🔊 TTS Settings
chapter 183
“Kyahaha! Of course, even a great being like the Demon Ox King can’t possibly compare to my senior brother — the one who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Bull Demon King and even claimed the seat of Buddha.”
Sha Wujing’s lips curled into a smile.
In truth, Sun Wukong’s skill was overwhelming — far beyond the Demon Ox King’s.
It made one wonder if this was really the same Demon Ox King Lee Hyun had once faced — the humiliation was that severe.
But hold on… wasn’t Sha Wujing’s breathing getting easier all of a sudden?
Without warning, Wujing slowly stood up and began to stretch his body.
Crack, crack—
“Are you… alright?”
“Kyahaha! Seems I’ve only made our master worry for nothing! Don’t fret — it’s just that my lungs and heart were briefly pierced. A couple of curses will fix that right up. Kyahaha!”
“……”
Wasn’t that a serious injury though?
Lee Hyun gave a dry laugh. Despite what Wujing said, his aura truly had stabilized again.
“Kyahaha. Still, looks like Senior Brother is really angry this time. But what are we supposed to do? At this rate, he’ll never be able to restore the Demon Ox King’s corrupted mind.”
As Wujing scratched his cheek in mild frustration—
Fwoooosh!
Rumble…!
“……!?”
A sudden storm of sinister demonic energy erupted from deep inside, where Wukong and the Demon Ox King were fighting.
‘What’s going on? Who—?’
For a moment, Lee Hyun thought maybe the Demon Ox King had completely broken his seal.
But it wasn’t him.
No — this was something far darker, far deeper.
And strangely… something about that energy felt familiar to Lee Hyun. Familiar, yet foreign.
‘Don’t tell me…’
At that moment—
“Oh dear. It seems there was a reason why the Demon Ox King’s spirit was so deeply corrupted.”
Sha Wujing’s voice lost all trace of laughter for the first time.
“You know who that demonic energy belongs to, Wujing?”
“Of course I do. How could I not?”
His eyes sank deep.
“It’s the Bull Demon King.”
“……!!”
* * *
The Roc Demon King (Peng Demon King) could only watch the fight in disbelief.
‘What… is this battle even supposed to be?’
A power struggle between ancient Demon Kings?
A clash of divine beings that once ruled the heavens?
No.
It didn’t feel like anything so grand.
‘It’s more like… Wukong bullying his second brother.’
Yeah, that seemed about right.
That’s how one-sided the fight was.
Boom, boom, boom—!
Chains whipped wildly through the air, smashing the inner walls of the seal, striking where Wukong had been.
But Wukong was already gone.
“What’s wrong? You moving in slow motion or something?”
His mocking voice came from far away.
“Come on, move faster! You call that a fight?”
“……”
“Even a snail would bow politely and say hello at this point. Oh wait, I actually know a snail personally. Want me to introduce you?”
“……”
“Or how about the turtle I met from the Eastern Sea? Nice guy. Oh, but he’s faster than you, so maybe that’s unfair.”
“……”
“Or maybe—”
“Shut uuuuuup!!”
The Demon Ox King finally exploded, his face twisted in rage.
A violent surge of demonic energy roared forth—
“Shuuut uuuup!”
“……”
“Pff—! Hahaha! What was that sound? You deflating like a balloon? You sure you’re not secretly some kind of blowfish, brother?”
“……”
“Ah, you probably don’t get the reference, huh? Makes sense — you’ve been holed up in this creepy pit for decades. No wonder you don’t know what the world’s like these days.”
The teasing continued mercilessly.
“……Shut up.”
“Seriously, you should go out more. Get some sunlight! No wonder you’re depressed — you’re vitamin D deficient. D! Take some! It gives you positive energy, you know?”
“For the love of hell, shut up!! My ears are bleeding! Just fight, damn it!!”
“I am fighting. I just don’t need to try to win, see? You can’t even land a hit. Anyway, as I was saying—when I was your age, even through hardship and despair, I never lost hope—”
At this point, the Demon Ox King looked like his soul was half gone.
‘Wukong’s just venting all his pent-up frustrations on him, isn’t he?’
The Roc Demon King could only shake her head helplessly.
She already saw through the Demon Ox King’s plan — he just needed to hit Wukong once with those chains.
Sure, Wukong’s nonstop taunting was infuriating, but that wasn’t all.
He was trying to replace himself with Wukong as the target of the seal.
‘That sealing vessel — the Ampulla Lucis, the Jar of Light that the archangel Raphael created to imprison my second brother… He’s trying to trap Wukong in it.’
[Ampulla Lucis (Jar of Light)]
A sacred vessel originating from the medieval Christian ampullae that held holy oil.
It seals evil within and purifies it through divine light.
Origin: The Book of Enoch
Of course, Wukong had noticed that intention long ago. He wasn’t about to fall for it.
‘But then… what is Wukong planning to do with him?’
The Demon Ox King’s mind was severely corrupted.
Left unchecked, he could completely transform into another being.
Yet Wukong wasn’t trying to restrain him — he was relentlessly pushing him to the edge.
The Roc Demon King, desperate to intervene, could only grit her teeth.
It was like he was trying to dig something out of him.
‘Wait. Dig something out…?’
Just as that thought crossed her mind—
“AAAAAGH!! Stop running like a rat! If you’re going to fight, fight! If you’re going to kill me, then do it properly!”
The Demon Ox King was completely unhinged now, shouting incoherently, his words laced with madness.
His thoughts were fragmented, his logic collapsing — clear signs of a shattered ego.
But—
Tap.
Wukong appeared right in front of him, arms crossed, chin tilted up arrogantly.
“If I really decided to kill you…”
He smirked.
“…could you even handle it?”
“……”
“If you can’t, then shut up. Stop whining like a damn child.”
Crack!
The Demon Ox King’s teeth ground together. His despair was almost palpable.
‘You monster…!!’
Everyone — human and demon alike — called the Great Sage Who Pacifies the Sea, the Demon Ox King, a monster.
He was a fusion of countless sea beasts — a being far beyond common understanding.
And yet—
To him, the real monster was his youngest brother, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong.
That guy broke every rule. Defied every limit.
And he always achieved the impossible.
Even now, he had returned from certain death.
The gods and archangels were hunting him relentlessly, but he calmly prepared for resurrection.
How could that be real?
Wukong was a walking miracle — beyond explanation.
And that… filled the Demon Ox King with envy.
“What do you even want from me…? What are you after!?”
He stopped mid-yell.
Because Wukong was smiling.
But his eyes weren’t.
“Finally thinking straight? Guess half your brain went missing along with your sanity, huh, brother?”
“……So that’s it. You always were one to set the board before making your move.”
The Demon Ox King’s gaze turned cold.
“You want to know who’s behind me, don’t you?”
“The one who half-released your seal, right?”
Wukong’s eyes gleamed, golden pupils narrowing.
“I’m guessing that was our eldest brother. Wasn’t it?”
“……”
“What, cat got your tongue? Or are you just too scared to answer?”
Wukong chuckled darkly, curling his fist.
“Doesn’t matter. I already got what I needed.”
‘If that’s how it’s gonna be…!’
The Demon Ox King bit down hard and swung the sealing vessel — not at Wukong this time, but at the Roc Demon King.
If he couldn’t swap Wukong in as the sealed target, he’d swap her.
But—
Flash!
Wukong appeared before her in an instant, reading the move like it was nothing.
“Enough already. Seriously.”
He clenched his fist and threw a punch.
BOOOOOOM!
CRASH!
The violent shockwave shattered the chains and bindings in an instant.
“……!!”
Even seeing it with his own eyes, the Demon Ox King couldn’t believe it.
Raphael’s seal wasn’t something that could just be broken by brute force.
[The sealing formation ‘Ampulla Lucis’ restraining the Great Sage Who Pacifies the Sea, the Demon Ox King, has been destroyed!]
[Seal released.]
[The Great Sage Who Pacifies the Sea, the Demon Ox King, has reclaimed his full existence. He can now leave the barrier.]
The broken chains and bindings turned to ash and scattered away.
The Demon Ox King could only stare blankly.
“Still dazed? You afraid of big brother, but not of getting your limbs snapped by me? Should I fold your arms behind your back one by one?”
The humiliation on his face was clear.
“You… you knew everything. You knew, didn’t you?”
“Knew what? That big brother was using you as bait — drawing in the gods and angels so he could devour them? Or that he wanted to drive you insane to cause chaos in the mortal world while he built his power underground?”
“……”
“Or maybe that he planned to shatter your mind and will, so he could enslave you completely?”
The more Wukong mocked, the stiffer the Demon Ox King’s expression grew.
Then the Roc Demon King stepped forward.
Flash!
“What do you mean, Wukong!? You’re saying our eldest brother used the second as bait!?”
She couldn’t believe it.
But—
“You heard me right.”
“……What?”
“I don’t know why, but I don’t think our big brother is the same person anymore.”
Wukong’s eyes lifted toward the ceiling.
“Isn’t that right, big brother? I know you’ve been watching all along. Stop hiding in the shadows and show yourself.”
Before the Roc Demon King could even react—
Fwoooosh!
“……!?”
Massive magic circles began to glow across the walls and ceiling of the seal — hundreds of interlocking rings spinning like gears, spewing darkness.
[The flames of Gehenna descend!]
“The flames of Gehenna!? Why now—!”
Flames of pure malice filled the air, burning hotter and darker than any demonic aura.
Shrieeeek!
Kikikiki!
Horrific wails echoed — the screams of the damned, the cries of children who’d died unblessed, haunting the air like ghosts.
[Gehenna]
A valley where the kings of Judah offered child sacrifices to the demons Moloch, Baal, and Tanit.
A sanctuary of fire — a symbol of hell and the realm of evil itself, also called Tophet.
Origin: 2 Kings
The Roc Demon King’s eyes widened in realization.
She remembered the report she’d gotten while tracking her brothers’ traces across China.
‘…Right. That note from Feng Jinghao…’
— Great Sage Who Levels the Heavens, the Bull Demon King: Unconfirmed. Tracked by multiple factions but never captured. Believed to be amassing power in an unknown location. Possible alignment with demonic forces…
If that intel was true—
Then Gehenna — home to countless demons, fallen gods like Moloch and Baal — was exactly where the Bull Demon King might be.
A place perfectly suited for him.
If he truly decided to strengthen himself there…
And if he’s gathering other fallen gods and demons to challenge Heaven itself—
FWOOOM!
As the hellfire and wind roared—
“Lyeo.”
The Roc Demon King looked at Wukong, trembling.
“Take our second brother and get out of here. I’ll deal with the eldest.”
“No way—who said I’m leav—ugh!”
Before the Demon Ox King could finish, the Roc Demon King struck the back of his neck with a hand chop.
He’d already exhausted nearly all his strength fighting Wukong.
Catching his falling body, she nodded heavily.
“…Got it. Be careful.”
She spread her crimson wings wide and flew off.
And then—
Fwoooosh!!
The hellfire gathered into a single mass, forming two enormous eyes.
Black sclera. Black pupils. Like twin obsidian orbs burning in the void.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, big brother?” Wukong said, voice tilted with a smirk.
And then—
『Indeed, it has, little brother. Have you been well?』
The two black eyes curved like a crescent moon.
The Bull Demon King had arrived.
