Chapter 863: Encirclement and Counter-encirclement (Wishing all you little buddies a happy New Year!)

Great Qian, the 21st year of Kaiyuan, heavenly thunder struck, intending to execute the demon Jia Rong in the imperial city.

Three days later, Jia Rong fled with his Jia family members.

Fifteen days later, in Great Qian's Jinling, the Zhen family's Grand Master, Zhen Tiandu, broke through to the Grand Master realm and raised the banner reading 'Heaven's Will, Slay the Heavenly Demon (Jia Rong)'.

All places in Great Qian responded.

Great Yin proclaimed to the world: the demon Jia Rong had invaded Great Yin, his crimes piled high, impossible to record; Great Yin, following Heaven's Will, asked all capable people and righteous scholars to jointly slay this demon to set right the order of the world.

In less than a month's time.

Originally, the Jia clan, who were number one under heaven, were torn open a gap, like a punctured balloon, becoming withered.

Except for Great Ding, which showed no reaction, almost the whole world became enemies.

Oh, the Great Qian court's Emperor Kaiyuan also had no reaction, but he changed from his previous fawning attitude; silence was the best response.

As for Great Ding, some people were busy cultivating their martial arts—among the Three States, Great Ding's martial atmosphere was the most flourishing, and it had the most martial experts.

The remaining part were arguing about the Jia Rong affair, some hesitating.

Speaking honestly, those who understand Jia Rong's strength best and feel it most deeply are not Great Qian, but Great Ding and Great Yin.

The latter was breezed through by Tang Luo, who smashed the city with a punch, then performed a peak battle on the palace city tower, a sword came from the west, a heavenly immortal flew beyond. He earned the title 'Heavenly Man'.

They deeply knew Jia Rong was terrifying.

However, the Cheng family of Great Yin was heavily struck by Zhu Bajie, gaining nothing; afterwards their own people still had to keep fighting, suffering heavily before seizing the throne.

In their hearts they hated Jia Rong to the bone.

Great Ding was merely played with by Tang Luo, but actually suffered no loss; moreover Tang Luo owed Zhuge Liang a life‑saving favor of some sort.

Within the Shu faction, opinions on this matter differed greatly.

The other two sides were extremely wary of Tang Luo's strength.

Even if Great Yin and Great Qian responded everywhere, they did not rashly follow; being the vanguard always incurs heavy losses.

On the contrary, the Great Ding royal family followed suit, expressing their stance and began stirring up trouble everywhere.

They wanted to use the Mandate of Heaven to provoke the three kings to quickly send troops against the Number One City under Heaven, fight, fight! Best if they all die! All die! That way his Liu family could reap the benefits of the fisherman.

In the situation where almost the whole world is enemies, the Number One City under Heaven inevitably declined from prosperity.

Merchants are all wallgrass, swaying with the wind.

They all fled quickly; losing a bit now is nothing, but staying here would cause great loss.

Jiang Wei was so worried he started losing hair in handfuls, wanting to block but unable to.

Gritting his teeth, he simply announced to the whole city: anyone who feels the Number One City under Heaven is unsafe should leave.

The Jia family will not obstruct.

Forcibly keeping others brings no benefit; on the contrary, it easily lets spies and agents slip in, collaborating inside and out.

At the critical moment, Jiang Wei needed to ensure that everyone in the Number One City under Heaven were loyal insiders.

"Little Jiang, don't look so worried. It's a small matter; come, let's have a drink together." Zhu Bajie lifted a jug of wine and, together with Xu Shu, sought out Jiang Wei.

The two unscrupulous old men looked at Jiang Wei and hehe‑laughed.

"No way! What time is it now!" Jiang Wei nearly went mad.

"Believe me, it really is a small matter." Zhu Bajie said.

"Elder Jiao, we really are about to be enemies of the whole world." Jiang Wei emphasized, "Even if we once owed a certain life‑saving debt to Chancellor Zhuge, but..."

But for these heroes, when it comes to delivering a deadly strike, they will absolutely not hesitate.

At most they'll later wail loudly, shave their heads as a substitute for heads, letting their tears fall on your corpses.

Finally they'll erect a stele for posterity to look up to.

Jiang Wei certainly does not want such a thing to happen to his lord.

"Not enemies of the whole world." Zhu Bajie said seriously, "They aren't qualified to be enemies."

"Huh?" Jiang Wei wondered.

Zhu Bajie casually grabbed, and a small stone from the courtyard flew and landed in his palm.

"This heaven and earth." Zhu Bajie's opened palm closed around it, and the small stone shattered in his hand, gray‑white powder falling.

In my master's hand, it's just like that stone—unable to withstand a single blow.

Zhu Bajie spoke with conviction.

"Master?" Jiang Wei asked, "Is he the teacher who instructed you and the city lord?"

Does Jia Rong truly have an unparalleled expert behind him?

"Oh, no." Zhu Bajie said, "Little Jiang, do you believe in past‑life wisdom?"

"..." Jiang Wei said nothing.

He initially didn't believe in gods and spirits, but that day Zhuge Liang defied fate, heavenly thunder fell, and after the heavenly eye and heavenly hand appeared, he changed.

"We are those who have awakened past‑life wisdom." Zhu Bajie spoke at length, "My past‑life master, I mean Jia Rong, who in his past life was a super expert who could grasp the sun and moon and pluck stars; after regaining his past‑life wisdom, he has already restored his former strength."

"What you have seen, the strength he has shown, is merely a tiny wave in the boundless sea."

"All reactionaries before him are paper tigers, as fragile as earthen chickens and pottery dogs!"

Zhu Bajie spoke decisively, dispelling Jiang Wei's worries with a firm attitude.

Of course, Jiang Wei didn't drink with them; he still had many things to handle, and glanced at Xu Shu—"Old sir, won't you come help?"

Being stared at by Jiang Wei, Xu Shu had no choice but to follow him.

The remaining Zhu Bajie raised his cup to invite "tomorrow," making three with his shadow.

Meanwhile, Tang Luo and company were leisurely on their way back to the Number One City under Heaven.

"Master, I feel this qi fortune harvester..." Ao Yulie said, "Isn't it a bit strange."

"Indeed a bit." Tang Luo nodded, "I suspect he is a transcendent."

Transcendents, Tang Luo and his group have encountered two—no, two and a half who had 'detached' from the God-Demon Game, the God-Demon Walkers.

Those two were in the same world, namely the Brave World they encountered.

One of them turned that world into his own 'amusement park', while the other seemed to be a role that considered itself an arch-enemy.

And the half refers to Cain Herbert. He differs from the two transcendents, being a 'stowaway' who left the God-Demon Game, and is therefore still being 'pursued'.

Relying on the 'Source' gave him a little resistance power, and as a result he met Tang Luo.

"But if they are transcendents, judging from the previous one, we shouldn't be contacting them again," Ao Yulie said.

"Why say the Fortune Harvester could be a transcendent? The reason is simple: His way of addressing Tang Luo and the others is 'junior'."

Since the Fortune Harvester calls himself 'Heaven', and indeed, for this world, he truly is Heaven.

That absolutely would not treat Tang Luo and the others as being on the same 'level'.

It's nothing more than a title like 'ant'.

But 'junior', without a doubt, in his subconscious he regarded Tang Luo and the others as beings of the same level.

It is very likely that he sensed the true identity of 'Jia Rong'.

"Transcendents are actually not transcendent," Tang Luo said.

"Huh?" Ao Yulie blinked, then reacted.

Yes, transcendents really aren't that transcendent, because they are still constrained by some kind of power.

They are merely a bit freer than Tang Luo and his group.

"God-Demon Game"—Tang Luo and his fellow God-Demon Walkers are still clearing the main storyline quest—linear main line.

Transcendents are a group who have already cleared the main storyline quest and opened the free sandbox mode.

So the question arises: why would transcendents who aren't that transcendent, and who actually shouldn't be contacting Tang Luo and his fellow God-Demon Walkers, have contacted them several times?

One, Tang Luo and his group are too strong, so the God-Demon Game made a certain difficulty adjustment, spawning a 'dungeon boss' that shouldn't appear.

Two, the God-Demon Game's own rules changed again, reducing restrictions.

We don't know which one it is, or perhaps both.

"When the time comes, we'll catch him and ask." Tang Luo said, "I still suspect that the guy who was beaten to death by Sun Wukong's staff last time might also be a transcendent."

"Why do you say that?" Ao Yulie asked.

When asking, he had a vague guess in his heart, but this question definitely needed to be asked.

Just like Li Fang's "This matter must have something fishy," saying it makes it convenient for Di Renjie to say the next line.

This is called the art of conversation.

"The Mountain Sea Realm is a closed world." Tang Luo gestured with his hand, "At least when it's not shattered, we have no way to leave."

The 'chaos' between outside the Mountain Sea Realm and the many present worlds is exactly the same.

A slightly weaker person entering will soon die without a whole corpse.

Even a strong person leaving the world's protective safe range will gradually get lost.

Including Tang Luo, he can completely charge out of this world without any mortal danger, but wanting to return accurately or precisely find another world to enter is impossible.

One can only rely on luck.

If luck is bad, one can only be worn down waiting to die in the endless chaos.

In the Mountain Sea Realm, taking Daoist cultivators as an example, after tribulation and becoming immortals, the immortals are actually divided into three realms—Heavenly Immortal, Golden Immortal, Great Luo.

The Buddhist Sect corresponds to Arhat, Bodhisattva, Buddha—these three fruition ranks.

The Monster Race is much simpler, not so particular, just a 'Saint', with random shouts like 'Great Saint', 'Little Saint', etc.

Oh, more often they shout 'Grandfather', like 'Grandfather Sun', 'Grandfather', 'Pig Grandfather', 'Dragon Grandfather', 'Tang Grandfather', 'Ox Grandfather'.

These three realms, even the gaps between same-level ranks can be huge, but we won't go into that now.

Finally, the 'Great Luo' and 'Buddha'—those who truly reach this realm, the Mountain Sea Realm has only six.

The Three Pure Ones, and also the Three Buddhas.

And what they pursue as a higher level is the realm of 'Other Shore Transcendence'.

The Buddhist Sect calls it the Other Shore, the Daoist Sect calls it Transcendence.

What are the Other Shore and Transcendence? It means being able to escape the Sea of Suffering, cross the Nine Heavens, and seek another side (a higher-level) world.

Even in the Mountain Sea Realm, the Six Tathagatas have not reached the Other Shore Transcendence realm, nor found a world beyond the Mountain Sea Realm.

Some suspect that the Yuanshi Tianzun and Lingbao Tianzun (the Tongtian Sect Leader), who have not appeared for a very long time, might have gotten lost beyond the Nine Heavens, in the depths of the Endless Sea.

With Tang Luo's current strength, returning to the Mountain Sea Realm also places him among the peak powerhouses.

Likewise, in the realm outside, that expanse like a sea, like a flowing river, constantly changing, in the chaotic spacetime turmoil, his subjective initiative remains limited.

In the realm outside, even he would receive no replenishment.

He would only be constantly worn down.

Now, the only two ways to stably and safely pass through the realm outside and shuttle between the two worlds are: one, the God-Demon Game; two, relying on the power of the Source (the Summoning Heart in Tang Luo's hand is a aggregation of Source power).

And those Transcendents who walk out of the God-Demon Game can travel between worlds—this is beyond doubt.

The Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon encountered at that time came from another world.

So Tang Luo said, the guy who came out of that black cocoon could also be a transcendent.

Even, Tang Luo suspects that the entire God-Demon Game might perhaps be a certain aggregation of Source power.

The Source is a most fundamental basic power; outside of it, there are countless different manifestations and concretizations.

Being able to produce the Summoning Heart naturally also brings forth the God-Demon Game.

Whether these speculations can be verified depends on that Fortune Harvester.

After hearing Tang Luo's simple explanation, Ao Yulie said: "Master, when the time comes, if we sense the situation is wrong, that guy won't run away, will he?"

"He can't run." Tang Luo chuckled, "He already can't run."

The Fortune Harvester was like a drop of water, merging into the lake, but this lake had already been 'contracted' by Tang Luo.

Palm Buddha Kingdom!

Of course, it is only half of the Palm Buddha Kingdom; Tang Luo's power merely shrouds this world, silently separating inside from outside to prevent escape.

Unlike the Women's Kingdom, which is completely and thoroughly brought under control.

Of course, this shroud is not without gaps.

Therefore, we must continually press, forcing the Fortune Harvester to truly leap out, even if only for an instant, using the Life and Death Buddha Kingdom plus mockery, to be absolutely certain.

"Not letting people live."

Watching Tang Luo's fleeting smile, Ao Yulie said in his heart.

Only when the Fortune Harvester cannot win and cannot escape will one feel what despair is.

Do you think you are surrounding us with the whole world?

Wrong! It's you who are surrounded by us!

Sighing, Ao Yulie gazed toward a not-so-distant place ahead, where smoke and dust billowed and tens of thousands of troops were advancing to attack.

The leader, his aura surging, was indeed a Martial Dao Master!

After the heavenly thunder, the once-precious Martial Dao Masters sprouted like bamboo shoots after spring rain, instantly becoming worthless.

And the former Martial Dao Masters have advanced even further.

Several masters of the Great Qian Imperial City all became Grand Masters; the original Grand Master Mei Qingsheng, whose confidence had been restored after repeated setbacks, — after Tang Luo and company left, he sought out Jia Baoyu once more and defeated the enemy with a single move.

This shows his progress; at his age, he finally returned to life as a human.

If Yang Jian opened his heavenly eye to look, he would discover that these people's fortune is incredibly rich, with a 'protagonist halo' surrounding them, which is why they advance a thousand miles a day, making extraordinary progress.

Their continually growing strength is also an important reason why they dare to contend with Tang Luo.

The so-called 'following Heaven's will' is truly not just an empty slogan, but a fact.

"Monster Jia Rong! Hurry up and surrender!"

"Monster Jia Rong! Hurry up and surrender!"

"Kill Jia Rong, exterminate the monster!"

The words full of killing intent came from that troupe of tens of thousands.

The killing intent that overflowed was also quite astonishing.

This troop, daring to be the first to challenge Tang Luo, is not a rabble but a band of desperadoes.

Qiyun Mountain Eighteen Strongholds!

The mountain bandits who roam the Qiyun Mountain range bordering Great Yin and Great Qian.

It is not some novice hero's training stronghold like Black Wind Stronghold.

The stronghold chief was a powerhouse near the level of a Martial Dao Master—before. Now, he has become a maniac who has attained the Martial Dao Master level!

"Here they come!" Ao Yulie whispered, looking toward his master.

Seeing Tang Luo on horseback not even lowering the reins, he continued to let the horse guide him, took out the Mysterious Transformation, and turned it into a sword.

He swung his sword at those people.

The black sword light tore the earth, a ravine spread out, and together with the sword light it completely devoured the enemy.

The shouts of killing across the sky ceased instantly.

"Gone."

Ao Yulie shrugged his shoulders, not at all surprised.