Primordial Diary

[Beep! Side Quest 1 complete. Congratulations, Host, you have received a reward: Body Outside Body (Grade: Yellow Grade)!]

When Chen Tong returned to his residence, he heard the system's notification.

"Body Outside Body!"

Chen Tong froze for a moment, then burst into elation.

Hahaha!

Side quests were the best!

He'd completed so many little quests before, and the rewards had only taken him from early-stage Mortal Immortal to mid-stage Mortal Immortal.

But now, all he had to do was complete one side quest, and he was rewarded with a spell!

And not just any spell—Body Outside Body!

This was Sun Wukong's signature ability. A single Body Outside Body could transform into hundreds or thousands of Monkey Kings, enough to repel a hundred thousand soldiers and Divine Generals!

"System, give me a detailed explanation of 'Body Outside Body'!"

[Beep! Body Outside Body: This spell can advance through repeated cultivation. Once mastered, the Host can turn every drop of water in rivers, lakes, and seas into a clone, and each clone can inherit some of its master's abilities...]

"Holy crap! That's awesome!"

Chen Tong let out an excited shout.

This was a much higher-level version of Sun Wukong's Body Outside Body!

After all, the monkey's hairs were limited.

But water was practically endless!

You could put it poetically: a million shadow clones helping a million Narutos make Rasengan. Tell me, wouldn't that terrify you?

And it was a spell that grew stronger over time. It could practically be his signature technique!

[Beep! The Host is encouraged to practice diligently and strive to reach perfection as soon as possible!]

"Don't worry. There's no way I'd slack off with a spell this incredible!"

After comprehending Body Outside Body, Chen Tong took a moment to calm down. But the system's next words left him reeling again.

[Beep! Five hundred years have passed. The Primordial Diary has been successfully unlocked!]

Boom!

It was as if a muffled thunderclap had exploded inside Chen Tong's mind.

The Primordial Diary had finally been unlocked?!

Hadn't he spent five hundred years lying low in the river just waiting for the seal on this supreme treasure to be lifted?

Now, at last, his patience had paid off!

Chen Tong sent his consciousness into the system's inventory and rummaged through the pile of items until he found the Primordial Diary at the very bottom...

The Chaos Seal on it had indeed completely dissipated!

Holding it in his hands, Chen Tong could barely keep them from trembling with excitement.

"Primordial Diary, oh, Primordial Diary! Five hundred years! Don't you dare disappoint me!"

As he spoke, Chen Tong carefully opened the first page.

Purple qi drifted from the pages. Chen Tong could sense that writing on them might connect past and present, linking the very fabric of time and space!

"What should I write?"

Chen Tong tapped his forehead with the pen, unable to think of anything.

Then he suddenly thought of someone, smiled, and began to write.

[The weather was clear today. I lazed around as usual in the morning, but in the afternoon I ran into Sun Wukong... That monkey has terrible manners, but I have to say, he's a pitiful fellow!]

[He thinks he learned peerless skills and the Immortality Technique on Mount Fangcun. Little does he know, it was all part of someone else's plan.]

[His fate was tied to the grand scheme of the Journey to the West long ago. He thinks he's acting according to his own heart, but in the end, he's nothing more than a weapon for the people of the Heavenly Court and Thunderclap Monastery to wield!]

[How tragic, how lamentable! The monkey has little time left. I wonder if he can escape this calamity...]

After finishing the entry, Chen Tong couldn't help letting out a sigh.

In the end, all he could do was vent his frustration in the diary. It would be even better if the monkey got to read it.

Those lofty figures at Thunderclap Monastery were treating the Journey to the West as a grand conspiracy to cement their own standing.

Hmph!

Go ahead and stake everything on it!

I, Chen Tong, will give you all a resounding slap in the face!

[Beep! The Host has completed the first diary entry. Reward: Heavenly Immortal Pill!]

[Reward: Gonggong's Heaven-Grade Mountain Moving Technique!]

The rewards were already here?

Before Chen Tong could collect himself, a radiant beam carrying the spiritual energy of heaven and earth poured straight down through the top of his head.

The mighty spiritual energy sent the waterbed surging.

The surface of the water stirred without a breeze, but the terrifying storm below was far more intense.

Boom!

Chen Tong felt energy pour out from within him, smashing through the unbreakable barrier.

Late-stage Mortal Immortal, peak Mortal Immortal, early-stage Earth Immortal, mid-stage Earth Immortal, late-stage Earth Immortal, peak Earth Immortal, early-stage Heavenly Immortal!

At last, his rapidly soaring cultivation stopped at early-stage Heavenly Immortal!

What a rate of cultivation!

"Whew..."

Feeling the changes in his body, Chen Tong sucked in a breath.

A Heavenly Immortal could live as long as heaven and earth, and even destroy the heavens and shatter the earth!

In the space of a few breaths, he had become a formidable powerhouse.

"Hahaha! Those five hundred years weren't wasted after all! System! Primordial Diary! I love you!"

"Right, and I've also got a Heaven-Grade technique, Mountain Moving Technique!"

Chen Tong sent his consciousness into it, and the technique immediately flowed into his mind.

[Heaven-Grade Mountain Moving Technique: Created by the Water God Gonggong in ancient times. It can move mountains and fill seas.]

[When Nuwa repaired the heavens, she relied on the Mountain Moving Technique to complete the task.]

[If Foolish Old Man had known this technique, there'd have been no need to move the Jade Emperor.]

"Not bad, not bad. If I run into a troublesome opponent, I'll just move Flower-Fruit Mountain over and smash it into his face!"

His strength had soared, and he'd learned a new technique. Chen Tong was feeling absolutely wonderful.

He yawned and went straight to sleep.

...

Beneath Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Sun Wukong held the Golden Cudgel, unable to bear letting it go. He figured he should hurry back and show it off to his monkeys.

He hadn't gone far when something suddenly caught his foot, nearly sending the cudgel flying out of his hand again.

"What the heck? Who dares trip me?"

The monkey put away the Golden Cudgel and scratched his head as he went over to see what had tripped him. To his surprise, a strange book was lying there.

"What's this?"

He picked up the diary. In gleaming golden letters, it read: Primordial Diary: Supplementary Volume!

Sun Wukong scratched his head vigorously and opened the first page.

[Sun Wukong's fate is completely in someone else's hands?]

[The Heavenly Court and Thunderclap Monastery are using him as a weapon?]

[The Journey to the West—a conspiracy encompassing all living beings!]

[The monkey has little time left. I wonder if he can escape this calamity...]

...

When he saw what was written in the diary, Sun Wukong felt as if he'd been struck by lightning.

He still had no idea what the Journey to the West was, but from those few scattered lines, he could see a vast conspiracy spreading like a spiderweb!

"If what's written here is true, then I, Sun Wukong, will never let this go!"

Every hair on Sun Wukong's body stood on end, a sign of his utter fury.

But after calming down, Sun Wukong began to doubt whether the diary was genuine.

Maybe it was just some bored person's story!

"The diary and that river immortal both said I don't have much time left. Then I'll just have to see whether it's true!"

Sun Wukong put away the supplementary volume of the Primordial Diary.

If the diary really was telling the truth, Sun Wukong would treat it as a heavenly book capable of foretelling the future—and believe everything written in it!

After returning to Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong reunited with the monkey children he hadn't seen in a long time.

They toasted one another, cups clinking as they drank.

After getting drunk, Sun Wukong lay on his stone bed, the words Chen Tong had said and the warning in the diary repeatedly surfacing in his mind...

Through the haze, two figures, one black and one white, suddenly flickered before his eyes.

Illusory light and shadow shimmered, forming a black-and-white dreamscape!

Sun Wukong abruptly opened his eyes.

This wasn't a dream!