Great Demon Sun Wukong

At the sound of that voice, expressions quickly changed on the faces of Sun Wukong and the Nine Kirin. Sun Wukong's was one of delighted surprise, while the Nine Kirin's was shock. No sooner had the voice finished speaking than a figure began to slowly materialize amidst the sandstorm. When this figure came into view, Sun Wukong's heart leaped with joy—it was indeed the Rogue Heart Sword Hero. However, the Sword Hero's originally golden armor was now tattered and torn, and his clothes were riddled with holes. Despite his appearance, the Sword Hero seemed to be in great spirits.

The only thing on the Sword Hero's person that still seemed intact was his sword, the Domain Instrument Seven-Star Dragon Abyss. Upon appearing, the Sword Hero paid no heed to the Nine Kirin and went straight toward Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong was excited too; his relationship with the Sword Hero was very close. Although he was surprised to see him here, the joy of meeting an old friend overshadowed any confusion, but Sun Wukong still asked, "Sword Hero, what's happened to you? Have you started begging for a living?"

The Sword Hero was taken aback, becoming aware of the state he was in, and couldn't help but laugh bitterly, "This damned place has sandstorms too frightening to imagine for a high-level world. My clothes have been torn to shreds by the wind. As for me, haha, I've been here practicing my swordsmanship." Sun Wukong's Heaven and Earth Fire Eyes were active, allowing him to see that the Sword Hero was in particularly good shape—perhaps just one opportunity away from a breakthrough to the cultivation of a Domain Lord, and it was very likely a direct peak.

"What about you? How come you're here, surrounded by these nine fellows? Luckily I've grown accustomed to the sound of the wind here from staying so long, or else I might not have noticed you!" Sun Wukong then narrated his intention to head to the Netherworld World but being ambushed by these fellows. Once Sun Wukong finished his recount, the Sword Hero had basically understood and turned to look at the nine people who had once again encircled them.

"Have you two finished chatting? I really admire you both; even in the face of death, you're so leisurely," Ye Xingchen said coldly with a stern face. He was certainly aware of the Sword Hero, a major thorn in Ling Weiyang's side, who had even snatched away Lord Ling Weiyang's Power of the Stars in the Patrolling Celestial World. Due to Lord Xi Zhao, Sun Wukong could not be killed, but the Sword Hero was certainly fair game for eradication! Although there was now an additional person on the opposing side, the numerical advantage was still firmly with the Nine Kirin.

Just as Ye Xingchen was about to separate Sun Wukong and the Sword Hero to deal with them individually, two more voices rang out from the sandstorm, "How could you start a fight without telling us, Monkey, Sword Hero? That's not very nice of you two!" Saying this, two people, arm in arm, came walking out of the sandstorm. Sun Wukong immediately recognized them, "Hei Kui, Flame God? You two are here too? Are you joining the Sword Hero in begging?" Indeed, while Flame God was slightly better off since his clothes were conjured from flames and only appeared a bit mottled and damaged, Hei Kui was not so lucky; his clothes were mere ordinary fabric, and now almost only a pair of briefs remained, the rest all but vanished, revealing his muscular dark skin.

At this, Ye Xingchen's complexion grew even darker. Nine people going against one Sun Wukong almost guaranteed a victory of over ninety percent, with the addition of the Sword Hero, the odds were still about eighty percent, but now two more had joined, and both were super experts known in the ranks of formidable enemies. If a fight broke out now, Ye Xingchen's chances of winning would only be fifty percent. Was it a mere coincidence that Sun Wukong had chosen a place and so many people from the Netherworld World had gathered? Or, was it actually a trap Sun Wukong and his allies had set up, intending to annihilate the Nine Kirin here?

Ye Zi and Hei Kui casually walked over to Sun Wukong, patting each other on the shoulder before Flame God turned around, cocky, and gestured towards Ye Xingchen with a hooked finger, then with an infuriating grin said, "Today, I'm taking on ten!" After saying this, Ye Xingchen remained silent, but Mo Zhu suddenly said, "There are only nine!" The atmosphere instantly became awkward, like letting out a fart when everyone else was serious.

All eyes then turned to Mo Zhu, at which point Ye Xingchen felt utterly humiliated. This was a significant loss of face, and their morale plummeted. If a battle commenced now, it would be tremendously disadvantageous. Mo Zhu was usually so reticent; what had gotten into him today to utter such a life-threatening comment? Flame God and the others froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. No one expected Flame God's bold provocation to be met with such a remark, which was impossible not to find hilarious.

One side was green with anger, while the other was doubled over with laughter, making the atmosphere even more bizarre. Finally, Flame God managed to take a few deep breaths, then couldn't help but grin as he said, "My apologies, I didn't realize you only had nine people. That was inconsiderate of me!" As he finished, Flame God could not contain his laughter any longer.

Ye Xingchen finally couldn't hold back any longer. Those who dared to insult the Kirin were to be killed without mercy. It didn't matter whether they could be defeated or not; since they had the audacity to insult the Kirin Clan, they should be prepared for the wrath of the Kirin. Ye Xingchen didn't need to give an order; all nine acted almost simultaneously. Now, the Nine Kirin had two strategies: first, to combine the power of nine to attack Sun Wukong and his four companions; second, to split the enemies and have roughly two on one. Truly, the first method would be more advantageous for the Nine Kirin, as jointly they could execute an attack of the Heavenly Venerate level, but that would make it hard to ensure only the others were killed while sparing Sun Wukong alone.

Thus, to ensure Sun Wukong's life was spared, they could only employ the second strategy, with the Dream Kirin Ye Xingchen, the Ink Kirin Mo Zhu, and the Bloodthirsty Kirin Mie Huang surrounding Sun Wukong. Capturing Sun Wukong alive would certainly be more difficult than killing him. Next, the Mirror Kirin Nie Jing and Meteor Kirin Liu Shang took on the Rogue Heart Sword Hero. The Fallen God Kirin Qian Yin and the Life Kirin Chang Sheng faced off against Hei Kui, while the Ghost Kirin Sha Hun and the Explosive Flame Kirin Shi Yan battled the Flame God.

Due to the unique nature of the Nine Kirin, when two joined forces, they could elevate their cultivation from the intermediate grade of a Domain Lord level to the peak level, while three working together reached the peak of Domain Lord level. Since each of the Nine Kirin had their own specialties, their combined combat power was far beyond the simple sum of their parts.

However, once the battle became a chaotic fray, the Nine Kirin sensed something was amiss. Fighting two against one, they quickly found themselves at a disadvantage. Aside from the group surrounding Ye Xingchen, the other three pairs were being suppressed. What shocked Ye Xingchen the most was the strength of the burly dark-skinned Hei Kui; both Qian Yin and Chang Sheng were of Domain Lord Peak cultivation, yet they were utterly unable to cope with Hei Kui, who seemed to treat the fight as child's play without even using his full strength. What exactly was Hei Kui's cultivation level, and how could he be so powerful?

Seeing the dire situation, Ye Xingchen immediately shouted, "Chang Sheng, initiate the Kirin Blood Sacrifice; these people are tough to handle! It's not just Hei Kui, the Flame God and the Rogue Heart Sword Hero also seem very relaxed in combat. The Flame God wields the Earth's Core Gold-Melting Flame in one hand and the Kirin Purple-Gold Fire in the other, tormenting Sha Hun and Shi Yan with intense flames. And the Rogue Heart Sword Hero has been almost invisible since the fight began. Initially, countless light spots began to twinkle on his body, looking like a myriad of stars, after which he vanished. Each time he reappeared, it was only with his sword, so truly, the Rogue Heart Sword Hero was fighting hidden from Liu Shang and Nie Jing—using an Invisibility that they absolutely could not detect."

Therefore, not long into the fight, both Nie Jing and Liu Shang had sustained several wounds. Although they were not serious injuries, it was incredibly frustrating. Following Ye Xingchen's command, Life Kirin Chang Sheng quickly withdrew from the battle, then pressed the index and middle fingers of his right hand to his forehead and began chanting rapidly. As Chang Sheng's voice grew louder, a blood-red flame began to burn on his body. Seeing this, the Rogue Heart Sword Hero immediately bellowed, "Hei Kui, stop that man!" The most feared thing in battle is carelessness; once you become careless, the enemy might take the opportunity to launch a powerful move, and you could very well find yourself 'capsized in the gutter.'

So, with the Nine Kirin seemingly gaining a slight advantage, whatever they were planning to do was sure to be no simple matter—it could very well turn the tide of battle! Hearing the Sword Hero's shout, Hei Kui immediately dashed toward Life Kirin Chang Sheng, but scarcely had he covered half the distance when he saw Chang Sheng look up at him with a smile, saying with a hoarse voice, "Too late, haha!" As soon as Life Kirin's words fell, nine blood-colored Kirin shadows burst forth from his body, streaking like lightning into the bodies of the remaining eight as well as his own.

Then, all members of the Nine Kirin roared up to the sky together, while Sun Wukong and his companions were startled. For as the blood-colored Kirin shadows entered the bodies of the nine, their cultivation levels began skyrocketing wildly, and in the blink of an eye, all nine reached the cultivation of a Half-step Heavenly Venerate!

The combat power that nine Half-step Heavenly Venerates could unleash was definitely not something that nine Domain Lord Peaks could match. Yet, it had not ended there. The Life Kirin roared again, "Kirin Blood Sacrifice, second stage!" That phrase was accompanied by a spurt of fresh blood. As that blood was expelled, Life Kirin Chang Sheng's figure suddenly turned ethereal, his vital energy growing even more intense. Then, before the unbelieving eyes of Hei Kui, Life Kirin Chang Sheng turned into a mist of blood and merged entirely into the body of the Dream Kirin!

"How can this be? How can this move be so similar to Wu Ming's? And after the fusion, this person's cultivation level, it's actually Heavenly Venerate?" (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and Monthly Passes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)