"This Monkey King is quite something. Although I can't trace his past karma, who would have thought he'd spontaneously awaken his inherent Demon Ape form?
"Interesting."
"Truly interesting."
"Aside from the holy water soup that Yuan Shi's second son sent, which is indeed unusual, this Monkey King is increasingly piquing my interest."
"Fortunately, he doesn't yet know the consequences of triggering his inherent Demon Ape form. Otherwise, even if he were to complete the Journey to the West without trials and become a Sage, he likely wouldn't have chosen this crooked path."
Zi Xiao Palace.
The abode of the Dao Ancestor, where even the Six Sages couldn't secure an audience at will.
Just as the Tathagata lodged his complaint, the Two Sages of the Western Teachings were temporarily at a loss for how to respond, and Sun Kong grew ever bolder, looking down upon the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain, gradually awakening his inherent Demon Ape form.
No one could have imagined that.
At this very moment, Old Ancestor Hongjun, unlike his usual benevolent demeanor, pointed a hand at the bowl of holy water soup and extracted a droplet of Pangu's blood, nano-sized.
After gleefully consuming it, his face flushed with a radiant glow, as if something had been enhanced and purified.
With his other hand, he picked up the Jade Plate of Creation, which had aided him in his enlightenment, and focused his gaze. He was able to see scenes unknown to even the Six Sages, with greater ease than them.
Within it, he witnessed the magnificent spectacle of Great God Pangu cleaving the heavens and earth, slaying three thousand demon gods countless kalpas ago, and his tragic demise after creation.
He saw the initial kalpa of Dragon and Han, the struggle between Dao and Demon, the kalpa of Witch and Demon, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors...
And various scenes that unfolded the joys and sorrows of the Primordial World since his birth.
He also saw, after the last Investiture of the Gods, Old Ancestor Hongjun's seemingly benign warning to the Six Sages not to interfere with the Three Realms of the Primordial World, yet in reality, his clandestine act of administering six Sage-Slaying Pills to them.
And of course, not to be missed was the rare, stern expression Sun Kong had just displayed, which had terrified Wu Zhiqi and Zhou Wuxian, and cast a faint demonic aura over the entire destiny of Spirit Mountain.
Subsequently,
This was truly reflected in the Jade Plate of Creation, the first supreme treasure since the creation of the heavens. As Old Ancestor Hongjun gazed upon it, the demonic energy sometimes overpowered the Buddhist energy, and at other times, the Buddhist energy suppressed the demonic energy.
And so on.
But what was even more shocking than these "minor" matters,
Was that Sun Kong himself was unaware that within the depths of his primordial spirit, there lay a seed – one that Old Ancestor Hongjun regarded, and as of now, had only discovered –
The seed of his inherent Demon Ape.
It was slowly, steadily developing.
Aside from this unfathomable Dao Ancestor, whose moods were unpredictable, who was a unity of good and evil, and who cared not for right or wrong, no one knew what kind of fruit this seed would eventually bear.
Even the Heavenly Dao, which had been merged with Old Ancestor Hongjun for many years, mutually achieving and assisting each other, was unable to record the meaningful, cold smile on Old Ancestor Hongjun's lips at this moment, due to the Jade Plate of Creation's restraint upon it.
Heh heh heh.
The Three Realms of the Primordial World were becoming increasingly interesting.
Heh heh heh.
The Journey to the West kalpa, though not overtly commenced, had in fact already begun.
Heh heh heh.
Solitary, bored, demon god, Dao Ancestor... After waiting for so many years, he had finally found a third target worthy of his serious attention, after Yang Mei the scoundrel and Luohu the scumbag.
Sun Monkey, oh Sun Monkey.
I hope you don't disappoint me!
...
In the depths of Zi Xiao Palace, before putting away the Jade Plate of Creation, Old Ancestor Hongjun had already restored his state of mind to that of a normal Dao Ancestor, so as not to be detected by the Heavenly Dao, the Six Sages, or any other unknown parties.
No one would have ever guessed that he was the most cunning and seasoned schemer of them all!
The Primordial World.
Spirit Mountain.
Outside the gates of the Great Thunderclap Temple, a brand new storm was brewing!
The moment the seed of the inherent Demon Ape was planted, before Sun Kong had even met the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain, it had already instilled a sense of dread and accelerated heartbeats in countless beings around Spirit Mountain.
Not to mention his second brother Wu Zhiqi and third brother Zhou Wuxian, who faintly felt that this elder brother Sun was becoming more dignified and imposing, unable to look him directly in the eye.
Even Sun Kong himself had not noticed that after Tathagata moved Spirit Mountain, making it no longer spiritual, and he had entered Jade Void Palace and appeased the grievances with a bowl of holy water soup,
He had, to some extent, become rather conceited.
Of course.
This statement might not be entirely accurate.
After all, before all these chaotic events, Sun Kong was already quite arrogant upon his transmigration, daring to refuse the弼马温 (Bì Mǎ Wēn - Keeper of Horses) tribulation, and shamelessly sneaking into Spirit Mountain.
Which one.
Which occasion.
Did it not shock countless gods, demons, and Buddhas?
Did it not display his audacious courting of death?
However, this time was indeed a bit different. He returned to the highest level of the Great Thunderclap Temple and saw that all the Buddhas remained silent. He quickly realized that they were all aware of Tathagata's complaint but chose not to speak.
It was not for any other reason.
It was solely to delay him.
But Sun Kong, unexpectedly, did not get angry, nor did he resort to his usual rogue tactics. Instead, he was exceptionally polite. After paying his respects to the Buddhas, he then addressed the main issue.
"So, little Lai Lai actually dared to lodge a complaint with the Two Sect Leaders?"
"Don't be shy about selling him out. Although he is your boss, after all these years, besides empty words and daily lectures to deceive people, has he taken any actual action?"
"Putting aside everything else, even I, who was personally created by him in conjunction with Empress Nuwa as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, can ignore my requests and repeatedly refuse my joining the Spirit Mountain Buddhist sect."
"May I ask, how many of you can compare to me?"
"Since even your adopted son is treated with indifference, and to facilitate his Journey to the West, he kept me in the dark, preferring to provoke me into causing havoc in Heaven rather than explaining things properly."
"May I ask, are you all truly at ease mixing with him after the battle in Jade Void Palace last time?"
At this moment, Sun Kong possessed less of his usual shamelessness and roguish behavior, but as he spoke these words, the Buddhas did not relax; instead, they became more tense.
It was not for any other reason.
It was precisely because these Buddhas were people who had seen the world and knew very well that when a person does not erupt in angry retaliation or furious scolding, it does not mean there is no anger.
It meant that the anger had been diverted to other matters.
And those matters were undoubtedly more terrifying and astonishing than direct retaliation against the Buddhas!
Indeed.
The moment the Buddhas dared not respond, Sun Kong smiled.
It was a faint smile.
Yet, it was a cold smile that left all the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain, including Patriarch Maitreya, gasping for breath, speechless, and daring not to utter a sound, only able to silently pray for Tathagata's swift return!
"Wukong, since you are also aware of your many connections with our Buddha sect, why must you push so hard?"
"Everything is predetermined by fate. Although you are suffering now, after the Journey to the West begins, none of us in the Buddha sect will not help you. Why don't you..."
Seeing that a major conflict might erupt, Patriarch Maitreya felt uneasy.
He came out to try and persuade him once more.
But how could Sun Kong listen to such words?
He refused to engage.
His gaze was cold.
He then stated his demands for the Thirty-Six Heavens Buddhas and Seventy-Two Earthly Buddhas, as an exchange!