With such a turn of events, those monkeys wouldn't be...
"No!"
Sun Wukong's face contorted in pain as he struggled weakly. Yet he was held firmly by the head by that giant hand, forced to look at the billowing black smoke in the distance and the raging inferno.
Out of nowhere, an image of the monkey troop being torched by the great fire and collapsing in endless agony appeared in his mind.
Sun Wukong's eyes bulged with fury, but he could only let out an impotent roar under the constriction of the giant hand, until his eyes burst and his throat tore. The fire in the mountains burnt even more fiercely.
"Hahahaha, hahahaha..."
Lifting the golden monkey above his head, seeing his eyes filled with hatred, the burly man laughed wildly, feeling enlightened and exhilarated.
"Hahahaha! This is the result of your desperate struggle. If you had chosen differently, perhaps you could have left some seedlings behind. But you made this choice, so who can you blame?"
"Hahahaha..."
The barbarian faced man couldn't stop laughing, lifting Sun Wukong high so he had to watch the sky-reddening mountain blaze. "How does it feel, watching your own hands doom your entire race? Is it extremely painful, extremely distressing?"
"Yes, yes, yes! That's the expression I want, more agony, more distortion. Then laugh for me... laugh, I say!"
"Hahahaha... Laugh for me, I say!"
Bang!
A sudden punch landed on Sun Wukong's stomach, an immense force exploding and flinging him around in the air like a ragdoll.
Then he began to vomit blood profusely.
Large amounts splattered on the face of the burly man, who continued his distorted laugh, licking it with his tongue before landing another punch in the same spot.
Bang!
Sun Wukong's body was tossed again, accompanied by the sound of his bones breaking. Now, the golden monkey was completely limp, his body probably bereft of a single intact bone.
And amid severe injuries, he was now on the verge of death. Together with the scene of his monkey troop slowly being incinerated in the crimson flames, the spiritual platform bearing the rune seals had become riddled with holes. The three rune seals were now dim and lifeless, on the brink of shattering.
And if the spiritual platform were to break,
Then he, the golden monkey, would truly die.
"You must have all heard the stories about him..."
"Some say he helped Tang Sanzang obtain the true scriptures and was crowned the Great Victory Fighting Buddha, thereafter... remaining on Spirit Mountain."
Old Monkey!
He actually...
Sun Wukong was stunned, looking askance only to indeed see that figure in a monk's robe.
In this bloody place, he was unharmed, still sitting cross-legged on a stone as usual, his head bowed low, slowly twisting Buddha Beads.
"Hmm... huhuhu..."
"Others say that the one who became a Buddha was not him; the real one... died on the journey to the West."
"Some even say that the Journey to the West... never happened at all."
"He was merely a character fabricated by a storyteller... just a monkey!"
"Hehe!"
"But the story I'm going to tell you, you've definitely never heard."
"This story begins with a golden cicada..."
The old monkey, just like always, twisted his Buddha Beads surrounded by a pack of wolves, and once again began the tale of the golden cicada.
Sun Wukong stared blankly, as his vision blurred from the ebbing of his life force.
Then he watched vaguely...
Watching himself getting closer and closer to the old monkey...
Watching the saber come slashing down...
Watching the old monkey being sliced in two...
Then after a shake, the scene finally froze on the barbarian faced man's wildly laughing face.
"Let me tell you a secret!"
"We've been targeting your group of monkeys who ran out from the Black Wind Mountain!"
"In Black Wind Mountain, we've slain countless generations. To say the least... it has been quite enjoyable."
"Hahahahaha..."
…
Originally,
was I targeted from the very beginning?
Great Saint, oh Great Saint, what has happened to you?
Could it be that you really perished on the journey to the West?
Sun Wukong's consciousness was blurred.
His mind was adrift in chaotic thoughts.
Finally, his eyelids drooped heavily, and he completely lost consciousness.
And at the moment he closed his eyes,
upon the blood-red earth, tendrils of black mist drifted in, merging into the broken monkey body, and at last congregated on the spiritual platform, beginning to form a unique — Black Rune Seal.
Such a transformation instantly awakened the triumphant, laughing brute. When he caught sight of that dense black mist, his complexion changed dramatically, "No! Impossible! How could he be related to, uh..."
Falling silent at that point, the brawny man abruptly covered his mouth, looked up at the sky with an expression full of horror, and broke into a cold sweat.
It was a close call.
To dare to speculate about those beings above, if their names were spoken and they became aware, there would be no chance of survival.
The brute patted his chest with lingering fear, then looked ominously at the golden monkey enveloped in black mist, "Damn it! If only I had killed this monkey right away. Leaving him till now has led to this situation; I can't kill him, nor dare touch him. Do I just let him grow and seek revenge later?"
"No, no! I need to think of a solution, or else there will be endless trouble!"
Knowing that such beings grow at an alarming rate, the brute was pacing anxiously, then suddenly slapped his palm, "That's right! The leader of the Saber Wolf Sect is in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, I can go find him!"
His strength is formidable; he should not fear this cause and effect, and being in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range would save a lot of time.
The brute thought so, unaware of the earth-shattering changes happening to Sun Wukong in his hand.
The scenery on his spiritual platform was drastically altered.
His consciousness also became clear.
The changing magical melody had turned into a golden stone tablet, with a gold cicada sculpture at the top corner, from which a flood of marvelous uses and information emerged.
The artifact Rune Seal also changed its form, becoming a golden staff.
There was also the Divine Skills Rune Seal, which turned directly into a golden book. At this moment, it was opened to a page with the title: "Paralyze Spell" in three large characters, followed by the invocation and some introductions, flowing straight into his memory.
And the most, most, most... most surprising was the fourth new Rune Seal that appeared — the Black Monkey Rune Seal.
Its aura was strange to say the least, and it did not cater to the monkey, no matter how much he coaxed, acting like an inanimate object...
Could this be a freak?
As soon as this thought emerged, in Sun Wukong's shocked gaze, the Black Monkey Rune Seal suddenly stood up and let out a fierce roar.
???
This roar actually expelled him from his spiritual platform.
Opening his eyes, he saw the face that he resented most.
"This is impossible!" The brute cried out in shock, having never expected Sun Wukong to awaken so quickly, and inadvertently released his grip.
Damn it!
"I'll kill you!"
Facing his nemesis fueled his fury all the more, and Sun Wukong pointed decisively, directly using the Paralyze Spell.
"Freeze!"
Sun Wukong's fingertip burst forth with golden light, the Rune Seal flashed, and directly paralyzed the brute where he stood.
"...Uh..."
The brute showed terror; Sun Wukong's transformation was too rapid, so fast that he had no time to react and was fixed in place.
When he saw Sun Wukong take up the long saber and place it across his own neck, the brute's face finally wore an expression of despair, pleading in his eyes, only to see Sun Wukong with an icy countenance, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
And just as despair set in,
the brute suddenly felt his body loosen up.
The Paralyze Spell was unexpectedly broken.