Great Demon Sun Wukong

Feeling that indescribably terrifying aura, everyone's eyes were filled with horror. Sun Wukong pushed his Heaven and Earth Fire Eyes to the extreme, but all he saw was destruction upon destruction—a true semblance of destruction, one that couldn't be halted by human efforts! However, that daunting presence was but a flicker and didn't last long. Yet, when the momentum dispersed, everyone felt a sense of obstruction in their hearts, and they couldn't shake off the sensation that a catastrophe was imminent.

That sensation was unclear, indistinct, and if forced to describe it, it could be understood as a hanging sword above everyone's head, which at any moment could fall and decapitate them. It took Sun Wukong and the others half a Chinese hour to recover, and when they looked at each other, they saw shock in each other's eyes. Especially the Dragon Emperor and the others, who were native ferocious beasts of the Patrolling Celestial World, yet they didn't understand where that terrifying breath had come from.

"The plan has changed. The Annihilation Demon Nation has been eliminated. My master's fate is now unknown, and the whereabouts of our allied forces are also a mystery. I must immediately rush back; nothing is more important than my master's life. Ming Tiekuang, I am aware of the purpose of your existence, rest assured, there are many Underworld God armies there too, and the killings won't be few. Old Sandy, let's go!" Having said that, Sun Wukong had no mood to say more. He sacrificed the Wonderful Bodhi Tree and merged it into his body, then his figure vanished directly.

After a slight hesitation, the Dragon Emperor and the others—Wu Ming, Hei Kui, Ye Zi, and Hidden Mountain—all set their gazes upon the Dragon Emperor. The Dragon Emperor's brows furrowed slightly, he sighed as he looked in the direction Sun Wukong had disappeared, then his body shone with golden light and he took to the sky, pursuing in the direction Sun Wukong vanished. Seeing the Dragon Emperor give chase, Ye Zi and the others also soared into the sky. Though still apprehensive, they had to follow for their own goals.

In the end, only Ming Tiekuang was left alone. Seeing that everyone else had followed Sun Wukong, leaving him the only one—even if unwilling—he had no choice but to follow. The Dragon Emperor didn't have much stake in Sun Wukong, it was wholly due to his pride and dignity as the Dragon Emperor, valuing promises over life itself, and more than promises, were the tens of thousands of dragons in his Dragon Valley.

Even though he didn't trust Sun Wukong's so-called allied forces, he dared not neglect to follow for the sake of his dragons. In his view, exchanging his life for the peace of tens of thousands of dragons was worth it. Wu Ming and Hei Kui had no vested interest in Sun Wukong either; their choice was solely for the chance to leave the Patrolling Celestial World afterward, with freedom being their utmost priority. Hidden Mountain followed Hei Kui entirely, and the only one who needed something from Sun Wukong was Ye Zi, as he needed Sun Wukong to use the branch of the Wonderful Bodhi Tree and the capacity of the Five Elements Balance within him to resurrect his brother Ye Wu.

So after weighing the situation in silence, they all followed suit. Sensing the presence behind him, a touch of emotion couldn't help but rise in Sun Wukong's heart. He turned back and cupped his fists towards the Dragon Emperor and the others, then suddenly accelerated, almost using a speed akin to spatial jumping towards the direction of the great explosion at the Annihilation Palace. Ming Tiekuang, naturally swift, followed quickly despite some hesitation. And so, the group of eight used their utmost speed, yet even so, it would take at least two days and nights to reach the Annihilation Palace, or rather, where it once stood.

Turning our gaze back to the Annihilation Palace, after enduring continuous explosions for a day and night and roughly a full daylight's time beyond that, the remnants of the explosion and dust finally settled. And the people from all nearby forces arrived at the edge of the pit that resembled a bottomless abyss as soon as possible. Naturally, the first to arrive were the people of the Myriad Demon King. At that moment, led by Ling Weiyang, about half of the strong individuals from the Myriad Demons Country, arrived at the edge of the pit as soon as the explosion's aftermath dissipated.

The people of the Myriad Demons Country also felt that destructive aura, originally thinking it was caused by the explosion. But as the explosion ceased, the oppression from that destructive aura intensified instead, and everyone could feel the immense pressure of being completely obliterated in an instant.

"Zhaoju, can you detect anything?" Ling Weiyang stood at the edge of the pit, looking into its bottomless darkness, his brows furrowed as he spoke. Bai Zhaoju shook his head and said, "Aside from that aura of destruction, I cannot sense anything else. But considering the earlier voice mentioned the World Suppressing Stele of the Annihilation Demon Nation shattering, it looks like Qian Yuye and the others must have perished. This is definitely not good news for us!"

Ling Weiyang's brows furrowed even more tightly, he sighed and said, "It's not just not good news, it's a calamity. First, we have not secured the Annihilation Palace, and second, Qian Yuye along with the entire three thousand Underworld God Army are missing. Although their Immortal Bodies are formidable, such explosive power could still likely lead to their actual death. Immortality has its limits. And most importantly, our Supreme Order has disappeared. We can forget about whether the Supreme Order was destroyed by the explosion, even if it wasn't, it's simply impossible to locate now. Alas, man's plans pale beside those of heaven; those maniacs from Annihilation Demon Nation, all of them were madmen!"

The Annihilation Demon Nation's act of self-destruction not only wrought catastrophe upon themselves but also triggered severe censure. They were stripped of the World Suppressing Stele, forever barred from being promoted to a Divine Kingdom, and their subordinate forces were greatly reduced. It could be said that the Annihilation Demon Nation was truly finished, plummeting from the first among the Six Great Divine Nations to a mere high-level world. Although Mo Mietian still had his plans and many other contingencies and trump cards, without the World Suppressing Stele, not to mention the substantial decline in the strength of his demon nation, his own personal power would also be significantly reduced.

What Mo Mietian did not know was that the Myriad Demons Country, his most reliable ally until now, had completely betrayed him.

It could be said that everything that befell the Annihilation Demon Nation at this moment was singlehandedly facilitated by Ling Weiyang of the Myriad Demons Country. Being stabbed in the back by one's most steadfast ally might not have been a fatal blow, but it did inflict a heavy blow on the Annihilation Demon Nation. Mo Mietian had once said to Hidden Realm of the Myriad Demons Country, before the start of the Patrolling Celestial World trials and after the conclusion of the Six Kingdoms War, that if the Annihilation Demon Nation was eliminated from the ranks of the Divine Kingdoms, or if it did not come in first place, then he would immediately erupt in a huge war with the full might of his nation. At that time, Hidden Realm had readily agreed.

But now, Mo Mietian was no longer capable of fulfilling these bold declarations. On the very night that the World Suppressing Stele in the Annihilation Palace of the Patrolling Celestial World self-destructed, the Spirit Controller and Heavenly Patroller, leading twelve envoys, descended upon the Annihilation Demon Nation. After announcing the events of the Patrolling Celestial World and the corresponding punishment, they forcefully reclaimed "Destruction Number One" of the World Suppressing Stele. Moreover, because Mo Mietian resisted to the death, he was severely injured by a palm strike from the Heavenly Patroller. In the end, sparing his life due to his not having committed any major offenses, they left him be.

Before departing, the Heavenly Patroller struck once more, sending thirty thousand soldiers from Mo Mietian's fully assembled army back to their respective worlds. The armies of all Divine Kingdoms, other than those from their own Divine Kingdom, were comprised of elite troops and excellent generals selected from their subordinate high-level worlds. After all, Divine Kingdoms needed to have absolute ruling and controlling power; it was impossible to allow the military strength of subordinate high-level worlds to exceed their own.

And now, the thirty thousand troops sent away by the Patrolling Celestial World were precisely from the three high-level worlds that had been stripped from the rule of the Annihilation Demon Nation. Considering the Annihilation Demon Nation only had a total of five high-level worlds, and now with three stripped away, only two remained, the overall strength of the Annihilation Demon Nation had plummeted by more than half.

After the Heavenly Patroller and Spirit Controller left the Annihilation Demon Nation, Mo Mietian almost went mad with fury. If not for the severe injury inflicted by the Heavenly Patroller's palm strike, it's likely that, in his rage, Mo Mietian would have destroyed the entire Imperial City. In just one night, Mo Mietian aged greatly; the once invincible arrogance and haughtiness disappeared entirely. The current Mo Mietian was probably unrecognizable even to those who knew him best.

Of course, the news of the Annihilation Demon Nation's predicament quickly reached the ears of the other Great Divine Nations and high-level worlds. The most excited of all was Hidden Realm, the Myriad Demon King of Myriad Demons Country. Upon receiving the news, Hidden Realm immediately ordered the cessation of all alliance activities with the Annihilation Demon Nation, and he increased their defensive readiness against them. At the same time, he paused all actions of his major plan's participants. Now that his plans had succeeded, there was naturally no need for the Myriad Demons Country to join the Annihilation Demon Nation in any great war, so the people involved in the major plan also needed no further directives.

When Mo Mietian found out about the Myriad Demons Country's actions the next day, he was so furious he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted. It's better to fight with gentlemen than to associate with villains. Mo Mietian truly, truly never expected that his ally of several hundred thousand years would actually betray him, striking him with a deadly blow at the most critical moment.

In contrast to the excitement of Myriad Demon King Hidden Realm, the Domain Lord Lei Wanfa of the Transforming Thunder Ancestral Realm and the Domain Lord Ling Yi of Myriad Spirits Realm were secretly pleased and relieved. Although their nations were also eliminated, and Transforming Thunder Ancestral Realm lost the opportunity to be promoted to a Divine Kingdom, while Myriad Spirits Realm was eliminated from the Divine Kingdoms, they were so much better off than the Annihilation Demon Nation, which suffered no additional losses except for the deaths of all those who participated in the Patrolling Celestial World trials—a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

Xuan Qianzi, the Domain Lord of the Ancient Primordial World, on the other hand, had a deep frown on his face. Not only was the Annihilation Demon Nation eliminated, but it also faced such a tragic fate; could his Ancient Primordial World possibly fare any better? He had been secretly allied with the Annihilation Demon Nation, but then he thought that among the ten major powers, now three had been eliminated with the Annihilation Demon Nation; only one more needed to be eliminated for his Ancient Primordial World to secure at least sixth place and thus be promoted to a Divine Kingdom!

As for Yue Huangquan, the Domain Lord of the Netherworld World, Bu Rechen, the Domain Lord of the Myriad Gods Hall, Hong Che, the Domain Lord of the Canglan River Realm, Xiao He, the Domain Lord of the Genesis Divine Nation, and Mu Dongsheng, the Domain Lord of the Fangcun Spirit Realm, they all continuously prayed in their hearts. They just had to hold on a little longer, and as long as one more was eliminated, becoming a Divine Kingdom would be as certain as a nail hammered into a board! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Starting Point (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and Monthly Passes, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)