Chapter 298 - 446

Indeed, Thunder Magic was the supreme offensive method in the Three Realms. As time passed, more and more lightning struck the barrier, which had been shielding the Demon King from countless harms. Eventually, the barrier shattered, scattering across the sky and turning into specks of golden light.

Seeing this, Nezha smiled and said, "Finally, I’ve shattered this turtle shell, Old Ox, take my spear!"

He held his Fire-tipped Spear majestically and charged forward, clashing with the Demon King once again. Now the tide had turned. Without the Buddhist Sect’s barrier, the Demon King struggled to resist Nezha’s fierce fire and was beaten back step by step. Meanwhile, the generals of the Department of Thunder occasionally launched terrifying thunder attacks.

In just a moment, the Demon King was in a sorry state, his body charred black, and his vigor nowhere as formidable as before.

Li Jing softly said, "Remember, capture him alive!"

However, just then, the Demon King let out a heaven-shaking roar that echoed far and wide. He transformed into a gigantic white ox that touched the heavens and the earth, his sharp horns gleaming coldly under the sunlight.

At that moment, he rampaged aimlessly, his horns smashing everything in sight, causing the Heavenly Court to shake and tremble while fairies and strongmen scurried around in panic.

"This ox has completely lost it; we can’t hold back anymore, or he’ll tear down the Heavenly Court!" the crowd realized they could not spare their efforts.

Suddenly, treasures glowed brilliantly in the Heavenly Court, and in an instant, the immense body of the Demon King fell in front of the Gate of the Southern Heavens. Surprisingly, the Demon King had died in battle right there in the Heavenly Court, stunning everyone.

"Is he dead?" someone incredulously asked.

Looking at the Demon King, who no longer had a trace of breath, everyone knew that the real trouble was just beginning.

Now that there was no witness, no one could explain why the Demon King had behaved recklessly at the Gate of the Southern Heavens.

"Brother!" A cry of surprise reached everyone’s ears, and they saw a monkey flying in from outside the Gate of the Southern Heavens—it was the Victorious Fighting Buddha Sun Wukong.

His expression mournful, he approached the Demon King, gently closed his eyes with his hand, and then shouted loudly, "Who killed him?"

Li Jing stared at the furious Sun Wukong and sensed trouble was brewing. He furrowed his brow and said, "Great Sage Sun, do not wrong us. It was the Demon King who went mad and attacked the Heavenly Court, leading to his subdual by everyone here."

"Nonsense! My elder brother was here on Buddha’s orders to deliver invitations. How could he attack the Heavenly Court without cause? If the Heavenly Court cannot provide an answer today, hmm!" Sun Wukong snorted coldly.

Seeing his unfriendly demeanor, Li Jing immediately felt as if a conspiracy were enveloping the Heavenly Court.

"There must be more to this; it’s better to uncover the truth sooner rather than later and clear everyone’s name," Li Jing urgently spoke.

"The man is already dead here; what justice can you still want? Today, I will take his body back to Mount Ling, letting the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas there seek justice," he said and, despite people attempting to block him, carried the body of the Demon King toward Mount Ling.

Li Jing, horrified, shouted, "Stop him quickly!"

If the body fell into the hands of Mount Ling, they could manipulate the narrative, potentially accusing the Heavenly Court of foul play—no one could be sure of the truth then.

At a time when relations were most sensitive, this conflict could likely escalate into a war between the Buddhist Sect and the Heavenly Court. Whoever had control of the Demon King’s body held the upper hand.

The body surely must not end up in the hands of the Buddhist Sect, for with their knack for turning lies into truths, even the dead could be proclaimed alive, and the Heavenly Court would then be at a disadvantage.

As soon as he issued the command, countless immortals began to intervene, but who was Sun Wukong? Known for his ability to cover enormous distances in a single somersault, his escape speed was among the best in the Three Realms.

Back when the Havoc in Heaven took place, to prevent his escape, the Heavenly Court set up eighteen layers of the Heavenly Net and used the Demon-Revealing Mirror to fix the space, giving Erlang Shen, the Manifestation of the True Lord, a chance to capture him.

But now, events had occurred too hastily, and before everyone could prepare, Sun Wukong had already seized the body of King Niumo and flown towards Mount Ling.

With his speed, no one among the Heavenly Court’s immortals could stop him.

They hastily called upon the Mountain Gods and Land Gods along the route to intercept him, but at that moment, Sun Wukong too was fierce. Extracting the Ruyi Golden Cudgel from his ear, he held it in hand, and any immortal who dared block his way,

Whether it was the Mountain God or Land God, the God of Day Travels or God of Night Travels, let alone whichever Star Lord was on duty, all were struck with his Iron Rod, which was tremendously forceful and harmful upon the slightest touch, fatal upon collision.

These immortals, with their lesser mana, couldn’t withstand him who was like a fierce demon. Li Jing, leading a group of immortals, chased tirelessly but still let him land on Mount Ling with King Niumo’s body.

Seeing the ferocious approach of the gods of the Heavenly Court, the Arhat Bodhisattvas on Mount Ling instantly became tense.

After all, the relationship between the Buddhist Sect and the Heavenly Court was not very harmonious at the moment. Although both sides were somewhat restrained, frequent minor frictions still occurred.

Suddenly, thousands of Buddha’s Lights lit up on Mount Ling, blocking the path of Li Jing and the others. A Buddha gently walked out with hands joined and said, "Amitabha Buddha, Heavenly King Li, what urgent matter brings you so aggressively to my Mount Ling?"

"It turns out to be the Medicine Buddha. Frankly speaking, King Niumo disrupted the Heavenly Court, even trying to destroy the Gate of the Southern Heavens by brute force. I am here by the decree of the Jade Emperor to arrest him!" Li Jing said gravely.

Finding himself in a difficult position, Li Jing was unapologetic, directly confronting the Buddhist Sect.

The Medicine Buddha slightly furrowed his brow. Naturally, he knew about King Niumo, who had been enlightened by Buddhism, had already lost his own consciousness, and was absolutely a devout Buddhist. How could he possibly have attacked the Heavenly Court unprovoked?

"Benefactor Li, could there be some misunderstanding here? King Niumo has long since converted to Buddhism; how could he commit such a heinous act?"

"What misunderstanding? This is a matter witnessed clearly by all in the Three Realms. Hurry up and hand over King Niumo, so we can also return and report back."

Seeing Li Jing’s somewhat aggressive stance, a trace of displeasure flashed across the Medicine Buddha’s eyes, yet he still said patiently, "Heavenly King Li, do not be hasty, we can discuss this after clarifying the full story."

The two argued at the gate of Mount Ling, unaware that inside, a group of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were also troubled.

Initially, they had only sent King Niumo and Sun Wukong to the Heavenly Court to deliver an invitation, also as a show of force, considering that the two’s combat abilities were outstanding in the current Three Realms.

Yet, who knew that in just a short time, one had died in battle and the other returned in disarray.

Before they could clarify the full story, Li Jing had already led the Heavenly Court’s gods to aggressively seek retribution, demanding they hand over King Niumo.

"The man is already dead, what more do they want from us? The Heavenly Court is too much!" someone shouted loudly.

"For now, we should quickly clarify the whole story. Victorious Fighting Buddha, you and King Niumo were delivering the invitation together; do you know what happened?" Manjushri Bodhisattva asked softly.

"I passed by Huaguo Mountain and missed my monkey children a bit, so I went down to linger in the Shuilian Cave for a while. King Niumo went ahead to deliver the invitation. By the time I reached the Gate of the Southern Heavens, Old King was already dead. I only knew the Heavenly Court insisted that he had destroyed it first before they struck to kill," Sun Wukong quietly narrated the events.

All furrowed their brows at this, their expressions turning grave.

Everything was too coincidental; just when the Victorious Fighting Buddha was away, King Niumo had gone mad and attacked the Heavenly Court. When Sun Wukong arrived, he only saw the body, as if everything had been arranged by someone.

"What are you still thinking about? This clearly shows the Heavenly Court intends to frame us. King Niumo, a convert to Buddhism, would never act so rashly," someone called out vehemently.