7: Chapter 7 Burning Down the Zen Temple (Part 4)

Ao Lie's gaze turned dark. Though his Realm and magic power were relatively weak, he had far too many tricks. At this moment, his eyes darted around.

Recalling the events of the original work, Ao Lie immediately had a clever plan. He crouched down, placed his hands on the Monkey King's shoulders, and whispered something.

After hearing it, the Monkey King cheered repeatedly, shouting, "Let's do it that way!"

...

Near noon, the sun blasted scorching light, baking the earth until it cracked. The lush, green trees swayed, their fragmented shadows dancing as they fell upon the ground.

The two Senior and Junior Brothers stood outside the cave until the sun was high in the sky, yet the Black Bear Spirit showed no sign of appearing.

The Furry Monkey was the first to lose patience. He flicked his sleeves, waved his hand, and spoke to his Junior Brother, Ao Lie.

"Junior Brother, you stay here and keep watch. I'll head back first to see Master and discuss the matter of the kasaya."

"Do not be afraid. Even though your cultivation is only at the Earth Immortal level and you cannot defeat this demon, don't forget that your Senior Brother can travel 108,000 li in a single somersault. I'll fly back to save you in the blink of an eye."

"Old Sun takes his leave!"

With that, the monkey kicked off with one leg and, stepping onto the Somersault Cloud, vanished into the clouds.

After the Furry Monkey left, Ao Lie showed no fear at all and continued to shout insults loudly.

It was as if he would continue to harass the place as long as the Black Bear Spirit did not come out.

Seeing this, a small demon stationed at the entrance of Heifeng Cave rolled its eyes, transformed into a gust of clear wind, and flew into the cave.

"Great King, Great King! Good news! Wonderful news!"

After flying into the cave, the small demon immediately knelt outside the Black Bear Spirit's bedroom door and shouted excitedly.

The Black Bear Spirit was currently admiring his "kasaya." Hearing the shouting, he couldn't help but curse.

"Halt!"

"I've already said I'm unwell and it's not suitable for me to fight. All of you, back off. I will fight again tomorrow!"

The small demon did not give up and continued.

"Great King, you are heroic and peerless. This time, you will surely win the duel against that Dragon-man."

The Black Bear Spirit pressed, "How so?"

The small demon smiled.

"Great King, that Furry Monkey with the Thunder-god's beak and profound magic power has left! He said he was going to see some Master!"

"Now there's only a mere Earth Immortal Realm Dragon-man outside. With your heaven-reaching abilities, Great King, you can surely kill that Dragon-man on the spot or even capture him alive."

The Black Bear Spirit was very skeptical, looking at the wind demon before him with an unbelieving gaze.

Immediately, he activated his Inner Core, poured magic power into his eyeballs, and opened his Black Eyes to investigate.

Then, his lips slowly curled into a grin, and the suppressed anger and frustration in his heart erupted at that moment.

"It really is so! My Black Bear Treasure Eyes, which can accurately locate treasures within twenty li, tell me that the Furry Monkey is nowhere to be found within a twenty-li radius."

The Black Bear Spirit took out his armor but was in no rush. To be safe, he decided to wait until nightfall to go out and check.

Before that, he decided to hold a longevity feast inside the cave. Instead of inviting friends from all over, he would celebrate with the small demons.

Hearing this, the hundreds of small demons in the cave cheered with excitement and began to get busy.

Some scrubbed pots, some washed vegetables, and some simply danced and sang joyfully, waiting for everything to be ready before sitting down for the feast.

...

The longevity feast lasted until midnight. After the demons had eaten and drunk their fill, they all returned to their bedrooms within the cave.

The Black Bear Spirit sat tall on the throne in the main hall, his gaze deep as he looked toward the cave entrance.

Those Black Bear Treasure Eyes were flashing with black light, scanning outside the cave without pause, eliminating any possibility of a mistake.

In the main hall, besides two of the Black Bear Spirit's confidants, there were only a dozen or so Little Flower Spirits cleaning up the remains of the feast.

The confidant on the left was a Leopard Demon with only five hundred years of cultivation, barely reaching the Human Immortal Realm.

At this time, he offered a suggestion: "That thousand-year-old Dragon-man outside is only at the Late Stage of the Earth Immortal Realm, so I suggest the Great King can simply don his armor and go into battle."

The Rhino Demon on the right had profound cultivation, also a thousand years old and at the Late Stage of the Earth Immortal Realm. After some thought, he said to the Black Bear Spirit.

"You mustn't! What if that monkey head is just outside? Wouldn't that put the Great King in danger?"

The Black Bear Spirit waved his hand.

"No, my innate Treasure Eyes tell me that there is indeed only him outside."

Hearing this, the Rhino Demon took a deep breath, his eyes sparkling.

He knelt on the ground and said to the Black Bear Spirit.

"Great King, my cultivation is sufficient. I am willing to share your burdens!"

"Let me go out and meet this reckless Dragon-man!"

The Black Bear Spirit laughed loudly.

"Good, good, good! Then I appoint you as the Grand Marshal of Armor. Go quickly and take that Dragon-man's head and bring it to me!"

The Leopard Demon also cupped his hands.

"I wish Brother Rhino a triumphant return!"

The Rhino nodded, held a five-inch short blade in each hand, and turned to exit the cave.

...

Outside the cave, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

Ao Lie stood outside, picking his ear with his pinky, cursing the cowering Black Bear Spirit inside the cave.

Suddenly, the cave door opened. Ao Lie's brow furrowed instantly, and he retreated several yards.

Seeing this, the Rhino Demon laughed loudly, mocking Ao Lie's outward bravado but inner weakness.

Then, seeing that Ao Lie ignored him, he flew into a rage. Holding his short blades, he charged straight forward, shouting.

"Dragon-man! Take this!"

Ao Lie took a hit and spat out a bit of blood, but he didn't counter. He turned and ran, leaving Black Wind Mountain in an instant.

The Rhino Demon thought Ao Lie was vulnerable and chased after him with a wild laugh.

After fleeing for about twenty li, Ao Lie suddenly stopped.

The Rhino Demon thought Ao Lie couldn't go on and simply laughed wildly as he revealed his true form.

Suddenly, a massive rhino, as large as a palace, appeared before Ao Lie. In its eyes, Ao Lie was like a beetle.

The giant rhino raised its front feet, which were as large as a bedroom, and slammed them down toward Ao Lie.

"Die! Watch me crush you, you earthworm!"

Just as he thought he had won for sure, he suddenly heard a wild laugh in his ear, accompanied by a poem.

"Newly arrived, my heart was in a daze.

True Dragon blood flows through my heart's chamber.

Evil ways block my path.

Shadows accompany two lines of tears!"

The poem ended! Ao Lie struck out boldly.

He let out a roar, and the pearl under his neck flashed with a strange light. Instantly, he was covered in a white substance.

His forty-meter Jade Dragon true form appeared!

The Jade Dragon opened its bloody maw, bypassed the rhino's heavy stomp, and bit toward its neck.

Seeing the rhino about to dodge, the Jade Dragon's belly surged, and a dragon's roar rang out.

"Arise!"

Instantly, that twenty-meter Black-scaled Great Snake opened its mouth, flicked its tongue, and coiled around the rhino's body.

The eight-meter Grey Wolf also circled to the back and bit into two chunks of haunch flesh, making the rhino howl in pain.

The Rhino Demon was shocked to his core. He couldn't imagine how these two Earth Immortal Realm demons had appeared so silently.

With this obstruction, the rhino could not move. Its iron-skinned neck was exposed, and Ao Lie's true form successfully bit down with its great maw.

A dragon's teeth are like iron and copper. With a crunch, the rhino's neck became like a rose plucked from the soil, a mess of blood red.

"Great King, I..."

The rhino died with its eyes open, unwilling to die.

...

Heavy rain fell, washing away the blood at the scene. Even the bits of flesh on Ao Lie's iron teeth were washed clean.

Ao Lie turned back into his human form, flanked by the Great Snake and the Grey Wolf. Then, he looked down at the Rhino Demon's corpse and whispered.

"Arise!"

Subsequently, that twenty-meter-tall rhino, with a body nearly the size of a small mountain, slowly appeared, its entire body emitting black special effects similar to flames.

Ao Lie watched, then gently waved his hand, causing the Shadow Rhino to dissipate.

...

As of today, Ao Lie truly had three shadows with combat capability.

One was the Shadow Black-scaled Great Snake.

One was the Shadow Grey Wolf.

And one was the Shadow Giant Rhino.