Great Demon Sun Wukong

After leaving the Beyond the Heavens, Sun Wukong hurriedly flew toward the next Beyond the Heavens. Time was of the essence, as he knew that Taoist figures like Zhen Yuanzi and Li Jing had perished, and members of the Demon Clan such as Ji Meng and Ying Zhao were severely injured and on the verge of death, completely losing their combat power.

He had thought that with his help the Demon Clan would gain a bigger advantage, yet he hadn't expected Zhen Yuanzi to perish along with his opponent, resulting in only a meager increase to their side with his own addition; the advantage was not significant!

However, during his flight, Sun Wukong wasn't idle, instead putting all his effort into activating the Five-Colored Divine Stone within his body to recover his expended physical and spiritual power. Moreover, during his great battle with Li Jing, Sun Wukong had felt as though he was not subject to the same suppression of strength as others in the Beyond the Heavens!

Ordinary individuals, unless they had truly ascended to the stature of a Saint of the Great Dao, would suffer a thirty percent suppression of their strength—even those at the Half-step Great Path were not exempt. Saints would see their capacity reduced by fifty percent, and those at the Emperor Level Realm would be hindered by seventy percent.

Daluo Golden Immortals, they simply couldn't enter the Beyond the Heavens at all!
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Yet, Sun Wukong discovered that whenever he utilized the power of the Five-Colored Divine Stone, that suppression vanished, allowing him to unleash his full strength. Although he didn't know why this was the case, Sun Wukong had no desire to probe further. It was more pressing to reach the next battlefield. Delay could breed disaster.

Soon, Sun Wukong sensed a battle raging within a nearby Beyond the Heavens and accelerated his pace, instantly entering that domain.

The moment he entered, Sun Wukong saw the great Kunpeng, with its hulking body blocking out the sun and sky, engaged in combat with a similarly immense Buddha—the Guiding Taoist. The two were evenly matched in both cultivation and combat power, thus their battle had been at a deadlock; without considerable time or reinforcement, it would be difficult to determine a victor.

But Sun Wukong's arrival was the tipping factor in the scales of victory.

Just as Sun Wukong, transformed into the Five Elements Chaotic Body, prepared to step forward and assist, a pitch-black whip lashed out explosively from the distance. Seeing the ill intent from the incoming attack, Sun Wukong sidestepped and swung his Golden Hoop, deflecting the whip.

The fighters, previously engaged in fierce combat, both retreated upon noticing someone's approach, and were on full alert. Sun Wukong too opened his fiery, golden eyes wide and slowly floated to Kunpeng's side. Kunpeng, seeing that Sun Wukong had already dealt with the opponent, couldn't help but feel surprised and then nodded his head at Sun Wukong but said little else.

Meanwhile, the Guiding Taoist carried an old lamp emitting a hazy yellow light and eyed the approaching figure from afar. Upon recognizing the face, he let out a sigh of relief. The one who had blocked Sun Wukong's path was none other than Jiang Ziya!

The three others present had not expected Jiang Ziya to resolve his battle so swiftly, especially against guises like Gui Che and Bai Ze. While Bai Ze's strength might have been slightly lower, barely reaching the Half-step Great Path, Gui Che's prowess was not to be underestimated. However, against two opponents, he too had been promptly vanquished.

Jiang Ziya was no ordinary individual—he either possessed a Supreme Divine Artifact or an absolutely terrifying secret technique. Even so, it was inconceivable that he could so quickly defeat two peers of the same realm!

But there was no need for further conjecture, as they would soon discover how Jiang Ziya had managed to kill Gui Che and Bai Ze in such a short span of time.

The four exchanged glances and without further ado commenced battle. Kunpeng continued his fierce duel with the Guiding Taoist, while Sun Wukong faced off against Jiang Ziya.

By this point, Sun Wukong had transformed into the Five Elements Chaotic Body, his speed and strength multiplied several times over, and he was also armed with two great Magic Treasures: the Zhen Yuan Bodhi Treasure Tree and the World Suppressing Stele. Therefore, he was confident he could take down Jiang Ziya.

If he defeated Jiang Ziya and then helped Kunpeng slay the Guiding Taoist, the Demon Clan could essentially declare the grand situation settled. However, this was under the assumption that the others didn't suffer too many defeats. Otherwise, even if Sun Wukong fought to the death, it would be impossible to turn the tide.

Without further thought, Golden Hoop in hand, Sun Wukong engaged in a fierce clash with Jiang Ziya!

Only after he truly crossed hands with Jiang Ziya did Sun Wukong realize that Gui Che and Bai Ze's defeat was no injustice, for Jiang Ziya's God-Beating Whip turned out to be a Supreme Divine Artifact.

The God-Beating Whip, a treasure granted to Jiang Ziya by the Primordial Heavenly Venerate during the Investiture of the Gods, was made of white jade and fashioned in the form of a wooden whip. It was three feet, six inches, and five fen long, divided into twenty-one segments, each adorned with four talismans, totaling eighty-four talismans.

However, at that time, the God-Beating Whip was ineffective against anyone not listed in the Investiture of the Gods.

But now it seemed that all seals on the God-Beating Whip had been unlocked, and the weapon had undergone some sort of transformation. Every time it struck the Golden Hoop, not only did Sun Wukong feel tremendous force, but also a paralyzing sensation indicative of lightning.

If it weren't for the constant operation of the Five-Colored Divine Stone within his body, Sun Wukong feared he wouldn't be able to move after just a few strikes. No wonder, with such a Divine Artifact in hand, Gui Che and Bai Ze were understandably subdued.

Just then, a voice echoed in Sun Wukong's mind, "Great Saint, it's Kunpeng. That God-Beating Whip in Jiang Ziya's hands is peculiar. In my view, it must be that Jiang Ziya has fused the God-Beating Whip with Lei Gong's Whip. Otherwise, the God-Beating Whip alone couldn't possibly possess such immense Thunder System power."

Kunpeng is a supreme expert at comprehending the pathways of both the Wind System and the Water System, but he also had a strong intuition about the power of the Thunder System. Thus, he sensed the terrifying thunderous energy within the God-Beating Whip at first instance.

The God-Beating Whip, Sun Wukong knew, was the weapon of Shen Gongbao during the Investiture of the Gods, containing the supreme thunder from the Great Dao and was an even more formidable treasure than the Lei Gong's Drill in Lei Zhenzi's hands. He hadn't expected it to now be integrated by Jiang Ziya into the God-Beating Whip.

It was clear that he absolutely must not be struck by the God-Beating Whip. Not to mention the terrifying attack power, but the irresistible paralyzing force also made Sun Wukong dare not take it lightly.

In a battle of this level, perhaps a single moment of negligence could mean the difference between life and death.

At this moment, a thought suddenly arose in Sun Wukong's heart. This Taoist Sect seemed quite strange.

Not only had their powers surged crazily to the realm of half-step Great Path, but whether it was the Divine Artifacts they held or the attack methods they used, all were shockingly powerful.

Take Li Jing for instance, originally a regular Heavenly Court Marshal, yet suddenly he became a half-step Great Path supreme powerhouse and could even set up the Zhu Tian Stars Array that was not inferior to the Demon Clan's Great Formation. Had it not been for his Five Elements Chaotic Body reaching maturity, the outcome would still be uncertain.

And Zhen Yuanzi, if one could argue that Li Jing might have been concealing his cultivation all along, for Zhen Yuanzi it was definitely a sudden increase in strength.

Because whether it was during the journey to retrieve the scriptures or the recent counterattack against Heaven, the strength Zhen Yuanzi had shown was rather normal.

In fact, during the last assault on Heaven, when he was nearly obliterated by Master Tongtian and the Supreme Elder Lord, if Zhen Yuanzi had possessed the strength of a half-step Great Path then, even without fighting back, the Supreme Elder Lord probably wouldn't have been able to break his defense.

Moreover, not only had Zhen Yuanzi's power increased, but he'd also somehow obtained the Seven Treasures Exquisite Tree, and in the end, could forcibly fuse the two great trees into one with his soul power, a difficulty akin to forging a new Supreme Divine Artifact.

Now, facing Jiang Ziya, whose strength had similarly soared, and who held the God-Beating Whip that was a Supreme Divine Artifact after fusion – although like the Zhen Yuan Bodhi Treasure Tree in his own hands, it was an incomplete Supreme Divine Artifact, lacking a World Within the Artifact.

Sun Wukong couldn't help but smile bitterly upon this realization. Wasn't his own Jingu Bang also an incomplete Supreme Divine Artifact? Although it had given birth to a World Within the Artifact, it lacked the Divine Skills a Supreme Divine Artifact should have. It was more like an extremely hard Spatial Magical Treasure.

Shaking his head with another bitter smile, although some things were hard to come to terms with, he could only accept them. However, there was definitely something odd about this Taoist Sect.

With these thoughts in mind, Sun Wukong didn't dare to be careless. With a wave of his hand, the Zhen Yuan Bodhi Treasure Tree appeared. However, instead of holding the tree in his hand, it spun around Sun Wukong of its own accord.

Jiang Ziya, seeing Sun Wukong summoning an unheard-of treasure tree, did not dare to be careless either and immediately wielded the God-Beating Whip as if it were the wind. The white whip, after cutting through the void, revealed a pitch-black color, looking like a string of black evil dragons enveloped in terrifying thunder.

Yet, when the treasure tree appeared, it began to flip up and down, and each time, it cast a twelve-colored radiance. Although Jiang Ziya's each lash was full of attack power, upon encountering the twelve-colored radiance, they were all brushed away, and for a time, they couldn't harm Sun Wukong in the slightest.

Seeing the marvels of the Zhen Yuan Bodhi Treasure Tree, a name flashed in Jiang Ziya's mind: Seven Treasures Exquisite Brush Tree. But upon closer inspection, he noticed differences; the Seven Treasures Exquisite Brush Tree emitted Seven-Colored Divine Light, while this tree could cast a Twelve-Colored Radiance.

On the other side, the Guiding Immortal in the fierce battle with Kunpeng also beheld this miraculous sight, but he recognized it at once, "Jiang Ziya, this is not the Seven Treasures Exquisite Tree; it must be a fusion of the Seven Treasures Exquisite Tree and Zhen Yuanzi's Ginseng Fruit Tree. Be careful!"

And Sun Wukong, at this time, was already wielding the Jingu Bang, advancing towards Jiang Ziya!