Primordial Era: A brick knocks Hongyun unconscious, and he seizes the throne at the start.

Having obtained the Golden Cudgel, Sun Wukong donned his armor and trained his monkey soldiers daily on Flower Fruit Mountain, proclaiming himself the "Great Sage Equal to Heaven," living a very imposing life. But his carefree days didn't last long before trouble came knocking.

On this day, he was feasting with a group of monkeys when he suddenly felt a cold wind blow by, making him dizzy and causing him to fall into a drunken stupor. In his hazy state, he saw two soul-reaping messengers holding a warrant, putting chains on his soul, and taking it away.

"Hey! What kind of scoundrel dares to detain your grandpa Sun!" Sun Wukong awoke with a start and found himself in the underworld. He was furious and broke free of his chains with a little effort. He snatched the mourning staff from the soul-collecting messenger and beat the two ghost messengers so badly that they ran away with their heads in their hands.

He fought his way in and came to a gloomy city with the words "Netherworld" written on the city gate.

"So we've arrived in the underworld!" Sun Wukong exclaimed in realization, his anger growing. "I, Old Sun, have cultivated the Dao of Immortality and have long since transcended life and death. Which King of Hell dares to summon me? Take me to see that old Yama!"

He stormed into the Hall of Yama, where the Ten Kings of Hell were already trembling with fear, gathered in one place. King Qin Guang forced a smile and said, "Immortal, please calm your anger. The cycle of life and death is ordained by Heaven and Earth. Your name is indeed on the warrant for summoning souls. We are merely acting in accordance with the law..."

"Bullshit!" Sun Wukong snatched the Book of Life and Death, flipped it open, and sure enough, he found his name in the "Soul" section, number 1350, which noted "Heaven-born stone monkey, lifespan 342 years, peaceful death."

"Three hundred and forty-two years old? How many years have I, Old Sun, lived? You must be playing tricks on me!" He was even angrier, snatched the judge's pen, crossed out his own name with one stroke, and still felt unsatisfied, so he simply blacked out all the names of monkeys and other species!

"From this day forward, my monkey clan of Flower Fruit Mountain will no longer be under the jurisdiction of your Underworld!" Sun Wukong threw the Book of Life and Death on the ground, laughed loudly, swung his golden cudgel and smashed the Hall of the Underworld to pieces before leaving triumphantly.

The ten Kings of Hell looked at each other, speechless with despair. Only after Sun Wukong had gone far away did King Qin Guang say in a trembling voice, "Quickly...quickly report to Lady Pingxin and go to the Heavenly Court to lodge a complaint!"

What they didn't know was that while Sun Wukong was causing havoc in the underworld and altering the Book of Life and Death, another invisible chaotic aura had quietly infiltrated the core database of the Book of Life and Death in the underworld.

Lu Chen himself was currently squatting at the head of the Bridge of Helplessness, disguised as a bewildered wandering soul, holding a bowl of Meng Po soup in his hands and pretending to be one. In reality, the power of the Chaos World Brick had silently connected to the core of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, which contained the information of the Book of Life and Death, through the earth's veins and the reincarnation channel.

"Sun Wukong only modified the 'display terminal.' The real data backup is deep within the core of reincarnation, which even the Ten Kings of Hell don't have the authority to alter," Lu Chen thought to himself. "However, this makes it convenient for me to tamper with it."

He certainly wasn't trying to help the underworld restore data—that was too obvious. What he wanted to do was copy and tamper with it.

The chaotic Dao patterns on the Chaotic World Brick, like the most sophisticated swarm of nanobots, silently completed three operations within the data torrent of the Reincarnation Core:

First, a complete copy. A copy of the Book of Life and Death information for all living beings in the primordial world (including immortals, Buddhas, gods, humans, demons, ghosts, etc.) was made and stored in the newly opened "Backup Underworld" data space within the Chaos World brick. From then on, Lu Chen also possessed a complete Book of Life and Death!

Second, a logical backdoor was implanted. Several extremely subtle "conditional judgment" statements were added to the underlying data processing logic of the core of reincarnation. For example, if it is detected that a being's fate has been forcibly altered by the "Buddhist conversion mark" or has suffered "unfair judgment from Heaven," the data correction mechanism is automatically triggered to encrypt and back up the original fate information, generate an anomaly report, and quietly send it to the "backup underworld."

Third, a special marker was added. A "Chaos Protection" marker was added to the fate information of his own people (such as the rescued former members of the Jie Sect, Sun Wukong, the reincarnation of Hongyun, Zhen Yuanzi, etc.). This marker is normally useless, but if the underworld system attempts to forcibly collect souls or modify the fates of these people, it will trigger a weak alarm and attempt to send a distress signal to Lu Chen.

After finishing all this, Lu Chen called it a day, drank the Meng Po soup in one gulp (of course it had no effect on him), and smacked his lips: "The taste is so-so, not as good as ginseng fruit."

He escaped the underworld by using a brick magic technique, concealing his merits and fame.

A moment later, at Pingxin Hall.

Empress Pingxin (Houtu) looked at the Ten Kings of Hell crying below, and then at the report from the core of reincarnation that showed "Sun Wukong has canceled the fate of the monkey clan, but the core data shows unknown redundancy and abnormal fluctuations," and frowned slightly.

She calculated with her fingers, and the heavens were in a state of chaos, vaguely pointing to a figure carrying bricks.

"It's him again..." Lady Pingxin shook her head helplessly. She had mixed feelings about Lu Chen. Although he had repeatedly caused trouble, he didn't seem to have any ill intentions towards the Underworld. On the contrary, he had secretly helped the Holy Mother Turtle Spirit, and he and her brother (the Ancestral Witch) both followed the path of power...

"Alright, the matter of Sun Wukong is a game between Buddhism and Heaven. The Underworld need not investigate it too deeply; just report it to Heaven according to procedure. As for the abnormal data..." Empress Pingxin pondered, "Let's seal it away for now and not make a fuss about it."

She had a vague feeling that the waters were getting increasingly murky, and that it would be best for the underworld to remain neutral and observe the situation.

Heavenly Court, Lingxiao Palace.

The Jade Emperor received petitions from both the Dragon King of the East Sea and the Ten Kings of Hell, and was so angry he was practically fuming.

"You monstrous monkey! First, you forcibly stole the Sea-Stabilizing Needle, disturbing the East Sea; then you wreaked havoc in the Underworld, tampering with the Book of Life and Death! You are utterly lawless!" Haotian slammed his fist on the table and rose to his feet. "Which esteemed minister is willing to descend to the mortal realm and capture this demon?"

The assembled immortals and deities exchanged bewildered glances. That monkey, capable of easily defeating the Dragon King and wreaking havoc in the Underworld, was clearly no pushover. Moreover… many immortals and deities vaguely knew that this monkey had far-reaching connections, and none wanted to be the first to speak out.

Just then, Venus stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Although that monkey demon possesses supernatural powers, he does not seem to be particularly wicked. In my humble opinion, it would be better to issue an imperial edict of amnesty, summon him to the Heavenly Court, and grant him an official position. This would firstly demonstrate Your Majesty's benevolence, and secondly, keeping him by your side would make him easier to control. If he does not obey, it will not be too late to capture him then."

Upon hearing this, Haotian calmed down. He recalled the Journey to the West agreement; this monkey was the Buddhist sect's designated protector for the pilgrims, and killing him now would only cause trouble. Offering him amnesty was a good idea, both demonstrating the Heavenly Court's authority and keeping this trouble under control.

"What you say makes sense, my dear minister." Haotian nodded. "Then I will grant your request and order you to descend to the mortal realm to offer amnesty and appoint Sun Wukong as... 'Bi Ma Wen' (弼马温), in charge of the Imperial Horse Administration."

He deliberately chose a low-ranking official, which served both as a way to appease the enemy and to humiliate this arrogant and ignorant monkey.

Venus received the decree and rode a cloud to Flower Fruit Mountain.

At that moment, Lu Chen was squatting in the clouds outside the South Heavenly Gate, cracking melon seeds and watching the good show.

"A stable boy? Haotian is so petty." He scoffed. "But it's fine, if the monkey doesn't fly to heaven, how will the grand show begin?"

His gaze shifted to the mortal realm below. On Flower Fruit Mountain, Venus was holding an imperial edict, speaking animatedly to Sun Wukong, "The Heavenly Court has granted you amnesty; your future is bright."

Sun Wukong scratched his head, feeling a little tempted, but also sensing that something was amiss.

Lu Chen's voice, transmitted silently through the chaotic Dao patterns inside the Golden Cudgel, reached Sun Wukong's ears. It contained only four words:

"Use their plan against them."

Sun Wukong's eyes lit up, and he grinned.

"Alright! I, Old Sun, will go to heaven with you and see what that Jade Emperor's Heavenly Court is really like!"

The prelude to the havoc in Heaven was thus set in motion.

Meanwhile, the real director, carrying bricks, crouched behind the clouds, preparing to add more exciting "special effects" to the play.