Meanwhile, he said to General Yin, "Our tribe has just arrived, and we do not wish to make enemies of the demons. However, today Hu San has provoked us, and if we let it go, other demons might think our monkey tribe is easy to bully. So, how about this? Let's have a fight, and consider it a formal visit to your mountain!"
Take note.
It's not a challenge, it's a formal visit.
The intent is to make peace and settle the demons.
General Yin naturally understood and gladly agreed, standing with Sun Wukong in the clearing.
The two demons, each with their own thoughts, exchanged smiles, neither using weapons, and began to fight with bare hands.
Their moves seemed deadly, but they were actually pulling their punches, simply probing.
The white ape could see it.
General Yin's subordinates could see it too, Hu San's face turned sour, somewhat in disbelief.
At that moment, a Rat Demon approached, with sly eyes, and whispered, "General Hu, don't be anxious. The king must have a profound intention, just watch carefully."
Looking at the Rat Demon, Hu San's gaze was somewhat disdainful, naturally showing no pleasure, "Rest assured, I will not cause trouble!"
The Rat Demon nodded lightly and stepped back.
In the arena, Sun Wukong and General Yin took turns attacking, with loud bangs, while the lesser demons around them could not see the ruse, shouting and cheering for their respective kings. The clamor rose and fell, making it quite lively.
A few moments later.
Sun Wukong threw a light punch, clashing with General Yin, and both staggered back at the right moment, putting some distance between them.
"General Yin is formidable!"
"Monkey King, you're not bad either!"
The two demons praised each other as if they were new-found friends, then amiably came together and began to talk in low voices.
General Yin, with a smile, said, "From now on, this water source belongs to your monkey tribe, and we shall not interfere with each other, how about that?"
Sun Wukong nodded, with a look of gratitude, "Very well! From now on, we will be neighbors. As I am new here, I hope Brother Tiger will take extra care of me!"
General Yin's smile deepened, "Haha! Of course, I will indeed take good care of you!"
As he spoke, General Yin's expression changed slightly, then he hesitantly added, "The west high ridge is mostly inhabited by herbivores, and there's a scarcity of fruit. The dense forest to the east does have many fruit trees, though..."
Here it comes!
So that was his game.
Now that will be easy to handle. Understanding General Yin's real motive, Sun Wukong felt more at ease and eagerly asked, "Though what? My tribe relies on fruit, and it's crucial to our survival. Please speak frankly, Brother Tiger, and relieve the worries of our monkey tribe!"
His sincere attitude greatly pleased General Yin.
He said, "It's just that the forest is guarded by the Eagle King, who is quite formidable, and it might not be easy to harvest the fruit."
Tch!
As if you needed to tell me!
Sun Wukong scoffed inwardly but showed confidence on his face, boasting, "Who cares about black or white eagles? The monkey tribe is set on that fruit orchard, and no one is going to change that, I say!"
General Yin's mouth hung open.
Quite the boaster this golden monkey is, how has he lived this long?
However, the words were powerful, and he considered borrowing that confidence in the future.
At that moment, Sun Wukong spoke again, "Thanks for the heads up, Brother Tiger. Once I secure the fruit orchard, I'll definitely invite you to celebrate and give you proper thanks!"
"No problem at all!" General Yin responded with a full smile, secretly hoping that the two tribes would fight to the death so that he could take advantage of the situation.
The two demons, with their fake pleasantries, chatted for a while before General Yin left, quite satisfied. He repeatedly reminded Sun Wukong to be cautious of the Eagle King, looking very much like an older brother.
As for Sun Wukong, he was nonchalant, reassuringly claiming the task as easy and mentioning future celebrations, while inwardly flipping several middle fingers at General Yin.
Afterward, General Yin departed with his many followers. Despite being somewhat annoyed at not being able to take a few dead demon beasts with him, the thought of the monkey troop clashing with the Eagle King soon lifted his spirits.
At the spring, the white ape took out the beast carcasses he had hidden in the confusion and called over Sun Wukong and the troop of monkeys.
Rip~
With bare hands, he tore open the beast hide and ferociously gnawed the still-twitching flesh, then raised his head and said, "To become a true demon, one must feast on blood and flesh like a wild beast, fortifying the body. When night falls, one must inhale and exhale the moonlight to temper the blood, ultimately condensing the Demon Core and becoming a true demon."
This was his experience; this was how he had become what he was.
The monkeys' eyes brightened, and they imitated him, munching on the flesh without disdain. Their faces smeared with blood, they fought over the meat, growling protectively, showing a bit of the ferocity of wild beasts.
Sun Wukong was also curious, so he tore off a beef leg and chewed on it. After a few bites, it was full of a rank smell, but upon biting down hard, it turned out to be somewhat sweet, and his body faintly craved it, swallowing it subconsciously.
Just then, demonic energy surged within his body, generating a warm current that gathered at the location of his heart.
It actually worked!
Sun Wukong was shocked, then continued to gnaw away, no longer caring whether it was rank and foul.
At that moment, a golden round bead the size of a fist was handed to him. Sun Wukong turned his head to meet the white ape's elder-brother-like gaze.
He heard it say in a gentle voice, "This is the source of the Demon Beast's strength, containing even more energy; it is the most precious part and precisely what Your Majesty needs most right now."
Sun Wukong nodded, took the Demon Core and bit a large chunk out of it. It felt like eating an unripe pitaya, bitter and flavorless, with a pungent stench that tickled his nose.
Suppressing the urge to vomit, Sun Wukong swallowed with difficulty.
Boom...
At that moment, the blood and energy within his body surged instantly, like bloodthirsty sharks rushing into his stomach, then spreading out. When it returned, Sun Wukong felt his body had grown stronger.
At the same time, a restlessness began to grow at the bottom of his heart.
Unaware, Sun Wukong devoured the Demon Core in huge bites. The white ape reached out once more, presenting another Demon Core, this one the size of a billiard ball.
Since it could enhance his strength, Sun Wukong naturally didn't refuse and swallowed it into his stomach.
At that time, his body was overflowing with demonic energy, which visibly soared at the speed of sight. The sight set the white ape's heart aflame. Immediately, it ordered all the monkeys to stop and dug out the remaining few Demon Cores and brought them over.
Sun Wukong ate them again, and his aura surged once more, vaguely breaking through the mid-stage of Human Immortal and touching the barrier of the late stage.
Not enough!
Just a little more...
Sun Wukong opened his eyes unwillingly, bloodshot, and when he saw the carcasses in front of him, he "boom," rushed over.
He tore ferociously with his arms, devouring chunks of flesh and fur, and even some cartilage was swallowed whole. Soon, he had cleaned up the seven carcasses on the ground.
"Roar~"
Sun Wukong roared, his inner energy finally reached its peak, and converged into his Dantian.
A black Demon Core floated there, greedily absorbing the surging energy around it until it was saturated. Then, it exhaled a breath of pure spiritual essence.
In an instant, Sun Wukong's blood and energy roared like surging waves, causing his bones to resonate like thunder on a parched land. Even the white ape felt a pressure on his chest, not to mention the weaker monkeys around him.
Thud thud thud...
A dozen or so monkeys with weaker constitutions passed out.
The remaining ten or so held on for a while longer but also collapsed one after another, leaving only the white ape and three black monkeys standing, still gritting their teeth and enduring.
Bang!
A flash of golden light, and Sun Wukong punched the ground, creating a loud boom and carving out a deep pit.
This was not the end; the golden light flashed continuously, and monkey shadows were everywhere, causing great destruction to the surrounding mountains.
Bang bang bang...
Under each punch, a thunderous sound rang out, shaking the entire mountainside until Sun Wukong's demonic aura rose again and he truly reached the late stage of Human Immortal before finally stopping.
"Huff... huff huff..."
Standing amidst the rubble in the pit, Sun Wukong gasped for air, with two streams of breath shooting from his nostrils, kicking up dust and smoke from the ground.
After venting his energy, he still felt a burning heat within him. Without knowing why, Sun Wukong's gaze fell upon the monkey tribe.
There, two burning gazes met his. At this encounter, Sun Wukong's breathing became hurried, almost thinking that they seemed rather attractive.
Hiss~
Then he jerked awake, shivering with a chill.
Damn it, I must be possessed!
Looking at the face that resembled a live-streaming Internet celebrity covered with monkey fur, Sun Wukong felt a creeping horror and could no longer bear to look, turning his head and dashing into a deep pit.
He did not see the white ape's relieved smile.
Nor did he know that it had summoned two female monkeys, pointing to the pit and speaking with utmost seriousness, "This is a rare opportunity; you must succeed, no failure is allowed, you hear?"
"Mm-hm!"
The two female monkeys nodded shyly and scurried over.