Chapter 436: Great Sage, Equal to Heaven

In late November, the land in the northwest of the mortal realm collapsed, and a bleak, cold wind swept through.

Turbid spiritual energy still gushed from the fissures in the earth's veins, colliding with the broken waters of the Luo River and raising a furious torrent.

The landscape of the Divine Painting Pavilion had already been severed, and Lu Jiajia, Siming, and Xiao Li were instantly drawn into the Golden Crow and departed together.

Bai Zang, biting his chains, struggled to leap out of the severed realm's landscape, staggering as he escaped, his fur bristling with anger.

Ning Changjiu and Ye Changong stood together. Yuan Jun had unleashed his mythical form, but this form was rapidly corroded by the Sword Saint's dark power. As a mere projection, he could not stop anything at all.

Ning Changjiu grasped the scarred ancient sword tablet and said earnestly, "I will do my best to look after the Sword Pavilion for you."

Ke Wenzhou nodded gently.

His left hand was held high, receiving the power of the Dark Lord. Dark red bloodlines snaked across his young body, a horrifying sight.

Liu Junzhuo knelt in the Luo River, her clothes soaked. She looked at the iron-like figure in the void, tears streaming down her face. She had a premonition that her master was about to die, but the barrier of the Dark Lord's power isolated everything, leaving them helpless.

Ke Wenzhou also looked at Liu Junzhuo and said, "The future world belongs to you. I, your master, will do my utmost to win a great freedom for you."

After speaking, Ke Wenzhou closed his eyes.

Yuan Jun sighed, "You concealed yourself so deeply."

Ke Wenzhou said, "To deal with extraordinary people, one must use extraordinary means."

Yuan Jun said, "Do you intend to use the Dark Lord's power to destroy the Dark Lord? You, Yi, and Chang'e—you are all remarkable dreamers, but no matter how beautiful a dreamer's vision, it remains merely a dream."

Ke Wenzhou said, "It's better than waiting idly like you for the dark sun to descend, driving tigers to devour wolves, and trapping yourself in a deadly trap."

As Ke Wenzhou spoke, he raised his empty right sleeve and pointed at Yuan Jun.

Yuan Jun's projected body continuously disintegrated, gradually dissipating.

"If you succeed, then I bless you." Yuan Jun bore no resentment or pain. He stared at Ke Wenzhou and said, word by word, "If you fail, then I will await you in hell."

Yuan Jun's projection vanished like smoke. Higher above, golden and bronze war steeds also arrived. The cracks in Tianji's golden mask had been repaired, but this ancient war god of the departed stared from afar at Ke Wenzhou, who seemed to wield a sky-piercing sword, daring not to approach.

Ke Wenzhou did not even glance at him.

Except for the spirits from the divine kingdom, none of the demons beneath the vast sky could enter his sight.

After pouring in immense power, the Dark Lord above the divine kingdom also seemed to realize something was amiss. The sky-piercing pillar of light gradually shrunk and dimmed.

But it no longer mattered.

Ke Wenzhou slowly opened his eyes, feeling the power he had long dreamed of.

In his sword-like gaze, the vast mountain ranges became incredibly soft, as if they could be melted away by his sight. The boundless oceans became incredibly thin, as if they could be blown away by his breath.

He felt the true might of a deity. He was a sword, a human-shaped sharp sword capable of carving mountains and rivers!

Five hundred years flashed through his mind, as if waking from a long dream.

Ke Wenzhou extended his hand towards the void below.

The earth trembled, as if something was about to break through the dark abyss, to be uprooted by him.

In front, many more things drifted towards them.

Though her eyes were blurred with tears, Liu Junzhuo instantly recognized them—they were the true dragon's pallbearers!

It turned out they hadn't intended to seize a body; they had followed her truly to attend the true dragon's funeral.

At this moment, Zhulong's tomb was personally excavated by Ke Wenzhou. The Dragon King's corpse was forcibly pulled out by the Dark Lord's power, flying into the sky once more. Fourteen pallbearers in ancient robes and jade tablets surrounded it, and their automaton arts were simultaneously activated, locking Zhulong's corpse and suspending it in mid-air.

Ke Wenzhou looked into the distance.

The other disciples of the Sword Pavilion also arrived one after another.

After Liu Junzhuo, Zhou Zhenyue was the first to arrive.

She looked at the ravaged earth, at the one-armed youth in the sky. She sensed her master's aura, yet couldn't imagine what had truly transpired here.

She wanted to ask, but Ke Wenzhou no longer had time to explain much.

"You are to temper your bodies and await the anointing of the Heavenly Dao. Are you all ready?" Ke Wenzhou asked.

Zhou Zhenyue felt something vaguely pressing down on her, an indistinct presence called destiny. She wasn't sure if she had the courage and strength to accept this mission.

As Zhou Zhenyue hesitated, Liu Junzhuo, who had been kneeling in the Luo River, slowly rose. She stood on the surging river surface and cried out hoarsely, "Disciple... is ready!"

"Good!" Ke Wenzhou nodded, and with a sweep of his sleeve, his lifelong cultivation poured out, distributing it entirely among all his disciples.

This was his final promise to his disciples.

He no longer needed any cultivation; the Dark Lord's power was the highest realm, yet also the greatest poison. Now, having been born of it, he would surely die by it.

"The living suffer, the dead find eternal joy. After five hundred years of bitter torment, I shall be free. You... guard the mortal realm."

Ke Wenzhou let out a long breath, suddenly feeling an incomparable lightness.

The Dark Lord's power surged within his body, unleashing world-shattering might. His figure soared into the air, carrying Zhulong's corpse, which was as vast as a mighty river, towards the sky above!

He was heading in the direction of the Central Continent.

Many years ago, he had left a prophecy in the Eighty-One Cities: "When the Four Symbols bring disaster, worship the Golden Dragon, and you shall live."

Now, it was time to fulfill this prophecy.

Ke Wenzhou wielded his sword in the sky, the stars seemingly within his grasp.

But for now, he could not yet go to that sea of stars.

Five hundred years ago, when he severed his consciousness, his greatest regret was not being able to see his master one last time.

He could barely recall the Saint's face; only a solitary figure standing at the peak lingered in his sea of consciousness.

He finally understood that solitude.

Many, many years ago, the Saint had erected two tablets.

One tablet spoke of humanity's destiny, and the other spoke of their own destiny.

They read: "Those who come are guests" and "Those who bear swords shall die."

Later, these two lines were carved onto the Myriad Demon City.

In the Myriad Demon City, a Demon King once said that the rule "Those who bear swords shall die" was actually written for the Sword Pavilion.

Now Ke Wenzhou finally remembered that it was written for him.

All who had ascended the Kunlun peak back then were 'sword-bearers'; most of their remains had vanished, and now it was finally his turn.

Ke Wenzhou shed tears, yet he had never been so happy.

He was like a young man new to the martial world, full of youthful exuberance and vigor, freely wielding divine power. Wherever he passed, the void collapsed into black streaks of light that could not close for a long time.

He was heading towards the Eighty-One Cities.

That very night, the Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng and Bai Ze, who had been preparing for a long time, intended to act, to rescue the Saint at all costs.

The little monkey looked at the majestic city before him, imagining the sleeping people inside, unaware of the impending disaster, and couldn't help but cry.

He wished he was just an ordinary monkey, performing for a living, getting by, rather than a divine trickster about to destroy the peace of countless people.

What kind of charlatan destroys the peace of countless people? Such a being could only be called a villain...

The little monkey gritted his teeth, even contemplating suicide, but then thought of the demons trapped in the Myriad Demon City and suppressed beneath the imperial cities of various nations. His heart was torn, wishing to destroy everything and rescue his kin from hell.

The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng carried an iron umbrella on his back, his burly frame heavy with decline.

A giant roc stood on his shoulder.

The roc's wings had lost their golden hue, now resembling an ugly crow.

"Why haven't you eaten me yet?" asked the Golden-Winged Roc.

"Your authority is consumption, not destruction," said the Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng. "I no longer wish to eat anything."

"Then do you have the confidence to smash them apart?" the Golden-Winged Roc asked again.

The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng did not answer; he had already prepared for his own destruction.

The little monkey stood behind, dragging the wooden dragon he had painstakingly woven, and whispered, "Let's light it and put it above the city gate. If people see it, maybe they'll escape... We should save whoever we can, right?"

Bai Ze sighed and said, "It's no use. The destructive power of this city-razing attack spreads too far for anyone to escape on foot."

The little monkey gritted his teeth and asked hoarsely, "Then what should we do?"

No one paid him any mind.

The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng took a deep breath. Beside his head, eight lion faces formed from green fire revealed themselves one by one.

His kind and benevolent elderly face gradually transformed into a majestic lion's visage.

In a trance, he suddenly remembered the mother and child he had seen outside the temple, their faces smiling as they prayed for peace...

The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng shook his head, casting aside the last trace of distraction. His body swelled, transforming into a massive mountain that instantly towered over the city walls.

Just as they were about to act, the Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng and Bai Ze frowned, looking into the distance.

In the distant sky, an incessant thunder rumbled—a salute celebrating the birth of a deity, and also the drumbeat heralding the resurrection of a devil. They had no time to discern its meaning, only feeling their hearts pound and hot blood course through their veins.

Golden flames, from an unknown source, instantly spread across the sky above the Eighty-One Cities.

Within the golden light, a dragon's shadow, even larger than the sprawling Eighty-One Cities, coiled and writhed.

The incessant thunder woke the city's inhabitants. They looked out their windows, which were bright as day, unsure of what was happening. People, covering their ears, gradually emerged onto the streets, dressing and putting on shoes, then gazed up at the sky in anxious tremor. Beneath this terrifying spectacle, they trembled, unable to move.

Outside the city, the nine-headed lion's faces were also illuminated golden.

The Golden-Winged Roc, perched on its shoulder, looked at the sky, equally bewildered.

The little monkey's mouth hung open. After a long moment of stunned silence, he shouted, "The prophecy has come true, hasn't it? The prophecy has come true! Worship the Golden Dragon, and you shall live... Worship the Golden Dragon, and you shall live! The Golden Dragon, the Golden Dragon has truly appeared!"

The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng frowned and said, "What exactly is that? How can there be such a huge dragon in this world? Is that... Zhulong?"

The Golden-Winged Roc was astonished, "Didn't Zhulong die long ago? Could it be that it was merely in suspended animation and has now revived?"

"No!" Bai Ze interrupted. "Zhulong died long ago. That is its remains! Someone is controlling its remains!"

"Who is doing this?" The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng grew even more bewildered.

As if to answer his confusion, beneath the sky ablaze with lightning and fireworks, a black-robed figure drifted down.

The figure was that of a youth, one-armed and bearing a sword, his body covered in black and crimson blood veins.

"Greetings, Martial Uncle," the youth saluted.

The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng stared at the youth; he could feel that the power within the other could easily tear him in half.

Martial Uncle? Why does he call me Martial Uncle? Who... is he?

Unlike the Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng, the Golden-Winged Roc recognized him at a glance.

In a sense, he was Ke Wenzhou's true teacher.

"Though I am unclear what has transpired, you seem to have found your true self. Congratulations," said the Golden-Winged Roc.

Ke Wenzhou also said, "Martial Uncle, you guided me throughout the world, across the Eight Desolations and Four Extremes, slaying ancient gods, purging demonic creatures, and drawing a sword against the heavens... Ke Wenzhou will never forget it."

"Ke Wenzhou?" The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng's pupils contracted sharply. He stared at the one-armed youth and asked chillingly, "What exactly is going on?!"

Ke Wenzhou offered no further explanation, merely gazing at the Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng and asking, "Martial Uncle, can you still eat?"

Chaos in the city spread like wildfire.

People, with their families, walked out of their homes and knelt beneath the golden colossal dragon, praying for peace.

But they did not know that if something were to crash down like a meteor, smashing through the Eighty-One Cities, they would all die instantly. All their prostrations, prayers, and pleas would be utterly useless.

Outside the Eighty-One Cities, the Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng watched the kneeling people in silence.

That deep night, everyone in the city was drawn by the golden colossal dragon, gathering in the streets.

Ke Wenzhou had come and gone quickly, but the Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng understood his last words.

Can you still eat...?

Numerous scenes buried deep in his memory quietly surfaced:

"The Saint gave you an iron umbrella; he must have intended for you to protect this Myriad Demon City."

"No! The Saint also said that lions are born to devour people!"

"But he still gave you an umbrella."

"Indeed... why did he give me an umbrella?"

His memory traced back even further...

He was born into a large family of demonic beasts. His father had nine sons, and he was the youngest. When he was born, his father was already quite old.

He always remembered his father during his birthday banquet, lying sprawled on the couch like a setting sun.

It should have been a day of slaughtering chickens and sheep, drinking, and celebration, but during the birthday banquet, his eldest and second brothers suddenly rebelled.

The young him, before he could understand what was happening, was bound by chains and, along with several other brothers, thrown into a cage.

Later, it was unknown which brother seized power; his powerful older brothers were successively deposed and imprisoned. The youngest among them was sold to another family. It was on the way to this other family that he met the Spirit Turtle of the Suppressing Sea, who was then just a mere coin turtle.

At that time, the temple where it resided was in financial deficit, so the abbot decided to sell it to pay off debts.

At that time, the young green lion was filled with fear and vengeful emotions. He confided in the turtle confined with him, who, being slow-witted, said it didn't quite understand, but added, "If you desire freedom so much, then I can help you."

The turtle bit off the clapper of the bell around his neck, allowing him to break free from his chains and escape.

Eating his eight older brothers happened a year later.

By then, he had, by a twist of fate, obtained the Myriad Demon Art.

He disguised himself as a servant boy, serving wine and dishes at their birthday banquet the following year. Once his eldest and second brothers were drunk and passed out, he crept in through a pre-dug secret passage and effortlessly slit their throats.

Then he went to the dungeon... The confined lions, overjoyed, thought he had come to rescue them, but then they were all devoured by this youngest brother.

His eight brothers were consumed by the Myriad Demon Art, becoming his eight faces—that was the beginning of his rise as a generation's Demon King.

'The Saint gave you an iron umbrella, meaning for you to protect this city...'

'Lions are born to devour people...'

These two sentences echoed repeatedly in the Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng's mind.

They were not contradictory.

Long ago, the Golden-Winged Roc had told him in the Demon God Hall that to truly master the Myriad Demon Art, one must transform one's body into a Buddha-realm, swallowing all remaining demons into one's Buddha-realm belly to protect them and allow them to live out their lives in peace.

But after the battle of Myriad Demon City, the Golden-Winged Roc's physical body was destroyed, and he could no longer fulfill his grand aspiration.

"Worship the Golden Dragon, and you shall live... So that's it." Bai Ze sighed, looking at the Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng, and said, "Now, only you can save them."

The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng shook his head and said, "These hundreds of thousands of people... my authority of consumption is far from capable of that. I... cannot do it."

"No! You can," the Golden-Winged Roc sharply roared. "Just eat me!"

"Didn't you always want to eat me? Why, when it comes to it, do you hesitate when I offer myself to your mouth? Are you being soft-hearted due to past sentiment? Or do you not wish to harm your kin in a place suppressed by the Saint? If so, that's just hypocrisy; true benevolence is right before you!"

"To make one's body a Buddha-realm, to shelter all people. This is what I sought my whole life but could not achieve, yet you can do it so easily!"

"I envy you..." The Golden-Winged Roc stared into its eyes, saying word by word, "Eat—me—!"

The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng also stared at it, its lion eyes crimson.

At Myriad Demon City, he had indeed schemed to eat it, but his plan failed due to Ning Changjiu and Siming's interference. Later, his mindset changed; he only wished to fulfill his audacious dream of smashing the city, no longer desiring the complete authority of consumption.

By calculation, he hadn't drunk or eaten for a hundred years, having long forgotten the taste of flesh and blood.

The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng's nine heads simultaneously wavered in a trance.

But the Golden-Winged Roc forcibly pried open his mouth.

The great roc stood between the lion's teeth, its bright red tongue a crimson carpet leading to hell.

It looked at the monkey standing on the ground, his face streaked with tears, and said, "Don't cry, no crying! You are the Seafixed Divine Needle, you are the Ruyi Jingu Bang! One day, you will pierce through this sky, do you... understand?!"

The little monkey looked at the roc's nearly contorted demon face, at the dragon in the sky, at the lion on the ground. He straightened his back, vigorously wiped away the tears from his cheeks, and shouted, "I understand! I understand everything!"

"That's good."

The Golden-Winged Roc smiled with satisfaction. It looked at the gaping, blood-filled maw before it and released the claws supporting its upper and lower jaws.

The lion's sharp teeth descended like a guillotine.

Flesh and blood were instantly torn apart, and the sound of cracking bones exploded in his ears.

In an instant, blood splattered and feathers fell. His divine soul, carrying its authority, flowed into the Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng's body like blood.

Thus, the authority of Taotie was made complete.

In the sky, Ke Wenzhou watched this final scene, trembling all over and shedding tears.

The golden colossal dragon still danced, the oblivious multitude of the Eighty-One Cities still knelt in worship. Outside the city walls, however, the roar of a lion erupted.

The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng's body swelled explosively.

It was the Heaven-Reaching Form!

He unfurled his heaven-and-earth-spanning body.

His nine great mouths opened simultaneously.

The multitude of the Eighty-One Cities had not yet understood what was happening before they were sucked up by a tornado and plunged into the lion's massive mouths.

Hundreds of thousands of living beings were all swallowed into the Taotie Kingdom within its belly!

The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng lay prone on the ground, spreading open his umbrella.

He lifted his head, his mane fluttering in the fierce wind. He roared at the golden dragon in the sky and at the one-armed, sword-bearing youth upon it: "Ke Wenzhou! What are you waiting for?!"

Ke Wenzhou heard his roar.

Indeed...

What was he still waiting for?

Ke Wenzhou stood atop the golden dragon, at the edge of the sea of clouds. He could reach out and touch the Xu Sea, and his gaze could stretch to the Four Extremes.

He could no longer tell whether it was himself or the world that was insignificant.

The Dark Lord's power began to backlash against him; it was the agony of ten thousand insects gnawing at him.

But he no longer cared.

There was nothing left to wait for.

"Five hundred years of sword contention, it ends here. Teacher, I have come to see you..."

He raised his left arm, and between his splayed fingers, a massive sword instantly materialized.

Countless names were engraved on that sword.

All belonged to his fellow disciples, his brothers and sisters from his youth.

Their faces and voices had long blurred, leaving only their names carved in his consciousness.

He held the sword high, and both he and the sword plunged towards the iron fortress.

Bai Ze, holding the little monkey's hand, stood outside the city.

They saw a towering white light erupt from the city center—a rapidly expanding hemisphere whose edges spread devastatingly fast. An unstoppable wave of air overturned everything; the iron fortress, beneath this power, was like shredded paper.

The little monkey could no longer see anything.

The white light and intense heat consumed the Eighty-One Cities, swallowed the heaven-and-earth-spanning figure of the Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng, and swallowed him too.

The world-destroying shockwave continued to sweep across the wilderness outside the Eighty-One Cities. Forests and mountains were instantly leveled; even birds flying above the white clouds vanished without a trace, unaware of their demise.

As if heaven and earth were a furnace!

The little monkey felt nothing.

He stood in this all-consuming light of destruction, yet he was like a divine weapon cast into a furnace.

Vaguely, he heard the sound of a sword severing chains, heard the tremors from the earth. Before his eyes, numerous long-sealed memories flashed by.

He had once shattered tsunamis that stood like towering walls.

He had once moved freely through volcanic magma.

He had once smashed countless heads, crushed thousands of demon gods.

He had raided the Dragon King's Palace, crashed through the Mountain God Temple, and shattered the Nine Heavens!

He weighed thirteen thousand five hundred catties!

No! That is I...

"I am... the Ruyi Jingu Bang!"

The little monkey mumbled, his words seemingly squeezed from his blood.

He felt a summons, then flew towards it.

Within the tidal wave of white light, a life broke free from its chains and stood up from the earth!

The Nine Spirit Yuan Sheng, emaciated by the waves of destruction, kept his lion's mouth tightly closed, staring blankly ahead, yet golden light shone in his pupils.

He finally saw that scene...

The Phoenix-Winged Purple Gold Crown outlined itself in the fiery light, its upward-pointing wings piercing the dust-laden clouds. No chains entangled the Lotus Silk Cloud-Stepping Boots!

That towering figure slowly expanded, his Golden Chainmail armor shimmering in the fierce wind, like the true Great Sun Buddha-realm scroll of legend!

He received the flying black iron divine staff.

Golden fire illuminated the world; the brilliant starry sky lost all its color.

Within the still enveloping dust, this unyielding figure slowly opened his burning eyes.

He was the Saint.

He was the Saint that all demons yearned for.

His authority was, Equal to Heaven!