Chapter 666 - 73: Qing Xuan and Lu Xuan, The Monkey Returns to the Mountain, Super Heaven Great Saint Ben Bo’Erba

Chapter 666: Chapter 73: Qing Xuan and Lu Xuan, The Monkey Returns to the Mountain, Super Heaven Great Saint Ben Bo’Erba

He sighed softly, his gaze piercing through the endless ages, suddenly sharpening.

"The journey to the West..."

"It’s time for it to begin."

.........

「The Age of the Dao Dynasty.」

The Yuqing Fu Sheng Heavenly Venerate walked into Chaos. Step by step, he transformed back into the Purple Cloud Palace Master and returned to the Purple Cloud Palace.

As the ’Pangu Daoist’, he sat enthroned in the Jade Void Palace of the Primordial Celestial Realm.

As the ’Jade Void Ancestor Master’, he sat in the infinite heights, sorting through all cause and all effect.

As the ’Primordial Celestial King’, he sat in the Human World, transforming into an ordinary Daoist and establishing the Jade Void Temple.

And as the ’Purple Cloud Palace Master’, he sat in the Purple Cloud Palace, teaching Sun Wukong.

As for his main body, it remained in that thatched hut, accompanied by the Victorious Fighting Buddha.

Time flowed by, bit by bit. Spring passed and winter came, year after year.

"Wukong."

In the Purple Cloud Palace, the Purple Cloud Palace Master slowly opened his eyes, his expression solemn.

"Have you learned it?"

Sun Wukong scratched his ears and cheeks. After eighty-one years, all his immaturity had faded. He grinned cheekily and said:

"Teacher, Teacher, I’ve learned them all! The Thirty-Six Celestial Spirits Techniques and the Earthly Fiend Seventy-two Methods! I’ve even mastered the Mediation of Creation, the first of the Thirty-Six Celestial Spirits Techniques!"

"Is that so?"

The Purple Cloud Palace Master nodded slightly.

"How many Great Dao Texts have you comprehended?"

Sun Wukong said smugly:

"Out of one thousand eight hundred Great Dao Texts, in a mere thirty years, this student has already deciphered a full seventy-one! Teacher, aren’t I amazing?"

Lu Xuan’s mouth twitched, and he fell silent.

’Back when I first encountered the Mediation of Creation,’ he thought, ’how many did I comprehend?’

’If I recall correctly, it took me about three hours to comprehend seventy-four.’

’This monkey...’

Lu Xuan sighed faintly.

"You, oh, you... you are still a bit dull..."

"You think I’m dull?"

Sun Wukong scratched his ears and cheeks, saying:

"Teacher, you can’t fool me. I already know that my talent ranks among the best from ancient times to the present. Most of those so-called Immortal Gods are no match for me!"

He paused, then clapped his hands as if in sudden realization, and chuckled.

"I get it! Teacher, you’re afraid I’ll get arrogant and complacent, so you’re deliberately saying I’m dull, right? Don’t worry, Teacher, I will absolutely not become conceited!"

Lu Xuan’s mouth twitched again. He opened it to speak, but then stopped.

’I can’t help but remember how, back at The Beginning, my own teacher often praised my talent as being merely ’not bad’...’

Lu Xuan let out a small laugh and knocked Sun Wukong soundly on the head. The latter yelped in pain.

"You, you... As your master, I am not like your three ancestor masters. I have always spoken the truth. Your talent is indeed a bit dull... But never mind, never mind."

Lu Xuan let out a long sigh.

"There are advantages to being slow. Just proceed at a steady pace. Though it may be slower, you won’t miss the scenery along the way..."

Sun Wukong was a little indignant but didn’t dare talk back, so he just kept scratching his ears and cheeks.

Lu Xuan said irritably:

"Alright, I know a macaque like you can’t sit still. You’ve already grown impatient staying here with me, haven’t you?"

The monkey gave an embarrassed laugh.

"Not at all, not at all! I love cultivating by my teacher’s side!"

Lu Xuan sighed softly and shook his head.

"Enough. It’s time for you to suffer a little. Look how conceited you’ve become. You comprehended seventy-one Great Dao Texts in thirty years and you still think your talent is outstanding?"

He waved his hand and said:

"Go on back to your Huaguo Mountain. Go and get some real experience. But you must remember..."

As he spoke, Lu Xuan’s expression turned solemn.

"You must not, under any circumstances, reveal the matter concerning your ancestor master and The Beginning of Ancient Times to anyone. Do you understand?"

Sun Wukong’s expression turned serious, yet he also looked delighted. He nodded vigorously and patted his chest, saying:

"Don’t worry, Teacher, I absolutely won’t tell, I absolutely won’t!"

"Alright, off you go, off you go. It’s about time you tasted some hardship!"

With that, Lu Xuan waved his hand again, and a gale of wind blew Sun Monkey back into the River of Time, sending him down into the Great Heaven and Earth.

After doing all this, he gazed at the entire River of Time. At this moment, the river’s overall progress was already drawing incredibly close to the final calamity.

His teacher’s condition was also getting worse and worse. In three more years in the Current World, with another five or six hundred years of progress for the journey to the West, his teacher would perhaps...

...fall from his realm.

And this also meant the start of the true war.

’There aren’t many peaceful days left.’

"Dao Fruit..."

Lu Xuan murmured in a low voice, his eyes incomparably profound.

His own main body was the Lord of the Dao Dynasty, possessing the four True Self Incarnations of ’Nine Nether’, ’Supreme Profound Clarity’, ’Hongjun Daoist’, and ’Profound Yellow’.

The Purple Cloud Palace Master was in turn a True Self Incarnation of the Hongjun Daoist, and was also the ’Yuqing Fu Sheng Heavenly Venerate’, possessing the three True Self Incarnations of ’Pangu Daoist’, ’Primordial Celestial King’, and ’Yuqing Ancestor Master’.

In the Western Buddha Land, he also had a Sakyamuni body...

Wheels within wheels.

"If I were to recall all my incarnations now, I might be able to step into the Dao Fruit level in a single move. But if I did, victory in the journey to the West would not be certain..."

"I must endure a little longer, just a little longer."

"When Wukong reaches Spirit Mountain, I shall attain the Dao Fruit, and perhaps..."

Lu Xuan looked back toward The Beginning of Ancient Times and smiled faintly, murmuring to himself:

"From the Heaven Ascending Gate and the Heaven-Facing Palace, to Immortal, to the Celestial Realms, and then to the fundamental Dharma of the Daluo Realm—all are now prepared."

"All that’s missing is an opportunity—an opportunity to finish explaining the fundamental Dharmas of these five Great Realms at The Beginning of Ancient Times..."

"Unfortunately, I still have no clue about the fundamental Dharma for the Dao Fruit Realm. I need more time to settle and consolidate."

.........

「Huaguo Mountain.」

A monkey’s shadow fell from the Thirty-Six Celestial Realms, crashing straight into this beautiful and divine mountain.

’The monkey has completed his apprenticeship?’

At that moment, one Supreme Being after another cast their gazes down, staring toward Sun Wukong. The Sun Monkey’s graduation meant that everything was getting back on track!

"Compassion, compassion!"

The Ancient Bodhi Buddha smiled and walked toward Spirit Mountain.

"Goddess, where are you? I will find you, and I will hunt you..."

The Demon Ancestor lowered his gaze and stepped into the Great Heaven and Earth.

"The great curtain has been raised. Taiyi, oh, Taiyi, let’s see if you will be the final victor, or if I will..."

A smile appeared on Fu Xi’s face. Countless millions of faces swirled in his eyes, from as high as Houtu to as low as Lin Xi, and everything in between.

All of them were him.

「Meanwhile, at Huaguo Mountain.」

"Hmm? Who are you?"

A small monkey carrying a long spear looked warily at Sun Wukong.

"Are you here to pay respects to the mountain?"

"Pay respects?"

Sun Wukong rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips.

"Which branch are you from, little one, that you don’t even recognize me?"

"What branch? What little one? Why should I know you?"

As he spoke, the little monkey raised his spear and glared.

"I am a vanguard under the Great King! The Great King told me to patrol the mountain! You, outsider monkey, register yourself at once! Otherwise, you’ll be considered an illegal immigrant, and I’ll have you deported immediately!"

Three question marks appeared over Sun Wukong’s head. ’What in the world is all this??’

He narrowed his eyes dangerously, cracked his knuckles, and gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

"What, I’m gone for a hundred-odd years and Huaguo Mountain gets a new Great King? What’s your king’s name?"

"Hmph!"

The little monkey raised his spear high, looking smug.

"My Great King is the Super Heaven Great Saint, Ben Bo’Erba!"

Sun Wukong cracked his knuckles.

"Take me to it!"

.........

「Meanwhile, in the Thirty-Six Celestial Realms.」

Lu Xuan, dressed as a farmer, walked over slowly and stepped into the hall.

Celestial Lord Haotian seemed to sense something. He opened his eyes, and upon seeing Lu Xuan, he tilted his head slightly, as if unsure how to face him.

"Xiaoxuan..."

After a long moment, Haotian sighed softly.

Lu Xuan gazed at Haotian and said calmly:

"I don’t blame you."

Haotian opened his mouth, but then closed it without a word.

Lu Xuan sat down on his own accord, then looked at Haotian again.

"Elder Haotian, I have come for one matter..."

As he spoke, he silently activated the Path of Great Balance and raised his eyes, attempting to perceive the Transcendent Traits within Haotian’s body.

’Of the Nine Relics of the Wa Huang, only the Transcendent Traits on Elder Haotian remain to be investigated.’