Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong-Chapter 524 -

Generally speaking, the most nutrient-rich part of a large tree should be the roots; however, the World Tree is not an ordinary tree. Its roots delve into the endless void, absorbing the stray energy there, drawing it into the tree's body, and transporting it towards the trunk. It seems there must be something akin to a tree heart within, a place where all the energy converges.

In places where heavenly materials and earthly treasures are born, there are inevitably spiritual beasts or cultivators on guard. Similarly, where spiritual energy gathers, powerful creatures are also likely to be born. This principle probably holds true within the World Tree as well.

The giant caterpillars had scurried off along the tree's energy pathways before, and now, hiding within those pathways or nodes, it was improbable to make one of them guide the way to the tree heart. But this wasn't an obstacle for Sun Wukong.

"Void-Breaking Starry Eyes!"

With a mere thought, Sun Wukong activated his Void-Breaking Starry Eyes. The space before him suddenly appeared different, with streams of energy flowing out from the energy pathways around him and converging at the nodes, then, after gathering, it all flowed into the broadest and largest pathway.

It went without saying that this pathway must be the main one leading to the tree heart!

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A hint of a smile flashed across Wukong's eyes, his figure leapt into the clouds and dove into the main pathway. Following this main path will undoubtedly lead to the tree heart; and at the tree heart, he was certain to encounter a formidable opponent—of this, Sun Wukong had no doubt!

Following the main pathway, Sun Wukong flew for a whole ten days!

In the outside world, ten days would be enough for Sun Wukong to ride clouds around the Three Realms several times; yet within the World Tree, after flying for ten days through a winding path, he barely reached the area of the next node. But as soon as Sun Wukong emerged from the pathway and looked upon the platform of the node, he couldn't help but smile.

The very same giant caterpillar that had brought him to the World Tree was lying there on the node's platform!

And not just one—there were five giant caterpillars sprawling on the node platform, and the space where this platform was situated must have spanned tens of thousands of miles!

Sun Wukong could identify one of the five caterpillars as his guide to the World Tree because it bore scars from the Chaos Fire that hadn't fully healed yet.

However, compared to its previously menacing appearance, the caterpillar now seemed very weak, listlessly lying on the node, as if it had lost the ability to move entirely.

Sun Wukong activated the Void-Breaking Divine Eye to its Fourth Phase, the Void-Breaking Starry Eyes, and looked again at the platform where the five caterpillars were. What he saw this time made him startle—upon the node platform, which initially seemed devoid of any creature other than the caterpillar, there were actually three mantis-like monsters. These creatures seemed to possess an Invisibility Spell, completely concealing their presence. If it weren't for the Void-Breaking Starry Eyes, even Sun Wukong would have failed to detect them!

These three giant mantis creatures lurked beside the five caterpillars, clinging to the platform with their bodies while all six of their eyes were firmly fixed on Sun Wukong. Clearly, they had discovered him as soon as he had entered the space of the node platform.

"These monsters want to ambush old Sun!"

Sun Wukong realized that the listless appearance of the five caterpillars didn't stem from fatigue or rest but because they had already been overpowered by the giant mantises. Each caterpillar had a huge penetrating wound on its body, and lifeblood was oozing out steadily. This fluid was pure white and blended with the color of the platform, which is why Sun Wukong hadn't noticed it at first.

Clearly, the giant mantises had already subdued the five caterpillars, which now lacked the power to escape and were about to become snacks for the mantis creatures.

If Sun Wukong hadn't suddenly entered this node platform space, the caterpillars would probably have been eaten to the bone!

That's not right, tree bugs naturally don't have bones!

Shaking his head, Sun Wukong dismissed the messy thoughts from his mind. His eyes twinkled with golden light as he intently watched the three giant mantises. They probably didn't yet realize he had detected them, still waiting for him to land on the tree-knot platform to launch their surprise attack, right?

With a cold laugh in his heart, Sun Wukong pulled the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod from his ear. If he could so easily subdue five large tree bugs, these three giant mantises must be much more powerful—perfect for a warm-up!

Boom!

Chaos Fire burst forth from within Sun Wukong, furiously burning atop the Ruyi Divine Armor and the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod. The Heaven-Breaking Domain was also activated, clinging tightly to his skin, as his Divine Sense firmly locked onto the three giant mantises.

"Roar~!"

Sensing they had been discovered by Sun Wukong, the three giant mantises no longer continued to hide. Dispelling their invisibility technique, they revealed their true forms: three giant, blood-red mantises with sickle-like forelimbs that appeared incredibly sharp, flickering with a grim chill, their bodies exuding a fierce and violent aura.

Half-Step Saint Realm!

As soon as the three giant mantises released their aura, Sun Wukong immediately determined their level of cultivation—they were in the Half-Step Saint Realm. Of course, perhaps it was just their physical strength that had achieved the Half-Step Saint Realm without a deep comprehension of the Heavenly Dao Laws, but it was still shockingly powerful. Three mantises in the Half-Step Saint Realm—if word of this got out, many powerful beings in the Three Realms would be shamed to death, wanting to crash into a slab of tofu!

However, for Sun Wukong, they were the perfect warm-up opponents!

"Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth!"

With the considerable size difference between them, Sun Wukong immediately invoked the Divine Power Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth, suddenly growing to a size of ten thousand Zhang, gripping the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod, which resembled a Heavenly Pillar, as he lunged at the three giant mantises.

"Hey! Take this hit from your Grandpa Sun!"

The Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod swung down fiercely towards the necks of the three giant mantises. If it connected, even if their cultivation was equivalent to the Half-Step Saint Realm, their heads would certainly burst open and brains would splatter everywhere!

But if things really went that way, it would be too boring!

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Just as it was about to hit, the three giant mantises moved. Striking hard on the tree-knot platform with their hind legs, their bodies leapt away like lightning, dodging Sun Wukong's heavy and forceful swing, which hit nothing but air.

Taking advantage of the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod missing its mark, the three giant mantises abruptly turned back in mid-air, slashing their sickle-like forelimbs towards Sun Wukong.