Chapter 57: The Four Auspicious Beasts and the Great Dark Demon King

Chapter 57: The Four Holy Beasts and the Great Dark Demon King (Part One)

Vixen Ji stopped speaking and instead tilted her head to listen intently.

After listening for a moment, she let out a soft chuckle.

Although Xuanqing was a holy beast, Vixen Ji was no longer afraid of him at this moment. Entities that had reached the level of a holy beast would never lie. Even though Xuanqing had been forced into this situation, he would never dare to lay a hand on Zhou Yu. Through this single night, the legend of the Great Dark Demon King had become, in Vixen Ji's mind, an undeniable truth.

Zhou Yu was still frowning in deep thought. Du Niang, the Savior Project, the Heavenly Dao, the Asura Dao, the Great Dark Demon King, the Great Holy Beast, and who on earth was the Child of Destiny? Then there was the issue of the perverted monkey—was he truly the reincarnation of Sun Wukong? This naturally brought up another question: what had become of the Animal Dao?

These lingering questions left Zhou Yu with a splitting headache. No matter how much he pondered, he could not make heads or tails of them. Though he vaguely sensed a few loose threads, he felt he was missing one crucial string—a string that could tie them all together.

Seeing Zhou Yu lost in furrowed contemplation, Vixen Ji chose not to disturb him. She walked back alone and called out to the perverted monkey, telling him to stop acting out.

"Xuanqing, you have suffered a loss this time. I know you harbor resentment in your heart, but as one of the Four Holy Beasts, I hope you will honor your own words," Vixen Ji said to Xuanqing, pulling a pill from her robe and handing it to him as he lay on the ground.

Xuanqing cast a glance at Vixen Ji with his one unblemished eye and remained silent.

Because the perverted monkey had stopped pummeling him, the dragon qi within his body began to circulate on its own, turning into a cyan light that rippled across his skin. Several of his wounds were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Seeing this, Vixen Ji put the pill away and said, "Legends of the Great Dark Demon King have been passed down since the time of our fox clan's ancestors. Now, it seems they are true."

This statement caused Xuanqing to close his eyes. After a moment of silence, he murmured, "The Great Dark Demon King..."

A heavy sigh escaped Xuanqing's lips. "For the sake of the Great Dark Demon King, we will let this matter rest. However, if any of you dare to breathe a word of what happened tonight to anyone else, I will tear you limb from limb!"

Vixen Ji nodded in satisfaction. "In truth, your strength is absolute. Even Bone Weeper is likely no match for you. How could we possibly dare to offend an existence as powerful as you?"

Vixen Ji chose not to mention Xuanqing's attempt to forcibly take Xiao Qing, thus saving face for him. Xuanqing naturally understood this and kept his mouth shut.

"You damned snake! Beaten to a pulp like this, and you still dare to threaten us? I think you're just asking for another beating!" The perverted monkey refused to let it go. He had always been someone who feared nothing in heaven or earth. Now that Xuanqing was down on his luck, why would he be afraid of him?

"Hmph! Do you truly believe you can kill me? Even back in his prime, the Great Dark Demon King could not kill any of the Four Holy Beasts. He could only seal us away after defeating us. The Four Holy Beasts are immortal!" Xuanqing retorted.

"It looks like you really are asking for a thrashing!" With that, the perverted monkey hefted his golden staff, preparing to strike again.

Xuanqing's gaze fell upon the golden staff, and his pupils quietly contracted. This golden staff was bizarrely wicked; not only did it possess overwhelming power, but whenever it touched Xuanqing, it actually absorbed the dragon qi from his body. This particular trait genuinely terrified him.

"Hit me if you must. In any case, you cannot kill me. If you wish to make a mortal enemy of an immortal, immensely powerful being, then go ahead and strike!" Xuanqing said.

The perverted monkey rolled his eyes, lowered the golden staff, and huffed. "You want me to hit you, so I deliberately won't. I'll infuriate you to death!"

Xuanqing let out a secret sigh of relief. Ordinary treasures or weapons could not frighten him in the least, but this particular staff could genuinely cause him excruciating pain!

He had not suffered injuries in countless years and had almost forgotten what pain felt like. Now, his entire body ached, and he was nearly at his breaking point.

At that moment, Zhou Yu stepped through the snow from afar.

"Since the fight is over, let's all get back to what we were doing," Zhou Yu said, spreading his hands. Faced with the current situation, he had no idea what to do either, so this was all he could offer.

Vixen Ji nodded. "I'll go call the children back."

With that, she transformed into a wisp of red mist and drifted off into the distance.

***

Fatty was still sweating profusely in the freezing snow and frozen earth. He didn't know whether it was from the excitement of defeating Xuanqing or from the anxiety of seeing how the perverted monkey treated him, fearing retaliation.

Yet, he truly had no idea how to deal with an entity as powerful as Xuanqing, so he volunteered to leave.

"Great Kings, I shall head back now so the brothers can set their minds at ease."

Zhou Yu nodded, and the perverted monkey had no objections. Fatty beckoned to the single surviving mute wild boar soldier among the distant herd, and the two companions hurried back together.

Watching Fatty and the mute wild boar soldier recede into the distance, Zhou Yu squatted down.

Snowflakes were falling incessantly from the sky, laying a thick blanket across the ground. A layer of white snow had also settled over Xuanqing's body.

"Can you tell me in detail about the Great Dark Demon King?" Zhou Yu asked the Xuanqing beside him.

Hearing this, a flash of cold light crossed Xuanqing's eyes, though it vanished instantly. "You don't know?"

Zhou Yu was startled. He had momentarily forgotten this detail. If Xuanqing realized that he had no actual connection to the Great Dark Demon King, wouldn't he find himself in deep trouble?

Just as he was about to make up an excuse—

"I suppose the Great Dark Demon King wouldn't have told you anyway. He was never one for many words," Xuanqing said.

Hearing these words, Zhou Yu suspected that Xuanqing had actually seen through his awkward predicament and deliberately covered for him.

"I do not know where the Great Dark Demon King came from, but his strength vastly exceeded mine. Back then, even when the Four Holy Beasts joined forces, we were defeated by him—and it was a crushing defeat." At this point, Xuanqing's face turned ashen.

Seemingly recalling the battle of that era, he closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time.

Zhou Yu and the perverted monkey seemed to sense the oppressive atmosphere of that epic clash and also stayed quiet. The Four Holy Beasts joining forces—Zhou Yu could well imagine what kind of scene that must have been. Although Xuanqing had not unleashed his full offensive power this time, Zhou Yu had witnessed the full-force attack of the Holy Qilin with his own eyes.

"Speaking of which, I truly suffered a loss this time. After cultivating for so many more years... and what resides within your body is likely not even the full energy of the Great Dark Demon King. In truth, I still had the capacity to fight..." Xuanqing said, but by the end, his voice was barely audible.

The perverted monkey looked at him with a trace of mockery. "Yet your spirit was frightened out of you."

"What does fear have to do with it? You never witnessed the Great Dark Demon King in his prime; you don't know his terror. If he flies into a rage, this entire world will collapse," Xuanqing said.

"Stop bragging! If you possess an existence capable of destroying the world, why couldn't he kill you?" the perverted monkey challenged.

Xuanqing's expression shifted slightly. "Because we Four Holy Beasts are inherently composed of energy. First, the energy aggregated, and only then did we manifest physical bodies. Therefore, even if our physical forms are destroyed, we can still be reborn, provided enough time passes."

"What? You are formed from energy?" Zhou Yu asked.

Xuanqing nodded.

"Yet Vixen Ji said you evolved from beasts."

Xuanqing sneered at the notion. "We merely chose these forms when our physical manifestations took shape because these four creature types happen to be immensely powerful. As for the demon race believing we are their ancestors, that is nothing more than their own wishful thinking."

Zhou Yu thought to himself: So the demon race shares the exact same temperament as certain shameless groups on Earth—whenever they see someone powerful, they desperately try to claim a bloodline connection.

"Then why did you Holy Beasts emerge into the world this time?" Zhou Yu asked.

"You know that we have emerged?" Xuanqing asked, astonished.

Zhou Yu nodded. "Actually, I am a human; I came from the human territories. Before I met you, I saw the Holy Qilin on the great lake at the periphery of the Immortal Spirit Realm."

"Furthermore, before I came here, I heard that the Xuanwu Divine Turtle had also manifested in the Southern Wilderness."

Xuanqing asked anxiously, "How are they now?"

"The Holy Qilin was injured by two powerful human cultivators, transformed into a tiny white beast, and has already chosen a host. That host is my friend, and I don't know where he has gone now. As for the Xuanwu Divine Turtle, I heard he was sealed by the Beast Sect."

Knowing the severity of the situation, Zhou Yu did not hide anything.

"Impossible! Humans could never defeat the Four Holy Beasts! And that so-called Beast Sect—how could a puny human sect seal a holy beast?!" Xuanqing shook his head, refusing to believe it.

Zhou Yu looked at him and said, "Whether you believe it or not, there's nothing I can do. Aren't you lying right here right now?"

"That's different! I was defeated at the hands of the Great Dark Demon King," Xuanqing argued.

Zhou Yu sighed. "Perhaps the Four Holy Beasts are truly immortal, but you are not invincible. Take tonight's battle, for instance: if you hadn't successfully summoned the full moon, and had you endured Vixen Ji's full technique directly, you would have already been grievously wounded."

"Vixen Ji's strength is comparable to the Five Great Demon Kings, and above the Five Great Demon Kings stands the Demon Emperor. Furthermore, the humans have powerhouses with the strength of a Demon Emperor, and there is more than one. If several Demon Emperor-level powerhouses were to attack you simultaneously, do you still believe you would not be defeated?"

Xuanqing closed his eyes and fell silent, for he could actually sense the plight of the other three holy beasts. Because they were holy beasts formed from energy with powers that defied the heavens, they possessed a mutual resonance.

"If your friend is truly staying with the Holy Qilin, he should be in the Northern Glacial Wasteland right now," Xuanqing said, seamlessly changing the subject. He still could not accept the reality that humanity had grown so powerful.

"Yue Ming is in the Northern Glacial Wasteland?" Zhou Yu asked hastily.

Xuanqing gave a subtle nod. "I can sense it. The Holy Qilin is indeed severely injured and is currently in a very weak state. Yet even in that condition, it is not something ordinary humans can compare to."

Zhou Yu suddenly thought of a question. "Suppose—and I mean suppose—someone could send another person flying with a single punch from the peak of Misty Mountain all the way here, just how powerful would that striker have to be?"

Xuanqing rolled his eyes at Zhou Yu. "How is that possible? Even if such a powerhouse existed, no one could possibly withstand such a beating!"

Zhou Yu insisted, "I told you, it's just a hypothesis!"

Xuanqing thought for a moment before replying, "Do you think powerhouses of the Great Dark Demon King's caliber grow like cabbages on the roadside?"

Zhou Yu understood. Xuanqing's implication was that the Great Dark Demon King was precisely an entity of that tier.

By this logic, the strength of the man carrying the large iron box should be no less than that of the Great Dark Demon King.

And the Great Dark Demon King had easily defeated four entities that surpassed the Demon Emperor level.

Could this be the true power of an SS-tier powerhouse? Zhou Yu silently asked himself in his heart.