Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Auntie, I have already adapted to the Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood, but it's a pity that I can only absorb two drops for now. The rest… Auntie?"

Wukong stepped towards the Naihe Bridge and had spoken halfway when he noticed that Houtu seemed unresponsive, which alerted him that something was amiss. He had thought that the time he spent absorbing the essence blood was too long and that Houtu had reverted back to her Meng Po form. Now, it looked like something was quite wrong with Houtu!

With a flash of golden light in his eyes, Wukong's pupils turned golden as he activated the Void-Breaking Divine Eye and looked towards Meng Po. At that glance, his pupils suddenly constricted!

Under the Void-Breaking Divine Eye, Houtu's true form appeared extremely weak, curled up inside the mud palace ball at the brow of Meng Po's incarnation, clearly having fallen into a deep sleep. No wonder Meng Po's eyes lacked any brightness, appearing dull and stagnant.

"The Yellow Springs Road, River of Oblivion, before the Naihe Bridge I lament. Wishing to cross from the Naihe Bridge, a bowl of soup erases love and enmity."

Meng Po began to murmur, but her expression remained numb; only a soup bowl appeared in her hand, which she handed to Wukong.

Wukong felt a pain in his heart, realizing that Houtu must have fallen into a deep sleep due to the substantial energy spent providing him with nine drops of Ancestral Witch's Essence Blood, leaving only a trace of consciousness to control this Meng Po incarnation to continue guarding the Naihe Bridge.

"Auntie, great kindness does not need to be thanked. I, Old Sun, swear here that one day I will return to this Netherworld and completely rescue you!"

Sniffling, Wukong held back his sorrow and respectfully bowed to the Meng Po incarnation, taking the soup and drinking it all at once. This was the duty of the Meng Po incarnation. If he didn't drink the soup, she would keep blocking his way, preventing him from proceeding. He couldn't just forcefully break through, could he?

As soon as the soup touched his lips, it was enveloped by the True Solar Fire, and without dispersing into his body, it was silently refined into nothingness. Wukong nodded to the Meng Po incarnation and stepped towards the Naihe Bridge. This time, the Meng Po incarnation didn't stop him but stepped back and quietly stood by the bridge like a statue.

"Auntie, wait for Old Sun!"

After glancing back one last time at the Meng Po incarnation, Wukong stepped onto the Naihe Bridge but suddenly felt emptiness underfoot; the uppermost layer of the bridge couldn't support his body, and he stumbled and fell down, somersaulting in midair before landing.

He found himself on the lowest layer of the Naihe Bridge, where dark Nether Qi pervaded, with eerie ghostly shadows all around—souls trapped on this third level unable to cross.

It seemed his physical body would have to cross from the very bottom, the third layer of the bridge.

Heavy turbid Qi of a soul body, unable to step on the upper and middle layers, was the same for those with physical bodies. With this misstep, Wukong realized this fact, but it didn't really matter to him. He felt that the ghostly souls on this third layer couldn't stop him anyway.

Taking strides, Wukong walked forward, the bridge surface under his feet creaking as if it could barely bear his physical weight. Wukong frowned slightly, wondering about the anti-flight force at the edge of the Naihe Bridge; otherwise, he would have just flown over, saving all this trouble!

"Flesh, fresh flesh!"

"I'm hungry…"

Although the bridge surface creaked, it was just a noise and didn't give the feeling of emptiness. The trouble wasn't whether the bridge surface could withstand his physical steps but that the trapped lonely souls on this third level seemed to have been awoken, each one shrieking as they attacked Wukong.

"Scram!"

With a flash of cold light in his eyes and a cold snort, vigorous energy burst forth from Wukong, scattering the attacking lonely souls. Some unfortunate ones were even swept into the waters of the River of Oblivion, emitting pitiful screams.

Before the Naihe Bridge, Yellow Springs was just Yellow Springs, but at the bridge, it became the River of Oblivion. This was not merely a change of name, but a fundamental change in the nature of the water. The water of the River of Oblivion was far more corrosive to souls than the water of the Yellow Springs.

Ordinary souls would be corroded in no time, only those with particularly deep malice and exceedingly vicious spirits could endure, needing to constantly pull souls from the River of Oblivion into the water to devour, to gain enough strength to persist.

Wukong's performance could be described as extremely fierce; under normal circumstances, seeing their companions suffer so greatly, the rest would surely not dare to provoke him further. However, this lowest layer of the Naihe Bridge was different. Those who lingered here were souls of people who had been extremely vicious during their lifetimes.

These souls, eroded by the Netherworld Ghost Qi that diffused through the lowest layer, had turned into the most vicious ghosts, surviving by constantly devouring each other; all reason had nearly vanished, leaving only the instinct to attack and kill.

Any soul that steps on the Naihe Bridge became their target for an attack, not to mention one as vigorous and full of life as Sun Wukong. The intense vitality oozing from his physical body was like a torch in the darkness to the ferocious ghosts on the Naihe Bridge and the even more evil spirits in the waters of the River of Oblivion, attracting them inexorably.

"Dammit, it's never-ending, huh? Then all of you die for old Sun!"

Initially, Sun Wukong merely intended to force a way through these ferocious ghosts. As long as he could clear a path that was navigable, it would have been enough. However, these creatures, like sharks that had smelled blood, relentlessly threw themselves at him, one after another without fear of death.

Sun Wukong was infuriated—being not one with a good temper to begin with, he harbored no trace of mercy for these malicious spirits. With a fierce shout, the robust True Solar Fire surged out from within him, forming a layer of Flame Armor on the surface of his body.

Any ferocious ghost that came into contact with the True Solar Fire immediately let out a horrifying scream, scattering in terror in all directions. Some even plunged headfirst from the Naihe Bridge into the River of Oblivion, hoping the river's waters would extinguish the True Solar Fire burning on them.

The True Solar Fire, being Innate Divine Fire, was intensely yang and rigid, acting as a natural nemesis to these ferocious ghosts. If they got even slightly touched by it, it would spread like a necrotizing fasciitis inside and outside their bodies. Even leaping into the River of Oblivion was futile.

The Innate Divine Fire wasn't something the waters of the River of Oblivion could extinguish, and all the contaminated ghosts were burnt to ashes.

As soon as the True Solar Fire was released, it had an immediate effect. The first batch of ferocious ghosts that attacked were burnt to ashes, while the remaining ones hastily kept their distance. Despite losing their intelligence long ago, they still possessed instinct. Faced with the Innate Divine Fire, which naturally suppressed them, dodging was the most instinctual choice.

Seeing the ferocious ghosts keeping their distance, Sun Wukong's lips curled into a cold sneer. He couldn't be bothered to chase after these creatures. He stepped forward, carefully navigating the bridge, neither too hastily to avoid a potentially weak spot on the bridge causing him to fall into the River of Oblivion—that really would be trouble.

"Woo~!"

Just as he had crossed the majority of the bridge and was about to continue straight to the other end, a trace of happiness emerged on Sun Wukong's face. Suddenly, a strange wind arose from the waters of the River of Oblivion beside him. The next moment, several water arrows shot out from the water, coiling towards Sun Wukong like spirit snakes.

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, the True Solar Fire on Sun Wukong's body grew even more intense, and his Flame Armor became even thicker. He raised his hand to strike the incoming water arrows, shattering them all and generating clouds of steam mixed with dense Netherworld Ghost Qi.

"He-he! Such fresh flesh, I haven't tasted fresh flesh for a long time. Today is truly a lucky day. Such fresh and vibrant flesh has fallen into my clutches. Oh, Ancestor of the Nether River, I can have a grand feast today! He-he!"

The attack did not stop. Accompanying a harsh, unpleasant laughter that arose from the waters of the River of Oblivion, a figure floated up from the water, revealing half of her body above the surface—a woman, but an extremely peculiar one.

This woman was completely naked, covered in scales similar to fish scales as if she were wearing a suit of scale armor. Her hair fluttered behind her back without a trace of moisture. Her features were beautiful, yet there was a subtle hint of ruthlessness about her. Most crucially, an eerie cold ghostly Qi enveloped her entire body, and her waist was grotesquely swollen.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Sun Wukong glanced at the woman, and under the gaze of his Void-Breaking Divine Eye, he instantly discerned her cultivation—Taiyi Scattered Immortal Realm, her body diffusing Netherworld Ghost Qi, apparently a high-level expert of the Netherworld realm.

But what of it?

Indifferently retracting his gaze, Sun Wukong completely ignored the woman and continued to walk forward.

"To dare ignore this Ghost Mother, what audacity!"

A flash of cold light flickered in the woman's eyes, and her expression instantly darkened. She was one of the four great Demon Generals of the Asura Tribe, the Netherworld Ghost Mother. Normally reigning unchallenged in Hell's Yellow Springs, people trembled in fear at her presence. When had she ever been ignored like this!

Facing the animosity and rage of the Netherworld Ghost Mother, Sun Wukong remained oblivious and deaf, continuing to march forward along the bridge, not even glancing at the Netherworld Ghost Mother out of the corner of his eye, completely ignoring her.

"Scoundrel! Die!"

Unable to hold back any longer, the Netherworld Ghost Mother let out a piercing shriek, boosting her mana, and the waters of the River of Oblivion instantly boiled, with columns of water surging from within and transforming into countless water arrows, shooting towards Sun Wukong.