The mountain rose high enough to blot out the sun and stars, while the ravines below sank into streams bordering a jade-green abyss.
Flat-top Mountain was a place of exquisite beauty. Its peaks were rugged and majestic, its waters rippled clear and bright. It formed a sharp contrast with the foul-smelling White Tiger Ridge from before. Looking back over the previous tribulations, only the scenery of Longevity Mountain could rival this place.
To put it tactfully, without some backing, there was no way to secure this plot of land.
Sun Wukong wore a bitter expression as he cautiously scouted the road ahead. Before long, he encountered a woodsman gathering firewood in the mountains.
The entire area within five hundred li consisted of private estates, without even a village in sight. That meant the woodsman had walked at least a thousand li back and forth for a single load of firewood.
What kind of beast-of-burden spirit was this?!
Life was not easy. Sun Wukong could not help feeling moved, and he took the initiative to strike up a conversation.
"Old immortal, where did you come from, and where are you headed?"
"Elder, you jest. This old man is but an ordinary mortal. I have made my living chopping firewood all my life. I could never be called an old immortal."
The woodsman shot the monkey a reproachful look, telling him not to alter the lines carelessly, then recited from the script: "Master, where did you come from, and where are you going?"
"I came from Great Xia in the Eastern Lands, and I am heading to Western Heaven to seek the true scriptures."
"So you are a revered monk from Great Xia. My apologies for failing to recognize you."
The woodsman lowered his burden and continued, "Elder, disaster is about to