Wukong looked at the two of them with a calm expression.
Whether Chu Xingchen had been telling the truth remained uncertain, but the information he had provided about Dong Gua was accurate. Once the two were pushed to their limits and forced to fight, they undeniably gave off a demonic aura that could be clearly identified.
Since they were demons, the methods available for dealing with them naturally became far broader.
Moreover, these two showed zero coordination from start to finish, constantly guarding against one another. They could hardly be called fools, which made extracting any real intelligence from them genuinely difficult.
Wukong had no interest in, nor was he naive enough to believe he could earn a demon's trust through any particular action. Nor did he believe such demons could comprehend true goodness, truth, and beauty.
Since the gentle approach was useless, only the harsh approach remained.
Even Arhats had their wrath. The Buddhist sect had not earned its place among the Eighteen Immortal Gates simply by chanting sutras.
Fighting was both a method and a means. Coercion was also a valid strategy.
The only issue was that the progress had been rather underwhelming. These two demons genuinely seemed unable to reach their superiors.
Even after receiving such a thorough beating, they still had not called for reinforcements, making it difficult to find any leads to investigate.
Wukong gazed at Dong Gua's faintly resentful eyes, silently calculating to himself — perhaps he had been going too easy on them, since these two demons were still holding up.
Should he increase the intensity?
Unfortunately, he had promised Chu Xingchen not to kill these two demons yet. Otherwise, he would have had other methods at his disposal.
Wukong waited as the two put on a show of deliberation. After waiting several more days, having already prepared an excuse to pick a fight, he asked:
"Have you finished discussing?"
Dong Gua shot him a sideways glance and replied in a sarcastic tone:
"Naturally, one cannot rush matters. Making decisions on a whim and slapping one's thigh to act — what could that possibly accomplish?"
The Pig Demon glanced at Dong Gua with a look of approval and admiration, impressed that she had not softened her tone in the slightest.
Wukong paid no mind to Dong Gua's attitude. After all, he would be venting his frustrations soon enough, so his tolerance had momentarily skyrocketed:
"Then what do you plan to do?"
"First go east and leave a marker, then go west and leave a marker, then head south to scout for information..."
Dong Gua's words came to an abrupt halt. The reason was simple — a massive, golden fist had already pressed against the tip of her nose. The heavy Buddhist aura before her was now seething with violence.
Wukong asked again, enunciating each word clearly:
"Then what do you plan to do?"
Dong Gua caught her breath, not daring to be sarcastic anymore. She had only wanted to run her mouth to vent some frustration; she had not actually wanted to take a few punches so this damned monk could relieve his stress.
She pondered for a moment, softened her tone, and began spinning a tale:
"There's a location to the east that served as a previous rendezvous point. It might not have been abandoned yet, so I plan to go there and leave a signal to see if any scattered members can pick it up."
"To the west, there was prior intelligence about a group of reinforcements, though whether they've withdrawn remains uncertain. I intend to search for them there as well."
"As for gathering intelligence, that will require more time. Only after our superiors confirm we're not compromised will they consider making contact with us."
Dong Gua could stand right here and spin this kind of circular drivel at this damned monk for two whole hours.
No matter what you asked about the situation, the answer was always "not ideal."
About seventy percent of Cui Hao's previous reports had been exactly like this.
The kind where once he started his first sentence, Dong Gua could finish the rest for him.
He had said something, yet it was no different from saying nothing at all.
When Dong Gua had been forced to listen to those reports, she had been so furious her teeth itched. But at the time, she genuinely believed Cui Hao was competent at his job, so she could only endure it.
Well, well! Now the tables had turned!
Now it was her turn to deliver those empty words, and someone else's turn to endure them!
Dong Gua wore a warm, gentle smile as she looked at Wukong's expression.
BOOM!
The Pig Demon's pupils shrank as he watched Wukong slam Dong Gua into the ground with a single punch, immediately followed by a barrage of Arhat Fist strikes.
"I came here out of the goodness of my heart to assist you, and yet you repay me with such ingratitude!"
"The situation is critical and time is running short, and yet you remain so lackadaisical!"
"If all demons were like the two of you, would there be any place left in this world for us to survive?"
"Since gentle persuasion won't move you, I still have my Arhat Fist to communicate with you!"
The Pig Demon ignored Dong Gua's pleading gaze and quickly retreated several steps.
Unfortunately, a certain monk had no intention of letting him off — he had not said a single word this entire time.
With a beckoning gesture, Wukong pulled him over and began applying the Arhat Fist treatment to him as well.
"This world was never meant to have a place for us. If even we cannot carve out a path for ourselves, are we truly just waiting to die?"
"Fellow demons, you truly make me ashamed!"
Wukong's face remained expressionless. The golden light of his Arhat Fist grew brighter and faster with every strike, yet his speaking pace did not change at all.
He also began cycling through the same circular drivel as Dong Gua, rotating through his lines over and over.
This stretch of mountain forest could not withstand Wukong's fist-sermons for long. In no time at all, the area was reduced to utter devastation.
Dong Gua stubbornly endured two full rounds, but by the third, she began begging for mercy.
Wukong said nothing and continued his sermon of fists straight through to the middle of the sixth round. Then his movements suddenly stopped as his gaze shifted toward a graceful woman standing in the distance, wearing a hat with a veil.
With just a single glance, Wukong could determine that this person was extraordinarily dangerous.
This level of cultivation... Had Dong Gua finally called in reinforcements?
Was this person that Chu Xingchen had captured truly such a big fish? To be able to lure a demon of this caliber?!
Dong Gua ignored the searing pain across her body. She forcefully propped herself up, scrambled to her feet, and immediately knelt before Xu Linglong.
The Pig Demon made the exact same motion.
Xu Linglong lightly rolled a black short blade between her fingers as her gaze swept over Dong Gua and the Pig Demon.
Her subordinate checked out. That Pig Demon wasn't under her jurisdiction.
And this monk... He seemed like a Buddhist Son?
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she casually tossed the black broken blade, which transformed into a streak of black light and pierced through the air.
Dong Gua sensed the movement and grew wildly excited.
This monk was finally going to die!
Every drop of blood in her body was trembling, and her very essence felt as though it were boiling.
This was absolutely... a Heavenly Demon.
And her own Heavenly Demon, no less!
Was she finally about to escape this suffering?
The indignity she had endured all these days could finally come to an end!
She excitedly raised her head, eager to witness the monk's demise.
But when she looked up, she realized that the black stream was not aimed at the damned monk at all — it was aimed at the Pig Demon.
The black stream hurtled forward. Although the Pig Demon was not Xu Linglong's subordinate, the overwhelming pressure from an absolutely high-ranking Heavenly Demon made it effortless to suppress him, leaving him utterly unable to resist for even a moment.
Whether the Pig Demon wanted to live or die, at this moment he could not make a single movement.
His fate, decided by another.
DING!
The black stream failed to pierce the Pig Demon. Wukong held his golden mace, and his body erupted with dazzling Buddhist light, deflecting the black stream away.
Xu Linglong raised her hand and recalled the black stream. From behind her veil, her eyes fixed directly on Wukong.
"You're blocking me? You certainly looked like you were about to beat these two to death just now."
Wukong held his golden mace and took a single step forward, placing himself between the two demons:
"My orders are that these two must not die."
Xu Linglong asked: "You... don't know who I am?"
Wukong's face was solemn as he replied with firm conviction:
"My mission has nothing to do with who you are. Until the orders given to me from above change, I recognize no one."
Xu Linglong continued toying with the short blade in her hand. She had been listening from afar for quite some time now — this monk seemed to be someone sent from the Buddhist sect to provide reinforcement.
If she killed him... it might truly push those Buddhist trash to their breaking point.
Besides, this was not necessarily a bad opportunity to uncover the truth.
Xu Linglong sighed softly, as if acknowledging Wukong's words, and walked toward him:
"You've made progress this quickly? I can't tell if it's because you're a Buddhist Son with a flawless body, or if you're actually not a demon at all."
Wukong did not retreat in the slightest:
"Whether I am or not, you have your own means to verify with those above."
Xu Linglong nodded slightly and walked up to the three of them, looking at Wukong:
"Your mission — I should be entitled to know what it is, yes?"
"You could also ask those abo..."
Wukong's words were cut short.
Xu Linglong's black blade lashed out without warning, severing the masked pig's head clean off his shoulders.
They were too close, and the strike had come far too suddenly.
There was no way for Wukong to shield the Pig Demon in time.
Wukong immediately tightened his grip on the golden mace.
Xu Linglong gave the black blade a light flick and asked with a smile:
"Now your mission has failed. Will you talk to me?"
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