Square Inch of Lingtai, Gu Yue Fang Yuan

As for opportunities, Xuan Yin did not care much about them at the moment. If he gained one, it was his fortune; if he lost one, it was his fate. What concerned him was the Sages' deductions of the future.

The Sage's primordial spirit was entrusted to the Heavenly Dao, so in theory, they could glimpse the great trends of the future. Yet the Witch-Demon Calamity had not even ended, and the karmic consequences of the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation had yet to erupt, but his Senior Uncle-Master had already deduced the Journey to the West countless Epochs in the future within the Great Luo Heavens he had created...

That was truly outrageous!

"If the Great Trend of the Heavenly Dao is truly immutable, then what meaning does the future have? Did I transmigrate into this world merely to follow the trend?"

A tempest instantly surged within Xuan Yin's heart. His Dao heart was like a lone boat upon the sea, tossing unstably, and he could not help gritting his teeth.

The Journey to the West World had been created by Taishang Laojun, with Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism coexisting. That meant the Grand Pure Sage had at least deduced the Great Prosperity of the Buddhist Sect and the emergence of Confucianism.

Yet in the Primordial True Realm, the Human Race was still in an ignorant age, and the Two Sages of the West had no intention of establishing the Buddhist Sect.

He had thought that his foreknowledge of later generations was his greatest advantage, but now it seemed that he was far from the only one capable of such foresight.

If the Grand Pure Sage could accomplish this, what about Primordial Heavenly Venerate and his own Teacher?

Xuan Yin suddenly recalled that, ever since arriving at Mount Kunlun, he had never seen any Chan Sect Disciples. Could it be because his Teacher had glimpsed the future and, after learning everything, no longer wished to communicate with Primordial Heavenly Venerate?

It was very possible!

Of course, that was merely Xuan Yin's speculation!

He wanted to use his Heavenly Immortal Dao Fruit to probe this world, only to discover that an inexplicable force had directly suppressed it.

However, he could still use his Magic Power and the divine abilities he had mastered!

"Does this world reject other Dao Fruits, allowing only cultivation of Magic Power and Dao attainment? Or am I currently trapped within an illusion?"

If his guess was correct, then with Six-Eared Macaque as his foundation and an innate Golden Immortal Physique, as long as he raised his Dao attainment, he could become a demon king who dominated one region in this world as well.

He was truly blessed by heaven!

Even...

Looking at the Stone Monkey who had only just been born, a dark thought arose within him. Since the two of them had both been divided from the origin of the Chaos Demon Ape, if he devoured and refined him, would his foundation rise to another level?

However, he quickly dismissed the thought. In the Journey to the West World, the other party was the absolute protagonist. If he put that idea into practice, perhaps Grand Pure Divine Thunder would descend the very next moment and scour the land clean.

"Better observe for now!"

At this moment, he was also quite curious. Since this was the Journey to the West World, was the current Tathagata Buddha of the Buddhist Sect truly his Martial Brother Duobao?

And were Great Powers such as the Jade Emperor and Zhen Yuanzi manifestations of the Grand Pure Sage, or Other-Self Incarnations they had left behind in the Grand Pure Heaven?

He did not reveal himself to meet the Stone Monkey. Instead, he cultivated while silently observing everything, using his innate divine ability to listen to the voices of the Three Realms and Six Paths and learn about this world.

The Stone Monkey's birth could be called earth-shattering. It alarmed the Heavenly Court and the Underworld, and the nearby East Sea Dragon Palace naturally could not avoid being affected.

From time to time, creatures of the sea would emerge and secretly observe the Stone Monkey's growth.

Three hundred years passed in the blink of an eye. The Stone Monkey mingled into the monkey tribes of Flower-Fruit Mountain and, through the feat of leaping over the waterfall, became their new monkey king.

From then on, the blessed land of Flower-Fruit Mountain and the grotto-heaven of Water Curtain Cave became the monkeys' new dwelling.

The Handsome Monkey King led a troop of apes, macaques, horse monkeys, and others, assigning them the ranks of ruler, ministers, aides, and attendants. By day they roamed Flower-Fruit Mountain, and by night they slept in Water Curtain Cave. They were united in spirit and affection, neither joining the flocks of birds nor mixing with the beasts. They ruled by themselves and knew boundless joy, yet they were also moved by the matters of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

One day, amid a joyous feast with the monkey troop, he suddenly became troubled and shed tears.

Seeing this, the monkeys hastily bowed and said, "This is a place of joy. Why is the Great King troubled?"

The Monkey King said, "Though I am happy now, I have one distant concern, and that is why I am troubled."

The monkeys laughed again. "Great King, how dissatisfied you are! We gather in merriment every day, dwelling in immortal mountains and blessed lands, ancient caves and divine continents. We are not governed by qilin, controlled by phoenixes, or restrained by the thrones of mortal kings. We are free and unfettered. This is immeasurable fortune, so why worry over distant concerns?"

The Monkey King said, "We may now roam freely without restraint. Though we are not bound by the laws of human kings and fear not the dominion of birds and beasts, when we grow old and our blood weakens, King Yama secretly has authority over us. Once we die, would we not have lived in this world for nothing, unable to remain among the heavens and humankind forever?"

Upon hearing this, every monkey covered his face and wept bitterly, all troubled by the uncertainty of life.

But there was one exception!

From among the ranks, a Through-Back Ape Monkey suddenly leaped out. He cupped his hands toward the Handsome Monkey King and shouted, "If the Great King harbors such distant concerns, then your Dao heart has truly awakened. Among the five classes of creatures, only three kinds are beyond King Yama's control. Great King, you may seek a master and learn the arts!"

The Monkey King immediately asked, "Do you know which three kinds they are, and where they dwell?"

The Arm-Reaching Ape Monkey replied, "They are Buddhas, immortals, and gods. They escape Samsara, Unborn, Undying, living as long as heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers, and sharing the same age as the sun and moon. They dwell only within Jambudvipa World, in ancient caves and immortal mountains."

Upon hearing this, the Monkey King was overjoyed. Dancing with excitement, he said, "Tomorrow, I shall bid you all farewell and descend the mountain, roaming to the ends of the seas and crossing the farthest horizons. I must find these three kinds and learn an art of ageless longevity, forever escaping the calamity of King Yama."

The monkeys clapped and praised him. "Excellent, excellent! Tomorrow, we shall cross ridges and climb mountains, gathering fruits far and wide to prepare a grand feast in farewell to the Great King!"

The next day, the Monkey King boarded a wooden raft, bringing fruits with him as he sailed across the sea.

"He has finally set out to sea!"

Seeing the Stone Monkey leave, Xuan Yin immediately revealed himself. While keeping watch over the Stone Monkey, he sought out Marshal Ma Liu and General Beng Ba.

These four monkeys were also unusual among the monkeys of Flower-Fruit Mountain. Though inferior to the Stone Monkey, they carried the bloodlines of the Arm-Reaching Ape Monkey and the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey.

It was simply exceedingly thin!

Judging by their appearance, one of their ancestors should have been an innate sacred being like the Stone Monkey.

He used his divine ability to take a drop of essence blood from each of the four monkeys and fuse it into himself, hoping to obtain something through bloodline resonance.

Naturally, he did not harm their lives. He merely caused them to fall unconscious.

Unfortunately, the four monkeys' bloodlines were far too thin. Other than allowing Xuan Yin to glimpse a phantom of the Chaos Demon Ape in the Netherworld, their essence blood brought him nothing else. It was clearly because their bloodlines were impure!

Seeing this, Xuan Yin could not help shaking his head. "It seems I need to find their ancestors!"

After speaking, he sent out four streams of Immortal Qi to replenish the four monkeys' lost essence blood. Then he transformed into a streak of Rainbow Light and followed the Stone Monkey out to sea.

He did not interfere with the Stone Monkey's fate, merely acting as an observer.

Very soon, the Stone Monkey arrived at Western Ox Continent and found Mount Lingtai Fangcun.

Under a woodcutter's guidance, the Stone Monkey successfully became Patriarch Bodhi's disciple and was given the name Sun Wukong. Afterward, he began tempering his nature atop Square Inch Mountain.

Xuan Yin had intended to spy from the shadows, but Patriarch Bodhi gave him no such opportunity.

With a dizzying turn of heaven and earth, Xuan Yin found himself before Patriarch Bodhi.

Patriarch Bodhi smiled. "You already have a master, and there is no master-disciple fate between us. Yet an karmic connection once arose between us in the Netherworld!"

"Since it is karma, it should naturally be resolved. Are you willing to sit in on my teachings for a time?"

Xuan Yin naturally would not refuse.

He was merely curious whether the Patriarch Bodhi before him was an incarnation of the Grand Pure Sage or an incarnation Saint Zhunti had left behind in this world.

If it was the former, that was nothing. But if it was the latter, should he not forcibly forge karma with him?

Patriarch Bodhi smiled. "Remove the beast nature from the character hu, and it becomes Gu Yue. Since you received your name on Square Inch Mountain, take the character fang. I hope you will not lose your original heart. Finally, add yuan. From now on, you shall be called Gu Yue Fang Yuan!"

"Ah?"

Xuan Yin was immediately stunned.

Me?

Gu Yue Fang Yuan?