In the silent oblivion of the Heavenly Dao river, floating at the edges where various universal worlds intersect, lay the melded fragments of the Heavenly Dao Laws from all worlds. Sun Wukong's true spirit drifted here, having done so for an unknowable span of time. The Buddha's Light entwined around his true spirit gradually weakened under the attrition of the Heavenly Dao Law fragments in the river until it finally vanished completely.
"Am I, still not dead?"
Consciousness returned to his true spirit. Sun Wukong looked at his semi-transparent body and a bitter smile combined with a hint of unwillingness appeared on his face, "Only the Soul's True Spirit left? Buddha, you didn't expect that I, Old Sun, would still not be wiped out in this Heavenly Dao river, did you?"
His thoughts seemed to travel back to the summit of Spiritual Mountain, inside the Great Thunder Sound Temple, to that conspiracy of switching beams and changing pillars, where a fake was substituted as the crown prince...
"First comes the stone monkey imbued with spiritual clarity, adept in transformation, knowledgeable of the celestial timing, aware of Earth's advantages, capable of moving stars and changing battles. Second is the red-bottomed horse monkey..."
"Sun Wukong, I, Buddha, am merciful and save all beings. I am giving you one final chance. Make a Heart Devil Blood Oath, completely convert to Buddhism and accept me as your master, never again fostering second thoughts, and I will help you remove this predestined body of calamity, returning to you a Buddha's true fruition. If you remain stubborn and unwilling to convert, just as I could confine you for five hundred years and shatter your Undying Golden Body, I surely could find a replacement for you, leading to your complete annihilation! Life or death lies within a single thought of yours—don't err and misguide yourself!"
Sun Wukong never dreamt that the fake Wukong was arranged by the Tathagata Buddha himself. On the surface, the Tathagata Buddha was explaining the complexities of the four chaotic monkeys to everyone, but beneath the surface, he used his Divine Sense to create a temporary void and forcefully pulled Sun Wukong's Divine Sense into it for a threat.
Yes, a threat—a stark threat!
A Heart Devil Blood Oath is the gravest of vows for those on the path of cultivation. From gods and Buddhas to demons, beasts, and Underworld Soldiers, all must heed it. Once he made a vow to follow the Buddha as his master, from then on he would only be able to comply submissively to whatever the Buddha said—even if he were to completely sever ties with the Demon Clan or become a ruthless butcher, he would have no choice but to obey. How could Sun Wukong agree to such an oath?
He is Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equalling Heaven! The Great Sage who caused an upheaval in the Heavenly Palace and left the Nine Heavens Immortal Gods speechless! How could he become someone else's servant and puppet?
"Sun Wukong, your Undying Golden Body has already been worn down beneath Five Elements Mountain over five hundred years. Do you think I still have no way to deal with you as I did five hundred years ago? If you don't agree, I will let the Six-Eared Macaque replace you. He looks just like you and sounds just like you, and no one will notice any difference between him and you. The Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong, will gradually be forgotten by the world, and the only one remaining will be the Sun Xingzhe who guards Buddha—the future Battle Victory Buddha Sun Wukong!"
With the Tathagata Buddha's disdainful and mocking voice, Sun Wukong's consciousness exited the void. Looking at the Tathagata Buddha on the lotus platform, the subtle coldness in his eyes sent a chill down Sun Wukong's spine, urging him to flee, yet he was blocked by the Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and Vajra on the platform. He transformed into a bee to escape but was trapped by the Tathagata Buddha's Golden Bowl and fell to the ground.
"Sun Wukong, your Undying Golden Body is broken. Do you think I would let you leave this place alive?"
Inside the Golden Bowl, the Tathagata Buddha's cold laughter echoed. In the next moment, Buddha's Light wrapped around him, forcibly altering his appearance, turning him into a little monkey with six ears and simultaneously binding all his Immortal Force. The Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod was also taken by the Golden Bowl.
"Buddha, I, Old Sun, do not accept this!"
Sun Wukong wished to roar to the heavens, but he found his voice as soft as a mosquito's. In the next moment, the Golden Bowl flew up, and a giant iron rod descended from the heavens. What filled Sun Wukong's eyes were the fake Wukong's barely noticeable, self-satisfied cold smirk, along with the Tathagata Buddha's mocking voice reaching his ears, "Sun Wukong, I know you are naturally nurtured by the world, and your Soul's True Spirit cannot be annihilated in a short time. But if you are exiled into the chaos of the Heavenly Dao river, sooner or later, it will wear away completely! Accept your fate!"
Excruciating pain accompanied by boundless darkness surged towards Sun Wukong, and he completely lost consciousness. When he regained it, he was in his current state—only the Soul's True Spirit remained, drifting in the Heavenly Dao river.
"Buddha, you tell me to accept my fate, but I, Old Sun, have never believed in destiny! Just wait, one day I will return to expose your hypocrisy. What Immortal Kings and Ancestral Buddhas—they're all bullshit!"
After howling at the heavens, Sun Wukong was forced to confront reality. Now, only his Soul's True Spirit was left. How long could he hold out in this Heavenly Dao river?
No, he couldn't afford to be pessimistic. I, Old Sun, am the Great Sage Equalling Heaven. My destiny is not tied by heaven! I must survive and leave this place, I must!
Depression lingered only for a moment before the unyielding will at the bottom of his heart reignited like blazing fire. Clenching his teeth, Sun Wukong began to draw in nearby fragments of the Heavenly Dao Laws, absorbing them into his body to fuse with his Soul's True Spirit. This was an incredibly risky move, as a single mistake could completely obliterate his Soul's True Spirit with the Heavenly Dao Law Fragments. It was a gamble, betting that his Soul's True Spirit could withstand the fusion's damage.
The Tathagata had said it, hadn't he? Sun Wukong was naturally born and nurtured by the world. His Soul's True Spirit was unique, and not even a being like the Tathagata Buddha could eradicate it in a short time. This was his edge and his only chance now!
"Ah~!"
As soon as the Heavenly Dao Laws fragment entered his body, Sun Wukong felt a pain that penetrated deep into his soul, and he couldn't help but let out a miserable scream. His harrowing cry echoed in the River of Heavenly Dao, lingering for a long time...
He didn't know how many years had passed, perhaps a thousand, maybe two thousand, Sun Wukong no longer remembered. After his Soul Spirit True Essence had fused with the fragment of the Heavenly Dao Laws, it slowly grew stronger, gradually adapting to living in the River of Heavenly Dao, but he could not find any way to leave. It was like a dead-end with entry but no exit.
One day, an inexplicable fluctuation suddenly appeared in the River of Heavenly Dao, and a spatial fissure emerged out of nowhere. A mysterious Jade Talisman, with Great Dao Runes inscribed on both sides that seemed to represent life and death, or perhaps time and space, flew out from the spatial fissure. As if drawn by some force, it flew directly towards Sun Wukong's Soul's True Spirit and drilled into his forehead, and a surge of memories from a different time and space flooded into the memory sea of Sun Wukong's Soul Spirit True Essence.
This was the Time-Space Life-Death Talisman, capable of reversing time and space, reviving the dead. However, it could only exhibit its effects three times for each owner; upon the fourth time, the talisman would leave and search for the next master.
The previous master of this Divine Talisman was named Lin Yi, a cultivator from another time and space. That timeline was filled with many mythological legends, including the stories of Journey to the West, Divine Enthronement, and even Ancient Primeval tales. The myth of Journey to the West was roughly similar to Sun Wukong's own experiences.
No sooner had the Divine Talisman entered his body than it immediately fused with Sun Wukong's Soul Origin True Spirit. The talisman was recognizing its new master, and Sun Wukong became the new owner of the Time-Space Life-Death Talisman!
Dazzling Divine Light burst forth from the Time-Space Life-Death Talisman, enveloping Sun Wukong's Soul Origin True Spirit and forming a Light Sphere. The entire River of Heavenly Dao began to tremble, and a crack in time and space manifested beside the Light Sphere. In the next moment, the Light Sphere suddenly shrank and dived into the spatial rift...
In the Earth Immortal Realm, East Victorious Divine Continent, Aolai Kingdom, atop the peak of Flower-Fruit Mountain.
A gigantic Immortal Stone beside which a spatial fissure appeared. A Light Sphere emerged from it, plunging into the Immortal Stone.
Within the womb of the Immortal Stone, Sun Wukong opened his eyes, and the scene that met his gaze left him astounded. Wasn't this the womb of the Immortal Stone where he had been born? How had he returned here? Sun Wukong looked at himself, his body's meridians were almost fully formed, but his internal organs were not yet completely developed, and the Time-Space Life-Death Talisman was quietly floating inside the mud pill palace of his forehead.
"Right, this Time-Space Life-Death Talisman can reverse time and space, revive the dead; it seems to have brought me back before I was born."
A flash of enlightenment crossed Sun Wukong's mind, and then ecstasy surged within him. This was a chance for him to start over! There had been too many regrets in his past life, and since the talisman had given him another opportunity, he was determined to make up for all his previous life's regrets!
"Jade Emperor, Buddha, wait for me, Old Sun. All the grievances of the past life, I will take back from you, bit by bit and tenfold!"
His roar, filled with hatred and defiance, burst out from Sun Wukong's mouth and echoed within the womb of the Immortal Stone, passing through the Immortal Stone and becoming a rolling sound that resonated between the rocks at the peak, enduring for ages.
After his raging shout, Sun Wukong gradually calmed down. To make up for the regrets of his past life wasn't just about talk; it required taking steps, one by one, to effect change. The ultimate goal was to make himself stronger, strong enough to not be trampled underfoot by others, no longer manipulated within the clapping of hands.
In his past life, Sun Wukong had received the true teachings of the Puti Patriarch and his combat power shocked the heavens and earth, the immortals and the Buddha. But there were many who were stronger than him. Not to mention the Ancestral Buddha, just Guanyin Bodhisattva alone pressed him with no power to fight back. Pressed under the Five Elements Mountain for five hundred years, his cultivation made no progress. Even the Vajra Undying Body that he had achieved through eating Golden Cores was worn away – it all boiled down to him not being strong enough!
The root cause of all this, Sun Wukong was clear in his mind, was because he was of the Demon Clan, and the Demon Clan, naturally lacked the most important heart meridian compared to the Human Race!
The Method of Cultivation of the Ancient Demon Clan had long been lost with the decline of the Demon Clan's Heavenly Court, and what was now widespread were cultivation techniques designed for the Human Race's meridians.
When one's Cultivation was low, the missing heart meridian wasn't a great influence, but after reaching the level of Taiyi Scattered Immortal, the deficits brought about by the missing heart meridian became obvious. To advance further took much more time and effort than for the Human Race.
It could be said, without this key heart meridian, aiming for Proving the Tao and Attaining Saint was nearly a fool's dream!
He must replenish this missing heart meridian, and now was the best opportunity to do so!
(The new book "Five Thousand Years of Cultivation, Three Thousand Years of Simulation" has been uploaded to Qidian, asking for everyone's collection and reading!)