Victory in the first battle against the Heavenly Court had truly invigorated the spirits of the entire underground city.
At last, they had taken the first step—darkness was no longer endless, and dawn was about to break.
All the demons celebrated through the night, shouting wildly, their faces lit with smiles and tears of joy everywhere.
No matter what hardships they had endured in this underground city, the smiles at this moment came from the heart.
They finally, truly believed that the Celestial Army was not invincible.
Even if they had to remain in this underground city forever, this moment was worth rejoicing. Here, some endured extremely harsh treatment, but at least when hungry there was hot soup, when sick there was medicine, and there was hope for survival.
And soon, they would move up to the surface and walk proudly beneath the sunlight.
Amidst the boiling celebration, in a quiet corner of the lowest level of the underground city, Monkey sat alone in a spacious and solemn hall.
In the dim space, flickering red flames burned on all four walls, illuminating reliefs of beasts that seemed to roar in madness—there, the history of the underground city was recorded.
A bloody history.
Dragon’s Pool, the Serpent Lord’s tyranny, Monkey forced to kill Old White Ape, ambushes against the Celestial Army, Leo’s tragic death, Big Bull’s sacrifice…
Stillwater Valley, the Celestial Army’s siege, Elder Stillwater’s defense, the long journey…
Blossom Mountain, hidden underground, resisting the surrounding demon hordes…
...
Through these years, every enemy, every comrade, every chapter of history is remembered here.
On the wall opposite the entrance, a polished stone slab had long been prepared.
War had already begun; soon, that slab would be filled with names or symbols. Each name would stand for a demon who gave their life for the underground city.
At the center of the hall lay a massive, transparent crystal—the Soulhunter Stone.
Inside, liquid gently swirled, bubbling softly, while countless star-like points of light drifted back and forth.
Monkey sat cross-legged before the crystal, hunched over and staring blankly, his Cloudwalker Staff leaning crookedly against his shoulder.
“Thank you for your hard work,” he said softly.
“The King is thanking us!” a voice shrieked.
“Idiot! Why are you shouting?” another voice scolded.
“Um, King, are they celebrating outside? I really wish I could join... It’s my own fault for being careless in battle. Once I started killing, I lost my head. Sigh...”
Monkey let out a quiet sigh. “You’ll have your chance. Right now, Blossom Mountain still doesn’t have the power to resurrect you, but one day you will return. I’ve already avenged you by killing those Celestial soldiers and generals. Only King Broadgaze is left as a hostage.”
“It’s fine, we trust you, King.”
“Actually, it’s not bad here either—no regular exams, hahaha!”
“King, when I’m resurrected, I don’t want to be a dog demon anymore. Can I be reborn as a lion demon? That would be so much cooler!”
“Sure.” Monkey smiled. “When the time comes, you can choose any form you like!”
“Then I want to be an elephant demon!”
“Whale demon! I want to be a whale demon!”
“I want to be a dragon demon...”
...
“Me too! I want to be a dragon! Me too!”
The cluster of lights stirred restlessly, finally reaching consensus: everyone wanted to become a dragon.
This is the Soulhunter Stone.
Winning the right to survive as demons is not achieved overnight. The struggle against the Heavenly Court will surely be a long road.
Where there is war, there is life and death. If the cycle of life and death in the Netherworld remains under Heavenly control, and if they ever harbor malicious intent, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Monkey has long had the ability to collect souls—and not just Monkey, several demons of Blossom Mountain have mastered this skill. But souls lacking enough resentment cannot be preserved for long; if the deadline passes and they do not return to the Netherworld, do not enter the cycle, they become Restless Shades.
For this reason, Monkey spared no effort to have Anna Yang use her connections to obtain this rare Soulhunter Stone from Northern Jambu Continent, and built this Hall of Summoned Souls. Within it, souls can be preserved for a thousand years.