Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

Chapter 40 Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation

The demons of Flower-Fruit Mountain all felt somewhat surprised when Sun Wukong brought back a little fox demon, especially when Sun Wukong announced that the little fox demon was named Sun Xiaoqing and, from then on, she would be his Beautiful Monkey King's sister, the Jade-Faced Little Princess of Flower-Fruit Mountain, their eyes all widened.

"What, any objections?"

Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow and glanced at the crowd of demons.

"No, no!"

The demons chuckled awkwardly.

"Good if there aren't any, and even if there are, they're useless! This is my own decision, I'm just informing you, not asking for your opinions!"

Sun Wukong's tone was indifferent, yet it held an undeniable presence. Sun Tong and Sun Wushuang quickly exchanged glances with the other demons and all knelt down to pay their respects to Sun Wukong and the Jade-Faced Little Fox Demon, Sun Xiaoqing.

And so, Sun Xiaoqing settled down in the Water Curtain Cave Heaven of Flower-Fruit Mountain. The little girl was very perceptive and sweet-tongued. Although she had been given the title of Jade-Faced Princess by Sun Wukong, she did not come across as arrogant or domineering at all.

In just a few days, she got along well with the demons of Flower-Fruit Mountain, particularly close to Sun Wushuang, Sun Tong, and Leng Xuan, feeling as if they were real siblings, and found the little sister very endearing.

Sun Wukong observed this and nodded to himself in approval. He certainly knew that Sun Xiaoqing was deliberately getting close to Sun Wushuang and the others.

Although Flower-Fruit Mountain had now taken in the followers of the Mixed World Demon King Sun Tong and had received demons from the Seventy-Two Cave Tribes who had come seeking refuge, the core still consisted of the original Monkey Tribe of the Water Curtain Cave Heaven, with Sun Wushuang and Sun Tong being the most valued by Sun Wukong among them, leading the Monkey Tribe's left and right guard armies.

As for Leng Xuan, there was even less need to mention him; his position was quite special within Flower-Fruit Mountain. Being a half-demon who looked no different from the Human Race, Sun Wukong placed great importance on him, entrusting all planning and arrangements of Flower-Fruit Mountain to him, Sun Wushuang, and Sun Tong. The majority of the ideas came from Leng Xuan.

Another important point was that Leng Xuan had half of the bloodline of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Tribe. Sun Xiaoqing naturally felt a kinship with him, and Leng Xuan wasn't as icy towards her as he was with others, occasionally showing a warm smile. That unapproachable aura of his was gradually fading.

According to the decision that Sun Wukong had previously discussed at length with Leng Xuan and others, Flower-Fruit Mountain needed to expand its power quickly but without drawing too much attention. They especially needed to avoid alerting the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist Sect.

In other words, they had to operate in the shadows, which was certainly impossible without the support of Aolai Kingdom. Thus, Leng Xuan, Sun Wushuang, and Sun Tong were currently making contact with the Royal Family of Aolai Kingdom through the Heavenly Wood Taoist Temple, extending their influence into the kingdom.

The method was simple: give some benefits to the royal family and the ministers of Aolai Kingdom, such as healing them, Spirit Pills, and so on, to ensure their health and longevity. Then, help them strengthen their military power. For a mortal kingdom, these were huge temptations—practically irresistible.

If it were not for Leng Xuan's fear of acting too extravagantly and alarming the Buddhist and Daoist sects, the King of Aolai Kingdom would have been willing to establish the Demon Cult of Flower-Fruit Mountain as the state religion.

Since returning to Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong had basically nothing to do. He spent his days roaming around the mountain. Before, when Sun Wukong didn't understand Feng Shui formations, he just felt that the Water Curtain Cave Heaven of Flower-Fruit Mountain was a Cave Heaven and Blessed Land.

However, after practicing for three hundred years under the Puti Patriarch and reading through most of the ancient books within the Three-Star Cave Heaven, he had gained considerable knowledge in Feng Shui formations. Upon his return to Flower-Fruit Mountain, he naturally discovered its extraordinary elements.

Indeed, the Water Curtain Cave Heaven was a Cave Heaven and Blessed Land, but compared to it, the entire Flower-Fruit Mountain seemed even more extraordinary in Sun Wukong's eyes. According to Feng Shui layout, the main peak of Flower-Fruit Mountain was where nine Dragon Veins converged, forming a Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation.

The Immortal Stone from which he was born sat atop the main peak, gathering the essence and wisdom of heaven and earth to form a stone womb, from which Sun Wukong emerged.

However, what Sun Wukong found odd was that this kind of Dragon Veins pattern was extremely rare. In the entire Three Realms, only two known places had this vein pattern: one was West Kunlun and the other was Western Heaven Spiritual Mountain.

Both of these places had become the birthplace of a sect, while strangely, Flower-Fruit Mountain's terrain, despite also having the Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation, did not have the grandeur of West Kunlun or Spiritual Mountain. It seemed as if the spiritual energy from the Dragon Veins of the Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation was being suppressed by something.

Sun Wukong had thought about using his Void-Breaking Divine Eye to see what exactly was suppressing the spiritual energy of the nine Dragon Veins, but it seemed as if a tremendously powerful force was blocking external examination of the Dragon Veins. Even the Void-Breaking Divine Eye could hardly break through, and the consumption was immense when it was fully activated.

Unless it was backed by an immensely powerful Spirit Pill to compensate for the consumption, even if Sun Wukong managed to break through and see, he would suffer significant damage from the immense expenditure.

With less than thirty years left before his 342-year lifespan period, he would soon have to make a trip to the Netherworld. By then, no matter how low Sun Wukong tried to keep his profile, it would be difficult not to attract the attention of the Heavenly Court. Whether to fight or to negotiate peace was something Sun Wukong could not predict at the moment.

In any case, before then, he must ensure that he was in peak condition and absolutely not have any injuries!

It seemed it was time to put the refining of Spirit Pills on the agenda. The only problem was the lack of a proper Alchemy Cauldron!

Sun Wukong scratched his head, feeling somewhat troubled. Indeed, he had read many ancient alchemy books and memorized quite a few pill recipes, including some with extraordinary effects. The ingredients for alchemy were easy to come by, but where to find a suitable Pill Furnace?

To refine high-quality Elixir Pills, an excellent Alchemy Cauldron was indispensable; otherwise, the Supreme Grand Elderly Lord wouldn't treasure his purple-gold Tai Chi Furnace so dearly.

The Magical Weapons and treasures plundered from the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas were stored in a pagoda deep within the Water Curtain Cave Heaven, designed and constructed by Leng Xuan and the others. The treasures were organized according to their type and level, but unfortunately, there was no suitable Pill Furnace.

Perhaps, should he take another look in the Dragon Palaces of the Four Seas?

"Great King, six demon armies have arrived outside, claiming to be your sworn brothers here to form an alliance!"

As Sun Wukong was contemplating, a messenger demon rushed in to report that Bull Demon King and others, leading their demon soldiers, had come to form an alliance. It was only then that Sun Wukong remembered half a year had passed, and it was time for the seven sworn brothers' agreed-upon alliance meeting. But he hadn't prepared anything yet!

Fortunately, the current state of Flower-Fruit Mountain, having been consolidated and planned, was no longer the same idle place it used to be. At Sun Wukong's command, preparations began swiftly in all quarters, while he himself led a cadre of the key leaders of the Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Cult out of the array barrier to personally greet them.

"Big brother, you've really developed Flower-Fruit Mountain quite impressively!"

The Bull Demon King and the other six Great Demon Kings, with their hordes of demon soldiers, entered Flower-Fruit Mountain and were arranged by Sun Wukong to encamp in the outer area. Seeing the well-organized state of Flower-Fruit Mountain, Bull Demon King and his companions were quite surprised.

Each of their own domains was a mix of large and small demons living together without even a camp, let alone the sort of categorized constructions built in Flower-Fruit Mountain. It felt like they had entered a human sect.

"Not bad, not bad, the brothers under me have some clever heads on their shoulders."

Sun Wukong responded modestly with a laugh, but the smugness on his face was not easily concealed.

After a round of congratulations, Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King, along with the six others, officially formed their alliance in the main hall before the Water Curtain Cave Heaven. They agreed to form an offensive and defensive pact, designating Flower-Fruit Mountain as the covenant location.

Sun Wukong would open cave dwellings for the six Great Demon Kings within Flower-Fruit Mountain, and they would each move their forces over in waves within thirty years to consolidate their power here.

Originally, the Bull Demon King and the other six Great Demon Kings had some reservations, as each of their cave dwellings was well-known as a Cave Heaven and Blessed Land. If they all moved to Flower-Fruit Mountain, would the spiritual energy of heaven and earth there be sufficient to support so many people's consumption?

Such concerns completely vanished after Sun Wukong showed them the Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation underlying the dragon veins of Flower-Fruit Mountain. Although Sun Wukong was indeed unable to probe the depths of the nine dragon veins, he could still guide and display the layout of the Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation for the Bull Demon King and the other six Great Demon Kings to see.

"Big brother, say no more, I'll take my troops back and start moving right away. We won't need thirty years; within ten years at the most, everyone will have relocated here without leaving a single one behind, and absolutely no word of this will get out!"

The Macaque King was the most astute and was the first to commit. Bull Demon King and the others also expressed their willingness to relocate their strongholds, but they all requested that Sun Wukong ensure their new cave dwellings would be as similar as possible to the old ones, given they had grown used to them over many years.

"That's easy; just draw a layout of each of your cave dwellings for me, and I, Old Sun, will construct the new dwellings exactly as you've outlined, down to the last detail!"

Sun Wukong's suggestion was good, but where could the six Great Demon Kings draw anything? Their sketches were like lopsided and split melons, utterly unbearable to look at. Sun Wukong was speechless and had no choice but to have someone accompany the six Great Demon Kings back to their dwellings to document the details.

"Long Chao, let your subordinates take care of moving your dwelling. Are you interested in joining Old Sun on a little trip?"

After the Bull Demon King and the others took their leave, Sun Wukong discreetly sent a telepathic message to Jiao Demon King Long Chao.

"Where to?"

"The Northern Sea Dragon Palace!"

Sun Wukong grinned, revealing a sly smile, "You see, Old Sun did save the life of that old North Sea Dragon King Ao Shun last time. We can't just let him keep owing us a life-saving favor, right? We ought to go collect some interest, don't you think?"

"Interesting, I'll accompany you on this trip, big brother!"

Jiao Demon King Long Chao's eyes lit up. Sun Wukong was planning on taking him to have some fun! No more hesitation; off they went!

The two of them flew up on clouds and headed towards the Northern Sea. Along the way, Sun Wukong kept imagining what expression the North Sea Dragon King Ao Shun, especially when faced with Jiao Demon King Long Chao, would have. The more he thought about it, the more amusing he found the idea, and a wicked smirk crept onto Sun Wukong's face.

Old Dragon King, Old Sun is coming to collect a debt with reinforcements!