The thick, inescapable stench of blood soared into the sky, even overpowering the lingering Demonic Qi and Buddha Light at the heart of the battlefield!
Eight hundred Arhats—once the backbone of the Buddhist Sect—had suffered devastating losses! More than seventy percent had either borne the brunt of the formation or failed to evade in time, perishing beneath Sun Wukong's staff without even leaving corpses behind!
Only a handful of Arhats who had reached the Golden Immortal realm, reacted swiftly, and happened to be lucky escaped with their lives. Yet every one of them was wounded and still reeling in terror, having long since lost the courage to fight again.
The surviving Buddhist Soldiers and Arhats placed their final sliver of hope on the supreme commander of this army—Venerable Ananda.
They hoped that this Mid-stage Grand Luo Golden Immortal Venerable could turn the tide and stop that terrifying demon monkey.
Yet when they looked toward where Venerable Ananda had been standing, they saw a sight so despairing it left them gasping for breath.
The dignified Venerable Ananda, who had been shouting, "Kill the demon monkey!" only moments ago, now stood with his back to the battlefield and faced westward. The Buddha Light around him flickered urgently, Auspicious Clouds had gathered beneath his feet, and from the look of it... he was clearly preparing to... run away?!
He did not even turn back for one last look at that brutal battlefield, nor did he spare a glance for the defeated soldiers who had pinned their hopes on him. He only wanted to flee this living hell as quickly as possible!
Their last hope had been extinguished.
Sun Wukong's ten-thousand-zhang giant ape body towered between heaven and earth, his ferocious might overwhelming. His pair of Fiery Golden Eyes, blazing with golden flames, instantly