“Monster, take this blow from old Sun!”
A thunderous roar reverberated in layers, its trailing sound splitting apart, accompanied by the elongated golden staff striking down with a deafening crash. It pierced through the sea of flames, tore through the void, and struck squarely against the pale golden, flesh-toned colossal palm of the Buddha.
Boom!
The pale golden light obscuring Vulture Peak shattered into pieces, instantly swept away by the collapsing void and reduced to ashes, leaving no trace behind. The Buddha palm that had previously rendered “Phoenix Demon Goddess” Hui Guang utterly powerless was thus dispelled into nothingness.
Hui Guang, struggling desperately to rise, first froze in astonishment, then showed expressions of bewilderment, shock, and excitement. Her phoenix eyes glistened as she blurted out:
“Great Sage Equal to Heaven?”
The long-lost legendary Great Sage Equal to Heaven of the Demon Race had returned!
He had not perished at Vulture Peak!
At this moment, all of Hui Guang’s pride and arrogance vanished. It was as if she had reverted to being a simple young phoenix listening to elders recounting the Great Sage’s heroic deeds, imagining the grace and bearing of this supreme hero of the demon race and lamenting his sacrifice to save the other Great Sages at Vulture Peak.
Now, witnessing the return of the golden staff and seeing the furry golden ape’s giant hand, hearing the roar of “take this blow from old Sun,” Hui Guang felt as if she had entered a legendary tale, stepping into her childhood dreams.
This was her senior, this was her idol!
Before the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, how could she possibly feel any pride?
“Great Sage Equal to Heaven!” Even Tai Li, known for his pride, displayed rare excitement. Since the Battle of Vulture Peak, the Great Sage’s reputation had spread throughout all demon clans, inspiring generation after generation of demon warriors as their goal, motivation, and ideal realm to aspire to.
Originally, they had only intended to rescue the surviving Great Sages, but now they unexpectedly found the mightiest one still alive and as mighty as ever!
The five colors of red, cyan, yellow, white, and black flowed, already rippling without even being waved, clearly reflecting Tai Li’s emotions.
Qing Qiu the little fox, the Kirin Demon Goddess Luo Jia, and the Kunpeng Demon Goddess Fei Xiang all reacted similarly. Regardless of how unruly the Great Sage had been in his early days, and despite his ruthless treatment of fellow demons, after he had supposedly perished at Vulture Peak while rescuing other Great Sages, all his deeds and legends had become mythologized, making him truly the most renowned demon in history.
Meanwhile, Meng Qi also changed expressions. Originally planning to rely on the Yellow Spring skeleton, the Overlord’s Ultimate Blade, and his martial arts skills for a hard-fought battle, he now looked utterly bewildered, his standard “stunned” expression so profound it could become an internet meme across all worlds.
“What the heck? How did the Great Sage Equal to Heaven just pop out of nowhere?”
Every time he came to Vulture Peak, he had pondered where the Great Sage had gone—whether he had been reduced to ashes or rescued by someone else, who that someone might be, and why he had never reappeared, leaving only the golden staff behind. Yet now, after the monster from the rear peak of Vulture Peak broke free, the Great Sage suddenly emerged.
It truly felt like a game of go: you play a stone, I respond with another.
Of course, the player definitely wasn’t himself. Within the Journey to the West world, one of the sides must be the Taoist Heavenly Venerable!
And the Golden Emperor had Sand Wujing carry out the mysterious corpse from the Ten Thousand Buddha Formation in advance, probably foreseeing this exact scenario. Otherwise, since Vulture Peak’s fall so many years ago, the monster had been active for quite a while—why hadn’t it retrieved the corpse earlier or later?
Wasn’t it simply because it feared the rear peak monster might release and absorb that mysterious corpse?
Ultimately, by having the Luo Sect reveal the way into Vulture Peak to the demon race, the Golden Emperor had likely intended to push developments forward, hoping for precisely this current situation.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, a pure and flawless beam of light had already illuminated the sky. One after another, an awe-inspiring and terrifyingly vast aura of “I am the supreme ruler of the Three Realms and myriad directions” rapidly spread outward, surpassing the previous “Buddha’s colossal palm” by not just hundreds or thousands of times but infinitely more.
Not merely legendary—this was at least at the level of Creation!
Sure enough, it was the monster from the rear peak of Vulture Peak… Meng Qi had long suspected this and now finally confirmed it.
The monster was quite clever and cunning. When dealing with enemies not yet at the legendary level, it had only exerted exactly enough force to kill them. However, Meng Qi had blocked its strike with the Yellow Spring skeleton. Now facing the most renowned demon in history, the monster finally abandoned restraint and unleashed its full power.
As for why it had initially held back instead of finishing the fight quickly, perhaps it had been cautious about something—maybe fearing triggering changes at Vulture Peak, worrying about interference, or because it had been sealed for many years and its condition was problematic. Even after absorbing the relics of the golden body within the Ten Thousand Buddha Formation, there were still hidden dangers. Using its full strength might cause backlash or power loss.
It seemed as if a mass of light had appeared high above—an utterly pure light, a light that purified all things, a light that allowed no other existence. Just seeing it made Meng Qi feel as if his entire body were igniting, about to burn completely and become part of the light, with no impurities allowed to remain!
Beyond that, nothing else could be directly seen or observed.
Meng Qi gently inhaled, extending his divine consciousness into the Ultimate Blade. Purple lightning erupted, twisting and writhing as it probed the subtle and connecting fundamental forces and Dao itself, forming a thunderous giant eye. Finally, he pierced through the pure, flawless light sphere and saw the monster inside—having devoured almost all the golden body remains within the Ten Thousand Buddha Formation.
It resembled a Buddha, standing proudly, its entire body not displaying pale gold, dark gold, green, or other glass-like hues, but instead appearing as if condensed purely from white light, utterly impurity-free, radiating brilliant rays that pierced through layer upon layer of dark, profound universes.
Witnessing this scene, Meng Qi suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. As the Daoist Glazed Lamp—the symbol of all consequences and origins—appeared before his eyes, he discerned a familiar trail of radiant starlight.
This was a causal link connected to the fallen God of the old universe!
It was sending forth bloody-black intent, attempting to taint this “Supreme True Buddha.”
So the Demon Buddha had dragged the God of the old universe into corruption as part of a scheme to counter this monster at the rear peak of Vulture Peak! Meng Qi suddenly understood. At that moment, surrounding this pure Buddha, countless illusions emerged—such as the Garuda King with golden wings, Manjushri Bodhisattva with five wisdom topknots, and other Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats, almost forming a Ten Thousand Buddha Formation!
Just as these thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, the moment the infinite sphere of light appeared, the sea of flames high in the sky surged violently, transforming into a blazing crimson cloak that enveloped a golden, wrathful ape.
He wore a phoenix-winged purple-gold crown, golden chainmail armor, and cloud-treading boots woven with lotus threads. Two golden beams shot forth from his eyes, piercing through the purest and most immaculate sphere of light. Then, raising his golden staff, he revealed the *Dharma Manifestation of Heaven and Earth*—his feet planted firmly upon the distant Vulture Peak while his head touched the lofty heavens above.
His aura was so ferocious, his might so overwhelming, that the very void split apart, each fissure leading to different universes and realms, as countless shadowy figures returned.
It was truly the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!
As the golden giant raised the golden staff, sudden changes occurred in the illusions surrounding the “Supreme True Buddha.” Manjushri Bodhisattva let out a mighty voice:
“A, la, bo, zhe, nuo.”
He raised one hand, touching his thumb and middle finger together, smiling at the observers.
The Tathagata’s Palm, the Smile in Holding a Flower.
Besides him, the illusions of other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas also demonstrated their mastery of the Tathagata’s Palm techniques—some with the “Only One I Reverence” gesture pointing to heaven and earth, some holding the Pure Land in Palm with layers of Buddha realms, and others forming the Nirvana Purity mudra of entering cessation. All nine forms of the Tathagata’s Palm manifested simultaneously.
Ten Thousand Buddhas advanced together, Bodhisattvas pressed down in unison, countless layers of Tathagata Palms merging into one, nine nines returning to one!
Finally, the “Supreme True Buddha,” pure beyond measure, spread both hands as if embracing heaven and earth, unleashing boundless light that combined with the force of the nine-nines-returned-to-one Tathagata Palm.
The Palms unite, Creation begins!
The light formed a colossal palm, seemingly opening space-time itself, bringing forth the birth of all things and the dawn of an era, crashing powerfully toward the golden furious ape.
“Let there be light, and there is light. Command you to fall into dust, and you shall fall into dust.”
The Great Sage Equal to Heaven’s golden staff also came down. Every acupoint in his body transformed into a collapsing universe condensed into the staff, pouring in emotions accumulated over countless years.
Hatred, torment, and resentment—all transformed into this single blow.
The flaming cloak flared, and a phantom river of time appeared behind him, merging into the strike as well. The golden staff met the nine-nines-returned-to-one Tathagata Palm head-on.
What is true Reversion to Emptiness of all things? This was the real Reversion to Emptiness of all things!
“Take another blow from old Sun!”
The high heavens darkened, as if returning to nothingness, devoid of space, seemingly even devoid of time. Meng Qi could no longer see the battle scene above, only hearing the deafening roar. The midair of Vulture Peak completely collapsed, layer upon layer falling apart. The elements of earth, fire, wind, and water raged wildly, only to be swallowed by the void-darkness. One after another, flowers of light bloomed like the most beautiful divine messengers, while countless bolts of lightning illuminated the near-destroyed Vulture Peak. Each thunderbolt embraced a realm, yet this newly opened realm immediately plunged into destruction, petals falling and thunder dissipating.
Such terrifying aftershocks spread downward, nearly as powerful as a legendary strike. Tai Li, Hui Guang, Luo Jia, Fei Xiang, and others could not help but turn pale, sensing the scent of death.
Even at their peak strength, together they could not withstand such aftershocks!
Qing Qiu’s body slightly trembled as she suddenly raised the Demon Saint Spear. It seemed she was murmuring to herself, attempting to awaken the Demon Saint Spear further to survive this crisis, her gaze somewhat panicky, never having experienced such a situation before.
Just as they looked on in tension and despair, they suddenly saw countless bolts of lightning—indescribable lightning capable of splitting the heavens, lightning controlling divine mountains and commanding entire worlds, lightning from countless universes across myriad realms.
All thunder united into one, merging with a suddenly slashing brilliant purple light, striking toward the midair aftershocks. The terrifying aura made the several demon gods shiver, as if facing a Great Sage themselves!
The blade light traced a beautiful trajectory, containing the power of all worlds, silently striking the collapsing, destructive realm descending from above.
Lotuses of light, thunder, and destruction were cleaved open in one stroke, as mighty as could be. Then, from utmost strength transformed into utmost softness, various rules emerged around, the sun rising and the moon setting, flowers blooming and withering, forming a self-contained world like a safe harbor, firmly standing amidst the great destruction of Vulture Peak.
“If the world perishes, I alone shall remain!”
Meng Qi’s green robe fluttered as he tightly gripped the Ultimate Blade with his right hand, like a mountain supporting the heavens, not retreating a single step, leaving this image in the eyes of demon gods like Hui Guang and Luo Jia.
“A legendary peerless divine weapon!”
“He actually possesses a peerless divine weapon!”
“And it has awakened to the legendary level!”
The several demon gods whispered in astonishment, never expecting Yu Xu’s Grandmaster Su Meng to have such a hidden treasure, capable of sweeping across all universes now. Was it a joke to team up with him?
After absorbing Ananda’s good intentions, the Ultimate Blade had finally suppressed the Demon Buddha’s mark somewhat, allowing it to unleash legendary power!
This blade was unmatched in sheer might.
Sensing the Ultimate Blade’s aura, the Demon Saint Spear gave a soft hum, bursting with colorful light, seemingly wanting to awaken further, but eventually calming down.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage