Great Demon Sun Wukong

Actually, the ghost-faced man within the pillar of fire had already seen Sun Wukong powering up, but the ghost-faced man made no move, simply continuing to form hand seals. The ghost-faced man was confident enough to ignore Sun Wukong's attack and peacefully prepare his superior Taoist arts, whether it was due to his understanding of Sun Wukong or the defensive power of the Tongtian fire pillar.

Finally, after eight breaths, Sun Wukong lifted his head and looked at the Tongtian fire pillar not far away, swinging his Golden Hoop staff. Similarly, the staff lengthened in an instant.

The ghost-faced man, who was witnessing all this, couldn't help but reveal a smug smile. As long as the Tongtian fire pillar could withstand this strike, then the moment for their destruction would come.

However, when the ghost-faced man saw the Golden Hoop staff in Sun Wukong's sweeping attack suddenly disappear into thin air, he finally sensed something was amiss. To be precise, the front half of the staff vanished into the void, while the other half remained in Sun Wukong's hand.

But by this time, even if he knew there was something strange about Sun Wukong's Golden Hoop staff, it was too late for the ghost-faced man to do anything, as the superior Taoist art was only one hand seal away from completion. The ghost-faced man was betting that his Tongtian fire pillar could block the Golden Hoop staff even for a second or just for an instant.

However, the very next moment, the ghost-faced man knew he had lost the bet. "Impossible, impossible!" Amidst his incredulous shouts, the Golden Hoop staff appeared out of nowhere within the Tongtian fire pillar and then fiercely struck the ghost-faced man's face.

"Six-Eared Macaque, it's your turn!"

Although Six-Eared Macaque was entangled in a fierce battle with the nine fire spirits, he kept a constant watch on Sun Wukong and the ghost-faced man. Seeing Sun Wukong actually break through the fire pillar's defense and disrupt the ghost-faced man's Taoist arts, Six-Eared couldn't help but feel elated.

But it wasn't over yet, after Sun Wukong's staff struck the ghost-faced man's face, he didn't retract it. Instead, he exerted his strength again and directly flung the ghost-faced man out of the Tongtian fire pillar.

Hearing Sun Wukong's call, Six-Eared gritted his teeth, his entire body's Earth Element suddenly exploded, taking the nine fire spirits by surprise and forcing them to stagger back a step, which Six-Eared used as a gap. He then stomped his legs mightily, and his body shot out like a cannonball, directly colliding with the ghost-faced man who had just been expelled from the fire pillar.

The nine fire spirits below quickly recovered and emitted a furious roar, planning to turn back and save their master, but they were desperately entangled by five Divine Dragons and couldn't break free.

At this moment, Six-Eared Macaque was flying in the air above the ghost-faced man. He then raised his hands high, clenched together, and slammed down at the ghost-faced man in mid-air with all his might. The ghost-faced man seemed as if he were bound, not dodging at all and took the full brunt of Six-Eared Macaque's full force strike.

Like a meteor crashing to the ground, the ghost-faced man 'bang' impacted into the earth, creating a deep crater. But this was not the end. No sooner had the ghost-faced man crashed into the ground than a golden light descended from the sky.

Then, the last thing the ghost-faced man saw was Sun Wukong's tear-filled eyes.

It turned out that in the instant Six-Eared Macaque leaped up, Sun Wukong had returned to his original size and, with the Jingu Bang in hand, somersaulted into the air. When Six-Eared Macaque smashed the ghost-faced man into the ground, Sun Wukong, holding the Jingu Bang, closely followed.

The final outcome was that before the ghost-faced man could even open his eyes, Sun Wukong's Jingu Bang had already plunged into the ghost-faced man's forehead.

But before Sun Wukong and Six-Eared Macaque had a chance to take a breather, the ghost-faced man suddenly went up in fierce flames that immediately enveloped Sun Wukong. The speed was so fast that Sun Wukong had no time to react.

And Six-Eared Macaque was startled as well, unable to retract the five Divine Dragons in time, he too was swept into the ghastly flames emanating from the ghost-faced man.

After the death of the ghost-faced man, the nine fire spirits vanished as well, and when Six-Eared Macaque was engulfed by the fierce fire, the five Divine Dragons, anxious to protect their master, rushed into the roaring flames.

Whether it was Sun Wukong or Six-Eared Macaque, all went silent, with not even shouts heard. When the fierce fire had burned out, all that was left on the ground was a pile of ashes.

At that moment, a silhouette slowly emerged from behind an ancient tree in the distance. With a low sigh, the figure waved a hand, and the barrier that had enveloped the area had already disappeared!

The fierce battle that had just raged was now completely gone in the blink of an eye. A gentle breeze blew, scattering even the pile of ashes.

No one knew what had happened; everything seemed so eerily mysterious. The suddenly appearing formidable enemy, with powerful fire system Taoist arts and seemingly inexhaustible spiritual power, had been pierced through the skull by the Jingu Bang only to transform into fierce fire suddenly.

Perhaps only the mysterious figure who had just appeared from behind the tree knew the cause and effect of all this.

Meanwhile, in the Heaven, now occupied by Buddhism, a terrible disaster was unfolding.

After Buddhism had seized control of Heaven, it had become the most powerful force in the Three Realms. However, to their surprise, they suffered consecutive defeats while pursuing Sun Wukong. Not only had the Buddha Tathagata been killed, but the two great saints from the previous generation were also successively slain by Sun Wukong.

Buddhism was now in a state of panic, with both Buddhist disciples and Vajra Arhats retreating into Heaven, not daring to step outside.

They were afraid of Sun Wukong, truly afraid.

However, after Buddhism cowered in Heaven for a while and realized that Sun Wukong did not take the opportunity to attack Heaven, the remaining Buddhas began to harbor their own little schemes.

Finally, after a full three months with no sign of Sun Wukong, the Buddhas and Arhats of Heaven couldn't help but speculate. Some said Sun Wukong and the previous Buddha had perished together. Others suggested Sun Wukong might be seriously injured and that this was the chance to eliminate him once and for all, but this suggestion was immediately dismissed by everyone.

Regardless, with the threat of Sun Wukong absent, even if only temporarily, Buddhism began to make moves again. The first of these was to elect a new Buddha to lead Buddhism in unity against Sun Wukong.

This proposal was naturally approved unconditionally by everyone. But then a problem arose, who would become the new Buddha?

Great Peacock Ming Wang? Maitreya Buddha? Medicine Buddha? Or perhaps the Ancient Buddha of the Lamp? Amitabha Buddha?

Everyone wanted to become the Buddha, yet no one could command universal respect. The whole of Buddhism became completely chaotic, with anyone who had some reputation and ability forming alliances to boost their own chances.

And today was the day all the Buddhas of Buddhism had decided to hold the Election of the Buddha. The purpose was to choose one Buddha to become the Supreme leader of Buddhism.

But just as everyone had taken their seats and the assembly was about to begin, a massive explosion that shook the entire Heavenly Realm suddenly erupted.

The source of the explosion was none other than the original Lingxiao Palace, now the Grand Hall.

In an instant, all the people of Buddhism were thrown into a frenzy. Although there had been some open and covert struggles over the position of Buddha, when something beyond their comprehension occurred, they still united.

But before a few Buddhas could go to investigate, a great fire suddenly erupted throughout Heaven. And this fire was not ordinary—it was composed entirely of Solar Golden Fire. Moreover, it was the purest Solar Golden Fire in the world.

The enveloping flames devoured nearly half of Heaven in the blink of an eye, burning everything it touched, whether trees or buildings, to ashes. Yet this Solar Golden Fire seemed to have a will of its own, deliberately avoiding the Peach Garden.