Chapter 17: The Gathering of the Apes at the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits

  "Whoosh!"

  They came and went. The waves gently washed over the beach, gradually fading away the two pairs of parallel footprints. Along the footprints, a pair of complementary silhouettes, with their backs to each other, were lightly treading on the sand. Although there was still a slight gap between them, from time to time, the gap would disappear for a second.

  The two of them didn't say a word, just walking quietly like the endless coastline without an end. Their arms lightly swayed, they couldn't remember when it was that their hands first touched. But that electrifying feeling still lingered, making them feel ticklish all over. The girl looked down at her own delicate toes with a hint of shyness. The boy's expression wasn't entirely natural either, his eyes drifting around occasionally, and he would purse his lips unnaturally.

  Li Mu wanted to say something to break the silence, but when it came to his lips, he didn't know what to say.

  "Ah!"

  Suddenly, the waves seemed to be dissatisfied with the whirlpool and rushed towards the two of them. Ao Bing was on the side closer to the sea and was instantly drenched by the waves. Li Mubai stopped and used the Water Repelling Spell to remove the water from their bodies.

  "It's getting late, let's go get something to eat." Since the silence had been broken, there was no need to continue. Li Mu turned around, planning to sneak away to the Earthly Immortal Pavilion. But he found Ao Ning standing in place, her mind preoccupied with something. Without thinking, Li Mu reached out and grasped that small hand as smooth as sheep's fat jade.

  Her hand trembled with a conditioned reflex, but was grasped tightly by Li Mu. A warm and fiery heat suddenly flowed throughout her body, causing it to go limp, and she no longer had the strength to struggle. But reason told her that she couldn't follow Li Mu, so she weakly begged: "No, don't."

  Li Mu was taken aback and didn't know why Ao Bing had such a big reaction. He asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

  "No, I...I'm afraid..." Ao Bing lowered her head, not daring to look directly into Li Mu's eyes.

  "What's wrong?"

  "I'm afraid of losing control, and...” thinking that her most brutal side would be exposed in front of Li Mu, Ao Ning felt both ashamed and distressed. Seeing the direction Li Mu was heading wasn't towards the sea, but land. If she were to suddenly lose control in the human world, what face would she have left to see Li Mu again? And if by any chance, she accidentally hurt him, that would be unforgivable.

  Li Mu took a step closer, smiled slightly and said softly: "Aren't you all right now?"

  The warm air hit Ao Bing's face, making her feel both shy and comfortable. She wanted to avoid Li Mu's approaching breath, but found that her body was powerless. Even the last resistance disappeared. The gentle heat from his palms was just the energy to dispel all violence, making her feel at ease.

  Re-molding the Earth Escape, with a burst of energy, they brought Ao Xing to the Earth Immortal Pavilion. The Earth Escape was originally not fast, and bringing someone along made it even slower. When the two came out, they were panting heavily, only to feel that the air on the ground was surprisingly refreshing.

  Ah Fu saw Li Mu and immediately came over: "Master, it's been a few days since you've come." Unintentionally, he caught sight of the beautiful woman standing beside Li Mu, who looked like a celestial being, and his heart skipped a beat. When he regained his composure, he couldn't help but look at Li Mu with admiration again, thinking to himself: "A master is indeed a master, the girls by their side are all so beautiful, I'm afraid only a born goddess could have such looks." Ah Fu felt that being able to acknowledge Li Mu as his master was no ordinary luck.

  He had no idea that his master, whom he admired extremely, was actually holding a girl's hand for the first time.

  The dragon tribe does not eat seafood, Li Mu specially told Ah Fu not to have seafood. In order not to disturb others, Li Mu took Ao Ning to the elegant room on the second floor.

  Through the window, Ao Bing looked at the crowd coming and going on the street with a curious expression, that familiar yet strange feeling, as if returning to twenty years ago. Twenty years ago, she traveled all over the world, visiting famous mountains and rivers, but because of that strange illness, everything was taken away from her.

  Thinking of the disease demon, a fierce and violent aura suddenly emerged in his heart. A pair of black eyes like gemstones suddenly turned blood red, as if possessed by a demon king, emitting resentment towards the world. The bloodthirsty eyes greedily stared at the pedestrians on the street. Suddenly, a virtual shadow appeared on Ao Bing's body, like a dragon and a beast, faintly visible.

  Li Mu was shocked and hastily grabbed Ao Ning's hands, softly comforting: "Ning'er, look at me, you can defeat the illness, believe me, okay?"

  Li Mu's voice was like magic, attracting Ao Bing to slowly turn his head back, and the violent aura also gradually disappeared. Ao Bing looked at Li Mu, his blood-red eyes slowly returning to black, and his ferocious face also gradually returned to calmness, revealing that angel-like face again.

  Ao Bing looked at Li Mu in a fluster, her eyes welling up with tears, and said: "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

  Li Mu gently wrapped her in his arms, stroking her back to comfort her: "I'm here, don't be afraid." Li Mu lowered the window, not wanting her to see the passersby again.

  In the nearby cloud layer, a figure gradually disappeared. Ao Guang let out a sigh with complex emotions, his heart aching for his daughter being entwined by illness, and as a father, he was powerless to do anything about it. However, when Ao Ning saw Li Mu, she could regain her sanity, so Ao Guang boldly allowed her to follow Li Mu out. He followed them all the way, fearing that if Ao Ning couldn't control herself, she would slaughter everyone in the city, and he wouldn't be able to explain himself to Yu Huang either. But seeing Li Mu being able to control Ao Ning, he was also much more at ease.

  "Don't worry, my master has unparalleled skills, I'll definitely ask him to cure your illness." Li Mu buried his nose in her hair, smelling the faint fragrance. Why was heaven so unfair? Such a beautiful and kind woman had to suffer such torment. He vowed to cure Ao Ning's illness.

  Li Mu thought of his master, but with his current identity and humble abilities, he had no way to get to Tongyuan Mountain.

  This was the person he suddenly thought of, who might be able to help him get to Tongyuan Mountain. The man had left a deep impression on him, an unparalleled cultivator - Sun Wukong. He had learned the skills that could penetrate heaven and earth in just seven short years, his magical powers were so strong that even gods and ghosts couldn't measure them. Li Mu admired this very much, although he had only met him once, he already considered him a friend.

  The world had just returned to calmness when Ah Fu came in with several dishes and a jug of wine, saw the two embracing each other, and suddenly stood still on the spot, at a loss for what to do.

  Someone interrupted, Ao Ning naturally looked up. Li Mu was afraid that she would have another episode, so he quickly turned around and hugged her into his arms. He said to Ah Fu, "Put the things down."

  Ah Fu carefully placed the entire tray on the table and then quickly left. As he walked away, he gently closed the door without making a sound.

  Ao Bing suddenly fell ill, and the two of them lost their appetite for food. They just casually ate some, even the best girl Hong, at this time also tasted like plain water.

  "Ning'er, do you know of a place called Huaguo Mountain in the East Sea?" Returning to the seaside, listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, she felt much more at ease. Perhaps it was because she no longer had to worry about Ao Ning's illness, or perhaps the vast ocean had suddenly broadened her horizons.

  Ao Bing has lived for three to five hundred years, and she is very familiar with the events on the East Sea. In the Eastern Divine State, there is a mystical country called Ao Lai Guo. Within Ao Lai Guo, there is a beautiful island named Huā Guǒ Shān. As the saying goes, "the land is spiritual and the people are outstanding", Huā Guǒ Shān gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, containing the essence of all things, truly a paradise on earth, a utopia.

  Few people know about Huaguo Mountain, and even Ao Ning, who has lived in the East China Sea for a long time, only discovered it by chance. After telling Li Mu, she curiously asked: "Huaguo Mountain is rarely known to anyone, how did you find out about that place?"

  Li Mu said: "I have a friend there, I plan to let him take us to Tongyuan Mountain, find a master to see you."

  Listening to the words of concern, Ao Bing's heart warmed up, and her eyes revealed a deep affection. Perhaps it was because Ao Bing had never been moved by a boy before, that this time she would love so thoroughly. In the face of love, even if there were powerful demons and monsters, they couldn't control her or harm him.

  Due to Ao Bing's current unstable condition, Li Mu doesn't know why she becomes violent when seeing strangers. He dares not bring Ao Bing together to Huaguo Mountain. Otherwise, let alone asking the monkey for help, it's likely that with the monkey's temper, they would be lucky if they weren't killed.

  Send Ao Ning back to the Dragon Palace, Li Mu followed Ao Ning's instructions and opened both the Wind Control Technique and Water Summoning Technique. After nearly an hour of searching, he finally found a mountainous island with clear waters in the depths of the ocean. It was roughly the same as Ao Ning had described, with only one mountain on the island, which must be Huaguo Mountain. Li Mu rode the wind over, and soon arrived at the waist of the mountain.

  "Halt, where did this hairy monkey come from, daring to come and seek death!" Just as they reached the middle of the mountain, a loud noise was heard from below, like the Thunder God's anger, shaking the earth. Looking down, they saw a ferocious god with a hideous face, his expression furious beyond control. Seeing his appearance, Li Mu was secretly shocked, seeing him: Wearing a black gold helmet, reflecting sunlight; wearing a dark green robe, fluttering in the wind. Below, he wore black iron armor, tightly wrapped around his skin; his feet were clad in flower-embroidered boots, majestic like a high-ranking general. His waist was ten spans wide, his body three zhang tall. He held a knife in his hand, its blade extremely bright. Known as the Demon of the Mixed World, with an awe-inspiring and ferocious appearance.

  Before long, Li Mu saw a short and small monkey, Sun Wukong, who was scratching his ears and cheeks. Sun Wukong was not afraid of the Demon King at all, with his left hand on his waist and his right hand pointing at the Demon King, he shouted: "You big charcoal, you dare to bully my grandson when his grandfather is not at home? Today I'm here to ask for an explanation."

  The Demon King of the Mixed World hated it when people called him black, let alone a thin monkey who was usually at his beck and call. He was so angry that he punched his chest and stomped his feet, with two fist-sized nostrils emitting coarse air, and shouted: "Monkey, you come to die yourself, I'll fulfill your wish." Then he saw the blade flash, chopping down towards Sun Monkey like a heavenly axe.

  Sun Wukong remained calm and composed, waiting until the blade reached his scalp before suddenly transforming into a puff of white smoke that vanished on the spot. The Demon King of Chaos slashed open a deep gorge half a zhang wide, but Sun Wukong's corpse was nowhere to be seen, leaving him perplexed.

  "Huh!" Suddenly a surprised voice came from behind Li Mu, and it turned out that Sun Wukong had already appeared in mid-air at some unknown time. "Wooden head, come see old Sun."

  Li Mu's mouth curled up slightly as he smiled faintly and said, "Looks like I've come at the wrong time, the monkey's butt hasn't even dried off yet."

  The Monkey King was not angry, and with a shrug of his shoulders, he laughed and said: "This black rascal took advantage of my absence to seize my mountain cave and kill my monkey grandson. Old Sun has been waiting for him for a long time, and today I will demand back the principal and interest."

  "Ah——" The Demon King of the Mortal World missed his strike, allowing the monkey to escape. But unexpectedly, the monkey started chatting with someone else, seemingly not taking this great king seriously, and couldn't help but feel infuriated. With a loud roar, he shouted: "You damned hairy monkey, quickly come down and accept your death!"

  Sun Wukong glanced at him and said to Li Mu, "Wooden head, wait a moment, I'll deal with this guy first and then entertain you." The monkey was born to be mischievous, even in the midst of battle he didn't forget to tease his opponent. Or it could be said that Sun Wukong simply didn't take the Demon King of Chaos seriously, as long as he had enough fun, he would vent the grievances of the monkeys who had been bullied for years.

  Sun Wukong was extremely fast, like a fly buzzing around him non-stop. No matter how angry he got or how loudly he roared, he couldn't even touch a single hair on Sun's head. On the contrary, he became exhausted and panting, so furious that he almost vomited blood.

  Sun Wukong finished playing and shot a golden light at the Demon King of the Mixed World. The demon king's armor protected him, not caring about Sun Wukong's attack, but instead regained some confidence, his eyes also becoming scornful. He turned from offense to defense, standing firmly in place, letting Sun Wukong attack.

  Sun Wukong launched a 360-degree all-around attack, but couldn't find any weakness. His own magic attacks had no effect on him either. On the contrary, the Nine-Ringed Tiger-Headed Knife of the Demon King of the Mixed World was generating strong gusts of wind, posing a great threat.

  After a long time of hard work without achieving anything, Sun Wukong was anxious and furious. All these monkey disciples were watching him on the side, putting all their hopes on his shoulders. Li Mubai, this fellow practitioner, was also watching from the side, no matter what, he couldn't let everyone down and lose face for himself.

  The monkey suddenly let out a loud roar, his body rapidly growing larger, and in an instant he was as tall and majestic as the Demon King of the Mixed World. This move really shocked everyone, especially Li Mu, who had always wanted to learn this transformation technique, but Tongyuan Daxian had not taught it to him yet. It wasn't that Tongyuan Daxian didn't want to teach it, Li Mu also knew that he wasn't ready yet and wouldn't be able to learn it even if he tried. He hadn't expected that this monkey would actually master such a powerful magic in just seven short years.

  Suddenly, a change in the situation turned the battle around. Sun Wukong kicked the Demon King of Chaos with one foot and picked up his nine-ring tiger-headed knife. With three swift strokes, he sliced the Demon King into several pieces. By the time everyone reacted, the Demon King was already dead beyond recognition.

  At that moment, the monkeys were overjoyed. Some waved flags and shouted, while others jumped up and down. A few bold little monkeys climbed onto the corpse of the Demon King of Chaos, rejoicing as if they had captured a city. The monkey then cast another spell, destroying the original lair of the Demon King of Chaos, before leading the monkeys back to their home.

  The Peach Blossom Mountain Water Curtain Cave, even Li Mu, who was used to seeing famous rivers and mountains, couldn't help but marvel at it. It's a work of nature, truly a masterpiece of the gods. Otherwise, who could create such a wonderful place behind the waterfall?

  "Monkey, how can you deal with such a little thief and still use so much effort?" Li Mu said with a hint of teasing.

  As a cultivator, the Mixed World Demon King's strength lies in his natural way, and Monkey can win him without resorting to trickery. Even when Li Mu was at his peak, holding the treasure of Tongyuan Daxian may not necessarily be the opponent of the Mixed World Demon King. He underestimated Monkey, just joking around.

  The monkey shook the nine-ring tiger-headed knife and said with some dissatisfaction: "That guy has some skills, but he's unlucky to meet old Sun."

  The monkeys finally got rid of their nervous days, each one lively and surrounding Sun Wukong calling non-stop. They moved out the stored fruits to celebrate, even Li Mu, an outsider, felt their joyful mood.