"This old bastard ran pretty fast."
Wukong knew that with the other man's vindictive nature, once he recovered, he would surely gather experts and return.
"We can't stay here any longer."
Wukong smacked his lips, a trace of regret flashing through his eyes.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was a treasure trove born of heaven and earth. He had lain low here for decades, and his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Now that he suddenly had to leave, it really did feel like cutting flesh from his body.
But compared to his life, this little loss was nothing.
He turned and walked over to Medusa.
At that moment, Medusa was sprawled amid a pile of broken rocks, her scales curled back as poisonous blood trickled out. Her aura was weak to the extreme.
Wukong crouched down, pressing his hand against her vital spot. He sent a stream of pure Soul Power into her body, helping stabilize her heart and veins.
"Hisss..."
Medusa laboriously raised her head, looking at him with exhaustion and gratitude.
Wukong frowned as he examined her injuries, then sighed. "Your injuries have damaged your foundation. You'll need at least three to five years of rest before you recover. That Old Poisoner is the sort to hold grudges over the smallest slight. If he comes back and finds Old Sun gone, he'll definitely vent his anger on you, you sickly snake. He'll skin you, pull out your tendons, take your Soul Ring and Soul Bone. You won't even have the strength to resist."
At those words, terror flashed through Medusa's eyes. Her tongue flickered as she let out a weak hiss, seemingly asking what she should do.
"Old Sun plans to leave this damned place."
Wukong pointed at the Hundred Treasures Pouch hanging from his waist. "This thing has plenty of space inside, and it can even hold living creatures. If you trust me, come with me. Once you've recovered, you can stay or leave as you please. What do you say?"
Medusa did not hesitate in the slightest. Her enormous head nodded heavily.
To her, this monkey had long become someone she could trust with her life.
"Fine. Go inside and rest first."
Wukong activated his Soul Power. The opening of the Hundred Treasures Pouch widened, generating a powerful suction that drew Medusa inside.
After settling Medusa in, Wukong did not leave immediately.
Instead, he set down the Hundred Treasures Pouch and leaped naked into the spring.
He then dove all the way down until he arrived before the Dragon Kings' skeletons.
"Two old Dragon Kings, this junior has cultivated in this treasured land for decades and received many benefits."
"Today, powerful enemies surround me, and I have no choice but to travel far from home. Before leaving, I came specifically to thank you for your kindness."
Wukong's expression was solemn. He knelt on both knees and respectfully kowtowed three times before the two enormous dragon skeletons.
He had always been clear about gratitude and grievances. Though he had stumbled upon this opportunity himself, he had benefited from them, and he could not skip this expression of thanks.
As his words fell, Wukong was about to turn and leave.
Hum—!
The entire bottom of the spring suddenly shook violently!
The red and blue spring water churned madly as though it had begun to boil.
Two terrifying dragon auras awakened from the skeletons.
They instantly locked onto Wukong!
"What's going on?!"
Wukong's heart jolted, and he instinctively wanted to flee.
But his aura had been locked down, making it impossible for him to move.
Just as Wukong was wavering in uncertainty.
The next moment.
Two crystalline ribs flew out from the red and blue dragon skeletons.
The two ribs spiraled and intertwined in the water, erupting with dazzling light. In the blink of an eye, they fused into one, becoming a dark-gold staff with red and blue twin-dragon totems coiled around its opposite ends!
"This... this is for me?"
Wukong's eyes widened instantly.
"Roar—"
As if it possessed a spirit, the staff let out a dragon's roar before turning into a streak of light and shooting into Wukong's brow.
Boom!
A vast force of ice and fire exploded within Wukong's body.
Complex, ancient dragon patterns instantly emerged across the surface of his body.
His left half radiated bone-chilling cold, while raging flames surged from his right half.
"Argh—!"
Wukong threw back his head and roared, feeling every tendon and bone in his body being reforged by that power.
His cultivation also began rising rapidly under the infusion of that pure origin power!
Seventy-nine thousand years!
Eighty thousand years!
Eighty-five thousand years!
Only upon reaching the threshold of eighty-five thousand years did that surge finally come to a halt.
Wukong opened his eyes, and the shadow of a dragon flashed through his golden pupils.
With a thought, he raised his right hand and made a grasping motion.
Swish!
A dark-gold staff appeared in his palm out of thin air.
It felt tremendously heavy in his hand, as though he were gripping a mountain.
The laws of ice and fire flowed across it. With a casual swing, it tore open a vacuum in the surrounding spring water.
"What a treasure! What a treasure!"
Wukong stroked the dragon patterns on the staff, so excited that he scratched at his ears and cheeks. He could not help swinging it around, sending the spring water churning wildly.
Though the Ice-Fire Twin Dragon Staff was not a divine artifact, it had been formed from the ribs of the Twin Dragon Kings. Its quality was no less than that of the Soul Bones of those top Ferocious Beasts.
More importantly, it could merge into his body at will, like a bonded magical treasure!
And this gift had greatly increased his cultivation, saving him decades, perhaps nearly a century, of bitter training!
"If that Old Poisoner dares come now, Old Sun will smash his skull open with one strike!"
Wukong's confidence soared. After kowtowing three more times to the dragon skeletons, he finally burst out of the water.
Back on shore.
Wukong swiftly swept the valley clean of its immortal herbs and spiritual plants.
He especially kept the Lovesick Heartbreak Red close to his body.
Not only was it the finest among immortal-grade treasures, it could also perfectly conceal the origin fluctuations of a Soul Beast.
It was simply the perfect tool for infiltrating the human world after undergoing Transformation.
After finishing all that, Wukong sat before the wooden hut and began considering where to go next.
His original plan had been to lie low until he reached one hundred thousand years and underwent Transformation, but now that plan had been completely disrupted.
"We can't stay here. I need to find a new blessed land..."
The instant the thought surfaced.
Wukong immediately thought of the perfect place.
The Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest!
That was the holy land of Soul Beasts across the entire continent.
Though its conditions could not compare to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, its life energy was rich. It was absolutely an excellent place for Soul Beasts to cultivate.
More importantly, judging by the timeline, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had most likely already been captured by the Ferocious Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
"If I can sneak in and absorb a few mouthfuls of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's origin, won't my cultivation shoot upward like a rocket?"
Wukong licked his lips, his eyes filled with greed.
If it had been before, even with ten times the courage, he would not have dared set his sights on the Lake of Life.
After all, Di Tian and a host of Ferocious Beasts occupied that place. The Silver Dragon King herself even slept at the bottom of the lake.
With his mere eighty-thousand-year cultivation, he could not even cross the threshold into the outer region, much less get a share of the spoils.
But things were different now.
Wukong summoned the Ice-Fire Twin Dragon Staff and gave it a swing.
This was the token of the Icefire Dragon Kings, two of the Nine Dragon Kings!
With that connection, in the eyes of the Silver Dragon King and Di Tian, he could at least be considered one of their own juniors.
It was unrealistic to expect them to give him everything they had, but asking for protection and a place to cultivate should not be a problem.
"Besides, since Old Sun was reborn as a Soul Beast in this life, I naturally can't piss in the same pot as those people from the God Realm. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Holding tight to the Silver Dragon King's thigh early on can only benefit me."
"That Silver Dragon King may not be too bright, but her strength and foundation are the real deal."
With his plans settled, Wukong did not hesitate any longer.
He pulled out a set of oversized black robes from the Hundred Treasures Pouch and draped them over himself. He then tucked his tail into his waistband and pulled up the hood, leaving only his nose and mouth exposed.
With the Lovesick Heartbreak Red concealing him as well, so long as he did not encounter a Peak Douluo deliberately examining him, no one would realize that the black-robed figure was actually an eighty-thousand-year Soul Beast.
"Old Poisoner, Old Poisoner, your money pouch really helped Old Sun out!"
Wukong counted the mountain of Gold Soul Coins in the Hundred Treasures Pouch, along with spare clothes, dried provisions, all kinds of herbs, and rare ores. He could not stop himself from grinning.
With these supplies, even if he underwent Transformation and mingled among humans in the future, he would have no worries.
Under cover of night, Wukong consulted the map Dugu Bo had left behind, avoided human towns, chose only barren mountains and wilderness, and headed straight for the Star Dou Great Forest.
Before you continue