Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

The Six-Eared Macaque has come to seek asylum at Flower-Fruit Mountain?

Sun Wukong was somewhat taken aback, this matter was somewhat unexpected, although he had a vague guess when he saw the Six-Eared Macaque fighting Manjusri Bodhisattva, having it confirmed by Sun Wushuang still set his heart fluctuating.

The development of Flower-Fruit Mountain in this life was completely different from his previous life, attracting demons from all over the four major continents to come and serve, it's not that Sun Wukong hadn't thought about the possibility of attracting the Six-Eared Macaque, but he didn't expect that the day would really come, and Buddha was obviously also eyeing the Six-Eared Macaque, otherwise he wouldn't have sent Manjusri Bodhisattva to Flower-Fruit Mountain to claim him.

Under the Void-Breaking Divine Eye, the Six-Eared Macaque's cultivation was completely revealed, merely at the level of Taiyi Scattered Immortal, but his combat power, like Sun Wukong's, was far beyond his cultivation, which is why Sun Wushuang said the strength of the Six-Eared Macaque was above his, but even so, he was still no match for Manjusri Bodhisattva, the reason the two could entangle for so long was entirely because the Six-Eared Macaque was completely indifferent to his own injuries, preferring to die together rather than trade blows with Manjusri Bodhisattva, who seemed to have some hesitation and did not use his full strength against the Six-Eared Macaque.

"Great King, that bald donkey Manjusri is very powerful, the Six-Eared has been fighting with him for half a day, and can't hurt him at all, if this continues, I'm afraid he's going to lose..."

Sun Wushuang did not know about the grudge between Sun Wukong and the Six-Eared Macaque from their previous lives, spoke with some worry to Sun Wukong, whose expression became somewhat complicated, his heart very conflicted.

He could see the current cultivation strength of the Six-Eared Macaque, and also that the Six-Eared Macaque had not yet mastered the Eight-Nine Profound Skill, so the strength of the Six-Eared Macaque compared to his previous life was still massively lacking, definitely not a match for Manjusri Bodhisattva, but the question was, should he act to save the Six-Eared Macaque?

Tathagata Buddha sent Manjusri Bodhisattva to Flower-Fruit Mountain to claim someone, it was clear he had long set his sights on the Six-Eared Macaque, and letting Manjusri Bodhisattva take him back to Western Heaven Spiritual Mountain, the Six-Eared Macaque would definitely grow into the Six-Eared Macaque of his previous life, there was no doubt about that, perhaps, should he extinguish him now, and shatter Buddha's thoughts?

A surge of murderous intent suddenly rose from the bottom of Sun Wukong's heart, his eyes again flashed with the scene from his previous life on the peak of Spiritual Mountain when the Six-Eared Macaque swung an iron rod at the top of his head, his fists clenched involuntarily.

"Wukong brother, are you going to teach that bald donkey a lesson? Just a Da Luo Golden Immortal, Wukong brother doesn't need to act yourself, I just happen to need some exercise, how about I help you take care of him?"

Mu Chenxuan, who was beside him, sensed the murderous intent emanating from Sun Wukong, misunderstood, still thinking that Sun Wukong couldn't bear to see his own people being bullied and was about to make a move, quickly volunteered to fight on behalf of Sun Wukong.

"Great King, who is this?"

Sun Wushuang had previously noticed the presence of Mu Chenxuan, with an odd aura on him that was not found amongst the demons or immortals and gods of the Three Realms, which Sun Wushuang had never encountered before, but since Mu Chenxuan showed up with Sun Wukong, and with the issue of the Six-Eared Macaque in front of him, he had not spoken up, but now with Mu Chenxuan volunteering to fight, Sun Wushuang could not restrain his curiosity.

Not only Sun Wushuang, but Leng Xuan, Bull Demon King, and the others were also looking curiously at Mu Chenxuan, they were all of considerable cultivation strength, and although Mu Chenxuan did not release his aura, they could all faintly sense that oppressive force, this person was definitely a master!

"This is Mu Chenxuan, the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor of the Demon Race,"

Sun Wukong briefly introduced him, but did not speak of how he came to know Mu Chenxuan.

"Demon Race?"

A sharp light flashed in Leng Xuan's eyes, he had heard of the Demon Race, thousands of years ago there was a great war between Heavenly Court and the demons of the Demonic Realm, where many immortals and gods were lost, afterwards, the Demon Race was defeated and retreated back to the Demonic Realm, they had not appeared in the Three Realms since then, how come they suddenly appeared again now?

And judging from Sun Wukong's demeanor, he seemed quite familiar with this Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor, how did they know each other?

Bull Demon King and others were also full of curiosity, but since Sun Wukong didn't want to talk, they didn't feel it was right to inquire more, and could only tamp down their curiosities for now, dealing with Manjusri Bodhisattva was currently the top priority.

"Let's not hurry, let's wait and see, the Six-Eared should still be able to hold on a bit longer."

Since Sun Wukong had said so, the others could only comply, but Sun Wushuang and Leng Xuan, who understood Sun Wukong the best, flashed a look of confusion in their eyes as they looked at Sun Wukong, with Sun Wukong's usual temperament, he certainly wouldn't stand by and watch an outsider bully one of his own like this, why did it seem that this time he didn't want to stand up for the Six-Eared Macaque, how strange!

In the midst of the air, the panting of the Six-Eared Macaque gradually grew heavier, somewhat unable to hold on, after all, he was only at the stage of Taiyi Scattered Immortal, and had always relied on his own talent to explore cultivation without being nurtured by Tathagata Buddha, or having practiced the Eight-Nine Profound Skill or the Seventy-Two Transformations and other mysterious powers, the reason he could hold on to this point was entirely due to his own bloody courage and unwavering will.

However, the gap in strength eventually could not be compensated by will alone, the Six-Eared Macaque's staff technique was now somewhat disordered, and even though Manjusri Bodhisattva was not using his full strength, he still couldn't hold on any longer.

"Smack!"

Another exchange of blows, and the Six-Eared Macaque was caught unawares by a strike of the Demon-Subduing Pestle from Manjushri Bodhisattva on his shoulder, instantly letting out a wail as he plummeted from midair. His shoulder went limp and drooped down; clearly, his arm had been broken by the blow.

"Six-Eared!"

Sun Wushuang and Sun Tong leapt into action simultaneously, catching the Six-Eared Macaque by his side and landing on the ground. They examined his injuries to find his right shoulder dislocated and a remnant force roaming within his body — the Buddha Primordial Force. However, the injury wasn't too severe, likely because Manjushri Bodhisattva had shown restraint.

"Amitabha!"

Manjushri Bodhisattva intoned the sacred name of Buddha and stood firm in midair, looking down at the Six-Eared Macaque through the barrier of the Primordial Unity Grand Formation with a face full of compassionate sorrow, "Six-Eared, you are fated to be with us, and the Ancestral Buddha especially sent me to enlighten you. Why persist in such stubborn ignorance?

Return with me to Spiritual Mountain and you can achieve True Fruition and perfect merit. Rather than that, you wastefully linger in this wild land, mixing with a rabble of misfits, squandering your rare talents!"

"Who are you calling a rabble of misfits?"

Sun Wushuang's eyebrows shot up in anger as fury blazed in his eyes, "You thieving bald donkey, trampling over here to our Flower-Fruit Mountain time and time again to provoke us, injuring so many of our brothers. Is this what you call the compassion of Buddha? Bah! This is Flower-Fruit Mountain, not your Western Heaven Spiritual Mountain!

Six-Eared is our brother, not someone you can just take because you say so!"

"Exactly! Six-Eared is our brother from Flower-Fruit Mountain, and we won't let you take him away!"

The Demon King Sun Tong, brandishing his great sword at the sky, also roared in outrage as the demon folk of Flower-Fruit Mountain shouted their rebukes. Manjushri Bodhisattva, however, merely smiled coldly. To him, the demons of Flower-Fruit Mountain were nothing but an unruly mob, lacking even a single Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm powerhouse. What right had they to challenge him?

If he didn't wish to avoid a commotion that would alarm the Human Heavenly Court, he would have already embarked on a massacre!

What compassion? That was for devotees. Why talk of mercy with these beastly demons?

"Big brother, this nasty monk is so annoying. Please, can you step in and teach him a lesson? Don't let him take Brother Six-Eared away!"

Little fox demon Sun Xiaoqing tugged at Sun Wukong's arm, shaking it. She also felt that Sun Wukong's mood seemed off today. However, Manjushri Bodhisattva was being far too arrogant, and she didn't believe that Sun Wukong would idly stand by and watch as someone bullied the folks of Flower-Fruit Mountain.

"Wukong brother, is there something troubling you? If it's inconvenient for you, I'll step in and deal with that bald donkey!"

Mu Chenxuan also felt puzzled. If he were the master of Flower-Fruit Mountain, finding his subordinates being bullied at his doorstep, he would have stepped in immediately, regardless of whether he could win or not. What was it that Sun Wukong was hesitating about?

"My King! Even if I die, I will never go to that cursed Spiritual Mountain!"

Looking straight at Sun Wukong, the Six-Eared Macaque swallowed back the blood rising to his mouth, speaking in a steadfast yet strangled voice. He felt that Sun Wukong's gaze bore an indescribable strangeness, a mix of hatred and rejection. Yet, he couldn't understand why. Wasn't this their first meeting today? Why would this great king harbor animosity toward him?

As far as Sun Wushuang and others were concerned, Sun Wukong, the Beautiful Monkey King, was a magnanimous leader, fiercely protective of his own, and he despised seeing his people bullied by others. Yet, why was he merely observing without taking action now? The Six-Eared Macaque truly couldn't comprehend, but even so, he was not willing to go with Manjushri Bodhisattva to the Western Paradise.

That wasn't his home. Here — Flower-Fruit Mountain — this was his home!

Seeing the persistence, confusion, and grievance in the Six-Eared Macaque's eyes, Sun Wukong felt a sudden stir in his heart, and the hatred from his past life began to slowly fade away.

Indeed, what am I, old Sun, being so troubled about?

The past life was the past, and this life is the present. The Six-Eared Macaque from the past life had been manipulated by the Tathagata Buddha to plot against him, his enemy. But the current Six-Eared Macaque was now a part of Flower-Fruit Mountain, his brother and subordinate, no longer involved in any enmity with him. Wasn't it unfair to impose the grudges of a past life upon him?

Realizing this point, Sun Wukong suddenly felt a sense of clarity, his gaze towards the Six-Eared Macaque was no longer clouded. He stepped forward to support him up, Chaneling the Chaos Primordial Force into the injured left shoulder of the Six-Eared Macaque, dispersing and assimilating the Buddha Primordial Force that lingered there.

Then, with a firm tug with both hands, he reset the Six-Eared Macaque's dislocated arm.

"Don't worry, with me, old Sun, here, no one can take you away! My brothers from Flower-Fruit Mountain, nobody can take them away, not even the King of Heaven himself!"