The Golden Body’s Demonic Art

Tou’s ropes darted wildly across the cave’s rock walls as he circled the Monkey King. The zombie monkeys swarming around the Monkey King were simply too numerous to ignore. Tou could only clear them out bit by bit, and after several intense exchanges, he finally managed to dispatch those bothersome creatures surrounding the Monkey King.

Next, Tou faced the Monkey King itself. Its emotional state seemed utterly unstable, its single remaining arm frantically pounding its own head. A golden protective shield, however, encased its skull, within which the Evil Eye, intent on controlling its consciousness, lay safely nestled, biding its time to grow.

Tou dared not attack rashly, for the Evil Eye was situated directly on the Monkey King’s forehead; a single misstep could easily smash the Monkey King’s head. This situation demanded a cunning approach.

In truth, eliminating the caster would cause the Evil Eye to simply dissipate. However, the opponent was meticulously concealed. Despite Tou’s rapid flight and his deliberate circumnavigation of the entire cave, he had been unable to locate the elusive caster.

Opting for a smaller staff with its pointed tip retracted, Tou struck the protective shield on the Monkey King’s head. ‘Clang, clang, clang!’ The impact resonated like metal against metal, leaving his hand tingling with numbness. Perhaps Tou had overestimated his own capabilities.

After all, his opponent was a demonic beast in the Golden Body stage. Unlike humans, who had regressed to cultivating Imperial Armaments due to the continent’s dwindling spiritual energy, demonic beasts followed a different path. In ancient times, cultivators who reached the Golden Body stage would forge a sacred body, their forms becoming comparable to ferocious beasts, impervious to blades and spears, immune to fire and water! Now, with spiritual energy so sparse, few could harness the abundant spiritual energy and vast resources required to nourish their bones and achieve such a profound physical transformation. Demonic beasts, however, were an exception. They neither possessed treasures like Imperial Armaments nor needed them, as they inherently relied on their innate physical resilience and terrifying brute strength to dominate their territories. Upon reaching the Golden Body stage, their physical strength amplified dozens of times over. Even in the era when cultivators flourished, their physical defense, within the same cultivation rank, was several times more formidable than that of humans or demons. To this day, the demon race’s physical might remained superior to that of the other two races.

Having failed in his initial attempt, Tou resolved to employ a more forceful tactic, reverting to his original staff, its pointed tip now reattached. As he launched his attack, he deliberately angled the tip upwards, ensuring that even if he inadvertently shattered the protective shield, the Monkey King’s head would remain unharmed.

“Clang~” The pointed tip collided with the shield, immediately grinding out a shower of sparks. The sheer force of the impact sent the Monkey King’s head snapping back, launching it flying.

Then, with another deafening ‘boom,’ dust billowed from the ground as the Monkey King’s massive body slammed onto the earth, a collision that seemed to send tremors through the entire cave.

“Awooooh~~” The Monkey King burst forth from the swirling dust, its body lunging awkwardly towards Tou. Yet, it was clear the Evil Eye had not yet achieved complete control, as its front half lurched forward to strike Tou while its hindquarters awkwardly retreated. The sight was, in its own way, rather comical.

Tou, however, found no humor in the situation. With the Monkey King’s arm now controlled by the Evil Eye, he realized that breaching the protective shield on its head would fall solely to him. Upon closer inspection, his eyebrows shot up in surprise; a faint crack seemed to mar the shield’s surface! His previous attack had, against all odds, proved remarkably effective!

With a crack now visible, striking the same spot again would be considerably easier. Tou was convinced that one more attack, delivered with the same force, would finally shatter the Monkey King’s protective shield! No sooner had the thought formed than Tou charged, his large staff clutched tightly in hand!

The caster manipulating the Monkey King’s movements would certainly not allow Tou to succeed so easily. Seizing control of the Monkey King’s arm, he instantly launched a powerful punch at Tou, manifesting a massive golden fist-shadow that hurtled through the air.

This was a demonic art, one rarely seen among demonic beasts! Tou knew he stood no chance against a Golden Body stage demon’s sorcery, so he swiftly manipulated his ropes, abruptly altering his flight trajectory. This evasive maneuver, however, meant he could no longer aim precisely for the Monkey King’s head.

The fist-shadow missed Tou, instead slamming into the adjacent rock wall, where it blasted a massive crater five or six meters in diameter and roughly five meters deep.

Witnessing such immense destructive power, a shiver of dread ran down Tou’s spine. If his own meager limbs had taken that blow, he would undoubtedly have been utterly annihilated!

Before Tou could even fully process what had happened, another fist-shadow came hurtling towards him. Tou now found himself with no option but to evade; as for striking the Monkey King’s shield, merely getting close to the beast was already a considerable feat.

‘Boom! Boom! Crash! Crash!’ Under the Monkey King’s relentless barrage, the surrounding rock walls were rapidly blasted beyond recognition. Even the ceiling above was torn open, creating a gaping skylight.

Moving within this increasingly chaotic environment proved quite troublesome for Tou. Conversely, the Monkey King, falling deeper under the Evil Eye’s influence, executed its actions with significantly greater fluidity.

‘This simply won’t do!’ Tou thought, exasperated. ‘I was already a weakling, and now I’m even more useless!’

“Er… er…” Having dispatched a few zombie monkeys in the distance, the Heart-Eating Demoness caught sight of Tou. Drooling at the sight of him—a living being still possessing a heart—she lunged towards him.

Tou’s situation instantly became far more perilous! The Heart-Eating Demoness, capable of severing the Monkey King’s arm, clearly possessed even greater strength. What’s more, she was far more agile than the lumbering, controlled Monkey King! Her relentless pursuit, filled with erratic leaps and dodges, left Tou gasping for breath.

“Hah~~ ah-hah~~ hah~” Tou gasped, just as a “Roar~~” ripped through the air. Tou swept past over the Monkey King’s head, but the Heart-Eating Demoness, surprisingly, did not continue her chase. Instead, she redirected her attack towards the Monkey King. After all, the Monkey King possessed a heart too!

As the Monkey King and the Heart-Eating Demoness engaged in fierce combat, Tou finally found a moment to catch his breath. He anchored himself above the fray, keenly observing the chaotic battle unfolding below.

The Monkey King had always been outmatched by the Heart-Eating Demoness, and now, it was being thoroughly pummeled. Fortunately, the human controlling the Monkey King was astute enough to protect its vital areas and had no intention of engaging in a desperate, drawn-out struggle with the formidable Heart-Eating Demoness.

‘Bang, bang, bang!’ The Monkey King consistently maintained a safe distance from the Heart-Eating Demoness. The fist-shadows it launched, though utterly dominant against a novice like Tou, proved woefully inadequate against the Heart-Eating Demoness.

The Heart-Eating Demoness, disdaining to dodge or evade, simply ignored the incoming attacks!

“Awoo~~” The person controlling the Monkey King had evidently not yet achieved full command over its body. As it ran, it stumbled, its left foot catching its right as if its legs were battling each other, and its massive form tumbled flat to the ground.

It was a perfectly executed flat fall, once again stirring up a colossal cloud of dust. Yet, this had no impact whatsoever on Tou, who was observing from above. He, however, felt an immediate sense of foreboding.

The moment the Monkey King collapsed, the Heart-Eating Demoness executed a flying lunge, pinning it to the ground. Despite her smaller stature, her strength was in no way inferior to the Monkey King’s, and thus, the beast was swiftly subdued.

The Heart-Eating Demoness’s sole target was the heart. Without a moment’s hesitation, her sharp claws plunged towards the Monkey King’s chest!

“Clang!” A golden light suddenly flared from the Monkey King’s body, adhering to its skin like a gilded statue. This was the Monkey King’s protective Vajra demonic art, even more potent than the Vajra shield on its head. It instantly parried the Heart-Eating Demoness’s fatal strike, even deflecting her arm!

But the Heart-Eating Demoness was not to be underestimated; that single blow had also managed to crack the Monkey King’s protective Vajra. The Monkey King immediately scrambled to flee, but it was already too late! The Heart-Eating Demoness’s reactions were far swifter. One claw latched onto its tail, pulling the Monkey King back with immense force as she shot towards it!

This strike would surely claim the Monkey King’s life!

But Tou would never allow her to succeed. He had already sprung into action the moment the Monkey King fell!

Two ropes shot out, one coiling around the Heart-Eating Demoness’s backside, the other around her arm. The Heart-Eating Demoness, already surging forward, provided Tou with an immense pulling force, accelerating his own speed! However, Tou wasn’t aiming to collide with the Heart-Eating Demoness; that would only hasten her success in eliminating the Monkey King. It was impossible to simply restrain her. Tou had one rope wrapped around the Heart-Eating Demoness’s arm—the very arm poised to pierce the Monkey King’s heart—and he intended to exploit this advantage. Tou fired two or three more ropes towards the rock wall on his left, using them to swing his body sideways, channeling all his strength into pulling the Heart-Eating Demoness’s arm. This maneuver could alter the direction of her attack. Indeed, the Heart-Eating Demoness’s strike shifted to the left, merely tearing a chunk of flesh from the Monkey King’s back, leaving its heart unharmed.