Chapter 316: The Fomen

In the scorched mountain valley, the destructive aura of the thunder tribulation had not yet completely dissipated.

A few faint electric sparks jumped between the rock crevices, making a slight "crackle" sound.

At this time, Qiao Ling was in a moon-white robe, his temperament outstanding.

If one hadn't witnessed him just now swallowing the Heavenly Dao thunder tribulation, anyone would have taken him for a mortal scholar who couldn't even truss a chicken.

Sun Wukong circled Qiao Ling twice, his eyes looking up and down at Qiao Ling, his mouth making clicking sounds.

"Strange." Sun Wukong scratched his cheek. "You kid clearly cultivate the Demon Dao, but how is this aura cleaner than those gods who cultivate Daoist methods?"

Qiao Ling smiled slightly, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and bowed to Sun Wukong: "Great Sage praises me too much. The Great Freedom Demon Dao seeks a clear state of mind, not touching dust. The demon is in the heart, not in the appearance."

Sun Wukong shook his head: "You kid, speaking in a literary way, doesn't suit Old Sun. But your methods are truly remarkable, actually being able to eat heavenly tribulation as a meal; in the future, in these Three Realms, there will inevitably be a place for you."

Su Chen swept his gaze over Qiao Ling and nodded with satisfaction.

"You have now crossed the barrier between immortal and mortal, achieving Demon Immortal," Su Chen said, his tone calm. "What is even more rare is that you walked out your own Dao. The Great Freedom Demon Dao, the future is limitless."

"It all depends on Master's teaching," Qiao Ling lowered his head, his eyes full of respect.

"No need to be humble," Su Chen waved his hand. "The Tathagata Dao Fruit on you has been completely assimilated, and now you are the only True Demon in these Three Realms. Although the Heavenly Dao descended a thunder tribulation wanting to wipe you out, since you crossed it, the Heavenly Dao rules will acknowledge your existence. Plus, the luck of the Demon Dao has just been born and is under the protection of the Heavenly Dao; as long as you do not actively expose the aura of the Great Freedom Demon Dao, even those high-and-mighty Saints will not dare to calculate your origin."

Qiao Ling's expression became solemn; he knew what Su Chen meant.

A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.

If the Fomen knew that he was the True Demon who triggered the turmoil in Lingshan, they would absolutely be dispatched in full force to wipe him out.

"Disciple understands," Qiao Ling said in a low voice. "Disciple plans to find a secluded place deep in Flower Fruit Mountain, open a cave dwelling, and continue to contemplate the Great Freedom Demon Dao. I will not leave the mountain until I reach Tai Yi."

Su Chen nodded: "Go. Flower Fruit Mountain has the Heaven-Concealing Formation set up by Senior Bai Ze, and demon soldiers of the Demon Alliance guarding it, so it can be considered very safe. You can go into seclusion with peace of mind; as for things outside, leave them to me."

Qiao Ling bowed deeply to Su Chen and Sun Wukong again, then turned and transformed into a gray-white stream of light, fleeing toward the depths of Flower Fruit Mountain.

Watching the direction Qiao Ling disappeared, Sun Wukong grinned: "Little Brother, this disciple of yours, I'm afraid he's a ruthless character who can poke a hole in the sky in the future."

"What is poking a hole in the sky?" Su Chen stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the dissipating tribulation clouds. "I only hope he can truly obtain great freedom."

The two talked and returned to the Water Curtain Cave together.

The two had just sat down in the Water Curtain Cave when Luan Erjie walked in hurriedly from outside.

"Advisor, Yan Que has sent an important intelligence report."

A crisp female voice carrying a bit of urgency came.

Su Chen raised his eyebrows slightly; Luan Erjie had become increasingly steady in handling Flower Fruit Mountain affairs under the training of Senior Bai Ze these years, so why was she so anxious today?

"If there is anything, speak slowly, don't be anxious," Su Chen looked at Luan Erjie who had rushed in.

"Greetings, Alliance Leader; greetings, Advisor." Luan Erjie bowed and saluted, taking a deep breath to calm her emotions. "Advisor, Demon General Yan Que has sent back intelligence regarding the Fomen."

Luan Erjie took out a jade slip and handed it to Su Chen.

"Demon General Yan Que's letter says this matter involves a great deal and must be decided by the Advisor personally."

Su Chen took the jade slip, magic power flickering at his fingertips, and instantly erased the seal upon it.

His spiritual sense probed inside.

The information within the jade slip was not extensive, but every word was shocking.

"In the Southern Shan Nanjian Buzhou, a peerless great demon suddenly arrived from the west, blotting out the sky and sun. Its nature is violent; it opens its mouth to swallow cities. A city in the Southern Shan Nanjian Buzhou, with hundreds of thousands of living souls, was swallowed whole in one gulp!"

"That great demon calls himself 'Yun Cheng Wan Li Peng,' and his true form is a Golden-Winged Great Peng. Now, he occupies that city, has erected a demon banner, and is recruiting soldiers and horses, showing signs of carving out a territory for himself."

"The Heavenly Court is shaken. The Jade Emperor has issued a decree, ordering Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing to muster one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals to descend to the lower realm and subdue the demon."

Su Chen's spiritual sense withdrew from the jade slip.

Seeing Su Chen's unusual expression, Sun Wukong leaned over and asked, "Little Brother, what happened? Which blind demon has provoked our Demon Alliance?"

Su Chen did not answer immediately; he placed the jade slip on the stone table and tapped his fingers lightly on the surface.

"Tap, tap, tap." The crisp sound of tapping echoed within the Water Curtain Cave.

The corners of Su Chen's mouth curled into a playful yet chilling sneer.

Golden-Winged Great Peng, Yun Cheng Wan Li Peng.

Swallowing a city of people in one gulp, establishing a demon kingdom.

This scene—Su Chen was all too familiar with it.

In the original Journey to the West trajectory, the Golden-Winged Great Peng reigned supreme at Lion Camel Ridge and even swallowed all the commoners in the Lion Camel Kingdom.

But this was supposed to happen in the middle-to-late stages of the Journey to the West.

Now, the Journey to the West calamity has only just begun, the scripture seeker hasn't even appeared yet, so why has this Great Peng bird run out to cause trouble ahead of time?

And it even ran to the Southern Shan Nanjian Buzhou, where the human race is flourishing, to swallow a city!

Furthermore, the identity of that Golden-Winged Great Peng is the son of the Phoenix and the younger brother of the Peacock Great Wisdom King.

By seniority, he is the Tathagata's uncle!

With such a heaven-reaching background and peerless strength, how could this great demon easily leave Lingshan and run to the Southern Shan Nanjian Buzhou to commit such boundless slaughter without the nod of the Fomen's top brass?

"The Fomen is getting desperate," Su Chen whispered to himself.

He analyzed it secretly in his heart.

Originally, Sun Wukong's fate was changed by him, and the Fomen intended to use the Tathagata's reincarnation to replace Sun Wukong as the protector of the scripture seeker.

But now that Qiao Ling has been intercepted by him and turned to the demonic path, the Fomen has searched for so many years with their entire strength but found nothing.

The grand plan of the Journey to the West cannot be shelved indefinitely.

With the Tathagata's reincarnation missing and the protector's position vacant, the script for the Journey to the West cannot continue.

Since the original actor cannot be found, they can only forcibly pull in a substitute to fill the spot.

Create a catastrophe that shakes the Three Realms to draw out the Heavenly Court's troops.

If the Heavenly Court is defeated, the Fomen can then logically step forward to subdue the demon, convert him, and smoothly insert him into the Journey to the West team.

This both demonstrates the Fomen's great magic power and solves the problem of the protector's candidate.

This must be the remedial measure the Fomen took to compensate for Qiao Ling being intercepted by me.

As for the lives of the hundreds of thousands of mortals in the Lion Camel Kingdom, in the eyes of those high-and-mighty Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, they are merely insignificant "karma" to push forward the great calamity.

"What a 'compassionate' lot," a trace of killing intent flashed in the depths of Su Chen's eyes.

He turned his head and tossed the jade slip to Sun Wukong, who was scratching his ears and cheeks with a curious face nearby.

"Monkey Brother, take a look," Su Chen picked up his teacup and said, "The position that originally belonged to you, and later to Qiao Ling—the Fomen has already found a 'substitute' for it."