One-Sided Abuse

After Su Qing and Chang'e departed...

Morning Glory and her group did not linger in the ruined temple for long, setting off shortly after.

Morning Glory understood clearly that the most important task was to cross the eight-hundred-mile Lion Camel Ridge as quickly as possible.

Beyond that, she allowed herself no distractions.

Only by doing this could she truly be of help to her godmother instead of becoming a burden.

The group led their horses, maintaining a steady pace.

Naturally, they encountered no demons on the path immediately ahead...

But as for the road further in, that was hard to say.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Su Qing and Chang'e arrived at Lion Camel Ridge, descending near the demons' cavernous stronghold...

Surveying the surrounding scenery, both Su Qing and Chang'e could not help but knit their brows.

They immediately concealed their forms, avoiding any skirmishes with the mountain's lesser demons before they could locate the three great demon kings.

Neither Su Qing nor Chang'e had much interest in swatting mosquitoes.

It was a waste of time...

Their goal was to strike directly at the heart of the lair and deal with the demon lords first.

However, the sight near the stronghold of Lion Camel Ridge did manage to surprise them slightly.

The minor demons here were lined up with remarkable precision, brandishing their weapons and practicing military formations...

Such a sight was exceedingly rare among demonkind.

Most demons lacked the patience to train in military maneuvers.

One had to admit that in terms of training an army... those three demon kings did possess some genuine skill.

It was no wonder they could manage Lion Camel Ridge so effectively, commanding an army of tens of thousands of spirits.

Such capability was indeed rare.

Rare as it was, however... they remained enemies.

Su Qing would not abandon her intent to deal with them just because they possessed a bit of leadership talent.

After all, these demons truly deserved to be disciplined.

Furthermore...

Aside from the minor spirits drilling in formation, there was another, far more gruesome scene.

As Su Qing and Chang'e ventured deeper, the true horror of Lion Camel Ridge became increasingly vivid.

Bones formed forests, and skulls were piled like ridges. Human hair was trodden into felt mats, and human flesh rotted into dust. Human tendons were wrapped around trees, dried and parched, glinting like silver. It was truly a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, reeking with a sickening stench.

Although Su Qing had been mentally prepared for this place, seeing it in person still made her frown deeply.

She knew the descriptions from the original legends, but seeing it now, she felt those descriptions had been far too conservative.

Su Qing sighed inwardly and shook her head.

Lion Camel Ridge was, after all, the territory of demon lords...

And these were demon lords with a particular obsession for consuming human flesh.

Especially that Great Peng, who possessed a bizarre fixation on it.

Beside her, Chang'e's expression remained unchanged despite the scenery.

She merely said to Su Qing in a flat tone, "Why don't we just kill all these demons?"

"I'd like to, but the Buddha said to spare their lives, so we can't kill them." Su Qing curled her lip. Seeing such a sight, how could she not want to wipe them out to prevent future trouble?

But she had given her word to the Buddha, and she could not simply break it.

Chang'e let out a long, low sigh. "I see... it's the Buddha's wish. No wonder... I thought you simply didn't want to kill them yourself!"

"If it were up to me, I would have started the slaughter already," Su Qing said, spreading her hands. "So, since we can't kill them to end the threat for good, let's just beat them to within an inch of their lives! As long as they don't die, it's fine."

"My thoughts exactly!" Chang'e nodded, a smile playing on her lips.

That bright smile made Su Qing certain of one thing: those three demon kings were in for a world of pain.

However, this only made Su Qing more satisfied.

After all, Chang'e was clearly genuinely angry now.

If her initial willingness to help deal with the demons was because she wanted a bit of fun, she was likely truly enraged now.

Su Qing nodded to Chang'e.

They continued toward the inner cave.

The two moved swiftly.

Before long, they passed through the sea of blood and bone, arriving at a place of picturesque beauty...

This area was refined and elegant, spacious and serene. To the left and right were celestial herbs and immortal flowers; to the front and back were towering pines and emerald bamboos.

This was clearly where the demon kings resided.

It was quite ironic, really.

These demons cared quite a bit about their living quarters, making them look extremely sophisticated.

It was almost comical.

Su Qing shook her head and kept walking.

A moment later, Su Qing and Chang'e saw the three demon kings sitting in the cave, discussing something.

As the three old demons chatted, they suddenly felt a faint, dangerous gaze within the cave.

They did not let their guard down for a second, instantly drawing their weapons.

"Who is it? Who dares to intrude upon our Lion Camel Ridge stronghold?"

Su Qing and Chang'e clearly had no intention of hiding their identities.

They were here to challenge the stronghold and find trouble; how could they be low-key?

The two released their concealment spells, revealing their forms before the three demon kings.

Two of the three demon kings had seen Su Qing and Chang'e before, and they flinched the moment they recognized them.

But the Great Peng did not know much about them.

After all, he had always been a demon and had never worked under a Bodhisattva like the other two, so he had never met these two women.

"So it is Sovereign Su and Fairy Chang'e... Hahaha! Pardon us for not greeting you properly! Why didn't you let us know you were coming? We would have prepared a proper welcome!"

The White Elephant Spirit laughed, pretending not to realize why Su Qing and Chang'e were there.

Or rather, he was just playing dumb, hoping to gloss things over.

Su Qing chuckled. "Advance notice? Where's the fun in that? Besides, we aren't here as guests. We're here to pick a fight."

Su Qing wasn't surprised that the Azure Lion Spirit and the White Elephant Spirit recognized her and Chang'e...

But so what if they did?

A lesson was still a lesson.

She couldn't let this trip go to waste.

As soon as Su Qing finished speaking, the third demon, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, spoke up. "Big brother, second brother, don't waste your breath on them... There are only two of them. If the three of us attack together, we can surely take them down! No matter how strong they are, this is our territory."

The Azure Lion Spirit hesitated.

To be honest, he didn't want to make enemies of these two.

But he was indeed swayed by the Great Peng's words.

There were only two of them, and they were just two pampered women.

He, on the other hand, had fought his way through the demon realm for countless years.

Could he really not handle them?

"Third brother is right." The Azure Lion's eyes narrowed. "Second brother, stop talking and attack! Since they dared to come, let's make sure they never leave."

The Great Peng also threw out a threat. "I've never tasted the flesh of a celestial fairy before!"

Seeing how arrogant the three demon kings were, the corners of Chang'e's mouth curled up slightly.

She was only afraid they wouldn't dare fight her!

Since they had the courage to step up...

Then she would give them a little taste of the Moon Palace's power.

Seeing this, Su Qing silently took a step back, not bothering to interfere with Sister Chang'e bullying these weaklings...

Chang'e alone was enough; Su Qing would just watch the show.

If she didn't let Chang'e handle it entirely, what was the point of inviting her?

However, Su Qing's retreat only boosted the confidence of the three demons.

They thought Su Qing only dared to come here because she thought her title carried weight...

Little did they know, Su Qing stepped back only to give Chang'e room to work and to keep the blood from splashing on her clothes.

The battle was instantaneous.

And from that moment on, it was a one-sided slaughter.

Chang'e was indeed someone who enjoyed a bit of fun, but she could also be quite cruel.

In Chang'e's hands, the three demon kings were like toys in the hands of a child, toyed with at her whim...

One could only imagine how miserable they were.

However, Su Qing wasn't exactly idle either.

There weren't just the demon kings in this stronghold; there were also many minor demons.

Fortunately, dealing with these minor demons was incredibly simple.

For Su Qing, it wasn't even a hassle.

It was just like dealing with annoying mosquitoes in the summer.

Once she had finished cleaning up the minor demons in the cave...

Su Qing completely relaxed.

She sat on the throne of the demon kings, watching Chang'e bully the three of them, and couldn't help but feel a bit of awe.

Chang'e's strength was truly terrifying...

If Su Qing had done it herself, while she could still handle the three demon kings, she certainly couldn't have toyed with them as effortlessly as Chang'e.

It would have at least taken her some time.

At the same time, Su Qing marveled at how easily today's matter was being settled.

Having someone to help solve problems was indeed much easier.

'The benefit of having many friends?'

Su Qing shook her head helplessly.

'But I can't leave everything to my friends.'

Time passed slowly.

The demon kings went from begging for mercy at the start to being unable to speak at all.

However, demon kings were demon kings; they were naturally tough and thick-skinned.

Though they were being tormented miserably, they didn't die on the spot...

Of course, this was also thanks to Chang'e holding back her strength... otherwise, they would have been dead long ago.

Soon, the sky began to darken.

Looking at the fading light, Su Qing couldn't help but wonder where Morning Glory and the others had reached and how they were doing.

Since she couldn't leave to find them just yet...

She performed a quick calculation with her fingers.

She confirmed their location and planned out the next steps.

Since the matter at Lion Camel Ridge was essentially settled...

It was time to plan for what came next.

"Morning Glory and the others are moving quite fast! They'll probably be able to completely cross Lion Camel Ridge in about ten days to half a month, provided they aren't delayed on the road," Su Qing murmured to herself after calculating their position.

Speaking of which, she couldn't help but glance back at the demon kings.

Good, she could let Chang'e torment these demon kings for another ten days or so!

Surely, after this, even if these demon kings survived, they wouldn't dare be as arrogant as they were now.

However... she couldn't wait ten days to half a month to find Morning Glory.

Knowing that girl's personality, if Su Qing didn't report back for that long, she would probably be worried sick.

So, before long, she would have to go back and meet with Morning Glory first.

As for Chang'e...

Chang'e would surely only leave once she had had her fill of fun.

Su Qing wasn't particularly worried.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

Su Qing felt it was about time.

After speaking with Chang'e, she prepared to head back to find Morning Glory and the others.

"You're going to find your goddaughter?" Chang'e clapped her hands, then glanced at the demons who were beaten beyond recognition.

Su Qing nodded. "Yes! If I don't go back, Morning Glory probably won't be able to sleep from worry."

"That goddaughter of yours really cares about you. You've certainly taken in a good little one! But seeing how much you care for her, you aren't planning to... not let even that little one go, are you?"

Su Qing raised an eyebrow. "Sister Chang'e, what on earth are you saying?"

"Do you really not understand what I'm saying?"

Well, Su Qing understood. If she didn't, she wouldn't have asked.

She curled her lip and said, "She's my goddaughter. How could I lay a hand on her?"

"Is that so? I can't tell." Chang'e crossed her arms. "We've known each other for nearly five hundred years. I know your character more or less."

"I feel like you have some kind of misunderstanding about me, Sister Chang'e."

"Misunderstanding? I don't think it's a misunderstanding. It's called understanding."

"No, it's pure prejudice!" Su Qing said helplessly. "Besides, do you really have the right to talk about me? If I really became what you say, I must have learned it from you."

"Fine, so even if you admit it, you have to drag me down with you?" Chang'e scoffed. "But whatever, I'm too lazy to bicker with you. If you want to find your goddaughter, then go quickly! I haven't had enough fun yet. Once I'm done, I'll head straight back to the Moon Palace. I won't disturb you."

Su Qing nodded slightly upon hearing this. "I've really troubled you this time, Sister Chang'e."

Chang'e chuckled and waved her hand. "I've just been in the Moon Palace for too long and got bored. What's there to thank me for when I get to travel around with you?"

Su Qing didn't argue, simply offering a smile.

She then bid farewell to Chang'e.

Chang'e didn't try to make her stay.

She watched as Su Qing departed.

On the other side.

Morning Glory and her group had just finished a small skirmish and were currently resting...

The battle was insignificant—they had merely stumbled upon a group of mountain-patrolling demons and killed them in passing.

They had only expended a bit more magic than usual to end it quickly.

'I wonder how Godmother is doing now,' Morning Glory thought, shaking her head slightly. "Forget it, don't think about it. Let's keep moving! We can't become a burden to Godmother."