Chapter 12 The Monkey

  Deep in the ocean, the golden and emerald dragon palace is shrouded in a mysterious veil of mist, making it impossible to guess or see through.

  A stone fell into the ocean tide, without stirring up any waves, but the heart of the person who threw the stone could not calm down for a long time.

  "That girl..." In Li Mu's mind, a picture has always been floating: jade bowl overturned, green silk dancing, heaven and earth setting off her splendor, sun and moon supporting her beauty. Gathering the art of all heavens and earth, collecting the essence of all things, she is the darling of heaven, nature's art. Making people look at her just once, yet forever unforgettable.

  Thinking of her, Li Mu's mood suddenly became somewhat restless. He pinched the Avoid Water Charm and under the effect of the Avoid Water Pearl, he dove into the sea together with it. The dragon palace's gatekeeper, Xia Bing, was already accustomed to Li Mu and didn't even bother asking about his purpose, treating him like a fish swimming by. Turning around a bend, he arrived at that secluded small courtyard. It was still quiet and desolate there, without a single person in sight, not a hint of life could be seen.

  Pushing open a door, the seawater stirs up some mud, like autumn wind blowing over a dusty courtyard, bringing a hint of coolness. After visiting many times, having the same experience, Li Mu can't help but feel a little impatient. Under the influence of wine, his heart has even more a thread of inexplicable melancholy.

  "Where are you? Why are you hiding from me?" Li Mu yelled angrily at the sky.

  Since he was aware, Li Mu had never been troubled by anything, living a carefree and happy life. Even when he was demoted to Tongyuan Mountain, being a minor landowner didn't bother him. Now that he understood the worldly sorrows, he gradually became assimilated into the world, gaining some ordinary human emotions.

  At the moment of bellowing, his footsteps were unstable, and his legs went soft, kneeling on the ground. His hands were deeply inserted into the muddy mud. The mud that had not been swept for many years was like startled dust, surrounding Li Mu's body.

  But all around, except for the empty echo, everything seemed so dead and still.

  Behind another side door, a pair of affectionate eyes never left Li Mu's figure for a moment. In the infatuated gaze, there was such unbearable struggle, a bold idea in her mind denying and denying again. Since twenty years ago when she almost devoured her feelings for her younger sister, she feared that she would lose control again and do something she would regret for life.

  "Is this the East Sea?"

  Surging waves crash on the shore, rolling up a thousand layers of wave flowers; the blue sky enters the sea, reflecting the charming face of the heavenly beauty.

  A young nobleman stood by the sea, gazing out at the vast ocean. The hem of his clothes fluttered in the howling sea breeze, and the waves splashed against his shoes, but his gaze remained fixed on the sea, as if he wanted to see through the thousands of feet deep water and get to the bottom of it.

  Just as he was hesitating, a shadow gradually emerged from the sea water, and in the rippling blue waves, it could be vaguely seen that it was a person. The people on the shore thought that the East Sea Dragon Clan had discovered themselves, and immediately became vigilant, staring at the shadow in the sea water with tension.

  A figure emerged from the water, not a single drop of seawater on his body. The man had a worried look on his face and gazed dejectedly at the people on the shore, as if they were mere scenery, about to leave. This person was Li Mu, who had just returned from the Dragon Palace.

  "It's you!" The person on the shore stared at Li Mu in surprise. At first, she only knew that Li Mu was not an ordinary person, and now seeing him come out of the sea, she thought he was a merman. Surprised at the same time, clever her immediately came up with a plan.

  This person is precisely the young girl Bai Huan who helped Li Mu take down a restaurant.

  She intended to sneak into the East Sea, but the sea tribe was generally more exclusive and not just anyone could enter. Moreover, without the water-avoiding pearl, Bai Hua's combat power in the water would be reduced by at least half. Not to mention the Dragon King of the East Sea, even a slightly stronger shrimp soldier or crab general could subdue her. However, she had come all the way to the East Sea and couldn't give up so easily, so she shifted her gaze to Li Mu.

  Do I know you? Li Mu turned his head and took a look. It was indeed someone he had met before, and the person had even helped him out.

  "You're Bai Huang!" Li Mu's face changed from grief to shock.

  It's not that he deliberately pretends to be so, but with a different person and a different mood, Li Mu is such a person. Simple thoughts, happy life.

  "You're actually a mermaid, no wonder you have such beautiful deep-sea pearls." Bai Huan smiled slightly, her male attire couldn't hide her enchanting charm, but instead added a few more points of elegance.

  It has been two months since she left Hongze, and she had gone through great difficulties to get this news.

  It can be seen from Li Mu's words and deeds, as well as being deceived by the hotel owner, that he has very little experience and does not understand the hardships and cunning of the world. Although she is unwilling to deceive such a kind person, for this matter, she has no choice but to do so. Even if it means sacrificing her own life, what's the harm?

  "Don't mention me in the same breath as Hai Zu, I'm not worthy of being compared to him."

  Listening to Li Mu's words, Bai Huan slightly furrowed her brow and asked: "From your tone, you seem quite disdainful of the Sea Clan; aren't you a member of the Sea Clan?"

  "Of course!"

  "What about...?" Bai Huan pointed to the sea and continued: "And will there be such good deep-sea pearls again?"

  "This... " and the relationship with Donghai, whether it's Ao Ning or Ao Ran, he didn't want to talk about it with outsiders, so he changed the subject: "This... what do you do, what brings you to Donghai? Visiting relatives or friends?"

  Li Mu didn't want to say, and Bai Huang didn't press the issue. He casually came up with a reason: "I'm a demon-expelling master, I heard that the East Sea has many treasures, so I wanted to come and take a look. It's just that I don't have any acquaintances to introduce me, and I'm afraid the Dragon King will refuse."

  "Alright, I advise you to leave early. The Dragon King is a very stingy person, he treats treasures as his life. Don't even mention that he doesn't recognize you, even I can only take a look from afar, don't even think about touching them." As soon as the Dragon King was mentioned, Li Mu was speechless. Those treasures aren't made of paper, touching them won't make them lose a few ounces of iron. However, the treasures in the Dragon Palace he saw these past few days weren't anything special, compared to the Purple Crystal Armor and the Qian Kun Spear that Tong Yuan Da Xian gave him back then, they were much inferior. Therefore, Li Mu didn't even bother asking the Dragon King for them, those ordinary goods aren't worth looking at.

  "Ah!" Bai Huan furrowed her brow, worriedly saying: "I traveled thousands of miles from Xiniuhezhou just to see the treasure of Donghai for myself. Do you have any way to help me?" Bai Huan pulled on Li Mu's arm, using a woman's most powerful weapon.

  Although she didn't have a good impression of Li Mu, for the sake of getting things done, she had to put up with herself and even flirted with Li Mu. If it were a matter of strength, Bai Huan was confident that she could take down ten Li Mus. But she wasn't one to act rashly, often needing to use strategy.

  Li Mu couldn't resist Bai Huang's repeated requests and was thinking about whether or not to take her and sneak in quietly, just like before.

  At this moment, a loud rumbling sound suddenly came from the direction of Dongshan in the west. A powerful energy collision occurred in the sky, and the strong gusts could be felt by Li Mu and others several miles away.

  "That's... Qing Shui Village!" Li Mu exclaimed. Qing Shui Village was his territory, who dared to cause trouble here? In a state of urgency, he didn't even consider whether he could win or not, and quickly rushed towards the center of the battle with his Earth Escape technique.

  Bai Huang, as a demon-expelling master, immediately sensed the demonic energy around him. His red lips slightly opened, and his incantation transformed into a clear breeze that rushed straight to the center of the battle.

  Bai Huang's Wind Movement Technique was much faster than Li Mu's Earth Escape, but she arrived later. However, the battle ended quickly, and by the time she got there, the outcome had already been decided, which could be seen from the corpses on the ground.

  The winner was a monkey covered in long hair all over his body, short and small in stature, looking somewhat malnourished. He wore a grey Daoist robe, it was unclear whether it hadn't been washed for several years or if that was its original color, but this appearance suited his shit-yellow fur quite well.

  The monkey kicked the corpse of the tiger on the ground with his foot, and smiled slightly with a look of disdain. The tiger was said to be Li Mu, the king of the nearby Dongshan, with hundreds of followers under his command, dominating one side. Unexpectedly, he was killed by a thin and weak monkey in an instant. It's unknown whether it was because of its poor character or if it was just a paper tiger, but one thing is certain, it can no longer harm this land. As the ruler of this land, Li Mu secretly felt excited about this.

  That monkey didn't pay attention to the people hiding in the dark to watch, nor did it notice Li Mu and Bai Hua who came later. With a wave of its hand, a beautiful筋斗cloud condensed on the ground and lifted it up.

  "What a beautiful move!"

  Li Mu's Flight Technique was still quite ordinary, only able to summon ordinary auspicious clouds. But unexpectedly, this unassuming monkey in front of him could actually summon the highest-level Cloud Striding Heaven. This effortless action made Li Mu exclaim in admiration.

  However, there was one person beside Li Mu who didn't know how to appreciate it.

  "You bold monster, don't think you can escape!"

  Bai Huang is the demon-hunting master of the mortal realm, and it's her duty to exorcise demons and evil spirits. How could she just watch as the monkey spirit escapes? She immediately summons the Wind Riding Technique to chase after it, drawing out a purple treasure sword in her hand, slashing out a fierce flame to block the monkey spirit's escape.

  The monkey was naturally impatient, and when it stopped in mid-air, it didn't even dodge the White Phoenix's attack. When the flames were about to reach its body, it suddenly opened its big mouth and swallowed the White Phoenix's attack whole. Then, it tilted its head and looked at the White Phoenix with a nonchalant expression, saying: "You little thing, you dare to block my way with just this bit of skill? You should go back and practice for a few hundred more years."

  The light from the Monkey's Swallowing Flame technique made it clear to anyone with discerning eyes that Bai Hua was no match for the Monkey. From the Monkey's moves, it could be seen that the Monkey's learned Taoist methods were extremely similar to his own, and he was likely also a cultivator. Li Mu feared that Bai Hua would get hurt and wanted to stop him but was powerless to do so. At present, he only knew Earth Escape Techniques and had no way of reaching the high altitude of several hundred meters.

  Bai Huang was extremely resentful of the demon, glaring at the monkey and shouting: "Eliminating demons is my duty, you can't escape from me!" With that, he didn't wait for the monkey to retort, and launched a sharp attack.

  The monkey had no inch of iron in his hand, but he was able to respond with ease. Just by using his speed to dodge the White Phoenix's attacks, he could avoid any harm. Although he couldn't hurt the White Phoenix at all, the monkey was quite annoyed by its deadly attacks. He quickly dodged the White Phoenix's attack and then opened his mouth to spit out a mouthful of immortal energy, transforming it into an attack that struck the White Phoenix. The White Phoenix was shocked and hastily used all its might to defend itself. Although it had dissipated more than half of the force, it still couldn't avoid being heavily injured and falling to the ground.

  The white swan's tightly bound hair scattered, dancing freely in the air. A sudden congestion in her chest, a mouthful of bright red blood spurted out.

  The monkey followed closely, standing beside the White Phoenix, and teased: "It's actually a girl, Old Sun is in a good mood today, so I'll spare your life. Next time don't mess with others indiscriminately."

  "If you want to kill me, then kill me. Why so much nonsense." Bai Huan knew she wasn't a match for the monkey, but her temper was exceptionally stubborn and refused the monkey's charity.

  The monkey was also hot-tempered and couldn't bear others provoking him. Suddenly, he became furious and said, "Hey, you think old Sun is afraid?" As he spoke, he swung out a stream of immortal energy to take the life of the White Phoenix.

  "Cannot kill." Li Mu slowly appeared, blocking Bai Hua's path, saying: "Cannot kill. Monkey, have you forgotten the precepts of a cultivator?"

  Cultivators must not kill indiscriminately.

  The monkey took a deep breath, hastily withdrew his hand, and while repenting said: "Almost violated the master's precepts." After repenting, he explained to Bai Hua: "Little girl, Old Sun is not a demon, I am...". The monkey was about to introduce himself, but thinking of his master's warning when going down the mountain, he kept his mouth shut: "I am a cultivator from Xī Níu Hè State, now that my studies are complete, I'm returning to Huāguǒ Shān Water Curtain Cave. Passing through this place, seeing the tiger spirit causing trouble, I took care of it with ease."

  Li Mu was afraid that Bai Hua would be pierced by the sharp horn of the bull, and she lost her own life. He helped her up and persuaded her: "I can testify to this, this monkey is not a demon."

  "You are just a small piece of land, how did you know Lao Sun's identity?" The monkey looked at Li Mu in surprise.

  "I am a disciple of Tongyuan Mountain, and Great Immortal Tongyuan is my master. In that case, we can be considered fellow practitioners."