199: Great idea

He was burned!

How could anyone believe that a dignified Western Heavenly Vajra, the Growth Heavenly King, leader of the Four Heavenly Kings, was burned by a red-hot sword?

He was no mortal flesh; let alone a thousand degrees Celsius, even ten thousand degrees Celsius wouldn't cause the slightest damage to his skin.

Yet, his palm distinctly felt a temperature hot enough to burn skin.

How was this possible?

Tang Ku, with quick eyes and hands, moved swiftly to snatch the Qingyun Sword. With his Turtle-Snake Two-Phase defense, this temperature couldn't harm him in the slightest. He chuckled as he weighed it in his hand, saying, "If it were ordinary iron, or even a common Sharp Weapon, it would have long since melted into liquid iron or even vaporized. This Qingyun Sword is truly no simple treasure!"

He knew that if the Qingyun Sword, at this temperature, were to fall directly into the human world, it would undoubtedly cause a great disaster, perhaps even penetrating the earth's crust and causing an explosion. So, he casually picked it up.

By now, the Qingyun Sword had recovered somewhat; its temperature was no longer so high, and the red glow on its surface gradually faded. It struggled, trying to escape from Tang Ku's grasp, but Tang Ku's strength was immense. In its current half-dead state, it couldn't break free. The Qingyun Sword whimpered, seemingly crying out to Magician Qing for help.

Magician Qing's mouth twitched, his heart filled with dread for the monk before him.

"Damn it, you're asking me for help? Didn't I always have to ask you for help when I was in trouble before? You've been captured alive by the enemy, how can I save you?"

Magician Qing couldn't help but inwardly grumble. Although he couldn't immediately recall the Qingyun Sword, he had other methods.

"I alone am probably not this monk's match..."

That's right, if you can't beat them, call for backup. If one person can't deal with you, can't four people?

Indeed, the Four Heavenly Kings shared a telepathic connection; one thought here, and his three brothers there would know. And when the four of them cooperated on the battlefield, their combat power wasn't simply multiplied by four, but rather increased exponentially.

Seeing Magician Qing's constipated expression, Tang Ku already guessed what he was doing. He smiled calmly, then casually tossed the Qingyun Sword back to Magician Qing, saying with a laugh, "Alright, here you go... Haha, since all you brothers are heading to Chang'an, why not settle things here?"

Magician Qing caught the Qingyun Sword, muttering to himself, "Does he have another trump card? What is he expecting? Does he not fear all four of us brothers attacking together? Has his magic truly reached such a Realm?"

Tang Ku didn't know what he was thinking, but the air around them pulsed with an even greater pressure.

Immediately after, three massive figures appeared in a semi-encirclement, surrounding him from above.

Tang Ku glanced around, then suddenly chuckled, "Not bad, you arrived quite quickly!"

Indeed, the other three of the Four Heavenly Kings had arrived, appearing in an instant.

The Four Heavenly Kings were of one mind; if one suffered, the other three felt it. They could also transmit information through a form of telepathy, so they didn't even need to speak to communicate.

What was even more formidable was that as long as one's location was known, the other three could instantly teleport within a hundred zhang of that person.

And this was the most troublesome aspect of the Four Heavenly Kings: if you fought one, you were essentially fighting the entire group of Four Heavenly Kings, because they could always be together.

Guangmu Heavenly King Moli Hong, wielding his Fangtian Halberd, with the Hunyuan Pearl Umbrella behind him shining brightly.

Duo Wen Heavenly King Mo Lihai, holding a bright silver spear, his Jade Pipa seemingly resonating with faint music.

Chiguo Heavenly King Mo Lishou, wielding twin maces, with a strange beast howling from his pouch, which must have been his Divine Beast, the Flower Fox Mink.

"As I expected... the Four Heavenly Kings rise and fall together. If you strike one, the other three are bound to appear!"

Tang Ku cracked his knuckles, chuckling.

"Karma Buddha, why do you obstruct my eldest brother's path?"

Among them, Guangmu Heavenly King Moli Hong was most familiar with Tang Seng and his disciples. During the journey to the West, in the Guanyin Temple, it was he who lent Sun Wukong the fire-avoiding cover, thus saving Tang Sanzang's life. It could be said that he had a life-saving grace towards Tang Seng.

"Do these superfluous words still need to be spoken?"

Tang Ku clasped his hands together and said to Guangmu Heavenly King, "Your mission is to uphold the interests of Buddhism, while I, Tang Sanzang, am for the sake of the common people of this city. Since our interests conflict, battle is inevitable, so there's no need for further words... If you wish to fight, I, Tang Sanzang, will face it all!"

Moli Hong sighed, saying helplessly, "Since that is the case, then we brothers will have to offend you..."

With that, he didn't even use his weapon, directly taking out the Hunyuan Umbrella from behind him. The other two, seeing him act, also brought out their Jade Pipa and Flower Fox Mink. Magician Qing, not to be outdone, held his Qingyun Sword, and together they surrounded Tang Ku, positioning themselves at the center of a four-directional Formation.

The four Magic Treasures radiated light, forming a shimmering barrier that enveloped all five of them.

"Four Phases Soul Transformation, all living beings, heed my command!"

Magician Qing no longer spoke to Tang Ku. In fact, at this point, any further words from either side would be a waste of time; it was better to get to work and finish quickly.

So, without a word, they went straight to it, immediately deploying the Four Phases Soul Transformation Formation, which was meant to deal with the entire city of Chang'an.

They knew that pure martial force wouldn't defeat the person before them, as Magician Qing's recent encounter was an example. The other three had clearly seen the tragic defeat of the Qingyun Sword in Magician Qing's memory, so they had no intention of holding back, directly using the Four Phases Soul Transformation Formation, which attacked the Soul, to deal with Tang Ku.

The Magic Treasures of the four of them, Magician Qing's and Mo Lihai's Magic Treasures, were arranged according to earth, water, fire, and wind. In the Daoist tradition, these represented the fundamental elements of a Small World.

On Moli Hong's Hunyuan Pearl Umbrella, various pearls and treasures were strung together to form the four characters "Containing the Universe," representing the endless changes of all things in the world.

And Mo Lishou's Flower Fox Mink was a Divine Beast, representing the living beings of a Small World.

In other words, these four Magic Treasures, concentrated in one place, did not create a dead zone, but rather a living zone, or more precisely, they created a Small World within a certain range!

And within this Small World, the four of them could completely transform it into any form they desired, even controlling the hearts of the people within. This was also why they were confident they could transform all the people of Chang'an into fanatical Buddhist believers.

As the Formation began to operate, Tang Ku immediately felt a wave of dizziness.

"Oh... So, it bypasses the physical body and directly attacks the Soul? Hmm, it's indeed a very good method, and I think, besides that Bodhisattva, no one else could have thought of it... To win without bloodshed, and to uphold the dignity of Buddhism, truly a brilliant move!"