Great Demon Sun Wukong

At first, Sun Wukong did not realize what he had heard and took a while to react. What Wu Zhiqi meant was that the Flame God had disappeared, likely seen by Wu Zhiqi during the recent storm. Ignoring the pain of his wounds, Sun Wukong hurried towards the location of Wu Zhiqi and Hei Kui. By now, Sun Wukong was not concerned about a sudden attack from the Nine Kirin, for he had already scoured the nearby area with his Divine Sense without finding any trace of them. However, he had also not found the Flame God, which was the reason for his delayed reaction.

Grabbing Wu Zhiqi's arm, Sun Wukong quickly asked, "What happened? Did you see something?" Wu Zhiqi stopped his search and said with a grim face, "During the sandstorm, I saw the Flame God being surrounded by those people, so I thought of rescuing him. But when I fended off those people, I discovered that the Flame God had disappeared. Then the sandstorm erupted, and I passed out, buried in the sand!" Wu Zhiqi's cultivation was much more advanced than Sun Wukong's, giving him a vastly broader and deeper scope for his Divine Sense. Even with his Divine Sense extended to the utmost, he had not detected any sign of the Flame God.

Hei Kui said, "It looks like the most likely possibility is that the Flame God was seized by the Nine Kirin amidst the chaos. The World Suppressing Stele was taken by me and the Flame God together. My strength is at the Heavenly Venerate Primary Stage, and they would definitely have a hard time dealing with me, so they chose the Flame God, whose strength was similar to theirs. Furthermore, the Flame God's fire abilities were greatly suppressed, leaving him utterly powerless to resist. However, I can't figure out how they managed to escape from here. Even with my cultivation, I couldn't get away and even fainted. It seems highly unlikely for the Nine Kirin to have escaped!"

Sun Wukong also frowned tightly. The situation was indeed serious. Falling into their hands, the Flame God's fate was more likely to be dire. Yet, since the Flame God had consumed the Netherworld Fortuity Fruit, the others certainly wouldn't kill him. But it was very likely they might subject him to severe torture or disable his cultivation. The thought of the Flame God losing his cultivation was unbearable, as it would be a fate worse than death. Meanwhile, Sun Wukong's mind was racing. After a while, he said, "I think the sandstorm just now was probably not a natural phenomenon of this world, but closely related to the Nine Kirin. It's very possible that they created the sandstorm as a diversion to abduct the Flame God and then extract the whereabouts of the World Suppressing Stele from him!"

Thinking it through, Sun Wukong added, "I think it's highly likely. You've been here for quite some time, Hei Kui, with no anomalies, but as soon as the Nine Kirin arrived, this sandstorm occurred – that's no coincidence. Also, when the sandstorm swept in, we were all taken aback, but the Nine Kirin took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on us, showing they aren't afraid of the storm. Yet, the storm was composed of the Nine Heavens Clear Wind and Nine Heavens Pure Earth, which would instill fear in any normal person. There's only one reasonable explanation: the storm was created by them!"

Having a moment of realization, Wu Zhiqi said, "No wonder they were almost unaffected when fighting with me in the sandstorm. If they hadn't suddenly retreated, I might not have been able to beat them!" With that analysis, things became clear. "We've underestimated these nine creatures. The Nine Kirin's schemes are probably not far behind Ling Weiyang's in their depths; we've all been manipulated." Speaking, Sun Wukong's fists clenched so tightly they creaked. He regarded the Flame God as a brother. If it turned out that the Flame God had met with misfortune, Sun Wukong swore to annihilate the Nine Kirin in vengeance!

The three returned to Sha Wujing and the Sword Hero with sullen faces. Noticing their expressions, Rogue Heart Sword Hero felt that something was amiss. After inquiring, Sun Wukong shared his suspicions. Upon hearing them, Rogue Heart Sword Hero smashed his fist into the ground, saying spitefully, "We've been too careless! Damn it, those Nine Kirin are indeed not easy adversaries. Now what do we do?" By now, Sha Wujing had cleaned and bandaged the wound on Rogue Heart Sword Hero's back.

"Search; although it's very likely that the Nine Kirin have already left, we still have to comb through this world. Otherwise, I'll never be content. They must have used a teleportation array to escape somewhere else in this world previously, and I suspect they did the same this time. Under those circumstances, even they wouldn't be able to break through the space of this world. Sword Hero, you're injured. I'll take you into my space, and the five of us will go search!"

However, Rogue Heart Sword Hero slowly stood up, waved his hand, and said, "I will not shrink back. Ever since I chose this path, I can only move forward. This is but a minor injury; it doesn't matter!" Seeing the resolute look in the Sword Hero's eye, Sun Wukong said no more, as each person had their own path to tread. Sword Hero had chosen a path that allowed for no retreat, and Sun Wukong naturally would not belabor the point. With a nod, the group rose into the air and began a meticulous search. Not even an hour passed before the once subsided sands began to stir again. Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing quickly reinforced Sword Hero with two shields. Shortly after, the sandstorm intensified to the point where visibility was reduced to mere meters, and Divine Sense was significantly disrupted. Under these conditions, the best course of action would be to halt the search as even the mighty Divine Sense of Wu Zhiqi and Hei Kui could only probe as far as ten thousand meters, drastically reducing the speed of the search. At this rate, to fully explore this world would take at least two to three months, by which time, the Nine Kirin, no matter what, would have long since gone.

But Sun Wukong was not reconciled, truly not reconciled. If they had encountered an opponent so powerful that they were completely unable to contend with it, and everyone had been defeated without the slightest ability to resist, and then the Flame God had been taken away, there would have been no fault, no alternative. Or if they had lost after a fierce fight with the enemy, and the Flame God was captured, that would have been understandable. But the current situation was that they were all unharmed yet the Flame God was taken away, and this they could not accept.

After searching the area for about seven or eight days and still coming up empty-handed, they had no choice but to return to the Netherworld World first. So much time had passed that the Nine Kirin must have already left. Continuing the search would be futile; rather than waste time here, it was better to return to the Netherworld World to think of other measures. After all, since the Flame God had consumed the Netherworld Fortuity Fruit, he would definitely not be killed. As long as he was not dead, there was still a chance. Sun Wukong and the other four cast a final, reluctant glance at this world filled with yellow sand before they finally left. On the way back to the Netherworld World, Sun Wukong suddenly asked, "Where exactly is the World Suppressing Stele?"

As soon as Wukong spoke, the expressions on both Rogue Heart Sword Hero and Hei Kui's faces changed dramatically, becoming extremely ugly. Without needing their response, just by observing their expressions, Wukong guessed much of the truth. "Could it really be on the Flame God's person? This, this..." Wukong could hardly believe it. How could something so important be placed on the Flame God? At that moment, Rogue Heart Sword Hero let out a deep sigh: "I had not planned to tell you, but since you've asked, it's not good to keep it from you. The Demon Transcending Stele Number Six was indeed on the Flame God. The Flame God was originally from the Myriad Demons Country, so he and the Demon Transcending Stele Number Six were the most compatible. None of us could make the Heavenly Stele recognize a master; only the Flame God succeeded, so Demon Transcending Stele Number Six was given to him. And the Flame God was also appointed as the Deputy Domain Lord by Lord Yue Huangquan. But we didn't expect such a thing to happen!"

"But that's not right. During the time at the Patrolling Celestial World, wasn't it impossible for the Flame God to merge with the Heavenly Stele?" Sun Wukong asked, puzzled. The Rogue Heart Sword Hero explained, "No, the Flame God and the Demon Transcending Stele Number Six were very compatible; he succeeded in mastering it on the first attempt. During the time at the Patrolling Celestial World, Xi Zhao must have employed some kind of trick. Unfortunately, just when we had finally seized the World Suppressing Stele, we're probably going to have to give it back to Ling Weiyang." After finishing, the Rogue Heart Sword Hero sighed deeply once again. Sun Wukong suddenly felt an intense sense of self-blame. Snatching the World Suppressing Stele was something that the Flame God and Hei Kui had obtained through countless desperate efforts, but now it had been lost due to his own involvement and had also implicated the Flame God. How could Sun Wukong not feel deeply guilty?

But no matter how guilty he felt, he could only keep it to himself. Nothing eventful happened along the way, but Wukong and his group didn't head directly to the Netherworld World. With their current state, they were unable to return to the Netherworld World, which only allowed souls to enter. However, this was not an absolute rule; entry was possible at a certain cost. For example, Pangu of Genesis Divine Nation had once entered the Netherworld World in his true form. But clearly, Wukong and his companions didn't need to do so, so the group went to the high-level world they had visited when they had previously returned from the Patrolling Celestial World.

Now, this high-level world had become the usual dwelling place for mighty beings like the Sword Hero. It was not surprising that the Soul Kingdom of the Netherworld possessed normal high-level worlds as dependencies, because many things were certainly not suitable for a soul body to perform, moreover, the people from the Netherworld couldn't leave, and Yue Huangquan did not have that many physical bodies to spare. When Sun Wukong and the others arrived, Rogue Heart Sword Hero sent word to Yue Huangquan.

It didn't take long for Yue Huangquan, Zhan Yunyi, Shang Sheng Du Tianyang, and the originally of Myriad Spirits Realm, the enigmatic Xu Miao, following behind Yue Huangquan, to arrive in this high-level world. Although Zhan Yunyi, Shang Sheng, and Du Tianyang were also beings with physical bodies, they were clearly permitted by Yue Huangquan to move freely through the Netherworld World. Another individual had come along with Yue Huangquan on this occasion, a woman of remarkable beauty.

"We pay our respects to Lord Yue Huangquan, to Lord Star Sinker!" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation vote and Monthly Pass. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)