Yubaba's Return

The Kingsnake's notorious name resounded through the land. The large monk had to travel in the direction of the Yellow River to reach the treacherous swamps of the Kingsnake.

Cruising past mountains and plains, he finally arrived at the lair of the monster. The monk shook in surprise. It was Yubaba, the protector of the seas, the fearsome flood dragon of the rivers, But, the creature had the face of the young monk.

Yubaba laughed maniacally, "I know who you are! Sha of the West who lives at the edge of the world, knight of the world-anchoring temple. That foolish young monk thought that he could defeat me? Ha! I absorbed his soul in that town prison of my inner world. That monk who turned into the ginseng was just my faulty avatar!"

The creases on Sha's forehead deepened, "I never thought that a 3000-year-old demon fish would interfere with the natural order of the world."

The dragon laughed, "Don't think that I don't know why the world's edge is falling apart. I know that you are trying to ascend to godhood."

The monk Sha lunged at the flood dragon, but he was propelled backward by its strong, steely tail.

"Haha! The kingsnake is merely an avatar of mine. You are so weak. Your master must be disappointed,"

The monk glared at him, "Don't mention that demon's name in front of me!"

Augh. Sha felt a hand puncture his chest, grabbing his heart. It was his master.

"Do you miss me, my disciple?"

Sha gritted his teeth, "You are just an old demon summoned by some idiot court officials who tried to exterminate the rightful crown prince!"

The monk fell on the ground powerlessly as Xun's daughter, his master, looked towards Yubaba's avatar.

"Will you help me revive my father?"

The flood dragon shook in fear, bowing his head in obedience.

"Give me your shed skin. I will find the monk of White Deer Temple and use his soul to revive my father Xun!"

A random voice suddenly appeared, "You are too late."

An old monk walked out from behind the forest with a battalion of Chu soldiers.

The Demon girl snorted, "Dan of the East, why are you here? I have defeated your counterpart, Sha. Surrender!"

The old monk chuckled, "I know you can't kill me. I am the vessel that houses your father's soul, am I right?"

The Demon paused.

She looked up at the raining sky, "Come try".

Ten thousand infantry soldiers and thousands of cavalry charged towards her figure. With a wave of her hand, they were all turned into fire ants.

She spat out a mouthful of blood, but she still cackled as her head slowly turned into that of a deer, the same deer who accompanied the old monk when he woke up from his dream.

"I've known your plan all along. I have already sent people to destroy your forest. Don't think that I don't know that your source of power is from that cedar forest. It is being chopped down at this very moment."

The old monk sat on the ground motionless, next to the large monk Sha's body. The onslaught of rain soaked his robes.

He slowly moved his lips, "You may have won this round, but I will be back."

Morphing into Yubaba, he jumped up and flew away from the Demon who also laid on the ground, also powerless on the ground after expending most of her energy after turning the army into ants.

Yubaba flew and flew. Through rain, shipwrecks, and flooded cities, he finally arrived at the edge of the world, where the sun blazed an ardent fire, illuminating the sky as it rained as hard as it ever has. The absence of the world-anchoring ginseng had devastated the temple, which was reduced to shambles.

Once he landed on the ground of the temple, he morphed into the old monk again, rushing into the temple's library. There was only one book that endured the fissioning of the world, it was a tome held in the middle of the pagoda, chained by one thousand large metal ropes.

On the tome's cover were four words: The Demon God's Fury.

The old monk looked at the book in eagerness, relishing its jagged edges as he felt the leather cover.

"I, Yubaba, have waited a millennium to obtain this book. The world has lost its edges, but it is wholly a worthwhile trade."

As soon as he tried to loosen the chains bounding the book, he tripped on a stone and fell face-first.

A majestic voice resounded, "Who dare steal this forbidden tome! Present thyself for arrest where you will be imprisoned in the deepest caves of the endless ocean."

Yubaba shrank and was confounded when he saw the young monk alive, walking out from the corner of the library.

The young monk smiled, "You killed Sha way too early. Although he was the guardian of the world edge, you failed to detect my infiltration into the White Deer Mountain with your old Abbott avatar. I will avenge my friend today by imprisoning you!"

The young monk pulled on his face, and took off his skin mask, revealing a sharp, wrinkled face.

Yubaba took several steps back, "How...can it be you, Xiong Tong, the father of Xiong Xun?"

"Why can't it be my grandfather?"

Xun's demon daughter crept out from behind the monk. Yubaba tried to escape but had expended his energy when rushing to the edge of the world. Reducing him to a defenseless position.

He even morphed back into his dragon form, asking "Why did you allow my avatar of the young monk to throw the cursed blade into the river?"

Xiong Tong chucked, "You seem to forget the function of the World Anchor. It only needs a host. The moment you stepped onto the temple grounds with your main body, ginseng had already supplanted your heart. You will be the anchor for the next one hundred years."

Xiong Tong lifted both of his hands in triumph, declaring to the sky, "The Flood Dragon Yubaba, unparalleled in the mortal realm, the guardian of ancient rivers, has become the anchor of the world's edge, the tomb of all heroes and deities."

Yubaba was paralyzed, his fate sealed in stone as metal chains bound him in the middle of the temple. He laid there waiting, waiting for the reckoning to be reaped by the Sky-severing sword which he threw in the river.