Chapter 776: Wukong's Transformation!

He ended the not-at-all-happy "cross-boundary call" with Nezha.

Tang Luo "dialed" Yang Jian's side.

"You finally contacted me." Yang Jian's voice sounded heavy with gravity.

"What happened?" Tang Luo asked, "Or did you get better?"

If you're better, why don't I bring you over to join us instead.

Form the God-Demon Game's first Heavenly General squad, the invincible kind — see a Demon squad and beat them straight into the ground.

Losing to a "copy"? Too humiliating.

As for the God-Demon Game not having a copy Demon squad — that's beside the point.

Don't worry, with so many worlds, there definitely exist different Yang Jian-type characters; when the time comes, fight a round and see who's the genuine article.

Thinking about it, there's a bit of excitement.

Tang Luo actually also looked forward to meeting the Tang Sanzang from Journey to the West Sequel who could really fight, to see who fights better.

"No, Monkey's got a problem." Yang Jian said.

"What?"

"His aura is continuously declining, changing; these past few years it's become even more obvious. I suspect someone came without me detecting it at all." Yang Jian said.

"You didn't even discover it?" Tang Luo's eyes narrowed.

Although Yang Jian was severely injured, he had at least recovered his memories now; when needed, opening his Heavenly Eye was still no problem.

Even if he couldn't see too far, he and Sun Wukong were neighbors.

The Eight Trigrams Furnace was right next to the stone Sun Wukong had turned into.

To arrive without a sound past Yang Jian and then leave again — among the people they knew, no more than…

Hmm, thinking carefully, given Yang Jian's current state, if he weren't maintaining constant high alert, the people who could fool him might actually be quite a few.

From the Three Pure Ones to Buddhism's Three Buddhas, all could do it — provided they hadn't suffered extremely severe injuries.

The other Four Great Bodhisattvas weren't incapable of this either.

Of course, Manjushri and Mahasthamaprapta, who took another path after achieving godhood, couldn't.

The Heavenly Court side also had a few capable figures who should be able to do it; plus the Mountains and Seas Realm is so vast, there might still be some hidden characters.

To name a not-so-hidden one, Sun Wukong's master Patriarch Subhuti's identity is also a mystery.

Does he truly exist, or is he someone else's avatar?

Too many suspects; might as well forget it, stop suspecting.

"Didn't discover it. Monkey's situation is bad." Yang Jian said.

"Understood. I'll rush over as fast as I can." Tang Luo ended the conversation with Yang Jian and stood up.

"Master, what happened?" Ao Yulie saw Tang Luo's expression was unusual.

"Something came up on Wukong's side. Going to procure a sacrificial offering."

Ao Yulie's face instantly turned stern; he nodded, transformed into a streak of light, and vanished.

A sacrificial offering can be an item, or it can be equipment.

Offering these things at the start of a mission allows one to travel to a world previously visited or one with "coordinates."

Before Tang Luo's group, Chi Jing Daoren and the others had relevant experience.

Afterwards, one after another, some God-Demon Walkers also came into contact with it.

It doesn't count as an out-of-print item, but it's still fairly precious.

Tang Luo's group spent three hours before obtaining a sacrificial offering.

The other party didn't take the opportunity to demand an exorbitant price, only asking for one consecration — could be said to be very sensible.

Tang Luo specially extended the consecration time to half a year.

Consumed some merit power.

Next is just waiting for time, waiting for the twenty-fifth mission to arrive.

Counts as the first time Tang Luo's group eagerly hoped a mission would start quickly; this time they didn't wait too long.

Two months later, the twenty-fifth mission opened; the interval was even shorter than last time.

Tang Luo directly made the offering and changed the mission location.

This world possesses a special crystalline ore that allows Qi Refiners to slowly embark on another, completely different but exceptionally powerful path.

Taishang Laojun's Tushita Palace, residing above the Nine Heavens; within the palace stands the Eight Trigrams Furnace, inside which Yang Jian is being refined.

The Buddha's Five-Finger Mountain once again "presses down" Sun Wukong; a mysterious figure strengthens the Golden-Hooped Rod.

The various events occurring in this world indicate it is not simple.

But this complexity — is it because the world itself is not simple, thereby attracting the gaze of big shots, or because a big shot placed a piece here, and only then did the winds and clouds begin to shift?

The answer is enticing, but for Tang Luo's group, it's not important.

Right now they're going there to see just what change has befallen Sun Wukong.

The scene before them shifted; Tang Luo's group appeared on an incomparably towering mountain, clouds and mist beneath their feet, surrounding them.

One can see just how high this mountain is.

"Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons will invade this realm; repel the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons."

Mission information surfaced in their minds — extremely simple, hard to define what counts as completing the mission, what counts as mission failure.

But this simple-information mission has a difficulty that is not simple.

Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons?

An invasion at that?

If the so-called Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons refer to the same kind of "existences" from other worlds as Tang Luo's group.

Regardless of the extraterritorial Heavenly Demons' combat strength, they at least possess the ability to "precisely locate" and move within this chaotic primal chaos.

This point is worth noting.

"It seems this mission also requires attention," Zhu Bajie said.

The few of them nodded, without any delay.

Ao Yulie transformed into a dragon, carrying Tang Luo toward Five Finger Mountain.

Zhu Bajie, on the other hand, went elsewhere to gather information.

Since they last came here, how long has passed in this world, and what changes have occurred?

Yang Jian is a shut-in; he definitely cannot answer all their questions.

Ao Yulie hurried all the way, whipping the fast dragon-horse, and soon arrived at Five Finger Mountain.

Compared to before, there is no difference here; it remains a place rarely visited by people.

The natural moat blocks the steps of the vast majority; no one comes here.

On the stone bridge, the Eight Trigrams Furnace and the stone Sun Wukong turned into are still together, and beside them is a stone staff, perfectly still.

When Tang Luo arrived, that stone staff trembled slightly, but did not reveal the Golden-Hooped Rod's true form, still leaning against the stone.

"Yang Jian, I'm here," Tang Luo shouted, reaching out to knock a few times on the Eight Trigrams Furnace, "knocking on the door."

Yang Jian, I know you're in there, make a sound.

Yang Jian evidently did not merely make a sound; faint white mist seeped out from the Eight Trigrams Furnace, vaguely forming Yang Jian's shape: "You're slow enough getting here."

"Can't be helped; right now the outside spacetime is chaotic, the flow of time differs between worlds," Tang Luo said. "How long has it been?"

"One year." What Yang Jian spoke of was the time from when he and Tang Luo spoke of Sun Wukong's transformation until now.

As for the time since Tang Luo and the others last left...

"How long has it been since we left until now?" Tang Luo asked.

The vague Yang Jian formed of white mist shook his head: "There's no way to calculate, but it's estimated at least five hundred years. Look at that monkey."

Tang Luo and Ao Yulie, Sha Wujing, and Xiaotian Dog came before the stone Sun Wukong turned into.

Xiaotian Dog sniffed twice, a bit puzzled.

The scent, how is it a bit different?

Ao Yulie's expression was grave: "Master, not only is the aura more declined compared to last time, it feels like other changes are occurring."

"Fluctuating unpredictably, Master." Sha Wujing rarely spoke up.

"Mm." Tang Luo did not delay, opening his Heavenly Eye on the spot.

The Merit Jade Lotus emerged from his brow center, suspended above the stone, sprinkling warm light.

Vaguely transmitted, the fluctuating, overall more declined aura compared to last time did stabilize somewhat.

But that obscure, unfathomable sense of change remains.

Tang Luo put away the Merit Jade Lotus, looking at Yang Jian.

Yang Jian recounted what he had discovered, no different from what Tang Luo and the others had perceived.

"If needed, I can use the Heavenly Eye to take a look," Yang Jian said.

"How much have you recovered?" Tang Luo asked.

"Opening the Heavenly Eye once is still no problem," Yang Jian said.

"Wait for Bajie to come," Tang Luo said.

The few of them simply sat on the ground, not afraid of getting dirty.

Xiaotian Dog rested his head on Tang Luo's leg; Yang Jian watched for a while, letting out an inexplicable sigh.

After waiting several hours, the sky gradually darkened, and Zhu Bajie arrived.

"Any changes these years?" Ao Yulie asked.

Zhu Bajie nodded: "Yes, the changes are quite large."

This world has abundant heaven-and-earth Qi; cultivators exist. Previously there were still quite a few Mountain-Sea Realm cultivators.

Later the Heavenly Gods held sway, cultivator numbers plummeted, becoming a "rare species."

After the God Race was exterminated by Tang Luo, the situation changed again.

The "Dao lineages" and crystal ores left by cultivators, combined with the Heavenly God path, formed another power system.

Cultivators still refine Qi, but no longer take it as primary; instead they use it as support.

The true main power comes from crystal ores, yet not like the God Race absorbing the power within ores over vast years.

They forge crystal ores into weapons, refine them into their own natal dharma treasures.

Of course, now in this world, things forged from crystal ores, similar to natal dharma treasures, are called "Life Artifacts."

More important than natal dharma treasures, they are the foundation of everything, the top priority.

Those who possess Life Artifacts are called "Life Artifact Wielders," extremely simple and crude.

Today crystal ores are scarce in quantity, only a portion held by some massive forces; most have been made into Life Artifacts.

There is no longer any immortal-mortal divide.

Ordinary people can become Life Artifact Wielders, and Life Artifact Wielders can fall to ordinary people.

The strong establish great powers, establish dynasties, rule one side.

Regarding the mission, extraterritorial Heavenly Demon intelligence, Zhu Bajie only found one "lead."

Legend has it that several hundred years ago, a group of Heavenly Gods resided in the Divine Realm; they were the rulers of heaven and earth.

Mortals worshipped gods, revered gods.

Until one day, extraterritorial Heavenly Gods descended from the sky, the God Race warred with them, suffering heavy casualties.

In the end they vanished, and the earth also welcomed the era of mortals.

As for who this extraterritorial heavenly demon is, there's no need to say more—everyone already understands.

"So the result is I'm fighting myself?" Ao Yulie laughed helplessly.

I never expected that after just a few hundred years, they would be passed down as some kind of extraterritorial heavenly demon.

Besides that, there are no further records about extraterritorial heavenly demons or similar situations.

Next, naturally, it was time to deal with Sun Wukong's problem. Zhu Bajie pondered over it for a long time, studying until even the golden cudgel stirred.

He said: "Master, why not try performing a soul-liberation ritual?"

"Soul-liberation?"

"Yeah, whether this transformation is good or bad, we can't really tell. Why not just pull the eldest senior brother out and take a look?" Zhu Bajie said.

Sun Wukong is not Nezha's soul, so he can be subjected to a soul-liberation ritual.

Rather than letting Yang Jian use his heavenly eye to observe, it would be simpler to just perform the soul-liberation.

"That makes sense."

Tang Luo nodded, reached out, and pressed his hand against the stone.