Anna Yang sat in the pitch-black room, sorting through her elixirs as she asked, "Are you sure about this? The demons outside the city are all grumbling in anger."
Under the moonlight, her beautiful face looked somewhat pale—likely from excessive spiritual exhaustion.
This was probably the second time she had overdrawn her spiritual power for the Monkey King.
Sometimes the Monkey King wondered if he had pushed too hard in that negotiation back then.
With a helpless smile, the Monkey King replied, "Grumbling is exactly what makes the rumors believable."
With all this disruption, thousands of demons fleeing will be like sheep walking into a tiger's den.
But aside from this, is there really any better way?
Anna Yang lowered her head and pursed her lips slightly: "Have you considered what will happen if the plan fails?"
The Monkey King didn't answer. He just sat cross-legged to the side, staring blankly at the moonlight outside the window.
Taking a deep breath, Anna Yang continued, "That Serpent Lord has already reached the Celestial Adept realm, mid-stage. I suspect he’s traded Gold Essence with someone for elixirs. With such cultivation, even if you break through to the Divine Spirit realm, I doubt you could shake him. Even with me and Miles Moon together, we’re no match for him."
"You mean, someone is backing him?"
"It's just my guess. His cultivation clearly comes from elixirs. Normally, it's very difficult for demons to obtain elixirs; Gold Essence from the Heavenly Court, yes, but elixirs... So you'd better be careful. If my suspicion is correct, the one behind him might be very powerful."
"A Celestial Adept with someone even stronger behind him..."
Definitely not someone to be trifled with.
After a long silence, the Monkey King pursed his lips and slowly replied, "If we really fail, you and Miles Moon must leave immediately. Don't worry about me."
"Is it really worth it?" Anna Yang stared at him, lost in thought.
"I don't know if it's worth it..." The Monkey King shook his head, took a deep breath, and blinked as he sighed, "I honestly can't tell. All I know is, one day, I’ll smash him to pieces. Absolutely, absolutely, I can't let him run wild here any longer!"
Bathed in moonlight, he pressed his lips together, his face calm, yet his fists slowly clenched and trembled.
It was a hatred etched into his soul, impossible to erase for eternity.
Staring blankly at the Monkey King, stubborn as stone, Anna Yang knew he was speaking the truth—from the depths of his heart.
Only Anna Yang could truly understand how deep that hatred ran—so deep he'd pay any price.
It was a pain that could never be escaped.
From the moment he took the sword handed to him by the demon soldier, the Monkey King was destined to be irreconcilable with the Serpent Lord. There was no other path but a fight to the death.
Anna Yang didn't speak again. She just stared blankly before lowering her head and quietly continued sorting the elixirs.
He was no longer the fearless Monkey King from Crescent Star Cave. The methods had changed, but his heart remained the same.
Thinking of this, a bittersweet feeling welled up in her heart, yet she smiled with relief.
No matter what, this Monkey King would always be a hero who stands tall, never betraying his true self, right?
"Hurry up, time is running out. Best if you can break through before dawn." Miles Moon urged from the side, "Even if I take your form, I can only fool most people. The Serpent Lord is another story. If he summons you... it’ll be trouble."
Gathering the pile of elixirs in her palm, Anna Yang stood and walked to the Monkey King. "Take these, then absorb spiritual power with all your might. Soon, you'll enter the breakthrough state. At that point, you'll experience hallucinations. You must hold onto your consciousness—if you faint, it won't just be a wasted effort. After a full cycle of spiritual release and accumulation, you'll succeed."
Taking the handful of elixirs, the Monkey King grinned teasingly at Anna Yang. "I've survived your stimulants before. Now that I know hallucinations are coming, what’s there to be afraid of?"
Anna Yang didn’t smile.
"This is a different kind of hallucination. You'll see soon enough. This one is specially formulated—a pill to stabilize your mind. The others will help you shorten the breakthrough time, but there's a price... Think it through."
Seeing Anna Yang’s serious expression, the Monkey King stared at the pills in his palm for a long moment, then tilted his head back and swallowed them all.
Holding his breath, he began his cultivation as usual.
Surging spiritual energy quickly flooded his body.
Soon, the medicinal effects kicked in, and the Monkey King suddenly felt his mind become astonishingly clear.
His ears could pick up the sound of an insect flapping its wings on a leaf outside, the slow drip of dew sliding off the roof tiles, the breathing of both people in the room, and even the servant walking along the corridor outside.
It was an unimaginable level of perception. He could even sense the actions of every demon servant in the mansion through their demonic aura.
Before long, the spiritual power in his body had reached its limit and began to flow outward.
For him now, this was no challenge. After all, the Spirit Channeling Stage naturally allowed for the release of spiritual power.
Once it reached its peak, he simply released it.
Yet as he released it, he was stunned—the speed of spiritual release was more than ten times faster than usual. Instantly, every nerve in his body tensed, and cold sweat poured out.
But that wasn’t the main issue. The real problem was that his consciousness was being released along with his spiritual power!
Is this the hallucination Anna Yang mentioned? His heart leapt in shock.
A force began to tear at his consciousness. There was no pain, but a deep, overwhelming panic.
It felt like being so exhausted that he could fall asleep at any moment.
But he couldn’t let himself sleep!
He snapped his eyes open and shook his head fiercely, trying to stay awake.
Yet the scene before him blurred like dye spreading in water.
"What... what is... happening?"
He rubbed his eyes and looked again—the whole world was shaking. Anna Yang’s figure, Miles Moon’s voice, the furniture, the doorframe, even the moon outside the window—everything was twisted.
He slapped his head hard.
A dizzy sensation from deep within his soul swept over him, as if his consciousness had split into several parts.
Sometimes his mind would rise with the outward flow of spiritual power, sometimes it would sink, and sometimes it felt like he was back to sitting cross-legged in meditation.
Everything before his eyes spun, scenes whirled and danced in wild confusion.
Sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead, and the Monkey King’s whole body seemed dazed and unfocused.
He stared wide-eyed, trying to sit up, but his arms were powerless. With a weak push, he collapsed onto the couch, unable even to struggle upright.
Panicked, he clutched his head and gritted his teeth.
An endless wave of terror surged in his heart, and the spiritual power inside him began to rampage!
A stabbing pain shot through his chest; his throat tasted sweet, and a mouthful of blood spurted out.
"What... what is happening—! Aaargh!" He bared his sharp teeth, clutching his head in a hysterical roar, panting rapidly, eyes wide with terror.
His fur stood on end, and every vein on his body bulged.
His roar echoed through the entire mansion.
Miles Moon, startled, quickly formed a seal with two fingers and cast a silencing barrier around the Monkey King.
Noises erupted outside the room.
After a rush of footsteps, several demon servants ran to the door and knocked.
"General? General? What's wrong?"
The Monkey King clutched his head, trembling, and in his panic, grabbed the ornamental dagger by his bedside and bit down hard on it.
Outside, seeing no response, the demon servants were already preparing to break down the door.
Anna Yang quickly exchanged a glance with Miles Moon.
Miles Moon understood and cast a small spell on his throat. Instantly, his voice sounded exactly like the Monkey King's: "It's nothing, I'm fine—just a nightmare. You can go now."
"General, are you sure you don't need..."
"It's fine. You can go now."
"Yes, General."
Afterward, the old servant turned to the two young demons and instructed, "You two, stand guard at the General’s door tonight and await orders!"
"Yes!"
Miles Moon slapped his forehead in exasperation and sighed deeply. "Great, now there are two more guys at the door."
Anna Yang shot him a glare.
Once the servants had left, Anna Yang walked to the door, pointed her finger, and blew softly at the tightly closed wooden door.
A faint white mist seeped through the crack in the door.
Soon, the sound of snoring rose and fell outside the door.
"Wow... you really have a lot of tricks, huh?"
Watching the Monkey King shivering and baring his teeth, Anna Yang slowly walked to his ear, pursed her lips, and said, "This is the process of spiritual power returning to its source. The spiritual power you released—you can't fully control it yet. After you break through to the Spirit-Refinement Stage, you'll be able to control your released power. Of course, Spirit-Refinement isn't just that; it also includes the ability to change your form. For now, you must hold onto your consciousness. Never let your mind follow your power! In other words, you can't lose consciousness. As long as you endure and stay awake, you'll succeed."
The Monkey King nodded, trembling.
All night long, until dawn, the Monkey King fought against the hallucinations.
Watching him struggle and howl on the couch, his face twisted in agony, Anna Yang could only sigh deeply.
If only this Monkey King could play dumb, maybe he’d live a happier life.
Thinking this, she couldn't help but smile. If she wanted, couldn't she do the same?
But some people are simply not meant to walk that path.
——————————————— Divider ———————————————
Thanks to Miss Please Stay, Little Sugar from A's House, Gale Beyond the Pass, xboy Chen, Today Little Rain, Lord Junmo of the Academy's Second Floor, Master Sauce, Summoning Meteor Wishing, Ancient Buddha Guiding the Years, Lingyu Autumn Wind, Fangchenggang Harm, and Ge Jiong for your support and rewards. Thank you to all the readers!
Also, from now on, there will be daily updates at noon—at least one guaranteed, with extra chapters on weekends and special occasions. I'll work even harder and aim for a big release this weekend! Thank you all for your support!