Kong Xuan left Lingshan and flew straight toward Shituoling.
She did not look back.
Her speed was astonishing—an arc of color flashing across the sky—and in the span of a breath she reached the monster kingdom of Shituoling.
Demons thronged everywhere.
Altogether, they numbered a hundred thousand.
Among them were three top-tier demon lords.
Almost no one knew the truth.
The Green Lion and the White Elephant were the mounts of Bodhisattvas.
Only the Golden-Winged Roc was untethered, a rogue thing that had never accepted discipline.
He was also the proudest.
Standing outside the mouth of a cave, Kong Xuan gazed at her brother's lair and let out a faint sigh.
"Who's there?"
Within, the Golden-Winged Roc—resting in meditation—snapped his eyes open at the sound of that breath in the air.
Twin currents of yin and yang exploded from the cave.
They blasted toward the figure at the entrance.
A soft swish.
A five-colored radiance swept out.
The terrifying twin streams of yin and yang were instantly suppressed and stilled.
"It's you!"
The Golden-Winged Roc strode outside. Seeing the sister whose whole body was steeped in a Buddha's aura, he curled his lip in disdain.
They were both children of Zu Feng.
Later, word came that Kong Xuan had been subdued by the Tathagata. The siblings had parted on harsh terms ever since, the celestial gulf between them impossible to cross.
Facing the brother whose wildness still clung to him like wind and storm, Kong Xuan asked evenly, "Brother, how have you been?"
"I have no sister who surrendered! If you're here from Lingshan to make me submit, you can leave now."
The Golden-Winged Roc's voice was flat and cold.
At the same time, a treasure appeared in his hand:
The Twin Cylinders of Yin and Yang.
The golden feathers along his body stood on end, as if bristling backward, as he locked onto the gentle sister before him.
Kong Xuan's brow creased; she sighed. "Forget it, then. Since you still can't let it go, I'll tell you plainly: Lingshan was shattered by the Eternal God. To restore his power, the Tathagata has already started to devour the other Buddhas."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"You dare claim you've never wanted a taste of Tang Seng's flesh?"
Why did the Tathagata trumpet so far and wide the marvels of the Tang Monk's flesh—
Immortality.
That hidden within his body was the supreme Buddhist cultivation.
That he bore merit and a golden body.
Whatever the pretext, as long as a creature was a demon, none of them would pass up Tang Seng.
"So what? If I, the Golden-Winged Roc, want to eat that monk, do I need your leave?"
The Roc's hooked beak tilted; he eyed his petite sister with a simmering hostility.
With so many demons gathered here in Shituoling, what did they have to fear?
Even if they failed to eat him, they could always retreat!
And that monkey—just how strong was he? Did the Roc not already know?
A mere Golden Immortal had been swatted from the sky.
If not for his copper skin and iron bones, he would have long since been eaten by the other monsters.
"Do you know the Four Great Bodhisattvas? Among the names most renowned on Lingshan are theirs. Two of their mounts have been 'missing' for quite some time. One is a lion. One is a white elephant."
Kong Xuan's tone was almost casual.
But in the Golden-Winged Roc's ears, the words crashed like thunder across the vault of heaven.
Those two ferocious monsters were actually Bodhisattva mounts? How could that be?
"You're not lying to me? The Lion Spirit swallowed half a country in a single gulp!"
He had devoured one hundred thousand souls.
Was that truly something a Bodhisattva's mount could do?
For all his scorn of Kong Xuan's capture, the Roc's anger had always been, at root, that she was taken without word to him.
In truth, he still cared for his sister.
After all, they had the same mother.
"Believe me or don't. Since they took over this kingdom, have you seen those two continue their spree of slaughter?"
"This… isn't that proof enough!"
"Then that's that. When Tang Seng arrives and they casually trample the Heavenly Court's majesty, those two remaining 'demons' will be reclaimed by their Bodhisattvas. And as for you—you'll be taken by the Tathagata as his treasure."
The Golden-Winged Roc's feathers stood on end.
He had always imagined himself the strongest, and he'd despised those two 'brothers by oath,' merely using them as pawns.
Only now did he understand:
The one who was truly witless was himself.
"Then why bother coming to warn me?"
The Roc's gaze softened; his tone lost its edge.
"Because with the Tathagata's golden body broken, the seal on me has weakened. I once fought him—and lost by the Tathagata's hand. He too has fallen from his former height."
"I see."
So it was his own situation he needed to consider first.
And why she had gone to become Lingshan's Peacock King, a Bodhisattva of Daming.
"At the time I was controlled, and Lingshan threatened you besides. I could only survive by bowing my head. The Tathagata laid all his cards out for me—he wants to be the true master of the Three Realms.
"He would make Buddhism flourish and granted me the title of Peacock King. After all, he didn't want me to take my own life."
The Golden-Winged Roc nodded.
Then he gave a bitter smile.
The question now was what to do when faced with two monsters hiding their true power.
"If you fear you'll choose poorly," Kong Xuan said, "go to Guanjiangkou and seek Yang Jian."
"Him? Who does he think he is!"
"Yang Jian believes in the Eternal God. He is also a priest of that faith, and his strength is on par with the Tathagata!"
He, too, is shielded by the Eternal God.
The Roc's temper soured. Either he became a target of Lingshan—
Or he went to seek a backing.
He liked neither path.
The Golden-Winged Roc craved freedom.
But for now, such freedom seemed far out of reach.
Kong Xuan watched her silent brother and said softly, "You still have a little time. Think it over. I should return. If I'm gone too long, they'll grow suspicious."
"If you've slipped your leash, why go back?"
"I want to kill that beast."
A terrible killing intent flashed through her narrow, beautiful eyes.
In pride and in power,
Kong Xuan was the mightiest among the world's second generation of beings; apart from a handful of leaders like the Jade Emperor himself, who could make her bow her head?
Even the Tathagata had shown her courtesy.
Kong Xuan intended to repay him in kind.
"Then be careful."
"I will. Take care."
Her voice faded.
Kong Xuan vanished.
Blocking the cave like this had surely roused the White Elephant and the others' suspicions; she could not stay any longer.
Shortly after she disappeared,
Two divine auras swept across the sky.
They seemed to be searching for something.
The Golden-Winged Roc sat on his couch, expression blank, feigning meditation.
…
"It seems this Dapeng bird still doesn't trust us."
"Hmph… and so what? One of these days, that little plaything will be taught a lesson."
The Lion Spirit tossed a still-beating heart into his mouth and chewed savagely.
These were good days.
He could eat when he wished, every day.
Kill when he wished.
The thought that he would soon have to return to Lingshan drew a sigh from his chest.
As for that so-called Eternal God—he gave it no heed.
Let the other side be strong.
So long as it could not enter, what was there to fear?
Better to revel in his pleasures day by day.
...
Guanjiangkou.
Erlang's Temple had been torn down and replaced with a temple to the Eternal God.
Within, the Eternal God was enshrined.
In years past, villagers merely burned incense and offered prayers.
Now it had become a holy land.
Divine brilliance manifested.
Nine beams of godlight stretched for thousands of li.
Such a marvel could not help but draw the world's attention.
Even many ascetics came here to seek a way to survive.
In the past, cultivators had feared the heavenly tribulations.
To avoid being entangled in karmic cause and effect,
they cultivated in deep mountains and ancient forests.
But ever since a monk named Li Hai broke through to Immortal right here in the God's Domain—without suffering any thunder tribulation—
the world had exploded with excitement.
Join the Eternal God's faith, and you would not need to face the lightning calamity.
With advantages like these, how could people not come?
And the patron deity here was older than Pangu.
Even if that God did not intervene personally,
the local guardian,
True Lord Erlang, convinced all.
At present, the innermost ring of the holy land was packed with millions of cultivators; fully one percent had already succeeded in breaking through to Immortal.
The rest cultivated in bitter earnest.
Erlang Shen sat at the center.
In spirit, he patrolled a hundred thousand li.
He kept watch to see whether any calamity had befallen the God's Domain.
Immortals of the Heavenly Court had already received the Jade Emperor's command:
They would no longer restrain Yang Jian.
He could now act as circumstances warranted.
Suddenly, a dark speck arrowed in from the west.
The intruder had taken the form of a hummingbird.
Its speed was absurd.
But even so, it could not escape Yang Jian's eyes.
Such a demon—stinking of murderous resentment—would never be allowed to set foot in the God's Domain.
The separated primordial spirit of the Golden-Winged Roc froze mid-air.
He threw all his strength against the restraint,
but could not move forward even a finger's width.
The sacred land lay right there before his eyes—
yet he could not advance upon it.
"Demons are forbidden in God's Domain," a voice resounded. "Least of all demons steeped in murderous resentment like you."
"You are Erlang Shen, Yang Jian?"
The hummingbird's cry was sharp and thin.
Aside from Yang Jian, which other power could do this?
Even now, the Golden-Winged Roc's separated soul could not find its enemy.
"So what if I am?" came the calm reply. "You came to scout intelligence. Know that with a thought I can annihilate your body. Die, fiend…"
In the heavens, a blazing sun ignited.
The Golden-Winged Roc felt death looming, immediate and absolute.
No—this would not merely threaten him.
It would kill him.
The Roc's primordial spirit quivered and jolted, but he could not break the binding. Nor could he detonate himself.
If he had known it would come to this, he would never have come!
Just as that sun began to fall,
the Golden-Winged Roc shrieked, "I am the little brother of the Peacock King—the Golden-Winged Roc! I bring news…"
"What did you say?"
The attack froze above the Roc's separated soul.
He nearly fainted in fright.
In that instant, the golden sun winked out, and in its place a figure stood before the hummingbird.
Yang Jian's primordial spirit spoke: "Tell me everything you know, and I'll spare you."
Compared to destroying one evil demon,
the Tathagata's situation was of far greater importance to Yang Jian.
"It's like this," the Roc said quickly. "The Tathagata was shattered by the Eternal God and has lost his cultivation base. My elder sister—she slipped her leash—found me before…"
After the Roc laid it all out,
Yang Jian finally understood.
It seemed the Lord of Lingshan had gone mad, devouring the flesh and blood of the Buddhas.
That was the mark of falling into demonic obsession.