The Great King Yellow Wind was astonished. "This sounds like the monk's journey to the West. How do you know about it?"
The Grey Falcon replied, "My lord will also participate in the tribulation. It ordered us to spread out across the mountains, gathering intelligence."
"The purge by Mount Ling thirty years ago was to chart the path for the journey and survey the terrain, monsters, and dangers along the way."
"It wasn't me who brought the Buddhist forces to your parents."
The Great King Yellow Wind sneered. "Is that all?"
The Grey Falcon continued, "At my cliff, there's a memorial tablet. Light three incense sticks there, and you can contact my lord."
"My lord has many allies. If you assist it, there will surely be benefits for you..."
Its voice faded and went silent.
[You have slain the demon Grey Falcon and plundered its trait: Devour Metals and Absorb Qi (Red). Do you wish to fuse?]
[Devour Metals and Absorb Qi (Red): You can extract the essence of metals through consumption or refinement to strengthen yourself, enhance your cultivation of metal-based arts and divine abilities, and increase your sensitivity to rare metallic objects.]
The Great King Yellow Wind let out a breath, half-believing the Grey Falcon's claims.
The journey to the West was real.
But pledging loyalty to the Golden-Winged Roc?
A rat bowing to a roc? That was just asking to be eaten!
For all he knew, the Grey Falcon's last words could have been a trap.
It was simple logic:
The Grey Falcon and the Golden-Winged Roc were of the same kind—natural enemies of rodents. Now that the falcon was dead, how could the Great King Yellow Wind possibly trust the roc?
The Great King Yellow Wind carried the last piece of the Red Viper's body into his lair, which was already brimming with falcon meat, viper flesh, and wolf carcasses.
A cunning rodent always has multiple hideouts.
The Great King Yellow Wind had eighteen dens, scattered around different directions of the Rat Hole, all exceptionally well-hidden.
Knowing that the Grey Falcon served a demon king of Mount Ling, he decided to lie low for a while.
This was the perfect opportunity to use the Devour trait and refine the blood and flesh of the Red Viper, Grey Falcon, and Grey Wolf Spirit to enhance his cultivation.
Unfortunately, the Wild Boar Spirit's body was nowhere to be found—likely devoured by the Red Viper.
The Great King Yellow Wind stood in the blood-drenched lair, hands on his hips, satisfied with the stockpile.
The underground den stretched a thousand feet deep, with a subterranean river flowing through, keeping the meat fresh.
"Before going into seclusion, I should check the Grey Falcon's cliff. There might be treasures hidden there."
After all, what's the point of slaying a monster if you don't loot the body?
He strapped his blade to his waist, slung the White Bone Bow over his back, and packed a bag of carved wooden arrows. Then, he hurried to the High Cliff Ridge.
Scaling the thousand-foot cliff, he spotted an eagle's beak-shaped outcropping in the distance, faintly revealing a cave entrance.
Carefully approaching the cave, he tossed a rock inside and hid behind a boulder, observing for any signs of life.
Only after ensuring nothing stirred did he enter.
The cave was narrow at the entrance but widened inside to a space the size of a football field. At its center was a massive bird's nest, and overhead, the ceiling opened like a volcanic crater.
Climbing into the nest, the Great King Yellow Wind marveled, "Ebony, phoenix wood, soft grasses, goose feathers... What a luxurious setup!"
Jumping down, he examined the light glimmering from a pile of stones gathered at the center.
"Fire-Forged Stones, Heavenly Gold Ore, Purple Veined Gold..."
His eyes lit up. These were precious materials for crafting, mentioned in the forging manual left by his parents.
"The Grey Falcon must have been hoarding these for its next metamorphosis."
"Now, they're mine!"
He pulled out a bag stitched from the Red Viper's snakeskin and packed the stones—all nineteen of them.
Though each stone was no larger than a fist, their weight exceeded a hundred pounds apiece, totaling over two thousand pounds.
Thanks to his Thick Skin, Dense Flesh trait, which greatly increased his strength, he managed to carry the l
Outside the cave, he caught a glimpse of something behind the bird's nest—a small, crude stone temple.
Inside was not a deity or immortal but a carved stone bust. In front of it stood a memorial tablet inscribed with the words:
Protector of Mount Ling: Golden-Winged Roc!
Before the tablet was an incense burner and a pile of incense sticks.
Lighting incense was out of the question.
Instead, the Great King Yellow Wind rummaged through the altar and found a redwood box reinforced with bronze rings.
Opening it, he discovered an assortment of : Buddhist scriptures, Taoist texts, and Confucian classics.
While flipping through, he stumbled upon a peculiar black wooden box. It was aromatic and had no lock, but its twelve panels were engraved with the heads of different animals—twelve in total, corresponding to the zodiac.
"A... puzzle box?"
The Great King Yellow Wind was intrigued.
Before his reincarnation, he had been obsessed with such puzzles and had even learned techniques online for solving them.
"Who made this?"
But this was no time to indulge.
The Great King Yellow Wind returned the box to the crate, secured it with sturdy vines, and strapped it to his back alongside the snake-skin bag.
Before leaving, he set the bird's nest and cave ablaze, erasing all traces of his presence.
Back at the Den
The Great King Yellow Wind meticulously cleared any trails he had left behind. Only after setting up a pair of Mother-Daughter Copper Mirrors in hidden locations did he finally feel safe enough to return.
In the perilous Southern Jambudvipa, no amount of caution was excessive for a small demon like him.
With everything prepared, he calmed his mind and began refining the blood and flesh of the three slain demons.
The bloodlines of the Red Viper and Grey Falcon contained unique traits that catalyzed and purified his own.
By devouring his natural enemies, he even began to diminish his innate fear of them.
Without this adaptation, he wouldn't stand a chance against stronger beings like the Golden-Winged Roc—one roar would be enough to make him cower.
[Trait Progression: Devour Metals and Absorb Qi (Red)]
While consuming the Grey Falcon's flesh, the trait extracted metallic essence, which fused into his bones, hair, and flesh, causing his body to emit a faint glow.
"Impressive! A red trait really does have immediate and extraordinary effects!"
The Great King Yellow Wind felt his constitution improving drastically, his affinity with metal-based objects increasing, and his control over minerals growing stronger.
By the end of the first day of seclusion, his progress was substantial.
As he devoured flesh, he skimmed through the , discovering a manual for the Taoist art of Maoshan Five Thunder Technique.
Unfortunately, without a natural lightning affinity or proper guidance, attempting to cultivate such a forbidden art could be disastrous.
After all, thunder techniques fell under the jurisdiction of Heaven's Thunder Division. Any mortal or demon attempting to wield them needed explicit permission.
In "Journey to the West" , techniques involving wind, water, and fire appear frequently, but thunder-based arts are exclusively wielded by the Thunder Division of the Heavenly Court.
During his breaks from reading, the Great King Yellow Wind would tinker with the puzzle box, recalling the solution formulas from his past life and sketching them on the ground for fun. It was a simple way to pass the time.
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