Chapter 160: Subduing Zhuyan

Chapter 160: Subduing Zhuyan

"Shh—" The sudden voices of Ox-Head and Horse-Face startled Wu Hong, who quickly raised a finger to signal them to remain silent.

However, their voices still startled Zhuyan. The colossal creature rolled over, its blood-red eyes glowing with a chilling, ominous light that left the two underworld bailiffs gaping and too terrified to make the slightest sound.

Zhuyan observed its surroundings carefully for a moment, and finding nothing amiss, closed its eyes again to resume its deep sleep.

In Wu Hong's heart, a storm of tumultuous waves surged. It was not because of how bizarre this monkey-like creature was, nor was it because of its overwhelming power.

It was because Zhuyan was known as an extremely ill-omened creature. Every time it appeared, it brought chaos to the world and countless casualties.

Yet, according to a record Wu Hong had once read in a book, a Zhuyan was usually about the size of an ordinary monkey. He could never have imagined that the mountain-sized monster before him was also a Zhuyan.

Ox-Head and Horse-Face were likewise filled with utter shock. They clearly remembered that the mere appearance of a monkey-sized Zhuyan in the mortal realm would herald a reign of blood and terror.

This Zhuyan represented disaster, evil, and agony! But the behemoth before them was simply too exaggerated.

If it were awakened, what kind of catastrophe would it unleash upon the outside world?

Not only was Zhuyan an evil entity that brought bad luck, but it was also capable of devouring souls—whether human souls or the souls of ordinary creatures.

With such a behemoth constantly devouring thousands upon thousands of souls within this forest, it was no wonder Ox-Head and Horse-Face had struggled to gather any wandering spirits.

"What do we do now?" Ox-Head whispered, looking at Wu Hong.

Wu Hong furrowed his brows slightly, thinking to himself, "Subduing this Zhuyan might not be difficult, but if we become entangled with this monster, and manage to escape this realm, who knows what kind of disaster it will bring to the outside world?"

This creature was an omen of great misfortune indeed.

Legend had it that Zhuyan would bring great calamity to the world, but killing it outright was equally out of the question. To kill a Zhuyan would multiply the impending disasters tenfold.

Yet, if they did not eliminate the Zhuyan before them, the phantom carriage would lack sufficient soul energy to reach the outside world.

Wu Hong was instantly caught in a dilemma. However, what Wu Hong failed to notice was that Kun Kun was currently starry-eyed, drooling from the corners of its mouth.

Without Wu Hong's permission, it suddenly vanished from Wu Hong's body, reappeared above Zhuyan's head, and instantly expanded in size.

"Whoosh—" A fierce gale whipped up.

The colossal Zhuyan abruptly snapped awake, feeling an instinctive dread toward the monster hovering above its head. Yet, having long reigned as the king of this forest, a surge of wrath at being challenged instantly ignited in its heart.

Slowly, the clouds in the sky began to churn, and tribulation clouds started to gather.

"Not good! Kun Kun, this place has realm suppression just like the mortal realm! Change your form quickly!"

Wu Hong cried out in alarm, shouting toward Kun Kun, who was still attempting to grow larger.

Kun Kun was also startled. Sure enough, it noticed dark clouds gathering densely in the sky, reminding it of the terrifying heavenly tribulations in the space Wu Hong had traversed.

Its expanding body rapidly shrank back down, until it was once more the size of a small bird. With a flash in the air, it flew straight back to perch on Wu Hong's shoulder.

Wu Hong remained crouched on the ground! Meanwhile, Ox-Head and Horse-Face were so frightened by the preceding scene that they stood frozen, completely dumbfounded in their spots.

Suddenly, Zhuyan glared fiercely at Ox-Head and Horse-Face. Its mountain-like body flickered in place, and it lunged savagely toward the two bailiffs!

By this point, Wu Hong could no longer remain calm. He could only channel the true qi within his body to form the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Demonic Body, instantly billowing with monstrous demonic energy.

The charging Zhuyan was no fool either. Seeing the sudden appearance of Wu Hong, it stopped and stood at a standoff just a short distance away from him.

Wu Hong frowned slightly and thought, "Can they see you even when you aren't in a soul state?"

Earlier, if Kun Kun had fled swiftly back to Wu Hong's side, and if Ox-Head and Horse-Face's claim that spirits were invisible to the living held true, then the two bailiffs would have been completely safe!

But things were different now. Zhuyan could clearly see Ox-Head and Horse-Face entirely. Escaping was no longer an option for them; a battle was inevitable.

At Wu Hong's remark, Ox-Head and Horse-Face blushed slightly. They explained that there were always exceptions among the world's creatures: "This Zhuyan was born before the creation of the Samsara Heavens, a peculiar entity capable of devouring ghosts and spirits. Naturally, it can see them."

Zhuyan stared warily at Wu Hong and the small beast on his shoulder, not daring to initiate an attack. Reason told it that this group—one human and three strange entities—possessed formidable strength.

In particular, the small beast perched on the human's shoulder had caused Zhuyan to experience a momentary surge of dread just a second ago.

"Since this Zhuyan can see you, if we manage to subdue it, can the phantom carriage use it as fuel?"

Wu Hong's voice echoed directly in the minds of Ox-Head and Horse-Face.

The two spirits were not overly surprised; such telepathic communication was a minor trick.

"Wu Hong, Zhuyan is an extremely peculiar creature. It doesn't need to deliberately absorb souls; the mystical energy surrounding its body naturally absorbs them. To use Zhuyan as fuel for the phantom carriage, we must force its physical body directly into the carriage."

Wu Hong briefly weighed the words of Ox-Head and Horse-Face and pondered quickly. A momentous decision formed in his mind.

That was to beat Zhuyan into submission and stuff it into the phantom carriage. Killing Zhuyan was something Wu Hong dared not do; the infamy of Zhuyan was simply too great.

If a human-sized Zhuyan appeared, it would plunge human society into utter chaos and rivers of blood.

Legend had it that if anyone killed a Zhuyan, human society would suffer a millennium of bloody tribulation, with endless conflicts lasting a thousand years, even causing human civilization to regress.

Moreover, the Zhuyan before him was countless times larger than the ones in legends. Yet, if he wanted to leave this place, he had to subdue this creature at all costs.

Demonic flames blazed around Wu Hong, looking utterly bizarre. The intangible wandering spirits passing by him shrieked miserably, yet still rushed frantically toward Zhuyan's body.

Wu Hong was gathering energy—energy surpassing the Xiantian realm—to unleash a devastating, overwhelming strike to capture his opponent.

Zhuyan's expression turned ugly. It sensed the extraordinarity of Wu Hong; an energy that made its heart palpitate was continuously converging upon the tiny human before it.

It wanted to attack, but feared angering its opponent. A growing sense of cowardice took root, and it wanted to flee. Although fleeing felt like an endless humiliation for one that had dominated this forest for years, compared to its long life, humiliation was of no consequence!

Suddenly, Wu Hong's thousand demonic arms merged into a single colossal palm several thousand meters wide, abruptly lunging toward the hesitant Zhuyan in the distance.

Panic swept across Zhuyan's face. In an instant, it felt its body tighten, captured entirely by a solid palm ten times larger than itself, rendering it utterly unable to move.

"Run! I can't maintain this state for long! Furthermore, this power exceeds the limit of the mortal realm and will likely provoke divine retribution. Run!"

Wu Hong's Thousand-Hand Tathagata Demonic Body, standing only about ten meters tall, looked utterly insignificant before the massive Zhuyan. Yet that suddenly enlarged palm was more than ten times bigger than the beast, grasping the violently struggling Zhuyan in an unyielding death grip.

Without time to register their astonishment, Ox-Head and Horse-Face turned and sprinted back along the path they had come, moving with a speed that left one breathless.

The tribulation clouds in the sky, meant to punish mortals for breaking the rules of nature, grew denser and more solid. Wu Hong dared not hesitate any longer!

If that bolt of tribulation lightning fell, Wu Hong might emerge unscathed and ascend directly to the Primordial Realm. But he had no desire to ascend to the Primordial Realm right now; there were far too many ties binding him to the mortal realm.

Besides, what kind of existence the Primordial Realm truly was, Wu Hong was completely unprepared for.

Whether he could descend back to the mortal realm like other envoys of the Primordial Realm remained an unknown.

In this world, just like the mortal realm, any existence that surpassed the peak of the Houtian realm would either be forcefully ascended to the Primordial Realm or directly obliterated by the heavenly tribulation.