Great Demon Sun Wukong

As soon as Sun Wukong finished speaking, the ball of black light gradually dimmed and then a small snake with nine heads and hardly a meter long appeared in front of Sun Wukong. Looking at the serpent which was swinging its heads, Wukong felt a wave of nausea; he had actually spat out a snake from his mouth, which was truly disgusting. After shaking its heads, the nine-headed serpent raised them up. However, they did not all look at Sun Wukong; one head faced him, while the other eight divided into four groups to survey their surroundings.

After confirming that it was truly safe and no one was around, the small snake spoke again, "It's not that serious, I'm not even in physical form right now, just an energy body. I just stimulated your throat a bit when I came out to create an effect, that's all. Come on, stop looking at me like that, as if you've suffered a great loss!" As it spoke, the nine-headed serpent started to circle around Sun Wukong nonstop.

Sun Wukong jumped up and stomped on the tail of the circling serpent, "Did you suddenly tell me to stay just to gross me out on purpose? Huh?" Seeing that Sun Wukong was truly angry, the serpent hastily changed its tone, "Don't rush, I would definitely not ask you to stay without a big reason. Plus, you have the heart of a Pioneer, so you can stay in this Patrolling Celestial World as long as you like."

As soon as the nine-headed serpent finished speaking, Sun Wukong's gaze sharpened, and the Jingu Bang suddenly appeared in his hand. Gripping it tightly with his right hand, he pointed the other end at the serpent's vitals and said in a freezing tone, "How do you know about that? What exactly are you, and why did you enter my body? Tell me everything you're scheming right now, or don't blame me for annihilating you!" The serpent, however, just laughed, "With your impatient temper, you can't achieve great things. Alright, alright, I'll tell you, is that not enough?"

"As you see, I'm just a nine-headed serpent, okay, okay, don't get violent, let's talk this out," feeling the increased force on the Jingu Bang, the serpent hastily called out. "I am that colossal Annihilation Nine-Headed Serpent you guys sealed, except now I'm just a spirit, with no physical form. As for why I chose you, it's because you have the qualifications to reach the end of the Supreme Path, fulfilling both conditions no less, who else would I follow if not you?"

Sun Wukong did not speak, clearly waiting for him to continue, though he had already pulled back the Jingu Bang from its vital spot. "I have existed for a very long time, since the establishment of the order in this universe, and through my disdainful efforts have propagated an entire race. However, a super war broke out between a universe and your universe, causing chaos and the shattering of laws, during which my species suffered heavy losses, with the survivors scattered across the universe."

"At the end of that war, I stumbled upon the skull of Underworld Venerate, so I burrowed into it. Who knew that while I was slumbering within the skull, it would be refined into a Domain Instrument, and unluckily, I ended up becoming the Realm Spirit of the instrument as I slept. That instrument later became the current Patrolling Celestial World, and I have been slumbering at its core ever since. This world absorbs cosmic energy on its own, which sustains me."

"Later, you all arrived here, and I was awakened by that young man. Initially, I was angered by being roused from my slumber, planning to annihilate everyone, but then I noticed you. Heh heh, it was too interesting—for not only do you possess the Five Elements Balance, but that person even shattered his own laws for you to absorb. I was curious whether this method had any chance of success, but you indeed gave me a great surprise by not only filling the law you lacked but also absorbing seven laws in succession. With the power of the Five Elements Balance and fifteen Cosmic Laws, as long as you don't die prematurely and continue to cultivate, reaching the end of the Supreme Path was just a matter of time."

"Since you have such qualifications, why wouldn't I attach myself to you? As the saying goes, 'When one man attains the Tao, even his pets ascend to heaven.' When you reach the end of the Supreme Path, I'm bound to benefit somehow. Heh heh, besides, my existence is all advantages and no disadvantages to you. Working together, we make a perfect team! So, when I sensed that woman setting up a Sealing Grand Formation to seal me, I simply gave up resisting. Otherwise, do you think I'd be trapped by a mere Illusion Array for long? Even though I lost some Soul Energy to conceal the presence of my main spirit, overall, it was still a win."

Listening silently to the nine-headed serpent boasting, Sun Wukong felt some of his doubts dissolve. No wonder Yi Xuan said back then that her Illusion Array shouldn't have been able to hold the Annihilation Nine-Headed Serpent for so long, but in reality, the serpent hadn't resisted at all until the Sealing Grand Formation was activated—so this was the reason. Moreover, this creature knew almost all of his secrets. Thus, Sun Wukong now had only two choices: one was to destroy this serpent's spirit now to prevent him from leaking his secrets.

The second option was to cooperate with the Nine-Headed Serpent, as it had suggested. After some thought, Sun Wukong said to the serpent, "Now, I have a few questions for you, and I will decide how to deal with you based on your answers. First, how did you know that the Pioneer's heart is with me?" The Nine-Headed Serpent grew nervous; though it was an invincible existence, a super-powerful being when possessing a physical body, it had allowed its soul to leave the body in order to escape the restrictions of Patrolling Celestial World. Now its soul was merely at a Half-step Heavenly Venerate level, and while it might not necessarily lose against Sun Wukong, this was not what it hoped for.

"After I entered your body, I was in a conscious state, and naturally, I heard the entire conversation between you and the woman called Yi Xuan. So, knowing about the Pioneer's heart is not that surprising," the Nine-Headed Serpent replied. Sun Wukong nodded and continued, "If I allowed you to continue to stay within me, what benefits could you bring me?" At this, the Nine-Headed Serpent showed a trace of smugness and said, "First of all, I possess a strong Evolution Power. As long as I exist within your body, you will feel the influence of my Evolution Power and gradually evolve in all aspects. Additionally, I can use my Soul Power as a catalyst to drive the operation of Five Elements Power within you, enabling you to reach the level of Heavenly Venerate in a short time. Thirdly, I am the progenitor of all Annihilation Nine-Headed Serpents; with me here, any of them would have to detour around you, and if you wish, you can even command them using my power. Lastly, this is the reason why I want you to keep me around."

"What reason?"

"Heh-heh, since I'm leaving, the Patrolling Celestial World is useless to me. Hence, the Domain Instrument forged from the Underworld Venerate's skull is useless to me as well. Since this is the case, you can take it for your own. Besides, I have many treasures left at the Earth's Core. Wouldn't it be a pity not to take them with me? Moreover, there is a Teleportation Array at the Earth's Core of the Patrolling Celestial World, which should be engraved on the Underworld Venerate's skull. Do you know where that Teleportation Array goes?"

"How would I know."

"I knew you wouldn't know. Let me tell you, that Teleportation Array leads to the Fallen Tomb!"

"Are you talking about the Fallen Tomb? The Tomb that only allows a dozen or so people to enter each time it opens? How do you know that?" Sun Wukong asked, clearly intrigued. The Nine-Headed Serpent proudly responded, "That's the advantage of living long enough. I once initiated it as a Soul Incarnation and entered the Fallen Tomb through the Teleportation Array. Although I didn't return later, that was enough for me. Enough talk, I won't harm you. If you die, I'll just become a lonely ghost."

"There's one last thing, I'm quite tempted by all these benefits, so I need to know what I have to give in return. I don't believe for a second that you are doing this out of sheer altruism."

"Simple. You just need to let me stay in your body. The balanced Five Elements Power inside you will nurture my soul, and when you reach the end of the Supreme Path, all you need to do is condense a new body for me. I'm sure that by then, the body you condense for me won't be inferior to my former one."

"Empty promises, how can I know you're not deceiving me, only to take possession of my body later!" (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Starting Point (qidian.com) to vote for a recommendation ticket, a Monthly Pass. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)