Chapter 124: Betrayal

"Great Ape King, could you do me a small favor?" Sun Wukong asked Yuan Wuji, his tone tinged with hesitation.

"Do you want me to rescue your monkey kin?"

"No, just my mother."

"Oh?"

Yuan Wuji looked at Sun Wukong with uncertainty. In the records of the Journey to the West, Sun Wukong was deeply attached to his monkey kin, but in this primordial world, the Sun Wukong Yuan Wuji knew was different. To him, the monkey kin did not hold much importance; rather, the "mother" who had emerged was someone irreplaceable in his heart.

"Can you help?"

"Naturally." Yuan Wuji agreed readily, perhaps out of curiosity about Sun Wukong's mother.

"Many thanks. I owe you a favor."

"In that case, I shall take my leave."

The old man, a guise worn by Yuan Wuji, turned and limped away into the distance; no one knew what had just transpired. Yuan Wuji had no intention of returning to the Heavenly Court yet. Sun Wukong's mother was protected by a white monkey, so she was unlikely to be captured by celestial soldiers. Even if she were taken to the Heavenly Court, Yuan Wuji had ways to rescue her; whether she could survive until then would depend on her own fortune.

The Four Duty Gods, who had been watching Sun Wukong from the heavens, had long since noticed the "old man." In their eyes, he was merely an ordinary mortal, yet they felt an inexplicable sense that he was not simple—how could he be so unafraid of the maddened Sun Wukong?

"Eldest brother, that old man is too strange. Should we capture him?"

"No, leave him be."

The Four Duty Gods were pragmatic; if he was an ordinary man, they would treat him as such. If not, his mastery of transformation was something they could not hope to contend with. It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. They were well-versed in the ways of the Heavenly Court and understood the unwritten rules of the shadows.

Once outside the Five Elements Mountain, Yuan Wuji immediately reverted to his true form. He wondered what had become of the "things" he had left behind in the mortal realm during his centuries in the Heavenly Court.

***

It took Yuan Wuji only two breaths to travel from the Five Elements Mountain to the Fire Cloud Cave on Hao Mountain.

"Obey."

"Master."

The eight puppets Yuan Wuji had left to roam free reappeared before him. Previously, they had appeared as old men, but now they stood as eight middle-aged men, all possessing the cultivation of the peak Heavenly Immortal realm.

"In the centuries I have been away, has anything happened at Fire Cloud Cave?"

The puppets projected the memories of what they had witnessed over the centuries into their minds for Yuan Wuji to view.

"So, those young cultivators from back then were from Wudang Mountain. No wonder they possessed such intrinsic magical treasures."

The images in the puppets' minds revealed more. After Yuan Wuji left, a large number of Taoists had arrived at Hao Mountain one day, each of them at the Heavenly Immortal level. Du Li, who had been left to guard the cave in Yuan Wuji's stead, was stunned by the sight. Before he could even speak, the three leading Taoists—all Earthly Immortals of the Taiyi grade—decapitated him together, leaving him no chance to retaliate. The Taoists then proceeded to bloodily purge the cave, slaughtering every demon soldier without leaving a single survivor.

The eight puppets, lurking in the shadows, recognized the strength of the attackers and dared not intervene. Moreover, Yuan Wuji had never commanded them to defend the cave, so they naturally would not throw their lives away. Had they been ordered to protect it, they would have charged in without hesitation, even knowing the disparity in power. But they had not received such orders, and as beings with the capacity for reason, they knew how to weigh their priorities.

After the bloodbath, no demon dared to approach Hao Mountain. The gruesome scene deterred the greedy, and mortal cultivators dared not covet the cave. However, as time passed and the Wudang Taoists vanished, the greed of demons and cultivators was rekindled, leading to constant skirmishes on the mountain.

Then, one day, a bull demon and a fox demon occupied the cave, and the others, fearing them, obediently vacated their positions.

"Ruyi Zhenxian? And that fox is Hu San?"

The demons Yuan Wuji saw were indeed Ruyi Zhenxian and Hu San. He was surprised it was them. How had Hu San escaped the Wudang purge? Ah, of course—Hu San hadn't been there at the time.

He must have returned to serve the Bull Demon King. Ruyi Zhenxian’s return to the cave was surely under the Bull Demon King's orders; it seemed the Bull Demon King was aware of the impending Journey to the West and had received instructions from his backers in the Jiejiao to reoccupy the cave.

"Come with me to Fire Cloud Cave."

***

"Understood."

The eight puppets followed closely behind Yuan Wuji. He had no mercy for those who betrayed him.

The outskirts of Fire Cloud Cave were now swarming with bull demons. It seemed that even after returning to the Bull Demon King, Hu San had no real authority and was merely acting as a lackey for Ruyi Zhenxian.

"Who goes there? Do you have a death wish, coming to Fire Cloud Cave?"

A group of bull demons leveled their spears at the approaching Yuan Wuji and his retinue. The eight puppets, making no effort to conceal their aura, unleashed a powerful pressure that made the very spears in the demons' hands tremble.

Inside the cave, Ruyi Zhenxian and Hu San must have sensed the presence. It remained to be seen if they dared to emerge.

"This is the territory of the Great Bull Demon King! You—"

"Quiet."

Yuan Wuji spoke with disdain. His eight puppets struck instantly. In a few breaths, the bull demons outside the cave were all dispatched, with none surviving.

"Still not coming out?"

Yuan Wuji formed a palm seal and struck the air, shattering the gates of Fire Cloud Cave into splinters. If they still refused to appear, they would lose not only their own dignity but that of the Bull Demon King as well.

"Who dares cause trouble at Fire Cloud Cave? Do you not know this is the territory of the Great Bull Demon King?"

It was Hu San who spoke. They could only rely on the Bull Demon King's name now; from the aura exuded by the eight puppets, they knew they were outmatched. Their only hope was that Yuan Wuji would fear the Bull Demon King's reputation and retreat.