Chapter 699

Ao Yulie dropped to his knees and slid forward, hugging Tang Luo's thigh.

Zhu Bajie grabbed Tang Luo's arm.

"Are you kidding? Senior Brother jumped out on his own — that's one thing. But if you, Master, throw a punch, you'll probably beat out a stillborn premature baby."

"Just kidding," Tang Luo said with a laugh. "You didn't think I'd really smash this rock with one punch, did you?"

"Just play along with Master, will you?" Zhu Bajie said.

"Right." Ao Yulie stood up, nodding.

An "I knew you were joking all along" expression.

Tang Luo circled the rock once, glanced over at the Golden-Hooped Rod, then placed his hand on the rock.

He slowly exerted force, and a few minuscule cracks appeared near his palm.

Not smashing — but this level of "knocking" was still fine.

Might just wake Sun Wukong up.

Suddenly, light burst from within the cracks, completely enveloping the surroundings.

The scene before everyone's eyes changed.

In the void, a figure shot skyward, features indiscernible, gripping the Golden-Hooped Rod, feeling like a ball of blazing fire.

Then, Sun Wukong vanished without a trace, and dazzling light blossomed from where he disappeared.

After the light faded, the surrounding scene was a chaos.

As if countless turbulent currents were sweeping through.

One could barely make out the figure from just now rotating within them.

【16】 Immediately after, a hand reached out from the chaos, enveloping that figure, and came down.

Immediately after, a hand reached out from the chaos, enveloping that figure, and descended.

The chaos vanished, the scene shifted again, and an incomparably vast Five-Finger Mountain formed.

A rock appeared in a quarter-spherical shallow cave.

Beside it was the Golden-Hooped Rod, circling in flight, gradually falling silent, leaning against the rock.

A moment... or perhaps a long, long time later.

Another person of indistinct appearance appeared, walked over to the Golden-Hooped Rod and the rock, sighed softly, reached out and grasped the Golden-Hooped Rod, and gently tapped it against the ground.

A faint light flashed, and this person set the Golden-Hooped Rod down again.

The Golden-Hooped Rod leaned against the rock once more; the moment it touched, the mysterious figure had already vanished without a trace.

From the rock, stone spread out, wrapping around the Golden-Hooped Rod, turning it into a stone staff.

The scene froze, as if one rock and one staff would accompany each other like this until the end of time.

Until the earth trembled, something approaching.

Baleful blood qi gradually drew near — a large horde of demons, and human cultivators too, panicked, terrified, like a mob of routed generals.

The Golden-Hooped Rod leaning against the rock stood upright, as if intending to blast all these intruders to death.

That motionless rock shifted slightly.

Just then, a stream of light carrying a remnant soul flew over; one could faintly see the likeness of the Six-Eared Macaque, continuously dissipating, yet clearing a path ahead for those demons.

The Golden-Hooped Rod did not move; mist gradually shrouded everything.

The surrounding scene formed the special stone-bridge road seen today.

The demons had no choice but to enter the mist; seeing the rock and stone staff they were first startled, then skimmed past from the side.

Penetrating deep into the interior of Five-Finger Mountain.

Inside Five-Finger Mountain was a world unto itself, and within it — the Nine Nether of today!

And the place where the rock sat became the sole entrance.

The images stopped here, then dissipated.

Everything returned to its original appearance.

Zhu Bajie and Ao Yulie exchanged a glance.

The several half-dead God Lords blinked several times too — this rock really was Sun Wukong!

Then, that hand was...

"Master, was that hand the Buddha's?" Zhu Bajie asked.

Tang Luo nodded: "Most likely the Tathagata."

"He suppressed Senior Brother again?" Ao Yulie said.

Shaking his head slightly, Tang Luo frowned: "Doesn't look like it. On the contrary, it's more like he saved Wukong — 'suppressing' him here was to aid his recovery."

Much like the Grand Supreme Elder Lord putting Yang Jian into the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

The Tathagata, the Grand Supreme Elder — one placed Sun Wukong in this world, the other threw Yang Jian into the Eight Trigrams Furnace, leaving the entire Tushita Palace behind as well.

Is there something special about this world?

Because of those crystal ores?

Or did one just randomly pick this world, and the other took a look and thought, "Hmm, put him here too — when they wake up they'll happen to have company"?

And so, Yang Jian and Sun Wukong both ended up appearing here.

"Who was that person at the end?"

The one who gripped the Golden-Hooped Rod at the end — no one could see his face clearly, but he was clearly also a big-shot figure.

The Golden-Hooped Rod's transformation and strengthening — obviously his handiwork.

"Could it be Patriarch Subhuti?" Zhu Bajie suddenly clapped his hands.

Patriarch Subhuti, Spirit Platform Square-Inch Mountain, Slanted Moon Three-Star Cave — Sun Wukong's true master who taught him the arts.

Also an extremely mysterious person.

On the way west, Tang Luo and the others also went to the former Fangcun Mountain, the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars.

That place had long since been deserted, a scene of ruin and desolation.

From then on, Patriarch Subhuti never appeared again.

One couldn't help but suspect whether he truly existed, or was merely an avatar or false identity of some big shot.

Regarding this, Sun Wukong himself — this monkey — wasn't too clear either.

After obtaining the true scriptures, he had also searched for Patriarch Subhuti, but unfortunately, there was no result in the end.

The one who appeared later and empowered and strengthened the Golden-Hooped Rod — was it the mysterious Patriarch Subhuti?

"Say, Big Senior Brother rushed into the sky — who is he trying to hit?" Ao Yulie asked.

"The mastermind behind the shattering of the Mountains and Seas Realm?" Zhu Bajie guessed.

"Hiss, feels a bit strong..." Ao Yulie shuddered, Sun Wukong fell into the chaotic void, the Tathagata made a move to save him.

Assuming there really is some mastermind, who shattered the Mountains and Seas Realm, and Sun Wukong is fighting it.

That thing, is a bit strong.

"Regarding the shattering of the Mountains and Seas Realm, what do you know?" Tang Luo looked at the three half-dead God Lords.

The three God Lords didn't utter a word.

Regarding the shattering of the Mountains and Seas Realm, they knew no more than Tang Luo and the others.

Natural disaster or man-made calamity? Impossible to determine.

If it's the latter, someone capable of causing such a man-made calamity — there's actually no difference from a natural disaster.

Manjushri and the others walking the Path of the Gods — from a certain perspective, isn't it also out of unease and worry?

"Forget it, looking at you lot, you don't know either." Tang Luo couldn't be bothered to keep asking.

It's about time to ferry them over, complete the mission.

"Roar!"

Right at this moment, a roar came from the other side of the stone bridge.

A figure burst out of the mist, roaring as it flew past Tang Luo and the others, rushing to the side of the three God Lords.

A huge beast claw raised up, about to come down.

Zhu Bajie kicked out with one foot, sending that roaring monster flying to the side.

Where did this little thing come from, trying to steal the kill at the slightest disagreement?

The monster was kicked over by Zhu Bajie, tumbling on the stone bridge, nearly falling into the abyss beneath the bridge.

This was a half-human, half-beast leopard spirit, its eyes emitting a faint green glow.

Zhu Bajie's kick wasn't heavy, just kicking away this leopard spirit.

After the leopard spirit tumbled and steadied itself, it roared once, directly switching its attack target, pouncing at Zhu Bajie.

Zhu Bajie reached out, pressing it down to the ground with one hand: "Hmm... as expected, something's not right."

The leopard spirit struggled, its claws constantly scratching white marks on the ground.

"Second Senior Brother, what's up with this monster?" Ao Yulie walked over and took a few looks.

This leopard spirit, its strength wasn't weak; it was the kind of true spirit monster that had opened its spiritual wisdom, enough to completely assume human form.

Yet now it had become half-human, half-beast, its intelligence not even as good as a "minor monster" like Little Drill Wind.

Only slightly better than a wild beast.

"Looks like it's not easy inside Five Elements Mountain either." Zhu Bajie said.

The demon race fled into the inner world of Five Elements Mountain; the so-called "Nine Nether" wasn't the imagined peaceful land, allowing them to slowly recuperate and multiply.

"You guys keep watch, I'll go take a look." Tang Luo said, walking toward the other side of the stone bridge.

Stepping into the mist, the long stone bridge seemed to have no end.

Tang Luo turned his head to look; Zhu Bajie and the others, less than ten meters away from him, were already invisible.

Walking a bit further, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.

Tang Luo appeared on top of a cliff.

Looking out, the sky was overcast, like the scene before a violent storm.

But there was no wind and no rain, only lightning striking straight down to the ground, connecting heaven and earth.

On the vast land, not a blade of grass grew; everywhere were jagged, strange rocks.

It was very obvious, the Nine Nether inside Five Elements Mountain wasn't a good place; there was only a stretch of desolate wasteland.

The surroundings were filled with some indescribable power; although as a cultivator one can survive here, one... will be affected by this power.

Either gradually settle one's heart, transform restlessness into tranquility, concentrate the mind, temper the body.

Or, like that leopard spirit, "erupt in silence," turning into a frenzied wild beast.

"These great powers are truly harsh." Tang Luo said a sentence.

The Grand Supreme Elder in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, using battle and killing to refine Yang Jian; the Tathagata using this kind of method to temper Sun Wukong who had turned into a stubborn stone.

These two methods of recovery, neither is something ordinary people can endure.

They count as tailor-made for Sun Wukong and Yang Jian; not merely for recovery, but to let them advance another level.

The hardships within, are not to be told to outsiders.

Don't look at that stone being "outside"; in reality, at every moment it is accepting the tempering of the power contained within Five Elements Mountain.

Tang Luo looked into the distance; at the far horizon, a fierce howl rang out.

A group of black shadows was rapidly approaching, carrying boundless killing intent and savagery.

Leading them, was a black dragon — no, it should be a flood dragon.

Black scales, triangular head, looked exceptionally ferocious, lacking the majesty a true dragon should have, making one feel a purely fearful aura.

It has only a pair of sharp claws, and the horns on its head are not forked.

But the aura this jiao emits is far more powerful than that of many true dragons.

Not to mention anything else, it is certainly stronger than the current Ao Yulie — no, even the Ao Yulie of the past.

Encountering this black jiao, he probably wouldn't fare well either.

Behind this black jiao is a pile of flying bird yaos.

There are those who still retain their reason, maintaining human form, with murderous qi soaring to the heavens; there are half-human half-beast frenzied lesser yaos; and even more are a group of yaobeasts no different from wild beasts, with even greater strength.

On the ground, a beast tide is also approaching.

The leader is a tall, loose-haired man, bare-chested, his body covered in scars.

With every step he stamps on the ground, a dull sound rings out; his iron-cast arms give the feeling they could easily move mountains.

"Those yaos who fled inside……"

The black jiao and that tall loose-haired man both appeared in the "retrospective scene" just now.

Among the group of yaos who originally entered Five Finger Mountain, both were present.

However, at that time, the black jiao was still in human form.

Besides that, there are quite a few yaos who appeared in the scenes, but not a single human cultivator is to be seen.