Great Demon Sun Wukong

After the black powder of the Annihilation Order had dispersed, Xi Zhao had reappeared before Sun Wukong. Only now, Xi Zhao had undergone considerable change. His pitch-black hair flowed without wind, and his armor, once that of a Demon Monarch, had turned predominantly black with deep purple patterns across the full body armor. Moreover, the features of Xi Zhao's face had changed; originally a handsome and harmonious visage now bore a touch of savagery, with two fangs poking out from the corners of his mouth.

The Xi Zhao standing now was the true Xi Zhao. This secret was so closely guarded that not even Mo Wu, Long Tian, and others who were closest to him knew about it. Nobody knew that the greatest use of the Annihilation Order for Xi Zhao wasn't to summon the Annihilation Nine-Headed Serpent but to use the Annihilation Order to merge with his own doppelganger. The Evil Monarch and the Demon Monarch were in fact one and the same. However, when Xi Zhao began his grand plan, he discovered that his strength had unknowingly surpassed the limits of Domain Lord Peak, yet, for reasons unknown to him, he had not caught the Law Enforcers' attention, nor had there been any earth-shattering disturbances following his breakthrough.

Yet Xi Zhao was clearly aware that he indeed had broken past the limitation of Domain Lord Peak. As to how he accomplished the breakthrough, Xi Zhao had no idea. Although he did not understand why he had so seamlessly reached a level beyond Domain Lord, far from feeling secretly pleased, he was instead filled with profound fear. He was very familiar with the Law Enforcers' rules and although his true strength remained hidden for now, he knew that secrets have a way of coming to light. Without a solution, he was certain that his only fate would be death.

So, while he was orchestrating his audacious plan, he divided his strength in two. The Evil Monarch was in truth nothing more than a doppelganger of Xi Zhao himself, bearing a part of Xi Zhao's soul memories and a considerable degree of autonomy. Afterwards, Xi Zhao's strength diminished to that of Domain Lord Peak, while the Evil Monarch's reached the peak of Nine Patterns Supreme. Aside from the Evil Monarch and the Demon Monarch themselves, no one else knew this secret.

Moreover, when Mo Wu and others learnt of Xi Zhao's earth-shattering plan, they secretly schemed a nearly perfect assassination. Xi Zhao was not completely unaware of this assassination plan. Otherwise, with the mighty strength and vigilance of a Demon Monarch, how could he have allowed them to seize the World Suppressing Stele No.1 after his death? Xi Zhao was killed because, at that time, his identity and existence had become highly sensitive, and many things were no longer convenient or possible to carry on.

Secondly, he needed to search for something in the Netherworld World. Additionally, he was confident that even if he was beaten to the brink of both physical and spiritual annihilation, he would not die for certain, since as long as the Evil Monarch was still around, he would eventually be resurrected. Thus began a plan to turn the tables. During those hundreds of thousands of years of silence after Xi Zhao's death, he was actually constantly searching for that thing. To allow himself to go to the lesser Netherworld, he even deliberately aggravated his own injuries and did not hesitate to damage his own soul.

Yet, after hundreds of thousands of years, he found nothing—until he met Sun Wukong and discovered that Sun Wukong, by chance, happened to possess the Wasteland Soil No.3. At that point, Xi Zhao had given up the search for that item. However, as the saying goes, "No sooner said than found; what is sought is obtained without effort." Just when Xi Zhao had abandoned his search, Zijing brought that very thing back to him.

Indeed, that thing was the Netherworld Creation Fruit. If Xi Zhao wanted his plan to proceed smoothly, consuming the Netherworld Creation Fruit was an essential step. Without it, not only would his plan be delayed by hundreds of thousands of years, but it would also become much more troublesome. The greatest effect of the Netherworld Creation Fruit, and the primary reason Xi Zhao needed to obtain it, was that after consuming it, a person could change everything about themselves.

"Change everything," might not sound very impressive; but one only needs to think about it to realize that there's nothing more attractive in the world. To change everything—appearance, strength, aptitude—all trivial endeavors. Changing one's destiny, soul, allegiances, and even one's cosmos and future, that was all possible. It could be said that it was only after consuming the Netherworld Creation Fruit that Xi Zhao gained the capability to directly confront the Law Enforcers.

Returning to the present situation, perhaps allowing himself to merge back the power that had been split in two was not a foolproof strategy, but Xi Zhao decided to gamble on it. He wagered that that person would use all their means to seal off the Patrolling Celestial World for him, thus preventing his aura from leaking out and alerting the Law Enforcers. The gamble paid off. After he fully merged with the Evil Monarch, nothing out of the ordinary happened; no Law Enforcers came to stop him. Moreover, he discovered nearby that Ling Weiyang had also broken through to this realm.

Though Ling Weiyang's breakthrough was not through his own strength, it was indeed a definite attainment of that level. Moving his limbs gently, feeling the overwhelming power he hadn't felt in tens of years, a relaxed smile finally appeared on Xi Zhao's face. Now, he was the true Demon Monarch.

Sun Wukong's expression became unprecedentedly solemn. He had refrained from launching a full-on attack because he had always felt that Xi Zhao seemed to be concealing his true strength. If he rashly attacked and Xi Zhao suddenly unleashed his full power, he would definitely suffer a significant loss.

Now, he had finally seen Xi Zhao's full power, which had broken through the constraints of the Domain Lord Peak, reaching another level altogether. To be honest, Sun Wukong was somewhat shocked, and there was also a sense of regret. When he first arrived in the Netherworld, the forced breakthrough of the spatial blockade caused severe damage to his soul, resulting in memory loss, and he had been reduced to a state with only his primal instincts. Afterwards, when he broke through the One Pattern Realm, the first Cosmic Law he absorbed was consumed entirely to repair his damaged soul.

As a result, Sun Wukong would forever lack one Heaven and Earth Law, making it impossible for him to ever reach the Nine Patterns Supreme, let alone the level beyond the Domain Lord Peak. The peak of Eight Patterns Supreme was the limit that Sun Wukong could reach. Though his actual combat power was far greater, his cultivation realm could never be raised by even the slightest degree.

However, Sun Wukong felt only a trace of envy for Xi Zhao at the moment. After all, Dao Zhun had once told him that cultivating a single attribute to its extreme could break through the shackles of the Domain Lord Level. But that was as far as it went. Only when one achieved a complete balance of the Five Elements Power inside them, and each of the Five Elements possessed extreme power, did one hold the key to the final destination on the Supreme Path.

It could be said that Sun Wukong's realm was far inferior to Xi Zhao's, but the ultimate end of the path he walked was much further than the path Xi Zhao took. However, both Sun Wukong and Xi Zhao faced an insurmountable mountain in front of them— the eight Law Enforcers. Confronted with the mountain that blocked their way, Xi Zhao chose to flatten the mountain with his powerful strength. Sun Wukong's approach, on the other hand, was to accumulate enough power and then leap over it.

"Sun Wukong, you should feel honored, for you are the first to witness my tremendous strength."

"Xi Zhao, you should also feel honored, because I will show you what the Supreme Path truly is."

Just at that moment, an earth-shaking tremor suddenly passed through, and this wasn't just any tremor—it was the entire Patrolling Celestial World that was shaking. Feeling the intense shaking that seemed as if it could destroy heaven and earth, a radiant smile once again appeared on Xi Zhao's face.

Xi Zhao had laid out his plans for so long, and his ultimate trump card had finally appeared. This was not only Xi Zhao's trump card but also his last promise with that person. Now, as long as he could kill Sun Wukong, his mission would be accomplished. After that, it would be that person's turn.

Everything would have an answer today.

After plotting for so long, preparing so much, and investing so much, today was finally the day to reap the rewards. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Starting Point ) to cast your recommendation votes and Monthly Passes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)