Chapter 99: The Whirlpool Shifts and the Cloud Path Changes, Sun Yuan Returns to the Water Ape Mansion

  The gentle night wind blew by, and the Lingtai Fangcun Mountain completely restored its former tranquility. It seemed that these monks only existed in legend, and now except for a cave house, there was no trace of them left. Even the faint marks of their daily lives were erased by the power of time into nothingness.

  Days passed, and the Lingtai Fangcun Mountain was still quiet. At this time, the group of beasts that had just opened their spiritual wisdom on the mountain began to realize that something was different about this mountain. The beasts on the mountain gradually came to a conclusion: the group of powerful gods who lived on the mountain had disappeared, and they became the true masters of the mountain. They cautiously approached the Xie Yue San Xing Cave, and when they found no obstacles, their courage grew, and they thoroughly incorporated the mountain into their territory. They began to run wildly around the mountain, and as time passed, this place gradually became a paradise for wild beasts.

  Later on, there were occasionally monsters passing by this place, seeing the mountain's spiritual energy was abundant and there was no superior being sitting in town, so they moved their cave mansion to this place. Gradually, this place became like other mountains in Xī Niú Hè Prefecture, filled with all sorts of goblins, some good, some bad, some man-eating, some not man-eating. And gradually, various legends were passed down, including one about the Xié Yuè Sān Xīng Cave, but nobody paid attention to it.

  As for Sun Yuan, since he rose into the air at night and took to the cloud road, he headed straight for Dongsheng Divine Prefecture. However, due to the profundity of the Earth-Shrinking Technique, even with Bodhi's guidance, Sun Yuan only managed to pass through one checkpoint, so his speed was far inferior to that of Monkey King's筋斗云.

  As a profound and mysterious art, the divine ability of "shrinking the earth to an inch" only manifests when it is finally completed. Before that, practitioners develop their own cloud-driving divine ability based on their understanding of "shrinking the earth to an inch", until they reach the realm of great completion, where they can shrink the earth to an inch and make the ends of the earth seem like neighbors.

  After five years of devoted teaching by Bodhi, plus Sun Yuan's usual diligence and dedication, Sun Yuan has made some progress in the art of shrinking space. Although he can't shrink the earth or turn it into an inch at this moment, he has developed a new technique based on the principles of this art, which is suitable for his current stage - the Cloud Driving Technique, named "Dough Turns Star Shift".

  This set of Jia Yun secret method is deployed, can be said to be immortal aura floating, extremely agile, only its speed compared to Jin Douyun is much worse, however, Sun Yuan does not mind this, Jin Douyun after all is the only one in the entire Western Journey world, his current cloud-driving speed has already been comparable to that of a heavenly immortal, and he now has shallow cultivation, with the improvement of his cultivation and the deepening of his understanding of shrinking the earth into an inch, Sun Yuan believes that he will necessarily be able to understand other cloud-driving magic, so Sun Yuan is not very concerned in his heart.

  Along the way, due to the speed of the Star-Shift Technique being moderate, Sun Yuan had the opportunity to feast his eyes on the scenery of Western Cow State, and for a time, he swept away the sorrow of parting. His heart was once again filled with vitality as he gazed out at the endless landscape, and he couldn't help but let out a long whistle. This whistle naturally startled the passing demon kings, but upon seeing Sun Yuan's Cloud Road, they retreated back into hiding, allowing Sun Yuan to pass by unimpeded. Such cloud roads were not something that could be driven by anyone other than those with great divine abilities, so they didn't want to provoke him lightly.

  Crossing the vast Pacific Ocean, riding on the clouds over the southern continent, at this moment the eastern divine state is already in sight. Sun Yuan has been staying in the clouds for five days, possibly due to the excitement of his first cloud-riding experience. However, Sun Yuan doesn't show a single sign of fatigue, instead, he looks spirited and refreshed, without any hint of exhaustion from the long journey.

  As he saw the endless East China Sea in his field of vision, Sun Yuan's heart was filled with mixed emotions. He still remembered the scene when he first set sail, the despair when he fell into the sea, the joy and excitement when he crossed the East China Sea again, and the past events of the Righteous Alliance of Nan Zhan Bu Zhou. It is said that the closer one gets to home, the more anxious they become, and this was exactly what Sun Yuan felt.

  After a long sigh, Sun Yuan turned the cloud head and rushed straight to the direction of Shuiyuan Mansion. At this moment, he wanted to re-include this cave mansion into his own jurisdiction. No matter what, this was also his own territory. Although the little monsters inside were really rubbish, they were indeed Sun Yuan's true subordinates.

  Sun Yuan was rushing towards the Water Ape's mansion, and after he left, in the first few years, the White Dragon Girl relied on Sun Yuan's remaining prestige to suppress the small monsters under her command, and she could still confront the giant crab. However, five years later, there was no sign of Sun Yuan's return at all, and a group of monsters began to have ideas.

  Bai Long Nü was just a fox exploiting the tiger's prestige. When the tiger behind her lost its trace, this poor fox could only face its own tragic fate. On a dark and windy night, when Bai Long Nü, with low magical power, fell into deep sleep, the small demons under her hand began their journey of rebellion. They easily overthrew Bai Long Nü, and her forces officially collapsed and dispersed into five or six smaller factions.

  Due to the remaining prestige of Sun Yuan, these small monsters did not dare to bully Bai Longnu, and Er Lang did not come out to kill him. However, letting her go seemed equally brainless, so after a discussion, the monsters decided to collapse the cave where Bai Longnu was imprisoned, trapping her inside to die slowly. If one day Sun Yuan returned and asked about it, the monsters would have an excuse to push back.

  That night, the residence of the White Dragon Girl was demolished, and several accompanying maids were buried inside. The poor White Dragon Girl was trapped in a space of only a few meters in diameter, unable to escape. She was trapped for over a decade, slowly starving until she became as thin as a fish bone. Her faint soul, carrying a hint of resentment, drifted towards the underworld.

  The White Dragon Lady suffered, and the big crab was also uneasy. As time passed, the news that the master of this place was not here spread throughout this sea area. Although this place is desolate, the life force of the monsters is very strong, so there are many monster families in this place. In the past, although the monsters coveted the Water Ape Palace, they were afraid of the powerful magical powers of the successive masters of the Water Ape Palace (in their eyes), and these monster families did not dare to act rashly, lest they be exterminated for nine generations.

  After learning that Sun Yuan had not been in contact for a long time, these demon families couldn't sit still. It's worth knowing that among this vast and barren sea, the Water Ape Palace is considered a place of unparalleled richness and beauty. With just the large crabs and a few shape-shifting little demons inside, it was impossible to extinguish the desire to plunder in the hearts of these families.

  On a sunny afternoon, a big crab was picked up by someone holding its legs upside down. The crab opened its eyes and was about to scold loudly, but after seeing the person in front of it clearly, it couldn't help but shudder all over and show respect. This was the patriarch of the crab's clan. After so many years of endurance, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and took action.

  Facing the clan leader of Jiedan, the big crab can be said to have no power to resist at all. Everything else went smoothly, and the power of the big crab was handed over to the crab family that dominated this sea area again. The six or seven small monsters that split from the White Dragon Girl's power were also taken over by the local monster tribes. As a result, this Shuiguan Mansion became a place where seven heroes competed for hegemony, with hundreds of big and small battles every day, it was indeed very lively.

  The big crab, due to its dissatisfaction with the situation within the clan, was immediately reassigned to guard the prison as soon as it lost its territory. It resumed its life as a prison warden and now spends every day waiting for Sun Yuan's appearance, so the Water Ape Prison has an additional chatty crab.

  He lowered his head, and Sun Yuan gazed at the water domain, only to see turbulent waves inside, rolling up a vast amount of murky currents. From time to time, shrill cries echoed out, it was actually the sea tribe waging war. Sun Yuan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Within these short few moments, within his line of sight, no less than five battles had erupted. However, the cultivation level of these small demons was truly too low, and there were hardly any that could transform into human form. Their battles were actually quite harmonious; as soon as they saw things weren't going in their favor, they would immediately turn tail and run, not fearing for their lives at all.

  "How can this place be so chaotic? Never mind! I'll talk after finding the big crab!" Sun Yuan looked at this scene, thinking secretly in his heart, and then pinched a trick to urge the prohibition left on the big crab's body that year. This prohibition could make him find the big crab's scattered demon energy within a thousand miles, which was a very useful little magic trick.

  Accelerating the spell, he caught a wisp of demonic energy. Sun Yuan plunged into the sea, opening up a path and transforming into a fish. He followed the direction of the scattered demonic energy, diving straight to the seabed. Along the way, because the fish species transformed by Sun Yuan was too ordinary, it didn't alarm the small demons in this area. They continued to fight, but as he looked around, Sun Yuan's doubts grew heavier. No matter how he looked at it, this place seemed to be trapped in an era of warlord chaos.

  As he followed the giant crab's aura to the seabed, Sun Yuan's confusion had grown to its maximum, because at this moment, the waterway he was walking on was extremely familiar and deeply impressed, it wasn't anything else, but the very same waterway that he was swept down by the Water Ape from the sea surface to the Seabed Prison years ago.

  "What's going on? The great crab king was doing well, why is he in prison? Has he gone back to his old ways?" Sun Yuan thought to himself as he quickly swam forward, and what he saw and heard along the way made him realize that something big must have happened here.

  The crab was lounging in a chair, spitting saliva everywhere as he told the new prison guards about his past glories. The young guards listened with relish, occasionally letting out a sigh of admiration and casting envious glances at the crab, who became even more enthusiastic in his storytelling.

  Taking advantage of the crab's pause, a catfish spirit licked his lips and said, "Uncle Crab, I'd like to ask you something. I heard that there is a beauty imprisoned in the Cave of Ten Thousand Dragons, is this true?"

  "What the... Who told you that?! This can't be spread around, it's a matter of life and death!" The big crab immediately became tense and looked around nervously for a long time before finally letting out a light breath and saying "This thing can't be casually spoken about, but indeed, a dragon girl was imprisoned there, only she starved to death many years ago."

  A green fish next to him asked in confusion, "Uncle Crab, why did the old man in the cave mention this dragon girl with such secrecy? Now that nothing is happening, and there's no one else around, just us brothers, can you tell us about it? Is there something special about this dragon girl?"

  "Hey, you little rascal is still quite curious! Alright, I'm in a good mood today, so let me tell you something. Do you know what this place is? This is the Water Ape's Mansion! It's the Water Ape's territory. Let me tell you, it was here that...". The big crab paused and went on to recount the story of Sun Yuan.

  Among the surprised eyes of many little monsters, the big crab yawned and said, "You guys don't see that each family is making a fuss now, but when the king returns, hum! They'll all be in trouble, and at that time, I, Crab Grandpa, will still be the great leader. As long as the king returns, Grandpa me will immediately resume my original position."

  A group of little monsters immediately stopped flattering and went to rest on their own, they wouldn't really believe what the crab said, after all, they had a good understanding of the strengths of each family head, and didn't think that a monkey could dominate the major demon tribes, it was just a joke at this moment.

  "Hmph, a bunch of short-sighted guys. In the future when I've made it big, you'll regret this and try to flatter me, but by then it won't be so easy." The large crab glared at the small demons who had left with their shoulders hunched and backs bent, very dissatisfied with their behavior of not letting him go first.

  For some reason, in the dark and quietness, there was a feeling that Sun Yuan seemed to be really coming soon. He had always been very confident about Sun Yuan, believing that he would eventually return one day, and all he needed to do now was wait, under the guise of temporarily hiding underground.

  At this time, a white fish suddenly jumped out of the pool opposite the dungeon. The crab happened to see it and shouted, "Grandpa, it's really strange! This pool leads directly to the deep sea. How did this small white fish come here? It's really a strange thing that happens every year, and there are especially many this year."

  After the surprise, the big crab waved its big pincers, yawned, and wanted to find a nest to lie down for a while. After saying so much, although it made him feel very satisfied psychologically, it also consumed a lot of his energy. At this time, he couldn't help but feel dizzy and sleepy, and just wanted to lie down and take a short nap.

  At this time, the small white fish jumping in mid-air suddenly stretched out its body, gradually growing bigger and filling up the entire field of vision of the big crab. When the big crab looked again, the situation had changed dramatically - the little fish had disappeared, but it had transformed into a yellow-haired monkey that appeared at this place, staring at him with an expressionless face. This monkey was precisely Sun Yuan.

  Sun Yuan had been following the demonic aura of the giant crab and had arrived earlier, but he hadn't revealed himself until now. Seeing that only the giant crab was left, he suddenly jumped out, transformed into his true form, and came to meet him.

  The big crab stared blankly at Sun Yuan, suddenly lowered his head to wipe his eyes, then raised his head again, blinked his eyes, but lowered his head once more, wiping his eyes and making a clicking sound with his mouth. "Could it be that I, Crab Grandfather, have really grown old? Why did I see the shadow of the great king? This is absolutely impossible! Perhaps the light is too dim, I need to go light a lamp." As he spoke, the big crab swung his large pincers and prepared to leave.

  "Crab, you're still the same as ever!" Seeing that the crab was about to leave, a hint of a smile appeared on Sun Yuan's mouth. He took big strides forward and kicked out with one foot, pinning the crab against the stone wall. Then he relaxed his wrist and said, "How's that? Now do you know this isn't an illusion? Otherwise, I'll give you another kick."