Hard Work Pays Off

But upon closer inspection, it became clear that the woodcutter's attire was unusual.

The bamboo hat worn on their heads was made from the husk of newly sprouted bamboo shoots.

The cloth clothes he wore were made of yarn spun from cotton.

The sash tied around the waist was woven from silk threads spun by old silkworms.

The straw sandals they wore were woven from withered grass.

Holding a steel axe and carrying a hemp rope.

His attire was quite different from that of an ordinary woodcutter.

Upon seeing him, the monkey immediately ran up to him and shouted, "Old Immortal, may I become your disciple?"

"I dare not accept such praise. How could a poor, clumsy man like me be called a god?"

Upon hearing the monkey's words, the woodcutter was so frightened that he immediately dropped his axe to prove to the monkey that he was just an ordinary woodcutter.

"You're not a god, how can you sing things that only gods understand?"

The monkey didn't believe it and kept pressing for answers.

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

The woodcutter didn't understand what the monkey meant.

"I had just run to the Stone Monkey on the other side when I heard you say, 'Where we meet, there are either immortals or Daoists; sitting quietly, you speak of Yellow Court Yellow Court Classic, which is the true word of Daode. If this isn't what immortals say, what is it?'"

The monkey pressed on with more questions.

"To tell you the truth, this was taught to me by an old immortal who lived very close to my home. He saw that I was often troubled by family matters, so he gave it to me and told me to recite it to the troubled Stone Monkey, partly to relax and partly to relieve my worries. I was having trouble figuring something out just now, so I recited it, but I didn't expect you to hear it."

Seeing that the Stone Monkey was asking so many questions, the woodcutter had no choice but to tell him the whole story.

"Why don't you follow your teacher to cultivate, even though your house is so close? You could learn a Changsheng life."

The monkey asked, somewhat curiously.

"I have an eighty-year-old mother at home, and I have no brothers or sisters. If I were to leave like this to follow an immortal and cultivate, it would certainly be a violation of filial piety. Moreover, my mother and I have only depended on each other for survival until now. How can I abandon her when it is my turn to take care of her?"

The woodcutter explained why he didn't pursue spiritual cultivation.

"Alright, I still need to chop wood. Don't ask me anything else. If you go a few miles further, you'll find a mountain called Mount Lingtai Fangcun. On the mountain, there's a cave called Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars. The immortal I told you about lives in that cave; his name is Patriarch Bodhi."

"Countless people have learned from the old sage and returned home, and there are still twenty or thirty people following him now."

Fearing the monkey would delay his wood-chopping, he told him the old immortal's dwelling place and then urged him to leave quickly.

Thank you for informing me. I will be leaving now.

After thanking the woodcutter, the monkey left with the Red Sparrow.

"Red Sparrow, did you hear that?"

"We're very close to the old immortal's house."

The monkey excitedly spoke to the Red Sparrow.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Red Sparrow urged him to hurry up.

However, not long after they left, the woodcutter who was chopping wood changed; his clothes and his appearance were vastly different from before.

He now exudes an air of nobility, yet he seems detached from worldly affairs; he is clearly an immortal.

"Is this the person Master was waiting for? Master actually sent me specifically to show him the way."

Watching the monkey's retreating figure, he muttered to himself.

The monkey followed the path the woodcutter had indicated, and after traveling about seven or eight miles, it crossed a hillside and came to a cave abode.

The cave abode is shrouded in colorful mist and the sun and moon shimmer with light, surrounded by thousands of ancient cypress trees and ten thousand tall bamboo groves.

But the cave entrance was tightly closed, and it was quiet with no sign of anyone around. The monkey looked around and found a stone tablet.

The stone tablet is about 30 feet high and 8 feet wide, and it has ten large characters written on it: Mount Lingtai Fangcun, Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars.

"Red Sparrow, after overcoming countless hardships, we have finally found the immortal's abode."

The monkey, dressed in Red Sparrow, shouted excitedly.

"Never mind all that, hurry up and knock on the door to find the immortal and become his disciple."

Red Sparrow urged him, saying that becoming an apprentice was the most important thing.

But after hearing the Red Sparrow's words, the monkey hesitated and didn't dare to go forward, seemingly unsure whether to knock on the door.

Just then, the immortal's door creaked open, and a celestial boy emerged, handsome and extraordinary, unlike any ordinary mortal.

"Who are you? Why are you disturbing the peace at the entrance of the cave abode?"

The fairy boy began to question the monkey.

"I am a disciple studying immortality. I disturbed the peace here in my moment of joy. Please forgive me."

The monkey quickly said.

"It seems you're the one my master sent out to meet."

"He was talking about the lighthouse when he told me that someone had come seeking immortality and enlightenment, so he asked me to come out and meet him."

The fairy boy looked the monkey over and said somewhat uncertainly.

"It's me! It's me!"

The monkey said happily.

Then the fairy boy led him into the immortal's cave abode.

Within this cave abode, there were deep pavilions and jade towers, pearl palaces and shell pavilions, and countless quiet and secluded dwellings, leading all the way to the Jade Terrace.

Meanwhile, Patriarch Bodhi was sitting on the platform preaching. Upon seeing Patriarch Bodhi, the monkey immediately knelt down, kowtowed, and became his disciple.

Where are you from? What's your name?

Patriarch Bodhi raised his eyes and asked.

"I come from Flower-Fruit Mountain in the Aolai Kingdom Eastern Continent of Divine Victory. I have no parents, so they all call me Stone Monkey."

The monkey then revealed its origins.

"If you weren't born of your parents, then what gave you birth?"

Patriarch Bodhi asked with some curiosity.

"There was a magic stone on Flower-Fruit Mountain. After that magic stone shattered, I jumped out of it."

The monkey answered truthfully.

"According to you, you were born of heaven and earth. Come forward and let me see you."

Patriarch Bodhi had a general idea of what was going on.

After the monkey did as he was told, Patriarch Bodhi waved for him to sit down.

"Judging by his Root Bone and build, he really is the Numinous Stone Monkey, one of the Four Monkeys of Havoc."

"He's the guy I've been waiting for."

Having confirmed his suspicions, the Stone Monkey Patriarch Bodhi was somewhat pleased.

"Since you don't have a surname or a given name, I'll give you one."

"Looking at you, you look like a hozen. Let's take it from here. The word "" has been removed from the animal side, which means ancient moon, ancient, old, moon, and yin. Lao Yin can't be transformed, so it would be better to give you the surname of ''. But since you have become my disciple and asked Dao Wenxian to get rid of this animal nature, let's call you Sun."

After some Old Ancestor Bodhi decided on a surname for him.

"Now that you have become my disciple, you are the tenth generation, and the tenth generation is the 'Wu' generation. Therefore, I will give you the Dharma name Sun Wukong."

The Old Ancestor Bodhi then gave the monkey a Dharma name.

"Thank you for bestowing this name upon me, Master."

Upon hearing that Old Ancestor Bodhi had bestowed a name upon him, Sun Wukong immediately knelt down and thanked Old Ancestor Bodhi.

"I must learn the art of Changsheng and pass it on to the monkeys and Red Sparrow of my tribe."

Sun Wukong secretly made up his mind.