Great Demon Sun Wukong

After Tang Sanzang finished speaking, Zhu Bajie immediately jumped up, not even bothering to wipe his butt. He scrambled to Tang Sanzang's side, grinning from ear to ear.

Tang Sanzang hesitated briefly and said, "Though hope exists, Bajie, you will have to endure great suffering. If you can persist, when success comes, you will obtain an incredible body. However, if you do not persevere, you could very well turn to ashes and vanish, disappearing completely."

Zhu Bajie sat down on the ground, his face a picture of stupefaction. The choice before him was far from trivial. Should he fail, his soul would shatter, and even reincarnation would be impossible. Zhu Bajie bowed his head in silence, pondering for a long, long time. Until, in his heart, the image of a person flashed by. In that moment, Zhu Bajie's heart became unwaveringly resolute.

"Master, you just say the word. No matter the pain, I, Old Zhu, can endure it. As long as I could regain my human form. I can't continue like this, neither human nor ghost."

Tang Sanzang looked at Zhu Bajie's determined face and imperceptibly shook his head, then spoke, "Previously, I came across a Transcendence Bloom in the Netherworld Asura Realm by chance…" He went on to explain the origin of the Transcendence Bloom and the fight with Tongtian - albeit with some vagueness about the Queen of Western Liang.

After recounting all this, Tang Sanzang paused for a moment and continued, "So, the Transcendence Bloom was burnt by the Eight Trigrams Fire of the Supreme Elder Lord, then fused with me, and finally, because of the droplet of golden blood from Wukong, it mutated.

Thus, it became the Void Transcendence Flower, which has not only retained the Transcendence Bloom's abilities but also gained healing, mana recovery, and even powerful defensive capabilities. However, the most important of all is my eyes. Because of the Void Transcendence Flower, it fused the Eight Trigrams Fire and the karmic force accumulated in my ten lives, creating the Red Lotus Karma Fire.

And it is this Red Lotus Karma Fire that we will use for Bajie's resurrection.

Bajie is now a Soul Body, but my mutated Red Lotus Karma Fire contains a powerful life force. Normally, the Red Lotus Karma Fire would injure people with the karmic force within it, but perhaps because the karmic force was too heavy upon me, a quantitative change led to a qualitative one, turning karmic force into life force.

If Bajie can let the Red Lotus Karma Fire burn for a continuous forty-nine days without dispersing his soul, then the life force contained in the Red Lotus Karma Fire will adhere to Bajie's soul. Thus, a Fire Body made entirely of flames will be born from the lotus.

However, there is an upside and a downside to this. The advantage is that a Fire Body is immortal and indestructible and can absorb other flames to grow stronger. The downside is that Bajie must endure the excruciating pain of being tempered by fierce fire for forty-nine days, and all his previous Water System Taoist Arts must be abandoned in favor of cultivating Fire System Taoist Arts."

Having said so much in one breath, Tang Sanzang seemed slightly tired, closed his eyes, and took a moment to rest. After Tang Sanzang closed his eyes, the small blood-red flower on his finger slowly vanished. The Red Lotus Karma Fire floating above it also dissipated along his finger. Before Tang Sanzang could open his eyes, Zhu Bajie resolutely said, "Master, it's okay, I can endure it.

If Brother Monkey could survive in the Eight Trigrams Furnace for forty-nine days, then so can I, Old Zhu. If Brother Monkey could cultivate fiery eyes and golden pupils, then I, Old Zhu, can cultivate into an unparalleled Fire Body. Master, let's start today. I, Old Zhu, won't die. At least, not until Spiritual Mount is destroyed!"

After Zhu Bajie finished speaking, his soul fluttered and returned to the Nine-Toothed Rake, which rapidly shrank to palm size. Tang Sanzang glanced at Sun Wukong, saw that he seemed to be in a daze, picked up the mini Nine-Toothed Rake from the ground, and said, "Wukong, what are you thinking about?"

"Master, I am thinking about what we should do in the future. Although we now know Bajie's whereabouts, I have no idea what has become of Brother Sand, Little White Dragon, and Old Bull. Tathagata said that Brother Sand and Great Emperor Gouchen perished together, but I don't believe it. Moreover, Master, are you really going to refine Bajie for forty-nine days? Bajie is currently a Soul Body.

What if, just what if he can't hold on, then, then…"

"Wukong, are you scared? Are you scared because of this failure?"

"Master, I, I'm not scared, I just don't want any more people to die for me. I'd rather not seek revenge, I'd rather give up Flower Fruit Mountain."

"Wukong, do you know why Bajie so resolutely agreed to let me refine him with the Red Lotus Karma Fire?"

"Because, because Bajie doesn't want to be a soul, right?"

"No, Wukong, you are wrong. You know Bajie very well, don't you? Given Bajie's former cowardly character, afraid of death, he would probably accept being an Artifact Spirit for the rest of his life rather than agree to be tempered by fire. But now, Bajie has chosen this path anyway.

It's because within Bajie's heart, there lies a sense of judgment and concerns, as well as a bravery that does not easily compromise. Hence, under the threat of Tathagata, Bajie chose death over submission, to become a soul state."

"Master, I…"

"You, Sun Wukong. All the qualities that Bajie has now used to be yours. You influenced Bajie. But what about you now? Where are your attachments? Your pride?

Your unyielding courage? Your determination to defy the entire Heaven? We have not utterly failed yet. At least, we are still alive, aren't we?"

Sun Wukong lowered his head, bent his knees, and buried his face deep between them. Suddenly, the entire cave fell silent, deathly silent. Apart from the occasional crackle of the burning flames, there was only the sound of Sun Wukong's tears falling to the ground, barely audible.

For a long while, a long while. Sun Wukong once again lifted his head and said to Tang Sanzang, "Master, I understand. I must take back what's mine, no matter how difficult the journey."

Tang Sanzang smiled, as though bathed in the spring breeze.

"Good. Next, I will use the Red Lotus Karma Fire to reshape Bajie's body. After forty-nine days, we will set out on our journey, even if it takes us through all Seven Realms, to find the remaining three pieces of the Five-Colored Divine Stone. At the same time, we will also seek information on Wujing and the others' whereabouts and the current situation in Heaven.

During the time I reshape Bajie's body, Wukong, you should familiarize yourself with your new strength. What lies ahead is going to be a grueling journey."

"Mm." At this moment, Sun Wukong's eyes shone with an imperious glimmer. Tathagata, you can suppress me, you can defeat me, but as long as I live, I will fight on. Until I destroy you.

On the first day, Tang Sanzang used the Red Lotus Karma Fire to create a barrier, enclosing himself and the Nine-Toothed Rake within a giant spherical shape. From the outside, all that could be seen was a giant egg-like, pale red Light Barrier. The figures within were faint and indistinct.

Meanwhile, Sun Wukong found another cave and sat cross-legged, beginning to comprehend the strength he had recently acquired and the insights from the battle of life and death.

And so time flew by.

On the seventh day, inside the stone room where Sun Wukong was meditating, with a breeze that seemed almost non-existent blowing through, the figure of Sun Wukong, who had been sitting motionless, suddenly opened his eyes. At once, two beams of golden light burst forth, shooting straight towards the Nine Serenities Land.

Suddenly, Sun Wukong's body jolted, and then he swiftly increased the output of his mana, causing the already dazzling golden light to surge dramatically. In just a breath's time, the golden light emitted from Sun Wukong's eyes had become as brilliant as the fierce sun, unbearable to look at directly. After a while, a sigh was heard.

Slowly standing up, his bones crackled like popping beans, and looking at Sun Wukong again, his entire being faintly glittered with treasure light, clearly indicating that his physical body had reached some sort of peak condition. Perhaps even now, his body's resilience was not inferior to that of an ordinary Immortal's Magical Artifact.

Slowly turning his neck and moving his slightly stiff limbs, Sun Wukong muttered to himself, "Seven days, merely to fuse the Divine Stone within me left by Nezha, and yet my strength has increased so terrifyingly. I suspect that at this moment, using just seventy percent of my power, I could defeat the Jade Emperor. And at most, just inflict light injuries. But still, this is not enough."

After saying this, Sun Wukong looked towards the Western direction, clenching his fists tightly. Sun Wukong knew that his enemy was not one person, but the entire Western Buddhist Realm. Perhaps it wasn't just the Western direction anymore; with Heaven thoroughly annihilated, the Eastern World had likely been occupied by Buddhism.

Shaking his head, he dismissed these thoughts. Sun Wukong walked straight towards the stone room where Tang Sanzang was located. After traversing numerous winding paths, Sun Wukong saw the giant egg-shaped barrier. It seemed everything was proceeding normally; whether Bajie could be resurrected depended on if he could endure the process. With that thought, an idea seemed to strike Sun Wukong.

He reached into his ear and pulled out the Jingu Bang, swirling it lightly to return it to its normal size. Then he traced a circle around Tang Sanzang's barrier with the tip of the Jingu Bang. After this was done and still not completely reassured, he lifted his left hand and made a sword finger gesture, slashing through the air.

Accompanying the gesture, a ribbon of fiery red fabric appeared out of nowhere. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Nezha's famed magic treasure, the Universal Ring.

Next, Sun Wukong waved his hand, and the Universal Ring turned into a beam of red light, merging into the circle drawn by the Jingu Bang. Looking at this double-layered protection, Sun Wukong finally nodded slightly. Then, he transformed into a stream of light, heading for the Southern Gate of Heaven.

A moment later, not far from the Southern Gate, Sun Wukong's figure appeared, hiding behind a dark cloud as he fell into deep thought. As expected, just by observing the four Arhats guarding the Southern Gate, he could guess that in just seven days, Heaven had been completely taken over by Buddhism.

And what puzzled Sun Wukong even more was that these four gatekeeper Arhats seemed strangely familiar.

After recalling for a while, he was certain he didn't recognize these four Arhats from his memory. Then, he closed his eyes and channeled his mana, and shortly afterward, an invisible ray of light shot from his eyes towards the four Arhats guarding the gate. This glance filled Sun Wukong with a mixture of shock and rage.

He withdrew his gaze, and the hand holding the Jingu Bang clenched tighter, veins bulging. It turned out that the four Arhats guarding the gate were none other than the former Four Heavenly Vajra Kings of Heaven.

These were the Eastern Guardian of the Nation, the Southern Growth King, the Western Wide-Eyed King, and the Northern Hearing King. During the previous great battle, these four protector Vajra Kings had been captured by Buddhism. Unexpectedly, Tathagata had been so ruthless as to transform these four protector Vajra Kings into Buddhist puppets!

Buddhist puppets were created using the flesh of a Daluo Golden Immortal or higher level Immortal as a foundation, employing special techniques to infuse the Divine Souls of dead Buddhist Arhats or higher-ranking experts into the Immortal's body. After the transformation, they became purely battle-driven Buddhist puppets.

Once transformed into puppets, they would not tire or fear, and their loyalty to Tathagata was absolute, with no chance of betrayal. Most importantly, the strength of the successfully crafted puppet would skyrocket, becoming more than twice as powerful as before.

What enraged Sun Wukong was that it was one thing for two armies to capture prisoners of war and decide their fate, but to turn living beings into mere walking corpses was an extreme insult to the deceased. Those made into puppets were even deprived of any chance of reincarnation.

Looking at the four puppets guarding the Southern Gate, Sun Wukong's hatred for Tathagata rose another level. However, Sun Wukong did not act rashly. Instead, he carefully concealed his own aura, then darted into the Southern Gate with a speed that nearly breached space. The four gatekeeper puppets were none the wiser.