Just as in his first simulation, he found the official position too minor and rebelled against the lower realms. Initially, Heaven did not take him seriously and suffered a defeat at his hands. Seeing the signs that they would be co-opted by Heaven, the six Demon Kings eagerly came forward.
Unfortunately, it was only he who defeated the Giant Spirit God and Nezha.
Thus, Heaven only knew of him and not the six Demon Kings.
After he was named the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, he made a grave mistake and escaped back to the lower realms. However, this time, none of the six came, only the seventy-two cave lords of Huaguo Mountain's Demon Kings were willing to protect Huaguo Mountain. (Although they were used as cannon fodder by the simulated him...)
The six Demon Kings originally aimed for amnesty, but after his second rebellion, they realized that the simulated him was now truly regarded by Heaven as a rebel.
So, they cut off all ties with him and acted as if they were strangers.
Rebels...
They dared not get involved with Sun Wukong again, to avoid being blacklisted by Heaven.
Just think, who were among the one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers who besieged Huaguo Mountain the second time?
The Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Nine Luminaries Star Officials, the Twelve Solar Terms, the Five Directions Devarajas, the Four Heavenly Ministers, the East-West Stars, the Southern and Northern Deities, the Five Sacred Mountains and Four Rivers, the Universal Star Formation.
These were not just any minor gods from obscure corners, but the vast majority of Heaven's military force.
With the exception of the Thunder Division gods who had yet to join the fray, it was the grandest assembly Heaven could muster!
Knowing that Heaven was about to take serious action, it would be strange indeed if the six Demon Kings dared to recognize him again.
Unfortunately, in the simulation, he faced the one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers without fear, and it was only when the Erlang God of Guan River Mouth took action, his Huaguo Mountain was stolen, and he was besieged by the Liushan Six Saints and ambushed by the Grand Supreme Elder Lord, that he was finally captured.
It must be said, he was truly powerful!
Sun Wukong praised himself in secret, then refocused his heart and continued to listen to the conversation among the six Demon Kings.
"Bull Demon King, you really know how to enjoy life!"
The Jiao Demon King, showing envy, praised him, "Unlike us who can only exhaust our minds in Northern Jambu Continent."
"Jiao Demon King, you're wrong there. You are also beings of great Divine Skills. In Northern Jambu Continent, you reign as kings and act as lords and ancestors. Isn't that also boundless joy?" countered the Bull Demon King with a hearty laugh.
"That's true."
The Jiao Demon King laughed jovially and drank a toast with the other Demons.
After the feast, the five Demon Kings bid farewell to the Bull Demon King and left the cave dwelling, and Sun Wukong quietly followed them.
The Peng Demon King said, "That Bull Demon King is indeed as the rumors say, righteous and magnificent in spirit, but he lacks great ambition, content to stay here living carefree and joyous."
"Perhaps he doesn't see a good end for us," replied the Peng Demon King.
From their several visits to the Bull Demon King, they had somewhat figured out his intentions.
Drinking, eating meat, and making friends, that was okay.
But if they wanted him to go to Northern Jambu Continent to rebel and then seek amnesty, that was out of the question.
Honestly, the five of them weren't confident either.
After all, the Great Emperor Zhou was notorious for his stubbornness, and if they truly rebelled, it was unlikely that he would offer them a chance at amnesty. Instead, it would be a fight to the death.
But with the Great Emperor Zhou stationed in Northern Jambu Continent all year round, if they didn't take the path of amnesty, with all the murder, arson, and destruction of nations they had committed, they would eventually be unable to escape death.
After some contemplation, the Jiao Demon King said, "An informant I placed in the Northern Sea Dragon Palace once sent me a message that there seems to be a Monkey King in Huaguo Mountain with great Divine Skills, who has even established seventy-two demon forts encircled by a wall, impregnable as a copper wall and iron barrier. Perhaps we could seek him out."
The Yurong King shook his head, "I've heard of him too, but that Monkey King is not one of us. His demon cities have many rules; he even accepts humans, where killing a human warrants death."
They weren't necessarily set on eating humans; it was the multitude of rules they couldn't accept.
As the saying goes, those who stand for different paths do not plan with each other.
Sun Wukong heard everything clear as day, and shook his head secretly, "These Demon Kings can't bear my rules, little do they know, even if they are offered amnesty by the Heavenly Court, they must abide by its rules, and the rules of the Heavenly Court are even more complex, stricter than those of my Huaguo Mountain."
The Jiao Demon King nodded, "Then forget it, when I have time in the future, I'll go have a look myself. I've heard there's also a dragon maiden at Huaguo Mountain, perhaps there's some kinship..."
The Lion Camel King was speechless.
He knew that this Jiao Demon King was the illegitimate son of the Northern Sea Dragon King, who, because he was not born of the Dragon Mother or a Dragon Consort, could not be included in the heavenly records and was not entitled to take up an official post in any river or sea upon reaching adulthood.
Moreover, with the dragon king's heirs numbering many, he was forgotten, so he left on his own, stirring up wind and waves on the Northern Jambu Continent.
However, if one were to really consider it, since the Four Seas Dragon Kings are brothers, this Jiao Demon King and the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea's dragon daughter indeed are related.
Five Great Demon Kings in the distance, Sun Wukong didn't follow them any longer but prepared to visit the Three Star Cave to see his own master, Ancestral Master Subhuti.
"The immortal, please wait!"
Just then, a voice called from behind, stopping Sun Wukong in his tracks.
"Eh?"
Sun Wukong looked down to see that on the other side of Mount Jilei, there was another cave dwelling, the Sky Scraping Cave, with an old man standing at its entrance, dressed lavishly—a wealthy old fox.
This old fox, though not as purely refined as Sun Wukong, was a mix of clear and murky energies, without the slightest aura of blood and slaughter, indicating that he hadn't likely eaten humans, but had certainly consumed plenty of spiritual beings.
And the Sky Scraping Cave, Sun Wukong remembered clearly, he had encountered it during his first simulation when he faced adversity at Flame Mountain and had seen it while borrowing the Banana Leaf Fan—it was the residence of the Jade Faced Fox.
Speaking of which, it seems the Bull Demon King doesn't have strong teeth; he can only eat tender things.
"I have seen the immortal," said the old man, bowing deeply with impeccable manners.
Sun Wukong returned the gesture and asked, "Old fox, are you the master of this Sky Scraping Cave?"
"Indeed, I am the Ten Thousand Year Fox King." The Ten Thousand Year Fox King invited Sun Wukong into the cave, ordered the serving girls to prepare fresh fruits from the forest and morning dew from the mountains, and then brought out a fair-skinned, tender-looking young girl.
Her skin was like congealed jade, truly exceptionally adorable.
"Immortal, this is my youngest daughter, Jade Face. I wonder if she could take you as her master?" the Ten Thousand Year Fox King asked hopefully.
He had a method called Clairvoyance.
It could observe the energies of the sun, moon, and stars, discern the flows of mountain and river geography, and also perceive the fortunes of immortals, ghosts, gods, and demons.
Before him was a person radiating divine light, with auspiciousness and hidden merits all around, truly a person of great fortune. That is why he stopped Sun Wukong, hoping his daughter could become his disciple.
Besides his Sky Scraping Cave on Mount Jilei, there was also a Bull Demon King coveting his accumulated wealth. Still, due to the Bull Demon's reputation in the demon realm and concerns about losing face, he had not resorted to outright theft.
But he himself only had close to a thousand years of life left. Should he die, his beloved daughter would grow up and might be seduced by the Bull Demon, submitting to him.
If that were to happen, he might be filled with rage beneath the Nine Springs, but all he could do would be to sigh.
It would be like having found a son-in-law who could uphold the household and protect the home.
But now that a real immortal had arrived, it would be better to have his daughter apprentice under him; in the future, she might even attain immortality or divinity. Wouldn't that be like soaring to the heavens in one step?
"A face like warm jade and a breath of pure qi, not bad at all, seems she has not partaken in the flesh of blood," Sun Wukong commented with admiration.
"Exactly," the old fox hurriedly said, "Those who eat humans emit a murky breath, foul and unbearable. Since my daughter was born, till now, as she has taken form, she has only eaten fruits from the forest and water from mountain streams, never touching a hint of flesh or fish."
Sun Wukong nodded and said, "If she is willing, she can follow me as a young servant girl, how about that?"
"Willing! Of course, willing!" the Ten Thousand Year Fox King exclaimed ecstatically. He had not even dared to hope his daughter might successfully become a disciple, so being a servant girl at the side of this divine being was an extraordinary fortune.
...