Everyone held their breath in unison and looked up at the sky.
Within mere breaths, a strange butterfly with a wingspan several yards wide cut through the spiritual mist and slowly descended onto the clearing in the middle of Desolate Valley.
Its wing scales shimmered with an eerie, dark purple glow. With every beat of its wings, powder carrying a bloody stench sifted down, instantly staining patches of grass black wherever it landed.
Seeing this menacing, bizarre arrival, everyone's nerves instantly tightened. As though facing a formidable enemy, they whipped out their weapons.
The Golden Cudgel blazed with golden light in Sun Wukong's grip. Zhu Bajie forgot the pain in his ears and leveled his Nine-Foot Rake, taking up a fighting stance. Sha Wujing pointed his Demon-Subduing Staff diagonally toward the ground, and even Tang Sanzang stared gravely at the creature.
Once Tang Sanzang got a clear look at the visitor, his brows drew tightly together, and he wondered inwardly, Isn't this the Demon Butterfly that caused trouble on Mount Huo? How did he find his way here? What exactly does he want, chasing us all this way?
The terrifying pressure that had shrouded heaven and earth unexpectedly vanished without a trace, like seawater ebbing with the tide.
At the center of the swirling spiritual energy and light streaming across the sky, Demon Butterfly's fantastical true form peeled away layer by layer, dissolving into specks of purple fluorescence.
In its place stood a man dressed in purple robes patterned with flowing clouds.
His face was lean, and his eyes were as deep as ancient wells. Though not a trace of spiritual power escaped him, he possessed a majestic bearing that made others hesitate to look directly at him.
With unhurried steps, the purple-robed man passed through everyone's watchful gazes and