The demon wasn't about to give up so easily, but instead became greedier, fending off the rake with his long halberd and thrusting straight towards Tian Peng's chest.
After all, the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas are officials appointed by the Heavenly Court; although their positions aren't high, they are indeed significant. It would be one thing to humiliate one of them, but to kill one would be a grave sin!
But this one looked so powerless; if killed, then so be it—it would serve as a good scare to that old eel.
In any case, this demon had a powerful backer!
All the Immortals had thought that Tian Peng would be frightened into dropping his rake and fleeing for his life, but they never expected him to not retreat even a step.
All the Gods were shocked—was he out of his mind?!
All the Gods believed that after this strike, Tian Peng would either perish or be grievously injured, but who knew!
"Dead pigs aren't afraid of boiling water!" Tian Peng roared inwardly, and although he was extremely afraid, he still chose to trust.
Clang!
With a crisp sound, the demon's long halberd couldn't advance an inch further as if it had hit something extremely hard.
"What is this?" Some of the Immortals couldn't contain their astonishment and cried out.
One could see Tian Peng's exposed skin turning a reddish-brown color, followed by a grin spreading across his face.
He had succeeded!
Long live Chaos Residence, long live Shopkeeper Chen, long live braised pork!
"Are you trying to tickle me?" Tian Peng sneered, managing to seem somewhat composed.
That is if one ignored his earlier discomposure.
The demon's complexion changed dramatically as he hastily retreated, exclaiming in alarm, "You, what kind of trick is this!"
He hadn't held back at all with that last strike!
Tian Peng sneered with disdain, "You rural demon, where would you understand the divine powers of your Grandpa Tian Peng, take this!"
The Immortals of the Heavenly Court and Haotian were awkward to no end with this statement; even they didn't recognize this technique Tian Peng used. It seemed akin to Buddhism's Golden Body, but none were this small, and the color was off too!
By using this divine power, not only did Tian Peng's defensive power greatly increase, but his strength also surged considerably.
He launched a ferocious attack, hitting the demon with several rake blows, pushing hard in one gust to prevent the enemy's recovery.
The demon's momentum was completely shattered by Tian Peng's body-protection divine power, leaving him utterly at Tian Peng's mercy.
The occasional retaliations by the demon were simply ignored by Tian Peng, who allowed them to land on his body without leaving a mark.
Instead, Tian Peng grew more and more excited with each strike, and, as the saying goes, frantic punches can kill a skilled master—Tian Peng's wild and unsystematic offense left the demon completely unable to cope.
After all, Tian Peng could take a beating!
"Tian Peng's technique does seem a bit like the Witch tribe's fusion methods," Haotian pondered.
The Witch tribe!
All the Immortals shook at this revelation—the Witch tribe had once been one of the dominant powers between heaven and earth!
Born without a Primordial Spirit, the Witch tribe nevertheless possessed extraordinarily strong physiques, such that even some extremely powerful Magical Treasures couldn't inflict the slightest damage to them.
Now that Tian Peng had received such an assessment from the Jade Emperor, could it be that he was no simple character?
The demon managed to block another move but was clearly struggling to keep up. He quickly jumped away and took out an object from his waist.
"Don't get carried away, take my Magical Treasure!" the demon snarled viciously, though with utter confidence in his tone.
Tian Peng took a careful look and saw it was a small bell. As the demon shook it, flames suddenly burst forth from the bell.
Tian Peng found it amusing—using fire on the water's surface, isn't that just handicapping yourself?
But the next moment, Tian Peng was dumbfounded; the flames inexplicably did not extinguish upon contact with water. In just a few moments, they formed a tempestuous sea of fire on the water's surface.
Every fish and shrimp in this area turned into a delicious seafood feast, yet Tian Peng showed not the slightest fear. Instead, he stared intently at the bell in the demon's hand.
His eyes gleamed, "What a treasure!"
This wasn't any ordinary item; if he gave it to Shopkeeper Chen, it might fetch several days' worth of meal money. He had to get his hands on it!
While Tian Peng was quietly scheming, Ao Ming, the Dragon King of the South Sea, turned pale with fright and quickly hid farther away to continue observing.
He definitely didn't want to become BBQ.
"The Fire Crows inside this bell are made of Li Fire, with incredibly high temperatures that can burn anything. If you don't leave, I'll roast you for my meal!"
The demon said proudly.
While Li Fire may not be as famous as the Samadhi True Fire in the Three Realms, it is certainly superior to mundane fire, and ordinary water can't douse it.
What the fuck? Is it that tough?
Upon hearing this, Tian Peng could no longer hold back and charged directly into the sea of fire, his red-brown sheen reflecting off the flames, making him look like a roasted suckling pig.
Tian Peng barged his way through, treating Li Fire as if it were nothing, overjoyed in his heart, "Shopkeeper Chen didn't lie to me!"
The flames burned on his body without any sensation at all; his divine power was truly remarkable!
The demon was dumbfounded; he actually charged through. Couldn't you at least use the Fire Control Art to show some respect for my magical treasure?
In an instant, Tian Peng had already rushed up to the demon and swung his rake at him.
The demon scrambled to defend and was knocked far away in a single hit, not caring about his turbulent energy, he yelled in shock, "How is this possible? That's Li Fire!"
"Li Fire?"
Tian Peng let out a chuckling "Heh," not to mention Li Fire, even if it were Samadhi True Fire, he, Tian Peng, would dare to give it a try!
His body-protection divine power exceptionally excelled in withstanding high temperatures. As mana surged, Tian Peng stomped hard and leaped into the air.
Lifting his rake high, it came crashing down on the demon like Mount Tai bearing down!
"Don't, don't kill me, I am..." The demon, petrified with terror, hadn't finished speaking when Tian Peng's rake cleaved down onto his head.
The sound stopped abruptly, and he was no more.
"Turns out it's just a Carp Spirit. Not content staying in rivers, you had to go stirring up trouble in the sea!"
Tian Peng snorted coldly, reverted to his normal state, and pretentiously secured the demon's bell.
"This wicked magical treasure, I shall seal it, so it can no longer harm the mortal realm!"
The Dragon King of the South Sea just looked on with a deadpan expression. If you wanted to pocket it, just say so; it's your spoil of war, anyway. Why put on such a grand facade?
The Immortals of the Heavenly Court also marveled, finding it incredible that Tian Peng, who usually shirks duties and plays tricks, could possess such strength. His defensive capabilities were impenetrable by both blade and flame.
Truly impressive!
The battle over, Haotian lost further interest in watching and put away the Haotian Mirror, stating indifferently, "It seems I have misjudged him."
Unexpectedly, this Tian Peng had some skills. As opposed to the awe in the Heavenly Court, Guanyin's side was feeling quite uncomfortable.
She was on Mount Luojia, carefully planning the numerous aspects of the Journey to the West when she suddenly felt uneasy. Upon divination, she found out that the Carp Spirit she had released was dead!
How could this be!
Not only had the Carp Spirit just reached the level of a Great Luo Golden Immortal, but it was also endowed by her with one of the three Purple Gold Bells—the Fire Bell!
Nowadays, with Saints not showing themselves and Quasi-Saints in retreat, Great Luo stood at the top tier of strength, and Golden Immortals had it easy like fish taking to water.
She had planned to let it loose in the South Sea to unleash its wild nature, readying it for the calamity five hundred years later.
Moreover, to avoid association, she had placed the Carp Spirit far from Mount Luojia, thinking that in the end she, the Bodhisattva who relieves suffering, would personally intervene and subdue the Carp Spirit.
It was also an opportunity to curry favor with the Dragon Clan of the South Sea for Buddhism.
Furthermore, she had been monitoring and planned to act at the first sign. However, the arrival of Six Ears, and the appearance of the Intelligent Stone Monkey made her too preoccupied to attend to it.
Who could have thought—it didn't take long, yet the Carp Spirit was already dead!