Zhong Yuan regained his composure, his resolve for the coming battle only hardening.
He glanced over the main experiences of Gu, the gatekeeper, gaining a better understanding of the current state of Black Wind Mountain.
Black Wind Mountain was indeed the same one from the Journey to the West.
Now, it was a genuine lair of demons.
Every year, Black Wind Mountain would force nearby towns to offer up children, and demons would often descend to plunder passersby on nearby roads.
Because of this, cultivators seeking to slay demons would often visit Black Wind Mountain.
This was why Gu, the gatekeeper, had a notoriously tiring job.
Any cultivator who came would first encounter Gu.
Gu had guarded the mountain for a hundred years, proving his strength was not to be underestimated.
Or perhaps, humans were simply weak at the moment.
Furthermore, the king of Black Wind Mountain was still the original Black Bear Demon, Black Wind King. He had originally been taken to the South China Sea by Guanyin, but now, he was back.
He didn't seem to mind eating people at all.
What was going on with Guanyin?
Or perhaps, from the beginning, the Buddhists had been collaborating with the Jade Emperor, intentionally releasing them back into the human realm as demons.
The Journey to the West was a demon extermination campaign. It was unclear when the second one would begin.
For now, there was no sign of it.
Over time, more demons had joined Black Wind Mountain.
From this perspective, Black Wind Mountain was definitely not some kind of trial specifically for them, the Heaven's Chosen.
But starting now, this was his trial ground.
One of the Great Sage's six senses was likely in the hands of the Black Bear Demon. If he could get it, he might learn something new.
Zhong Yuan walked forward.
Most of the demons on Black Wind Mountain resided in the back mountain. He didn't encounter any new demons on the way.
He bypassed the front mountain and entered the depths of Black Wind Mountain, only then feeling the pervasive demonic energy.
He could vaguely see flickering flames, seemingly from demons making a fire.
Just as Zhong Yuan was about to continue, the Black Wind Mountain Land Deity unexpectedly popped out again, warning him, "Hey, wait! If you recklessly charge forward like this, you'll suffer greatly."
He paused, then continued, "I'll transform you into a golden cicada. You can follow the flames ahead and investigate the truth of this mountain."
The Land Deity didn't wait for Zhong Yuan's agreement, waving his short staff. A stream of magic landed on Zhong Yuan.
Zhong Yuan, bathed in golden light, truly transformed again, becoming a cicada with vibrating wings.
Zhong Yuan felt extremely uncomfortable. His entire body's magic was unusable, though he did instinctively know how to fly.
This transformation technique didn't teach him how to transform.
It was more like the Land Deity's attack on him.
The Land Deity said, "The back mountain of Black Wind Mountain is a heavily guarded area, full of secrets. If you want to explore, be mindful of the golden cicada's duration. If you find yourself in a desperate situation, I will secretly guide you. Go ahead, don't worry."
Zhong Yuan flew forward for a few hundred meters, entering the mountain, and soon saw signs of the lesser demons.
The lesser demons in this mountain were primarily wolf demons.
One wolf demon even saw him and said to its companion, "Look, there's a golden cicada." But it didn't have any doubts.
This transformation technique was truly amazing.
Unfortunately, this time the Land Deity didn't directly teach him.
Zhong Yuan didn't continue flying forward. He landed directly in front of the lesser demon he'd discovered and struggled, transforming back into his true form.
"You little monkey, you're so reckless."
The Land Deity's voice faintly echoed around him.
"It's a monkey! Another monkey has entered!"
"Damn monkey! You dare mock your grandpa!" The two wolf demons also screamed.
Zhong Yuan didn't hesitate. Without a word, he jumped up and struck with his staff.
He didn't even use the Immobilization Technique. He swept his staff across the two wolf demons standing side by side, sending them flying, their bodies contorting. They were barely breathing.
He frowned, unhappy with his control over the force. He went forward and finished them off.
He directly charged into the mountain.
This time, more demons quickly discovered him. More lesser demons rushed in from all sides.
In an instant, more than ten demons had gathered.
Zhong Yuan's staff danced, light and effortless. In the blink of an eye, he had cleared away all the lesser demons. It didn't seem like a fight; it was more like martial arts training in the mountain.
Every demon that charged at him turned to ash the moment they were hit.
"The King will avenge us."
"Don't be afraid, kill him! The King can revive us!"
Zhong Yuan fought his way forward, the lesser demons along the way all fearless of death.
The Land Deity's voice had disappeared.
Zhong Yuan could feel his staff techniques, Immobilization Technique, and even his earth vein perception improving. He was curious.
"Can the Black Bear Demon revive them?"
"Or are they already bodiless, dead demons? That's why no corpses were left behind?"
Zhong Yuan suddenly stopped in the mountain. All the lesser demons around him were dead, whether they'd all died or some had been called back and were no longer rushing to their deaths, he didn't know.
A huge monster appeared in front of him.
It was over ten feet tall, its giant green head taking up half its body. It was smooth and bald, a bit like a big-headed baby and a bit like Thanos.
The monster was whimpering and making strange sounds, eerie and frightening.
"What kind of demon is this?"
Zhong Yuan raised his left hand and silently thought, "Immobilize."
The monster's voice suddenly stopped, and its body froze in place.
Zhong Yuan walked forward, raising his staff, gathering his strength, accumulating half of his power.
One strike.
The staff smashed down with the force of a mountain. It had no blade, but with the addition of its immense power, it was sharp as a knife, splitting the monster in two.
The monster made a final whimper of pain, its body vanishing in an instant.
This time, Zhong Yuan didn't feel any virtue magic land on him. He only saw a wisp of ghostfire left behind after the monster died.
In the flickering ghostfire, Zhong Yuan vaguely saw a strong monk chanting over an old monk's corpse.
A ball of soul fire slowly gathered around, but it suddenly burrowed into the ground. Buried there was a pile of gold.
Then, the gold melted, transforming into a golden monster that pushed aside the soil and crawled out.
Except for the color, it looked exactly the same as the big-headed demon he had killed.
This was clearly the origin of this monster.
"Resurrection technique? But it failed?"
"This gold is even fading in color. It's just gilded, huh, tsk."
Zhong Yuan felt like he had vaguely grasped something, but he couldn't quite understand it for the moment. Finally, he decided to put it aside.
He tried, but he couldn't touch the floating ghostfire. It wouldn't disperse or be absorbed, so he simply continued walking towards the flames ahead.
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