Chapter 617: Ye Fan

Above the firmament, a force of Heavenly Dao Merit, extremely majestic, transformed into a grand golden pillar that completely enveloped Sun Wukong's body.

Such pure Merit Power, accompanied by the weight of long-lasting eras, is rare in the world.

One could see the sky being rendered into a brilliant, golden radiance; within the Void, golden lotuses condensed from Merit Power circled around Sun Wukong in the center of the light pillar—a sight that was extremely dazzling.

At this moment, the golden light of Merit was like a dazzling suit of golden battle armor draped over Sun Wukong, making him look like a War God returned from an ancient battlefield, peerless in the world.

Nourished by this Merit Power, the injuries on the surface of Sun Wukong's body recovered rapidly, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Furthermore, it happened from the inside out, from top to bottom. Flesh, skin, tendons, bones, and even every single hair were rendered golden.

Boom!

The shackles in the dark shattered; Sun Wukong let out a wild roar, and the restraints of heaven and earth vanished at this moment.

His aura also leapt from the original Golden Immortal Realm into the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm.

This is the power of Heavenly Dao Merit; it can raise one's cultivation without any side effects, without any bottlenecks, and without even a Heavenly Tribulation.

The Saints of today also relied on the Heavenly Dao Merit Origin to achieve their positions as Saints back then.

And at this moment, the bit of Mending Heaven Merit that remained was absorbed by Sun Wukong, directly promoting him to a Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Proving the Dao with Force and Proving Dao by Law are the most correct ways to break through, as they can guarantee peerless combat power and cultivation.

Buddhism can also use an alternative path to become a Great Luo Golden Immortal by collecting the Faith of the Three Realms, but the gap between that and Merit Proving Dao is not small, not to mention that this was the power of the Heavenly Dao Merit Origin.

Coupled with the fact that Sun Wukong himself practices the path of the War Immortal, fighting against heaven and earth, even if he advanced through Merit Power, his strength would not be affected in the slightest. For Sun Wukong, Heavenly Dao Merit is equivalent to a special key—a key that unlocks the shackles heaven and earth place upon all living beings.

At the very instant he advanced to the Great Luo Golden Immortal, the Chaos Demon Ape inheritance hidden within Sun Wukong's bloodline also awakened.

Behind him, a boundless, gray, and misty Chaos suddenly emerged.

Within the Chaos, one could see a black ape, its body as vast as a massive star, surrounded by endless black baleful Demon Cloud, filled with a violent aura.

It brandished a pitch-black Spirit Treasure staff, seemingly attempting to overturn the Chaos itself.

At this moment, the Three Realms all felt a heart-chilling aura; this was the pressure from the Chaos Demon Ape bloodline, which was extremely terrifying.

Heaven and earth shook, dark clouds gathered, and lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, shocking heaven and earth and making ghosts and gods weep.

Ha!

Relying on instinct, Sun Wukong's spine straightened instantly, he flipped away the Divine Mountain formed by the power of the Three Teachings, and the Chaos Demon Ape Dharma Aspect manifested behind him.

The Chaos Demon Ape stood tall in the Void, and with a forceful swing of its staff, it smashed the Divine Mountain to pieces as if it were dry wood, without the slightest obstruction.

Yinjiao Dawang, suffering the backlash of the Earth Walking Art, fell straight from the clouds, vomiting blood, his aura withered.

Having finished all this, Sun Wukong stood proudly in mid-air, the Ruyi Golden Cudgel in his hand pointing to the sky and stabbing the earth, accompanied by the phantom of the Chaos Demon Ape, looking extremely arrogant.

It seemed that at this moment, Sun Wukong had once again become the Great Saint Equal to Heaven who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago, fearing nothing.

However, the good times did not last; Sun Wukong's aura quickly diminished, and he tilted his head and fell to the ground, losing consciousness.

"Big Brother."

Xiaobailong, Heixiong, Shaseng, and Baigu Furen quickly approached.

The disciples then looked at Xuanzang, and Xuanzang said calmly, "Do not panic, Wukong has just broken through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal, his body has not yet adapted, he will wake up soon."

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, Sun Wukong opened his eyes. Those Fiery Eyes that still emitted a faint golden light gave one a sense of clear innocence, as if he had not yet reacted.

"??? Xiaobailong, Heixiong, Baigu Laoliu, why are you all surrounding me?"

Sun Wukong asked, rising at the same time, yet he felt an indescribable lightness throughout his body, as if the mountain that had pressed on his heart for years and the shackles that bound him had vanished in an instant.

"? Wukong, you don't remember what just happened?" Xuanzang felt slightly strange.

According to Sun Wukong's personality, having broken through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm, he would definitely want to show it off and wander around, but now it seemed that was not the case.

"What just happened? Master?" Sun Wukong asked.

"What? Big Brother, have you lost your memory?" Xiaobailong hurriedly stretched out his sandbag-sized fist and hammered Wukong's head.

Wukong pushed Xiaobailong's hand away directly and said irritably, "I am not sick."

"Big Brother, you just broke through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm, can you really forget that?" Heixiong said in disbelief.

"Great Luo Golden Immortal?" Sun Wukong also revealed a bewildered expression.

What? He became a Great Luo Golden Immortal? How did he break through, how did he manage it?

Xuanzang saw that Sun Wukong's expression did not look like he was lying, then suddenly thought of something, his face showing a murderous aura, and he immediately checked Sun Wukong's Primordial Spirit.

Fortunately, the Primordial Spirit was normal, there was nothing special, and he had not been possessed or replaced.

After all, Xuanzang was no ordinary person; he knew that schemes in the Journey to the West were impossible to guard against, and he was worried that Sun Wukong might have been swapped right under his nose, which would be a terrible situation.

So he said, "Wukong, where is your last memory?"

Sun Wukong thought for a moment and said, "Naturally, it was being suppressed by the power of the Three Teachings from Yinjiao; I couldn't hold on anymore, my Jingang body was shattered, and my spine was mostly broken. Then..."

Speaking to this point, Sun Wukong felt that something else should have happened underneath, but he just couldn't remember.

"Master, I cannot explain it clearly, my memory ends there. But I feel like I have forgotten something, it should be very important," Sun Wukong said.

Xuanzang showed a thoughtful expression; to be able to affect the memory of a Great Luo Golden Immortal, what was the other party's strength and realm, and were they friend or foe?

Could it be that Wukong's sudden breakthrough in realm, which brought out the Grand Merit and the Chaos Demon Ape bloodline, was also related to that mysterious person?

As for the memory Sun Wukong lost, it was only related to Sun Wukong himself.

In Sun Wukong's Primordial Spirit sea, there was an extra Space-Time Afterimage left by Xuanzang; that Xuanzang did not know if he came from the future or the past, perhaps he was there just for this moment.

Just as "Xuanzang" said, after Sun Wukong woke up and left the Primordial Spirit sea, all memories would be erased.

"If you cannot think of it, then do not think about it. Let us solve the matter at hand first," Xuanzang said.

Hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately said, "Alright, Master."

Looking back, Yinjiao Dawang was preparing to use the Earth Walking Art to leave, but Sun Wukong grabbed him from the ground from a distance with one hand and sneered:

"You monster, you made me suffer so much, and you still want to leave, grandson. Have you forgotten the bet? Hurry up and call me Grandfather Sun."

Yinjiao Dawang's face was incredibly ugly; he felt his self-esteem had been severely humiliated.

As a boy of Laojun, how could he call this Bima Wen 'Grandfather Sun'? Wouldn't that be losing face for Laojun?

"A gentleman can be killed, but not humiliated. This King would rather die than submit; go ahead and kill me, Sun Wukong," Yinjiao Dawang said with backbone.

"Monster, you think Old Sun doesn't dare to kill you? You haven't asked around to see who Old Sun is. The number of lonely ghosts and wild spirits under Old Sun's hands is countless; you won't be the only one."

After speaking, Sun Wukong raised the Ruyi Golden Cudgel and was about to smash it down.

Yinjiao Dawang had not expected that Sun Wukong would actually dare to kill him, and the Golden Cudgel was only a hair's breadth away from his head.

At the moment of life and death, the fear of death still made Yinjiao lose his nerve, and he shouted:

"Grandpa Sun, spare my life!"

"Grandpa Sun, spare my life!"

"..."

The Ruyi Golden Cudgel that Sun Wukong had swung down stopped in time and did not actually smash down.

If he had truly harbored the intent to kill, it would have been useless even if Yinjiao Dawang begged for mercy.

The current Sun Wukong already understood a little bit of worldly wisdom and was no longer reckless.

Through the brief exchange just now, he also knew that Yinjiao was likely one of Laojun's people.

He still had to give Laojun some face, having stolen so many Immortal Pills from him back in the day.

"Hehe, Old Sun thought you monsters were so tough," Sun Wukong laughed, feeling his chest incredibly relieved.

"Master, how do you think we should deal with him?"

Sun Wukong looked at Xuanzang, wanting to know Xuanzang's intentions.

"Isn't Bajie in their hands? Let's use him to make an exchange," Xuanzang said.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes! Zhu Bajie is in our hands; you can use me to exchange for him," Yinjiao Dawang hurriedly chimed in.

Why hadn't he thought of this point?

In a sense, Zhu Bajie was a hostage; with the hostage in hand, he assumed Sun Wukong would not dare to touch him.

"Listen to Master. Go, go, hurry up and lead the way."

Sun Wukong kicked Yinjiao, and although Yinjiao felt extremely aggrieved, he still did as he was told.

At the same time, the members watching this Chat Group livestream were also incredibly excited.

Chat Group.

Ye Fan Zhen Bu Hei: "Xuan Ge, congratulations to the Great Saint for ranking up and becoming a Great Luo Golden Immortal. This is truly powerful and awesome."

Regarding the Journey to the West mythology, Ye Fan also liked it very much and had studied it deeply.

Sun Wukong was undoubtedly his idol, and now seeing his idol's strength rise to a higher level, he was even more excited than when he became a Great Emperor himself.

Exploding Heavens Faction Leader: "Although I lost points, I still have to say: Monkey Brother is awesome! He actually broke through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm. This way, that guy Rulai can't handle him anymore!"

Spring and Autumn Sword Deity: "Congratulations to Holy Monk Xuanzang on his beloved disciple becoming a Great Luo Golden Immortal."

Wudang Old Immortal: "This old Taoist also offers his congratulations, Holy Monk Xuanzang."

Immortal King Anlan: "As expected of Xuan Ge's disciple, a Great Luo Golden Immortal, truly impressive."

Demon Queen: "Amazing, Xuanzang, you and your disciple are truly defying the heavens."

Kyushu's Number One Golden Core: "Indeed, this monkey is too showy, especially that Golden Cudgel which is truly hard; it smashed the power of the Three Teachings in one go."

Demon Queen: "?? Is it my illusion as the Queen, or does what you say, Wang Wu, feel very perverted?"

Yin-Yang School's First Extraordinary Woman: "?"

Na Du Tong Backbone Feng Baobao: "Remove the word 'feel'!"

Exploding Heavens Faction Leader: "This is a problem with her persona. Wang Wu's persona is just 'mouth-running', a racer on Mount Akina, and so on. Even serious words become problematic when they come from her."

Kyushu's Number One Golden Core: "Slander! I am still an unmarried, good-natured young girl."

Demon Queen: "Give it a rest. 'Young girl', more like an old auntie."

Kyushu's Number One Golden Core: "..."

Sword of the Human World: "To be able to see such a magnificent and peerless scene this time is truly shocking to the spirit. Only now do I know there are heavens beyond heavens, and people beyond people. It seems my path of seeking the Sword Dao is still very long."

Chicken Island's Number One Hair Stylist: "A newbie can only say 666!"

Fire Fist Ace: "Terrifying, truly terrifying."

Zui Ai He Shounai: "Wa ka ka, so powerful! I really want to spar with the Great Saint."

Ye Fan Zhen Bu Hei: "Shi Laoliu, stop thinking about it. Even if you spar, wait until you can dominate the ages alone before talking about it."

Zui Ai He Shounai: "Alright, I was just looking forward to it, not really fighting."

Exploding Heavens Faction Leader: "Xuan Ge, at this very moment, what are your thoughts on the Great Saint's breakthrough?"

Demon Queen: "Indeed, Xuanzang, now the Scripture Seeking Group has more than just you as a Great Luo Golden Immortal."

Journey to the West Scripture Seeker: "Ahem, the master leads the way, but cultivation depends on the individual. This time, I didn't really contribute much to Wukong's breakthrough; it was all Wukong's own innate talent and ability to create miracles. As his master, I am naturally very happy. Of course, Great Luo is not the end. As his master, I still hope that my disciple Wukong can reach the true peak of the Great Dao and sweep away all enemies with the Ruyi divine weapon in his hand."

Ye Fan Zhen Bu Hei: "Look, this is the level of vision. Great Luo is not the end, the peak of the Great Dao. If I, Ye, could become a Great Luo Golden Immortal, I would probably laugh myself awake in my dreams."

Maiden Ruthless: "..."

Exploding Heavens Faction Leader: "Hahaha, the big boss Ruthless is angry."

Sword Qing'er: "Xuanzang, how exactly did Sun Wukong break through? Although Sun Wukong has extraordinary talent, breaking through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm is not such a simple matter."

Qing'er is also a Great Luo Golden Immortal, so she naturally knows how difficult this realm is.

It is not even a concept of "difficult" anymore!

And because Qing'er is not in the Journey to the West World, although she can see the screen, she still doesn't know what exactly happened.

Journey to the West Scripture Seeker: "The key to this is Merit, and not just ordinary merit, but the Heavenly Dao Merit Origin."

Merit Power can assist people in cultivation; enough merit can even allow one to become an immortal or a saint on the spot.

As the physical body of the Patching Heaven Stone, Wukong was born with a portion of Mending Heaven Merit, but this portion of merit had always been hidden within Wukong's body and had never been drawn out."

Sword Qing'er: "So that's how it is. If it's Merit Power, then it makes sense. So, Xuanzang, you secretly helped Sun Wukong draw out the Heavenly Dao Merit?"

Scripture Seeker: "It is not me, and even if it were, I would not know how to draw out Heavenly Dao Merit; this power belongs to the Heavenly Dao."

Leader of the Exploding Heavens Faction: "Could it be that the Great Goddess Nuwa is secretly helping Sun Wukong?"

Ye Fan Zhen Bu Hei: "That possibility cannot be ruled out."

Han Paopao of the Seven Profound Sect: "That's not right. Why would Buddhism want to take Sun Wukong into Lingshan? Is it just for a simple journey west to save all living beings? Is there a possibility that Buddhism is also after the Heavenly Dao Merit within Sun Wukong's body?"

"In the original Journey to the West, Sun Wukong did not become a Great Luo Golden Immortal, nor did he draw out any Heavenly Dao Merit. So, where did this portion of merit go?"

Han Li has a meticulous mind, like a thousand-layer cake with no end in sight, and he immediately grasped the main point.

Han Paopao of the Seven Profound Sect: "Sun Wukong becoming a Great Luo Golden Immortal was outside the plan, and he even used the Heavenly Dao Merit reserved by Buddhism. Xuanzang Sheng Seng, Han believes that Buddhism may take action next."

Scripture Seeker: "I had anticipated this long ago!"

Leader of the Exploding Heavens Faction: "?? Damn, I grew up reading Journey to the West and I don't see things as thoroughly as you, Han Laomo."