Sleeping with Xiao Wu

Wukong waved his hand. "No rush. I'll get used to this human body first. Once I condense my first Soul Ring, I'll head to human society."

Da Ming nodded. "That is indeed the right course. You have only just undergone Transformation, and this mortal body is extremely fragile."

"If you rashly enter human territory and encounter danger, you won't even have the ability to protect yourself."

"Staying here to stabilize your cultivation first is the best option."

Xiao Wu listened from the side and grinned happily.

"Yay!"

"Little Monkey can play with me for a few more days!"

"But since you've successfully transformed, we have to celebrate properly!"

"Er Ming, hurry and get us something tasty!"

Er Ming scratched the back of his head.

"Sister Xiao Wu, what do you want to eat?"

"I'll catch a few Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts right away!"

Wukong hurriedly waved him off.

"No, no, no!"

"Brother Er Ming, you absolutely must not catch Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts."

"Old Sun's body is too weak right now."

"If I eat Soul Beast flesh from one with such a high cultivation, I definitely won't be able to handle the nourishment."

"Just catch some hundred-year or thousand-year Soul Beasts."

Er Ming nodded, half-understanding.

"Hundred-year and thousand-year Soul Beasts..."

"Alright, I'll go look."

Er Ming strode into the depths of the forest.

Before long, Er Ming returned.

He carried several sizable Soul Beasts in his hands.

One hundred-year Wind Baboon and three thousand-year Blazing Fire Pigs.

Those Soul Beasts had not even had room to resist in Er Ming's grasp and had long since stopped breathing.

Er Ming tossed the Soul Beasts onto the ground.

"Brother Wukong, are these Soul Beasts alright?"

Wukong stepped closer and inspected them.

"Not bad, not bad."

"The Blazing Fire Pig has the finest, fattiest meat. Roasted, it'll be absolutely delicious."

Wukong lacked strength now, so he directed Er Ming and Xiao Wu to prepare the ingredients.

Skinning, gutting, washing.

After the ingredients were prepared, Wukong lit a bonfire in the clearing.

He skewered the meat and set it over the flames to roast.

As the flames seared it, the fat on the pork began to sizzle.

Then Wukong took out all sorts of bottles and jars from the Hundred Treasures Pouch.

Salt, cumin, chili powder.

Dugu Bo had left all of them behind earlier.

Wukong generously sprinkled them over the meat.

A rich fragrance immediately spread through the air.

Xiao Wu watched from the side, swallowing repeatedly.

"Little Monkey, it smells so good!"

"When can we eat?"

Wukong turned the meat over and chuckled. "Wait a little longer. It isn't cooked through yet."

Half an hour later, the roasted meat was finally done.

Wukong cut off a large piece of lean-and-fat meat and handed it to Xiao Wu.

Ignoring the heat, Xiao Wu grabbed it and took a huge bite.

"Delicious!"

"It's so delicious!"

Xiao Wu ate until her mouth gleamed with grease, praising it again and again.

Wukong cut off several more pieces and gave them to Cai Lin.

Cai Lin swallowed one in a single bite and narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.

Wukong cut a piece for himself as well and began chewing in large bites.

The meat was tender and juicy, its flavor fully infused with seasoning.

Da Ming and Er Ming were too large to need small portions, so they simply dug in with huge mouthfuls.

Er Ming smacked his lips.

"It really does taste good."

"It's just a little too little."

"If I'd known, I would've caught more pigs..."

Everyone happily finished their bonfire dinner.

The night deepened.

Everyone found a place to rest.

Wukong yawned and prepared to sleep.

Normally, Wukong slept curled up beside Cai Lin at night.

He had once been a Stone Monkey with high cultivation, so he had never known heat or cold.

Cai Lin, meanwhile, was a snake, and her body temperature was extremely low.

In the past, Wukong had only felt cool when he slept against her.

That night, Wukong habitually walked over to Cai Lin again and lay down against her.

The instant he touched Cai Lin's scales.

Wukong immediately shuddered.

"Hiss—"

"So cold!"

Wukong now had the body of a human child, with delicate skin and tender flesh.

Cai Lin's temperature felt like a huge block of ice to him now.

Wukong shivered uncontrollably and backed away again and again.

Cai Lin opened her eyes and looked at Wukong in confusion.

Wukong rubbed his arms.

"Cai Lin, you're too cold."

"Old Sun can't handle this temperature right now."

Cai Lin lowered her head in grievance, her tail drawing circles on the ground.

"This isn't your fault. Once my cultivation rises, we'll sleep together again."

As he spoke, Wukong looked around.

He saw Xiao Wu sleeping motionlessly on a flat patch of grass.

Her pink fur looked thick and plush.

Wukong's eyes lit up, and he immediately walked over to Xiao Wu.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he burrowed into Xiao Wu's arms.

Xiao Wu's fur was soft and carried a faint scent of fresh grass.

"So warm..."

Wukong used Xiao Wu's fur as a blanket and wrapped himself in it.

The temperature was just right, wonderfully warm.

In her sleep, Xiao Wu sensed that something had appeared in her arms.

Instinctively, she stretched out both hands and hugged Wukong tighter.

She even mumbled in her sleep.

"Big carrot..."

"Don't run..."

Wukong rolled his eyes.

"You're the carrot."

But the temperature here really was comfortable.

Wukong closed his eyes and quickly drifted into sleep.

The next morning.

Sunlight filtered through gaps between the leaves and scattered across the ground.

Xiao Wu groggily opened her eyes.

She felt something warm in her arms.

Looking down.

Wukong was curled up in her embrace, sleeping soundly.

Not only was Xiao Wu not displeased, she was delighted.

"Hehe, Little Monkey, what a cute Little Monkey..."

"His skin is so fair, smooth, and tender. After one lick, I'll want another!"

Then, as if she were hugging a carrot, she kissed and groped Wukong again and again.

"Hey, hey, hey..."

"Sister Xiao Wu, what are you doing?!"

Wukong jolted awake and began struggling wildly.

With a humiliated expression, he endured Xiao Wu's merciless torment!

The humiliation of today will be repaid a hundredfold someday!

After a round of morning humiliation.

Wukong was finally released after Xiao Wu had played to her heart's content.

After eating something simple, Wukong began cultivating.

He possessed Innate Full Soul Power and could condense a Soul Ring directly.

But Wukong did not do so immediately.

He knew his current physical condition very clearly.

Though he had Innate Full Soul Power, his physical strength could only be considered average.

If he condensed a Soul Ring now, at most he could endure one that was five hundred years old.

That was absolutely unacceptable to Wukong.

The first few Soul Rings were extremely important in a Soul Master's cultivation.

It was like laying a foundation.

The sturdier the foundation, the smoother one's later growth would be.

Moreover, Soul Beasts who underwent Transformation and cultivated anew differed greatly from pure human Soul Masters.

Human Soul Masters could raise their Soul Power Level by absorbing Soul Rings at their limit.

They could even absorb Soul Bones to gain additional Soul Power boosts and abilities.

But Soul Beasts who underwent Transformation could not.

Transforming Soul Beasts could not absorb external Soul Bones or Soul Rings and could only condense their own.

That meant Transforming Soul Beasts lost a major avenue of improvement.

If they wanted to increase their strength quickly, the only shortcut was consuming heavenly treasures.

That was why it was especially difficult for Soul Beasts to undergo Transformation and cultivate anew.

There was not much external aid they could rely on. They could only cultivate step by step on their own.

Fortunately, Wukong did not lack heavenly treasures.

He had looted the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well before, and his Hundred Treasures Pouch contained a great many Immortal Herbs and spiritual plants.

Therefore, before condensing a Soul Ring, Wukong planned to temper his body first.