Journey to the West: I am the fiercest bird under Bodhi's seat

These two marshals held prominent positions, ranking alongside Marshal Tianpeng, but they were not directly under the Jade Emperor's command; instead, they were under the jurisdiction of Emperor Gouchen.

Their arrival was so swift, it was clearly premeditated. The Jade Emperor was still mobilizing his troops; it was impossible for him to arrive so quickly.

"Ha, it really is you, Emperor Gouchen."

Ye Feng's lips curled into a cold smile. "I didn't seek trouble with you, yet you've delivered yourself to my doorstep. Very well, I'll use your head to intimidate the gods."

Previously, Ye Feng had already sensed an undercurrent in the Heavenly Court targeting him, and eventually identified the mastermind as Emperor Gouchen.

The reason is simple—whether mortals or deities, what they seek is nothing more than "profit." It's just that their levels are different, and what they fight over is different.

His appearance, however, blocked the other party's path.

Emperor Gouchen, one of the Four Emperors of Heaven, also known as the Western Taiji Emperor, assists the Jade Emperor in governing the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man, and is in charge of war and conquest.

Among his four marshals were Yisheng and Tianyou.

In addition, he possesses another crucial authority: to rule over all demons in the Three Realms and to be the emperor of all demons.

Although born of the human race, the Heavenly Court nominally governs the Three Realms, with all spirits submitting to it. Even the Buddhist sects of the Western Paradise and the demons of the lower realms fall under its jurisdiction. Therefore, a great emperor is needed to specifically manage the affairs of the demon race, and this person is Gouchen.

For thousands of years, he has reigned supreme in the Heavenly Court, suppressing and sealing countless rebellious demons, wielding immense power. At the same time, he harbors ambitions to unify the demon races of the lower realms and bring them under his control.

If he succeeds, his status in the Heavenly Palace will surely rise, making him second only to the Jade Emperor.

For this reason, he secretly contacted demon kings in the lower realms for many years, building up his power base. He even petitioned several times to move his dojo to the Southern Continent so that he could control it more closely.

Unfortunately, the Jade Emperor saw through his intentions and repeatedly rejected his proposal. The villain, Zhenwu the Demon-Subduing Emperor, descended to the mortal realm to inspect and suppress the demonic chaos, thus diminishing much of his power.

Ye Feng's ascension to the heavens was like a sharp thorn piercing his heart.

The Golden Crow bloodline naturally enjoys high esteem among the demon race, almost equivalent to the position of crown prince.

The Jade Emperor summoned him to the Heavenly Court, and it was obvious to everyone that this was to establish another powerful demon.

This move is clearly an attempt to rival Gouchen.

Even more so, the moment Ye Feng ascended to heaven, he was bestowed the title of "Emperor Tai," which was tantamount to announcing to the world that a new force had entered the fray.

How could Gouchen not be wary? How could he not hate him?

From then on, he regarded Ye Feng as a thorn in his side, meticulously plotting and setting traps step by step. The Martial Virtue Star Lord was merely a pawn he pushed out, destined to be sacrificed.

Whether they live or die is not the key point; if things don't escalate, how can we start cleaning up?

Even if the monkey doesn't make a move, Gouchen will definitely have a backup plan.

Unexpectedly, the monkey, with its fiery temper, killed him on the spot.

Inside the Heavenly Court, he had already made arrangements—once Ye Feng and the monkey were captured, there would be no chance of turning the tables.

If they dare to resist, all the better; they will be immediately charged with "plotting rebellion" and killed on the spot.

Ye Feng had already seen through all of this, but he did not act rashly.

The Heavenly Palace is the enemy's home ground. Although he has the empty title of Emperor, he is actually powerless to help others, and no one speaks up for him.

At this moment, he looked up at the countless divine soldiers, stood with his hands behind his back, and smiled.

There was only one thing that Gou Chen miscalculated.

He underestimated his own strength.

Marshal Yisheng gripped the Heavenly Punishment Halberd tightly, its tip pointing directly at Ye Feng, and shouted sternly, "Emperor Taihuang! The Golden Monkey Grand Marshal murdered the Martial Virtue Star Lord and plotted a rebellion. If you shelter this fiend, you are an accomplice, a crime unforgivable!"

"Are you here to die?" Ye Feng asked, his tone indifferent, as light as a breeze.

Clad in the Nine Suns Golden Crow Emperor's Robe, he stood still, yet possessed an aura of imperial majesty that encompassed mountains and rivers and surveyed the heavens. In a trance, it seemed as if the ancient, fallen Emperor Jun had returned, wielding the great sun and illuminating all realms.

Meanwhile, the Heavenly Thunder Department.

Wen Zhong sat in the main seat, with the twenty-four Thunder Gods lined up on both sides.

Among the eight departments of the Heavenly Court, the Thunder and Fire departments are the most powerful, capable of summoning divine thunder from the heavens to destroy cities and countries.

Suddenly, a celestial official arrived bearing an imperial decree, stepping into the Thunder Department and loudly proclaiming: "Wen Zhong, the Heavenly Venerable of Universal Transformation and Responding to the Origin of Thunder in the Nine Heavens, receive this decree!"

The thunder gods immediately gathered, with Wen Zhong leading the way in kneeling and bowing: "Listen to the holy decree."

The celestial official unfurled the imperial edict and proclaimed loudly: "The Supreme Emperor of the Western Heaven, Gouchen, commands: General Sun Wukong, the Golden Monkey, has defied the Heavenly Rules, committed insubordination, killed the Martial Virtue Star Lord, and harbored rebellious intentions against Heaven; now, the Great Emperor Tai has shielded him and failed to report him, thus becoming an accomplice. The Thunder God Wen Zhong of the Nine Heavens is hereby ordered to lead the Thunder Department gods to immediately dispatch troops to apprehend him without delay. This is the imperial decree!"

"The decree of Emperor Gouchen?"

Wen Zhong frowned slightly, but did not move and did not reach out to receive the imperial decree.

He asked in a deep voice, "Is there a written edict from the Jade Emperor?"

The celestial official's face darkened, and he coldly rebuked, "Wen Zhong, do not make a mistake! Emperor Gouchen is also one of the Four Emperors, wielding power on behalf of Heaven. The situation is urgent; the Emperor received the news first and naturally issued the order first. If you hesitate and shirk your responsibility, even if the Golden Crow and the Demon Monkey escape, can you bear such a grave crime?"

Before the words were even finished, the twenty-four Heavenly Kings of the Thunder Department had already stood up, their eyes burning with determination.

Wen Zhong remained unmoved and slowly said, "This old minister respects Emperor Gouchen and knows of his awe-inspiring divine might. However, our Thunder Department is the head of the four departments in Heaven and only obeys the Jade Emperor's decree. If the situation is urgent, I request Emperor Gouchen to first inform the Great Heavenly Venerable. Even if only a handwritten order arrives in person, our Thunder Department will immediately set out to fight."

Upon hearing this, the celestial official was speechless, his face turning ashen, utterly speechless.

Just then, another celestial official entered the hall, holding a golden imperial edict, and shouted: "The Holy Decree of the Supreme Jade Emperor, the Greatly Compassionate and Benevolent One of the High Heavens—Wen Zhong, Hear My Command!"

Everyone in the Lei Department, including Wen Zhong, knelt down in unison.

"The demonic monkey has run rampant, defying the laws of Heaven. The Great Emperor Tai has concealed it and failed to report it; he will be punished as an accomplice. Wen Zhong is hereby ordered to lead the Thunder Gods to apprehend it and bring it to the Lingxiao Palace for trial. This is the imperial decree!"

Wen Zhong accepted the imperial edict with both hands and solemnly kowtowed: "Wen Zhong accepts the edict."

Upon seeing this, the celestial official from Gouchen Palace turned ashen-faced, snorted coldly, glared fiercely at Wen Zhong, and then turned and left.

Wen Zhong ignored it and immediately organized the Thunder Department, gathered the twenty-four Thunder Gods, and, carrying wind and thunder magic weapons, headed straight for the palace of the Great Emperor of Tai.

……

Now let's talk about Ye Feng.

He knew perfectly well that the monkey had killed the God of War, and no matter what the Jade Emperor was thinking, he had to take them down for the sake of the Heavenly Court's reputation.

Unless he voluntarily hands over Sun Wukong and adopts a conciliatory stance.

Is that even possible?

Regardless of whether this move can quell the storm, he simply cannot explain it to Bodhi.

For this reason, Ye Feng had already decided to make a quick decision.

He took a deep breath, his gaze suddenly sharpening like a knife.

Almost at the same instant, the two marshals above suddenly felt an unbearable heat all over their bodies. When they looked up, they saw golden light pouring down from the sky.

The next instant, Ye Feng soared into the air, took a step, and the space shifted, and he was already standing in front of the two of them.

He lightly raised his right hand and casually pushed out a palm strike, seemingly plain and unremarkable, without any fancy moves.

boom--!

The golden fire of the sun erupted with a roar, engulfing the heavens and earth in blazing golden flames, and an isolated world was instantly formed.

In an instant, the world lost its color, all things faded, and only that palm strike, with its golden flames reaching the heavens, remained.

Marshal Yisheng's pupils contracted sharply, and a storm raged in his heart.

He was a fierce general under the command of Emperor Gouchen, and was ordered to lie in wait here, just to keep Ye Feng and Sun Wukong occupied.

His cultivation had reached the early stage of Taiyi Golden Immortal, and he wielded the "Heaven-Slaying Halberd," a divine weapon bestowed upon him by Gouchen. Its killing power could kill a mid-stage Taiyi expert, and he dared to fight even the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

He was initially very confident.

But at this moment, faced with this palm strike, his belief crumbled.

The world twisted in his eyes, space was torn apart like a canvas, and a long scroll of burning flames slowly unfolded, and he and Marshal Tianyou were caught up in it.

All sounds are silent.

Only the roar of the burning sun's true fire echoed in my ears.

Palaces, pavilions, celestial officials, heavenly soldiers, and even Marshal Tianyou beside him all vanished completely in his perception.

All the colors in the world were stripped away and gathered into the world-destroying strike in Ye Feng's palm.

A long-forgotten, deep-seated fear welled up inside me.

He once descended to the mortal realm to exorcise demons, and once followed the emperor in battles across the land. Countless demon kings fell to his halberd, their corpses piled up like mountains, and their blood flowed like rivers.

But at this moment, for the first time, he felt the approach of death.

It was Nezha, the great god of the Three Altars and the Seas, who, despite his unruly nature, was confident that he could rival any opponent.

But when facing Ye Feng, an unprecedented feeling of weakness surged from the bottom of her heart, as if even the courage to raise her hand had been completely crushed.

"wrong!"

He suddenly realized that this was mental suppression exerted by the other party. He immediately bit his tongue hard, and blood rushed into his mouth. The fishy smell rushed to his brain, and his mind cleared up instantly.

He channeled all his magical power and spat out a mouthful of blood essence—blood containing the power of a Taiyi Golden Immortal, which instantly condensed into a supreme demon-subduing talisman, one of his life-saving techniques. After using it, he himself would also be injured, and ordinary mid-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivators would be severely injured.

However, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The talisman formed from blood essence shattered with a "crack" the moment it touched Ye Feng's palm, like thin ice meeting fire.

Golden flames of the sun burst into the sky, instantly evaporating the blood mist.

Ye Feng's palm strike continued to press down steadily.

This fire is no ordinary fire; it is the true fire of the sun, forged to its ultimate form in the Thai Royal Palace using the power of the sun wheel.

The Golden Crow True Fire he originally possessed originated from his bloodline inheritance and was not the true ancient Golden Crow Flame; there was still a difference in temperature.

Now holding the position of the Sun God, and being close to the core of the Sun, he took advantage of his authority to absorb a massive amount of Golden Crow True Flame and melt it into pure Sun True Fire.

This is precisely the right path to cultivating the true fire of the sun, as clearly stated in the "Chaos Golden Crow Technique".

In the past, Di Jun and Tai Yi were born in the heart of the Sun Star, and were born with this fire, so they did not need to work hard to condense it like he did.

Now that the fire is complete, its combat power has reached a new peak.

That palm strike was already close to Marshal Yisheng's head.

The marshal roared and poured all his life's power into the Heaven-Slaying Halberd. Instantly, the killing intent surged and the aura of destruction swept in all directions.

This halberd is ranked as a superior acquired spiritual treasure, and when fully activated, it possesses the power to slay immortals and destroy Buddhas.

Especially now that Yi Sheng has been forced into a desperate situation, he has given his all and unleashed his strongest attack of his life, enough to kill a powerful expert in the late stage of Taiyi Golden Immortal.

The palm clashed with the halberd.

Silently, a layer of golden flames quietly wrapped around the halberd and spread rapidly along its shaft.

His eyes flickered slightly as he looked down at his fingers—

A tiny golden flame clung quietly to it, without the slightest hint of heat.

But under his gaze, the flames grew wildly as if they were alive: knuckles, wrists, arms, shoulders, torso... instantly covering his entire body.

boom!

The flames suddenly subsided, and Ye Feng appeared in the Heavenly Soldier Formation, passing by Marshal Yisheng.

But by then, the marshal was no longer there.

Under the true fire of the sun, this powerful early-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal was annihilated along with his primordial spirit before he could even scream.

A thunderclap can be hidden in the silence, and extreme terror can be found in the unseen.

Ye Feng held the Heaven-Slaying Halberd in his hand, flames still leaping from its tip.