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Chapter 244 I saw so many monks!

Xuanzang was not Jin Chanzi?
An eerie silence instantly descended outside the Pipa Cave.

Nezha frowned, his grip on the Fire-Tipped Spear tightening unconsciously. He looked at the Pleiades Star Lord beside him and asked in a low voice,
"Old man, what nonsense is she talking about? Isn't Jin Chanzi the second disciple of Buddha? If this monk isn't the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, then who is he?"

The Pleiades star official's expression was solemn, his eyes filled with doubt and confusion. He shook his head and answered cautiously.
"Third Prince, this matter is strange. Jin Chanzi, who served Buddha, was the reincarnation of the pilgrim Xuanzang from the Tang Dynasty in the East, known throughout the Three Realms. This scorpion demon may have... suffered some kind of shock?"

Black Bear remained in the position of pounding on the door, his burly body suddenly stiffening. The words, "You are not Jin Chanzi," pierced his mind like a cold, poisonous needle. The urgency and anger on his face instantly froze, slowly transforming into an extremely ugly expression.

He seemed to remember something, but didn't say anything.

Sun Wukong, who had been carrying his golden cudgel and watching the spectacle with an air of amusement, now lost his playful grin. His golden eyes darted around quickly, giving Tang Sheng, who was standing beside him, a fleeting glance.

Tang Sheng's face was pale, seemingly frightened by the shrill laughter and the terrifying atmosphere permeating the cave. He instinctively shrank back behind Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong didn't speak, but simply took a half-step, shielding Tang Sheng even more completely.

Chen Guangrui's expression remained calm, as if the earth-shattering accusations were nothing more than a passing breeze. He looked towards the cave entrance and spoke in a steady tone to the frozen black bear,

“Your master is inside. Now that the cave entrance has been broken open, it’s time to knock on the door.” His voice was not loud, but it carried a strange calming power, pulling everyone back from their shock.

The black bear jolted awake, breaking free from his chaotic thoughts, and was about to go up and knock on the door.

Just then, the heavy stone door covered with strange patterns slowly opened from the inside, accompanied by a teeth-grinding creak.

The thick, pungent, and poisonous fog, thick enough to burst through any barrier, surged outwards like a floodgate bursting. From within the fog, a figure staggered out.

It was the female demon queen, transformed from the scorpion demon. She had returned to her appearance as a palace woman, but now her hair was disheveled, her exquisite makeup was smeared by tears, making her look wretched and pitiful. Her once alluring and bewitching eyes were now swollen and red, burning with madness, despair, and deep-seated hatred as she stared intently at the crowd outside the cave.

"It's fake, it's all fake!" she screamed hoarsely, her voice broken and hoarse, as if she were weeping blood.

"I've guarded for three hundred years, waited for three hundred years, only to find out you, you stinking monk, aren't him at all! You're not him! I've been tricked!"

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, then suddenly turned around and grabbed into the cave.

"Get out! Get out of here, you useless piece of trash!"

A figure in a cassock was roughly dragged out of the poisonous fog and thrown out of the cave like a broken sack. It was the unconscious monk Xuanzang.

"Master!" The black bear reacted extremely quickly, its massive body bursting with astonishing speed. It rushed forward in a single stride, opened its arms, and steadily caught Xuanzang in its embrace.

He looked down quickly. Xuanzang's eyes were closed, his face was pale, and although his breathing was weak, it was still even. His robes were a little disheveled, but there were no obvious external injuries. He seemed to be just unconscious. The black bear's tense nerves relaxed slightly, but the scorpion demon's words still lingered in his mind like a venomous snake.

Just as the black bear caught Xuanzang and his mind calmed down slightly, the scorpion demon's venomous gaze, like a cold probe, suddenly swept over the crowd outside the cave. When her gaze passed over Tang Sheng, who was being shielded by Sun Wukong, her swollen red eyes suddenly flashed with a terrifying light.

Suddenly, the scorpion demon's figure transformed into a purple shadow shrouded in a deadly black mist. Her speed was extreme, completely ignoring Sun Wukong and Nezha who were blocking Tang Sheng's way. Her five fingers formed claws, and with a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air and a thick, fishy wind, she rushed straight for Tang Sheng's face! Her desire for that pure yang essence overwhelmed all reason and fear.

"How dare you, you fiend!" Nezha and Sun Wukong shouted almost simultaneously.

Nezha was a little closer, and his Fire-Tipped Spear was already poised to strike. At this moment, it transformed into a crimson lightning bolt that tore through the poisonous mist, stabbing with unparalleled precision at the Scorpion Demon's wrist as it grabbed Tang Sheng. The flames at the tip of the spear burned fiercely, attempting to dispel the chilling poison.

Sun Wukong reacted even faster. The golden cudgel in his hands was like a living thing. He struck first despite being behind, and with the force of a thunderbolt, the shadow of the cudgel was like a mountain. It smashed down on the Scorpion Demon's head. He was truly angry that this demon dared to harm his disciple.

Facing the combined attack of two powerful figures, the scorpion demon's eyes flashed with ferocity, yet she neither dodged nor evaded.

"Anyone who stands in my way will die!"

At this point, the scorpion demon had gone mad. Seeing Tang Sheng seemed to have triggered some kind of nerve, and she didn't care who was trying to stop her.

She let out a sharp cry, her body twisting strangely in mid-air to avoid the sharpest point of the Fire-Tipped Spear, her clothes ripping apart with a "rip".

A colossal, suffocating phantom of a scorpion tail, its entire body covered in a dark, purplish-black hard armor, suddenly appeared behind her! At the end of that tail, a hook-shaped poisonous stinger gleamed with an eerie blue light, powerful enough to make even the most indestructible body tremble! This was none other than her innate divine power, which had shaken the three realms and even the golden body of Buddha!

Facing Sun Wukong's golden cudgel, powerful enough to split mountains and cleave seas, the scorpion demon's scorpion tail stinger neither dodged nor avoided, but instead charged forward with a sinister and cunning aura of poison, like a venomous dragon ready to devour its prey.

"Ding!"

A sharp, piercing clang of metal clashing rang out! The indestructible shaft of the Golden Cudgel collided violently with the scorpion's stinger, which gleamed with a ghostly blue venomous light!
Contrary to expectations, the impact was more like a red-hot iron being plunged into ice water. A visible blue poisonous gas, like a living thing, rapidly spread and corroded along the Golden Cudgel, emitting a terrifying "sizzling" sound. At the same time, a bone-chilling, soul-piercing pain surged from the weapon to Sun Wukong's wrist.

"Hiss!" Even Sun Wukong, with his copper skin and iron bones, and indestructible body, was startled by the strange pain and chilling poisonous gas, and gasped in shock. His arm instantly went numb, and the force of his golden cudgel faltered.

In that split second, the scorpion demon lashed out with her tail, her poisonous stinger drawing an eerie blue arc at an incredible angle, the poisonous gas billowing out as it aimed straight for Nezha's throat! The speed was ghostly, and the poisonous gas enveloped him even before it could fully penetrate.

Nezha felt a pungent, sweet-smelling stench rush to his head, his vision blurred slightly, and his soul momentarily dazed. Knowing that the poison was extremely potent, he dared not take it head-on. His Wind-Fire Wheels spun rapidly, and he retreated explosively. At the same time, his Fire-Tipped Spear danced like a crimson light curtain, desperately blocking the ever-present poison needles.

The Samadhi True Fire on the spear tip collided violently with the eerie blue poisonous gas, producing a crackling sound. The flames dimmed rapidly, showing signs of being suppressed and corroded by the poisonous gas. Nezha felt his arm go numb; the poisonous aura was all-pervasive, causing his blood and qi to stagnate slightly. The Scorpion Demon, fighting two against one, managed to withstand the combined attack of Sun Wukong and Nezha with the strange and domineering power of her Poisonous Stump. Poisonous mist swirled around her as she laughed maliciously and pounced again on Tang Sheng, who was being protected behind Sun Wukong and whose face was pale with fright.

"You wicked child, cease your insolence!"

At this critical moment, the Pleiades Star Lord, who had been on high alert, finally made his move!
He had already discerned the scorpion demon's potent venom, which could not be countered by ordinary means. Suddenly, he took a step forward, his figure seemingly growing taller in an instant. The towering golden pheasant crown on his head suddenly radiated boundless golden light, and a clear, resounding rooster's crow, piercing through the clouds and splitting rocks, containing the ultimate yang and powerful force to dispel evil, burst forth from his throat without warning!

"Ooooooooo!!!"

This crowing was no ordinary chicken call, but the innate divine power of the Pleiades, one of the Twenty-Eight Mansions! The sound, like tangible golden ripples, swept outwards in an instant. Wherever it passed, the dense poisonous fog in the air dissolved and disintegrated rapidly, as if boiling water had been poured over snow! The dizzying, pungent, and foul stench was instantly swept away.

The scorpion demon, bearing the brunt of the attack, seemed to be struck hard by an invisible hammer! Her lunge towards Tang Sheng abruptly halted, her face instantly replaced by boundless horror and pain. That piercing, demonic voice was a natural nemesis for venomous insects like her, like the horn of a nemesis directly striking the very core of her soul!

"Ah!" The scorpion demon let out a shrill, distorted scream, and the swirling poisonous mist around her violently trembled, almost dissipating.

The enormous, terrifying scorpion tail phantom behind her trembled violently, and the luster on its purplish-black carapace dimmed. The deadly poisonous needle seemed to be bound by an invisible force, and its momentum instantly collapsed! She clutched her head, curled up in pain, and her eyes were filled with a bone-deep fear of that cry.

Sun Wukong and Nezha immediately felt the pressure ease, and the excruciating pain and numbness that had been eroding their souls greatly diminished. A fierce glint flashed in Sun Wukong's eyes, and he raised his golden cudgel again, ready to strike. Nezha's fire-tipped spear also reignited its flames.

"That's enough," Chen Guangrui's calm voice rang out.

He didn't look at the scorpion demon struggling in pain; his gaze fell on the black bear holding Xuanzang.

"Black Bear, take your master away from here. Back to the inn." His tone left no room for argument.

Black Bear glanced at his unconscious master in his arms, then at the scorpion demon who was curled up in pain and temporarily out of danger, and finally his gaze swept over Tang Sheng, who was being protected by Sun Wukong and was still in shock.

He moved his throat, as if wanting to say something, but in the end he only gave a deep "hmm," picked up Xuanzang, turned around, and strode towards the inn at the foot of the mountain. The heavy footsteps quickly disappeared among the jagged rocks.

Before the cave entrance, only Chen Guangrui, Sun Wukong, Nezha, the Pleiades Star Lord, and Sun Wukong, who was desperately protecting Tang Sheng, remained. Also present was the Scorpion Demon, groaning in pain and temporarily incapacitated by the lingering power of the Pleiades Star Lord's cries.

The chilly winds of Poisonous Mountain seemed to grow even colder.

The atmosphere in front of the cave became strangely awkward because of the sudden outburst of crying. Nezha frowned, his Fire-Tipped Spear still pointing warily at the Scorpion Demon, but a hint of surprise and confusion flashed in his eyes.

The Pleiades star official's expression was solemn, the golden light on his rooster comb flickering slightly, clearly caught off guard by the situation. Chen Guangrui watched quietly, his eyes deep, his expression unreadable.

Just then, Tang Sheng, who was standing next to Sun Wukong, suddenly turned deathly pale, looking even worse than before. He swayed violently and instinctively reached out to tightly grasp the hem of Sun Wukong's clothes, his voice filled with a dreamlike daze and pain: "Father, Master, my head is so dizzy. I think I see so many bald heads, so many bald heads."

"Bald guy?" Sun Wukong immediately squatted down, supporting the swaying Tang Sheng, his monkey face full of concern and a hint of anxiety.
"Tang Sheng, what did you say? What bald head? Are you feeling unwell?"

As he asked the question, he unhesitatingly channeled his magic power, and a stream of pure, warm demonic energy flowed from his palm into Tang Sheng's body.

However, the magical power that was enough to dispel ordinary evil spirits surged into Tang Sheng's body, but it was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, without causing any ripples. Tang Sheng's body remained cold, and the pain on her little face deepened.

His eyes were tightly closed, his long eyelashes trembling, as if he were enduring some immense mental shock, murmuring intermittently.
"They're monks, so many monks, all glittering with gold... They're chanting sutras, it's so noisy, they're looking at me... Dad, save me..."

Sun Wukong's fiery eyes stared intently at Tang Sheng, trying to see through the abnormality within his body, but he only sensed a chaotic surge of energy, like boiling chaos, and could not discern its source at all.

He increased the flow of his magic power, and even beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but Tang Sheng's condition did not improve at all. On the contrary, his body twitched slightly due to the stimulation of his magic power.

"No!" Sun Wukong abruptly withdrew his hand, his face showing obvious frustration and anxiety for the first time. He scratched his ears and cheeks, appearing somewhat irritable.

"My meager magical power can't suppress it. This thing is extremely evil; its root isn't in the physical body, but rather it seems to be stirring up the soul! I'm at my wit's end!"

He suddenly looked up at Chen Guangrui, his voice urgent, "We have to find my master, my master can save him!"

Upon hearing his words, Chen Guangrui suddenly looked up. Others might not know, but he knew what the monkey's words meant.

The moment Sun Wukong finished speaking, the scorpion demon, who was sitting on the ground wailing, abruptly stopped crying. She quickly lowered her hands from her face, revealing a pair of eyes that were red and swollen from crying.

Her gaze was fixed on Tang Sheng. In that gaze was a tidal wave of shock, and a kind of despair and madness of being utterly mocked by fate.

“It’s him,” the scorpion demon’s voice was hoarse and broken. She pointed at Tang Sheng, her fingertips trembling violently with excitement.
"It's him, it's him! I understand now, I finally understand! He is Jin Chanzi!" Overwhelmed with grief again, she cried out in despair.

The wind in the valley stirred up the lingering poisonous fog and fishy smell. In front of the Pipa Cave, the Scorpion Demon's desperate cries, Tang Sheng's painful groans, Sun Wukong's anxious scratching of his ears and cheeks, and the solemn silence of the crowd intertwined to create a strange and chaotic scene.

The monk Xuanzang was not Jin Chanzi; this little monk Tang Sheng was.
Even if you told the whole story, who would believe it?

(End of this chapter)