Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

(PS: These past few days, I've been traveling in Chongqing with my wife. Updates will be three chapters for the next few days, with four chapters resuming on Saturday and a mass release on the 20th.)

Seeing Sun Wukong actually withstand the onslaught of the Ice Flame Arrows formed from the extreme cold flames, Demon God Bai Ze's eyes flashed with surprise. Swiftly, he moved, no longer attacking Sun Wukong, but instead rushed past him towards Great Witch Jiu Feng. From the dragon horns atop his head, he once again condensed a series of Ice Flame Arrows, shooting them towards Sun Wukong's clones.

To attack the enemy is to save one's ally, and indeed the figure of Great Witch Jiu Feng was already engulfed in the shadows of the staff. To rescue her, the most effortless way for Demon God Bai Ze was to launch an attack on Sun Wukong's clones, so they could no longer focus on attacking Great Witch Jiu Feng.

Clearly, Demon God Bai Ze's attacks had an effect. Sun Wukong's clones ceased their Heaven-Breaking Nine Sticks assault on Great Witch Jiu Feng, and instead started to fend off the Ice Flame Arrows. Finally, Great Witch Jiu Feng's silhouette emerged from the gradually dissipating shadows of the staff.

But a single glance was enough to make Demon God Bai Ze's eyes widen with shock, and a tide of sorrow emerged from the depths of his gaze followed by a rush of madness.

"Jiu Feng!"

Amid his mournful shout, Demon God Bai Ze rushed to Great Witch Jiu Feng's side, wrapping his arms around her utterly disfigured body.

Compared to the last time she had been injured by Sun Wukong, Great Witch Jiu Feng's condition was far more tragic now!

The battle armor on her skin was basically completely shattered; her body was covered in bloodstains and it was nearly impossible to find an unharmed piece of flesh. She was entirely unconscious, her Soul's True Spirit had suffered severe damage, and her physical body was essentially ruined.

In other words, Great Witch Jiu Feng was now hanging by a thread. Even if she survived, her cultivation would be completely wasted. With her proud nature, how could she ever bear this? Sun Wukong had clearly dealt a deadly blow!

Bastard! Unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable!

Sun Wukong rushed over, arriving beside his clone and retracted it into his body. Indeed, the Cloning Divine Powers were heaven-defying, but they also consumed an alarming amount of energy, and damage to them could also impact the original body. Best to use them sparingly unless absolutely necessary.

"Bai Ze, Jiu Feng is now but a shell of her former self. If you are wise, send her on her way now, let her undergo reincarnation, preserve a part of her True Spirit, so it remains immortal. In the next life, find her again, teach her the Supreme Daoist arts. Wouldn't that be better than this fruitless chase?"

Having witnessed the power of Demon God Bai Ze, Sun Wukong honestly felt that, with his current strength, he could only contend with him but not utterly defeat him. He couldn't unravel the Ice Flame Arrows, just as Bai Ze also couldn't defeat him. Continuing to fight would only result in mutual destruction, something Sun Wukong had no intention of doing!

Demon God Bai Ze had long harbored adoration for Great Witch Jiu Feng, but she was always haughty and indifferent towards him. Had she not been gravely wounded by Sun Wukong and her altar destroyed, necessitating the need for Bai Ze's strength, why would she ever agree to place her new Cave Dwelling within the same mountain range as Demon God Bai Ze?

Sun Wukong could see that Jiu Feng was merely using Demon God Bai Ze and had no intention of becoming his Taoist Companion. Bai Ze probably knew this deep down, too. So, upon hearing Sun Wukong's suggestion, his tightly pulled face of anger suddenly paused, dissolving away, and his eyes began to shine with a new light.

"Is that really possible?"

Demon God Bai Ze swallowed nervously. His admiration for the Great Witch Jiu Feng had neither begun yesterday nor the day before. Since the Ancient Primeval times, he had been smitten with her from first sight. However, at that time, the Demon Clan and the Witch Race were enemies, and even though he harbored these feelings, he never dared to reveal them, keeping them buried deep within his heart.

Later, during the great battle between Witches and Demons, both sides suffered terrible losses, with heavy casualties. The Twelve Ancestral Witches were annihilated, and Heavenly Emperor Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi also fell. Most of the ancient demon gods perished as well, but Bai Ze secretly saved the Great Witch Jiu Feng, who had been sent out of the battle by her brother Xuan Ming with his last bit of strength. He helped her recuperate and together they lived in seclusion in the Northern Continent of Cattle-grazing, cultivating and quietly expanding their forces.

During this time, Demon God Bai Ze didn't fail to hint at his affection to the Great Witch Jiu Feng, but she was solely focused on reviving the Witch Race, completely ignoring Bai Ze's feelings. She rarely even showed him a pleasant face. Often, Bai Ze felt distressed, wondering whether this unrequited love was worth it.

"Why not?"

As soon as Sun Wukong saw Demon God Bai Ze's expression, he knew he was tempted and shrugged, "Jiu Feng's body is ruined now. The only way to preserve her True Spirit from extinction is through reincarnation. After reincarnating, she will lose all memories of her past life, and won't dwell on reviving the Witch Race. If you accompany her from a young age, I believe she will come to rely on you as her sole support. Wouldn't that be a hundred times better than now?"

Sun Wukong's words thoroughly convinced Demon God Bai Ze. Although the reincarnated Great Witch Jiu Feng would lose all her memories and become a new life, her True Spirit would remain unchanged, still the person he loved. Without this life's obsessions, if she could accept his feelings, then indeed, for Bai Ze, this was much better than the current situation!

"Sun Wukong, you can evolve the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realms. I need your help with this! If you can preserve Jiu Feng's True Spirit from extinction, ensuring that her reincarnated form is not much different from this life, except for the loss of memories, I will let bygones be bygones and assure you we will never be enemies again. How about it?"

Demon God Bai Ze lifted his head and said firmly to Sun Wukong.

"No difference except for the loss of memory? Are you hoping Jiu Feng will retain the body of the Witch Race?"

Sun Wukong frowned. There were no paths for Witch Race in the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realms. To let Great Witch Jiu Feng be reincarnated as a member of the Witch Race again would be extremely difficult!

"If she can retain the body of the Witch Race, naturally that would be best. But if not, her aptitude must not be inferior to this life!"

Demon God Bai Ze spoke, now a Slaying One Corpse Merit Saint, enduring through myriad calamities unscathed. If Great Witch Jiu Feng's reincarnated self had poor aptitude, how could she rapidly cultivate to advanced realms? Without sufficient Cultivation, how could she become his Taoist Companion?

"I can't guarantee she'll retain the body of the Witch Race, but I can assure you of her aptitude; it definitely won't be weaker than this life!"

Sun Wukong nodded, promising. As long as he could heal Great Witch Jiu Feng's Soul's True Spirit and send her into the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realms, her aptitude would be preserved, and it might even exceed this life if she were born through the Heavenly Dao Reincarnation path.

However, whether she would be born into the Witch Race again was uncertain and would depend on luck.

"Alright, it's settled then!"

Demon God Bai Ze nodded. This was already the best possible solution. Continuing to argue with Sun Wukong wouldn't restore Great Witch Jiu Feng to her original state, and honestly, Demon God Bai Ze didn't want her to return to her original form either. In that case, he would only ever be able to watch her from afar, never being able to enter her heart.