This was not even the most severe issue; the gravest one was Zhen Yuanzi, who had already fallen into a coma.
Ever since Tang Sanzang had become a saint on the spot, no one knew if they had noticed, but Zhen Yuanzi had made no further moves. Don't think he was afraid.
When the Demon Clan had trapped Master Tongtian, Zhen Yuanzi made his appearance, situated precisely behind the Supreme Elder Lord. Even though the Elder Lord realized it immediately, it was still too late.
The Eight Trigrams Fire, tangled by the petals of the Transcendence Bloom, was unable to return to his side for defense. Furthermore, with six Heavenly Demons, who had been transcended without regard for their own lives, holding tightly onto the Elder Lord with their bodies and arms, he could only watch as Zhen Yuanzi's left hand, which had turned into a Ginseng Fruit Tree root, fiercely imprinted onto the Elder Lord's back.
Thus, the Elder Lord's fears came to fruition; that hand which had morphed into a root was slowly stretching into the Elder Lord's skin from behind and was gradually encroaching towards the Elder Lord's heart. The pace wasn't fast but seemed unstoppable by any means.
Keep in mind that although the Elder Lord wasn't a combat-oriented saint, he was still a saint who had achieved sanctity tens of thousands of years ago. In addition, he was the Ancestral Master of alchemy, and his body had been tempered day and night by countless divine treasures and natural wonders. His physical body's toughness was about the same as that of the ancient mighty Water Deity Gonggong.
Yet, he couldn't seem to fend off the tree root.
At this critical juncture involving his life, the Elder Lord made a ruthless decision.
A person who could even self-detonate their life-bound magical treasure, when they resolutely decide to give up their life, can be tremendously terrifying, something that perhaps only Zhen Yuan knew too well.
From the outside, everything seemed to be going smoothly, the Ginseng Fruit Tree root of the great immortal Zhen Yuan had already eroded a large portion, and it seemed that the Supreme Elder Lord would soon be done for. However, just at that moment, Zhen Yuan let out a horrific scream, and with his empty right hand formed like a saber, he chopped down.
His left arm was severed clean off at the shoulder, still bearing a trace of charred mark from the flames at the point of severance.
After that, Zhen Yuanzi fell from the sky.
The remaining people on the sidelines thought that the attack had ended there, but to everyone's surprise, the Bull Demon King, who had become delirious after the Monkey King's death, suddenly erupted. The Mixed Iron Stick he had previously wielded was now nowhere to be found. In his hands, shockingly, was his own bull horn.
This bull horn was as black as ink, as if it could dye even time and space with its darkness.
The Supreme Elder Lord, already grievously injured, could not evade this assault.
The pitch-black bull horn fiercely plunged into the Supreme Elder Lord's chest. At that moment, a drastic change occurred!
A dazzling liquid too bright to look at directly flowed from the Elder Lord's chest wound; in the blink of an eye, the black bull horn was utterly concealed by this liquid. The Bull Demon King, with sharp reflexes, released his grip at the crucial moment, fortunately avoiding the liquid from sticking to his hand. Nevertheless, the bull horn had been rendered useless.
It was only then that Master Tongtian broke free from the formation. So, the first thing Tongtian laid eyes upon was the Supreme Elder Lord, with a massive bull horn embedded in his chest.
Afterward, everyone felt as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth was shattering, followed by terrifying black fissures spreading from the spot where Tongtian was.
Anyone with discernment knew that Tongtian had detonated the Array Diagram of Immortal Slaying, so the space couldn't withstand it and collapsed.
At this moment, Bodhi Ancestor, who had been silent since the beginning, finally displayed his near-saintly power.
Tongtian, to save the dying Supreme Elder Lord, set off the Eight Trigrams Formation Map, causing an explosion that shattered more than half of the spatial realm of the Twelve Layers of Heaven. This terrifying force of space made everyone feel an impending doom.
Yet, the rapidly spreading spatial rifts were being forcefully suppressed by the power of a single individual, and in the presence of such supreme divine skill, space visibly healed at a rate perceptible to the naked eye.
This person was none other than Bodhi Ancestor, who had all along remained unobtrusive and inconspicuous. As it turned out, Bodhi had refrained from joining the attack so that he could use his enormous mana to suppress Tongtian's self-destructing magical treasure at the critical moment.
Although it was uncertain at the outset what Tongtian would do, it was necessary to be on guard. If Tongtian had hardened his heart enough to risk destroying his magic treasures to fight desperately, and their side were unprepared, the situation would have been serious indeed.
While the exploding force of the Array Diagram of Immortal Slaying was great, it only just managed to allow Tongtian a moment to fly to the Elder Lord's side and recall all his protective treasures.
As soon as Tongtian got ready, the hordes of demons surrounded him again. Even though every one of them was wounded and even though Tongtian wasn't badly hurt, they still fearlessly encircled him.
The battle had reached a point where almost everyone present was exhausted to their limits, except for two individuals!
One was Erlang God Yang Jian, who had previously been hit by the Great Saint, and the other was the Six-Eared Macaque, who had come to assist Wukong. Although Six-Eared had nearly picked up the staff to seek revenge when the Monkey King died, he managed to restrain himself.
The reason was simple: when Sun Wukong left, he entrusted Six-Eared Macaque with a task—to keep a close watch on Yang Jian, Erlang God. He absolutely couldn't allow Yang Jian to free himself and return to Lingxiao Palace to assist the Jade Emperor. Thus, at the end, these two were still the ones with most of their mana intact.
In the battle of the Twenty-Two Layer Heavens, no one in Heaven perished. Master Tongtian sustained minor injuries, losing three magic treasures. Supreme Elder Lord was critically injured and near death, losing his life-bound Magic Treasure—the Eight Trigrams Furnace—and the Eight Trigrams Fire within it.
The Demon Clan's Monkey King was killed in action; Bull Demon King and Zhen Yuanzi were poisoned by the Supreme Elder Lord's blood toxin, critically injured and near death; Tang Sanzang, the Golden Winged Great Peng, Peng Demon King, the white elephant of Lion Camel Ridge, Flood Dragon Demon King, Lion Demon King, and the Green Lion were severely wounded; White Bone Spirit, Yellow Wind Monster, Rhino Monster, and the Hundred Eyed Demon Monarch exhausted their mana. All the elite members of the Demon Clan were killed in action. Not one was spared.
At this moment, the thoughts of the two parties were completely different. Due to the Supreme Elder Lord's injury, Master Tongtian had lost all will to fight and wanted nothing more than to return promptly to treat the Supreme Elder Lord. As for these people, they could be exterminated any time later.
However, the Demon Clan was still spirited and keen on clustering together to delay Master Tongtian. If they could detain Master Tongtian, there was a chance that the Supreme Elder Lord might perish in the process.
Thus, the situation became very delicate. Master Tongtian couldn't let the Demon Clan see any intentions of retreating; otherwise, he would likely face a desperate onslaught from the Demon Clan.
But the Demon Clan also couldn't show Master Tongtian that they were willing to die just to keep him there; otherwise, Master Tongtian might make an all-out attempt to flee. For a saint who had achieved the Dao long ago and wanted to escape, with the current battle strength of the Demon Clan, no one believed they could keep him.
Were they about to reach a stalemate yet again?
The answer was no, because Erlang God finally made his move.
And he did so with full force from the get-go, setting his sights on the severely injured Bull Demon King.
Hot on the heels of Erlang God's strike was the Six-Eared Macaque. However, he was just a fraction too slow.
By the time the Six-Eared Macaque's sky-supporting stick barely managed to block the tip of Erlang God's spear, Erlang God's Three-Pointed Double-Edged Sword had already penetrated the Bull Demon King's chest.
Fortunately, because the strike was intercepted by the Six-Eared Macaque, the Bull Demon King's life was saved.
This incensed every member of the Demon Clan.
As they all turned back with furious eyes, Master Tongtian finally found an opportunity and transformed into a streak of blue light, fleeing the scene.
Now, those present were enraged; the tactics they had prepared to assault Master Tongtian were instead unleashed upon Erlang God.
Though Erlang God was valiant, tangled up by the Six-Eared Macaque he couldn't break free and ultimately had to take all of the attacks head-on. But just when everyone thought Erlang God was sure to be obliterated, something unexpected happened.
Indeed, someone had died, and they were certainly beyond saving.
But that person was not Erlang God.
It was, instead, the Heaven-piercing Divine Dog.
In the final moment, the Heaven-piercing Divine Dog shielded its master from all the attacks.
Seeing this, everyone fell silent.
Erlang God didn't say anything; he just gently picked up the body of the Heaven-piercing Divine Dog and stood still on the spot, as if waiting for death.
In the end, it was Tang Sanzang who spoke up, "Erlang God, you should leave." Without too many words, the meaning was understood by all.
Erlang God hesitated for a moment, then gave a clasped fist salute. His eyes carried a touch of apology and self-reproach as he walked away step by step.
This battle at last came to an end. Master Tongtian fled with the dying Supreme Elder Lord. The remaining people sat down on the spot to meditate and recover from their injuries.
Tang Sanzang held the dim Transcendence Bloom in his hands and looked up in the direction of Lingxiao Palace.
Within less than half a moment, the people at the scene split into two groups. Those with lighter injuries rushed to Lingxiao Palace to aid Sun Wukong, while another group with more serious injuries returned to Flower Fruit Mountain to heal.
But at Lingxiao Palace, something astonishing had occurred.