Great Demon Sun Wukong

However, one lucky point was that Sun Wukong did not notice the Nine Kirin, and Sun Wukong truly could not have imagined encountering enemies on his way to the Netherworld World. After spotting Sun Wukong, the Nine Kirin did not act rashly but instead trailed from a distance behind Sun Wukong. Once they confirmed that Sun Wukong was indeed heading to the Netherworld World, they could no longer remain indifferent. The Nine Kirin had quite an understanding of Sun Wukong, after all, both Ling Weiyang and Xi Zhao had long since considered Sun Wukong a major threat. Thus, the Nine Kirin knew everything there was to know about Sun Wukong, clear and detailed.

"Boss, what should we do? I think while he hasn't noticed us, we should ambush him, otherwise if we wait for the monkey to reach the Netherworld World, there probably won't be another chance to make a move!" said Ghost Kirin Sha Hun. If they could kill Sun Wukong, then even if they couldn't find the World Suppressing Stele this time, it would still be a great victory. To some extent, Sun Wukong's existence had come to surpass the World Suppressing Stele. Dream Kirin Ye Xingchen, while watching Sun Wukong's retreating figure, said, "Don't act recklessly. Sun Wukong is not someone easy to deal with. One misstep and we might all be wiped out!"

Someone who could stymie both Ling Weiyang and Xi Zhao was certainly not going to be easy to handle. Although there was only one of Sun Wukong, they definitely shouldn't underestimate him because of that. However, Sha Hun was not wrong; once Sun Wukong entered the Netherworld World, they would have virtually no opportunity left. Their goal this time was not to wreak havoc, but to find and reclaim the World Suppressing Stele. This meant they had to act in secret and allow no one to detect them; otherwise, no matter how powerful the nine of them were, they wouldn't be able to stir much in the face of the great armies of the Netherworld World. In other words, once they arrived in the Netherworld World, they absolutely could not take action.

"We definitely can't miss such a good opportunity, but exactly how to proceed needs to be carefully planned. We have at least three days' travel to the Netherworld World, plenty of time!" Having said that, Ye Xingchen gathered the others together to discuss how to ambush Sun Wukong. They were very aware of Sun Wukong's strength, which meant they needed a very precise plan. And Sun Wukong, completely unaware. While traveling in this astral space, no one keeps their divine sense continuously scouting; doing so would greatly harm their divine sense. However, after this time, Sun Wukong would probably maintain the state of his divine sense being constantly extended, even while eating and sleeping.

There's no sunrise or sunset in astral space, but Sun Wukong still decided to rest around midnight, finding an uninhabited planet for reprieve. In this Fang Universe, although there were countless intermediate worlds and minor worlds, there were still many planets not suitable for human habitation, leading to many empty worlds. Sun Wukong chose a world almost completely formed of desert, a yellow sand world, to rest.

Even though this kind of travel did not exhaust Sun Wukong much, it was not an emergency, and maintaining peak condition was still preferable. Just as Sun Wukong found a spot behind a sandstone mountain to rest and had just closed his eyes, at a considerable distance from him, the Nine Kirin also landed on the ground. However, they clearly did not fancy the harsh environment here. "Why pick such a godforsaken place? This world is probably all wild winds and yellow sand. Boss, can we make a move now?"

Ye Xingchen also frowned slightly, but still nodded. Though the environment was harsh, it was much better than making a move in the vastness of space. Moreover, this would probably be Sun Wukong's last resting place before reaching the Netherworld World. If they missed this chance, there would almost be no suitable opportunity to act. Generally, no one wishes to battle in the vastness of space, but the spatial turbulence found in all corners of space, along with the various strange creatures existing in the endless space, were very troubling. Those creatures were very sensitive to spiritual power, and if some spiritual power ripples were emitted during a battle, one would soon find themselves surrounded by countless creatures unknowingly. This was a lesson learned through the loss of many lives.

With affirmation from Ye Xingchen, the other eight individuals spread out slowly and soon, all had disappeared into the blinding, endless yellow sand. This planet, judging by its size, must have once been a high level world, but it was unknown what caused it to turn into an endless world of yellow sand. Furthermore, the fierce winds here could likely strip a Five Patterns Supreme of flesh after not too long. Even for them, they had to constantly maintain a protective shield to cope.

Just as Sun Wukong was preparing to cultivate for a while, his ears twitched suddenly, and then his eyes snapped open. Soon, Sun Wukong saw a vague figure in the endless yellow sand outside his cave. Sun Wukong immediately became alert; when he had arrived, he had scouted with divine consciousness and there had been no living beings nearby, so this figure within the winds couldn't possibly be from this world—could he have been followed?

But when the figure got closer and finally revealed itself amidst the sand, Sun Wukong's eyes widened in disbelief. He could hardly believe what he was seeing; Sun Wukong saw himself. He watched as his own figure walked into the cave he was in, looked around, nodded to himself, and then casually sat down on the ground and began to meditate with his eyes closed. In that moment, Sun Wukong suddenly had the feeling that this person in front of him was himself, and he was just an imagination of himself.

This was such a peculiar sensation as if you had just done something and then stopped to rest; yet, just as you settled down, you suddenly discovered another self repeating exactly what you had just done, every motion and expression the same, and this other self seemed completely oblivious of you. It was an uncannily odd feeling. A normal person would surely think they'd seen a ghost, but Sun Wukong wasn't just anybody, so he immediately activated his Heaven and Earth Fire Eyes to look at the person sitting cross-legged in front of him.

However, Sun Wukong was even more astonished this time because his Heaven and Earth Fire Eyes did not see an illusion or a demon in disguise, but a true replica of himself sitting there. Almost subconsciously, Sun Wukong looked down at himself, puzzled why he felt like he was the fake one. But upon inspection, he knew for certain that he was real. Furthermore, there was only one Sun Wukong in this world—it was himself. Therefore, what he saw in front of him couldn't possibly be real. If his Heaven and Earth Fire Eyes couldn't penetrate the truth, it meant that the impersonator's shape-shifting ability had surpassed the level of his Heaven and Earth Fire Eyes.

At the same time, a thought suddenly appeared in Sun Wukong's mind, a sense of déjà vu, as if this scene had happened before, more than once. Almost instantly, Sun Wukong remembered the time during his journey to the Western Paradise when the Six-Eared Macaque took on his form, and he couldn't differentiate the real from the fake with his fiery eyes. Later, when he was searching for the Five-Colored Divine Stone in the forest at the far east, he encountered the Six-Eared Macaque, who also masqueraded as him. Now, this situation was happening again—could it be the work of the Six-Eared Macaque?

It was true to the Six-Eared Macaque's cunning; his eyes still couldn't see through its disguise. Thereupon, Sun Wukong tentatively spoke, "Six-Eared? I knew it was you. Stop pretending, the saying goes 'things shouldn't be done thrice.' Are you masquerading as me to toy with me again?" As soon as Sun Wukong finished speaking, the cross-legged figure in front of him stiffened, and Sun Wukong felt a thrill of secret delight: it seemed he had guessed correctly, it truly was that Six-Eared fellow, but how did he appear here?

Just when Sun Wukong was slightly relaxing his guard, a very ominous feeling suddenly came over him, and reflexively, he stepped back and summoned the World Suppressing Stele in front of him. The moment the World Suppressing Stele materialized, the seated Sun Wukong turned around, and a sword crystal-clear like water stabbed toward Sun Wukong's heart. However, Sun Wukong's reflexes had saved his life; the crystal sword struck the World Suppressing Stele instead.

After fending off that attack, the sense of impending danger in Sun Wukong's heart didn't subside and, instead, grew stronger. When this sense of danger peaked, something seemed to explode in Sun Wukong's mind, followed by a familiar voice that rang out in his ears, "Monkey, this is all the help I can give you. I've divided the Nine-Headed Dragon's power of fate, giving you eighty percent, and the remaining twenty percent I must keep for myself. I can no longer accompany you on your journey; be careful in all you do—you are the most exceptional!"

It was the voice of the Nine-Headed Dragon, but Sun Wukong no longer had time to ponder the meaning behind the Nine-Headed Dragon's words. For as something burst in his mind, Sun Wukong felt a burning sensation on his back. Without knowing why he felt the need to react, his body, preceding his mind, leaned backward and planted his hands on the ground to support himself. As he completed this motion, a bright silver spear grazed across his chest from behind and struck the World Suppressing Stele.

The spear, having missed its mark, immediately switched from stabbing to smashing, but this time Sun Wukong was ready and rolled to his feet, not rising straight up but standing sideways against the cave wall, then lifting his leg to kick the bright silver spear onto the opposite wall, with such force that it brought the wall down.

This was, after all, a Sandstone Mountain, not very solid, so when one wall came down, the entire cave seemed on the verge of collapse. At that moment, Sun Wukong's entire back began heating up, and once again, his body reacted before his mind, quickly crouching and then shooting across the ground. As Sun Wukong ducked, the wall he'd leaned against exploded, and a figure with flames blazing upon its arms appeared! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please cast your recommendation votes or Monthly Pass on Starting Point (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)