The Three Realms are like a vast bottle of five flavors, filled with every kind of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy experience. Only those immersed within can truly understand its taste—and for each, the experience is unique.
At this very moment, the two monkeys existing in the Three Realms face utterly different predicaments.
Monkey and his companions, escorting Tripitaka, soar westward in their most cautious formation, gazing over green mountains and rivers, thoroughly enjoying the journey. All the disasters and gloom that plagued their path seem to have faded away with the peaceful days spent on Blossom Mountain.
In the vast sky, the evening clouds at the horizon smile at them like a bashful bride awaiting her wedding.
But under the night sky, Damon Six-Ears finds himself in dire straits.
In a shadowy corner of the forest, atop a thick layer of fallen leaves, he crawls on the ground like a wild beast, tearing open the throat of a gray wolf.
His Adam’s apple shifts slightly as the foul blood floods into his belly, swiftly broken down into nutrients that disperse to every corner of his body.
Fresh blood brings him a fleeting calm, but it is nowhere near enough to truly resolve his crisis.
Days have passed—many days—and he has drained the vital essence and blood of countless animals, nearly wiping out all life in the forest, including more than a dozen humans he happened upon. Yet compared to what he consumes, the essence and blood he gains are pitifully little.
The cracks in his body show hardly any sign of healing—at best, he has barely managed to halt further disintegration.
Worse yet, as time goes by, he can clearly feel his consciousness growing ever more blurred. It terrifies him.
At this moment, only two paths remain before him.
Either dissolve into nothingness, or... kill, and keep killing. But—where are those higher-cultivation, more nourishing targets Earth-Store King spoke of?
He remembers nothing at all.
Though he still possesses great power, as time passes, he grows increasingly afraid to use his magic—he doesn’t even dare to fly, nor to expand his perception at will. He’s discovered that whenever he uses magic to devour large amounts of vital essence, his body and soul deteriorate even faster...
"Why didn’t I just kill those two bald heads back then?" Wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, he slumps dazedly onto the fallen leaves, muttering, "Even if it took more magic, the two of them together should have been enough to replenish me..."
"Found him! He’s over there!"
A shout comes from behind.
He whips his head around and sees a crowd of hunters charging toward him, torches blazing, bows and spears in hand, their momentum fierce.
With a sharp whoosh, an arrow scrapes past Six-Eared Macaque’s cheek, burying itself deep in the trunk of a tree behind him.
In the next instant, Six-Eared Macaque flips and vanishes into the grass.
"Quick! He ran that way! After him!"
A dozen hunters immediately rush past the wolf’s corpse and give chase without pausing.
A man who looks like an officer quickly crouches beside the wolf’s body to examine it closely, while the old hunter at the rear also stops.
"Sir... what do you think? Was it him?"
The officer rises, flicks the blood from his fingertips, and says, "It must be that guy. The method is identical—drains the blood, doesn’t eat the flesh. What is that thing, a monkey?"
"I... I think so," the old hunter stammers. "But I’ve hunted these mountains for years, and I’ve never seen a monkey that big. Looks just like a man..."
Soon enough, the dozen hunters who went after him all return.
"Any luck?"
The burly lead hunter pants, "He got away. That thing is just too fast—one blink and he vanished, not even a shadow left behind."
Not far off, in a corner untouched by moonlight, Six-Eared Macaque quietly parts the grass and watches the crowd from afar.
His gaze is chillingly cold.
"It must be him." Staring at the wolf’s corpse, blood still warm and flowing, the officer grits his teeth. "He’s so fast. This late at night, even if we find him, it’s useless. Besides, that merchant caravan with six guards all fell victim to him, and we’re just a handful... we’re probably in danger too."
"Sir, what do you suggest? We’ll follow your lead."
"Yes! We’re all with you!"
"A dozen deaths aren’t a small matter. We can’t just let this go." The officer nods slightly. "But we have to be careful—not risk any more lives. A monkey that size might already be a demon monkey."
"A... demon monkey?" The hunters shrink back at the words.
"A monster... you’re kidding, right?"
"What are we supposed to do then?"
These hunters fear no beast—not even packs of wolves. But if it’s a demon... that’s a different story.