The Flower and Fruit Mountain

Subhuti returned to the Crescent Moon Three Star Cave carrying the Chaos Stone.

"Wukong, your master will use the Chaos Stone and Three-Light Divine Water to reconstruct your true form," Subhuti said.

Using the Chaos Stone as a base and the Three-Light Divine Water as a supplement, Subhuti reconstructed Sun Wukong's true form. Sun Wukong was originally formed from the Sky-Mending Spirit Stone, and the Chaos Stone was essentially the same, except that the Sky-Mending Spirit Stone contained the merit of mending the sky, while the Chaos Stone did not.

Under Subhuti's ritualistic refinement, the Chaos Stone slowly transformed, gradually developing three holes and seven orifices.

"Wukong," Subhuti called out softly. Sun Wukong's true spirit jolted, then flew into the Chaos Stone, merging with it completely.

Seeing that Wukong had successfully merged with the Chaos Stone, Subhuti nodded with satisfaction, then sprinkled a gourd of Three-Light Divine Water onto the Chaos Stone.

After completing this, Subhuti used his divine powers to draw down the power of the stars, allowing the Chaos Stone to absorb the power of starlight and moonlight to nurture Sun Wukong's true spirit.

In the Celestial Court, the Moon Goddess noticed the forceful drawing of moonlight power. She quickly went to investigate, but upon sensing the terrifying strength of the being drawing the moonlight power, the Moon Goddess wisely chose to pretend she hadn't seen anything and returned to the Moon Palace.

Forty-nine days later, Spirit Platform Square Inch Mountain suddenly experienced violent tremors. A golden, shining monkey broke out from the stone, somersaulted, and appeared in mid-air.

"Hahaha, old Sun is back!" Sun Wukong let out a long roar to the sky, unable to contain the powerful energy within him.

"Wukong, come down here," Subhuti shook his head and called softly.

Hearing his master's call, Sun Wukong immediately landed in front of Subhuti, knelt down, and kowtowed, saying, "Disciple thanks master for the grace of rebirth."

Subhuti sighed and said, "Foolish child, although you have reconstructed your true form, and this body's potential is not much inferior to your original one, your true spirit is incomplete. I'm afraid enlightenment may be beyond your reach. Therefore, we must find a way to retrieve your original true form."

Sun Wukong's eyes blazed with intense fighting spirit as he said, "Master, I'll go up to Spirit Mountain right now and demand justice from that old Buddha!"

"Foolish! After this ordeal, don't you understand yet? Let alone the fact that you haven't fully recovered your strength, even at your peak, do you really think you have the ability to storm Spirit Mountain?" Subhuti couldn't help but scold him. He had thought that after several hundred years of tempering, Sun Wukong would have become more steady, but he didn't expect Sun Wukong to still be so arrogant and overconfident.

Seeing Subhuti angry, Sun Wukong quickly admitted his mistake. In these five hundred years, Sun Wukong had indeed seen through many things. The feeling of powerlessness without his magical abilities was something Sun Wukong never wanted to experience again.

Seeing Sun Wukong admit his mistake, Subhuti couldn't bear to blame his beloved disciple. After all, it was his own disciple who had been bullied, and Subhuti felt very sorry for not being able to stand up for Wukong. How could he continue to blame Wukong?

Stroking his beard, Subhuti said, "The Buddhist Sect has flourished for five hundred years. Now its dominance is established. Except for the Taoist Sect, no one in the three realms can match the Buddhist Sect. Wukong, you once held office in the Celestial Court. Do you know about the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism?"

Sun Wukong scratched his head and said, "In the Celestial Court, except for Yang Jian and Nezha, no one can fight. They can't compare to the Buddhist Sect at all. That Supreme Elder Lord of the Taoist Sect is just a pushover, though his attendants and mount have some skills."

"Hmph, you're really a monkey. I'll give you a new identity and fifty years. Go and take a good look at this world again," Subhuti said.

As he spoke, Subhuti waved his hand, and the hair on Wukong's body turned silver-white. Although he still looked like a monkey, he was completely different from before.

"From now on, you'll walk the world with this appearance. Be attentive, take a good look at this world. When the fifty years are up, come back to see me."

Subhuti waved his hand, indicating that Sun Wukong could leave.

Sun Wukong bowed to Subhuti, then did a somersault and left Spirit Platform Square Inch Mountain on his Somersault Cloud.

"Foolish disciple, your master will plan for you for fifty years. If you can comprehend your true heart within fifty years, then we, master and disciple, will storm Spirit Mountain and seek justice. If you can't comprehend your true heart, your revenge will have to be taken by your master alone."

After saying this, Subhuti turned and returned to his cave dwelling. At the same time, Spirit Platform Square Inch Mountain disappeared from the three realms.

After leaving Master Subhuti, Sun Wukong rode his Somersault Cloud but didn't know where to go.

"Master didn't let old Sun go find Bud..."

Sun Wukong was about to say Buddha's name but suddenly remembered he had left Spirit Platform Square Inch Mountain. He quickly swallowed the words he was about to utter.

In Spirit Platform Square Inch Mountain, because it was Master Subhuti's domain, no matter what Sun Wukong said, outsiders couldn't sense it. But outside Spirit Platform Square Inch Mountain, if Sun Wukong mentioned Buddha's name, it would be easily detected by Buddha. If Buddha found out that Sun Wukong's true spirit had escaped Spirit Mountain, it would surely bring trouble.

"Since I can't cause trouble for the Buddhist Sect, I'll go back to Flower Fruit Mountain to see my children first."

Thinking that he hadn't returned to Flower Fruit Mountain for five hundred years, Sun Wukong felt a surge of homesickness. He turned his cloud and headed straight for Flower Fruit Mountain.

At the Water Curtain Cave on Flower Fruit Mountain, the once prosperous monkey tribe was no longer the master of Flower Fruit Mountain. It had become a place where various demons ran wild. The monkey tribe could barely hold onto the Water Curtain Cave, while the entire Flower Fruit Mountain had been divided into four parts.

The eastern part was occupied by Lady Flower Bud. She led a group of flower demons and occupied the entire eastern side of Flower Fruit Mountain. The whole eastern area had now become a paradise for flower demons.

The western side of Flower Fruit Mountain was occupied by a Taoist who called himself Wutou Taoist. Though he called himself a Taoist, he also raised a group of minor demons. This Wutou Taoist rarely moved around Flower Fruit Mountain, but the demons of Flower Fruit Mountain were very wary of him. Wutou Taoist had the air of being the strongest on Flower Fruit Mountain.

The southern part of Flower Fruit Mountain was now occupied by a group of water creatures, led by a sea snake demon who called himself the Overturning Rivers King. This sea snake liked to devour monkeys and had long been the great enemy of the Flower Fruit Mountain monkey tribe.

The northern part of Flower Fruit Mountain, which was about fifty miles around the Water Curtain Cave, had become the last refuge for the Flower Fruit Mountain monkey tribe. The monkey tribe of Flower Fruit Mountain was no longer as prosperous as before. There were less than ten monkeys who understood cultivation, while the rest were just little monkeys with undeveloped intelligence, still confused and bewildered.

"Sigh, Great Ancestor, we worship the Great King day and night, but for five hundred years, the Great King hasn't shown his divine power even once. If this continues, our Flower Fruit Mountain will sooner or later be taken over by the Overturning Rivers King. What should we do?" said a sturdy ape with a bitter face. Opposite him, an old monkey with white fur all over his body was worshipping a statue of the Victorious Fighting Buddha.

"Great King, do you really want to watch your monkeys being devoured by demons? Great King, please show your divine power. If you just come back once, those demons wouldn't dare to be so reckless anymore."

This white-haired old monkey was one of the old-timers who had followed Sun Wukong in battling the Celestial Court, and was now the strongest cultivator among the Flower Fruit Mountain monkeys. However, compared to the Overturning Rivers King, the old monkey's strength was still somewhat lacking.