All the heavens begin with the mind-monkey.

"Hey, have you heard? It seems the King is gone! Could it be true?"

"That's right, didn't you see that night when a huge fire broke out at Guanyin Temple, turning the sky red! I heard that some of the king's men went back to check and found the king's body in the temple, which was also burned to the ground."

"Alas, how has the world become like this? With the king facing such an adversary, won't those monsters in front of the mountain come to his aid?"

"If it weren't for that 'Sword Wolf Instructor,' those monsters would have been slaughtered by the King long ago. Why would they still be alive? They resent the King, and now that the King is in trouble, it's already a favor that they don't come to kick him while he's down. Do they even dare to come to his rescue?"

"The king is dead, what should we do now?"

"Let things be as they are. Even though the Great King is dead, there's still the Black Wind King, isn't there?"

"Hey, how can that Black Wind King care about us? He just tells us to collect wealth for him all over the mountains. When we're really in trouble, he just chants a spell, conjures up a black wind, and runs away. He doesn't care if we live or die. We'll just have to live one day at a time. Where else can we go but here on Black Wind Mountain?"

Several wolf demons chatted idly as they patrolled the mountains, remaining vigilant at the slightest disturbance.

After the wolf demons slowly walked away, a dark shadow fell down from the tree.

Zhe Xingsun watched the wolf demons leave without making a move. These ordinary wolf demons were no match for him now, and he was not afraid of their numbers. On the contrary, killing them would only alert the enemy.

He had already explored the entire back of Black Wind Mountain, hoping to find some of the characters from the original story, but he didn't encounter a single one. He didn't see either the master Yuan Shoucheng with the gourd or the twelve zodiac animals who were banished to the mortal realm.

Black Wind Mountain is frequented by demons and monsters.

After walking for a short while, Zhe Xingsun arrived at a stream. He went upstream and, according to what the local deity of Black Wind Mountain had said, this was the place where the second great bell stood.

In the game Black Myth, there is another monster guarding this place. Unlike the previous Guangzhi, he is Guangmou, who is a flower snake that has become a monster.

After a moment's thought, Zhe Xingsun did not immediately step forward, but instead proceeded through the low grass and bamboo groves to conceal his figure.

He unlocked the second-tier gene lock, taking each step carefully, avoiding places that might make noise. He even used some footwork he had learned from Zhao Yingkong, so he moved silently without disturbing a single monster. Even the snake demons couldn't smell his scent.

Along the mountain path, in the low bamboo grove, Guangmou wore a straw raincoat, underneath which he wore a somewhat old monk's robe.

He was half-squatting on the ground when, not long after, some snakes and insects swam out from among the short grass and decaying leaves. The snakes and insects raised their heads and opened their mouths to make hissing sounds.

Upon hearing these voices, Guangmou said after a moment, "Are you saying that my senior brother Guangzhi and Lingxuzi, who guarded the Guanyin Temple, are both dead? And that the Guanyin Temple was burned to the ground? Did you see that with your own eyes?"

The snakes and insects hissed, as if they were nodding.

Guangmou then asked, "Was the one that killed Guangzhi and Lingxuzi a monkey? Let me ask you, was that monkey taller and larger than an ordinary monkey, very robust and imposing, with jet-black fur that had a hint of dark gold? Was it like that?"

As Guangmou was speaking, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of poisonous mist, which landed on the ground and transformed into a pattern—the shape of a monkey.

Several snakes and insects circled the monkey, then shook their heads together.

One of the snakes hissed again. Guangmou was somewhat surprised to hear this and said, "You're saying that monkey isn't tall at all, but rather quite short? He has extraordinary strength, an indestructible body, and is also skilled in martial arts?"

Guangmou frowned as he spoke. This was not what he had thought. Could it really not be that monkey?

But what other monkeys have such abilities?

"Alright, my children, go and investigate further, but be careful. I'd better stay here and lay low for a while."

As Guangmou spoke, he fanned himself with his fan, and the snakes and insects on the ground crawled away again.

Guangmou sighed inwardly. He had been sent by the Black Wind King to guard the great bell. He hadn't wanted to come, but if the bell was rung, he would be punished by the Black Wind Monster, so he had no choice but to stay here for the time being.

But he knew that staying here was just waiting to die. When the real monkey came, who could defeat him?

Although some monkeys have come to Black Wind Mountain over the years, even though they are not the real thing, he knows that he is one day closer to his death every time he poisons a monkey.

Especially today, when he heard that his senior brother Guangzhi had died, and that Lingxuzi had also died, he felt that that day might be just around the corner.

Although I learned from the snakes and insects that the monkey wasn't what I thought, what if it was?

Guangmou was still pondering when suddenly he seemed to sense something. Hidden in the bamboo forest, he could hear the sounds of the forest: the chirping of insects, the calls of birds, and the rustling of bamboo leaves in the breeze, all constantly.

At this moment, the sounds seemed to still be there, but it was as if something was missing.

and many more!

Guangmou suddenly realized that it wasn't that something was missing, but rather that something had been added.

The rustling sound was still there, but it was different from before.

Suddenly, a raging fire erupted around him, and black smoke instantly enveloped him.

Seeing this, he immediately said, "It's my senior brother's Crimson Tide! Very well, it seems you've finally found this place. I am Guangmou, may I ask your esteemed name?"

Guangmou did not directly attack the man, nor did he seem to intend to run away. He simply stood there, looking upright.

Seeing this, Zhe Xingsun was too lazy to waste words with him and kept waving the Crimson Tide, the flames blazing fiercely.

Seeing that no one responded to his long speech and only the fire burned brighter, Guangmou suddenly laughed and said, "Haha, this humble monk is relieved! You are definitely not that person! Come on, let this humble monk see what you're capable of!"

He opened his mouth and spat out a thick cloud of green smoke. The green smoke rose and fought against the surrounding black smoke. The green poison fell to the ground and mingled with the flames, even turning the flames a bit green.

Zhe Xingsun was tending to a fire when he accidentally inhaled a few mouthfuls of poisonous fumes and immediately began coughing.

Upon hearing this sound, Guangmou immediately picked up his folding fan and fanned himself. Instantly, a tornado rose up, several feet high, and swept towards Zhe Xingsun, inhaling the poisonous fog and smoke along the way.

As the saying goes, "wind fans the flames," and when the tornado struck, the flames rose up, increasing its power, but it was all directed at Zhe Xingsun. Seeing this, Zhe Xingsun jumped out and avoided the attack.

Guangmou's supernatural abilities were indeed quite formidable, but Zhe Xingsun could tell at a glance that Guangmou's martial arts were still somewhat inferior to those of Guangzhi and Lingxuzi.

As soon as he jumped out, he immediately raised the Red Tide and slashed it down at Guangmou.

Guangmou lifted his monk's robe and shrank back, but several dark-colored throwing knives flew out from under his robe.

With a flick of his red tide, Zhe Xingsun sent all the throwing knives flying. The knives landed on the ground and made a hissing sound, even corroding the ground.

Guangmou flashed again, and a wall of wind rose up, blocking Zhexingsun's path forward.

Seeing this, Zhe Xingsun cursed, "You vile snake demon, resorting to such underhanded tactics! Do you dare to fight me for real?"

Guangmou almost laughed in anger upon hearing this. He said, "If you're not making a fire over there, how am I supposed to make a fuss here?"

He paused for a moment, feeling as if he had heard these words somewhere before, spoken by someone.

He was stunned for a moment, then Zhe Xingsun suddenly swung the Crimson Tide to split the wind wall and jumped towards Guangmou.

He recalled the warning the local deity of Black Wind Mountain had given him: if he possessed the Vajra Indestructible Divine Power, he should be wary of methods that could counter it.

Thinking about it now, the Black Wind Mountain local deity must have been alluding to this cunning and poisonous method.

Although Zhe Xingsun is indestructible, he coughed so badly after inhaling a mouthful of poisonous mist. If they were to actually fight, the accumulated poison might cause him to suffer an unexpected defeat.

Therefore, he made up his mind to act quickly and decisively, without getting bogged down in endless chatter with Guangmou.

Seeing this, Guangmou had no choice but to take a deep breath and fight Zhe Xingsun again. However, while fighting, he silently counted in his mind: 10, 9, 8, 7...

What was he silently counting? It was the exact moment when Zhe Xingsun's poisoning took effect.

The poison he had used earlier was not without effect. He already knew that the monkey possessed indestructible supernatural powers, and although the opponent arrived faster than he had expected, he had already made preparations.

Not long after, when Guangmou counted to 0, Zhe Xingsun suddenly cried out and collapsed to the ground, his whole body convulsing, and he even involuntarily let go of the hands that were holding Chichao.

Seeing this, Guangmou laughed and walked over, saying, "Benefactor, how is my poison? How does it compare to your indestructible divine power?"

Zhe Xingsun stammered, trembling, "How can your poison... possibly defeat... defeat my supernatural powers?"

Guangmou slowly approached, still somewhat cautious, using conversation to buy time. He said, "I knew you had this supernatural power, so the poison I used before was specifically designed to counter it. This is a slow-acting poison. At first, you didn't take it seriously after being poisoned, but the poison gradually intensified. First, you coughed, then your hands trembled, then your legs became weak, you felt chest tightness and shortness of breath, and finally you collapsed to the ground. By then, the poisoning was so severe that even a god couldn't save you."

"However, benefactor, I must thank you for something. Thank you for getting rid of my senior brother for me. I've wanted to get rid of him for a long time, but unfortunately, Chi Chao was in his hands. He's a wolf demon and knows my insidious methods very well, so I couldn't defeat him. Besides, with the Black Wind King above me, I tried many methods but to no avail. I never thought I'd finally succeed today. As a reward, I'll grant you a quick death!"

puff!

The next second, a flash of red light appeared, and the Crimson Tide pierced through Guangmou's chest.

As the magical power surged, raging flames gathered on the crimson tide, burning Guangmou's internal organs to black ash.

Zhe Xingsun jumped up from the ground and grabbed Chichao in his hand. He had just taken advantage of Guangmou's inattention, hooked Chichao with his foot and kicked it out in an instant, thus defeating Guangmou by surprise.

With his last ounce of strength, Guangmou asked, "What kind of supernatural power do you possess... why are you still alive?"

Guangmou lay on the ground, but his eyes were still fixed on Zhe Xingsun, wanting to know the answer.

Zhe Xingsun did not answer. He quickly picked up the gourd behind him, opened it, and took a big gulp of water. A moment later, he spat it out, and the water fell to the ground, rising into a wisp of black smoke.

He had indeed been poisoned, but he possessed the supernatural power of the gene lock, which allowed him to immediately control his body's internal circulation and concentrate the toxins in his mouth.

However, after realizing the potency of these toxins, he came up with a plan to turn the tables on Guangmou. He used the gene lock to fake a convulsion and fell to the ground, which successfully fooled Guangmou.

At this moment, he opened his mouth and spat out all the toxins.

As for Guangmou's question, he naturally didn't bother to answer and immediately severed Guangmou's head.

Only then did he carefully squat down to examine Guangmou's body, hoping to find another exquisite inner core. However, after searching for a long time, he was unable to find one, and Zhe Xingsun could only shake his head in secret.

Both Guangmou and Guangzhi practiced Buddhism. Although Guangmou did not take Buddhism seriously, he did not cultivate the exquisite inner elixir by consuming spiritual essence like Lingxuzi.

Like Guangzhi, he had nothing on his body after death except his own spiritual essence.

Zhe Xingsun shook his head, turned, and left. He went to the large bell, kicked it hard, and thud—

The bell rang again.