37: Firefighting Operation

The Bull Demon King finally understood Tang Ku’s objective, and he felt that Tang Ku had given him considerable Face.

The Bull Demon King said he would go through fire and water, which was to repay his kindness, after all, the Palm Leaf Fan was of great importance and was Princess Iron Fan’s only Magic Treasure, her identifying symbol.

However, Tang Ku placed their relationship on the basis of equal cooperation, rather than demanding repayment for his favor.

As the only True Buddha in the Three Realms currently, Tang Ku’s actions completely won over the Bull Demon King!

“So what should we do next?”

The Bull Demon King asked.

“Next!”

Tang Ku turned to look at the Flaming Mountain, whose flames were growing higher and higher, and said helplessly, “Next, we still need to put out this fire first!”

The Bull Demon King’s eyes lit up, and he immediately said, “This is easy, with the Palm Leaf Fan in hand, it’s effortless!”

“That’s not what I meant!”

Tang Ku said, “The fire of Flaming Mountain has existed for a long time, and it hasn’t been many years since this fire was extinguished, so why has it become like this again? If this situation reappears in the future, do we have to extinguish it with the Palm Leaf Fan again and again?”

“Is the Holy Monk trying to eradicate the root cause?”

Yang Jian couldn’t help but frown slightly, turning to look at the Bull Demon King and said, “Then we need to know what the root cause of this fire is!”

The Bull Demon King didn’t have time to bother with Yang Jian at the moment. He looked up as if remembering something and said, “Holy Monk wants to eradicate the root cause, that is indeed difficult… because the fire of Flaming Mountain is not ordinary fire, but it is also not as simple as mere Samadhi True Fire…”

With that, the Bull Demon King recounted everything he knew about Flaming Mountain.

It turned out that more than five hundred years ago, when Sun Wukong wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, a brick from the Eight Trigrams Furnace indeed fell here.

This furnace brick, carrying Samadhi True Fire, directly smashed into the mountain, igniting the entire mountain range.

If it were just Samadhi True Fire, it would actually be easy to solve, as there are many capable people in this world who can recover or extinguish Samadhi True Fire.

However, when the Samadhi True Fire fell into the mountain, it burned a large hole through the entire mountain, and the furnace brick continued downwards, directly falling into the underground fire, drawing the power of the underground fire to the surface.

The Samadhi True Fire combined with the power of the underground fire, surprisingly forming a perfect flame closed-loop. Although its temperature was still only at the level of Samadhi True Fire, it could not be completely extinguished. Even the Palm Leaf Fan, which is the bane of all flames, could only treat the symptoms but not the root cause.

“…So, to completely extinguish the fire of Flaming Mountain, one must completely block the vent of the underground fire and cut off its connection with the Samadhi True Fire within the mountain. However, after the underground fire and Samadhi True Fire combined, they became incredibly powerful, and even Divine-Grade powerhouses cannot enter their core. What’s even more terrifying is that this flame can even ignite True Essence Qi and even directly scorch the soul…”

The Bull Demon King said with a bitter smile, “Rakshasa was also kind back then. Originally, her residence was much farther away, but to be able to extinguish the fire at any time, she moved to Cuiyun Mountain. But as for completely extinguishing that flame… neither Rakshasa nor I can do it!”

Tang Ku suddenly pinched his chin, looking in the direction of Flaming Mountain, frowning slightly. After pondering for a moment, he finally nodded slowly: “I have a way… Hmm, you all wait here first, I’ll go explore and then we’ll talk!”

“Master… it’s dangerous!”

Shi Jingmo said, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

“Holy Monk, this matter cannot be taken lightly; you must be cautious!”

Yang Jian glanced at the Bull Demon King, seemingly not trusting him at all.

The Bull Demon King pouted, completely disregarding his attitude.

“Don’t worry, Poor Monk’s luck has always been good, and I will also act within my capabilities. I will absolutely not do anything suicidal. You all just wait here, I’ll be back soon…”

Tang Ku said with a smile.

“Holy Monk, please take the Palm Leaf Fan with you. If…”

The Bull Demon King reached out and handed the Palm Leaf Fan over again.

“I cannot take the Palm Leaf Fan…” Tang Ku looked at the hundreds of feet high flames and said in a deep voice, “My purpose in going is to test how high the temperature of this flame can reach. Don’t worry, I won’t go to the core. When I can’t hold on anymore, I will immediately return…”

With that, he had already soared into the air and flew towards Flaming Mountain.

A mysterious light flickered in the Bull Demon King’s eyes, seemingly quite appreciative of Tang Ku’s actions.

At this moment, Tang Ku had flown to the sky above the edge of Flaming Mountain, and the closer he got, the more he could feel the intense heat, as if it could completely dry him out.

“Let’s try using the Buddhist Dharmakaya…”

Tang Ku mobilized the Buddha Power in his body, and the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body suddenly appeared, then descended downwards. However, as soon as the Golden Body touched the flames, it was immediately ignited, and terrifying flames instantly spread upwards.

The searing pain that was fed back made Tang Ku immediately abandon the idea of using the Golden Body to test, and he quickly retracted it. Without the burning material, the flames naturally disappeared.

“What if… I use the Vajra Zen Skill?”

Swish!

A golden light covered his entire body, turning him into a figure like an Oscar statuette, and the jinlan kasaya surprisingly resonated with his Vajra Zen Skill. A strange energy flowed throughout his body, completely enveloping him.

“This is the first time I’ve activated it with full power… Hmm, I’ll try it first. If it doesn’t work, I’ll escape… However, this protective shield feels very similar to the one that protected me when the Western Buddhist Realm was destroyed back then!”

Tang Ku cautiously descended slowly, and sure enough, this layer of protection worked. The high-temperature flames did not cause any damage at all…

No, it seemed it wasn’t that it caused no damage, but rather that the damage wasn’t enough to injure him.

Moreover, this damage… was judged by the System as an attack!

That’s right, both taking damage and attacking others would earn Iron Fist Points, which means… this flame was a great place to farm Iron Fist Points.

“Where in the world can I find such a good deal…” Tang Ku was overjoyed, almost going crazy. He rapidly rushed into the flames, then rushed out again… Although it didn’t injure him, the sudden increase of 1 whole point in Iron Fist Points made him ecstatic.

Looking back at the intense flames, Tang Ku immediately had an idea in his mind…

Soaring into the air, he flew back to the side of the others. Tang Ku put his palms together and said, “Amitabha, Poor Monk has already tested it and understood. Although these flames can cause me harm, it is negligible, and I can completely withstand it. However… I need to conserve some stamina to isolate the underground fire below, which will require your Palm Leaf Fan… Hmm, I have a plan, let’s discuss it further…”

With that, Tang Ku explained his idea.

“No, this is too dangerous!”

Nezha said anxiously, “I am an Incarnation of Lotus and I often deal with flames, so why don’t you let me go instead!”

Tang Ku, however, smiled and said, “Buddhist disciples have a tradition of sacrificing themselves to feed tigers. As the saying goes, if one does not enter the tiger’s den… ah, Pooh (Ptooey), as the saying goes, ‘If I do not enter Hell, who will enter Hell?’ This kind of life-threatening task is best suited for someone with thick skin and flesh like me!”