bookbashuk Chapter 73 Bird Fighting
Chapter 73 Bird Fighting
"They are waiting for their rightful owner."
Lu Shusheng held the iron fan to his chest, his hand trembling slightly.
Sure enough, the monkey troop parted in the middle to make a path, and the golden-winged bird slowly strolled out with measured steps.
His robe billowed in the night wind, and his amber-colored carved eyes swept over the four men before finally settling on Song Quyou. He spoke solemnly and sternly:
"Your skill is truly remarkable. You wounded my owl as easily as plucking flowers and leaves."
However, out of compassion, this humble monk knows that the Celestial Court of the Central Heaven is closed, the path to immortality is severed, and it is difficult to attain immortality.
Today, I intend to guide the spirits of Zhongtian to enter my Western Religion and attain enlightenment. I wonder if they would be willing to become my disciples and serve as my page?
Seeing that the bird knew so much about the sky, Song Quyou thought he should ask it more questions.
"I have heard that even Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the Western Paradise must undergo reincarnation and eons. How can I, a mere novice, escape reincarnation and attain immortality?"
"Donor, you may not know that those Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who reincarnate do so because the Dharma is insufficient, and thus they have to reincarnate."
My Buddha and all those who sit before him possess boundless Dharma power and need not be subject to reincarnation.
Now, our Buddha intends to spread his teachings in the Central Heaven. If you are willing to take refuge and attain enlightenment, you may live forever in the Central Heaven and even sit on a lotus flower.
Furthermore, this humble monk has read your Zhongtian Immortal Scripture, which is full of tedious practices involving self-discipline, seeking truth from the heart, gathering herbs and condensing elixirs. One wrong step can lead to death and the dissipation of one's cultivation.
But my method in the Western Paradise is different. You only need to sit on the lotus and watch the lowly people on the ground kowtow and offer incense.
Keep some evil demons around you on ordinary days, and release them every few years to devour the lowly people. Once they've had their fill, then subdue them. Repeat this process, and the lowly people will only become more compliant and have no will to resist.
Upon hearing the name of the Immortal Codex, Song Quyou gripped his longsword tightly:
"If I were to join your esteemed sect, would I be permitted to peruse your sacred scriptures?"
The golden-winged bird pondered for a moment: "That immortal scripture is currently on Mount Ling, and it is forbidden for anyone who is not a Buddhist disciple to read it. However, if you convert to our sect and perform great deeds in spreading the teachings, you may be able to have a look at it."
"In that case, how is your experience at the Western Paradise?"
"This humble monk belongs to the Garuda clan of the Eight Classes of Deities. I have not attained Buddhahood, but I am a guardian deity. I am related to the Buddha and hold a noble position in Western Buddhism, far surpassing that of ordinary Buddhas and Bodhisattvas."
Upon hearing this, Song Quyou slightly raised his bamboo hat, his eyes remaining calm.
"But I have read in the classics that Garuda feeds on dragons, cries out sadly, and has a human body, a bird's head, and wings on its back, with golden light swirling around its body."
Yet you devour monkey brains, command demonic birds, and chant false scriptures while draped in a cassock. Your stench is so strong that even the mountain breeze cannot dispel it. What's even more ridiculous is that you are clearly a large bird draped in a cassock, bearing no resemblance to Garuda except for your wings.
"You've made a mistake in claiming kinship with me, haven't you?"
The golden-winged bird choked on these words, its amber eyes flashing with ferocity, its robes fluttering without wind, and a murky black mist rising from its body.
Startled by the black mist, tens of thousands of monkeys raised their heads and howled in unison, their cries as mournful as the wailing of ten thousand ghosts, causing rocks to tumble down the cliff face.
Having its weaknesses exposed, the golden-winged bird's voice was no longer as pretentious, gentle, and patient as before; instead, it became sharp and piercing.
"What a sharp-tongued, eccentric Taoist priest."
"Since you know the name Garuda, you should know that the Eight Legions are not something a mortal like you can afford to offend."
Claiming kinship? ...
"Although my bloodline is somewhat mixed, I still possess the main lineage of Garuda. If it weren't for the Western Buddhist decree ordering me to gather wild beasts and demons in these deep mountains, waiting for the right moment to devour a few of you Central Plains cultivators, even the Heavenly King himself wouldn't care!"
As soon as it finished speaking, it spread its wings, which were three zhang wide, with the feathers at the tips standing up and gleaming with a dark golden light.
As if given a command, the monkey troop behind them pounced on the four of them like madmen, their fangs bared and claws outstretched. The monkeys, covering the entire mountainside, formed a dark, overwhelming tide that seemed about to engulf the four of them.
Song Quyou stood with his sword in hand, turned to the three of them and said, "The demons and monsters belong to me; all you need to do is survive."
Upon hearing the sound, the talisman patterns on Lu Shusheng's iron fan lit up one by one, and the golden light spread out like ripples. Dozens of monkeys at the forefront were swept by the golden light, squeaked and flew backward, knocking over the monkey troop that surged up behind them.
"Rest assured, Taoist priest."
Liu Youxia and Wang Tufu each guarded the left and right sides.
The goose-feather saber flew like snowflakes, and the bone-chopping knife was swung so fast that it seemed to leave no trace. Every strike landed precisely on the monkey's shoulder, back, and chest.
In an instant, blood splattered and droplets flew everywhere.
With their combined efforts, the three of them stood firm like a reef, unyielding against the tidal wave of monkeys.
Tens of thousands of monkeys, shoulder to shoulder, pounced on the three of them.
More and more monkey carcasses appeared on the cliff edge, their blood soaking the rubble and flowing down into the abyss through the cracks, gradually piling up into a hairy mountain of flesh.
……
Song Quyou, who was standing at the very front, had disappeared from sight, but a Taoist priest was now leaping on the crest of the Monkey Sea.
Monkey Sea wanted to take a picture of the Taoist, but the Taoist was agile, leaping like an antelope, making him difficult to catch or pull.
In the blink of an eye, the Taoist priest had already stepped onto the monkey's back and darted to the front of the golden-winged bird.
A bluish rainbow suddenly appeared.
With a flap of its wings, the golden-winged bird sent its feathers flying like knives, clattering against the sword light and sending sparks flying.
It soared into the air, its body enveloped in swirling black mist, and emitted a sharp, long howl that was piercing and lingering, sending shivers down one's spine.
Song Quyou suppressed his shrill scream and forced out the word "forbidden".
The golden-winged bird immediately shut its mouth, but when Song Quyou landed, his feet lost their footing, and the monkey sea was a foot shorter than he had estimated.
The monkeys that hadn't managed to dodge in time had been shaken by the shriek, their eyes bloodshot and they collapsed to the ground, their fate unknown.
Song Quyou stomped his foot and leaped up, his sword strikes growing stronger. He twisted in mid-air, his azure sword piercing straight into the chest and abdomen of the golden-winged bird.
The large bird swept its wings, stirring up a foul wind that made Song Quyou sway in mid-air, forcing him to sheathe his sword and change his move.
At that moment, a monkey with sharp teeth and a fierce expression pounced from the ground.
Song Quyou was unable to change direction and dodge in mid-air, but heard him say softly:
"wind!"
A sudden gust of wind arose, and the monkey that pounced was swept up by the wind and lost its balance in mid-air.
As for Song Quyou, his sleeves fluttered in the air, and he fell as lightly as a falling leaf.
Although several monkeys missed their target, the remaining monkeys persisted, leaping back up and attacking again, their fangs bared and saliva dripping from their mouths, determined to taste what Song Quyou's flesh and blood were like.
Song Quyou frowned slightly. With his sword, he thrust, slashed, flicked, and hacked. The four frenzied monkeys instantly went limp and fell into the sea of monkeys at his feet, where they were trampled by thousands of monkeys and could no longer show their faces.
But the troop of monkeys was so large that after four were killed, even more monkeys came to fill the gaps, layer upon layer, like maggots clinging to bones.
The golden-winged bird hovered in mid-air, its sharp cries suppressed, yet a hint of mockery flashed in its amber-colored eyes.
It flapped its wings suddenly, and the feathers at the tips of its wings stood up one by one. Dozens of feathers flew out of its wings like flying knives, wrapped in black mist, and shot towards Song Quyou.
Song Quyou's sword energy surged, and a blue rainbow wove a sword net in front of him, slicing down all the flying feathers with a clang.
But the force attached to each feather was astonishing, making his hands go numb and his body sink down involuntarily.
After blocking the flying feather, the monkey pounced again.
Sword energy surged from Song Quyou's body, spreading and surging in all directions around his body.
Bloodstains suddenly appeared on the bodies of the monkeys that rushed from all directions, and they flew backward with screams of pain.
The sea of monkeys beneath their feet was cleared by the sword energy, creating a gap.
But the gap only lasted for a moment before it was quickly filled by more monkeys.
But this last breath is enough.
Song Quyou stomped heavily on the back of the oblivious monkey, his body rising several feet higher. Sword energy shot into the sky with his body, a blue rainbow piercing the air, directly stabbing at the golden-winged bird hanging in mid-air.
The golden-winged bird, instead of dodging, met the attack head-on. With a spread of its wings, the black mist around its body condensed into a giant phantom claw, which slashed down at the azure rainbow.
boom!
The sword energy collided with the bird claw phantom, and the strong wind scattered, causing the monkey sea beneath their feet to be swept away, with dozens of monkeys screaming and rolling around.
Song Quyou felt a violent tremor in his tiger's mouth. Although the bird claw phantom was pierced by the sword energy, its momentum did not diminish, and it slammed heavily into his chest.
Song Quyou only had time to turn sideways to deflect the force, but he was still sent flying.
It did two somersaults in mid-air, and when it landed, it touched several monkey heads with its toes before it could regain its balance.
Song Quyou steadied himself and felt a surge of blood rushing to his throat. He swallowed the sweet taste back down his throat.
Song Quyou raised his hand to wipe the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, staring at the golden-winged bird in the sky and said:
I underestimated you.
The golden-winged bird hovered in mid-air, its sharp eyes filled with disdain, and its sharp, hooked beak finally opened:
"I have cultivated for four hundred years, and have swallowed the remains of eminent monks and at least eight or ten out-of-control dragons. You, a wild Taoist priest, are barely twenty years old, yet you dare to act so arrogantly in front of me!"
Song Quyou, his white teeth stained with blood, laughed mockingly:
"You're nothing but a scruffy bird, a lowly, feathered beast in the Western Paradise, yet you dare to boast about yourself."
The golden-winged bird was thoroughly enraged by the words "miscellaneous bird." Its amber-carved eyes suddenly became bloodshot, and the black mist around its body surged like boiling water. Its robe was stretched to shreds, revealing the dark, cracked feathers underneath.
It raised its head and let out a furious roar that seemed to shatter rocks and thunder, the sound waves crashing down on Song Quyou as if they were real.
Song Quyou swung his sword horizontally, and a blue arc drew a crescent moon in front of him, splitting the howling air wave in the middle.
A tearing sound grazed past their ears, and dozens of monkeys in the monkey sea behind them were shaken so badly by the aftershock that they bled from all seven orifices and collapsed limply.
With a flick of his sleeve, Song Quyou tossed out stacks of paper cranes, which drifted haphazardly through the night sky.
But as Song Quyou exhaled a breath of fresh air, the paper cranes slowly flapped their wings and flew everywhere.
"You flamingo can't do anything to me."
Song Quyou smiled nonchalantly and silently activated the Wind-Borrowing Technique.
In an instant, a gust of wind burst forth with sonic waves, transforming into a white streak that soared through the air like a dragon.
The paper cranes made from the purification talismans transformed into countless firebirds at that moment, all plunging into the white ribbon that pierced through the sky, turning it crimson.
A crimson dragon soared through the sky, chasing after the golden-winged bird.
The large bird flapped its wings violently, its body rising several feet high. The crimson fire dragon grazed its claws, burning off a patch of its tail feathers.
This fire specifically burns away evil and filth. When the golden-winged bird saw its tail feathers ignited, the burning feathers instantly fell off and, like arrows, pierced towards Song Quyou, who was weaving through the monkey sea.
Song Quyou flicked his sword lightly, and the arrow went astray, piercing several monkeys before losing its momentum.
Before the golden-winged bird could even feel smug upon seeing Song Quyou's disheveled state, the crimson dragon twisted and turned back in mid-air, chasing and tearing at it like a living creature.
……
Lu Shusheng stood on the edge of the cliff, fanning himself wildly with his iron fan. Golden light rippled outwards in circles, forcing the monkeys in front of him back several feet. His face was as pale as paper, and his forehead was covered with beads of sweat, clearly indicating that his true energy was nearing exhaustion.
Liu Youxia and Wang Tufu stood to his left and right respectively.
Liu Youxia's goose-feather saber was chipped and covered in monkey blood, so sticky that it was almost impossible to hold the hilt.
Butcher Wang fared even worse; a monkey bit his left arm, tearing off a piece of flesh, and blood flowed down his elbow, but he was completely unaware, still wielding his cleaver with a whooshing sound.
Lu Shusheng knew that he could only survive if the Taoist priest in the distance won.
But at this moment, although the golden-winged bird was being suppressed, it was finding it difficult to hold on.
Standing on the monkey carcass beneath his feet, Lu Shusheng watched the endless stream of hairy monkeys approaching and said to the two people behind him:
"I need to use a magical artifact to help the Taoist priest subdue that demon as soon as possible. I hope you two can protect me."
At this moment, the three of them, having shared life and death, were already one.
Exhausted, Butcher Wang and Wandering Swordsman Liu had no energy to say anything more, only shouting, "Good!"
Scholar Lu stepped back, took out a net bag woven with red rope from his pocket, and read aloud:
"Heavenly Net God, Earthly Net God, Great General of Copper Net and Iron Net..."
As Lu Shusheng chanted his incantation, the red rope net flew out of his hand and swelled in the wind.
In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a gigantic net that blotted out the sky, with dark golden runes flowing along each red rope, descending upon the golden-winged bird.
The golden-winged bird was being chased by the crimson fire dragon and was struggling to stay afloat when suddenly the net above its head darkened, binding it tightly with its wings and claws.
The red rope touched the black mist around it, hissing and burning out wisps of white smoke. It screamed in pain and fell straight down from mid-air, crashing into the sea of monkeys and crushing seven or eight monkeys that couldn't dodge in time.
"Master, now is the time."
Song Quyou rushed through the monkey tide, his robe soaked with blood.
He had been staring intently at the golden-winged bird when he saw the large net suddenly appear and trap it.
The crimson fire dragon, which had been soaring and darting through the air, suddenly fell to earth like a celestial fire, biting down on the throat of the golden-winged bird that was bound by a net.
boom!
The flames and black mist collided, and the golden-winged bird let out an extremely shrill cry. The black mist around it was burned away inch by inch by the purification talisman fire, revealing the cracked and withered feathers underneath.
The red rope net tightened more and more, the flowing runes of the silk threads digging into the flesh, burning crisscrossing scorch marks, and black, sizzling liquid gushed out from between the mesh, emitting a pungent, fishy stench.
The golden-winged bird struggled frantically in the net, flapping its wings desperately. Suddenly, Lu Shusheng, who was standing on the cliff, bled from all seven orifices, and the net transformed into a golden light and fell back into his hands.
Song Quyou, of course, would not let such an opportunity slip away. The long sword in his hand shone with a blue light, vibrating and whistling, and soared into the air as Song Quyou flew through the sea of monkeys.
He slashed fiercely at the golden-winged bird that was about to spread its wings and take flight.
A streak of blue light flashed across the sky, and the fiery golden-winged bird's gaze suddenly froze.
Its gaze suddenly lowered, landing on the sea of monkeys.
With the death of the golden-winged bird, tens of thousands of monkeys were momentarily stunned.
The monkeys, who had just been baring their fangs and attacking wildly, seemed to have regained their senses. The fierce green light in their eyes faded, replaced by confusion, fear, and the realization that fear was real.
Russian.
The monkey troop scattered in all directions, squeaking and screaming as they fled into the depths of the forest.
They vanished as quickly as the tide receded, leaving behind only the corpses of monkeys scattered across the cliff and a trickle of blood like a stream.