Chapter 169: Styx Takes Action, Lingshan Panics

After Princess Iron Fan and Red Boy left, the smile on Ancestor Styx's face instantly vanished, and his face instantly turned gloomy.

"They didn't discover any clues, did they?" Ancestor Styx looked at Di Shitian and asked.

"No, instead, they requested to come back on their own initiative," Di Shitian said with his head lowered. At this moment, he was like a completely different person from before.

"Hmm! Then you go down," Ancestor Styx nodded.

"Yes!" Di Shitian nodded.

After Di Shitian left, Ancestor Styx looked at the place where Princess Iron Fan had left, a light of unclear meaning flickering in his eyes.

"Since you like scheming so much, then this Ancestor will also scheme. I hope you won't jump in anger when the time comes!" Ancestor Styx looked at the direction of Tang Valley and muttered to himself.

On the other side, Red Boy was talking to Princess Iron Fan with excitement.

"Mother, Grandfather is very kind!" Red Boy said, looking at Princess Iron Fan.

Princess Iron Fan looked at the excited Red Boy, a loving smile appearing on her face. To be honest, it was her first time seeing Ancestor Styx like this; she had never seen such an Ancestor Styx before.

"Princess, Little Young Master, the banquet is ready," a maid walked over at this moment.

"Good!" Princess Iron Fan nodded.

At the banquet table, Ancestor Styx made an unprecedented move by letting Di Shitian and the others sit at the table. In the past, they had no qualifications to sit at the table. The hierarchy of the Sea of Blood was very strict; once violated, the only outcome was death.

"Today Rakshasa brought my grandson back, so this is a family banquet. There is no superior or subordinate, so don't be restrained," Ancestor Styx said to the four, including Di Shitian, with a smile.

"Yes, Ancestor!" The four nodded.

In reality, these were all performed for Princess Iron Fan, so they didn't have any pressure. But if Ancestor Styx did this normally, they wouldn't sit at the table no matter what.

Seeing this scene, Princess Iron Fan was very moved, but as soon as she thought of Taishang Laojun, this trace of emotion vanished instantly.

"Come, good grandson, these are the specialties of our Sea of Blood. See if you can get used to them. If not, Grandfather will have them redone," Ancestor Styx held Red Boy on his lap and said with a smile.

"Hmm hmm! I want to eat this," Red Boy pointed at an unknown dish and said.

"This is Sea of Blood Knife Fish. It took a lot of effort for Grandfather to raise these fish. Come, try it!" Styx picked up a chopstick and gave it to Red Boy.

After Red Boy ate it, his eyes widened immediately.

*Such dense spiritual energy. This one bite is worth half a year of bitter cultivation! * Red Boy shouted in his heart.

Seeing Red Boy like this, a smile appeared on Ancestor Styx's face: "Hahaha, how is it? Is it delicious!"

"Hmm hmm, delicious, delicious!" Red Boy's eyes shone, and then he got down from Ancestor Styx's lap and began to eat without any image.

"Holy Infant!" Seeing Red Boy like this, Princess Iron Fan's face instantly turned gloomy. If he angered Ancestor Styx like this, they wouldn't be able to leave the Sea of Blood at all.

"No matter, he's just a child. These were originally prepared for him. Hahaha, being able to eat is a blessing!" Ancestor Styx said with a smile.

Hearing Ancestor Styx's words, Red Boy made a face at Princess Iron Fan and then continued to gorge himself. After this meal, most of it was eaten by Red Boy, and he was now lying on the side to cultivate and digest.

He had the Taiqing bloodline; otherwise, this meal would have burst him.

In the secret room of the Sea of Blood, a strange smile appeared on Styx's face: "Taiqing, the chess game is set. This game now depends on who wins. This Ancestor believes it is me."

In the following time, Ancestor Styx showed a side that no one had ever seen before. He pampered Red Boy without any reason, and even violated some rules he had once set for Red Boy's sake. Now the Asuras were privately saying that Red Boy was very likely to inherit the Sea of Blood and become its second master.

Red Boy naturally heard these words, and his heart was very excited at this moment. Although he knew his father was a Saint, he had never seen him. Everything he knew came from his mother, and he could be said to have no feelings for his so-called father.

Coupled with the Horned Rhinoceros's attitude toward him, it made him feel that his father had never treated him as his son.

But he received unprecedented pampering here from Ancestor Styx, which he hadn't possessed for the past few hundred years. Compared to the father he had never seen, Red Boy was now more inclined toward Ancestor Styx.

And Ancestor Styx also discovered this, which was why he said he was sure to win this game. Princess Iron Fan also discovered Red Boy's strangeness, but she didn't know how to solve it. After all, Ancestor Styx was truly good to Red Boy. Red Boy looked like a child, but he was also a person who had lived for two or three hundred years; he still had the most basic ability to distinguish.

"It seems it's time to leave the Sea of Blood. Otherwise, Red Boy will be brainwashed by Ancestor Styx sooner or later," Princess Iron Fan muttered to herself. That's right, in Princess Iron Fan's view, Styx's action was brainwashing Red Boy; he wanted to destroy Taishang Laojun's plan.

How to put it, Princess Iron Fan had accidentally guessed Ancestor Styx's intention, but if she said it now, it was estimated that no one would believe it, not even Red Boy.

Just as Princess Iron Fan was thinking about finding a time to leave the Sea of Blood, on the Jindu Cave side, Xuanzang had been with the Horned Rhinoceros for almost half a year. In this half year, he had gained a circle of weight, and his originally handsome face had become round.

"Master Xuanzang, what are we eating today?" The Horned Rhinoceros looked at Xuanzang and asked.

"Let's eat some vegetarian food today. I've gained a circle of weight," Xuanzang said with a smile.

"Fine! Come, prepare vegetarian food for Master Xuanzang," the Horned Rhinoceros immediately had someone do it.

"Eating and sleeping every day for half a year is truly boring. Shall we discuss the Dao?" Xuanzang looked at the Horned Rhinoceros and said at this moment.

"Everything is up to Master Xuanzang," the Horned Rhinoceros nodded.

In fact, it didn't matter to the Horned Rhinoceros. His goal was to keep Xuanzang here for a year. This year was the most reasonable time calculated by Taishang Laojun, and this time could maximize merit.

Hearing that Xuanzang and the Horned Rhinoceros were going to discuss the Dao, Yang Jian and the others arrived here for the first time. Although their strength was higher than Xuanzang and the Horned Rhinoceros, the Horned Rhinoceros was a Saint's mount after all, and some of his insights might be useful to Yang Jian and the others.

"Then this King will throw a brick to attract jade," after everyone sat down, the Horned Rhinoceros said with a smile.

While the Horned Rhinoceros was discussing the Dao, Tathagata's mood at Lingshan was also quite good, because Guanyin had finally woken up. However, Guanyin could not walk out of the Eight Treasures Merit Pool at this time, because due to the Inspiration King, there was heavy karmic sin on Guanyin's primordial spirit, and the Eight Treasures Merit Pool could help her purify it.

Manjushri Bodhisattva had also found a replacement. It could be said that Lingshan was starting to develop in a good direction again.

But he hadn't been happy for long before his face turned gloomy.

After Guanyin was seriously injured, the task of monitoring Xuanzang fell to Descending Dragon and Subduing Tiger. Tathagata told them they didn't need to appear before Xuanzang, just pay attention in secret. But today, Subduing Tiger had actually returned to Lingshan, which made Tathagata frown.

"Report to the Buddha, Xuanzang and the others have been trapped in Jindu Mountain for a year," Subduing Tiger said hurriedly after seeing Tathagata.

"What happened?" Tathagata asked hurriedly.

Afterward, Subduing Tiger recounted the encounter of Xuanzang and the others at Jindu Mountain. Because Jindu Cave had a formation, the information Descending Dragon and Subduing Tiger understood only ended when everyone entered the cave. As for the situation of Xuanzang and the others inside, they knew nothing.

"Then why did you report it only now?" Tathagata asked coldly.

"Initially, we thought Xuanzang and the others could fight their way out, but now a year has passed, and they still haven't come out, so..." By the end, Subduing Tiger had no voice.

"Manjushri Bodhisattva, Julusun Buddha, you go to Jindu Mountain and rescue Xuanzang and the others," Tathagata said to Manjushri Bodhisattva beside him.

"Yes!" The two nodded.

"Buddha, a year has passed, what about the pilgrim?" Manjushri Bodhisattva asked cautiously.

"Rest assured, Xuanzang should be fine. Otherwise, the Heavenly Dao would have warned us long ago. The Taiqing Saint wouldn't dare to kill Xuanzang. He is doing this simply to gain more merit," Tathagata said indifferently.

"We will set off now!" Julusun Buddha bowed to Tathagata and then left Lingshan with Manjushri Bodhisattva.

After Manjushri Bodhisattva and the others left, a rare trace of panic appeared on Tathagata's face, but this panic was not seen by anyone.

The reason he had this expression was that there wasn't much time left for him. The Journey to the West tribulation had a time limit. If Xuanzang and the others were allowed to waste time like this, variables might appear in the later stages.

In fact, variables had already appeared, but Tathagata hadn't discovered them, or perhaps he had discovered them but now had no ability to change them. Otherwise, this trace of panic wouldn't have appeared on his face.

"It seems this poor monk must prepare early," Tathagata muttered to himself.

"How do we get in?" Arriving at Jindu Mountain, Manjushri Bodhisattva looked at Jindu Cave and asked.

"Just go in directly. The level of their formation is not high, and it is easy to break," Julusun Buddha said after observing the formation of Jindu Cave.

"If we go in like this, we will definitely be discovered," Manjushri Bodhisattva said.

"What if we are discovered? They wouldn't dare to lay a hand on Xuanzang. At most, some people will die, as long as Xuanzang is still there," Julusun Buddha said indifferently.

After speaking, he reached out his hand and pressed it toward Jindu Mountain. As he took action, a huge palm composed of magic power appeared in the air.

The people discussing the Dao immediately sensed it when the palm appeared, but no one's expression changed, because they knew they wouldn't die.

"Hmm?" Just as the giant palm was about to land on Jindu Mountain, Manjushri Bodhisattva and Julusun Buddha both let out a light sound.

Logically speaking, they should have discovered this level of movement long ago, but now there was not a single movement in the entire Jindu Mountain, as if they hadn't discovered it at all, which made Julusun Buddha unable to press his hand down.

He had seen Guanyin's end clearly. This Xuanzang was a master who wouldn't eat soft or hard. They must have discovered the abnormality outside, but they just had no action. They must be betting that the people outside wouldn't dare to let this attack fall on Jindu Mountain.

"Master Xuanzang, it seems they still care about you!" Seeing the attack from outside delayed, the Horned Rhinoceros said with a smile.

"They don't care about me, they care about Lingshan. If I die, Lingshan will likely be gone," Xuanzang said indifferently.

"Then do you want to go see them?" The Horned Rhinoceros asked.

"No need, they will come to see us," Xuanzang shook his head.

Sure enough, about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Manjushri Bodhisattva's voice came from outside: "Demons inside, listen up. We are the envoys of Lingshan. Release the pilgrims quickly, otherwise, we will flatten your Jindu Mountain."

"Let's go, go out and meet these so-called Lingshan envoys," Xuanzang stood up and said.

After Xuanzang stood up, the Horned Rhinoceros also hurriedly stood up and followed behind Xuanzang. Seeing this scene, Dapeng and the others had smiles in their eyes. Master Xuanzang's personality charm was truly powerful; even this Horned Rhinoceros had now become Master Xuanzang's little brother.

When walking out of Jindu Cave, Xuanzang saw Manjushri Bodhisattva and Julusun Buddha.

"Yo! Julusun Buddha, I didn't expect Lingshan to send a Buddha this time. Why? Hasn't Guanyin recovered yet? By the way, has a replacement for Manjushri Bodhisattva's position been found?" Xuanzang looked at Julusun Buddha and Manjushri Bodhisattva and said.

Seeing Xuanzang, Manjushri Bodhisattva and Julusun Buddha were stunned. This seemed a bit different from what Subduing Tiger said. Didn't he say Xuanzang was kidnapped? But this didn't look like he was kidnapped; the Horned Rhinoceros standing behind Xuanzang looked more like Xuanzang's little brother.

"Xuanzang, don't forget your mission!" Seeing Xuanzang ask like this, although Julusun Buddha had some anger in his heart, he didn't show it.

"Blind? Didn't you see I was kidnapped? How can I set off?" Xuanzang rolled his eyes at Julusun Buddha.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes. This pilgrim is now my prey. I didn't say I would let him leave," hearing Xuanzang say this, the Horned Rhinoceros finally reacted and said carelessly.

Hearing the Horned Rhinoceros, Yang Jian and the others' faces turned red. This was from holding back laughter. There was no way, people were still in front of them. If they laughed out loud, it seemed like they weren't very respectful to Julusun Buddha and the others!

"Hmph! This poor monk doesn't want to say it a third time. Set off within three days. I am not someone easy to talk to like Guanyin," Julusun Buddha ignored the Horned Rhinoceros and looked coldly at Xuanzang, then left with Manjushri Bodhisattva.

"It seems this Julusun Buddha is a bit different from others in Lingshan. I would like to see what means this Julusun has," Xuanzang looked at the back of Julusun Buddha leaving and muttered to himself.

Three days passed quickly, and Xuanzang and the others had no intention of moving at all. Julusun Buddha's face was already as gloomy as water. *It seems this Xuanzang is truly eating my Lingshan! *

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 170 =====