We bear people have power

Birds have vanished from the mountains, and human tracks have disappeared from the paths. This desolate scene stretches for miles, all because of the gathering of demonic energy within the Lion Camel Kingdom.

To the east, a towering mountain pierces the azure sky, blocking the sun and making the place appear eerie year after year.

The Lion Camel Ridge stretches for eight hundred li, and though it bears the name of a kingdom, it is uninhabited for eight hundred li. This is because three powerful demons dwell there!

His minions number five thousand on the South Ridge, five thousand on the North Ridge, ten thousand at the East Pass, and ten thousand at the West Pass; there are four or five thousand patrolling guards, and ten thousand gatekeepers; countless others tend the fire and gather firewood, totaling forty-seven or forty-eight thousand. These are all named and have tags, and they specialize in eating people here.

Such a perilous place is impossible for ordinary people to survive.

Normally, apart from a few noisy little demons, it's quite peaceful, but today it's unusually lively. There are 372 little demons who come to greet the guests, and they've been going around and around for three days and three nights but haven't been able to settle all the visiting demons. They're so tired that they can't straighten their backs.

Originally, the 800-mile-long Lion Camel Ridge was home to only tens of thousands of demons, large and small, but now that number has more than doubled. The bustling areas are packed with people, forming clouds of people. If it weren't for the thousands of demon kings suppressing them, they would probably be fighting amongst themselves.

The chaotic gathering was all because the Great Zhou Kingdom had replaced all the land within a radius of tens of thousands of miles. The lands that had previously suffered from the bullying of various demon kings suddenly had a backer and their courage was emboldened.

The Golden Guard, representing the Great Zhou, has been waging war across four regions, and no fewer than ten demon caves have been completely wiped out.

This is not the same as the Journey to the West where the Monkey King could kill entire groups of demons, but as long as the demons didn't target Tang Sanzang, they would always survive. Now, the Great Zhou Dynasty intends to exterminate all the demons in Xiniu Hezhou, leaving them no way out.

Originally, the monsters were a disorganized bunch, with long-standing conflicts among themselves. However, faced with the Great Zhou, where dozens of Golden Core cultivators would attack together at any time, they had no choice but to put aside their prejudices and band together for warmth.

Some busybodies claimed that the three demon kings of Lion Camel Ridge were the most powerful, so all the demons gathered at Lion Camel Ridge, wanting to see what the three could do. Whether it was to fight or surrender, having a large number of demons was much better than fighting alone.

These tens of thousands of demons had varying levels of cultivation. The powerful ones, such as the Yellow-Eyebrowed Demon of Little Thunder Temple, the spider demons of the Spider Cave, and their senior brother, the Centipede Demon, were invited to the bridal chamber to chat.

As for the other monsters that didn't even have a name, they would just find a place to get rid of them, and if there wasn't enough food to go with their drinks, they would even catch and dismember them so they could be cooked.

Such a chaotic gathering of ten thousand demons, before they could even get to the bottom of things, had already turned into a bloody massacre within their own ranks.

However, for these countless demon kings, the death of three to five thousand lesser demons was not a big deal. As long as their own mountain was still standing, they could easily replenish their numbers by consecrating some wild beasts.

Inside the Golden Palace of the Lion Camel Kingdom, the three demons—the Green Lion Demon, the White Elephant Demon, and the Golden-Winged Roc—sat enthroned. Below them sat various demon kings, creating an atmosphere somewhat reminiscent of a human dynasty's imperial court deliberating on state affairs.

But first, ignore the bits of flesh and blood at the corners of those monsters' mouths, and the fresh, pungent blood food on the table.

Halfway through the banquet, when everyone was about 70% full, a demon stepped forward and addressed the three demon kings: "Your Majesty, all the demons have gathered here today, hoping that you will lead us in a battle against the Great Zhou Kingdom. But several days have passed, and there is still no plan. What do you three think?"

This monster wore a bright red crown with gold trim, a dark black robe, and green cloud-patterned shoes, and a yellow sash. His face was like iron, his eyes like bright stars. His nose was high and prominent, like a Huihui (a type of Taoist priest), and his lips moved like a drum. His heart was filled with the hidden thunder of Taoism; he was a true Taoist priest who subdued tigers and dragons.

He looked like a Taoist master, but in reality, he was a centipede who had cultivated into a spirit, known as the Many-Eyed Monster, and was the senior brother of the seven spider spirits of the Spider Cave.

This multi-eyed monster possessed many skills, and being invited as an honored guest by the three demons of Lion Camel Kingdom, it could be considered a respectable demon among those present.

Now that the multi-eyed monster has spoken, all the demons have stopped eating and are staring longingly at the three demons of Lion Camel Kingdom.

They knew their own strength was weak and they were no match for the Great Zhou Kingdom. If the three demons of the Lion Camel Kingdom did not intend to take the lead, they would scatter in different directions to save their lives. Therefore, they indulged in eating, drinking, and merrymaking these past few days, treating it as their last good days.

However, even the best days have an end. Now that the Many-Eyed Monster had said this, the three demons of Lion Camel Kingdom could no longer avoid the situation.

The eldest of the three demons, the Green Lion Demon, said, "Friends, I originally thought you came to our Lion Camel Kingdom just to meet with friends, and I wondered when we three brothers had gained such great prestige. But I didn't expect you to come to ask for help, so our prestige is even greater. Hahaha."

The green lion spirit talked nonsense and didn't like to join in the conversation, which made the strange-eyed monster frown.

Hearing this perfunctory tone, another demon couldn't sit still any longer.

The monster had disheveled hair, bound by a thin, flat golden band; its eyes were bald, with two straight, yellow eyebrows. It had a prominent, piercing nose; a square mouth with sharp teeth. It wore a suit of chainmail armor, bound by a silk tassel. It wore black boots and carried a spiked club. Its form resembled a beast, yet it was not quite a beast; its appearance was neither human nor inhuman, yet it resembled a human.

This is the Yellow-Eyebrowed Monster of the Little Thunderclap Temple. He originally planned to set up a fake Thunderclap Temple on the road, trick the Tang Monk and his disciples into entering, take it with his magic weapon, steam and eat it, so as to gain thousands of years of internal energy.

Unexpectedly, on the very first day of the land transfer, a small earthquake struck the territory of his Little Thunder Temple, directly causing the temple he had painstakingly built to collapse.

This almost made the Yellow-Eyebrowed Monster furious.

But he was helpless. No matter how deep he dug, the newly appointed local earth god remained secluded. These kinds of earth gods were most afraid that their temples would be destroyed, and that they would be unable to receive incense offerings, thus gradually weakening and even losing their divine position.

But the Great Zhou Kingdom was different. As early as when the land and mountain gods changed positions, dozens of mountain and land god temples had already been built within the Great Zhou territory, encompassing all the mountain and land gods of this Western Region.

Although each mountain god and local deity held only a minor rank, their temples were always bustling with worshippers. Those guards, before becoming mountain gods and local deities, already had family and friends; now, as minor deities, they naturally received incense and paper money day and night.

In this way, even if they are thousands of miles apart, the incense and prayers of blood ties and affection will continue to flow into the bodies of these newly appointed deities.

In this way, the divine position is secure, and as long as he hides underground, no matter how angry these monsters are, they can do nothing to him.

Before the change of the land and mountain gods, the Great Zhou Kingdom had already planned everything. A few dim-witted monsters actually wanted to cause trouble for the Great Zhou Kingdom, but before they could even get close to the town, they were cut to pieces by thousands of emerald green flying swords.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, every city in Chengdu is now planted with a new type of rice, and every city is shrouded in calamity clouds, thus ensuring that every city has no shortage of spiritual energy. The Transcendent Machines of the Three Luminaries have begun mass production, greatly improving the manufacturing of materials for array formations.

Guan Bo is now able to luxuriously set up three Xuan Tian Sword Formations in a city. One is frequently activated for vigilance, another is accumulating power for a thunderous strike, and as for the last one... well, he has the money, so he can just leave it there for fun.

Such extravagant behavior is simply wishful thinking for ordinary monsters to attack the city; they couldn't do it even if they risked their lives.

What made Guan Bo even happier was that, seeing that they couldn't conquer the Great Zhou, the monsters started targeting the surrounding small countries, trying to cut off the Great Zhou's trade routes.

However, the Great Zhou Dynasty was prepared, having deployed its Imperial Guards and a group of Golden Core cultivators to ambush the area surrounding the Great Zhou Kingdom. The moment the monsters arrived, the Imperial Guards, amidst the trembling fear of the people of those small countries, played the role of saviors, capturing and killing all the troublemaking monsters on the spot.

In this way, by combining kindness and severity, several small countries voluntarily surrendered and became cities, incorporating themselves into the territory of the Great Zhou.

In a short period of time, the Great Zhou Dynasty gained seven more small cities, and its land area increased by more than one-third.

If the Great Zhou Dynasty weren't so powerful, the Yellow-Eyebrowed Monster wouldn't need to come to the Lion Camel Kingdom to be at the mercy of others.

But now that the three demons of Lion Camel Kingdom are still trying to play some kind of delaying tactic, he really can't wait any longer.

"My lords, death is imminent. Stop beating around the bush. We have gathered here again to seek a way out. If you three are also afraid of the Great Zhou Kingdom, please explain yourselves as soon as possible so that we can escape. Otherwise, I'm afraid we won't live for more than a few days," the Yellow-Eyebrowed Monster said resentfully.

Upon hearing this, the Green Lion Spirit was so blunt that he could no longer change the subject, so he sighed and said, "My two brothers and I are naturally aware of the troubles facing the Great Zhou, and we have considered countermeasures. However, a direct attack is definitely the worst option. Every city in the Great Zhou is protected by a magic array, and a head-on confrontation would surely result in heavy losses."

"Are we just going to sit idly by and wait for the Great Zhou to join forces with Xiniu Hezhou and wipe us out?" the first of the many-eyed monsters said coldly.

"Of course not. Humans are cunning and adept at leveraging power. Now that the Great Zhou has established its strength, we can't be foolish enough to rush in and die. Instead, we should learn from the human race's methods and play some tricks," said the Azure Lion Spirit.

"Oh, have the three kings come up with a brilliant plan? Could you tell us about it?" Yellow-Eyebrowed Monster asked.

"It's not that I'm deliberately keeping it a secret, but this plan is a conspiracy. If word gets out, it might lose its effectiveness. However, the plan has already begun, and we'll know the result in two days. If it succeeds, the Great Zhou will collapse without a fight. If it fails, we can discuss how to send troops to attack later," the Green Lion Spirit explained.

These words caused a stir among the monsters. In terms of strategy, monsters were no match for humans, but as the saying goes, even the wisest can make a mistake, and even the most foolish can have a stroke of genius.

Who knows, this plan might actually succeed.

But Yellow-Eyebrowed Monster was still a little worried and asked again, "Even if Your Majesty cannot explain the plan in detail, at least give us a hint. Which of the Thirty-Six Stratagems is it? Is it perhaps a honey trap?"

The demons burst into laughter, making the Green Lion Demon a little embarrassed. He then said, "Do you know that the Great Zhou Panda Demon and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, have a deep friendship..."

Just as he finished speaking, the Golden-Winged Roc coughed, interrupting the Green Lion Spirit.

The demons fell silent. They had even brought up the Monkey King. Could they possibly turn this monkey against them?

The three demons of Lion Camel Kingdom remained silent no matter how the other demons questioned them. Among the demons, an ugly alligator dragon quietly left the Golden Palace and used a communication orb to transmit the half-finished message to the Great Zhou.

At the same time, the Monkey King also arrived in Wuji City of the Great Zhou Kingdom.