Great Demon Sun Wukong

Indeed, after the Life Kirin transformed into a mist of blood and merged into Ye Xingchen's body, Ye Xingchen's cultivation was boosted to the Heavenly Venerate Primary Stage! Fortunately, there was only one Ye Xingchen and not all nine Kirins; otherwise, the situation for Sun Wukong and his companions would have been even worse. With Ye Xingchen's advancement to the Heavenly Venerate Primary Stage, his combat power surged, and he alone was enough to handle Sun Wukong. Hence, Ink Kirin Mo Zhu and the bloodthirsty Kirin Mie Huang took Life Kirin's and Sha Hun's places to confront Hei Kui together.

At that moment, the tide of battle began to change. Although the Flame God and Rogue Heart Sword Hero were powerful fighters, their cultivation was still slightly lacking. When they were on a par with the nine Kirins, they could dominate the fight, but as soon as the seven of the nine Kirins advanced to the Half-step Heavenly Venerate Stage, the pressure on Flame God and Rogue Heart Sword Hero soared. Only Hei Kui seemed to be coping well, yet he set aside all his contempt, most noticeably by donning the full set of gear Sun Wukong had given him. All of it was at the Supreme Divine Artifact level, and even without weapons, it significantly enhanced Hei Kui's combat power. Furthermore, Hei Kui was truly at the Heavenly Venerate level, so even when facing three opponents, he still had the upper hand.

Feeling tremendous pressure, the Flame God also immediately unleashed his full combat strength. The Earth's Core Gold-Melting Flame and Kirin Purple-Gold Fire on his body, along with his inherent Phoenix Fire, rapidly merged into an exceedingly ordinary-looking red flame! However, though the flame seemed mundane, its power was multiplied many times over. With this newly combined flame, the Flame God managed to fight Sha Hun and the flame-loving Kirin Mie Huang to a draw. Soon, however, the Flame God discovered that his flames were gradually dwindling. Initially, the Flame God's whole body was covered in flames, but as the fight progressed, he noticed the flames on his legs had vanished.

At first, the Flame God thought this was because he had not fully mastered the flames, as he had only recently learned to merge the three different kinds of fire. Earth's Core Gold-Melting Fire and Kirin Purple-Gold Fire were extremely potent flames, and his Phoenix Fire was particularly volatile. Merging the three was noticeably difficult, but thanks to the Flame God's strong control over fire, he eventually succeeded after many hardships, and this was his first use of such flame in combat.

He named this flame Phoenix Burst Flame. Its power was unlike anything the Flame God had seen before, but the sole problem was that it kept dissipating. This was problematic during battle as the Flame God couldn't stop to recombine the fire, but he soon realized that the disappearing flames weren't truly vanishing on their own; rather, they were being devoured by that flame-wielding foe! The Explosive Flame Kirin Mie Huang could actually devour the newly merged flame created by the Flame God, which was utterly shocking to him.

But as shocked as he was, the Flame God wasn't too panicked. "Letting you devour my fire? Daring to eat my flames, you really must have a death wish. I've always been the one devouring others' flames—who gave you the right to devour mine?" Thus, the battlefield on the Flame God's side turned into an all-out war of flames.

On the other hand, Rogue Heart Sword Hero broke out with all his might. The Domain Instrument Holy Buddha Mammoth Tusk was already hooked onto the hilt of the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss sword in his wrist. Leveraging the Power of the Stars to its limit, he seemed to be existing between reality and illusion. Bearing two great Domain Instruments and although his cultivation was inferior to his opponents, he would not be defeated in a short time. As Rogue Heart Sword Hero became more adept at using the Power of the Stars, there was even a tendency for him to gradually overpower Kui Jing and Liu Sang.

As mentioned earlier, Rogue Heart Sword Hero was in a very peculiar state. His original cultivation was at the Peak of the Domain Lord level, but while patrolling the Celestial World, his cultivation was forcibly reduced one grade because he participated in the Great Formation that sealed the nine-headed serpent. However, his realm had not diminished, and his strength had accumulated to a peak. With the right opportunity, he was likely to make a breakthrough to the Peak of the Domain Lord level, and his combat power would definitely be even stronger than before.

Therefore, Rogue Heart Sword Hero was also searching for that opportunity. Among them, only Hei Kui seemed to be fighting most leisurely; however, quickly resolving the fight against these three individuals was not an easy task. The cooperation amongst the nine Kirins was incredibly in sync, beyond description. Many times, attacks that should have hit were thwarted due to another's interference. Such fighting was exceptionally frustrating. But the most frustrated of all was Sun Wukong.

At this moment, Sun Wukong was feeling incredibly frustrated. What kind of situation was this? To be ambushed out of the blue, and now, in the thick of battle, the only opponent he faced was of Heavenly Venerate level. Without the Wonderful Bodhi Tree, Sun Wukong was utterly unable to activate the Power of the Five Elements Balance within himself, which meant he could not reach the Realm of a Heavenly Venerate. This put Sun Wukong at a significant disadvantage in his fight against Dream Kirin Ye Xingchen. Even though Sun Wukong still had many techniques up his sleeve, he had no chance to use them and could only depend on the World Suppressing Stele to passively defend. How could Sun Wukong not be frustrated?

If only Sun Wukong could get even a split second, he could summon Sha Wujing, and at the same time call forth Wu Zhiqi using the Nine Decisions. Wu Zhiqi was also at the peak of the Heavenly Venerate level, and Sha Wujing had achieved a perfect fusion with the Ultimate Water Stele, reaching the peak of Heavenly Venerate as well. With two peak Heavenly Venerates, they would surely beat their opponent to the ground until he was looking for teeth, unless Sun Wukong showed mercy. But the problem was, Sun Wukong simply did not have the time. Ye Xingchen's attacks were too ferocious, and within moments Sun Wukong had already sustained considerable injuries.

Extreme frustration, the kind that comes from having great power but being unable to use it. At the same time, Sun Wukong also realized an important principle: no matter how strong your moves or how formidable your allies are, if your own power is too weak, you won't even have the chance to use these methods. Just like in this moment, as he was once again punched in the back by Ye Xingchen and sent crashing directly into the ground, Sun Wukong finally steeled his heart, and as he plummeted down, he sprung back up instantly. Just at that moment, Ye Xingchen had already rushed to Sun Wukong's side again, a punch ready to smash down once more.

However, Sun Wukong suddenly shouted out loud, "Wait, stop, just a moment!" Sun Wukong's voice boomed, causing Ye Xingchen to momentarily freeze, his body subconsciously halting for that instant. It was just so sudden; even with Ye Xingchen's years of battling and killing, he had never encountered such a situation. Since when do you just yell stop in the middle of a fight? Do you think this is a game? But it was just an instant, and Ye Xingchen was on the move again, his punch hurtling toward Sun Wukong's jaw.

But, that brief pause was already enough for Sun Wukong! "Nine Decisions, Nine as the Spirit, Wu Zhiqi, come out and fight for me!" he almost roared the words. Immediately after, a towering figure appeared in front of Sun Wukong. Ye Xingchen's punch, originally aimed at Sun Wukong's jaw, was blocked by Wu Zhiqi's robust crossed arms. Ye Xingchen had not expected someone, no, a monster, to suddenly appear before him.

So his punch did not withdraw, and was instead blocked by Wu Zhiqi. Wu Zhiqi, fierce as he was, did not hesitate. His right leg shot up, aiming straight for Ye Xingchen's groin. If that kick landed, Ye Xingchen's fate wouldn't be good. However, Ye Xingchen was quick to react. His body was about half the size of Wu Zhiqi's, which made him more agile. With a mid-air twist, he had already leaped over Wu Zhiqi's head and was falling towards Sun Wukong's rear.

But behind Sun Wukong, there was already someone prepared; the moment Ye Xingchen cleared Wu Zhiqi's head and hadn't landed yet, Sha Wujing leaped up and slammed his crescent shovel fiercely into Ye Xingchen's stomach. By now, Sha Wujing had completed an ultra-perfect fusion with the Ultimate Water Stele and had reached the primary stage of Heavenly Venerate. With this full-force blow, he sent Ye Xingchen flying backward. "Sha Wujing, Wu Zhiqi, hit them hard for me! Thinking they can bully us because we're outnumbered?"

Without any hesitation, Sha Wujing and Wu Zhiqi both pursued their target. Then, with a flash of light before Sun Wukong, another figure appeared. "White Dragon, come, here's your chance to sharpen your skills!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or monthly pass at Starting Point (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)