Chapter Eleven: The Long-Lost Taste of Seaweed

Chapter Eleven: The Long-Lost Taste of Seaweed (Please Subscribe! Please Support!)

After an entire night without any reports from his subordinates, the Ox King, no matter how cautious he was, was still essentially an ox, not a fox, and thus had a certain boldness. Surviving in such a harsh environment as the demon clans and even rising to the rank of Demon King was not just a matter of strength; it required an iron fist. Those who wielded such ruthless power were usually formidable figures. The Ox King, not being human, was a ruthless ox.

He sent out several bull-headed soldiers to scout, yet for some reason, he felt uneasy deep down. The Ox King rose and paced back and forth inside the cave. After a moment, he took down a massive bull fork hanging on the wall. This bull fork weighed a staggering three thousand jin, forged from refined steel, ranking among the top weapons within the demon clans.

This bull fork had been earned long ago when the Ox King pledged fealty to the Bone-Weeping Demon and played a crucial role in eradicating the remnants of the Black Mountain Old Demon. The bull fork, crafted from diamond-hard metal, had two prongs, the tips glowing with a faint green light. The Ox King gently stroked the tips, feeling a chilling coldness emanate from them.

The green-glowing metal at the fork’s tips was forged from the ice-steel of the extreme northern glaciers, imbued with potent icy energy. When wielded, it could instantly release this freezing aura. This was remarkable. Although releasing demon projectiles was a trivial task for a Demon King, such attacks were typically only launched after gaining distance from the enemy during battle.

The icy steel on the bull fork, however, could emit a chilling aura in an instant. Even if the bull fork struck no direct blow, as long as it was near the enemy, the freezing aura could immobilize foes within a certain radius. For opponents stronger than himself, this ice effect might only cause a slight delay in their movements, yet even that brief pause could allow the Ox King to seize the advantage, potentially leading to the defeat or even death of a superior adversary.

That cunning demon monkey—if not for this bull fork—would be extremely difficult for the Ox King to capture easily, despite his superior strength. The demon monkey had long perfected a set of escape techniques, able to slip away from most Demon Kings.

The bull fork measured nearly four meters in length, its grip wrapped with fine braided patterns, thick as a large bowl. It seemed made solely for the Ox King. With this weapon, the Ox King, once among the lower tier of Demon Kings, now possessed power to rival mid-level Demon Kings. Coupled with the Ox Clan’s status as one of the five great demon clans and the presence of the top-tier Azure Ox Demon King, most Demon Kings dared not provoke him lightly.

Yet this damned monkey—the demon monkey—dared to harass him repeatedly. The Ox King gripped the bull fork tightly, furious at the audacity of such provocations. Most infuriating was the last time the monkey had appeared right when the Ox King was with his new concubine.

“Damn it!” The Ox King slammed the bull fork hard onto the ground, gouging a deep pit. The entire cave seemed to tremble.

His rage stemmed from more than just that. Not long ago, after capturing the demon monkey, he had hoped to gain merit and have his northern demon clan deployed to the front lines of battle, escaping this barren land. Yet the demon monkey proved troublesome. Eventually, the Ox King threw it into the Black Bamboo Forest, hoping the mysterious and terrifying entity within would devour it.

But for unknown reasons, the demon monkey was not consumed. Instead, it made the Black Bamboo Forest its base, repeatedly provoking the Ox King. This enraged him greatly. Just the night before, the same night Zhou Yu had gone mad, he received news from the Azure Ox Demon King in the human territories: the Demon Emperor Bone-Weeping had approved his clan’s participation in the war, but the demon monkey must be captured or killed.

That very night, the Black Bamboo Forest was completely destroyed. The demon clan’s forbidden zone was shattered. This incident could be either minor or major, but knowing Bone-Weeping’s character, the Ox King chose to report it immediately.

Though this place was thousands of miles away from the demon-human battlefield, the demon clans had secret communication methods—soul ritual transmission. Usually, when passing top-secret intelligence among clans, messengers would be sent to demon shaman caves scattered throughout the lands.

Inside these caves, demon shamans raised special demon beasts—creatures with powerful souls but physically weak bodies. The shaman would imprint the message into the demon beast’s memory, then kill it, guiding its soul through secret means to the recipient. This method transmitted messages extremely fast but was costly as these demon beasts were rare and difficult to breed. Thus, it was reserved for major matters.

The Ox King paid a great price for the shaman’s help, but the message he received was to hold off on going to the battlefield, to first closely monitor the forbidden zone and investigate before proceeding.

His hatred boiled. He had waited so long for this chance, only for it to be postponed because of the demon monkey and the forbidden zone incident. After deep thought, he resolved to take up the bull fork and investigate himself.

As a Demon King, he keenly sensed an extraordinarily powerful presence in the forbidden zone but could wait no longer. If faced with an invincible enemy, he would flee and report to the Demon Emperor Bone-Weeping. But if it was just the demon monkey...

The Ox King pondered for a long time with no solution. Since he could not kill it, he would bring the monkey with him on the road, maiming it daily to see how it escaped.

He then selected a dozen or so elite bull-headed soldiers—not too many, as a larger number could endanger his clan if they faced an overwhelming enemy. If the Ox King himself could not handle the foe, his soldiers would break and flee, revealing their clan’s location.

The demon clans revered strength, and every member, including beasts, feared the powerful deeply. If the enemy was stronger than even the Ox King, the soldiers would lose composure. Thus, the Ox King took only a small group, meant as cannon fodder or to shield him during retreat. Large armies were reserved only for clan wars.

He had considered all scenarios, good or bad.

With the three-thousand-jin bull fork in hand, he felt confident. The dozen soldiers following him gave him a sense of control.

Leaving the Ox Clan’s canyon and traveling nearly ten miles, the two bull-headed soldiers sent to scout came running back in panic. They knelt and kowtowed frantically.

Sensing trouble, the Ox King asked, “What happened? Why such panic?”

One sharp soldier reported, “My lord! There’s a devil over there! All the brothers left to watch were eaten!”

“Eaten?” The Ox King was shocked. Since the Ox Clan became one of the five great races, none of their members had ever been eaten.

“My lord! The brothers died terribly! Not only were they eaten, but roasted before being devoured!” The soldier trembled and wept.

No intelligent species could remain indifferent seeing their kin roasted and eaten.

The Ox King’s fury erupted: eaten and roasted?

“Damn! What devil dares think himself human? Roasted?” he cursed angrily.

He also formed a judgment: whatever was in the Black Bamboo Forest was not a top-tier existence. Such a being would not bother eating mere bull-headed soldiers. The Ox King himself could subsist on the energy of heaven and earth, let alone someone stronger.

“It must be that damn monkey! The lowlife who even eats dirt—what won’t it eat? Men, follow me! We’ll avenge our fallen brothers!” The Ox King brandished his bull fork and charged out roaring.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yu and the demon monkey were digging in the center of the original Black Bamboo Forest. After discussion, they agreed that the forest’s status as a demon forbidden zone indicated many secrets, perhaps even treasures.

Zhou Yu had absorbed the meat of a giant crab, gaining immense energy inside but lacked control. He hoped to find something—an artifact or a manual—to help him harness this power.

The demon monkey had acquired a mysterious black-and-gold staff, containing vast energy that enhanced his power. Zhou Yu suspected the staff might be the legendary one spoken of in tales, heightening their hopes in the Black Bamboo Forest. Yet after digging for some time, they had found nothing.

Suddenly, Zhou Yu stepped on something that cracked sharply. Looking down, he saw a piece of giant crab shell.

The demon monkey, as if discovering treasure, rushed over and cupped the fragment in his hands.

Zhou Yu was puzzled. “It’s just a fragment. Why treat it like treasure?”

The demon monkey explained, “You don’t know. I eat dirt because I found it contains more energy than any food. This fragment, I ate some before—it’s packed with energy.”

“Dirt has the most energy?” Zhou Yu thought it over. “All living things grow from soil. Plants absorb nutrients from it, animals and humans get energy from plants. Makes sense. But these fragments—”

Before he finished, the demon monkey kept digging, saying, “If the Demon Kings knew about this, they’d fight to the death over it. We must dig quickly.”

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