Acquaintance
In a mountain hollow, the aroma of meat is wafting through the air.
In front of Lin Tian, a demonic beast was being slowly rotated over a fire.
The aroma was so enticing that the Little Stone Monkey behind them couldn't resist.
"Slurp!"
"Gulp!"
On Shi Tou in the distance, the Little Stone Monkey stared intently at Lin Tian's roasted meat, swallowing its saliva from time to time.
Finally, he couldn't resist any longer, jumped off the bluestone, and shuffled over to Lin Tian's side.
"Mmm, it smells so good..."
He sniffed, a smile on his face, "Um, Dao Venerable... may I... may I have a little bit? Just... just a tiny bit!"
He even stretched out his little paws and made a tiny gesture, looking pitiful.
Lin Tian didn't turn his head, continuing to focus on turning the grill, his voice calm. "Have you mastered the techniques I taught you?"
Upon hearing this, the Little Stone Monkey was stunned for a moment, and said somewhat dejectedly, "Not yet... Dao Venerable, that cultivation technique... is too profound, I... I don't understand many parts..."
The cultivation technique that Lin Tian passed on to the Little Stone Monkey was called the "Primordial Chaos Qi Chapter".
It was created by him by combining his own cultivation of the Chaos Great Dao Art with the Primordial Wilderness cultivation methods. It can strengthen the foundation and nourish the vital energy, allowing the innate source within the Little Stone Monkey's body to circulate endlessly.
"There are no shortcuts in the path of cultivation. Especially for someone with your innate physique, a solid foundation is even more essential."
"Alright then." Lin Tian shook his head. "After I finish this roast meat, I'll explain the cultivation technique to you properly. You can taste the roast meat once you've mastered the technique."
Upon hearing this, the Little Stone Monkey nodded quickly. "Thank you Dao Venerable! I will listen carefully and practice diligently!"
The Little Stone Monkey made up its mind to work hard in its cultivation so that it could eat roasted meat as soon as possible.
Just then...
"Awoo!"
"Roar!"
Suddenly, screams and roars of wild beasts echoed from the distant mountains and forests.
The Little Stone Monkey's ears perked up suddenly. He turned his head sharply, looking in the direction from which the sound came. His pupils emitted a faint golden light as he saw the scene in the distance.
"Dao Venerable!" The Little Stone Monkey looked at Lin Tian anxiously, "It's the Thin Monkey and the others! And... the sound of a tiger! They're in danger!"
Lin Tian simply said, "Go if you want to."
The Little Stone Monkey nodded, and then disappeared in a few leaps.
Lin Tian smiled slightly and then began to eat the barbecue.
On the other side of the forest, there is a relatively open slope.
A dozen or so monkeys were huddled together in fear, leaning against several huge rocks, trembling.
Most of them were wounded and covered in blood. Three or four monkeys lay dead on the ground, with terrible lacerations on their necks or abdomens.
Surrounding them were five enormous tigers with piercing eyes and white foreheads!
These tigers had fierce glints in their eyes, drool dripping from their mouths, and exuded a faint Yao Qi. They were equivalent to cultivators at the Qi Refining to Godhood level in the Immortal Path, and would easily crush ordinary monkeys.
The largest, striped tiger at the head of the group let out an impatient growl, which startled the monkeys, causing them to scream in terror and shrink even tighter.
Just then...
"Call out!"
A figure appeared and landed on a high rock; it was the Little Stone Monkey!
"Little Stone Monkey!"
Among the monkey troop, a relatively small, gray-furred monkey with a fresh scratch on its left arm suddenly brightened up and cried out.
He was the only friend the Little Stone Monkey had made in the past few months, besides Lin Tian.
The lead tiger, with its striped markings, saw the Little Stone Monkey Little Stone Monkey and, with a furious roar, pounced on it!
Its gaping maw opened wide, snapping straight for its neck!
"Watch out Little Stone Monkey!"
The Thin Monkey screamed in terror.
Just as the tiger's jaws were about to bite him, he pushed off the rocks with all four limbs, rolled to the side, and avoided the fatal pounce. At the same time, he punched the tiger in the cheek!
"Bang!"
A muffled thud!
The striped tiger staggered a few steps, shook its slightly dizzy head, and let out a roar of surprise and anger.
"Again!"
The Little Stone Monkey let out a low shout and charged forward before the tiger could pounce again!
He used his strengths to attack while simultaneously dodging the tiger's attacks.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the five ferocious tigers were beaten into a sorry state by the Little Stone Monkey, with many wounds on their bodies.
They realized that they couldn't defeat the little monkey in front of them.
"Walk..."
The striped tiger growled unwillingly, glanced at the dead monkeys on the ground, then looked warily at the Little Stone Monkey, before slinking away into the depths of the dense forest.
The other four tigers quickly followed and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Beneath the rocks, the surviving apes stared in disbelief, almost unable to believe their eyes.
That ferocious tiger, which had killed several of their companions, was actually driven away by this little monkey, which looked even smaller than them, all by itself?!
The Thin Monkey was the first to react, excitedly running to the Little Stone Monkey's side, his eyes filled with gratitude. "Little Stone Monkey! You're amazing! Thank you! If it weren't for you, we... we would have been eaten!"
The Little Stone Monkey scratched his head and smiled somewhat sheepishly, "Thin Monkey, we're friends. Didn't you say that friends should help each other? Isn't that what you taught me?"
He remembered clearly that not long after he met Thin Monkey, he almost fell into a deep pit out of curiosity, but Thin Monkey pulled him out of the way in time.
Afterwards, the Thin Monkey patted his chest and, using a phrase he had only recently learned from the old ape, said, "We're friends now! Friends should help each other!"
The Thin Monkey paused, then his eyes reddened slightly, and he nodded emphatically. "Yes! Friends! Friends for life!"
At this moment, an old ape with white hair and beard, but still wise eyes, walked forward shakily, supported by the other apes.
It was the leader of this group of apes, having lived for hundreds of years, and its knowledge far surpassed that of ordinary apes.
The old ape looked intently at the Little Stone Monkey, then slowly bowed and greeted him, "Thank you, Little Stone Monkey Little Stone Monkey. You saved the lives of our entire tribe. We will never forget this kindness."
The Little Stone Monkey was startled and waved its hands repeatedly, "Grandpa Chief, please don't do this! I... I can't accept it! The Dao Venerable often says, with great power comes great responsibility."
"Since I have the ability and encountered this situation, of course I should help. It's just a small favor, really no need to thank me!"
With great power comes great responsibility...
The old ape muttered the same phrase repeatedly, a strange glint in its eyes.
It had long noticed that a White-robed Man with an extraordinary aura was always by the Little Stone Monkey's side. He was no ordinary person; he must be a legendary immortal!
Only an immortal could have taught the Little Stone Monkey such miraculous abilities and uttered such profound words.
"Little Stone Monkey, you are the most honored guest of my Monkey Mountain, and the benefactor of our entire tribe."
The old ape spoke sincerely, "Would you do us the honor of visiting our valley? We would be most grateful."
"Going to visit someone?" The Little Stone Monkey was taken aback.
In the few months since he was born, apart from playing with the Thin Monkey on the edge of this mountain forest and following Dao Venerable Lin Tian in cultivation, he had never actually been to the settlement of the ape tribe.
He looked at the Thin Monkey, Thin Monkey was staring at him expectantly.
He shook his head and said apologetically to the old ape and the Thin Monkey, "Thank you for the invitation, Grandpa Chief, but the Dao Venerable is still waiting for me, so I must go back now."
It pointed in the direction of the ravine.
A hint of disappointment flashed in the old ape's eyes, but he nodded understandingly. "Immortals are busy, I understand. In that case, we dare not force you to stay. Little Stone Monkey, you are always our most welcome guest."
It bowed solemnly once more, then called to its still-shaken yet grateful tribespeople, lifted their companion's body, and slowly retreated into the distance.
The Thin Monkey lagged behind, reluctantly holding onto the little golden monkey's paw. "Stone monkey, you must come and play with me often!"
"Yes! Definitely!" The Little Stone Monkey nodded vigorously.
The Little Stone Monkey was about to return when he turned around and found Lin Tian standing behind him.
"Dao Venerable!" the Little Stone Monkey ran over. "Have you... always been here?"
Lin Tian nodded. "Not bad, you're calm and collected in the face of the enemy, but you still need to work harder."
The Little Stone Monkey was a little embarrassed and lowered its head, saying, "I understand. I will definitely practice my skills diligently when I get back."
"Let's go, I'll explain the technique to you when we get back."
Upon hearing this, the Little Stone Monkey cheered and quickly followed in Lin Tian's footsteps.
Ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.
Over the course of ten days, under Lin Tian's guidance, the Little Stone Monkey finally mastered the technique.
As a reward, he finally got his wish and tasted the delicious roasted meat, eating it with gusto and great joy.
One morning, the Little Stone Monkey was practicing moving Shi Tou.
"Little Stone Monkey!"
The Thin Monkey ran over, looking at the Little Stone Monkey with great excitement. "Quick! Come with me! We've found a huge waterfall! I've never seen such a big waterfall before! There must be something fun inside! Everyone else is too scared to go down, but you're brave enough to come with me!"
The Little Stone Monkey was somewhat tempted, and he came to Lin Tian's side.
"Dao Venerable, the Thin Monkey says they've discovered a great waterfall and would like to invite me to see it. May I go?"
Lin Tian nodded slightly. "Go."
"Yes! Thank you Dao Venerable!" The Little Stone Monkey jumped up happily, turned around and ran towards the Thin Monkey, "Thin Monkey! The Dao Venerable has agreed! Let's go quickly!"
"Very good!"
The Thin Monkey jumped up excitedly, and the two little guys ran away quickly.
Lin Tian gazed in the direction they had disappeared, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Waterfall... Water Curtain Cave?"