Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

Heavenly Court, inside the Southern Heavenly Gate.

It indeed was not easy to assemble one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals; it took a whole half month for the army of the Heavenly Court to finally gather. Inside the Southern Heavenly Gate, a grand oath-taking assembly was held.

"Demon Monkey Sun Wukong, disrespectful to heavenly might, arrogantly rampant, causing upheaval in the Dragon Palace Netherworld, his actions are contemptible, his crimes must be punished! Today, by the decree of His Majesty the Jade Emperor, appointed by this marshal, one hundred thousand troops will march towards the Demon Monkey's lair, Flower-Fruit Mountain, to suppress the demons.

All generals and soldiers should unite and cooperate to eliminate the demon threat and rectify the heavenly authority!"

"Eliminate the demon threat, rectify the heavenly authority!"

"Eliminate the demon threat, rectify the heavenly authority!"

"Depart!"

Following Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing's motivating oath, one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals ascended in order, bursting through the barrier that opened at the Southern Heavenly Gate, majestically flying towards Flower-Fruit Mountain in Aolai Kingdom, East Victorious Divine Continent.

As one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals set out, auspicious clouds filled the sky, banners fluttered.

Along the way, they covered the entire sky, although ordinary people could not see such a scene, those of cultivational realms could see it clearly, each one astonished and trembling, especially those demon spirits hidden in the mundane world, who dared not even breathe, quickly hiding themselves for fear of being targeted by this great army of the Heavenly Court.

The news of the Heavenly Court's one hundred thousand heavenly troops marching against Flower-Fruit Mountain spread quickly throughout the Three Realms like a typhoon, attracting attention from all quarters.

"Hey, did you hear? One hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals are marching against Flower-Fruit Mountain!"

"Of course I heard, I even saw it with my own eyes! That spectacle, that might, tsk tsk, Flower-Fruit Mountain is really in for trouble now!"

"They had it coming! Who told them to be so arrogant before? I wanted to join them earlier, but was turned away at the door, told that my cultivation was too low and I didn't bring gifts for paying respects, so I couldn't join, what nonsense! This time, with the Heavenly Court's army on the march, I want to see if they can still jump around!"

There were those who were horrified, those who sympathized, and even more who were just waiting to watch the excitement. Over the years, Flower-Fruit Mountain had developed too vigorously, and many were envious, especially some of the Demon Clan accustomed to their own dominion, filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

This time, the Heavenly Court had grandly dispatched one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals against Flower-Fruit Mountain, and many forces that were not on good terms with Flower-Fruit Mountain were looking forward to seeing them humiliated!

Northern Continent of Cattle-grazing, inside the dwelling of Mosquito Daoist.

"The Heavenly Court has finally made a move against Flower-Fruit Mountain! One hundred thousand heavenly troops, quite a grand gesture!"

Mosquito Daoist squinted his eyes and sighed, his eyes gleaming sharply, his expression very grave.

"It was to be expected!"

Sitting on a soft mat beside him, Demon Master Kunpeng gently shook his head, "With the growth momentum of Flower-Fruit Mountain, it was bound to attract the attention of the Heavenly Court eventually. This battle was inevitable, it just came a bit sooner than we anticipated."

"Gentlemen, shall we lend Sun Wukong a helping hand?"

Bai Ze poured a cup of Immortal Wine for the Great Witch Jiu Feng sitting beside him, filled his own cup as well, and looked up at Mosquito Daoist and the others and said.

"We definitely shall help, but not now!"

Demon Master Kunpeng shook his head again, "But just one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals, and not a single Da Luo Golden Immortal in action, all those truly powerful immortals and gods of the Heavenly Court are secretly watching. If we intervene now, it would easily disrupt the heavenly secrets!

Don't forget, the Third Endless Calamity is approaching, and although heavenly secrets seem to have shifted over these years, the fundamental nature of the Endless Calamity remains the same, penetrating even without the state of Heavenly Dao Saint, and involvement might lead to doom, which must not be taken lightly!"

"Brother Kunpeng is right! Although we have glimpsed the heavenly Dao, we are still not saints. It would be unwise to intervene at this moment; it's better to observe and see how things unfold! Sun Wukong has a unique destiny outside the operation of the Heavenly Dao. The Endless Calamity might change because of him, so before things become clear, we should not meddle!"

The Great Witch Jiu Feng also nodded, showing agreement with Demon Master Kunpeng's opinion.

"However, I heard that Sun Wukong is not currently in Flower-Fruit Mountain. With the Heavenly Court's troops advancing for an attack, the outcome is truly unpredictable!"

Mosquito Daoist sighed, "Well, all beings have their destinies, which cannot be forced! With the current strength of Flower-Fruit Mountain, there's hardly a need to fear the Heavenly Court's one hundred thousand strong army. Let us just wait and see."

"Luo Wen, my friend, do not worry. Sun Wukong has painstakingly managed for so long; the foundation of Flower-Fruit Mountain is probably even stronger than we assume. It won't be easily taken down by the Heavenly Court! Moreover, in this campaign, we are not the only ones keen on observing the battle!"

Demon Master Kunpeng chuckled meaningfully as the four resumed toasting and drinking. In a water mirror floating three feet above ground in the center of their table, the panorama of Flower-Fruit Mountain was displayed, peaceful like the surface of a lake, yet beneath that tranquility lurked earth-shattering undercurrents and whirlpools.

Within Flower-Fruit Mountain.

The members of the Demon Clan were practicing battle formations. These formations had been left by Sun Wukong after consultation with Leng Xuan during the time when Blood Dragon Ao Tian caused an uproar in the Heavenly Palace.

It was these battle formations that allowed the Heavenly Navy to concentrate everyone's strength and increase it by dozens or hundreds of times, blocking Ao Tian for half a day. Otherwise, half of the Heavenly Court might have been dismantled by Ao Tian.

At that time, Sun Wukong had observed the events from the sidelines, seeing everything clearly. He was greatly moved and inspired. The recent years had seen rapid development in Flower-Fruit Mountain; the Demon Cult members showed significant improvements in their cultivations. With the establishment and perfection of the Heaven-Piercing Tower, a phase of major strength increases was imminent.

However, the foundation was somewhat weak due to the short development period; once they waged war with the Heavenly Court, it would be difficult to gain the upper hand.

Though wars are the best way to select the strong and eliminate the weak, why let the members of the Demon Cult suffer excessive casualties if they could enhance their combat power and reduce casualties? Perhaps among the falling Demon Clan members, there would be those of extraordinary talent.

If such potentials were to perish mid-battle due to their undeveloped talents, wouldn't that be a great pity?

During the days back at Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong carefully reviewed the battle formations recorded in ancient texts he read in the Scripture Pavilion of Three-Star Cave Heaven, selecting two that best suited the Demon Clan of Flower-Fruit Mountain and discussed them with Leng Xuan.

The battle formations chosen by Sun Wukong were the Five Elements Battle Formation and the Heaven-Earth Triad Formation, which could complement each other and combine into the more powerful Small Zhou Tian Seven Extremes Battle Formation. Progressing further, forty-nine Small Zhou Tian Seven Extremes Formations could form the Grand Zhou Tian Ten Directions Revolving Battle Formation.
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It was like a gigantic grindstone, grinding anyone caught within it into dust if they could not break free from it.

The Five Elements Battle Formation required individuals with excellent Five Elements attributes to form the formation, whereas the Heaven-Earth Triad Formation had no such restriction. Entrusted by Sun Wukong, Leng Xuan gathered all twenty thousand members of the Demon Clan who had reached the Human Immortal Realm.

From them, he selected three thousand with superb Five Elements attributes for the Five Elements Battle Formation training, while the rest trained in the Heaven-Earth Triad Formation. Together, they could just form the Grand Zhou Tian Ten Directions Revolving Battle Formation.

The formations were indeed potent, but the time the Demon Clan of Flower-Fruit Mountain had spent training was still too short.

No one expected the Heavenly Court to suddenly strike; just a while ago, they had repeatedly sent Great White Golden Star to invite Sun Wukong to ascend and receive official appointment, and now they had suddenly sent troops to subdue them, sending a staggering force of one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals all at once.

When the upper echelons like Leng Xuan announced this, many of the Demon Clan members couldn't believe their ears at first.

Pressure leads to motivation, a principle that holds true universally. Originally training the battle formations every few days, the Demon Cult members of Flower-Fruit Mountain now panicked. From the day they heard of the Heavenly Court's impending attack, they began to train day and night non-stop.

To fight against the Heavenly Court, facing one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers, was an unprecedented event for most of the Demon Clan, with absolutely no mental preparation. The only thought was to enhance their strength as much as possible in hopes of surviving the impending clash and potentially securing victory in the war.

Cultivation strength isn't something that can be greatly improved in a day or two. The best way to enhance combat power was to master the battle formations quickly; this didn't need much emphasis from Leng Xuan, as all those who had practiced the formations clearly understood.

Not only the twenty thousand Demon Cult members, but even the Six Great Demon Kings, including the Bull Demon King, were quite interested in the battle formations. However, the Five Elements Battle Formation required only five individuals, and the Heaven-Earth Triad Formation needed just three, being much weaker in strength than the Five Elements Battle Formation.

With Sun Wukong absent, the Six Great Demon Kings could only seek advice from Leng Xuan, who, when it came to formations, was indeed not Sun Wukong but rather Leng Xuan, the most skilled within Flower-Fruit Mountain.

"Yin Yang Six Harmonies Battle Formation?"

Leng Xuan's recommendation for the Bull Demon King and the others was to train in the Yin Yang Six Harmonies Battle Formation. However, the Six Great Demon Kings were hearing this formation's name for the first time, looking at each other puzzled and bewildered.

"Is this formation very powerful?"

"Of course!"

Leng Xuan nodded affirmatively and said, "The Yin Yang Six Harmonies Battle Formation focuses on the interchange of Yin and Yang, confusing the enemy with its advances and retreats that originate from the Five Elements Battle Formation, yet it is more intricate. It requires six individuals to coordinate closely, advancing and retreating as one entity.

As for its power, well, it could enhance your collective strength by three to five times!"

Three to five times!

The eyes of the Bull Demon King and the other Five Great Demon Kings widened in shock. Among them, the Bull Demon King was the strongest, having broken through to the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm over a year ago.

Jiao Demon King and Peng Demon King were also on the verge of reaching that level, while Lion Camel King, Macaque King, and Yu Monkey King were all in the late stages of Taiyi Golden Immortal.

Except for combat power not matching Sun Wukong, the cultivation level of the Six Great Demon Kings was by no means inferior to Sun Wukong's, and even the Bull Demon King's cultivation speed was slightly faster.

At the level of the Six Great Demon Kings, enhancing overall strength by three to five times was a phenomenal concept. It essentially meant they could dominate their peers! Especially for the Bull Demon King, even a two times increase would be enough for him to tower over his peers!