The Unyielding Great Sage

Go ahead.

Beneath his feet lay a corridor, and all around him was a dense darkness. This was said to be a hidden realm known as the Kakuriyo, a chasm between reality and Mythical Realm. And that old coward Susanoo should now be hiding within this Kakuriyo with his companions.

Miss Surtr tilted her head—she felt there was some commotion in the deep darkness. It was as if something large or small was tearing and chattering in the darkness. But when she lit a flame at her fingertips and touched the darkness, everything returned to silence.

—Spiritual pollution?

—Does this kind of thing exist in the original work?

She took a deep breath and exhaled, and the next moment, the raging flames of immortality burst forth from her and rapidly splashed into the deep darkness in all directions!

She has yet to discover anything in the world that is immune to Laevateinn's fire.

But as the darkness suddenly faded, all she saw was emptiness.

There was nothing there.

Strangely, there was nothing—no, there was something left behind. At her feet lay a broken sword.

She raised her hand, and the wreckage of the sword rose to the surface, coming into view. She could discern the remaining divine power and classical Japanese incantations on the blade. Without a doubt, this was a divine weapon. And considering the surrounding environment and historical context, this divine weapon could not possibly have many names.

"Kusanagi... the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi? What happened here?"

A premonition rose in the girl's heart. And the further she walked, the stronger this premonition became.

This premonition came true after she arrived at her destination, the palace Unwilling Sun Wukong was imprisoned.

She saw a mountain.

A mountain that looks like a monkey, or rather, a mountain that a monkey has transformed into.

Its form was ten thousand feet tall, its head like a mountain, its waist like a towering peak, its eyes like lightning, its mouth like a blood basin, and its teeth like swords and spears. Several tiny creatures struggled in its giant claws, and were crushed into a mass of shattered blood when Miss Surtr arrived.

An old man's head fell from the sky, landing right in front of the girl. The head was shrouded in the remnants of divine power and the fear of death. Without a doubt, this was one of the immortals that Miss Surtr had originally intended to kill off.

"Susanoo ..." the Flame-haired maiden murmured, reaching out to press down on the sword floating beside her.

"Hōten Shōchi," she arrived at an obvious conclusion.

Then, the Great Ape's voice was like thunder.

"The little girl has good taste." The giant ape casually tossed aside the blood foam in its hand. And a club, which was hard to describe as either a pillar or a tower, but certainly weighed more than 135 million tons, appeared out of thin air and fell into the Great Ape's hand.

"Having settled some old grudges, I feel much better. That old bastard is pitiful; he schemed and plotted, but he never expected that Old Sun, would escape from his clutches by some twist of fate today."

The enormous ape shifted its gaze. A vast aura, far surpassing that of ordinary Unwilling God, emanated from its body.

Something... incredibly mysterious happened to it.

"But you've come at the wrong time, little girl. I, Old Sun, am not in good shape right now. You might turn into a pancake or a lump of meat. But little girl, you seem to be a bit stronger than these bastards, so it's hard to say whether you can escape from Old Sun."

The Great Ape spoke politely, but its face turned bluish at a visible speed, and its fur turned a fiery red, solidifying as if burned.

With a blue face and red hair, this is how the character "Hōten Shōchi" (fǎ tiān xiàng dì) was described in the original text of Journey to the West.

This means it is ready to engage in battle at any time.

So the girl raised her head.

"Are you the Handsome Monkey King now? The Great Sage Equal to Heaven? Sun Wukong? Or the Victorious Fighting Buddha?"

And she received a thunderous response.

"Ha, I, Old Sun, can't remember that many!"

The enormous club crashed down with a deafening roar.

Then, in the pitch-black space, tangible wrinkles appeared, and one could vaguely see the real outside world!

Miss Surtr dodged the blow, retreating first. And then came the second strike, sealing off all blind spots!

Flames burst forth, and a sudden burst of heat resisted the falling steel pillar.

Amidst the Great Ape's roar, the barrier between the Kakuriyo and the mortal world cracked and crumbled!

"Before Old Sun, lose my senses, let me give you a piece of advice, little girl, I, Old Sun, am now—"

The next moment, one of the Great Ape's arms reached into the real world!

"I want to eat meat!"

Tomorrow is Grandpa's birthday, and there's a high chance he'll only have fragmented memories (or just a simple leave slip).

Chapter 126 The Great Sage Who Disobeyed

Space collapses.

Ten thousand zhang is 33.333 kilometers.

When this Great Ape, several times the size of the world's highest peak, burst through the rift in the Netherworld and arrived in the mortal realm, a massive storm, caused by the forceful pushing of air, swept across the island nation along with its imposing presence.

Vast swathes of forest were blown away, and chunks of land, including roads, were torn up. Smaller creatures died instantly from bodily imbalances caused by the unparalleled bio-field radiation. Those locals who were fortunate enough to evacuate were overwhelmed by a deep-seated fear that made it difficult to breathe.

Tokyo descended into utter chaos. Leaving aside the ignorant citizens, even the priests, shrine maidens, and ascetic monks—who, upon learning of the Seventh King's arrival, still had the power of the now-mere Susanoo to resist or to deceive him—were utterly overwhelmed. But the moment that terrifying figure materialized in their vision, only despair and terror filled their hearts.

"Monkey God Lord... No, impossible! How could it be so powerful?" An elderly monk stared in disbelief at the shadow that was gradually engulfing half of Tokyo. In his youth, he had witnessed the bound Sun Wukong fighting against Unwilling God along the Japanese coast, but the power Sun Wukong displayed then was not even a tenth of what it was now!

Even one-tenth of the current Sun Wukong could easily defeat the resurrected gods.

So now, what immense fighting power does this Unwilling God, who has clearly broken free of its constraints, possess? And what kind of revenge will it take against the nation that has bound it for hundreds of years?

Despair robbed the monk of his ability to think in an instant. He screamed madly, spitting out murky blood from his eyes, mouth, and nose. The out-of-control Curse Power killed him instantly from within his body. His death was accompanied by the awakening of the others who had been shaken.

"Run... run!" The Onmyoji, his mind consumed by fear, didn't even care that his tall hat had fallen to the ground as he fled. He almost forgot his escape technique, and only when he was nearly overwhelmed by the equally panicked crowd did he summon his Shikigami to pull him away.

Crowds surged. Vehicles collided with each other, and disheveled citizens cried and stumbled as they fled to places they didn't even know where they were. Residents outside Tokyo simply abandoned their houses and fled into the nearest mountains.

"What are the Kyohotzuka Family doing?" a pale-faced priest shouted from outside the crowd. "The committee provides them with so much money every year; they should step forward and take responsibility now!"

The shrine maidens, gathered in small groups, also had anxious expressions in their eyes.

"Is there any way to appease the Monkey God Lord? We don't need to make it return to the Saiden Palace, but at least we must get it out of Tokyo!" an older priestess said frantically. Then all eyes turned to the one among them who was the most beautiful in both dress and appearance, but who looked pale and weak. Those of slightly higher status couldn't help but step forward and grab her hand.

"Ena! You are that lord's priestess! Please contact my husband! The lord is out of danger, and we Susanoo to take charge!" She even forgot that she shouldn't call Susanoo his real name in public.