Before the Lingxiao Palace, Sun Wukong stood alone, clad in golden armor, his cape billowing in the wind, a golden staff in his hand, his expression defiant.
Before him stood a multitude of gods and Buddhas.
The Jade Emperor, draped in his dragon robes, sat upon the dragon throne, his presence commanding awe. A resolute glint shone in his dark eyes as he thundered,
"Monkey, do you know that before the establishment of the Heavenly Court, humans and gods lived together, causing endless disasters and calamities in the Three Realms? Any movement of immortals resulted in the deaths of countless mortals."
"Since I separated the Three Realms, making Heaven accessible and drawing all the spiritual essence of the mortal realm to the Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Court has enjoyed inexhaustible treasures and lived in perpetual peace, free from strife."
"Mortal disasters have also been greatly reduced, allowing people to live in peace with the assistance of immortals."
"The Underworld has even established the Six Paths of Reincarnation, rewarding the good and punishing the evil, offering salvation to all beings."
"The Three Realms are governed by strict laws with clearly defined hierarchies. I ask you, what fault lies in my actions?"
"Yet, you disregard the Heavenly laws and act recklessly. You have attained the Buddhist path, but still refuse to behave yourself. I ask you, what is your intention?"
"Are you aiming to return the Three Realms to chaos?"
The Jade Emperor's voice boomed, echoing through the heavens.
Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow, a sneer playing on his lips, "And the demons? Are they all destined to die? Do you know what life is like for the demon race?"
"My brothers, my monkey kin, are they all fated to perish?!"
The Jade Emperor's gaze turned cold, his resolute expression unwavering, "Indeed! They can only die!"
"The Heavenly Court cannot sustain everyone. For the sake of the Three Realms, sacrifices must be made!"
"A horde of demons, their death is insignificant!"
"Even if some of them are not demons now, remaining in the mortal realm will forever deny them immortality."
"If they can let go of their attachments, they can quickly reincarnate into a better life."
"But if they refuse, they will soon start to devour and cultivate humans, killing each other for survival! They will gradually lose their humanity."
"In a few hundred years, no one will remember their former selves. They will no longer be demons, but demon fiends!"
"And demon fiends deserve to be slain!"
"Soon, the mortal realm will be devoid of the demon race, leaving only livestock and wild beasts!"
"If you refuse, if you are unwilling to settle for being a mere god, if you still wish to save them, then you too must die!"
"Fine, fine. Such immortality, I don't want it anyway!" Sun Wukong spat, turning to leave, plunging through the clouds, "Today, I return to the Flower Fruit Mountain. Let's see who dares to stop me!"
The immortals of the Heavenly Court exchanged uneasy glances.
The Jade Emperor sneered, "Tai Bai Jin Xing, go convey my orders to Yang Jian. Tell him to subdue the Flower Fruit Mountain and bring those people back! If they resist, inform the Buddhists, execute them on the spot!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Tai Bai Jin Xing hastily took his leave.
But when Sun Wukong returned to the Flower Fruit Mountain, he found that few monkeys remained.
They were all dead.
Sun Wukong sat on the Flower Fruit Mountain, contemplating for a while before bursting into laughter, "Immortality, immortality! Hahaha, hahahaha!"
Raising his head, he saw that a million heavenly soldiers, the Four Heavenly Kings, had already arrived outside the Flower Fruit Mountain, their dark clouds blotting out the sky, their army poised for attack.
Sun Wukong unsheathed his golden staff, soaring into the clouds...
Boundless darkness swallowed everything.
"Huu." Zhong Yuan sat up abruptly from his stone bed, feeling a lingering sense of suffocation.
"That dream again."
"This Jade Emperor wants all demons dead, he's truly a ruthless tyrant."
"And even amongst the gods and Buddhas, if there are any with misgivings, their voices would surely be drowned out by the majority..."
"If I were an ordinary person, even a common immortal, I wouldn't care."
"In fact, I'd probably support the Heavenly Court."
Ordinary people and immortals would only see the Heavenly Court slaying demons.
This is a great deed that earns merit, after all.
Zhong Yuan sighed, walking out of the cave.
Dawn was breaking, he washed his face in the nearby water pool, and through the reflection, he could faintly see a hairy man.
This was the Flower Fruit Mountain.
He was a Heaven's Chosen One.
A Heaven's Chosen One on the Flower Fruit Mountain, who didn't know how long he would survive.
He had heard the story of the final outcome of the dream countless times from the old monkeys in the mountain.
The old monkeys said that Sun Wukong had always yearned for freedom, and after achieving Buddhahood, he couldn't stand the Heavenly laws, longing only to return to the Flower Fruit Mountain to enjoy a carefree life with them. But those in Heaven wouldn't allow it.
In the end, the Heavenly Court and the Buddhists dispatched a million soldiers to capture Sun Wukong and return him to Heaven.
Even though Sun Wukong had attained Buddhahood, the Golden Hoop remained. Ultimately, Sun Wukong was killed by Yang Jian with the help of the Four Heavenly Kings on the Flower Fruit Mountain, leaving only a massive boulder behind.
The old monkeys said that Sun Wukong, born from a celestial stone, possessed the supernatural ability of immortality. Though he had died tragically, his soul hadn't completely dissipated. Instead, it had transformed into six spiritual objects, each fleeing and hiding in the world.
And Sun Wukong's corpse was hidden within the boulder.
The old monkeys said that although the Great Sage's Six Roots had remained unseen for hundreds of years, there might be those destined to find them one by one.
When the spiritual objects all return to the Flower Fruit Mountain, or perhaps when the Great Sage is reborn…
But... Zhong Yuan knew that this so-called Heaven's Chosen One wasn't actually someone with special abilities.
In reality, all the monkeys on the Flower Fruit Mountain who had gained intelligence and were shaped like humans were Heaven's Chosen Ones!
They couldn't go anywhere either. The only thing they could do was to train their martial arts and then search for the six roots left behind by Sun Wukong.
This was something that ordinary monkeys, just starting to develop intelligence, didn't understand, but he had secretly gone to the outskirts of the Flower Fruit Mountain to observe.
There were still a large number of heavenly soldiers guarding the Flower Fruit Mountain.
Even monkeys who didn't have intelligence, as long as they stepped out of the Flower Fruit Mountain, would be immediately slain by the heavenly soldiers.
The only way to leave the Flower Fruit Mountain was for those who wished to search for the Great Sage's Six Roots to pass through the canyon cleaved open in the middle of the mountain. They would supposedly be sent directly to the location of the Great Sage's Six Roots.
The only thing they needed to do was to defeat the people there and reclaim the Six Roots.
This was clearly a way for the Heavenly Court to either resurrect Sun Wukong or use them to kill him completely.
The Heavenly Court only allowed them to do this one thing.
Even if they were transported to search for the Six Roots, it was easy to imagine that countless eyes would be watching, no opportunity would be given for them to escape.
Combining this with the dream's imagery, Zhong Yuan actually understood why the Heavenly Court was doing this.
But he was a Heaven's Chosen One, not a celestial immortal.
Zhong Yuan finally stood up, picked up the copper staff beside him, and faced the rising sun, his heart filled with despair.
How dark the heavens were.
He had read Journey to the West, but he hadn't imagined it to be this dark.
This must be a truly dark myth.
In this situation, even if Sun Wukong was resurrected, it wouldn't change anything.
Even if Sun Wukong was freed from the Golden Hoop, he wouldn't have a chance to survive.
How could the Great Sage, however powerful, possibly defeat the entire host of gods and Buddhas?
How could the countless immortals of the Heavenly Court allow Sun Wukong to disrupt their lives of endless wealth and peace?
And now, he had become a mere monkey on the Flower Fruit Mountain.
He could only prolong his miserable existence in this suffocating place for a few more years.
"Damn it! Die, I'll die, but I won't die so pathetically!"
"I can see glimpses of Sun Wukong's life in Heaven, maybe there's something special about me."
"Killing one immortal is worth it, killing two is a bonus!"
Zhong Yuan calmed his mind and meticulously recalled the memories of the original body, the staff techniques he had learned, practicing each move with diligence.
Countless movements kept appearing in his mind.
Unexpectedly, Zhong Yuan heard a voice in his mind.
Exceptional talent, possessing unparalleled insight?
A cheat code?
【You diligently practice staff techniques, achieving a profound understanding, and you have mastered the Primordial Staff Technique. Strength +10.】