25: Chapter 26 Fighting the Corpse Demon III

But as a Master, having been repeatedly contradicted by his disciple and misunderstood in public, he could not bring himself to back down.

Coupled with his previous anger and obsession, he ultimately did not relent.

He closed his eyes, let out a long sigh, and his tone remained resolute.

"Monkey King, even if she is a demon, you should not have taken her life without asking for the reason. I am a monastic, and I hold compassion as my guiding principle. I truly cannot tolerate a disciple like you who kills at every turn. You... you should leave."

Upon hearing this, the Monkey King's heart went completely cold.

He had protected Tang Seng all the way, endured eighty-one tribulations, subdued demons and monsters, faced life and death, and never once complained.

In the end... in the end, he was met with the fate of being expelled from the sect.

"Master... do you truly want to drive me away?" The Monkey King's voice trembled, and tears streamed down uncontrollably.

"My mind is made up. You need not say more. From now on, there is no longer any bond of Master and disciple between us. Go back to Flower-Fruit Mountain."

Tang Seng turned his back, not daring to meet the Monkey King's eyes.

Ao Lie stood to the side, sighing in his heart.

He knew that Tang Seng's obsession was hard to dispel this time, and the bond between Master and disciple had ended. No matter who tried to persuade him, it would be of no use.

He looked at the Monkey King, his heart filled with pity, but he was helpless. He could only say softly, "Senior Brother, please... take care."

The Monkey King looked at Tang Seng's resolute back, then at the silent Pigsy, and the helpless-looking Ao Lie.

His heart was filled with extreme sorrow, and he kowtowed deeply to Tang Seng three times.

"Master, I, Old Sun, bid you farewell! Take care on your journey. If you encounter powerful demons and evil spirits that no one can subdue, you can state my name, and perhaps it can keep you safe for a while."

Having said that, the Monkey King stood up, wiped away his tears... The Monkey King leaped onto his cloud and departed, leaving behind only the hollow sound of a gust of wind in the world.

Tang Seng stood where he was, eyes lowered as he fingered his prayer beads. His face was filled with complex and indistinguishable expressions—guilt, stubbornness, and a trace of imperceptible panic.

Pigsy hung his head, carrying his Nine-toothed Rake. He no longer had his usual boisterous energy and muttered softly to himself.

"Now we've done it. Brother Monkey is gone. What are we supposed to do when we run into demons later..."

He knew clearly in his heart that without the Monkey King, every step of this journey to the Western Heaven was fraught with danger.

But he had fanned the flames earlier, and now that the words were spoken, it was too late to regret it.

Ao Lie stood to the side, his white robes fluttering gently in the mountain's Yin Qi wind. His expression was calm and waveless, but his eyes were locked on the direction in which the White Bone Demon had fled.

Just now, the Monkey King's strike had scattered the White Bone Demon's superficial demonic form. However, she had risked losing a thousand years of cultivation to escape using the last trace of corpse energy and had not truly experienced Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

This demon was cunning and vindictive. Now that the Senior Brother had been expelled, she would definitely return. She would seize the opportunity to abduct the Master and would absolutely not let the matter rest here.

He was now at the Peak of the Mystic Immortal Realm, just one step away from the Golden Immortal Realm. His Shadow Servants were all lying in wait: two thousand five hundred ordinary Heavenly Immortal-level shadows, four hundred Knight-level Mystic Immortal-level shadows, plus the three Commander-level Shadow Servants at the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm: Xiao Hei, Huang Sanmei, and the Tiger Overlord.

Dealing with a White Bone Demon who was left with only a remnant body and whose cultivation had fallen to the Early Stage of the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm was more than enough.

In the past, he had endured and hidden his true abilities for fear of exposing the Shadow Monarch's authority and attracting scrutiny from the Heavenly Court and the Western Heaven. Now that the Senior Brother was gone and the Master's safety hung by a thread, he no longer needed to deliberately restrain himself. He only needed to strike from the shadows, end the battle quickly, and leave no trace.

"Master, the Demonic Qi here has not dissipated. That White Bone Demon has not been completely destroyed and may return to take revenge at any time. We must not stay here long; we should set off and continue our journey immediately."

Ao Lie took a step forward and spoke to Tang Seng in a deep voice, his tone filled with unquestionable solemnity.

Upon hearing this, Tang Seng's heart tightened. He looked up at the desolate mountain wilderness, where gusts of Yin Qi wind blew. Indeed, it still permeated with a cold and evil Aura, so he immediately pressed his palms together and said in a panic.

"Th-thank you for the reminder, White Dragon. We will leave now, we will leave now!"

Pigsy quickly helped Tang Seng and was about to lead the horse to continue the journey, but at that very moment, the world suddenly changed color!

The originally dim sky was instantly shrouded by a mass of corpse energy as thick as ink. A foul wind howled, causing mountain rocks to roll and trees to snap, and a bone-chilling cold instantly swept across the entire wilderness.

In mid-air, corpse energy surged, and Lady White Bone fully revealed her true form!

She no longer pretended to be a Mortal; she wore robes of pale white bone, surrounded by black corpse energy, and ghostly green flames burned in the eyes of her skull head.

She held a bone sword in her hand, her Demonic Qi churning, and her face was hideous and terrifying, with no trace of her gentle disguise left.

"Hahaha! Tang Sanzang! You personally drove away the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven who was protecting you. Today is your death day!"

Lady White Bone hovered in mid-air, laughing wildly and sharply, her voice piercing and ear-splitting, echoing throughout the wilderness.

"After eating your flesh, I will be able to live forever, possess boundless magical power, and no one in the same Realm in the Three Realms will be able to stop me! Today, no one can save you!"

Tang Seng looked up at this hideous demon bone, his face turning pale with fright, his legs going weak, and he nearly fell off his horse.

Hiding behind Pigsy, he trembled all over, constantly chanting Amitabha, his heart filled with extreme regret. If the Monkey King were still here, how could he have let this demon be so arrogant!

"Good demon, how dare you be so rampant here! Watch how Old Pig deals with you with one rake!"

Pigsy mustered his courage, shouldered his Nine-toothed Rake, leaped into the air, and swung it towards the White Bone Demon in mid-air.

The rake flashed with cold light, carrying the force of a Late Stage Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm cultivation, and struck straight at the top of the White Bone Demon's head.

"A mere fat pig dares to be presumptuous! I, Lady White Bone, am a great demon who has cultivated for over seven thousand six hundred years. Even if my cultivation is greatly damaged, relying on my Magic Treasure and techniques, I can still beat you until your Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!"

The White Bone Demon sneered, waved her bone sword, and the corpse energy condensed into a blade, colliding fiercely with the Nine-toothed Rake.

"Clang!" With the sound of metal clashing, Pigsy felt a huge force travel up the handle of the rake, numbing his arms and splitting the webs between his thumbs and forefingers.

His whole body was like a kite with a broken string, falling heavily to the ground and rolling several times before stopping. He was in so much pain that he grimaced and could no longer get up.

"Pigsy!" Tang Seng exclaimed, even more panicked.

The White Bone Demon looked down from above with contempt, swept her eyes over the fallen Pigsy, and then looked at the trembling Tang Seng, letting out a demonic laugh.

"What's the rush? The next one is your turn, little dessert! Hehehehaha!"

Having said that, she waved her bone sword, gathered all her corpse energy, turned it into a pale white sword light, and thrust it straight at Tang Seng.

Where the sword light passed, plants withered instantly, and the Yin Qi was oppressive. Tang Seng closed his eyes, already in despair.

Just at this critical moment, Ao Lie moved!

His figure flashed, instantly blocking in front of Tang Seng. His white clothes fluttered, and no powerful Immortal Qi radiated from his body.

It was still the restrained Aura of the Peak of the Mystic Immortal Realm, but a cold light flashed in his eyes.

He dared to step forward, not relying on his cultivation—otherwise, he would be a clown—but on the power of the Shadow Monarch.

Do not think that the power of the Shadow Monarch is only shadow extraction; in the comics, there is also time travel and so on. In short, just go with whatever makes it like a Dragon Overlord story!

Ao Lie spoke in a cold voice. "If you want to hurt my Master, you must ask me first."

Ao Lie's voice was cold. Without waiting for the White Bone Demon to react, he moved his mind and activated the Shadow Monarch's authority within him!

There was no earth-shattering sound, no dazzling light. Only the ground beneath his feet saw endless pitch-black shadows instantly spread out, expanding wildly like a tide.

In an instant, it covered the entire mountain wilderness. The pitch-black Shadow Power, exuding dead silence and majesty, firmly locked the entire space.

"Xiao Hei, Huang Sanmei, Tiger Overlord, appear! Trap this demon, do not take her life, keep her alive!"

At Ao Lie's command, three burly shadow figures instantly broke out from the pitch-black shadows, looking majestic and awe-inspiring. They were surrounded by chilling shadow special effects, with an overwhelming Aura!

"As you command!"