Wukong stood up, in the very center of the destruction.
He looked toward the distant Slanting Moon Three-Star Cave, where Master Bodhi once taught that "The Tao is compassion; exorcising demons is to save all living beings." But where was the compassion to save the old monkeys nailed to the cliffside? Where was the Taoist magic to stop the Spirit Vein spring from turning into blood?
He clenched his fists. The true qi in his meridians began to circulate in a frenzied orbit no longer the pure path of the immortals, but an explosion of the demon bloodline, something his ten years of cultivation had intentionally buried. An ancient Battle Will, awakened from within the ten-thousand-thousand-year-old rock, merged with the golden immortal power to create a chaotic strength where demon and immortal were indistinguishable.
He was no longer Bodhi's obedient little disciple.
He was Sun Wukong, the Demon God of Mount Huaguo, born of flint and fire, now awakening amidst rage.
While the air was thick with the scent of death, from deep within the jungle, the dry sound of iron chains dragging over gravel rang out. A squad of Wolf-tribe demon soldiers about fifty of them with disheveled armor and ferocious faces stepped out. At their center was a giant iron cage, filled with small, thin monkey descendants. The young monkeys trembled, their eyes filled with terror, their cries fading into choked sobs from exhaustion.
The Wolf demon leader a tall brute with a long scar across his face lashed a leather whip against the iron cage, making the little monkeys inside scream in shock. He stopped, his greedy green eyes staring intently at Wukong. Seeing the monkey's small frame in the oversized Taoist robes, he snorted in contempt:
"I thought it was some high-level master, but it's just a puny monkey that slipped through the net. Look, your kind is kneeling at our feet!"
He laughed hoarsely, pointing toward the makeshift iron cages by the stream, where the thin, grimy stone monkeys were trembling.
"A weak species that only knows how to pick fruit and groom each other like you how dare you claim this mountain full of spiritual energy? This land is only for the strong, while monkeys are only fit to be snacks or slaves!"
The lesser demons around him burst into laughter, a laughter steeped in the threat of death. They did not know they had just touched the "reverse scale" of one who had just achieved immortality.
Wukong said nothing.
His Fiery Golden Eyes gradually turned a deep crimson, like two blazing furnaces from hell. In his mind, his master's words echoed: "Compassion is saving all beings." But how to save them when they are tightened by iron chains, tortured by demonic qi, and treated as spiritual medicine?
He felt the internal struggle. One part of his soul still wanted to hold onto compassion, to forgive, to find a way to reconcile. But the other part the primal demon part, the flint-stone blood screaming in his veins: "They stole the spirit veins, killed our kin, uprooted the spirit roots. They do not deserve forgiveness!"
The Battle Will exploded. The Killing Realm opened.
The space around him seemed to freeze. The magic-fire arrows fired by the Wolf demons shattered into ash before they could touch him. Wukong remained still, but his crimson eyes said everything.
"You are right," his voice was as cold as an echo from the nine levels of the underworld, "this land is for the strong. And here… I am the Heavenly Law."
The leading Wolf demon roared, his hind legs kicking off the ground so hard it collapsed, his body lunging forward like a grey phantom. The great blade in his hand carried a blazing demonic fire, hacking straight down at Wukong's head.
Wukong did not dodge.
He only shifted his foot slightly, and a simple punch carrying the weight of ten thousand armies lunged from his sleeve.
"BOOM!!!"
The fist slammed directly into the Wolf demon's chest before the blade could touch him. A sickening crack echoed as the entire ribcage shattered. The massive body of the monster was sent flying backward like a cannonball, slamming into the thousand-year-old Peach Tree behind it.
"CRASH!!!"
The ancient tree, so thick it would take three men to span it, snapped in half from the shockwave, collapsing with a sound that shook the entire valley. The Wolf demon didn't have time to make a sound; his mouth vomited a slurry of internal organs and fresh blood, dying instantly.
The surrounding demon soldiers froze, their green eyes wide with utter bewilderment. They could not believe their leader had been finished by a single punch from this "puny monkey."
The horror turned into a frenzy.
They roared in unison, charging from all four directions like a grey tide. Sharp claws gleaming with demon fire, great blades, leather whips, bows and arrows all aimed at Wukong.
He gave a cold snort.
His body flashed, turning into a blurred golden shadow. First came the first strike of the Whirlwind Kick: his right leg swept across, a storm of killing intent blowing away five Wolf demons; their bodies exploded in mid-air, flesh and blood spraying like rain, dyeing the blood-red stream.
The second strike: He spun low, agilely sweeping the ground; three Wolf demons had their shinbones crushed, collapsing in agony. They shrieked, trying to crawl up, but Wukong stomped his foot down. A thousand-pound pressure radiated from his heel, pinning them into the black mud, spines snapping, blood spraying from their mouths.
In his head, a small voice spoke: "Master… what is compassion when living beings are being slaughtered?"
But the killing intent had overwhelmed everything. He stopped thinking. There was only action.
A Wolf demon rushed from behind, a great blade swinging for his neck. Wukong didn't turn his head, only reaching back with his left hand to catch the blade. Demonic fire flared up to burn his flesh, but the golden immortal power instantly extinguished it. He squeezed, and the blade snapped in half. The Wolf demon panicked, but it was too late Wukong turned, a Vajra Palm strike hitting its chest. The chest bones shattered, internal organs ground to powder by the palm-wind, the body flying backward, piercing through three ancient trees before falling into a heap of mangled meat.
The rest turned in panic to flee.
They lunged into the thick jungle, hind legs kicking up dust, screaming in terror:
"Run! A monster! This is a monster!"
Wukong did not chase immediately. He stood there, exhaling, the blood of his enemies scattered around his feet, yet his robe remained spotless. In his mind, two streams of thought clashed:
One side: "Kill them all. They stole the spirit veins, killed your kin. Leave not one alive."
The other side: "Master… compassion… they are also living beings…"
But the fresh blood beneath his feet, the cries of the monkeys in the cages, and the body of the old monkey nailed down all of it answered for him.
He curled his lip into a cold smile.
"Run? You think you can run?"
He flicked his finger, performing a miniature Somersault Cloud, his body turning into wind to give chase. In a blink, he appeared before the fastest-running Wolf demon a small soldier with mottled grey fur.
"Mercy… mercy! We were only following the orders of the Western Demon King… to steal the spirit vein… it wasn't our fault!"
He only sneered, his Fiery Golden Eyes flashing bright red. An ancient killing intent from his flint-stone bloodline exploded, merging with the golden light in his eyes, transforming into two beams of black-red flame as if spewed from hell.
The flames engulfed the leading Wolf demon, burning him from the inside out. This was no ordinary fire this was the Killing Fire from the Fiery Golden Eyes combined with the Demon Battle Will, a fire that could not be extinguished, burning even the soul.
A piteous scream echoed: "Aaaa! It hurts… mercy!"
The fire spread, burning those nearby. They shrieked, rolling on the ground trying to put out the fire, but it was useless. Wukong only stood and watched, his red eyes devoid of emotion.
In his heart, a question arose: "What am I doing? Have I become a killer?"
But the answer came instantly: "They killed my kin first. They uprooted the spirit roots of Mount Huaguo. If I do not kill, who will take revenge?"
He lunged forward. The Whirlwind Kicks continued: each strike was a life. One was kicked into a cliffside, pinned like a statue. One had its legs broken by a low sweep, collapsing only to be crushed by palm-wind. One tried to crawl away, but he stepped down, the thousand-pound pressure crushing its spine.
In just a few breaths, the Wolf squad was wiped out. The last few tried to run, but Wukong curled his lip, flicking a golden wind that pursued them without mercy. They ran a few yards before being swept back by the wind, their bodies shattered before him.
The valley was now a sea of blood. Wolf demon corpses lay scattered, blood flowing in small rivers into the crimson stream, dyeing the whole area red. The thousand-year-old Peach Tree, snapped by the shockwave, now lay fully fallen, crushing several corpses a testament to the dead spirit roots of Mount Huaguo.
Wukong stood in the center of the destruction, exhaling. The Killing Realm had opened completely, but the fury in his heart had not subsided. He looked toward the West where the lair of the Western Demon King lay. He could feel it: this was only a small patrol. The main army was coming.
In his mind, a cold thought appeared:
"Western Demon King… you are next."
And Mount Huaguo, from the blood of its enemies, would begin to be reborn.
"The story has only just begun. If you enjoyed the ride so far, please Follow and Add to Library to give me more motivation!
Just a small heads-up: I am an international author and English is not my native language. I use AI tools to help refine my prose and ensure you get the best reading experience possible, but every plot twist and every drop of blood comes directly from my own imagination.
Thank you for supporting this journey. Let's see how far Wukong can go!"