474: Chapter 357 474: Chapter 357 Two souls of monkeys were fighting so fiercely that heaven and earth seemed to blur!
From the time with the Red Sun, they had been fighting continuously in the sky and on the ground, their spells nearly identical, their power almost on par.
The Demonic Beasts that had been calmly cultivating under the Red Sun concealed themselves in their own caves when the two ghostly spirits were battling the Taoist.
The two monkeys fought from day to night, and night was when their spirit activity was at its peak.
Besides fighting, they would sometimes squabble verbally.
Each claimed to be the strongest here, the Monkey King, with neither acknowledging the other’s strength—two identical kings dueling, making other monkeys and their offspring seek hiding spots again.
They secretly observed, wondering why these two kings were so powerful while they were so weak.
Why were they merely animals among so many Demonic Beasts?
On one hand, they wanted the two kings to determine a victor, yet feared that if the two kings killed each other, they would be sandwiched in this space.
The monkeys were scared; they were even less than the lowest of Demonic Beasts.
Although their group was strong, they lacked the confidence to confront other Demonic Beasts.
Upon encountering the most powerful of species, they couldn’t help but lower their heads, terrified of the strongest Demonic Beasts, eyes fixed upon them.
As if seeing in other Demonic Beasts’ eyes the intent to reap the spoils should the two kings inflict mutual destruction, they contemplated cleaning up the remnants.
Gone was the liveliness the monkeys had outside this space; now they trembled, secretly seeking hiding spots only to find every piece of ground riddled with occupied burrows.
Having no choice, they sought refuge in places with stones or trees to conceal their bodies.
Hiding this way, they were covered in dust from the kings’ battle, faces grimy with earth, and to their misfortune, sometimes the spells used during combat summoned lightning.
The monkeys in the trees were struck by tragedy, electrified by the lightning, their fur singed, many bearing scars upon scars.
They wailed, pleading for the kings to stop fighting, to save them before the bout’s conclusion drew them into unlucky death, a most grievous injustice.
In the throes of their fight, the dueling monkeys paid no heed to the life and death of their subordinates.
What did it matter if they were of the same kind…
monkeys were heartless…
Amidst them was a monkey unrelated to the others, quite pleased to see those monkeys wounded by spells!
Can’t you see your kin are so grievously injured?
Even the Monkey King is only so-so.
You still think you’re Sun Wukong?
You don’t have seventy-two transformations, and your spell mastery isn’t as good as mine.
You’re just copying me!”
“Hmph, you think you’re so great.
Weren’t you also sealed for tens of thousands of years, only to be captured by a human and thrown back here again?
Although I’m merely a soul birthed from a body, those ‘followers’ were merely my playthings.
I’ve grown tired of playing freely over the years, unlike you!”
This monkey refused to concede defeat; the monkey followers it raised didn’t endow them with capabilities, partly because it didn’t want its own kind to surpass itself.
Despite all calculations, there came a day when a soul as powerful as its own contested the throne of the Monkey King.
Infuriated by that monkey, it rambled recklessly, indifferent to the heartache its progeny might feel, indeed sensing its inferiority, hence its unwillingness to yield.
It couldn’t win the strength to protect those monkeys—a case of the spirit being willing but the flesh weak.
The two monkeys, having fought all day, continued into the night, while the ghost spirits merely hovered at the sidelines, their Ghost Flames flickering, hoping for one side to fall so they could collectively attack the other and perhaps consume a bit of energy, increasing their Cultivation.
The Ghost Cultivators in this space, released from the Taoist’s control, felt their powers increasing and newfound confidence in their freedom.
No longer controlled by the Taoist, their minds gradually regained thoughts, no longer mere Puppets.
They understood that in this space, only the strongest could contend for supremacy.
The strongest of the ghost spirits began to unite.
They rallied the Ghost Cultivators to encircle and still explored whether these two monkeys harbored even stronger abilities, holding off on any rash action.
The Ghost Cultivators in the space feared neither the Demonic Beasts nor the ghost spirits of the monkeys.
Yet they felt the power of the two monkey spirits surpassed theirs and pondered whether an attack would be successful.
Even if they emerged victorious, they weighed the pros and cons: a subsequent attack by Demonic Beasts could spell a crushing defeat.
Now with some semblance of cunning thoughts, the Ghost Cultivators sought opportunities to destroy the two monkeys, but refrained from acting as they watched with devious delight from the sidelines!
The souls of the two monkeys, oh how full of vitality they were—fighting all day and all night without showing any signs of fatigue.
The Demonic Beasts watching in secret from the space who had dozed off awoke to find the Red Sun rising in the sky, heralding another day.
Still hearing the intense sounds of battle, they stuck out their heads, and good gracious, were those two monkeys really that lively?
Could they truly be so indefatigable?
After a full day and night without rest, nor taking a break to drink water or eat anything…
This was truly astonishing, commanding the utmost respect from the Demonic Beasts.
The monkey kind, who used to enjoy fruits, now found themselves in this space searching for fruits while keeping an eye out for water sources, wondering if water alone could fill their bellies.
In this cage, it was rather extreme—nothing to eat, only water to drink.
Could the creatures inside be sustained by eating soil?
Seeing their king still engaged in battle, knowing kings need no sustenance yet they themselves must eat, they set off to find food.