Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

The coverage of the Sky-Binding Formation was much wider than Sun Wukong had imagined. He had walked a great distance along the road from the edge of the Naihe Bridge, and had still not escaped the restriction range of the formation, causing Wukong to frown slightly.

"That Ghost Mother mentioned something about this Sky-Binding Formation being called the Nether Soul-Trap Formation. Why doesn't it affect her?"

Sun Wukong stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowing slightly. The Ghost Mother's cultivation was the same as his; both were at the Taiyi Scattered Immortal Realm, and her strength was not even as great as his. So why was she completely unaffected by the Nether Soul-Trap Formation's restrictions?

Wukong recalled the appearance of the Great Dao Runes within the formation that he had seen through the Void-Breaking Divine Eye, some of which he hadn't understood at the time. Now, as he carefully pondered them, they seemed to resemble the runes of a Spirit Gathering Formation, yet there were differences. Could it be...

"That's it, this is the Netherworld, so naturally the formation laid here must draw on the Netherworld Ghost Qi to maintain its operation. Netherworld Ghost Qi, Netherworld Ghost Qi... What I lack compared to that Ghost Mother, isn't it just Netherworld Ghost Qi?"

Sun Wukong's eyes suddenly lit up with realization. He understood now why the Ghost Mother was not affected by the Nether Soul-Trap Formation—it was because the Immortal Force circulating within her was transformed from the absorption of Netherworld Ghost Qi.

In contrast, his own body circulated Immortal Primordial Force converted from nature's spiritual energy of the World of the Living, one being yin and the other yang, naturally with different effects.

"I wonder if I can now absorb and refine this Netherworld Ghost Qi?"

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than Sun Wukong could no longer hold himself back. Being impulsive by nature, he acted as soon as he thought, immediately stimulating the Eight-Nine Profound Skill, letting go of his body's resistance to the Netherworld Ghost Qi, attracting the diffusing Netherworld Ghost Qi around him, and carefully inhaling it into his body.

"This Netherworld Ghost Qi is really strange!"

The moment the Netherworld Ghost Qi entered his body, Wukong felt a chill surge up his spine to the crown of his head, causing him to shiver uncontrollably. The Immortal Force within him reacted as if it had met its natural enemy, instantly boiling up. Indeed, the Netherworld Ghost Qi and the spiritual energy of the World of the Living were diametrically opposed, incompatible as water and fire!

Suppressing the surprise in his heart, Sun Wukong fully activated the Eight-Nine Profound Skill to stabilize the Immortal Force, keeping it from touching the Netherworld Ghost Qi for the time being, allowing the Netherworld Ghost Qi to run alongside the Immortal Force through his meridians and following the circulation routes of the Eight-Nine Profound Skill within his body.

If Wukong's method were to be spread, it would shock countless people to the point of their jaws dropping. It is commonly known that whether human, demon, immortal, or devil, only one type of strength can be circulated within the body at a time.

The fact that Sun Wukong was able to circulate two completely different types of power within the same meridian was absolutely unprecedented, something even a Heavenly Dao Saint could not achieve!

But to Sun Wukong, this seemed like nothing special, as normal to him as eating, drinking, and relieving himself.

Under the circulation of the Zhou Tian cycle within the body's meridians, the Netherworld Ghost Qi gradually transformed into a new kind of strength, retaining the corrosive trait and extreme yin property of Netherworld Ghost Qi, but the incompatibility between it and the Immortal Force vanished.

"Since it is transformed from Netherworld Ghost Qi, might as well call it Nether Primordial Force. Perhaps, it could be merged with Immortal Force, maybe a more refined Primordial Force could be created?"

Wukong had another breakthrough idea and went to execute it immediately. Anyone else would probably not have been as bold as he was. Without even confirming the specific properties of the newly created Nether Primordial Force, he fused it with the original Primordial Force. This was no longer describable as crazy; it was tantamount to playing with one's life!

But Sun Wukong did it anyway. At his core, he was still the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, known for his daring courage. Though his experiences of dying and coming back to life in a previous existence had made him a bit more prudent and worldly, his spirit of adventure had never changed.

Perhaps it was Sun Wukong's good fortune that the newly created Nether Primordial Force did not clash with the Immortal Force, or maybe it had something to do with his special physique.

Although he still had seven drops of the Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood unabsorbed and stored inside him and had not yet transformed his Heavenly Demon Body into a Chaotic Divine Body, he already possessed some of the characteristics of the Chaotic Divine Body. In any case, the fusion of Netherworld Ghost Qi transformed force and Immortal Force did not go awry.

As the two types of force merged, a new grey force emerged in the meridians inside Sun Wukong's body.

This newly appeared force was extremely refined. Although the quantity was much less than the original Immortal Force, roughly one-tenth after merging one part Immortal Force with one part Nether Primordial Force, Wukong could feel the terrifying power within it. The destructive force it contained was something that neither Immortal Force nor Nether Primordial Force could rival!

It could be said that after the fusion of the two forces, though the quantity had greatly reduced, the quality had increased by several times. If Wukong ignited an array or imbued a magical treasure with this new force for an attack, the power would certainly be considerable...

"Huh!"

While immersed in joy, Sun Wukong's back was struck hard, pulling him out of his cultivating state. His Golden Chainmail Armor was directly torn, splitting in two; this piece of Immortal Armor was now undoubtedly ruined.

"Which bastard ambushed me?"

A surge of fury rose from the depths of his heart, and a terrifying ferocity flashed in Sun Wukong's eyes, which turned gold as the Void-Breaking Divine Eye instantly entered combat mode. Turning his head and scanning, he located the Ghost Mother and her three companions hiding behind a large boulder. Without saying anything, he drew out the Ruyi Silver-Hooped Rod and smashed it towards the boulder.

Boom!

The ground cracked instantly under the impact, the boulder shattered, and the Ghost Mother and her companions scrambled out from behind the destroyed rock, all with looks of shock on their faces.

"This monkey has such a formidable body, he didn't even get injured!"

Indra's pupils involuntarily shrank. The stealth attack he had unleashed on Sun Wukong was his own doing, and with his energy accumulation, not to mention a Taiyi Scattered Immortal, even a Daluo Golden Immortal would probably have a hard time if hit, yet Sun Wukong only had his armor damaged, without a single mark on his body. Could this guy possibly have a Vajra Indestructible Body?

"It was you?"

Sun Wukong's gaze fixed on the Netherworld Ghost Mother, with a chilling light flashing in his eyes as cold as a wind blowing from the Nine Nethers, "I've said before, if there was a next time, you would be dead! It seems like you didn't take my words to heart, huh. Recruiting help and coming after me again! Good, very good!"

"Which one of you four! Who launched a sneak attack on me just now?"

Dragging the Ruyi Silver-Hooped Rod behind him, Sun Wukong's golden eyes swept across the Netherworld Ghost Mother and her companions. Step by step, he walked toward them, "What's the matter, brave enough to sneak attack but now too scared to admit it? Hiding like a turtle in its shell!"

"I was the one who struck. What are you going to do about it," Indra snorted coldly. He felt very uneasy about Sun Wukong's condescending tone. They were, after all, the four great Demon Generals of the Asura Tribe. When was it their turn to be reprimanded and finger-pointed by a member of the Demon Clan?

"You? Good, you have the courage to admit it, a bit of guts! But, you picked the wrong target!"

Before his words ended, Sun Wukong had already transformed into a bolt of lightning, charging toward Indra with merciless moves.

"Heaven-Breaking Seventy-Two Strokes!"

The Ruyi Silver-Hooped Rod was entwined with raging True Solar Fire as it suddenly transformed into seventy-two fiery rod shadows, thundering towards Indra with the force of a landslide.

"This is bad!"

Indra's face paled dramatically as Sun Wukong's move sealed off the entire space, leaving no room to dodge. Each rod shadow was as heavy as a mountain, containing terrifying power. Getting hit by just one could be catastrophic, let alone so many of them.

"Ghost Mother, Vishnu, Lutoro!"

Indra swung his Nether Soul Mace, mustering all his strength to strike at the rod shadows, while simultaneously bellowing for help. He could no longer care about face at this moment; the power of Sun Wukong's move was too great, he simply could not handle it alone!

"Indra, don't panic, we are here to help you!"

The moment Sun Wukong made his move, the Netherworld Ghost Mother and the other two felt that something was wrong. They could sense the terror of Sun Wukong's attack. Although it was not directed at them, the might of it was still alarming. Without waiting for Indra's plea for help, they would not stand by idly.

All three brandished their own weapons and rushed forward, joining Indra to fend off the sky-full of rod shadows.

After a series of thunderous noises, the rod shadows vanished. With the help of the Netherworld Ghost Mother and her companions, Sun Wukong's Heaven-Breaking Seventy-Two Strokes was narrowly blocked. But at this point, the faces of Indra and the others no longer bore their previous arrogance. They were pale and gasping for air, their eyes filled with terror.

Including the Netherworld Ghost Mother herself, none of them had expected Sun Wukong to be capable of unleashing such a destructive attack. If they hadn't combined their efforts, that move would've been enough to blast Indra to pieces!

"You, have provoked someone you shouldn't have!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The cold voice sounded again as Sun Wukong's golden pupils filled with a chilling murderous intent. True Solar Fire entwined around his entire body, making him look like a God of Slaughter standing three meters away as he coldly watched the Netherworld Ghost Mother and her companions.

"Quick, fly up, he's restricted by the Nether Soul-Trap Formation and can't fly!"

The Netherworld Ghost Mother yelled out. The four of them hastily took to the sky and only when they reached midair did they feel somewhat at ease.

"This monkey is too terrifying!"

Indra was soaked in cold sweat. Now he truly understood why the Netherworld Ghost Mother couldn't even withstand three moves without being injured at Sun Wukong's hands.

Considering the horrifying power that the monkey had just unleashed, it wouldn't just be three moves—had the attack been targeted at the Netherworld Ghost Mother with the same lethal force, one move would have been sufficient to kill her!