External Body Technique! Gather Form, Disperse Qi!

In the years that followed.

Time flowed peacefully by the banks of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

One monkey and one snake lived quite harmoniously in this confined valley.

In their spare time, the two soul beasts often sparred in the open space outside the valley to hone Wukong's practical combat experience.

Because of her previous greed for quick success, Medusa had nearly been killed by the backlash of the ice and fire forces, but she had also received a blessing in disguise.

That violent energy had settled within her body, allowing her to comprehend a fraction of the mysteries behind the fusion of ice and fire.

Now, she was able to coil up and absorb spiritual energy even closer to the spring's eye.

Furthermore, as her cultivation broke through the fifty-thousand-year mark in one go, her originally massive snake body began to shrink drastically.

Although her size became smaller, her pressure grew increasingly terrifying.

What was even more peculiar was that Medusa's race was uniquely endowed by nature; the deeper her cultivation, the closer her upper body came to human form.

At that moment, the outline of a human female was faintly visible at her snake neck, with curves beginning to emerge beneath the coverage of purple-black scales.

If she truly managed to cultivate to one hundred thousand years and transform into a human body with a snake tail, it would likely be breathtakingly stunning.

With such a strong sparring partner accompanying him, Wukong naturally did not sit idle.

Day and night, he pondered the ultimate skills from the movies and games of his past life, combining them with the characteristics of his own Innate Spirit Stone to forcefully concoct a set of semi-self-created soul skills.

The first was named the "External Body Technique".

This move drew inspiration from the Heaven-Equal Great Sage pulling out hairs to transform into monkeys, combined with the characteristic of his own stone body shedding fragments.

The origin of the Spirit Stone, stone fragments transformed into avatars.

When facing an enemy, shaking off a few pieces of stone skin could turn them into several doppelgangers.

Although they were not as tough as his true body, they could disrupt sight and sound, possessing strong deceptive qualities.

The other half-set was "Gather Form, Disperse Qi".

The idea for this move stemmed from the methods of the Destined One in Black Myth.

Stone naturally underwent weathering, scattering with the wind and gathering again with the wind.

In Wukong's vision, when this move reached completion, it could leave behind a fake body to confuse the enemy, while the true body transformed into a stream of invisible particles to evade all physical attacks and strike when the opportunity arose.

However, the technique was too profound; having been developed for only a few years, its application was still somewhat raw.

Currently, he could only force its activation, using it as a life-saving trump card for an instant burst of speed.

There are no years in the mountains, and winter ends without counting the years.

In the blink of an eye, several more spring and autumn seasons passed.

On this day.

At the bottom of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the two-colored spring water boiled like a cauldron.

Wukong sat cross-legged among the Dragon King's remains, his aura churning as he charged at full strength toward the cultivation bottleneck of eighty thousand years.

Boom—!

Suddenly, a roar came from outside the valley, followed by Medusa's shrill hiss that pierced through the water waves and struck straight at the eardrums.

Not good!

Wukong's eyes widened wide, a fierce look flashing across his pupils.

Splash!

The spring water burst apart.

A cyan-grey figure broke through the water.

Wrapped in water vapor, it rushed straight toward the valley entrance.

Cast your eyes outward, and poisonous miasma filled the valley entrance.

Medusa was locked in a bitter struggle with a massive green snake.

Yet the battle was completely one-sided; Medusa's scales were rolled up and toxic blood flowed freely, clearly indicating she was at the end of her rope.

"Where did this big worm pop out from again?"

Wukong furrowed his brows and was about to erupt when he suddenly noticed the seven rings beneath the huge green snake.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black!

"No! This isn't a soul beast, it's a soul master's Martial Soul Avatar!"

Wukong's heart sank heavily, and a certain figure flashed through his mind like lightning.

Using a venomous snake as a martial soul, possessing seven soul rings, and appearing right here...

The opponent's identity was already ready to come out.

"Dugu Bo..."

Wukong smacked his lips, an unspeakable and unclear taste welling up in the bottom of his heart.

Years of dormancy and waiting, this Old Poisoner had finally appeared.

Since Dugu Bo had already shown himself, it meant the gears of fate were about to turn.

If that kid Tang San became a god while I still hadn't achieved Transformation, that would be a huge joke.

Wukong gritted his teeth inwardly, and a sense of crisis welled up within him.

Hahaha! Beast, stop making pointless struggles and obediently transform into my soul ring!

Amidst his thoughts, the giant emerald serpent spoke with a human voice, its tone old and gloomy, reeking of undisguised greed.

Dugu Bo had been locked in a fierce battle with Medusa for a long time; although he held the upper hand, he had also consumed more than half of his own soul power.

At this moment, he was about to urge his soul skill to launch a fatal blow, executing this rare serpent king on the spot.

Just at this critical moment.

"Freeze!"

Wukong pointed two fingers like a sword, aiming them at him from afar.

An invisible aura pierced through the air, instantly enveloping that emerald serpent.

Dugu Bo's massive Martial Soul Avatar suddenly stiffened, unable to move anymore!

Taking advantage of this fleeting gap, Wukong's figure moved like lightning, grabbing Medusa by the tail and flinging her toward a safe zone in the rear.

What the hell?! Why can't I move? Is it the Petrification Ray again? No, this feeling doesn't feel like petrification!

A turbulent storm surged in Dugu Bo's heart as he frantically urged the soul power within his body, trying to break through this bizarre, invisible shackles.

At that exact moment, he saw a demonic monkey appear, rescuing the dying Medusa from his grasp.

How could such a blessed paradise hide such a powerful soul beast?

Furthermore, this demonic monkey and Medusa were definitely not of the same clan; why could they live in peace within this territory and even render assistance?

Before he could figure it out.

He saw that demonic monkey charge toward him, smashing a fist against his chin.

"Take Old Sun's punch!"

Bang——!

A muffled, tremendous sound echoed through the valley.

Dugu Bo instantly resembled a kite with a broken string, blasted flying and crashing with a boom into the valley wall as gravel rustled down.

Fortunately, he was in his Martial Soul Avatar state at the moment, and his defense was astonishing.

If he had used a soul master's mortal body to forcefully endure that punch, he probably would have kicked the bucket on the spot.

"Damned beast, you're courting death!"

Dugu Bo was instantly enraged, and seeing the binding dissipate, he fiercely slapped his snake tail and bounced outward using the momentum.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh——!

The Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor spewed toxic mist, a foul wind rolling in to cover the heavens and the earth, while its tail lashed down like a divine whip.

"Well timed!"

Wukong was utterly fearless, his eyes revealing a fierce expression.

Copper Head Iron Bones!

A bronze luster instantly covered his entire body.

Immediately, Wukong advanced instead of retreating, actually using his physical body to endure the toxic mist that was enough to corrode gold and stone, crossing his arms to stubbornly prop up the descending snake tail.

Screech——!

The toxic mist corroded the stone-like skin, making a teeth-gritting sound, yet it could not harm his foundation.

"Split!"

Wukong plucked out several monkey hairs and blew them onto the ground.

The moment they landed, they turned into a dozen identical stone monkeys, roaring as they pounced on Dugu Bo, striking and kicking, tearing and biting...

How can this soul beast use clones?!

The more they fought, the more alarmed Dugu Bo became.

In terms of cultivation, he was at the peak of the eightieth-rank soul saint, and his foundation was superior to Wukong's.

Moreover, his practical combat experience was seasoned, and his offensive methods were vicious.

Yet the trouble was that he had already depleted his soul power earlier while dealing with Medusa.

Now facing this demonic monkey with perverse defense and bizarre methods, he completely fell into a disadvantage.

After several exchanges of blows, Dugu Bo was panting like an ox, and seeing that he could not win after a prolonged attack, the intention to retreat suddenly arose in his heart.

While there are green hills left, there's no need to worry about firewood! Once I go back and fetch reinforcements, I will definitely flay you and pull out your tendons!

With his mind made up, Dugu Bo forcefully endured a whipping kick from Wukong and, utilizing the rebound force, instantly dismissed his Martial Soul Avatar.

The emerald light receded, turning into an old man with green hair and a beard and a gloomy face, who ran wildly toward the outside of the valley without looking back.

"Wanting to leave? How could there be such a cheap deal!"

A fierce light surged greatly in Wukong's eyes.

This place was too close to Heaven Dou City.

If this old poisoner were let go to attract other experts, his own blessed land with good feng shui might not be kept.

"Freeze!"

Wukong urged the Immobility Technique once again while the soul power inside his body surged in reverse.

Gather Form, Disperse Qi!

Boom!

Wukong's figure blurred instantly, transforming into an afterimage hard to distinguish with the naked eye. His speed soared several times over, tearing through the air and heading straight for Dugu Bo's back.

Yet in the end, it was still half a beat too slow.

To survive, Dugu Bo actually spared no cost in damaging his foundations, bursting out with powerful force to instantly break through the effect of the Immobility Technique.

Then he struck out with a palm toward the pursuing Wukong, attempting to use the rebound force of their collision to accelerate his escape.

Seeing that it would be difficult to completely trap him today, Wukong shifted his target, fixing his gaze on the storage soul tool at the other's waist.

"If I can't keep your person, keeping your money pouch will do!"

Wukong's lips curled up, his five fingers forming claws, driving soul power as he hooked downwards in one fluid motion.

"Not good!"

Seeing what he was doing, Dugu Bo's pupils constricted sharply, his heart wrenching violently.

He hurriedly changed his stance to try and stop it, yet it was still half a step too late.

He only felt his waist grow light, as the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch filled with more than half a lifetime of savings and various precious poisonous herbs had already fallen into the demonic monkey's hands.

"Detestable demonic monkey!! You wait for this old man!"

Dugu Bo's eyes split open in an instant, blood dripping from his heart.

Yet he simply dared not stop his footsteps, terrified of being struck by that eerie immobility method again, at which point he feared even his life would be lost inside it.

He could only grit his teeth and hurl viciously venomous last words, his figure transforming into green light as he vanished in extreme wretchedness deep within the dense forest.