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

The crack spread rapidly from the spot where the dharma statue was pierced in the chest! And the golden relic at its core even cracked with a "crack" on its surface! Its radiance dimmed instantly!

"hiss--!"

The Immovable King, who had been so defiant just moments before, gasped at the sight before him. All his arrogance vanished instantly, leaving only boundless fear and chilling dread! Only now did he truly understand how ridiculous and foolish his provocation had been! The clown was none other than himself!

Guanyin's face was also deathly pale. While cursing the incompetent teammate Fudō Myō-ō in her heart, she and the injured Fudō Myō-ō struggled to maintain their remaining magical power, setting up layers of protection and trembling as they resisted the aftershocks of the collision that swept in, which was enough to instantly annihilate a Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Lin Zhu continued his fierce attack, while the illusory image of the Chaos Demon God wielded a spear and struck repeatedly. Each strike shook the golden body and Dharma form, and was like a heavy hammer, slamming into the fearful heart of the Immovable King.

On the other side, Sun Wukong witnessed Lin Zhu displaying his divine power. First, he forced back the combined forces of Guanyin and Fudo Myo-o with a single spear thrust. Then, he casually shattered Fudo Myo-o's natal sword, causing it to retaliate and severely injure him. Finally, he even transformed into a Chaos Demon God, directly confronting the Buddha's Dharma form and gaining an absolute advantage! These scenes made his blood boil and his fighting spirit soar!
"Hahaha! The God of Hell is mighty!!"

Sun Wukong laughed wildly, his golden cudgel pointing directly at the vast army of Buddhist soldiers ahead, whose formation was slightly disordered but still incredibly powerful, especially the leader, Venerable Ananda, whose eyes gleamed with ferocity.

"You old bald monks! After watching the show for so long, it's time for me, Old Sun, to stretch my muscles! Five hundred years ago, you chased me, Old Sun, and gave me quite a hard time! Today, we'll settle both the old and new scores!"

Venerable Ananda's expression was also extremely unpleasant at this moment.

Lin Zhu's power far exceeded expectations; even the combined might of Fudo Myō-ō and Avalokiteshvara, along with the Buddha's image, seemed to be at a disadvantage. However, as the commander of this Buddhist army, he absolutely could not afford to lose his composure. Hearing Sun Wukong's provocation, he suppressed his unease, glared angrily, pointed his staff at Sun Wukong, and shouted sternly.

"You demon monkey! Cease your arrogance! Lin Zhu's sorcery is strange and unpredictable; the Bodhisattva and the Bright King will deal with it! If I cannot subdue him, surely I can subdue you, my defeated foe and prisoner under the Five Elements Mountain?!"

Before he finished speaking, his figure transformed into a dazzling golden light, like a golden Arhat descending to earth. Holding a demon-subduing staff wreathed in Buddhist light, he broke away from the army formation and charged towards Sun Wukong! His speed was so great that he left a long golden tail behind him!
"You demon monkey! Back then you were merely a Taiyi Golden Immortal, and you only managed to stir up trouble in the Heavenly Court by sheer luck! Now, five hundred years have passed, and I have reached the mid-stage of the Daluo Golden Immortal! How dare you run wild here! Behold my Demon-Subduing Staff Technique, and I will bring you to justice!"

Venerable Ananda's voice boomed like a bell, unleashing his immense power as a mid-stage Great Luo Golden Immortal without reservation. His aura was as imposing as a mountain, far surpassing the level of Sun Wukong when he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace! He intended to use thunderous force to first subdue this seemingly fierce but actually newly escaped and unrecovered demon monkey, boosting morale and perhaps even restraining the terrifying Lin Zhu.

Facing the charging, menacing Venerable Ananda, Sun Wukong showed no fear; instead, his eyes blazed with even more intense fighting spirit and excitement!

"Mid-stage Great Luo? Is that so impressive?"

Sun Wukong grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth.

"Five hundred years ago, I, Old Sun, was able to wreak havoc on your world with my Taiyi Realm cultivation! Today, I'll show you what the true... Great Sage Equaling Heaven is all about!!"

Before he finished speaking, the immense torrent of medicinal power transformed from the purple yellow plum within Sun Wukong's body seemed to be completely activated by his soaring battle intent, and it erupted with a roar!

This power was even more effective because he was a rare and intelligent stone monkey, and now it was no longer suppressed. It frantically washed over his limbs and bones, impacting the cultivation bottleneck that had been suppressed by the Five Elements Mountain for five hundred years!

"boom--!!"

An incomparably powerful aura, far surpassing that of an early-stage Grand Luo Golden Immortal, erupted from Sun Wukong like a dormant volcano suddenly erupting! The faint phantom of the Three Flowers was gathering above his head, and the Five Elements were churning within his chest!

First, he was at the early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm! But this was just the beginning!
The purple-yellow plum is the most superior product of the four innate spiritual roots, containing an immense amount of primordial Dao principles and spiritual power! Sun Wukong, being a naturally born and naturally gifted, exceptionally gifted spiritual stone monkey, has an absorption efficiency far exceeding that of ordinary people!

His aura had just stabilized at the early stage of the Great Luo realm when it began to rise rapidly, like a rocket!
"Crack!"

It was as if some invisible shackles had been completely broken!

Mid-stage Grand Luo Golden Immortal!

Almost at the same moment Venerable Ananda rushed in front of him, Sun Wukong's aura had already steadily stepped into the mid-stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm! Moreover, his foundation was extremely solid, without any sense of instability! In fact, due to the power of his accumulated strength and the heaven-defying effects of the Yellow Plum, the purity and richness of his magical power surpassed that of ordinary experts of the same level!
"What?!!"

Venerable Ananda rushed forward and just in time to feel the aura of a mid-stage Great Luo Immortal emanating from Sun Wukong, which was no less powerful than his own and even more wild and refined in some aspects. He was so shocked that he almost fell out of the golden light! His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!
How is this possible?! Five hundred years ago, he was a Taiyi Golden Immortal. After being suppressed for five hundred years, even if his cultivation wasn't completely destroyed, he would at most remain in the same state, or even regress! How could he break through his bottlenecks and leap into the mid-stage of the Great Luo realm the moment he was freed?! This is simply a miracle that defies all common sense about cultivation!

However, before Venerable Ananda could recover from this earth-shattering turn of events, something even more chilling happened to him and to everyone watching the battle!

Just as Sun Wukong broke through to the mid-stage of the Great Luo realm, the sky above, which had been occupied by Lin Zhu's chaotic demonic clouds and the golden light of Buddhism, suddenly became turbulent! Endless, thick, and seemingly capable of crushing the heavens and earth, pitch-black thunderclouds gathered out of thin air at an unbelievable speed!

Within the thunderclouds, there was no ordinary silver-white lightning, but terrifying electric snakes intertwined with purple, gold, and black, radiating destruction, judgment, and some kind of divine wrath, surging wildly! An irresistible, majestic heavenly might that even made a Great Luo Golden Immortal tremble in his soul locked onto Sun Wukong, who had just broken through!

Heavenly Tribulation! And it's an unprecedented, terrifying three-colored Primordial Heavenly Tribulation specifically designed for breakthroughs of Great Luo Golden Immortals!
Sun Wukong's face, which had just been filled with ecstasy due to his breakthrough, instantly froze and then turned extremely ugly! He sensed the destructive power contained within the thunderclouds, which was definitely beyond the scope of an ordinary Great Luo Heavenly Tribulation!

With his newly broken through and not yet fully stabilized realm, if he were struck by this terrifying heavenly tribulation, even if he didn't die, he would definitely be severely injured and on the verge of death, and might even have his realm knocked down and his foundation damaged!
"Damn it! Why did it have to be this time!" Sun Wukong cursed inwardly, gripping his golden cudgel tightly, his whole body tense, ready to withstand this sudden and deadly crisis.

Venerable Ananda was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with ecstatic joy.

"Hahaha! Heaven is on my side! You demon monkey! You defied the heavens and forcibly broke through your realm, attracting such a terrifying heavenly tribulation. Today, it is your destiny to die here! There is no need for me to lift a finger!"

He quickly retreated, fearing he would be caught in the calamity.

Guanyin and Fudō Myō-ō had different thoughts upon seeing this. Guanyin breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that perhaps she could use the power of the heavenly tribulation to eliminate or severely injure Sun Wukong; Fudō Myō-ō, on the other hand, was both afraid and resentful, fearing that the heavenly tribulation would affect him, and resenting how troublesome this demon monkey Sun Wukong was.

Just as the three-colored chaotic thunderclouds reached their peak, and the first terrifying bolt of lightning, seemingly capable of cleaving the world, was about to strike, Sun Wukong gritted his teeth, preparing to fight desperately, Venerable Ananda wore a gloating expression, and Guanyin secretly plotted—

A voice, utterly indifferent, seemingly detached from the Three Realms and Five Elements, devoid of any emotional color, suddenly and unexpectedly rang out in this chaotic world filled with demonic energy, Buddhist light, and divine might.

"Heavenly tribulation?"

The voice paused, seemingly carrying a hint of...displeasure?
"I am here, when did it become your...insolence?"

The moment the words fell, the chaotic thundercloud, which had been gathering terrifying energy and was about to strike, suddenly froze! It was as if an invisible hand had forcibly choked it by the throat!

Just as that indifferent voice resounded throughout the heavens and earth, causing the three-colored chaotic thunderclouds to freeze, Lin Zhu, who was locked in a stalemate with the Tathagata Dharma image transformed from the golden light relic and the chaotic demon god phantom continuing its fierce attack, suddenly made a move that shocked everyone!

Within his chaotic demon god phantom, the God-Slaying Spear held by his true body suddenly spun around, and while continuing to suppress and bombard the Tathagata's Dharma form, it separated a spear light that was extremely condensed, as thin as a spider's thread, yet as black as ink!
This spear beam was not aimed at Guanyin or Fudo Myo-o, but rather, as if by teleportation, it crossed half the battlefield and pierced straight into the vast, stagnant, and terrifyingly powerful Chaos Thundercloud above Sun Wukong's head!

"what?!"

Fudo Myo-o's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he cried out in alarm.

"He...he still has the energy to be distracted?! While he's confronting the two of us and the Buddha's teachings, he still dares to provoke the Heavenly Tribulation?! How arrogant! How incredibly arrogant!!"

Guanyin was also deeply shaken. She asked herself if she were in Lin Zhu's position, it would be difficult enough to simultaneously deal with the attacks of two half-step quasi-saints and the Tathagata's Dharma form, let alone be distracted by anything else, let alone actively provoke the Heavenly Tribulation, which represents the rules of Heaven and has unpredictable power! Just how inconceivable was Lin Zhu's strength and courage?!
Lin Zhu ignored Fudo Myo-o's scream, only giving him a cold glance, as if looking at a buzzing fly, and uttered a few words indifferently.

Cherish your last moments.

Before the words were even finished, the thin, dark spear light had already pierced into the center of the stagnant Chaos Thundercloud!
It was like a drop of ink falling into a pot of boiling oil!
The vast thunderclouds, which had been suppressed and temporarily frozen by an invisible force, seemed to be subjected to the strongest provocation and blasphemy the moment the God-Slaying Spear pierced through them, and they became completely enraged!

“Rumble——!!!”

A deafening thunderclap, seemingly capable of tearing apart the soul, suddenly erupted! The purple, gold, and black lightning, even more violent and dazzling than before, carrying the wrath of the heavens, surged forth like a dam-breaking torrent of destruction. No longer targeting Sun Wukong, it turned its spearheads and slashed wildly down at that audacious, god-slaying spear beam!

Billions of electric snakes intertwined and converged into a destructive sea of ​​lightning, determined to completely tear apart and annihilate this "alien object" that dared to challenge the might of heaven!
However, faced with this raging sea of ​​heavenly tribulation lightning, which would make any Grand Luo Golden Immortal or even a half-step Quasi-Saint tremble and retreat, that tiny God-Slaying Spear beam remained as immovable as a rock! On the spear shaft, the dark red patterns shone brightly, and an even more ancient, more ferocious, and seemingly superior aura of destruction suddenly erupted!
The God-Slaying Spear is an extremely vicious weapon born from the chaotic and murderous aura! It has drunk the blood of ancient demon gods and endured countless tribulations! The mere tribulation lightning of the Great Luo Golden Immortal level is nothing more than a tickle to it!

The dark spear light stirred gently within the sea of ​​lightning!
In an instant, the weather changed dramatically! Centered on the spear's edge, an enormous, pitch-black vortex suddenly formed, composed of pure destructive demonic energy and some of the triggered tribulation lightning! The vortex spun wildly, like a bottomless black hole, forcibly absorbing, tearing, and pulverizing the raging lightning that was slashing down from the sky, just like a whale sucking in water!
The Heavenly Tribulation Thunder Sea seemed to possess a spirit, becoming even more enraged. The power and density of the lightning increased once more, and its color even began to change into a deeper and more terrifying dark purple, attempting to completely destroy this "heaven-defying" murderous spear.

But the God-Slaying Spear only emitted an even higher-pitched tremor, seemingly filled with disdain and excitement! Countless ancient and ferocious demonic phantoms vaguely appeared on the spear shaft, baring their fangs and claws, as if mocking the incompetence of the heavenly tribulation!
"Disperse."

Lin Zhu's indifferent voice rang out again, containing only one word.

As the word fell, the God-Slaying Spear, which had been stirring up the thunderclouds, suddenly dimmed and then rippled outwards!
"boom--!!!"

An indescribable, violent aura, a mixture of the destructive power of the God-Slaying Spear itself, the supreme demonic energy infused by Lin Zhu, and some of the forcibly refined tribulation lightning power, spread out suddenly in a ring from the spear's center, like the first shockwave at the beginning of the universe!
Wherever it passed, space shattered layer by layer like fragile glass! The vast, thick, and terrifying tri-colored primordial thunderclouds, filled with terrifying heavenly might, were like its nemesis in the face of this all-sweeping, violent aura. They couldn't even put up a decent resistance before being instantly smashed into pieces!
In just one breath!
The sky suddenly cleared up!
The sky was cloudless and clear, as if the terrifying catastrophe that had destroyed the world had never happened! Only the lingering scorching heat in the air and the not-yet-completely-calamified ripples in the space testified to the breathtaking scene that had just unfolded.

The heavenly tribulation retreated. No, it was forcibly "beaten" apart!
silence!

Deathly silence!

Whether it was Guanyin and Fudo Myo-o, who were confronting the bamboo forest and struggling to hold on, or the millions of Buddhist soldiers below who were on high alert, or Sun Wukong, who had just escaped from a life-or-death crisis and was still a little dazed, they were all dumbfounded and their minds went blank!
With a single, effortless thrust, he shattered the terrifying heavenly tribulation that was powerful enough to kill even a Grand Luo Golden Immortal?!

This isn't just a matter of strength; it's a direct challenge to everyone's understanding! What is a Heavenly Tribulation? It's the manifestation of the laws of Heaven, a test and tribulation that cultivators must undergo to defy the heavens! (End of Chapter)