Chapter 730

Mount Wuzhi.

Sun Wukong sat quietly within his seal, occasionally chatting with people in the chat group, his inner malice gradually fading.

"Buddha locked me away for so long, and my malice never faded—why does chatting with ordinary people make me feel at ease and cause my malice to vanish?"

Sun Wukong was puzzled.

He did not know that humans are social creatures, and communication is a necessity.

Buddha sealed him here for five hundred years to reflect, but it did not eliminate his malice—it only drove him mad.

Five hundred years of solitude could drive even a normal immortal or deity insane, let alone a violent demon.

One can only say that the methods of subduing demons in this world are far too outdated.

Or perhaps Buddha never wanted him to change!

If he changed, how could future methods of subduing demons be demonstrated?

Without future methods, how could the Fomen appear all-powerful?

Of course, Sun Wukong would never admit that the most important reason his malice faded was because he had been beaten up several times.

08 Each time, he lost decisively, each time defeated in his own area of expertise, shattering his pride.

It was precisely those defeats that woke him up.

In the myriad worlds, he was not invincible—he had to be humble, or he might be killed.

Thus, lately he had become much more modest in the chat group, afraid that a Dao Jun might teleport in and strike him hard.

"The Dao Jun seems easygoing, but he strikes with terrible force—I'd better not provoke him."

Thinking of Zhang Taixuan, he recalled their final battle—the Liang Tian Chi descended, and he felt as if his very existence had been erased.

That feeling was terrifying.

Even facing Buddha, he had never felt that.

His mind went blank, all existence vanished—just thinking of it made him afraid.

At this moment.

On Mount Wuzhi, a young man carrying a medicinal basket walked up the mountain.

Walking along the mountain path, his steps were light, unafraid of falling off the cliff—he knew this place intimately.

In fact, the boy had lived nearby for over a decade, gathering herbs in the mountains since childhood.

This mountain was a blessed land.

There were no fierce beasts or birds here, yet precious herbs grew abundantly, improving his life steadily.

But one thing terrified him—no matter how he described it, no one else could see this mountain or climb it.

For a long time, he believed it was a mountain of the underworld.

He grew afraid, avoided the mountain for a while, yet due to poverty, he had no choice but to return and gather herbs again.

"Huh? So many lotuses have grown here?"

The herb-gatherer stared in surprise, "Lotuses growing on mountain soil? That's strange."

Everyone knows lotuses grow in wetlands or water.

Mountain soil lacks sufficient moisture—it's impossible for lotuses to grow here.

The boy leaned close, inhaling the alluring fragrance, and saw many lotuses bearing seeds—his joy deepened.

"Taking these seeds home will surely earn me a little profit."

He gently pulled—and instantly, a white lotus was plucked.

Just as he reached to pluck its seeds, the white lotus in his hand burst into flame.

The boy gasped, looked at the field of lotuses—and saw all the others ignite too; in an instant, the lotus patch became a sea of fire.

"This…" The boy froze in shock—until a wave of searing heat struck him, and he scrambled away in panic, slapping at the flames on his body.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly—the fire on him was small and extinguished at once.

Boom—

The mountain began to shake, cracking loudly, as if about to shatter.

"This… legend says a supreme demon is sealed nearby—could this mountain, invisible to others, be the place that imprisons the demon?"

The boy turned pale, "No wonder no one else sees it. This isn't a blessed land—it's a demon-sealing ground!"

Crack!

The cracking sound grew louder—next moment, a beam of Jin Guang shot skyward, and the mountain exploded.

"Ahh!"

The boy screamed as the explosion hurled him into the air.

Watching himself rise higher and higher, above the clouds, he nearly died of terror.

"Falling from this height—I'm dead!"

Just as he thought it, his upward momentum ceased, and he plummeted rapidly.

"Aaaah!"

The boy shut his eyes and screamed—next instant, his fall stopped. He opened his eyes and saw before him a short, brutish-looking monkey with a flag stuck to his back.

The monkey grinned at him.

The boy fainted from terror.

"Tch!" Sun Wukong grumbled, "Am I really that terrifying?"

He returned to the ground, tossed the boy aside, and conjured a Xuan Guang Mirror to examine his own face.

The more he looked, the more uncomfortable he felt.

In the end, he had to admit—his appearance was indeed rather fearsome.

"This appearance is quite popular among demons, but nowadays it's hard to take seriously."

With a thought, he activated his transformation technique, and in the next moment, the monkey became a graceful young man.

His features were well-proportioned, his white robes fluttering, exuding an aura of immortal grace.

"Now this is better," Sun Wukong chuckled. "Though I am a demon, why must I wear a ferocious face? Now that the great calamity has begun, it is the time to rise with the tide—such a look is truly unsuitable for action."

Even the monkey knew that humanity was the true master of heaven and earth.

To gather the 687 threads of destiny and ascend to the peak, he must go to the human realm.

In the human lands, which appearance serves better than that of immortal grace?

"I've heard the Dao Lord possesses the Art of Embryonic Transformation and Shape-Shifting, capable of altering even the root essence. If I could obtain it, my transformations would have no flaws," Sun Wukong mused. "That would make things far more convenient. After finishing matters here, I'll ask in the chat group."

As he thought this, he sensed the young man awakening.

"A demon!"

The young man screamed, stunned to see the white-robed Sun Wukong, frozen in place.

"Where did you come from, demon?" Sun Wukong asked.

The young man replied confusedly, "I just saw a terrifying monkey."

"Hehe, was it like this?" Sun Wukong, feeling playful, transformed back into his original form. Seeing the boy terrified, he changed again into the white-robed youth. "It's merely the Art of Transformation. I originally intended to take you as my disciple, but given your cowardice, forget it."

"Disciple?"

"Art of Transformation?"

The boy blinked. "Are you a god?"

Even as he spoke, the boy didn't believe it.

How could a god be sealed inside this mountain?

Sun Wukong smiled lightly: "I was once the Great Sage Equaling Heaven in the heavens, but because I offended the Jade Emperor, I was imprisoned here. Now that my punishment is complete and the curse lifted, I have broken free."