Chapter 146: Shaking the Mountains and Earth

Duoyuan stopped Kui Yi. In Duoyuan's view, although both he and Kui Yi were Loose Immortals of the Taiyi realm, their weaknesses were equally obvious. Just like the battle with the Four-Headed General moments ago, a brief probing attack would have been enough to easily defeat them.

"That divine power you used just now—was that also useless?" Fox Three flew over to Duoyuan's side and asked.

"What I did just now was merely to scare the four-headed monster; it wasn't a divine power at all. Besides, he hadn't unleashed his full strength. If he hadn't fled earlier, the outcome would have been hard to predict."

"He's that strong?"

"Not necessarily. Rather, it's that Kui Yi and I have overly glaring weaknesses."

"Since they've fled as well, we should first go and complete the mission assigned to us by the Great King, and discuss the rest later."

The Bull Demon King's forces had not completely withdrawn from Hao Mountain. For the current Fiery Cloud Cave, this might be a matter of great importance, but Fox Three and the others were well aware of Yuan Wuji's temperament. The top priority right now was to finish the task Yuan Wuji had entrusted to them, and only then return to discuss Ruyi True Immortal and the Four-Headed General with him.

"Let's go!"

With Duoyuan acting as an intermediary, this trip was undoubtedly extremely smooth. Nearly every household had previously offered worship to Duoyuan, but under Duoyuan's coordination, all the shrines were changed to honor Yuan Wuji instead. Moreover, the villagers did not remove Duoyuan's statues from the altars.

Instead, they built a statue of Yuan Wuji that was larger than Duoyuan's. Yuan Wuji's statue occupied the very center, while Duoyuan's statue stood right beside it.

In this layout, Duoyuan looked like a follower of Yuan Wuji, making the master-servant relationship self-evident. Duoyuan, of course, did not mind the villagers' arrangement.

Aside from those small villages that remained unchanged and continued to worship Yuan Wuji as before, Duoyuan and the others visited every single village where changes had occurred, ultimately rebuilding Yuan Wuji's statues in all of them.

The progress was exceptionally smooth, and Fox Three and his companions soon returned to the Fiery Cloud Cave to report everything that had happened today to Yuan Wuji.

"It probably wasn't the Bull Demon King's intention. It looks more like Ruyi True Immortal acting on his own accord. Don't dwell on this matter too much."

From Kui Yi's mind, Yuan Wuji had gained a clearer picture of everything that transpired today. If the Bull Demon King had wanted to capture Fox Three, he would have done so earlier; it made no sense for him to send Ruyi True Immortal back to capture Fox Three.

What surprised Yuan Wuji, however, was that he discovered from Kui Yi's memories that in the small villages which had remained unchanged, a small number of people were beginning to show signs similar to those in the White Village. The White Village's transformation was due to Yuan Wuji's monkey hair altering their constitutions, yet this same phenomenon was now appearing in the small hamlets.

Although the degree of change was not as pronounced as in the White Village, they were indeed undergoing transformation. If the White Village was a cup of water, these small villages were merely a single drop—inconspicuous for now, but bound to manifest fully one day.

Yuan Wuji had no intention of visiting those small villages; a mere trace of change was not enough to warrant his personal intervention. The best course of action was to let them develop naturally.

"Right, Duoyuan, teach some introductory cultivation techniques and minor spells to all the villagers on Hao Mountain."

Yuan Wuji had formed a new plan. The villagers in the small hamlets were undergoing continuous changes. If they began practicing cultivation now, their progress would undoubtedly be much faster than that of the larger villages, though he could not rule out the possibility of talented prodigies emerging from the larger settlements as well.

Starting them on the path of cultivation now might yield unexpected rewards. The Fiery Cloud Cave did not have to be restricted solely to demon soldiers; humans could be welcomed into its ranks as well.

"Would this be..."

"Just do as I say."

Under Yuan Wuji's unquestionable gaze, Duoyuan set off once more. This time, Fox Three and Kui Yi did not accompany him, as Yuan Wuji had other tasks for them.

"Fox Three, you possess cultivation techniques for the demon race as well, don't you?"

"This subordinate has quite a few," Fox Three answered with a puzzled look.

"Deliver these techniques to the villages on Hao Mountain that have consistently worshipped me. Remember, only to the villages that have always worshipped me," Yuan Wuji specifically emphasized to Fox Three.

"But Great King, demon cultivation techniques cannot be practiced by mortals."

"That is not your concern. Just follow orders."

"Understood."

Unable to fathom Yuan Wuji's intentions, Fox Three departed from the Fiery Cloud Cave with lingering doubts and flew toward the small villages.

As for Kui Yi, Yuan Wuji kept him behind alone because the shortcomings in his divine powers left him lacking the true strength of a Taiyi Loose Immortal. Despite possessing the realm and cultivation base, he lacked matching divine powers, which would inevitably put him at a disadvantage when fighting genuine Taiyi Loose Immortals.

Yuan Wuji decided to impart the "Earth-Shattering and Mountain-Shaking" technique—one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations—to Kui Yi. Kui Yi's physical strength was quite formidable and could fully unleash the might of this earth-shattering ability.

With a flick of his mind, Yuan Wuji transmitted a stream of divine consciousness directly into Kui Yi's mind, imparting the complete technique.

"Cultivate diligently."

"Thank you, Master."

Following Yuan Wuji's signal, Kui Yi entered a state of secluded meditation.

Yuan Wuji then took out the keratinous fragment dropped earlier by the Bull Demon King. He wanted to figure out what was so special about this fragment—which revealed not the slightest trace of abnormality to his senses—that made the Bull Demon King value it so highly, far beyond the ordinary significance of a bull's horn.

"I wonder if Samadhi True Fire can burn through it."

A ball of Samadhi True Fire suddenly erupted in the palm of Yuan Wuji's hand, enveloping the keratinous fragment and beginning to burn it.

Samadhi True Fire was a spiritual flame of heaven and earth. Not only did it grant its wielder formidable offensive power in combat, but it was also a divine flame for alchemy and weapon refining. However, not just anyone could control Samadhi True Fire.

In the Journey to the West, only two figures were ever shown wielding Samadhi True Fire: the Supreme Lao Jun, and the Red Boy, who posed such a formidable obstacle during the journey. That Lao Jun could wield Samadhi True Fire seemed completely normal to Yuan Wuji, but Red Boy's cultivation was merely that of a Taiyi Loose Immortal, yet he too could command it. If Yuan Wuji guessed correctly, Red Boy must possess a congenital fire constitution.

The Bull Demon King surely knew of Red Boy's unique physique and had therefore sought out the seed of Samadhi True Fire for him, enabling him to master it.

To Yuan Wuji's surprise, however, under the intense burning of the Samadhi True Fire, the keratinous fragment did not show the slightest crack, nor did its temperature change at all; it remained as ice-cold to the touch as before.

"This..."

If this item was truly crucial to the Bull Demon King, he would definitely seize an opportunity to take it back. Yet, since Yuan Wuji could not unlock its secret, keeping it on his person was not entirely safe.

"Since that's the case..."

Yuan Wuji's gaze fell upon the closed door of the cave where Kui Yi was in seclusion.

"Let's hope you have the fortune to handle it."

Yuan Wuji decided to place the fragment inside Kui Yi's body. If Kui Yi could unlock the secret of the fragment, it would be his own great opportunity.

Opening the doors of the seclusion chamber, Yuan Wuji stood before Kui Yi. Under his mental control, the keratinous fragment slowly drifted forward, inch by inch, until it touched Kui Yi's body.