"A little fifty-thousand-year loach dared bare its fangs at me?"
Zi JI's gaze abruptly turned icy, and she was about to slap the beast into a pulp.
"Wait, Sister Zi JI."
Wukong raised a hand to stop her and chuckled. "Why use an ox-cleaving blade to kill a chicken? A small fry like this hardly warrants you taking action yourself. Besides, Cai Lin has had little experience fighting Soul Beasts since she started following me. We've finally found a sparring partner today, so let her come out and stretch her muscles."
With that, Wukong willed it.
Whoosh-
A streak of emerald light shot out of the Hundred Treasures Pouch.
It instantly landed on the open ground before the pool.
The light faded.
Cai Lin appeared before them, three meters long and clothed, with arms, a torso, facial features... a human upper body and a serpent's tail.
During her time cultivating beside Wukong, she had benefited daily from the Auspicious Beast's tenfold Auspicious Halo, while also using a Quasi-Super Divine Artifact to cultivate.
Now, Cai Lin's cultivation had risen like a boat lifted by the tide, successfully breaking through the eighty-thousand-year threshold!
As a result, her body had grown increasingly petite, and her human upper half had become more complete. Only her serpentine pupils, forked tongue, and some scales had yet to transform.
Looking at the imposing Cai Lin, Zi JI clicked her tongue. "This snake must have accumulated good fortune over eight lifetimes to end up following you. It's only been a few years, and she's already reached eighty thousand years of cultivation..."
"It's not all thanks to me. Cai Lin works very hard herself."
Wukong smiled, then stroked Cai Lin's head and encouraged her. "Go on."
"Hiss, hiss-"
As Cai Lin rushed down, her body rapidly expanded into a