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Chapter 198 A Foolish Move? A Brilliant Move?
The solemnity of the Lingxiao Palace was left far behind. Amidst the swirling auspicious clouds, Guanyin Bodhisattva, standing on a lotus platform, caught up with Venus, who was riding on clouds ahead, at a leisurely pace.

"Venus, please wait." Guanyin Bodhisattva's voice remained gentle, her face bearing the same compassionate smile that never changed.

Venus stopped his cloud, turned around and bowed, "Bodhisattva, what brings you here?"

The jade vase in Guanyin Bodhisattva's hand tilted slightly, and three fruits shaped like infants floated in the air, their fragrance refreshing and delightful. Her voice was calm and gentle.

"Some time ago, the ginseng fruit tree at Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain suffered root damage and its vitality was exhausted. Fortunately, it was nourished by the sweet dew in my bottle and was able to regain its vitality. This tree has recently borne six fruits, all of which are of good quality. This humble monk has taken half of them and today I present them to Venus."

A glint flashed in Venus's eyes, but his face remained impassive. With a gentle flick of his wide sleeves, the three incomparably precious ginseng fruits vanished as if they had never existed. He chuckled and said, "The Bodhisattva's compassion extends to all things; even the plants and trees are grateful for his kindness. This old man is unworthy of such praise."

After accepting the gift, Venus's smile deepened, but he subtly changed the subject.
"Bodhisattva, Li Tianwang suffered a crushing defeat at Leopard Head Mountain, losing many soldiers and generals. No matter what we say, he has lost. It is no wonder that the Great Heavenly Venerable is furious. Now, it is only natural that the Great Heavenly Venerable has sent Nezha with troops to Lion Camel Ridge to assist Chen Guangrui."

Having received the benefits, Venus naturally had to say a few words. It wasn't that he didn't want to help cover it up, but the defeat was already out in the open, and no one could hide it anymore. Given the situation, he had no other choice. However, he added...
"The three demons of Lion Camel Ridge, especially the third demon leader, the Golden-Winged Roc, have very deep ties with Buddhism..."

Guanyin Bodhisattva's expression remained unchanged, and her tone was indifferent.
"Venus is overthinking it. Those blue lions and white elephants are merely two disobedient servants of the Venerable Manjushri and Venerable Samantabhadra who sneaked down to the mortal realm to cause trouble. As for the third one,"

She paused, her voice devoid of any emotion, "He's nothing more than a stubborn and unruly fellow. Since he has abandoned the righteous path and fallen into the demonic path, he has nothing to do with my Buddhist sect anymore. It is only right for the Heavenly Court to subdue demons and eliminate evil, and to act on behalf of Heaven. Let him be destroyed, so be it."

"Oh?" Venus stroked his beard, a hint of inquiry in his smile.
"The Bodhisattva truly has a keen eye for right and wrong. However, the Golden-Winged Roc's identity is sensitive, and its magical power is boundless. The Bodhisattva is willing to sacrifice it, but I wonder if the Buddha is?"

He deliberately stopped, waiting for Guanyin to respond.

"Amitabha," Guanyin Bodhisattva chanted, interrupting his probing, a hint of helplessness finally appearing on her face.
"Jin Xing knew that at this moment, the Great Celestial Venerable's gaze was sharp and focused on Lion Camel Ridge. If any Buddhists were to set foot on Lion Camel Ridge at this moment, regardless of the reason, they would be accused of interfering with the Heavenly Court's exorcism of demons, or even harboring demons. This would be openly opposing the Great Celestial Venerable, which was unwise and something the Buddhist sect would never dare to do. They could only... wait and see."

Her voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable air of resignation. Now, whoever in Buddhism takes the lead will be targeted by the Grand Celestial Venerable; what else could she do? She could only hope that the three brothers from Lion Camel Ridge would kill Chen Guangrui.

Venus nodded, seemingly agreeing with the statement, and then slowly added,
“What the Bodhisattva said is absolutely right. The Great Celestial Venerable has truly made up his mind this time. If Lion Camel Ridge is not yet subdued, he will send down the Twenty-Eight Constellations to assist. If the Twenty-Eight Constellations are still not enough, then there will be other helpers. At that time, even if the Golden-Winged Roc has the ability to reach the heavens and the earth, I am afraid that he will be unable to fight against so many hands.”

Upon hearing this, a very faint smile appeared on Guanyin Bodhisattva's lips.

"If the Twenty-Eight Constellations simply come out to help subdue the demon, that's fine, but if they all appear together, then there's absolutely no chance of winning."

A knowing glint flashed in Venus's eyes, and he chuckled.
"The Bodhisattva sees everything. I was overthinking it." He paused, as if mentioning it casually.

"However, in this vast Three Realms, there must be places that are not being closely watched. Lion Camel Ridge has already been targeted, and it is inconvenient for the Buddhist sect to show itself. But in front of the Water Curtain Cave of Flower Fruit Mountain in the Eastern Continent of Victory, isn't Venerable Muzha helping that monkey tend to the immortal fruits and seedlings, and their relationship is quite harmonious? Since there is a fight at Lion Camel Ridge, if the monkey goes there, he wouldn't be considered a member of the Buddhist sect, would he?"

Beneath the Flaming Mountain, heat waves licked the earth like a tangible force, the air twisted and steamed, the sand beneath their feet was scorching hot, and the distant mountains seemed to distort and dance in the fiery red and yellow flames. Chen Guangrui, Huang Fengguai, and Tang Sheng left short shadows on the ground.

Yellow Wind Monster wiped the sweat that had instantly evaporated from his forehead, stared at the boundless sea of ​​fire before him, and said in a rough voice,
"After crossing this mountain, if you keep going forward, you'll reach the territory of Lion Camel Ridge. My goodness, this place is really hot, it's so hot it makes you sweat."

Chen Guangrui nodded, his gaze passing over the raging Flaming Mountain and heading towards the more distant west, towards Lion Camel Ridge. He didn't proceed immediately; instead, he stopped and lightly stamped his foot on the scorching ground.

"Land, come out and speak."

The sound wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable penetrating power. The hot earth beneath their feet churned slightly, and a short, old man dressed in an earth-yellow robe and leaning on a rattan cane emerged—it was the Earth God of Flaming Mountain.

His face was flushed red from the heat, and his forehead was covered in sweat. Upon seeing Chen Guangrui, his small eyes immediately lit up with excitement and anticipation. "This humble god greets the Immortal! Is the Immortal...is the Immortal here to extinguish this wildfire?" His tone was full of hope; clearly, he had been suffering in this scorching heat for far too long and dreamed of escape. And now, his only way out was for Chen Guangrui to put out the fire.

Chen Guangrui shook his head, his tone flat, "No. This wildfire should be allowed to continue burning."

The excitement on the Earth God's face instantly crumbled, replaced by disappointment and frustration. His shoulders slumped, and he muttered softly, "Sigh, we still have to keep burning... When will this hardship end..." He wiped his sweat and sighed repeatedly.

"Land," Chen Guangrui ignored his complaints and asked directly, "Let me ask you about a place. Lion Camel Ridge, how much do you know about it?"

"Lion...Lion Camel Ridge?!" The Earth God shuddered violently.

"You mustn't go there, Immortal! You absolutely mustn't go!"

He instinctively took two steps back, frantically trying to bend down and pick up his cane from the ground.

"Oh, how is it inaccessible?" Chen Guangrui remained calm, but a hint of inquiry appeared in his eyes. "Tell me, what's so scary about that place?"

Yellow Wind Monster frowned, crossing his arms and waiting to hear. Tang Sheng tilted his little head, his dark eyes staring at the frightened Earth God, his little face showing no fear, but rather as if he was preparing to hear an exciting story.

The Earth God finally picked up the rattan cane and gripped it tightly.

"My lord, please heed my advice. Lion Camel Ridge... is no place for humans! It's a demon's lair! A true reflection of hell on earth!"

He swallowed hard. "Those three old demons have been entrenched there for who knows how many years. The first demon, the Green Lion Demon, can swallow 100,000 heavenly soldiers with a single bite—that's no exaggeration! The second demon, the White Elephant Demon, can cause rivers to flow backward and mountains to collapse with a single curl of its trunk! And then there's the third demon, the Golden-Winged Roc, who is even more... even more..."

The Earth God's voice trembled violently, and when he spoke of the Golden-Winged Roc, even the name seemed to carry a chilling aura, making his teeth chatter.

"They are incredibly powerful, but their hearts are extremely vicious. In the Lion Camel Kingdom, there were once millions, even tens of millions of people. Since those three demons came, men, women, children, nobles, peddlers and laborers... they have all been eaten clean! There are hardly any bones left!"

Seeing that Chen Guangrui remained unmoved, the Earth God tried to persuade him one more time.
"If you don't believe me, Immortal, you don't need to go inside Lion Camel Ridge. Just go to the outer perimeter of Lion Camel Ridge and you can see it from a hundred or eighty miles away! What a sight it is!"

He suddenly raised his trembling finger and pointed wildly westward, his face filled with terror.

“There’s a mountain there, a mountain of bones! It’s not a mountain of rocks or earth, it’s a mountain of skulls made up of dead people’s bones.”

The Earth God finished speaking in one breath, as if he had exhausted all his strength. He hunched over and gasped for breath.

“Immortal, you are all highly capable. Please heed my advice and take a detour, the farther the better! That place is not a place for the living! Going there... going there will only add to the woes of Skull Mountain!”

Chen Guangrui didn't care and pointed at the Yellow Wind Monster, "Don't worry, our king is all-powerful. As long as he shows up, those guys from Lion Camel Ridge will have to kneel down to greet him."

The landman looked at Huang Feng and did not deny it, but said, "It would be even better if we could have two decent helpers."

His words made Huang Feng's lips twitch. Just as he was about to retort, a voice suddenly came from afar, "Old man who tends the fire, I'm here!"

(End of this chapter)