Chapter Fifty-Seven: Dragon’s Aura

In these past few days, Fox Third and Fox Laugh had already been released by the tiger demon. At first, their plan was to seek out Yuan Wuji, hoping he would bring them justice. Yet, after hearing the demon soldiers’ descriptions of Yuan Wuji, something seemed to have changed, and they no longer went to find him immediately.

A few days ago, the demon soldiers had hinted at the Divine Ape King. Now, Fox Third and Fox Laugh were filled with questions—what was truly going on here? There was no reason for the soldiers to mention the Divine Ape King unless someone had instructed them to do so. This led their thoughts back to Yuan Wuji, yet now he seemed unreachable.

“Fox Third, do you think he’s really the king?”

“No matter what, we have to see him for ourselves.”

Fox Third and Fox Laugh had been locked in internal strife within the Flaming Cloud Cave, almost completely isolated from the outside world. They hadn’t even bothered with the lesser demons who occasionally came probing, let alone paid attention to the great events unfolding in the North Julu Continent. Anyone remotely informed in the cultivation world would know of the Divine Ape King’s fearsome reputation. Later, they were imprisoned by the tiger demon for over a hundred years, making it impossible for them to learn anything about the Divine Ape King.

There were tales of the Divine Ape King that mentioned the silhouette of King Yuyong. If Fox Third and Fox Laugh had ever looked beyond the confines of the Flaming Cloud Cave, perhaps they could have guessed at the truth.

After more than ten days, Fox Third and Fox Laugh had no choice but to seek out Yuan Wuji; otherwise, there would be no place for them in the Flaming Cloud Cave any longer.

They were prisoners under surveillance, and it was only for Yuan Wuji’s sake that the tiger demon had spared them this long.

When they reached the Flaming Cloud Cave and saw Yuan Wuji above them, he was utterly unlike the man they had imagined.

He truly was not their king.

A crown of soaring purple clouds adorned his head, golden chainmail armor wrapped his body, and he wore boots of purple gold that chased the clouds. What ordinary demon king would possess such splendid attire?

It was apparent at a glance that he was no ordinary ruler—so why had he come to such a minor place as the Flaming Cloud Cave?

“Duoli, why have you brought them here?” Yuan Wuji asked the tiger demon at his side. The tiger demon, named Duoli, had been mentioned to him before.

“I dared not act rashly toward our former king’s subordinates, so I could only bring them to you for judgment.”

Duoli’s words only deepened the confusion in Fox Third and Fox Laugh. When had there ever been such a king?

“They’re just two useless fools who couldn’t even guard the Flaming Cloud Cave. What a waste of all my efforts. If you’re unwilling to deal with them, then make them your own followers,” Yuan Wuji waved his hand, dismissing the matter and signaling that Duoli could take them away.

Originally, Yuan Wuji had only wanted Fox Laugh and Fox Third to watch over the Flaming Cloud Cave—yet they had lost even that, so what use were such incompetents? If the cave had been lost through brute force, he might not have minded, but to lose it through infighting—what need was there for such subordinates?

Yuan Wuji’s words almost made Fox Third and Fox Laugh believe again that he was their king, but before they could say a word, they were dragged away by the demon soldiers.

“My lord, their cultivation is not insignificant. Do you truly wish to cast them aside?”

“I have never needed useless ones. If I want followers of their level, I can have an army of them,” Yuan Wuji replied calmly.

In recent days, his mind had been more preoccupied with matters concerning Sun Wukong. According to the progress of Journey to the West, Sun Wukong frolicked on Flower-Fruit Mountain for over two centuries before awakening the desire to seek the Way. Now, by his calculations, the time was nearly upon them—perhaps Wukong would soon set out on his journey across the sea.

Yuan Wuji envied Sun Wukong, yet pitied him as well. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who seemed to live so freely, was ultimately nothing but a pawn in the hands of the Buddhist order.

Even his path had been laid out by the Buddhist faith; from birth, he walked the road paved for him by their design. From cultivating mystical arts to causing havoc in the heavens, and then embarking on the Journey to the West, he was like a puppet all along.

After the Investiture of the Gods, Ancestor Hongjun had declared that Buddhism would flourish in the coming era, and Sun Wukong was the chosen one of this epoch—the key to Buddhism’s rise lay with him.

In the grand drama of Journey to the West, orchestrated by Buddhism itself, the story could do without Sha Wujing, Zhu Bajie, or even Tang Sanzang—but never without Sun Wukong. Only with him would the journey be recognized by the Heavenly Way, allowing Buddhism to thrive.

“Sun Wukong will ascend to the heavens sooner or later. When the time comes, I too wish to witness his splendor.” Yuan Wuji, having been Chinese in his previous life, had once idolized Sun Wukong. To claim no interest in him would be false.

Thinking of Journey to the West, Yuan Wuji remembered the affair of the Black Rooster Kingdom. According to their earlier agreement, the entire kingdom should have been worshiping him, yet the incense he received in Heaven was not even as much as from White Bone Village. It seemed the king of Black Rooster Kingdom had betrayed his promise.

The distance between Black Rooster Kingdom and the Flaming Cloud Cave was nothing to Yuan Wuji—he could arrive in an instant. It was time to make the kingdom pay for its broken word.

Arriving above Black Rooster Kingdom, Yuan Wuji scanned the land below. Not a single promised statue could be seen—no wonder the incense was lacking.

“King of Black Rooster Kingdom, come out at once!” Yuan Wuji’s voice boomed above the palace, laced with the pressure of a Taiyi Immortal.

The previous king had long since died of old age; by now, this was the fifth monarch to rule.

Yuan Wuji’s presence startled everyone in the palace, and they gazed up at him in the sky, their faces tense with fear.

A middle-aged man in dragon robes stepped from the crowd and stood at the fore—there was no need to guess; he was the current king.

“My lord, I don’t believe we have ever offended you.” Yuan Wuji’s aura was so uncanny that everyone below mistook him for a demon.

“Your kingdom’s grand adviser should still be alive. Have him come before me, and all will be made clear.” Yuan Wuji’s tone brooked no refusal, nor did anyone dare defy him—the power he had displayed was clearly beyond that of any ordinary demon.

“Go and fetch the grand adviser,” the king instructed a nearby soldier.

Black Rooster Kingdom was a minor human state, unable to compare with those of cultivators. Yet even so, the king bore a considerable amount of dragon qi, a sign that under his reign the kingdom had flourished. Otherwise, he could not have gathered so much dragon qi, which was intimately tied to the nation’s prosperity—the stronger the nation, the greater the king’s dragon qi.

Unfortunately, the laws of Heaven forbade mortal emperors from cultivating. Otherwise, with the dragon qi he now possessed, the king would have advanced rapidly in the Way. The cultivation kingdoms, however, faced no such restriction; the more prosperous the nation, the mightier their rulers became.

There were some rogue cultivators in Black Rooster Kingdom as well, but Yuan Wuji had encountered the grand adviser’s aura a century ago and would not mistake it. The moment he entered the kingdom, he sensed the adviser’s presence. That was why he asked the king to summon him—if he had gone straight to the adviser, his purpose today could not be smoothly accomplished. For now, he still needed the grand adviser to play his part.