Book 6: Chapter 055: A Demon Descends on the Spirit Mountain Holy Land
Boom!
The peac.o.c.k spread its wings, and a demonic aura dyed the sky black. The demonic aura contained overwhelming resentment, bursting forth like it embodied millions of screaming demons and ghosts.
The animal spirit kings’ expressions changed.
“Kong Xuan, how did you grow so…?”
“Why do I feel like I’m seeing the Eastern Monarch, the Supreme Singularity?”
“Attack together. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land will soon know about this. Quickly, take it down!”
The animal spirit kings immediately took on their animal forms, releasing overwhelming auras. Huge waves kicked up around the Flower and Fruit Mountain.
“Hahahahaha! The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s lackeys, indeed! You are seeking your own deaths, so don’t blame anyone for this!” Kong Xuan glared.
Kong Xuan flapped its wings hard, and a storm of black winds appeared in the surroundings, curling around the animal spirit kings.
“Attack together!” a toad spirit shouted furiously. It opened its mouth and flicked a long tongue toward Kong Xuan.
Whoos.h.!.+
Kong Xuan sent out a beam of five-colored divine light as it flapped its wings. When the divine light shot past, the toad’s tongue vanished.
“Argh!” the toad spirit screamed.
Then, Kong Xuan opened its mouth and sucked.
Whoos.h.!.+
Kong Xuan sucked the toad spirit into its stomach.
The animal spirit kings attacked simultaneously, using their claws as weapons to tear Kong Xuan to shreds.
Whoos.h.!.+
Kong Xuan flung out a wing, sending out five-colored divine light again. All the claws vanished.
“Argh! My leg!” the animal spirit kings yelled in pain.
“Roar!”
Kong Xuan opened its mouth and sucked in three animal spirit kings.
The loss of a leg horrified the animal spirit kings.
“Kong Xuan is truly as strong as the Supreme Singularity now! Run quickly! Hurry! Run!” the animal spirits exclaimed in fear.
No one expected Kong Xuan to have become this strong. As strong as the Supreme Singularity? All the animal spirit kings trembled in fear.
They turned around and fled in all directions.
“Flee? You are only thinking of fleeing now? It’s already too late!” Kong Xuan’s eyes turned cold.
Then, it flapped its wings and chased in the direction with the most animal spirit kings.
Kong Xuan sucked the slower animal spirit kings into its stomach.
The faster ones were the bird-type animal spirit kings.
“Hurry! Over there! The Heavenly Peace Temple is there! It is a subordinate temple to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. The Heavenly Peace Bodhisattva is in there! Hurry! Heavenly Peace Bodhisattva, save us!” The bird-type animal spirit kings rushed over in joy.
In the Heavenly Peace Temple, a white-clad monk was teaching his disciples when he heard a shout from the sky. He also felt a ferocious aura rus.h.i.+ng over.
The white-clad monk’s expression changed. “Hurry! Activate the ritual array!”
Buzz!
A barrier s.h.i.+ning with golden light immediately covered the Heavenly Peace Temple.
Boom!
The barrier blocked the animal spirit kings.
“Let us in! Heavenly Peace Bodhisattva, let us in!” the animal spirit kings exhorted.
“Go away! Quickly go away!” The Heavenly Peace Bodhisattva ignored the animal spirit kings.
Kong Xuan flew leisurely, not rus.h.i.+ng this. It showed great hatred in its eyes, apparently playing with its prey like a cat with mice.
“Ptooey! Old baldy Heavenly Peace, I did not hesitate to agree when you asked me to help search for a treasure. Now that we are in trouble, you just ignore us?” the animal spirit king at the lead roared furiously.
“Wild beast, scram! Don’t cause trouble for me!” the Heavenly Peace Bodhisattva said while glaring.
The animal spirit kings took to the sky in hatred.
However, Kong Xuan approached the temple.
The entire sky turned black, causing the Heavenly Peace Bodhisattva’s expression to change.
Then, Kong Xuan flapped its wings.
Whoos.h.!.+
The Heavenly Peace Temple’s barrier exploded.
“What?” The Heavenly Peace Bodhisattva’s expression sank.
“Roar!”
Kong Xuan sucked, and the black wind immediately pulled all the monks in the Heavenly Peace Temple into its stomach.
“Don’t! Don’t! Ah!” The Heavenly Peace Bodhisattva had nowhere to run and was instantly swallowed.
The Heavenly Peace Temple was now desolate. The expressions of all the animal spirit kings fleeing changed.
“This is just the beginning. I will eat everyone a.s.sociated with the Spirit Mountain Holy Land!” Kong Xuan snarled while flapping its wings.
As the animal spirits fled in front, Kong Xuan consumed everything in its path behind.
Kong Xuan consumed everyone in the Heavenly Peace Temple, the Peaceful Nation Temple, the Great Light Temple, and many more. Its stomach was like a bottomless pit as it consumed the people in all the temples along the way.
The animal spirit kings in front were aghast.
“The Five Hundred Arhats Formation! Hurry! Stop Kong Xuan!”
“Ah! Kong Xuan ate the five hundred arhats!”
“A demon on the rampage! Bodhisattva, save us!”
“Ah! Kong Xuan ate the bodhisattva!”
The Spirit Mountain Holy Land seemed to have encountered an unprecedented calamity.
Like a demon, Kong Xuan ferociously consumed everything in its path, startling the entire Spirit Mountain Holy Land.
As countless bodhisattvas, arhats, guardians, and monks watched from a distance, they felt a chill in their hearts.
This was an unprecedented calamity that could never be duplicated in the future.
Kong Xuan was simply too strong. It was so strong that it swallowed all the monks that rushed over to it.
Ritual arrays? They could not last against Kong Xuan’s five-colored divine light. Enchanted treasures? They vanished into the five-colored divine light. As the black wind swept out, Kong Xuan’s mouth seemed like the eighteen layers of h.e.l.l.
Countless bodhisattvas, arhats, and monks fled towards the Spirit Mountain Holy Land in horror, flying toward the Hall of Great Strength.
“Lord Buddha, a demon is running rampant! Lord Buddha, please get justice for us!”
“Lord Buddha, a demon is attacking and destroying our Spirit Mountain Holy Land!”
“Lord Buddha…!”
More monks started to gather.
At the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s entrance:
The Present Buddha, the Past Buddha, Nan Longnu, and a group of bodhisattvas and arhats looked into the distance.
“Amitābha! This Kong Xuan’s heart is full of overwhelming hatred and resentment,” the Past Buddha said with a frown.
The Present Buddha also frowned at the distant Kong Xuan.
“Lord Buddha, Kong Xuan has turned into a demon. Lord Buddha, don’t delay this any further,” the Past Buddha said with a bitter smile.
“Lay down the butcher’s knife, and immediately become a buddha!” the Present Buddha said with palms held together.
[TL Note: The expression “lay down the butcher’s knife, and immediately become a buddha” means to repent and be saved. However, the situation here does call for a literal understanding of this expression.]
“But…,” the Past Buddha said worriedly.
A grave look flashed in the Present Buddha’s eyes. “I can only go and enlighten him personally.”
“Yes!” the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats said respectfully.
The Present Buddha stepped forward and vanished.
The Past Buddha led all the bodhisattvas and arhats as they stood on the plaza to watch how the Present Buddha would subdue Kong Xuan.
——
Flower and Fruit Mountain:
Upon seeing that his advice did not affect Kong Xuan, Shangguan Hen gave up on dissuasion.
After all, Kong Xuan would not listen to him. Furthermore, the one Gu Hai was concerned about was Sun Wukong. He needed to deliver Sun Wukong as quickly as he could.
Hence, Shangguan Hen shot into the distance with Sun Wukong.
Kong Xuan had fallen out with the animal spirit kings, emanating an overwhelmingly ferocious, demonic aura.
——
Someone watched this happen from a distance. It was the Eight Heavenly Dragon Tribes’s leader, Di s.h.i.+tian.
He narrowed his eyes. “Kong Xuan? After coming out, he has an extremely bloodthirsty aura. To think that he has grown so strong? Is there such a benefit in the eighteen layers of h.e.l.l? It looks like I should also train myself there.”
Di s.h.i.+tian did not go to stop Kong Xuan, as he understood that Kong Xuan was very powerful now, and he might not be able to stop it. Furthermore, the Present Buddha, the Past Buddha, and the others would definitely be observing from a distance as Kong Xuan rampaged.
Instead, he raised his eyebrows, looking in the direction Shangguan Hen had taken.
“Shangguan Hen? His cultivation was crippled previously. Now, he is so powerful? Even Sun Wukong is no match for him? What exactly happened in the eighteen layers of h.e.l.l? Humph! I will interrogate them after I capture them!” Di s.h.i.+tian’s eyes turned cold.
Whoos.h.!.+
Di s.h.i.+tian immediately chased after Shangguan Hen.
——
After some time, Shangguan Hen returned with Sun Wukong.
“Your Reverence, I have not let you down!” Shangguan Hen smiled.
“Where’s Kong Xuan?” Chang Ming asked out of curiosity.
“A group of animal spirit kings laid a trap at the Flower and Fruit Mountain. Kong Xuan told me to leave first while he blocked them,” Shangguan Hen said with a forced smile.
“We just knew that Kong Xuan would not feel satisfied until he vented the resentment in his heart. Hah…,” Gu Hai sighed.
“Gu Hai. Hahaha! You are truly relentless, insisting on sending me back?!” Sun Wukong snarled in rage as Shangguan Hen restrained it.
Gu Hai waved his hand, and s.p.a.ce trembled. The ritual array appeared and manifested a large black hole.
“Sun Wukong, sorry. As a child, we heard about how you wreaked havoc in the heavenly court. We had once adored you. If it were some other time, we would love to be friends with you. However, I am no longer a child, so I can only offend you like this,” Gu Hai said seriously.
“Hah! Hahahaha! Adore? Hahaha! Put away your hypocrisy. Humph!” Sun Wukong sneered.
“Everyone has their reasons. You can go seek out Ancestor Puti when you return. He will tell you everything. I have no choice but to send you back. At the same time, don’t feel too resentful. This might not be goodbye forever. Perhaps you can return soon,” Gu Hai said while shaking his head.
“You are lying to me, right? Do you think I will believe you?” Sun Wukong roared while glaring.
“Sorry!” Gu Hai repeated, giving Shangguan Hen a look.
Shangguan Hen immediately flew over to toss Sun Wukong into the spatial tunnel.
“Screak! Screak! Screak! Screak! Let go of me, you loathsome tortoise!” Sun Wukong still appeared unresigned.
However, the cruel fact was that it was helpless.
Previously, it considered itself the best at the Eight Nines Profound Technique. Unexpectedly, Shangguan Hen became better at the Eight Nines Profound Technique than it in just ten-odd days.
Boom!
Just as Shangguan Hen was about to toss Sun Wukong into the pa.s.sageway between the two immortal firmaments, a strong wind blew, and a figure arrived above a nearby summit.
“Who is it?” Chang Ming and Ao Shun immediately glared, raising their guard.
“Di s.h.i.+tian?” Gu Hai’s face sank.
“Di s.h.i.+tian, hurry! Save me!” Sun Wukong suddenly showed joy on its face.
“Oh? This pa.s.sageway again? Are you sending Sun Wukong back to where it came from?” Di s.h.i.+tian asked while glaring.
“Your Reverence, sorry. I did not notice Di s.h.i.+tian following me,” Shangguan Hen said with a frown.
Shangguan Hen had not expected Di s.h.i.+tian to follow him back here.
“There is no need to apologize. Hand Sun Wukong over to us. You go block him,” Gu Hai instructed.
“Yes!” Shangguan Hen answered.
Shangguan Hen handed Sun Wukong and the Malleable Golden Staff to Gu Hai, then soared to meet Di s.h.i.+tian.
Di s.h.i.+tian came charging over, meeting Shangguan Hen head-on.
“Oh? You want to block me?” Di s.h.i.+tian revealed a faint sneer.
“Since this is my mistake, naturally, it is up to me to resolve it.” Shangguan Hen glared.
The two clashed head-on, meeting fist for fist.
Boom!