Sun Wukong pondered.
What the Great King Yellow Wind had said about the art of leadership and reward-punishment methods had indeed been mentioned by Patriarch Bodhi.
However, back then, Wukong had only been interested in achieving immortality and hadn't paid close attention.
Now, as the leader of a group of demons, he occasionally encountered management problems, which prompted some reflection.
After a brief moment of thought, Sun Wukong dismissed the idea without delving deeper.
His nature was free-spirited and carefree, unaccustomed to either being controlled or controlling others.
The Great King Yellow Wind called upon the Great Rat General to gather Sun Wukong, the Six-Tusked Elephant, the Golden Lion, and over a hundred demons to accompany him to the Thousand Caverns Mountain.
Thousand Caverns Mountain lived up to its name. From a distance, it looked pitch-black, with sparse vegetation. What trees existed were short and scraggly.
This was because the mountain stones were rich in iron, copper, and tin ores, releasing metallic energies that repelled most animals and demons.
Only the Great Rat General and its kind, with their habit of sharpening their teeth on iron and stone, had gradually carved countless caves into the iron-rich mountain.
These rat demons often unearthed iron ore and sold it to nearby cities like Liusha Country, exchanging it for food, clothes, and weapons.
A thousand catties of iron for barely a hundred catties of grain, a few weapons, and some garments—it was clear they were being exploited.
But such was the market: value was determined not by intrinsic worth but by whether others would buy it.
The Great King Yellow Wind instructed the Great Rat General to gather the rat demons to observe how to smelt iron, forge steel, and craft weapons.
This would prevent them from guarding a mountain of treasure while starving, for refined swords and spears were undoubtedly more valuable than raw ore.
The Great King Yellow Wind shared his knowledge freely.
Other demons interested in learning were also welcome to join.
Whoever learned quickly and crafted skillfully would receive rewards.
For the Great King Yellow Wind, collecting blue- and white-grade traits was child's play.
Defeating a group of major and minor demons with ease, he could freely bestow his unused traits to other demons, helping them grow stronger. This generosity made him highly popular.
This approach had multiple benefits:
Maximizing resources by fostering a skilled workforce among the demon population.
Clear rewards and punishments enhanced his authority.
Strengthening the demon faction.
Improving his control over his subordinates.
At Thousand Caverns Mountain, demons worked together.
The furnaces blazed. Some dug for ore, others stoked the fires, hammered the metal, or poured molds.
The Great King Yellow Wind and Sun Wukong personally oversaw the weapon crafting process.
In just a few days, over ten thousand weapons were forged: knives, spears, swords, halberds, axes, and staffs—all the eighteen classical types.
The Great King Yellow Wind even forged ten or so magical weapons and handed them to Sun Wukong.
Sun Wukong was overjoyed, saying, "Brother, I am deeply grateful for your generosity. Should you ever need assistance, I, Old Sun, will surely come to your aid."
Assistance?
Whose troubles could possibly be greater than Old Sun's?
The Great King Yellow Wind simply smiled in response.
Scratching his cheek, Sun Wukong added, "I'll carry what I can myself and use my duplication spell to move the rest."
With that, he plucked a strand of fur, chewed it up, spat it out, and chanted an incantation before exclaiming, "Transform!"
With a gust of breath, the fur transformed into hundreds of little monkeys.
The Great Rat General and other demons watched in amazement, inwardly thinking,
"No wonder our Great King values this monkey so highly—he truly is a demon king of great power and ability!"
The little monkeys rushed about, grabbing and carrying weapons. The stronger ones hauled five or seven each, while the weaker ones managed two or three apiece.
Soon, all the weapons were cleared away.
Seeing the work complete, Sun Wukong asked, "Brother, will you come back to Flower Fruit Mountain with me, or join later?"
The Great King Yellow Wind replied with a smile, "I'll join you now and take this chance to experience the speed of your Somersault Cloud. Let me give my orders first."
Sun Wukong readily agreed.
The Great King Yellow Wind turned to his subordinates, instructing them to carry on as usual after his departure. No one was to draw weapons unnecessarily. For major decisions, the seven demon generals were to deliberate, with Old Black Fox having the final say.
The demons responded in unison, "Yes, Great King!"
Having established clear rules and authority, the Great King Yellow Wind felt confident that no significant issues would arise.
And even if they did, they would present an opportunity to address problems during this critical early phase of his endeavors.
With that, Sun Wukong stepped onto his cloud and used a spell to summon a mighty gale. Together with the Great King Yellow Wind and the little monkeys, he traversed thousands of miles.
The speed of Sun Wukong's Somersault Cloud was astounding. In just over half an hour, they glimpsed a divine mountain rising from the sea.
Majestic and unyielding, it stood as the root of the earth, unshaken by ten thousand calamities.
It was none other than Flower Fruit Mountain!
Sun Wukong descended, landing in the mountain, and quickly summoned the scattered monkey clan to explain the situation.
Upon hearing that their king had such a powerful friend, the monkeys were amazed and expressed their gratitude to the Great King Yellow Wind.
Afterward, the monkeys scrambled to grab swords and spears, axes and shields, bows and crossbows, shouting and laughing as they played with their new weapons.
Meanwhile, Sun Wukong led the Great King Yellow Wind to the Water Curtain Cave for drinks, grinning as he asked,
"Brother, have you seen anything here that catches your eye and is worth something?"
The Great King Yellow Wind replied, "Brother, this place is truly a blessed paradise, rich with spiritual energy. Let me explore for a while and see."
Sun Wukong chuckled, "Take your time, Brother. No rush—let's drink first!"
The next day, Sun Wukong gathered his monkeys, numbering 47,000, and organized them into camps. He taught them military drills, brandishing their weapons as they practiced formation tactics.
This activity alarmed the nearby demons. The seventy-two demon kings from neighboring caves came to pay homage, recognizing Sun Wukong as their leader. They pledged annual tributes and regular attendance at his court.
As the monkeys busied themselves, two old monkeys guided the Great King Yellow Wind on a tour of the mountain.
With his sharp sense for lunar and metallic energy, coupled with his Qi Viewing Technique, the Great King Yellow Wind soon discovered a jade vein.
This was a spiritual jade vein enriched by Flower Fruit Mountain's essence and the sun and moon's energies. Shrouded in jade mist, its brilliance was subdued but unmistakable.
This single jade vein was worth enough to exchange for 70,000–80,000 weapons. And in Flower Fruit Mountain, it was only mid-tier.
The mountain's reputation as the origin of ten continents and the source of three immortal islands was no exaggeration.
Though only a hundred miles wide, it nurtured a population of spirits and demons a hundred times greater than Huang Feng Ridge, including the seventy-two demon kings.
After marking the jade vein, the Great King Yellow Wind continued exploring, hopeful of discovering even greater treasures.
The mountain was filled with wonders.
He encountered an ancient tree, charred black like a coiled dragon yet sprouting new shoots. This was a divine wood, struck thrice by lightning.
It was also a millennium-old peach tree. Its charms for warding off evil spirits, combined with its abundant lightning energy, made it a perfect material for forging a ghost-banishing sword. Even ghost soldiers would avoid such a weapon.
Elsewhere, he found a weathered vine clinging to a cliff, its five leaves glowing with a spiritual radiance. Consuming them would nourish the lungs.
He saw a thousand-year-old ginseng root that had taken human form, burrowing into the ground to evade even the nimblest old monkeys.
Another find was a luminous boulder of top-grade moonstone, ideal for accelerating lunar energy cultivation.
The Great King Yellow Wind had once obtained a moonstone from the Grey Wolf Spirit, but it had long since been consumed during his training at Square Inch Mountain. Compared to the current discovery, the previous one was insignificant.
In addition to these treasures, he spotted fantastical creatures such as multicolored deer, jade elephants, qilins, azure phoenixes, and black cranes roaming the valleys.
The Great King Yellow Wind was dazzled by the abundance of treasures.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。