Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Roar~!"

The creature with a crab body and fish tail, having been cut in half at the waist, let out a miserable howl. Seeing the situation going south, its companion stretched out a large claw to grab the upper half of its crab body and, enduring the attacks of the Kun Yang Sacred King and his two companions, twisted its head and plunged into the Lava Sea, fleeing deep into the lava.

"Ignorant creature, if you have the guts, come out again!"

The Great Hammer of the Guron Sacred King lifted the badly scarred half fish tail that the Kun Yang Sacred King had sliced off onto the stone bridge, shouting provocatively at the Lava Sea, but the two creatures were already scared out of their wits and never surfaced again.

"Guron, look at that fish tail!"

The voice of the Chang Geng Sacred King drew the attention of the Guron Sacred King. He turned to look at the fish tail on the stone bridge, only to see it decaying rapidly, revealing the white bones inside, which in the next moment even began to melt, turning into liquid and flowing into the Lava Sea.

"The fish tail we worked hard to acquire just dissolved like that! Damn it, what kind of monster is this, and why have I never heard of it?"

The Guron Sacred King grew more furious, thinking at least the fish tail might serve as some compensation, only for it to end like this!

"If this Sacred King remembers correctly, it should be an ancient variant of the lava sea known as the Crab-Headed Fish Dragon."

The Kun Yang Sacred King thoughtfully observed the disappearing fish tail and said, "It is said that these Crab-Headed Fish Dragons rapidly dissolve upon death, re-merging into the Lava Sea as energy to provide for their kin."

"Crab-Headed Fish Dragon? Such a creature worthy of the terms fish and dragon?"

The Chang Geng Sacred King sneered with disdain.

"What, do you doubt my words?"

The Kun Yang Sacred King slightly furrowed his brow, looking with a hint of displeasure at the Chang Geng Sacred King, prompting the latter to abruptly change his tone, "How could I? Of course, Kun brother's words are beyond doubt. I just felt that such a monster is unworthy of the term fish dragon, with its crab body and fish tail, how does it possess Dragon Race blood?"

"Regardless of whether it is worthy, it is so recorded in the ancient books, indeed! These Crab-Headed Fish Dragons usually dwell in groups in the lava sea. Only two appeared just now, so who knows how many more are hidden in the lava. If there are too many, even the three of us combined may not be able to handle them! This place is not a good ground, it's best for us to leave at once!"

Kun Yang Sacred King said in a stern voice and then turned and quickly stepped towards the fourth floating stone slab on the other end of the stone bridge.

Chang Geng Sacred King and Guron Sacred King, alarmed by Kun Yang Sacred King's words, dared not delay and quickly followed, but did not put away their weapons. The Lava Sea is very peculiar, who knows how many more creatures like the Crab-Headed Fish Dragon are out there, they must be ready for battle at all times, never careless!

It was unclear if the Kun Yang Sacred King's group had diverted the Crab-Headed Fish Dragons in the Lava Sea, but Sun Wukong's group crossed several stone bridges without encountering any attack, leaving Luo Bai somewhat displeased, having anticipated another good fight.

"Did you hear the rumbling in the distance just now? It should be the stone bridge we were attacked at previously. It seems those three have caught up with us!"

Sun Wukong said after listening closely for a moment. With the Divine Sense restricted, he could only rely on sounds to discern. Though the Void-Breaking Moon Eyes were mighty, they were still somewhat challenged to see through several stone slabs' distances to observe distant scenes.

"Did they also choose the middle hidden door?"

Leng Xuan's eyebrows furrowed slightly, "How did they discover the hidden door? No one in this world should possess the same Pupil Skill as you, leader!"

"Perhaps they didn't rely on Pupil Skill at all!"

Luo Bai suddenly had a moment of insight, "I understand, it was the dust! When we passed through the hidden door, a lot of dust fell onto the ground. They must have noticed that dust to discover the hidden door!"

"Makes sense!"

Sun Wukong clapped his hands, scratching his chin in frustration, "How did I, Old Sun, overlook that? I should have transferred the dust on the ground to the other two doors when we came in just now, damn it!"

"Forget it, leader, it's too late for regrets now. While they are engaging with the creatures in the Lava Sea, let's hurry and make a move, just don't let them catch up! This palace's passages are numerous, likely not only this Lava Sea section."

Leng Xuan advised, and Sun Wukong nodded in agreement, casting aside his frustrations. The trio sped up again, dashing forward.

It turned out, Sun Wukong's intuition was quite accurate, and luck was also on their side. In these many forks, Sun Wukong didn't take a wrong one, saving them much unnecessary detour, and in less than half a day, they arrived at the last stone slab. Crossing the long stone bridge ahead, they would reach the opposite shore of the Lava Sea, where Sun Wukong had already seen the Teleportation Array leading to the next region of the palace.

"Those guys went into a side path! Haha, now enough to keep them going in circles!"

Suddenly, Sun Wukong paused, a mischievous smile edged his mouth. At every fork, he left a clone made from monkey hair, transformed into unobtrusive stones or small insects to guide the way, to prevent retracing their steps. This news was conveyed by one of the clones after lifting the spell.

With numerous paths and wrong turns leading to dead-ends, those catching up would have to go to great lengths, winding through a lot of extra roads.

"Isn't that great? Let them circle here longer. By the time we've gathered all the treasures within the palace, they can come out! Let them try following us, hoping to get advantages!"

Luo Bai huffed with vexation but seemed a bit schadenfreude.

"Let's go, the opposite shore is ahead. Let's hurry over, but be cautious. This stone bridge is far longer than any before it, Old Sun has a bad feeling, the last stretch might not be easy!"

Sun Wukong's pupils turned entirely dark gold, the Void-Breaking Moon Eyes fully activated, although the Void-Breaking Golden Light hadn't emanated from his eyes. On such a long path, if no creatures jumped out from the Lava Sea below to attack, Sun Wukong wouldn't believe it!

Sure enough, barely on the stone bridge, a peculiar energy surged from the Lava Sea below. Sun Wukong squinted, his figure leaping high, the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod in his hand enlarged, hammering fiercely towards the Lava Sea's surface.

"Be careful, attack incoming!"