Sun Kong's reckless actions to the extreme, yet rebellious to the heavens, shook the Three Realms, surprised the Sages, and even astonished Patriarch Hongjun.
This act was unprecedented since the primordial chaos.
Without exception!
...
Zixiao Palace.
A mysterious palace, whose grandeur most beings in the primordial world and the Three Realms knew but whose location they did not, a holy land of the Heavenly Dao, inaccessible to anyone below the Hunyuan Daluo Jinxian realm.
Legend has it that this is the origin of the forty-nine layers of the Heavenly Dao.
And the hand that controls the fate of countless beings!
Yet, no one dared to offend or spy, for its master was none other than the Sage among Sages, the current spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao, Patriarch Hongjun's domain!
Here, except for Hongjun's first sermon upon achieving sainthood, his second assembly of disciples, and his third meeting for the Investiture of the Gods in ancient times,
It was almost never opened to the outside.
Internally, it was also silent, like a void of chaos that seemed non-existent.
However.
The moment Sun Kong forcefully broke through to the Hunyuan Daluo Jinxian realm and clashed with the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain, the Immortals of the Heavenly Court, Tathagata, the Jade Emperor, and others.
A soft sigh, accompanied by an unknown surprise, resounded from the depths of this palace, which sometimes appeared and sometimes disappeared!
"I, Hongjun, have rarely lost control of the Heavenly Dao since I fought with Great Immortal Yang Mei and destroyed Patriarch Luohu in the past."
"Who would have thought that today, I would misjudge?"
"Wasn't this Sun Wukong a chess piece for the Journey to the West tribulation, born to comply with the Heavenly Dao, with Tathagata's schemes, Bodhi's teachings, and the Jade Emperor's assistance to gain merit?"
"Why, such a mere chess piece, could the Spirit Mountain and the Heavenly Court not handle it?"
"Hmm? This Sun Wukong is strange. I have mastered the Heavenly Dao for countless eons, experienced innumerable great and small tribulations, and foreseen everything, yet I cannot see through his origin?"
"No wonder I have felt inexplicably restless and uneasy lately, as if some mysterious force is interfering between me and the Heavenly Dao."
"Unexpectedly, it was him?"
In the depths of Zixiao Palace, on a seemingly colorless futon, which was actually an ultimate innate spiritual treasure, sat a white-haired old man. His benevolent gaze occasionally turned sharp.
This person was none other than Patriarch Hongjun, who was once renowned alongside Great Immortal Yang Mei and Patriarch Luohu, and later dominated the Heavenly Dao, becoming its spokesperson.
Mortals say,
When the Son of Heaven is angry, blood flows for a thousand miles.
When a Sage is angry, heaven and earth are overturned.
But when this Sage among Sages is angry, it's not just a thousand miles of bloodshed or an overturned world, but the world-ending, realm-recreating, primordial-world-remaking power!
For he has merged with the Heavenly Dao, representing ninety-nine point nine nine percent of its destiny.
Apart from a sliver of chance, even the Six Sages had to be manipulated by him.
And now, he was being toyed with by a mere Sun Kong?
"Curious."
"This Sun Wukong is clearly a reincarnation of the Mani Pearl, with the body of Nuwa's Five-Colored Stone. He should have been incorporated into the Heavenly Dao, but why can't even I deduce his associated destiny?"
"This child is extremely peculiar, yet he cannot be easily annihilated. Since the Three Realms and the primordial world are currently my territory, I might as well observe further."
"Patriarch Luohu of old, Great Immortal Yang Mei, the Three Thousand Demon Gods, the Dragon-Phoenix, Witch-Demon races... weren't they all beings of unparalleled talent and rebellion? Weren't they all dealt with by me?"
"I truly wish to see how far you, little fellow, can jump, or perhaps, you will give me more surprises in the future. Once I subdue you, it will be as if the Heavenly Dao is completely filled, and from then on, the Heavenly Dao and I will be one!"
Patriarch Hongjun, who had been inactive for many years, felt extremely complex due to Sun Kong's appearance.
There was a sigh.
A sigh for his contemporaries, who had either perished or were driven away by him to the void of chaos, escaping the primordial world and the Three Realms.
There was surprise.
Surprise that Sun Kong, embodying the destiny of one of the Heavenly Dao's many tribulations, the Journey to the West, and being merely at the peak of Grand Unity Golden Immortal, dared to defy the heavens.
There was also awe.
Not awe of Sun Kong's actions, but of his courage, a courage that had once appeared in the hearts of many great beings who attempted to resist Pangu's suppression and vie for the position of the Heavenly Dao.
And some indescribable other emotions.
In short, Patriarch Hongjun did not rush to kill or capture Sun Kong for study, but rather, with a boredom and curiosity accumulated over billions of years,
He would slowly watch how things unfolded!
...
Many people shared similar feelings with Patriarch Hongjun.
First and foremost were the Six Sages!
...
Eight Views Palace in Xuan Du Heaven.
The secluded cultivation place of Taiqing Sage Lao Tzu.
Lao Tzu suddenly sensed something.
"Strange, truly strange! This Sun Monkey did not accept the invitation of the Great White Planet to fulfill the destiny of the Marshal of Heavenly Horses, but instead forged his own path, offending both the Spirit Mountain and the Heavenly Court?"
"Interesting, interesting! Such a mischievous yet cunning being is beyond my estimation. He is much more interesting than the rascally monkey in the original destiny."
"He has even thrown the new destiny into chaos. Not simple at all."
As the Human Cultivation Master, Lao Tzu's nature was pure and unforced, revering the Tai Chi. He should not have expressed too much, but due to Sun Kong's unusual behavior,
He couldn't help but regard him highly!
Jade Void Palace in Mi Luo Heaven, the abode of Yuqing Sage Primordial Lord of Heaven.
Similar to Lao Tzu, the Primordial Lord of Heaven was lecturing his eight disciples when he suddenly sensed something.
His eyes showed surprise, then disdain!
"Sun Monkey is so unruly and incapable of handling great responsibility. Letting him be killed and enter reincarnation, to be recreated later, is also destiny. Boundless Heavenly Venerate!"
Jade Immersion Palace on Golden Turtle Island, the Daoist dojo of Shangqing Sage Lord Tong Tian.
Like his two senior brothers, Lord Tong Tian was originally enjoying his peace, uninvolved in the affairs of the Three Realms. He suddenly sensed Sun Kong's actions.
After a slight surprise, his eyes showed a hint of envy!
"The bravery of this child rivals that of my disciples Zhao Gongming and Sanxiao during the Investiture of the Gods tribulation. Alas, they were forced to join the Heavenly Court, when can they return?"
...
Besides the Three Sages, Nuwa Empress of Wa Huang Palace, the Great Cult Master of the Western Teachings, Daoist Jie Yin, and the Second Cult Master, Daoist Zhun Ti, also had corresponding sentiments.
None of them approved of Sun Kong's rebellion, yet all lamented his fate.
None believed he could survive.
However.
Just as the seven Sages of the Heavens, along with other quasi-Saints, did not hold out hope for Sun Kong, another unexpected event outside of destiny occurred.
It happened!
With bursts of golden light explosions, filling an area of ten thousand miles, this battle finally reached its end.
But the outcome was abnormal.
The Buddhas of Spirit Mountain were collected by Tathagata.
The Immortals of the Heavenly Court were collected by the Jade Emperor.
Both sides and the spectators believed they had won, and Sun Kong was surely doomed.
As for the next protector for the Journey to the West, they planned to find someone else. After all, there were still three other monkeys among the four great monkeys.
But at this moment.
In a hidden corner of the primordial world that no one noticed, a seed inscribed with the character "Sun" surprisingly fell to the ground, took root, and gradually sprouted!