Western Ox Continent.
Spiritual Terrace Square Inch Mountain, Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave.
Patriarch Bodhi was preaching the Dao when his gaze suddenly sharpened and turned toward Spirit Mountain. A smile touched the corners of his mouth!
"The time has come!"
"The Great Tribulation of Journey to the West is about to begin!"
"It's time to teach that Mischievous Monkey some magic!"
Patriarch Bodhi wiped away his smile, swept his gaze over his disciples, and finally settled it on Sun Wukong.
"Wukong, since you've listened to my teachings, let me ask you: how long have you been at Square Inch Mountain?"
Sun Wukong scratched his monkey head. Clear-eyed foolishness appeared in his gaze as he replied:
"Your disciple is ignorant and knows nothing of the years. I only remember a peach tree on the back mountain. I ate my fill of peaches there seven times."
Patriarch Bodhi nodded and said:
"That mountain is called Rotten Peach Mountain. Since you've eaten there seven times, that makes seven years."
"Tell me, what kind of Daoist methods do you wish to learn?"
At his words, Sun Wukong's face lit up with joy. He kowtowed and said:
"Your disciple doesn't know. I'll follow whatever Patriarch decides!"
Bodhi nodded. "I'll teach you divination, so you can seek immortality, predict the future, and avoid misfortune. How about that?"
Sun Wukong asked, "Patriarch, can I attain eternal life that way?"
Bodhi shook his head. "No, no."
Sun Wukong said, "Seeking immortality through divination is no better than taking charge of my own fate. I won't learn it, I won't!"
Bodhi continued, "Then I'll teach you to recite Buddhist scriptures, pay homage to the true Dao, and summon the saints. How does that sound?"
Sun Wukong asked, "Can I attain eternal life that way?"
Bodhi shook his head again. "It's like trying to scoop the moon from the water. In the end, you'll have nothing."
Sun Wukong scratched his monkey cheek. "Then reciting Buddhist scriptures is no match for having real skills. I won't learn it, I won't!"
Bodhi continued, "Then how about I teach you to meditate, keep silent, and fast?"
Sun Wukong asked again, "Can I attain eternal life that way?"
Patriarch Bodhi shook his head. "It's like admiring flowers in a mirror. You'll never be able to pluck them."
Sun Wukong's monkey eyes widened. He grew so anxious he hopped about, shouting:
"I won't learn it, I won't! Meditation is no match for swinging a cudgel and throwing punches. Patriarch, pick something else!"
Hearing this, Patriarch Bodhi gave a snort and pretended to be furious.
"You monkey, you refuse to learn this and refuse to learn that. I'll teach you a lesson with my Measuring Rod!"
As he spoke, he raised the Measuring Rod in his hand and struck the monkey's head hard three times. Then he swept his long robe behind him and strode away.
At once, all the disciples grew displeased and glared angrily at Sun Wukong.
"You Mischievous Monkey, how dare you offend Patriarch!"
"Exactly! You little monkey, you've disrupted Patriarch's sermon!"
Seeing his senior brothers and sisters complain one after another, Sun Wukong hurriedly made himself scarce and slipped away.
Meanwhile, Patriarch Bodhi returned to his bedroom, feeling immensely pleased with himself.
He had made a point of striking the monkey's head hard!
Thump, thump, thump!
Three strikes!
The monkey had been formed from Empress Nuwa's Sky-Mending Stone. Though mischievous by nature, he was exceptionally clever.
Surely the monkey would understand what he meant!
All he had to do was wait for the monkey to arrive at the third watch tonight and teach him some Immortal Arts and Daoist Methods.
Then the Great Tribulation of Journey to the West could officially begin!
Dao Ancestor Hongjun had already spoken. The Great Prosperity of Buddhism was just around the corner!
As for Sun Wukong, after being struck three times by Patriarch Bodhi for no apparent reason and then scolded by his fellow disciples, he felt terribly wronged. He summoned a cloud and wandered aimlessly over the sea.
Though Sun Wukong had not yet learned the Somersault Cloud, he had listened to Patriarch Bodhi preach the Dao for seven years and had at least mastered the most basic Cloud-Stepping Technique.
"All I wanted was to learn the art of eternal life. Was that really wrong?"
"Tell me, what living creature in this world doesn't want to live forever?"
"Could it be that Patriarch doesn't know how to attain eternal life? Is that why he got angry?"
Sun Wukong rubbed his aching, swollen crown and felt that Patriarch Bodhi's blows had carried some deeper meaning.
As he stood there in a daze, he suddenly spotted what seemed to be an Immortal Island amid the vast sea, glowing with Five-Colored Divine Light!
"Looks like immortals live over there. I'll go take a look!"
Sun Wukong steered his cloud toward it!
As soon as he reached the sky above the island, a mysterious force seized him and dragged him straight down.
He found himself surrounded by thick fog. Once it cleared, he saw a gigantic Stone Tablet, reaching into the clouds and piercing the heavens.
Sun Wukong blinked and looked up. A row of bold, ancient characters was carved into the Stone Tablet, and he read them one by one:
"Pangu Opens the Heavens, bows to me three times, and borrows my axe and chisel."
"Hongjun Merges with the Dao, yet is truly an old thief, stealing my Jade Treasure."
"Nuwa Becomes a Saint, takes me as her model, and molds humans from clay."
"The Three Pure Ones establish their teachings, Erhu Creates Buddhism; all are but lesser paths."
"If you ask about the Great Dao: Supreme Being of Chaos, eternal freedom."
Every word was ancient and desolate, majestic and weighty!
They were like the Great Dao Laws, enduring through all ages.
They filled all who beheld them with awe, making them yearn to bow down and prostrate themselves.
"The master of this place sure has a big mouth! Even bigger than my foot odor!"
"Great God Pangu, Empress Nuwa, the Saints of the Three Pure Ones—none of them are worth mentioning in his eyes?"
"I wonder how this place's master compares to my Patriarch Bodhi. Who's more powerful?"
Muttering to himself, Sun Wukong walked around the Stone Tablet. The sight before him left him utterly stunned.
A winding path carved entirely from Ten-Thousand-Year Divine Jade stretched into the clouds, disappearing into the unknown.
The jade was flawless, engraved with the profound mysteries of heaven and earth. Its radiance flowed with laws of unfathomable wonder.
"Even the path is carved from Ten-Thousand-Year Divine Jade. What a display of wealth!"
Sun Wukong stepped forward, his expression solemn. With each step, a lotus bloomed beneath his feet, and auspicious light sprang up around him.
Every step sent countless streams of rich spiritual energy surging from beneath his feet into his limbs and meridians. In an instant, he felt refreshed, as if he had been reborn!
At the end of the path stood a Supreme Divine Palace, silent beneath the firmament.
Its doors stood open, pouring out billions of strands of immortal light!
Sun Wukong strode inside. Ninety-nine Heaven-Supporting Divine Pillars held up the palace!
Each pillar stood ten thousand zhang tall. Nine layers of heavenly thunder coiled around them, while the Daoist Charm of Chaos poured down.
He passed through the palace, and the world changed around him. Divine Trees rose like mountains, and Spirit Springs stretched like seas.
In the distance, a Willow Tree towered up from the earth, its height beyond measure, its crown piercing the river of stars.
Its branches hung like dragon scales, each wreathed in ten thousand rays of green light, swaying in the breeze.
Beneath the Willow Tree stood a simple, unadorned writing desk.
A sheet of white paper lay open on it.
A young Daoist stood before the desk, holding a wolf-hair brush as he wrote in broad, sweeping strokes.
With each stroke, Golden Script rose into the air and Dao Patterns shimmered.
With every completed character, laws sprang into being and the firmament trembled.
He said not a word, wholly absorbed in his writing.
Daoist Charm flowed ceaselessly around him. Great Dao Runes shimmered, while countless phantoms of gods and demons prostrated themselves at his side. Boundless golden light of faith surged like rivers and seas.
With a single stroke, the firmament quivered, the earth shook, the stars wheeled, and the sun and moon lost their light.
This man was neither Saint, god, demon, nor immortal, yet he had surpassed the myriad Dao, as if he were the very source of the Dao!
It was as though he had stood atop Chaos before heaven and earth were formed, writing the source of all worlds.
Sun Wukong stood far away, his mind already trembling and cold sweat pouring from his brow.
He barely dared to breathe. All he could do was stand with his head bowed, like a child seeing heaven and earth for the first time.
The Old Ancestor Bodhi he had once revered now seemed no more than an old man standing outside the gate of the Dao.
But the Daoist before him!!!
Sun Wukong stared, his gaze burning and his mind in turmoil. A voice thundered through his thoughts:
"This Daoist is unfathomably deep. Compared to him, Patriarch Bodhi probably wouldn't even qualify to hold his chamber pot!"
He wanted to speak, but didn't dare!
He wanted to bow, but didn't dare!
All he could do was stand solemnly before the tree, watching the Daoist sketch the Grand Plan of the Heavenly Dao, stroke by stroke.
After who knew how long, the Daoist finished writing, slowly set down his brush, and smiled faintly.
In an instant!
Millions of miles of Peach Blossoms bloomed behind him all at once. Rays of rosy light streamed across the sky, auspicious air filled the heavens, Divine Birds sang together, and Immortal Music flowed.
At that moment, the young Daoist raised his eyes and glanced at Sun Wukong, his tone indifferent:
"What monkey dares trespass in my sanctuary? Do you know your crime?"
In an instant, Sun Wukong felt as if he'd fallen into an icy pit. Trembling, he bowed and cupped his hands.
"Immortal, I'm called Sun Wukong!"
"I came here to seek an immortal and ask about the Dao!"
Hearing this, Zhou Xuan looked down. So this was Sun Wukong, the protagonist of the Great Tribulation of Journey to the West, formed from Nuwa's Sky-Mending Stone!
"You monkey, born of stone and nurtured by heaven and earth, yet you still know a little courtesy."
Zhou Xuan spoke casually, but his words nearly split Sun Wukong with shock.
This immortal could see Old Sun's origins at a glance. He was indeed unfathomably deep!
Without another moment's hesitation,
Sun Wukong fell to his knees with a thump!
"Immortal, I'm from Water Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain, in Aolai Country of the Eastern Continent of Divine Sands!"
"Please, immortal, take me as your disciple!"
Before you continue