Chapter 159

He looked at the Bull Niu Mowang: "Brother Bull, in this battle, our ordinary demon soldiers of the Demon Alliance cannot participate."

"What?" The Bull Niu Mowang was stunned.

Not only him, but the other Great Sages also showed expressions of confusion. The Demon Alliance was established, and soldiers were raised for a thousand days; wasn't it for the sake of using them at a critical moment?

Now that a great enemy was at the gates, yet not letting the demon soldiers fight—what kind of logic was this?

Su Chen explained: "The Heavenly Court's target is the 'culprit' Sun Wukong, as well as us 'accomplices.' They are hoping we will pour out in full force so they can use thunderous means to wipe out the main force of our Demon Alliance in one go. We cannot let them succeed."

"In this battle, only we, along with the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Demon Kings, will fight. We will control the battlefield outside of Flower-Fruit Mountain. We will not let the flames of war spread to the ordinary demon soldiers in the mountain or to Flower-Fruit Mountain itself."

"We are going out, not to fight them to the death, but to stall for time!"

"Stall for time?"

"Yes!" A flash of brilliance crossed Su Chen's eyes, "The Heavenly Court's play, performed up to this point, with the Pagoda-Bearing Li Tianwang and the one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers, is just an opening act. Their main goal is not our Demon Alliance; the Heavenly Court's move against the Demon Alliance this time is merely taking advantage of the situation. As long as we stall for time and wait for the Heavenly Court's true target to appear, the Demon Alliance will be able to survive this crisis."

"The Heavenly Court's true target?" The Bull Niu Mowang and the others looked at Su Chen in confusion: "Brother Su Chen, who are you talking about?"

"Naturally, it is that fellow who impersonated Brother Monkey." Su Chen explained: "Although he performed the play of wreaking havoc in the Tiangong under the Heavenly Court's arrangement, the living beings of the Three Realms do not know the truth of this. If the Heavenly Court does not bring him to justice, the Heavenly Court will lose face for real."

"So, the things we need to do are two-fold: first, actively proclaim that the Demon Alliance has nothing to do with the fake who wreaked havoc in the Tiangong, clarify our relationship with him, and cut off their excuse."

"Second, be prepared for the Heavenly Court to be shameless and insist on going to war with the Demon Alliance. In that case, we will need to take the initiative to leave Flower-Fruit Mountain and engage them in battle; we cannot let the battlefield be inside Flower-Fruit Mountain."

Su Chen's analysis made the several Great Sages suddenly enlightened.

Thus, everyone made arrangements according to Su Chen's proposal, and soon the Demon Alliance announced that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who wreaked havoc in the Tiangong was an impostor and had nothing to do with the Demon Alliance.

If the Heavenly Court were to take action against the Demon Alliance, it would be without a legitimate excuse.

But the Pagoda-Bearing Li Tianwang Li Jing had received secret instructions from the Jade Emperor before dispatching troops, so he turned a deaf ear to this matter and ordered the Giant Spirit God to be the vanguard, launching the army toward Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Seeing this, Su Chen and the five Great Sages had no choice but to order their forces to leave Flower-Fruit Mountain to meet the challenge.

The Bull Niu Mowang made a prompt decision: "Pass down the order: all demon soldiers and generals are to hold Flower-Fruit Mountain firmly; without my command, no one is allowed to fight! The Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Demon Kings will follow us into battle!"

"Yes!"

The order was passed down, and at the summit of Flower-Fruit Mountain, the Thirty-Six Demon Kings assembled, their demon energy soaring to the sky.

The Bull Niu Mowang took the lead, holding his Mixed-Iron Staff, followed closely by the Flood Dragon Niu Mowang, the Lion-Shi Tuo Wang, the Yu Rong Wang, the Yu Rong King, and Su Chen. The six of them turned into six streaks of light, rushing out of the defensive array of Flower-Fruit Mountain first to meet the Giant Spirit God and the one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers.

The Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Demon Kings, under Su Chen's signal, formed a great array to intercept the heavenly soldiers and generals who wanted to enter Flower-Fruit Mountain.

"Li Jing, you and the others are attacking my Demon Alliance without cause; do you really think my Demon Alliance is made of mud?"

The Bull Niu Mowang's resonant voice exploded above the clouds.

Li Jing, who was preparing to order the attack on the mountain, was taken aback when he saw the Bull Niu Mowang and the others take the initiative to come out and meet them.

The Giant Spirit God beside him also raised an eyebrow when he saw the Bull Niu Mowang: "Bull Niu Mowang, you actually dare to openly harbor that demon monkey who wreaked havoc in the Tiangong and oppose the Heavenly Court; shouldn't this crime be punishable by death?"

The Bull Niu Mowang laughed loudly: "Giant Spirit God, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want! My Seventh Brother is currently in seclusion in the mountain; where did this 'wreaking havoc in the Tiangong' come from? It is you, the Heavenly Court, who found an impostor from somewhere to perform such a rotten play of framing and entrapment, and now you still want to be the villain who complains first and lead troops to attack my Flower-Fruit Mountain. Do you really think my Demon Alliance is easy to bully?"

"A pack of lies!" Li Jing roared angrily, "That demon monkey wreaked havoc in Yaochi and stole elixirs in the Doulugong Palace; all the immortals of the Three Realms saw it with their own eyes, how can you allow yourself to quibble! All heavenly generals, listen to my order: capture these demons who are spreading lies and confusing the public!"

"Kill!"

At the command, the Giant Spirit God brandished his Xuanhua Board Axes and rushed up first, and the heavenly generals behind him followed.

"Good!"

The Flood Dragon Niu Mowang roared, brandishing his Fangtian Painted Halberd, and met the Giant Spirit God directly.

Su Chen, the Lion-Shi Tuo Wang, and the others also found their respective opponents.

Only the Bull Niu Mowang and Li Jing did not make a move, both guarding against each other.

A great battle erupted instantly above Flower-Fruit Mountain.

……

At the same time, in the Lingxiao Palace.

The Jade Emperor was watching the battle in the mortal world through the Haotian Mirror.

When he saw that the Bull Niu Mowang, Su Chen, and the others had only brought out thirty-six Demon Kings to fight, while most of the demon soldiers of Flower-Fruit Mountain remained motionless, his brow could not help but wrinkle slightly.

"This Bull Niu Mowang is indeed more composed than I imagined," he said indifferently.

Guanyin Bodhisattva, who had come to Yaochi for the banquet and subsequently stayed to watch the battle, held her Jade Pure Vase and smiled: "The Great Heavenly Sovereign need not worry. Although that Bull Niu Mowang has decent strength, he is after all just a demon king of the lower realm; I think he will not be a match for the Pagoda-Bearing Li Tianwang."

"Hmm." The Jade Emperor nodded.

But clearly, these two underestimated the strength of the Bull Niu Mowang, the several Great Sages, and Su Chen.

In less than an hour, the battle situation in the lower realm headed toward the opposite of what the Jade Emperor and the Bodhisattva had expected.

Li Jing and the others, without Nezha's help, were simply no match for the Bull Niu Mowang, Su Chen, and the others.

The Bull Niu Mowang and the Pagoda-Bearing Li Tianwang confronted each other, the two of them keeping each other in check, with neither having the opportunity to intervene.

And the Giant Spirit God fought the Flood Dragon Niu Mowang for a long time, but was eventually defeated by the Flood Dragon Niu Mowang, being knocked away by a strike of the halberd, his Xuanhua Board Axes broken into two pieces.

The remaining heavenly generals were also beaten back steadily by Su Chen, the Lion-Shi Tuo Wang, the Yu Rong Wang, and the Yu Rong King.

The heavenly soldiers under Li Jing were also blocked by the array formed by the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Demon Kings, unable to move an inch.

Seeing this, Li Jing knew that the idea of wiping out the Demon Alliance on this trip was no longer possible, so he hurriedly sounded the retreat, and with his remaining soldiers and defeated generals, retreated to the Heavenly Court in a sorry state.

In the Heavenly Court, Li Jing returned after his defeat and came to the Lingxiao Palace to plead guilty.

"Your Majesty! That gang of demons is truly fierce, especially that Bull Niu Mowang, who has vast divine powers; this humble official is no match for him!" Li Jing knelt below the hall, saying with a face full of shame.

The Jade Emperor was furious and slammed the dragon throne: "Useless! One hundred thousand heavenly soldiers, and you can't even take down a few demon kings from the lower realm. What use do I have for you!"

After scolding them, he turned to Guanyin Bodhisattva and asked: "Venerable Guanyin, now that the Demon Alliance has not been taken down, I wonder what good strategy you have, Venerable?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva was about to speak when suddenly, Thousand-Mile Eye reported from outside the hall.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Third Prince Nezha of the lower realm has found that demon monkey and is currently engaged in battle with him!"