Chapter 890: Sandbag, Enough!

He fired a shot at the sky, which looked reckless, but Tang Luo actually had restraint.

Having confirmed it wouldn't hit anyone, this shot could rush out of this world and into the chaotic void beyond.

But there it would vanish after traveling only a short distance.

Unless, at the moment Tang Luo fired, a world suddenly became extremely close to this one, so close that a slight movement would make them truly connect.

Only then would Tang Luo's shot hit something else.

The odds of firing just right, happening to be close, and actually hitting with a single shot are even lower than the chance that Sun Wukong, Yang Jian, and Ne Zha, inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, would start fighting over a disagreement and end up destroying each other.

So, what did Tang Luo hit?

"Could it be the fifth Heavenly Initiate Knight?" Zhu Bajie also looked up at the sky.

As Tang Luo fired that shot, the sky gradually dimmed, and within that dimness there was some red mixed in, feeling like firelight.

"It seems to have suddenly appeared nearby." Tang Luo said, "It shouldn't just be passing by; it's already come in."

The subject he was referring to was this world.

At the edge of the world, near the chaotic void.

A large amount of black rubble floated there, flashing with red light that flickered on and off like a breathing lamp.

Beside the rubble, some stone statues hovered.

The stone statues varied in form, mostly humanoid. One could see an angel statue with wings spread, a serpent-human statue with a human torso and serpent body but far more ferocious and mighty, and a statue with huge wings on its back and horns on its head, resembling a traditional demon.

There were thirteen in total; originally there were thirteen, now only twelve remain.

What Tang Luo shattered was one of those statues.

Before it was broken, that statue's appearance was a standard human shape.

All the stone statues were the same, with red light shining from inside out, flickering on and off like a breathing lamp.

Aside from that shattered piece, the rubble soon fell silent.

"Did it sense that we've arrived?"

"Buluhe's stone statue has been destroyed—will he descend in his true form?"

"Perhaps this is a trap; the Ancestor Dragon of the Great Qin Empire has already recovered..."

"His enemy is the Holy Alliance, not our Anxious Council; when fighting the Holy Alliance, the Anxious Council became his foe—not a wise choice."

"He is not wise." Someone quietly pointed out that the Ancestor Dragon of the Great Qin Empire is not wise.

That is an emperor who swallows mountains and rivers like a tiger.

"The Origin's Trial is changing." Various information fluctuations made the discussion topics seem to suddenly shift.

"The times have changed. The Four Knights have died; we must uncover the truth and strangle unstable factors in the cradle. Perhaps the Era of Great Contention has already arrived."

Heavenly Initiate Knights are not insignificant figures in the Anxious Council.

They are very important, the Anxious Council's four sharpest blades; when the thirteen councilors do not act, they are the Council's strongest.

Even there are rumors that some councilors of the Anxious Council might not be a match for the Heavenly Initiate Knights.

No one knows where that rumor came from.

In the world ruled by the Anxious Council, such a rumor does indeed exist.

Perhaps that is the blade's ambition testing itself after its birth.

Heavenly Initiate Knights are not weak; compared to the thirteen councilors of the Anxious Council, they lack only time.

And in the chaotic void, the boundless world, time sometimes means nothing.

Anything is possible.

If it weren't war deaths, then famine, death, and plague would all die at the same time. The Anxious Council's councilors, the descent of the stone statue incarnations, would not be investigating the truth of the Heavenly Initiate Knights' deaths.

Rather, they would be wiping out the Heavenly Initiate Knights' ambition; they are not the first generation of Heavenly Initiate Knights, and most likely not the last either.

Then their investigation, with the thirteen councilors' incarnations descending together, is a matter of great importance.

It was struck as soon as it began.

A blow from somewhere shattered Buluhe's stone statue incarnation.

Although it was an incarnation that had not unsealed its seal and could not truly exert its power, that stone statue had the hardness to collide with a world without breaking.

What does it prove? It proves that blow might be able to destroy a world.

Naturally, worlds differ in strength, but this difference is not great—at least not as great as the difference between one person and another.

Even if it is a shattered world, completely destroyed by you.

Then, in the chaotic void, the boundless world, you are among the extremely few who stand at the pinnacle of the pyramid.

Such a person is worthy of the Anxious Council's attention, worth pausing briefly to discuss subsequent actions.

The information fluctuations, the communication actually occurs only in an instant.

Although Tang Luo's accidentally accurate shot caused the twelve councilors to pause for a moment, they still descended.

Blackness covered the entire world, not pure black but black mixed with firelight.

Volcanoes, magma, jagged huge rocks.

A false‑but‑real illusion, as the Anxious Council descended, a blanket spread over, making this world seem like their home turf.

"It even comes with its own special effects." Ao Yulie fell into thought, wondering if, when he took the stage, doing something like that would make him even more flamboyant.

"No, no." The next second he rejected that idea.

He isn't taking the combat route; as the team's main damage dealer, staying low‑key, being durable, and running fast are his path in life.

Although his looks don't allow him to stay low‑key, he must still maintain the latter two.

"Hah, that's already as good as real." Zhu Bajie casually grabbed some nearby boiling magma, which landed in his hand, emitting scorching heat.

To him, such an illusion isn't worth counting as anything.

Even if it were truer, it would still be fake; no matter how many billions of times higher the temperature, it wouldn't cause any harm.

Zhu Bajie's remark is aimed at the cultivators of this world.

Those cultivators, watching the suddenly changing sky and the descending scorching purgatory, realized that the 'final rider' spoken of by Holy Monk Xuanzang seemed to have arrived.

But this final rider feels much stronger than the other three.

Many cultivators flew up, heading toward the place where Tang Luo and the others were, but their path was cut off by the real scene, and they spun around everywhere like headless flies.

The descent speed of the twelve councilors of the Scorching Council is not fast, which can be understood as, being big shots, they definitely want to make a scene.

They cannot just appear casually.

It can also be understood that they want to make the environment more realistic, which helps undermine the enemy's fighting spirit and also aids their own performance.

Is the combat environment important?

It actually is important; even if Sun Wukong were thrown into water, he would inevitably feel uncomfortable.

Of course, it cannot be ordinary water.

Moreover, this discomfort could turn into pain, and then… it would really hurt, and the enemy would hurt as well.

But the combat environment is also not important; for Tang Luo it's not important—throw him onto the sun and fight however you want.

The high temperature on the sun cannot compare to the harshness of the true chaotic void.

"Turns out there are actually seventeen Heavenly Initiate Knights—this is excessive." Gazing at the slowly descending stone statues, Tang Luo said.

You say the Four Great Knights have five— that can be understood.

But seventeen? That won't do; the difference is too great.

That's what he said, but Tang Luo's tone betrayed excitement. Great! Suddenly there are twelve targets and sandbags to test the new form of the Mysterious Transformation.

Moving targets are far better than stationary ones.

"These definitely aren't Heavenly Initiate Knights, Master." Zhu Bajie beside him corrected.

It looks like they've come to avenge the Heavenly Initiate Knights—quite normal; strike the young and the old come, which is a basic law of nature.

From monsters to humans, as long as they live in groups and establish societies, they all do this.

If you beat the young but the old don't come, the society they built will gradually collapse.

This is why some people are keen on eradicating the roots.

Tang Luo actually isn't keen on that; he just wants to have a fight and test the altered Mysterious Transformation.

The wish is simple and unadorned.

"So, after killing these guys, the mission is complete, right?" Ao Yulie subtly reminded Tang Luo not to kill too quickly this time.

The reason the mission hasn't been completed seems to have been found—these guys are the final boss.

If you kill too quickly and go back, you won't know when you'll be able to return.

Ao Yulie isn't missing the 'hometown' he stayed in for a long time; rather, there are some people here he can communicate more with.

Not Ao Yu, but Qing Lang.

As one of the masterminds who made Tang Luo slip up last time, Ao Yulie feels he ought to make amends.

This time I will definitely not let the master slip up again!

I, Ao Yulie, say this! However you put it, I am a suave and experienced Jade Dragon Prince.

It can be done.

"Hmm, I'll try the Mysterious Transformation a few more times." Tang Luo nodded.

Uh… it might not work, sigh, it's too hard; no matter how the master says it, he's strong and handsome, he shouldn't be everywhere with three palaces, six courts, seventy-two consorts and never slip up, right?

Could it be because of his monk identity? Otherwise he should return to secular life.

Ao Yulie was thinking when a streak of light fell into the courtyard, revealing Qing Lang's figure.

"Grand Master." She didn't say much more, presenting the Heavenly Crystal Frost.

This sword, originally her natal magic treasure, underwent a strange change without anyone noticing.

As a simple example, an ordinary person holding this sword could pierce a Nascent Soul cultivator to death in one thrust, clean and decisive.

There is no such thing as a Nascent Soul cultivator escaping.

Death is thorough, like with the plague jellyfish—even the poison is 'dead' clean and pure.

If Tang Luo uses the Heavenly Crystal Frost to stab the plague knight to death, her final mutual-destruction poison will not erupt.

This sword possesses the power of thorough extermination.

Qing Lang originally intended to give this sword to Tang Luo as a thank‑you gift, but Tang Luo did not accept it.

It's not good to simply take someone else's natal magic treasure.

He isn't lacking in killing power; what he lacks… no, actually Tang Luo is now quite well‑rounded.

He is more well‑rounded than Sun Wukong, Yang Jian, and the others.

Once the Life‑Death Buddha Realm and mockery are locked on, nobody can escape his grasp.

"Actually I don't need it." Tang Luo did not refuse the Heavenly Crystal Frost Qing Lang sent, but he added a sentence.

Qing Lang didn't dwell on the topic, gazing at the sky.

There, twelve stone statues have appeared, emanating a startling aura.

The whole world is trembling.

Together with everything on the world trembling like this, there is actually no feeling—just extreme oppression, making it hard to breathe.

Even Qing Lang, the second strongest in this world, is the same.

The strongest, Ao Yu, has already appeared in the sky, wielding the Thunderbolt Myriad Jun Fist, blasting toward one of the stone statues.

The force of the fist, the power of thunder, landed on the half‑human half‑snake stone statue—it sank like a stone in the sea.

Ao Yulie's figure flickered, and suddenly Ao Yu appeared beside him.

At the same time, the stone statues' counterattack from the sky fell short.

"Too reckless, these guys are stronger than the Heavenly Initiate Knights." Ao Yulie lectured, "You can't beat them."

Ao Yu looked in astonishment at the Heart-Obedient Dragon beside him, "You little brat, you're this fast?"

"Being this fast basically puts you in an invincible position, why are you being timid? No, it's precisely because you're so timid that you're this fast."

"My speed is for serving Master and for self-preservation; what's the use of just being fast?" Ao Yulie shrugged, giving himself a clear position.

"Just now he was indeed fast, but if Ao Yu hadn't recognized him and refused to cooperate, how could he have been pulled back so quickly?"

"Ao Yu truly intended to stand still, not moving; even Ao Yulie couldn't pull him."

"Master, let's try the new 'bow' form." Zhu Bajie said enthusiastically.

"Thirteen sandbags, one less, leaving twelve—enough!"