Great Demon Sun Wukong

The next day, Sun Wukong returned to Heaven with Fan Xin. He did not disclose where he had gone on that particular day to anyone, and Fan Xin was even less likely to speak of it. Having returned to Heaven, Fan Xin first visited the Peach Garden, saying she wanted to chat with Zixia, while Sun Wukong went to see Master Zhu Bajie and others. Although Master Sanzang's temperament had changed a lot after his resurrection, his heart towards Buddhism was not only undiminished but even more steadfast. These past few days, Sanzang had become somewhat anxious. After Sun Wukong promised to set off early the next morning, he went straight to the Thirty-Three Heavens.

He could feel that the other three great cauldrons were within the Thirty-Three Heavens. Sure enough, within the Thirty-Three Heavens, Sun Wukong found three palaces, one of which he was very familiar with and had visited many times—Supreme Elder Lord's Palace of the Pleasure Dome. Besides this, on either side of the Palace of the Pleasure Dome were the Jade Void Palace and Biyou Palace, which came as a surprise to Sun Wukong. These three palaces respectively belonged to the Supreme Elder Lord, the Heavenly Venerate Yuanshi, and Master Tongtian.

If Sun Wukong remembered correctly, there shouldn't be three palaces here. The Thirty-Three Heavens should only contain one, which is the Supreme Elder Lord's Palace of the Pleasure Dome. Meanwhile, the Jade Void Palace, also known as the Golden Hall of Jade Capital, refers to Mount Kunlun, where the Golden Hall is the Jade Void Palace. This Jade Void Palace, being one of the Four Great Immortal Palaces of the Pangu Realm, should be located at the summit of Great Luo Heaven, atop Mount Kunlun, on Kirin Cliff. Previously, when Sun Wukong felt a cauldron's destiny in Mount Kunlun, he thought it was within the Jade Void Palace, but it turned out to be at the base of Mount Kunlun.

The Four Great Immortal Palaces of the Pangu Realm are, respectively: Shen Zhou Celestial Dynasty's Mount Buzhou, Great Sun Divine Palace; Xuan Du Purple Mansion's Great Luo Mountain, Eight Scenic Palaces; Jade Capital's Golden Hall: Mount Kunlun, Jade Void Palace; Immortal Domain Sword Pavilion: Penglai Island, Biyou Palace. Mount Buzhou was destroyed in the ancient battle between Zhurong and Gonggong, leaving only three of the great immortal palaces. Among them, the Eight Scenic Palaces located on Great Luo Mountain were the domain of the Supreme Elder Lord. However, after the Supreme Elder Lord was invited to Heaven to perform alchemy for the Jade Emperor, he relocated the Eight Scenic Palaces to the Thirty-Three Heavens, renaming them as the Palace of the Pleasure Dome.

The Biyou Palace, originally Belonging to the Immortal Domain Sword Pavilion on Penglai Island, was the domain of Master Tongtian. The four Immortal Swords of Master Tongtian were the treasures of the Immortal Domain Sword Pavilion. However, after the pavilion master ascended to the Upper Realm, the sword pavilion essentially became defunct, leaving only Tongtian by himself. The sect he later founded, the Interception Sect, was, in essence, an initiative to revive the Immortal Domain Sword Pavilion. Therefore, seeing these three palaces now in the Third Chamber of the Thirty-Three Heavens, Sun Wukong was indeed surprised, but that was all. Since these three palaces were now without masters, Sun Wukong naturally did not hesitate to take charge.

Within each of the three palaces, Sun Wukong found the Qingzhou Cauldron, Xuzhou Cauldron, and Yangzhou Cauldron, but he did not leave the three great cauldrons within these palaces. Instead, he moved them outside Heaven, forming a triangle around it. Using the three cauldrons, Sun Wukong set up a Seal Heavenly Barrier. This was a technique Sun Wukong comprehended from the Seal Heavenly Stamp, combined with the three cauldrons, the strength of this barrier even reached the power of a Nine Patterns Supreme; in other words, no one below a Nine Patterns Supreme could break it. Of course, Sun Wukong's intention was not to seal Heaven but to form a defensive barrier; thus, he left four entrances at the east, south, west, and north of Heaven.

That is to say, the Southern Gate of Heaven remained the only entrance to Heaven, with the other three celestial gates usually closed and only opened during times of war. Sun Wukong had done everything within his power to restore the original order and function of Heaven. The Pangu Realm needed Heaven to maintain the balance of the Three Realms and required a group of righteous immortals to fulfill their duties.

Subsequently, Sun Wukong concealed the three great cauldrons within the void. Just then, he suddenly remembered something concerning the Twelve Ancestral Witches! Previously in the Pangu Realm, Master Tongtian summoned puppets made from the corporeal bodies of the Twelve Ancestral Witches. At that time, the twelve were Zhurong the Fire God, Gonggong the Water Deity, Xing Tian the War God, as well as Di Jiang, Hou Yi, Kuafu, Thunder God, Ru Shou, Ju Mang, Xuan Ming, Hou Tu, and the Wind and Rain Master. During their time in the Patrolling Celestial World, the Ancestral Witches summoned by Tongtian—who are currently residing in the World Within Sun Wukong's Jingu Bang—are: Di Jiang, Ju Mang, Ru Shou, Gonggong, Zhurong, Tian Wu, Qiang Liang, Yi Zhao, Zhu Long, She Bishi, Hou Tu, and Xuan Ming.

Among them, Zhurong, Gonggong, Xing Tian, Hou Yi, Kuafu, and Thunder God have broken free from Master Tongtian's control through their own will and vanished without a trace. However, Sun Wukong had practically searched the entire Pangu Realm but found no sign of these six individuals, meaning they had either been utterly destroyed or were not in the Pangu Realm. The greatest possibility is that they had ascended to the Upper Realm after the Heavenly Dao vanished.

Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that one of the original Seven Great Sages, the Macaque King, had perished in the great battle, but now he had reincarnated as an Earth Immortal and was serving in Heaven. Sun Wukong did not awaken the Macaque King's memories but entrusted Ye Zi with his care before letting him be. Sun Wukong's true nature revered freedom—the freedom of himself and all living beings. He would not actively interfere with the lives of others, and that was the freedom Sun Wukong granted.

Counting on my fingers, the matters of the Pangu Realm were basically settled, and there were no regrets left for me, so, come early morning, it was time to hit the road. Now Sun Wukong's only wish was to accompany his master to complete this journey, then return to the Pangu Realm to live a peaceful life. Back in Heaven, with the help of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and a group of celestial ministers, Ye Zi ascended to the Jade Emperor's throne, becoming the supreme sovereign. Meanwhile, the Platinum Star of the White Emperor made a public announcement throughout the realms and dispatched envoys to inform all the existing powers, great and small, in the Pangu Realm, deciding to hold Ye Zi's enthronement ceremony seven days later. However, regretfully, Sun Wukong and his group would not be able to attend.

Originally, Zhu Bajie was not formally enthroned as emperor; he merely occupied the Jade Emperor's dragon chair, temporarily taking on the Jade Emperor's duties to manage Heaven's affairs, for a nation cannot last a day without its ruler, let alone the Pangu Realm, which was in chaos after a great battle. Therefore, Ye Zi should be considered the second Jade Emperor of the Pangu Realm. Moreover, Ye Zi decided that since he had become the Jade Emperor, the ruler of the Pangu Realm, the name Ye Zi was no longer appropriate; what kind of casual name is that for an emperor? Thus, he decided to rename himself Ye You. His brother was Ye Wu, and he was Ye You.

However, after being beaten up by Sun Wukong, Ye Zi reluctantly changed You to You, meaning "to wander the world like a deity," and so, under the manipulation of Sun Wukong and others, the second Jade Emperor of the Pangu Realm, the Eternal Great Saint Ye You, was born. And after Ye Zi, no, Ye You ascended the throne, he immediately issued three edicts. The first was to crown Fairy Zixia as queen consort, the maternal figure of the world. The second was to abolish the post of Patrol God because it conflicted with his name. The third was to bestow titles upon the saints of the Demon Clan and declare that Heaven and the Demon Clan would be eternal allies.

Among them, the Bull Demon King was made Extinguish Spirit General; the Peng Demon King, Extinguish Authority General; the Flood Dragon Demon King, Extinguish Admiration General; the Lion Camel King, Execute Spirit General; the Yu Monarch King, Execute Authority General; Yang Jian, Execute Admiration General; the Eight-Gods Flame, Suppress Rhino General; and Ye Wu, Suppress Shining General. All were ranked among the celestial cadres, commanding Heaven's celestial soldiers. From these titles, it was clear just how much Ye Zi resented Ling Weiyang and Xi Zhao. But the meaning behind these titles was something only Ye Zi and Ye Wu truly understood. Ye Zi was indeed capricious enough.

Early the next day, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, White Dragon, and Tang Sanzang, master and disciples, had already packed their bags and, under the eyes of the Demon Race of Heaven and the followers of Buddhism led by the Holy Buddha Ksitigarbha, stepped directly onto the void and left the Pangu Realm. This time, Sun Wukong planned to travel all the way to the Ancient Primordial World. This was mainly because his master and Bajie were lacking in cultivation—it was best to cultivate along the way, ascending from the smaller worlds all the way to the Ancient Primordial World. Otherwise, if Sun Wukong used his mystic space to carry his master and others to the Ancient Primordial World, although such a move was possible, once they arrived there, unless Sun Wukong continuously shielded them with his spiritual power, as soon as they were exposed to the terrifying spiritual energy and pressure of the Ancient Primordial World, they would definitely burst.

Such an act would be tantamount to abandoning the fundamentals for the trivial. Therefore, only with the help of Sun Wukong, letting his master and brothers cultivate along the way and ascend to the Ancient Primordial World with their own strength was the best option. Although this method may take a lot of time, for Sun Wukong, time was not as important as his master and brothers. However, since the Pangu Realm had lost the Heavenly Dao, Sun Wukong had to lead the way for the ascent to the Upper Realm.

Among the party of five, only Tang Sanzang was at the primary grade of a Saint; Zhu Bajie was at the peak of the Unity Dao, White Dragon at the peak of a Great Dao Saint, Sha Wujing was a Nine Patterns Supreme, but Sun Wukong had sealed him at the peak of a Great Dao Saint. Thus, in the past few days, Sun Wukong had Ye Zi and Zhu Bajie help their master upgrade his cultivation to the peak of a Great Dao Saint, barely meeting the qualifications for ascension.

While Sun Wukong and his party were on their way to the intermediate world of the Upper Realm, the civil war in the Myriad Demons Country had essentially come to an end. With the help of the Nine Kirins and many other powerful beings, Ling Weiyang and Xi Zhao succeeded in wiping out the remnants of the Hidden Realm, succeeding in their revolution. Subsequently, Ling Weiyang became the new Domain Lord of the Myriad Demons Country, and the Nine Kirins became the Protector of the Nation War God. Qian Shang and others were made the new Demon Gods. Once the situation in the Myriad Demons Country had stabilized, Xi Zhao immediately led people back to the Annihilation Demon Nation; but when he returned, Xi Zhao almost went mad.

"Who was it, who annihilated my Annihilation Demon Nation? That's right, the Heritage Site, my Heritage Site!" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it with your recommendation tickets and monthly passes at Starting Point (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)