As the White Elephant Demon stood dazed...
Su Qing turned her gaze toward him, pointing the tip of her spear directly at him, prepared to finish him off in a single strike.
Of course, Su Qing wouldn't go as far as to actually kill this fellow.
After all, he was a Bodhisattva's mount; she had to show the Bodhisattva some face. The only one Su Qing truly intended to kill was the Golden-Winged Great Peng.
That was why, even though she clearly had the chance to kill the Blue-haired Lion instantly just now, she hadn't done so. She had only pierced his shoulder blade and tossed him to the ground.
If the fellow was sensible enough, he wouldn't come back up for another round.
Seeing this, the White Elephant Demon felt his hair stand on end. He hurriedly retreated a great distance, not daring to face Su Qing head-on.
The loafing Golden-Winged Great Peng also recognized Su Qing upon seeing her. He didn't recognize her identity, but he simply remembered the terrible memory from last time.
Back then, Su Qing and that Lady Chang'e had appeared out of nowhere, found them for no apparent reason, and then proceeded to give them a brutal beating for no reason at all.
As a result, for a long time afterward, he had been trembling with fear, not daring to go out and eat people at will, terrified of running into that Lady Chang'e again.
If they hadn't eventually discovered that the two women were no longer paying attention to the Lion Camel Kingdom, they probably would still be acting like law-abiding citizens!
So, seeing Su Qing again now, he was truly filled with rage.
He immediately spoke up, "Big Brother, Second Brother, let's attack together! Don't be afraid of this Monkey Sun's reinforcement... she's just a petty person who relies on sneak attacks. Big Brother, Second Brother, this is the perfect chance to avenge our previous humiliation! That Lady Chang'e isn't by her side today! If we attack together, we can surely take them down."
As usual, this fellow instinctively began to egg on the White Elephant and the Blue-haired Lion to take action.
Unfortunately, as he spoke, he realized that the White Elephant Demon had already retreated behind him, and the Blue-haired Lion, who had been swatted away, was lying motionless on the ground, playing dead.
No one responded to his expectations at all.
Seeing this, Su Qing couldn't help but chuckle. "Golden-Winged Great Peng, it seems your brothers aren't very keen on fighting me! White Elephant, Blue-haired Lion, I advise you to convert now. Otherwise, don't blame me for ignoring your masters' faces and sending you both to your salvation together!"
Su Qing didn't plan on fighting those two demons further; fighting them was a pure waste of time. After all, those two were essentially just hired hands for the Buddhist Court. There was no point in making things difficult for them.
Hearing Su Qing's words, the Blue-haired Lion, who had been lying on the ground pretending to be a corpse, hurriedly endured the sharp pain, scrambled up, and gave Su Qing a deep bow. "I am willing to convert!"
On the other side, the White Elephant Demon also answered without hesitation, "I am also willing to convert!"
After the two demons spoke, fearing Su Qing might think they were feigning conversion, they hurriedly revealed their true forms.
They were just hired help; why should they risk their lives against Su Qing? She had offered them a chance to convert—if they didn't grab it now, what were they waiting for? Were they waiting to get beaten again and then sent to reincarnation?
That would be far too unworthy.
They didn't think Su Qing would truly refrain from killing them just because of the Bodhisattvas' faces. At most, she would give them a few more chances, but if they truly provoked her, she would kill them regardless.
Although they were the mounts of Puxian Bodhisattva and Wenshu Bodhisattva, the status of the person before them was not low at all. Furthermore, she was very familiar with the Buddha himself.
So even if she really killed them, the Bodhisattvas likely wouldn't say much. At most, they would just find another lion or another white elephant to be their mount. For those two Bodhisattvas, finding a demon to serve as a mount wasn't a difficult task at all.
So why should they oppose Su Qing? It was better to just honestly convert.
Su Qing wasn't surprised to see the two of them convert so quickly. They both recognized her and weren't stupid; they knew what to do to stay alive, so naturally, they wouldn't do anything foolish.
Seeing the two convert, Su Qing turned her gaze toward the Golden-Winged Great Peng.
Even now, the Golden-Winged Great Peng maintained a fierce expression, looking as if he were ready to fight Su Qing to the death. But Su Qing understood that this fellow actually already had the intention to retreat. It was only because he still craved Tang Sanzang's flesh and couldn't bear to leave it behind that he was still stalling here.
Su Qing let out a cold sneer, then charged toward the Golden-Winged Great Peng with her spear.
When she said she would kill the Golden-Winged Great Peng, she meant it. As long as the Buddha didn't personally intervene to stop her, the Great Peng was destined to meet his end today!
Seeing Su Qing attack, the Golden-Winged Great Peng struggled internally for a moment before gritting his teeth and beginning to flee.
His two brothers had surrendered without even a fight, and since Sun Wukong had brought her as reinforcement, it meant her strength was definitely not weak—at the very least, she was stronger than Sun Wukong. In a head-on battle, he was no match for Sun Wukong; speed was the only area where he could surpass the monkey. Other than that, what else did he have?
This was exactly why he had sought out the Blue-haired Lion and the White Elephant to become sworn brothers, even willing to be the youngest. It was so they could join forces to deal with Sun Wukong.
Now that the person before him was even stronger than Sun Wukong, it meant he stood no chance against Su Qing. Especially without the help of his two brothers, he was even less of a match.
So, no matter how much he craved that monk's flesh, he could distinguish between profit and loss at this stage. He had to run for his life! He couldn't lose his life for a piece of meat. He desired Tang Sanzang's flesh, but losing his life for it would be a poor trade.
However, as he fled, he didn't forget to curse his two unreliable brothers in his heart for being so quick to cower!
Seeing Su Qing's spear tip drawing near, the Golden-Winged Great Peng hurriedly retreated, then pinched a seal to reveal his true form, flapping his massive wings to flee into the distance.
Seeing the Great Peng try to escape, Su Qing pursued him on her Somersault Cloud. It had to be said that the Golden-Winged Great Peng was indeed very fast; even against the Somersault Cloud, he wasn't lacking. If it had been Sun Wukong, he might have actually escaped.
But unfortunately, he was up against Su Qing. Su Qing's Somersault Cloud was much faster than Sun Wukong's. Moreover, she wasn't stubborn enough to only rely on speed to compete with him. Didn't she have Dharma treasures and spells?
After Su Qing caught up with the Golden-Winged Great Peng, she immediately threw the long spear from her hand, intending to pin the bird to the cliffside.
Games of cat and mouse were, in Su Qing's opinion, the most meaningless and boring games, so she wanted to end this tedious pursuit as quickly as possible. Naturally, she also wanted to finish off the Great Peng quickly and stop wasting time.
The Golden-Winged Great Peng wasn't particularly strong; his only great strength was his speed. Once he lost that advantage or was restrained, his death was imminent. In terms of direct combat ability, he couldn't even beat Wukong, so facing her was out of the question.
On the other side, the Golden-Winged Great Peng was exceptionally horrified to see Su Qing catch up to him—even if it was only for an instant, it was enough to terrify him. Up until now, he had never suffered a loss in terms of speed!
However, more horrors were yet to come. The Great Peng saw Su Qing hurl the long spear at him, and it was already very close. For a moment, he was trembling with fear. He hurriedly tried to swerve his body to avoid the incoming spear.
But how could Su Qing let him dodge so easily? Since she had chosen to throw it, she naturally had full confidence in hitting her mark. Don't forget, she didn't just have Dharma treasures; she had spells too!
She had already prepared a hand seal. At the same moment she threw the spear, she simultaneously summoned several small dragons to attack the Golden-Winged Great Peng.
She didn't expect these small dragons to kill the Great Peng. That wasn't their purpose. They were meant to interfere with his flight and evasion, ensuring her spear could successfully strike home!
Of course, Su Qing's spear didn't only travel in a straight line. With just a thought, she could control its direction. Thus, no matter how the Great Peng dodged, as long as he didn't leave Su Qing's sight, he was bound to be pierced.
Under Su Qing's near-perfect preparation, the frantically fleeing Golden-Winged Great Peng was caught off guard. Finally, he was pinned firmly to the cliff by Su Qing's spear.
After pinning the Great Peng, Su Qing stopped her Somersault Cloud in front of him. She chuckled and said, "To be honest, catching you was much simpler than I imagined... Now then, please be on your way!"
Su Qing didn't want to be like those traditional villains who prattled on before killing someone. After a single mocking sentence, the hand seal in her palm was already complete.
A flash of golden light passed, and the struggling Golden-Winged Great Peng fell silent.
After killing the Great Peng, Su Qing let out a long breath. Then she pinched another seal, manifesting Samadhi True Fire to cremate the Great Peng's corpse. She wasn't doing this to destroy the evidence; she simply felt that leaving a giant bird corpse hanging on the cliff would lead to troublesome legends. It was better to just burn it away.
As for the Buddha... Su Qing wasn't worried about him blaming her. The fact that the Buddha hadn't stepped in to stop her from killing the Great Peng was enough to explain everything.
Su Qing was willing to bet that the Buddha was perfectly aware of the situation here. It wouldn't even be surprising if he was watching from some dark corner. So, given that the Buddha knew everything and still didn't intervene, it meant he might have wanted the Great Peng dead, or at least didn't care about his death.
As for why? Su Qing didn't know. To find out the specific reason, she would likely have to ask the Buddha himself.
Samadhi True Fire was very fast at burning things. In just a short while, the aroma of roasted meat began to waft out.
"I'm starting to crave roasted meat. After I go back to the Daoist Academy, I'll make some to eat," Su Qing thought as she smelled the fragrance. So, while she burned the Great Peng's corpse, she pondered what kind of roasted meat she should have later.
In about the time it takes for half a stick of incense to burn, the Golden-Winged Great Peng had been completely incinerated by Su Qing. However, once the body was gone and Su Qing was preparing to scatter the ashes into the valley, she discovered that something had actually remained after the Great Peng was burned.
The remaining items weren't bones or anything like that. After all, Samadhi True Fire was no ordinary flame; it could burn the Great Peng's corpse until not even a bone fragment remained. So naturally, it wasn't bone. But what remained was even more absurd than bone.
What remained were three feathers—three brilliant golden feathers.
These three feathers clearly had a luster and color like gold, but they didn't feel like they were made of gold; they were light and soft, just like ordinary feathers. This made Su Qing quite surprised and amazed.
She truly hadn't expected that burning a corpse would yield an unexpected harvest. And it felt like something quite extraordinary, given that even Samadhi True Fire hadn't damaged them in the slightest.
"Whatever they're for, I'll just collect them first," Su Qing thought, muttering to herself, "I'll ask Laojun or the Old Mother about them later."
After stowing the items away, Su Qing prepared to leave. However, just as she was about to head back to the Lion Camel Kingdom, a familiar figure appeared before her, blocking her path.
Su Qing froze for a moment upon seeing the newcomer, then smiled and greeted him, "Greetings, Buddha. What brings you here?"
The Buddha glanced at Su Qing and said, "How could you not know why I'm here?"
"Is the Buddha here for the Golden-Winged Great Peng?" Su Qing naturally knew why he had come. Just as she had guessed he was likely watching from a corner, the Buddha nodded and said nonchalantly, "Yes, I came for the Great Peng. But it seems I've arrived a step too late. You've already killed him?"
Su Qing's lips twitched. Wasn't the Buddha clearly asking something he already knew? You've been watching from the side for so long; how could you not know if I killed him?
However, since the Buddha wanted to play along, Su Qing was happy to act with him. As for why the Buddha hadn't stopped her from killing the Great Peng, she could just ask him privately later.
Su Qing smiled and nodded. "The Buddha arrived a step too late. That Golden-Winged Great Peng, who brought calamity to the common people, has already been delivered to his salvation by me... I've even scattered his ashes."
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