Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 626 - 620: Incense and Love [Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets]_1

Zhao Gongming's expression immediately turned grim.

Sha Chen's words were akin to slapping him in the public, showing him no respect whatsoever.

Furious, he said, "Quit beating around the bush. If you're capable, show yourself. What kind of hero hides his head and reveals his tail? I never converse with such cowardly rats."

He then let out a cold snort! His eyes were filled with contempt, and a sneer touched the corner of his mouth, yet internally, he was on high alert.

Because of Zhao Gongming's words, the assembled gods and buddhas in the sky immediately felt a surge of energy, their morale skyrocketing.

After all, Sha Chen's reputation was incredibly high; just the sound of his voice was enough to instill terror in their hearts. But Zhao Gongming's disdain for Sha Chen seemed to prove he had absolute confidence in dealing with him. As long as their commander could withstand Sha Chen, the others could hold off these demons. By the time the experts from the Heavenly Court arrived, victory would be theirs.

Zhao Gongming was actually nervous, even though he hoped Sha Chen would leave the Flowing Sand River and appear here. However, he did not want to face Sha Chen head-on, because if Sha Chen did appear, he certainly wouldn't stand a chance. Yet, he was confident that even if he couldn't defeat Sha Chen, he surely wouldn't meet his demise at Sha Chen's hands as Maitreya Buddha had. He himself was a Peak Quasi-Saint; Maitreya Buddha was only a High-Level Quasi-Saint. There was indeed a significant gap between them. He admitted to himself that if he couldn't beat Sha Chen, he should still be able to hold him back. However, he was already weary from prolonged battle, his mana hadn't recovered to its peak, and his strength was only about fifty to sixty percent of his peak state. So, he wasn't very confident that he could truly detain Sha Chen until Bo Jian and the others arrived.

The Demon World's side, however, was furious. The ordinary demons were naturally dealt a heavy blow; they had been shocked and filled with hope at Sha Chen's appearance, but they hadn't expected the enemy commander to treat Sha Chen with such contempt. The blow to their morale was profound.

For Red Boy and the others, it didn't impact their morale. Instead, it made them even more furious and eager for action.

Sha Chen said, "Zhao Gongming, once or twice I could ignore it, but to repeatedly humiliate me, do you really think I'm so easy to bully?"

"Don't think that just because I was mindful of our past connection and spared your life, you can act so presumptuously before me. I don't seek trouble, but if you're looking for it, I'll gladly oblige."

Suddenly, a terrifying aura billowed out from a crack in space, and an enormous hand, seemingly covering the sky, stretched out from it, striking towards Zhao Gongming.

That hand was clearly composed of mana. Its arm was adorned with various complex patterns: mountains and rivers, insects and fish, birds and beasts, the sky and the earth.

It was as if that arm was a world in itself, containing infinite destructive power. It sliced through the sky, tore space asunder, and rifts appeared one after another.

Zhao Gongming felt the infinite murderous intent within that giant handprint and its terrifying aura—an intensity he didn't possess even at his peak.

With just this one move, Zhao Gongming distinctly sensed the vast gap between himself and Sha Chen.

His eyes filled with terror, his heart shaken, his face a mask of disbelief.

How is this possible? How could the gap between us be so large? We are both Peak Quasi-Saints. He's definitely not a Saint yet, has made no contributions to the world, and isn't even considered a Sub-Sage. How can he be so much stronger than I?

Zhao Gongming was terrified. Facing that palm, he had no confidence whatsoever.

If he were at his peak condition, he might have been able to withstand it. But now, his mana was only at fifty to sixty percent, and his overall condition was less than half of his peak. If he forcibly tried to take this palm, he would likely sustain grave internal injuries.

However, Sha Chen's attack was strategically launched. While seemingly aimed at Zhao Gongming, it actually covered all the assembled gods and buddhas behind him. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

If Zhao Gongming dared to dodge, all the gods and buddhas behind him would be devastated under this palm, reduced to ash.

Not even one in ten would survive. It was feared that even Greater Primordial Golden Immortals would perish under this palm; only those who fled swiftly or possessed special secret techniques might possibly survive.

From this single palm, Zhao Gongming could feel Sha Chen's murderous intent; it was decisive, meant to wipe them all out in one fell swoop.

Zhao Gongming immediately roared, "Sha Chen, by doing this, are you intending to make an enemy of the Heavenly Court? Are you planning to protect these demons?"

"Have you considered the consequences of opposing the Heavenly Court and all of the Three Realms? I advise you not to make such a fatal mistake. Quickly retract your hand and ignore this battle!"

But Sha Chen paid him no heed, forcing Zhao Gongming to make a choice in that instant.

In the end, Zhao Gongming decided to personally block the palm. Otherwise, the nearly one million celestial soldiers and generals behind him could potentially perish, and he would have no way to answer to the Heavenly Court.

At that moment, Zhao Gongming unleashed his ultimate skills, channeling all his mana into his palms and striking out.

At the same time, the divine sword at his back flew out instantly, transforming into countless rays of sword light that blotted out the sky, all aimed at that descending palm.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

The terrifying sword light clashed with the terrifying palm print, and naturally, the terrifying palm print achieved a complete victory.

Under Sha Chen's palm, Zhao Gongming's sword light, like a firefly vying with the bright moon, was instantly extinguished.

Zhao Gongming despaired in that moment. He hadn't expected to still underestimate the power of Sha Chen's palm, nor to overestimate the strength of his own full-powered strike.

Watching the palm descend, Zhao Gongming felt true despair. He had no mana left to support himself, and given the terrifying power of the palm, his physical body alone couldn't withstand it.

Since he didn't primarily cultivate his physical body, relying on it now—utterly depleted of mana—he simply couldn't block the blow.

All the assembled gods and buddhas in the sky witnessed this scene, despair filling their hearts. They wanted to scream, but in this critical moment, they couldn't even utter a sound.

Many Quasi-Saints also took action, but they too knew that even if they joined forces, it would likely be difficult to stop this palm.

Were they all going to perish here?

Just at that critical juncture, a glint of cold light arrived first, followed by a wave of freezing power that seemed to seal a thousand miles in ice. Sha Chen's descending palm instantly turned into an ice sculpture, halting suspended in mid-air. However, the ice sculpture soon shattered into countless fragments, and the palm print continued its descent.

But the power of that palm had clearly diminished significantly.

Still, when it struck Zhao Gongming's body, it slammed him into the dust, sending him crashing into the Bottomless Cave, unable to rise for a long time.

And behind him, over one hundred thousand celestial soldiers and generals turned to ash under this blow.

Although the side of the assembled gods and buddhas suffered heavy losses, they were at least not entirely wiped out as they had feared, which brought them some relief.

However, with just a casual palm from Sha Chen, they instantly lost their commander, and over one hundred thousand celestial soldiers and generals perished. Thus, the morale of all the assembled gods and buddhas was instantly shattered.

"Hahaha!"

The Demon World immediately burst into laughter, each one of them full of ridicule.

Zhao Gongming flew out from the crater, his aura at rock bottom, clearly in a state of extreme weakness.

Yet, a trace of a smile still lingered on the corner of his mouth. "Our reinforcements have finally arrived."