Chapter 34: Chapter 29 Aquatic Tribe Leader
Having finished a steaming delicious serving of snake meat, Sun Wukong waved his hand and retracted the illusionary flower. Then, discerning his bearings, he rose and flew away. In the span of a few breaths, Sun Wukong had vanished without a trace. At that moment, the ground suddenly began to tremble as if some monstrously huge beast was charging towards this location.
Moments later, an enormous snow-white bull, trailing a path of flying snow, was seen running towards the place where Sun Wukong had just been roasting and eating snake meat.
When the giant bull arrived, it saw snake skin and meat scattered everywhere and let out a thunderous roar, filled with immense sorrow. Clearly, this colossal snow bull was familiar with the great snake, but unfortunately, it was still a step too late.
Sun Wukong had indeed sensed the distress signal the giant snake emitted just before its death after killing it, but he simply chose to ignore it. After finishing the snake meat, Sun Wukong felt a tremor in the air and guessed that the giant snake's ally might have arrived. That's why he didn't hesitate to expend spiritual power to swiftly fly away.
Hearing the roar behind him, Sun Wukong shook his head. Wanting to take another's life despite one's own insufficient strength was foolhardy. Since you wished to consume this old Sun, then it was only fair that this old Sun ate you first.
As Sun Wukong touched down, he happened to be at the foot of an icy mountain. He reached into his bosom to touch the snake pearl and fell into thought. Should he look for a secluded place to consume this serpent pill now or should he continue traveling northward?
If he consumed the serpent pearl on the spot, his physical body was sure to become much stronger, but it would take a considerable amount of time. Continuing northward could save time, indeed, but in the perilous Extreme Northern Ice Field, an extra measure of strength meant an additional chance of self-preservation.
After only a moment's thought, Sun Wukong had made his decision. He would find a secluded place and consume the serpent pill. Even if he headed north immediately, he had no idea where the Aquatic Tribe Leader was. He could only head blindly north based on intuition. It was, after all, an unpredictable journey where no one knew when they would find the Aquatic Tribe.
Therefore, delaying for a little while now was inconsequential; moreover, stronger abilities meant he could travel faster.
Having decided, Sun Wukong no longer hesitated. With a wave of his hand, he summoned the illusionary flower and then dug out the Jingu Bang from his ear. With a casual blow, the illusionary flower flew to one end of the Jingu Bang. Just like that, Sun Wukong shouldered the Jingu Bang and strode towards the icy mountain.
Just when it seemed he would crash into the mountain, the flower flickered slightly, and a person-sized hole silently melted into the wall of ice.
Although Sun Wukong had ascended to the status of a mid-level Saint, his playful nature remained unchanged. He had used the renowned illusionary flower first for roasting meat, and now for carving a path. If anyone else had seen this, they would likely exclaim it was a waste of a heavenly object.
Alas, there was no one else here, and even if there were, Sun Wukong would not have cared. Once he reached the mountain belly's midpoint, Sun Wukong stopped, retracted the illusionary flower and Jingu Bang, and looked back at the long, human-shaped passageway with a chuckle. Then with a puff, the ice in the center of the mountain belly quickly melted into water.
Sun Wukong pointed with his hand, and the water flowed along the passage he had come through. In the blink of an eye, it sealed the passage completely before freezing into a chunk of ice. From the outside, it was impossible to discern the slightest trace.
Sun Wukong nodded in satisfaction and then summoned the Magic Treasure, wrapping it in a large circle around himself. He then sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to recuperate. Although this place was extremely secluded, it was still best to be prepared for any emergencies.
If a demonic beast were to intrude at the critical moment he swallowed the Serpent Pearl, it could become an unwarranted disaster.
An hour later, Sun Wukong opened his eyes, and two beams of golden light shot out from them, striking the iceberg and creating two holes as thick as fingers. It seemed that his fiery eyes and golden pupils could unexpectedly serve as an attack technique in the future. If he were to catch his opponent off guard and strike their eyes like this during a fight, the fun would be immense.
Given Sun Wukong's personality, this was not an impossibility.
After an hour of conditioning, Sun Wukong had brought his vigor, energy, and spirit to their peak states. It was time to swallow the Serpent Pearl and enhance his physical strength.
Without hesitation, Sun Wukong took out the Serpent Pearl from his bosom, tilted his head back, and swallowed it whole. In an instant, he felt as if a colossal python had rushed through his mouth and then transformed into countless little snakes, scurrying throughout his body. In just half a breath's time, his muscles were torn apart extensively. This alarmed and enraged Sun Wukong.
It turned out that when Sun Wukong killed the giant serpent, a grudge spirit had drifted out and entered the Serpent Pearl. Sun Wukong had been careless at the time and did not notice it, but as soon as he swallowed the Serpent Pearl, that grudge spirit, mixed with the Serpent Pearl's spiritual power, invaded Sun Wukong's organs and bones, attempting to destroy his vitality from within.
However, Sun Wukong, being a Great Saint of mid-tier ranking, wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. He fully mobilized his spiritual power within his body and began to round up the rampantly scattering spiritual power of the Serpent Pearl.
Finally, after more than an hour of encirclement, all of the Serpent Pearl's spiritual power was condensed in the Dantian. But this presented a new challenge for Sun Wukong. Although all the spiritual power had been captured, how could he extract the grudge spirit within? If he couldn't remove that wisp of a grudge spirit, the spiritual power would never be absorbed.
And should there be any slight flaw in his own spiritual power, the Serpent Pearl's spiritual power would surely scatter again and continue to damage his body. Just then, Sun Wukong felt a warmth at his Dantian and, upon closer inspection, discovered a tiny Immaterial Flower in bloom.
As soon as the Immaterial Flower appeared, the gathered spiritual power of the Serpent Pearl began to stir restlessly, as if it was extremely afraid of the gently blossoming Immaterial Flower.
"Haha, how could I have forgotten about it. The Immaterial Flower is indeed the bane of all spirits and resentful ghosts. Next time, let's see you try to escape."
Indeed, as the Immaterial Flower floated below the mass of spiritual power, the Serpent Pearl's spiritual power twisted violently, and a grayish-black little snake peeled away from it, slamming forcefully against the spiritual power Sun Wukong used to wrap around the Serpent Pearl's spiritual power. However, it only served to be a futile effort.
The next moment, a thin thread of fire from the Immaterial Flower wrapped around the grayish-black little snake, and immediately, the snake let out a painful squeak. After that, it was burned to nothingness by the Immaterial Flower.
Seeing this, Sun Wukong couldn't help but feel a great joy, while at the same time, a sense of relief washed over him. It was fortunate he had the transformation flower, otherwise he would have lost an Emperor Level Serpent Pill for nothing, and he might even have been seriously injured. It seemed he had been too careless.
With the resentful spirit gone, what remained was to absorb the spirit power of the Serpent Pill and strengthen his body. This was supposed to be an exceedingly difficult step, but when Sun Wukong attempted to absorb the spirit power of the Serpent Pill, he found that the spirit power was very obedient and extremely easy to absorb.
Was it because it became easier to absorb after being burned by the transforming flower?
Unable to figure it out, Sun Wukong decided not to dwell on it, resolving to experiment later when he had the chance. For now, he should make haste and use the spirit power to fortify his body.
Time silently passed by. Three days later, the peak of the ice mountain shattered thunderously, and a figure burst forth.
It was Sun Wukong who had entered the belly of the mountain three days before to consume the Serpent Pill.
"It seems that the strength of my body must have reached that of a higher-level Saint. Three days ago, my body was only of a middle-level Saint in strength, although much stronger than an average Saint, it wasn't by too much. But now, it has risen an entire level, which took Sun Wukong by surprise. Even if the Emperor Level Serpent Pill was powerful, it shouldn't have had such a terrifying effect.
Could it really be the work of the transformation flower?"
Shaking his head, he decided not to think about it anymore. Just then, Sun Wukong suddenly looked back, pushed his fiery-eye vision to the limit, and gazed into the distance. He saw a figure swiftly approaching him from across the Extreme Northern Ice Field, and behind that figure, a gigantic snow-white bull was in pursuit.
Sun Wukong couldn't help but smile bitterly. It was the companion of the big snake from before, what a coincidence. It was very likely that the giant bull, unable to find himself, had begun to rampage. However, it was surprising to find another person in the Extreme Northern Ice Field, which sparked Sun Wukong's curiosity.
While he was contemplating, the figure had already run up to Sun Wukong. It was then that he got a clear look at the newcomer. The person had fiery red hair, a slender figure, and was wearing blue leather armor. Before Sun Wukong could observe further, he heard the person shouting at him, "Friend, run fast. That stupid bull has gone mad. Don't let it catch up, or it will explode."
Feeling playful, Sun Wukong started to run alongside the man. "Fellow Daoist, what do you mean by that? Why would that bull explode? Judging by its strength, it's already at the middle Emperor Level, right?"
"You don't know, friend. That is one of the few creatures in the Extreme Northern Ice Field that one must never provoke. Its name is the Snow-colored Explosion Bull. Normally, this creature is exceptionally docile, but once it gets enraged by something, it will go berserk. It attacks any living thing within its sight. If it encounters something it can't defeat, it will explode without hesitation.
That's why no one provokes it. How unlucky for me to encounter a raging snow bull as soon as I stepped out."
"Ah, heh heh. Then let's run," said Sun Wukong, feeling somewhat awkward and unsure of what to say.
"Right, friend, what's your name? It's very rare for people to come to the Extreme Northern Ice Field."
"I am the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong."
"What, what? Your name is Sun Wukong? From the Demon Clan? The Stone Monkey Sun Wukong?"
"I, old Sun, don't change my name or alter my surname. It is indeed I, Sun Wukong."
Suddenly, the person stopped in his tracks, but unfortunately, the ice field was too slippery, and despite stopping, he still slid far away. Seeing the person stop, Sun Wukong also halted.
Without waiting for Sun Wukong to speak, the person waved his hand, and a blue Water Arrow shot out. The snow bull, unable to dodge in time, was struck by the Water Arrow and, the next moment, Sun Wukong was too shocked to speak. The giant snow bull had been completely frozen by the Water Arrow, devoid of any signs of life.
"Now that you are here, I won't play anymore. Hahaha, I have finally waited for you. Sun Wukong."
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Sun Wukong asked warily.
"Me? Haha, remember this, I am the Aquatic Tribe Leader of the Extreme Northern Ice Field. I am the Azure Flame—Eight-Gods Flame!" With those words, a Water Arrow far larger than before materialized from nothing and sped toward Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong, danger!