Chapter 164: Upheaval in the Tongtian River, the Pilgrimage Team Suffers Losses

Taishang Laojun felt the slight changes in the fortune of the Human Race, and the smile on his face never faded. Everything is difficult at the start, but once the start is made, the rest is easy to manage.

Pan Huang, who was in the Women's Kingdom, had been keeping his eyes on Taishang Laojun ever since the incident with Yang Jian. When he saw this look on Taishang Laojun's face, his own was filled with mockery.

"This is merely the fortune that my Human Race has discarded. They have their own choices, and it is not for us to interfere. Since they have followed you, let me see what kind of life you will bring to the people of the Chechi Kingdom," Pan Huang muttered to himself.

After saying this, he stopped paying attention to Taishang Laojun. There was nothing interesting there; he would rather go watch the drama on Xuanzang's side.

Xuanzang and his group had already packed up and were prepared to cross the river. Ao Mo'ang had already scouted the area, so they were not particularly vigilant. As they flew over the river surface, everyone was laughing and chatting.

In the Tongtian River, the Inspiration King watched the group laughing and chatting above, and a look of resentment flashed in his eyes once again.

Boom—

A wave of water exploded, and the Inspiration King appeared before them. This scene immediately made everyone alert, and they drew their weapons one after another.

"Yang Jian, do you still remember me?" After appearing, the Inspiration King roared at Yang Jian.

Listening to this voice filled with hatred and resentment, Yang Jian was somewhat confused. He didn't know this female demon at all!

"I don't know you at all. Did you find the wrong person?" Yang Jian said, looking at the female demon before him.

"Hmph! Even if you turned to ash, I would still remember you."

"Wait, the aura on you is somewhat familiar," Yang Jian suddenly said.

"It is the aura of Guanyin," Xuanzang said indifferently at this moment.

"Guanyin, I see." Hearing the name Guanyin, combined with what the female demon had just said, Yang Jian instantly understood what was going on.

"What grudge do you have with this Guanyin?" Dapeng was somewhat bewildered.

"Does everyone remember the Liusha River?" Yang Jian said to the group, not even sparing a glance at the Inspiration King before him.

"Don't you dare say it!" Hearing that Yang Jian was about to tell everyone about the Liusha River, the Inspiration King became instantly agitated and unleashed several attacks from his hands.

But the curiosity of the group had already been piqued; they would not be satisfied unless Yang Jian said something. So, when the Inspiration King's attacks flew over, everyone took action and blocked them.

"You speak; no one can disturb you," Sun Wukong said, shouldering his Golden-Hooped Rod.

"The Liusha River was originally guarded by the Curtain-Lifting General of the Heavenly Court. Back then, in order to get a share of the benefits during the Journey to the West, the Jade Emperor found a random excuse to demote the Curtain-Lifting General to the mortal world. After he descended, he landed in this Liusha River. Later, when the Demon Race reoccupied the Heavenly Court, I found an opportunity to kill the Curtain-Lifting General."

"Then what does this have to do with the demon before us?" Sun Wukong asked, his face full of confusion.

"After the Curtain-Lifting General was killed, Lingshan soon found out, and Guanyin sent a carp from her Luojia Mountain in the South Sea to the Liusha River. If nothing went wrong, that carp is related to the demon before us, and the relationship is not shallow. Coincidentally, we met at the Liusha River. I don't need to say what happened to that carp demon, do I?" Yang Jian shrugged at Xuanzang and the others.

"Ah!!! I want to kill you, kill you!" Seeing Yang Jian speak so lightly about the death of her husband, the Inspiration King completely broke down.

The next second, the Inspiration King rushed toward Yang Jian regardless of the consequences. Seeing her like this, a look of disdain flashed in Yang Jian's eyes. He just stood there, quietly watching the Inspiration King charging at him.

The next second, the Inspiration King flew backward, crashing heavily into the river after flying a dozen meters, splashing water several meters high. The one who attacked her was a member of the Demon Race under Xuanzang.

"With your strength, who gave you the courage to come here and clamor?" The demon who knocked her away looked at the Inspiration King and said with a mocking face.

"Are you still not going to make a move?" The Inspiration King wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and said.

After the words fell, a whirlpool appeared on the river surface. The next second, a massive turtle shell appeared before everyone, followed by a giant turtle floating on the water.

This turtle had a heavy scent of incense on its body; it was clearly the River God of the Tongtian River.

"You are the River God of this Tongtian River; why are you helping this demon?" Yang Jian asked after seeing the giant turtle.

A very complex expression appeared on the giant turtle's face. He didn't want to either, but the Inspiration King had seized his lifeline, so he had no choice but to obey her orders.

"Old Turtle has his own hardships. Let us fight." The River God said to Yang Jian and the others, then transformed into a hunched-over little old man.

"Since that is the case, there is no point in talking." Dapeng stepped out and said.

"Dapeng, do not take his life," Xuanzang transmitted his voice to Dapeng.

"I know!" Dapeng nodded, and the next second, he rushed straight toward the River God.

The Inspiration King had also recovered by now, and she began ordering the River God's subordinates to attack Xuanzang and the others. Upon hearing the Inspiration King's order, the River God's subordinates hesitated only slightly before rushing toward Xuanzang and the others.

Xuanzang told the Demon Race not to take the lives of the River God's subordinates if possible; after all, they had benefited the local people, and it would be bad to kill them.

Soon, everyone was locked in battle. Because the Demon Race had received Xuanzang's order, they did not use lethal force, and the River God's subordinates did not want to fight the pilgrims at all. They were forced into it, so they did not use their full strength either, resulting in a "friendly" battle on the Tongtian River.

Seeing this, the Inspiration King felt like she was about to grind her teeth to dust.

"Good, very good. Since that's the case, don't blame me for being impolite," the Inspiration King said coldly.

"You dare!" Hearing the Inspiration King's words, the River God roared.

"Die, you all must die! I want you to be buried with my husband!" The Inspiration King ignored the River God entirely, looking at Yang Jian and the others as if she had gone mad.

With a wave of her hand, a stone box appeared in her hand—the very stone box guarded by the River God of the Tongtian River.

"Run!" Seeing the stone box in the Inspiration King's hand, the River God of the Tongtian River shouted and lunged at her.

But even so, it was a step too late. The Inspiration King had already opened the stone box. Before anyone could react, a burst of black energy gushed out from the box.

At that very moment, the River God of the Tongtian River reached the Inspiration King's side, but the next second, a phantom of a lotus flower appeared on the Inspiration King's body, blocking the River God's attack.

"Guanyin!" Seeing the lotus platform, the River God of the Tongtian River roared at the sky. Back then, it was by relying on this lotus phantom that the Inspiration King had forced her way into his water palace and seized control of the stone box.

The moment the black energy gushed out, Dapeng and Yang Jian sensed something was wrong. They flashed to Xuanzang's side and brought him back to the shore.

When they looked back, the entire Tongtian River was covered in this black energy. The energy was filled with resentment and killing intent, and it was spreading outward at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Those demons who could not dodge in time immediately showed expressions of pain after being touched by the black energy, and some even lost their minds entirely.

Yang Jian and the others did not hesitate at all and rushed into the Tongtian River to save people. Seeing them, the Inspiration King laughed wildly.

Soon, karmic sin appeared on her body, but she, having gone mad, did not care. She had no intention of living anyway.

"Let me give you a helping hand," the Inspiration King said with a smile.

Afterward, she slit her wrists and let her blood drip into the stone box. Once her blood dripped in, an even more massive wave of resentment gushed out.

The Inspiration King bore the brunt of it and was instantly submerged by the resentment, but she did not dodge; there was only a sharp, piercing laughter.

"Hahaha, die! All of you, die!" The Inspiration King laughed wildly, and then her voice vanished.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Yang Jian and the others had rescued everyone, but less than half were conscious. The rest were either acting like madmen or had fallen into a coma with chaotic auras.

"Never mind them for now; blocking the resentful energy in the Tongtian River is the priority. Otherwise, if it spreads to the Chen Family Village, many people will die," Dapeng said urgently, seeing Yang Jian wanting to save the demons.

"Leave this to me," Xuanzang said at this moment.

"Good!" Yang Jian nodded.

"Long Ji, help me. Everyone else who can move, go to the Tongtian River," Xuanzang said.

After speaking, he had Long Ji gather everyone together, and he sat in the middle. The next second, Xuanzang put his hands together and began to chant.

As he began to chant, a Buddha light radiated from his body and fell upon the surrounding demons. As the light touched them, black energy began to seep out of their bodies.

At Lingshan, Tathagata looked at Guanyin in the Eight Treasures Merit Pool with a smile. Guanyin's injuries had fully healed, and the damage to her primordial spirit had also recovered over these past two days; she would be able to wake up soon.

Just as Tathagata was thinking this, a wisp of black-red gas suddenly appeared in the void—this was karmic sin. The moment it appeared, Tathagata's expression changed drastically. He wanted to stop it but found it impossible. In an instant, the karmic sin drilled into Guanyin's body.

The sleeping Guanyin immediately frowned and let out a painful moan involuntarily.

"Damn it, who is this?" Tathagata was on the verge of breaking down.

Back in the Women's Kingdom, Changxi and Xihe frowned the moment they saw the resentful energy, and then they looked at Pan Huang.

"The flesh and blood of a mysterious turtle, truly interesting," Pan Huang muttered to himself.

"Husband, do you know what is in that stone box?" Xihe asked hurriedly, seeing Pan Huang muttering.

"Do you remember the mysterious turtle that supported the heavens?" Pan Huang asked.

"Could that stone box contain the flesh and blood of the mysterious turtle?" Xihe immediately realized.

"That's right. Aside from the mysterious turtle, I fear there is no second creature in the Primordial World that could possess such massive resentful energy."

"Then, husband, are you not going to intervene?" Changxi asked, looking at Pan Huang.

"Now is not the time. When they truly have no way to handle it, I will intervene." Pan Huang shook his head; he intended to test Dapeng and the others to see their capabilities.

"Alright!"

"Rest assured, with me here, nothing major will happen."

Hearing Pan Huang say this, they were no longer so worried, and the two turned their eyes back to the water mirror, wanting to see how Yang Jian and the others would handle the Tongtian River incident.

Yang Jian and his group first blocked the direction leading to the Chen Family Village. Since the resentful energy had not yet reached the shore, they quickly cordoned off the area where it was spreading.

"What should we do next?" Ao Mo'ang asked the group.

"I don't know. We don't have any good methods. I feel like I've already done a great job just by keeping it from expanding," Sun Wukong said with a smile.

"Master Xuanzang should have a way. The sutra he is chanting seems very effective against this resentful energy," Yang Jian said at this moment.

Everyone followed Yang Jian's gaze. Master Xuanzang was sitting in the middle of the crowd, his body radiating a very dense Buddha light. When the light shone on the demons, large amounts of black energy immediately emerged from them.

"Then let's concentrate the resentful energy first and deal with it after Master Xuanzang is finished," Dapeng said.

"Hmm!" The group nodded, and then they maintained their magic power, concentrating all the resentful energy near the stone box.

"Not bad. Next, it depends on Xuanzang's ability. If he can purify this resentful energy, he will gain quite a bit of merit," Pan Huang said with a smile after seeing the scene on the Tongtian River.

In half a day, Xuanzang purified all the resentful energy from the demons. Looking at the still-sleeping demons, a smile appeared on Xuanzang's face.

This smile was not for the Buddha light on his body, but for the demonic energy within him. After this purification, the Buddha power in Xuanzang's body had grown significantly, and correspondingly, when this Buddha power was converted into demonic energy, he would gain even greater bonuses.

"Master Xuanzang, Yang Jian and the others might need your help," Long Ji's voice reached Xuanzang's ears at this moment.

"They have gathered all the resentful energy together, but they have no means to purify it, so they need your help," Long Ji said to Xuanzang, pointing at the Tongtian River.

"Good!" Xuanzang did not refuse; he simply nodded and flew to the side of Yang Jian and the others.

"Master Xuanzang, will it work here?" Ao Mo'ang asked, looking at Xuanzang.

"Leave it to me!" Xuanzang nodded, then sat cross-legged. The next second, Sanskrit sounds emanated from his mouth, and Buddha light began to appear on his body again.

As Xuanzang murmured, the black energy was slowly decreasing. Although it was invisible to the naked eye, after a while, they discovered that the resentful energy had diminished. This brought smiles to the faces of Yang Jian and the others; fortunately, Master Xuanzang could purify this energy, or they wouldn't have known what to do.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 165 =====