Chapter 88: The Demon Monkey Has No Right to Attend the Banquet—The Great Sage

The red-clad fairy did not dare to delay, and listed all the guests she knew, one by one.

“Your Majesty, this Peach Banquet has invited an immense number of guests. The Western Heaven summoned the Buddha Tathagata, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and a host of Bodhisattvas and Arhats; the Upper Realm invited the Three Pure Ones and the Four Emperors and other Celestial Lords; the Lower Realm invited the Lord of the Netherworld and the Ten Kings of Hell; the Five Sacred Mountains, the Four Great Rivers, and the Four Sea Dragon Kings were also invited; and every renowned hermit immortal in the Three Realms was included on the guest list…”

The red-clad fairy rattled off a long string of names, each one a towering figure in the Three Realms.

Sun Wukong nodded repeatedly, his posture straightening further.

To attend a banquet with so many great figures—his title of Great Sage Equaling Heaven was truly extraordinary!

After finishing the list, the red-clad fairy fell silent, smiling at Sun Wukong.

But Sun Wukong waited a long while and realized she had no intention of continuing.

The smile on his face slowly froze.

That’s not right.

She spoke so much, yet not once did she mention the four characters “Great Sage Equaling Heaven”?

Did they forget him?

Sun Wukong’s heart lurched, a dark premonition rising within him.

His expression turned grim as he probed, “Did you forget to mention someone?”

The red-clad fairy blinked. “Forget someone? No, I’ve told Your Majesty everything I know.”

“Impossible!” Sun Wukong’s voice rose involuntarily. “Your Queen Mother hosts a banquet and invites so many—how could she possibly have omitted Old Sun?”

He pointed at himself. “Old Sun is the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, personally appointed by the Jade Emperor! How could your Queen Mother forget such an important guest?”

The red-clad fairy was startled again by his sudden outburst.

They exchanged glances, each seeing unease and confusion in the others’ eyes.

Indeed, this Great Sage Equaling Heaven had such a loud reputation—why was his name truly absent from the guest list?

Had Queen Mother forgotten him?

Or perhaps…

A timid green-clad fairy, watching Sun Wukong’s face darken, whispered to her sister beside her: “Sister, what do we do? His name isn’t on the list at all…”

Though her voice was quiet, every immortal present had ears sharper than the keenest blade.

Sun Wukong heard every word clearly.

“My name isn’t on the list?”

His heart plummeted; a nameless fire surged straight to the crown of his head.

Seeing Sun Wukong’s face turn instantly black, the fairies all fell silent, the air thick with dread.

The lead red-clad fairy, sensing the situation turning dire, forced herself forward to defuse it.

“Great Sage, please don’t be angry. Perhaps… perhaps Queen Mother was overwhelmed with affairs and accidentally omitted your name. Or perhaps she prepared a special surprise for you, so your name was left off the general list…”

Even she didn’t believe her own words.

A celestial banquet was a matter of solemn gravity; the guest list was meticulously verified—how could an error occur?

Sun Wukong was no fool; he knew instantly this was merely a flimsy excuse.

“Accident? Surprise?” Sun Wukong sneered. “I see—it’s that Queen Mother doesn’t hold Old Sun in any regard.”

At that moment, a voice emerged from among the fairies.

A fairy clad in pink cloud-silk, seemingly stirred to irritation by Sun Wukong’s words, curled her lip and muttered softly:

“What’s so surprising? You weren’t invited to begin with…”

Those words pierced Sun Wukong’s heart like a dagger.

“What did you say?”

Sun Wukong whirled around, his eyes locking onto the pink-clad fairy, blazing with terrifying fury.

The pink-clad fairy trembled under his gaze, but since the words were out, she braved it, relying on her position near Queen Mother, and thrust her chin forward:

“I said the Peach Banquet never invited you! What are you yelling for?”

“You!” Sun Wukong pointed a trembling finger at the pink-clad fairy.

“What about me?”

The pink-clad fairy, sensing Sun Wukong dared not touch her, grew bolder. She sized him up with undisguised contempt.

“Do you really think you’re someone important? Great Sage Equaling Heaven? Hmph—I’ve heard it from the palace immortals: that title was just the Jade Emperor’s empty words to pacify you. All sound, no substance!”

“You’re a wild monkey from the mortal realm—do you truly believe you can sit equal to the Three Pure Ones, the Four Emperors, and the Buddha of the Western Heaven?”

“What kind of sacred occasion is this Peach Banquet? The guests are true celestial lords, true immortals of noble blood. What right does a newly arrived demon immortal from the mortal realm have to attend?”

These words hammered into Sun Wukong’s chest like sledgeblows.

Each syllable cut to the bone!

“Wild monkey! Demon immortal from below! Unworthy!”

Each word was a blade, slicing his pride into bloody shreds.

The title he had always cherished—the Great Sage Equaling Heaven—was nothing but a joke in the eyes of these celestial immortals.

Sun Wukong felt his past actions had made him a clown, leaping about the celestial court for their amusement.

“Aaaah!”

Sun Wukong let out a deafening roar, a violent aura of demonic energy erupting from him, shattering all the immortal clouds of the Peach Garden.

“Fine! Fine, celestial court! Fine, Jade Emperor!”

His eyes burned crimson, wild with madness; he pulled out his Ruyi Jingu Bang, which lengthened with the wind, radiating a terrifying, soul-chilling aura.

“So you’ve all been mocking Old Sun!”

“You lured Old Sun to heaven, gave him a hollow title, just to laugh at him!”

The fairies, never having witnessed such a scene, screamed in terror, their faces pale.

“Still!”

Sun Wukong roared, casting the Stillness Spell.

The seven fairies froze instantly, locked in terrified poses, unable to move even their eyeballs.

“You said Old Sun has no right?” Sun Wukong strode to the nine-thousand-year peach tree, pointing at the plump, ripe immortal peaches, grinning wickedly. “Then today, Old Sun will show you—he needs no right!”

“You want to hold your Peach Banquet? Today, Old Sun will make sure you have not a single peach left!”

He reached out, plucked the largest, reddest peach with purple veins and amber pits; its rich fragrance instantly spread through the air.

“Old Sun will eat every last peach here!”

He opened his mouth, revealing sharp fangs, and devoured the peach in one bite.

Then he raised his Ruyi Jingu Bang, ready to destroy the nine-thousand-year peach tree.

At that critical moment, a frantic voice rang out from the entrance of the Peach Garden.

“Brother Monkey, stop!”