No More Zixia in This World

Like a great hammer striking his chest.

Sun Wukong watched the tears fall from her eyes, each one seeming to weigh a thousand tons.

It was as if every drop landed upon his heart.

His breathing grew heavy, and Sun Wukong could not help but take two steps back.

A sudden, wrenching pain seized his heart.

Why was this happening?

He had never felt this way before.

And why did she feel so familiar, yet he could not remember her?

"It's you."

Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing blurted out in unison.

It was as though heaven and earth, all creation, and everything else had faded away.

Before her eyes, only this monkey remained.

She looked at him, tears streaming down her face as she smiled.

This was, this was, her Five-Colored Stone.

Once, she had held him against her chest, carrying him across mountains and rivers, over hills and through valleys.

She had whispered softly to him, murmuring with tender affection.

He had worn a hole into her heart.

He had been stained by the blood of her heart, and thus gained spirituality and intelligence...

It was also this monkey.

For her sake, he had mobilized the entire Myriad Monster Nation and fought the Heavenly Court without regard for consequences.

It was him as well.

He had once held her hand and roamed the Three Realms with her.

He had also once...

Beneath that peach grove filled with falling blossoms, held her hand as though making a vow.

"Zixia, you are more beautiful than these peach blossoms."

"Heaven and earth shall bear witness, the sun and moon shall be gifts, the land shall be my betrothal offering, and mountains and rivers shall be our matchmakers."

"Will you stand equal with this Great Sage and become Heaven's Equal?"

The golden silk flew into the air, finally transforming into a single monkey hair that drifted down onto Sun Wukong.

Why could this golden silk not stop Sun Wukong in the slightest?

Because it had originally been a protective treasure he had given her.

Just like his purple silk—it had been her gift to him.

As the monkey hair took root and sprouted upon his body, a tremendous power spread from Sun Wukong.

Peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

He was only one step away from the Quasi-Saint realm.

Yet Sun Wukong's expression became bewildered. Holding the Golden Cudgel, he stared blankly at the tear-streaked face before him.

They must have known each other.

And Er Daizi and San Lengzi also knew the White Bone Demon's true identity.

Tang Yu fell into thought.

Bai Jingjing smiled brightly at Tang Yu. "The one I love is a peerless hero."

Her expression seemed to say.

See? I wasn't lying before.

I really do have someone I love.

And he is a peerless hero.

Purple mist slowly rose from Bai Jingjing's body. Her originally beautiful face, like that of a Heavenly Immortal, became even more ethereal and dreamlike.

She gave the monkey one final look.

"It is better that you forgot. Then there will be no pain."

"You must live well."

Her body completely dissipated into smoke, leaving only a skeleton where she had stood.

Within the skeleton's chest was a heart, beating faintly.

There was also a tiny hole in that heart.

It seemed as though something had slowly ground its way into it.

The skeleton turned into dust and drifted away in the wind.

Only that heart remained. It beat twice softly, then slowly split apart and lay quietly where it was.

The moment Bai Jingjing vanished, purple clouds filled the sky, and the entire world was shrouded in violet radiance.

The whole horizon became dreamily beautiful.

The sun shone through the purple clouds, as though coating heaven and earth with a faint layer of violet.

But in an instant, the purple clouds vanished into nothingness.

"Golden morning clouds, crimson evening clouds."

"But from this day onward, there will be no more Zixia in this world."

Zhu Bajie looked toward Sun Wukong, his eyes filled with pity, sorrow, and a faint glimmer of tears.

The last trace of purple light fell upon Sun Wukong's face.

As if unwilling to part, as if lingering with longing, it gave him one last look.

After a long while, Sun Wukong came back to his senses and snorted.

"Damn demon, you actually dared to deceive Old Sun!"

Yet for some reason, his heart suddenly felt empty.

Seeing Sun Wukong like that, Tang Yu felt somewhat saddened.

Yes.

This monkey did not remember.

And Bai Jingjing was dead as well.

Perhaps their past had vanished into nothingness along with the blow Sun Wukong had dealt.

Tang Yu was very curious about their past.

Er Daizi and San Lengzi surely knew something, but he no longer wanted to ask.

The Journey to the West had come this far.

Although Tang Yu had changed much of its overall course through his actions.

They were still chess pieces.

In this Journey to the West Tribulation, they were chess pieces for those hypocritical gods and Buddhas to vie for merit.

But Tang Yu would not resign himself to this. He would definitely break free from this chessboard.

He had now attained Earth Immortal cultivation. As he continued cultivating the Nine-Nine Heavenly Merit, he believed his strength would certainly grow.

At this moment, Tang Yu suddenly craved power.

He pondered deeply.

He would not place complete trust in Taishang Laojun.

Because he had a premonition that Taishang Laojun was plotting something behind the scenes as well.

If there was someone he wanted to trust, it would be Sage Tongtian.

He had already made something clear to Old Mother Lishan. Tongtian probably knew by now that he was an anomaly within the Journey to the West.

As for the Buddhist Sect, they had already begun smoking, and had basically fallen on a massive scale.

Therefore, Tang Yu no longer needed to care about the Buddhist Sect for now.

And there was also the Heavenly Court. They had not made a move yet only because it was not their turn to face a tribulation.

The Jade Emperor was not so simple either.

After pondering for a moment, Tang Yu called to his three disciples. "Let's get moving." He swung himself onto the donkey.

Master and disciples set off once again.

Yet Sun Wukong kept looking back, staring at that heart which had already split apart.

As master and disciples traveled farther and farther away.

A gust of wind passed by, and the shattered heart was gradually covered by a little dust.

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

A small willow branch emerged from beneath the earth.

It wrapped around the shattered heart and, in an instant, sank back underground, disappearing without a trace.

Watching the departing master and disciples, Guanyin Bodhisattva secretly let out a sigh of relief.

This finally counted as completing one tribulation.

She headed toward Western Heaven, intending to report to Tathagata.

And to figure out how the next tribulation should proceed.

According to their plan, Tang Sanzang was supposed to drive Sun Wukong away during this tribulation.

Otherwise, the next tribulation would be difficult to carry out.

From far away, Guanyin Bodhisattva could see thick smoke billowing from the Great Thunderclap Monastery, haze filling the air.

Her figure paused.

What was going on?

Could the Great Thunderclap Monastery be on fire?

She hurriedly accelerated toward the Great Thunderclap Monastery.

Western Heaven.

Great Thunderclap Monastery.

At that moment, Tathagata Buddha, with a cigarette between his lips, saw this scene and suddenly slapped his thigh.

"Well done! Haha, it worked! We finally completed one tribulation!"

Completing this tribulation had not been easy.

And Sun Wukong had truly struck her down.

"It worked! One tribulation is complete!"

All of Western Heaven immediately erupted in cheers, boiling with excitement.

They were so moved they nearly wept.

It had been far too difficult.

Buddha had already given up hope for this tribulation.

Who would have thought that, through a twist of fate, it would actually count as one tribulation.