“Excuse me, Fellow Daoist...”
The Demon Emperor stopped himself as soon as the words left his mouth.
If this really was an ancestor of the Xiaotian Imperial Clan, calling him “Fellow Daoist” was clearly inappropriate...
“May I ask where you come from, and where you are heading...”
The Demon Emperor omitted the honorific entirely and asked Big Yellow.
The princes and ministers also looked at Big Yellow with curiosity.
This fellow was definitely related to them.
Otherwise, how could he look so identical for no reason?
First, they ruled out the possibility of Big Yellow being the Demon Emperor's illegitimate son.
Setting aside the Demon Emperor's absolute devotion to the Empress, the fact that he had just slipped up and blurted out “Ancestor” proved as much...
Even if this guy were an illegitimate child, he would have to be the illegitimate child of some other ancestor.
Or was he actually the first-generation ancestor, who couldn't make it in the Immortal Realm and had run back?
But they had never heard of anyone being able to return after ascending.
...
The princes let their imaginations run wild, coming up with all sorts of melodramatic identities for Big Yellow.
“Woof, woof!...”
When Big Yellow heard the Demon Emperor's question, it instinctively pressed its paws together: “This poor monk is from the Great Tang in the East, and I am heading to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and seek the scriptures...”
It had been listening to Lu Ming tell stories of the Great Sage quite a lot recently.
So, it was... exceptionally familiar with this question.
“What?”
“Huh?”
“Seeking what scriptures?”
As soon as Big Yellow spoke, the demons were utterly dumbfounded. What on earth?
“You said the wrong thing!”
Standing beside Big Yellow, Lu Ming helplessly nudged it.
Have you listened to too many stories of the Great Sage?
Do you really think you're a monk seeking scriptures?
“Woof, woof!!”
Only then did Big Yellow realize its mistake and quickly corrected itself: “My mistake, my mistake... I heard that I look just like you guys, so I came to see what's going on.”
Hearing this, the demons nodded. Now that made sense...
The Demon Emperor also looked in agreement, feeling that this must be the case.
Even if Big Yellow hadn't said so, he would have had Big Yellow verify its identity...
They couldn't allow the imperial bloodline to be lost in the outside world.
“Go... bring out the Bloodline Decree...”
The Demon Emperor instructed the old guard beside him.
“Yes!”
The old guard acknowledged the order and turned to leave.
Meanwhile, Ye Fan kept staring at Lu Ming and the others, analyzing them. Were they really monkeys?
Or was this a disguise by that damned mortal?
Stepping forward with a slight smile, Ye Fan asked, “May I ask where you fellow daoists come from? I haven't seen you before.”
Hearing Ye Fan's question, the other demons also looked at them with curiosity.
They had never seen this monkey species either!
When Lu Ming heard Ye Fan's question, his brow arched.
He had noticed earlier that this person's gaze had been lingering on him, seemingly carrying a trace of hostility.
Did this guy recognize him? That shouldn't be possible!
They had never had any contact with the demon race before, except for Big Yellow's previous encounter with the Fox Princess...
Let alone any enmity. Or was this guy simply annoyed by the sight of him?
“My hometown is the Water Curtain Cave of Flower Fruit Mountain. We belong to the Beautiful Monkey clan...”
Lu Ming leaped forward, scratching his cheek in a monkey-like manner as he introduced them.
Flower Fruit Mountain? The Beautiful Monkey clan?
They had never heard of it!
They must be from some small, obscure place, the onlookers couldn't help but guess.
Ye Fan also frowned.
After his rebirth, he had researched various factions within the demon race, but he had never come across any Beautiful Monkey clan!
Just as he was about to press further, the Fox Minister beside him swept his sleeve and asked, “May I ask, little friend, does your Beautiful Monkey clan have any heritage or history?”
Hearing this question, the Dog General and General Tiger also turned their gazes toward Lu Ming.
They still needed to figure out the other party's strength...
Heritage and history?
What if they were someone they couldn't afford to provoke?
Lu Ming's heart skipped a beat. Where was he supposed to pull a heritage and history from?
Forget it, he would just use what was already on hand!
With this in mind, Lu Ming spoke up, “Our Beautiful Monkey clan's first-generation ancestor was Sun Wukong... He became a disciple of Patriarch Bodhi and cultivated for three years. Because of his extraordinary talent, he reached the Mahayana stage in just three years and ascended directly to the Immortal Realm...”
Lu Ming patched together a background story for the Beautiful Monkey clan.
Hearing Lu Ming's words, the demons all stared at him, utterly speechless.
Seriously, could he at least put a limit on his bragging?
Three years?
Even the most talented demon beast couldn't possibly achieve that!
Reaching the 3rd-rank in three years would already make one a freak of talent...
Back then, their Xiaotian Ancestor had reached the 3rd-rank of cultivation in three years, which was already considered a miraculous feat...
But this motherfucker was bragging even harder, claiming to have cultivated to ascension in three years.
However, they still believed the part about him apprenticing under some Patriarch Bodhi.
After all, it was a specific name... it was just that the cultivation speed was heavily exaggerated.
At this moment, the Demon Emperor looked at Lu Ming curiously and asked, “Since your ancestor is also a monkey who ascended to the Immortal Realm, what is your current situation? How is it that this Emperor has never heard of your Beautiful Monkey clan?”
Logically speaking, if they had an ancestor who ascended, they shouldn't be doing too badly, right?
Feeling everyone's gaze on him, Lu Ming felt helpless.
This was what happened when one told a lie; it had to be patched up with countless more...
“Well... ever since our ancestor ascended, we don't know if our clan's fortune was entirely spent. A monkey as exceptionally brilliant as our ancestor never appeared again... and we eventually fell into decline...”
As he spoke, Lu Ming shook his head, looking unspeakably desolate...
Hearing Lu Ming's words, the Demon Emperor and the others nodded. Perhaps their ancestor really had been formidable.
But how could such an extraordinary monkey appear constantly?
It was just like their Xiaotian Ancestor; none of his descendants had ever managed to reach that height again...
Listening to Lu Ming's explanation, Ye Fan felt it was full of loopholes.
Only these brainless demons would actually believe it.
If the Fox Minister and the others knew what Ye Fan was thinking, they would surely say, Who's the one without a brain? We now only need to know that they don't have much strength or background... Everything else is unimportant. So what if he brags about his ancestor ascending in three years? He could brag about ascending in three days for all we care; you can't forbid someone from boasting. After all, boasting isn't against the law...
Ye Fan narrowed his eyes and continued to study Lu Ming. Although this fellow was shrouded in demonic qi, there were plenty of ways to make oneself emit demonic qi.
He himself knew of several. For some reason, there was an irritating quality about this guy.
It rubbed him the wrong way. Hmm... I'll find an opportunity to kill him.
However, Ye Fan didn't speak up again.
After all, these guys had just brought the dog back. If he caused trouble for them right in front of everyone, it would reflect poorly on him.
Even if he wanted to kill them, he had to stay hidden in the shadows.
With this thought, he pretended to casually murmur in a low voice, “Sigh... with the struggle for the crown prince position this time, I wonder if this newcomer who just returned will participate? Could there be some other unexpected turn of events?”
His voice carried endless worry.
However, before the Third Prince, who was standing close to him, could react, a female voice sounded right beside him, “Little Fanfan, do you not like this ancestor who just popped out of nowhere? Do you want me to help you kill him...”
“Don't talk nonsense... How could I not like the ancestor?”
Before Hu Niu could even finish her sentence, Ye Fan cut her off.
Then, he swept a freezing gaze toward Hu Niu.
Are you out of your mind? Can you really say such reckless things in a setting like this?
Rate on N.U.
