Chapter 46

For a time, all the demon kings across Dongsheng Shenzhou and its surrounding regions, stirred by Sun Wukong’s welcoming feast, stirred like wind and clouds, turning their gazes toward Huaguo Mountain.

Su Chen remained utterly unaware of this.

He had been pinned inside the Water Curtain Cave by Sun Wukong, drinking several rounds of monkey wine with him.

This monkey wine was brewed by the monkeys of Huaguo Mountain from ten thousand fruits, rich in spiritual energy, sweet and mellow in flavor—a rare delicacy indeed.

As he chatted idly with Sun Wukong, Su Chen observed the entire Water Curtain Cave.

He discovered that beneath the waterfall outside the cave lay a hidden world, its depths connected to a water vein leading straight to the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea.

“No wonder Brother Monkey can just run straight here to the Dragon Palace to borrow treasures,” Su Chen realized inwardly.

On the next day, demon kings from all directions began arriving one after another.

Soon, demonic energy surged into the sky above Huaguo Mountain, with bizarre, monstrous winds howling back and forth.

There was the Wolf King riding black clouds, the Bat Demon gliding on blood mist, and the Tiger Spirit riding demonic winds…

Nearly all seventy-two cave demon kings had arrived.

Their congratulatory gifts were varied and abundant, piling up in one corner of the Water Curtain Cave.

There were rare spiritual minerals, thousand-year herbs, and countless strange and wondrous magic treasures.

Each of these demon kings was a fearsome, brutal creature, thick with heavy malevolent energy and the stench of blood.

Upon entering the Water Curtain Cave, they boldly found seats, shouting and clamoring loudly, turning what had once been a quiet cave into a foul, chaotic mess.

Sun Wukong sat upon the main seat, his face beaming with pride at the grand spectacle of countless demons paying homage.

Su Chen sat below him, silently observing these demon kings.

He noticed that most of these demon kings cultivated between the Void Refining and Demon Immortal realms, with only a few reaching the Earth Immortal realm.

“Come, come, brothers!” Sun Wukong rose to his feet and shouted loudly, “Old Sun introduces you all to a fine brother today!”

He pulled Su Chen up from beside him.

“This is Daoist Wuchen—he is my own blood brother. From now on, he shall be the Second King of Huaguo Mountain. His words are my words.”

All the demon kings’ gazes instantly fixed on Su Chen.

A frail-looking human Daoist, his cultivation barely at the Human Immortal level, was to become the Second King of Huaguo Mountain?

Many of the demon kings present felt resentment.

Especially the few powerful demon kings seated in the front row, whose eyes toward Su Chen brimmed with provocation.

“Great Sage,” spoke a demon king with a lion’s head and a massive frame, his tone dripping with sarcasm, “your brother seems unfamiliar. May I ask which immortal mountain he hails from, and what arts he practices?”

He was among the strongest of the seventy-two cave demon kings, already at the Earth Immortal realm.

As soon as he spoke, the clamor within the cave quieted considerably.

All the demon kings leaned forward, eager to hear Su Chen’s reply.

Sun Wukong frowned, about to explode.

But Su Chen gently pressed his hand, signaling him to calm down.

He stepped forward, meeting the lion demon’s gaze, his expression still as serene as ever.

“My sect’s name is not fit for outsiders to know,” Su Chen said softly. “As for the arts I’ve learned… merely crude methods of cultivating the heart and nurturing nature, nothing worth mentioning.”

His words were humble to the extreme.

But to these demon kings, who revered strength above all, it sounded like weakness.

“Hahaha! Cultivating the heart and nurturing nature?” The Lion-Camel King burst into laughter. “Daoist, our demon kind doesn’t care for that—we care for fists, for strength!”

“Exactly!” added another wolf demon. “The Great Sage’s brother ought to be someone mighty! Daoist, since you’re the Great Sage’s brother, surely your abilities aren’t weak?”

Instantly, the cave erupted in unrest.

Sun Wukong’s face darkened.

He slammed his fist on the table and rose, eyes blazing with fury.

“All of you, shut your mouths!”

His roar exploded like thunder through the cave.

The overwhelming aura of a Jin Xian instantly swept through the entire hall.

The previously shouting demon kings fell silent as frozen insects, lowering their heads in terror, daring not utter another word.

Sun Wukong pointed at the lion demon. “What are you, to question my brother? Does my brother need to prove his abilities to you? Open your mouth one more time, and I’ll smash your lion head with my staff!”

The lion demon trembled violently, half his wine sobered, and immediately knelt to beg for mercy: “Great Sage, calm down! Your humble servant knows his fault!”

The entire Water Curtain Cave fell instantly silent.

Su Chen watched the furious Sun Wukong, a warmth flowing through his heart.

This monkey still protected his own so fiercely.

He walked to Sun Wukong’s side and whispered, “Brother Monkey, no need for this.”

Then he picked up the bowl of wine before him and stepped to the center of the hall.

He looked around at the silent demon kings, a faint smile on his face.

“Your kindness, I deeply appreciate. But my arts are truly unsuited for combat. Still, I have a few minor tricks to entertain you all.”

As Su Chen finished speaking, he gently tossed the bowl of wine into the air.

All the demon kin fixed their eyes on Su Chen.

They wanted to see what magic this human Daoist, so favored by the Great Sage, truly possessed.

Su Chen lightly flung the bowl of monkey wine into the air.

The crystal-clear wine liquid traced a graceful arc and hung suspended midair.

“Hum—”

A faint hum sounded.

The floating droplets of wine began to tremble violently.

Then, before the stunned eyes of the demons, each droplet rapidly elongated, twisted, and transformed into countless tiny swords—crystalline, translucent, gleaming with cold light.

Tens of thousands of swords, forged from wine, hovered densely in midair within the Water Curtain Cave, their tips all pointing downward, radiating a piercing, heart-stopping sharpness.

“What… what kind of technique is this?”

“Condensing water into swords? And those blades carry an astonishingly potent intent!”

“My heavens—I feel my demon soul trembling! If those swords fell, I’d be pierced into a sieve on the spot!”

The demon kin who had earlier shown disdain and provocation now stared wide-eyed in shock; most were self-taught, never having witnessed such a technique.

Sun Wukong stared, dumbfounded.

“This technique… it feels familiar… like something Master taught, but not quite. Little brother has turned it into something extraordinary,” Sun Wukong muttered inwardly.

He could tell that Su Chen’s display, though flashy, demanded extreme precision in magical control.