Jieyin was dumbstruck!
Completely dumbstruck!
Especially when he saw the utterly serious look on Sect Leader Tongtian's face, Jieyin felt an overwhelming urge to burst into tears.
What a disaster!!
How had he ever been foolish enough to offend this guy?
And now?
This guy was taking advantage of his numbers to bully everyone, and was being so outrageously arrogant!
"Boom!!!"
Before Jieyin could recover from his shock, the impatient Sect Leader Tongtian raised a hand and unleashed the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.
After a thunderous boom, Spirit Mountain, which had only recently been rebuilt, collapsed once again.
"Jieyin, are you ready? Here I come!"
"You? You?!"
Jieyin trembled with rage. He didn't even care whether he could win anymore. Waving the Green Lotus Treasure Banner, he charged forward to fight.
"Bring it on!!"
Seeing this, Journey to the West Tongtian unhesitatingly brought out the Four Immortal Slaying Swords. Sword qi, accompanied by dozens of chains of law, shot straight into Jieyin's Green Lotus Treasure Banner.
"Rumble!!"
"Crack!"
The Green Lotus Treasure Banner, which had accompanied Jieyin since birth and rendered him countless services, shattered under the assault of two supreme weapons of slaughter.
"This, this... This is impossible?!"
After relying on his tough saintly body to withstand the remaining damage, Jieyin stared blankly at the fragments of the magical treasure in his hands.
It was... shattered?
Someone had actually smashed his Green Lotus Treasure Banner to pieces?
How could this be?
Even if Tongtian was wielding the innate supreme treasure, the Four Immortal Slaying Swords, at most he should have been able to break through the barrier of the Green Lotus Treasure Banner.
How could he have smashed the treasure itself to pieces?
Unless...
Wait!
Jieyin abruptly looked up at Journey to the West Tongtian, then turned to glance at Sect Leader Tongtian beside him. He couldn't help crying out in shock:
"How... how is this possible? You really copied Tongtian's Four Swords?!"
"What are you talking about?"
After having the Six Souls Banner confiscated last time, Sect Leader Tongtian didn't dare to show off now. Without so much as blinking, he bluffed:
"Copy an innate supreme treasure? What a ridiculous idea! What, you can't compete, so now you're blaming your treasure?"
"You... You're talking nonsense!!!"
Jieyin's face flushed with rage. He was certain that both sets of Four Immortal Slaying Swords in Sect Leader Tongtian's hands were real. Otherwise, there was no explaining how his Green Lotus Treasure Banner had been smashed to pieces.
Yet Sect Leader Tongtian's retort made Jieyin hesitate.
After all, innate supreme treasures weren't like other merit-based treasures, fortune treasures, or even acquired treasures. Those could all be copied with enough effort.
Innate supreme treasures were formed naturally and couldn't be imitated or forged after the fact.
So...
"What are you standing around for?"
"Keep going!"
After smashing one of his innate supreme treasures, Sect Leader Tongtian impatiently rubbed his hands together.
"I hear the West is 'vast and rich in resources.' I'm sure you've got plenty of good stuff. Hurry up and bring it all out!"
"Y-you scoundrel!!"
Jieyin was already heartbroken over losing his Green Lotus Treasure Banner. At those words, he panicked and hurriedly sent a message to Zhunti, who had gone off somewhere: Our home is in danger. Get here, quick!
Spirit Platform Square Inch Mountain,
Three Stars Cave,
Ever since Sect Leader Tongtian had smashed Tang Sanzang and Guanyin to pieces with a single slap, Sun Wukong had been at a loose end after removing his headband.
He'd originally planned to visit the old man who had given him peaches back then.
But when he got there, all he found was a scene of devastation and a newly raised grave.
Only after calling over the local earth god did he learn that, not long after Wukong had left, the bandits Tang Sanzang had let go had returned and slaughtered the old man's entire family.
"Compassion and mercy? To hell with that!"
"Monks are nothing but trouble!"
The more Wukong thought about it, the angrier he got. After spending some time enjoying himself at Flower Fruit Mountain, he rode a somersault cloud straight to his old master's place.
He wanted to learn more skills.
If nothing else, the sight of that old man slapping Guanyin to death had made a tremendous impression on him.
After all, as far as he was concerned, Guanyin had already seemed invincible.
But,
after Wukong crossed mountain after mountain and arrived at the place where his master's home should have been, he discovered he couldn't find it.
"How strange! How bizarre!"
Standing at the entrance to the old Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave, Wukong scratched his head in confusion. Had he remembered the way wrong?
That didn't make sense!
He might have misremembered other things, but he had knelt here for so long back then just to become a disciple. How could he possibly have forgotten?
As Wukong stood there puzzled, his eyes suddenly narrowed. It seemed someone was hiding nearby, secretly watching him.
"Who's there?!"
Wukong summoned the Golden Cudgel from his ear and warily swept his gaze over the surroundings. His voice brimmed with barely suppressed fury.
"What god or demon are you, daring to play tricks in front of me, Old Sun? Believe me, I'll send you to meet the King of Hell with one swing of my cudgel!"
"Heh..."
Amid a soft chuckle that seemed to come from near and far at once, a familiar-looking mountain gate suddenly appeared before Wukong.
"This is?!"
Wukong stared at the mountain gate he had watched for more than ten years. Excitement surged through him. "Master? Master, is that you? Master?!"
"You little monkey, why aren't you coming in?"
Zhunti, disguised as Patriarch Bodhi, sat on the spotless meditation cushion in the main hall, wearing his usual kindly smile.
"Master?!"
Wukong bounded into the cave, his eyes already reddening. With a thump, he rushed over and knelt before him.
"Master, have you been well all these years?"
"Ah...!"
Zhunti put on a helpless sigh and gestured to the side. "Wukong, have you noticed anything unusual about this place?"
"Unusual?"
Wukong froze, then looked around. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Master, where are my senior fellow disciples?"
"They're dead!"
The smile vanished from Zhunti's face, and his voice filled with sorrow. "Those old fellows from the Eastern Heavenly Court had no regard for the rules. They actually dared to attack their juniors, defying the whole world."
"Your master was caught off guard. They... they were all reduced to ashes!"
"What?!"
Wukong sprang five feet into the air. His monkey face showed both shock and a hint of suspicion.
"Master, what were my senior brothers doing? How did they end up clashing with the Heavenly Court?"
"Well... It's a long story!"
Zhunti clearly hadn't expected Wukong to ask that. But then he recalled that Wukong should have been there when Tang Sanzang was killed, and shook his head with a bitter smile.
"You escorted Tang Sanzang west to fetch the scriptures. Did you encounter any troubles along the way?"
"Ugh, don't even get me started!!"
Zhunti had meant to steer the conversation toward Tang Sanzang's death.
But as soon as he finished speaking, Wukong forgot all about his senior fellow disciples' deaths and began venting his grievances.
There was that woman's foolish kindness, making trouble out of nothing, throwing her weight around, and her cruel heart...
Before you continue