Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

Chapter 48 The Initial Formation of the Great Formation

In the Heavenly Court, within the Supreme Pure Heaven's Greenwave Palace.

"Master!"

Luo Bai had emerged from the Sword Pool and entered the great hall, where he respectfully greeted the Leader of Tongtian.

"Hmm, not bad, you've reached the realm of Taiyi Golden Immortal, and the Sword Heart within you has also fully formed. Luo Bai, you truly are an unparalleled genius in the path of the sword!"

The Leader of Tongtian scanned Luo Bai briefly, a flash of brilliance appeared in his eyes, followed by a satisfied smile.

"Thank you, Master, for allowing me to enter the Sword Pool to refine my Sword Heart, otherwise I wouldn't have achieved the breakthrough to Taiyi Golden Immortal so quickly."

Luo Bai, feeling extremely grateful, once again bowed respectfully to the Leader of Tongtian.

"This was your own effort; as your teacher, I merely provided you with an opportunity. It's all thanks to your own ability that you seized it!"

The Leader of Tongtian chuckled softly and with a wave of his hand, an image appeared in the upper half of the hall, showing Sun Wukong setting up a grand formation over Flower-Fruit Mountain, "Your monkey brother really knows how to stir up trouble! The Primordial Unity Grand Formation, eh?

I really don't know where this little monkey learned it from, with this setup, he seems to want to separate Flower-Fruit Mountain completely from prying eyes. Interesting!"

"Monkey Brother is really formidable!"

A gleam flashed in Luo Bai's eyes as he exclaimed in admiration, then he laughed a bit smugly, "However, my cultivation strength has now surpassed Monkey Brother, and he will definitely be greatly surprised when he sees me!"

"That's not necessarily true!"

The Leader of Tongtian glanced at Luo Bai and scoffed softly, "True, you are stronger in cultivation than that monkey, but if we talk about strength, that monkey isn't as simple as he appears!"

"Master, you know of Monkey Brother's situation?"

"I know some, but not much. That monkey's fate does not lie within the control of the Heavenly Dao, and even I can only conjecture so much. This monkey is no mundane creature; his future accomplishments are probably unimaginable. It wouldn't hurt for you to interact more with him."

"Master, do you know about Monkey Brother's origins? I only heard that he was born from an Immortal Stone, but I know nothing else."

"Indeed, he was born from an Immortal Stone, but the origin of that stone is extraordinary, forged from the multicolored Immortal Stone used by the Demon Clan Saint, Goddess Nuwa, during the 'Refining Stone to Mend the Sky'. It contains a trace of Goddess Nuwa's Saint's Essence Blood. His innate nature is remarkable! However…"

The Leader of Tongtian paused, a trace of doubt crossing his face, "Yet, even with a trace of the Saint's Essence Blood, a monkey should not have reached such a state; clearly, he conceals some secrets and must have had some extraordinary encounters! Luo Bai, as a Saint, I should not interfere too much in the affairs of the Three Realms.

Considering your monkey brother is an exceptional variable, getting close to him will only benefit you if you wish to achieve greater success!"

"Master's teachings, I will keep them in heart!"

Luo Bai bowed deeply, then chuckled, "Master, I've been in retreat for so long now; I want to go find Monkey Brother. He always boasts about how wonderful his Flower-Fruit Mountain is, and I've never seen it!"

"I know you, lad, can't sit still!"

The Leader of Tongtian smiled slightly and rolled his eyes at Luo Bai, "Go then, go have some adventures with that monkey. Hold onto this formation map; if you get the chance, help me retrieve those four Immortal Swords to complete the set!"

The Leader of Tongtian handed Luo Bai the diagram of the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array, not larger than the palm of a hand, resembling tortoise shell, densely covered in Dao patterns with four small holes meant to hold the Four Swords of Immortal-Slaying.

After the battle of Divine Enthronement, when the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array was broken, Guang Chengzi took the Immortal-Slaying Sword, Chi Jingzi took the Sword of Slaying Immortal, Real Man of Jade Cauldron took the Sword of Trapping Immortals, and Cultivation Heavenly Venerable took the Sword of Annihilation.

When the Hong Jun Daoist Ancestor mediated later, none of them returned the swords to the Leader of Tongtian.

Given the status of the Leader of Tongtian, it was inappropriate for him to personally demand the swords back. The Four Swords of Immortal-Slaying, separately, are powerful Innate Spiritual Treasures, which, while invaluable to others, are still beneath the notice of a Heavenly Dao Saint.

Only when all Four Swords of Immortal-Slaying are combined with the Immortal-Slaying Formation Diagram to form the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array do they reach the level of an Innate Supreme Treasure, becoming the foremost killing formation of the Primeval age.

The Divine Enthronement battle is long over, and now isn't the time for limitless slaughtering; the presence or absence of the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array doesn't much affect the Leader of Tongtian, who is mostly just slightly irked by it.

During the Divine Enthronement battle, his Jie Sect suffered greatly, leading to its decline, and even his Magical Treasure was taken by four of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Sect. If he didn't retrieve them, the Leader of Tongtian wouldn't be able to reclaim his lost dignity.

However, he couldn't make a move himself, and his disciples had mostly diminished, so perhaps the only one who could possibly retrieve them was Luo Bai, who had a good rapport with Sun Wukong.

With Sun Wukong's influence, Luo Bai might actually be able to retrieve the Four Swords of Immortal-Slaying.

"Rest assured, Master, if I have the chance, I will do everything in my power to retrieve the four Immortal Swords!"

With three deep kowtows toward the Leader of Tongtian, Luo Bai rose tall, turned, and strode out of the Greenwave Palace. Riding a cloud along the Heavenly Ladder down to the Ninth Layer of Heaven, he showed the Greenwave Palace token to the guards at the Southern Heavenly Gate, then departed with ease, flying towards Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Above Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong outlined the last pattern of the great formation. Now only the final step remained: to activate the formation.

The Primordial Unity Grand Formation thrives on the unity of the primordial essence; it is said that humans live for breath, and Buddhas compete for a stick of incense. The essence breath of the one who triggers it serves as the medium, the purer this breath, the greater the initial power of the formation.

Taking a deep breath and channeling his Eight-Nine Profound Skill, Sun Wukong was about to release a burst of concentrated essence breath when suddenly, a loud shout rang from behind him in the clouds: "Monkey Brother, I've arrived!"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Sun Wukong suddenly choked mid-breath and erupted into a violent cough, turning his head toward the direction of the sound. There, he saw Luo Bai bursting out from the clouds with an excited expression, flying on his sword directly in front of Sun Wukong—or, rather, right in front of his face.

Under the governance of the Divine Power Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth, Luo Bai seemed no bigger than an ant in front of Sun Wukong.

"Monkey Bro, long time no see, did you miss me?"

Luo Bai was as narcissistic as ever. He had initially wanted to hug Sun Wukong, but after realizing the considerable size difference between them, he promptly abandoned the idea and instead greeted Sun Wukong with a beaming smile.

"Miss you my foot, how could you suddenly pop out like this? You almost killed me from suffocation!"

Sun Wukong glared at Luo Bai, annoyed. This impudent boy had to choose neither earlier nor later, but just as he was about to activate the great formation.

"Uh…"

Luo Bai scratched his head awkwardly. "Just kidding, Monkey Bro, just kidding."

"Just watch from the side for now, we'll talk later!"

Taking a deep breath, Sun Wukong refocused his attention on the great formation, summoned the Eight-Nine Profound Skill, and gathered a stream of essence Qi. He then spewed it onto the very center of the great formation.

"Buzz~!"

A fluctuation spread out from the formation, extending a barrier that enveloped the entire Flower-Fruit Mountain. The color of chaos shimmered for a while and then disappeared from sight.

The Primordial Unity Grand Formation was set up!

The formation was currently self-operational, drawing the spiritual energy from the Dragon Veins of Flower-Fruit Mountain to maintain itself. Given the layout of the Dragon Veins in Flower-Fruit Mountain, maintaining basic operation was not an issue, but the true power of the Primordial Unity Grand Formation was far greater than this.

Normally, this formation served the dual purposes of concealing fate and providing warning. Outsiders could not detect it, and if someone crossed the barrier into Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong would know immediately.

This was just under normal circumstances; should Sun Wukong fully activate it, the Primordial Unity Grand Formation would instantaneously transform into an impenetrable stronghold. Without Sun Wukong's permission, no one could breach the barrier, and magical spells or attacks could not penetrate it.

Of course, Saints were the exception!

To a Saint, everything else is as insignificant as ants, and even the mightiest formation cannot compete with a Saint's power.

Sun Wukong had set up the Primordial Unity Grand Formation not to guard against Saints, but to obscure the heavenly secrets and prevent the Heavenly Court from detecting the existence of the Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Cult too soon while also concealing any potential secrets underground at Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Once the activation was complete, Sun Wukong deactivated the Divine Power Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth and headed towards the summit of Flower-Fruit Mountain's main peak.

"Wait for me, Monkey Bro!"

Luo Bai, taken aback, quickly shouted as he followed.

Sun Wukong's mouth curled into a smile. The moment Luo Bai passed through the barrier of the Primordial Unity Grand Formation and entered, he felt the fluctuation from the barrier, confirming that the records in the Daoist Scriptures were indeed accurate.

"Is this Flower-Fruit Mountain? It truly possesses the spirit of heaven and earth, looking extraordinary at first glance!"

Standing at the edge of the peak, Luo Bai looked around Flower-Fruit Mountain and praised it, while Sun Wukong rolled his eyes.

"Save it, can you really see what's so extraordinary about my Flower-Fruit Mountain?"

"Well…"

Luo Bai laughed awkwardly. "Monkey Bro, what you see through, don't say out loud—give me some dignity…"

"Alright, just quietly watch from the side for now. Once I'm done with what I'm handling, I'll take you around Flower-Fruit Mountain for a good time!"

After telling Luo Bai this, Sun Wukong sent out two sound transmissions. Shortly after, the Jiao Demon King and the Peng Demon King arrived at the top of the peak. Sun Wukong briefly introduced them to each other, then nodded at the Jiao Demon King and Peng Demon King, "I'm about to begin. The protection is up to you two!"

"Boss, don't worry! With us here, no one will disturb you. Just do your thing!"

The Jiao Demon King said this, glancing at Luo Bai both intentionally and unintentionally.

"Luo Bai is one of us; there's no need to hide anything from him."

Sun Wukong only said that and did not elaborate further. The Jiao Demon King nodded, ceasing to speak further, and watched silently as Sun Wukong activated the Void-Breaking Divine Eye.