Great Demon Sun Wukong

Participating in the Patrolling Celestial World trials was of utmost importance for Xi Zhao. Its significance did not lie in the ranking of the Divine Kingdoms among various powers after the trials, but in the inherent importance of the Patrolling Celestial World itself. There were a total of eight Universal Law Enforcers in the universe, who had relied on their incomparably powerful strength to rule and control this universe for a million years. A million years might seem exceedingly long in the eyes of ordinary people, but to those with superhuman might, this millennium was not lengthy at all; it was profoundly brief compared to their almost boundless lifespans.

Yet, within this not-so-long span of a million years, many significant events had occurred. For instance, following the conclusion of the war in ancient times, the eight Universal Law Enforcers emerged and, with their strength far surpassing all others, they reorganized the chaotic universe after the great war, reestablished the rules, and promoted the nine forces with the greatest contributions in the ancient battle as the Nine Great Divine Kingdoms. Each Domain Lord of the Nine Great Divine Kingdoms would possess a Seal Stone, also known as the World Suppressing Stele.

If things had continued that way, there wouldn't have been much upheaval. However, when the rules set by the eight Law Enforcers conflicted with the wishes of all beings, contradictions were ignited. It was these contradictions that gave rise to individuals like Xi Zhao and Ling Weiyang who possessed defiance of heavenly might and schemes. When their strength reached the peak yet could not breakthrough, or in Xi Zhao's case, he had clearly broken through but could not reveal it, they became greatly dissatisfied with the rules designated by the Law Enforcers.

Therefore, Xi Zhao and Ling Weiyang decided to overthrow the rule of the eight Law Enforcers over the universe; they aimed to ascend to higher levels and become stronger beings. Thus, they both began an earth-shattering plan and countless sub-plans beneath it. As mentioned earlier, some of these plans succeeded and some failed. Just when Xi Zhao's actions were about to draw the attention of the Law Enforcers, Mo Wu killed him in a counterplot, causing Xi Zhao's soul to nearly shatter and plummet into a minor world.

The death of Xi Zhao could be considered the wisest decision he had ever made in his life. The plans that had already garnered the attention of the Law Enforcers were immediately halted, and the Law Enforcers naturally ceased their pursuit. However, among the eight Law Enforcers, one was extremely sensitive to souls. Thus, he discovered that Xi Zhao had not died utterly and then, he created a Doppelganger to enter the Netherworld World and made contact with Xi Zhao.

Xi Zhao did not know that this person was the Doppelganger of the Spirit Controller among the eight Law Enforcers. After experiencing a series of life-and-death situations together, Xi Zhao slowly started to disclose his plans to that person. When Xi Zhao had nearly revealed his entire plan to the Spirit Controller, the person suddenly revealed his identity. Xi Zhao was shocked beyond measure, thinking he was doomed as this individual was a Doppelganger of a Law Enforcer. Not only was his death certain, but he feared that Ling Weiyang and the Annihilation Demon Nation would be doomed as well.

However, to Xi Zhao's surprise, the Spirit Controller showed no ill intent. On the contrary, he earnestly requested to collaborate with Xi Zhao. This was simply inconceivable for Xi Zhao. How could the Spirit Controller among the Law Enforcers seek to partner with him? But in the end, the Spirit Controller convinced Xi Zhao that he genuinely intended to work together. After this, it can be said that the Spirit Controller's influence was present in all of Xi Zhao's actions.

Even the fact that he would encounter Sun Wukong, and where he would obtain the Netherworld Fortuity Fruit, were informed to Xi Zhao by the Spirit Controller. However, to avoid drawing the attention of the other seven Universal Law Enforcers, the Spirit Controller met with Xi Zhao infrequently, mostly communicating with him through their unique methods. When the Spirit Controller informed Xi Zhao of the imminent Six Kingdoms War and the Patrolling Celestial World trials, Xi Zhao knew that the opportunity had finally arrived.

During their first meeting, the Spirit Controller had made clear to Xi Zhao the current state of the Universal Law Enforcers: their strength had already reached the limit of this universe. They could not make any more breakthroughs, and they even required the Underworld God Army's tens of thousands and those chains to constantly supply them with Spiritual Power to cleanse their bodies. Only by doing this could they continue to exist in this universe; otherwise, they would be directly cast out by the force of the Cosmic Rules.

Of course, the Law Enforcers also knew that this method was merely a temporary fix and not a solution, as using Spiritual Power to rinse the body does not solve the underlying problem. Hence, they conceived the idea of upgrading this universe. As long as the universe could return to the level it was at a million years ago, during the great war, there would be no issue, not even if there were seventy or seven hundred of them, instead of only eight. Currently, this universe can contain at most ten individuals with their level of strength; any more, and the Cosmic Rules would eliminate the excess one to maintain the balance of the universe. Moreover, the 'excess' individual referred to is not necessarily the most recent one but could be anyone at random.

This is precisely why the Law Enforcers absolutely forbid anyone from breaking through to the Domain Lord Peak. There were already eight of them, and with the one who had become the Primordial Earth Pearl, that made nine. If two more were to make a breakthrough to that level, the Cosmic Rules would annihilate someone. In fact, Xi Zhao had once considered using this method to destroy the Law Enforcers, but it was nothing more than a thought and a completely impractical act. With the Law Enforcers' constant vigilance, breaking through to the Domain Lord Peak was next to impossible—or rather, absolutely impossible. And even if someone did break through, they could only kill one of them, and it might even turn out to be themselves.

Unless Xi Zhao could make ten people break through all at once, which would greatly increase the chances of half—or even more—of the eight Law Enforcers being annihilated. However, this was clearly impossible. The current universe simply could not allow so many people to break through. The total amount of Spiritual Power in the universe is limited. For example, now that the Primordial Earth Pearl had merged with the body of the Six-Eared Macaque, it could no longer be considered at that level; instead, it was regarded as being of the same rank as the Six-Eared Macaque. With the eight Law Enforcers plus Xi Zhao, there were already nine individuals in the universe who had reached that level. Although Ling Weiyang could also be marginally considered to be at that level, he only had the strength of that realm, not the realm itself.

Knowing this, the Law Enforcers had initially sought ways to upgrade this universe. There are two methods for upgrading a universe to a higher status. One is for an individual within the universe to step onto the threshold of the end of the Supreme Path, prompting the universe to evolve autonomously to allow that individual to continue growing in power. The other method is to initiate a war between universes, with the victor being able to upgrade their universe by merging it with the source of the defeated universe.

The cause of the Ancient War was precisely this, but the outcome was mutually destructive. Although our universe barely emerged victorious, all the powerful beings perished, leaving behind only the Law Enforcers and others whose strength was merely at the Domain Lord Level. With such strength, it became impossible to seize and merge the source of the opponent's universe.

And after a million years, although this universe has stabilized significantly, the Law Enforcers had no desire to rashly initiate another universal war. Because once war began, the eight of them would be on the front lines, serving as the main force of the conflict. Even though having eight individuals at the Heavenly Venerate Level was a considerable number compared to similar-level universes, none of them wished to die.

Indeed, what one could attain after breaking through the Domain Lord Peak was the realm of the Heavenly Venerate. Of course, there are higher levels above the Heavenly Venerate, but that is a story for another time. Under the circumstances of not wishing to initiate a universal war, having an individual whose strength transcended the Heavenly Venerate realm became the Law Enforcers' only method to upgrade this universe. However, the eight of them were no longer able to advance further, so, they considered resurrecting the Pioneers who had perished in the ancient battle.

After finding the Pioneers' bodies, they then attempted to infuse them with the Spiritual Power supplied by the Underworld God Army. They were not actually intending to resurrect the Pioneers, for they did not need the Pioneers' souls. All they required was a body of tremendous strength, far surpassing that of the Heavenly Venerate realm. But the strongest among the Patrolling Celestial World's Underworld God Army were at the level of Domain Lords, and the rest were mostly Supreme beings of Eight or Nine Patterns, so how difficult was it to create a body exceeding the Heavenly Venerate realm?

However, what once drove the Law Enforcers collectively insane occurred—the body of the Pioneer had mysteriously disappeared. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to Starting Point ) to cast your recommendations and Monthly Passes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)