After traveling more than ten li, Wang Hu finally let out a long sigh and sat down on the ground.
"Damn. That scared me to death." He wiped the sweat from his head, even though there was actually none there, only feeling his whole body weak, as if he had just fought a life and death battle. Just talking a few sentences with the white dragon made him feel as though he had come through a fierce battle.
But soon he became pleased, thinking that his acting skills were truly Oscar level. He had even managed to trick a jade pendant out of the third prince of the Western Sea.
Thinking of this, he immediately calmed down and took the jade pendant out of the tiger-tooth storage space. The pendant was exquisitely crafted, engraved densely with nine small golden dragons. Wang Hu tried injecting spiritual energy into it, and the jade pendant immediately burst into light. A flash of gold appeared, and a golden shield formed in front of him. On the shield a golden dragon shadow continuously coiled and moved, as if protecting him.
Wang Hu's saliva immediately began to drip. This was a defensive-type Nine Dragon Jade Pendant. His current spiritual power was weak, so he could only activate one dragon shadow, while the pendant contained nine dragons in total.
Thinking of how in future battles he could just stand there activating the Nine Dragon Jade Pendant, with nine dragons protecting him, the style alone was beyond words. He could not help but grin foolishly, holding it fondly and unwilling to let go, letting the dragon shadow roam around him.
At that moment the little green snake on his back hissed in dissatisfaction. It roughly meant asking why he still accepted things from that bad white dragon.
Wang Hu froze, thinking this snake was too naive. If he had not accepted the gift and the white dragon had gotten angry, he would probably already be food. But he could not explain these things to the little green snake. As a demon, it was better to stay simple.
"Precisely because he is a bad dragon, we must take his things," he said directly. After saying that, he changed the topic. "Also, why did you kill people as soon as you went in earlier? At least you should have asked whether they had any hidden treasures. To be an ambitious demon, you cannot only know killing."
The little green snake immediately shifted focus and lowered its head, looking guilty.
After speaking for a while, Wang Hu stopped, feeling very satisfied. He believed that over time he could educate this snake into a modern-era demon like himself.
After that, the tiger and the snake continued on their journey. After the previous incident Wang Hu became more cautious, and he tried to recall the content of Journey to the West. If he remembered correctly, the next event should be the Guanyin Temple calamity. Elder Jinchi was also ruthless, wanting to burn Tang Sanzang to death for a cassock. It seemed he had to be careful.
After three more days of travel, the sound of temple bells indeed echoed from the deep mountains ahead. Wang Hu had guessed correctly. This was indeed Guanyin Temple ahead.
He found a nearby cave to hide in, took out the jade pendant, and cultivated with the little green snake. He waited until night before approaching to investigate.
According to the original story, Elder Jinchi had even colluded with great demons like the Black Bear Spirit for transactions. This made Wang Hu feel that something was strange. A character whose cultivation was not higher than a demon king's could still make them trade with him. There must be a hidden secret. If he rushed in without investigating, he might die without even knowing how.
At night Wang Hu transformed into a half-human tiger form and sneaked into Guanyin Temple. This was his first time transforming like this. At a glance he looked far uglier than in his true form. But there was no choice. Entering in tiger form would be far too noticeable.
Just as he reached the temple gate he heard noise from inside. Looking closely, he saw more than twenty small demons like himself lined up, each holding various packages. The monks guarding the gate had their eyes closed, pretending not to see, muttering scriptures no one could understand.
At midnight the temple gate opened, and the demon group entered one after another to pay their respects. Soon after, each demon came out happily, no longer carrying packages, but instead holding an exquisite box.
Wang Hu observed for a while and chose a tiger spirit to quietly follow. He thought that since they were of the same clan it would be easier to talk, and even if things turned hostile it would not immediately lead to a fight. He always believed in maintaining harmony when doing things.
The tiger spirit ahead seemed very happy, whistling while walking in the forest. Wang Hu seized the opportunity and rushed out from the shadows.
"Brother tiger! Brother tiger, wait!"
But unexpectedly, the other party completely ignored him, continuing to whistle and walk forward. Wang Hu had no choice but to call again. At the same time he silently complained: Where is the discipline of demons? Why does his sense of danger feel so weak?
The tiger spirit finally heard the call and turned around in confusion, frowning at the fellow clan member running toward him. "Where are you a demon from? I've never seen you before," he frowned and asked.
Wang Hu quickly replied, "Tiger big brother, I was born with spiritual intelligence while cultivating at Yingchou Gorge. But there is an evil dragon there. It almost ate me several times. That place is too dangerous, so I left. I didn't expect to meet big brother right after coming out."
The tiger spirit nodded. "I know that white dragon. It has been there for hundreds of years. I heard it was a celestial being exiled from heaven." As he spoke he sized up Wang Hu from head to toe, then continued, "Little tiger. Your cultivation is not bad. Come with me. I will report to the great king, and you will follow me from now on."
Wang Hu was stunned. Huh? I'm already being recruited, just like this? So easy?
The tiger spirit smiled. "Don't worry. I am also one of the top demons in Black Tiger Mountain. You see, the task of bringing pills every month to exchange with Guanyin Temple is entrusted to me. That shows how much the great king trusts me." As he spoke he showed off the box in his hand, meaning that it was absolutely right to follow him.
Wang Hu said nothing, only sighed inwardly at how honest the demon race was. No wonder they have always been suppressed by humans deep in the mountains.
After walking for a while, Wang Hu pretended to be friendly and asked, "Big brother, I heard some small demons mention Black Wind Mountain. Isn't the Black Bear Spirit also there?"
The tiger spirit replied as he walked. "Yes. The four great mountains are Black Tiger Mountain, Black Wind Mountain, Black Snake Mountain, and Black Fox Mountain. The four great kings are sworn brothers. The Black Bear King of Black Wind Mountain is the eldest brother. The Tiger King is the second brother. The Snake King is the third brother, and the Fox King is the fourth brother."
Wang Hu froze. They're all called Black this and Black that. Snake. Fox. What the hell is this? He cursed inwardly but showed no expression on his face. He continued asking about the surrounding forces and about information on Guanyin Temple, and the tiger spirit answered everything he knew without hiding anything.
After gathering enough information, Wang Hu suddenly rolled his eyes and held his stomach. "Big brother, I suddenly have a stomach ache. You go ahead. I'll catch up later."
"All right, go. Remember to report to Black Tiger Mountain and mention Ho."
The tiger spirit patted his shoulder and left happily, whistling as he went.
Wang Hu stood there, unable to help sighing. Our demon clan is really this simple.
But at the same time he was also shocked by the forces within Black Wind Mountain's territory. Just within Black Wind there were more than sixty-eight demon kings above the Golden Core level. They formed more than ten major and minor factions, almost covering the entire Luofang mountain range. Guanyin Temple was a trading place between all the demon clans in this region and the human cultivation forces. Elder Jinchi, although only at late Golden Core, represented the entire cultivation world of the Shanglan region behind him.
Wang Hu stood there thinking. It seems the demon race is not as simple as I imagined. The tiger spirit's lack of vigilance toward me was probably because what I asked about was already public secret information. Moreover, this is also a special way demons recruit subordinates. After all, newly transformed demons are like newborn children — completely naive.
He walked around again and continued observing Guanyin Temple for half the night. Seeing nothing unusual, he returned to the cave.
For the next half month he continuously gathered intelligence, and the results were no different from the first day. This made Wang Hu frown. Perhaps he could not go any deeper. With more than sixty-eight demon kings and over a dozen overlapping forces, if he entered deeper into the Luofang mountain range he would quickly be discovered and captured.
He sighed. He was not Sun Wukong, and did not have invincible combat power to sweep everything away.
Thinking of this, he became suspicious again. If this place had already formed a complete chain of interests, then did Elder Jinchi and the Black Bear Spirit really oppose Sun Wukong over just a cassock? Or was someone using Sun Wukong's power to break the balance here?
Thinking of Guanyin Temple and the Black Bear Spirit, a speculation gradually formed in his mind. Wang Hu was about to leave when suddenly a thought arose in him, and a cold feeling spread through his entire body.
He shook his head. These matters were too far from him, and even knowing them might not change anything. It was better to focus on how to pass through this area.