Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Could it lead to complete annihilation?"

Sun Wukong's eyebrows furrowed slightly. He hesitated and lowered his head to stroke his beard, his eyes fluctuating with emotion. But soon, he raised his head and, with determined tone said, "Even if there is a risk of annihilation, I, Old Sun, still want to give it a try!"

Sun Wukong had already made up his mind. To gain immense benefits, one must take great risks, just as when he collected the stems of the thirty-six ranks of Purified World Green Lotus and absorbed and fused with the Stellar Spiritual Qi. Hadn't each time been fraught with the danger of soul dispersion and eternal damnation?

If he gave up such an opportunity that could help him reach the pinnacle just because it was dangerous, he would surely regret it to death later!

"Wukong, have you really thought it through? No regrets?"

"Absolutely no regrets!"

"Good! Truly worthy of being a child of sister Nuwa—courageous and resolute!"

Admiration filled Houtu's eyes as she became increasingly satisfied with Sun Wukong. She raised a hand and pointed at Sun Wukong's forehead, "Wukong, there's no time to delay. I will now pass the Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood to you. Clear your mind of distractions, and make sure not to resist!"

Houtu's hair moved without any wind, and a red light shone from her forehead. Her form slowly levitated off the ground. Sun Wukong felt his body being supported by a strange force, also lifting into the air about three feet above the ground.

The red light gathered into threads of bloodred silk, snaking from Houtu's forehead, down her body and arms, converging towards her fingertips, and then drilling into Sun Wukong's forehead.

Immediately, Sun Wukong felt as if a red-hot needle was continuously piercing his forehead, the pain so intense he wanted to scream out loud, yet he forced himself to endure it, focusing his mind to absorb the Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood into his body.

The burning pain spread from his forehead to all parts of his body. This was the Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood, a single drop of which could destroy a star.

If it weren't for the fact that Sun Wukong had a Heavenly Demon Body, was nourished by the Saint's Essence Blood of Goddess Nuwa, and had practiced the Eight-Nine Profound Skill to the extent of achieving the Vajra Indestructible Body, his body would have shattered at the moment the Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood entered it!

Pain, incomparable and intense, made Sun Wukong finally unable to hold back his screams. Houtu had infused nine drops in total, each capable of crushing stars and mountains with their weight. After these nine drops entered his body, they flowed swiftly through Sun Wukong's blood vessels to every corner of his body.

Driven by the Eight-Nine Profound Skill, they began to combine with his own flesh and blood, while his Primordial Spirit also absorbed the power from the Essence Blood, becoming stronger yet violently trembling, showing signs of possible collapse at any moment.

"Wukong, whether you can absorb these nine drops of Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood is all up to you now!"

Houtu floated down from the air, her figure faintly beginning to appear translucent. Giving Sun Wukong nine drops had cost her ninety percent of the Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood she had. After all, she was not one of the Twelve Ancestral Witches who had once reigned supreme in the Primeval times but a ghostly body reformed from one soul and two spirits.

While guarding the Netherworld all these years, she had only managed to condense a total of ten drops of Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood. Now, after giving Sun Wukong nine, she had only one left to sustain her body. For a thousand years, she might only be able to linger listlessly by the Naihe Bridge in the guise of Meng Po.

The figure of the peerless beauty in white disappeared, leaving behind only the old black-robed crone Meng Po, standing quietly by the Naihe Bridge, her gaze reverting to its previous muddiness, no longer vibrant as before.

Sun Wukong hovered about a dozen yards off the ground, his body enshrouded in swirling bloodred Vigor Energy. His presence was as profound as an abyss or mountain, yet his face twisted in agony, veins bulging and muscles tightly coiled as he endured tremendous pain.

"It's killing me, Old Sun!"

Sun Wukong had anticipated the pain of fusing with the Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood, but he never imagined it would be this excruciating, even surpassing the agony he endured when he obtained the stem of the thirty-six ranks of Purified World Green Lotus. He truly wished to just pass out, but a voice kept reminding him that he absolutely must not lose consciousness.

If he did, it would be the end of everything. Without awareness, he couldn't actively protect his vital channels with the Eight-Nine Profound Skill or safeguard the Soul's True Spirit within his Primordial Spirit. If that happened, the Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood would rampage through his body.

Not only would he fail to absorb and integrate it, but his whole body might also be devoured by the Essence Blood, dissipating into nothingness. Furthermore, Sun Wukong had a strong premonition that if that were to happen, neither the Time-Space Life-Death Talisman, the evolving Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod, nor the Saint's Essence Blood from Goddess Nuwa could save him.

Sun Wukong couldn't understand why he felt this way; the Time-Space Life-Death Talisman had saved his life once, leaving him with two more chances—yet this time, he felt it wouldn't come into play. He didn't dare gamble. What if this feeling was accurate?

Only through life and death experiences can one understand the preciousness of life. Sun Wukong had come back from the brink of death, and if possible, he never wanted to go through that again!

"It's just the Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood, what's the fuss about the Twelve Ancestral Witches, they too have vanished into the long river of time. I, Old Sun, refuse to believe that I'm inferior to them! This Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood, I must have it! Absorb!"

A stubbornness, refusing to be defeated, surged in his heart. A silent shout echoed in Sun Wukong's mind as he summoned all his concentration. Enduring severe pain, he focused all his mind on activating the Eight-Nine Profound Skill to absorb the Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood.

Although his face was still twisted in agony, the trembling of his body began to subside, and bits of the Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood started to fully integrate with his physical body and divine soul.

Heavenly Court, Jade Pond Water Pavilion, in the cool pavilion.

"Have you heard? His Majesty has appointed Li Tianwang as the Great Marshal of Demon-Subduing and has sent Nezha the Third Prince along with three thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals to the Polar Realm of Heaven. They say it's to capture a demon that caused chaos in the Netherworld and the Dragon Palace. It seems to be a Demon Monkey... What's its name again?"

"You've heard too, huh? I remember it's something like Sun... that's right, Sun Wukong! That's the name!"

"Huh? Li Tianwang himself is commanding the campaign, and even Nezha the Third Prince is personally involved? What is this Demon Monkey surnamed Sun, and what's so formidable about him?"

"Able to cause a commotion in both the Dragon Palace and the Netherworld, what do you think? But in my opinion, it doesn't matter how formidable he is, once Nezha the Third Prince makes a move, which demon hasn't surrendered at the very sight of him? If that Demon Monkey doesn't know what's good for him, I'm afraid he'll become just another soul fallen to the Third Prince's lance!"

A few fairies were discussing recent events in the Lingxia Treasure Hall. The great assemblies of the Heavenly Court were held once every half-year, mainly echoing praises of peace and prosperity, but instances like having consecutive memorials from both Yamas, accompanied by joint accusations from the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, were extremely rare, utterly unprecedented!

Gossip is something no place lacks, not even the Heavenly Court. Before the assembly in the Lingxia Treasure Hall even concluded, news spread like a hurricane throughout the entire Heaven Realm, with everyone discussing it, including these fairies in the Jade Pond Water Pavilion.

"Sister, what do you mean by His Majesty sending troops to capture the Demon Monkey Sun Wukong?"

Zi Lan Fairy, who was idly daydreaming in the cool pavilion, suddenly overheard the palace fairies discussing matters from the Lingxia Treasure Hall, which mentioned the name Sun Wukong. She instantly got up with a jolt and swiftly walked over to the group of palace fairies, bowing to ask them.

"Zi Lan Fairy, you are too kind!"

Seeing that it was Zi Lan Fairy, the group of palace fairies hurriedly returned the courtesy. Although they were all palace maids in the Jade Pool, Zi Lan Fairy was the Queen Mother's personal attendant and was deeply favored by the Queen Mother; naturally, her status was different from theirs.

Zi Lan Fairy calling them sisters was out of politeness, but these palace fairies didn't dare to assume airs and quickly responded with a bow. Then, one after another, they recounted in detail the events from the Lingxia Treasure Hall, even describing the expressions of the Jade Emperor and others as if they had witnessed the events with their own eyes.

"Sister Zi Lan, I heard that His Majesty intends to have the Queen Mother send someone to the Polar Realm of Heaven to console the troops on their demon-subduing quest. If you want to see Nezha the Third Prince, you could actually try for it. With the Queen Mother's favor towards you, perhaps this pleasant task will fall upon you. Then you can also take me with you to experience it..."

The palace fairies were still trying to ingratiate themselves with Zi Lan Fairy, but she had already lost her focus, managing only a forced smile in response before turning to quickly head towards the Jade Pool palace grounds.

"Tsk! What's so great about her, it's just because of the Queen Mother's favor, she's so full of herself!"

"Alright, alright, she has the favor of the Queen Mother, which is something you can't envy. Let's finish our tasks at hand and then try to find out more information. If we get selected for the comfort mission, then we'll be able to meet the Third Prince!"

"Let's go, let's go, I really want to see the Third Prince. I've heard he's fair-skinned and extremely dashing. Even just a distant glimpse of him would be great. Oh, if I could talk to the Third Prince, that would be so wonderful, hehe!"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"..."

Zi Lan Fairy heard every word of dissatisfaction and teasing from the palace fairies, but she wasn't in the mood to fuss over it. Ever since she parted ways at the top of the Flower-Fruit Mountain's main peak, she had been longingly thinking of Sun Wukong.

She even tried to sneak down to the Lower Realm several times to see him, to no avail—not even the Demon Clan of Flower-Fruit Mountain knew where Sun Wukong had gone; they all thought he was still deep in seclusion within Water Curtain Cave Heaven. She had not expected that he would go to the Netherworld and cause such a catastrophe!

"Wukong, you must not come to harm!"