"Fortune is rare—sometimes, even harder to come by than merit."
King Yellow Wind was delighted as he merged the trait. Instantly, he felt his luck subtly improve, as if his destiny had taken a turn for the better.
"So, you're the master of this cave? I didn't realize. Please forgive my ignorance," the scorpion demon stammered.
Awakening from the pain and seeing its attacker's imposing figure, the demon quickly noticed the "Mouse Hole" inscription near the entrance. Realization struck, and it flipped over to kowtow repeatedly.
King Yellow Wind gazed at the creature. For an ordinary scorpion to have gained sentience and survived by sheer luck—it was clear its life wasn't meant to end here.
"Stand up. This place reeks. Be my mount instead."
"Yes, my lord!"
The scorpion demon reverted to its original form—a dark-purple scorpion about the size of a tabletop—and crouched down.
Carrying King Yellow Wind, it scuttled into the cave. When asked to head deeper inside, the scorpion hesitated.
"My lord, you may not know, but I only dare linger in the outer layers. The depths are a labyrinth, infested with zombies, shadow demons, and vengeful ghosts—it's truly perilous!"
"Zombies and shadow demons?"
King Yellow Wind raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," the scorpion demon confirmed. "I suspect something went wrong underground. Perhaps it's connected to the underworld, allowing these creatures to escape into the mortal realm."
"No matter. With me here, there's nothing to fear!"
Bolstered by the command, the scorpion demon mustered its courage.
Following King Yellow Wind's guidance, they navigated winding paths with relative ease, reaching the entrance to his former lair.
There, two zombies stood guard.
[Species: Ghost · Zombie]
[Realm: Refining Qi · Shaping Form]
[Traits: Iron Skin (Blue), Bloodlust (Blue), Corpse Poison (Blue), Basic Blade Skills (White)]
The second zombie shared the first three traits but had [Proficient Swordsmanship (Blue)] as its fourth.
Sensing a living presence, the zombies howled and lunged.
With two swift strikes of his spear, King Yellow Wind beheaded them both and stormed into his home. Inside, he found a millennium-old corpse king ruling over a host of zombies and shadow demons.
[Species: Ghost · Zombie]
[Realm: Refining Qi · Corpse Core]
[Traits: Copper Skin and Iron Bones (Purple), Spear Mastery (Purple), Formation Expertise (Red), Corpse Demon Poison (Red) …]
Clad in armor, the corpse king had a robust physique. It roared commands, leading its minions in military formation as they advanced like a disciplined army.
Keeping his distance, King Yellow Wind nocked his arrows and picked them off one by one.
Enraged, the corpse king charged, swinging its massive blade. The blade's gleaming arc tore through the air toward him.
King Yellow Wind raised his spear, engaging the foe in combat. After a fierce struggle, the corpse king succumbed, decapitated by the spear's might.
[You have defeated the Millennium Corpse King. Randomly plundering its trait: Formation Expertise (Red). Would you like to merge?]
[Formation Expertise (Red): You excel in learning military tactics and commanding troops. Under your leadership, morale surges, and formations move as one.]
"Excellent!"
Elated, King Yellow Wind merged the trait. Visions of battlefields flooded his mind—generals issuing commands, orderly formations advancing, and camps being arranged. Everything became vividly clear.
His studies of military strategy back at Square Inch Mountain now fused seamlessly into his consciousness. The sensation was extraordinary.
"My lord, help me!"
The scorpion demon's desperate cry jolted him from his thoughts. It was locked in a struggle with a shadow demon and was losing ground due to its injuries.
Rushing forward, King Yellow Wind subdued the shadow demon.
"My lord's might is unmatched!" the scorpion demon cheered, raising its claws in triumph.
The shadow demon, now subdued, knelt and begged for mercy.
Shadow demons were creatures born from concentrated death and yin energy in the underworld. A select few gained sentience.
King Yellow Wind interrogated the demon, learning the truth:
The dragon vein's demise had disrupted Yellow Wind Ridge's underworld counterpart. Tears and overlaps between the realms of yin and yang had formed.
Though the underworld quickly intervened to seal most of these breaches, some ghosts and demons had slipped through.
Furthermore, the escaping yin energy had corrupted the caves and subterranean rivers, altering the environment and birthing new shadowy entities.
For instance, the Flowing Sands Kingdom had fallen to a newly ascended ghost king.
King Yellow Wind surveyed his surroundings. Not only was there yin energy from the underworld, but remnants of the dragon vein's deathly resentment were also present, transforming the entire area.
Back in his lair, he noticed even mundane items like tables and chairs moving faintly. Corrupted by yin energy, they were beginning to develop rudimentary spirits.
Given time, they might even become sentient entities—a table spirit, a broom spirit, and so on.
"This place is no longer livable," King Yellow Wind muttered. "Leaving it unchecked will only lead to further contamination of Yellow Wind Ridge's ley lines, turning it into a haven for ghosts."
Could the Golden-Winged Roc's true goal in killing the dragon vein have been to trigger this calamity?
"Was the Yellow Wind Demon's arrival tied to this? Ling Mountain's Buddhist teachings thrive on purifying ghosts and demons—acts that yield vast merit."
It wasn't far-fetched. In the world of Journey to the West, some deities and Buddhas treated sentient beings as mere tools, harvesting them at will.
Looking at the subdued shadow demon and the scorpion demon standing guard, King Yellow Wind had an idea: why not leave the scorpion to guard this place?
However, the scorpion demon's strength was insufficient.
Suddenly, King Yellow Wind remembered: the traits he plundered could be granted to others—and taken back at any time.
This was perfect for cultivating loyal subordinates. Any rebellion would be swiftly quelled by reclaiming their traits, rendering even the strongest minion powerless.
They would inevitably remain under his control.
"Let's give it a try," King Yellow Wind thought.
"Come here," he called to the scorpion demon.
"My lord?"
The scorpion demon approached cautiously, unsure of his intentions.
"You showed loyalty by not fleeing earlier," King Yellow Wind said.
Flattered, the scorpion demon replied, "Encountering you, my lord, is the greatest fortune of my life. I would never dream of running away!"
Its words were half-flattery, half-genuine. Among the countless minor demons born in these mountains, few ever rose to prominence.
To become a demon king required extraordinary luck, talent, opportunity, and wisdom.
Most minor demons lived and died in obscurity. Their best hope was to serve a more powerful demon.
"Good. I appreciate loyal and sensible subordinates."
King Yellow Wind continued, "I will bestow an opportunity upon you. In return, you must guard this cave and notify me immediately if anything happens."
Overjoyed, the scorpion demon eagerly nodded. "Thank you, my lord! I gladly accept!"
"Step closer."
The scorpion demon complied.
King Yellow Wind placed a hand on its forehead. While unnecessary, the gesture concealed his true ability to bestow or retract traits with mere thought.
Among the traits he had plundered earlier, there were about a dozen ordinary ones:
[Iron Skin (Blue)], [Bloodlust (Blue)], [Corpse Poison (Blue)], [Hardened Bones (Blue)], [Yin Wind (White)], [Intimidation (White)] …
Though unimpressive to him, these traits could be life-changing for minor demons.
He selected [Iron Skin (Blue)], [Hardened Bones (Blue)], and [Corpse Poison (Blue)].
[Would you like to grant these traits to the scorpion demon?]
"Yes!"
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