Chapter 21: Extremely Smart

Sun Wukong was cultivating.

Four elder monkeys led the other demons to guard beside him, no one dared to disturb him.

For Sun Wukong, cultivation was an equally important task to the experiments at Huaguo Mountain and could not be neglected.

Since achieving the Tao, Sun Wukong realized how powerful he was, but no one had pushed him to his limit, so it was uncertain how strong he actually was.

But at least, he felt he should not be weaker than before becoming Horses' Fortune—of course, without consuming Immortal Pills and Flat Peaches, he was definitely not as strong as when he made havoc in the Heavenly Palace.

However, he also understood that he needed to follow the right path and, unless it was absolutely necessary, he should not steal Immortal Pills and Flat Peaches.

To compensate for the lack of them, he had to cultivate very hard.

Fortunately, he spent more time cultivating than what was written in the Heavenly Book.

After ending a day of cultivation, Sun Wukong opened his eyes, and only then did the four elder monkeys boldly approach him.

"Great King, the first Spiritual Object has been created."

Their report brightened Sun Wukong's eyes.

In just two months, those demons had made progress.

"Have them bring it to me."

Sun Wukong instructed the four elder monkeys to call the team that made the Spiritual Objects to Shuilian Cave.

"So it's you."

Sun Wukong recognized the leading demon—it was the longstanding Fox King who had seen through his clone years ago.

Beside the Fox King was the old Daoist who had handed over the Palm Leaf Fan to Sun Wukong.

A dozen demons followed behind the two, among which Sun Wukong noticed Lady Rakshasa; over a decade had passed, and she had grown into a beautiful, quiet lady, different from her youthful self.

"Her upbringing is indeed commendable."

Sun Wukong thought; he could no longer sense the mischievous air from Lady Rakshasa.

"What have you created?"

Sun Wukong said, "Bring it to me."

The Fox King immediately handed over a broom.

Sun Wukong took the broom and saw it was shaped somewhat like a fox's tail, with many mysterious runes carved on it, running his hand over the runes, he could feel the faintly flowing Spiritual Energy.

"I see."

Sun Wukong understood immediately.

These demons had discovered the key technology in creating Spiritual Objects.

He threw the broom on the floor, and as it touched the ground, it suddenly stood upright and began swinging back and forth, sweeping the floor.

The demons in Shuilian Cave gasped.

"Is this a broom from the Heavenly Palace? How does it move?"

"Brooms in the Heavenly Palace move because they possess spirits, but this broom clearly does not."

The demons discussed animatedly.

Sun Wukong glanced twice and spotted the problem.

He pointed his finger, and a sand dune suddenly appeared on the ground; the broom swept over the sand dune, causing sand to scatter everywhere.

"This broom can't sweep the floor."

Sun Wukong dispersed the dust with a wave of his hand and said, "It only swings."

The four elder monkeys were instantly furious, "You dare to deceive the Great King!"

The Fox King quickly bowed, "We dare not, this broom is not yet complete; it still needs a dustpan."

"That is also deceit!"

The elder monkeys were outraged.

Sun Wukong raised his hand to stop them from assigning blame.

"Does the power of the broom come from the spiritual energy of the sun and moon?"

Sun Wukong asked.

"Yes."

The old Daoist quickly replied.

They had studied Sun Wukong's medicinal herbs, and after two months, they had created runes capable of absorbing the spiritual energy of the sun and the moon, which were then engraved on this broom.

This broom, after absorbing a day's worth of sunlight and moonlight, could sweep for an hour.

"Only an hour!"

The old monkeys were getting even angrier.

"Very good."

Sun Wukong was delighted; though the broom was a semi-finished product, the runes on it were very useful.

This rune was like a solar panel, more meaningful than the broom itself.

"The runes on the broom are important, they should be thoroughly studied."

Sun Wukong scanned the Shuilian Cave and said to the Demon Kings, "If you have time, you can help explore its potential."

"Great King!" The Demon Kings were shocked: "Does it have that value?"

"Of course."

Sun Wukong said with a smile: "This rune can transform the power of the sun and moon into spiritual energy, and can serve as the core for many spiritual objects."

Suddenly, he stretched out his hand, and a hanging lantern floated over.

"Watch carefully."

Sun Wukong's fingertips emitted immortal light, and he began drawing runes on the lantern.

After finishing, a sun emerged faintly within the immortal light glowing above Sun Wukong's head.

Everyone was dumbstruck.

Sun Wukong cast another spell, and the sun turned into a long stream of sun and moon spiritual energy, casting onto the lantern, seeping into it through the runes.

In an instant, the lantern absorbed enough spiritual energy.

Sun Wukong let go, and the lantern floated upward, hanging mid-air, shining brilliantly.

"This lantern has absorbed the spiritual energy and can illuminate the darkness."

Sun Wukong said, "Isn't it more magical than human lanterns?"

Everyone was stunned, staring blankly at the lantern.

Upon Sun Wukong's explanation, they then understood the limitless applications of that rune.

"You have done well, I expect you to further enhance the efficacy of the rune."

Sun Wukong awarded the group of Fox King Horses' Fortune, then let them leave.

Leaving the Shuilian Cave, the old Taoist was drenched in cold sweat.

"Fox King, did you see clearly the rune that the Great King drew?"

The old Taoist asked.

The Fox King nodded: "He improved our rune."

At this, the other demons were greatly surprised.

"Improved the rune?"

Jade-faced Fox asked in disbelief, "Wasn't he drawing our rune just now?"

"No," the Fox King shook his head, "The Great King's rune is more efficient."

The old Taoist nodded: "He wasn't drawing quickly, it seemed like he intentionally wanted us to see it."

Both elders understood that Sun Wukong's mention of enhancing rune efficacy meant for them to continue improving the efficacy based on the lantern's rune.

"I need some more time to understand the Great King's rune."

Fox King Horses' Fortune shook his head with a sigh: "We truly played the lute to a cow this time!"

The old Taoist chuckled bitterly: "Exactly!"

They originally came early hoping to earn credit, but had never realized that after two months of research, the results could be perceived and improved by Sun Wukong at a glance.

Not only did he understand them, but he also improvised on the spot.

His mastery of Daoist skills was beyond imagination.

"Perhaps..." the old Taoist couldn't help speculating, "This rune was part of the Great King's plan from the start."

With this statement, the demons suddenly felt their Great King was inscrutably profound.

Especially Lady Rakshasa, who after studying for over ten years, had understood the importance of knowledge and techniques for demons.

But today, she truly experienced the overwhelming intelligence that the Monkey King possessed.

Other Demon Saints seemed merely like coarse cloth alongside his splendid brocade.

"I cannot fall behind."

Lady Rakshasa thought secretly, determined to become a supremely smart person herself.

Only a supremely smart person can stand at the pinnacle of the Demon World.