Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

Following behind were creatures of different shapes, one with the head of a crow but the body of a human, and another that was a red fox.

"I say, Old Man Huang, are you sure there's divine fate here? All I see is utter shabbiness. Could such a place hold divine fate?" the crow spoke in a hoarse voice, complaining to the old man leading the way.

"What do you know? I can see it clearly, that little guy is absolutely a heaven-sent treasure, and if we eat him, our cultivation strength will greatly increase," Old Man Huang said with displeasure.

"If it weren't for the fact that we've cultivated together for so long, how could you lot even have a shot at such good fortune?"

Three little demons walked into the room, and the first thing they saw was Liu Yanchang who had fallen into a deep sleep.

"What a handsome man!" the red fox spoke in human tongue, its voice hoarse yet imbued with a seductive power.

"You lecherous fox, can't you take your eyes off a man? Do you want to take him back to be your bandit lord?" The crow-headed creature let out an unpleasant laugh.

"Hmph, such a handsome man mustn't be let go, but what's it to you, you ugly freak?" The red fox's fur bristled, and it bared its teeth as it spoke.

"What's all the noise about, do you want to wake up everyone in the village and get us thrown out?" Old Man Huang said sternly.

At this moment, he was extremely cautious, constantly looking around. If he weren't afraid of accidents, he wouldn't want to share this treasure with these two fools; he had already made up his mind that if an accident did occur, he would push these two idiots out to take the fall.

As the three conversed, they saw Xiao Chenxiang lying on the bed, sound asleep; their eyes immediately lit up. They knew Chenxiang was the son of Human Gods, with the world's most noble blood flowing in his veins; even just half of it still held magical effects.

For demons, an existence like Chenxiang was simply the rarest miraculous pill, and just one glance made it impossible to look away, as drool flowed continuously from the corners of their mouths.

"My goodness, a truly supreme treasure, I can even smell that tempting fragrance," the crow murmured to itself.

The red fox was also staring blankly, fixated on Chenxiang, while only Old Man Huang remained vigilant, looking around. He didn't believe such a treasure would be left unguarded.

"What are we waiting for, eat him!" The crow's eyes shone with a red glow, impatiently saying.

The red fox leaped onto the bed in a flash, opened its mouth, and bit towards Chenxiang's little head, but at this critical moment, a dazzling light suddenly shone from Chenxiang's body.

A phantom Lotus Treasure Lantern appeared, its light shining on the red fox. Suddenly, flames began to envelop her, and a scream echoed.

The red fox couldn't resist at all, and was burnt to ashes in a short space of time, leaving the crow and Old Man Huang staring dumbfounded.

"Old Man Huang, what's that thing?" the crow asked in a deep voice, the strange power of the eerie flames that burst forth terrifying the little demon.

"I don't know, it must be a very powerful Magical Treasure. Luckily, the kid is still young and doesn't know how to use it, otherwise we'd both be dead today," Old Man Huang said seriously.

At the same time, he was muttering to himself, feeling fortunate that he had been extra cautious, otherwise, it would have been himself being burnt to death.

As they were talking, Xiao Chenxiang suddenly opened his eyes and showed a naive and innocent smile at the two frightful-looking demons in front of him. However, this smile appeared terrifying in the eyes of the two demons, as if this little creature had seen through everything about them.

Already scared out of their wits, the two creatures took to their heels and ran without daring to look back even once.

Not long after the two had run off, Liu Yanchang awoke from his deep sleep, muttering to himself in confusion, "What just happened? Why am I so exhausted? It seems like I heard some kind of sound in my haze."

Having said this, the still somewhat muddled Liu Yanchang leaped out of bed to check on Xiao Chenxiang, and not until he saw the child safe and sound, sleeping sweetly, did he pat his own chest in utter relief, whispering to himself, "I must be overreacting. Who would go out of their way to harm such a child?"

Little did he know that a Demon had previously sneaked into his room, and if it wasn't for the Lotus Treasure Lantern left in Chenxiang's body by the Third Holy Mother, the child would have met with disaster.

As for the two Little Demons who had been scared out of their wits, they ran headlessly through the dense forest until they could go no further and then collapsed to the ground.

"My goodness, there's no such thing as a free lunch. This treasure certainly isn't easy to partake of," Old Man Huang said, dripping with sweat and gasping for air as he wiped the beads of perspiration from his brow.

"I shouldn't have, I must survive a little longer," the Crow said, also frightened, as it was almost, just a tiny bit close. If it hadn't been for that red fox rushing forward, it would have been the Crow who charged up and been burned to death by the flames. Just thinking about it filled him with immense fear.

At the same time, he shot Old Man Huang a fierce glare, fully aware now that it was this old trickster who, fearful of taking risks himself, let the two of them take the fall.

"Tell me, you sly old fox, why were you so generous? Encountering such a treasure and still willing to share with us, turns out you wanted to use us as your shield; you play a good game indeed," the Crow said with a sinister sneer.

Gently stroking his beard, Old Man Huang replied, "The treasure was my discovery. Thinking you could get a share of it without lifting a finger is utterly fanciful."

Just as the two were about to come to blows, a gust of wild wind swept in, and the enormous turbulence made it impossible for the two Little Demons to keep their footing.

After the violent wind passed, a Demon with a green face and sharp fangs appeared beside them. Its tall and sturdy figure, terrifying bloody aura, and a face fearsome enough to make anyone cower—all heralded the Demon's formidable power.

The moment Old Man Huang and the Crow saw the Demon, their bodies involuntarily went limp from the absolute suppression of strength; they were like meat on a chopping board, utterly incapable of resistance.

"What kind of treasure did you just mention?" the Demon inquired.

The two Little Demons hastily recounted the entire incident, hoping that the Demon, upon hearing about such a treasure, would immediately rush to the thatched hut and devour the little one clean. To their surprise, the Demon instead revealed a trace of a smile, "So it is indeed the Precious Lotus Lantern. My guess was correct—she indeed left that Treasure within her son's body."

It turned out the Demon was originally sealed within Mountain Hua, but due to the Transcendence of All Saints, the seal had loosened. Therefore, the Third Holy Mother descended to the mortal realm to reinforce the seal. Unexpectedly, she developed worldly affections, married Liu Yanchang, and resealed the Demon with the power of the Precious Lotus Lantern. However, due to the weakened state from childbirth, a sliver of the Demon's divine sense escaped from Mountain Hua, taking possession of a mountain grotesque.

Now, to achieve freedom, the Demon was preparing to seize the Precious Lotus Lantern. Once in possession of it, he would be able to break the seal and return to freedom.

But the Lotus Treasure Lantern was hidden within Chenxiang's body. If it were forcibly taken out, with the Treasure's protective power, the Lotus Treasure Lantern might unleash its strongest force. With the Demon's current power, he could not contend with it, so he needed a detailed plan to deceive Chenxiang into removing the Lotus Treasure Lantern from his own body.

"Do you want to live or die?" the Demon asked with a wicked smile, his powerful presence crushing down on Old Man Huang and the Crow, making the two Little Demons feel as though they were about to be flattened.

"We want to live, we want to live, Great King, please spare us!" the two Little Demons immediately kowtowed for mercy, hoping the Demon would spare their lives.

"If you want to live, you'll have to work for this Great King."

"Of course, whatever you command, Great King, we'll do, even if it means crushing our bodies to dust," Old Man Huang said with a fawning smile.

He was no fool; from the Demon's words, he had already discerned that there was something the Demon wanted them to accomplish, so he promptly pledged his loyalty.