Simultaneous traversal: All Abyss difficulty.

Chapter 556 I've Become Sun Wukong?
Li Jing's pagoda trembled violently in his palm, and the golden bells hanging from the eaves jingled erratically, as if emitting a terrified wail.

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King had lost all his majesty at this moment; large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and rolled down his cheeks onto his armor.

Li Jing, the "Great Immortal," bobbed his Adam's apple. "This humble deity is merely acting on the Jade Emperor's orders."

"Imperial decree?"

Zhen Yuanzi snorted coldly, his plain Taoist robe fluttering without wind. His right hand remained in the "Hidden Universe in Sleeve" position, while his left hand was gently raised.
"boom!"

The entire sky suddenly darkened!

Fang Yu's eyes widened as he saw a phantom hand that blotted out the sky appear in the heavens, with clearly visible lines on its palm, each line resembling a bottomless ravine!
That was truly "covering up the sky with one hand"!
The 100,000 heavenly soldiers were instantly thrown into chaos. The array of golden helmets and armor resembled waves of wheat swept by a whirlwind. The heavenly generals in the front ranks could not even hold their weapons, and halberds and swords clattered and fell from the clouds.

"not good!"

Li Jing hastily summoned the Exquisite Pagoda, its seven stories radiating golden light, but the moment it touched the shadow of the giant hand, it dimmed like a candle flickering in the wind.

He was horrified to discover that his connection with the pagoda was being forcibly severed by some terrifying force!
"receive."

Zhen Yuanzi uttered a single word indifferently.

"Wow—"

Like the Milky Way turning upside down, 100,000 heavenly soldiers, along with clouds, were sucked into the sleeve all at once!

Li Jing's pagoda flew out of his hand, tracing a tragic parabola in the air before finally crashing with a "thud" onto the stone steps in front of the Wuzhuang Temple. After rolling a few times, it completely lost its spiritual light.

Fang Yu's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan spun wildly, yet he still couldn't see Zhen Yuanzi's movements clearly.

He could only vaguely perceive the folded space, as if a giant had casually crumpled a piece of Xuan paper, and the Heavenly Army was nothing more than ink dots on the paper.

Qingfeng and Mingyue were already kneeling on the ground, their whole bodies trembling like leaves.

They had followed their master for a thousand years, but this was the first time they had ever seen Zhen Yuanzi truly enraged.

silence.

Even the chirping of insects and birds in the mountains disappeared, as if everything was holding its breath.

Zhen Yuanzi turned to look at Fang Yu, his gaze lingering for a moment on the Nine Heavens Thunder Pool in Fang Yu's arms, and suddenly laughed: "You have quite the nerve."

Fang Yu's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat. The smile seemed gentle, but it reminded him of the giant whale in the deep sea opening its mouth, and the small fish swept up by the current had no way to resist!

"Master, I."

"No need to explain." Zhen Yuanzi waved his hand, his sleeves swaying slightly, and Nezha's angry curses could be heard.

Zhen Yuanzi chuckled, "These dragon kings certainly know how to make trouble."

As he spoke, he suddenly looked up at the sky, his gaze piercing through the nine layers of clouds: "Now that we're here, why hide?"

A helpless sigh came from above the clouds.

Venus appeared, leaning on his dragon-patterned staff, his old face wrinkled like a dried-up date, completely devoid of any semblance of his ethereal, otherworldly appearance: "Great Immortal Zhenyuan, please calm your anger. We are merely..."

"Just what?" Zhen Yuanzi flicked his sleeve, and Li Jing fell at Taibai Jinxing's feet, his armor askew and he looked quite disheveled. "Coming to my Wuzhuang Temple to cause trouble?"

Taibai Jinxing stamped his feet anxiously, "Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!" He secretly glanced at Fang Yu, then suddenly lowered his voice, "Actually, His Majesty has long disliked the Nine Heavens Thunder Pool. It's clearly a treasure of the Thunder Department, yet it has been monopolized by the Dragon Clan for a thousand years."

"Oh?" Zhen Yuanzi raised an eyebrow.

Fang Yu was stunned.

Good heavens, the water in Heaven is muddier than a bucket of swill!
"How about this?" Zhen Yuanzi suddenly reached out and beckoned. The ginseng fruit tree in the distance rustled, and three baby-shaped fruits fell into his palm. "Please trouble Venus to take these to the Jade Emperor and tell him that I, Zhen Yuanzi, am inviting him to have tea."

Venus's eyes widened in disbelief!

Ginseng fruit! Three pieces!

The old immortal was so excited that his white beard trembled. Just as he was about to reach out to take it, Zhen Yuanzi suddenly turned to Fang Yu and asked, "What do you think should be done?"

Fang Yu was taken aback, but then a thought struck him, and he quickly took out the Nine Heavens Thunder Pool: "This junior is willing to hand over this item!"

"Good." Zhen Yuanzi nodded in satisfaction. The Thunder Pool transformed into a stream of light and disappeared into his sleeve. At the same time, he stretched out his sleeve and released the 100,000 heavenly soldiers and Nezha back into the sky.

Nezha, dazed and disoriented, regained his footing. The sinister look in his eyes was gone, and like the monkey, he was questioning his existence after being instantly defeated.

Zhenyuan Daxian waved his sleeve, "Then we're even!"

Venus's hands were trembling as he held the ginseng fruit.

This isn't an apology; it's clearly a warning.

What do you mean by "settling accounts equally"?
I don't believe you can steal my little apprentice's magic weapon.

"I apologize for disturbing you," Taibai Jinxing said with a bow, then whispered to Nezha, Li Jing, and the heavenly soldiers, "Let's go!" After Taibai Jinxing rode away on a cloud, Zhen Yuanzi suddenly turned around, flicking his sleeve, "Hmph, you brat, disturbing my Wuzhuang Temple's peaceful cultivation! What is your punishment?!"

Fang Yu knelt on the bluestone slab, a chill running down his spine. He looked up and stared directly into Zhen Yuanzi's eyes, which seemed to pierce through the three realms. His voice was hoarse but firm: "This disciple confesses his sins."

The ancestor of the Earth Immortals' gaze fell on the Thunder Pool in his hand, and a faint, cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Do you know that this Thunder Pool is a treasure of the Thunder Department?" Zhen Yuanzi's voice made Fang Yu break out in a cold sweat. "Although the Dragon King of the South Sea is incompetent, he is still a righteous god appointed by the Heavenly Court."

"A true god?" Fang Yu suddenly looked up, his eyes full of resentment.

Qingfeng Mingyue gasped and took several steps back.

For thousands of years, no one in Wuzhuang Temple has ever dared to speak to the Master in this way.

A cold glint flashed in Zhen Yuanzi's eyes. "Insolence!" he shouted, and the entire Longevity Mountain trembled.

Fang Yu, as if possessed, continued, "Where were all the gods and Buddhas when the carp spirit demanded young boys and girls on the fifth day of each month? Where were the Buddhas of Mount Ling when the Kingdom of Bhikkhu used children's hearts and livers to refine elixirs?"

"How many people has that carp demon eaten? How many parents has it harmed? What is the purpose of my Taoist practice? To stand by and watch someone die, only to live as a thousand-year-old tortoise?! I would rather die standing than let this monster wreak havoc on the human world!"

"Shut up!" Zhen Yuanzi waved his sleeve, and Fang Yu was struck as if by lightning, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

But Fang Yu stubbornly straightened his back: "Great Immortal, do you know what I saw in the Lion Camel Kingdom?"

His voice suddenly lowered, carrying a chilling calm: "A baby's hand soaking in a bucket of swill, a silhouette of a monster gnawing on human flesh on a restaurant window, human bone hairpins being sold on the street."

Zhen Yuanzi was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered: "Do you think you're the only one who has seen human suffering?"

A scroll flew out from his sleeve and slowly unfurled in the air.

That was a scene from the primordial era where humans were slaughtered by demons; mountains of corpses and seas of blood, a truly horrific sight.

"I have endured countless calamities and witnessed more human tragedy than you have eaten rice," Zhen Yuanzi's voice suddenly turned weathered. "Why do you think the Heavenly Court was established? Why does Mount Ling exist? It is precisely to prevent such tragedies!"

"Avoid?" Fang Yu suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter filled with madness. "The Lion Camel Kingdom is right at the foot of Mount Ling! When the three great demon kings were eating people to survive, were those Arhats and Bodhisattvas blind or deaf?"

A complex emotion flashed in Zhen Yuanzi's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure: "The cycle of Heaven has its own destiny."

"So you just have to endure it? Just wait?" Fang Yu suddenly ripped open his shirt, revealing his bony chest. "Wait for those high and mighty gods to be in a good mood one day and show some mercy?"

Zhen Yuanzi suddenly fell silent.

The mountain wind stopped, and even the chirping of insects disappeared.

After a long silence, he sighed softly, "Do you know why I didn't take you as my disciple?"

Fang Yu was taken aback.

“It’s not because you’re not qualified enough.” Zhen Yuanzi turned away, his back looking somewhat forlorn. “It’s because your temperament is destined to go against the will of Heaven. My Wuzhuang Temple cannot tolerate you.”

Before he could finish speaking, Zhen Yuanzi suddenly waved his sleeve!

"The universe is in your sleeves!"

Fang Yu felt dizzy and everything went black.

In his daze, he heard Qingfeng and Mingyue calling anxiously, and saw the ginseng fruit tree's branches and leaves shaking violently.
"boom!"

A sharp pain shot through Fang Yu's back as he crashed heavily onto the hard ground.

A sudden burst of noisy voices filled my ears:
"Newly arrived Persian carpets—"

"Sesame flatbread! Hot sesame flatbread!"

He looked up blankly; the streets of Zhuque were teeming with people.

In the distance, the golden roof of the imperial city gleamed blood-red in the setting sun, and the two characters "Chang'an" on the city gate plaque were written in bold, powerful strokes.

A squad of Imperial Guards rode past, their hooves splashing mud and water onto his face, warm and foul-smelling.

Fang Yu wiped his face and suddenly burst out laughing.

"What a hidden world hidden in a sleeve!" He clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm. "From Longevity Hill to Chang'an."

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest!

Upon reaching out, it turned out to be the Nine Heavens Thunder Pool!
Zhen Yuanzi returned it to him!
At the same time, a small booklet was also attached to his chest.

The inscription reads: "The Essential Chapters of the Mysterious Secrets of the Taiyi Qinghua Cave".

(End of this chapter)