21: Live

“There are also half-demons in this world?” Tang Ku asked in surprise.

“The customs of the southwestern nations are different from those of the Great Tang; many men and women exchange roles, and the people of the northern lands do not understand the reason, considering them demons!” Yang Jian said with a wry smile, “So there is this term ‘half-demon’. However, this woman in front of us, whether her soul or body, seems to be a woman. Why does the Holy Monk say she is not a woman?”

Tang Ku smiled and said, “The soul you see might be an illusion, because this woman… is completely a Puppet controlled by the other party from behind. These evil demons don't know where they got such Cultivators; their purpose must be to confuse the public… Hmm, let me guess, your purpose is to go down to the Human Realm to gather intelligence, but you happened to encounter us by Destiny, so you wanted to snatch the credit, but you didn't expect the three of us to be so strong, so you shot yourselves in the foot! Oh, you used this woman’s body, perhaps simply because this body can use the Qiankun Bow!”

The “woman” raised her head in surprise, looking at Tang Ku’s benevolent but increasingly terrifying face, and shivered involuntarily. “You, how could you even guess this? You are not Tang Seng. The Tang Seng I know is not like you. What kind of person are you, Monk? Among the Buddhas of the West, only you escaped. Who exactly are you?”

By the end, she was almost hysterical, but Tang Ku remained unmoved.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, while the name Linglong Zi sounds quite feminine, it is actually a genuine Daoist male title. Aren't you just bringing trouble upon yourself by using such a fake name?”

Tang Ku curled his lip, then pulled down the quiver she was carrying on her back, and threw it to Nezha with a laugh, saying, “Come, since you mentioned Tang Seng, why don’t you tell me what the Tang Seng you know looks like?”

The woman fell silent. She said bitterly, “I admit defeat. State your terms. What exactly do you want?”

“I don’t want anything. Take us to find that Divine Lord you mentioned. I really want to know what the mastermind behind all this looks like!”

Tang Ku turned to Erlang Shen and said, “Erlang Shen, do you have anything in your hand that can tie this fellow up?”

Yang Jian was startled, then smiled bitterly, “All the Magic Treasures in my hand are extremely offensive; I don't have any treasures for tying people!”

Nezha also said helplessly, “If only my Mixed Heaven Ribbon was still here!”

“Is that so!”

Tang Ku thought for a moment, then suddenly pulled off his jinlan kasaya and threw it onto the woman.

It was strange; this item, when on Tang Ku, was a protective treasure, but once thrown out, it could become a Magic Treasure for binding, like a red sack, firmly wrapping the woman within it, leaving only her head exposed.

“Perhaps this is the true purpose of such Magic Treasures: to change endlessly as one wishes!”

Tang Ku thought to himself, then said to the woman, “Let’s go!”

“What, you don’t plan to kill me?”

The woman sneered, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll lead you to your death?”

Tang Ku smiled and said, “Your Divine Lord probably can’t wait for us to find him. Taking us there might even allow you to achieve a great merit. What, are you afraid to go yourself?”

Linglong Zi thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “You’re right. In that case, you all follow me… Hmm, fortunately, even though I’m tied up, I can still fly…”

With that, she flew forward first, but then heard Tang Ku say to Erlang Shen and Nezha behind him, “If this guy dares to play tricks, then kill her. Anyway, the Zhentian Arrow looks quite powerful!”

Linglong Zi stumbled, thinking to herself, “You’re deliberately saying that for me to hear, aren’t you, you damned Monk? When we meet the Divine Lord, every single one of you will die a horrible death!”

“Don’t play tricks. At your flying speed, finding your lair shouldn’t take too much time!”

Tang Ku and the others followed closely, and seeing that she was flying neither fast nor slow, they urged her on.

Linglong Zi was currently pondering how to deal with these three when they met the Divine Lord. She couldn’t help but look back at him and say, “Why the rush? Are you eager to die? Hmph, to tell you the truth, along this mountain range, flying straight north for an incense stick’s time will get us to our residence. I’m just afraid that you’ll get in, but won’t be able to get out!”

“Oh my, you’re quite nice, you even care about us!”

Tang Ku scoffed, “My life and death are not for you to care about. Anyway, we always say, ‘If I don’t go to Hell, who will?’ I’m not afraid of that!”

Linglong Zi muttered to herself, but then saw Yang Jian and Nezha both show expressions of disdain, and she secretly resented them.

How could she know that among the three behind her, two were standard rebels from the Heavenly Court, characters who feared neither Heaven nor Earth? Forget about Dragon pools, tiger dens, mountains of daggers, or seas of fire; even if the Jade Emperor were in power, as long as he displeased them, they would dare to pull him down.

As expected, not long after, they saw bursts of Evil Qi rising from the mountains ahead, almost reaching the sky. However, strangely, within this black Evil Qi, there was also a sacred aura, as if from the gods of the Immortal Realm, which made Tang Ku and the others feel suspicious.

That was clearly authentic Immortal True Qi, no fake!

On the mountain top, a magnificent hall shone brightly, but it was enveloped in Evil Qi, looking strangely awkward.

They descended from the clouds and saw a large group of guards at the entrance, looking at them with fierce, menacing eyes.

Unlike the Puppet Heavenly Soldiers and Generals they had encountered before, these guys seemed to have their own consciousness, and most of them were from the Human Race. However, they had a very strange aura about them, different from the Immortals and gods in the Journey to the West world. Their physical strength was very strong, but the energy contained within their bodies seemed somewhat insufficient, and they also did not Cultivate True Qi in the traditional way.

The feeling they gave off… was of being strong on the outside but weak on the inside!

They wore full-metal armor, and the weapons they held were surprisingly high-tech firearms, while long blades hung from their waists, looking quite incongruous.

Yang Jian and Nezha were unfamiliar with their equipment, but Tang Ku understood that these guys were probably suicide squad members recruited from that strange world. However, their combat power was not very strong; apart from their strength being at 6 points, all their other physical indices were between 3 and 5 points, even less than ordinary Immortal Soldiers!

“Miso, you’re useless for mocking me!”

The woman looked back at the Monk, then said, “If you’ve got the guts, go and have a few rounds with them? If you can survive their fists, I’ll kowtow to you every time I see you from now on!”