Great Demon Sun Wukong

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Within that eyeball-like pattern was a pure space. By pure space, I mean there was nothing in it except the space itself. Of course, within this space, there was still a large cauldron, one of the Nine Tripod Cauldrons—the Liangzhou Cauldron. Compared to the previous few, the Liangzhou Cauldron seemed much more orthodox: a bronze square cauldron with four legs that struck fear into the heart of anyone who laid eyes on it.

But for Sun Wukong, the deterrent power of the large cauldron was clearly insufficient. Having found nothing special in this space, Wukong could not deduce who created this space, nor why the Liangzhou Cauldron was stored here. Nevertheless, these matters were not so important to Sun Wukong. After drawing a Blood Talisman on the body of the Liangzhou Cauldron, Wukong sealed another twenty puppets within that talisman. Thus far, including the three from Spiritual Mount, one from Mount Kunlun, and another from Qinling Mountains, plus this one from Changbai Mountains, he had now encountered six out of the Nine Cauldrons. And out of the two hundred puppets, he had sealed one hundred and twenty.

"Just three more cauldrons in Heaven to find, and sixty more puppets to seal. But there's no rush for Heaven—let's head back to Flower Fruit Mountain first," Wukong said, before departing the space immediately. Without further delay, he flew directly towards Flower Fruit Mountain. His first task was to deliver the Bull Demon King and Bajie to Flower Fruit Mountain, and then, as previously agreed, they were all to take their oaths of brotherhood together.

Additionally, Wukong remembered the senior Zhu Jiuyin, who had offered him significant help in the last battle and was said to reside in the East Sea. Wukong planned to pay a visit there too. Although his own cultivation had far surpassed Zhu Jiuyin by now, he was, after all, a junior. There were also the Taoist Hongjun and the immortal Yang Mei. Wukong didn't harbor any deep resentment towards these two, so when he first returned to the Pangu Realm, he had already spotted them but chose not to engage. Even if he and Bajie were to leave, with the residents of Flower Fruit Mountain present, those two could not stir up much trouble. Moreover, Wukong did not wish to be responsible for annihilating a Taoist lineage in his heart.

The journey passed without incident, and in a little over two Chinese hours, Wukong was back at Flower Fruit Mountain. Peng Demon King and the others were all waiting for him. Upon his return, Wukong's first move was to release the Bull Demon King and Bajie. The Bull Demon King was, of course, well-known to everyone, and with his introduction, Bajie quickly became part of the group. Then they resumed their merry feast, drinking till the world blurred. During the banquet, Peng Demon King and the others told the Bull Demon King about the Demon Clan's counterattack on Heaven and their subsequent ventures, to which he listened with sighs of emotion.

While the rest indulged in the feast, Ye Zi and Ye Wu took Wukong aside to a secluded spot. Wukong was surprised—what could Ye Zi and Ye Wu possibly have to say that required privacy from the others? "What's the matter, Ye Zi? Is there something you need to discuss? They are all my brothers; there's no need to be so secretive," Wukong remarked. Ye Zi simply shook her head and asked, "Wukong, when are you planning to leave?" Wukong knew what she was referring to and thought for a moment before replying, "In about six or seven days, I suppose. I still have some matters to deal with. Why, are you in a hurry?"

Ye Zi neither nodded nor shook her head but glanced at Ye Wu and then, seemingly gathering her courage, said, "Wukong, both Ye Wu and I... we would like to stay here, is that okay?" Before Wukong could express his surprise, Ye Wu covered her face with her hand and said, "Benefactor, I also wish to stay here. Unlike Ye Zi, I do so because I've grown fond of Dapeng and these brothers. I've said my piece, now I'll go back to drinking." Watching Ye Wu cover her face and head back, Wukong was thoroughly confused. What was going on? And why did it seem like Ye Wu was rather disdainful towards Ye Zi?

"Are you sure you want to stay here? Both of you have Domain Lord Level strength. What makes you want to stay in this small world?" Wukong was genuinely curious. Initially, he had impulsively decided to bring Ye Zi back to the Pangu Realm merely because Ye Zi, being from the Patrolling Celestial World, had nowhere else to go after leaving, and also because there was a fragment of the Bodhi Branch given by his master, Dao Zhun, in Ye Zi's possession—a fragment that was the sole hope for Dao Zhun's resurrection. However, since Dao Zhun had gifted it to Ye Zi, Wukong did not press her for it.

"Umm, well, the thing is, I actually... I actually really like the scenery here!" Wukong could tell even a fool could see Ye Zi was not being sincere—and he even noticed she was blushing! "Ye Zi, this isn't like you; you're acting more like my Second Brother now. Don't tell me that you've..." "Alright, alright, stop guessing. I'll just tell you straight, but please don't make fun of me, or else I'll fight you!" Wukong immediately grew serious. "You're my brother; how could I possibly laugh at you? Just tell me, and it's okay for both of you to stay here!" Seeing Wukong's earnestness, Ye Zi relaxed a little before stuttering out, "I... I've fallen for someone!" Wukong was startled and blurted out, "It's not that tri-eyed guy, is it?"

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Sun Wukong had just finished speaking when Ye Zi was taken aback, but soon he knew exactly who Sun Wukong was referring to. He became furious and reached out to grab Sun Wukong's throat, shouting loudly, "I don't like that three-eyed guy, I like Zixia. You're the one who likes three eyes!" Although Ye Zi seemed fierce, his strength was actually no match for Sun Wukong, so Wukong broke free in just a few moments, quickly dodged to the side, and said, "My bad, my bad, let's talk serious stuff, talk serious stuff. You said you liked Zixia? The one from Heaven?"

As soon as Ye Zi heard Sun Wukong mention Zixia, his anger subsided a bit, and he glanced at Wukong with annoyance, saying, "That's right, that woman who is as beautiful as a Heavenly Immortal! That's why I want to stay here. Got it?" Sun Wukong wanted to laugh but restrained himself. A Domain Lord Level powerhouse, with a brother who is also a combat-type Domain Lord Level, both would be highly sought after by countless forces. Yet now, Ye Zi wanted to stay in a small world just for a little demon whose strength had just reached the Earth Immortal Realm, and he was very adamant about it; nobody would believe this if it were told!

However, Sun Wukong did not doubt Ye Zi, because with his Heaven and Earth Fire Eyes, he could easily see through whether someone was lying or not. Clearly, Ye Zi's words came from the heart. Now that he thought about it, the reason why Ye Wu covered his face and walked away was probably because he felt that Ye Zi was utterly embarrassing!

Seeing that Sun Wukong did not respond, Ye Zi became anxious. Although he possessed Domain Lord Level power, the place where he'd always lived was the Patrolling Celestial World; what kind of place was that? Not to mention Domain Lords walking around everywhere, it was definitely a place brimming with powerhouses. And among the four ferocious beasts of the Patrolling Celestial World, Ye Zi was the weakest; this was coupled with encountering a group of even more powerful Nine Patterns Supreme powerhouses later, including Domain Lords, and even powerhouses at the Half-step Heavenly Venerate and Heavenly Venerate Level. So, Ye Zi always thought of his own strength as quite weak. That was why he could be brothers with the likes of Peng Demon King, who were only at the Saint Realm, because in Ye Zi's heart, he didn't see any difference between them and himself.

"So, how about it, monkey, is it not possible?" Sun Wukong had been a bit distracted just now, and only when called by Ye Zi did he reply, "There's nothing impossible about it, but you have to promise me three things; otherwise, I won't let you stay here!" As soon as Ye Zi heard there was a way, he immediately became excited and said, "Don't say three things; even three hundred would be fine, just spill it!" Sun Wukong nodded and said, "First, this is a small world, which will eventually evolve into an Intermediate World, but your power is still too strong for this place. So, the first thing is you must never use power that exceeds the limits of this world. And although I've placed a Seal on your strength, this Seal is one-time only, meaning if I leave later and you break the Seal yourself, you will be kicked back to any High Level world by cosmic rules in a short period of time. Do you understand what I mean?"

Ye Zi nodded quickly, saying, "I understand, I understand. It means first, I can't use power beyond the limits, and second, I can't break the Seal." Sun Wukong nodded and continued, "Second thing, in case of necessity, I need you to go all out to protect the inhabitants of my Flower Fruit Mountain, to protect them. Can you do it?" Ye Zi looked somewhat dissatisfied at Sun Wukong and said, "What kind of person do you take me for? Flower Fruit Mountain is my second home; the people here are my brothers. How could I let them be in danger? Don't worry about that. Even if I can't beat them at the time, there's still Ye Wu, right?"

"Yeah, I believe you. And the last thing is for you to go to Heaven and be the Jade Emperor, the Jade Emperor!" "Huh? Jade Emperor? What's that?" Sun Wukong was taken aback, but then he quickly realized the term "Jade Emperor" must be unique to their Pangu Realm; it's normal Ye Zi wouldn't know, so Wukong explained, "That is, go to Heaven, be the boss, be the boss of this world!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Zi immediately showed reluctance, saying, "Can we pick something else? I don't like having lots to do every day, and being the boss is the last thing I wish for. How nice would it be to just roam and play with Zixia in Flower Fruit Mountain every day!" Sun Wukong, however, shook his head and said, "You don't understand, Ye Zi. If you were the Jade Emperor, then Zixia would be the Queen Mother, the most respected and beautiful woman in the world. Think about it, how impressive it would be to go out with Zixia then. Everyone who sees you would have to kneel!"

Ye Zi had not been very interested, but the thought of this immediately lit up his eyes, and he quickly slapped Sun Wukong's hand saying, "I think the role of Jade Emperor was meant for me!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you're welcome to cast your recommendation votes and Monthly Pass at Starting Point (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)