Chapter 51 - 46: The Funeral
Seeing that Bull Demon King was no longer attacking him in a frenzy, Sun Wukong withdrew the water curtain. Yet, for a moment, Sun Wukong truly did not know what to do with Bull Demon King. Judging by Bull Demon King’s state, he was likely bound by an extremely formidable Soul Capturing Technique, turned into a puppet that others could manipulate at will.
But now, Sun Wukong had no viable means of restoring Bull Demon King, and any rash action on his part could not only fail to save Bull Demon King but might even harm him!
However, he couldn’t just leave Bull Demon King here unattended. If he took Bull Demon King with him, not to mention the future, even along the way, Sun Wukong couldn’t assure Bull Demon King’s complete safety. Despite now having merged with the Water System Five-Colored Divine Stone and gaining considerable resistance to the Extreme Northern Ice Field, he knew his own concerns.
His internal spiritual power, alas, might not even be one-tenth of its original strength.
All of this was because during the process of merging with the Water System Five-Colored Divine Stone, he had expended nearly all his spiritual power. And at the moment of completion, he had sensed a warning from the Void Transcendence Flower, so there was simply no time for Sun Wukong to meditate and recover his depleted spiritual power.
Otherwise, a Bull Demon King who had lost his own will could not have harmed Sun Wukong at all. After all, even if Bull Demon King were to exert all his power in a burst, he was only at an upper Emperor Level. And that was incomparably less than a Saint.
At that moment, Sun Wukong suddenly thought of a good place to go – the Aquatic Tribe! Right now, they were the only ones Sun Wukong felt reassured to leave Bull Demon King with.
No sooner thought than done, he extended a wisp of spiritual power to envelop the still-dazed Bull Demon King. Sun Wukong, carrying Tang Sanzang on his back, raced toward the Ice Demon Tower of the Aquatic Tribe.
Half a day later, Sun Wukong returned to this place. He still carried Tang Sanzang on his back, but his body was no longer stiff. Instead, his skin was crystal clear, making him look as if he were merely asleep.
Everything turned out as Sun Wukong had thought. Bull Demon King was left in the Ice Demon Tower, with the Aquatic Tribe elders personally attending to the recovery of his Divine Sense. Sun Wukong believed that given some time, Bull Demon King would surely fight alongside him once more.
Finally, he took one last look at the Ice Demon Tower and then moved on without any further attachment. For him, this place had always been just a stepping stone; his path lay far beyond.
Finally, after trekking across the Extreme Northern Ice Field for seven days and nights, Sun Wukong finally left the place that had brought him both love and hate. While it had granted him the Five-Colored Divine Stone of the Water Attribute, it also resulted in Tang Sanzang losing his physical body.
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Though he hadn’t completely perished, he could only house his soul within the Void Transcendence Flower. Sun Wukong thought back to how recently Tang Sanzang had successfully reformed their fellow disciple’s body, only to have Tang Sanzang’s own body destroyed soon after. Sigh!
The wound on his left calf no longer bled, but he was nearly at the end of his strength. Now, even a common little demon could easily defeat him, though they could not kill him.
Mustering his last ounce of energy, Sun Wukong arrived at the inn where he and Tang Sanzang had previously stayed. Ignoring the horror-struck gazes of the inn’s errand boy and the patrons, Sun Wukong clenched his teeth and finally, just before passing out, made it to his room and then collapsed on the bed and fell into a deep unconsciousness.
Since Sun Wukong had previously paid for the room for a whole six months, the innkeeper and the errand boy were terribly afraid, but they didn’t do anything excessive. They simply instructed the errand boy to keep an eye on that room.
Sun Wukong slept for a full half-month. During this time, the injuries on his body, his depleted spiritual power, and even his severely damaged Divine Sense and soul, all fully recovered to their peak. It seemed that the Water System Divine Stone not only had astounding defensive capabilities but also had exceptional effects on injury recovery.
Although his physical condition had returned to its peak, Sun Wukong had not yet woken up.
In the sleeping consciousness space, Sun Wukong’s Divine Sense was immersed in the world within the Jingu Bang.
The world within the artifact had completely transformed from what Sun Wukong had seen before. The previous world only had a vast wasteland and numerous mountains, but the mountains were barren.
Now, although it was still desolate, it boasted countless rivers, lakes, and some bare mountains even had a few waterfalls and springs. It seemed to have much more vitality.
The only pity was that, after Sun Wukong had explored the entire world, he still found no sign of any life forms.
It seemed that after the Jingu Bang had absorbed many worlds from the Eternal Buddha of Flowing Light, it had evolved on its own. Otherwise, it probably would have taken tens of thousands of years for the Jingu Bang to absorb enough water attribute spiritual power to form such grand rivers and lakes within the artifact’s inner space.
Furthermore, Sun Wukong discovered that this world within the artifact seemed to exist in a separate space, and the Jingu Bang was merely an entryway. Hence, no matter how violently the Jingu Bang moved, this world would not be affected by any fluctuations.
After his Divine Sense swiftly swept through the entire space once more, Sun Wukong’s consciousness retreated. The Jingu Bang seemed to conceal no small number of secrets. Previously, Wukong thought that the Jingu Bang, like those ancient artifacts, had evolved its own world. But now, it didn’t seem to be the case.
For even the worlds evolved by the most powerful ancient divine artifacts couldn’t possibly be as vast as the Jingu Bang’s. The inner space of the Jingu Bang was probably as large as one-third of the Pangu Realm. It’s worth noting that even the inner world of the Eastern Emperor Bell of Donghuang Taiyi, the ancient Demon Emperor, wasn’t this large.
After withdrawing his consciousness from the Jingu Bang, Sun Wukong opened his eyes. The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was Tang Sanzang lying prostrate on the ground. Wukong could not help but silently reprimand himself, feeling it was unforgivable to have left his master’s body lying on the ground.
He hastily picked up Tang Sanzang and then gently placed him on the bed. Afterward, a wave of intense sorrow overwhelmed Sun Wukong. If it hadn’t been for his overconfidence, if he hadn’t taken away his master’s Void Transcendence Flower, if he hadn’t acted so stubbornly alone, his master would not have ended up in this state.
With a thud, Sun Wukong dropped to his knees and solemnly kowtowed nine times to Tang Sanzang. "Master, I will certainly reconstruct your body. This time I swear to heaven!"
But then Sun Wukong found himself in a dilemma. He was prepared to reconstruct his master’s body, but he couldn’t just recklessly abandon the current one. However, there wasn’t any suitable place to put it.
He had thought about leaving it with the Aquatic Tribe, but after the incident with the Bull Demon King and the Water System Five-Colored Divine Stone, Sun Wukong felt it was no longer appropriate to ask them to preserve his master’s body.
Even now, thinking about it, Sun Wukong still felt a heavy sense of guilt. During the absorption of the Water System Five-Colored Divine Stone, he had inadvertently unleashed an extreme coldness that froze the Ice Demon Tower, resulting in all the members of the Aquatic Tribe turning into ice sculptures, save for that one elder.
Fortunately, given that the tribe members were naturally of the Water Spirit attribute, there were no serious repercussions, though it would still take some time and effort for them to recover their human forms.
Suddenly, an excellent location flashed through Sun Wukong’s mind.
"Right, if it’s placed here, then I can be completely at ease!"