Journey to the West: Starting with the Hunting of the Three Demons of Twin Fork Ridge

After walking about twenty or thirty feet, Li Fa suddenly heard a faint sound of flowing water ahead, as well as... rustling noises.

Li Fa immediately stopped, held his breath, pressed his body tightly against the rock wall, and placed his hand on the hilt of his knife.

A faint light shone through the corner ahead, making the sound of flowing water clearer.

At the same time, a disgruntled grumble came over, the voice rough and gruff: "...Pah! What a damn bad luck! Everyone else is up ahead enjoying the good life with the King, but I'm stuck here cleaning this filthy place... And that killer Wolf Xiao Er, he's been dawdling over skinning two people for ages, did he steal some of the good meat for himself?"

Li Fa's heart stirred, and he quietly peeked out half his head to look in the direction of the sound.

Sure enough, just ahead was the cave entrance, where a small stream flowed by, making a babbling sound.

Beside the stream, a short, stocky figure was squatting with his back to him, vigorously scrubbing several filthy pots and pans.

He was wearing tattered leather armor, had a pointed head, and his body was covered in brown hair.

What's most striking is the pair of antlers on his head, which clearly indicates he's a deer spirit.

Li Fa is now in a dilemma. The best solution is to deal with the deer spirit, but assassinating it silently is a rather troublesome matter.

The key was that killing this little demon might cause a commotion, but just as he hesitated, the Merit Chart suddenly flashed.

Then a few lines of text appeared:

[Target for execution: Lu Kunkun (a deer demon (fake) under General Yin's command, a special officer infiltrating General Yin's ranks)]

[Karma Assessment: Ding Zhong (33 deaths caused)]

Success rate of hunt: 98%

The following is:

Killing it will yield:

[Optional Reward 1: A wisp of the power of the "Creating Heaven and Earth Technique," earned through ten years of arduous cultivation]

[Optional Reward Two: Mastery of Swordsmanship]

[Optional Reward 3: Fetal Transformation (False)]

"An undercover agent? One of Special Envoy's men?"

Li Fa was shocked, and his pupils contracted slightly.

It seems that these three monsters are not a united front; each has their own schemes.

However, what surprised Li Fa the most was that the information provided in the Merit Record this time far exceeded that of the previous ones!

Not only are the target's name and karma accurately marked, but their hidden identity and the probability of being hunted are also clearly listed, and specific reward options are given directly.

This catalog... seems to reveal more functions as I use it, or as my strength increases?

But he didn't have time to investigate further.

Because the deer demon in front of him was very tempting.

"Ten years of magical power...mastery of swordsmanship...transformation into human form?"

The first two were easy to understand, but the last one, "fetal transformation," made Li Fa's heart skip a beat.

In his previous life, when he read Journey to the West, he specifically researched the techniques of transformation in the story.

He clearly remembered that when Patriarch Bodhi taught Sun Wukong supernatural powers, he explicitly said, "There are three types of Heavenly Dippers, which have thirty-six kinds of transformations; there are three types of Earthly Fiends, which have seventy-two kinds of transformations," indicating that Sun Wukong only practiced the art of transformation.

However, he later discovered that some Taoist mythological texts also recorded the names and functions of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Methods and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Techniques, one of which was called the Embryo Transformation and Shape Change.

This is what is known as the art of transformation.

However, it was followed by the word "(fake)," so it seems that it is not the genuine Fetal Transformation Technique.

It's important to know that the genuine Fetal Transformation and Shapeshifting Technique can transform not only men, women, and children, but also mythical beasts and divine birds. It's just unknown what the purpose of this pirated version is.

Even if this pirated version can't transform into a mythical beast or divine bird, being able to transform into a fly or mosquito is still an unimaginable ability!

In the world of Journey to the West, the art of transformation is used by immortals to avoid the three calamities; it is an extremely sophisticated supernatural power!

With this in mind, Li Fa made up his mind that he had to kill this deer spirit.

It's not just about upholding justice; the catalog just provides far too many illustrations.

Moreover, there is a 98% probability.

"Take a chance, and your bicycle might turn into a motorcycle!"

Li Fa gently drew the steel knife, then channeled the magic power within his body, concentrating a portion of it on the blade.

Then, aiming at the deer demon's neck, it suddenly charged forward, its body shooting out like an arrow released from a bow.

Lu Kunkun's ears seemed to twitch, and even its hand movements slowed down; its ingrained instincts made it feel uneasy.

But it was all too late.

Li Fa was fast, steady, and accurate.

The steel blade, imbued with magic, was like a true divine weapon. It sliced ​​through the deer demon's neck as easily as cutting tofu.

One stroke and he was beheaded.

The whole process took only two or three breaths.

The deer's head landed and rolled twice on the pebbles by the stream.

The headless corpse froze for a moment before collapsing into the stream, spitting blood.

Li Fa sheathed his sword, took a few deep breaths, and circulated his internal energy. After a few breaths, he finally calmed down completely.

That attack just now consumed almost a third of his magic power; its power was indeed extraordinary, killing the deer demon as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

Almost at the moment the deer demon died, the [Merit Record] unfolded as promised, its radiance flowing.

[Target of execution: Lu Kunkun (a deer demon (fake) under General Yin's command, a special officer infiltrating General Yin's ranks)]

[Karma Assessment: Ding Zhong (33 deaths caused)]

[Hunting successful]

[Rewards have been generated, please select:]

As expected, there were three rewards. Without the slightest hesitation, Li Fa chose the third option.

"The fetus transforms into a different form (false)..."

A strange power surged into his body, and Li Fa felt as if something had appeared in his mind: the formula for reform and things to pay attention to.

【Fetal Transformation (False)】:

First, this method is not the original technique of fetal transformation and change of form; it only changes the appearance and does not involve the essence of life. Therefore, it cannot be used to avoid the three calamities and harms.

Second, this method has a limited number of variations, with only one possible variation. Please choose carefully.

Having learned this spell, Li Fa understood its meaning.

This "pseudo" supernatural power is indeed limited, allowing for only one transformation at most, which is far from comparable to the monkey's seventy-two transformations. Hoping to use it to transform into flies or mosquitoes to burrow and eavesdrop, or to become a stone bird like Sun Wukong and completely blend into the environment, seems impossible.

"But something is better than nothing." Li Fa quickly adjusted his mindset.

But just then, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from the cave behind him.

"Gather around! Gather around! Some ingredients have escaped!"

"Damn it, we've been discovered so quickly!" Li Fa thought to himself with a chill, cursing under his breath.

He suddenly realized that he hadn't disposed of Wolf Xiao Er's body when he ran away, so he must have been discovered.

"Even the best plans can have flaws!" Li Fa wished he could slap himself twice.

Thinking of this, he looked at Lu Kunkun's corpse beside him and thought, "I have to get rid of this monster's corpse quickly."

So he ignored the sounds inside the cave, hurriedly threw Lu Kunkun's head and body into a ravine, threw the steel knife in as well, and covered it with withered branches and rotten grass before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

But just as he finished doing all that, he suddenly heard a shrill voice behind him: "What are you doing here?"