We bear people have power

"Fellow Daoist Six Ears, now that you've returned, has it been successful?" the Green Lion Demon asked.

Previously, the three demons of Lion Camel Ridge made a deal with the Six-Eared Macaque: if he impersonated the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, infiltrated the Great Zhou Kingdom, and killed all the high-ranking officials of the Great Zhou, he would use his connections to help the Six-Eared Macaque obtain a Buddhist position.

Becoming a Buddha is impossible, but becoming a golden-bodied Arhat might be possible. With the blessing of the Buddha of Mount Ling, one would be considered one of the righteous gods, and naturally wouldn't die from a shattered soul.

But the Six-Eared Macaque was unwilling to become an Arhat, a bottom-tier existence in Buddhism. This trip to the Great Zhou temporarily resolved his problem of spiritual collapse. Although he was still subject to the Great Zhou, he was much freer than an Arhat.

"I didn't succeed. You don't know how cunning the people of Great Zhou are. Every official with any status has a protective array around their city. One blow from my staff could probably destroy their physical body, but their soul would be instantly protected by the array. And as soon as I kill someone, the array will be triggered instantly, alarming all the cultivators of Great Zhou. There's no way I'll have a second chance to strike," said the Six-Eared Macaque.

"So, Fellow Daoist Six Ears returned empty-handed?" the Green Lion Spirit said with an unfriendly expression.

"Hehe, there's no need to rush. Although we can't directly kill the people of the Great Zhou Kingdom, I've infiltrated and come up with a good plan to wipe them all out. However, this plan will require the cooperation of several of you," said the Six-Eared Macaque.

"What method?" the Green Lion Spirit asked.

“Every city in the Great Zhou Kingdom is protected by an array, and cannot be attacked easily, otherwise we will definitely suffer heavy losses. But if we can lure the cultivators and experts of the Great Zhou Kingdom out of the array, then with the current strength of Lion Camel Ridge, it will be easy to kill them.”

The Six-Eared Macaque's confident expression made the Green Lion Spirit somewhat tempted.

"In that case, please come up to the hall so we can discuss this further," said the Green Lion Spirit.

The Six-Eared Macaque readily agreed and, following the Green Lion, advanced to the Golden Palace of the Lion Camel Kingdom.

The music of zithers and flutes filled the air, the banquet began again, and all the demons gathered together.

In the Golden Palace, the Six-Eared Macaque sat beneath the three demons of Lion Camel Ridge. His appearance as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven startled many of the demons. However, seeing him tearing flesh apart and drinking wine from large bowls, and hearing the explanation from the Green Lion Demon, they believed the name of this Six-Eared Macaque.

After receiving the precepts, the Monkey King protected Tang Sanzang on his journey to the Western Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures. Although he was bloodthirsty, he abstained from alcohol and meat.

With his identity confirmed, the demons began to scrutinize the Six-Eared Macaque's abilities. His skill in impersonating the Great Sage Equaling Heaven was questionable, but his sheer audacity was remarkable.

Therefore, the Six-Eared Macaque easily gained the respect of many monsters.

As the wine flowed freely, the Golden-Winged Roc asked the Six-Eared Macaque, "Fellow Daoist Six-Eared Macaque, you said you wanted to lure the snake out of its hole. Could you please elaborate on your plan?"

"Actually, there's nothing special about it. I just impersonated the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, saying I'd found the monster's lair, and summoned all the cultivators from the Great Zhou Kingdom to come out. Then you could ambush them from the left and right and swarm them in, and you'd win a great victory," said the Six-Eared Macaque.

"That's easy to say, but how are you going to lure people out? Just with your words?"

The white elephant spirit was somewhat displeased with the six-eared macaque's casual expression, and its tone was rather stiff.

The Six-Eared Macaque chuckled, and with a twitch of its ears, a beam of mysterious light shot out and landed in front of it. The light transformed into a beautifully sculpted little girl, who was quite adorable.

"Do you know who this little girl is?" asked the Six-Eared Macaque.

The demons remained silent. Although the girl looked quite beautiful, who would know that she was a human doll?

However, some demons in the Golden Palace had done their homework. The Golden-Winged Roc hesitated and said, "Could it be Princess Lingxiu of the Great Zhou Kingdom?"

The Six-Eared Macaque laughed, "That's right, it's the panda spirit's beloved adopted daughter, Princess Lingxiu, the most noble princess of the Great Zhou Kingdom. I went to great lengths to lure her out. With her in our hands, I'm afraid the Great Zhou Kingdom won't come out in full force."

The Golden-Winged Roc remained noncommittal, pondering for a moment before suddenly flicking a golden ray from its fingertip, shooting it straight at Lingxiu's brow. The Six-Eared Macaque reacted swiftly, blocking the golden ray with a backhand, then twitched its ear and pulled Lingxiu into its ear.

"Golden-Winged Roc, what do you mean by this?!" the Six-Eared Macaque roared.

The Golden-Winged Roc suddenly made its move, and the atmosphere in the Golden Palace immediately became tense. The demons, bewildered, decided to remain neutral. However, the demons belonging to the Lion Camel Kingdom all drew their weapons and surrounded the Six-Eared Macaque.

The Six-Eared Macaque ignored these minor demons. With his current level of cultivation, even a large number of minor demons were nothing more than a matter of a few blows with his staff.

However, the Golden-Winged Roc's abilities are extraordinary, and its sudden attack is likely to cause trouble. The Six-Eared Macaque, however, couldn't understand where he had gone wrong to arouse the Golden-Winged Roc's suspicion.

“Fellow Daoist Six Ears, your journey to the Great Zhou seems to have enhanced your spiritual power,” said the Golden-Winged Roc.

Upon hearing this, the Six-Eared Macaque knew in his heart that something was wrong. Who could have predicted that the Golden-Winged Roc would be so sensitive that it could detect changes in one's soul?

"So what if it is?" The Six-Eared Macaque's acting skills were ultimately unparalleled in Journey to the West, and he said without changing his expression.

"I'm just curious, Fellow Daoist Six Ears, what extraordinary encounter did you have in the Great Zhou? It seems you can prolong your life without needing the Arhat fruit. Who knows if you made some kind of deal with the Great Zhou because of this?" said the Golden-Winged Roc.

"If I had made a deal with the Great Zhou and found a way to prolong my life, why would I waste my time coming back to you?" the Six-Eared Macaque retorted.

"Isn't this perfectly logical? You betrayed us, exchanged the Great Zhou's life-extending method, and now you want to lure us out and wipe us all out in one fell swoop," the Golden-Winged Roc shouted.

The Six-Eared Macaque secretly groaned, never expecting the Golden-Winged Roc to be so intelligent, deducing the truth from these subtle clues.

However, the Six-Eared Macaque was not in a hurry at all, and said calmly, "If you want to frame me, then let's see the truth in our hands. I, the Six-Eared Macaque, am not afraid."

With a thud of his long staff, he smashed the table in front of him to pieces. The Six-Eared Macaque stood majestically on the Golden Palace, exuding an aura of being able to take on ten thousand men single-handedly.

Seeing the Six-Eared Macaque's fierce demeanor, the Golden-Winged Roc instantly changed his expression and said, "Fellow Daoist Six-Eared Macaque, there's no need for this. I was merely speculating just now. However, this matter is of great importance. If you don't offer some proof of your loyalty, how can we trust you?"

"What pledge of allegiance?" the Six-Eared Macaque asked.

“Naturally, it is Princess Lingxiu. As long as you kill her in front of us, showing that you are irreconcilable with the Great Zhou, we will naturally do as you say,” said the Golden-Winged Roc.

The Six-Eared Macaque sneered, "You've been monsters for so long, you don't even know what human abilities are? Any cultivator sect with a little reputation has a life lamp for its core disciples. When a disciple dies, the life lamp goes out, and the sect immediately knows. This Princess Lingxiu naturally also has a life lamp in the Great Zhou. Killing her now would only alert her and lure her out of her hole."

Upon hearing this, the Golden-Winged Roc hesitated for a moment before saying, "In that case, Fellow Daoist Six Ears, would you dare to allow me to place a restriction on you?"

"Hmph, you don't believe me, and I don't believe you either. We can fight this battle, but to ask me to entrust my life to you is a pipe dream," said the Six-Eared Macaque.

"No, no, how could I dare to hope to control your life and death, fellow Daoist? But I have a treasure that can establish a contract. Until the Great Zhou Dynasty is destroyed, you and I must not attack each other, otherwise we will be sucked into this Yin-Yang Two Qi Bottle." The Golden-Winged Roc flipped his hand, and a crystal-clear jade bottle appeared.

This is a treasure of Yin and Yang, containing seven treasures, eight trigrams, and twenty-four solar terms. It requires thirty-six people, arranged according to the number of the Heavenly Dipper, to lift it. This treasure can contain people. If a person is inside and remains silent, the inside of the bottle is extremely cool. But once a person speaks, fire will burn them, and within a short time, they will turn into pus and blood.

The Golden-Winged Roc passed on a mantra to the Six-Eared Macaque, offering him half of the treasure's power. As long as the Six-Eared Macaque agreed to this contract, he and the Golden-Winged Roc could no longer harm each other by any means, otherwise they would be absorbed into the treasure.

The Six-Eared Macaque, who was well-versed in all the magic arts in the world, pondered for a moment and realized that the Golden-Winged Roc had not lied. He then nodded in agreement and said, "That's fine then."

After the contract was signed, the Golden-Winged Roc put away the Yin-Yang Two Qi Bottle and said with a smile to the Six-Eared Macaque, "In that case, please advise us on the best place to ambush him."

The Six-Eared Macaque, already having a plan in mind, said to the Golden-Winged Roc, "To avoid arousing suspicion from the Great Zhou Kingdom, we naturally cannot choose Lion Camel Ridge. I have heard that there is a White-Haired Rat Daoist in the Bottomless Cave of Trapped Sky Mountain. Her cave is so winding and circuitous that even immortals cannot find their way. If we can borrow her cave for an ambush, no matter how many people from the Great Zhou Kingdom come, we can easily divide them up and attack them as a group."

Upon hearing this, the Golden-Winged Roc became even more convinced. He had also heard of the bottomless cave in Trapped Sky Mountain. That white-haired rat demon's enormous cave was a natural gift, truly a place even immortals couldn't find. The Six-Eared Macaque's choice of this place seemed to truly indicate his intention to slaughter the entire people of the Great Zhou Kingdom.

"Fellow Daoist White-haired Rat from the Bottomless Cave of Trapped Sky Mountain, are you here?" the Golden-Winged Roc asked.

A female demon emerged from the crowd, her hair piled high like a cloud of crows, clad in a green velvet vest adorned with flowers. Her golden lotus feet were just barely open, her ten fingers like spring bamboo shoots. Her round, pink face was like a silver basin, her lips as smooth as cherries. A truly beautiful woman, even Chang'e in the moon would be pleased.

So beautiful, she would be considered an absolute beauty even among monsters.

"Greetings, King Golden Roc. I am White-haired Rat." The female demon bowed and greeted him.

"You've also heard what Fellow Daoist Six Ears said. We'd like to borrow your cave for a while. What do you think?" asked the Golden-Winged Roc.

"Since I have joined the gathering of ten thousand demons, I must contribute my share. I can certainly borrow my humble cave dwelling," said the white-haired rat.

"Very well, very well. Once we have slaughtered the entire Great Zhou Kingdom, I will certainly not skimp on your rewards," the Golden-Winged Roc laughed.

The demons discussed and decided to kill all the people of the Great Zhou in the Bottomless Cave of Trapped Sky Mountain.

The Golden-Winged Roc was indeed a capable demon leader, and his arrangements were quite appropriate. Once all the demons were in ambush in the labyrinthine bottomless cave, the Six-Eared Macaque once again transformed into the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and returned to the Great Zhou Kingdom to lure everyone into the cave.