Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest-Chapter 346: Not in This Life: The Re-Emergence of Chaos

The thundering noise of clawed paws gouging ancient rocks with horrifying might reverberated as nine snarling heads emerged.

"Who dares disturb Jiuling Yuan Sheng’s rest? What foolish creature has the audacity to stand before the nine-headed lion?"

His golden eyes narrowed on the intruder and widened at the familiar features—a golden headband circling the head of a mischievous monkey gripping an intricate staff.

"You?!" He hissed through gritted teeth as his spiritual energy flared like a tsunami.

Dust and rubble swirled around his immense figure in a typhoon of pure wrath and hate. "Good, very good. I’ll finally avenge my god-grandson today. Prepare yourself, monkey king. The heavenly savior of suffering won’t save you from your own foolishness—no one will!"

Wukong lowered his red scarf, revealing his smirk, yet his golden eyes lacked their characteristic mild sheen. Animated by something more, they burned a forceful red as his presence sublimated to almost match Jiuling Yuan Sheng’s.

His bones groaned, and his flesh swelled, the red armor vanishing. Intricate golden mails, designed like the scales of an eastern dragon, replaced it as his frame grew to pierce the heavens.

A dragon head buckle tied a red leather belt around his stony waist. Long pauldrons fastened with red ribbons ran down his shoulders, adorned with crying demons’ faces, including Jiuling Yuan Sheng’s grandson.

Then, his voice boomed defiantly.

"Talking about a life long erased by the sand of time, aren’t you, little cub? Your power matters not, nor does Taiyi Tianzun’s authority. I reached Buddhahood and observed the world with compassion."

His fingers tightened around his staff. "Not in this life. I’m no longer the victorious fighting Buddha. I’m no longer snuffing the ego that drove me to hone my skills by dancing on the thin edge separating life from death."

The sky itself trembled under his intense and unambiguous declaration of identity. "I’m the monkey king; a mortal who rose to divinity; a warrior who invaded the celestial court to claim the jade emperor’s throne; the great sage, heaven’s equal. My compassion is reserved for the deserving—those who carve their paths against divine oppression. And you, my dear cub, are the last stepping stone to recover my powers."

As if to recognise his words, the headband dissolved in a sea of light particles, replaced by a helmet from which two long phoenix feathers ruffled behind his unyielding back. He had obtained freedom once more, but the methods differed sharply.

Universal compassion? He had tried to follow this profound concept, but how often must compassion fail him before the world changes?

As ironic as it sounded, his previous unruly and chaotic self had been right all along—not for the correct reasons, but right nonetheless. The gods were inherent enemies of mortals. They indulged in their fake sense of order and justice, singing about cosmic stability in righteous pitches.

Tales about punishments and judgement numbered in the thousands, but what concrete measures did they adopt to alleviate mortal sufferings? None because they were worse than agents of chaos.

After all, chaos was the force that drove nature’s evolution, something they couldn’t accept. No. Their only aim had always been the same: conserve their lofty positions even if the universe had to stagnate. And the prime example was none other than himself.

Despite his ascension, the Jade Emperor named him protector of the horses in the heavenly court, a fancy term for a stable boy.

He was done with their condescending hypocrisy. Instead, he had enjoyed his brief stay in Adam’s territory. Everyone lived in peace in a fair city where the strong defended the weak, where the poorest orphan had an equal chance to rise as the richest noble.

No one stood over their shoulders, brandishing an axe of rules ready to cleave their heads in halves at the slightest blunder. Instead, they simply understood how to walk hand in hand to build a better future. If anything, that was the compassion he wanted to see.

The sky rumbled again, the clouds parting and flowing upwards as golden lightning crashed everywhere.

About to offer Wukong a scathing answer, Jiuling Yuan Sheng closed his mouths and stumbled back. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

He knew this phenomenon... It was much deeper than divine recognition. Instead, the universe itself showed its approval of Wukong’s chaotic existence on a fundamental level. And this scene happened in every single realm, including the heavenly court.

"What heresy is this?!" He roared, unable to endure the shock.

Wukong’s lips curled, his legs bending as he stretched his palm out and held his staff behind his back, ready to lunge.

"How can you talk about natural balance when you shun its mother? Chaos was the beginning, an eternal force, not good nor evil. This is the only truth."

"Lies! Chaos is uncontrollable. The universe must have gone crazy!" Jiuling Yuan Sheng lunged, his jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed into slits. "I’ll correct its misjudgement this instant!"

Wukong sidestepped the snapping maw with precise grace. Simultaneously, his staff drew a golden circle, the bludgeoning edge whistling down.

BAM

The ground caved under Jiuling Yuan Sheng, one of his skulls shattering. Even worse, instead of the gentle divine qi Wukong should have, he felt a forceful chaos infiltrate his meridians. It battled against his spiritual energy, causing his veins to throb as if poison coursed through him.

He couldn’t believe it. He had to ask despite the searing pain. "Are you truly returning to your uncontrollable self? The heavenly court won’t tolerate it! Every deity will..."

His words caught in his throat as he saw the impossible happen before his constricted pupils.

A dharma idol towered behind the monkey king. Starlights pierced the somber chaos that roiled on its limbs like armor. Its colossal palm descended, winds shoved aside into roaring gales, and the sky... disappeared into its shadow.

Wukong’s voice overpowered the cacophony. "Nothing I did was in vain. Faithful to my origin, I adapt and evolve endlessly." An icy chuckle escaped his lips. "That’s why you lot imprisoned me for five hundred years, then forced me on the Buddha path—you feared what I could become and went as far as changing my titles and identity."

His staff turned into a humongous pillar as he slammed it on the trembling nine-headed lion’s back.

Jiuling Yuan Sheng roared in agony, the weight shattering his spine, leaving him at the mercy of the palm. Yet, Wukong’s words were what truly horrified him.

"Your manipulations created what you sought to prevent. Magic, spiritual energy, and chaos dance in the palm of my hand. I’m now truly unrivalled, and I will reform this disgusting system."

Before Jiuling Yuan Sheng could answer, the palm crushed his body. The ground exploded, rubbles shooting like shrapnel. The shockwave tore out the nearby bamboo forest, shattering the mountainous region as the idol faded, revealing the power of its strike.

As if the wounded earth breathed in agony, an abyssal hole wafted churning dust. And Jiuling Yuan Sheng, a powerful demon who had once tetanised him with its spiritual pressure alone, a demonic divinity, and the mount of a major god within the Daoist pantheon, died.

But it was only the beginning. The others would soon follow him, for Adam would return. And when he did...

He clenched his fist, feeling the last chain sealing his powers shatter as he recovered his divinity. "I’ll give you the last push you need to become a god."

He plucked a handful of hair, then blew on them. They drifted, taking his features before a sea of several thousands of clones filled the battered land. "You won’t dissipate now that I’ve recovered." He smirked. "Spread Adam’s name and talk about his city in every realm!"

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AN: To avoid confusion, I’ll precise it here. When he says now you won’t disappear, it’s because he has been spreading Adam’s name for the past ten years.