Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

The golden light atop the golden wheel differed from ordinary auroras, faintly exuding a fierce and ominous air that chilled one's heart with but a glance.

"What weapon is this?"

The Nether River Ancestor exclaimed in horror. Last time, during that bloody battle, the weapon of the Yama Heavenly Son was merely a long spear, which his own Abi Hell Slaughtering Sword had destroyed. Where did this golden wheel come from? Considering its grade, it was also an Innate Spiritual Treasure!

"The World-Cleaving Golden Wheel," the Yama Heavenly Son said coldly.

"The World-Cleaving Golden Wheel? I've never heard of it! Are there such Innate Spiritual Treasures within the Three Realms?" A drop of cold sweat rolled down the forehead of the Nether River Ancestor.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"It didn't exist before, but now it does! This is its first appearance!" The voice of the Yama Heavenly Son remained icy.

"Boom!"

The collision between the two finally ended as they each retreated, floating apart and facing each other from a distance.

The World-Cleaving Golden Wheel continued to buzz and rotate around the Yama Heavenly Son, constantly shifting its cutting edges and sealing him tightly without any gaps. Wherever the wheel's blade passed, even the exceptionally stable space of the Netherworld was marked with tiny spatial cracks.

The Asura Demon King, Sovereign Mara Papiyas, who had just stood up from the ground, stared in astonishment.

"To think there exists a Divine Weapon that can match the Abi Hell Slaughtering Sword of the Ancestor! The Yama Heavenly Son, the ruler of the Netherworld, is indeed formidable!"

The gaze of the Nether River Ancestor also turned especially sinister. In the last bloody battle, he had fought the Yama Heavenly Son to a draw, relying on the Boundless Blood Sea and the advantage of his weapon. Now that the Yama Heavenly Son had acquired this Innate Spiritual Treasure, the World-Cleaving Golden Wheel, the advantage in weapons was gone.

Could it be that he was going to be suppressed by this bastard in the Sea of Blood again?

Damn it!

The Nether River Ancestor and the Yama Heavenly Son plunged into battle once again, the Abi Hell Slaughtering Swords clashing time and again with the World-Cleaving Golden Wheel, slicing open rifts in the surrounding space. The entire realm of Hell's Yellow Springs trembled continuously with a terrifying and impressive force, leaving Sun Wukong utterly astonished.

This was the true strength of a Half-Step Saint!

"It seems the Nether River Ancestor wasn't using his full strength just now; otherwise, I wouldn't have had the slightest chance to resist or escape. Half-Step Saints are indeed fearsome!"

A shadow of gloom passed through Sun Wukong's eyes. If a Half-Step Saint was this terrifying, what then could be the level of a true Heavenly Dao Saint? Now he truly felt the gap between himself and Tathagata Buddha, The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. In his previous life, it seemed they had merely been toying with him!

The gloomy mood was fleeting, and soon, Sun Wukong was spirited again. Heavenly Dao Saints might be strong, but so what? He was Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, who dares to compete with the heavens for freedom. How could he be frightened by this difficulty?

"They've only practiced longer than I have. One day, I will catch up to them!"

Heartening himself, Sun Wukong withdrew his gaze from the battle and began to search for the node to leave the Netherworld. Given that the Nether River Ancestor and the Yama Heavenly Son were busy fighting, it was a good time to make his escape!

Activating the Void-Breaking Divine Eye, Sun Wukong meticulously inspected the surroundings of the deep pool but found no trace of any spatial nodes. He frowned, perplexed. Could the Yama King be deceiving him? That seemed unlikely.

Through the Reincarnation Passage, he had reached the depths of Hell's Yellow Springs, and the Yama King was correct about that, so he probably wouldn't lie about the node either, fearing the consequences if Sun Wukong returned to settle the score.

Wait, there seemed to be one place yet unchecked...

Sun Wukong's gaze turned toward the depths of the deep pool, a location sealed by the Yama Heavenly Son during his cultivation that he had not yet inspected. Perhaps the passage between the Netherworld and the World of the Living lay there?

Two beams of golden light shot from Sun Wukong's eyes, piercing to the bottom of the deep pool. The water was perhaps hundreds of feet deep, and without Sun Wukong's powerful Void-Breaking Divine Eye, anyone else would have failed to detect anything.

In the deepest part of the water, there was an impossibly faint ring of light, which under the gaze of the Void-Breaking Divine Eye, emitted waves of extremely weak spatial force. Sun Wukong's eyes brightened. Yes, this was the Netherworld and World of the Living passage!

Delighted, Sun Wukong was about to leap into the pool when suddenly, a profound sense of danger surged in his heart. Without thinking, he retreated in an instant with the technique "Shrinking Earth into Inches".

At the same moment, a dazzling blood-red sword light fiercely split the water of the deep pool, causing a huge wave to splash upward while a blood-red seal swiftly covered the surface of the water.

"Bastard!"

Sun Wukong angrily looked up at the Nether River Ancestor who was embroiled in a fierce fight with the Yama Heavenly Son, yet still had the time to meddle in his affairs. This despicable old creature!

The red light on the surface of the pool was clearly a barrier. It seemed the Nether River Ancestor was truly determined not to let him leave. Sun Wukong was secretly furious but helpless. Although his Void-Breaking Divine Eye could break the barrier of the pool, the Nether River Ancestor was nearby and would notice any slight movement.

"Forget it, let's just wait patiently for a while longer and see how this great battle between Nether River Ancestor and Yama Heavenly Son turns out!"

Sighing, Sun Wukong shelved the idea of leaving and once again looked toward the mid-air.

"To fight with me and still be distracted by others, Nether River, you are too arrogant!"

Yama Heavenly Son retracted his Life Severing Heavenly Wheel next to him, reached out to wipe a trace of blood from the golden blade's exterior arc—it was from when Nether River Ancestor was distracted trying to block Sun Wukong's departure, allowing Yama Heavenly Son to seize the opportunity and leave a wound on his back.

In a clash between masters, a slight miss could decide life and death, especially when evenly matched, and Nether River Ancestor had paid a significant price for this blunder.

"How does that matter? Yama Heavenly Son, you must not forget, as long as the Sea of Blood is by my side, I possess an undying body! The Sea of Blood does not dry up, nor does the Nether River extinguish! Such a minor injury, could it possibly threaten me?"

With a cold laugh from Nether River Ancestor, a stream of blood shot out from the distant Boundless Blood Sea. It arrived instantly at his back, where the bone-deep wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even the blood-red robe was restored in its entirety, showing no signs of damage whatsoever.

As his wounds healed, Nether River Ancestor's face bore a defiant look as he provocatively eyed the Yama Heavenly Son, who merely raised his eyebrows slightly, his expression unflustered as he quietly uttered, "How does that matter? Nothing but an undying tortoise who can only cower within the Blood Sea. Without the Blood Sea, you are nothing!"

You are nothing!

These words, like five massive slaps, harshly struck Nether River Ancestor's face. His face instantly flushed red, his eyes green with fury, throwing all decorum to the wind as he thundered in mid-air, "How dare you belittle me so, today I must fight you to the death!"

The expression of Yama Heavenly Son remained composed as he beckoned Nether River Ancestor with a curled finger, his laziness to speak evident.

"Scoundrel, go to hell!"

Furiously enraged, Nether River Ancestor fully embodied this expression. His long blood-colored hair truly stood on end as he roared and, clutching the Abi Hell Slaughtering Swords, charged at Yama Heavenly Son. At this moment, however, the corners of Yama Heavenly Son's mouth curled into an odd smile, as if he had been waiting for Nether River Ancestor to do exactly this.

As the sword cleaved down without hindrance, Yama Heavenly Son's figure vanished like a bubble, while suddenly numerous stars brightened around him and a beam of moonlight shot down from high above, directly enveloping Nether River Ancestor and immobilizing him completely, unable to break free for a moment.

"When did you set up the Formation?"

Yama Heavenly Son's figure solidified two zhang away, Nether River Ancestor felt a sinking feeling in his heart as he asked with a look of horror in his eyes.

"Just now while we were fighting!"

For once there was a change in Yama Heavenly Son's cool demeanor, a sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth, "Nether River, so many years have passed, yet you've hardly improved. Do you really think that having the Boundless Blood Sea as a backing makes me helpless against you? You underestimate me too much! Today, I will teach you an unforgettable lesson!"

"Life Severing Heavenly Wheel, Netherworld Slash!"

With a light shout, the Life Severing Heavenly Wheel in front of Yama Heavenly Son suddenly split into seventy-two Flying Wheels, buzzing as they spun and sliced towards Nether River Ancestor from all directions. As the Flying Wheels passed, thin cracks appeared in space, and seventy-two spatial rifts interwoven together struck at Nether River Ancestor, creating a spectacular scene!

"Heh! This time Nether River is really in trouble!"

The power of Yama Heavenly Son's move was clearly visible to Sun Wukong who, using his Void-Breaking Divine Eye, watched from the side. With so many Flying Wheels attacking, it was likely there wouldn't be much left of Nether River Ancestor!

"Blood God Avatar!"

In a dire situation, Nether River Ancestor, much unwilling, chose to evade, gritting his teeth and using the Blood God Avatar technique. His body split apart, turning into 480 million Blood God avatars, breaking free from the Moonlight and Starlight Great Formation and fleeing toward the Boundless Blood Sea.

The seventy-two Flying Wheels pursued and killed tens of thousands of his avatars, but the rest all escaped into the distant Boundless Blood Sea.

"Nether River, that old fellow, is quite good at escaping!"

Yama Heavenly Son shook his head, recalled the seventy-two Flying Wheels back, reassembling them into the Life Severing Heavenly Wheel, and retracted them into his body. Although he had killed tens of thousands of Blood God avatars belonging to Nether River Ancestor, this number was negligible compared to the total of 480 million.

As long as he returned to the Boundless Blood Sea, the lost avatars would soon be replenished, hardly causing Nether River Ancestor any significant injury.

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However, this would deter him for a while; for the near future, he would likely not dare to step half a step out of the Blood Sea!