Great Demon Sun Wukong

Xi Zhao and the others nodded. Although Sun Wukong and the Flame God did not have a good understanding of this grand reshuffle, Xi Zhao was keenly aware of the benefits and risks involved. Nevertheless, they all agreed with Yue Huangquan's last statement. No matter where one is, it is always better to have more friends than enemies.

"I suppose Caomei has already briefed you on the gist of the situation, so I won't go on about it. Although I do not know why the Heavenly Patroller has decided to reshuffle the powers of the ten directions, it's not important. What matters is what we can gain from this reshuffle, or at the very least, not lose anything."

After finishing, Yue Huangquan took another sip of wine, then turned to Xi Zhao and continued, "Demon Monarch Xi Zhao, I am aware of your past affairs, so if we can profit from this reshuffle, it will be of great help to you in the future."

He then looked towards the Flame God and said, "The last member of the Burst Phoenix Clan, I regret what happened to your clan. Although I can't help you exact revenge, I can offer you the most perfect body!" Hearing this, the Flame God was immediately filled with eager anticipation, almost drooling.

Finally, Yue Huangquan turned to Sun Wukong, seemingly in contemplation, and said, "Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong, I've always been unable to see through you. It seems you're hiding a great secret, so huge that even I cannot catch a glimpse of it. However, I can offer you a body that is exactly like your original one, and even stronger than it was then."

On hearing that he could regain his original body, Sun Wukong was overjoyed. After all, he had been using that body for thousands of years; if he were to resurrect in a different body, it would surely feel very uncomfortable.

After this, Yue Huangquan raised his glass from afar, and they all drank together again. Yue Huangquan then said, "Tomorrow, I will gather the other thirty-two participants of the Patrolling Celestial World trial and distribute the qualification tokens to you all.

Moreover, you should start getting familiar with each other right away, as the thirty-six people from the Netherworld World will be a team. The sooner you get to know each other, the better the chances of winning at that time. Also, tomorrow I will provide each of you with a body, because participating in the trial in just a soul state, that really is a fate worse than death!"

After this, Yue Huangquan discussed some details with Xi Zhao and the others, which we will not go into here. However, it is worth mentioning that after the meal, Yue Huangquan did not let the five individuals go back to rest, but instead took them to another place.

This place seemed to be a massive formation, a Great Formation spanning ten meters in diameter, maintained by seventy-two Nine Patterns Supremes.

"This is the Life Creation Great Formation that I specially laid out for the five of you. It serves no other purpose than to completely erase the aura of the Netherworld Fortuity Fruits from within your bodies.

Otherwise, the moment you appear in the Patrolling Celestial World, I'm afraid the Heavenly Patroller would wipe you out immediately, and even my own Netherworld World probably wouldn't be spared!"

At that moment, everyone remembered that the five of them, including the little fox, had just consumed the Forbidden Fruit known as the Netherworld Fortuity Fruit. If the Heavenly Patroller were to discover this, it would be truly catastrophic. Considering this, cold sweat and fear appeared on their faces.

Seeing their sudden change in expression, Yue Huangquan laughed and said, "Don't worry, don't be afraid. Since I've let you participate in the Patrolling Celestial World trial, I naturally have confidence that the Heavenly Patrollers will not be able to detect the aura within you. Otherwise, the ones to suffer would not just be you, but my Netherworld World might not survive either."

They all realized that if Yue Huangquan did not have absolute confidence, he would not dare to be so audacious. Otherwise, sacrificing his Netherworld World would be an utterly bad deal.

Thus, the five individuals followed Yue Huangquan's orders, each taking a position in the formation and sitting down on the hexagram Formation Patterns etched on the ground. Once they were seated and had calmed their minds, readying themselves, Yue Huangquan said nothing more and slowly walked to the very center of the Great Formation.

He then brought his hands together and pulled them apart, and a jade-like orange stele slowly appeared between his palms.

This is precisely the World Suppressing Stele belonging to Yue Huangquan, Soul Suppressing No. 5!

As soon as the Heavenly Stele appeared, an immense and unrivaled soul power swept out. Had Yue Huangquan not deliberately controlled it, just the Soul Storm raging on the stele could have scattered the souls of Sun Wukong and his companions. Yue Huangquan stretched forth his right hand, lifting the World Suppressing Stele, while his hands traced one pattern after another in the void.

Concurrently, the seventy-two Nine Patterns Supremes maintaining the formation on the periphery exhaled and chanted in unison. Although their voices were deafening, the exact words of their chants were indiscernible. The sound, divine in nature, upon reaching the ears of the five individuals, caused their eyebrows to furrow momentarily before relaxing once again.

Xi Zhao then suddenly clasped his hands together and struck a bizarre pose, followed by moving his lips, joining in the incantation with the surrounding seventy-two Supremes. Then came Caomei, Sun Wukong, Flame God, and lastly, the little fox.

Finally, all five took up the same pose and chanted the indescribable incantation, akin to scripture and Magical Decrees, together with the seventy-two Supremes.

Seeing that the five were immersed in their state, Yue Huangquan, with great caution, vibrated his right hand, and the Soul Suppressing Stele suddenly emitted layer upon layer of dense orange-yellow light. This light radiated from the stele, quickly enveloping everyone within the Great Formation.

From the outside, one could only see a large mass of orange-yellow light, with no visibility into any movements within the formation.

This went on for a full five Chinese Hours! After five Chinese Hours, at Yue Huangquan's muted command, the orange-yellow light that had consistently enveloped the Great Formation began to tremble.

Soon after, the light was completely absorbed by the five individuals positioned at the five Formation Eyes of the Great Formation, with Xi Zhao absorbing the most, followed by Caomei, Sun Wukong, Flame God, and the little fox.

After the five had absorbed the orange-yellow light, a plume of blue smoke suddenly rose from each person's body. Yet, as soon as the smoke left their bodies, it was drawn into Yue Huangquan's palm with a wave of his right hand, and with a rub in the void, the five strands of smoke turned into a dim gray elixir.

At this point, the aura of the Netherworld Fortuity Fruit on the five had been completely stripped away, yet the fruit's medicinal strength remained undiminished. However, Yue Huangquan, using the Suppression power of the World Suppressing Stele, forcefully secured the medicine's potency within the Dantian of each person.

As long as the Soul Suppressing Stele remained intact, the Suppression power would not fade.

At the same time, outside the Great Formation, the seventy-two Nine Patterns Supremes suddenly collapsed to the ground, startling Sun Wukong and the others. Xi Zhao, Flame God, and Sun Wukong hurriedly stood up and walked swiftly to three of the Supremes, using their Divine Sense to probe them.

Only then did they relax; it turned out that these individuals were merely exhausted from overextending their souls and Divine Senses, not dead from depletion. Otherwise, having lost so many lives just to strip away the aura of the Creation Fruit would have been unbearable for them.
Experience new tales on empire

Seeing Sun Wukong and Flame God behaving in such a way was one thing, but Yue Huangquan was struck by a thought when he noticed Xi Zhao also anxiously inspecting the conditions of his subordinates. The Demon Monarch who had once been invincible and slaughtered countless beings had truly become a person of kindness and approachability.

In the past, it wouldn't have mattered if seventy-two, seven hundred twenty, seven thousand twenty, or even seventy thousand twenty Supremes had fallen before him—he wouldn't have batted an eye. The title of Demon Monarch, synonymous with merciless killing, wasn't given lightly.

What had that once foremost individual among the Nine Great Divine Kingdoms, the Demon Monarch who had fought against three Domain Lords single-handedly without defeat, experienced after his death to have become like this?

Yue Huangquan still vividly remembered the first time he saw Demon Monarch Xi Zhao during his first battle of the Nine Kingdoms after his promotion to Domain Lord; his domineering aura was so overwhelming that it made Yue Huangquan feel unable to contend. That was the aura of a true tyrant, an air of supreme dominance that towered above all things.

Yet now, the world had transformed, fields had become seas; billions of years later, upon beholding him again, he had become one who would mourn and worry for the life of a Nine Patterns Supreme. And he had even made friends, often engaging in pranks to tease Sun Wukong and Flame God. Such change was indeed colossal.

All things under the heavens change unpredictably; who can truly understand it all? Reflecting on this, Yue Huangquan couldn't help but mock himself. Wasn't he the same? When he himself was called Tyrant, perhaps he was even more mad and dreadful!