Six Ears Seeks an Audience

Watching the two leave, Jieyin turned to Xuande and Zhunti. "Daoist brother, junior brother, we should head back as well."

The three raised their Escape Light and traveled west.

More than three thousand years after they had left, the land of the West seemed to have gained a little more greenery.

The Earth Veins they had personally restored flowed quietly beneath the ground, releasing Spiritual Energy that was thin yet fresh.

Patches of wild grass and shrubs had already grown across some of the slopes that had once been barren.

They could occasionally see small beasts moving through the forests. Though still scarce, they were worlds apart from the devastated sight of the past.

Zhunti looked down at the scene below and sighed.

"Three thousand years have passed. While we listened to the Dao at Zixiao Palace, the West was slowly recovering as well. Given some more time, it should become even better."

Jieyin nodded. "The Earth Veins have been restored, and the foundation has been secured. The rest can be left to time."

Xuande said nothing and merely gazed quietly at the land.

Three thousand years was no more than the flick of a finger to the Primordial Wilderness.

But for this land, ravaged by countless wounds, every moment of recovery was an accumulation of hope.

The outline of Mount Sumeru gradually emerged on the horizon.

That majestic divine mountain stood quietly there. The Bodhi Tree atop its peak emitted a faint, clear radiance, as though welcoming their return.

The three lowered their Escape Light and landed before the mountain gate.

The moment they stepped through the gate, the familiar scent of home washed over them.

Xuande took a deep breath, and his heart felt utterly tranquil.

"Daoist brother." Jieyin looked at him. "This time listening to the Dao brought tremendous gains. Junior brother and I need to enter seclusion and digest what we have gained. Will daoist brother enter seclusion as well, or..."

Xuande thought for a moment. "I too need to enter seclusion for a time.

"This time listening to the Dao has given me new insights into the Way of Merit. I need to sort through them properly."

Jieyin nodded. "Then we shall each enter seclusion. We will gather again in three thousand years."

Zhunti smiled. "When the time comes, we'll go to Zixiao Palace together again!

"Now that we have experience, we'll definitely be faster next time!"

The three exchanged smiles before parting beneath the Bodhi Tree.

Jieyin returned to his own cave abode, while Zhunti went to his place of cultivation.

Xuande, meanwhile, headed toward Spirit Spring Valley, where he had once entered seclusion to refine two supreme treasures.

Spirit Spring Valley remained serene and secluded. Clear springs babbled, spiritual herbs gave off their fragrance, and the Spiritual Energy was so dense it nearly condensed into substance.

Xuande found a flat rock within the valley and sat down cross-legged.

He did not immediately begin his seclusion, instead sitting quietly for a while first.

He recalled everything he had heard and comprehended at Zixiao Palace.

From Heavenly Immortal to Great Luo, the principles Hongjun had spoken of flowed repeatedly through his mind.

He pondered, digested, and absorbed those portions related to the Way of Merit again and again.

The Way of Merit.

He had once thought his understanding of the Way of Merit was already deep enough.

After restoring the Western Earth Veins, he had felt even more certain that the path he walked was the right one.

But after hearing Hongjun's teachings, he realized that his former understanding had been no more than superficial.

The true Way of Merit did not lie in how many good deeds one performed, nor in how much Merit Golden Light one gained. It lay in aligning with the Dao.

Xuande closed his eyes, and his mind sank into a state of pure clarity.

He began his seclusion.

Within Spirit Spring Valley, the clear springs continued to babble, and the spiritual herbs remained fragrant.

A thousand years quietly passed during his seclusion.

Within Spirit Spring Valley, Xuande slowly opened his eyes.

The clear springs around him still babbled, and the spiritual herbs remained as fragrant as ever, but he was now completely different from who he had been a thousand years ago.

After three thousand years of listening to the Dao at Zixiao Palace, followed by a thousand years in seclusion to digest it, his insights into the Way of Merit had truly fused into his Dao heart.

His understanding of the word merit had become far more lucid than before.

He rose to his feet and walked out of Spirit Spring Valley.

Jieyin and Zhunti had already arrived beneath the Bodhi Tree.

The two had likewise just emerged from seclusion, and their auras were far more profound than they had been a thousand years ago.

Jieyin in particular still bore that sorrowful expression, but there was now a measure of clarity within his sorrow, as though he had gained a deeper understanding of the suffering of all beings in the West.

Zhunti, on the other hand, seemed more spirited. Wisdom gleamed in his eyes, clearly showing that his Way of Mystical Applications had advanced another step.

"Daoist brother!" Zhunti hurriedly waved when he saw Xuande arrive. "Come, come! Senior brother and I were just discussing what we gained from listening to the Dao! How did your seclusion go?"

Xuande walked over, sat beside them, and smiled. "I gained a little. From the looks of it, you two Daoist brothers have improved considerably as well."

Jieyin nodded, his expression calm. "This time listening to the Dao benefited us immensely.

"Especially when the Dao Ancestor spoke of Great Luo harmonizing with Heaven and Earth, I felt deeply moved.

"The path of the West lies in stillness and extinction, in transcendence. Yet before one can transcend the world, one must first enter it. This was something I had never fully understood before."

Zhunti added, "Me too! The Dao Ancestor spoke of the Way of Mystical Applications, saying that karmic conditions should follow their natural course—neither forced nor abandoned.

"I pondered those words for a thousand years, and the more I thought about them, the more sense they made.

"I once always felt that the West was barren, so we had to strive actively and make plans actively.

"Only now do I understand that striving is right, but one must also maintain a heart that follows the natural course within that striving.

"What is meant to come will come. What is not meant to come cannot be obtained through force."

Xuande listened and secretly nodded.

He knew that this realization of Jieyin and Zhunti's would be vital to their future Sage's Path.

The three discussed their respective insights from the past thousand years beneath the Bodhi Tree.

Jieyin spoke of the balance between stillness and entering the world, Zhunti spoke of reconciling striving with nature, and Xuande spoke of the relationship between merit and the Dao heart.

Each had gained something, each had their own realizations. They verified one another's insights and inspired each other.

Just as their conversation was reaching its height, a faint aura appeared beyond Mount Sumeru.

Xuande was the first to sense it.

He paused mid-sentence and raised his eyes toward the mountain gate.

Jieyin and Zhunti looked over as well.

"A guest has arrived," Jieyin said slowly.

Zhunti frowned slightly. "That aura... is rather strange.

"It's not strong, but it is... unusual?"

Xuande said nothing. He had already sensed the source of that aura.

It was a monkey.

A monkey covered in golden fur, with six ears.

The Six-eared Macaque.

Why had he come here?

Thoughts turned in Xuande's mind, but his expression remained unchanged.

A moment later, a figure appeared outside the mountain gate.

The monkey stood before the gate, hesitating and wavering. He seemed to want to knock, yet did not dare to.

His fur was somewhat disheveled, and his eyes held exhaustion and despair, along with a flicker of hope that was nearly extinguished.

Beneath the Bodhi Tree, Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged a glance.

They too saw the newcomer clearly and recognized those six distinctive ears.

"It's him," Zhunti said softly. "That cultivator who eavesdropped on the Dao Ancestor's teachings..."

Jieyin nodded slowly, his expression grave.

The teachings would not be passed to Six Ears.

They remembered those five words with perfect clarity.

Though the Dao Ancestor had not explicitly stated whom he meant, seeing this monkey now made everything self-evident.

The Six-eared Macaque seemed to sense the three powerful auras within the mountain. After struggling for a moment, he finally made up his mind and knelt outside the gate.

"Six-eared Macaque begs to meet the three True Men within the mountain!"

He shouted loudly, his voice trembling with pleading. "I beg the three True Men to show mercy and permit me to enter for an audience!"

Beneath the Bodhi Tree, the three fell silent for a moment.

Jieyin looked toward Xuande and Zhunti. "What do you think?"

Zhunti frowned. "Senior brother, this monkey eavesdropped on the Dao Ancestor's teachings.

"The Dao Ancestor personally said that the teachings would not be passed to Six Ears. Clearly, he dislikes him.

"If we take him in, would that not offend the Dao Ancestor?"

Jieyin nodded slowly, clearly sharing the same thought.

Xuande said nothing and merely gazed quietly toward the mountain gate.