Daily Intelligence: From Water Snake to Jinghe Dragon King

Liu Qing secretly recruited the last member of the Journey to the West team, the Jade Dragon Third Prince, who had transformed into a white dragon horse.

The Buddhist monks' eyes instantly turned red.

After the White Dragon Horse was taken away, the entire pilgrimage team had completely fallen into Liu Qing's hands. How could they not incur the wrath and envy of Buddhism?

They truly hadn't expected that Liu Qing and the White Dragon Horse had this connection—that they were brother-in-law and brother-in-law. By the time they realized it, it was too late to stop them.

The pilgrimage team was almost complete and ready to embark on their journey to the West, with only the step of General Curtain-Raising becoming an apprentice missing. But this one step proved to be an insurmountable obstacle.

First, he was blocked by the Golden Hoop Immortal. Then Liu Qing appeared, transformed into Lingji Bodhisattva, and launched a sneak attack, stealing the Great Sui Sanzang and Zhu Bajie. Afterwards, he threw out a mad monkey, which disturbed Sun Wukong's mind, leaving Sun Wukong with almost no power to resist, and he was subdued again.

General Curtain, who became a river demon halfway through his life, was no match for Liu Qing, who was a river demon himself. Even when he hid at the bottom of the river, he was easily suppressed and taken away by Liu Qing.

Now, only the White Dragon Horse remains, and it actually voluntarily lets Liu Qing take it away.

In conclusion, the entire pilgrimage team has now fallen into Liu Qing's hands.

The thought that Buddhism's millennia-long plan for the Journey to the West had been ruined by Liu Qing right under their noses was heartbreaking.

The thought of the Buddha's fury upon learning the news filled all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats with dread.

We are sinners! So many of us are here, yet we have been completely fooled by Liu Qing. We have failed the Buddha!

The eyes of the Buddhas turned red, and the teeth of the Bodhisattvas clenched so tightly that they glared at the eighteen Arhats.

Despite taking a blow from Guang Chengzi and being forced back with a muffled groan, the Medicine Buddha seized the opportunity and roared at the Dragon-Taming and Tiger-Subduing Venerables among the Eighteen Arhats:
"You two blockheads, why aren't you taking some men to snatch the pilgrimage team back?"

"If you can't snatch it back today, you can forget about sitting on this Arhat position. You'll all have to go down to the mortal realm to undergo tribulation!"

The two Venerables, Subduing Dragon and Taming Tiger, immediately changed their expressions. They could not afford to lose the Arhat status they had painstakingly cultivated.

In an instant, all eighteen Arhats, including the Dragon Subduer and Tiger Tamer, turned to look at Liu Qing.

At this moment, Buddhist great powers such as Medicine Buddha and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva exerted their strength to entangle the eight Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect.

Meanwhile, the eighteen Arhats went to capture the lone Liu Qing and force him to hand over the pilgrimage team.

As for the Golden Hoop Immortal, he was already injured, so there was no need to worry about him. Even if he wasn't injured, he was no match for the eighteen Arhats.

"Snake demon, hand over the pilgrim, or I, the Buddha, will skin you alive and tear your tendons apart today!"

"You wretched creature, if you dare utter a single word of dissent, I, the Buddha, will surely annihilate your soul and spirit!"

The eighteen Arhats instantly surrounded Liu Qing and the heavily injured Golden Hoop Immortal. Liu Qing tried to protect the heavily injured Golden Hoop Immortal, but it was too late to escape.

Among the eighteen Arhats, the two Venerables who subdue dragons and tigers are at the Immortal Realm, while the other sixteen Arhats are at the Golden Body Realm.

Even with his confidence, Liu Qing didn't believe he could defeat the eighteen renowned Arhats of Buddhism.

If it weren't for the Golden Hoop Immortal's hindrance, Liu Qing could have tried to escape from the siege of the Eighteen Arhats, but now that his senior brother, the Golden Hoop Immortal, is seriously injured, Liu Qing has no choice but to fight head-on.

Even if he couldn't win, he had to fight. Liu Qing's expression turned serious. It seemed that he would not be able to get away with this today.

At this moment, the Holy Mother Wudang was probably blocking the Buddha. Pilu Xian had led away Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Jingu Xian was seriously injured. Now, apart from Yu Yu Daoren, all the people in the Jie Sect who could move freely in the Three Realms were here.

Even though Yu Yu Dao Ren was just a fragment of a soul, he couldn't just step in now and bully some second-generation disciples who called him "Master Uncle." He wasn't Yuanshi Tianzun, and he still had to save face.

Furthermore, there is still a hidden Buddha named Dipankara in Buddhism who has not yet appeared. Master Yu Yu Dao Ren has not made a move, probably because he is still keeping an eye on Dipankara Buddha.

Thinking back to the days when the Jie Sect had ten thousand immortals paying homage, but today they were outnumbered by Buddhism, Liu Qing was extremely frustrated and looked up at the sky.

As if in response, first the wind rose and the clouds surged, dark clouds filled the sky, then thunder roared, daylight turned to night, and the stars burst forth with dazzling light.

Before Liu Qing could show any joy, a scroll suddenly appeared in the sky. Then the scroll opened, revealing countless names written on it.

Liu Qing was taken aback; the scroll that had been opened was the Investiture of the Gods.

Then, the divine light on the Investiture of the Gods flashed and transformed into thorny brambles, piercing towards some of the names written on it.

Immediately, countless muffled groans and cries of pain echoed through the sky.

A high-ranking official, holding a whisk and embracing the Taibai Sword, appeared before the Investiture of the Gods. He looked around furtively and, seeing that there was no sword intent from the Jie Sect, breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, puffing out their chests and bellies, some smug-looking people shouted, "By order of the Jade Emperor, all the gods of Heaven are forbidden from interfering in the affairs of the mortal realm. Otherwise, they will be punished by having their original divine souls devoured by thorns for a hundred years, according to the Investiture of the Gods!"

After Venus finished speaking, countless voices of resentment echoed across the sky, but ultimately, fearing the Investiture of the Gods that had imprisoned their original divine souls, they had no choice but to disappear. In an instant, the thunder ceased, the stars vanished, and the once pitch-black sky returned to clarity.

Liu Qing sighed inwardly. It seemed that even the gods of Heaven, who were disciples of the Jie Sect, could not offer any help.

Now I can only rely on myself.

"Junior brother, don't worry about me, just run away!"

The Golden Hoop Immortal grew anxious and growled at Liu Qing. Liu Qing shook his head: "As a disciple of the Jie Sect, I have never abandoned my fellow disciples and fled alone."

"Don't worry, senior brother. It won't be so easy for them to kill me. Even if I die, I can take them down with me!"

Liu Qing's expression was icy as he surveyed the eighteen Arhats, speaking with murderous intent. Jin Gu Xian immediately laughed, "Good, good, worthy of being a disciple of my Jie Sect!"

"Junior brother, today we fight side by side. Although I am not strong enough, I will never die after you!"

The Venerable Dragon Subduer's Buddha light surged, illuminating the golden dragon tattooed on his chest. Instantly, the golden dragon flew out from it, accompanied by a deafening dragon roar, and pounced towards Liu Qing.

The same was true of the Venerable Subduing Tiger. He poured Buddhist light into the white tiger tattooed on his chest, and the white tiger flew out, carrying a fierce and murderous aura, and bit Liu Qing.

These two Venerable Ones went all out from the start, and the golden dragon and white tiger they commanded were all ferocious beasts and demonic souls that they had snatched during the Dragon and Phoenix Calamity in their early years.

Other Arhats, such as the Deer-Riding Arhat, the Joyful Arhat, the Bowl-Holding Arhat, and the Pagoda-Bearing Arhat, also unleashed their most powerful abilities to attack Liu Qing.

Liu Qing activated the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique with all his might to protect his entire body. He then unleashed the Heaven and Earth Manifestation and the Three Heads and Six Arms Great Divine Power, wielding magical treasures such as the Coiled Dragon Eight-Tone Cone, the Mountain-Driving Whip, the Nine-Petaled Red Copper Hammer, the Mountain God Mountain-Splitting Axe, and the Flying Dragon Treasure Staff to fight against the enemy.

Suddenly, the Golden Hoop Immortal, who was being protected by Liu Qing, leaped out.

He swallowed a mouthful of blood, forced himself to stand up, circulated his magic power, rushed in front of Liu Qing, gripped the golden hoop in his hand, ignored the pagoda that the Pagoda-Bearing Arhat was smashing down, abandoned his defense, and threw it at the head of the Dragon-Subduing Venerable.

Even by enduring a blow from the Pagoda-Bearing Arhat, he managed to trap the Dragon-Subduing Venerable, who possessed the highest level of cultivation and the strongest combat power among the Eighteen Arhats.

The Golden Hoop Immortal was already seriously injured. He used all his remaining strength to avoid defense and instead tried to take down the strongest warrior, the Dragon Subduing Venerable, for Liu Qing. He watched as the Dragon Subduing Venerable changed his move midway, controlling the Golden Dragon Demon Soul to break through the Golden Hoop, while the Pagoda-Bearing Arhat smashed a pagoda down on his head.

If the Golden Hoop Immortal were struck by this pagoda, he would surely perish; even if he did not perish, his cultivation would be completely destroyed.

Since Liu Qing snatched the pilgrims away, the previous concerns of Buddhism before taking action have been thrown to the back of their minds. Faced with the destruction of the Journey to the West plan, the Buddha was furious. Who cared about whether he would use excessive force and kill important disciples of the Intercepting Sect like the Golden Hoop Immortal?

Liu Qing roared and thrust out the coiled dragon eight-tone cone in his hand, intending to block the falling pagoda for the Golden Hoop Immortal.

Unexpectedly, the Long-Eyebrowed Arhat controlled a pair of long eyebrows, tightly binding Liu Qing's Panlong Eight-Tone Cone, preventing Liu Qing from defending the Golden Hoop Immortal.

Liu Qing's eyes widened in fury: "Bald monk, if you dare to harm my senior brother, the Golden Hoop Immortal, my Jie Sect will fight you to the death!"

Liu Qing was trapped by the group of Arhats and could only roar helplessly, trying to make the Pagoda-Bearing Arhats be wary and hold back their strength so that they would not dare to kill him.

But now that both sides are fighting fiercely, the Pagoda-Bearing Arhat can no longer care about anything else. It looks like the pagoda is about to collapse and the Golden Hoop Immortal is about to perish.

Just then, a roar was heard, and a mixed iron rod emerged from the void, smashing the pagoda of the Pagoda-Bearing Arhat back.

Then, the void was torn open, and a burly man carrying a mixed iron rod walked out.

Upon seeing the newcomer, the eighteen Arhats' expressions changed drastically, and their attacks slowed. Liu Qing seized the opportunity to transform into the wind and escape from the battle, grabbing the Golden Hoop Immortal and throwing him into his own Power Cave Heaven.

With no more worries, Liu Qing went to see the burly man who had saved the Golden Hoop Immortal's life.

This burly man was twelve feet tall, with a face as black as charcoal, a pair of bull horns on his head, and a mixed iron rod in his hand. The surface of this mixed iron rod was carved with various ferocious beast patterns, seemingly sealing the souls of the ferocious beasts. It shone with a precious light and exuded a strong baleful aura, so it must have been a mid-grade acquired spiritual treasure.

His body was filled with a powerful and explosive demonic aura, indicating that his cultivation had reached the Undying Realm. Liu Qing was stunned and surprised, and he had already vaguely guessed the person's background.

With bull horns on his head and a mixed iron cudgel in his hand, he is born into the demon race and possesses unyielding cultivation. He can easily defeat the pagoda of the Pagoda-Bearing Arhat with a single blow. In the Three Realms today, only the Bull Demon King can do it.

Why is the Bull Demon King here?

Now that the three major religions of Chan, Jie, and Buddhism have torn each other apart and are fighting each other, how dare a mere demon saint appear here?
Besides, the Bull Demon King saved the Golden Hoop Immortal of the Jie Sect as soon as he appeared, which offended Buddhism. How could he dare to do that?
The Bull Demon King's lair is located in Cuiyun Mountain, right under the nose of Buddhism in Xiniu Hezhou. Isn't he afraid of Buddhism retaliating later?

Also, why did it save the Golden Hoop Immortal?
I've never heard of any connection between the Bull Demon King and the Jie Sect.

Although Liu Qing was embroiled in a lot of trouble, it was an indisputable fact that the Bull Demon King had saved his senior brother, the Golden Hoop Immortal, and as a fellow disciple, he should be grateful.

"But was it the Bull Demon King, the Great Sage, in person? Liu Qing, a disciple of the Jie Sect, thanks the Great Sage for his help on behalf of his senior brother, the Golden Hoop Immortal!" (End of Chapter)