Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Second Senior Brother, there's no need for us brothers to play dumb with each other. Do you truly not understand what I mean by my words?"

The presence of Sun Wukong had completely vanished; nobody knew what method that monkey had used. Even a Heavenly Dao Saint like the Leader of Tongtian could not track his whereabouts. However, this was perhaps for the best. If he couldn't locate him, then neither could the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

Facing the queries of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, the Leader of Tongtian smiled lightly, exuding an air of calm and composed tranquility.

"Second Senior Brother, our teacher strictly forbade us from intervening in the affairs of the Three Realms. You surely understand the underlying risks. Your move against the Blood Dragon was at the behest of the Jade Emperor, a justified cause, but to act against Sun Wukong... That's a bit much, isn't it? The Blood Dragon has already self-destructed, its karmic hindrances extinguished.

If you, Second Senior Brother, continue to press the matter, I fear you will struggle to explain yourself when our teacher inquires, won't you?"

"You..."

The pupils of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable contracted sharply, and a deep, cold glint flickered in his eyes, "Leader of Tongtian, are you determined to oppose me?"

"What are you talking about, Second Senior Brother? I'm merely considering your well-being. You surely know full well our teacher's temper. Do you truly care so little?"

The Leader of Tongtian's face still bore a faint smile, but even a fool could detect the threat in his words. If the Primordial Heavenly Venerable did not cease his pursuit, the Leader of Tongtian would undoubtedly report to the Hongjun Daoist Ancestor in the Supreme Pure Heaven's Greenwave Palace. What the Daoist Ancestor's response might be was beyond the Leader of Tongtian's predictions.

"Fine, very well! Junior Brother, I'll remember today's incident, and you shall be repaid in full another day! Hmph!"

With a dark and chilly snort, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable tore open the fabric of space and stepped through, not even bothering to turn back and bid farewell to the Jade Emperor. The Leader of Tongtian's lips curled into a sly grin and followed suit, stepping through the ripped space to return to the Greenwave Palace.

"The Blood Dragon is vanquished, the Heavenly Palace unscathed! Fellow immortals, return to your posts—the Directorate of Celestial Monitoring will handle the aftermath!"
Continue your saga on empire

The Jade Emperor hovered beside the Heavenly River on a cloud, silently watching as the Primordial Heavenly Venerable and the Leader of Tongtian departed one after the other. A strange light flickered in his eyes, and after issuing a decree to the immortals and gods near the Heavenly River, he mounted the clouds and flew toward the Lingxia Palace.

The group of immortals and gods exchanged looks, shaking their heads before dispersing. Affairs of the Heavenly Dao Saints were not theirs to meddle in. A slip of the tongue could bring calamity; better to say little. Since the crisis was resolved, as the Jade Emperor said, it was time for everyone to return to their own affairs.

Below in the mortal world, at the border between the Southern Continent and the East Victorious Divine Continent, Sun Wukong emerged from a dense forest, surveying his surroundings to ensure nothing was amiss before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"Phew! Luckily, that old buzzard, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, didn't catch up! I've narrowly escaped this disaster!"

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Sun Wukong inwardly congratulated himself on his luck. In his rush to escape, he had not noticed who had intervened to save him. However, considering the power of that sword light, the rescuer was probably no less than the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, likely another Heavenly Dao Saint.

Among the Heavenly Dao Saints of the Three Realms, there was probably only one who wielded a sword: Luo Bai's master, one of the Three Purities, the Sect Hierarch of Sword Cultivation, esteemed by the Leader of Tongtian—Lingbao Heavenly Venerable!

Apart from the Leader of Tongtian, Sun Wukong couldn't think of anyone else who would save him. If he wasn't wrong, it must have been Luo Bai who had gone to the Supreme Pure Heaven's Greenwave Palace and implored the Leader of Tongtian to intervene. Otherwise, with the Leader of Tongtian's stature, how would he deign to oppose the Primordial Heavenly Venerable for someone he had never met?

"It's just a pity that I couldn't save the Blood Dragon. Alas!"

Sun Wukong sighed and muttered to himself, "That guy really had some backbone, blowing himself up like that. If he had just held on a little while longer, he might have awaited the Leader of Tongtian's assistance!"

"If I hadn't blown myself up, I would have probably died at the hands of that old coot, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, before the Leader of Tongtian could lift a finger to help."

Just as Sun Wukong finished speaking, the voice of Blood Dragon Ao Tian suddenly resounded in his ear, startling him.

"Who's there? Who's speaking?"

"It's me, Ao Tian, the so-called self-destructed Blood Dragon you mentioned!"

"The Blood Dragon? So your name is Ao Tian! Where are you? Didn't you self-destruct? How are you still alive?"

Sun Wukong's face showed utter surprise. He soon realized that the voice didn't seem to come from nearby, but rather from inside his own body. All at once, as if realizing something, his eyes widened, and he closed them immediately to send his Divine Sense into his own body.

Sure enough, next to the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod in his Dantian, there appeared a blood-colored dragon soul, a spitting image of a miniaturized Blood Dragon Ao Tian.

"You've actually entered my body? When did you come in?"

Sun Wukong's Divine Sense materialized in his Dantian, eyeing the opposite Ao Tian, completely baffled.

"It was right after the self-destruction."

Ao Tian shook his head, "After all, I am of the Quasi-Saint Realm in terms of cultivation, self-destructing isn't enough to obliterate me physically and spiritually. At that time, only your body was available for temporary refuge, so I entered without your permission. Sorry, and I'm afraid I'll have to reside temporarily in your body for quite a long time."

"Reside in my old Sun's body?"

Sun Wukong was astonished, recalling the scene of Blood Dragon Ao Tian's self-destruction in his mind, he instantly understood. No wonder he felt something bumping against his back at that time; it turned out to be the remnants of Ao Tian's dragon soul after the self-destruction!

But what does this mean? It's true that he wanted to save Ao Tian, but that doesn't mean he could just nonsensically become the host for his residency, right? What if the guy harbors any ill intentions?

"Rest assured, Brother Wukong, I'm now just a dragon soul, I can't really do anything to you!"

Seemingly sensing Sun Wukong's concern, Ao Tian gave a wry smile, "To be accurate, it's not quite appropriate to say I'm residing. The correct term is that I've signed a blood oath with the Dragon Race, and from now on, I've become your magical treasure or, you could say, a Contracted Divine Beast. In short, my life is now connected with yours and under your control.

Even for the sake of my own life, I wouldn't do anything untoward to you!"

"Magical treasure? Contracted Divine Beast?"

Sun Wukong gaped, as his Divine Sense formed a hand that reached out and touched Ao Tian's dragon soul. Indeed, there was a sense of blood connection, this guy certainly wasn't lying; his life was indeed in the balance of a single thought from Sun Wukong himself!

This blood oath of the Dragon Race is too mystical to conceive, to think that within the Dragon Race such secret techniques existed, utterly beyond imagination!

"Brother Wukong, I had no other choice, if there were any other way, I wouldn't have resorted to the blood oath of the Dragon Race. But under those circumstances then, it was the only way I could save my life. Don't worry, I won't cause you any trouble, at most I'll absorb a bit of your Primordial Force, not too much, perhaps just ten or twenty percent.

But I guarantee my help to you will far exceed this consumption!"

Seeing Sun Wukong's expression flickering, Ao Tian quickly explained, quite aware that not only Sun Wukong, even he himself would have difficulty accepting another Divine Soul residing within his body all of a sudden, especially one that consumed his own Primordial Force.

Although Sun Wukong had saved him before, that did not serve as a justifiable reason for him to comfortably reside inside Sun Wukong's body.

"Alright then, let's hear it, what kind of help can you actually offer old Sun?"

Sun Wukong thought much like Ao Tian; he was somewhat resistant to the situation. Anyone faced with such a situation would probably not be too pleased, but now that he had verified Ao Tian's dragon soul within his body posed no threat to him, Ao Tian's dragon soul could be completely extinguished with a mere thought.

So, whether or not to accept this uninvited guest depended on how valuable he truly was – after all, deep feelings aside from both being of the Demon Clan, didn't exist between them.

"Well..."

Ao Tian stretched out his dragon claw and scratched his dragon beard, "How should I put it, I can teach you the Ancient Dragon Clan's Cultivation Techniques and Secret Arts. Although they may not necessarily suit you, you might take them as reference. Also, I see you likely don't have your own Battle Armor.

It just so happens I know the location of the Chaos Dragon Divine Armor of the Ancient Dragon Clan, which should still remain unclaimed. I can lead you to it, and whether you can obtain it or not will be up to you..."

"Deal!"

"Ah? What?"

"Old Sun said deal, so it's settled. After old Sun makes a trip back to Flower-Fruit Mountain, then you'll take old Sun to fetch that Chaos Dragon Divine Armor."

Ao Tian was still somewhat shocked, while Sun Wukong had already made the decision. What he needed the most right now was a suit of Battle Armor, and the Chaos Dragon Divine Armor that Ao Tian mentioned sounded utterly amazing just by its name. Having this armor was already plenty, not to mention Ao Tian would still teach him the Ancient Dragon Clan's Cultivation Techniques and Secret Arts.

How could he lose out in such a deal? What was there to hesitate?

"Wukong, let me out!"

Having left the woods, Sun Wukong was about to ride the clouds back to Flower-Fruit Mountain when Zi Lan Fairy's voice came from within his chest. Sun Wukong then remembered that for Zi Lan Fairy's safety, he had set up a Defensive Array in his collar to protect her inside and hadn't let her out!

"Zi Lan, are you okay?"

Sun Wukong's cold sweat broke out in an instant. He hurriedly released Zi Lan Fairy, allowing her to return to her original size. He nervously touched and looked over her, his face full of regret. How could he have forgotten Zi Lan Fairy on him?

He knew better than anyone how dangerous the situation had been; thankfully, Leader Tongtian had come to the rescue and helped him break free, otherwise, Zi Lan Fairy would have perished alongside him at the hands of Primordial Heavenly Venerable!