Chapter 318

Southern Shan Nanjian Buzhou, Jiuhe City—or rather, the former Jiuhe City.

Now, a layer of thick blood clouds shrouds the sky above this city, and crimson mist steams up from the ground, lingering and not dispersing.

The city is empty of people.

Streets, houses, markets, and other buildings look as if they have been swept by a violent storm; roofs are destroyed, and walls have collapsed.

The thirty-seven thousand six hundred-plus lives of Jiuhe City were all swallowed into the belly of a Great Peng in a single night.

Beneath the blood clouds, a giant bird with golden feathers all over its body lies dormant on the ruins in the center of the city, its wings folded and golden eyes half-closed, as if napping after a full meal.

The stone bricks beneath it have been crushed into fragments by its massive body.

Throughout the entire city, there is nothing but broken walls and ruins.

Scattered everywhere in the city are many standard-issue magic treasures, shattered armor, and fallen banners.

These belonged to the Heavenly Court's team sent to subdue the demon, led by the Giant Spirit God under the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, who were beaten into disarray by the Golden-Winged Great Peng's divine abilities, leaving weapons all over the ground as they fled in panic.

This was already the third expeditionary army sent by the Heavenly Court.

The first route, twenty thousand heavenly soldiers, led by General Yudu, was taken down by the Golden-Winged Great Peng in less than two exchanges.

The second route, thirty thousand heavenly soldiers, led by General Ya Cha, hadn't even finished forming their formation when the Great Peng dove through the formation, and they were defeated.

The third route, twenty thousand heavenly soldiers, led personally by the Giant Spirit God.

The result was even more miserable; the Great Peng didn't even use its full strength, merely opening its mouth to spew a stream of Yin-Yang Qi, which blew the thirty thousand heavenly soldiers and the commander, the Giant Spirit God, into disarray, causing them to flee in panic.

Three battles, three defeats; the Heavenly Court could be said to have lost all face.

When the news reached the Lingxiao Precious Hall, the Jade Emperor was furious, and the civil and military officials were silent as cicadas in winter.

After routing the heavenly soldiers, the Great Peng did not pursue; it shook its wings and swaggered back to Jiuhe City, erected a banner of the "Great Peng Demon Kingdom," and continued to recruit soldiers and horses.

For a time, the rogue demon clans of the Southern Shan Nanjian Buzhou came to join one after another.

In just over a month, it had gathered nearly one hundred thousand demon soldiers under its command.

The Three Realms were shaken.

Flower Fruit Mountain, Water Curtain Cave.

On the stone table lay six projection stones; in the cyan-white light screens, the situation in Jiuhe City and the scenes of the Golden-Winged Great Peng fighting the Heavenly Court's army were displayed respectively.

These were all sent back at the risk of their lives by the elite scouts under Yan Que.

Su Chen sat before the stone table, his gaze scanning back and forth across the six light screens.

"As expected of the Golden-Winged Great Peng; his speed is indeed the fastest in the Three Realms."

Su Chen carefully observed the Golden-Winged Great Peng's methods for dealing with the Heavenly Court; what was most daunting was his speed.

"All three battles saw the Heavenly Court defeated in an instant. Although these heavenly soldiers and generals were just underlings under Li Jing and not the Heavenly Court's elite, it still shows that the Golden-Winged Great Peng's combat power is not trivial. In the battle with the Giant Spirit God, from the Great Peng's appearance to the end of the battle, it took no more than thirty breaths."

"Traveling ten thousand miles in an instant is no empty name. In this Great Peng's extreme speed state, I fear only Semi-Sage level divine abilities could lock onto him."

Bai Ze, to the side, was not drinking tea; he was sitting upright for once, his gaze fixed on the projection stones.

"Look at the divine ability he used when attacking the Giant Spirit God; that is Yin-Yang Qi," Bai Ze suddenly said.

Su Chen looked over.

Bai Ze pointed to the lingering image on the light screen of the Great Peng routing the heavenly soldiers: "The Yin-Yang Qi within his body was not cultivated later; it is innate. Bestowed by the Phoenix bloodline. This thing restrains the vast majority of Immortal Dao spells and magic treasures; this is good stuff."

Su Chen nodded, his tone showing some regret.

"It's a pity we cannot intervene in this matter, otherwise I would have some ideas about his innate Yin-Yang Qi."

"Looking at this scene, the Heavenly Court's play is over; next, it should be the Fomen's turn to act."

Su Chen said to Bai Ze: "Senior, I trouble you to sit in command at Flower Fruit Mountain; I am going to the Southern Shan Nanjian Buzhou to watch a good show."

Bai Ze nodded and told Su Chen to go without worry.

Sun Wukong, hearing there was a good show to watch, clamored to go along.

Su Chen had to tell him that he could only watch and not intervene.

Sun Wukong nodded in agreement, and the two left Flower Fruit Mountain, heading straight for the Southern Shan Nanjian Buzhou.

The blood clouds above Jiuhe City were rolling violently.

Immediately after, a golden Buddhist light tore through the clouds from the western horizon, vast and mighty, pressing straight down.

Wherever the Buddhist light passed, the blood clouds dissipated, and the foul wind ceased.

Within that Buddhist light, a massive nine-grade golden lotus slowly emerged.

Upon the lotus throne, a pot-bellied, smiling figure sat upright.

It was none other than the Maitreya Buddha.

Sanskrit sounds descended from the sky, resounding throughout the entire sky above Jiuhe City.

"Good, very good. With living souls suffering, you wicked beast recklessly commit slaughter; today, this old monk shall subdue the demon and eliminate the evil."

Maitreya's voice was deep and compassionate, spreading for a thousand miles.

The surviving commoners outside the city, who had been so terrified by the Great Peng that they had hidden in the deep mountains, heard this voice and poked their heads out from their hiding places, weeping with joy at their narrow escape.

"The Buddha has manifested! The Buddha has come to save us!"

Cries, cheers, and kowtows rose one after another.

Outside Jiuhe City, in the clouds a thousand miles away, Su Chen looked at Maitreya's smiling face and snorted coldly.

"The protagonist has appeared."

Sun Wukong, to the side, was gnawing on an immortal peach; seeing Maitreya appear, he spat directly.

"Pretentious."

"Maitreya will likely use a spatial magic treasure to capture the Great Peng bird directly," Su Chen said with certainty.

Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow: "How do you know?"

"The Great Peng's greatest advantage is speed. To restrain him, there are only two ways—either be faster than him, or lock the space directly so he has nowhere to escape."

Su Chen looked at Sun Wukong: "Maitreya has an innate spiritual treasure called the Human-Seed Bag; this bag can absorb all things and lock space, making it the Great Peng's nemesis."

Sun Wukong looked at Su Chen with some strangeness upon hearing this: "Little Brother, how are you so clear about the Fomen?"

"I just pay more attention to them in my spare time," Su Chen replied indifferently.

Su Chen turned his gaze back to Jiuhe City.

In Jiuhe City, Maitreya Buddha's Buddhist light enveloped the entire city.

The blood clouds retreated, and Sanskrit sounds filled the heavens and earth.

The small demons who had just come to join in the empty city were struck as if by lightning, collapsing to the ground and trembling.

Only the golden-feathered Great Peng in the center of the city remained motionless.

It slowly stood up its massive body, folded its wings, and its golden feathers reflected a blinding light under the illumination of the Buddhist light.

"Wicked demon, you have committed boundless slaughter and swallowed a city of living souls," Maitreya Buddha's voice descended from the sky, majestic without anger. "This old monk has come personally today to take you and deliver these souls of the entire city."

Maitreya's smiling face was reflected in the Great Peng's golden eyes.

He did not speak, but the corners of his mouth curled up bit by bit, revealing a mocking smile.

Seeing this, Maitreya's smile remained unchanged, but a plump palm had already reached out from his sleeve.

In the palm of his hand, a gray cloth bag floated up silently.

It was his innate spiritual treasure, the Human-Seed Bag, which could contain Mount Sumeru and lock the void.

Seeing this scene, Su Chen nodded slightly.

"As expected."

However, the next moment, Su Chen's expression suddenly changed.

In Jiuhe City, the Golden-Winged Great Peng saw the Human-Seed Bag, and not only was he not panicked, but the mocking intent at the corners of his mouth grew even stronger.

The Great Peng spoke.

"Maitreya," the Great Peng said word by word, his voice shaking the universe.

"Do you really think this seat is here to play along with your act?"

"Something is wrong."

He looked at Sun Wukong nearby with a smile.

"This Great Peng seems to have his own ideas; it seems the Fomen is about to mess this up."