Chapter 18: The Gathering of Demons at the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits

  The notorious Hanging King of the Mortal Realm, a major event that shook the entire demon world. Although the Hanging King was not the strongest in the demon world, with his innate talent, tempered steel armor and the Nine-Ringed Tiger Head Knife in hand, no one dared to provoke him.

  Since he arrived at the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, all the big and small forces around him suffered from his persecution. Among them, the most serious ones were the monkeys on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. In a few years, countless died, only a few hid in the Water Curtain Cave to survive. So if you want to talk about who hates the Demon King of Chaos the most, it must be the monkeys on the mountain.

  This was Sun Wukong avenging his own family, but unexpectedly eliminated a disaster. The surrounding islands of Xiangluo and Penglai, as well as the four seas' dragon tribes were all shocked by this. The 36 caves and 72 islands' demons and monsters even spread it as a great story. They flocked to pay their respects and congratulate him, with some intending to join Huaguo Mountain and worship at Shuilian Cave.

  From then on, the Flower-Fruit Mountain held a small banquet every day and a grand banquet every three days. The number of people who came to pay their respects was countless, and those who passed by to offer sacrifices were endless.

  Sun Wukong is naturally open-minded and proud, seeing such fame has already reached the clouds, and seeing so many younger brothers makes him happy to the point of being unable to close his mouth. He orders the Monkey King's sons to arrange for those who are compatible, without saying a word, looking at the personnel under his command, as if he is invincible.

  Li Mu originally came to find Sun Wukong for help, but seeing this situation, he had no choice but to give up. For a day or two, he even forgot about asking the monkey for help and spent his days drinking with Sun Wukong, feeling carefree as if he was about to ascend to heaven.

  The reputation spread far and wide, and the people who came to join them grew more and more numerous. Many times, it was no longer necessary for Sun Wukong and Li Mu to personally receive guests, unless such a figure appeared:

  One day, Li Mu and Sun Wukong were drinking wine and discussing the Tao by the clear stream of Huaguo Mountain. Suddenly, a loud noise was heard in mid-air, and a tall figure appeared from the clouds. The figure was even more majestic than the previous Demon King of the Mixed World.

  He wore a brocade armor made of the skin of a strange beast, with a sharp powder bottom and a cloud-patterned leather belt. In his hand was a black iron club mixed with gold, and on his feet were cloud-treading boots. The armor was actually made from the skin of a strange beast, and the mixed-iron club came from the fallen iron of the Ninth Heaven. Standing at the edge of the clouds, he seemed like a golden Vajra descending to the mortal world, a heavenly god coming down to earth.

  But looking at his face, it was a million miles away from the immortal in people's minds. This person... no, this demon had the body of an ox and the head of a man, with two black cow horns on top of his head, two cow eyes staring widely, and a steel ring hanging from his nose, occasionally emitting hot air, as if he had just run out of someone's cattle pen.

  Its voice was like thunder, and the demons of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits were so frightened that they stared at each other in dismay, holding their breath, and dared not speak.

  Li Mu and Sun Wukong put down their wine cups, looked up at the sky. This demon light is already higher than the Demon King of the Mortal World in terms of momentum, and judging from its equipment and appearance, it's likely to be even more formidable than the Demon King of the Mortal World.

  Sun Wukong wielded his nine-ring tiger-headed knife and said to Li Mubai: "Wooden head, you rest for a moment, I'll be right back."

  A streak of light flew up to the sky, and with a blink of an eye, it stopped in front of the Cow Demon. Standing before the demon that was over a hundred times larger than himself, Sun Wukong showed no fear, but instead had an excited look on his face. He grasped the Nine-Ringed Tiger-Headed Knife and shouted: "I am Sun Wukong, the Handsome Monkey King of the Water Curtain Cave in the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits! Who are you?"

  "Ah!"

  It wasn't clear who let out a sigh of relief first, but everyone suddenly realized they had been holding their breath. Instantly, one by one, their faces turned red and they panted heavily.

  The Ox Demon King laughed: "Haha!" Each of his laughs shook the heavens and caused the clouds to rumble. He stood up straight, looked at Sun Wukong and said: "If you want to know my name, first defeat my staff."

  Just as he was speaking, the Cow Demon swung its arms and the black gold iron club came crashing down with a force of 10,000 pounds. The momentum was so great, the speed so fast, that even the clouds couldn't dodge in time and were split in two. "Hmph!" As the blow reached its peak, the Cow Demon let out an angry roar and pressed down again.

  That iron club was as big as a mountain, like a giant crushing flies, and also like a fierce tiger pouncing on a rabbit, unstoppable.

  But the next second, everyone present was shocked. Sun Wukong did not dodge or flinch, and with a horizontal knife, he blocked the attack. The two weapons clashed, emitting a deafening roar that shook heaven and earth. The sea water surged up in anger, and the waves crashed against the shore. The group of demons at the foot of the mountain were unable to stand steadily, and countless ones fell down.

  A brief commotion soon subsided, but the standoff in the sky continued.

  In comparison, it was like an ant compared to a giant tree. In people's eyes, it seemed that the Cow Demon could crush the Monkey with just a flick of his finger. But this smiling and frail body actually contained unparalleled power. Sun Wukong held the nine-ring tiger-headed knife with one arm, and the ten-thousand jin mixed iron rod couldn't advance another inch. The筋斗云 (a type of cloud) under his feet seemed to be connected to the sky, also unmoving. No matter how hard the Cow Demon tried, he couldn't advance another inch.

  This one move is enough to lead the hordes of demons; this one move is enough to intimidate the heroes.

  The cow demon couldn't land a hit, and countered with a sweep of its hand. Although the mixed iron club was clumsy and unmatched in weight, it was used by the cow demon with great skill, each strike having the force of ten thousand kilograms.

  Sun Wukong's eyes gleamed like a torch, and he dodged the sharp edges of the iron rod with his cloud somersault, forming a flowing light around the Cow Demon. Every time the light and the iron rod collided, they produced an earth-shaking sound. The originally unshakeable Flower Fruit Mountain seemed to be unable to withstand such great power, becoming shaky and on the verge of collapse. Not to mention the people standing on the mountain, who had long been swaying back and forth, stumbling and falling.

  Sun Wukong's weapon was the Nine-Ringed Tiger-Headed Knife of the Demon King, which had transformed to fit his current body size but retained its original weight and sharpness. It clashed with the Black Gold Iron Club forged from the Nine Heavens' fallen iron, and for a time it was hard to tell who was winning or losing.

  As the saying goes, "one inch longer is one inch stronger, and one inch shorter is one inch more dangerous." The Cow Demon King had a powerful body that could shake heaven and earth, but he couldn't deal with Sun Wukong. Instead, he was forced to retreat repeatedly by Sun Wukong, until finally, he had no choice but to shrink his body to the size of an ordinary person.

  Two men shook the clouds and rose to the sky, from the sky they fought to the surface of the sea, and then stirred up the Eastern Sea, turning it upside down. Their transformations were as swift as the seventy-two changes, their strength was as mighty as the power to move mountains, and their magical powers were all-encompassing and vast. After fighting for three to five thousand rounds, they still could not be separated into winner and loser.

  The people standing on the island watching the battle had already been stunned. Their bodies stood straight in place, only their heads moving slightly as they followed the fight.

  What shocked Li Mu the most was that, as a fellow cultivator who had high aspirations for his own cultivation path, he couldn't help but be shaken by this level of battle. Since birth, it was the first time Li Mu had seen such an intense fight, and despite both sides not using their full strength yet, it didn't affect the intensity of the battle at all. Not to mention the demons on these islands, even among the war generals in the Heavenly Palace, how many could be their match?

  Such an intense battle also caught the attention of Tiangong. The leaders of the Heavenly Court, who were enjoying the music and dance, also felt the fluctuations of the battle, and Yu Huang immediately sent Qianliyan Shunfeng'er and Hēng Hǎ to investigate.

  "Report from the Thousand-Mile Eye: 'I report to the Jade Emperor that this disturbance is caused by two demonic creatures fighting in the lower realm.'"

  The Jade Emperor and a group of immortal generals were shocked, immediately taking out the Eight Trigrams Mirror to observe the battle. Seeing Sun Wukong fighting against the Ox Demon, their faces changed color. The Jade Emperor exclaimed: "The lower realm has actually produced such a formidable demon!"

  The many generals were silent, they all knew they were no match for these two demonic creatures, and no one dared to ask for battle to capture the demons. The Supreme Old Lord gently waved his dustpan, smiled slightly and said: "Jade Emperor, do not worry, demons also have good and evil distinctions, if you can win them over, why isn't it a blessing for Heaven's Court?"

  "The words of Lao Jun are indeed true." The Jade Emperor's face relaxed slightly, and he put away the Eight Trigrams mirror. However, there was no longer any elegant appreciation for music and dance, and he returned to the palace to rest.

  "Boom!"

  A loud explosion sounded on the surface of the sea, and a column of water shot up over a hundred feet high. Two streams of light, one black and one colored, separated from the center and retreated several steps. A careful observer would not find it difficult to see that the holder of the colored light had retreated several more steps, and Sun Wukong had lost half the trick. Upon closer inspection, they were found to be Sun Wukong and the Ox Demon.

  In just a short period of time, they had exchanged over ten thousand blows!

  The ox demon panted and suddenly burst out laughing: "Haha, what a wonderful Monkey King of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits! Indeed, your magical powers are vast and impressive. I, the old ox, am in awe."

  "Ha ha, Brother Bull is overpraising me, I humbly admit defeat."

  The battle had started several rounds, Sun Wukong already knew that the Cow Demon was not looking for trouble, but intentionally testing himself.

  The Ox Demon said: "I am the master of Cuīyún Mountain, known as the Great Power Ox Demon King. I heard that the Beautiful Monkey King eliminated the evil demon Hùnshì Mówáng from the demon world, and came to pay my respects. If there is any offense, I hope the younger brother will forgive me."

  "Where, where." The monkey smiled and said: "Brother Niu, don't say such polite words, come to the mountain with me quickly, I'll introduce you to a good friend."

  Together with the Bull Demon King, they arrived at Mount Huaguo, where a group of demons gathered, looking up at the sky and shouting, their voices echoing for miles, celebrating and congratulating each other without end.

  "Wood, I'm back." Sun Wukong tossed the nine-ring tiger-headed knife to one side and grabbed a cup of wine, drinking it all in one gulp. Then he pulled Li Mu's hand and introduced him, "Come on, come on, let me introduce you. This is my brother Li Mu, and this is the master of Cuicui Mountain, the Great Power Cow Demon King. Brother Niu's magical powers are truly admirable."

  Li Mu smiled slightly and cupped his hands in respect: "Brother Niu's abilities are vast and profound, Li Mu is deeply impressed."

  The Bull Demon King said in a loud voice: "Brother, don't make fun of old cow, the beautiful Monkey King's magical power is boundless, and it's admirable."

  Three people sat down, regardless of the little demons discussing the battle just now, and drank wine by themselves.

  After several cups of wine, all the estrangement had been dispelled. The Bull Demon King also said in a similar vein to Li Mu: "Monkey, your magical powers are not inferior to mine; if it weren't for my superior weapons and equipment, how could I have won even half a victory over you?"

  Li Mu and Sun Wukong knew this too, Li Mu nodded and said: "This nine-ring tiger-headed knife was originally a rare divine weapon, but I don't know why the monkey can't use it."

  Sun Wukong said: "What Wooden Head said is absolutely right. Originally it was not suitable, and after shrinking, it lost its original spiritual nature and cannot be satisfactory."

  Cultivators, apart from having a solid cultivation base, also place great importance on their weapons. Thinking about how he didn't have a good weapon and lost miserably, Monkey's face turned gloomy.

  Li Mu took the opportunity to say: "My master has many divine weapons, it's better for Monkey to go with me and ask him for one."

  Thinking of his own purpose in finding Sun Wukong, Li Mu finally had the opportunity to bring up this matter with him. However, Niu Mo Wang said: "Eh, why rush for a moment, let's drink for three days and three nights before going, it won't be late."

  The wine cup is full, and it has never been empty again.

  After the Bull Demon King, many powerful demons came to meet, including Peng Demon King, Jiao Demon King, Lion Camel King, Yu Hou Wang and Mi Hou Wang, all of whom had earth-shaking powers.

  However, after experiencing the battle with Bull Demon King, the powerful demon kings and demon lords behind him were convinced of Sun Wukong's strength and willingly interacted with him.

  From then on, the eight people spent their days drinking and having fun together, as close as brothers.