Chapter 92: The Strongest Versus the Strongest, Subduing the Spirit Monkey

People watched the images on the live broadcast and all showed looks of astonishment and doubt. It was familiar—at least to every person in the Land of the Red Dragon, it was.

A spirit monkey. A iron staff. Power enough to shake heaven and earth. Such a scene existed only in myth.

Yet it appeared before their eyes.

“Do you think that spirit monkey could be the legendary Great Sage Equal to Heaven?”

“South Heaven Gate, the ruins of the celestial palace... say no more, say no more.”

“That seems unlikely. If it were true, it would be too legendary.”

“Even if it’s impossible, the king of Mount Tai is unquestionably unimaginably powerful. Can King Lu handle it?”

The crowd began to discuss it, everyone guessing, their faces full of shock. In this new age, with the extraordinary descending upon the world, anything could happen. Of course, what they feared most was another thing: that the spirit monkey was too strong, and even if King Lu faced it, he might be under immense strain. Just by looking at that overwhelming presence, one could tell.

Even Ji Huaiyuan, Yun Lao, and the others at the foot of the mountain could not help exchanging glances.

Though they were not present at the Peak of the Jade Emperor, they could still feel the spirit monkey’s power.

The iron staff in its hand might also be some kind of divine treasure.

Their hearts sank.

“I believe in King Lu. No matter what enemy he faces, he can suppress it with a single hand!” Zhu Qingyu spoke, her eyes resolute.

Among everyone present, she was absolutely the one with the greatest confidence in Lu Yuan, because every time a beast tide struck the city, it was always he who stood alone against it in the end, crushing the crisis with overwhelming force and resolving everything.

So Zhu Qingyu was very confident, and her tone was equally firm.

Beside her, the Ice Fairy also nodded. “I think King Lu has never revealed his true strength. That spirit monkey is powerful, but it is absolutely no match for him.”

What about the Twelve Apostles? What about the giant sea demon? Weren’t they both suppressed directly?

The others said nothing, still staring at the screen.

Ji Huaiyuan and Yun Lao in particular were tense now.

Mount Tai was extremely important to the plans for the future. If Lu Yuan won, everything would be simple; if not, things would become troublesome.

And they were also very clear that even if this spirit monkey had nothing to do with the Great Sage Equal to Heaven of legend, it was still terrifying beyond measure.

After all, Mount Tai had always been special since ancient times. To become the king of this place meant that, among all mutated beasts, it could already be counted among the strongest.

And Lu Yuan, in their view, was the most powerful awakener in the Land of the Red Dragon—the king of mankind.

This battle was strongest against strongest.

At this moment, at the Peak of the Jade Emperor, two golden lights kept colliding.

This entire region was bathed in that radiance, dazzling beyond words.

The surrounding space seemed to tremble under the impact, layers of thunderous booms sounding as though it could not withstand such might.

Boom!

Lu Yuan threw a punch, his golden blood energy surging.

His blood-energy stupa roared, resonating with his five viscera and six organs.

He stepped forward and struck out with a fist that seemed to bear an ancient divine mountain, crashing down in assault.

Opposite him, the spirit monkey wielded its dark iron staff, fur furiously whipping about like golden flames that would not stop burning, while a tremendous force poured endlessly into the weapon.

Dong—

As the two sides collided once more, the air burst with a sharp detonation, and all the surrounding clouds and mist were swept away.

The power they displayed surpassed all imagination, rising to the extreme.

Splash—

Blood was spilled.

One of the spirit monkey’s arms had been shattered by the impact, even its fur dimming slightly.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan remained all-conquering, advancing with unrelenting force.

He was like a divine king, intent on suppressing every opponent before him and displaying an invincible bearing.

“How can this human do this?”

The more the spirit monkey fought, the more shocked it became. Its hand holding the staff had gone numb, the web of its palm torn open, and even its internal organs had begun to shift. It knew that if this continued, being suppressed was only a matter of time.

So it had to change its style of fighting.

“Golden Body Dharmic Form, appear!”

It roared.

In an instant, its body swelled to a hundred meters tall.

All over it, divine light blossomed in layers, transforming it into a terrifying beast that stood level with the clouds.

Its aura, too, became even more violent than before, like a towering mountain, and its combat power surged dramatically.

The dark iron staff in its hand also began to glow faintly, turning into a sky-reaching stone pillar that it gripped and then brought down upon Lu Yuan in a forceful suppression.

“Could this be the heaven-and-earth manifestation of myth and legend?”

“No, not yet. It’s not at that level. It’s the Dharmic form of the Golden Body realm.”

“I know this: in the Golden Body realm, the shackles are fully unlocked, all potential is completely released, and in the end everything merges perfectly. The truly powerful can obtain the divine power of a Dharmic form.”

“Incredible. That spirit monkey’s bloodline talent must be extraordinarily strong, or else how could it reach this stage?”

“Exactly. Even the giant sea demon could not do this back then.”

“But if that’s the case, can King Lu still win?”

Those who had been staring at the live broadcast were all stunned when they saw the spirit monkey’s body transform into a hundred-meter giant.

Anyone familiar with the stages of evolution could tell at a glance that this was the Golden Body Dharmic form.

Generally speaking, only beings whose bloodline talent was powerful to the extreme could awaken it. Otherwise, even if an ordinary person reached the Golden Body realm, they could never attain such a state.

Thus, this spirit monkey was far stronger than that giant sea creature, and terrifying to an extreme degree.

And Lu Yuan? He was the king of humanity, but still only at the Shackles realm.

He was an entire evolution realm behind it.

Could he withstand it?

Ji Huaiyuan and the others, along with Yun Lao, grew tense.

They truly had not expected the king on Mount Tai to be so powerful.

A creature of such strength was probably nearly immune to conventional weaponry, wasn’t it?

For a moment, Ji Huaiyuan could not help but regret having let Lu Yuan come.

It was not that he thought Lu Yuan would lose, but that this move would place him in danger.

But things had come to this. All he could do now was watch, and if necessary, use every means available to help Lu Yuan withdraw.

“Human, you are very good. Forcing me to reveal my Golden Body Dharmic form is enough reason for you to be proud!”

The spirit monkey spoke, though its movements did not slow in the slightest. It unleashed its strongest methods, determined to suppress the human before it.

“Proud?”

Facing that terrifying might, Lu Yuan merely smiled and said softly, “Very well. Then I won’t waste any more time.”

As he finished speaking, he retreated directly, closed his eyes, and brought his hands together in prayer. The golden blood energy around him also vanished.

An indescribable force welled up from within him.

Compassion. Great love. Embracing all living beings.

Dong!

The spirit monkey froze, unable to force him down no matter what it did.

At the same time, an intense sense of crisis swept through its mind in an instant.

At that moment, Lu Yuan opened his eyes at the proper time.

He extended his right hand.

Then he spoke gently: “Buddha’s Realm in the Palm.”

The words had barely fallen when the entire Peak of the Jade Emperor was enveloped by a single breath.

Above, the clouds parted, and a massive palm opened and descended from the heavens, directly covering the hundred-meter spirit monkey, like a five-fingered sacred mountain slowly suppressing it from some unknown place.

Buddhist scriptures and countless ancient monasteries manifested directly. Eight hundred Buddhas appeared, chanting the supreme true sutra.

Everything around them was bound, forming a special field.

The spirit monkey found itself suppressed, unable to escape no matter what it did.

The true scripture chanted by the many Buddhas rang out like a mighty and resounding music, endlessly pouring into its mind.

Its Golden Body Dharmic form no longer worked; it began to dissipate, and its body started shrinking.

Its physique also showed cracks, beginning to tremble as a never-before-felt pressure crashed down upon it, shaking its soul.

“What kind of divine power is this?”

The spirit monkey was shocked. It used every trick it knew, yet found that none of them had any effect.

Especially as that palm continued to descend, the pressure grew heavier and heavier. At this rate, there would be mortal danger.

As for Lu Yuan, his face was full of compassion, his right hand pressing downward without the slightest hesitation.

“Wait!”

At last, the spirit monkey spoke. “Didn’t you just say there was something you wanted to discuss with me? Talk. Everything can be talked about!”

It was deeply vexed. As a being in the Golden Body realm, it was actually being suppressed by a human in the Shackles realm.

Of course, it had also, at this moment, come to accept Lu Yuan’s strength with some sincerity.

So it once again assessed the gap between the two sides.

And chose to follow its heart.

“Good.”

Lu Yuan smiled and withdrew the divine power.

He did not mind whether the spirit monkey would simply flee, because it could not.

And from the very beginning, he had not intended to kill it. The reason was simple: he knew this being.

He remembered that in his previous life, a spirit monkey had emerged from Mount Tai and later called itself the Sacred Lord, wielding a heaven-reaching iron staff. It was one of the strongest mutated beasts in this world, with a powerful bloodline and terrifying talent. At the same time, it was also the beast king most friendly in its attitude toward humanity.

Just as the other side had not chosen to strike him dead when it acted.

So Lu Yuan had no thought of forcefully killing the spirit monkey either.

If they could talk, and talk well, that would be the best outcome.

And this scene was seen clearly by everyone present.

“King Lu actually won, suppressing the king of Mount Tai with a single hand!”

“As expected of the king among our human kind, he is simply invincible—too strong, too formidable!”

“Compassion as form, one hand suppressing the spirit monkey... why does it remind me of a scene from mythology?”

At that moment, everyone was deeply shocked, then burst into cheers. They had thought the spirit monkey was formidable and that Lu Yuan would run into trouble.

Yet who could have imagined that in such a short time, and with an entire great realm between them, he would still emerge victorious? Especially that last method—it was like covering the heavens with one hand. How could it not make people thrilled?

This only made everyone admire Lu Yuan even more.

Ji Huaiyuan and Yun Lao could not help swallowing hard.

Lu Yuan’s strength had truly exceeded their imagination.

It was the bearing of a true invincible presence.

They had been somewhat worried before, but now that they looked again, their concern was wholly unnecessary. Especially Lu Yuan’s divine method—it was like something out of myth.

Even Monk Hui Kong stared wide-eyed. As a disciple of Buddhism, he naturally knew that the divine power belonged to the Buddhist path.

Yet now it had been wielded by an outsider to such an extent.

This battle could be said to have sent massive shockwaves through everyone’s hearts.

So this was what a powerful awakener could achieve.

“Looks like, with King Lu here, taking control of Mount Tai will absolutely pose no problem.”

Yun Lao was beyond excited, knowing that this time their plan had succeeded, since even the king of Mount Tai had been directly suppressed.

Ji Huaiyuan felt the same, a gleam appearing in his eyes.

He was very happy, and equally exhilarated.

With such a being in the world, what future road in this new age could humanity not carve out?

A blessing for the Land of the Red Dragon!

The end.