Chapter 31: Chapter 26 Journey
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After shattering the Carefree Buddha with a punch, Sun Wukong, covered with blood and boundless killing intent, slowly raised his head to look towards the rest of the Buddhism faithful. That glance contained the most intense tyranny and cold murderous intent between heaven and earth. Just one look made the Buddhists feel as if they had plunged into an endless, icy world.
Moreover, while some were overwhelmed by the tyrannical aura and thought of fleeing, their bodies suddenly froze in place, daring not to move an inch. They were forced nearly to kneel by the overbearing presence.
Those who turned to run felt a surge of intense murderous intent enshroud them the moment the thought arose. It was as if numerous razor-sharp daggers were pressed against their throats, promising immediate decapitation with the slightest twitch. Thus, not a single one dared to move.
"Remember, my name is Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong. This is merely a beginning. I know more will come from the Upper Realm, but I, Old Sun, am fearless." With a final glance at the Buddhist crowd, Sun Wukong then turned and left without hesitation.
It was only when Sun Wukong's figure disappeared into the continuous mountain range below that everyone finally let out a deep breath. The terror of an imminent death was not something ordinary individuals could withstand. Though they did not know why Sun Wukong had not seized the chance to slay them all, their minds were no longer focused on such matters.
None wished to stay there for even a second longer, all of them using their fastest speed to leave.
It was likely that, for a long time afterward, no one would dare to pursue Sun Wukong. Even the most formidable masters would hesitate. Sun Wukong's array of techniques had utterly terrified them. From their enlightenment until now, they had never encountered someone so fearsome.
It seemed you could never kill or even defeat him; if he lived through a defeat, he would always come back stronger, crushing you with overwhelming power and teaching you the true meaning of terror.
Such a person should not be provoked, nor should anyone have any interaction with him. This thought became the inner voice of everyone present. It would not be impossible for some to renounce their faith and retreat into seclusion right away.
Within the deepest stone room of the Coiled Silk Cave, Sun Wukong lay on the ground soaked in blood, with only a weak breath proving he was not yet dead. After lying there quietly for a while, his fingers twitched almost imperceptibly, and then, with great difficulty, Sun Wukong opened his eyes.
"That was close, almost had a corporeal explosion. Although I saved my life, these injuries are too severe; I wonder when I'll fully recover," he said with a wry smile on his face. Then, little by little, he began trying to sit up cross-legged. Despite having exterminated two saints of Buddhism, Sun Wukong did not feel any relaxation in his heart.
On the contrary, the appearance of the Carefree Buddha had made him even more urgent.
After the journey to the West concluded, Sun Wukong and his companions were consecrated by Buddhism, with Sun Wukong himself being appointed as the Buddha of Victory in Combat. For several hundred years afterward, Sun Wukong stayed within Buddhism to cultivate. On the surface, it seemed he became a Buddha, enjoying a century of peace.
Yet no one knew that throughout the hundreds of years in Spiritual Mount, Sun Wukong secretly investigated almost all of Buddhism's secret chronicles.
It was then that Sun Wukong made an extremely shocking and earth-shattering discovery. He found in the Tathagata's sealed scrolls that the vast Buddhism of the Western Paradise was just the tip of the iceberg. The world he existed in was also just a minuscule one among thousands of worlds. This revelation left Sun Wukong extremely startled, but he soon calmed down.
For within the fragmented information in the scrolls, Sun Wukong realized that not only Buddhism, but also the Heavenly Taoist sects were similar.
Suddenly, Sun Wukong found himself in a dilemma. Both Buddhism and the Taoist Sects had major grievances with him. He had always thought what he saw was everything, but now he knew it was just a tiny fraction. Yet, Sun Wukong couldn't just give up. After deliberation, he decided to continue investigating before making a decision.
The subsequent content spoke of Sun Wukong's world, called the Pangu Realm. Initially, it was but a colossal stone in Chaos, nurturing over countless years until Pangu was born within it. After Pangu's birth, he propped up the heavens and stamped on the earth, and only after countless years did the world take its current shape.
Every time a world is born in the universe, the powers on the Desolate Ancient Realm at the center of the universe would be informed. When the forces in the Ancient Primordial World learned that it was just a small world, they sent a few emissaries each to expand within it. Because the world was too weak, after sending a few disciples, these forces stopped paying attention.
Yet, they still sent messages every ten thousand years to inquire about the state of the small world.
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When the first ten thousand years had passed, the message that came was that the first being born in this world was named Pangu. Yet Pangu had already become one with the world through body transformation into the Dao. Therefore, they decided to name this small world the Pangu Realm.
Although in the eyes of these great powers, Pangu's strength was so weak that it couldn't be weaker, the spirit of merging with the Dao in such a way was still very grand. That's why a world was named after him.
The representatives sent by these major forces were Nuwa from the Demon Clan, Hongjun from the Taoist Sect, Fuxi from the Human Clan, and Tathagata from Buddhism. The other minor forces are not worth mentioning. These individuals, who could be called deities in the Pangu World, then began to educate all living beings and started to establish sects and schools.
Another seventeen thousand five hundred eons passed before the current world order came about. The original deities either perished or merged with the Dao, completely vanishing. Although there were other characters with profound mana that appeared later, they were merely flashes in the pan.
Moreover, there is one most important point, which is that whether it is Buddhism or the Taoist Sect, according to the secret order passed down from the Desolate Ancient Realm, while different forces can push each other out and wage wars, they absolutely not permit the complete annihilation of one by another.
Although the great powers up above would not care too much about the Pangu Realm, as it was a small world, the total annihilation of one faction by another is something the major powers of the Desolate Ancient Realm absolutely cannot tolerate; to them, it's akin to a severe slap in the face.
Sun Wukong also found that the original Heaven was not managed by the Taoist Sect but by the Demon Clan leader Donghuang Taiyi and Di Jun. Their underlings, the Demon Master Kunpeng and the ten great generals of the Demon Clan, were unstoppable. However, later on, internal turmoil broke out for some unknown reason, which allowed the Taoist Sect to take advantage of the situation and seize Heaven.
Since then, the Demon Clan never recovered. Even so, the Taoist Sect did not exterminate the Demon Clan entirely but only killed some demon leaders. The rest of the Demon Clan were all expelled to the Lower Realm's Four Great Continents.
Although all this infuriated Wukong, he still keenly discerned a useful piece of information. That is, neither Buddhism nor Taoism is allowed to be exterminated; if they are, the Upper Realm is sure to send someone to the Lower Realm, but that would have to wait ten thousand years. And the greatest amount of energy that the Pangu Realm could contain was that of a peak Saint.
In ten thousand years, Wukong was confident that he could become the peak existence in this world.
Therefore, if he could take advantage of this, he could first ally with Buddhism and then launch a surprise attack on Heaven; having eliminated the Taoist Sect in Heaven, he would stand on equal footing with Buddhism. Once he had accumulated enough power, he could take down Buddhism in one strike. Then, this world would belong solely to the Demon Clan.
Even if someone from the Upper Realm was sent later, by that time, his own power would be sufficient. If all went well, the Demon Clan would surely rise. Leading the Demon Clan back to the esteemed status of the Ancient Times was just a matter of time.
Consequently, this led to a series of actions and behaviors by Sun Wukong. However, what Sun Wukong did not expect was that Buddhism would disregard the command from above and ultimately reap the benefits of the fisherman, effectively eliminating all the living forces of both the Demon Clan and the Taoist Sect, emerging as the biggest winner.
This was something Wukong simply could not understand. But now, he had figured it all out. It turned out that behind Tathagata stood a luminous Carefree Buddha. A Buddha of higher rank provided backing to Tathagata, which explained his immense ambition.
However, man's calculations are inferior to heaven's. Despite Tathagata's planning for over a thousand years, he still failed. Although he temporarily occupied Heaven, his Spiritual Mount was destroyed in an instant. The loss outweighed the gain. Now, he found himself in a state of dead body and extinguished Dao.
Sun Wukong's next task was to quickly recover from his injuries and then find the other three pieces of Nuwa's Divine Stones. After merging the power of the five Divine Stones, he would reach the peak Saint level. That would be the time for the Demon Clan to make a grand comeback.
As for Heaven, even if it temporarily belonged to Buddhism, it didn't matter.
Just as Sun Wukong finished his contemplations, feeling the future looking bright, he heard a thunderous explosion followed by a loud voice laughing, "Haha, your old pig has come back to life again, hahaha."