Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"This old fool sure can run fast!"

Jiuling Yuansheng transformed back into human form, brimming with vigor as he flew beside Sun Wukong, respectfully performing a grand bow.

"Alright, alright, I've said it before, we in the Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Cult do not indulge in such formalities!"

Sun Wukong waved his hand dismissively, watching Jiuling Yuansheng with a smirk and a chuckle, "How does it feel? Have you vented all that resentment?"

"I have!"

Jiuling Yuansheng laughed heartily, "After all these years, today's fight was the most exhilarating! Just thinking about how that old Taiyi scurried away in a panic makes me feel so relieved!"

"Well, the fight is over, and the anger has been vented, it's time to return to Flower-Fruit Mountain with your old Sun!"

As Sun Wukong spoke, he seemed to recall something and looked into the distance, "Call over your descendants as well. It is an era of great strife, with the Myriad Races returning one after another. The era of ruling the mountains as wild demon kings won't last forever. If you're not careful, you could end up a soul under someone else's blade!"

"What the Great Saint said makes sense. I'll call them right away!"

Thereupon, Jiuling Yuansheng gathered all the demons, big and small, including the Yellow Lion Spirit. The group of demons, standing before Sun Wukong, dared not even breathe heavily, the tension clearly etched on their faces.

They had witnessed the grand battle between Sun Wukong and Jiuling Yuansheng from afar. Jiuling Yuansheng was no match for Sun Wukong; he was utterly outclassed. If they said something wrong and angered Sun Wukong, even Jiuling Yuansheng wouldn't be able to protect them.

Jiuling Yuansheng conveyed Sun Wukong's intentions to the demons, asking if they were willing to follow him to the Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Cult. The demons glanced at Sun Wukong nervously and nodded hurriedly. Not to mention that joining the Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Cult was a dream for all demons; given the current circumstances, if they refused, they probably wouldn't manage to leave alive.

Sun Wukong saw the look in the eyes of the demons. He didn't bother explaining himself; after spending some time at Flower-Fruit Mountain, they would naturally understand his true nature and temperament. It wasn't worth the effort to elaborate further.

Seeing that the threat of the demon army had been resolved, Sun Wukong lifted the barrier and tasked Jiuling Yuansheng and the others with delivering his seal to the Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Cult first, as he had some matters to explain to Jiang Liu'er and the others. Jiuling Yuansheng nodded without making further noise, leading the other demons as they soared into the clouds toward the Northern Continent of Cattle-grazing.

"The demon soldiers have retreated; Yuhua County is safe now, come out everyone!"

Sun Wukong stood atop the city tower and called out to the city. His voice was not loud, but it instantly spread throughout the entire Yuhua County. Yuan Hong and the others then cautiously stepped out, shielding Jiang Liu'er. The king of Yuhua also emerged from the royal mansion, supported by his three princes, and indeed saw that the demonic clouds outside the city had dispersed and, apart from the pitted landscape around the city, not a single demon soldier lingered.

The people were overjoyed. The king of Yuhua brought his three princes and the queens to the city tower to kneel and thank Sun Wukong, respectfully welcoming him into the royal mansion.

After this battle, the royal household of Yuhua highly esteemed Sun Wukong, regarding him almost as a celestial being, with everyone showing immense admiration. The king of Yuhua even proposed to erect a shrine in Yuhua County to honor Sun Wukong, an offer that Sun Wukong certainly wouldn't refuse, as it was an excellent opportunity to extend the influence of the Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Cult into the territories governed by the Buddhist Kingdom of Western Paradise.

Of course, Sun Wukong did not have excessive demands, as his main goal was not to spread teachings in this Western Paradise. Now that he was not far from the Western Heaven Spiritual Mountain, Sun Wukong had some matters to discuss with Jiang Liu'er and his group.

He asked the king of Yuhua for a meditation chamber and called Jiang Liu'er and his disciples inside, including the Dragon Horse who was also asked to revert to human form. After setting up a barrier, Sun Wukong looked at the five of them without saying a word.

"Great Saint, do you have something to tell us?"

Yuan Hong glanced around, breaking the silence first.

"Indeed, I do have some matters to explain to you all," said Sun Wukong with a light cough.

"Yuhua County is located within the borders of the Tianzhu Kingdom, and soon after leaving the kingdom and heading west, you'll arrive at the Great Thunder Sound Temple at Western Heaven Spiritual Mountain. In other words, your journey to the West to seek scriptures is almost at an end. Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

Yuan Hong and the others were stunned.

Sun Wukong was at a loss for words. "Of course, to receive the merit and destiny bestowed by the Heavenly Dao! Remember, when the time comes, Buddha and the others from Western Heaven Spiritual Mountain will definitely try by all means to make you hand over the merit and destiny you've received. You must absolutely not comply. I will find a way to help you then!"

"Yes, Great Saint!"

Jiang Liu'er and Yuan Hong exchanged glances and responded in unison.

However, Yuan Hong soon scratched his head in confusion. "Great Saint, could you explain a bit more clearly what kind of methods Tathagata Buddha and the others might use to make us hand over our merit and destiny?"

"Yes, yes, they will set traps, right? If we knew what kind of traps, we could prepare in advance."

Zhu Bajie spoke up, and Sandy Monk and the Little White Dragon Ao Lie nodded repeatedly.

"Unfortunately, I no longer have the memory of Golden Cicada Child from my previous life. Otherwise, I might have been able to guess which methods Tathagata and others will use to seize the merit and destiny..."

Jiang Liu'er's words made Sun Wukong's eyes light up all at once. "Right, how did I not think of that?"

"Think of what?"

"To help you retrieve the memory of Golden Cicada Child from your previous life!"

"Really? Can it actually be done?"

Jiang Liu'er was astonished; past life memories should have disappeared with reincarnation. Could they really be retrieved?

"It should be possible! Although I'm not completely sure, it's worth a try!"

Sun Wukong's eyes shifted, and he gritted his teeth. "In that case, I will make a trip to the Netherworld right now to search for your past life memory of Golden Cicada Child, but I will need a bit of your True Spirit essence as a catalyst! Don't resist, I will extract a bit of essence from your True Spirit right now; just a little bit will suffice, and it won't cause you any significant harm! Once I retrieve your past life memory, I will return it all to you!"

"Great Saint, just do what you need to; I won't have any complaints!"

Jiang Liu'er smiled. The cultivation strength he possessed today was all thanks to Sun Wukong, who had transmitted the Immeasurable Merit Determination to him. Throughout this journey, Sun Wukong had saved him more than once—his life had been Sun Wukong's for a long time!

Moreover, what Sun Wukong was now trying to do was to retrieve the memory of Golden Cicada Child from his past life, from which he would ultimately benefit. What was there to hesitate about?