Furball

Biodata

Power Progression

Furball’s documented changes concern recovery and access to his original form; no named cultivation realm is assigned to him.

Background / History

Furball was one of the principal targets of a combined assault during the battle of Supreme Beings that devastated the Great Wilderness. The injuries drove him into regression and amnesia, leaving him in a small monkey form with an enormous appetite. He also retained a dao wound that later limited his ability to sustain his original power 68 123.

Shi Hao found him at the bottom of a dried-up lake while traveling west with Auntie Green-Scaled Eagle. Because the monkey remembered nothing and seemed interested only in eating, Shi Hao named him Furball and brought him to Stone Village. Shi Hou recognized him as the Primordial Zhu Yan 68.

Appearance

Furball’s usual form is a fist-sized monkey covered in golden fur and a faint golden glow 68.

• Three heads and six arms: Present at his introduction and in his giant primordial form 68 123.
• Golden eyes and expressive fur: His eyes are described as golden; fright or anger makes his fur bristle until he resembles a hedgehog or golden sea urchin 92 120 138.
• Zhu Yan True Form: A colossal ape towering into the clouds, with muscular arms, ancient golden runes, scarlet eyes, and a fang-filled mouth 122.
• Final-battle injuries: Three of his six arms are severed while he confronts the Strange Ancestors 199.

Personality

Furball is intensely food-driven. He steals eggs, hunts honey, competes for the best portions, and can be persuaded to cooperate with promises of nourishing meals. His appetite does not make him indiscriminate: he refuses Shi Hou’s mutated leeks after experiencing their side effects, and initially avoids the suspicious emerald soup 76 77 85 93 120 134 158.

He is mischievous, theatrical, and quick to imitate others. He mocks Shi Hou, enthusiastically treats the boys’ extortion tactics as something to learn, and taunts the Five-Colored Peacock with its own broken eggshell. When Shi Hou threatens him, however, he immediately tries to distance himself from Shi Hao’s misbehavior 75 80 83.

Despite his squabbling and self-preservation, Furball cares about his companions. He gives Little White precious true blood, attempts to interrupt Shi Hao and Shi Hou’s fight, and later rebukes Shi Hou through pantomime for sleeping while Shi Hao endured serious injuries 77 162 177.

Big Red’s success as a kitchen assistant makes Furball anxious about becoming useless. Believing that an unhelpful companion might end up in the cooking pot, he deliberately demonstrates his combat value against the Martial King Manor youths 183.

Abilities & Skills

Zhu Yan True Form

Furball can manifest the enormous body and physical power of a primordial Zhu Yan 121 122.

• His explosive strength far exceeds Shi Hou’s then-current forty-million-jin blood qi strength 123.
• His roars shatter ancient trees, shake the earth, and split surrounding rock 122.
• He repeatedly smashes the paralyzed Black Tiger into the ground, leaving it severely battered but alive 123.
• The forced transformation leaves him frenzied and fighting on instinct rather than using the Zhu Yan clan’s Treasure Arts 123.
• Sustaining the form consumes immense vital essence. His dao wound causes the manifestation to end in exhaustion and unconsciousness 123.

Hair Clones

Furball can transform plucked golden hairs into small copies of himself 84 95.

• Blowing on dozens of hairs produces thumb-sized golden monkeys that obey his gestures and charge a designated target 84.
• He also creates fist-sized monkeys to help surround Shi Hao during a chase through Stone Village 95.
• Plucking the hairs is painful, and he fiercely resists attempts by Shi Hao and Shi Hou to take them for study 84 93.
• After their attempted theft, he guards his backside even while sleeping 93.

Primordial Zhu Yan True Blood

Furball’s dark-gold origin true blood has powerful restorative properties 77 78.

• A drop drives the Taiyin River’s cold out of Little White and enables it to stand again 77 78.
• Shi Hou uses another drop with a Five-Colored Peacock egg to make medicinal custard 78.
• Losing one drop ordinarily requires ten days to half a month of recovery; the custard restores the blood Furball expended 78.

Scent Tracking and Danger Detection

Furball uses his nose to locate valuable opportunities and follow familiar scents 76 120 121.

• Detects the nearby opportunity that leads him and Kang to the Five-Colored Peacock egg 76 77.
• Tracks Shi Hao west by north after sniffing his beast-hide underpants 120.
• Identifies the lingering scent of a precious herb in the cave where Shi Hao uprooted the Black Fiend Lotus 121.
• His senses can be disrupted by a dense crowd and mixed auras 120.
• Recognizes threats from the Forbidden Land’s guardians, the dying Gourd Vine, and the Divine Cave 129 131 157.

Close Combat and Teamwork

Furball remains a capable fighter in his small form, combining speed and weapon strikes with Kang’s paralysis 183.

• Calls on Kang to freeze the Martial King Manor youths’ blood qi and runes, then defeats them with a bone club in no more than five breaths 183.
• Moves among opponents as a golden afterimage 183.
• His small form is not invulnerable: Kang overpowers him in a wrestling match, and the shock wave from Shi Hao and Shi Hou’s fight embeds him in a rock wall 82 162.

Communication

Furball usually communicates through squeaks, gestures, facial expressions, and elaborate pantomime 80 120 177.

• Conveys directions, bargains over food rewards, and coordinates attacks without ordinary conversation 120 183.
• Reconstructs Shi Hao’s injuries and Shi Hou’s unconsciousness through a detailed acted sequence 177.
• Speaks intelligibly during his giant-form rampage, demanding his treasure and cursing the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow, Qiongqi, and the underpants 122.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Beast-bone club — A crystal-clear beast leg bone twice his small body’s length, used against the Martial King Manor youths 183.
• Wooden bowl and banana-leaf bib — Used while waiting impatiently for Shi Hou’s tiger-meat meal 76.

Relationships

• Shi Hao — Finds and names him. Furball frequently rides on his head or shoulder and accompanies his wilderness training; Shi Hao catches him when his giant transformation collapses 68 95 123.
• Shi Hou — Cook, traveling companion, and frequent source of indignities. Shi Hou takes his true blood, tries to pluck his clone-producing hairs, and throws him as a weapon, but also restores him through medicinal food and nourishing soaks 78 85 93 121.
• Kang — Fellow spirit beast, food rival, and combat partner. They steal the Peacock egg together and defeat the Martial King Manor youths as a team. Kang also rescues Furball from the collapsing cave after the boys’ fight 76 77 162 183.
• Little White — Traveling mount whose recovery Furball aids with a drop of Zhu Yan true blood 77.
• Huo Ling’er — Offers him protection in the Heaven Mending Pavilion after he curls up affectionately in her arms 145.
• Big Red — Rival for Shi Hou’s favor. The bird’s larger food portions motivate Furball to prove his usefulness; Furball’s display of Zhu Yan power subsequently pushes Big Red to work harder 183.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Peacock Egg and Wilderness Travels

• Furball and Kang steal a Five-Colored Peacock egg, drawing its enraged parent into pursuit. During the escape, Furball helps save Little White from the effects of the Taiyin River 77.
• After sharing the medicinal egg custard, Furball helps provoke the Peacock and creates hair clones to distract it during battle 78 83 84.
• His attempted honey peace offering brings a swarm of Thunder Tiger Bees down on the group and ultimately draws out an Ironback Centipede 93.

Heaven Mending Pavilion

• An accidental collision with Kang triggers a blue beam that strikes the Azure Phoenix pulling Huo Ling’er’s chariot, bringing its passengers down 109.
• Furball tracks Shi Hao through the Second Battlefield. Being hurled at him by Shi Hou triggers the Zhu Yan True Form; the resulting rampage ends with the Black Tiger beaten and Furball unconscious 120 121 122 123.
• He harvests spirit medicines during Shi Hou’s Forbidden Land raid while Kang disrupts the protective formations 129.

Later Travels

• His attempt to stop Shi Hao and Shi Hou’s fight fails when their shock wave throws him into the cave wall. Kang pulls him free and carries him away before the mountain collapses 162.
• Following the Rain Clan battle, Furball’s pantomime alerts Shi Hou to how badly Shi Hao suffered while protecting him 177.
• Furball and Kang defeat the Martial King Manor youths before Shi Hao can intervene, earning Shi Hao’s approval and demonstrating Furball’s value to the group 183 184.

Final Battle

• Furball stands against the Strange Ancestors in his regained three-headed, six-armed form. Even after losing three arms, he continues baring his teeth at them 199.
• His individual fate after Shi Hou’s sacrifice is not specified in the provided finale passage 199.

Notable Quotes

“Where’s my treasure!” 122

“Damn that Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow!”
“Damn that Qiongqi!”
“Damn those underpants!” 122