Journey to the West (Black Myth)

Chapter 23: Boasting of the Bull Demon King Astounds the Monkey King, Six Paths Demon Lord Rises Again



Shi Yue endured the divine flames within the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Shield each day, the fire lit by nine primeval dragons transforming into the True Samadhi Fire. This fire was no ordinary flame; it was a variant of the Sun's fire, capable of incinerating anything in the world, while the True Samadhi Fire could temper a person's primordial spirit.

Dazed and confused, under the baptism of the divine flames and True Samadhi Fire, Shi Yue lost track of time, maintaining only a sliver of basic consciousness, holding on to prolong his survival—if he could endure one more day, his mischievous senior sister could be safe for another day. Having completely lost the ability to think, he was only conscious of boundless pain, unaware even of the beastly roars escaping his mouth.

Outside, watching over the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Shield, was Ne Zha, the Great God of the Three Altars, appearing as a teenage boy. He was wearing the Cosmic Ring on his head, wrapped in the Hun Tian Ling, riding the Wind Fire Wheels, and wielding a Fire-tipped Spear. The Nine Dragons Divine Fire Shield was one of his treasured items, as a disciple of Perfected Taiyi. Although only of ordinary Golden Immortal level, he could easily challenge a Taiyi-level immortal with his magical treasures, including his three-headed, eight-armed golden body technique.

He wasn't aware of where his master, Perfected Taiyi, had captured this mischievous monkey demon, but he was ordered by a celestial maiden to oversee him. Hearing the vicious roars from the monkey demon, Ne Zha thought it indeed fitting for such a ferocious creature. However, the celestial maiden didn't want him to refine the monkey to death, so he resolved to use the True Samadhi Fire to make the monkey neither live nor die.

After forty-nine days, and another round of the same, the monkey demon remained unharmed. Ne Zha added another batch of True Samadhi Fire. Hearing the roars diminish, he would withdraw the fire, allowing the creature to recover, only to restore the fire once the roars grew louder—a game he found quite entertaining. Little did he know that this action would one day cause him to fall under Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang, perishing without the possibility of resurrection via lotus by Perfected Taiyi.

It would have been one thing to seize the opportunity and strike viciously, but boasting of such a feat, underestimating and mocking a great demon king, especially when aware of the brotherhood bond, was courting certain death in the face of Sun Wukong's future guilt and rage.

Surely, Sun Wukong would one day feel immense guilt. His current carefree existence would be something he deeply regretted upon learning what his brother had suffered during his pursuit of freedom.

Meanwhile, Sun Wukong, having gathered the seventy-two cave demon kings and amassed tens of thousands of demon soldiers, felt his confidence swell limitlessly. He began feeling that Flower Fruit Mountain no longer held the same allure. Thus, he took to the skies daily, traveling across the four seas, enjoying the pleasures of the world, demonstrating his martial arts and divine abilities, befriending demon kings and virtuous friends, though not blindly visiting every demon king he heard of.

If he heard of someone with a reclusive and meditative disposition, he would avoid disturbing them. Given the remoteness and desolation associated with Northern Uttarakuru, he was disinclined to venture there, circling persistently instead around Western Aparagodaniya, or more specifically, not far from Mount Lingtai.

It wasn't long before he encountered the gang leader of the streets at that time, the Bull Demon King. With aligned interests, both being of the Golden Immortal level, Sun Wukong clad in golden armor, a golden crown, and cloud boots, truly earning the title of Monkey King—the demon handsomeness was undeniable!

The Bull Demon King, with his burly and rugged appearance, resembled a mafia kingpin, his speech coarse and boisterous. Upon meeting, the two quickly bonded, becoming sworn brothers in no time.

However, seeing Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang, the Bull Demon King began recounting past events, speaking of the emergence of the black lotus that drew demon kings and celestial saints alike. First, a black-veiled woman of great supernatural powers appeared, battling Pusa Pilanp in a display of immense power versus limitless magical capability!

He then spoke of a towering three-zhang monster in the wings, wielding an equally black staff akin to Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang, lacking only the golden circlets at both ends. This figure reportedly smashed the ever-capable Pusa Pilanp into the ground with a single strike!

Following the Bull Demon King's exaggerated boasts, where he magnified Shi Yue's feats many times over as if displaying his own prowess, Sun Wukong listened with sparkling eyes, his heart swelling with excitement.

Sun Wukong immediately recognized that the two individuals were indeed his brother Shi Yue and his mysterious senior sister, Wind Maiden. How familiar were those magical arts!

There was the magical Golden Body technique, External Incarnation, the mysterious Cloud Riding technique, and The Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits divine power, all of which he also knew. His Golden Body technique could also reach over ten zhang in height! Patriarch Bodhi had even mentioned that when perfected, the transformations of the Seventy-two Earthly Fiends were just as powerful as The Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits.

Sun Wukong’s desire to join Shi Yue and Wind Maiden in battle against the Taiyi Golden Immortal-level Pusa Pilanp grew, dismissing any notions of one-on-one combat. In his mind, there was only kinship and camaraderie. He thought to himself, “You only now realize how formidable the veiled woman is. I, Old Sun, have never gained the upper hand against her.”

Sun Wukong had intended to show off his magical prowess, but hearing the Bull Demon King's tales made him retract his intention. Being expelled from his sect, mentioning those two as his senior siblings would only invite ridicule.

However, he clearly understood from the Bull Demon King's words that the senior sister had attained the Dao of Taiyi. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of frustration, thinking, "I used to get beaten by Senior Sister on the mountain, and now she's a step ahead of Old Sun. Would I still stand a chance against her in the future? Better remember not to provoke her. If I can’t fight her, then Old Sun will just avoid her."

"However, that Pusa Pilanpo, from who knows where, dared to bully my senior sister, and that is completely unforgivable! Hmph! Just wait until I get the chance; I will definitely kill that presumptuous High Sun Officer. But why did my brother say that senior sister is his girl? Could it be... they actually became a couple?"

Recalling Shi Yue’s humorously large endowment and explosive physique, along with Wind Maiden's small stature and freckles, Sun Wukong couldn't help but burst into laughter again, leaving the Bull Demon King puzzled.

"Brother, why are you laughing so heartily? Did I say something wrong?"

Sun Wukong hurriedly waved his hand. "Brother, you misunderstand. I suddenly thought of a funny matter and couldn't help myself from laughing. No offense, no offense."

"Why not share it so I, Old Bull, can enjoy a laugh too?"

"This... is unspeakable, truly unspeakable."

Imagining the scene between Shi Yue and Wind Maiden again, Sun Wukong burst into laughter once more, knowing he now had something to jest about with them in the future.

But after laughing, Sun Wukong grew puzzled, "Could it be that my brother Shi Yue and Senior Sister Wind Maiden were also expelled from the sect for some mistake?"

Considering this possibility, Sun Wukong felt somewhat relieved and began to miss them. He wondered where they had gone after being expelled, thinking that with their acquisition of the black lotus treasure, they might have found a place to refine it. Returning to Flower Fruit Mountain would make meeting them difficult, so instead, he decided to gather and enjoy his time with the Bull Demon King.

The Bull Demon King did not disclose the true origins of the black lotus, only referring to it as a black lotus treasure, so Sun Wukong didn't give it much thought. He just mused, "Now I, Old Sun, also have a divine weapon and a full set of armor. My brother's staff must have transformed from the Measure Heaven Ruler. I didn't expect he would also favor such a weapon."

However, upon hearing the Bull Demon King speak so much about Shi Yue, especially with exaggerated tales, Sun Wukong began to consider that Shi Yue, who had already attained the Dao as a Golden Immortal before him, might have experienced a surge of power during his battle with Pusa Pilanp, leading Sun Wukong to suspect Shi Yue had also reached the Taiyi level. This thought made Sun Wukong restless.

It was one thing for his senior sister, Wind Maiden, to surpass him first—after all, she was said to have been cultivating alone for countless years and had remained at the Golden Immortal stage for millennia. Thus, although he often found himself being chased and beaten by her, he bore no resentment. But being continually outpaced by his brother, who was born at the same time, stirred the prideful Sun Wukong into discomfort.

Seeing Sun Wukong's eyes darting thoughtfully, the Bull Demon King, with a sly turn of his large eyes, said, "Brother, since you love befriending forthright individuals, I, Old Bull, have mingled with many such folks over the years. Among them, four particularly possess divine skills comparable to ours, each ruling a mountain as a king, with thousands of demon soldiers under their command. How about you and I visit them together?"

Sun Wukong's eyes lit up at this, and he couldn't help but ask, "Oh? Who are they? Quickly, tell Old Sun."

The Bull Demon King took a swig of wine and spoke of four of Sun Wukong's destined sworn brothers: the Dragon Demon King, Peng Demon King, Lion Camel King, and Yu Marmoset King, notably omitting the originally included Macaque King. He concluded by mentioning a newly risen Six Paths Demon Lord, reputed to be full of loyalty and forthrightness, and notably, the only one like him, Old Bull, who hadn't taken to ruling a mountain. He had yet to make his acquaintance.

Hearing this, Sun Wukong's eyes shone brightly, eager to meet each one, though he felt a strange sense about it. Initially, upon hearing the Bull Demon King's name, he hadn't thought much of it, but now, hearing of the Dragon Demon King, Peng Demon King, Lion Camel King, and Yu Marmoset King, he noticed they were all demon kings named after their forms, without formal names. Only the Six Paths Demon Lord had a name with some grandeur, which seemed proper and impressive.

This filled Sun Wukong with a sense of pride, for he naturally knew his own name. However, recalling that Shi Yue likely reached the Taiyi level and Wind Maiden had also attained it, both had outpaced him. His competitive nature suppressed his impulsive desire to make new acquaintances immediately.

Thus, he had no choice but to stand and bid farewell to the Bull Demon King, claiming he had gained insight and needed to cultivate in seclusion for a time. He promised that once he emerged, he would return to visit those brothers with the Bull Demon King.

His words inadvertently touched the Bull Demon King, who decided not to linger and, after Sun Wukong's departure, also sought a place to enter seclusion himself.

After parting ways with the Bull Demon King, Sun Wukong flew toward East Victory Continent. While passing over a mountain range, he was suddenly drawn by the faint emanations of pure yin energy from within. Curious, he descended from the clouds and flew into the mountains.

🌟kaikai | Patreon🌟 Web novel: Author: DaoistaHADNk
1 chapter updated for free every day
If you like my work and are willing to support the sequel of this fanfiction, please express your gratitude
Please visit our Patreon for more information:
https://www.patreon.com/collection/721184
Journey to the West (Black Myth)Patreon members: 3 chapters updated every day


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.