Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Alright, it's decided then. We'll build a Heaven-Piercing Tower and place all the Cultivation Techniques and Secret Arts within. Every three years there will be a competition. Those who pass the challenge will have the chance to choose a technique. Let's start with you all!"

Sun Wukong glanced around at everyone, exuding a formidable presence that did not require anger to assert itself, prompting Sun Wushuang, Leng Xuan, and others to nod solemnly.

"Okay, okay, no need to be so serious. There are no outsiders here; we are all amongst our own. Let's not make this so tense!"

Suddenly, Sun Wukong broke into laughter, immediately dissipating the serious and solemn atmosphere. Everyone started to relax.

Sun Wukong himself might not have noticed, but ever since he had acquired the Chaos Primordial Force and his Cultivation Strength grew with each passing day, his seriousness carried an innate and overwhelming authority, making it hard for Sun Wushuang, Leng Xuan, and the others to joke around in his presence.

"Great King, constructing the Heaven-Piercing Tower will require a great deal of spiritual materials, and our current stores at Flower-Fruit Mountain are far from sufficient…"

Leng Xuan said with a wry smile, shaking his head. He now served as the Grand Steward of the entire Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Cult, in addition to holding a minor general position. He managed and allocated all of Flower-Fruit Mountain's resources and was primarily responsible for arranging the Arrays.

Naturally, he was well aware of the inventory and how much could be utilized for building the Heaven-Piercing Tower and setting up its various traps and Arrays.

"Far from sufficient? How much are we lacking?" Sun Wukong furrowed his brows.

"A lot!"

Leng Xuan explained, "With our current stores of spiritual materials, we could at most construct the first two levels of the tower. Any more than that, and we wouldn't have enough."

Only enough for two levels?

Sun Wukong sprang up from his seat and began pacing back and forth. Then, he suddenly stopped, turned to Sun Wushuang and the others, and said, "Didn't you mention that members of the Demon Clan from the four continents have come to join us?"

"Yes, what's on your mind, Great King?"

Sun Wushuang and the others exchanged glances, unclear of Sun Wukong's intention.

"A token of allegiance!"

Sun Wukong extended his right hand, rubbing three fingers together, "What, still don't get it? Have them bring offerings! Flower-Fruit Mountain is no longer what it used to be. We have Cultivation Techniques and Secret Arts, Cave Heaven and Blessed Land, Mountain Protection Arrays—features that other places lack.

It wouldn't be too much to call Flower-Fruit Mountain the holy land for the Demon Clan in the Three Realms now! Since it's a holy land, how could we allow just anyone to join? Do you see the Human Heavenly Court or Western Heaven Spiritual Mountain casually accepting new members?"

"You mean to set contribution conditions, so all the Demon Clans from the four directions wishing to join Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Cult bring the spiritual materials we need?"

The Bull Demon King's eyes lit up—why hadn't he thought of such a good strategy?

"Exactly! A brilliant strategy! We can't let them join so easily; we must set some thresholds!"

Leng Xuan and the others also brightened up. After some discussion, they increasingly felt that Sun Wukong's idea was sound. The Demon Clan scattered across the world, and Flower-Fruit Mountain needed elites—those who could bring resources and help strengthen the mountain, not a confused crowd to dilute the resources.

By setting a threshold, those who couldn't bring an offering clearly lacked strength and ambition. Such Demon Clans would only hold Flower-Fruit Mountain back, so it was better not to accept them at all!

"Discuss the specific conditions among yourselves. I, Old Sun, still have some matters to attend to."

Waving his hand, Sun Wukong delegated the implementation details to Leng Xuan and the others, once again playing the role of the hands-off shopkeeper. He had set the overall direction, and the time-consuming matters were best left to them—they knew the specifics of Flower-Fruit Mountain much better than he did.

Returning to the depths of the Water Curtain Cave Heaven, this place had been transformed into Sun Wukong's personal palace, including a Cultivation Room, Alchemy Room, and Treasure Vault—a far cry from the previous modest wooden hut. However, Sun Wukong cared little for these amenities. Activating the Array to prevent disturbances, he stepped into his Cultivation Room.

Having returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain for a while, he had learned what needed to be known and made necessary arrangements. It was time to visit the convergence of the Underground Dragon Vein and check on the situation of the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan.

With a flash of yellow light, Sun Wukong activated the Earth Escape Technique, burrowing into the ground and heading toward the confluence of the Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation's nine Dragon Veins.

As before, the closer he got to the confluence of the Dragon Veins, the greater the resistance became. However, Sun Wukong was well-prepared this time, using the full force of his Chaos Primordial Force to withstand the pressure. His current Cultivation Strength had qualitatively improved compared to his past self, meaning the effects of the resistance had lessened significantly.

It didn't take long for Sun Wukong to arrive before the sphere of Stellar Spiritual Qi.

This time, Sun Wukong did not charge headlong into the range of the light sphere as he did the first time, but stopped at the edge of the light sphere. His gaze fell upon the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan, who was within. Years had passed, and Mu Chenxuan appeared much weaker than before, his eyes tightly shut, his body devoid of any breath of life.

Had Sun Wukong not activated his Void-Breaking Divine Eye and been able to see the flow of energy within Mu Chenxuan, he might have truly mistaken him for a corpse.

"Mu Chenxuan, your old Sun is back!"

With a swing of his right fist towards Mu Chenxuan, a wave of energy rippled out, penetrating the earth and entering the stellar spiritual qi light sphere, striking the chains that bound Mu Chenxuan. A violent tremor sounded, causing the whole stellar spiritual qi light sphere to wobble.

"What's happening?"

The Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan woke from his feigned death-like slumber, slowly opening his eyes, a hint of confusion flashing through them. But then, a sharp light suddenly blazed within them. Staring unblinkingly at Sun Wukong beyond the stellar spiritual qi light sphere, his face shifted from puzzlement to surprise and then to incredulous joy.

After blinking and shaking his head vigorously, he finally confirmed that this was neither a dream nor an illusion—Sun Wukong had truly returned!

"Wukong Brother, is it really you? You've finally come back!"

Mu Chenxuan, ecstatic beyond belief, involuntarily began to struggle, which triggered a response from the stellar spiritual qi light sphere. A bolt of lightning formed from stellar spiritual qi shot out, coursing down the chains and striking Mu Chenxuan harshly, eliciting a muffled groan from him as he quickly ceased his struggles.

Mu Chenxuan was sealed inside the stellar spiritual qi light sphere by chains formed of the stellar spiritual qi; he couldn't move an inch.

Fortunately, fifty years earlier, when Sun Wukong absorbed stellar spiritual qi and cracked some of the sealing Dao patterns of the Sealing Formation, Mu Chenxuan finally gained the ability to simply call upon his own Demon Primordial Force to fend off the invasion of stellar spiritual qi to some extent.

He could now move his head freely, but his resistance was minimal, still subjected to slow erosion. Helpless, Mu Chenxuan could only feign death to slow down the consumption, waiting for Sun Wukong to come back and rescue him from his plight.

"Hey, your old Sun is a man of his word; I said I would come back to save you, and I've made sure to do just that!"

"Wukong Brother, didn't you say it would only take three to five years to handle everything? It's been more than fifty years..."

"What, are you blaming your old Sun for being late?"

Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes in slight annoyance, causing the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan's heart to tighten. He quickly changed his tune, "Not late, not late at all! As long as Brother Wukong you're back, it's all good!"

"Fine, your old Sun knows it's tough for you here, let's not waste any more time. Let's continue to break the sealing runes of the Array—and remember, don't resist!"

Sun Wukong, observing the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan's ingratiating smile, shook his head with a hint of amusement and stepped into the stellar spiritual qi light sphere.

"Wukong Brother, what are you doing? Don't be reckless!"

The Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan was startled; this was not how Sun Wukong had cracked the Formation Sealing Runes last time. He used his clones to draw out bands of stellar spiritual qi and shattered them, breaking the Formation Sealing Dao Patterns on them and absorbing the stellar spiritual qi captured in his hands.

Why was he so audacious this time, entering the stellar spiritual qi light sphere without any defense?

As the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan's cries of alarm rang out, the stellar spiritual qi light sphere reacted; nine bands of stellar spiritual qi coiled towards Sun Wukong, wrapping him up tightly. The situation was just like the first time he mistakenly entered the stellar spiritual qi light sphere, only this time the binding was even tighter.

"It's over!"

A look of despair crossed the face of the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan. The first time Sun Wukong escaped because he used his clones to outwit the binding, but this time he had delved deeper into the stellar spiritual qi light sphere, how could he possibly free himself from such tight entanglement?

"Oh Brother Wukong, what are you doing... Alas!"

Over the years, the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan had been holding on with hope, waiting for Sun Wukong to return and release him. He barely managed to wait for Sun Wukong, only to face such an outcome. At that moment, Mu Chenxuan felt an urge to look up to the heavens and cry out loud, completely crestfallen.

"What's wrong with your old Sun?"

A peal of laughter sounded; Sun Wukong was not showing any signs of panic as the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan expected, but instead was completely nonchalant, as if he wasn't bothered by the stellar spiritual qi light bands entangling him in the slightest.

"Mu Chenxuan, did you really think these little bands of stellar spiritual qi could hold your old Sun?"

With a mischievous smile playing on his lips, Sun Wukong, before the shocked eyes of Mu Chenxuan, began to emanate a strange force. It spread along the bands of stellar spiritual qi, wrapping around them. Those stellar spiritual qi bands, binding Sun Wukong's body, began to melt away fast as snow under the blazing sun! Continue your adventure at empire

"This, is this... Chaotic Power?!"