'Hmmm. A hundred eyes for Aria, a hundred for Serghoul, a hundred for the General, a hundred for Rejin, a hundred for Kalima...damn Hualitep had too few eyes...' Pef grumbled to himself.

'Goliths have the most eyes in any creature we know of.' the glove replied patiently.

'Should have farmed Hualitep's eyes...only 25 left' Pef sighed inward.

'We need the rest for the Taotie. I think he might gain a new Star with 20 eyes or so.' the glove added in a confident tone.

'Do we want a stronger Taotie though? He is way too strong already.' Pef wondered, mostly for himself.

'His real strength doesn't matter anyways. But goodwill does. You have more wives to train in the Mausoleum.' The glove argued logically.

'Fine. Let's visit Wang.' Pef allowed with a pained tone.

"Open a portal old badger." Pef spoke out loud, surprising his wives.

A Violet portal formed in the kitchen, leading right into the Violet Realm of the Mausoleum. "Step through ladies. We have to see a monster now." Pef said as he pushed his wives through, then entered the Mausoleum once more.

A giant grin formed on the face of the Taotie, as he temporarily stop beating Disciple Wang to entertain the new visitors.

"I'm the monster? I think you can beat the Silent Monk already!" the Taotie growled as he poked Pef in the chest with a dimensional-sharp claw, piercing through his Void Shield and nearly collapsing the Preservation Armor.

Pef coughed and spat some blood from the friendly greeting of the other monster. Even restricted by the Mausoleum's Formations the Taotie was still at the peak of Tier 8, and still too strong to fight directly.

"Damn badger! I will deal with you later. Wang, come here!" Pef demanded with a glare at the rodent-shape immortal beast.

"Master...I am almost there! See? I reached 7 stars!" Wang proclaimed with a wide smile. He was still only an Elder God, but Pef could sense his real strength was far above what the cultivation level indicated. Probably way stronger than Aria, even with her 9 Stars. The Taotie hadn't been too kind in his training.

"Eat these!" Pef demanded while shoving 5 golith eyes into Wang's hands.

"Oh, they smell nice..." the Taotie murmured audibly, while saliva dripped from his jaws.

"I brought some for you as well, old badger..." Pef allowed magnanimously, and threw dozen fried eyes towards the beast.

The eyes disappeared in mid-air, way too fast for Pef to notice how they got grabbed and Devoured.

"You also can cook..." the Taotie observed in a surprised tone, then stopped to digest his meal and meditate for a second in a time field.

"I have a few more..." Pef added with a wry voice.

The two monsters stared at each other, without blinking. The Taotie wasn't a stupid beast, after all. Manipulating him could only be done with his acceptance. Pef slowly rotated his hand and held a divinely-smelling eye, fried to perfection.

Then he waved it around slowly, noting the Taotie focused gaze on the meal.

"W-what do you want, you monster?" The Taotie growled in a pained voice.

Pef just waited, as to the side, Wang just obtained a new Star, simply from consuming those last 5 golith eyes.

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The Taotie shifted his eyes for a second on Wang. A hundred million years of accelerated cultivation, in a few bites.

"You want more claws?" the beast asked hesitantly.

Pef flicked the fried eye in hand towards the beast. He had the advantage now, so he could act generously...for now.

"I need five, no.. six more eyes. Do you even know how long it takes to gain a new Star at my realm? Thousands of Chaos Cycles!" the Taotie shouted in a desperate voice.

Pef took out another fried eye. "Claws can grow back...but Hualitep is dead. These are the last eyes. Tell me if you really want them." he said confidently, then flicked the fried eye towards the beast.

"Grrrr. Fine. I'll train your other wives as well. I'll even make them swords from my claws. Good?" The Taotie growled in an anxious tone.

"It's a start." Pef said softly, holding another fried eye out.

"Damn monster..." the Taotie complained in a pitiful voice.

Pef ignored the beast, as he focused his senses on the hidden Formation library inscribed onto the walls of the Violet Realm.

'Can we take it over?' he asked the glove.

'Not yet, no. But soon. Maybe 10 years, or less. You have to master the Unreal first.' the glove answered after calculating some things.

'That sounds painful.' Pef sighed inward.

"Send Aria at the Serghoul court. She needs to learn Death Dao before she starts training here." Pef demanded with a nod towards the green-haired druid.

"You even used my own blood for her Veridian Garden. Are you trying to Devour the entire multiverse?" the Taotie asked as a Violet portal appeared beside Aria.

Pef waited until Aria passed though. "The multiverse, old badger? Don't you want to return home, and eat your enemies?" Pef inquired softly as he raised his eyes towards the heavens.

"Grrrr. You talk big, little human." the Taotie growled.

"You realize the Seven Colored Pagoda is a portable Artifact, right? My Legion needs a mobile training ground, especially out there." Pef explained in a patient tone, still looking at the fake sky of the Mausoleum.

The Taotie raised his own eyes towards the ceiling, now glinting with the mirror shade of a certain Artifact. "You're not strong enough, little monster. Not yet."

"Not yet." Pef allowed with a slow nod, then flicked the eye in his hand towards the Taotie.

"I have many enemies" the Taotie spoke as Pef turned towards the Violet portal.

"And I am a great cook." Pef answered over his shoulder.

--------------

Gena Feng opened her eyes, still seated on her Mirror Throne.

"I can't believe it!" she exclaimed, not sure if she heard everything right.

A faint wind tingled on her face.

"Yes, I know I heard it correctly. I just can't believe..." the Mirror Goddess whispered softly.

The wind ruffled her haired and soothed her soul.

"The Unreal River? Are you sure?" Gena asked out loud. "Of course you are sure! I know the Silent Monk also sails the Unreal river, but Pef is only....23 years old? Damn it. I need to get stronger too!" Gena Feng muttered in dismay.

The mirror glinted as it shifted a few fates around. If they waited too long, Pef might not even need them after he Ascended...just this once, the Mirror of Samsara wondered if it had made a mistake importing that soul in her Mirror Realm. Even in this world, monsters should have a limit, right?

A couple more destines changed. It would be nice to return home. So many people to see, and then see them die.