Journey to the West: The gods and Buddhas panicked when the monkey was trapped inside him.

Dongsheng Shenzhou.

Outside the Water Curtain Cave of Huaguo Mountain.

Sun Wukong descended from the clouds and landed steadily on the iron bridge outside the Water Curtain Cave.

The monkeys patrolling nearby saw the familiar figure and immediately dropped their spears.

"The King is back!"

"The King has returned from heaven!"

Cheers instantly echoed throughout the entire Flower and Fruit Mountain.

Countless monkeys emerged from the forests and caves covering the mountains and valleys, rushing headlong toward the Water Curtain Cave.

In no time at all, the area around the iron bridge was completely surrounded by people.

Marshals Ma and Liu, along with Generals Beng and Ba, pushed through the monkey horde and rushed to Sun Wukong.

His face was full of excitement as he looked Sun Wukong up and down.

"Your Majesty, you've finally returned?"

"Are you enjoying your time as an official in Heaven?"

"Are all the gods in heaven very polite to Your Majesty?"

The monkeys bombarded the heavens with questions, their eyes filled with curiosity about the heavenly court and admiration for their king.

Upon hearing these words, Sun Wukong's face instantly darkened.

"Comfortable my ass!"

"I, Old Sun, was fooled by those hypocritical gods!"

The surrounding monkey troop fell silent instantly, all of them staring wide-eyed in astonishment.

General Beng asked cautiously.

"Your Majesty, what has happened?"

"Hasn't the Heavenly Court arranged a prestigious high-ranking official position for Your Majesty?"

Sun Wukong snorted coldly.

"That old Jade Emperor bestowed upon me, Old Sun, the official position of Bi Ma Wen!"

"That Venus even bragged to me, Old Sun, that this is a crucial and vital department of the Heavenly Court!"

"I, Old Sun, stayed obediently in Heaven for over a month before I finally learned what this '弼马温' (Bima Wen) really was!"

"That's just a stable boy who raises horses for the Heavenly Court!"

"It's the lowest and most despicable job in Heaven!"

Upon hearing this, the entire monkey troop on Flower Fruit Mountain erupted in chaos.

Bengba Erjiang was so angry that he jumped up and down, swinging his weapons with a whooshing sound.

"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

"With our king's extraordinary abilities, those blind gods in Heaven actually made him tend their horses!"

Marshals Ma and Liu also had angry expressions on their faces and loudly echoed their sentiments.

"That's right! Our King commands seventy-two demon kings in our Flower Fruit Mountain!"

"They went to their heavenly realm and dared to humiliate the King like this!"

Sun Wukong sneered repeatedly and waved his hand dismissively.

"So I, Old Sun, quit on the spot!"

"Let whoever wants this damn official position take it; I, Old Sun, am going to rebel against Heaven!"

"It's so much more comfortable back in our Flower and Fruit Mountain!"

The monkeys shouted in unison, their voices echoing through the mountains and forests.

"It's good that Your Majesty has returned!"

"We're free and easy on Flower Fruit Mountain, who wants to go to heaven and suffer the humiliation of those gods!"

"Our king will remain king in this Water Curtain Cave, and never return to that wretched Heavenly Court!"

General Beng immediately turned around and loudly gave orders to the surrounding monkey troop.

"Men! Quickly prepare the food and wine!"

"Bring out all our prized monkey wine!"

"Today we will hold a welcoming banquet for His Majesty!"

The monkeys immediately sprang into action.

Before long, the Water Curtain Cave was filled with all kinds of spiritual fruits and delicacies, and jars of fragrant monkey wine were brought out.

Sun Wukong sat in the main seat, picked up a large bowl of monkey wine, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.

He smacked his lips.

This monkey wine is not bad, but it still falls short of the celestial brew of the Heavenly Court.

However, the point of drinking heartily on Flower Fruit Mountain is simply to have a good time.

After several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere inside the Water Curtain Cave became lively.

Sun Wukong slammed the empty bowl in his hand heavily onto the stone table.

The hall fell silent instantly, and all the monkeys looked at Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong stood up and his gaze swept over every monkey present.

"Those gods in Heaven look down on me, Old Sun, and gave me the lowly position of Keeper of the Heavenly Horses to humiliate me!"

"I, Old Sun, will absolutely not swallow this insult!"

Sun Wukong waved his hand domineeringly.

"Since they won't give me, Old Sun, a high-ranking official position, then I'll just give myself one!"

"What title does Your Majesty intend to bestow upon yourself?"

Sun Wukong raised his head, his voice booming, echoing throughout the entire Water Curtain Cave.

"From this day forward, I, Old Sun, will be called the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!"

"Reaching the same heights as the heavens! Sitting on equal footing!"

The moment the words "Great Sage Equal to Heaven" were uttered, the entire Water Curtain Cave erupted in excitement.

Bengba II was so excited that his face turned red, and he knelt down on the ground and shouted loudly.

"Great Sage Equal to Heaven! Your Majesty is mighty!"

Marshals Ma and Liu immediately turned to give orders to their monkeys.

"Quick! Go and get some of the finest yellow silk!"

"They worked through the night to make a large banner with the four characters 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven' written on it!"

"Tomorrow morning, we'll hang this big flag high on the summit of our Flower and Fruit Mountain!"

"Let all the gods and Buddhas in the heavens witness the might of our King!"

The monkeys cheered and raised their wine bowls.

"Homage to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!"

The welcoming banquet lasted until late at night before finally ending.

The monkeys dispersed to rest or busied themselves sewing the banner.

Sun Wukong walked back alone to the quiet room deep inside the Water Curtain Cave.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, skillfully calming his mind.

"Big brother!"

Deep within his sea of ​​consciousness, Li Chen's illusory image slowly coalesced into a physical form.

Sun Wukong spoke in his mind with a smug look on his face.

"Brother, how did I, Old Sun, do in my performance today?"

"Those monkey brats have all been mobilized. If the Great Sage Equaling Heaven's banner is raised tomorrow, the Heavenly Court will be furious!"

Li Chen looked at Sun Wukong and nodded approvingly.

"You did a very good job."

"Your outburst of rage today was completely flawless."

"Remember, you are now playing the role of an unruly and peerless demon king who cannot tolerate the slightest grievance."

"You have to be crazy!"

Li Chen's voice turned serious.

"The crazier the better!"

"The more unruly and arrogant you are, the more you become."

"The more gods and Buddhas there are, the more they will feel that you are following the script they have set."

"Only by making them feel that everything is under control can we gain more time and resources for stable development."

Sun Wukong nodded repeatedly, fully understanding Li Chen's intention.

"Don't worry, brother, I understand!"

"I'll be the Monkey King right here on Flower Fruit Mountain, and I won't give anyone any face!"

"However, brother, I'm going along with your wishes today and have directly used the title of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven."

"The Heavenly Court is definitely in an uproar, isn't it?"

Li Chen nodded affirmatively.

"Of course it'll cause an uproar."

"Not only have you rebelled against the Heavenly Court, but you have also openly declared that you are on equal footing with the Jade Emperor."

"This is a slap in the face to the entire Heavenly Court."

"Next, in order to save face, the Heavenly Court will send a large army to annihilate you."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong showed no fear whatsoever; instead, he rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Send troops to attack? That's great!"

"He consumed a lot of Nine-Turn Golden Elixir in Heaven, and his cultivation level increased greatly."

"I was just looking for a suitable opponent to practice against!"

"If they dare to come, I, Old Sun, will use my golden cudgel to beat them all back!"

Seeing Sun Wukong's high fighting spirit, Li Chen immediately gave him some instructions.

"We definitely have to fight, and we must win!"

"Not only do we have to win, but we have to win beautifully and decisively!"

Li Chen patiently explained the principles of strategy to Sun Wukong.

"The first wave of heavenly soldiers and generals sent by the Heavenly Court is just here to put on a show."

"If they can't take you this time, they'll choose to offer you amnesty again."

"When Venus comes to Flower Fruit Mountain a second time with the imperial edict, we can just ask for an exorbitant amount."

"When the time comes, all that talk of a stable boy and lowly celestial official, he'll be fired!"

"We not only want them to formally acknowledge your title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven."

"We'll extort another sum of cultivation resources from them!"

Sun Wukong clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles cracking.

"Don't worry, brother."

"As long as the Heavenly Army dares to set foot on Flower Fruit Mountain even half a step."

"I, Old Sun, guarantee I'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget!"

Seeing that Sun Wukong was full of fighting spirit, Li Chen ended the conversation.

"Alright, from now on, let's just stay here quietly in Flower Fruit Mountain."

"We're waiting for the Heavenly Army to come knocking on our door with gifts!"