Xie Yunhan waved his long sleeve and pulled out a bottle from the Mustard Seed gifted to him by Xie Xiaofeng. The bottle was crystal clear, and water droplets slowly slid down its surface—a rare treasure at first glance.
He opened the bottle, and a dark green bug crawled out from within.
Xie Yunhan smiled at Wukong and said, "This bottle is a trifle that I refined during my spare time. Any living creature placed inside will survive as long as the bottle remains unbroken. As for this bug, it's a treasure called the Thousand-Mile Bug. Once it has captured a scent, it can locate anything within a thousand miles."
Wukong nodded upon hearing this, saying, "Excellent, excellent!"
As Xie Yunhan spoke, he watched Wukong's expression, noticing his indifference. His momentary pride vanished instantly, and he was even more convinced that this man must be an extremely formidable expert.
Who was Wukong, after all? He had eaten the Queen Mother's peaches, the Supreme Elderly Lord's immortal pills, and Patriarch Subhuti's ginseng fruits. He had encountered numerous rare treasures and seen many wonders—how could a mere bottle and insect astonish him? If Xie Yunhan knew who he was, he would probably feel like slapping himself at this moment.
Under Xie Yunhan's command, the Thousand-Mile Bug flew to the side of an old man gathering herbs, sniffed at a wound on his body, and then flew towards the western direction at an incredibly high speed!
Wukong sighed quietly, flicked his finger, and a spark flew from his fingertip, engulfing the village in a vast fire...
Xie Yunhan flew with his younger sister, Xie Qingmei, their speed almost as fast as usual, showing their profound cultivation levels; meanwhile, Xie Yunshen could barely keep up despite giving his all. In contrast, Wukong, with his hands behind his back, seemed to be strolling through the void, taking strides of dozens of meters each.
As he traveled with Xie Yunhan and others, he pondered deeply about the Dharma Gate within the Hongmeng Purple Qi. With his enlightenment from the previous day and the flow of thoughts, he even gained some insights.
Xie Yunhan praised, "Brother Daoist seems to be strolling leisurely, while I am exerting my full power. May I ask, who is your master?"
Wukong laughed and replied, "Most of the world's Dharma Gates require incantations, but there are one or two that can be understood directly from Heaven and Earth. I have no master. If I must say where I learned from, then my master would be Heaven."
Patriarch Subhuti taught Wukong the Seventy-Two Transformations and the art of immortality but asked him not to mention him. Wukong naturally wouldn't forget, especially at this moment when he needed to be most cautious. Besides, the Dharma Gate he cultivated now originated from the Hongmeng Purple Qi, born at the creation of Heaven.
"Hehe..."
Xie Yunhan merely smiled faintly, not taking it seriously, assuming Wukong didn't want to discuss his school.
The group followed the Thousand-Mile Bug in flight for about half an hour, suddenly landing in an ancient forest in the mountains.
This forest exuded a gloomy aura, making everyone quite uncomfortable; even the edge in Xie Yunhan's aura was slightly hindered.
Wukong frowned, muttering to himself, "This aura is indeed profoundly deep. It seems this demon has an extraordinary background!" He squinted his eyes and scanned the area. "Hmm? Why does this aura carry a trace of weakness? Could this demon be injured?"
Xie Yunshen said, "Big brother, this demon must be extremely powerful. We need to be cautious!"
Xie Qingmei jokingly said, "We have our Brother Heaven-Defying Daoist here to personally slay the demon. What is there to worry about?"
Xie Yunhan scolded coldly, "Stop talking nonsense and embarrassing us here, tarnishing the reputation of the Xie family!"
He turned to Wukong and said, "Daoist brother, please do not take my sister's words to heart."
Wukong waved his hand, following the Thousand-Mile Bug to the ground, only to see a cave at the foot of the mountain ahead.
Cold wind blew from the cave, surrounded by a swirling black miasma. The Thousand-Mile Bug dared not approach, flying a few circles before returning to Xie Yunhan's shoulder, and he put it back into the jade vase, which he then placed inside the Mustard Seed space.
Wukong said nothing, slowly walked up to the front of the cave, and yelled, "What demon is there? Come out and face me!"
Xie Yunhan was astonished. Just a moment ago, the Heaven-Defying Daoist was well-mannered, but now he was being so crude.
Wukong's voice was like a roaring bell, akin to the Lion's Roar, penetrating the cave and causing the rocks to shatter, forming a wave of sound.
"This fellow indeed possesses formidable power, probably comparable to those famous individuals in the Eastern Divine Region!" Xie Qingmei hurriedly covered her ears, couldn't help but speak out, thinking about how she had tried to stab Wukong with a sword earlier, feeling somewhat ashamed and amused. If it weren't for his mercy, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
This matter was not caused by Wukong, and the Xie siblings were the first to attack. Even the Sword God Xie Xiaofeng coming here wouldn't find a reason to complain.
"Ao hou—!!!"
A fierce shriek emanated from deep within the cave and collided with Wukong's sonic waves, like two raging rivers clashing from opposite directions, instantly stirring up thousands of waves, causing countless rocks around them to crumble in a moment. The cave seemed to be reinforced by a formation, for it remained undamaged despite such intense collisions of sound waves, merely quivering slightly.
"It seems this demon is extremely ferocious, just its voice can injure highly skilled cultivators!" Xie Yunhan marveled inwardly, yet he was not afraid.
A gust of cold wind carrying dark qi burst out of the cave toward Wukong, who didn't retreat but advanced instead. His steps shifted as if he had teleported directly to the proximity of the black wind, raising his hand to deliver a resounding slap!
Within the black wind, a figure appeared, his skin gaunt, eyes deeply sunken, and two sharp fangs protruding from his lips, exceedingly ferocious and terrifying!
As Wukong's hand went for a slap, mysterious formations operated within his palm, deploying the "Universe In Palm" spell, the very technique Tathagata used back then to confine Wukong, who was subsequently thrown under Five Fingers Mountain and suppressed for a full five hundred years.
"General?!" Wukong frowned, but his hands did not hesitate for a moment.
This demon, referred to as "General" by Wukong, did not reply but turned into a gust of wind to dodge Wukong's slap, moving to his side and raising his left hand, from which five nails, sharp as divine swords, shot out violently toward Wukong's neck!
Xie Yunhan, greatly shocked, knew from his extensive reading since childhood that this General was the ancestor of all zombies, the first zombie since the beginning of Heaven and Earth, possessing boundless mana so formidable that even saints struggled to subdue him easily! He wondered how the Heaven-Defying Taoist so easily recognized this demon as General, surmising that the Taoist himself must have a largely significant background.
Seeing how fierce General was, Wukong was neither frightened nor willing to dodge. In the past, he had only ever chased demons with his stick, never retreating from any demon by three feet! He snorted coldly through his nose, his body hair bristling, his skin expanding, and bones cracking aloud as he suddenly punched out fiercely!
When General's hand clashed with Wukong's fist, it actually "crackled" and shattered. General's physical body was extremely tough, and he never expected this young Taoist to dare confront him bodily and even smash his hand to pieces!
"Knowing I am General, you still dared to strike so ruthlessly. Are you not afraid of my true form returning to kill you in vengeance?" General, suffering a severe loss, knowing the power of his opponent, quickly retreated.
"You slaughtered the villagers, tying a karmic bond with me. If I do not kill you today, that karma will only entwine deeper!" Wukong was not afraid of General at all. Twisting a Dharma Decree in his hand, he instantly flashed behind General and raised his hand to strike at his head.
General, having experienced the fearsomeness of Wukong's physical body, dared not engage directly, and tried to use a spell to escape!
Wukong roared, "Where are you going!"
He stomped his cloth-shoed foot on the ground, instantly cracking it, and from these cracks, numerous vines grew, confining an area of thirty yards around them, rendering General's Escape Technique utterly ineffective!
General intended to persuade Wukong to spare his life, but hearing they had already contracted karmic ties, he realized this matter couldn't be concluded hastily and prepared for a decisive ending. Now seeing no way to escape, he twisted a Dharma Decree in his hand, his body swelling up, and his fingers turning into blades to block Wukong's incoming palm.
Wukong said, "Are you the only one who can grow larger?"
With that, he too grew in size until both their heights surpassed many trees, each towering about thirty feet tall!
After two more rounds of combat, Wukong landed a punch on General's chest, causing him to spit out a mouthful of black blood, aged who knew how many years, and fly backward, crashing into the mountain and causing countless rocks to fall.
Just as General attempted to rise, Wukong quickly formed another Dharma Decree. Opening his mouth, he spit out a beam of green light that transformed into a long staff, thunderously striking General's fierce and ugly head!
"Crack!"
The staff truly opened thousands of peach blossoms with that strike, spattering brain matter and black blood everywhere. Wukong felt immensely gratified, the strike seemingly bringing back some of the feelings from years past. General's Primordial Spirit along with his head burst under Wukong's staff, losing mana support, his body also rapidly shrank.
Wukong returned to his normal size, waved his hand, and retrieved an inner core from General's corpse, not standing on ceremony at all. He directly pocketed it.
"What a formidable Heaven-Defying Taoist!"
The Xie family siblings all exclaimed in awe, utterly enthralled by the grand battle they had just witnessed.
Just then, the four heard an angry and shocked roar from the sky, "Heaven-Defying Taoist, truly formidable, what is your background for daring to kill my clone of General?"
"What does my background matter to you? If you have the guts, show yourself and fight with me." Wukong was utterly fearless. He had anticipated that General's true form, for some reason, could not appear and thus was naturally unafraid; otherwise, he would not willingly provoke the Corpse King, who was troublesome even for saints to deal with.
"Very well! Once my true form has recovered from its wounds, I will personally kill you, drink your marrow, and eat your flesh!" After these words, the voice quietly disappeared, no longer audible.
Wukong thought to himself, "This karma is truly entangled link by link. Solving one issue of karma only to be embroiled in an even greater one. Even with my combat abilities from several years ago, I cannot handle the Corpse King General!"