In that case, little Ne Zha truly is a fortunate star for us brothers. Remember when I went to the Eastern Sea and unexpectedly encountered The Heavenly Court's Perfected Taiyi, who caught me off guard and trapped me with the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Shield? Although it was a trial, it allowed me to achieve the Taiyi Celestial Immortal stage. Now both of you have also ascended because of Ne Zha, so isn’t he our lucky charm?"

Hearing Shi Yue's words, the two still couldn't help but feel their eyes turn red. Sun Wukong, with a furious gleam in his eyes, said, "Even against Perfected Taiyi, I, old Sun, will settle accounts with him one day. Brother, you let others take too much advantage of you; you need to change this."

Meanwhile, Perfected Taiyi was genuinely devastated. Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing fled back to The Heavenly Court with his defeated hundred thousand celestial soldiers, entering the Hall of Miraculous Mist and crying bitterly, "Your Majesty, this is immensely painful! We didn't expect that demon monkey to be so powerful. Li Jing could not stand against him, and my son Ne Zha was killed by Sun Wukong's staff. The pain is unbearable! I implore Your Majesty to dispatch a million celestial soldiers to capture that monkey."

Instantly, chaos erupted in the Hall of Miraculous Mist.

Not only had the ten thousand celestial soldiers failed to capture that monkey, but Li Jing's archenemy and son had perished, his soul utterly destroyed! However, what truly shocked the gathered celestial ministers and generals was this:

Everyone knew Ne Zha's capabilities. Even without innate power, his collection of treasures could easily battle a Taiyi True Immortal level demon king. Yet now Ne Zha had been beaten by the Bimawen, which suggested the latter's powers were indeed extraordinary.

The Hall of Miraculous Mist was in turmoil, with voices blaming Li Jing for exploiting personal grudges and murder (clearly from Perfected Taiyi's faction), while others called to send more celestial soldiers to capture the Flower Fruit Mountain's demons, or risk losing the heavens' authority.

Perfected Taiyi, however, remained silent, merely coldly snorting as his eyes flashed with a burning anger that made it clear to everyone he wished he could tear Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing apart.

Li Jing sensed Perfected Taiyi's fury too. Though he felt a sense of relief about being able to sleep without fear for once, he now had a formidable new enemy, making him uneasy. Then he had a shrewd idea and recounted what happened, explaining how Ne Zha had brought about his downfall by provoking Bimawen, resulting in the monkey inexplicably breaking through out of rage, now a powerful Taiyi Celestial Immortal demon king.

This time, The Jade Emperor, who usually showed no emotion, couldn't help but frown. In just a few hundred years, Sun Wukong had rapidly ascended to the level of Taiyi Celestial Immortal. If given another thousand years, wouldn't he be capable of reaching Da Luo and potentially shaking the very foundations of his throne?

Li Jing, not being foolish, noticed The Jade Emperor's reaction and proceeded to recount Sun Wukong's audacious claims—that he aimed to become The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, or else he would storm the Hall of Miraculous Mist. However, Li Jing dared not mention the part about seizing the Queen Mother, fearing severe repercussions.

Unbeknownst to those in the grand hall, The Jade Emperor, though intent on eliminating Sun Wukong, couldn't personally intervene without incurring karma so potent that even his celestial status couldn't withstand it. Anyone could attempt to kill Sun Wukong—even the Queen Mother—but not him. Thus, he had to let things take their course.

However, only an insignificant person had died, so there was no significant transgression to justify unleashing the full wrath of The Heavenly Court upon Flower Fruit Mountain. Simply put, Sun Wukong's offenses weren't sufficiently grave yet.

Just as the hall was filled with heated debates and The Jade Emperor remained silent, Venus Tai Bai, who had been still until then, stepped forward. In his heart, he thought, "Great King Sun Wukong, since I've lost to you, I might as well lend you a crucial helping hand now. Whether this brings fortune or disaster will depend on your destiny."

Venus Tai Bai addressed The Jade Emperor directly, "Your Majesty, the demon monkey has only recently attained his form and is yet unaware of propriety. If we were to send celestial soldiers against him now, we might not be able to subdue him quickly, resulting in unnecessary effort. Why not grant him a gesture of magnanimity with an amnesty edict, allowing him the title of The Great Sage Equal to Heaven? Simply grant him an empty title and a residence, and keep him between Heaven and Earth to curb his rebellious spirit. This would promote peace and stability."

At first, The Jade Emperor was inwardly furious at the suggestion, but upon reflection, found it appealing, especially with the upcoming Peach Banquet in mind. Ignoring Perfected Taiyi's murderous glare at Venus Tai Bai, he calmly declared, "Let it be as you have suggested."

However, no sooner had he spoken than he was seized by a sudden realization. His eyes shot to Venus Tai Bai. In granting such a decree, he had unwittingly legitimized Sun Wukong's claim, thus altering the cosmic balance. Consequently, Flower Fruit Mountain could now wage war on The Heavenly Court, just as The Heavenly Court could on Flower Fruit Mountain. The imperial decree had backfired, granting them equal standing—a true misstep with unforeseen consequences.

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