Chapter 31: Mount Huaguo

Chapter 31: Mount Huaguo

Before long, night swallowed the world. The winter wind began to howl, and the dense, pitch-black clouds in the sky looked like clusters of cotton retrieved from a vat of ink.

Following Zhou Yu’s instructions, the boar soldiers gathered firewood from afar and lit several bonfires. The monkeys huddled around the warmth, eating their fill. The little monkeys gathered around the lecherous monkey, listening to him recount the tale of the "Great Sage Equaling Heaven," with cheers erupting from them from time to time.

Zhou Yu stood not far away, listening to A-Fei. A-Fei was drenched in sweat, his layers of fat trembling with every gesture of his hands.

"The brothers have already been gathered, about five hundred or so. Some scattered, but the vast majority fled into Mount Huaguo ahead," A-Fei said, pointing toward a mountain nearby.

Zhou Yu noted that A-Fei managed to explain the situation clearly and concisely in just a few sentences, hitting every crucial point without a single wasted word. He nodded in approval and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Go and get some rest."

"Great King!" A-Fei asked cautiously, "What do you plan to do with those brothers who hid in Mount Huaguo?"

Zhou Yu said in a low voice, "Since they chose to hide in Mount Huaguo, they must be dead set against following us. In that case, the only option is to kill them."

A-Fei broke into a cold sweat upon hearing this and hurriedly said, "Great King, you must not!"

"Oh? And why not?" Zhou Yu placed his hands behind his back, striking the pose of a peerless warlord.

A-Fei paced back and forth, stomping his feet. "Although these brothers are a bit unruly, they were simply terrified by the Monkey King. They have lost all will to resist. With a little appeasement, they can be brought to heel. Besides, those who could flee into Mount Huaguo in such a short time are all powerful fighters."

Zhou Yu laughed at this, saying, "So, you're saying those who run fast are actually the most capable?"

A-Fei looked puzzled, his face earnest. "Isn't that the case?"

Zhou Yu paused, thinking to himself that he hadn't run slowly himself back on the Great Lake. Reflecting on this, he nodded and said, "You have a point."

"Then..." A-Fei hesitated.

Zhou Yu waved his hand, signaling him to leave. "You don't need to worry about this. I will handle it. Rest assured, I won't really kill them all."

A-Fei, knowing when to retreat, said quickly, "I understand, Great King. I shall withdraw."

"Don't forget to organize those guys," Zhou Yu added.

A-Fei shouted his compliance and left. Truly a subordinate worth cultivating, a natural-born second-in-command, Zhou Yu sighed.

"Lecherous Monkey! Come here." Zhou Yu beckoned from across the monkey troop.

The lecherous monkey rose gently, set down the young one he had been holding, patted a few little monkeys on the head, and leaped out of the group.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Let's go, we're heading to Mount Huaguo!" Zhou Yu said. "Those boar soldiers you drove off have all hidden inside. We’re going to capture them all and enlist them."

Having calmed down from his rage, the lecherous monkey nodded. "Fine! But is it alright to leave things here?"

Zhou Yu replied, "I will leave two clones behind to stabilize the situation."

"That will work. Let's go," said the lecherous monkey.

After bidding farewell to the others and giving A-Fei detailed instructions, Zhou Yu left two clones to guard the camp and set off with the lecherous monkey toward Mount Huaguo.

Mount Huaguo, as the name suggests, should be a place of flourishing life and fruit-laden branches—a paradise for monkeys. Yet, it had always been a desolate mountain. Calling it "desolate" did not mean it was barren; it meant it was ownerless.

In a world where resources for the demon tribes were so scarce, one would expect Mount Huaguo to be a site of bloody contention. However, whenever demon beasts entered, terrifying things would happen, and even the Demon Kings treated it with deep dread. Over time, this mountain, heavy with unpicked fruit, became a desolate place, its harvest left to rot year after year.

Those boar soldiers must have been truly terrified by the lecherous monkey to choose a mountain with such horrific legends, a place even Demon Kings feared to tread. Zhou Yu had already heard the legends from the lecherous monkey on the way and kept them in mind.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Zhou Yu looked up. Dense forests filled the slopes; though the trees had shed most of their leaves, the fruit remained, hanging heavy and full. Red apples, yellow pears, oranges, and bright red persimmons covered the landscape, along with other fruits Zhou Yu did not recognize.

As the winter wind blew, a fragrant, mellow sweetness filled the air. Zhou Yu took a deep breath, his mouth watering.

"A place this good—it's a shame not to claim it as one's own," Zhou Yu remarked.

The lecherous monkey twirled his golden staff. "That's why we're here."

"You don't seem afraid of the legends at all," Zhou Yu noted.

The lecherous monkey curled his lip. "Afraid of what? You have to fight to know, right?"

Zhou Yu smiled. The monkey was truly lawless, much like the great Monkey King of legend. In truth, Zhou Yu shared the same sentiment. With such abundant food, it would be a pity to leave without investigating. Besides, with thousands of desperate boar soldiers having already entered as pathfinders, he had all the more reason to go in.

With that, they entered Mount Huaguo.

It was easy to track the boars—the lush grass was trampled, and fruit lay half-eaten along the path. As they walked, they discussed their insights from the recent battle.

The lecherous monkey kept talking about what the Old Monkey had taught him in his final moments. Though the Old Monkey hadn't explained much, he had shown the monkey how to observe and learn by example.

The Old Monkey had mastered the use of demon power, capable of condensing it into specific shapes or applying it to precise ends in an instant. The technique he used to form a vortex and absorb the black boar hinted at his ability to alter the very nature of his demon power.

Every formidable Demon King was a master of such techniques. For them, demon power could be transformed into anything, its shape and nature altered at will, allowing for explosive power and unpredictable, deadly moves in combat.

It seemed that if the Old Monkey hadn't been weakened by age, he might have challenged the strongest of the Demon Kings. Zhou Yu sighed, feeling it was a great pity.

"If I could change my demon power at will, could I turn it into a blade? Would it be sharper and easier to cut through an opponent's defense?" the monkey asked.

Zhou Yu didn't know how to answer. He recalled that in the Spirit Realm, powerful cultivators did indeed shape their energy into specific forms for attacks. Since powerful beings didn't waste time or effort, the monkey's idea made perfect sense.

"Your idea should be feasible. I have seen others do it," Zhou Yu said.

The monkey immediately asked for details, and Zhou Yu did his best to recall and describe them.

"Like this?" Demon power surged from the monkey's hand, manifesting three feet away as a slender, golden curved blade.

Zhou Yu watched in astonishment. "How did you do that? I saw a cultivator spend an entire month just to gain that level of control."

The monkey scratched the back of his head. "I don't know. I just followed your words, added what I saw the Old Monkey do, and tried it out."

"You really are a genius!" Zhou Yu exclaimed.

"Want to test it?" the monkey asked.

Zhou Yu was alarmed. "You can't test it on me! What if you cut me in half?"

"Then I'll just cut a tree!" The monkey leaped out, holding his staff in his left hand and the golden blade in his right, and slashed at a thick tree.

A flash of golden light, a clean cut appeared, and the giant tree slid off and crashed to the ground with a thud.

Zhou Yu inspected the cut; it was perfectly smooth. "Incredible! How did it feel when you cut?"

The monkey shook his head. "No feeling at all."

"No feeling? You didn't feel any resistance?" Zhou Yu asked.

The monkey nodded.

"Try that!" Zhou Yu pointed to a large boulder nearby.

The monkey gathered his energy, formed the golden blade again, and leaped to strike. With a crisp "crack," the stone was split in two.

"How was it this time?" Zhou Yu asked eagerly.

"I felt a little something," the monkey replied.

Zhou Yu touched the smooth surface of the stone. "If I had known to use demon power like this, I wouldn't have suffered so much. Demon-General-level enemies would be cut down in a single stroke, wouldn't they?"

Zhou Yu nodded and asked, "What effect do you think a strike like this would have on a Demon King?"

The monkey spread his hands. "Hard to say. Every Demon King is different. Some, like the Ox King, focus on pure power, using their weapons so they don't waste energy shifting their aura. The Boar King, however, focuses on defensive armor. A strike like this might affect the Ox King, but it would do nothing against the Boar King's defense."

Zhou Yu was secretly startled. In the Spirit Realm, the prevailing view was that no matter how strong one's cultivation, the body remained fragile. But here, demon beasts had hides so tough that even after becoming Demon Kings, their defense was monstrous.

Just then, the monkey slowed his steps and whispered, "Look ahead!"