Multiple factions from the Yaoling Mountain Range, reeking of killing intent, marched on Monkey Mountain.

Meanwhile, the disturbance on Monkey Mountain was even greater. The ever-intensifying aura of a Snake King seethed, and a celestial phenomenon manifested—the sky turned dark, filled with thunder and lightning.

The Ape King, leader of his generation of the Monkey Race, guarded the cave entrance. His human-like body and monkey face bore an extremely grave expression.

Just a short while ago, the Ape King had summoned all the Spirit Monster-level Little Demons of the Monkey Race to form a tight, three-layered siege around the cave.

A quick count revealed their numbers to be in the tens of thousands. This was the full fighting strength of the entire Monkey Race.

"Brother, are you really mobilizing our entire race just to kill a snake? Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?"

It was true that the Snake Demon was powerful, but the Crimson Sun Giant Ape felt his brother was going overboard.

The Ape King said calmly, "Little brother, you’re mistaken. I’m not doing this to kill the snake, but to protect it."

"Protect it?"

The Crimson Sun Giant Ape’s mighty body trembled violently. He thought he had misheard. "Brother, are you sure you said that right? Protect the snake? That snake has done our Monkey Race immense harm!"

Countless of their children and grandchildren had died because of that snake. Monkey Mountain, their beautiful home, had been turned into a wasteland by that snake’s Tribulation Crossing. This was an irreconcilable feud!

"Brother, have you fallen under a Demon Barrier? You’ve arrayed our race’s strongest forces at the cave entrance... really to protect that snake?"

The Crimson Sun Giant Ape felt like he was going crazy. ’This makes no sense at all!’

"Little brother, can’t you feel it? Multiple racial forces are already marching on our Monkey Mountain," the Ape King said.

The Crimson Sun Giant Ape replied hurriedly, "Of course I can! Once the two Great Demon Kings issued the Demon King Slaying Order, all the demons learned that the snake was hiding on our Monkey Mountain. They were bound to come for it! Brother, don’t tell me you’ve been scared witless by that snake? Why protect it? When the experts from the other races arrive, it’ll be so satisfying to join forces and kill it together!"

"No. Those who come are all enemies of our Monkey Race. This snake must be protected," the Ape King said, shaking his head.

"Brother, you’ve really lost your mind! You’re staking the lives of our entire Monkey Race to protect that snake? Do you want the Monkey Race to be wiped from the Yaoling Mountain Range after today?"

Once the Demon King Slaying Order was issued, countless Great Demons from numerous races would come to kill. The Monkey Race alone stood no chance—it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Besides, that snake was an enemy of the Monkey Race. Why protect it?

"Brother, do you know what you’re doing? Even if you don’t kill the snake, you can’t protect it! Not with the entire Monkey Race on the line!"

The Ape King gave the Crimson Sun Giant Ape a deep look and sighed. "Little brother, I won’t hide it from you. I have already acknowledged that snake as my master. How can a servant not protect his master?"

"What?"

The Crimson Sun Giant Ape gasped, staggering back several steps. He was so shocked it was as if a clap of thunder had exploded over his head. For a moment, it felt like the end of the world, and he stood completely petrified.

’The noble king of the Monkey Race, acknowledging a snake that had just achieved its Rank Three Dao as his master? What kind of logic is that?’

’This world has gone mad.’

"Little brother, the Monkey Race will either rise because of this snake, or we will be annihilated because of it. But I believe it will be the former."

The Ape King knew full well that the snake he now served already possessed the combat strength of a Demon King.

’No matter how many races come to attack, what is there to fear?’

Now was his time to prove his merit.

Besides, the Ape King had no other choice now.

「...」

Outside, a storm was brewing, and killing intent lurked everywhere. But inside the cave, the phenomenon surrounding the behemoth grew even more terrifying. Its entire body flickered with a dazzling light, and its massive serpentine form began to shift unpredictably.

The disturbance caused by a Snake King’s Rank Three Dao Demon Transformation was anything but small.

In the grand hierarchy, gods are a class above humans, and humans are a class above animals. Through cultivation, one can transcend these stages and elevate their status to something noble and detached.

For an animal to become human, it must first become a Demon through cultivation. For a human to achieve divinity or immortality, they too must cultivate—or perhaps, follow the Dao—to become a demigod or semi-immortal.

In this modern era of rapid human cultural development, atheism is perfectly understandable. Talk of gods, Immortals, demons, and ghosts is seen as nonsense. But the legends passed down since ancient times are more than just legends.

They have simply survived in a more obscure form.

And now, within this very cave, a snake was about to transform into a human through cultivation.

「An hour later!」

In the open space, the colossal snake had vanished. In its place, a young man was kneeling on one knee. He had soft hair, a handsome face, and deep, dark eyes. When he opened them, they shone with the light of dawn.

The cave trembled, and all of Monkey Mountain shook as if in an earthquake. A continuous series of explosions echoed through the air, and a fierce wind kicked up, sending sand and stones flying in an instant.

As the young man slowly stood up, the phantom image of a majestic, awe-inspiring giant snake appeared above his head. Spiritual and Fierce, it roared at the heavens, its Snake King aura boiling to its peak.

Immediately after, electric currents surged around the young man’s body. Countless bolts of Thunder Shock materialized around him, bombarding the area in a chaotic frenzy.

RUMBLE... RUMBLE... RUMBLE...!

He extended a fair-skinned arm and slowly clenched his fist.

In that instant, time seemed to stand still. A terrifying aura swept through the entire cave, and the temperature plummeted to an absolute low.

The young man opened his eyes. As he gazed out, the world turned freezing cold. Everywhere his glance fell was instantly encased in an Ice Seal.

Then, he blinked. Two clusters of Flame blazed to life within his pupils. He narrowed his eyes, and the two clusters of Flame shot out, exploding in the air like dazzling fireworks.

"I... Tu... Xiao’an... have finally transformed into a human!"

As he spoke, the powers of four different Elemental Attributes manifested around him, swirling about his body and causing him to glow with a brilliant, multicolored light.

"Hahaha..."

The young man’s laughter echoed throughout the monkey cave—wild and unrestrained, brazen and lawless. It was a laugh that seemed to erupt from the very depths of his soul.

Tu Xiao’an, the snake, had finally overcome a series of hardships to achieve his Rank Three Dao and transform into a human.

This body was now flesh and blood, brimming with power. It was no longer an empty shell that would dissipate in the blink of an eye.

Tu Xiao’an dragged a finger across his other arm. A cut silently appeared, and bewitchingly crimson blood trickled out.

This was blood. His blood. Snake Blood flowing from a human body.

Staring at the blood on his arm, Tu Xiao’an had another thought. He opened his palm, and a mirror appeared. He cracked a grin and looked at his own reflection.

One look, and Tu Xiao’an’s expression instantly darkened. His face was the one from his Transformation Technique, not his original face at all.

At that sight, his heart seemed to stop for a moment. He felt suffocated.

’Why? I’m clearly a human soul. This Rank Three Dao Demon Transformation should have reverted me to my original appearance.’

But the person in the mirror now, while familiar, was not the real, human Tu Xiao’an.

’With this face, how can I go home and have my mother recognize me?’

As he stared at the mirror, the joy Tu Xiao’an felt from his successful transformation was slowly drained away, weakening bit by bit.

’It seems the heavens won’t allow a dead man to be resurrected and live on this earth again.’

For a long, long time...

’Forget it, forget it.’ Tu Xiao’an took a deep breath. ’I shouldn’t be too greedy. Nothing is ever perfect.’ He just couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

At that moment, a series of droplets trickled down from a fissure in the rock wall above, landing right before Tu Xiao’an’s eyes.

Tu Xiao’an snapped back to his senses, immediately noticing a pure, intoxicating fragrance wafting from them.

"It smells so good."

Tu Xiao’an instinctively caught a few drops in his hand and tasted them. His eyes immediately lit up. "This is Monkey Wine! A treasure of the Monkey Race. One sip makes you a hundred times more vigorous and fills your whole body with power!"

The Monkey Race’s Monkey Wine was famous throughout the Yaoling Mountain Range. It was said to be brewed from a hundred different fruits—and not ordinary fruits, but Spirit Fruits.

Every single drop was hard to come by. So that was the aroma of the wine. Even its scent was extraordinary.

It truly lived up to its reputation. Even for someone like Tu Xiao’an, who knew nothing about wine, a single sip was unforgettable.

It could be called a divine wine.

"This wine came at the perfect time. Today is a day that calls for a celebratory drink."

Tu Xiao’an laughed and opened his mouth, catching the Monkey Wine as it fell, drop by drop, from the fissure in the rock above.

The Monkey Wine was incredibly sweet, its fragrance carrying for miles. After drinking this, all other wines would taste like horse piss.

"Not enough! Not enough! What’s wrong with getting drunk today?"

The Monkey Wine had a beautiful color and aroma, and though it didn’t feel like alcohol, it certainly carried its spirit. Drinking it drop by drop was just not satisfying enough for Tu Xiao’an. Tilting his head back to catch the wine, he narrowed his eyes at the fissure and shot a beam of light from them.

BOOM!

The fissure in the rock wall rumbled and cracked open into a small hole, sending a great gush of Monkey Wine pouring down.

"Now that’s more like it! This is how you drink!"

Tu Xiao’an drank in huge gulps, splashing it all over his face and body. The Monkey Wine was fragrant and sweet; it felt like he could drink it forever without getting drunk.

But Tu Xiao’an was wrong. The Monkey Wine might not have seemed to have a high alcohol content, but it was incredibly intoxicating. Even a hardened drunkard couldn’t handle a full pound of it.

Besides, Monkey Wine wasn’t meant to be drunk by the pound; it was meant to be sipped by the drop.

To waste Monkey Wine like this made him a sinner for the ages in the eyes of the entire Monkey Race.

While Tu Xiao’an was inside, celebrating his Demon Transformation by drinking himself into a stupor, the outside world was already shrouded in the smoke of battle. Even the air reeked of impending slaughter.

「...」

Outside the cave, tens of thousands of Monkey Spirits stood in formation. The Ape King and the Crimson Sun Giant Ape guarded the entrance. At this moment, the valley had been overrun by countless wild wolves—a veritable mountain and sea of wolves. Howls rose and fell, and pairs of vicious eyes gleamed with malice.

The Bloodthirsty Wolf King, riding a wolf over ten meters tall, led the charge. Seeing the tens of thousands of Monkey Spirits in formation, he roared with laughter. "Ape King, you’ve got some nerve! The Demon King Slaying Order was to execute the Snake Demon, yet you shelter it! Your Monkey Race deserves to die today! Not a single one of you will survive!"

The Ape King showed no surprise at the sight of the Bloodthirsty Wolf King. He shot him a disdainful sideways glance and said haughtily, "Your Wolf Race alone doesn’t have what it takes to annihilate my Monkey Race."