Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"You, who exactly are you to commit such violence within our Buddhist Sect?"

The Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod had greatly increased in power, not knowing how many times stronger than before—striking was fatal, touching caused injury. Three Golden Arhats were harshly beaten by a single strike, feeling as if all their bones were about to shatter, fresh blood spurted from their mouths, and they looked at Sun Wukong with faces filled with shock, anger, and fear.

Although they were the Buddhist Sect's Golden Arhats, they rarely left Western Heaven Spiritual Mountain; they spent most of their time practicing within the Twenty-Four Heavens' Worlds and had no idea who Sun Wukong was.

In fact, the name of Sun Wukong was only circulated among the higher echelons of the Western Heavenly Buddhist Sect like Tathagata Buddha and Bodhisattva Guanyin; the others had never heard of such a figure within the Three Realms.

"I, Old Sun, do not change my name or surname. I am the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong!"

The Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod in Sun Wukong's hand suddenly elongated and thickened, harshly smashing into the ground before the three Golden Arhats. The rod end buried deep into the earth, and he stepped down from the air step by step, as if walking on invisible stairs. A towering oppressive force emanated from him, as if he were an unmatched ancient demon from the primeval era, intimidating the soul.

The three Golden Arhats couldn't help but tremble profoundly, feeling an urge to prostrate themselves on the ground.

"Great Sage Equalling Heaven?"

The three Golden Arhats looked at each other, puzzled, wondering. Such an overbearing name, why had they never heard of it?

"Enough! I, Old Sun, am tired of this nonsense. Tell me—how do I get out of this realm of Heavens?"

Seeing the bewildered expressions on the three Golden Arhats, it was clear to Sun Wukong that they did not hold high positions within the Buddhist Sect and would surely be unaware of the support Ran Deng Buddha and others gave to the Heavenly Court in attacking Flower-Fruit Mountain. Sun Wukong didn't bother saying more and cut straight to the point.

"Get out from here? There's no way out here!"

One Golden Arhat, mouth agape in shock, said, "This is the Buddhist Sect of the Twenty-Four Heavens' Worlds. We all entered through the Great Thunder Sound Temple, and to leave we must also exit via the Great Thunder Sound Temple; there's no other way to leave."

"Yes, only with Buddha Primordial Force can we communicate with the channel of the Great Thunder Sound Temple to leave!"

"That's right, that's right!"

The other two Golden Arhats also nodded resolutely.

"Leave through the channel of the Great Thunder Sound Temple?"

Sun Wukong's expression darkened, and his brows furrowed. The Great Thunder Sound Temple was located atop Western Heaven Spiritual Mountain, the domain of Tathagata Buddha. If he and Nezha were to leave through the temple's channel; even setting aside the time it would take to return to Flower-Fruit Mountain, could Tathagata Buddha really allow them to leave so openly? No, too dangerous!

"You three, dare to deceive me, Old Sun!"

With a sneer revealing a ferocious mask, Sun Wukong took two steps forward, leaning in close to the three Golden Arhats, his eyes flashing coldly, "Tell me the truth now! If you dare utter a lie, don't blame me, Old Sun, for being ruthless under my rod!"

As he spoke, he reached out his hand, and the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod vibrated violently and exploded the ground where it was embedded, returning to normal size and flying into Sun Wukong's hand. The True Solar Fire and Chaos Primordial Force swirling around it grew even more intense.

Sun Wukong pointed the tip of the rod toward the three Golden Arhats, manifesting the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realms at the rod's tip, rapidly solidifying and expanding them.

"Do you know what this is? This is the Six Paths of Reincarnation! Is what you said true or not, I, Old Sun, can tell in an instant! If you dare deceive me, I will annihilate your divine souls, completely obliterate you using this Six Paths of Reincarnation!"

His icy voice hammered down on the three Golden Arhats' hearts like a sledgehammer, turning their faces ashen. Of course, they had heard of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realms, knowing it to be the path through which beings of the Three Realms undergo reincarnations. However, they never imagined someone could wield the Power of Reincarnation and actualize the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realms!

If Sun Wukong really pulverized their physical bodies and crushed their divine souls into the Six Paths of Reincarnation, then that would truly be annihilation of spirit and soul, vanishing both into smoke!

Golden Arhats were also cultivated from ordinary humans—the emotions of anger and fear were just as present in them as anyone else. Although the Buddhist Sect preached the elimination of greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt, this was easier said than done. Who could honestly cast away all these emotions? At least Sun Wukong didn't believe so.

At least in these three Golden Arhats, he saw no spirit of facing death unflinchingly; on the contrary, they were more fearful of death, cherishing their lives even more than regular mortals!

"Great Saint, we truly do not know!"

"Great Saint, the worlds of these Heavens really only have the exit through Great Thunder Sound Temple. We really haven't lied to you!"

"Great Saint, please show mercy! We have no old grudges nor recent ones with you; pressuring us like this, we still can't find any other way to leave!"

The three Golden Arhats were nearly in tears. The Twenty-Four Heavens' Worlds was the holy ground of practice for the Western Buddhist Sect; apart from those Buddha Bodhisattvas, Arhats and Venerables like themselves were not always eligible to enter the Twenty-Four Heavens' Worlds for practice.

It required rotation every three years, and it just happened to be their turn to enter this Tenth Layer of the Heavens' Worlds for practice, but they had never expected such misfortune, to encounter a calamity like Sun Wukong!

"Dare to lie still, are you truly tired of living?"

Sun Wukong grit his teeth, roared angrily, and an intense force of True Solar Fire and Power of the Six Paths of Reincarnation surged from the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod towards the three people, frightening them into screaming, "Great Sage, spare our lives! What we said was absolutely true, not a single false word!"

"Wukong, I don't think they're lying, so let's not make things difficult for them!"

Nezha landed beside Sun Wukong, trying to persuade him.

"Hmph!"

Sun Wukong snorted, his eyebrows tightly furrowed. Throughout the interrogation, he had been observing the three Golden Arhats with his Void-Breaking Heavy Pupils; the Buddha Primordial Force within their bodies showed no abnormal fluctuations, and their Divine Sense did not seem to indicate they were lying. It appeared they truly knew nothing.

"Damn it, do we really need to escape from the Great Thunder Sound Temple?"

Sun Wukong clenched his teeth. This realm of the Twenty-Four Heavens was indeed a trap with no exit. From the looks of these three Golden Arhats, their knowledge was limited. It seemed there was only one pathway out, which was through the Great Thunder Sound Temple.

"Nezha, I might need you to bear with an inconvenience in a while, hide inside this Qiankun Bag for a bit!"

After thinking hard, Sun Wukong made up his mind. Under these circumstances, there was no other choice but to break through the Great Thunder Sound Temple!

Nezha was severely injured; if he tried to break through alongside Sun Wukong, he would not be of any help, and could instead be a burden. The only solution was to have Nezha hide in the replica Qiankun Bag, while Sun Wukong carried him through the passageway of the Great Thunder Sound Temple to return to Flower-Fruit Mountain!

"Wukong, whatever you say, I'll do!"
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Nezha knew this was not the time to act tough. In his current physical condition, trying to show off would only cause more chaos for Sun Wukong. It was better to listen to Sun Wukong, enter the replica Qiankun Bag, and stay quietly inside while cultivating his energy to heal, "Everything is up to you, Wukong!"

"Don't worry, I, Old Sun, will definitely bring you back to Flower-Fruit Mountain!"

With a serious nod, Sun Wukong opened the mouth of the replica Qiankun Bag, activated the magical treasure with a thought, and sucked Nezha into it. His gaze then returned to the three Golden Arhats, as his eyes slightly narrowed, and a towering pressure surged towards them again.

"You three, immediately open the spatial passageway to the Great Thunder Sound Temple! Remember, don't try any tricks with me, Old Sun, or I will definitely take your lives! Understand?"

"Understood! Understood!"

The three Golden Arhats were nearly scared out of their wits by Sun Wukong, and none dared to utter a word of refusal. At this moment, preserving their lives was paramount. As for how the Ancestral Buddha would punish them afterward, they would think about it after sending this terrifying Sun Wukong away!

Steadying their spirits, the three Golden Arhats activated their Buddha Primordial Force. Their hands came together and shot a golden beam of light into the void in front of them. The previously empty void began to tremble and slowly revealed a spatial passageway.

Sun Wukong's eyes flashed golden as he looked into the passageway; the scenery indeed resembled the inside of the Great Thunder Sound Temple, likely one of its side halls.

"You, go in front! Get out with me, Old Sun, and remember no tricks!"

Better safe than sorry. Although the view beyond the passageway looked like a side hall of the Great Thunder Sound Temple, Sun Wukong still kept alert. He pointed at one of the Golden Arhats, ordering him, while he knocked the other two out with a chop to the back of their necks. They didn't even groan before collapsing unconscious.

"Dare not, dare not!"

Cold sweat immediately broke out on the forehead of the Golden Arhat picked to lead the way. He hastily complied in panic, honestly leading the way into the spatial passageway. Sun Wukong followed closely behind, never more than a step away as he entered the passageway.

The golden light vanished, and the spatial passageway rapidly shrank and disappeared into nothingness.

Inside a side hall of the Great Thunder Sound Temple, a Golden Arhat emerged from the spatial passageway leading to the Twenty-Four Heavens' Worlds. He was met by several Arhats and Venerables.

Sun Wukong glanced around, and while his body was shielded by the Golden Arhat, he transformed into a small flying insect and perched on the back of the Arhat's neck, transmitting a message: "Talk nicely, and help Old Sun get out. I will let you go. But if you dare to shout or scream, I will be the first to take your life!"

"Definitely, definitely!"

The Golden Arhat had no doubts about Sun Wukong's threats. Indeed, a loud shout might trap Sun Wukong in an encirclement, but if that happened, out of anger, Sun Wukong would certainly kill him first!