Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Alas, had I known this battle formation was so powerful, I should have practiced it sooner!"

After learning the intricacies of the battle formation from Leng Xuan, the Bull Demon King and the other Six Great Demon Kings immediately began to practice. As a result, just as Leng Xuan had said, the combat power they displayed was indeed twice as strong as before!

This was despite the fact that the Bull Demon King and the others were new to the battle formation, and their coordination was somewhat rusty, with some hindrance in the interaction of their powers. Otherwise, the formation's might would have been even more formidable!

"This battle will not be our last against the Heavenly Court. We will have plenty of opportunities to familiarize ourselves with this battle formation in the future; we just need to practice it slowly."

The Bull Demon King waved his hand dismissively, "When it's time to battle the Twenty-Eight Constellations, I'll go first. The rest of you stay on the side as reinforcement. If I cannot withstand their combined strength, then we six brothers will deploy the Yin Yang Six Harmonies Battle Formation."

"Second brother, Nezha said that the Twenty-Eight Constellations are very strong, and their Constellation Annihilation Divine Formation is even more powerful when combined. You alone against them, in case…"

The Macaque King was somewhat worried, his brows furrowing slightly. After weighing his words for a moment, he still spoke up softly.

"No matter! My cultivation has broken through to the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm. Those Twenty-Eight Constellations are merely Taiyi Golden Immortals. Even if their combined divine formation is truly remarkable, I still want to fight them! It's not just the eldest who is formidable at Flower-Fruit Mountain!"

Seeing the spark in the Bull Demon King's eyes, the Macaque King chuckled. Counting Sun Wukong, each of the seven great demon kings was unruly and stubborn. If Sun Wukong hadn't demonstrated his extraordinary strength back then, they would not have been so convinced by him.

Now that the Bull Demon King has broken into the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm, if he should shy away from the confrontation with the Taiyi Golden Immortals of the Twenty-Eight Constellations, then he would no longer be the same earth-shaking Bull Demon they knew!

"Let's follow Second Brother Bull's lead. When the time comes, us brothers will reinforce the second brother, showing those immortals and gods of the Heavenly Court just how formidable we are from Flower-Fruit Mountain!"

"Good! Let's continue to practice! Come on!" Stay connected through empire

The Bull Demon King laughed heartily, and along with the Macaque King and the Jiao Demon King, kept practicing the Yin Yang Six Harmonies Battle Formation.

Inside the third-level cultivation room of the Heaven-Piercing Tower.

Bang bang bang bang!

The sound of clashing metal, like a series of firecrackers, continued, as two golden figures, too fast for the naked eye, clashed incessantly. Bursts of mighty power spread in all directions, only to be contained by layers of barriers.

Following yet another thunderous explosion, the two figures separated, one being the Six-Eared Macaque and the other, an identical figure, exchanged a knowing smile before dissolving into essence qi and merging back into his body.

It was a clone created through divine cloning powers!

The Six-Eared Macaque had also cultivated his clone technique to the level of divine skills!

"Huff!"

Exhaling deeply, the Six-Eared Macaque let out a long, fine stream of white air from his nose that stretched on for ten yards before dissipating, indicating that if it weren't for the spatial formation making the indoors far more extensive than it appeared, the white air might have sprayed directly onto the wall.

"Finally, I have reached the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm!"

Ever since he witnessed Sun Wukong's intense battle with Manjushri Bodhisattva and the daring clash against Tathagata Buddha's Golden Buddha Hand, Sun Wukong had become the Six-Eared Macaque's target. The Heaven-Piercing Tower held the complete texts of the Eight-Nine Profound Skill, but certain conditions had to be met to access them, and not everyone was suited to cultivate the full version.

Still, without any hesitation, the Six-Eared Macaque spent every point he had earned from completing dangerous tasks to obtain the Eight-Nine Profound Skill. Afterwards, he also exchanged for the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Transformations and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Transformations, spending day and night in the Heaven-Piercing Tower cultivating.

Finally, having completely integrated both the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Transformations and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Transformations, the Six-Eared Macaque fully mastered The Way of Transformation, just like Sun Wukong once did. If Sun Wukong were to find out, he would surely be incredibly surprised.

With his Heavenly Demon Body, Sun Wukong faced no obstacles learning the Human Race's techniques of transformation, but the Six-Eared Macaque was different. He lacked that crucial meridian in his body, making it easy for him to practice the techniques and wonderful arts of the Human Race, but to achieve the same level as Sun Wukong was difficult.

Moreover, in terms of cultivation, the Six-Eared Macaque also reached the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm. In his opinion, he should have caught up to Sun Wukong by now, at least that's what it seemed.

"It's time to leave seclusion. As the mighty forces of the Heavenly Court draw near, this time, I must make His Majesty view me in a new light!"

Six-Eared Macaque could feel Sun Wukong's wariness toward him and a deep-seated hatred that was carefully concealed. He didn't understand why Sun Wukong would hate him when it was clearly their first encounter.

Unable to figure it out, Six-Eared Macaque stopped thinking about it. He believed that as long as he could accumulate meritorious deeds for Flower-Fruit Mountain and show Sun Wukong his efforts and strength, Sun Wukong would definitely change his view of him!

The Heavenly Army finally arrived at Flower-Fruit Mountain, in a grand and magnificent display. The entire sky over Flower-Fruit Mountain was thoroughly obscured, with banners fluttering everywhere and clouds enveloping the area, preventing any sunlight from penetrating. The entire Flower-Fruit Mountain range plunged into gloom, filled with the oppressive atmosphere of an imminent stormy downpour.

"They've come, just as Nezha predicted—it's half a month later!"

Flower-Fruit Mountain was enshrouded by the Primordial Unity Grand Formation. While it appeared hazy and indistinct from the outside, looking out from the inside through the barrier, one could see everything clearly.

Leng Xuan, Sun Wushuang, Sun Tong, and the Six Great Demon Kings, along with other high-ranking members of Flower-Fruit Mountain, stood on the plaza in front of Water Curtain Cave Heaven, watching the Heavenly Army that surrounded Flower-Fruit Mountain's sky with somewhat grave expressions.

A hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals—the mere thought was enough to make one's scalp tingle, and witnessing them in person caused an even greater tremor in one's soul. The sky was filled with a resplendent throng of figures, banners as far as the eye could see, and drums of heaven shaking the world with an imposing presence.

The less courageous might actually have their legs give out from fear.

However, Leng Xuan and the others were no cowards. They looked up at the Heavenly Army in the sky with sneers, their icy gazes filled with mockery.

"That Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing is a real fool. He did't even recognize the Deadly Slaughter Formation you've set up, Leng, still pretending to be formidable. A Heavenly Court Grand Marshal, but just as Nezha said, without his Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda, he's utterly useless!"

During the time that Nezha was unconscious on Flower-Fruit Mountain, he was mainly looked after by Sun Xiaoqing, a little fox demon, and Sun Wushuang. Sun Wushuang had a rather good impression of Nezha, which led to a disdain for Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing, Nezha's nominal father. Now, Sun Wushuang looked down on him even more.

As the Commanding Marshal, not sending scouts to investigate the enemy's situation first and instead surrounding the target so openly and ostentatiously, as if afraid that others wouldn't realize their purpose—such actions could intimidate those lesser demons who had never seen the world, but to think they could scare off the Demon Clan of Flower-Fruit Mountain was utterly laughable!

"Leng Xuan, we can launch the attack now. Don't give them a chance to realize what's happening!"

The Bull Demon King had little understanding of formations, but Leng Xuan had mentioned earlier that he had set up the Deadly Slaughter Formation in the air above Flower-Fruit Mountain. It had only one strike, and with the Heavenly Army currently unaware, it was the perfect time to launch the formation with a fierce blow!

Leng Xuan nodded, traced a Dharma Seal with both hands in front of him, and then suddenly pushed it down toward the ground. Immediately, from where his palm made contact with the ground, lines of light began spreading out in all directions, reaching the Great Formation Barrier of the Primordial Unity Grand Formation. The Great Formation, which served primarily as a separation, suddenly lit up.

Along the edge of the Great Formation, massive beams of energy shot up from the barrier into the sky.

"Demons of Flower-Fruit Mountain, heed this! We are the Heavenly Army from the higher realm, sent by His Majesty the Jade Emperor to subdue you. Open your barrier and surrender immediately to spare your lives; otherwise, we will ensure not a single chicken or dog of Flower-Fruit Mountain survives!"

The Heavenly Army's shouting officer called out to Flower-Fruit Mountain twice in a row. Seeing no response from within, he was about to turn back to report to Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing when suddenly, the Mountain Protection Barrier enveloping Flower-Fruit Mountain lit up with interwoven black and white brilliance.

Next, it transformed into an energy beam that shot up into the sky, striking fiercely at the Heavenly Army above Flower-Fruit Mountain.

"Not good! Retreat, get out of the way!"

The soldiers and generals of the Heavenly Army were shocked, sensing the terrifying destructive power emanating from the energy beam. Their faces turned pale with fear as they yelled in panic, trying to dodge, but it was too late.

In an instant, the energy beam hit all the Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals floating above the clouds of Flower-Fruit Mountain, engulfing their figures completely in the rising brilliance.

There were cries of agony and shouts for help, but they soon came to an abrupt end. The column of light only lasted for less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, but it continued toward the Ninth Layer of Heaven, looking as though it had torn a huge hole in the firmament.

Soon, the energy column vanished, as quickly as it had appeared. It revealed the area that had been engulfed by the energy column—empty, without a single person or object in sight. The Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals who were hit by the energy column from the Mountain Protection Barrier of Flower-Fruit Mountain had vanished without a trace, turned to fine dust, with nothing left.

The Heavenly Army, which had once densely packed the sky above Flower-Fruit Mountain, now had a huge circular gap blasted through it. The ironclad reality smacked the surviving soldiers and generals in their proud faces like a giant slap, leaving them completely dumbfounded.

"How could this be?"

Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing, who had been sitting regally in his chariot, now stood up, staring blankly at the gaping void above Flower-Fruit Mountain. Shocked and fearful, he couldn't help but feel his soul shudder.

The destructive power of the energy column that had surged from the Mountain Protection Barrier of Flower-Fruit Mountain was too terrifying; even he was not sure he could withstand it.

However, it was clearly a one-time attack formation, and one that took great effort to construct in advance. How could the Demon Clan of Flower-Fruit Mountain have known that the Heavenly Army was coming to besiege them?