Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

Three days later, in the Demonic Light City, at the heart of the Demonic Continent, within the inner sanctum of the Jidu Demon Emperor's palace.

"What did you say? The Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor has appeared in the Demonic Realm? And he killed your father Duanmu Ci?"

The Demonic Light City was far from Dragon Abyss City—at a distance that several days would not suffice to relay the news of the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan's reappearance in the Demonic Realm. Thus, hearing this news suddenly from Duanmu Feng's mouth, the Jidu Demon Emperor almost leapt in shock, his face a mask of astonishment.

"Yes, Your Majesty the Demon Emperor! The Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor is not dead; he has returned to the Three Realms! My father refused to submit to him and was killed. My younger brother Duanmu Bai has sided with him, appointing himself as the family head. I had no choice but to come and seek refuge with Your Majesty, bringing half of our people. I hope Your Majesty will offer us shelter!"

Kneeling on one knee, Duanmu Feng clasped his fist towards the Jidu Demon Emperor, pleading earnestly.

"Dammit! Mu Chenxuan somehow has such a strong will to live, not even the Stellar Spiritual Qi could grind him down to nothing!"

The Jidu Demon Emperor darkened, grinding his teeth and seething internally; he knew full well that Mu Chenxuan's return to the Demonic Realm was a bid for vengeance, or else he wouldn't have killed the Duanmu clan's head Duanmu Ci in such a high-profile manner, using Duanmu Bai to take over the Duanmu clan!

"Hmph! Even if you survived, so what? I, Jidu, am no longer the underling who you suppressed back then! You today are not necessarily my match!"

A cold light flashed in the Jidu Demon Emperor's eyes as he waved his hand towards Duanmu Feng. An invisible force emanated from his palm, lifting Duanmu Feng to his feet, "Very well, Duanmu Feng, I have seen your loyalty. From this day on, you are the new family head of the Duanmu clan. Rest assured, I promise you, I will surely deal with your treacherous younger brother Duanmu Bai and let you become the true family head of the Duanmu clan!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty the Demon Emperor!"

Duanmu Feng, overjoyed, bowed respectfully to the Jidu Demon Emperor and, led by the guards, left the inner sanctum to settle down, while the Jidu Demon Emperor sat in grim contemplation with a severe countenance.

Thousands of years have passed since the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan emerged from the Seal of Stellar Spiritual Qi and returned to the Demonic Realm. His high-profile act of killing the Duanmu clan's head, Duanmu Ci, and supporting the second son, Duanmu Bai, to become the new head, was clearly a declaration of war against him. It wouldn't be long before, with Duanmu Bai solidifying most of the clan's resources, war would be waged upon him!

Baleful intent arrives, for the benign would not come in such manner!

No, he must prepare, he could not simply wait for the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan to come knocking on his door!

A fierce light shot through the Jidu Demon Emperor's eyes, and he clapped his hands sharply: "Someone come here!"

"Your Majesty the Demon Emperor, what are Your orders?"

"Go, fetch for me a clear account of the current state of the Duanmu clan, and spy on every detail about the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan. Report back at all times!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After dispatching his subordinates to gather intelligence, the Jidu Demon Emperor still felt uneasy. Even with knowledge of the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan's situation, it wouldn't be of great help for the final showdown. More preparations were needed.

Whoosh!

The Jidu Demon Emperor stood up, his figure flickering and vanishing in an instant, reappearing the next moment in the center of Demonic Light City before a massive statue of a demon god. It was the statue of the Demon Ancestor Luo Hu.

Demon Ancestor Luo Hu, the only one in the Demonic Realm who had ever reached the Heavenly Dao Saint level, had fought over the dominion of the Three Realms with the Hong Jun Daoist Ancestor, was defeated by Hong Jun, and had his body torn apart and sealed in various places in the Three Realms. To this day, he could not free himself or reincarnate, and nobody even knew where the parts of Luo Hu's body were sealed.

The statue of Demon Ancestor Luo Hu in the Demonic Light City had been commissioned by the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan. It seemed an unremarkable statue, serving no purpose beyond commemoration, but only Mu Chenxuan and the Jidu Demon Emperor knew that within the statue lay Luo Hu's Lifebound Primordial Spirit!

After reaching the Saint Realm, the Lifebound Primordial Spirit became nearly indestructible. When the Demon Ancestor Luo Hu was defeated, his body was torn apart and sealed by the Daoist Ancestor Hong Jun, and his Primordial Spirit managed to escape back into the Demonic Realm, remaining within this statue, absorbing the Power of Faith from the Demon Race to heal the damaged Primordial Spirit and nurturing a new Physical Body.
Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire

When the Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan initially had the statue of Demon Ancestor Luo Hu erected, it was with the hope of one day reviving Luo Hu. After Mu Chenxuan was sealed within the Stellar Spiritual Qi Light Sphere Formation in the Three Realms, the Jidu Demon Emperor tampered with the statue. While restoring the injured Primordial Spirit of Luo Hu, he also added many Prohibitions and Restraints, intending to harness Luo Hu's Strength for his own use.

```

However, Demon Ancestor Luo Hu's strength was simply too formidable. Even having lost his physical body and being reduced to his Lifebound Primordial Spirit, he wasn't something that Jidu Demon Emperor could control easily. Therefore, the Jidu Demon Emperor had never dared to truly put his plan to borrow Luo Hu's strength into action, but now he could not afford to be so cautious.

The Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan wasn't dead, and he had returned to the Demonic Realm with such a show of strength, ready to seek vengeance. Once overpowered, Jidu Demon Emperor did not believe that Mu Chenxuan would let him off the hook. He was certain that Mu Chenxuan would seek double retribution for the suffering endured all these years.

And the result of that retribution, would likely mean death and total annihilation, which was something Jidu Demon Emperor could absolutely not accept!

After cultivating over the ages and finally reaching nearly the threshold of the Demon Saint Realm, and having glimpsed hope for breaking through to the Demon Saint Realm itself, how could Jidu Demon Emperor be willing to fall at the hands of Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan at such a time?

"Mu Chenxuan could arrive at any moment, it seems I have no other choice!"

After staring at the statue of Demon Ancestor Luo Hu for a long time, Jidu Demon Emperor gritted his teeth and steeled his heart as he made his decision. His hands began to move, forming one Demon Imprint after another and casting them towards the statue of Luo Hu.

As these Demon Imprints merged into the statue of Luo Hu, wisps of multicolored light began to emerge from the statue and slowly converge into a Light Sphere, which floated towards Jidu Demon Emperor and was quickly caught in his hand.

This was a part of Luo Hu's Lifebound Primordial Spirit that had always been nourished within the statue, but now it was forcefully extracted by Jidu Demon Emperor.

"I had no choice, I didn't want to do this. But if I didn't, I really wasn't sure I could defeat Mu Chenxuan. Demon Ancestor, please forgive my offense!"

Jidu Demon Emperor sighed and brought the Light Sphere to his mouth, opening wide and swallowing it whole. The Light Sphere didn't dissipate after being ingested, instead it transformed into a ribbon of light that flowed through his meridians to the space of his third-eye cinnabar field and reformed into a multicolored Light Sphere, floating in the space within his brow.

"Mu Chenxuan, to take you on, I've even gone to the extent of doing something so uncertain. Our grievances must be settled one way or another. I'm waiting for you, hope that you do not disappoint me!"

A cold whisper echoed in front of the statue of Demon Ancestor Luo Hu, lingering for a long time...

Half a month had passed since Sun Wukong and others arrived in Duanmu City.

With the support of the Third Elder Duanmu Xiong, Duanmu Bai had finally secured his position as the new Family Head of the Duanmu Clan and began to consolidate the clan's forces. After half a month, things had generally returned to normal.

The Eldest Son, Duanmu Feng, took nearly forty percent of the Duanmu Clan's disciples and a significant amount of magical treasures and resources when he left. Fortunately, the elder Duanmu Xiong and other Duanmu Clan Elders didn't support Duanmu Feng but instead led the disciples who didn't want to relinquish their foundations to clash with Duanmu Feng's followers, safeguarding most resources. Otherwise, what would have been left for Duanmu Bai would have been an even bigger mess!

"Duanmu, isn't your mother from the Liushui Family? Why not ask for her help?"

In the past few days, Sun Wukong got to know both the situation of the Duanmu Clan and the entire Demonic Realm. He found that it wasn't as easy as he had thought. For Mu Chenxuan to seek justice from the Jidu Demon Emperor and revenge was not simply a matter of showing up at his door and killing Jidu Demon Emperor in his Demonic Light City.

Jidu Demon Emperor had already reached nearly the level of the Demon Saint Realm, having spent much more time at this stage than Mu Chenxuan. And after ruling the Demonic Realm for so many years, Jidu had accumulated a lot of resources in his hands. According to Duanmu Bai, Jidu Demon Emperor's Demonic Palace in the Demonic Light City was surrounded inside and out by thousands of Prohibitions and Restains, including many traps and mechanisms.

If they rushed to Demonic Light City without being fully prepared, even if Sun Wukong possessed the Void-Breaking Divine Eye capable of breaking all formations and barriers, it wouldn't be guaranteed that they wouldn't suffer losses. After all, Demonic Light City was Jidu Demon Emperor's stronghold; who knew what other treacherous contingencies beyond formations, prohibitions, and traps he had prepared?

Duanmu Feng's departure with nearly half of the Duanmu Clan's disciples and resources greatly affected the clan. Duanmu Bai, taking over in such circumstances, needed half a month to set things right again, but it would probably take some time to restore the Duanmu Clan to its peak condition.

"Ask my mother to help?"

Duanmu Bai responded with a wry smile, "I wish I could! But my mother's relationship with the Liushui Family has always been poor, they won't offer any help!"

"Why not?"

Sun Wukong asked, somewhat puzzled. He was also curious, as Mu Chenxuan and the others turned their inquiring gazes toward Duanmu Bai.

"Because my mother married my father against her family's wishes, and she almost broke off ties with the Liushui Family completely. That's also why, after my father wronged my mother, she was so disappointed that she sealed away the Donghuang Bell intended for my father!"

```