Great Demon Sun Wukong

Looking down at the seemingly bottomless pit beneath him, Sun Wukong couldn't help but frown slightly. Through his Heaven and Earth Fire Eyes, Sun Wukong had already clearly seen the situation inside the pit. Although he couldn't completely understand it, he had spotted the Underworld God Army. It turned out this place was actually the lair of the Underworld God Army. He roughly counted them and determined there were tens of thousands of Underworld God soldiers in the pit. The Patrolling Celestial World trials had already ended, and he felt there was no need to fight to the death with the Underworld God Army. After some thought, Sun Wukong flew towards another large hole, one which contained only a few Underworld God soldiers.

Taking a deep breath, Sun Wukong raised his hand and scattered three grains of Spatial Sand. Once released, the grains followed three different directions toward the pit. Upon encountering any obstruction, they would instantly shift a short distance through space. After two Chinese Hours, the grains of Spatial Sand finally reached the bottom of the pit, and without hesitation, Sun Wukong disappeared and reappeared at the very bottom of the pit.

After landing at the bottom, Sun Wukong looked around and noticed that this place seemed like an ordinary cavern. Above his head were layers of rocky outcrops and stone bridges on the cavern walls, where the Underworld God Army was moving about. Not detected, Sun Wukong ignored the Underworld God soldiers above his head and instead focused all his attention downward. His Heaven and Earth Fire Eyes allowed him to feel that the ground beneath his feet was not solid earth but was empty about a hundred meters down. Presumably, the treasure the Nine Headed Serpent spoke of was in the massive space below.

Being of Earth Attribute, the Earth Escape Technique was effortless for Sun Wukong. He burrowed through the layer of ground that was more than a hundred meters thick in no time and entered a huge space below. Sun Wukong had imagined it would be pitch-black, but upon arrival, he found it wasn't very bright, yet there was a faint glow. This light would allow even a normal person to see clearly after their eyes adjusted.

Sun Wukong also discovered that the source of the light didn't come from the walls or anything like that but from a deeper area. After cautiously checking and finding no danger, Sun Wukong plunged deeper. As he flew, he suddenly remembered the great battle when he was searching for the Formation Eye in a similar underground space. However, back then, he had neither been aware of how sparse this space was nor the source of its light.

After flying downward for about two and a half Chinese Hours, the light had become significantly brighter. It wasn't the harsh kind of light the sun gives off but rather resembled the twinkling starlight of night, beautiful and ethereal. When Sun Wukong had flown down for two and a half Chinese Hours, his eyes lit up because he had finally found what he was looking for, although it was still different from what he had imagined. What he saw was a Crystal Palace carved out of crystal. Sun Wukong had never seen such an Immortal Mansion before; it was so beautiful it seemed surreal.

Even the Moon Palace of Chang'er couldn't possibly compare. It was an Immortal Mansion that embodied all the beauty in the world. But Sun Wukong wasn't a woman. After admiring it briefly, he landed at the entrance of the Immortal Mansion. Looking up, he estimated the Crystal Palace-like Immortal Mansion to be about a dozen meters tall, its gates alone standing six or seven meters high. Engraved on the plaque above the gate were several large characters: Spirit Birth Furnace!

Yes, it was a furnace, not a palace. Who could have imagined that such a magnificent palace would be called a Spirit Birth Furnace? And was this actually an Alchemy Furnace? It was simply inconceivable; who would use a palace for alchemy? And how would one even do it? While Sun Wukong was pondering, the voice of the Annihilation Nine Headed Serpent came through, "Within this palace, lie all the treasures I have accumulated over the years, and the Domain Instrument that can control the Patrolling Celestial World is also among them."

As soon as the voice faded, Sun Wukong suddenly said, "Huh? Your voice has changed?" After speaking, he felt something strange in his lower abdomen. Looking down, the nine heads of the serpent had drilled out again, and the snake body twisted a few times and landed at Sun Wukong's feet. The fourth head from left to right spoke up, "Previously, it was Snake One who talked to you. Now it's my turn. I am called Snake Two." Sun Wukong found this snake head's voice very bizarre.

All this time, Sun Wukong had assumed that the nine heads of the Annihilation Nine Headed Serpent shared a single consciousness. But it turned out that wasn't the case; in fact, it seemed they each possessed nine different consciousnesses, with even their voices and tones differing. This Snake Two was obviously more polite than the previous Snake One, as it introduced itself at the very start. Sun Wukong opened his mouth as if to say something but ultimately decided against it.

"You needn't be surprised. In our Annihilation Nine Headed Serpent race, aside from us, the rest have nine heads but only one consciousness. Otherwise, things would surely become chaotic. Even among us nine, there are often disagreements, and we've erupted into fights several times. To prevent such incidents from happening again, we decided to switch every three Chinese Hours. Unless there's a major battle or a special circumstance, only one consciousness is allowed to be present. Although the other heads are here, their consciousness is mine!" Sun Wukong was somewhat taken aback but also found it intriguing.

"This palace is not the actual thing. It was constructed by the Law Enforcers based on the memory of the Pill Furnace they created, only modified to resemble a palace. So, it should be considered a replica, a copy of the Pioneer's Alchemy Furnace, the true Spirit Birth Furnace. Even though it's a replica, this palace is a treasure itself. If a woman with Water or Wood Attributes were to reside here, her Cultivation would surely increase exponentially. Go on, push the door and enter; it's very safe inside. I'll teach you how to recognize the Domain Instrument within as your own!"

Sun Wukong nodded, then pushed the door open and walked in. Once inside, he found the place quite similar to the typical pagodas, with a large space. Around the walls of the palace were upward stairs clinging to the walls, and in the center of the hall was a half-human-high platform. On this platform was a jade flower of an unknown variety that was blooming. Above the flower, there was something Sun Wukong didn't know how to describe. If he had to say, it could only be described as a cluster of something similar to a glowing cloud.

At that moment, the Nine-Headed Serpent swam onto the platform, coiled its tail, and took down the object. It then said to Sun Wukong, "This thing is called Star Marrow, which is a Domain Instrument forged from the skull of the Underworld Venerate. By the way, do you know what a Domain Instrument is?" Sun Wukong shook his head, and Snake Two shook its head and said, "A Domain Instrument is a Divine Weapon that is only born in high-level worlds under specific circumstances. There are less than twenty such instruments existing in this universe as of now, and before that great battle, there were only forty-nine. A Domain Instrument, one per high-level world, possesses immense power, but only those at the Domain Lord Peak can harness a Domain Instrument's true power."

"However, for some unknown reason, intermediate worlds occasionally give birth to a Domain Instrument, but such instruments are of very ordinary quality. This clump of Star Marrow is a top-level Domain Instrument. It is probably now the highest-level object in the universe. The Star Marrow's ability is quite simple; it can condense planets on its own. If placed at the core of an already formed planet, that planet will evolve ceaselessly. The reason the Patrolling Celestial World has become a world even higher than the Divine Kingdom is because of this object."

"Then what?"

"Then what? You really are extraordinarily dense. High-level worlds imbue birth to Domain Instruments, the Divine Kingdom to top-level Domain Instruments, so what about the Patrolling Celestial World? If the Patrolling Celestial World could give birth to weapons, what level would they be? Do you think the existence of this Patrolling Celestial World is merely to house those pig-like Divine Army? Alright, hurry up and re-acknowledge this Star Marrow. If it's successful, the Star Marrow will nominally belong to the Heavenly Patroller, but when you and he issue commands to this Domain Instrument at the same time, the Star Marrow will prioritize obeying you. Don't move, stand still, don't move at all, and don't resist!"

After the Nine-Headed Serpent finished speaking, Sun Wukong felt a chill in his chest, and immediately looked down, only to find nothing amiss. However, when he looked up, the Star Marrow on the tail of the serpent was gone. "Stop looking. The Star Marrow is now above your heart. If the recognition is successful, it will come out in a moment." Indeed, after about three to five breaths, his chest began to grow hot and a blood-red sphere slowly emerged from his chest.

The Nine-Headed Serpent looked at the blood-red sphere with a joyful expression, hurriedly coiled it with its tail, and then said to Sun Wukong, "You can leave now. Go to the second floor and take everything you can, leave nothing behind, all those are mine. Wait until the Star Marrow has absorbed your bloodline, and then we can leave." Having said that, the Nine-Headed Serpent stopped minding Sun Wukong and watched the blood-red sphere with caution.

Sun Wukong touched his chest, feeling slightly dizzy, probably from losing too much blood, but it wasn't anything serious. He then headed up the stairs along the wall to the second floor. About a quarter of a Chinese hour later, he came back down with an excited look on his face. He really hadn't expected the Nine-Headed Serpent's assets to be so substantial. The variety of treasures was such that Sun Wukong was overwhelmed just by carrying them, not to mention the precious materials. There were five Domain Instruments alone, among them two top-level and three intermediate-level ones.

"Look at your pathetic face, if you saw my original lair, wouldn't you be so excited you'd turn into a fool? Alright, you've taken the stuff, and the Star Marrow has successfully acknowledged its master, so we should be leaving. Also, I'm really starting to doubt whether you really are the reincarnation of the Pioneer."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because your blood carries the power of the Pioneer's bloodline. Otherwise, do you think the recognition would have gone so smoothly?"

"Heh, you call me dumb, but you're not much smarter. Now, I'm getting ready to leave. After leaving this place, you tell me how to resurrect my master, and I'll tell you the secret of my bloodline!"

(To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it with a recommended ticket or a monthly pass at Starting Point (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)