Great Demon Sun Wukong

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Actually, Six-Eared Macaque held a fondness for Flower Fruit Mountain deep in his heart, as after all, it was the place of his birth. But when even that old monkey failed to recognize him, he was filled with nothing but a sense of grievance and rage, coupled with much incomprehension.

Didn't he once set out to sea to seek immortality for the Monkey Tribe, specifically visiting immortals and seeking the Way, ultimately spending over a hundred years in arduous study in Beiju Luzhou? Weren't these efforts all for the Monkey Tribe?

Yet, they remembered only Ling Ming Stone Monkey, acknowledging that the Ling Ming Stone Monkey was the king, while I, the Six-Eared Macaque, am nothing! The more he thought about it, the sadder he became; the more he contemplated, the more his heart ached. And deep within, the demon that the old monk had bewitched into his heart began to stir secretly.

All of a sudden, Six-Eared Macaque let out a furious roar toward the sky and then leaped into the air, charging straight towards the clouds.

The other monkeys thought he was just a wayward monkey and didn't pay much attention, except for the oldest clan elder, who cast a long, lingering look in the direction where Six-Eared Macaque had disappeared, then shook his head and slowly walked back, leaning on his walking stick.

But no sooner had the monkeys dispersed than a loud call from afar was heard: "My children, your Old Sun has returned!" Hearing this familiar voice, the whole of Flower Fruit Mountain erupted, and all members of the Monkey Tribe gathered from all directions, cheerfully hailing the return of the Beautiful Monkey King.

When the figure in the sky landed, the monkeys saw clearly, indeed it was their king, so they all flocked to Sun Wukong's side.

"Monkeys, go tell everyone that Old Sun has returned."

At his command, the monkeys dispersed instantly—some went to spread the news to others, while some prepared fruits and fine wine. It seemed as if Sun Wukong's return was their grandest festival. And there was Sun Wukong, witnessing it all, his face inscrutable. What he was truly thinking in his heart, perhaps, only he knew!

Soon, all the monkeys, young and old, had gathered inside the Water Curtain Cave, and it was fortunate that the Cave was spacious enough; otherwise, it would not have been able to hold them all. Sun Wukong held a jug of fine wine in one hand and lounged on the throne within the Water Curtain Cave, not saying anything, just watching the ecstatic celebration of the monkeys below, lost in thought.

At that moment, the elderly clan leader, supported by a few sturdy monkeys, approached Sun Wukong. He bowed slightly and addressed Sun Wukong, "Great King, didn't you go with Tang Monk to the Western Paradise to retrieve the scriptures? What brings you back so suddenly?"

"Heh, it's the old monkey. That Tang Monk has mundane eyes, yet is also dull-witted and stubborn; following him to retrieve the scriptures from the Western Paradise simply buried Old Sun's talents." Having said that, Sun Wukong paused, then addressed the monkeys below, "Monkeys, who wants to accompany Old Sun to the Western Paradise to retrieve the scriptures? This is a great act of merit."

"I will, I want to go!" "You're not as skilled as me, it should be me who goes!"

In an instant, there was a cacophony of voices beneath him. Suddenly, a monkey called out loudly, "Great King, if we go to retrieve the scriptures ourselves, do we need to bring any luggage or something? Last time you returned, you mentioned something about Travel Documents, but we don't have any of that."

Sun Wukong waved his hand with a heh-heh laugh, "That's a trivial matter. Just wait, I'll go and fetch those Travel Documents."

With that said, he somersaulted into the air and in a blink, he had become a streak of light, vanishing from sight.

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After that, you all probably know what happened. Sun Wukong first attacked Tang Sanzang and Zhu Bajie, and he stole their travel documents and luggage. Then, upon returning to Flower Fruit Mountain, he picked three monkeys and transformed them into the likenesses of Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing.

However, at that moment, he was found by the real Sha Wujing, and after a series of misunderstandings, the two Sun Wukongs finally met face to face.

When the real Sun Wukong arrived at Flower Fruit Mountain with Sha Wujing, he was astonished to find another Sun Wukong who looked exactly like himself. Without a word, he fully activated his fiery-golden eyes. However, to his shock, the figure before him didn't change at all under his fiery-golden gaze.

Even the Golden Hoop on his head and the Jingu Bang in his hand appeared completely real under the fiery-golden eyes.

This ordeal left Sun Wukong feeling an indescribable eeriness. In shock, the true Sun Wukong swung his staff to attack, but after exchanging blows, he was shaken once again. The person before him not only looked identical but also matched his skills and cultivation exactly.

After hundreds of rounds of fighting, they were still evenly matched. So, Sun Wukong resorted to provocation, suggesting they go to Heaven to argue over who was the real one. Unexpectedly, the other agreed, and as they fought their way to the gate of the Southern Heaven, they found Li Jing and took out the Demon-Revealing Mirror.

Yet, even under the Demon-Revealing Mirror, a supreme treasure of Heaven, both appeared genuine. The Demon-Revealing Mirror couldn't distinguish the true from the false? At this point, Sun Wukong felt something was seriously amiss. If the one who had taken his appearance were a demon or some other being, they would not have dared to ascend to Heaven with him.

If it wasn't a demon, then who could it be? And why assume his form?

Afterward, they visited Bodhisattva Guanyin, but this time, it was the other who suggested it. Their eagerness to prove who was the real one seemed greater than Sun Wukong's own.

What on earth was going on? Was this person endowed with a heaven-shocking transformation spell, or did they have another motive? Yet when even Bodhisattva Guanyin couldn't discern the truth, Sun Wukong finally sensed a whiff of conspiracy.

Close to a thousand rounds later, Sun Wukong was completely certain. There was definitely something wrong with this person, but no matter how he activated his fiery-golden eyes, he couldn't see the truth of the matter. Then, Sun Wukong thought of someone, and without a word, he turned and flew downward. Sure enough, his counterpart followed closely, seemingly fearful that Sun Wukong would escape.

Within a quarter of an hour, Sun Wukong had arrived at Nine Serenities Hell with the other, at the place of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. Just a moment ago, Sun Wukong seemed to have realized something which made him remember the sovereign of the Netherworld, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. If his suspicions were correct, then only Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha could help him now.

Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, the true master of Nine Serenities Hell. Though he holds the rank of Bodhisattva, his merit-based Buddha Power far surpasses that of Buddha himself, reaching the level of a saint. However, Ksitigarbha once made a vast and ambitious vow: "Not until Hell is empty will I become a Buddha!" So he has yet to achieve the Bodhi enlightenment.

After Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha heard the whole story, he let his Divine Beast Deva Listen step forward to distinguish the true from the false. Deva Listen, originally a white dog, could discern true from false in all of Heaven and Earth and the right from wrong in the world.

Both Sun Wukongs stood firmly in place as the Divine Beast Deva Listen slowly approached them. It then put its ear against the forehead of one of the Sun Wukongs, listened for a moment, and moved to the other Sun Wukong, doing the same. At that moment, the other Sun Wukong couldn't help but glower fiercely, the fiery-golden eyes shining forth.

Yet when the fiery-golden eyes shone upon the second Sun Wukong, the initial one exclaimed in surprise, "How, how can it be you? The Six-Eared Macaque?"