Chapter 557: I’ll Hold It Off This Time

The grotesque fatty... no, at this moment, it should be called the Subspace Lord Barush. It remained silent for a brief moment before letting out a piercing, sinister laugh.

“Jie jie jie jie. A Great Xia citizen? It doesn’t matter. I’m not on Great Xia territory. I’m not afraid at all.” It spoke in the most menacing tone while saying the most cowardly words.

“You two, both of you, are going to die.” Subspace Lord Barush eyed Li Xiaofei and Bajie, and suddenly burst into another ear-splitting laugh.

“Woof.” The Black Emperor barked at just the right moment.

Barush’s plump face trembled violently.

“I was joking.” It thought it was being funny.

Li Xiaofei and Bajie were speechless. They could see that this terrifying and brutal creature was, in fact, completely suppressed by the Black Emperor.

“I want to know how those polluted and controlled by your energy can be freed from the contamination,” Li Xiaofei asked, his words deliberately vague.

But Barush quickly understood who he was referring to.

“Oh, you mean that guy who evolved with the bloodline of the Cave Beast, right?” Its expression eased slightly as it said, “He’s been parasitized by the aura of the great King of Terror. His fate is sealed. Jie jie jie jie, there’s no saving him. Just give up.”

“Woof.” The Black Emperor let out another low bark.

“Uh... actually, I was joking again,” Barush stammered, a flicker of fear flashing through its blood-red eyes. “Of course, there’s a way to save him. You would have to kill the great King of Terror. Doing so would cause its consciousness and aura to dissipate. But that’s not something you can achieve. Even the Heaven-Devouring Hound couldn’t do it. The great King of Terror is eternal and indestructible.”

Li Xiaofei asked, “What does it mean to evolve with the bloodline of the Cave Beast?”

Barush glanced at the Black Emperor before answering, “That human, during the explosion in the Cave Beast spatial passage, should have been torn to pieces. But he was lucky. A young Cave Beast was caught up in the explosion. This creature fused with him in order to survive, reconstructing his body, preserving his consciousness, and even evolving him into a new stage of life. I found him quite interesting, so...”

It suddenly stopped speaking. Li Xiaofei tried to process the implications of that statement.

So, in that self-destructive act that destroyed the Eye of the Northwest, Old Tan actually turned misfortune into a blessing? But unfortunately, he fell into the hands of Jiepeng and was subjected to experimentation.

“Why did the Temple hand him over to the royal family for execution?” Li Xiaofei asked again.

Barush erupted in anger. Its fury seemed almost tangible as it surged through the space around them.

“Those damned traitors! They feared that the great Barush would uncover the secrets of space, so they incited rebellion within the Temple and attempted to overthrow my rule... Those despicable creatures have already paid the price for their actions.”

By the end, it spoke with a sense of pride. It was now evident why chaos had erupted within the Temple. The so-called gods had been divided because of Old Tan. In the end, a great battle had ensued, and Barush had survived, devouring the other Subspace parasites and escaping from the Temple.

Since it was no longer restrained by its counterparts in the Temple, Barush had completely let loose. It indulged its divine followers in the Tokyo Base City, plundering human flesh and blood to replenish its strength, and began constructing its own terrifying divine kingdom.

“I’ll ask you one more time,” Li Xiaofei said, his voice cold. “Can you really not remove the subspace energy from Old Tan’s body?”

"Impossible, jie jie jie jie..." Barush replied.

“Your damn laugh is seriously unpleasant,” Bajie snapped angrily. “Black Emperor, bite him!”

The Black Emperor didn’t move.

Li Xiaofei spoke up. “Black Emperor, go bite him.”

“Woof woof!” The Black Emperor roared and lunged forward without hesitation.

Bajie was speechless.

“You little rascal, you really don’t give me any face, huh?” he grumbled in frustration.

Turning to Li Xiaofei, Bajie asked, “What does this dog usually like to eat?”

“Just meat,” Li Xiaofei replied.

Bajie stroked his chin and chuckled slyly.

Meat? That’s easy. Watch how I lure it over and turn it into my dog.

By this time, Barush and the Black Emperor had already started brawling. The way the two super creatures fought was far from elegant. It resembled a brawl between market vendors as raspy screams and furious roars echoed. They pulled at each other’s hair, and bit down on each other.

This was the most primitive form of combat. After over a month of recovery, Barush’s strength had evidently improved significantly. It could now stand its ground against the Black Emperor. However, due to the inherent suppression of its bloodline, Barush remained in a state of hysterical fear and anger throughout the fight.

As it fought, it wailed and howled miserably, “Ahhh! It hurts! Stop biting me! Ahhh! Why? I’ve already hidden here, and you’re still bullying me! I’ll fight you to the death!”

Li Xiaofei and Bajie exchanged glances. They had not imagined this battle going like this.

“Monkey Bro, did we walk onto the wrong set?” Bajie asked.

“Nope, this feels about right,” Li Xiaofei replied.

“So, should we go up and help?”

“You go first. I’ll cover you from behind.”

“Huh? Monkey Bro, isn’t that usually my line?”

“Didn’t you say last time that your go-to line was, ‘You guys go on, I’ll hold them off’?”

“Monkey Bro, that depends on the situation.”

“What situation?”

“In cases where we’re clearly outmatched, I’m always the one covering from behind. But if it’s a perfect chance to look cool, of course, I’d be the one holding the line.”

“Damn, that’s so shameless. Aren’t you afraid of ending up with no descendants?”

“Monkey Bro, should I take that as a curse?”

“Do you have a problem with it?”

“No, no, not at all. I just wanted to confirm. Thank you.”

While the two of them were busy bantering, the battle between the beast and the dog had reached its climax. Black fur flew wildly and chunks of red flesh splattered everywhere. In the end, the two were tangled together.

The Black Emperor had its jaws clamped firmly around Barush’s neck. Meanwhile, Barush’s fleshy wings and four arms coiled tightly around the Black Emperor’s throat. The dog and the beast were locked in a deadlock.

Li Xiaofei retrieved the Chixia Blade from the Secret Time Pavilion and handed it to Bajie. “Go up there and cut him.”

Bajie stiffened his neck. “Why don’t you go?”

Li Xiaofei gave him a look. “Hmm?”

Bajie immediately forced a smile, took the Chixia Blade, and cautiously approached the struggling pair. He raised the blade as he aime for Barush’s flailing body.

“Cut him.”

“Alright.”

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

“Aim for his head.”

“Of course.”

“Swing at his head and kill him.”

“Got it.”

“If you kill him, you’ll be Earth’s Guardian.”

“No problem.”

“Hurry up and cut him!”

“Okay.”

“Then cut the damn thing already!”

“I’m cutting!”

“Cut, damn it—”

“Wait, Monkey Bro, do you want me to cut him or cut his mom? You’re confusing me, and it’s stressing me out!”

Bajie instinctively sensed danger and froze in place. He didn’t want to swing the blade.

“Fine, I’ll do it myself.”

Li Xiaofei pulled out the Jiepeng blade, Tiger’s Deficiency, and strode forward decisively. But just as he was about to strike...

Pfft.

Barush’s stomach suddenly split open. More precisely, a massive mouth over five meters wide suddenly appeared on its bloated belly. The mouth had a vortex of dark green swirling inside it. Using all four of its hands and the strength of its fleshy wings, Barush began forcing the Black Emperor’s body, bit by bit, into the gaping maw of its stomach.

“Damn it, save the dog!” Bajie and Li Xiaofei were both shocked. They immediately charged forward.

But it was too late. Barush’s stomach seemed to hold an infinite space within, radiating an overwhelming suction force.

“Woof!” The Black Emperor let out a strange yelp before being swallowed whole by the massive mouth on Barush’s belly.

The gaping maw snapped shut in an instant as Barush let out a satisfied belch.

Li Xiaofei’s eyes turned red with fury.

How can this happen? The Black Emperor is supposed to be the nemesis of subspace creatures. It had already gained the upper hand. How was it devoured in an instant?

Li Xiaofei charged forward recklessly as he activated his Demon God Form. His body expanded to twenty meters in height as he unleashed punch after punch at Barush.

Barush cackled maniacally, “You two little bugs dare to challenge me without the Heaven-Devouring Hound?”

Barush threw a punch with his second left arm to meet Li Xiaofei’s. The clash sent visible ripples of energy exploding outward in concentric waves through the air. Li Xiaofei’s massive form was flung backward, as he tumbled across the ground. He could see stars as he struggled to get up.

“Monkey Bro, you okay? Not dead yet, are you?” Bajie called out in his impeccable Great Xia dialect before roaring fiercely, “Human King Transformation!”

He invoked a secret technique, activating a drop of exotic beast blood essence hidden within his acupoints. His entire body began to swell and transform. Black bristles sprouted from beneath his skin as a layer of brown keratin covered his previously fair complexion. His nose elongated, and his forelimbs dropped to the ground. Thick, sturdy claws grew from his hands and feet. In the end, he had transformed into a massive black wild boar that was several meters tall.

“Savage Charge!”

With a bellow, Bajie hurled himself headfirst at Barush.

Bang!

The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck. Barush’s massive form wavered slightly, but Bajie was sent flying backward, tumbling across the ground like a rolling gourd.

“Damn it, I knew it! That old Fish Spirit must’ve given me defective blood essence!” The giant black boar spat out in frustration.

Li Xiaofei climbed to his feet, his arm nearly numb and useless.

“Holy crap, Zhu Bajie[1]!”

Now it all made sense to Li Xiaofei why he was called Bajie. There was clearly a reason behind it.

“Monkey Bro, you’d better run,” Bajie said, still speaking like a proper human. “We can’t handle this thing. I’ll hold it off.”

He charged toward Barush again with wild abandon. This time, he went all out. It was an extraordinarily heroic sight. Li Xiaofei couldn’t help but feel a pang of emotion as his eyes welled up with tears.

This brother... he is reliable after all.

Pop.

A strange, soft sound echoed in the air. Bajie charged forward with full force just as the mouth on Barush’s belly opened wide again.

Bajie dove straight into the gaping maw like a high-speed train rushing into a tunnel and disappeared without a trace. At first glance, it seemed as though he had voluntarily delivered himself to Barush as a snack.

Burp.

Barush let out a satisfied belch, and the mouth on its belly snapped shut.

Li Xiaofei stood frozen in disbelief.

Brother. That wasn’t holding the line. That was ending the line.

1. Zhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three helpers of Tang Sanzang, along with Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing, and a major character of the 16th century novel Journey to the West. Zhu means "swine" and Bajie means "eight precepts". ☜