Sun Wukong lay sideways on a rock and soon fell asleep.
It felt like dreaming when he vaguely saw two figures, one dressed in black and the other in white, holding a document with "Sun Wukong" written on it.
Their voices were ghostly, constantly calling out "Sun Wukong" as they approached him and, without a word, tried to rope him.
Sun Wukong immediately woke up, wondering if this was another plot by his enemies.
Moved by the thought, he decided to play along, letting the two figures rope him. Obscurely, he felt as if a force of rules intended to pull his Primordial Spirit from his body.
"Hehe! I must see who is scheming against old Sun!" Sun Wukong did not resist. After his Primordial Spirit left his body, he pretended to stumble and followed the two figures.
All around him was a foggy and sinister path, unsure of where it led.
"Could this be the way to the netherworld?" wondered Sun Wukong.
Previously on Zhihu, when asking about Demon King, an online senior had foretold his future, saying he would storm the Dragon Palace and cause uproar in the underworld.
He had already visited the Dragon Palace and had followed the online senior's advice not to loot, thus maintaining a good relationship with the Sea Dragon King.
The arrival of these two figures to fetch his soul must be the reason for his destined disturbance in the underworld.
With this in mind, Sun Wukong turned on the advice system, connected to Zhihu, and posted another question.
"I am Sun Wukong, currently being spirited away by two figures. May I ask the seniors here, what should I pay attention to when going to the underworld?"
Soon there were responses.
SurpassNoLimits: "I don't know, I went to the underworld in my last life, haven't gone this life yet."
Cicada Song of Summer: "Monkey bro, bring me a bowl of Meng Po Soup, too tired, want to forget."
Let Old Mister Wang See: "No need for Meng Po Soup, a smack with a brick makes you forget just the same."
Flowers Bloom With Wealth: "Wukong, listen to your big sister, don't stir trouble in the underworld. That place is formidable; there are Lady Pingxin, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the Deity of Mount Tai, and Emperor Fengdu, all tough to mess with."
[You received a new suggestion: Don't cause disturbance in the underworld, completing it will grant a tier-four treasure chest.]
"Hehe, this one's easy." Sun Wukong was pleased, having already decided not to cause trouble in the underworld, gaining this treasure chest was like receiving a free gift.
As for those formidable ones, he hadn't contested them yet, who knew what that would be like.
Looking at other responses.
Homebody University Freshman: "I think Sun Wukong being spirited away by two ghost marshals is just a big joke, the power system is completely broken."
Ancient Omniscient: "It's not fair to say that, in mythology there are the Heavenly Book of the God Sealing List, the Earthly Book of Mountains and Seas, and the Book of Life and Death,
The Book of Life and Death being a human treasure which records the life and death of all beings, and when ghost marshals come to fetch souls, they actually represent the Book of Life and Death,
Although Sun Wukong is mighty, he is still unable to withstand the power of human rules unprepared."
"It still has to be Ancient Omniscient senior." Sun Wukong thought highly to himself.
When he was being spirited away by the two ghost marshals, he did indeed feel an indescribable power of rules pulling on his Primordial Spirit.
Champion Horse Leader: "Therefore, Monkey bro, don't mess with the Book of Life and Death in the underworld, otherwise all the monkeys in the world will lose their names from the book, and once they die, they can't reincarnate but will only become lonely ghosts."
Upon seeing this response, Sun Wukong immediately remembered the time at Magic Square Mountain, when he had expressed his desire to erase Meng Po's name from the Book of Life and Death, and something similar had been mentioned by the woodcutter.
Meanwhile, a voice also rose in his mind.
[You have received a new suggestion: Don't meddle with the Book of Life and Death. Completing this suggestion will earn you a fourth-tier treasure chest]
But Sun Wukong was not happy, not to mention whether there was any instigator's plot this time, just the act of soul-fetching alone indicated that there was a problem with the Netherworld!
He was a Daluo Golden Immortal who feared neither the three disasters nor the five calamities and had long escaped the cycle of life and death. Could the Netherworld still fetch his soul?
Thinking of this, he added these questions to the discussion thread and inquired whether there was any instigator's plot.
Riding Motorcycle No: "If the instigator behind the Demon King last time was the six-eared macaque, then he had no reason to plot the soul-fetching ordeal in the Netherworld, and he doesn't have the power to manipulate the Netherworld's reincarnation system."
Peeing Into the Wind Three Zhang Tall: "The person above made a good point. I think there must be internal issues within the Netherworld, but regardless, I think it's unwise for Brother Monkey to interfere with the Book of Life and Death or create trouble in the Netherworld,
because we are on the side of reason, and this disturbance would make us appear unreasonable.
If I were Brother Monkey, I could completely seize this point, so that no matter who is plotting, I could stand invincible in the Netherworld."
[You have received a new suggestion: Take the initiative in the Netherworld. Completing this suggestion will earn you a fifth-tier treasure chest]
Upon hearing this alert, Sun Wukong had already considered his approach to the Netherworld.
Again, three suggestions: don't create trouble in the Netherworld, don't meddle with the Book of Life and Death, take the initiative.
Afterwards, he turned off Zhihu and continued following the two ghost minions along a sinister and foggy path for a long time, eventually arriving at a city's edge.
Looking up, he saw three large characters on the iron sign of the city gate: Netherworld Realm.
Now that he had reached the Netherworld, he no longer needed the two ghost minions to guide him.
Feigning sudden realization, Sun Wukong asked, "The Netherworld Realm is managed by King Yan. How did I end up here?"
The two ghost minions said, "Your natural life has ended; we received the orders to bring you here."
Sun Wukong flew into a rage: "Old Sun transcends the Three Realms and is not governed by the Five Elements; I am beyond the jurisdiction of the Netherworld. How dare you come to fetch me?"
Despite this, the two ghost minions just tugged and pulled, clinging to the ropes, determined to drag his primordial spirit inside.
"Heh heh!" Sun Wukong sneered. He went up, grabbed both ghost minions by the neck, and smashed them together, nearly scattering their souls.
The two ghost minions were terrified, not knowing they had hooked a grandpa; they hurriedly knelt on the ground, begging for mercy, calling out, "Grandpa, spare our lives!"
"Now tell me the truth, who is your superior, and why did he send you to fetch Old Sun's soul?" Sun Wukong asked. "If there's even half a lie, I'll let you taste the might of Old Sun's staff!"
"Grandpa Sun, we are ghost minions from the Fifth Hall of the Netherworld. Our superior is King Yan," one ghost minion said.
"It was Nether King Qin Guang from the First Hall who issued the orders to fetch Grandpa's soul," the other ghost minion submitted the soul-fetching document. "It only mentioned that your natural life had ended; it said nothing else."
Sun Wukong took the soul-fetching document and saw it written: Fruit Mountain's Sun Wukong, supposed to live three hundred and forty-two years, has expired, approved for fetching.
"Interesting, interesting." He scratched his face, his lively eyes twinkling mysteriously.
Just as the Zhihu netizens had said, there was indeed a problem within the Netherworld.
The document issued by Nether King Qin Guang of the First Hall was executed by the ghost minions of the Fifth Hall for soul fetching.
"Heh heh, no matter the problem, you've messed with Old Sun now!" Sun Wukong sneered again, then grabbed the two ghost minions, squished them into a ball, and stashed them inside his sleeve.
Then, holding the soul-fetching document, he walked straight into the Netherworld, heading towards the Fifth Hall.