Guanyin Was Stunned? Martial Uncle? Which Martial Uncle?

Just as Guanyin Bodhisattva was pondering how to set a few obstacles in Sun Wukong's path, she realized something seemed off.

"Rascal monkey, stop fooling around!"

Descending from the clouds, Guanyin Bodhisattva first glanced at Tongtian, who seemed somewhat familiar to her, then shouted at Sun Wukong.

"Bodhisattva, it's not that your old Sun is fooling around. He's the one trying to take my life!"

Sun Wukong seemed to have taken a liking to Guanyin, who had rescued him. The moment she appeared, he let down his guard and hopped over to her.

"Bodhisattva, take a look at this thing! Hurry up and take it off me!"

"You cheeky monkey~!"

Though Guanyin wore a smile, her tone was distinctly displeased. "This golden fillet is a treasure bestowed upon Jin Chanzi by the Buddha. As long as you stop wantonly killing living beings from now on, he'll naturally remove it for you..."

"Wantonly killing living beings?"

"Hahaha..."

Before Guanyin could finish speaking, Xuanming, who was watching nearby, couldn't hold back. Laughing, he turned to Sect Leader Tongtian.

"Grandmaster, tell me, is this not ridiculous? A Buddhist monster swallowed hundreds of thousands of people, and they all pretended not to see it. Now they're calling a hero who killed six bandits a wanton killer?"

"Absolutely ridiculous!"

"You?!"

A cold glint flashed through Guanyin Bodhisattva's eyes. She had assumed the two were passing itinerant cultivators. Now, it seemed they had come looking for trouble.

But was a mere Golden Immortal like him really so eager to die?

Very well, then...

"Die!"

Just as Guanyin secretly used a divine art, preparing to kill Xuanming without a sound, Tongtian gave a disdainful snort beside her.

"Cihang, it's been many years. I never thought you'd even changed your gender. If I remember right, you used to be a man."

"Pfft—!!"

Caught completely off guard by a Saint's glare, Guanyin Bodhisattva let out a muffled groan and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The two people beside her were badly startled.

"Guanyin Bodhisattva?"

"Guanyin Bodhisattva!"

Sun Wukong looked puzzled, while Tang Sanzang was concerned. They hurried forward to help her, but Guanyin gently raised a hand to stop them.

"May I ask which fellow cultivator is before me? Will you reveal your true appearance?"

"Heh, heh..."

If Guanyin had said nothing, it might have been fine. But her words made Tongtian let out a cold laugh. "Well, well. Yuanshi really has raised himself a fine disciple."

"Shamelessly serving as Buddhism's lackey wasn't enough. Now you can't even recognize your martial uncle?"

"M-Martial Uncle???"

As Tongtian's words fell, Guanyin's pupils shrank to slits. The figure before her slowly overlapped with the one in her memory.

"N-No, impossible! This can't be!"

She instinctively backed away several steps. Guanyin Bodhisattva's face was as pale as snow, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Martial Uncle, Martial Uncle was supposed to be meditating in Biyou Palace. How could you possibly be here? And why would you interfere in mortal affairs..."

"That's right!"

As she spoke, Guanyin Bodhisattva seemed to think of something. She raised her head, hope in her eyes.

"Martial Uncle, even if—even if you are my martial uncle, the Dao Ancestor explicitly forbade Saints from interfering in anything in the mortal realm. Are you really going to defy the Dao Ancestor's will?"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Tongtian scratched his head, looking doubtful. "Xuanming, did the Dao Ancestor say that?"

"I think he did!" Xuanming said, rubbing his chin uncertainly.

"Then why was that old bastard Yuanshi allowed to attack your master?" Tongtian asked Xuanming in puzzlement. Could Yuanshi really dare to defy the Dao Ancestor's will too?

"Well..."

Xuanming explained with an awkward chuckle. "Grandmaster, it was because Yuanshi made the first move. The Dao Ancestor was afraid you'd follow his example and retaliate, so he added that rule."

"Hong Jun, you *@*&*&..."

Tongtian's anger flared. He paid no attention to Guanyin, who stood there dumbstruck, and let loose a tirade at Hong Jun.

"This, this, this..."

Guanyin rubbed her ears in disbelief, then wiped her eyes, finally certain she hadn't misheard or imagined it.

Her martial uncle, who had always obeyed the Dao Ancestor without question, actually dared to act like this?

"Not good!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva seemed to think of something. Her face turned pale again, and she quietly formed a hand seal, preparing to teleport away. She had to hurry back and report this horrifying news.

Unfortunately,

Even with Tongtian burning with rage, she was no match for him. There was no way a peak Great Encompassing Golden Immortal like her could escape—not even with strength comparable to a Quasi-Saint.

"Get back here!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva ripped open space and had already slipped inside. Tongtian was still cursing Hong Jun without pause. Without even raising his head, he simply reached out.

In the next instant,

Guanyin Bodhisattva, who had always held herself high before Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang, was caught and dragged back like a chick. He casually tossed her to the ground, where she landed in a heap, her life or death unknown.

"This, this... Gulp!"

Tang Sanzang was only a mortal and didn't know how powerful Tongtian's move had been. But Wukong, standing beside him, was utterly dumbfounded.

He wasn't a mortal!

He was a Golden Immortal!

A Grand Unity Golden Immortal!

One step further, and he would become a Great Encompassing Golden Immortal, able to transcend the Three Realms and the Five Elements and roam freely through heaven and earth!

That was precisely why he knew how terrifying Guanyin was. He had always treated her with the utmost respect, never daring to offend her.

But now?

The Guanyin Bodhisattva he had thought even more powerful than his master had been yanked out of space like a dog, then tossed by the roadside like trash and left there!

Who was this person?!

What did he want?

More importantly, what would happen to him now that he'd witnessed all this?

"Master, is your old Sun going to die here today?!"

Just as Sun Wukong lamented inwardly and even began reminiscing about the past, ruefully recalling how young and foolish he'd once been, a voice tinged with amusement sounded by his ear.

"Brother Monkey, do you really want to be Buddhism's lackey?"

"Who?!"

Startled, Sun Wukong instinctively tightened his grip on the Golden Cudgel. But as soon as he saw who stood before him, he swiftly put it away.

"F-Fellow Daoist, what makes you say that? Your old Sun has nothing to do with Buddhism!"

"Is that so?"

Xuanming chuckled without arguing, then turned to Tongtian. "Grandmaster, finished cursing yet? If you are, come help out!"

"What is it?"

Though he still seemed reluctant to stop, Tongtian cut short the remaining ten thousand curses and flashed to Xuanming's side.

"Here, help him take this off."

Xuanming pointed at the fillet on Sun Wukong's head, his voice tinged with emotion. "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who once roamed the world, free and unfettered, shouldn't be bound by a golden fillet."