Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

Chapter 282: Chapter 282: Heavenly Punishment Tribulation Thunder (Third Release)

“‘Those not of our kin, will have hearts that differ! Do you truly believe that demon monkey will obediently heed the decrees of our Heavenly Court? The Buddhist Sect may indeed harbor ill intentions, but they are quite accurate about one thing—the ambition of that demon monkey! While its wings are not yet fully fledged, if we do not strike it down with all our might now, shall I, the Jade Emperor, wait until no one can control it and then regret it?”

The Jade Emperor’s words were sharp and forceful, showing not the slightest consideration for the Queen Mother’s feelings, causing her to be momentarily stunned.

“Your Majesty…”

“Enough! My mind is made up. Say no more! Queen Mother, don’t say I didn’t give you face. You may still adopt Zi Lan as your goddaughter; you may even grant her marriage to that demon monkey, but my plans will proceed nonetheless! If that demon monkey truly intends to submit, he will naturally endure some grievances. Otherwise, he should not blame me for being merciless! Humph!”

With a cold snort, the Jade Emperor swept his sleeves and walked out of the chamber.

“Foolish! How utterly foolish!”

Watching the departing figure of the Jade Emperor, the Queen Mother sighed deeply, feeling as though all her strength had been drained in an instant. She collapsed onto her seat, her face etched with a bittersweet smile. One wrong move had lost the whole game. With the Jade Emperor’s decision, given Sun Wukong’s nature, he would surely rebel, and the Heavenly Court might descend into chaos!

“It’s no use worrying about it any longer. You refuse to heed my advice, so I need not plan on your behalf. The third Infinite Calamity is approaching, and the Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man will fall into disaster. Who will benefit, and who will face the trials, is determined by fate. It’s useless to force it. Teacher, I’m afraid I can’t fulfill your wishes anymore!”

The Queen Mother kneeled on the ground, bowing three times towards the sky, her eyes flashing with a resolute light. It was time to think about herself!

At the space where the Ascend to Heaven Platform was located, atop the highest platform.

Erlang God Yang Jian suddenly opened his eyes, and a dragon-like surge of Qi-Blood emerged from his body— he had broken through to the threshold of the Quasi-Saint Realm!@@novelbin@@

“Purple Lightning Thunder Halberd!”

With a single thought, Erlang God Yang Jian summoned the Purple Lightning Thunder Halberd in his palm, gripping it horizontally. A spherical purple light emerged from the halberd, emanating Domain Power— this was the Domain Power unleashed based on the Purple Lightning Thunder Halberd!

Nine days’ time, leveraging the rich Immortal Spirit Qi on the Ascend to Heaven Platform, which was almost condensing into droplets, along with his burning desire to best Sun Wukong, Erlang God Yang Jian grasped Domain Power as he reached the threshold of the Quasi-Saint Realm. Although it was a new understanding, merely reaching the first phase, it was already a substantial advancement. Now, Erlang God Yang Jian’s combat power had at least doubled compared to before!

“Sun Wukong, I won’t let you be the only one basking in glory anymore! Once you’ve broken through, we’ll have a good fight!”

Half a day after Erlang God Yang Jian, Nezha also made a breakthrough. Born of the Spirit Pearl, his talent was indeed extraordinary. Now, Nezha’s talent was no less than Erlang God Yang Jian’s, and the rank of his Crimson Flame Dragon Spear was no less than the Purple Lightning Thunder Halberd. In the same environment, Nezha also understood his own Domain, also reaching the threshold of the Quasi-Saint Realm.

“Nezha, congratulations!”

“Big brother Yang, my congratulations as well. You were faster than me!”

After exchanging congratulations, both of them turned their gazes towards Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong had touched the threshold of the Quasi-Saint before them; how come he hadn’t made a breakthrough yet?

“In another hour, the gateway of this Ascend to Heaven Platform will open. If you don’t leave by then, you’ll have to wait another thousand years for it to open again!”

Erlang God Yang Jian walked to the edge of the platform, looking down at the entrance of the lowest platform. Space fluctuations were already brewing there. After an hour, when the space fluctuations peaked, the passage to the Martial Arts Field outside would open. It was necessary to awaken Sun Wukong, otherwise, he would miss the opportunity to leave.

“Big brother Yang, wait a bit longer. Wukong might be on the cusp of a breakthrough right now. Waking him up at this moment would only make him fall short of success!”

Nezha stopped Erlang God Yang Jian, who was about to awaken Sun Wukong. The Spiritual Energy of the outside world could not compare with the Immortal Spirit Qi of this Ascend to Heaven Platform. If Sun Wukong missed this chance, who knew how long it would take him to break through to the Quasi-Saint Realm?

“But we are running out of time! Once the gateway closes, not only do we wait a thousand years, but anyone lingering inside the Ascend to Heaven Platform will be bombarded by Heavenly Punishment. Even if Wukong is strong, he will not be able to endure the continual strikes of Heavenly Punishment!”

Erlang God Yang Jian furrowed his brow. More than anyone, he understood the terror of Heavenly Punishment, having experienced it himself. Back when he split the mountain to save his mother, had it not been for his younger sister Yang Chan obtaining the Treasured Lotus Lamp from Goddess Nuwa to protect him, he would have perished under the Tribulation Thunder.

For this reason, Yang Jian had such reverence for the power of heaven and earth. Even though he had many grievances against the Jade Emperor, he had never thought of rebelling against the Heavenly Court, merely obeying orders without proclamation.

“Just wait a little longer, until the very last moment! If Wukong still hasn’t made a breakthrough by then, we’ll wake him up. I believe he won’t blame us!”

“Alright then!”

Erlang God Yang Jian clenched his teeth, deciding to wait one more hour. When the portal for leaving would open after one hour, if Sun Wukong still had not made a breakthrough, Yang Jian resolved to wake him, no matter what. He absolutely couldn’t allow Sun Wukong to stay here and perish under the bombardment of Heavenly Punishment!

Time trickled by, and the hour was nearly up. The spatial fluctuations on the lowest platform were growing increasingly intense, signaling that the portal was about to appear!

“No, we can’t wait any longer. We must wake him up immediately!”

Erlang God Yang Jian stood up, intending to forcibly interrupt Sun Wukong’s cultivation and awaken him. The portal would only last for the time it took half a stick of incense to burn. Once that time passed, the portal would seal, and the Heavenly Punishment’s Tribulation Thunder would descend. When compared with life, cultivation was secondary. It would be better to pursue a breakthrough another day!

“Well, there’s no other way!”

Nezha sighed, a wry smile spreading across his face. At this point, there was no time to consider the consequences.

Erlang God Yang Jian formed a hand seal, and a beam of divine light began to coalesce in the palm of his hands. Just as he was about to touch Sun Wukong’s brow with it, suddenly, a strange fluctuation rose from Sun Wukong’s body. Strands of golden qi-blood surged forth from his heart, spreading throughout his body, ensconcing him like a dragon-shaped ribbon. Sun Wukong’s form slowly floated up from the platform, breaking the bounding spell and hovering one zhang above the ground.

“Wukong has made a breakthrough!”

Nezha exclaimed with surprise, his face quickly clouding with confusion, “That’s odd, why has Wukong’s blood turned completely golden? That’s the gold-colored divine blood that only Saints possess!”

Within the Three Realms, no creature of any races has golden-colored blood. Only in the act of Proving the Tao and Becoming a Saint can one achieve such golden blood. As one’s cultivation advances, the blood will gradually take on a golden hue, transforming towards divine blood. Take Erlang God Yang Jian and Nezha, who have just broken through to the Quasi-Saint Realm; their essence blood is golden-red.

Golden divine blood is a mark of the Heavenly Dao Saint!

Yet Sun Wukong’s essence blood had turned golden! It was not golden-red but pure gold, even purer than that of the Heavenly Dao Saint’s divine blood!

What on earth was happening?

Boom!

Above the heavens, an immense sound of thunder suddenly echoed, lightning bolts of various colors, including black, gold, and purple, emerged from the void. They intertwined, forming a colossal nine-colored lightning strike—a fearsome pressure descended from the sky toward the Ascend to Heaven Platform.

“Heavenly Punishment’s Tribulation Thunder? How can this be?”

Erlang God Yang Jian was shocked. This was Heavenly Punishment’s Tribulation Thunder—indeed, Heavenly Punishment’s Tribulation Thunder!

The impression of this Tribulation Thunder was deeply etched in his mind; he would never mistake it!

But the portal hadn’t even opened yet. How could the Tribulation Thunder appear? Was it not supposed to manifest and strike those lingering on the Ascend to Heaven Platform only after the portal closed?

“The Heavenly Punishment is targeting Wukong! Wukong’s breakthrough has triggered a response from the Heavenly Dao, bringing down the Heavenly Punishment!”

Nezha roared in shock. Yang Jian turned abruptly to stare at Nezha, then back at Sun Wukong. Wukong was still with his eyes closed, yet his body had unfolded, changing from a seated to a standing position in mid-air, emitting a unique aura that responded to the Heavenly Punishment’s Tribulation Thunder above.

This Heavenly Punishment’s Tribulation Thunder was indeed targeting Sun Wukong!

“This guy!”

At this moment, Erlang God Yang Jian didn’t know how to describe his astonishment. There was a legend within the Three Realms that overly monstrous talents could trigger a Heavenly Dao response during their breakthrough, bringing down a heavenly tribulation to test them. Those who could withstand the tribulation would successfully break through and become much stronger than others of the same Realm. But if they couldn’t endure, they would be annihilated by the tribulation.

Unlike the Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations, such tribulation tests were not triggered by just anyone, or rather, not everyone was qualified to trigger them. Erlang God Yang Jian had triggered a heavenly tribulation himself, but that was just a tribulation, not the Heavenly Punishment that Sun Wukong was now facing!

At the moment of breakthrough, to elicit a Heavenly Dao response and bring down the Heavenly Punishment’s Tribulation Thunder to impede, just how monstrous was Sun Wukong, that even the Heavenly Dao felt fear, using such formidable power to stop him!

“Quick, retreat! We cannot get swept into it!”

In the blink of an eye, Erlang God Yang Jian snapped out of his shock. He grabbed Nezha and flew down from the platform, away from the Ascend to Heaven Platform’s upper stages. The Heavenly Punishment’s Tribulation Thunder wasn’t something just anyone could endure. Even though he and Nezha had broken through to the Quasi-Saint Realm and understood the power of domains, getting caught in it would still likely be disastrous!

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