Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

Finally, we've rushed into the black hole; this is the very source of starlight's birth!

Inside the black hole, it's not as dark as it appears on the outside, instead, it's filled with dazzling brilliance. A massive celestial body, resembling the sun, floats within, emitting all the starlight.

Upon detecting Sun Wukong's entry, the celestial body began to shake violently, a vast amount of starlight emanated from its core, converging into tangible meteorites that hurled toward Sun Wukong. They appeared imposing, but Sun Wukong noticeably felt they were much weaker than the starlight wall from before; it seemed the starlight within this source was much weaker compared to outside the black hole.

Perhaps this black hole is a power amplifier, significantly magnifying the starlight emitted from the celestial body!

In any case, the fact that the starlight's power weakened is undeniable, and for Sun Wukong, this was good news. To be honest, he had exerted every effort just to enter this starlight source, his body severely injured, losing quite a bit of essence blood. If the starlight was still that strong, it would have truly been a troublesome matter.

Waving the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod to scatter the incoming starlight, Sun Wukong pressed closer to the gigantic celestial body.

"Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth!"

Sun Wukong executed the Divine Power Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth, his body suddenly expanding to a thousand feet, but still too small relative to the massive celestial body. Thus, he continued to propel the divine powers, further enlarging his body to match the size of the celestial body, with the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod in his hand equally magnified, lifted high.

Just as Sun Wukong was about to swing the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod towards the celestial body, the rod suddenly paused, followed by the voice of the artifact spirit Soul Chaser from the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod: "A Star Core Crystal! Boss, your luck is just incredible, encountering such a treasure!"

"Star Core Crystal? What's that? I'm breaking through! Must smash this thing!"

Sun Wukong was taken aback, not understanding the intent of the artifact spirit Soul Chaser, the guy had been dormant within the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod, not showing itself for a long time. Why suddenly emerge at this moment?

"Smash it? No, no, no!"

The artifact spirit Soul Chaser became anxious, revealing its form and waving at Sun Wukong repeatedly, "Boss, this is a Star Core Crystal, the best treasure for upgrading divine weapon levels. How could you waste it by smashing it?"

"You say this thing can upgrade divine weapon levels?"

Sun Wukong pointed at the massive celestial body in surprise, while it continually emitted beams of starlight at him. But now, fully enacting the Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth, these starlights merely tickled him without causing significant trouble.

"Of course! Boss, your Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod is currently a superior-grade heavenly artifact. As long as you refine this Star Core Crystal into it, it can absolutely elevate the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod to the Immortal Artifact level, unleashing destructive power comparable to a divine artifact!"

The words of the artifact spirit Soul Chaser lit up Sun Wukong's eyes instantly. Having witnessed the divine weapons in the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault, he indeed was somewhat dissatisfied with the level of the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod. If not for it being an upgradeable Ruyi Divine Weapon and already quite handy, he might have replaced it upon seeing the first immortal artifact-grade rod!

"How can I refine this Star Core Crystal into the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod?"

Being able to upgrade the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod to the Immortal Artifact level was far more attractive to Sun Wukong than acquiring a divine artifact. But seeing the massive celestial body resembling a mini sun, Sun Wukong found it hard to believe; how could such a large celestial body be refined into the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod?

"It's simple, just insert it!"

"What? Insert it?"

Sun Wukong widened his eyes, "You mean insert the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod into it?"

"Exactly!"

The artifact spirit Soul Chaser nodded, "Inject it, and I'll naturally assist the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod in absorbing the star core essence within the Star Core Crystal and gradually refine it. Boss, you don't need to worry about this; just wait to receive an Immortal Artifact-level Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod!"

"Alright!"

Sun Wukong nodded, "I'll trust you this time, hoping you won't let me down!"

The artifact spirit Soul Chaser had never disappointed Sun Wukong before, and surely wouldn't this time either!

"Yeah-ha!"

Abandoning the idea of smashing the Star Core Crystal to bits with the rod, Sun Wukong gripped the shaft of the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod tightly, thrusting it fiercely towards the Star Core Crystal.

Boom!

With a muffled sound, the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod pierced deeply into the center of the Star Core Crystal, completely penetrating the star meteorite. The starlight emanating from the Star Core Crystal suddenly halted, and the next moment, all the star force seemed to be drawn by some powerful attraction, flowing towards the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod.

"Boss, give me three days. In three days, I'll definitely present you with a brand new Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod!"

With these words, the form of the artifact spirit Soul Chaser flashed into the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod, upon which the rod began to flicker with golden light, akin to a heart's pulse, while the power from the giant Star Core Crystal was being absorbed into the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod like a tiger devouring a whale.

"Looks like I'll have to wait here for three days! Wonder where others will be in three days?"

The mighty heavenly voice had previously stated that the test of the third stage, starlight bombardment, would be about bearing the brunt of the starlight bombardment. Endure it, and you pass; falter, and it's a challenge failed, losing the inheritance qualification.

But now, having found the source of the starlight bombardment, and the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod beginning to devour the energy of the Star Core Crystal, there's still no indication of whether he's passed the test. Probably, there'll only be an answer after the rod completely absorbs and refines the Star Core Crystal's power into its body three days later, right?

This challenge for the Heavenly Emperor's Inheritance isn't exclusive to Sun Wukong. Anyone entering the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault has the chance to undertake the inheritance test; the difference lies merely in starting from which stage.

Sun Wukong began directly from the third stage challenge; he neither knew how long others took to clear the first two stages nor whether this opportunity was rare meat that shouldn't be let slip past one's eyes!

Missing this village means there won't be this shop!

If he forfeits this Star Core Iron now, letting go of the opportunity to upgrade the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod's level, he'll surely regret it in the future!