Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

Chapter 149 The Fall of the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable

Boom boom boom boom!

Sword Qi and staff shadows bombarded the body of the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable, completely submerging his figure in the burst of intense light, but Sun Wukong's face did not reveal any sign of excitement from gaining the upper hand, instead, his expression turned even more somber.

He had never deactivated his Void-Breaking Divine Eye and could see through the bright light the condition of the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable. The Sword Qi emitted by the Sword of Annihilation and the staff force of the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod no longer injured the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable; all were blocked by the festivity clouds rising above his head.

This guy, he had actually revealed the Three Flowers atop his head, using the festivity clouds to protect himself!

The strongest defense for those above the level of a Da Luo Golden Immortal was the Three Flowers condensed from essence, Qi, and spirit. Once transformed into festivity clouds, they could withstand most attacks, and it wasn't an exaggeration to say they were invulnerable to all methods.

Of course, this so-called invulnerability was limited; it wasn't truly impervious to everything, as many Da Luo Golden Immortals had fallen during the Divine Enthronement War.

Sun Wukong and his clones ceased their bombardment. The intense light gradually dissipated, revealing Cultivation Heavenly Venerable's form with the three festivity clouds above his head.

During the Divine Enthronement War, the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable had his Three Flowers pruned by the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation of the Three Pure Ones, which demoted him from the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm back to the level of a Taiyi Golden Immortal.

Perhaps it was for this reason that he wished to attain complete Man-Sword Unity with the Sword of Annihilation, to lay the foundation for attaining greater cultivation and strength in the future, only to have Sun Wukong interfere abruptly.

"Cultivation Heavenly Venerable, have you reached the end of the road, to the extent that you are willing to reveal your top Three Flowers?"

Sun Wukong sneered coldly, "Do you really think that I, Old Sun, have no means to deal with you?"

"Don't forget, this Sword of Annihilation is the Heavenly Dao Killing Sword! If the Three Pure Ones could prune your top Three Flowers, I, Old Sun, can do the same!"

A flash of golden light burst from his eyes, and with the opening of the Void-Breaking Heavy Pupils, Sun Wukong focused on the festivity clouds above the head of the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable.

All Da Luo Golden Immortals needed to form the Three Flowers atop and the Five Qi within their chest, but each individual's Three Flowers were different, with their own strengths and inevitably their weakest points. Sun Wukong was now intent on finding the weakest part of the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable's protective clouds!

For others, discerning one's weaknesses might be difficult without understanding their cultivation techniques and combat skills, a nearly impossible task. But for Sun Wukong, this was not challenging at all, as his Void-Breaking Divine Eye had an unparalleled advantage when it came to spotting weaknesses.

With the opening of the Void-Breaking Heavy Pupils, the weak points of the festivity clouds above the head of the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable were as clear as day to Sun Wukong.

A trace of icy killing intent flashed across his face; with a flick of his wrist, a massive beam of sword light shot out from the Sword of Annihilation, fiercely striking the festivity clouds above the head of the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable.

"Hmm!"

The Cultivation Heavenly Venerable grunted, as none of the numerous previous attacks from the Sword of Annihilation and the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod could break through the defense of the clouds and injure him seriously. However, Sun Wukong's current strike hit precisely at the weakest point of the cloud's defense.

The sharp Sword Qi pierced through the clouds and burrowed into the body of the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable, creating a subtle crack in the festivity clouds with the slash.

"How, how did you find my weak spot..."

"Why should I, Old Sun, tell you? Meet your end!"

With the success of his hit, Sun Wukong was in no mood for idle chatter with the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable. His sole desire was to finish off this pest; why bother with words?

The Sword of Annihilation's sword light continued to slash at the festivity clouds, each strike shaking the clouds and stripping away strands of Qi, while the eyes of the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable went from anger to shock, then to despair. His complexion changed from pale to purple then to black, finally settling into a dark gold hue, as silver-red blood flowed from all seven of his orifices.

The Three Flowers atop were gradually pruned away by each sword slash, until they utterly disintegrated.

"Sun Wukong, I curse you! You will not meet a good end! My master will surely..."

The Cultivation Heavenly Venerable couldn't finish his words. After the Three Flowers were pruned, Sun Wukong's Sword of Annihilation flew out, piercing through the chest of the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable. In the next moment, his body was completely obliterated by the tearing Sword Qi.

A faint glint of light, nearly invisible to the naked eye, sprung from where the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable perished, circled around, and tried to flee, only to hit an invisible barrier and be bounced back, falling into a large hand—the hand of Sun Wukong's clone.

"A half-step Quasi-Saint is indeed powerful, to survive even that! But did you really think I, Old Sun, would let your Soul's True Spirit escape just like that?"

After passing the Shadowless Light Sphere to Sun Wukong's hand, the clone merged back into Sun Wukong as a stream of essence Qi, with the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod and the Sword of Annihilation also swiftly vanishing into Sun Wukong's dantian. Watching the Shadowless Light Sphere, trapped in his hand and unable to escape, Sun Wukong's lips curved into a cold smile.

Others might not see it, but with his Void-Breaking Divine Eye, he could clearly discern that the escaping entity was none other than the Cultivation Heavenly Venerable's Soul's True Spirit!

As long as one overcame the Doomsday Thunder Disaster to step into the Earth Immortal Realm, the Soul's True Spirit would condense inside the divine soul. Once the Soul's True Spirit remained indestructible, the cultivator would not truly be considered dead, and with the right opportunity to seize a new body or reconstruct their physical body, they could make a comeback.

Although Sun Wukong's previous life's indestructible body had been worn down under the Five Elements Mountain over five hundred years, his Soul's True Spirit was still in an indestructible state. Even the Tathagata Buddha could only exile him into the long river of the Heavenly Dao, which led to his later opportunities.

With such a personal experience, how could he not guard against the move of Cultivation Heavenly Venerable?

"Sun Wukong, you're so ruthless and leave no room for survival, you won't have a good end! My master he..."

"Your master can't spare me, right? I'm so tired of hearing that!"

Sun Wukong disdainfully interrupted Cultivation Heavenly Venerable's words. Flames of gold suddenly surged in his palm, and the True Solar Fire burned fiercely in his hand, "What end I'll have is none of your concern! I only know one thing: you, this old furball, won't have a good end right now!"

"Demon monkey! You, ah~!"

Amidst screams of agony, Cultivation Heavenly Venerable's Soul's True Spirit was directly reduced to nothingness by the True Solar Fire, turning into wisps of green smoke that dissipated without a trace. Sun Wukong watched with full clarity, leaving no mark behind. From then on, the person named Cultivation Heavenly Venerable no longer existed in this world!

"It's finally over!"

He let out a long sigh of relief. Sun Wukong turned and looked toward Ying Long and Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan, who were flying toward him from a distance, revealing a big smile to the two.

"Brother Wukong, impressive! I wasn't wrong about you, hahaha!"

Mu Chenxuan burst into hearty laughter, clearly elated. There was no reason for him not to be happy—the greater Sun Wukong's potential and the stronger his power, the more advantageous it was for him. In the future, when he returned to the Demonic Realm to seek revenge against the Jidu Demon Emperor, he would have a powerful ally.

"Sun Wukong, you are quite something!"

Ying Long's gaze on Sun Wukong was complicated. After a long moment, he nodded seriously, affirming his approval.

The Ancient Heavenly Dragon Clan had always been proud and rarely appreciated other races, especially Ying Tian, who was one of the three Divine Dragons of the Heavenly Dragon Clan. Apart from the Heavenly Dao Saint, he looked down on everyone else. Even Cultivation Heavenly Venerable was only strong because of the Slaying Sword, in Ying Tian's view.

If it came down to true ability, he could easily crush the other party. Yet, he couldn't help but recognize and even admire Sun Wukong.

The first time they met was when Sun Wukong woke Ying Long from his slumber and had a fierce battle. At the time, Sun Wukong was at the Taiyi Golden Immortal level of cultivation, but the strength he showed was above that of a typical half-step Quasi-Saint, and his ultimate move was astonishingly powerful. Ying Tian, caught off guard, even suffered some minor injuries.

While Sun Wukong had shown incredible talent then, Ying Tian still regarded him as just a junior with potential. If not for the consideration of his second brother, Ao Tian, he wouldn't have intervened in the struggle between Sun Wukong and Cultivation Heavenly Venerable.

However, ever since Sun Wukong underwent a breakthrough in battle and entered that state of madly devouring all spiritual energy, Ying Tian's attitude toward Sun Wukong changed. Sun Wukong wasn't just showing potential anymore—he was rapidly converting that potential into power!

Indeed, after his breakthrough, Sun Wukong's power soared tremendously. Even the Absolute Sword Domain couldn't hinder him. Of course, Ying Tian didn't believe Sun Wukong to be stronger than he was; it just happened that Sun Wukong wasn't restricted by the Absolute Sword Domain. Even so, the combat power he exhibited was already comparable to that of a Quasi-Saint Realm powerhouse.

Afterward, Ying Long watched the entire battle between Sun Wukong and Cultivation Heavenly Venerable, clearly impressed by Sun Wukong's Innate Divine Ability, ultimate move power, and combat awareness. Unless he used his full strength, Ying Tian was not sure he could subdue Wukong. He finally understood why his haughty second brother, Ao Tian, was willing to sign a blood pact with the Dragon Clan.

Preserving one's life was one aspect, but more importantly, Ao Tian likely saw Sun Wukong's extraordinary potential early on and staked his claim! Continue your adventure at empire

With Cultivation Heavenly Venerable, the biggest obstacle, now gone, Sun Wukong and his group no longer delayed and flew directly towards the Dragon Nest to swiftly collect the Chaos Dragon Divine Armor and the Ancestral Dragon Pearl to allow Ao Tian to reconstruct his body. Sun Wukong also needed to leave the Heavenly Dragon Valley soon to return to Flower-Fruit Mountain.

He hadn't felt it during the battle, but now that it was quiet, there was a strange feeling that something might happen to Flower-Fruit Mountain, but he couldn't specify what it was. In any case, it was best to gather the treasures quickly and leave!

Heavenly Court, Lingxia Palace.

"Lord Li, are you sure that the Bull Demon King and Six-Eared Macaque have been practicing the Eight-Nine Profound Skill?"

Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing returned to the Heavenly Court and gave a detailed report of the campaign against Flower-Fruit Mountain to the Jade Emperor. He also mentioned that the Bull Demon King and the Six-Eared Macaque possessed the Eight-Nine Profound Skill, suspecting that there were Sect Hierarch-level powerhouses instructing them.

He even directly suggested it might be a strong figure from the Western Buddhist Sect. Of course, in Li Jing's words, he figured this out himself, and not a word mentioned Kui Wood Wolf.