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

The illusory figure on the flag trembled suddenly, as if sensing something, and opened its mouth to inhale, instantly swallowing the blood of the Ancestral Witch.

In an instant, a terrifying pressure erupted from the flag, and a chaotic pillar of light shot into the sky, piercing the heavens and almost tearing apart the palace dome!

Fortunately, Ye Feng was prepared. He had already set up a restriction, and an invisible force emerged, forcefully blocking the pillar of light.

His eyes were fixed intently on the flag, not blinking. The chaotic pillar of light gradually converged, finally solidifying into a form—

A four-winged, six-legged ancestral witch, resembling chaos, stood on the flag, exuding a wild aura. Space around it twisted and cracked, causing even Ye Feng himself to tremble slightly.

The ancestral witch stood still, and Ye Feng closed his eyes to sense it. He felt that its aura was unfathomable and its strength was slightly greater than his current level.

"Early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm." He made up his mind.

Born from the essence and blood of the ancestral witch, it reached this state as soon as it appeared in the world. Although it is not even one ten-thousandth of its peak, it is still terrifying in this world.

Ye Feng attempted to control it with his divine sense and found no resistance. This ancestral witch was without intelligence or consciousness, like a puppet, and could be manipulated at will with just a wisp of divine thought.

He was overjoyed and ordered it to return to the flag, then put away the great formation.

At this point, he was equivalent to having gained the combat power of a Great Luo Immortal.

After dismantling the formation, Ye Feng devoted himself to cultivation for several days, feeling his mastery had increased. He then issued an order to the entire mountain—

Summon the seventy-two demon kings from the caves to gather at Flower Fruit Mountain.

He then ordered Sun Wukong and the Black Bear Spirit to be on high alert and prepare for battle.

Immediately afterwards, a giant banner was raised high.

The four characters “Taihuang Dasheng” are prominently displayed in the center, written with vigorous strokes and imposing presence; a flag stands slightly lower to the side, inscribed with “Qitian Dasheng”.

Further along the edge, the terrain is even lower, and a flag is only half the height of the previous two, with the ink writing steadily, bearing the three characters "Black Wind Great Sage".

Banners fluttered on Flower Fruit Mountain, awaiting the arrival of the Heavenly Army.

At this moment, inside the Heavenly Palace, Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, withdrew from the Lingxiao Palace and immediately mustered 100,000 heavenly soldiers, ordering the Thunder Department and Fire Department Gods to lead all the Heavenly Lords to the front line.

He then ordered Nezha, the Great God of the Three Altars and Seas, to lead an expedition, and summoned the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Four Marshals of the Lingxiao Palace, and the Three Star Lords of Killing, Breaking, and Wolf to gather at the camp gate.

A vast army emerged from the South Heavenly Gate. As the clouds parted and the mist dispersed, the heavenly soldiers stretched out in formation, layer upon layer, disappearing into the depths of the sea of ​​clouds. The sound of war drums rolled across the sky like muffled thunder, shaking heaven and earth, pressing towards the direction of Flower Fruit Mountain.

Li Jing acted swiftly, unaware that a day in heaven was equivalent to several days on earth. A brief discussion in the heavenly palace had already taken more than half a month on the mortal realm.

As the army approached Huaguo Mountain, they could see three large flags fluttering in the wind atop the mountain.

Li Jing's gaze sharpened, and he was instantly enraged: "What a madman! How dare he presume to call himself the Great Sage! He has clearly been plotting rebellion for a long time!"

He verbally rebuked them, but did not rashly advance.

Although his cultivation level was not top-notch, he had personally experienced the Investiture of the Gods war, and his talent in commanding troops was indeed remarkable; otherwise, he would not have been able to sit in the position of the commander-in-chief of the Heavenly Court.

Standing on the clouds and looking down, he saw that the Flower and Fruit Mountain was filled with demonic energy, thick fog was surging, and the peaks were hidden from view, as if they were hiding thousands of demons. The silence was filled with a chilling aura.

Li Jing knew that the enemy had already laid out defenses, so he dared not advance rashly.

He then said, "That monkey and the golden crow caused trouble in the Heavenly Palace and even escaped from the Thunder Department, so they must have some skills. Now that the situation is unclear, our army should first set up camp, send people to investigate the situation, and then decide on a strategy for attack."

Upon hearing this, Wen Zhong's expression changed slightly.

This statement, seemingly an argument, is actually a veiled insult—"Raiden is incompetent," isn't that a direct insult to his face?

The two had a long-standing grudge: during the Investiture of the Gods, one belonged to the Shang camp and the other to the Zhou camp; Li Jing was originally the general of Chentang Pass of the Shang Dynasty, but later betrayed his lord and surrendered to Zhou, an act that Wen Zhong despised.

Therefore, whenever the opportunity arose, Li Jing would always make sarcastic remarks.

Not only Wen Zhong, but also Luo Xuan of the Fire Department had a gloomy expression, and many of the Twenty-Eight Mansions also had their brows furrowed.

All because they were present when the operation was launched, and nine of their star officials were killed, they were now being belittled and humiliated by the phrase "have some skill".

The Fire Department was originally a former member of the Jie Sect. When Wen Zhong was ridiculed, they naturally shared a common hatred for the enemy.

However, with Li Jing as the commander-in-chief, even if the gods were dissatisfied, they could only suppress their anger and keep it to themselves, waiting for the opportunity to take revenge in the future.

Li Jing ordered the heavenly soldiers to slowly descend and set up camp on the southern slope of Huaguo Mountain.

Once the camp was secure, he summoned his generals and said, "Speed ​​is of the essence in war; let's press on with one decisive blow. Now that we're here, let's first ascertain their strength. The four marshals of the Lingxiao Palace, listen to my command: you shall immediately proceed to challenge them! This battle is one of victory only; defeat is not an option. Anyone who damages the dignity of the Heavenly Court will be punished according to military law!"

The four marshals stepped forward in response. Although they felt helpless, they could not disobey the commander-in-chief's orders, so they had no choice but to accept the order and take off into the clouds.

Flying above Flower Fruit Mountain, they shouted loudly, "Listen up, all you demons of Flower Fruit Mountain! We are the Four Holy Marshals of the Heavenly Court's Lingxiao Palace. If you still have any sense, surrender immediately, or the might of Heaven will descend and you will all be reduced to ashes in an instant!"

These four were originally from the Investiture of the Gods, and were known as the "Four Saints of Kowloon Island" in the past. They were invited by Wen Zhong to help Zhang Guifang in his campaign against Xiqi.

After an initial victory, he was later defeated by Jiang Ziya using the God-Slaying Whip, and then by Jinzha and Muzha descending the mountain, who joined forces with Manjushri to kill him.

After his death, he was deified and became a guardian marshal in the Lingxiao Palace.

Therefore, they also belong to the Jie Sect lineage. Now, Li Jing has deliberately pushed them to the front lines, which is actually intended to use them as pawns.

As the shout faded, the demonic mist below rippled slightly and gradually dissipated.

Under the banner of "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven," Sun Wukong, clad in golden scale armor and wielding his golden cudgel, stood tall and imposing, exuding heroic spirit.

A series of roars echoed from the mountaintops, and countless monkey soldiers, brandishing swords and spears, leaped out of the forest, covering the mountains and fields; their numbers were likely in the tens of thousands.

Furthermore, the Demon King of the Seventy-Two Caves led his lesser demons to assist in the battle, creating a formidable force that rivaled even the might of the Heavenly Army.

Beside Sun Wukong, Ye Feng stood quietly, his hands lightly behind his back, his expression indifferent. Standing among the mountains, he seemed like a transcendent immortal, ethereal and otherworldly.

Behind him stood the Black Bear Spirit, the Four Great Monkey Generals, and tens of thousands of monkeys and their offspring.

The moment the heavenly soldiers appeared in the clouds, the entire mountain was already under heavy guard.

At the same time, Ye Feng heard the system's voice in his ear:

"The First Battle of Heaven, choose to begin."

"Option 1: Surrender with your hands raised, reward - Ten Thousand Thunder Prison Curse".

"Option 2: Rise up and defeat the punitive army. Reward: The first of the Seven Swords of Primordial Chaos."

Option 3: Avoid their sharp edge and retreat unscathed. Reward: Golden Light Across the Ground.

Faced with three choices, Ye Feng did not hesitate for even a moment and immediately chose the second option.

It wasn't just for that legendary sword.

The first point is pure nonsense and not worth mentioning. Surrendering would probably only condemn him to a long life in prison with no hope of ever getting out.

As for the reward promised in the third clause, Ye Feng didn't care at all. The "Golden Light Leaping Across the Earth" technique wasn't a high-level escape technique; its only advantage was that ordinary people could use it without needing magic power. But it could only travel a thousand miles in a day. Not to mention that he had already mastered the flying secrets passed down by Di Jiang, even Sun Wukong's somersault cloud was a hundred times better than this technique.

Once the plan was made, the other side immediately sent four marshals to challenge them, dispelling the fog of war, and the two armies faced off.

Ye Feng stepped forward, a smile playing on his lips: "You want us to surrender? The four of you are probably not up to the task. Xiong Pi, this battle will be yours to take.

The black bear spirit stepped forward in response, bowed to Ye Feng, and then rode a cloud of black clouds straight out.

"I, the Black Wind Great Sage, have come to learn from your skills!"

A roar shook the surrounding area, its power astonishing.

Seeing this, Li Jing and the others watching from the rear noticed the surging demonic energy around him, indicating that his cultivation was close to that of a Taiyi Golden Immortal. They were secretly shocked: Huaguo Mountain is indeed full of hidden talents, even a black bear has cultivated to such a level.

The four marshals sneered, "Where did this arrogant beast come from? A mere bear demon dares to call himself a Great Sage? We'll use you as a sacrifice for our flag, and cut off your bear paws to accompany our wine!"

Upon hearing this, how could the Black Bear Demon tolerate it? His eyes widened in anger, and with a roar, he swept his halberd across the sky.

This demon is no ordinary being; it possesses innate divine strength, has practiced Buddhism, and its weapon is a treasure from the Dragon Palace. This strike carries the force of wind and clouds, causing the heavens and earth to change color; even a towering mountain would be cleaved in two.

Yang Sen, who was the first to be hit, felt it most deeply, as if a colossal mountain was pressing down on him. In a hurry, he raised his double axes to block.

clang--!

The clang of metal against metal resounded through the sky, as if the heavens were collapsing.

Yang Sen grunted and plummeted to the ground, crashing with a thud. The demonic mist scattered, and the earth cracked like a spider web.

It should be noted that the Black Bear Spirit was at the peak of the Celestial Immortal realm, and even in the Heavenly Court, he would be qualified to be a Grand Marshal. The Four Sages of the Lingxiao Palace, however, were only at the mid-stage of the Celestial Immortal realm during the Investiture of the Gods. They only managed to wreak havoc in Xiqi, a region with few powerful experts at the time, thanks to the power of their magical treasures. Now, thousands of years later, they remain stagnant at the same level.

This is because once someone is listed on the Investiture of the Gods, they not only lose all freedom and are subject to the Jade Emperor's control in every way, but more fatally, their cultivation will be difficult to advance any further. This is precisely why countless immortals would rather die than fight, fearing being listed—only by dying can their souls be confined to the Investiture Platform.

Therefore, even though they were much older than the Black Bear Spirit, their strength had already been surpassed.

Seeing this, Wang Mo roared, "Black Bear, today I'll take your dog's life!"

Before he finished speaking, he leaped up, activated his supernatural powers, and transformed into a giant hammer that slammed down from the sky.

The black bear demon roared to the sky, its body suddenly expanding to hundreds of feet in size, and it raised its halberd high to meet the attack head-on.

With a deafening roar that shook the mountains for miles around, the giant hammer shattered on the spot.

Wang Mo was shocked, never expecting this demon to possess such combat power.

The Black Bear Demon laughed loudly, his body radiating Buddhist light. He unleashed a supreme technique, transforming into a thousand-foot giant. His halberd danced like a dragon as he charged straight at the remaining three marshals.

The three were shocked and immediately began to use their magic to defend themselves, each displaying their unique abilities, and they engaged in a fierce battle.

Wang Mo was shocked as he fought: It was actually the "Imitation of Heaven and Earth" technique! This demon's origins were extraordinary! In addition, he was already incredibly strong, so if they fought head-on, he would be no match for him.

He glanced around and saw that the other two marshals were already showing signs of fatigue.

It should be noted that "Imitating Heaven and Following Earth" is no ordinary skill. It is one of the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang and is also recorded in the Seventy-Two Arts of the Earthly Fiends. It is a rare common supernatural power, but not everyone can cultivate it.

The four marshals of the Lingxiao Palace were left without a leader.

In the original Journey to the West, Sun Wukong encountered many demon kings on his westward journey, most of whom did not know this technique. Among the five members of the group, only Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie were proficient in it.

This technique not only changes one's form but also causes one's strength to surge along with their size. When used by a celestial being like the Black Bear Spirit, it's almost like a demon king descending to earth. Unless the opponent is a Taiyi Golden Immortal or another celestial being who can grow even larger, victory is unlikely.

The two sides were locked in fierce combat. Yang Sen, who had been shot down earlier, was enraged and leaped up to rejoin the battle.