Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Amitabha Buddha!"

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva recited the Buddha's name, "Even if King Qinguang has done a thousand wrongs, he is still the Underworld Yama Lord. As I am anointed to oversee this Netherworld, I cannot stand by and watch him be slaughtered! Sun Wukong, your purpose has already been achieved, why must you create more killing? Return to the City of the Wrongly Dead!"

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's face was calm, and suddenly a Buddha's light burst forth from his seven-treasure staff, forcing Sun Wukong back several zhang. Withdrawing the staff, he had a face filled with the majesty of his treasures, and his mount, the psychic divine beast Deva, came to his side, bowing its head and growling twice at Sun Wukong.

"You recognize me, Old Sun? That's right, I've long heard that the psychic divine beast under Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva can hear all things in the world, especially adept at discerning the human heart. Seeing it today, it truly is extraordinary!"

Sun Wukong glanced at Deva and sneered with scorn, "What a pity that, although a divine beast of high standing, it stoops to bow and scrape, to be at someone's beck and call, truly a disgrace to the name of divine beasts!"

"Roar!"

These mocking words of Sun Wukong struck a nerve with the divine beast Deva, who roared angrily at Sun Wukong. A ball of lightning gathered on its horn, clearly intending to teach Sun Wukong a lesson, but restrained from acting without an order from Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

"Ksitigarbha, I know you're the foremost among the four great Bodhisattvas of the Buddhist sect, with boundless mana. But by defending such a despicable person like King Qinguang, don't you feel it tarnishes the reputation of the Buddhist sect?"

Sun Wukong had already used his Void-Breaking Divine Eye to scrutinize Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's cultivation, undoubtedly at the Quasi-Saint Realm. With his current strength, it would be very difficult to gain an advantage over him. But to simply forgive King Qinguang seemed unbearable. With a flicker in his eye, he decided to provoke Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

However, Sun Wukong had underestimated the thickness of the Buddhists' skin, especially that of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas—their skin thickness could not be described as anything but extreme. They simply did not care at all and paid no heed to Sun Wukong's provocative words.

Holding his seven-treasure staff and maintaining the Buddhist gesture while chanting Buddha's name, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva watched Sun Wukong placidly, as if Sun Wukong had said nothing at all.

"Old Sun really is befuddled with anger to be reasoning with these baldies of the Buddhist sect!"

Sun Wukong was extremely frustrated, and after taking a couple of deep breaths, he forcefully swallowed his anger. Now was not the time to confront a powerful being like Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva head-on. For now, he would set aside King Qinguang's life; the reckoning could wait for another day.

"It seems today you, Ksitigarbha, are determined to protect that King Qinguang. Fine, so be it! Old Sun will spare his life for now, but let him remember well that this matter is far from over!"

After dropping these harsh words, Sun Wukong turned to leave but felt a lingering frustration, suffocating and unsettling. Just like that, let it go? Wouldn't that be letting King Qinguang off too easily, and tarnishing his own reputation?

Grinding his teeth, a surge of malevolent energy burst forth from the depths of his heart. Sun Wukong grasped his Ruyi Silver-Hooped Rod tightly in both hands, stamped fiercely on the ground, and leapt up high, an aura of majestic pride emanating from him.

The True Solar Fire roared forth, entwining around his Silver-Hooped Rod as he opened his eyes wide and bellowed, "Ksitigarbha King, you fail to distinguish right from wrong and favor that despicable King Qinguang over justice; Old Sun disdains you! Take this from Old Sun, a strike of my rod!"

"Ya-ha! Heaven-Breaking Thirty-Six Sticks!"

Thirty-six rod shadows manifested and struck down in thirty-six positions at Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Although there were fewer shadows than the seventy-two strokes previously, their power had more than doubled.

"Moni Wishful Orb, go!"

The complexion of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva grew solemn, as he flipped his hand and a treasure bead appeared in his palm. After chanting a Buddhist mantra, he tossed it into the air, where it transformed into a Buddha's Light Barrier that enveloped him. The thirty-six rod shadows bombarded the Buddha's Light, creating a thunderous noise as the ground shook with the impact.

"May Buddha's compassion enlighten all sentient beings! Great Mount Sumeru Palm!"

Seeing that the Buddha's Light Barrier, which had been formed from the Moni Wishful Orb, couldn't fully block the ferocious strength of Sun Wukong's Heaven-Breaking Thirty-Six Sticks, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's eyes flashed with shock. Finally, after chanting a sacred name of Buddha, he extended his right palm, which seemed feather-light as he pressed it against the Buddha's Light Barrier.

No sooner had his palm touched the Buddha's Light Barrier than golden Buddha's Palm Seals burst forth, striking at the rod shadows. An even more violent roar erupted, and the Buddha's Light Barrier, which had been trembling continuously, stabilized once again, while the rod shadows began to dissipate one by one.

"Quasi-Saint level opponents are really formidable! Old Sun here can't beat him, time to retreat!"

The Heaven-Breaking Thirty-Six Sticks was the strongest ultimate move that Sun Wukong could perform at the moment. Although he hadn't yet used all of his divine skills, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva hadn't given his all either.

Sun Wukong had a clear understanding of the gap in power between himself and the opponent, and having released the pent-up frustration in his heart, he quickly retracted his Ruyi Silver-Hooped Rod, turned around, and mounted his Somersault Cloud, flying toward the City of the Doomed.

Perhaps because his body had developed a kind of immunity from enduring the bombardment of the Chaotic Nether Thunder earlier, the Chaotic Nether Thunder in the sky above no longer reacted to him in the least, allowing him to fly rapidly close to the clouds and vanish in the blink of an eye.

As the rod shadows vanished and the Buddha's Light and Palm Seals dissipated, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva let out a long sigh, looking down at his feet. The once-solid ground was now crisscrossed with cracks like a spider web. This was just below his feet—outside the reach of the Buddha's Light, the ground had been scraped up several feet, leaving gullies and ravines in a rather startling spectacle.

"To possess such combat power at the level of a Taiyi Scattered Immortal, this little junior brother of mine indeed holds many surprises! Master, this time you have truly accepted a satisfactory disciple..."

A slight sigh emerged from the mouth of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, then faded away. He turned, summoned the psychic divine beast Deva, and walked into the Emerald Cloud Palace. The palace gates closed behind him, and the banks of the Yellow Springs returned to tranquility, leaving only the severely gorged and cracked ground to tell the tale of what had transpired here...

Within the City of the Doomed.

Clack!

The last brick fell into place, embedded in the ground. Yama King let out a breath, looking at the City of the Doomed, which had been atop a hill but now sat within a basin, and couldn't help but give a wry smile as he shook his head. They, the Underworld Yama Lords, could use their mana to reconstruct buildings and restore the city, but they couldn't generate mountains and boulders out of nothing.

These were scars that not even immortals and gods could erase.

Swish!

A propitious cloud flew in from the horizon and in an instant arrived above Wangsi City; Sun Wukong's figure leapt straight down from above the auspicious cloud.

"Yama King, your old Sun has brought back the Human Book!"

So soon?

The Yama King and other great Ya Kings all showed a look of surprise on their faces–Sun Wukong had actually retrieved the Human Book so quickly! What about Qin Guang? Could it be that Sun Wukong....

"Immortal, about Qin Guang..."

Stepping forward to pay his respects to Sun Wukong, the Yama King couldn't help but ask.

"That guy hid at the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's place. Your old Sun gave him a beating and snatched the Human Book away."

While speaking, Sun Wukong took out the Reincarnation Book of Life and Death and the Spring and Autumn Judgment Pen, "Come on, these magical treasures can only be operated by you great Ya Kings. Hurry up and lift the seal between the Netherworld and the World of the Living!"

He beat him up and snatched the Human Book?

The assembly of Yama Kings exchanged glances. Sun Wukong made it sound so easy, but that was in front of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Could it be that the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva just watched and did nothing?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"What's the matter, is there a problem?"

Seeing that the Yama Kings did not respond, Sun Wukong frowned, looking up with a touch of displeasure in his eyes.

"No problem, no problem!"

The Yama Kings hurriedly waved their hands. Yama King cast a wary glance at Sun Wukong and then asked in a low voice, "Immortal, in the end, what happened to Qin Guang?"

"In the end..."

Sun Wukong rolled his eyes and tossed the Reincarnation Book of Life and Death and the Spring and Autumn Judgment Pen to the Yama King. Then he turned around and walked towards the Senluo Hall, which had been repaired, "He was saved by Ksitigarbha. That old monk is very strong.

Your old Sun exchanged two moves with him, but without the assurance of victory, I decided to spare Qin Guang's life for the time being!"

Sun Wukong spoke casually, but the Yama King and the others were sweating profusely. Since the Yama Heavenly Son sealed himself away in the closed death gate, the strongest in the Netherworld was Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Haven't you seen that the Asura Tribe wouldn't dare to show up easily around Hell's Yellow Springs because of his presence?

Sun Wukong actually said he exchanged two moves with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and only didn't have the confidence to win. How strong on earth is this monkey? Too damn twisted!

"Quick, catch up, catch up!"

A twisted being capable of sparring with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was certainly not someone they, the great Yama Kings, could handle. The Yama King gave a cunning look to the Du City King, Bian Cheng King, among other Yamas, and hurriedly followed.

"Your house-building speed is fast enough, huh!"

Inside the Senluo Hall, Sun Wukong admired the Senluo Great Hall which looked identical to the previous one, nodding his head in approval. However, the Yama King and others were all wiping sweat from their foreheads. This Senluo Hall was the symbol of the Netherworld's authority; of course, they had to repair it as fast as possible.

They only hoped that this lord wouldn't impulsively tear down this great hall again.

"Alright, get moving and lift the seal between the two realms!"

Sitting unceremoniously in the main seat at the center of the grand hall, Sun Wukong instructed the Yama King and others, but saw a look of difficulty on their faces, which made his own expression darken, "What, nice talk won't do, need your old Sun to invite you with my rod, is that it?"

"Immortal, there has been a misunderstanding, we're not that we don't want to lift the seal, it's that we are powerless!"

All the Yama Kings trembled, quickly begging for mercy.

"Powerless?"

Sun Wukong suddenly jumped up from his seat onto the table, stretching out his hand to grab the Yama King by the collar and dragged him forward, baring his teeth as he fiercely demanded, "Yama King, that's not what you told your old Sun before! Are you playing me for a fool?"

"Immortal, please calm your anger! Allow this King to explain!"

The Yama King hurriedly put on a smile and swallowed down his saliva as he begged for mercy.

"Alright, your old Sun will give you a chance to explain! But if you can't come up with a reason that convinces your old Sun," he snorted dismissively, "don't blame your old Sun for being ruthless!"