Honghuang: My understanding is beyond belief. I am the first immortal of Jiejiao.

"die!"

Gu Yang roared and swung his right hand forward! The immense demonic energy instantly condensed into a terrifying demonic claw, blotting out the sky and covered in jet-black scales! The claw's tip gleamed with a chilling light capable of tearing through space, carrying the power to crush everything, and slammed down fiercely towards Elder Faming, who was blocking his path! The speed was as fast as lightning!

The seemingly ordinary old monk's expression suddenly changed! Under the threat of death, he could no longer hide! In a flash, his body erupted with dazzling golden Buddhist light, and his withered body swelled up as if inflated, instantly transforming into a sixteen-foot-tall, muscular Arhat holding a Vajra pestle, his eyes wide with fury! His aura had clearly reached the early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal!
"You demon, cease your arrogance! Behold me!" Arhat roared, his Vajra Pestle radiating boundless golden light as he attempted to block the attack.

Unfortunately, it's too late!

The difference between the early stage of the Great Luo realm and the Great Luo realm at its peak is like an insurmountable chasm! Moreover, Gu Yang is an old demon who has been around for many years and is attacking in anger without holding back!

Boom!

The enormous demonic claw crushed the hastily formed golden light shield of the Arhat as easily as smashing a fragile egg! The Vajra Pestle let out a mournful cry and shattered into pieces! Then, the demonic claw continued its momentum and fiercely gripped the Arhat's massive golden Dharma body!
"puff!"

Like tearing cloth! The golden body of the Arhat, stronger than diamond, was utterly fragile before Gu Yang's demonic claws! It was instantly torn to pieces! Golden Buddha blood mixed with the shattered fragments of the golden body rained down like a storm!
"Ah! No!!"

The Arhat's remaining head let out a terrified and desperate scream, its eyes filled with disbelief and regret!
He was ordered to protect the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, thinking it would be an easy and leisurely job, but he never expected to encounter such a terrifying demon! He couldn't even withstand a single move!

"waste!"

Gu Yang snorted coldly, and with a clench of his demonic claws, he grabbed the shattered golden body along with the terrified primordial spirit! Then he opened his mouth full of fangs and sucked hard!
call.!

Like a whale sucking in water, the fragments and primordial spirit containing the Arhat's lifelong cultivation and essence transformed into a golden stream of light and were swallowed whole by Gu Yang! A Buddhist Arhat at the early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm was thus annihilated, body and soul!
Inside the temple, the moment the terrifying demonic power descended, the ordinary worshippers were already terrified, fleeing in all directions crying and screaming. Inside the meditation room, the young monk Xuanzang (the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi), who was meditating, was also startled and unsettled by this sudden evil aura.

"Xuanzang!"

Elder Faming (who now displayed a hint of majesty) gave a low shout and struck with lightning speed, delivering a precise chop to the back of Xuanzang's neck. Xuanzang groaned and slumped unconscious. Elder Faming pulled him to his side and protected him with a gentle Buddhist power.

He stared solemnly at the door, but showed no sign of panic. To let Xuanzang, now powerless, escape? Against a powerful demon like Gu Yang, whose very essence was locked down, it would be tantamount to suicide.

"Amitabha..." Elder Faming chanted a Buddhist mantra, sat down cross-legged, clasped his hands together, and emitted a faint yet incredibly resilient Buddhist light that enveloped him and the unconscious Xuanzang.

His gaze was deep and calm, as if the raging demonic flames before him were no great calamity.

"kill!"

After Gu Yang swallowed the Arhat, his ferocity intensified!
He was like a tiger breaking into a flock of sheep, stepping into Jinshan Temple! Wherever he went, demonic energy raged!

"What kind of demon dares to trespass on the sacred Buddhist grounds!"

The temple is not entirely populated by ordinary people.

Those seemingly ordinary novices, guest monks, and even the martial monks guarding the temple all unleashed powerful waves of Buddhist energy at this moment!
They were none other than Buddhist soldiers and generals planted here by the Western Paradise! Among them were many powerful guardian Vajras with auras comparable to Golden Immortals or even Taiyi Golden Immortals, and several obscure Great Luo auras rose from various palaces!

However, all efforts were in vain in the face of the enraged Gu Yang!
"I will kill anyone who stands in my way! Anyone who blocks my path shall die!"

Laughing wildly, Gu Yang swung his claws simultaneously! Huge demonic claws, tearing through the void, appeared out of thin air, like the scythe of death, sweeping across!

puff!puff!puff!

Golden blood of Buddha stained the bluestone slabs and the walls of the palace! Limbs and severed arms flew everywhere! Buddhist soldiers were harvested in droves like straw! The golden bodies of the Dharma Protectors were easily pierced and torn apart like paper! The hidden Arhats had just appeared and had not yet formed a formation when they were crushed, smashed, and devoured by Gu Yang with absolute power!
Screams, roars, chanting, and the sounds of collapsing buildings mingled together! The once solemn and radiant Jinshan Temple, bathed in Buddhist light, had now become a bloody battlefield! The pungent stench of blood, mixed with dissipated Buddhist and demonic energy, was nauseating! The entire temple, from the main gate to the Mahavira Hall and the rear meditation hall, was almost entirely stained a glaring crimson! It was like a living hell!
Outside the monastery where Elder Faming resided, the sounds of slaughter grew closer, and cries of agony filled the air.

He sat cross-legged within the protective aura of Buddha's light, his brows slightly furrowed, yet he remained as steady as a rock, chanting sutras for the deceased Buddha soldiers and Arhats.

However, there seemed to be a subtle, almost imperceptible heaviness in the chanting.

boom!
The gate of the Zen temple was smashed open by a tremendous force!
Covered in blood and shrouded in demonic energy, Gu Yang, resembling a demon god from hell, stepped into the room, his body treading on the blood and broken bones scattered on the ground.

In his hand, he held the head of a white-haired, wide-open-eyed, unseeing head—the head of the previous abbot of Jinshan Temple, an old monk at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm!

Gu Yang wore a cruel yet vengeful smile, his gaze as venomous as he fixed on Elder Faming, who sat cross-legged in the meditation room, and Xuanzang, who lay unconscious beside him.

"Old bald monk, can you hear the wailing outside? How does it feel to see your disciples and followers dying under my claws?"

Gu Yang's voice was full of mockery and provocation. He held the head high in his hand and, in front of Elder Faming, suddenly tightened his grip with his five fingers!

puff.!

Like crushing a ripe watermelon! The head exploded instantly! Red and white fragments mixed with bone shards splattered like fireworks! Hot blood and brain matter splashed directly onto the Buddhist light shield in front of Elder Faming, making a sizzling sound!
"Next up are you and that little bald monk inside!"

Gu Yang grinned maliciously, his figure moving like lightning. A claw covered in jet-black scales and wreathed in destructive demonic energy tore through the air, shrieking as it viciously grabbed at Elder Faming, who was sitting cross-legged, and Xuanzang behind him! *Whoosh!*

Just as the demonic claws were about to strike, the ancient Buddha statue enshrined in the meditation room suddenly burst forth with thousands of golden rays! A massive, solid golden light shield, flowing with countless Sanskrit runes, instantly enveloped the entire meditation room!
Boom!

Gu Yang's demonic claws slammed into the golden light barrier, producing a deafening roar! The barrier trembled violently, radiating golden light, but it did not shatter!

"Hmph! A mere trick! You think you can stop me with a clay or wooden statue? How naive!"

A hint of disdain flashed in Gu Yang's eyes as he unleashed both claws! In an instant, the sky was filled with pitch-black claw shadows tearing through space!

Boom boom boom boom boom!

Like a raging storm, the attacks poured down on the golden light shield! The entire meditation room—no, the entire ruins of Jinshan Temple—trembled violently! The earth cracked, and the crumbling walls of the temples crumbled at an accelerated pace! Under Gu Yang's relentless and ferocious attacks, the seemingly solid Buddhist light shield began to flicker violently, its light rapidly dimming, and fine cracks even appeared on its surface!

Meanwhile, in the distant Western Paradise, at the Great Thunder Temple.

The majestic Buddha sits on a nine-tiered golden lotus platform, expounding Mahayana Buddhism to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats below. His tongue blossoms like lotus flowers, and golden lotuses spring from the ground.

Suddenly! A series of hurried and flustered footsteps came from outside the hall.

Guanyin Bodhisattva's face turned deathly pale, and she looked more panicked than ever before. She even disregarded her demeanor and rushed into the main hall, her voice trembling.

"Buddha! Something terrible has happened! A peerless demon has suddenly appeared at Jinshan Temple in Jiangzhou, Jambudvipa! He is wreaking havoc inside the temple! His demonic power is overwhelming! Jinshan Temple... Jinshan Temple has suffered heavy casualties, and it is in danger of being destroyed! Jin Chanzi is in grave danger!"

"what?!"

The Buddha's eternally compassionate face froze instantly! An indescribable look of shock and anger enveloped his face like a dark cloud!

He suddenly remembered that not long ago, he had asked the supreme being, the Sage Zhunti, whether there would be any setbacks before the journey to the West began. The Sage had only given a brief reply at the time.

"The general trend remains unchanged, but minor trends can be altered. Those in the Buddhist community should refrain from adding unnecessary details."

At the time, he didn't fully grasp its profound meaning. Now it seems... this calamity of "adding legs to a snake" has indeed come true! And in such a tragic and direct way, it has befallen the crucial Jin Chanzi!
Inside the Great Thunderclap Temple, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt frozen. Guanyin Bodhisattva's urgent voice was tinged with tears.

"Buddha! That demon is so arrogant and ferocious! Brother Faming is barely holding on with the golden light transformed from the Buddha statues that have been worshipped by Jinshan Temple for generations, but... but the demon's attack is too fierce, and the golden light is about to collapse. I'm afraid... I'm afraid it won't last more than ten breaths! Jin Chanzi is in imminent danger!"

The Buddha sat serenely on his lotus throne, his face as still as water. Internal and external troubles weighed heavily on his heart like two mountains.

Since receiving the holy decree from the Sage Zhunti, he has strictly ordered all Buddhas to remain still and wait for the Journey to the West to begin.

Who would have thought that Maitreya, the Buddha of the East, would be so audacious as to secretly mobilize Skanda to deal with that anomaly, Lin Zhu! Now Skanda has fallen, Lin Zhu remains undefeated, and instead, this has drawn out the long-standing demon Gu Yang, who is heading straight for the core of Journey to the West: Jin Chanzi! This Maitreya… is simply more trouble than he's worth!
"go!"

With a low shout, the Buddha Tathagata did not hesitate for a moment.

The nine-tiered golden lotus beneath him shone brightly, instantly enveloping the three great bodhisattvas (Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Avalokiteshvara) beside him, as well as several powerful, glaring golden Arhats and Buddhas, transforming them into a golden rainbow that stretched across the sky, heading straight for Jiangzhou in the southern Jambudvipa of the lower realm!
When they tore through space and descended over Jiangzhou, the sight that greeted them made all the Buddhist masters gasp in shock!
The once-thriving Jinshan Temple, bathed in the solemn light of Buddhist radiance, is now a ruin! Broken walls and scorched earth lie scattered everywhere, the glaring blood staining the walls a dark red. The thick stench of blood mingles with demonic energy, forming a nauseating miasma. Severed limbs and remains are strewn about, including the remains of Buddhist soldiers, their shadows still gleaming with a dim Buddhist light!
In the center of the ruins, the battle continues, but it is nearing its end!

Elder Faming manifested a sixteen-foot-tall golden Buddha form, radiating brilliant golden light. However, this golden body was now covered with deep, bone-revealing, pitch-black claw marks, resembling shattered porcelain!
His arm was severed at the shoulder, and demonic energy swirled around the cut, preventing the Buddha's light from repairing it! Most shockingly, his abdomen had been forcibly ripped open, and golden Buddha's blood gushed out like a spring, revealing his internal organs!
His breath was extremely weak, and he was only able to support the crumbling golden light shield with an indomitable will, desperately protecting Xuanzang who was unconscious in the meditation room behind him!

His opponent, Gu Yang, though also in disarray and bearing several burn marks from the Buddha's light, still possessed overwhelming ferocity!
He was like a demon god toying with his prey, his claws flying, each attack causing Elder Faming's golden shield to tremble violently and cracks to spread!
What made the Buddha even more furious was that the aftershocks of this terrifying battle at the Great Luo level had already reached Jiangzhou City! Several streets and alleys near Jinshan Temple had been reduced to ruins. Countless ordinary people were torn apart by the energy turbulence in their sleep or buried by collapsed houses. Survivors cried out in terror. A human tragedy was unfolding!

"You wretched creature! How dare you do this!"

The Buddha, filled with shock and rage, unleashed a magnificent Buddhist chant that resounded throughout heaven and earth. A colossal golden palm, covering the sky and imbued with boundless Buddhist power and fury, carrying the might to purify all evil, slammed down upon Gu Yang! Space itself seemed to freeze beneath this single blow!

Just as Gu Yang was about to deliver the final blow to Elder Faming, he felt the terrifying pressure descending from the sky, making his soul tremble. His scarlet demonic eyes suddenly contracted! But he reacted extremely quickly. Instead of showing fear, he revealed an extremely sinister and triumphant smile!

"Old Buddha! You've finally arrived! But alas, it's too late!"

Gu Yang laughed wildly, neither dodging nor avoiding the descending Buddha's palm. Instead, he used the claw that had gathered the last of his demonic energy to strike not at Faming, nor at Tathagata, but strangely grabbed at Xuanzang (Jin Chanzi), who was unconscious in the meditation room!
laugh.!

A jet-black demonic aura, condensed to its extreme, as fine as a hair, yet exuding the purest aura of destruction and pollution, pierced through Elder Faming's crumbling golden shield like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, ignoring spatial distance, and shot with unparalleled precision toward Xuanzang's brow!

"How dare you!!"

The Buddha was utterly horrified. His palm strike was deflected by a third, with most of its power directed at Gu Yang's main body. At the same time, his other palm conjured endless Buddhist light, attempting to intercept the demonic energy!
Boom!

Gu Yang was struck hard by the aftershock of Tathagata's enraged palm strike, letting out a painful groan as his demonic body trembled violently and he spat out demonic blood. However, he used the force of the impact to transform into a dark, demonic rainbow, instantly tearing through space and escaping, leaving behind only his maniacal laughter, filled with resentment and provocation, echoing between heaven and earth. (End of Chapter)