Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Are you apologizing and asking for my forgiveness?"

Wukong's face was cold. If his strength hadn't been great or if he didn't have the green stem inside him to restrain the Mosquito Daoist, he would now be like Tortoise Spirit's Saintly Mother, sucked dry to just a layer of skin. Where would he find the opportunity to stand here listening to an apology from the Mosquito Daoist?

To put it in terms of a phrase from the memories of another space-time, if apologies were useful, then what's the need for the police?

Honestly, if Wukong hadn't known he was still no match for the Mosquito Daoist, he would have really liked to give this guy a good thrashing to release the resentment in his heart!

"Correct, I am sincerely apologizing. This has all been a misunderstanding. I did not know it was you, brother, who saved my beloved wife and the others. I thought you were the murderer who killed our people. I am truly sorry! I hope you can forgive my offense. And furthermore, thank you for your help. May I know your honorable surname and name? Look at me, I've talked so much and still don't know your name!"

The Mosquito Daoist's face was full of remorse, and he felt so embarrassed about the situation he didn't know where to put his face, humbly addressing a junior as "brother"—this was a first for him since he had started cultivating.

"My name is Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong!"

"Great Sage Equalling Heaven? Ha! That's a powerful title. But to be honest, brother, although your strength is not weak, this cultivation..."

The Mosquito Daoist didn't finish his sentence, and Wukong knew in his heart that with his current status just reaching the Heavenly Immortal Realm, claiming the title of Great Sage Equalling Heaven did indeed give off an impression of presumptuous arrogance.

But so what?

"I've only been born for a little over a hundred years. Give it a few hundred more, and my name, the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, will definitely be known throughout the Three Realms and Six Paths!"

Wukong's eyes shone with a startling confidence, making the Mosquito Daoist's eyes light up. The words he heard were a big surprise to him: "Wukong, you've been alive for just over a hundred years, and you've already reached the Heavenly Immortal Realm! What a heaven-sent genius! Uh, I've lived far longer than you, my younger brother. You don't mind if I address you this way, do you?"

Wukong's lips twitched, he didn't agree, but he didn't oppose either, which was taken as silent affirmation. He, too, was a person known for his forthrightness and generosity. If it weren't for the fact that the Mosquito Daoist almost killed him just moments ago, he wouldn't have acted like this—being mistaken for an enemy and nearly losing one's life, nobody could simply laugh off such enmity. That wouldn't be magnanimity; that would be foolishness!

"Alright, let's not talk about apologies or thanks or flattery. I didn't save people just to hear your gratitude. If you can answer one question for me, we'll consider the previous grievances written off!"

"You just say the word, Wukong, and if I, Luo Wen, know the answer, I'll spare no detail!"

"Good. I want to ask about that thing inside me that's supposed to emit Chaos Qi—exactly what grade of treasure is it?"

Upon this question from Wukong, the Mosquito Daoist's expression suddenly turned strange. After looking Wukong up and down a few times, he smirked cunningly, "Wukong, my brother, you're not going to tell me you don't even know what treasure you possess, are you?"

Wukong's expression froze, followed by an embarrassed chuckle, but he couldn't refute it. He indeed wanted to inquire about the green stem, so how could he pretend and bluff his way out of it?

Seeing Wukong's expression, the Mosquito Daoist knew his words had hit home. A secretive smile crept into his heart, and turning his eyes slyly, he said, "I didn't take a good look at your treasure just now, so I can't really make out what it is. However, anything that can release Chaos Qi is certainly no mundane item! How about this—in the meantime, let's bury the villagers' bodies, and afterward, find a quiet place where we can discuss this at length."

Wukong nodded, and together with the Mosquito Daoist, he collected the bodies of the villagers. Guided by the Mosquito Daoist, and accompanied by his wife Axiang and the four surviving villagers, they headed deeper into the valley.

There was a peach grove. Wukong instantly realized that the place was protected by a formation that had withstood the massive shockwave which had nearly destroyed the entire valley. This must be the Mosquito Daoist's secret base, and it seemed that Axiang was no stranger to this place. But why hadn't she taken the villagers here for refuge when the attackers had stormed the village? Was it all too sudden to manage?

"Those people stormed into the village so suddenly; we simply had no time to retreat."

As they made their way deep into the peach grove and sat down in a waterside pavilion, Wukong couldn't hold back and asked the question. Axiang sighed, a trace of sadness flashing in her eyes, but the answer was as Wukong had thought.

After some conversation, Wukong finally understood the whole story.

Luo Wen was indeed the Mosquito Daoist, a Fierce Beast of Chaos, the Blood-winged Black Mosquito, who ascended during the Divine Enthronement war by feeding on Tortoise Spirit Saint Mother and the Third Grade Essence Qi from the Twelve Grades Merit Golden Lotus, then fled to Hell's Yellow Springs in the Sea of Blood, the very place where the Mosquito Daoist was born.

Before the Mosquito Daoist, the Sea of Blood had already nurtured the Nether River Elder. The Mosquito Daoist did not know this, and after returning to the Sea of Blood, he went into seclusion. The Essence Qi from the Tortoise Spirit Saint Mother and the Third Grade from the Merit Golden Lotus allowed him to take less than a thousand years to Slay One Corpse and reach the early stages of a Quasi-Saint. He emerged full of vigor, intending to dominate Hell's Yellow Springs, only to encounter the Nether River Elder.

The ancestor of Nether River was born from the Boundless Blood Sea before Mosquito Daoist came into existence, severing the Good Corpse that perfectly merged with the Boundless Blood Sea, which states that as long as the Sea of Blood dried not, the Nether River did not perish. Not to mention, he even emulated Goddess Nuwa in creating humans and forged the Asura Tribe from the Boundless Blood Sea. However, those born from the Blood Sea were naturally filthy; the women beautiful but licentious, the men ugly and murderous. They were not recognized by Heavenly Dao, consequently receiving little merit. This only increased the cultivation strength of the ancestor of Nether River to a Quasi-Saint at the later stages, but he did not prove the Tao and become a Saint.

Even so, the cultivation strength of the ancestor of Nether River far surpassed Mosquito Daoist. As the saying goes, "Two tigers cannot share one mountain." After a few disagreeable exchanges, they clashed within the Boundless Blood Sea. Mosquito Daoist was defeated and demoted by the ancestor of Nether River directly from the early stage of Quasi-Saint back to the realm of Da Luo Golden Immortal and fled Hell's Yellow Springs in panic. Fearing that the Buddhist Sect, which was his previous affiliation with the Western Cult, would target him, he had no choice but to flee to the Northern Continent of Cattle-grazing to lie low.

"This Northern Continent of Cattle-grazing is the territory of the Barbarian Race, and the influence of the Buddhist Sect cannot reach here. This is where I met Ah Xiang. To have a beloved companion in life is more than enough!"

Mosquito Daoist took Ah Xiang's hand, eyes brimming with tenderness, stirring up a surge of envy in Sun Wukong. When would he find his life's love and no longer lead a solitary existence?

"What's gotten into me? A hero's spirit wanes with concerns of love. My goal is revenge; I must not get distracted! Stop these thoughts, stop them now!"

Shaking his head to discard the thought, Sun Wukong began to inquire about the bandits who had attacked the village. Though Mosquito Daoist had been demoted back to the realm of Da Luo Golden Immortal by the ancestor of Nether River, he still possessed formidable power. The abilities of those bandits seemed rather ordinary to Sun Wukong, so why on earth did they dare provoke Mosquito Daoist? Were their brains addled?

"They were from the Zhentian Gang of the Barbarian Race."

A cold light flashed in Mosquito Daoist's eyes, "The Barbarian Race is inherently belligerent, they neither submit to heaven and earth nor fear ghosts and gods. They are mostly extremely xenophobic, which is why neither the Heavenly Court nor the Buddhist Sect has been able to extend their influence here. I had some past grievances with the Zhentian Gang, having destroyed two of their sub-divisions. It was intended as a lesson for them to know their places and back off, but those damn bastards actually took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack while I was away. Despicable!"

"Does the Zhentian Gang have any formidable figures?"

"There's one—their gang leader, Dou Zhentian, has decent strength, roughly that of a Taiyi Scattered Immortal."

"Then why didn't you just completely wipe out this Zhentian Gang?"

Mosquito Daoist being a Da Luo Golden Immortal with the fierce power of primordial beasts should have no trouble annihilating a gang whose strongest is only at the level of Taiyi Scattered Immortal, right?

"I would have liked to, but Ah Xiang wouldn't let me," Mosquito Daoist sighed, glancing at Ah Xiang. A hint of regret and resentment flashed across her face. Had she known that the people from Zhentian Gang would come and raid the villages, she would never have stopped Mosquito Daoist in the first place.

"Then what are we waiting for? Living between heaven and earth, we should gladly pursue vengeance. They've come to our doorstep; if we don't strike back and annihilate them, are we even men?"

Sun Wukong snorted coldly, a chilly glint in his eyes, "If we don't seek revenge today, our minds will not be clear, the Dao Heart will not be stable, and advancing to the next level would then become impossible!"

"What little brother Wukong said is right!"

Mosquito Daoist's expression became serious, and he looked up at Sun Wukong, "Little brother, do you fancy joining me on this venture?"

"Of course!"

Sun Wukong grinned wickedly, just looking for a chance to vent his accumulated resentment, "But before that, shouldn't brother Luo give me some pointers on what exactly this treasure inside of me is? Why can't I control it?"

"Well, about that..."

Mosquito Daoist scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled, "Little brother Wukong, I'll be frank with you, I'm not entirely clear on what the treasure inside you is either. But one thing's for sure, it must be an Innate Spiritual Treasure, otherwise, it wouldn't be emitting Chaos Qi!"

After pausing, Mosquito Daoist continued, "Of course, it's not like there's no way at all. Just let me have a closer look, but only if you trust me enough to let this sword penetrate into your body for observation."

The sword Mosquito Daoist referred to was his blood-colored longsword, whose tip was as fine as a needle point, actually a part of his true form—the Blood-winged Black Mosquito's proboscis refined into a weapon. It was part of his body, and by piercing it into Sun Wukong's body, he could naturally inspect the green stalk inside Sun Wukong's Dantian Qi Sea.

The key question was, could Mosquito Daoist be trusted?

A slight frown creased Sun Wukong's brow. He had only just met Mosquito Daoist, and their understanding of each other was not deep. Letting the other party plunge the sword's tip into his Dantian Qi Sea was a risky move; if Mosquito Daoist harbored ill intentions or became greedy, Wukong would be utterly defenseless!