Journey to the West: A clone sacrifices to the heavens, possessing boundless magical power.

Chapter 102 Exposure

"stop."

A cold, sharp voice suddenly came from the side.

Ying Lingzi stopped and turned around to look.

A middle-aged Taoist priest, dressed in a Bagua robe and sporting a long three-strand beard, strolled out from behind an ancient pine tree.

His gaze was sharp as he stared suspiciously at Ying Lingzi, who was none other than Xuanfeng Daoist, an outer elder of Wuzhuang Temple.

Zhen Yuanzi took away forty-six of his top disciples, and Qingfeng and Mingyue took charge of the inner courtyard. However, the daily maintenance of the massive outer sect and the mountain-protecting formation fell to Xuanfeng and a few other highly experienced outer sect elders.

"I am Xuanfeng, responsible for patrolling the outer gate." Xuanfeng Daoist looked Yinglingzi up and down, his brows furrowed. "This fellow Daoist looks unfamiliar. You are not from my Wuzhuang Temple. How did you manage to arrive in this heart of the place so quietly?"

Ying Lingzi remained expressionless and performed a Daoist kowtow: "This humble Daoist is Ying Lingzi. I have come today to visit an old friend and am about to descend the mountain."

"Visiting an old friend?"

Xuanfeng Daoist sneered, the array plate in his hand shining even brighter. "Before you left, Great Immortal, you closed all the Earth Life Gates of the mountain-protecting array. Except for disciples with specially made identity tokens from our temple, no outsider can enter. Since you've come to visit a friend, what token did you use? Which array gate did you enter through?"

Ying Lingzi's heart sank slightly.

His clone was formed directly inside the Wuzhuang Temple. He had no access pass or knowledge of the Wutu Shengmen (a type of gate in Feng Shui).

"My old friend is incredibly powerful; it was he who used his magic to guide me inside," Ying Lingzi said calmly, trying to use Sun Wukong as a shield.

"Nonsense!" Master Xuanfeng roared in fury. "The grand formation of my Wuzhuang Temple was personally set up by the ancestor of earth immortals. Even a Great Luo Golden Immortal couldn't cast a spell to secretly summon outsiders! You can't even name the entrance to the formation; you must be a thief who infiltrated the temple with malicious intent!"

Without saying another word, Xuanfeng Daoist made a hand seal, and an earth-yellow chain burst forth from the ground, heading straight for Yinglingzi's feet.

Ying Lingzi touched the ground with her toes, and before she could move, she was entangled by the chains and could not break free.

"A mere Qi Refining stage cultivator dares to cause trouble at Wuzhuang Temple!" Upon seeing this, Xuanfeng Daoist's eyes flashed with contempt, and he was about to unleash a killing move to take him down.

Just then.

"stop!"

A loud shout, like a thunderclap from the heavens, exploded in mid-air.

A golden light streaked from the inner courtyard and crashed down between the two, instantly cracking the bluestone ground and sending dust billowing up.

Sun Wukong stood there, carrying his golden cudgel, his face filled with a fierce aura.

He, Pigsy, and Sandy had just finished eating the ginseng fruit. As soon as the fruit was in their stomachs, the immense vitality washed over their limbs and bones, instantly restoring a sliver of clarity to Sun Wukong's mind, which had been clouded by their camaraderie.

The more he thought about it, the more something seemed off. The senior brother who called himself Ying Lingzi had an inexplicable rigidity in his physical body.

So, under the pretext of seeing off an old friend, he immediately chased after him. As soon as he reached the outer gate, he heard Xuanfeng Daoist's questioning and Yinglingzi's clumsy movement technique.

"How dare you—"

Sun Wukong's voice was icy, and the veins on the back of his hand, which was gripping the golden cudgel, bulged.

He hated being deceived more than anything in his life, and he hated even more that someone would use his most respected mentor to set him up!

"Who are you?!" Sun Wukong roared, "How dare you try to deceive me by mentioning my sect!"

Ying Lingzi looked at the enraged Sun Wukong and knew that she had been completely exposed.

Without any hesitation.

"burst."

Fan Yuan decisively issued a self-destruct command, directly severing the connection.

Sun Wukong's eyes flashed with ferocity. He didn't give Ying Lingzi a chance to self-destruct. His golden cudgel transformed into a blur, carrying a terrifying force of millions of jin, and smashed down on her head.

This strike had no techniques whatsoever; it was pure violence and extreme speed.

"Wait! Leave them alive for questioning—"

Xuanfeng Daoist, who was standing nearby, was shocked and hurriedly spoke up to stop him. This thief must have a big conspiracy to sneak into Wuzhuang Temple. If he is killed like this, all the clues will be cut off.

But it was too late.

"Bang!"

A dull, loud bang.

Ying Lingzi's head and upper body were instantly reduced to dust by the golden cudgel.

The newly generated self-destructive spiritual energy was forcefully shattered by Sun Wukong's staff.

Ying Lingzi's soul was scattered.

Sun Wukong retracted his golden cudgel, his chest heaving violently.

After the anger came a deep sense of regret.

"Damn it!"

He was so enraged that he struck too hard, turning the man to ashes. If he had held back a little, he could have captured the man and, by following the clues, uncovered the mastermind behind the fraud who dared to use the name of Bodhi Patriarch.

Now, the trail has completely gone cold.

Xuanfeng Daoist stepped forward, his face ashen: "Who exactly is this person? Why did he come out from the inner courtyard?"

"How would I, Old Sun, know!" Sun Wukong replied irritably. He was already annoyed and knew he was in the wrong for stealing the ginseng fruit, so he didn't want to say more. He picked up his golden cudgel and turned to walk towards the inner courtyard.

At the same time, at the outer gate of Wuzhuang Temple.

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

Fan Yuan gasped for breath, raising his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

In that instant, through Ying Lingzi's perspective, he once again faced the boundless killing intent of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and that world-destroying golden cudgel.

The suffocating sense of oppression made him, the one hiding behind the scenes, feel a pang of fear.

"That was close."

Fan Yuan muttered to himself, "Although I lost one of my clones, the ginseng fruit has been successfully transferred. I'm just waiting for the right moment tonight."

Immediately, his heart was stirred again. His clone, Shen Feng, was only at the early stage of the Refining Spirit realm and his lifespan was originally less than three hundred years, but now it had been extended by more than fifty years!

It seems the rumor that smelling ginseng fruit can grant one a lifespan of 360 years is indeed true. And this was merely a few wisps of fruity fragrance lingering at the tip of his nose when he moved the ginseng fruit.

With just a few breaths of spiritual energy, the lifespan of a avatar in the early stage of the Divine Refinement realm was extended by more than fifty years!

"The spiritual roots of heaven and earth are terrifying!" Fan Yuan sighed inwardly, but his mind became increasingly clear. The real storm was only just beginning to brew in the inner courtyard of Wuzhuang Temple.

Wuzhuang Temple, East Wing of the Inner Courtyard.

The two boys, Qingfeng and Mingyue, had just retrieved freshly brewed fragrant tea from the alchemy room and were carrying the tea tray, preparing to go to the front hall to serve the Tang Dynasty monk.

The two walked side by side past the kitchen window when they suddenly heard a series of groans and complaints coming from inside.

"Brother Sha, what does that fruit taste like? I ate it too quickly and swallowed it whole. I didn't even taste the pit. It's like I didn't eat anything at all."

Pigsy was picking his teeth with the tip of his nine-toothed rake, looking completely dissatisfied.

Sha Wujing sat by the stove and said in a muffled voice, "Second Brother, being able to eat even one of those celestial treasures is already an immense stroke of luck. What more do you want?"

"Fortune my ass!" Pigsy slapped his thigh. "Brother Monkey is so dishonest. Since you're going to fight, why not fight a few more? Go and get a few more so I can savor them and taste the flavor of immortality!"

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