1010 Episode 61 Prisoner of the Golden Headband (10)

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven watched the Yangjiokjeongbyeong receding into the distance. The gourd, carried away in an instant by the torrents of the worldline. It seemed as though he could faintly hear the voice of the youngest calling out to him from within.

That gourd will flow along the torrents of the worldline toward the location where the 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven' of the 41st round resides. Since the tip of the gourd has been sealed with a fragment of the Golden Headband, the 'Indescribable Distance' will be unable to find the gourd until the youngest reaches a safe place.

Kugugugugu.

As if enraged by this fact, the surrounding fog began to attack his story hostilely.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven gathered his stories to withstand the erosion of the fog. With a cracking sound, the joints of his elbows broke.

His story was shattered, and his incarnation body refused to obey.

Watching the records flowing before his eyes, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven spoke.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven knew who the recorder recording him was. As if responding to that gaze, a light spark shot up from the air.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven shook his head and said.

Watching the records flow, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven felt rather grateful. Because these records exist, he is not lonely.

Ultimately, what every star sees at the end is their own story.

With a calm heart, he looked back at the world he had lived in.

The desperate struggle of the sacred flames trying to escape the world. Due to the erosion of the 'indescribable vastness', the world he wanted to protect had become a scene of pandemonium.

Amidst the ruins, the story of him, the youngest, and the brothers together brushed past the tip of his nose like a lingering scent.

Someday, someone will read this story. That is why he lives the story, and why the recorder records it. To continue the story for just a single reader, to carry on the story for his joys and sorrows, to be remembered.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven now knows the answer.

The stories formed in his constellation emitted a bright light. As if proving their own qualification, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven moved the stories with perfect control.

As if knowing that this might be his final stage, the stories poured out every sentence they possessed without reservation.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven rose up straight from his seat, defying the weight of Mount Five Elements. For that moment, even the mist of 'indescribable vastness' seemed to emanate from him. As if paying homage to his power, or as if waiting with satisfaction for the praise to come—the Great Sage Equal to Heaven gazed at the disaster and spoke.

His fiery golden eyes stared at the world. Soon, the true forms of myth-grade constellations, having squeezed through the rift, descended before his eyes. Terrifying constellations capable of crushing a planet with a single wave of their hand.

The most enraged of them all was Poseidon, who had large holes in his chest and the back of his hand. Blocking the holes from which the stories were leaking, he wailed and swung his trident at the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

A Ruyi Jingu Bang, flying in from somewhere, deflected Poseidon's trident. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven gazed at the mythical constellations standing before him and spoke.

A total of twelve mythical constellations stood in formation before him, including Poseidon, the 'One Who Draws the Boundaries of the Seas'; Emperor Ku, the 'Fire of the South'; and Odin, the 'One-Eyed Father'.

Stars who had pioneered the giant stories of the constellations and stood at the forefront of creation myths, having ascended to the highest peaks of the heavens.

Even such stars did not readily approach the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who had burned down all his own stories to block their path.

Holding Mount Wuxing in one hand, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven stretched his other hand into the air. At that, his Ruyi Jingu Bang emitted a dazzling aura and curled into his palm.

It was Shennong, the 'Fire of the South', who spoke first to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who had completed his readiness for battle.

A god, one of the Three Sovereigns of the <Emperor>, he was a star that had watched over all of the Great Sage's myths from the moment his story was born until now.

The Great Sage slowly nodded.

At the sharp thorn in those words, Shennong raised his head in pity.

The Great Sage remained silent. Shennong continued speaking.

A faint wrinkle formed between the eyebrows of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. As if enjoying the turmoil, Shennong spoke again.

A mysterious story flowed from the entire body of the prodigy, who carried the story of the <Emperor> on his back. It was a story that even the Great Sage Equal to Heaven could not help but be captivated by. This was because it was a story the Great Sage Equal to Heaven knew well, too.

Through that story, he became the Monkey King, the Magic-Wielding Demon, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and the Fighting Victorious Buddha. He came to be known as Sun Wukong.

Shen Nong spoke as if counting all that time.

Shennong’s expression was warm as he spoke these words. His voice was deep, as if welcoming a returning child or a long-lost friend. Hearing that voice, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven smiled wryly. If he had not had 1,864 rounds of history, and thus had he not seen the youngest son and his stories, he, too, might have wavered a little upon hearing the prodigy’s words.

It was because he had been lonely for too long.

The scene of a colossal waterfall was reflected in his slowly blinking golden eyes.

That was the story of the day he discovered the Water Curtain Cave on Mount Huaguo and became the Monkey King. It was a story that Shennong knew well, too.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven continued speaking, as if reciting a long memory.

The familiar scenery of the Water Curtain Cave rose in the Great Sage's eyes. There were shadows wandering through the cave. The faces of fellow monkeys whose names he had now forgotten.

Sensing the subtle rage in the voice of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the constellations urged Shennong on, as if on alert.

Despite the constellations' urging, Shennong remained calm. He uttered a gentle yet powerful incantation, as if soothing the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

'Golden Arhat' Sha Wujing and 'Pure Lion' Zhu Bajie.

The god smiled as he watched the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's expression change in real time.

The moment that name was heard, the expression on the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's face hardened. He looked up at the Five Elements Mountains that were pressing down on him.

The Five Elements Mountains. This mountain was the hand of the 'myth-grade constellation' he knew well.

Only Shakyamuni, the master of the 'Island of the Reincarnated', could have inflicted the trials of the Five Elements Mountains upon him. However, the will contained within this mountain now did not belong to Shakyamuni.

As if to prevent him from thinking, the mountain began to press down on the Great Sage Equal to Heaven with even greater gravity. If he had still held onto the stories of 「Journey to the West」, he would not have been able to withstand this weight long ago.

However, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven now was not merely Sun Wukong from 「Journey to the West」.

Shinnong glared in astonishment.

Shinnong could not finish his sentence. The Ruyi Staff wielded by the Great Sage Equal to Heaven had blown off his jaw.

Sensing an ominous aura, the myth-grade constellations moved in unison, unleashing their powers.

Shinnong, having quickly restored his jaw, shouted.

A massive amount of power began to gather in the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's Ruyi Golden Staff.

The myth-grade constellations turned pale upon confirming the power contained in the Ruyi Jingu Bang. They realized it instinctively.

A blow that might have been easily blocked if the myth-grade constellations had joined forces.

However, the hands of the myth-grade constellations, who deeply distrusted one another, could not possibly be in sync.

In the single moment the forces of the myth-grade constellations—who had been busy stealing the stories of their true forms and sending them out for the 41st round—dispersed, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's Ruyi Golden Staff emitted a radiant light.

Instantly expanding in volume, the Ruyi Golden Staff struck the stars with a distant trajectory that sliced ​​through the galaxy.

Kwaaaaaaah!

A massive explosion erupted, powerful enough to cause even the falling Mount Five Elements to hesitate and rise.

The true forms of the constellations struck by the Ruyi Staff were torn apart, suffering immense damage. Of course, that alone was not enough to kill the myth-grade constellations. But it was enough to buy time. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven drove the injured myth-grade constellations back into the rift, then sealed the entrance with the 'Golden Shackle'.

Shennong shouted in rage. Instead of answering, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven stared at the Five Elements Mountain falling over his head.

He probably would not be able to witness the ending that the youngest would confirm.

But at least he could clear away a few pebbles rolling along the path to that ending.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven gazed at his crumbling world. For some reason, the scenery reminded him of Seoul, where the scenarios had begun.

Recalling the day he first saw the youngest, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven spoke.

He would be sealed in this prison.

But he shall not be the only mythical constellation sealed here.