Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage
Chapter 90: Wukong’s Fierce Battle with the Nine-Headed Bug

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Wukong’s Fierce Battle with the Nine-Headed Bug

"Damn it, how did this Nine-Headed Beast get so powerful?" Wukong cursed inwardly.

Laughing loudly, the Nine-Headed Beast taunted, "Sun Wukong, with such abilities, you think you can be the Green Emperor?"

With that, its nine heads shook, and from within the Mustard Seed it pulled out nine Great Banners. It tossed them into the sky where they formed a Nine Luminaries Yin Soul Great Formation, rooting itself within the void, immovable even by the heavenly winds. On each Great Banner were depicted terrifying things such as fierce ghosts, yin spirits, poisonous snakes, ferocious beasts, zombies, demon heads, poisonous scorpions, infant ghosts, and the Impermanence.

Yuan Hong frowned and murmured to himself, "The Nine Luminaries Yin Soul Great Formation? It seems this fiend must be connected to the Ghost Chariots."

Fluttering in the wind, the nine Great Banners grew to the height of nine zhang, instantly casting a chilling and ghostly air that darkened the skies and triggered a palpable sense of dread.

Wukong furrowed his brow and dared not be negligent, taking the World-Cleansing Dust Whisk in hand.

This World-Cleansing Dust Whisk, grown from a seed that fell from the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree of Zhun Ti Taoist and refined from a Bodhi Tree, was incredibly powerful. Moreover, being rooted in Buddhist Sect practices, it was most suitable for countering these sinister entities. The methods of Buddhist Sect were indeed the bane of these malicious ghosts and fiends, especially to the myriad demon kings of the Asura Blood Sea.

The Nine Luminaries Yin Soul Great Formation laid out by the Nine Yin Banners was exceedingly elaborate to create. One banner required the souls of those who died tragic deaths to be refined into fierce ghosts; another banner gathered souls born on the darkest days and nights; one was made from three hundred and sixty-five types of venomous snakes; one was made from fierce beasts that devoured yin spirits; one contained souls that committed suicide, refined into supreme zombie corpses; one captured the souls of those who went mad from cultivation... In short, crafting these Nine Yin Banners was tremendously difficult.

Without needing Yuan Hong’s reminder, Wukong already knew the trouble he was in—the nine Great Banners were certainly formidable!

At the Nine-Headed Beast’s gesture, a spell shot out toward the sky, entering the Nine Luminaries Yin Soul Great Formation. In an instant, ghostly winds arose, fierce ghosts howled, dark clouds gathered, and yin energy covered the heavens.

From the banners emerged numerous fierce ghosts, zombies, ferocious beasts, and poisonous snakes... but these beings were not made of flesh; they were Yin Gods, specializing in depleting the yang energy of people and harming their Primordial Spirits.

The nine Great Banners descended, trapping Wukong within the interconnected circles of the Formation, from which escape seemed impossible.

Wukong raised his Buddha Beating Staff toward the heavens, chanting sutras. He was reciting the "Sutra for Delivering People," which said, "Once, in the clear azure skies, where the void was sung, the great floating land of Fuli was found. Receiving the teachings of Lord of Primordial Beginning for delivering mankind, numerous top-grade initiates... the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning shall speak of this sutra. Circling ten times over, summoning from all ten directions, first to arrive at the seat. The true Great God of Heaven, the exalted and holy Saint, the wondrously practicing sage, uncountable multitudes riding the void to arrive. Flying through clouds towards the celestial heights, the green carriage with wheels of jade, feathers shading below..."

These sinister spirits were vicious, and it was by means of the Sutra for Delivering People that they would be transformed, allowing their Karmic Force to erupt and cast them into the cycle of Reincarnation.

Yet the Nine-Headed Beast laughed and said, "Sun Wukong! You may well comprehend the true meaning of the ’Sutra for Delivering People,’ but breaking this Nine Luminaries Yin Soul Great Formation is not so simple. If a mere ’Sutra for Delivering People’ could break the formation, then my years as the Nine-Headed Dragon would have been lived in vain!"

Wukong, however, paid him no heed and kept chanting. The sound of his voice echoed like the tolling of a great bell, and each word of the sutra scattered around him, surrounding his body. The wailing yin spirits lunged forward to attack but could not break through the barrier formed by the large character manifestations of the sutras.

Yuan Hong, watching intently from the ground, did not make a move. After all, this was the longstanding grudge between Wukong and the Nine-Headed Beast; moreover, there was the Heaven-Defying Taoist hiding on the side, yet to make a move, presumably by Wukong’s instruction.

"Nine Yin Unification!" The Nine-Headed Beast cast another spell, tossing a purple-golden Talisman towards the sky which immediately ignited.

A black hole appeared in the sky, twisting and tearing the void apart, into which the millions of yin spirits were sucked. Eventually, they merged into one, transforming into a massive ghostly figure.

Seeing that his recitation of the "Sutra for Delivering People" could not fend it off, Wukong quickly drew out his Dust Whisk and struck at the ghost!

The ghost was a hundred zhang tall—a giant compared to Wukong, who seemed minuscule in contrast.

Seven-Clored Divine Light surged tumultuously, engulfing like a tidal wave. The ghost reached out to grab him, but its entire arm was swept up in the Divine Light, twisted fiercely, and shattered into pieces, only to reassemble itself immediately.

"This thing is really that powerful!" Wukong thought, alarmed, as the ghost let out a ferocious roar and a chilling ghostly force surged forward.

Wukong flicked his Dust Whisk, tangling the ghost’s arm in its threads and, using the momentum, swung away from it.

The ghost had to reach around with its other hand to swat at Wukong!

Wukong certainly did not want to be caught; just a touch could throw his Three Flowers and Five Qi into disarray and a lot of the yang energy in his Primordial Spirit would dissipate, leaving him vulnerable to being subdued.

"Heaven-Defying Taoist, it’s time to join the fight!" Wukong shouted, expanding his Buddha Beating Staff to a hundred zhang in length and growing his body to match, wielding the staff to fend off the ghost.

The nine Great Banners in the sky rattled "whirr" with the gusting winds and the yin energy became even denser, making the ghost more fearsome by the moment!

The Heaven-Defying Taoist, having been patient for a long time, now drew back the Sun Shooting Divine Bow, directly executing the "One Arrow that Transforms into the Three Pure Ones" and firing the Sun Shooting Divine Arrow straight at the three heads of the Nine-Headed Beast.

The Nine-Headed Beast was so frightened it nearly lost its soul, exclaiming, "Sun Wukong, you scoundrel! Not able to defeat me on your own, you resort to calling for help!"

But the Heaven-Defying Taoist retorted, "Nine-Headed Beast, I am but an evil corpse cut out by my brother Wukong. How am I any help?"

Having said that, he pulled the bowstring taut, ready to let loose the second arrow.

The Nine-Headed Bug had no choice but to open its mouth and spit out millennia-old mystic ice, forming a large shield in front of it. Three beams of golden light bombarded the shield, exploding with huge bangs, just shy of shattering the millennia-old mystic ice into fragments. A web-like network of cracks now covered the entire block of mystic ice.

The second arrow—Dual Arrow Pierces the Heavens!

The Nine-Headed Bug had nine heads, and this arrow was aimed straight at the middle one.

When the millennia-old mystic ice was struck by this shot, it instantly turned into powder. The Nine-Headed Bug, now out of options, raised its crescent shovel to block.

"Boom!"

The crescent shovel transformed into a crescent moon, crashing straight down and colliding with the arrow. But the Nine-Headed Bug had clearly underestimated the arrow’s power; the arrow sent the crescent shovel flying hundreds of feet into the air. Its momentum unabated, it continued its course toward the Nine-Headed Bug’s head.

However, the Nine-Headed Bug caught a break and used the "Embryo Transformation" Dharma Gate, appearing beside the Heaven-Defying Taoist in an instant, preventing him from shooting the third arrow in time.

One of the Nine-Headed Bug’s heads suddenly opened its mouth, spewing out Samadhi True Fire, which was refined from Samadhi True Fire, akin to the refining of True Sunfire into True Sun Essence.

The Heaven-Defying Taoist, with no other options, had to invoke the Great Revolution Seal to strike.

As soon as the Great Revolution Seal appeared, with the glinting golden light of scythes and axes, it exuded an intimidating aura, forcing the Nine-Headed Bug to swiftly dodge, yet it dared not stray too far from the Heaven-Defying Taoist to avoid being shot by his arrow!

The Nine-Headed Bug’s soul nearly fled its body as it summoned the crescent shovel back into its hand and opened its thunder-spitting head to release Xuan Yin Fiend Thunder.

The Heaven-Defying Taoist was not afraid, and with a flash of the Great Seal, the scythes and axes detached and enlarged to several dozen feet before striking the Nine-Headed Bug! The heavy and solid, seemingly indestructible revolutionary will erupted, crushing the Xuan Yin Fiend Thunder into powder before it could even explode.

"Damn it, what kind of Magical Treasure is this, so powerful!" the Nine-Headed Bug stomped and exclaimed, spitting fire and lightning in defense.

The Scythe-Axe was indestructible; it took three consecutive strikes from the Heavenly Constellation Thunderbolts to finally be hindered.

With a twist of his hand seal, the Heaven-Defying Taoist cast the Golden Crow Chasing the Sun Body Technique and reached the battlefront. With the scythe in his left hand and the axe in his right, the scythe-axe immediately became suitably sized and manageable. Armed with the two weapons, he pounced forward and slashed at the Nine-Headed Bug’s waist with one, while the other aimed an axe at its head!

Seeing the power of the scythe-axe, the Nine-Headed Bug did not dare take the blows, retreating repeatedly and thundering continuously, quickly depleting its hoarded strength and feeling a pain as if its heart were bleeding.

In this fight with the Heaven-Defying Taoist, the Nine-Headed Bug felt increasingly frustrated; too close and it was no match for the scythe-axe, yet from a distance, the bastard would draw his bow and shoot arrows!

Over there, Wukong was also deeply engaged in battle with the phantom specters conjured by the Nine Luminaries Yin Soul Great Formation, employing every trick at his disposal. He even took out the Green Emperor’s Green Lotus, but he could not disperse these specters!

The green lotus swayed, with Chaos Qi and a green glow flowing through it. Every flick dispersed the specters into a million Yin souls, but in an instant, these Yin souls reassembled into specters, beasts, giant axes, or large knives... leaving Wukong with an unbearable headache, almost driven to madness.

"Heaven-Defying Taoist, catch!" Wukong pulled out a golden headband and tossed it to the Heaven-Defying Taoist.

The Nine-Headed Bug retreated, suspecting it to be another powerful Magical Treasure.

The Heaven-Defying Taoist caught it with one hand, noting that it was indeed a headband, refined by the Supreme Elderly Lord. Laughing heartily, he understood Wukong’s intent. He raised the headband skyward, poised above his head, waiting for the right moment to snugly ensnare the Nine-Headed Bug, and with a single incantation, leave the creature unable to live or die as it wished.

"Hurry and capture this bastard. I am consuming too much Mana resisting this formation," Wukong’s thoughts transmitted.

"Rest easy, brother. I’ll have this bug surrender in no time!" said the Heaven-Defying Taoist, as he advanced with his scythe-axe in hand.

The Nine-Headed Bug saw that the headband was merely hovering over the Heaven-Defying Taoist’s head without any radiant glow, looking very plain, and assumed it was merely for intimidation. It gathered its spirits and advanced with its crescent shovel in hand.

But the Heaven-Defying Taoist found it rather strenuous to fight with the scythe-axe; after all, the Nine-Headed Bug was a Daluo Golden Immortal with deep and long-standing Mana, and controlling the scythe-axe consumed a good deal of his Mana as well!

In anger, he roared and met the Nine-Headed Bug with a blow, executing a move called "Mountain Cleaving Power."

The Nine-Headed Bug did not dare to block with "Raising Fire to the Sky" as the scythe-axe, though seeming plain, couldn’t actually be resisted. Were it to strike, it feared it would instantly turn to ash.

So it dodged to the side, counterattacking with a move called "Looking Back at the Moon," aiming for the Heaven-Defying Taoist’s neck.

The Nine-Headed Bug was quite formidable in close combat, giving the Heaven-Defying Taoist a difficult time. Extremely irritated, his scythe whirled repeatedly, failing to make contact with the Nine-Headed Bug.

The more the Nine-Headed Bug fought, the more at ease it became, aiming to exhaust the Heaven-Defying Taoist to death.