Chapter 32: Who Stabbed a Hole in Heaven

The violet qi over Gao Lao Zhuang swirled like a basin of ink splashed and churned into a thin mess.

That Eye of Heavenly Punishment stared dead at the old Taoist in white below.

No sign at all.

Bodhi moved.

He neither used that branch that seemed to have broken from nowhere, nor any spell.

He simply arched his back slightly.

Like a fully drawn strong bow, poised to release.

"Crack."

It was the wail of space unable to bear the crushing pressure.

"Hongjun."

Bodhi's voice was soft, yet it pierced the thunderous sky, clearly drilling into the ears of every Living Being present.

"You fit the Heavenly Dao, and for this so‑called order, you forged yourself into a stone."

He lifted his head, a trademarkly cynical smile on his face.

"Thinking you're the master here just because you're the Heavenly Dao's dog?"

A crack finally appeared on Hongjun's blurred visage.

Not because of Fear Heart Demon.

It was because of humiliation.

How many Yuan Assemblies have passed.

Since Zi Xiao Gong began preaching and enfeoffed the Sacred Seat, who dared utter even a single "no" to him?

Even the most arrogant Tongtian, upon seeing him, must respectfully kowtow and call him Master.

Now.

Someone actually called him a dog.

"Seeking death."

Hongjun gently waved the bamboo staff in his hand.

That swing did not summon gale or towering waves.

Instead it directly invoked the three thousand Great Dao principles.

Golden chains, azure vines, black weak water…

Countless rule‑lines representing the ultimate principles of Heaven and Earth poked out of the void, like a horde of snakes smelling blood, coiling toward Bodhi.

This is erasure on the level of rules.

As long as one remains in the primeval wild, as long as one is within this world, no one can escape.

Unless you do not belong here.

"Flashy and ostentatious."

Bodhi curled his lip.

The void behind him suddenly split open a huge mouth.

Not a black hole.

But a void purer than black.

Within that void, a massive black silhouette slowly floated up.

Its face was indistinct.

Only the body exuded an ancient, barbaric, tyrannical aura.

It was the Chaotic Demon God.

Before Heaven and Earth were opened, it was the true overlord that fought its way out of the chaotic primordial void.

In its hand, it grasped an illusory giant axe.

Though it had no substance, the very notion of opening the heavens and splitting the earth made everyone present shudder.

Pangu Axe Intent.

"Sever."

Bodhi softly uttered a word.

The demon god's illusory shadow behind him simultaneously swung the giant axe.

There was no sound.

The surging Great Dao chains that rushed forward snapped like threads cut by scissors, all breaking apart at once.

Crumbling.

Dispersing.

Turning into the most primitive spiritual energy, returning to Heaven and Earth.

Hongjun's bamboo staff trembled violently.

A fine crack appeared on the staff's shaft.

"This can't be!"

Hongjun's voice finally ceased to be calm.

He stared fixedly at the demon god's illusory shadow, shock flooding his eyes like a raging tide.

"Law of Strength?!"

"Pangu is dead, how could you possibly wield such power?!"

Law of Strength.

The foremost of the Three Thousand Great Dao.

One force breaks ten thousand laws.

That was the foundation when Pangu the Great God single-handedly fought the three thousand demon gods and opened up the primordial world.

"You talk too much."

Bodhi had no interest in explaining.

He took a step forward.

This step directly crossed the spatial distance, appearing before Hongjun.

He raised his fist.

He blasted it out.

A simple, straightforward punch.

Just like street thugs fighting, with no techniques whatsoever.

But when this punch was thrown, the surrounding space didn't shatter; it simply vanished.

It became nothingness.

It became a vacuum.

This is pure power, expressed to its utmost.

Hongjun didn't even have time to dodge.

He could only hastily summon the Creation Jade Disc, pouring forth a sheet of warm, moist light to try to block this strike.

Thud!

A muffled sound.

Like striking a broken drum.

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

But the entire area beyond the Thirty-three Heavens violently trembled at that moment.

That sheet of warm, moist light couldn't even last a blink, shattering like a bubble.

The fist's momentum did not wane.

It heavily struck Hongjun's chest.

Pfft.

Hongjun's whole body, like a kite with its string cut, flew backward.

He flew a full thirty thousand li.

He shattered countless layers of spatial barriers before barely stopping.

He lowered his head to glance at his chest.

The Dao robe condensed from Heavenly Dao's rules was torn with a large hole.

At the corner of his mouth, a strand of golden liquid slowly seeped out.

That was Dao Rhythm.

It was also the blood of a Saint.

Below Gaolao Village.

Sun Wukong stared so hard his eyes almost popped out.

His palms, gripping the Golden Cudgel, were drenched in sweat.

This is what real fighting is.

This is the power he had dreamed of.

What Seventy-two Transformations, what Heaven-Earth Correspondence.

Before Master's punch, it was nothing more than children playing house.

"Mas... Master is so awesome."

Nezha stood nearby, his jaw dropped to the ground, unable to pick it up.

He glanced at his fire-tip spear in hand, suddenly feeling it was no different from a fire stick.

"Look."

Sun Wukong pointed at the sorry figure in the sky and grinned.

"I just said he's a cricket."

"The way he vomited blood after being hit is like a worm in the soil being cut in half."

Nezha swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

He didn't dare to respond.

Only this monkey would dare say that.

That's the Dao Ancestor!

He's the big boss of this heaven and earth!

Beyond the Thirty-three Heavens.

The gates of Zixiao Palace were tightly shut.

Tongtian Sect Leader, Yuanshi Tianzun, Taishang Laojun.

These three Saints, usually high above, were now shrunk in the palace, watching this scene through the Water Mirror Technique.

Nobody spoke.

The atmosphere was oppressively terrifying.

Yuanshi Tianzun's hand trembled.

That punch just now, if it had hit him…

I'm afraid even the Original Spirit would be shattered, returning directly to the Heavenly Dao.

"Master… is injured."

Tongtian Sect Leader said dryly.

Those five words were like five mountains, pressing on the three of them.

Heaven collapsed.

This time it really collapsed.

At the battlefield's center.

Hongjun wiped the blood from his mouth corner.

His complexion turned extremely grim, and in those usually indifferent eyes, the emotion called trepidation appeared for the first time.

He stared at the white‑robed elder standing in the void, leisurely adjusting his sleeves.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Deduction.

Deduction in a frenzy.

But no matter how he activated the Creation Jade Disc, everything about Bodhi was a blank.

As if this person never existed at any point in past, present, or future.

"You…"

Hongjun inhaled deeply, forcibly suppressing the surging Qi in his body.

"You are not a person of this realm."

His voice was hoarse, with a hint of certainty.

"All primordial living beings are beneath the Heavenly Dao."

"You have no karma, no destiny on you."

"Even…"

Hongjun's gaze fell on the demonic god's phantom behind Bodhi.

His pupils contracted sharply.

"You are the one who fled into Deep Chaos back then…"

"Who is that?"

Bodhi dug his ear, looking impatient.

He flicked away nonexistent earwax from his fingertip.

"Don't randomly claim kinship."

"I am not familiar with you."

Hongjun ignored his mockery.

That name, deep in his memory, was a taboo.

It was a being even Pangu found troublesome.

"Void."

Hongjun slowly uttered two words.

"Void Demon God."

The moment those four words were spoken.

The surrounding space suddenly fell silent.

Even the wind ceased to move.

Bodhi raised an eyebrow.

He seemed a bit surprised.

"Yo."

"Seems your old self still has a good memory."

"You actually can recognize me."

He gave a smile.

That smile held no warmth.

Only an endless abyss.

"What?"

"Want to reminisce?"

"Or want to keep fighting?"

Bodhi shook his fist.

"That punch just now, I only used thirty percent of my strength."

"The next punch."

"I might not be able to hold back and blast your head off."

Hongjun fell silent.

His hand gripping the bamboo staff tightened and loosened, loosened and tightened.

Fight?

How to fight?

The opponent is a Chaotic Demon God, whose corporeal body is unmatched in strength, and the law of force curtails all flashy divine arts.

And it looks like this guy is not suppressed by the Heavenly Dao at all.

If one were to strike with full force in the primeval world…

Hongjun cast a glance at the fragile world beneath his feet.

I'm afraid the outcome hasn't been decided yet.

This primeval earth will be hammered into a sieve first.

When that time comes.

Earth, water, fire, and wind will replay.

All living beings will be annihilated.

He, the Dao Ancestor who aligns with the Heavenly Dao, thus became the Light Rod Commander.

He might even fall as the world collapses.

Hesitant to strike the mouse for fear of damaging the trap.

This is Hongjun's current predicament.

And Bodhi.

Obviously, Bodhi also saw this point clearly.

The barefoot aren't afraid of those wearing shoes.

"You win."

A long while passed.

Hongjun finally spoke.

Uttering those three words seemed to drain all his strength.

The violet aura around him began to contract.

The oppressive aura over the Living Beings also dissipated.

"I won't fight you."

Hongjun reverted to his calm, still‑as‑an‑old‑well demeanor, though his complexion remained pale.

"This place can't endure such turmoil."

"Speak."

"What exactly do you intend to do?"

He looked at Bodhi.

His gaze was complicated.

"You've been lurking in the primeval world for years, training this monkey."

"Not just to give me trouble, right?"