Chapter 177: Master‑Disciple Rift, the Shadow of Hongjun!

Ji left.

That patch of heaven and earth, however, was even colder than when he arrived.

Sun Wukong stood in place, like a weathered stone statue, utterly still.

His aura was in disarray.

Utterly chaotic!

At times violent like the thunder when Chaos first split, at times deathly silent like the abyss where all things end.

Two utterly opposed Dao rhythms clashed wildly within his body, tearing at his divine soul.

The gentle water dragon beneath his feet had already retreated a thousand zhang away, its massive head prostrate on the ground, trembling.

It dared not approach.

It felt from Sun Wukong a terrifying madness capable of plunging the world back into Chaos.

In the distance, the stone statue symbolizing his title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven should have blazed with light.

But now, under the shroud of that chaotic aura, the statue's face even showed a hint of sorrow.

"Wukong?"

Yao's voice carried a hint of tremor.

She approached cautiously, her eyes full of worry that could not be dispelled.

"You... are you alright?"

Sun Wukong slowly, extremely slowly, turned his stiff neck a little.

He looked at Yao.

In those eyes that once burned with heavenly fire, now only a hollow ash remained.

And a trace, even he himself had not noticed... of bewilderment.

"Alright?"

"How could it be alright!"

Every word Ji spoke was like a poisoned steel needle, viciously piercing his Dao heart!

"Trap!"

"Damn it, another trap!"

His mind began uncontrollably replaying past events.

One scene after another flashed by in rapid succession!

Was the spirit stone on Mount Huaguo that absorbed the essence of sun and moon truly born of nature?

Or was it, from the very beginning, a pawn casually placed by some existence?

After crossing oceans in search of immortals and the Dao, why did it so happen that he found Fangcun Mountain's Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave?

Master taught him the Seventy-two Transformations, taught him the Somersault Cloud, and passed on the wondrous art of longevity.

Was it out of cherishing talent?

Or was he carefully crafting a... most effective weapon?

"Uproar in the Heavenly Palace!"

"How magnificent! How exhilarating!"

He thought that was the pinnacle manifestation of his unyielding will!

But now, looking back, were those heavenly gods and buddhas really so feeble?

Or were they merely cooperating to put on a show?

"A play entitled 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven,' destined to disrupt the old order!"

Five hundred years beneath Wǔxíng Shān.

The ninety-nine eighty-one trials on the Xi Xing Lu.

Even the struggles in the Pantheon, the search amidst Chaos...

All of this, everything!

Could it be that all of this was merely a pre‑planned route on a larger chessboard?

His so‑called "Unyielding," his so‑called "resistance."

From beginning to end, was it merely a script written by someone else?

"No..."

From Sun Wukong's throat came a repressed growl, like a wounded beast.

He jerked his head, as if trying to fling those terrible thoughts from his mind!

"Impossible!"

"Master... would never scheme against me!"

His voice hoarse, filled with the conviction of self‑persuasion!

"Yes!"

"How could Master harm him?"

On Fangcun Mountain, Master was the only one who did not look down on him for being a stone monkey.

He transmitted the Dao to him, dispelling his doubts.

When he caused a great disaster and was pursued by the Heavenly Court, although Master expelled him from the sect, he also erased all karma, preserving his life.

That master‑disciple bond cannot be feigned!

That care, too, is certainly not an act!

Sun Wukong's gaze rekindled a glimmer of light.

Right!

It must be that guy called "Ji", spreading demonic words to confuse the crowd!

He lost the Gamble, his heart unwilling, so he used such heart‑crushing words to shake his Dao Heart!

It must be so!

However…

The belief he had just built, in the next instant, was shattered by another scene, leaving it in tatters.

Hongjun!

That cold shadow standing behind the Master, representing the Heavenly Dao!

If Ji's words are spoken, they are poison.

That Hongjun shadow is an irrefutable, piercing blade that has stabbed through all his Illusion!

Master…

Why does his presence appear behind you?

Your so‑called self‑collapse, transforming into myriad Dao, is it voluntary, or… forced?

A chill spread from Sun Wukong's spine all the way to the celestial crown.

He felt as if he had touched a terrifying game spanning several epochs, unimaginable!

And he, Sun Wukong.

This piece that thinks it has leapt beyond the Three Realms may, from start to finish, have been the most deeply manipulated one!

Great Sage…

Yao called softly again; this time, she gathered courage, reached out, and gently touched Sun Wukong's arm.

Cold.

Bone‑piercing cold.

Sun Wukong's body was like ten‑thousand‑year ancient black ice, without a trace of warmth.

That touch seemed to pull him back from the endless Abyss.

The emptiness and confusion in his eyes gradually receded.

In its place was an absolute calm that made Yao's heart flutter.

That was not the calm of wind‑and‑wave stillness.

But the death‑like silence before a volcano erupts!

I'm fine.

Sun Wukong spoke, his voice a bit hoarse yet unusually steady.

Just some matters that need to be thought through clearly.

He slowly raised his hand, patted Yao's back of the hand, indicating she should be at ease.

Then he lifted his head, gazing into the distance.

This newly created world he and Yao forged still brimmed with Vitality.

The distant mountains and rivers, the newly born streams, all expressed the highest reverence to him, the "Equal Heaven" lord.

But Sun Wukong's heart could no longer resonate with that Vitality.

His gaze seemed to pierce this world, pierce the endless Chaos Realm, and look toward deeper, farther places.

Master's Dao Seed has returned to its place.

But the mystery in his heart rolled like a snowball, growing larger.

Through blood‑soaked battles, what exactly was he pursuing?

Freedom?

But if even Freedom itself was prearranged.

Then what meaning does that Freedom have?

It is merely a larger, more exquisite cage named "Heavenly Dao"!

Hongjun…

Sun Wukong chewed on the name in his mind, each syllable deliberate.

That name, like an invisible mountain, replaced the Western Heaven Ling Shan, becoming a new shadow pressing on his mind.

A shadow ten thousand times heavier than Ling Shan!

He needs an answer.

A genuine answer!

He inhaled deeply, forcibly suppressing the chaotic Dao Rhythm.

Within those Fiery Golden Eyes, the ash‑like stillness faded, replaced by an unprecedented, cold and steadfast light!

Doubt did not crush him.

Confusion also did not cause him to sink.

These, instead, were like whetstones, sharpening his "Unyielding" Dao Heart even more, making it sharper and more dangerous!

He no longer wonders whether Master is scheming.

He also no longer cares whether he himself is a chess piece.

These are no longer important!

What matters is…

Sun Wukong slowly lowered his head, glancing at the Golden Cudgel he clenched.

What matters is, when he dislikes this game.

He has the ability to smash this chessboard, together with the hand that is playing, into pieces!

At his forehead, the fully integrated golden divine pattern faintly glowed.

The location of the next Void Seed has already clearly surfaced in his sea of consciousness.

That is… the way home!

It is that area, which he had once been extremely familiar with, yet extremely loathed…

Three Realms!