Battle the Death Spider Emperor Again!

Splash!

The moment Wukong burst from the water, a figure lunged toward him.

"Hisss—"

Medusa affectionately coiled around Wukong's arm, rubbing her massive head against his cheek.

While Wukong had been cultivating beneath the lake these past days, Medusa had remained by its shore, never leaving even a step.

Wukong rubbed her head and laughed. "It's fine, it's fine. Old Sun is doing great. There's a wonderful place down there, though it's a shame you can't enter it."

Medusa shook her head, indicating that as long as Wukong was safe, that was enough.

After soothing Medusa, Wukong looked around but did not see those familiar figures. Raising a brow, he asked, "Where did those three go?"

Medusa shook her snake head, then turned around and used the tip of her tail to clumsily scratch four large characters into the dirt:

[Went out to play]

She was still far from the hundred-thousand-year threshold. Her transverse bone had yet to transform, so she could not speak.

To make communication easier, Wukong had taught her some simple human characters.

"What unfortunate timing."

Wukong said regretfully, but he did not force the matter.

The Star Dou Great Forest was vast and boundless, with countless powerful Soul Beasts. Xiao Wu and the other two would not lack sparring partners.

At that thought, an excellent beastly candidate instantly appeared in Wukong's mind—the Death Spider Emperor he had fought before!

Their previous battle had been far too rushed. In order to preserve his strength while searching for Di Tian, Wukong had held back throughout the fight and had not enjoyed himself.

Now, he urgently needed intense real combat to squeeze out his Soul Power and refine his origin. She would make the perfect sparring partner, and he could also settle the score for being hunted that day.

Having made up his mind, Wukong instructed Medusa, "Stay by this lake and cultivate peacefully. The Lake of Life is the core spiritual vein of the Star Dou Great Forest, and the natural essence here is exceptionally abundant. The environment may not be as extreme as our Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, but it is still an exceedingly rare treasure ground. Make good use of your time to cultivate. After you transform, Old Sun is counting on you to stay by my side as a guardian."

Hearing this, Medusa solemnly nodded her snake head, obediently coiled up by the lake, closed her eyes, and entered cultivation.

Immediately after.

Wukong explosively kicked off with both legs and shot toward the Death Spider Emperor's territory like a cannonball.

As he raced along, Wukong could not help thinking, If Old Sun had a Somersault Cloud too, I wouldn't have to suffer through all this running.

Deep within the dark forest, purple poisonous miasma lingered all year round.

The Death Spider Emperor was resting atop a giant web when she suddenly sensed a gale. All eight compound eyes immediately fixed on the sky, and she recognized the newcomer at once.

"You filthy monkey, you entered the forbidden zone and still didn't die!"

Wukong leaped down from the air, the dark-gold Ice-Fire Twin Dragon Staff already in his palm. He laughed arrogantly. "This stinking spider like you didn't die either, so naturally your Grandpa Sun is alive and well!"

When enemies met, their eyes burned red with hatred.

Though the Death Spider Emperor was shocked, she had no time to think, because that long staff wrapped in red-and-blue twin dragon patterns was already crashing down upon her head with overwhelming force.

The two beasts immediately fought in a tangled melee.

Their battle raged until the sky darkened and the earth trembled, sending sand and stones flying.

Although Wukong was far inferior in years of cultivation, he relied on the domineering might of his bonded spiritual weapon, the Ice-Fire Twin Dragon Staff, and did not fall behind in the slightest.

The Ultimate Fire clinging to the staff was practically the natural bane of the web-filled sky, igniting them on contact. Meanwhile, Wukong's body, formed from an Innate Spirit Stone, possessed an exceptionally strong resistance to poison.

Even with all her heaven-shaking abilities, the Death Spider Emperor could not unleash her full strength against such an unyielding wild monkey who countered every one of her attributes. She could only rely on her enormous size and brute force to resist him.

After fighting fiercely for more than half a day, the surrounding ancient trees had been utterly destroyed, and the earth was scarred beyond recognition.

When the Soul Power in his body had been squeezed nearly dry, Wukong knew his objective had been achieved and stopped pressing the fight.

He feinted with his staff to force the Spider Emperor back, then turned and used his movement technique to race toward the Lake of Life.

"Trying to run? Not so easily!"

The Death Spider Emperor still had ample Soul Power. Having been attacked and humiliated at her own doorstep by this monkey for no reason, how could she swallow such an insult? She immediately spread her eight long legs and resumed the chase.

Under this desperate flight amid a life-or-death crisis, every muscle in Wukong's body tightened, and the Soul Power in his meridians circulated frantically.

The cluster of Tian Meng's origin within him, which he had not yet fully refined, was like blazing fire meeting dry kindling, rapidly being devoured and absorbed by his body.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

The wind howled past his ears. Once the outline of the Lake of Life became clear ahead, Wukong suddenly accelerated and crossed the boundary of the core region in a single stride.

Boom!

The Death Spider Emperor's charging body came to an abrupt stop, her eight claws plowing deep furrows into the ground.

No matter how unwilling and enraged she was, she did not dare step even half a pace into this forbidden zone without authorization.

Standing within the safe boundary, Wukong turned and waved at the Spider Emperor, a smug grin spreading across his face. "I'm off, Old Spider! Had a great time today. See you again later."

The Death Spider Emperor trembled with rage and roared furiously, "Filthy monkey, just you wait! I will never let you off!"

After a pause, the Spider Emperor became even more unhinged. "And what the hell is Old Spider?! I'm the Spider Emperor! The Spider Emperor! You filthy monkey, filthy monkey, filthy monkey!"

From then on.

Wukong lived a life of devouring Tian Meng, cultivating divine abilities, and beating up spiders.

And because Wukong had constantly been refining Tian Meng's origin, his cultivation steadily advanced day by day.

His strength went from initially having a sixty-forty advantage against the Death Spider Emperor to being evenly matched.

Until now, it had become a forty-sixty split.

Gradually, Wukong had to flee less often, while the Spider Emperor was beaten flat more and more frequently.

That being said.

As their clashes increased, their relationship inexplicably improved instead.

After all, Wukong had gained many benefits from the Death Spider Emperor, and his combat experience improved at a tremendous pace.

The Death Spider Emperor had also been spared by Wukong many times.

The two could be considered strangers no longer after fighting, becoming a pair of bickering rivals.

One day, two years later.

Within the Death Spider Emperor's territory.

Bang!

A loud explosion rang out.

The Spider Emperor's enormous body crashed heavily into the ground, smashing out another deep crater.

Wukong hung upside down from a tree with the Ice-Fire Twin Dragon Staff over his shoulder, grinning down at her.

"Little sis, what's going on with you lately? Why are you getting weaker and weaker?"

"Big bro only used thirty percent of his strength today, and you're already done for?"

The Death Spider Emperor climbed to her feet in a disheveled state, her eight long legs trembling nonstop.

She glared furiously at Wukong above.

"Filthy monkey, what miraculous pills did you take? How has your cultivation improved so quickly?!"

The Death Spider Emperor saw it with her eyes, envied it in her heart, and displayed her jealousy openly.

Back when this monkey had first appeared two years ago, he had only possessed eighty-five thousand years of cultivation.

Yet only two and a half years had passed, and he had rapidly surged to ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine years!

He was only one step away from one hundred thousand years!