An Unfamiliar Situation
Zhang Xuezhou was used to traveling alone, but on his way to the Mahabodhi Temple, he found himself accompanied by seven demon kings after calling on his friends.
The news spread like wildfire, eventually reaching this point.
The demons were beaming with joy, feeling as if they had climbed to the top.
"Peng Demon King, Pixiu King, Green Lion King, Yellow Lion King, Rakshasa King, Ten Thousand Fox King, Deer Demon King!"
Zhang Xuezhou counted them, and he couldn't help but feel alarmed.
Having traveled only six hundred li west of Xiniu Hezhou, he already had seven demon kings by his side. Adding Nuxina, that made eight demons. Every hundred li they traveled, a demon king would take up a territory.
"The number of signs is likely limited, so don't gather too many, or you'll run out of signs later," Zhang Xuezhou warned.
These demon kings seem to have been traumatized, which is why they all want to submit to the Western Sect.
Sitting on Nusina's back, Zhang Xuezhou wasn't afraid that the demon kings who had been trying to curry favor with him would suddenly turn against him; he was more afraid of being attacked by the Western Sect cultivators.
Just thinking about the ambush by Batuoluo and Ingadia in the Greater Yuezhi Kingdom, and the cultivators who ambushed Nezha and others in the secret land of Spirit Mountain, Zhang Xuezhou felt that he had a more complete impression of the Western Sect cultivators.
Not to mention the demon kings were afraid of such sneak attacks and killings, Zhang Xuezhou was also afraid of losing his life in a confused state, especially since he was currently among a group of demon kings and was very likely to be targeted by cultivators.
In other places, the likelihood of such a concentrated attack would be lower, but since they were heading straight for the entrance to the Western Sect Sacred Land, the probability of encountering Western Sect cultivators was much higher.
If dozens of powerful demons gathered, someone unaware of the situation might mistake him for leading a demon attack on the Mahabodhi Temple.
"Does Your Excellency mean that if anyone tries to follow us again, we should kill them?" asked the Roc Demon King.
"We can't distribute these signs in large quantities," Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand and said, "You guys handle this yourselves!"
"What this gentleman says makes sense. Even if he is willing to help us, there's no way he would make things difficult for the Buddhist disciple by asking for too many tokens," said the Yellow Lion King, looking up.
"You could consider going to the Nine Spirits Holy Land," Zhang Xuezhou suggested. "The Nine Spirits Primal Sage are very welcoming to demons!"
"No, no, those Eastern Land demons look down on us Western demons, saying we're uncivilized barbarians who only know how to eat raw meat and drink blood. Joining us would bring them unbearable disaster!"
They even roast their meat over a fire, saying that only in this way will they not be considered outsiders!
"I don't understand how roasting meat over a fire makes it 'melt'!"
"I'd like to roast it over a fire, but I don't have any fire!"
The demons were numerous and talkative; as soon as they uttered a single word about a topic for discussion, the demons would start chattering away.
And as soon as these demons' unrestrained voices spread, they attracted other demons.
These demons were extremely powerful, but their level of enlightenment was quite low. They kept shouting and yelling as they ran, and some demons even tried to imitate their speech, which gave Zhang Xuezhou a headache.
He never expected this to happen.
He not only needed these demons to lead the way, but he also couldn't outrun them. Moreover, many of these demons had been besieged and killed by the Western Sect cultivators and had some kind of record of victories, which could easily cause conflict.
Zhang Xuezhou felt that his current situation was somewhat similar to that of the outlaws who were leading him to Chang'an City, and he had to ask them for a pardon from death, and this pardon wasn't even one-sided.
Anyone with a brain can see how difficult this is, but these demons are precisely lacking in intelligence. All they know is fighting, killing, eating, and drinking. They see any benefits and think about taking a share for themselves. They all want to follow this "kind" and "good guy" who has a life-or-death friendship with the Buddha Son Shigong of the Western Sect to get a protection order.
"Has anyone here received an identification badge?" Zhang Xuezhou asked casually.
"Kumaraxi, the Bull Demon King, has a title," the Roc Demon King said enviously. "He even established the Bull Demon Sacred Land Sacred Land, where he raises bulls. He must be living a very happy life!"
"Kumarashi is the most successful among us demons!"
"He has an extra advantage over us; no powerful cultivator would dare to kill him!"
"We demons don't kill each other indiscriminately, so he lived peacefully and comfortably!"
"I've heard he's very powerful, and nobody dares to mess with him!"
With precedents to follow, no demon wouldn't yearn for such a badge, so that they could live freely in Xiniu Hezhou.
The demons were immediately abuzz with discussion, their murmurs never quieting down.
Although these demons had tried their best to mimic and adapt their language, Zhang Xuezhou still found it somewhat difficult to understand.
He finally stood up and looked ahead to check the situation, lest he be ambushed and killed unjustly by the Western Sect's experts.
The elephant demon Nuxina was quite fast, and the demon kings were also quite strong. The demon kings who could keep up with her speed were all quite capable. When the roc demon king flew out to warn them from time to time, their group did not add any more demon kings. Even the peacock demon, which was extremely fast, just circled in the distance and watched, without flying in to force its way in.
Once the peacock had traveled far away, it had vanished without a trace.
"The number of demons in Xiniu Hezhou is so high! Even in the Xiong State, you have to go to the Sacred Land to find so many demons. Just what's the situation with the great cultivators here?"
The more demon kings Zhang Xuezhou encountered, the more worried he became about a group of demon-slaying cultivators suddenly appearing from the bushes.
But the more Zhang Xuezhou worried, the less likely his fears came to pass.
He didn't even see a trace of the monks.
Even when passing through a small town inhabited by humans, Zhang Xuezhou didn't see any cultivators coming to slay demons.
"The Mahabodhi Temple is over there, less than a hundred li away!"
They remained vigilant throughout, and the demons kept shouting and yelling.
Only when the Roc Demon King shouted did the other demon kings fall silent, trembling with fear, and even those who wanted to speak could only hum in response.
The demon kings fled, leaving only gusts of demonic wind, rolling black clouds, and swirling sand.
Although it was said to be a hundred miles away, given the leg strength of the demon kings, this distance was not long.
For example, the Roc Demon King can even travel to other places quickly in a short period of time after using his Divine Ability to fly.
Listening to the Peng Demon King's low chant, Zhang Xuezhou glanced at the halberd that the other party had not put down, and the little thought in his mind completely faded away.
"A monster is coming! Run!"
Mahabodhi Temple is a stone temple that is two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) high. It is located in a remote area at the foot of a high mountain.
Near the Mahabodhi Temple, there are many simple bamboo and wooden huts, and monks with hair and shaved heads chant sutras, eat meat, and fight in this area, making it extremely chaotic.
When the demon kings came rushing towards them, the monks shouted and fled for their lives at top speed, either hiding far away or running frantically towards the stone temple.
"There was no resistance?"
The monks behaved just like ordinary people, and even some who carried Law Treasure joined the ranks of the refugees.
Demons fear humans, but humans also fear demons.
Zhang Xuezhou found it difficult to understand.
He felt this situation could easily trigger a war between humans and transgender people, but he never expected it to be completely one-sided, with a rout occurring as soon as they met.
This has even reached the vicinity of the Western Sect's stronghold, which shouldn't be the case.
But even as they rushed to the entrance of the Maha Bodhi Temple, no great figures emerged from the stone temple to subdue the demon, nor were any monks organized for defense. Only a few monks stood there solemnly, peering out and taking refuge in the stone temple.
"My Buddha Son Shigong, your life-and-death friendship has arrived!"
"Come out and greet your guest, your good friend has arrived!"
The Peng Demon King also peeked into the stone temple, then glanced at the Pixiu King. The two demons then looked at the composed Zhang Xuezhou, and then shouted.