The Yellow Wind Monster's wails echoed in my ears, but that once mighty demon was now nothing more than a yellow-haired weasel that could not speak.
This method terrified both the Green Lion and the White Elephant, who were also beings of different kinds who had attained enlightenment.
A thousand years of cultivation crumbled in a single move—this is a punishment more terrifying than any weapon, chilling the hearts of all cultivators.
Legend has it that Xu Xiao wounded Guanyin with a single sword strike, and at the time everyone thought it was a coincidence. Now that they have witnessed it with their own eyes, both the Green Lion White Elephant have begun to retreat.
They wanted to leave, but the monkeys who were locked in a stalemate with them were unwilling to do so.
With each punch and palm strike clean and swift, the giant stone ape couldn't help but burst into laughter after witnessing Xu Xiao slay the Yellow Wind Monster with a single sword strike.
"Haha! As expected of my older brother, that was clean and efficient. I can't let you down next time!"
Wukong roared to the sky, then pulled out the magical weapon that could grow at will— the Divine Staff of Battle!
At this moment, this was a magical artifact specifically crafted to align with the Dao of Battle, and it emitted a radiant glow as it sensed Wukong's boundless fighting spirit.
It transformed into a massive object, the size of a towering jade pillar, held in the hands of the stone ape, and slammed down towards the Green Lion with boundless power.
"How dare you! You damned monkey!"
The Green Lion roared, spewing forth howling green flames to block the attack, while its two large paws swung high, colliding with the Divine Staff of Battle.
'Bang!'
First came silence, then a tremendous sound erupted, resounding throughout the Three Realms.
The mountain-sized Green Lion was sent flying backward, its blood and fur splattering everywhere.
The stone ape took a few steps back, then laughed loudly, the Dao of Battle behind him growing stronger.
'Moo!!'
The White Elephant glared at the monkey, pawed at the ground, and charged headlong at the stone ape.
He realized that if he didn't put in his best effort today, not only would he have to give it his all, but even escaping would be difficult.
Rather than have his cultivation severed by Xu Xiao and die a miserable death, he would rather fight the stone ape in front of him with all his might, and even if he dies, he would die a glorious death.
"Come!!"
As the stone ape faced the White Elephant's charge, its fighting spirit grew even stronger. Ignoring the panting from its earlier struggle with the Green Lion, it wielded its Divine Staff of Battle and once again rammed into the White Elephant's tusks.
"Indeed, the way of battle is to forge ahead without hesitation, and Wukong is indeed best suited for this kind of situation."
Xu Xiao watched the monkeys fight with a smile, completely ignoring the restlessness of the Golden-Winged Peng flying rapidly beside him.
"Make your move! Make your move! If you've got the guts, then fight me!"
The Golden-Winged Peng was practically bristling with fur; no matter how fast it flew or how many strikes it unleashed, it could never touch a single hair on Xu Xiao.
Yes, the opponent's sword strike that killed the Yellow Wind Monster had indeed startled him, but the more it did so, the more hostile the proud Peng Bird felt.
He would rather Xu Xiao attack him than be ignored like this.
"Are you in such a hurry to die?" Xu Xiao chuckled, then looked towards a certain spot.
"I received a favor from an elder, which is why I haven't made a move against you. Do you think it's because I'm afraid?"
The Golden-Winged Peng was even more enraged!
What he hates most is people talking about his background. Everyone says he is a descendant of Ancestral Phoenix and the younger brother of Kong Que. Everyone believes that his abilities come from his ancestors.
"Enough with the nonsense, go ahead and kill me if you dare. I, Golden-Winged Great Peng, am absolutely not afraid."
Xu Xiao withdrew his gaze, as if he had received an answer, and finally turned his attention to Golden-Winged Great Peng.
"Alright, a little punishment is fine as a warning."
"This is what you demanded. Since that person isn't going to stop it, I'll show you what real methods are."
Xu Xiao's gaze sharpened, and then he raised the Tribulation Cause Sword in his hand and thrust it forward!
Looking at this slow, deliberate sword strike, the Peng Bird's eyes revealed a smug expression!
Even if such a slow sword strike could sever a cultivator's cultivation level in one blow, what good would it do? An attack that can't hit is useless no matter how powerful it is!
The Golden-Winged Peng maximized its speed advantage, its entire figure becoming invisible; even Golden Immortal's Divine Sense would find it difficult to detect its form.
He just needed to wait for Xu Xiao to thrust his sword out, then seize the opportunity to counterattack.
But things are never that easy.
" Golden-Winged Great Peng, do you know? No one can dodge this sword strike I unleash. You are no exception!" Xu Xiao said with a smile.
Effect before cause!
All attempts to dodge are futile. With the changes brought about by the variables, this sword strike is guaranteed to hit. No matter the speed, the supernatural power, or the bloodline, it is all useless!
You have no choice but to endure it, to use your bare body to take this inevitable sword strike!
The Golden-Winged Peng looked at the sharp sword that always followed it and let out a mournful cry.
He couldn't dodge, he couldn't escape; the sword was closing in on him little by little.
"How dare you, you brat!" The Golden-Winged Peng Bird suddenly burst open with ten thousand golden feathers, and the Ancestral Phoenix True Blood roared through its meridians.
At this moment, he finally understood why Xu Xiao looked down on him.
The pressure of death truly fell upon the arrogant Golden-Winged Great Peng, who had always been spared by countless powerful figures.
Unfortunately, it was all too late.
Even though the Peng Bird unleashed its Ancestral Phoenix True Blood, tearing through the Void with its wings and pushing its speed to the limit, Xu Xiao's sword still resolutely pointed directly at his body.
In the unseen vision of the Peng Bird, only a golden thread connects the cause and effect between heaven and earth, and Xu Xiao's sword is guided by this.
Sword Approaching!
Stop!
The Golden Immortal who had been dancing in the sky quietly fell!
Xu Xiao stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes reflecting countless threads of cause and effect like a flowing starry river. The Tribulation Cause Sword hummed softly, Great Dao of Variables unfolded with a roar. " Golden-Winged Great Peng, you have made things difficult for me for no reason. Whether you can withstand this sword depends on your fate."
In the distance, the figure of the Jinchi Peng Bird fell from the sky, and countless golden light spots shattered and fell from his body.
"No!!!"
He saw his cultivation, which he had painstakingly cultivated for a thousand years, evaporate into thin air, his Golden Immortal Dao Fruit shatter like glass, even his Ancestral Phoenix Blood was diluted, and even the Magic Power that maintained his human form was rapidly disappearing!
"No--hoo!" He let out a heart-wrenching scream, his wings drooping limply, and finally crashed to the ground.
Large swaths of golden feathers fell away, revealing the grayish down beneath; the beak twisted and deformed, eventually transforming into a palm-sized golden-winged chick, falling to the dust with a weak whimper, having lost even the strength to lift its head.
With a single sword strike, the Jinchi Peng Bird at the Golden Immortal Peak realm was stripped of its Dao Fruit, reduced to a fledgling.
" The Venerable Great Peng?!" The Green Lion White Elephant were terrified.
Even Buddha's own uncle was reduced to the size of a fledgling by Xu Xiao; how could these demon kings who are his mounts possibly survive today?
The will to fight receded like the tide, leaving only the instinct to flee.
"Trying to leave?" Xu Xiao's lips curled into a cold smile.
Too late!
The Power of Variables, like an invisible spider web, enveloped the heavens and the earth, and the causal lines around the Green Lion and White Elephant suddenly tightened like a bowstring.
"As henchmen of the Buddhist Sect, they should be prepared to perish."
Before he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve, and an invisible Power of Variables entered Wukong's brow at the center of the battle.
" Wukong, catch!"