Chapter 1: The Three Kings of Havoc In the desolate mountains west of Heaven, three demonic rulers carved a kingdom of terror. The Lion King, whose roar once swallowed celestial armies, ruled the eastern crags. The Elephant King, with a trunk that could crush mountains, guarded the western passes. Above them all soared the Golden-Winged Roc, whose talons had turned a prosperous nation into a graveyard. When whispers of "Tang Monk's flesh grants immortality" reached the Roc, he smiled. "Let us set a trap worthy of Buddha's own kin," he hissed to his allies. Chapter 2: The Monk in the Bone Palace The disciples never saw the ambush coming. As Sun Wukong chased the retreating Lion King into the clouds, the Roc swept down like black lightning. In an instant, Tang Sanzang vanished. The Monkey King tracked the scent of death to a fortress built from human skulls. Inside, the air reeked of decay. Chained in the throne room, Sanzang trembled before a macabre court—ministers with wolfish grins, generals sporting boar tusks, and a mock emperor whose golden feathers dripped blood. "Welcome to my paradise," the Roc crooned. "Your disciples? Oh, the pig will roast nicely, and the sand demon’s hide makes fine armor." Chapter 3: The Bottle of Despair Wukong’s rage shook the underworld. He shattered the Lion King’s fangs, bent the Elephant’s trunk, yet the Roc merely laughed. With a wave of his wing, the demon trapped the Monkey King in a jade vial where yin and yang swirled like liquid fire. "Even your vaunted immortality burns," the Roc’s voice echoed. As Wukong’s fur smoldered, he remembered Guanyin’s gift—three hairs that transformed into a diamond drill. The vial exploded, but victory tasted bitter. Chapter 4: Buddha’s Bargain Atop Mount Ling, Buddha listened as Wukong spat his fury. "Why must heaven tolerate these monsters?" The Enlightened One sighed. "The Lion and Elephant belong to Bodhisattvas. As for the Roc... he is kin." When Buddha’s golden hand descended upon the bone kingdom, the Roc shrieked: "You let me starve for eons!" Buddha’s voice held sorrow: "Feast on divine light, not mortal flesh." As the demons knelt, Sanzang whispered: "This hell... was it man or monster that built it?"