Six-Eared Macaque's Choice, the Copycat Effect

"Your disciple chooses the first path.

Primordial Spirit, body, and laws—all three cultivated together!"

Six-Eared Macaque did not hesitate in the slightest, his gaze resolute as he looked at Dijiang.

Though his cultivation was meager, he possessed his own pride and backbone. Since he had entered the Pangu Orthodox Lineage, if he did not take the hardest, strongest path, would that not mean letting down his master's cultivation?

The moment those words were spoken, the eleven ancestral witches in the hall all raised their brows slightly.

"This monkey's ambitions aren't small."

Zhu Rong curled his lip and muttered softly, "Three paths together? Even with Pangu bloodlines supporting us, cultivation is difficult. He's just a monkey with an ordinary bloodline—he isn't afraid of cultivating himself into a cripple?"

Six-Eared Macaque's Chaos Demon Ape bloodline was quite good, but that was only when compared to a complete Chaos Demon Ape bloodline. Six-Eared Macaque currently possessed merely one-quarter of the Chaos Demon Ape bloodline, so naturally it did not catch his eye.

Though Zhu Jiuyin and the others said nothing, their eyes also carried a trace of doubt.

In their view, Six-Eared Macaque was simply a newborn calf unafraid of tigers—far too arrogant.

However, none of them spoke to dissuade him.

The path of cultivation was one of defying the heavens.

Since Six-Eared Macaque had made his own choice, they would let him crash into the southern wall. Once he truly experienced the hardship and agony of cultivating all three paths, he would naturally understand the stakes involved.

For his temperament, this would also be a rare trial.

Dijiang looked at Six-Eared Macaque's determined eyes, and a trace of approval flashed through his own.

He had given Six-Eared Macaque the choice precisely because he supported every decision he made.

"Good. Since you have made your choice, your master shall fulfill it."

Dijiang pointed a finger, and a stream of purple-gold light instantly entered Six-Eared Macaque's brow.

"This is the supreme body-tempering method passed down by Father God, the Ninefold Mysterious Technique. This technique is incomparably domineering, and its cultivation process is agonizing beyond measure. But if you can master it, your body may become saintly, indestructible through ten thousand tribulations."

"Cultivate diligently here. If there is anything you do not understand, come ask your master at any time."

Feeling the vast, oceanic, unfathomably profound technique in his mind, Six-Eared Macaque trembled all over with excitement.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this technique! Your disciple will certainly not fail Master's great expectations!"

Six-Eared Macaque kowtowed heavily, then impatiently found a place in the corner of the hall, sat down cross-legged, and began comprehending the Ninefold Mysterious Technique.

A thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, it was Zhu Jiuyin's turn to teach the Dao at the foot of Mount Buzhou.

After explaining the shallow mysteries of the Great Dao of Time, he was preparing to rise and leave.

"Ancestral Witch, please accept me as your disciple!"

"Merciful Ancestral Witch, please take in this little demon!"

"I am willing to serve the Ancestral Witch for life after life!"

Below him, tens of millions of living beings knelt in unison, frantically kowtowing and begging to become disciples. The sight was a hundred times more spectacular than when Six-Eared Macaque had sought a master.

Zhu Jiuyin stood in the air, looking down at the vast black mass below, his brow furrowing slightly.

The phantom of the River of Time flowed through his eyes, and with a single glance, he saw through every little scheme in their hearts.

"They saw Eldest Brother accept Six-Eared Macaque and assumed that as long as they clung on like leeches, they could enter the Pangu Orthodox Lineage?"

Zhu Jiuyin sneered inwardly.

These beings possessed a little cleverness, but their aptitude was mediocre, and their temperaments were even more impetuous. Their minds were filled with thoughts of cutting corners.

Did such people deserve to enter the gates of the Pangu Orthodox Lineage?

"The Dao is not to be lightly imparted. The destined affinity has yet to arrive."

Zhu Jiuyin had no interest in even giving them another glance. Leaving behind those icy words, his figure directly vanished from the air.

Below, he left behind a crowd of beings whose faces were full of bewilderment, before they began beating their chests and stamping their feet in despair.

Over the next several tens of thousands of years, Zhu Rong, Gonggong, Houtu, and the other ancestral witches took turns teaching the Dao. Without exception, every lecture ended with the grand spectacle of countless people pleading in blood to become disciples.

Some beings even tried to demonstrate their "sincerity" by imitating Six-Eared Macaque from back then, kowtowing until their heads split open and blood covered the ground.

But Houtu and the others were no fools.

With one glance, they could tell whether someone truly sought the Dao or was merely putting on an act.

Toward such opportunists, Houtu and the others showed no mercy. They refused them outright and turned to leave.

Inside Pangu Hall.

"Eldest Brother, look at the good thing you've done!"

Zhu Rong had just returned from teaching the Dao. With a face full of resentment, he looked at Dijiang seated upon the jade platform. "Those fellows down there have all gone mad now. The moment I finished speaking, a huge crowd dropped to their knees, wailing for their fathers and mothers as they begged to become disciples. The noise made my head ache!"

"Yes, Eldest Brother, this atmosphere is no good."

Gonggong also complained, "Their minds are no longer on listening to the Dao. All they think about is how to take a shortcut and become disciples. If this continues, what meaning is left in our teachings?"

Though Houtu, Xuanming, and the other ancestral witches did not speak, their gazes toward Dijiang also carried a measure of helpless resentment.

Dijiang felt somewhat embarrassed beneath the looks from his younger brothers and sisters, awkwardly rubbing his nose.

He had never expected that taking in a single disciple would trigger such a tremendous chain reaction.

"Ahem... I truly did not consider this matter carefully enough."

Dijiang coughed twice, his expression turning serious. "Since that is the case, then we shall establish another rule."

A thousand years later, it was Dijiang's turn to teach the Dao again.

After he finished explaining the Great Dao, the beings below were just preparing to repeat their old trick and kneel collectively to beg for discipleship.

Boom!

A terrifying pressure belonging to a Primordial Golden Immortal erupted from Dijiang's body, instantly suppressing every living being until none could move.

"The Pangu Orthodox Lineage accepts disciples based only on destiny and temperament, nothing else!"

Dijiang's voice was like rolling heavenly thunder, exploding within every being's sea of consciousness. "From this day onward, all who attend teachings must disperse immediately when the lecture ends. Do not linger and pester us! Should anyone dare gather crowds to make a clamor or cling stubbornly to beg for discipleship again, their cultivation will be crippled and they will be expelled from Mount Buzhou!"

The moment those words were spoken, the beings below who had intended to take advantage of the situation turned pale with fright, cold sweat pouring down their bodies.

Only then did they realize that the ancestral witches' majesty was not something they could casually test or exploit.

"We respectfully obey the Ancestral Witch's decree!"

One hundred billion living beings kowtowed in unison, no longer daring to harbor even the slightest improper thought.

With this rule established, the teachings at the foot of Mount Buzhou finally returned to their former clarity.

The living beings once more focused their minds on comprehending the Great Dao, and the speed at which their cultivation improved increased again.

Meanwhile, inside Pangu Hall, Six-Eared Macaque's cultivation also encountered its first enormous trial.

In the corner, Six-Eared Macaque sat cross-legged, his entire body shrouded in a faint mist of blood.

The Ninefold Mysterious Technique truly deserved to be called the supreme body-tempering method inherited from Pangu. Its tyranny far exceeded Six-Eared Macaque's imagination.

This technique was not merely about absorbing spiritual qi to temper the body. Instead, it forcibly drew the qi between heaven and earth into the body, hammering the body thousands upon thousands of times—crushing every inch of flesh, bone, and meridian, then reassembling them anew!

"Urgh—aaah!"

Six-Eared Macaque let out a low roar of pain, suppressed to its utmost limit.

He could clearly feel a berserk force raging through his body. His meridians were breaking inch by inch, while his bones made overloaded cracking sounds, as though they could collapse completely at any moment.

Beads of sweat as large as beans mixed with blood and slid down his furry face, dyeing the ground beneath him a vivid crimson.

"This monkey can't hold on much longer."

Not far away, Zhu Rong watched Six-Eared Macaque struggle in agony, his brows slightly furrowed. "Without Pangu bloodline to serve as a buffer, forcibly cultivating the Ninefold Mysterious Technique is simply courting death. Eldest Brother, should we lend him a hand?"