Great Demon Sun Wukong
Chapter 959 - 959: The Story of the Bull Demon King in Journey to the West (1)

"Brother Monkey, when we get to Tathagata, if he deceives us again, what do you plan to do?"

"What can we do? Fight, at worst we'll cause an uproar at Spiritual Mount."

"What if we fail? I think Tathagata's people are pretty strong."

"If we can't win, then die, hahaha."

"Uh, Brother Monkey, are you serious?"

"Haha, what, are you scared? Anyway, I won't die, and neither will you, so what's there to fear? At that time, let Master and Old Sha find a place to hide, and we'll turn Spiritual Mount upside down."

"Wukong, Bajie, hurry and sleep, tomorrow morning we have to continue traveling." Tang Sanzang extinguished the nearby lamp and said to Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie.

The next morning, the master and disciples set out westward again. By noon, the sun was becoming increasingly fierce. "Wukong, why is it so hot? It's only March, how can it be so scorching?" Tang Sanzang was riding on a white horse, already sweating profusely. Beside him, Bajie was already sticking out his tongue from the heat.

Actually, since they set out this morning, Sun Wukong felt the surrounding temperature rising, but initially, the master and disciples didn't mind, after all, they had experienced many strange sights and events along this journey. But now the weather was scorching, and this definitely didn't seem normal; that morning they had only walked about ten miles, yet on one side it was winter, and on the other it was already summer.

"Don't worry, Master, I'll call out the Deity of the Land to inquire." Sun Wukong was also feeling uncomfortable from the heat, so he tapped the Jingu Bang on the ground, a trail of white smoke rose, and a slow-moving old man with a white beard appeared, wearing only a singlet. "Deity of the Land, I'm asking you, what realm is this? How can it be so hot?"

Although the Deity of the Land wore just a singlet, he was sweating profusely. Looking up and realizing it was the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, he hurriedly bowed and paid respects, saying, "Salutations, Great Saint, Holy Monk, greetings Tianpeng Marshal, General Juanlian. In response to Great Saint, this place is called Flame Mountain, spanning over eight hundred miles. At the peak of Flame Mountain, fierce fires burn year-round, without ceasing day or night. That is why this place is exceptionally hot throughout the seasons."

"Interesting, fires burning year-round? This is quite fascinating." Sun Wukong shaded his eyes with his hand and gazed into the distance, indeed seeing the flames surging. But as he looked, a sharp glint appeared in his eyes, and he frowned, saying, "No, why do I feel Brother Bull's presence here?" Sun Wukong turned to Zhu Bajie and said, "Bajie, protect Master, I'll be right back."

Finishing his words, he flipped and was already out of sight. Sun Wukong hadn't used his fiery eyes, yet he extended his Divine Sense to feel the fiery ocean the Deity of the Land mentioned; he indeed sensed that boundless fiery sea, but within it, he surprisingly felt the presence of the Bull Demon King.

Although the presence was not strong, or rather, far from the power Sun Wukong remembered, it was undoubtedly the Bull Demon King's aura. Sun Wukong last saw the Bull Demon King before he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, during the Seven Saints meeting at Flower Fruit Mountain. At that time, Sun Wukong resolved to resist Heaven, but the other six did not join him; after Sun Wukong single-handedly fought up to the Southern Gate of Heaven, the other six left one by one.

Since then, Sun Wukong heard no news from them, and during the five hundred years under Five Elements Mountain, none came to see Sun Wukong. This left Sun Wukong feeling bittersweet. But now, he unexpectedly felt the Bull Demon King's presence within the eight-hundred-mile Flame Mountain, immediately feeling relieved.

Elder Brother Bull Demon King, during those five hundred years, did not wish to visit, but himself was also bound in this boundless sea of fire. It seems he implicated his elder brother. By this thought, it's conceivable that the other companions might not fare any better than the Bull Demon King. Thinking this, Sun Wukong's anger soared, yet now he had learned patience; despite his anger, he would free his elder brother first.

Years ago, Sun Wukong and Bull Demon King, totaling seven, vowed brotherhood by bowing; yet ultimately, Sun Wukong was the only one who fought his way up the Thirty-Three Layers of Heaven with one stick, spilling blood throughout Heaven, striking fear into all deities, while the others never appeared again, not because they were cowardly.

Initially, they feared Heaven, hence not teaming up with Sun Wukong, but later, they couldn't bear Sun Wukong confronting Heaven alone, thus leading their followers in an all-out attack. Yet they were not as strong as Sun Wukong; failing to reach Heaven's gate, they were instead captured one by one, their followers completely defeated.

Certainly, it was not the Heavenly Court that defeated and captured them, as during that time, Heaven lacked the strength to deal with them.

Soon, Sun Wukong, guided by the presence, locked onto the location and blinked to the center of Flame Mountain. Although Flame Mountain's fire towered, this was merely the residual fire from the Supreme Elder Lord's Bagua Furnace. To Sun Wukong, it merely felt slightly warmer. As Sun Wukong landed, before him stood a giant iron bull, about twenty to thirty yards long and seven to eight yards high. Indeed, it was an iron bull forged from Nine Serenities Cold Iron.

And at the foremost part of the bull, five iron chains as thick as wrists bound a person there. With just one glance, Sun Wukong recognized the person, disheveled and covered in blood, as the Bull Demon King.

Sun Wukong felt immense sorrow and shouted angrily, "Brother, I'm here to save you." With that, he sprang forward, Jingu Bang silently appearing in his hand, and he swung it with full force at the chain on the iron bull's horn. Yet, contrary to Sun Wukong's expectation, the chain did not break; besides some sparks, there was no mark left.

However, the immense shock from the blow startled the Bull Demon King awake. Clothed in rags, hair disheveled, body covered in wounds, the Bull Demon King struggled to lift his head, seeing the figure with an iron rod in hand, furious, staring at the iron bull behind him.

"You, you are Little Seven? Wukong?"

The Bull Demon King's voice was not only weak but also trembling. Seeing the Bull Demon King in such a wretched state, Sun Wukong's eyes reddened with fury. Clutching the Jingu Bang tightly, he was barely able to suppress the anger within; feeling an urge to fly to Western Paradise's Great Thunderclap Monastery, overturn Spiritual Mount. But thinking of his master, Bajie, and Old Sha, and the Golden Hoop on his head, he forced himself not to give in to his rage.

"Brother, it's me, it's me." Upon seeing Sun Wukong, tears filled the Bull Demon King's eyes, unable to be restrained, and instantly flowed down his face. "It's really you, truly you, hahaha. I knew you couldn't be dead, I knew it. Those Buddhas told me you were killed in your havoc at the Heavenly Palace. Haha, I spat on their faces. Cough, cough, cough."

Despite his face full of tears, the Bull Demon King laughed wildly, yet it seemed to aggravate his internal wounds, causing him to cough before finishing his words. Sun Wukong quickly took the water pouch from his waist and carefully fed the Bull Demon King some water, who then spoke audaciously with his face full of pride, "I knew, my Seventh Brother is the Ling Ming Stone Monkey, equaled to the heavens 3; how could those bald monks possibly kill him? Haha."

Yet as the Bull Demon King laughed, he suddenly saw the dazzling Golden Hoop on top of Sun Wukong's head, his expression changed drastically; the face full of joy turned ashen in an instant. "Little Seven, on your head, you, you..."

With a series of 'you', the words choked in his throat and wouldn't come out. Sun Wukong, bearing a face full of grief and indignation, said, "Indeed, I was tricked by that old woman Guanyin and accidentally put on this Golden Hoop. Then Sun Wukong briefly recounted to the Bull Demon King how he met Tang Sanzang under Five Elements Mountain, how he put on the Golden Hoop, and what happened afterward.

"So, I am accompanying Tang Sanzang to retrieve the scriptures from Western Paradise, but today we passed by here and discovered eldest brother. By the way, eldest brother, why can't I break these chains?"

The Bull Demon King listened dumbfounded, speechless for a long time, finally sighing in lament. He thought Sun Wukong had escaped, but it was merely a larger cage he inhabited.

"Back then, you used your strength alone to battle the entire Heavenly Court; we couldn't bear it in our hearts and planned to lead all our forces to assist you at Heaven. Yet mid-way, we were all captured by Western Paradise's Buddhas. All my demonic soldiers were slain and I was defeated by that damned Medicine Buddha. That Medicine Buddha didn't kill me but used Nine Serenities Cold Iron to forge an iron bull here. Three days later, a fireball suddenly fell, setting ablaze the eight-hundred-mile mountain entirely, with the iron bull at the fire's center."

"That Medicine Buddha said 'as expected' and locked me here. For over five hundred years, I've endured scorching flames by day and Nine Serenities cold by night. The alternating extremes of heat and cold tortured me, leaving me neither human nor ghost; seven-eighths of my cultivation is gone. Had it not been for my persistent belief, I would have died long ago."