Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 622 - 616: Heavenly Court Encircles the Demon World [Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets]_1

Zhao Gongming brought a large contingent of heavenly soldiers and generals, including the Four Sky Kings, gods of the Thunder Ministry, deities of The Mysterious Altar Department, and various demon-catching Heavenly Masters. There were 36 who had reached the Daluo Golden Immortal level alone. In terms of the Quasi-Saint level, Zhao Gongming was a single Peak Quasi-Saint, with five other ordinary Quasi-Saints. These five ordinary Quasi-Saints were far from ordinary; they were the five great divine emperors who suppressed the mortal realm, commonly known as the Five Emperor Lords of the Sacred Mountains.

The Five Emperor Lords of the Sacred Mountains were led by Emperor Jiang of Mount Hua. Emperor Jiang had a junior brother who, after the Journey to the West, became very famous and was known as Immortal Thunderbolt. However, Immortal Thunderbolt did not appear here because he was not part of Heavenly Court's organization.

Thus, there were six individuals at the Quasi-Saint level. Among them, Zhao Gongming was a Peak Quasi-Saint—mighty, powerful, transcending the extraordinary, and invincible. As for the masters below the Daluo level, their numbers were countless, with the heavenly soldiers and generals alone numbering up to 1,000,000 strong.

Such a lineup showed Heavenly Court's determination to wipe out the Demon World this time! In fact, apart from these experts from Heavenly Court, there were also over 100 Buddhist sages from the Western Paradise World. However, they did not come in the name of Heavenly Court but on behalf of Buddhism, to subdue demons and protect the Buddha. Moreover, these Buddhist sages did not join forces with Heavenly Court to subdue demons but fought on their own. Presumably, they also did not want to be labeled as lackeys of Heavenly Court. But in the Demon World, there was no difference between the gods of Heavenly Court and the Buddhas of the Western Paradise World; they were all enemies.

Under such circumstances, the joint siege of the Demon World by Heavenly Court and Buddhism had been ongoing for several years. Today, a great battle was about to erupt.

Zhao Gongming, along with the Five Emperor Lords of the Sacred Mountains and many Daluo Golden Immortals, as well as Buddhism's Eighteen Arhats and Nine Great Buddhas, besieged the Yunling Mountain Demon Cave. Yunling Mountain was vast, with 100,000 great mountains stretching for 1,000,000 miles, teeming with countless demons and fiends, their demonic energy billowing. Among these mountains, there were no fewer than 100 Great Saints of the Demon World, and over 20 of them had reached the Daluo Golden Immortal level. As for the Quasi-Saint level, currently, there was only one: the Bull Demon King.

There were actually several Quasi-Saint Demon Emperors, but they were intimidated by the combined might of Heavenly Court and Buddhism. They didn't dare to share the Bull Demon King's fierce hatred and had fled elsewhere with their subordinates in advance. Now, the 100,000 great mountains were occupied solely by the Bull Demon King's family. The subordinates of those Demon Emperors who hadn't managed to escape were all conscripted by the Bull Demon King.

Even with all these forces conscripted by the Bull Demon King, amounting to millions of demons and fiends, the number of true experts was not large. The 20 or so Daluo-level Demon Emperors had mostly been killed off gradually over the years, leaving only a few. The remaining seven or eight were all the Bull Demon King's confidants, each existing in a state of high tension, liable to break down at any moment.

Throughout the 100,000 mountains, bloodshed was rampant. Heavenly Court and the demons were locked in relentless combat. Neither side was willing to back down, and Heavenly Court pressed aggressively. The fiercest fighting, however, took place in the Demon Cave. This was where the Bull Demon King's family had converged, protected by layers of Formations and defenses, encircled by heavenly fire and rivers flowing in reverse. Thunderous rumbles also contributed to making the place impenetrable.

「Within the Demon Cave.」

The Bull Demon King's family was anxiously pacing, for today was the day Heavenly Court and Buddhism would launch their joint siege on the Demon Cave. Although their enemies had been allied for a long time and had attacked this place no fewer than 100 times, the magical stones of the Demon Cave were almost exhausted. Coupled with their dwindling numbers over the years, their defenses were significantly weaker than before. This time, with Heavenly Court and Buddhism joining forces again, they had surely found a vulnerability.

On the Bull Demon King's side, there was no lack of powerful fighters. Their ability to hold out for so long was due to the arrival of these powerful individuals: Red Boy, Black Bear Spirit, the Spider Demons, the White Bone Demon, Nezha, Marshal Tianpeng, Golden Winged Dapeng, and many other formidable combatants. It was thanks to the presence of these experts that Heavenly Court and Buddhism had been unable to succeed thus far.

Some of Sha Chen's followers had not appeared openly, but they had also secretly lent aid during Heavenly Court's siege of the Demon World. For instance, Jade Rabbit, Lady Di Yong, Six-Eared Macaque, and others each fought their own battles, unaware of the others' existence. They did not reveal themselves, merely launching surprise attacks that kept some of Heavenly Court's and Buddhism's forces tied down. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The strength of these individuals was already quite formidable. The weakest among them possessed the cultivation of a Peak Daluo Golden Immortal, while the stronger ones had reached the Quasi-Saint Realm. Among them, Red Boy, Nezha, Golden Winged Dapeng, and Six-Eared Macaque had already reached the Intermediate Stage of Semi-saint. It was due to this surge in their strength that they were able to hold off Heavenly Court; otherwise, Zhao Gongming alone might have been enough to level the Demon Cave. However, because they each fought their own battles, did not reveal themselves publicly, and did not join forces, the struggle had been prolonged until now.

Furthermore, Buddhism had dispatched numerous Buddhas to forcefully suppress them. Consequently, these hidden helpers dared not show themselves, fearing they would be wiped out by the combined forces of Buddhism and Heavenly Court. Under these circumstances, the Demon World had begun to show signs of decline, suffering heavy casualties. The Spider Demons, the White Bone Demon, and Black Bear Spirit, among others, were all injured to varying degrees. Their combat strength was no longer at its peak.

The Bull Demon King gathered everyone and said, "I'm sure you all know by now that we're at the end of our tether. Our resources are almost completely exhausted, and the Formation barriers simply can't hold."

"Therefore, our only option is to fight to the death, to engage in a decisive battle against Heavenly Court and Buddhism. Only by repelling them will we have a glimmer of hope. Otherwise, we will surely die."

Everyone's expression was solemn. It was clear they understood the grim reality of their situation, which was extremely unfavorable.

Marshal Tianpeng said, "Why don't we evacuate quickly and flee to the Flowing Sand River together? They wouldn't dare cause trouble for us there."

The Spider Demons, the White Bone Demon, and others seemed tempted but still shook their heads, feeling it was an improper course of action.

The White Bone Demon said, "Our master doesn't like to be disturbed. Going there rashly, especially bringing so many of us, will surely cause him trouble. He would definitely dislike that."

Marshal Tianpeng argued, "We're about to be finished! If we don't go to him now and end up dying here, he'll be even more heartbroken when he finds out."

The few Spider Demons exchanged glances, also seeming to want to return. It wasn't that they were unafraid of causing Sha Chen trouble, but they feared dying without seeing him one last time.

Black Bear Spirit said, "Even if we leave here and rush to the Flowing Sand River, the journey is long, and our pursuers would catch up."

"If we fight to the death here, we still have a glimmer of hope. But if we're hunted down on the road, we'll have no strength to fight back."

The crowd nodded in agreement. Even Marshal Tianpeng had to admit that if they fled separately towards the Flowing Sand River, they would be picked off one by one and pursued. Moreover, the moment they began to flee, morale would plummet, leaving them with no power to counterattack. Whether they could even escape this place was a significant question, not to mention that the long journey ahead was fraught with dangers and likely more misfortune than luck.