Great Demon Sun Wukong

Seeing this, some might wonder, "How can the Four Heavenly Kings be counted as one?" Heh, this is not an oversight, but rather because the Four Heavenly Kings of Heaven are also called the Four Heavenly Kings who protect the world, or The Four Heavenly Vajra Kings.

The Southern Growth King, Moli Qing, holds the Azure Edged Sword with a talisman inscribed, divided by the four words: "Earth, Water, Fire, Wind". The wind is a black wind, containing a myriad of spearheads within it.

The Northern Multitude King, Moli Hong, holds the Chaos Pearl Umbrella, with the meaning of the umbrella harmonizing with "rain". On the umbrella, there are emeralds, granny seals, granny blue, Luminous Pearls, azure dust beads, azure fire beads, azure water beads, cooling beads, Nine-Bend Pearls, and beautifying beads.

To fasten the wind, and pearls are strung into the four words "Containing Heaven and Earth."

The Eastern Support King, Moli Hai, wields a spear and carries a Jade Pipa on his back, with four strings tuned to "Earth, Water, Fire, Wind". Strumming the strings brings both the wind and the fire.

The Western Wide-Eyed King, Moli Shou, uses two whips. In his pouch, he carries a creature shaped like a white mouse, named "Purple Gold Flower Marten". Released into the sky, it appears as a white elephant with wings growing from its ribs, devouring all humankind.

The once majestic Four Heavenly Kings of Heaven, however, after the Demon Clan’s counterattack on Heaven, were converted by Buddhism’s Tathagata Buddha into four Dharma-Protecting Arhats. This was already tragic enough, but now, the Four Heavenly Kings appearing before Sun Wukong barely resembled humans.

One body, eight hands, four heads. The eight hands each grasp one of their renowned weapons, while the four heads are bald. And Sun Wukong saw in their eyes only pain and numbness.

It wasn’t just the Four Heavenly Kings. Everyone who had just appeared from the void had eyes filled with pain and numbness. Especially Erlang God—Wukong remembered that Erlang God should not have died, but had left Heaven with his hound. Yet for some unknown reason, he too was here, his eyes filled with even more struggle and pain.

It was not just Wukong who was upset, but all of the Demon Clan. Seeing these twelve people suddenly appear and surround them, they were filled with indignant fury. Toying with the dead like this is a taboo that offends the harmony of heaven. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Although everyone was angry, they dared not act rashly. Clearly, the Taoist Sect must have used some means to raise the strength of the ten dead and Erlang God along with the Four Heavenly Kings to the Half-step Great Path level, and also found a way to control them. So, the twelve people in front of them were, to be precise, twelve puppets with the strength of a Half-step Great Path!

Such enemies were terrifying. Although they might lack the agility and thinking ability of living beings, they possessed the capability to not fear death or pain. Puppets are most horrifying because they feel no pain and fear no death, fighting with desperation once the battle starts.

Although among the remaining seven people of the Demon Clan, besides Nuwa who was severely injured and the Ancestral Master Hun Kun who was slightly wounded, the other five can be said to be at their peak condition. So, upon seeing these twelve people suddenly appearing from the Taoist Sect, they were not too panicked. Twelve against six (not counting Nuwa) was not an unwinnable fight.

Even proper coordination might allow them to annihilate these twelve puppets.

But Yang Mei the Immortal and Hongjun the Ancestor were watching closely from afar. Everyone believed that once the chaos of battle began, these two would surely take advantage of the confusion to strike. Twelve puppets plus two mighty beings with sky-reaching power—that was the reason why the Demon Clan had not made a move.

Having once been in an absolutely dominant position, the Demon Clan was now, in a dramatic turn, at a disadvantage. This situation forced everyone to wonder—what other means did the Taoist Sect have? How were these twelve Half-step Great Path puppets created?

Among these twelve puppets, there were not only those of the Taoist Sect but also those of Buddhism. Could it be that the Taoist Sect and Buddhism had joined forces to prepare this final power? But even so, neither would likely use the corpses of their own fallen to make puppets.

The creation of combat puppets is a method that has existed since ancient times. But there is a taboo among them, that it is deemed unacceptable to use the bodies of one’s own people to make puppets. Otherwise, once discovered, punishment is certain!

Yet today, this taboo has been openly violated. Has the Taoist Sect become so brazenly unconcerned? Or could there be another force behind the Taoist Sect and Buddhism?

Just as the Demon Clan was pondering and preparing to counterattack, suddenly, countless streams of light shot in from the distance. Feeling the aura of these beams, all the Demon Clan’s faces showed horror and deepest despair. It was utter despair.

Then, as the incoming streams of light dissipated, Jinzha, Muzha, The Platinum Star of the White Emperor, the Giant Spirit God, and then the Eight Immortals of the Taoist Sect appeared: Lv Dongbin, He Xiangu, Lan Caihe, Zhang Guolao, Han Xiangzi, Cao Guojiu, Tieguai Li, Han Zhongli.

Another twelve people! And all twelve at the Half-step Great Path! The overwhelming aura that surged with their appearance struck terror into the hearts of the Demon Clan! What was happening with the Taoist Sect? Had the Half-step Great Path mighty ones become so cheap? To casually reveal twenty-four individuals?

It should be noted that the Half-step Great Path is the extreme limit that the Pangu Realm can accommodate. Surpass it by a bit, and one must ascend immediately! Hence, from the time of Pangu’s creation of heaven and earth, the total number of Half-step Great Path strong ones in this world might be just this many.

Yet in a few days, there suddenly appeared a full twenty-four Half-step Great Path beings, and if added to those before, the Taoist Sect actually had more than thirty Half-step Great Path?

This, can the Taoist Sect actually mass-produce Half-step Great Path powerhouses now?

And looking at the twelve people who came, it’s clear that they are puppets controlled by someone.

This battle, there’s no need to continue, seven people against twenty-four, is there any chance of victory? Moreover, who knows if another twelve will appear?

For a moment, the members of the Demon Clan just stood there, stunned, unsure of what to do. They couldn’t beat them in a fight and couldn’t escape if they tried. Could it be that their only choice was to fight to the death? But clearly, to fight head-on meant certain death.

Just then, the twenty-four Half-step Great Path level puppets suddenly split apart, twelve to each side, leaving a path open in front of the Demon Clan members. As everyone looked on in confusion, a beautiful woman dressed in a light moon-white robe flew over. With the woman’s arrival, all twenty-four puppets showed reverence and a touch of fear on their faces.

"You, you are Chang’er?"

"Hehe, Great Saint, impressive observation. However, unfortunately, you won’t be able to see the Great Saint after this."

With a delicate chuckle, the woman openly admitted her identity. It was indeed the incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, Chang’er. However, Chang’er’s appearance had slightly changed at this time. The original tranquility and composure were gone, replaced by allure and strangeness. Clearly, this wasn’t the Chang’er that Sun Wukong had known before. It was very likely just borrowing Chang’er’s body.

Yet, upon seeing Chang’er, what worried Sun Wukong was not whether all of them would fall that day but rather Zhu Bajie. What would Bajie do if he knew that Chang’er had turned into this? Based on that fool’s temperament, he would probably fight Chang’er to the death, wouldn’t he? Hopefully, the fool doesn’t run into this Chang’er.

After speaking, Chang’er glanced at the besieged Demon Clan members once more. Then she turned to leave. It seemed that her appearance was meant to tell the Demon Clan members that Chang’er was the mastermind behind the scenes?

After leaving the encirclement, Chang’er directly came before Yang Mei and Hongjun. Looking at the two, Chang’er snorted coldly and said, "I originally thought you could wipe out this bunch, but in the end, it was almost you who got wiped out! I had to deploy the Combat Puppet Army in the end. If I had known this, I should never have counted on you two in the first place."

In the face of the arrogant words from Chang’er, Yang Mei and Hongjun didn’t say anything. However, the deep helplessness unintentionally betrays itself in their eyes.

"The Clear Moon Puppet Army, third squadron, heed my command. Seven members of the Demon Clan, annihilate them!"

At this command, the twenty-four puppets at the Half-step Great Path level immediately sprang into action, engaging the seven from the Demon Clan in battle. And in this clash, Sun Wukong discovered that the puppets’ strength was truly at the Half-step Great Path, and their attacks were extremely well-coordinated.

Although Kunpeng, Kirin, Yellow Dragon, Hun Kun, and Nuwa all showed their true forms, and Sun Wukong immediately transformed into the Five Elements Chaotic Body, summoning both the World Suppressing Stele and the Zhen Yuan Bodhi Treasure Tree, they quickly found themselves at a disadvantage.

Each had to face three puppets, while Sun Wukong, Hun Kun, and Kirin each battled four. Even though Sun Wukong’s World Suppressing Stele kept smashing down, these four puppets could jointly use a Formation. Once the Formation was established, it would create a phantom Xuanwu in the Void, and each smash from the World Suppressing Stele could only shatter the phantom without harming the four puppets.

Soon, Sun Wukong was wounded. Although he was healing quickly with the help of the Five-Colored Divine Stone, there was no way to quickly restore the rapidly depleting Spiritual Power.

The Five-Colored Divine Stone, although miraculous, couldn’t keep up with the surge of Spiritual Power from Sun Wukong. Each smash of the Stele consumed one-fifth of the Spiritual Power, and each swipe of the Treasure Tree cost roughly an eighth. During normal times, the replenishment from the Divine Stone would be entirely sufficient for Sun Wukong’s continuous fighting.

But now, the Divine Stone was helpless because Sun Wukong was relentlessly smashing the Stele and swinging the ancient Tree. Otherwise, the injuries on his body would keep increasing.

If Sun Wukong was struggling this much, the others were faring even worse. In a short span, each had suffered injuries, big or small. Especially Nuwa, large mouthfuls of fresh blood kept spouting out.

"Everyone, think of a way quickly, there’s something strange about these puppets. Although they have the cultivation of Half-step Great Path, their actual Combat Power seems to far exceed that. If we don’t find a way, we’re all going to be wiped out today."

This was Hun Kun speaking. He realized right from the start that the puppets’ Combat Power was much higher than their cultivation level. But as soon as he spoke up, it distracted him, and in that moment of distraction, Hun Kun suffered a serious injury. He was slashed in the back by Lv Dongbin’s sword, then blood spurted from his mouth as he was flung towards Sun Wukong.