Chapter 97: The End of Chaos, Eden

"Mother?"

Sun Wukong froze for a moment, and in his golden eyes burning with towering battle intent, a hint of bewilderment flashed.

He scratched his monkey fur, his mind a little unable to turn.

What the hell?

"Mother?"

I, Old Sun, was born from a stone—where would I get a mother?

But immediately, his simple mind completed a logical loop on its own.

The "Mother" spoken of by Master is definitely not an ordinary mother!

In this Chaos Realm, whatever Master mentions so solemnly must be some tremendous terrifying entity!

It's an enemy!

It's an ultimate boss stronger than that bunch of worthless demigods just now combined!

"Hehe!"

Having figured this out, Sun Wukong's bewildered expression was instantly replaced by frenzied excitement.

He hoisted the blood-stained Golden Cudgel onto his shoulder, and his wounds all over seemed to feel no pain.

"Master, where is she?"

"Is she strong? Can she take a hit?"

His eyes lit up, battle intent boiling again,

He could hardly wait to really go at it with this "Mother" he'd never met!

Watching his disciple with a mind full of nothing but fighting and killing,

Bodhi Patriarch's mouth corner involuntarily rose with a helpless yet indulgent smile.

This monkey head.

Really...... hasn't changed at all.

He didn't answer Sun Wukong's question, just smiled and shook his head.

Then, he reached out his hand.

Not to attack, nor to cast a spell.

His fingers, in the space before him that had just experienced a heaven-shaking battle,

still lingered with countless law fragments in the chaotic void, he made a light stroke.

It was like unfurling the scroll of a painting.

And like lifting the most private bead curtain in a boudoir.

The motion was gentle, even carrying a hint of indescribable reverence.

"Rip—"

No earth-shaking roar, no world-destroying might.

A crack silently unfolded before him.

Behind the crack was not deeper darkness, nor more violent chaos.

but rather a kind of... indescribable brilliance and warmth.

"Let's go."

Bodhi grabbed the still dazed Sun Wukong and stepped into that light.

Almost the moment he stepped in, Sun Wukong was completely dumbfounded.

His body froze in place.

Those Fiery Golden Eyes that had seen the Three Realms and Six Paths, accustomed to gods, demons, and ghosts,

now stared wide round, filled with unprecedented shock!

The sight before him overturned all his notions of Chaos, and even of the entire world!

No Chaotic Gale Wind.

No law turbulence.

No Deathly Silence, no decay, not a trace of gray.

Here is a world brimming with vitality, so beautiful it seems unreal.

It's green!

That green so thick it seems it could drip water, the vitality of life!

Immortal blossoms cover the ground, each flower flowing with holy radiance, emitting a fragrance that refreshes the heart.

Divine springs ring, the water drips, each drop containing the purest Primordial Source.

Countless living beings he had never seen before, emitting a soft halo,

freely frolicking and running in this vast, boundless garden.

Some resemble winged elk, some resemble fully transparent koi, swimming freely in the air.

Seeing these outsiders, these living beings not only weren't afraid, but gave curious, friendly looks.

And at the very center of this world.

Grows a tree.

A tree so huge it defies description, a world-tree connecting heaven and earth!

Its branches and trunk seem to pierce past and future, each leaf,

is like a complete myriad-worlds, within which birth, death, and evolution unfold.

Endless vital energy emanates from this tree, nourishing this blissful land.

"What… what is this ghost place?"

Sun Wukong muttered to himself, and the Golden Cudgel he was shouldering slipped down without his noticing.

At that moment, Yao, who was right behind him, also passed through the crack.

The instant she saw the garden before her,

the face that had always remained cool and vigilant was instantly filled with overwhelming excitement and affection!

Her body trembled violently, and her eyes instantly reddened.

"It's here…"

"It's here!"

Yao's voice trembled with tears, full of the ecstatic joy of something lost then regained.

"Primeval Garden!"

"This is the Primeval Garden personally opened by the Master!"

"I feel it… it's the Master's aura!"

She could no longer control her emotions and hurried forward,

like a child who finally found the way home, greedily inhaling every breath of this place.

Sun Wukong paid no attention to the overly excited Yao.

He simply stood dumbfounded in the garden.

An unprecedented sense of tranquility and belonging, emanating from the deepest part of his soul, enveloped his entire being.

It was as if a wanderer who had roamed for billions of years, having seen worldly splendor and endured human suffering.

On a weary dusk, finally pushing open the home door,

he smelled the scent of his mother's cooking, familiar beyond familiarity.

The Chaos Realm demon ape bloodline within him, that innate, world‑shattering ferocity and fighting spirit,

at this moment, unexpectedly calmed like countless rivers returning to the sea.

It was not suppressed.

It was not sealed.

But a kind of… home‑like peace.

A supreme fulfillment that had found its source.

The wounds on his body, under the wash of this life force, healed at a visibly rapid pace.

The Dao Heart, forged into rock‑hardness through endless battles, now softened to a mushy state.

Why?

He could not understand.

He is, after all, Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong!

He is the chaos‑making Demon King who fears neither Heaven nor Earth, battling the heavens and the earth!

Why does he feel such a strong attachment to a place like this?

Just as his mind swirled, unable to find an answer,

a voice rose gently within the garden.

That voice was indescribably melodious.

It seemed to contain all the beautiful words of the Universe.

Gentle.

Kindness.

Contentment.

Like the warmest spring breeze, like the coolest summer night spring, like a mother's soft whisper in the ear.

"You…"

"... finally arrived."

The words fell.

Under the towering Life Tree that pierced heaven and earth, light and shadow converged.

A female figure composed of countless specks of light slowly coalesced.

She had no solid form; her face and features were indistinct.

Yet merely standing there made one feel,

she was the embodiment of Beauty, the ultimate personification of the word Kindness.

She was the will of this garden.

She was the mother of this realm.

Yao, already trembling with emotion, knelt on the ground, tears streaming, and reverently shouted, "Master!"

Bodhi Patriarch also bowed slightly toward that silhouette,

performing a peer‑level salute, a hint of relieved smile on his face.

However.

The figure formed of light and shadow, however, paid them no heed.

She did not look at her most loyal disciple, Yao.

Nor did she look at the old friend Bodhi, whom she had not seen for countless eons.

Her gaze seemed to pierce time and space, ignoring everything around.

It fell directly onto the bewildered monkey, standing dumbfounded in place.

In that gaze, there was no scrutiny, no majesty.

Only……

Only an overflowing, boundless love and pity.

There was relief.

It seemed as if she felt genuine joy for his current strength.

There was heartache.

It seemed as if one could see him from his birth, to shattering the heavens,

then being suppressed by the Five Elements, finally battling in the Chaos Realm, all the hardships and suffering he had endured along the way.

Moreover…… there was even a trace of deep, almost irreconcilable guilt.

Like a mother gazing at her most beloved child, whom she had inadvertently lost for a long time.

Seeing him now covered in wounds, yet still standing tall before her.

That complex feeling, mixing pride, heartache, and self-reproach, was enough to melt even the hardest heart.

Sun Wukong felt ill at ease under that gaze.

He fears neither heaven nor earth.

But he had never been looked at like that before.

He wanted to say something, but found his throat,

as if blocked by something, unable to utter a word.

He saw.

That figure of light and shadow slowly extended a hand made of light toward him.

Under Sun Wukong's astonished gaze, beyond words,

She slowly spoke.

Her voice was so gentle it could melt all the ice and hatred in the world.

"My child."

"Welcome home."