"Too weak, too weak," Sun Wukong soared to a position level with the Demon King and looked down with cold eyes. "You, a mere Heavenly Immortal, dare to covet my Water Curtain Cave in Flower-Fruit Mountain and bully my descendants?"
"You, you are the Monkey King of Flower-Fruit Mountain?" the Demon King exclaimed fearfully, how could he be so formidable?!
"The Great Sage, that's me!" Sun Wukong scoffed, "Now, tell the truth. Who is plotting behind the scenes?"
"I dare not deceive Your Majesty. I truly do not know," the Demon King hastily replied. "That elder only came once, clad in a black robe, his face unseen, very mysterious."
"So, it's someone who shows his tail but hides his head, hardly a master," Sun Wukong thought, his eyes darting as he schemed.
Raising his hand, he pointed, and a beam of divine light struck into the Demon King's body.
"What have you done?" the Demon King grew even more terrified.
"Heh, this is a death curse, not even a Daluo Golden Immortal could undo it," Sun Wukong sneered. "Listen well, I will spare your life for now,
but the moment that hidden schemer appears again, you must immediately inform me, or you will surely die on the spot!"
"Yes, yes, I will definitely inform!" the Demon King frantically agreed.
Sun Wukong then stopped, gathered up thirty-five little monkeys, took the stone bowls and basins among other household items, and left the dirty cave.
Leaving behind the group of demons who had narrowly escaped death, it took great effort to pull the Demon King out from the stone wall.
Two gorgeous Beautiful Ladys panicked as they cleaned the Demon King's body.
"This damn monkey!" the Demon King cursed in agony. All his mana had been scattered by that kick, leaving him completely powerless.
"That elder isn't any good either!" He equally despised the mysterious instigator.
With a breath,
just then, a figure suddenly appeared in the cave.
"You, you, what are you doing here again!" the Demon King tried to get up in terror, but finding his limbs broken and utterly immobilized, his fear intensified.
The figure wore red clothes, a yellow belt, and black boots, looking neither completely secular nor sacred. Was it not the recently departed Monkey King of Flower-Fruit Mountain?
"Strange, he doesn't seem to have murderous intentions?" Sun Wukong frowned as he looked at the injured Demon King.
"Great King, please wait, that elder hasn't arrived yet," the Demon King pleaded urgently.
"Useless," Sun Wukong stretched out his hand and pulled over the Demon King's large knife from afar, and with a swift movement, he chopped the pleading Demon King in half.
This instant change caused the demons, still unsettled in the cave, to scatter once again.
Sun Wukong watched all this unfold, then set fire directly, and the fierce flames swiftly dried up the dirty cave completely.
Many of the demons were nearly burnt clean, with only a few surviving.
"It's still not perfect," Sun Wukong reflected carefully, then shook his head, turned around, and soared on his cloud towards the north.
...
Upon returning to Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong, feeling victorious, held an Immortal Fruit wine feast in the Water Curtain Cave and boasted about his quest for eternal life, coaxing all the monkeys to adopt the surname Sun.
After the revelry, he did not forget to open the newly acquired fourth-tier treasure chest, following the suggestion made after assessing the Demon King.
According to the prior comments from netizens on Zhihu, someone was indeed plotting against him. Killing the Demon King might have reverted his cultivation back to its original demonic state, potentially turning him into the new Demon King.
Thus, he had not dealt the killing blow but had the Demon King report back so as to find the instigator.
"Open!"
[You've opened a fourth-tier treasure chest, congratulations on obtaining Stick Dao Law Comprehension (First Level), Arrow Dao Law Comprehension (First Level), physical cultivation (Early Stage of Daluo Golden Immortal), Primordial Spirit cultivation (Early Stage of Daluo Golden Immortal), Earthly Sha Divine Ability Cultivation Comprehension, Stream Gate Dao Method Comprehension (Military), and a medium-grade Immortal Greatsword]
Opening the chest and obtaining so many rewards again, Sun Wukong was naturally overjoyed, scratching his head and sitting casually on the throne in the Water Curtain Cave, switching through various poses.
He carefully pondered the Dao laws and improvements in his cultivation and then found an additional great sword in his hand.
"Too light, too light," Sun Wukong weighed it slightly and felt he could crush the great sword into powder.
But he did not do so because this was the first time he had received a material reward like a magical treasure since he got the Advice Listening System.
"This time it's a medium-grade Immortal Weapon, but in the future, I'll definitely unlock even greater treasures!" Sun Wukong was full of anticipation.
The military Stream Gate Dao Method Comprehension also reminded him once again.
The recent calamity at Flower-Fruit Mountain showed that the monkey troop was indeed too weak and needed to grow stronger.
In the following days, Sun Wukong rigorously trained the monkey troop daily, teaching them cultivation methods and drilling them in military formations.
For instance, he taught the young monkeys to chop bamboo for poles, whittle wood into swords, manage flags, and sound whistles, to advance and retreat, and to set up camps.
As he engaged in such play for a while, one day, he suddenly sat down in meditation and thought, "If we keep practicing here, this play might become real, and it might alarm the human king or draw the attention of some Bird King or Beast King, accusing us of raising an army in rebellion and leading to attacks,
All of you only have bamboo poles and wooden swords, how will you fight against enemies? We need sharp swords and spears!"
He alone was strong, but he couldn't always guard Flower-Fruit Mountain and would eventually need to travel elsewhere.
If enemies were to attack in his absence, even if it was just ordinary demons like the Demon King, the monkeys would still be bullied.
Moreover, even if he guarded them daily, if a formidable enemy appeared and he was tied down, his children, unarmed, would also face disaster.
Thus, it was necessary for each monkey in the troop to become stronger for their long-term survival.
His words of worry also made all the monkeys uneasy.
A monkey said, "Great King, you think far ahead, but we have nowhere to acquire weapons."
While they were talking, four elder monkeys stepped forward, two red-bottomed macaques and two gland-armed gibbons.
"Great King, the Kingdom of Arrogance is not far from us," one elder monkey said, "That kingdom is full of soldiers and civilians, surely with various blacksmiths, the Great King could go there to obtain some weapons and train us."
[You've received a new suggestion: Get a batch of weapons from the Kingdom of Arrogance, completing the suggestion will unlock a second-tier treasure chest]
"Good, very good!" Sun Wukong exclaimed joyfully upon hearing this, "You all keep playing here while I go and return."
He then rode the Somersault Cloud, crossing two hundred li in an instant, and arrived above the Kingdom of Arrogance, observing from the sky. He then conjured a fierce wind, raising sand and scattering stone, alarming both the king and all the soldiers and civilians.
He himself took the opportunity to sweep away the town's weapons, joyfully returning to Flower-Fruit Mountain and also completing a suggestion.
After distributing the weapons, Sun Wukong assembled forty-eight thousand monkeys to drill in military formations.
This spectacle had already alarmed all the spirits of the mountain, and ultimately seventy-two different Demon Kings from as many caves came to the Water Curtain Cave to pay respects to Sun Wukong.
In the days that followed, these Demon Kings annually offered tributes, performed quarterly checks, and each led their subordinates to participate in military drills, transforming Flower-Fruit Mountain into an iron-clad golden fortress, progressively gaining greater prestige.
One day, as Sun Wukong stood watching from a high point, observing the cold gleam of blades and fluttering banners across the mountain, with tens of thousands of demonic beings around him, he felt a surge of ambition and thought of doing even greater deeds.
Flower-Fruit Mountain could no longer contain him.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly he saw dark clouds engulfing the sky from the north, rapidly enveloping Flower-Fruit Mountain.
Beneath the sea surface, a giant azure dragon riding the waves approached, its fierce, roaring voice soon rang out: "Which one is the Monkey King of Flower-Fruit Mountain, daring to kill my kin of the Dragon Demon King!"