Ao Shun did not immediately reject Gu Hai’s invitation. Instead, he pondered it.
After some silence, Ao Shun smiled bitterly and said, “Imperial Emperor Gu, although Ao Sheng has his faults, he is still my younger brother in the end. I do not wish to fight with him.”
“You misunderstood us. We did not mean for you to fight with Ao Sheng. You don’t have to worry about this. Is there only the Northern Sea’s dragon race in the world? Can’t you start another organization of dragons, just like Di Shitian?” Gu Hai said seriously.
Ao Shun frowned slightly.
“Furthermore, we sense that while Ao Sheng is much stronger now, he is not a good ruler. There are many dragons who grew up with you, fought beside you, and suffered for you in the Northern Sea Dragon Palace. Can you really bear to let them die because of Ao Sheng messing around?” Gu Hai said.
“It’s…not that bad, right?” Ao Shun said with a frown.
“We’re not sure whether it will happen or not. However, you can provide a haven for them when they have nowhere else to go, at least. Isn’t that right?” Gu Hai said.
Ao Shun pondered this future.
“Of course, even though you will be the national beast’s prime, we will not force you to take in dragons to be your subordinates. Just you alone is sufficient. You saw it yourself. Di Shitian and Ao Sheng targeted your bloodline. That is just the beginning. You will probably have more enemies in the future. If you become the prime of the Han Imperial Dynasty’s dragon race, we can openly be allies and help each other, at the very least—unless you think the Han Imperial Dynasty is beneath you. If that is the case, just pretend that we did not say anything.” Gu Hai smiled.
“How can that be? How could I dare to think the Han Imperial Dynasty beneath me? However, I will be bringing a lot of trouble to Imperial Emperor Gu in the future,” Ao Shun said with a forced smile.
“So you agree? Hahahaha! Trouble? We fear trouble the least!” Gu Hai guffawed happily.
“Since Your Reverence does not think me beneath you, then Ao Shun will accept without any shame!” Ao Shun smiled.
“Not at all! How can we think you beneath me? Hahaha! We are beyond happy. Gaining your help is like getting another arm!” Gu Hai smiled.
“Congratulations, Prime Ao, on reestablishing the past glory of Prime Ao Tianhuang,” Chang Ming said with a smile.
——
Water Curtain Cave, Flower and Fruit Mountain:
“Get out! Get out!” Sun Wukong chased the monkeys out of the Water Curtain Cave in a fury.
“Great King, what’s wrong?” one of the monkeys asked boldly.
“Scram! I feel infuriated at the sight of those baldies! You are their eyes and ears. Don’t think that I don’t know that. Scram! Scram! Scram!” Sun Wukong shouted, feeling depressed.
The monkeys immediately swarmed out.
“You even sent a group of animal spirit kings to surround my Flower and Fruit Mountain. Are you keeping me under surveillance? Humph!” Sun Wukong shouted furiously, apparently complaining to someone.
The moment the depressed monkeys left the Water Curtain Cave, Sun Wukong’s expression changed. “Who is it?!”
——
Shangguan Hen and Kong Xuan flew quickly to the Flower and Fruit Mountain.
“This is the place?” Kong Xuan’s face sank.
“That’s right.” Shangguan Hen nodded his head.
Whoosh!
Kong Xuan waved his hand, and surging black energy covered the Flower and Fruit Mountain.
“Who is it?” A furious shout immediately came from the Flower and Fruit Mountain.
Sun Wukong flew out of the Water Curtain Cave.
“Kong Xuan, you watch my back. I’ll capture it!” Shangguan Hen said.
Whoosh!
Shangguan Hen immediately charged down, flying to the Water Curtain Cave’s entrance.
Boom!
A strong wind blew as Shangguan Hen appeared before Sun Wukong.
“I was wondering who it was. It turned out to be you, the loathsome tortoise? Heh! Hehehehe! Gu Hai escaped? Where is he?” Sun Wukong stared at Shangguan Hen, spewing golden light from its eyes.
“His Reverence is not here. We invite Great Sage Equal to Heaven to come with us,” Shangguan Hen said.
“Oh? He is not here?” Sun Wukong’s eyes lit up.
As long as Gu Hai was not here, Sun Wukong did not fear anything.
“Please!” Shangguan Hen said seriously.
“Please? Hahahaha! Gu Hai is not here. Do you think a loathsome tortoise like you can bring me away? Take a staff strike from this Old Sun!” Sun Wukong suddenly shouted.
Sun Wukong reached into its ear and pulled out the Malleable Golden Staff. After enlarging the staff severalfold, it swung the staff down toward Shangguan Hen ferociously.
“Humph!” Battle hunger flashed into Shangguan Hen’s eyes. He stepped forward and counterpunched.
Using the Eight Nines Profound Technique?
While you know it, so do I!
“Do you think that you are me, having an indestructible body? Get flattened!” Sun Wukong roared ferociously.
Bong!
A loud report rang out. Shangguan Hen’s golden fist clashed with the Malleable Golden Staff. The staff bounced back, and a powerful shock wave spread out in all directions. Gusts blew through the entire Flower and Fruit Mountain.
The Malleable Golden Staff’s rebound made Sun Wukong’s hands go numb.
“What? Only how long has passed since then. How did you become this strong?” Sun Wukong’s expression changed.
Sun Wukong had killed countless animal spirits, demons, and monsters with its staff. However, Shangguan Hen had blocked its staff strike with a punch.
The golden light coming from the fist had not faded away yet. Sun Wukong’s pupils suddenly constricted.
“The Eight Nines Profound Technique? You know it too?” Sun Wukong’s expression changed.
“His Reverence passed it on to me. It is the same as yours.” Shangguan Hen smiled coldly.
“Humph! The same as mine? No one is as accomplished as I am in the Eight Nines Profound Technique. Back then, Yang Jian was also not a match for me. Humph! Again!” Sun Wukong shouted.
[TL Note: According to the Investiture of the Gods, Yang Jian cultivated the Eight Nines Profound Technique. However, based on the account in Journey to the West, it is likely that Sun Wukong had not cultivated the Eight Nines Profound Technique. Even though eight sets of nine make seventy-two, the seventy-two transformations that Sun Wukong knows are just one of the abilities of the Eight Nines Profound Technique. Sun Wukong’s master passed on the seventy-two transformations to it after it had already cultivated to a certain level as a means of avoiding some disaster later on. Therefore, the Eight Nines Profound Technique was not Sun Wukong’s primary cultivation technique in Journey to the West. Of course, this being another novel, the author is free to change things up. Yang Jian had demonstrated the seventy-two transformations and some other abilities of the Eight Nines Profound Technique. As a reminder, Yang Jian was mentioned in Book 06, Chapter 033.]
Shangguan Hen stepped forward again, closing the distance.
Boom!
Shangguan Hen threw a punch and knocked Sun Wukong into the air.
He moved so quickly that he caught the monkey king off guard.
“That’s impossible! How many…how many layers have you cultivated?” Sun Wukong roared while glaring.
“Sixty-four!” Shangguan Hen shouted coldly, arriving before Sun Wukong.
Boom!
Shangguan Hen slammed Sun Wukong into the ground with a palm strike. The entire Flower and Fruit Mountain shuddered, and overwhelming waves kicked up in the surrounding sea.
Standing in the sky, Kong Xuan watched coldly as Shangguan Hen suppressed Sun Wukong. He frowned slightly, feeling curious about the Eight Nines Profound Technique.
However, Kong Xuan suddenly narrowed his eyes at the surrounding islands.
“Come on out, my old brothers!” Kong Xuan called out coldly.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ten-odd figures immediately soared into the sky, surrounding Kong Xuan. These figures looked different from each other.
These were the animal spirits that the Present Buddha captured together with Kong Xuan back then. They and Kong Xuan had previously operated the Cyclic Star Ritual Array.
“Kong Xuan, indeed, you have come out!” a bull spirit leading the group said coldly.
“Hah! This means the various brothers have been waiting for me here for some time already?” Kong Xuan said with narrowed eyes.
That bull spirit said with a frown, “That’s right. Kong Xuan, the Lord Buddha sent us here in case Gu Hai returned to capture Sun Wukong. Unexpectedly, you came so quickly. Kong Xuan, the Lord Buddha thinks highly of you and is willing to make you a buddha. Why are you—”
“Shut up!” Kong Xuan glared, emanating an intense bloodthirst.
The surrounding animal spirits frowned slightly.
“I refuse to submit to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land, so what? What Great Light Sovereign Buddha? This great me does not care for that. What did you get by swearing loyalty to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land? Become insignificant arhats or insignificant bodhisattvas? Hahahahaha! This great me does not care even if you do. Our paths are different, so we can no longer understand each other. On account of our past brotherhood, I will not make things difficult for you. Go back to wherever you came from!” Kong Xuan said coldly, suppressing his anger.
“Kong Xuan, what are you saying? You only ruled the animal spirit kings because the Supreme Singularity thought highly of you, not because you were stronger than us. That was why you led us. Brothers? Haha! If you join the Spirit Mountain Holy Land, you are our brother. If you do not, you are our enemy!” a leopard spirit retorted coldly.
“Leopard Boss, say that again?” Kong Xuan’s eyes turned cold as he looked at the animal spirit who spoke.
“Return to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land with us for punishment. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what happens next,” Leopard Boss said coldly.
“Hah! Hahahahahahahahahaha! Excellent! Excellent! Even now, this great me considered our past brotherhood and wanted to let you go, yet you have completely become the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s lackeys? Just so you can get promoted? You want to capture me for a reward? Hahahahahaha! I—Kong Xuan—am ashamed to have been associated with you!” Kong Xuan glared at that Leopard Boss.
“You bastard!” The animal spirits’ expressions turned cold.
“Kong Xuan, you had better wise up. Humph! You were among the top ten of the three hundred sixty-one animal spirit kings back then. However, you were not the first. You were not even comparable to me. What is there to be cocky about? I will teach you a lesson today! Humph! You don’t know what is good for you!” Leopard Boss charged at Kong Xuan.
Leopard Boss appeared ferocious, moving swiftly. He arrived before Kong Xuan in an instant. He extended his palm, ripples spreading through space as he tried to capture Kong Xuan.
“Hah!” Kong Xuan glared and roared.
When he roared, surging black energy poured out and wrapped around Leopard Boss.
“What?” Leopard Boss’s expression suddenly changed.
Kong Xuan opened his mouth, and a strong suction came from it. That palm strike immediately entered his mouth. The suction then strengthened, and the black wind intensified.
“Ah?! Kong Xuan, how dare you?!” Leopard Boss exclaimed, his expression changing.
“What?” The expressions of the other animal spirit kings changed.
Whoosh!
Kong Xuan closed his mouth, swallowing Leopard Boss into his stomach.
“Kong Xuan, how dare you?!” The animal spirits’ expressions changed.
“That is Leopard Boss! You consumed Leopard Boss! How did your cultivation increase so much?”
“Are you Kong Xuan?”
The animal spirits cried out while glaring.
After Kong Xuan consumed Leopard Boss, he glared and said, “From now on, you Spirit Mountain Holy Land lackeys are no longer my—Kong Xuan’s—brothers. Hah!”
“You!” The animal spirits’ expressions changed.
“Surround him!” the earlier bull spirit ordered with a cold glare.
Boom!
A loud report rang out below. Shangguan Hen picked up Sun Wukong, who was filled with disbelief.
Holding the sealed Sun Wukong and the Malleable Golden Staff, Shangguan Hen soared into the sky.
“Kong Xuan, it’s time to go!” Shangguan Hen called out.
The expressions of the nearby animal spirits changed. Shangguan Hen is this powerful? That Sun Wukong is very powerful, yet it got captured so quickly?
Kong Xuan shook his head. “You go first. Shangguan Hen, I’ll help you block them!”
“There’s no need. They cannot catch up with us,” Shangguan Hen said, frowning.
“I said you should go first. Bring Sun Wukong with you. These animal spirit kings are just the beginning. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s people will be coming soon—including the Present Buddha and the Past Buddha. I’ll block them. You go first!” Kong Xuan said seriously.
Shangguan Hen showed an uncertain look. He could make out Kong Xuan’s determination, so he nodded.
Whoosh!
Shangguan Hen immediately shot into the distance.
“Halt!” The bull spirit glared, wanting to stop Shangguan Hen.
“Hah!” Kong Xuan roared. Then, black wind curled around the bull spirit and pulled the bull spirit into his mouth, then his stomach.
“What? Kong Xuan, you…you consumed Bull Head? The Lord Buddha will not let you go!” a wolf spirit howled while glowering.
“Hahahahaha! Lord Buddha? I’m not leaving today. I’m waiting for them to come. I don’t just want to consume you all. I also want to consume the entire Spirit Mountain Holy Land! The Present Buddha and Past Buddha can forget about running. I’m going to consume all of them!” Kong Xuan roared.
Boom!
Kong Xuan turned into a ten-kilometer-long peacock radiating a demonic aura. The surging demonic aura dyed the entire sky black.
