Under cover of night, Wukong raced through the forest, his figure like a gust of wild wind.
Suddenly, he slammed to a halt.
From a distance, he saw clusters of firelight.
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. The darkness before him sharpened into clarity, his gaze piercing through thick trees and green leaves to see three or five cultivators gathered around a campfire, chatting and laughing.
Behind them stood a tall watchtower. Atop it, a middle-aged cultivator leaned on the railing with a long spear, gazing lazily into the distance and yawning.
Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his spiritual power and minimized his presence, quietly circling toward the side of the outpost.
The closer he drew to the inner range, the more frequent these sentry posts became. With the rise of the demon clan, all of Avalon Mountain was on edge. Even many sects on the outskirts had migrated inward.
For them, the most terrifying threat was no longer the powerful demon kings.
Figures like the Six Great Demon Kings, though formidable, were also clever. None would recklessly provoke the Twelve Golden Immortals in Avalon Mountain. But those newly risen, ignorant demons were a different story.
In the demon world, there was no true leader, nor any laws like those of human society.
In these few years of rapid demon growth, lower-level demons have often blundered into Avalon Mountain's territory, leading to casualties among the disciples.
As a result, the cultivators of Avalon Mountain have sealed off the entire mountain as tightly as an iron bucket.
Fortunately, their defenses target only the lower-level demons; someone like Wukong clearly isn't within their expectations.
Silently skirting the sentries, he channeled his spiritual power again and quickened his pace.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived near a major checkpoint.
Once past this checkpoint, he would formally enter the inner range.
A full squad of Skyward Legionnaires marched by with long spears, while three Pegasus cavalry circled overhead in the sky.
At the checkpoint, dozens of cultivators stood guard.
Slowing his steps, Wukong feigned calm as he approached the checkpoint, imitating the others by producing a Guest Pass from his robe.
The gate guard took the pass, inspected it carefully, then handed it back and casually asked, "Why are you passing through so late?"
Taking back the Guest Pass and slipping it into his robe, Wukong replied, "My master asked me to run a few errands, I had no choice."
With that, he brushed past the cultivator and crossed the checkpoint as if nothing had happened.
Along the way, he saw tower-like ramparts where cultivators patrolled with torches, and even giant ballistae like those he'd seen on Celestial warships.
On the ground, behind the fences, various formations had been set up to prevent demons from sneaking through.
After passing the checkpoint smoothly, Wukong melted into the forest again, sprinting a long detour. By dawn, he finally arrived at Golden Mist Cave.
It looked much the same as a few years ago—just as dilapidated, with the cracked stone stele still unrepaired.
Pushing aside the vines at the entrance, Wukong stepped inside, calling out cautiously, "Master Jade Cauldron? Are you there, Master Jade Cauldron?"
No one could be seen inside Golden Mist Cave.
When Wukong reached the main hall, Jade Cauldron Immortal finally poked his sleepy head out of his bedroom, "Who is it? Which sect are you from? How did you just walk in here by yourself? So rude. Who's your master?"
His hair was a complete mess.
Standing before him, Wukong let his disguise blur and revealed his true form.
Jade Cauldron Immortal froze, then blinked for a long moment before saying, "You're... Wukong?"
Wukong grinned and said, "How have you been lately, Brother Jade Cauldron?"
Jade Cauldron Immortal leapt to his feet, hurriedly began dressing, then suddenly remembered something and turned anxiously to ask, "How did you get in? Didn't they stop you?"
"Could they possibly stop me?"
Throwing on his clothes carelessly, Jade Cauldron Immortal hurried over and pulled Wukong to the cave entrance, speaking in a low voice: "They're even more wary of demons now than before. You still..."
Jade Cauldron craned his neck to peer outside, then continued, "You even have a record... Just walking in like this is far too risky."
"I had no choice," Wukong sighed. "Even Anna Yang's Jade Tablets can't reach you anymore. If I didn't come in person, how could I ask for your help?"
Jade Cauldron fussed with his clothes and hat, looking every bit like a down-on-his-luck scholar from the mortal world.
"It's all my senior brother's fault—he even monitors Jade Tablet communications, so I threw them all out to avoid implicating anyone. If those demons were smart enough to collude with Kunlun cultivators, they wouldn't be foolish enough to attack Kunlun Mountain head-on. Wait, you said you need my help—help with what?"
He looked up at Wukong.
"I'd like to invite you to move to Blossom Mountain."
"Blossom Mountain?" Jade Cauldron Immortal frowned slightly, staring at Wukong. "Which Blossom Mountain?"
"Blossom Mountain in Ao Lai Kingdom, Eastrealm."
"Why go so far? If you need something, just say it."
Seeing Jade Cauldron still flustered, Wukong sighed lightly, "Finish freshening up first, this is something that needs careful explanation."
With that, he walked to the side and sat down to wait quietly.
Golden Mist Cave was much the same as before, only even more chaotic now.
Most likely, it was because Anna Yang and Erik Yang, his two disciples, hadn't been around.
The floor and tables were cluttered with bottles and jars; brushes for drawing formations had been left unwashed, their tips dried with potion; what looked like broken artifacts lay twisted and dusty on the ground, all unattended.
The only thing missing here is a giant spider web—though, come to think of it, there really is a spider here.
Wukong glanced up at the fat spider still sprawled on the ceiling.
Jade Cauldron Immortal bustled about, washing his face and rinsing his mouth.
"Are you living at Blossom Mountain now?"
"Yes, I've been at Blossom Mountain these past few years."
"You've improved rapidly these past years—no wonder you're Subhuti's disciple. From the looks of it, you're not just a Golden Immortal anymore, are you?"
"A bit higher, but I've been distracted these years and haven't cultivated as single-mindedly as before."
After a while, Jade Cauldron finally finished tidying up, sat down across from Wukong, smoothed his beard, and caught his breath. "All right, tell me—what do you need my help with?"
"I want your help designing some magical tools, Brother Jade Cauldron."
"Designing magical tools?" Jade Cauldron paused, then said awkwardly, "Wukong, when it comes to designing magical tools, I'm really not..."
It doesn't need to be complicated, but it has to be you, Brother Jade Cauldron.
"Why me?"
"For example, something like this."
Wukong used his Cloudwalker Staff to sketch on the ground.
The shape resembled a cylinder, open at one end.
Jade Cauldron glanced up at Wukong. "And then?"
Wukong pointed to the sealed end with his Cloudwalker Staff and explained, "Set a formation here. I know that when spiritual power is disturbed, it can trigger an explosion. What I need is a formation that lets you input spiritual power from outside, then automatically disrupts it to maximize the blast."
After he finished, Wukong watched Jade Cauldron carefully.
By now, Jade Cauldron Immortal's brows were tightly furrowed. After thinking for a long time, he asked, "Wukong, what use is this thing? Just for spewing fire?"
Wukong replied softly, "If we use refined black iron to channel the explosion in one direction, it will generate tremendous thrust. If we then load certain things here, then..."
Jade Cauldron's brows slowly relaxed. His eyes widened in astonishment as he looked at Wukong, then burst out laughing and exclaimed, "This... this is a weapon! Wukong, how did you ever come up with such a thing!"