Great Demon Sun Wukong

But for the black dragon that spiraled towards him, Wukong didn’t even spare it a glance. Clasping the staff with both hands, a streak of red-golden flame suddenly surged from his palms — the Sun Golden Fire! The already potent Jingu Bang, now imbued with the highly penetrating Sun Golden Fire, would certainly injure Jiang Ziya if it landed a hit, potentially causing severe damage.

Initially counting on the black dragon to snare the Jingu Bang, Jiang Ziya realized the situation was dire as soon as a treasured glow flashed from the little tree beside Wukong and twelve colors of radiant light swept out. Jiang Ziya hastily clenched his God-Beating Whip, using it as a short stick to fend off Wukong’s strike.

Sure enough, as the twelve-colored glow swept past, the black dragon dissipated into nothingness. At the same time, the Jingu Bang harshly struck the God-Beating Whip. In the next moment, Jiang Ziya was sent flying backward, blood spurting from his mouth. However, while being thrown back, Jiang Ziya miraculously righted his body, then pointed his whip at a distance before trailing it behind him.

After completing this action, he crashed into the body of the Guiding Immortal, who had transformed into the Golden Giant Buddha.

Jiang Ziya was fortunate; had he collided with Kunpeng, he very likely would have been met with Kunpeng’s sharp claws.

Having sent Jiang Ziya flying with a single blow, Wukong was about to pursue when he suddenly felt an immense Thunder System power approaching from behind. This power was hurtling towards him at an inconceivable speed. Recalling Jiang Ziya’s peculiar movements as he flew backward, Wukong guessed that it was another attack from him.

Wukong dared not be careless. Under his full command, the Zhen Yuan Bodhi Treasure Tree suddenly began to grow explosively, rapidly expanding to a thirty-meter-tall tree with twelve-colored treasured radiance flowing around it, which was incredibly striking.

However, Wukong had no time to appreciate the sight because the attack had already arrived. Like a twenty-meter-tall silver-white kirin forged from lightning, roaring as it charged from the Pangu Realm towards Wukong.

"Haha, Jiang Ziya, it seems you’ve run out of tricks. The real kirin is battling Beyond the Heavens, and you still dare to summon an illusion of it? Haha, you’re giving me a good laugh," Wukong taunted.

No sooner had he finished speaking, Wukong prepared to smash the thunderous kirin with the Jingu Bang, now over thirty meters long. But just as he was lifting his staff, an urgent cry rang in his ear: "Great Saint, don’t! Use the treasure tree!"

Recognizing the voice as Kunpeng’s, and sensing his urgency, a hint of doubt flickered in Wukong’s mind. Was there something unusual about this Thunder Kirin? Despite his suspicions, Wukong decided to follow Kunpeng’s advice. After all, Demon Master Kunpeng’s reputation was by no means unearned. And being a great demon of ancient times, his insights were incomparable to Wukong’s.

Thus, Wukong hesitated only briefly before stowing away the Jingu Bang and commanding the towering thirty-meter Zhen Yuan Bodhi Treasure Tree to fiercely sweep at the Thunder Kirin.

Wukong, who had been rather dismissive before, broke into a cold sweat when he realized that the Thunder Kirin could actually withstand the twelve-colored radiance. Thankfully, he hadn’t been arrogant and had listened to Kunpeng’s advice — there was indeed something mysterious about the Thunder Kirin.

As the Thunder Kirin collided with the twelve-colored radiance, it managed to hold its ground for a moment before gradually pressing against the radiance, even showing signs of overpowering it. Alarmed by this sight, Wukong hurriedly approached the Zhen Yuan Bodhi Tree, wrapped his arms around its trunk, and launched seven consecutive sweeps at the Thunder Kirin.

Finally, the Thunder Kirin dissipated with a reluctant roar. After it vanished, Wukong was left panting heavily from exertion.

Normally, the twelve-colored glow from the Zhen Yuan Bodhi Treasure Tree didn’t require the input of Wukong’s spiritual power; the power it absorbed on its own was sufficient to function. However, against an attack as terrifying as the Thunder Kirin, Wukong had to personally control and inject a tremendous amount of spiritual power to meet the challenge.

Seven sweeps, just seven of them, had drained more than half of Wukong’s spiritual power, and his physical strength was also severely depleted.

Kunpeng, from a distance, had originally planned to strike at Jiang Ziya while he was injured, risking his own injuries and then dealing another blow with the hope of either killing or crippling his combat power. However, as soon as he sensed that force of thunder from afar, he abruptly abandoned his attack.

After alerting Sun Wukong, he quickly retreated to Wukong’s side and watched Guiding Daoist and Jiang Ziya intently.

That thunder might not be recognized by Sun Wukong, but Kunpeng recognized it. Although it seemed no different from ordinary thunder in appearance or sensation, anyone who treated it as such would face only one outcome: complete assimilation into the Heavenly Dao.

That thunder was the Heavenly Dao’s Transforming Thunder. Any living being struck by this thunder, unless they were at the Saint Realm of the Great Dao or above, would be integrated and absorbed by the Heavenly Dao, their consciousness erased, and become part of its power.

However, there were certain constraints to this thunder; someone must be willing to sacrifice themselves to connect with the Heavenly Dao to guide this Transforming Thunder down.

Thus, the instant Kunpeng recognized the thunder, he hurriedly informed Sun Wukong. Otherwise, if Wukong underestimated it, the consequences could be disastrous. Fortunately, Wukong was cautious enough to heed his warning; the outcome would have been unimaginable otherwise.

Having transformed back into human form, Kunpeng supported Sun Wukong, remaining vigilant as he watched the two individuals across from them. The duo opposite were no better; Guiding Daoist too dissolved his Golden Giant Buddha and returned to human form, helping the panting Jiang Ziya, all while looking warily at Sun Wukong and Kunpeng.

For a time, the four stood there in an awkward standoff. Although each knew the other contained an injured member and that attacking now would be opportune, both sides were also unsure if the injuries were genuine or a ruse to bait an attack for a joint counterattack. Thus, each waited for the other to reveal a flaw to decide whether to attack or retreat. Discover exclusive content at empire

Yes, retreat. It wasn’t just a life-and-death struggle between two, or even four individuals. Unless there were deep-seated grudges, there was no need to stubbornly fight to the death here. If they could escape and find another battle in Beyond the Heavens, joining the fray there was equally a sound strategy.

So it was, a quarter of an hour went by. Suddenly, Sun Wukong let out a deep breath, then stood up relaxedly with a smile, addressing Jiang Ziya and Guiding Daoist, "Just now, you missed a great opportunity. And it seems, Jiang Ziya is truly injured. Hehe, now, it’s our turn to have the upper hand."

After speaking, Sun Wukong and Kunpeng simultaneously moved, vanishing from their spot. Guiding Daoist and Jiang Ziya’s expressions changed, inwardly cursing. It seemed that even if Wukong hadn’t been injured, he definitely suffered great exhaustion. But by the time they realized, it was too late.

Feeling the two deadly threats approach, Guiding Daoist threw his ancient lamp emanating a yellowish glow upwards, and a dull yellow light cascaded down, encompassing both Guiding Daoist and Jiang Ziya within it.

Simultaneously, Sun Wukong’s Golden Hoop and Kunpeng’s claws struck the protective barrier. Half a breath later, the light barrier shattered with a sound.

However, that half-breath of interference bought time for Guiding Daoist and Jiang Ziya to react. With a point from Guiding Daoist’s hand, the ancient lamp in mid-air suddenly burst into thousands of light spots, while Jiang Ziya also threw his God-Beating Whip, which transformed into a swarm of black dragons, twirling together with the light spots towards Sun Wukong and Kunpeng.

"Great Saint, be very careful with this ancient lamp; it’s not simple. It is a fusion of Buddha of the Banner of Light’s banner and Ancient Buddha of the Lamp’s light, having reached the level of a quasi-Supreme Divine Artifact," Kunpeng said quickly as they dodged.

Hearing Kunpeng’s words, Sun Wukong paused, yet another fused quasi-Supreme Divine Artifact! Although surprised, Wukong reacted quickly. As the ancient lamp shot out thousands of light spots, the Zhen Yuan Bodhi Treasure Tree beside Sun Wukong also reverted to its original size and began to spin rapidly around him, swiftly brushing out streaks of twelve-colored radiance.

Kunpeng watched in amazement, and Guiding Daoist was even more astonished. This treasure tree was simply a defense paragon. Whether it was a solo or group attack, it could deflect all. Possessing this treasure was like having an absolute defense.

The fusion of the supremely offensive World Suppressing Stele and the supreme defensive Zhen Yuan Bodhi Treasure Tree had taken Sun Wukong’s strength to a terrifying level without notice!

(This chapter is specially added for students without IDs and the concave-convex students. Sanzang follows through on his words, thank you for your efforts. Keep up the good work in the future.)