Great Demon Sun Wukong
Chapter 960 - 960: The Story of the Bull Demon King in Journey to the West (2)

Sun Wukong, upon hearing this, realized that in the past five hundred years, the Bull Demon King suffered more than he did. He was merely trapped under the Five Elements Mountain without torture. But the Bull Demon King was not only chained atop the Flame Mountain, enduring the torment of fierce fire and severe cold day and night. It can't be denied that Tathagata of the Western Paradise is ruthless. Why is the Bull Demon King's punishment heavier than Sun Wukong's? And by so much? Sun Wukong was the one who caused chaos in the Heavenly Palace while the Bull Demon King was only an accomplice, and they hadn't even reached Heaven before being stopped by the Buddha.

In other words, the Bull Demon King did absolutely nothing yet had to endure the five hundred years of torture. Tathagata did this to send a message to the world's Demon Clan—no matter who you are, if you have any association with Sun Wukong, you will become my Buddhist enemy. The Bull Demon King swore brotherhood with Sun Wukong, so I locked him on top of Flame Mountain. If there are others, the consequences will be even worse.

Another purpose is to make these sworn brothers of Sun Wukong resent him. Because their suffering all these years was entirely because of Sun Wukong. If Sun Wukong had obediently followed Buddhism, if Sun Wukong hadn't resisted Heaven, then none of them would have faced such hardships. Fortunately, the Bull Demon King did not think this way.

The Bull Demon King did not blame Sun Wukong for his suffering. He was very clear that everything he experienced was the doing of the Western Paradise Buddhist Gate and had nothing to do with Sun Wukong. This is where the Bull Demon King's wisdom shows; he clearly knows the source of his pain and understands whom he should resent. "Brother, how, how do I rescue you?"

Sun Wukong tried earlier, but his Jingu Bang couldn't break the Nine Serenities Cold Iron. However, just as Sun Wukong spoke, before the Bull Demon King could reply, suddenly, the enormous Iron Bull opened its eyes. These eyes were huge, and after they opened, the Iron Bull slowly stood up. Since the Bull Demon King was tightly chained to the Iron Bull's head, when the Iron Bull came to life, it naturally lifted the Bull Demon King into the air.

"Sun Wukong, if you truly wish to save the Bull Demon King, you need only kneel and beg me, and I will release him. How about it?" The enormous Iron Bull slowly opened its mouth and spoke, and although it spoke human language, Sun Wukong was all too familiar with the voice.

"Tathagata, old Tathagata, feel free to direct any grudges at me, Old Monkey! Why torment my big brother? Release him quickly, or I'll smash your Lingxiao Palace!" As soon as Sun Wukong heard the voice, he recognized it as that of the Buddha of the Western Paradise.

"Monkey, touch your forehead—you have the Golden Hoop. You are but a trapped beast at my mercy. However, I won't kill you. I will wear down all your sharp edges bit by bit and turn you into my most powerful watchdog, hahaha." With such arrogant laughter, the enormous Iron Bull suddenly raised its forehoofs and stomped fiercely on Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong quickly retreated, and upon looking back, the ground was shattered and split under the stomp, with molten lava spewing from the cracks. "Tathagata, as long as I, the Old Monkey, live, I'll definitely kill you." In a fit of fury, Sun Wukong raised his Jingu Bang and flashed into the sky, preparing to strike down at the Bull's head. Just at that moment, the Bull Demon King, bound by chains at his limbs and neck, suddenly appeared atop the Iron Bull. Should Sun Wukong let that strike fall, the Bull Demon King would be smashed to pieces.

Afraid of hurting the Bull Demon King, Sun Wukong quickly twisted his body to dispel the force of the strike, but to unload the force of such a furious blow was no easy task. Although he steadied his stance, the forced unloading caused Sun Wukong's movements to stall momentarily. In just that instant of hesitation, the massive Iron Bull swung its pillar-like tail, whipping Sun Wukong.

"Monkey, why hesitate? Let me tell you, the world will never know what happened here. Because I will tell them that Sun Wukong was on his journey to the Western Paradise for scriptures, passing by Flame Mountain, intending to borrow Princess Iron Fan's palm-leaf fan to extinguish the fire, thus repeatedly insulting his sister-in-law, only to be discovered by brother Bull Demon King. Sun Wukong, then infuriated, nearly killed Bull Demon King and beat him back to his original form. Haha, isn't this story far more exciting?"

Sun Wukong was thrown back by the Iron Bull's pillar-like tail. Although Sun Wukong's body is as tough as reinforced iron, oddly, the cold from the Nine Serenities Cold Iron seems to counteract his Diamond Indestructible Body, causing the Iron Bull's attacks to painfully pierce his body.

Instead, the fury within Sun Wukong's heart ignored this pain entirely. Despite being knocked back, Sun Wukong somersaulted mid-air, relentlessly charging back. This time, Sun Wukong gathered all his strength to aim for the Iron Bull's leg. If not the head, then let me break your leg and see how arrogant you become.

Yet, at the instant just as Sun Wukong's staff approached the leg, the Bull Demon King, bound by chains, reappeared atop the colossal leg. Helpless once again, Sun Wukong had to dispel the force. This time, he didn't retract all his strength but diverted the attack to a nearby mountain peak instead.

Just as Sun Wukong broke the mountain peak with his staff, the Iron Bull flashed with golden light, charging with an unbelievable speed to gore Sun Wukong's chest with its sharp horn. Sun Wukong felt his chest was about to explode from the blow, but the anger and hatred towards Tathagata made Sun Wukong roar fiercely, grab the Bull's horns with both arms, and exert divine power to hurl the Iron Bull entirely away.

As the Iron Bull flew off, just when Sun Wukong breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt a powerful gust behind him, leaving him no time to evade as he was struck and sent flying.

The force of this strike was immense, causing intense pain in Sun Wukong's internal organs. Upon landing, he rolled to disperse part of the force and turned around, immediately startled.

"Big brother, you, why?"

Indeed, standing behind Sun Wukong at this moment was the Bull Demon King, and it was the Bull Demon King who struck that blow. To Sun Wukong's inquiry, the Bull Demon King did not reply but grasped the void with his right hand, where an iron staff appeared in his hand. Without saying a word, he swung the staff and attacked fiercely. Sun Wukong was perplexed; he didn't understand why the Bull Demon King would suddenly attack him. Was the Bull Demon King under control? Or was everything an act from before?

Nevertheless, Sun Wukong was unwilling to believe it, but the Bull Demon King's attacks were fierce, not at all resembling an injured person, and filled with demon qi, contrary to what the Bull Demon King had previously claimed about his demonic power being mostly depleted. Sun Wukong was bewildered inside but didn't slow his movements because each of the Bull Demon King's attacks was filled with killing intent.

While Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King clashed again, Sun Wukong suddenly saw Bull Demon King's lips subtly move, telling him, "Old Seventh, kill me, quickly, kill me." Sun Wukong paused, his heart clear now—the Bull Demon King must be controlled by someone; otherwise, he couldn't have said such things.

After these words from the Bull Demon King, his attacks grew even fiercer, but Sun Wukong realized that it was the Buddha's control over the Bull Demon King; thus, he couldn't harm the Bull Demon King. However, this made the situation difficult, leading the battle to become Sun Wukong simply defending and blocking the attacks. At this moment, the Iron Bull he had just flung away returned, making Sun Wukong's situation even more awkward, caught between left and right blocks, not defeated but being heavily strained.

"Brother Monkey, fear not, I'm coming!" Suddenly, Sun Wukong heard Zhu Bajie's loud shout, seeing him wielding a giant rake, striking the Iron Bull's back. Sun Wukong did not expect the Iron Bull to feel the pain, letting out a furious bellow and leaving Sun Wukong to battle alongside Zhu Bajie. "Fool, where's the master? How did you come?"

Zhu Bajie swung the massive rake, battling intensely with the Iron Bull. Upon Sun Wukong's question, he quickly replied, "Sha Wujing is guarding him; with such a commotion here, how could I not come to see it? Brother Monkey, is that the Bull Demon King? Why did he start fighting with you? Hey, Old Bull, what madness is this?"

The Bull Demon King remained silent, continuing his aggressive attacks. Sun Wukong found a moment to explain, "It's a long story. Right now, the Old Bull is controlled by Tathagata. Bajie, you hold off that Iron Bull; I'll find a way to save Old Bull." Saying this, Sun Wukong took advantage of a gap and retreated swiftly, naturally pursued closely by the Bull Demon King.

Just recently, Sun Wukong heard the Bull Demon King again say. "Old Seventh, take me, leave Flame Mountain."