Great Demon Sun Wukong

When Sun Wukong's figure appeared again, he had transformed into an ordinary Arhat. He stealthily surveyed his surroundings while heading towards the Peach Garden. Although Sun Wukong was reluctant to admit it, the concern and unease in his heart were undeniably real. From the moment he awoke to this very moment, his worry had only grown heavier.

After carefully passing all the guards, the Peach Garden finally came into sight. At first glance, the entire garden seemed to have not the slightest anomaly. The only difference was that the guards were now bald Buddhist Soldiers instead of the heavenly troops. However, Sun Wukong knew that this was just superficial.

Given Tathagata's character, it was impossible that he would guard this important place with merely a few ambush troops.

Back then, Tathagata had greatly coveted the Queen Mother's peaches, and now, having seized control of Heaven, he had his wishes fulfilled. How could he not treasure this fief? Sun Wukong dared not be careless. Although he had grown significantly stronger, he was still no match for the millions of Buddhist Soldiers.

One small slip, and being discovered by the soldiers, might very well lead to a bloody battle. Sun Wukong did not fear the fight but feared that Tathagata would discover the purpose of his visit.

Forming a Sword Finger with his right hand, he lightly brushed it in front of his eyes, and instantly, his eyes emitted a dazzling golden light. He gazed towards the underground river beneath the Peach Garden. Moments later, a serious expression appeared in Sun Wukong's eyes.

That Tathagata, what a grand scale of operations— he had actually set up the Nine Heavens Nihility Great Formation around this Peach Garden.

With his Supreme Magical Power, Tathagata, along with Buddha, had refined Buddha's Relics into a world, then concealed these nine worlds within the void surrounding the Peach Garden according to the nine palaces' positions. To the naked eye, the garden seemed within arm's reach, yet once you tried to approach, no matter from which direction, you would find yourself entrapped in one of the worlds.

It's easy to enter these nine worlds, but leaving them is harder than reaching the heavens. Once you step into one of these worlds, it's as if you become a mere mortal. You face the tribulations, suffering, birth, aging, sickness, and death of the mortal world one after another.

After enduring all of this, you would find yourself in the Netherworld, caught in the Six Paths of Reincarnation, dying and being reborn, in an endless cycle.

Even if you possess a will that could pierce the heavens and mighty magical power to break through reincarnation and rediscover yourself, don't rejoice too early for there are still precisely eight worlds to go.

What's more, these nine worlds are completely distinct, each one singly focusing on a type of worldly suffering or emotion, with other emotions and sufferings as secondary. For instance, if you fall into the world of extreme cold, you'd find it unbearably frigid, yet it wouldn't freeze you to death.

Instead, it would make you constantly experience the agony of piercing coldness, mixed occasionally with sadness, despair, fear, loneliness, and other negative emotions.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this the first Protective Barrier of Buddhism. Such a formidable Great Formation had trapped the Peach Garden securely. Outsiders would have absolutely no chance to enter. Therefore, even Sun Wukong furrowed his brows deeply. Without entering the Peach Garden, there was no way to know the situation inside, nor the safety of her.

Yet, facing such a Great Formation, even Sun Wukong wasn't confident in forcibly breaking in.

Just as Sun Wukong was at a loss and considering whether to charge through, an extremely faint voice arose in his heart: Wukong, is that you? Have you come to find me?

Sun Wukong was startled at first, then quickly overjoyed. However, he soon suppressed his exuberance. Glancing around and noticing that no one was paying attention to him, he continued walking slowly while mentally responding, "It's me, Fan Xin, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me, Wukong, it's me. Wukong, listen to me, I'm fine. I know you've led the Demon Clan in a great battle against Heaven, only for Buddhism to take advantage when we were vulnerable. Now the whole of Heaven has become the territory of Buddhism. But I haven't been harmed, and I have even gained control over the entire Peach Garden. I believe it won't be long before I can take human form."

"Fan Xin, I..."

"Wukong, you don't need to say more, I know you still have your mission. Rest assured, I am very safe here and nothing will happen to me. I will wait here for you, wait for you to rise again, wait for your triumphant return, wait for you to take me back to Flower Fruit Mountain. Sun Wukong, remember, you are invincible, the Great Sage Equalling Heaven."

After speaking, the voice disappeared. No matter how Sun Wukong called out in his heart, there was no response. Sun Wukong knew that perhaps Tathagata had detected something, so she had to conceal herself. Looking up at the Lingxiao Palace of the past, Sun Wukong's fists clenched even tighter.

After one last look at the Peach Garden, Sun Wukong transformed into an imperceptible streak of light, heading towards the Moon Palace of yesteryear. Sun Wukong's most important task on this daring return to Heaven was to obtain a branch from the osmanthus tree in the Moon Palace. The osmanthus on the Moon was originally transformed from Pangu's eyelashes and contained the Supreme Great Dao.

However, no one knew how to unravel the osmanthus branches to absorb the Dao for themselves.

In the past, Heaven was full of talented individuals, and all sorts of methods were tried. They ground the branches into powder for tea, crafted weapons nurtured by day and night, and some even fused the branches into their bodies. However, without exception, they all ended up with nothing.

Consequently, the Jade Emperor decreed that all the osmanthus trees be sealed within the Moon Palace, forbidding anyone from approaching or taking them without permission.

But after Chang'e ascended to the Moon Palace, the grove of osmanthus trees came under her control. Over time, Chang'e discovered yet another marvelous use for the trees: they could store mana, memories, and even souls. However, Chang'e did not report this to the Jade Emperor but instead told Tianpeng Marshal in secret later on.

Tianpeng later discovered another marvelous use for the osmanthus: when its branches were burnt with fierce fire, the resulting fragrance could solidify the divine soul and nourish the body. Later on the journey to the West, Zhu Bajie inadvertently revealed this secret. And now, Sun Wukong was intent on taking a branch from the osmanthus tree to increase Zhu Bajie's chances of survival.

Although unsure of its effectiveness, he could not stand by and watch his brother suffer.

Additionally, he was going to see how Chang'e was faring. Sun Wukong knew that Chang'e was the courage that sustained Zhu Bajie's will to go on. After narrowly avoiding several encounters with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas on the way, Sun Wukong finally reached the Moon Palace.

Upon arriving, Sun Wukong quickly concealed his presence and surveyed the surroundings, finding no Buddhist Soldiers of significant strength, and then his eyes once more emitted a thousand rays of golden light. Once the light faded, Sun Wukong's brow furrowed deeply once more.

Not because there were formidable barriers this time, but rather, apart from a few guarding Buddhist Soldiers, the Moon Palace was desolately empty.

With a quick thought, Sun Wukong opened his fiery eyes and thoroughly scanned the area again. Still, it remained empty. Though bewildered, Sun Wukong had no better plan, and with a few somersaults, he was in the osmanthus grove.

After inspecting his surroundings once more, Sun Wukong cautiously approached the largest osmanthus tree. He pulled out his Golden Hoop from his ear and gently touched a branch, which instantly snapped off. With an outstretched hand, the branch was his.

Sun Wukong plucked a monkey hair and planted it within the crevices of the tree bark. Nodding slightly, he left at a speed even swifter than when he had arrived. However, Sun Wukong did not return directly to Coiled Silk Cave; instead, after securing the osmanthus branch, he flew towards what used to be Lingxiao Palace, now known as the Great Hall.

But when Sun Wukong reached the exterior of Lingxiao Palace, he abruptly halted. He quickly concealed his form and quietly approached the entrance to the Great Hall. The reason for his rush was the sudden detection of the aura of Bull Demon King and others inside the Lingxiao Palace. Besides the Bull Demon King, various leaders of the Demon Clan were all inside.

This discovery excited Sun Wukong greatly. Yet, it was immediately followed by a wave of fear. Had he not concealed himself in that split second earlier, the various Buddhas in the Lingxiao Palace might have detected him.

Even if those Buddhas didn't notice him, the slightest hint of his presence to Bull Demon King and others might give away his location to Tathagata, who could instantly guess that he was nearby.

The reason why Bull Demon King and others might have sensed him before the Buddhas is due to the bowl of Blood Wine the seven sworn brothers had drunk together. Since then, they shared a mystical connection through their bloodlines. Hence, Sun Wukong broke into a cold sweat.

Fortunately, a significant increase in his power had allowed him to realize the danger in advance, or else the consequences could have been unpredictable.