The Dao was natural. He lived as he pleased.
On the Spirit Platform’s Fangcun Mountain, Li Changshou lay on the rocking chair and felt the warm sunlight. There was a smile on his face, which was similar to that of a crane-haired child.
The prosperity of the Western Sect had nothing to do with him. What did the birth of the Golden Cicada have to do with him?
After teaching Monkey well, he took the opportunity to bury some nails and create a wave of Dao Ancestor and the Heavenly Dao before Journey to the West. It did not matter if he won or lost, whether the Journey to the West calamity existed or not.
He had won the peace of the world and escaped into the Chaos.
Speaking of which, Sun Wukong was indeed a born expert.
At that moment, it was the hundredth day since Sun Wukong had gone up the mountain. Today, he was explaining the sutra in the front hall. The monkey could already sit and listen to the lecture and carefully understand the sutra.
His performance was very outstanding.
Speaking of teaching monkeys, apart from creating an equal, free, and kind atmosphere for the Crescent Tristar Cave, Li Changshou did not do anything else for the time being.
With more than ten years of training in the mortal world, Sun Wukong quickly became acquainted with his senior brothers and sisters.
With Li Changshou’s tacit approval, Sun Wukong had already grasped the basic cultivation technique through the Dao technique he had learned from his senior brother and senior sister. In just half a month, he had walked the path that ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators might not be able to walk for ten or even decades.
At that moment, Li Changshou could not continue watching the show. He had to start guiding them.
Otherwise, he would miss the golden period when Monkey became stronger.
He had many ways to give Monkey special treatment. Today, when he was explaining the sutras in the hall, he had perfectly resolved the matter.
What did he do?
Actually, he was just giving Monkey a hint.
At that time, after Li Changshou finished explaining the Dao sutras and Dao techniques, he asked the disciples if they had any questions.
A few disciples of the “class representatives” who usually performed well asked some conventional questions about sutras and explanations. Li Changshou explained them one by one.
In the end, Sun Wukong could not help but ask a question.
“Master! Hey, hey, hey, Master, can I ask around? Do I cultivate the longevity technique now?”
Li Changshou replied expressionlessly, “The supreme technique in the world is activated by the three thousand Great Dao. Every Great Dao can enter the realm of longevity. It depends on your opportunity and luck.”
How could Wukong not tell that these were actually perfunctory words?
He hurriedly bowed and knelt on the meditation cushion.
“I have no intention of disobeying you. I don’t dare to talk about the Great Dao. However, Master, I’m stupid. I’ve been out for more than ten years. I haven’t seen the shadow of the longevity immortal technique. If Master has a method, can you give me a reliable message? I can be at ease.”
“Why?” Li Changshou frowned slightly. “From what you’re saying, if I don’t have a way to live forever, will you betray the sect?”
“How would I dare? How would I dare?” Wukong knelt and kowtowed. “I didn’t take any gifts. Master, you accepted me. I’m not that heartless! However, Master, you… I want to know if there is hope for longevity in the future. If there is no hope, I will return to Huaguo Mountain and arrange for the monkeys and grandsons to come back to respect Master!”
Li Changshou said calmly, “Do you know how old I am?”
Wukong was stunned.
A senior brother smiled and said, “Junior Brother, you came from the mortal world. It’s understandable that you don’t know our teacher’s name. Teacher is the greatest expert in the world. When he walked in the Primordial World, he was naturally addressed as an ancestor. Although there are not many longevity immortals that you are envious of, you have to be respectful when you see Teacher. They will disappear with a finger from Teacher.”
Wukong’s eyes lit up. “Oh? Really?”
“You monkey!”
Li Changshou was really amused by the monkey head. He flicked his finger at Wukong.
A few images appeared in front of Wukong’s eyes. He sensed an ancient Dao rune that had existed in the world for a long time.
The stone monkey no longer had any doubts and knelt down to apologize.
Li Changshou said, “Cultivation is not competitive. Cultivation is the path for living beings to pursue the Great Dao.
Wukong, when you entered my sect, you had already embarked on this path. As for where you can go and where you can go, you have to rely on yourself to grasp it.
I can teach you cultivation techniques, but I can’t help you overcome the bottleneck.
I can teach you to sense the Great Dao, but I can’t place this Great Dao in your arms.
Therefore, I will not say anything to you or talk about the Longevity Dao Realm. I won’t tell you how to live forever.
What you cultivate is the Dao. What you are pursuing should be your true self. Return to your true self, be at ease, find your true intent in the void, and explore your true self in your confusion.
Do you know?”
The disciples lowered their heads and agreed. Wukong also cupped his hands.
Li Changshou continued, “Since we’re here, let’s talk more. Wukong, you have been in the sect for a hundred days. You can be considered to have improved sincerely. I saw it and admitted that I have accepted you as my disciple. I’ll teach you the cultivation technique today. You can make your own choice.”
Sun Wukong chuckled and said, “Master, I will naturally learn whatever you teach.”
“Don’t play dumb. Listen carefully.”
Li Changshou said seriously, “I have a technique called the Dao of Space Dispelling. I will comprehend the principles of the Void Nether and correct my heart from time to time. I will see reality in illusions and become clear in reality. Do you want to learn?”
Wukong asked, “Master, how long will it take for this technique to live forever?”
Li Changshou said, “If your comprehension is deep enough, your cultivation will go smoothly, and you don’t encounter any bottlenecks, you can live for five to six thousand years.”
“It’s too long. I still want to help those old monkeys extend their lifespans.”
Li Changshou nodded and said, “I have another method. It can illuminate one’s personality and increase one’s lifespan. As long as I constantly comprehend and think about it, I will comprehend it for three to four thousand years. If everything goes smoothly, I will be able to live forever.”
“Too long, too long!”
Wukong’s eyes were filled with anticipation. He kept apologizing and asked, “Master, is there a way to achieve longevity in a few hundred years?”
The disciples on both sides could not help but laugh.
A disciple could not help but say, “Even if you cultivate in the demonic cultivation technique, it’s impossible for you to cultivate the Dao Fruit of Longevity in a few hundred years.”
“Wukong, don’t anger Teacher…”
“Hmph!”
Li Changshou’s expression changed on the spot. He said coldly, “Wukong, you are impatient and want to live forever. Come forward!”
Sun Wukong trembled a few times, but he still walked forward quickly and knelt in front of Li Changshou.
Li Changshou stood up and casually summoned a wooden whip. He hit Sun Wukong’s back three times and reprimanded, “Take this as a warning and comprehend it properly!”
Then, Li Changshou’s figure quietly dissipated, leaving the disciples looking at each other. They came over and scolded Wukong.
They were all saying that Sun Wukong had spoken rudely and angered his teacher.
However, Wukong was grinning and did not feel ashamed.
On the contrary, they had neglected two problems.
Firstly, Monkey said that he wanted to become a Longevity Immortal quickly and then go back to bring his monkey and grandson back to cultivate happily. This was the meaning of a person ascending to the heavens. It was a taboo for Qi Refinement cultivators.
One of them was a prehistoric tradition that could not be passed down easily. The other was that doing so would add many variables to the sect. It might cause negative karma.
Secondly, when these disciples entered the sect, their teacher did not ask them what cultivation technique they wanted to cultivate. He directly threw a cultivation technique book at their faces. Today, he even gave them different choices.
Tsk, the difference in treatment.
…
It was late at night and quiet.
In the Crescent Tristar Cave, a figure swayed sneakily. Finally, it scurried to the window of Li Changshou’s “high-end cave” and shouted softly, “Master, Master~”
It was Sun Wukong.
Seeing that there was no movement inside, Sun Wukong carefully pushed open the window and crept in. He knelt beside Li Changshou’s bed and kowtowed a few times without saying a word.
“Master, I wonder if that’s what you mean. You asked me to come here in the middle of the night to see you.”
“You’re not stupid.”
As he spoke, Li Changshou quietly activated the immortal power barrier. He sat up from the bed and looked at the monkey kneeling in front of the couch.
Sun Wukong also raised his head and looked at him. His gaze was still so lively and clear.
Li Changshou said, “Get up. There’s no need to be so polite in the future.”
“Thank you, Master. Thank you, Master.”
Sun Wukong said repeatedly.
He spoke faster and liked to repeat some short sentences, as if he was afraid that others could not hear him.
Li Changshou said, “Since you’ve figured it out, I can teach you the immortal technique that you want. However, Wukong, before I teach you the immortal technique, I will ask you a few questions and make an agreement with you. How about that?”
“I’ll follow your arrangements, Master.”
“Alright.” Li Changshou smiled and stroked his beard. “Firstly, why are you cultivating? Apart from wanting to live forever and be carefree, do you have any other thoughts?”
Sun Wukong said, “I don’t have much thoughts. I just want to learn an immortal spell. That way, I can make the monkeys live forever.”
Li Changshou asked warmly, “Are your monkey grandchildren very important to you?”
“I have no parents. I don’t know what emotions and desires I have.”
Sun Wukong’s expression was a little depressed, but he pretended to be as happy as usual. “However, those children respect me as the King. I can’t ignore them.”
Li Changshou said, “Do you know that even if you bring back immortal spells, most of your clansmen can’t even cultivate to the Essence Immortal realm?”
“Well… I can at least have a chance. It’s not that I won’t have a chance.”
Sun Wukong smiled and said, “Master, have you ever been a king?”
“I’ve never done it. How do you feel?”
“It’s quite comfortable.”
“Hahaha!”
Li Changshou stroked his beard and chuckled. “Forget it. I will give you some cultivation techniques of the demons. However, don’t make this matter public. The things that I have taught you cannot be spread easily.”
“Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!”
“Get up.” Li Changshou held a horsetail whisk in his hand. With a gentle sweep of the horsetail whisk, Sun Wukong was pushed onto the meditation cushion beside the bed and sat down.
Li Changshou did not hide anything. He took out the cultivation technique that the Dao Ancestor had given him and led Sun Wukong to quickly enter the sect and consolidate his Dao base.
Really.
That was actually one of the few opportunities for Li Changshou to come into close contact with the stone monkey. Li Changshou carefully observed the stone monkey’s potential and quickly felt jealous.
This monkey’s potential was so good that it could make an ordinary Golden Immortal’s Dao heart collapse!
However, cultivation had to be stable in the end. He had to advance step by step. The situation of Monkey giving special treatment would become normal in the future.
The three rules were quite interesting.
Those were the rules that Li Changshou had asked Sun Wukong to follow—he could not hurt his fellow disciples, could not flaunt his mystical abilities and Dharma powers, and could not tell anyone about his cultivation.
Sun Wukong naturally understood that the cultivation technique he was taught was different from the cultivation technique of his senior brothers and sisters.
Sun Wukong also gave a soul interrogation.
“Master, why don’t you teach this wonderful technique to Senior Brother and Senior Sister?”
Li Changshou hummed softly and said seriously, “Do you think that’s unfair?”
“I think… it’s indeed a little unfair.”
“But you are the benefactor of this injustice.”
“That’s still a little unfair.” Sun Wukong was puzzled. “Teacher, your cultivation technique can’t be specially made for me.”
Li Changshou smiled and said, “This technique was born before you were born. Those who do not have a powerful physical body cannot cultivate it. Those who do not have an abundant essence soul cannot cultivate it. You are the only one in the sect who can cross this threshold.”
Only then did Sun Wukong accept that statement.
On the first night of the preferential treatment, Sun Wukong officially began the path of cultivation. Since that night, his cultivation level began to rise.
Which cultivation cheat is stronger? Hong Jun, Hong Jun, from Purple Cloud Palace!
As Li Changshou had instructed, Sun Wukong did not brag about that to anyone.
This made Sun Wukong feel quite uncomfortable.
However, for the sake of the Dao Fruit of Longevity, Sun Wukong could only hold it in. Every few days, he would take advantage of the night to look for Li Changshou. His cultivation level would increase rapidly, and there was no danger of him overturning the situation.
Just like that, when he did not notice anything in the mountains, the river of time did not have any ripples.
In the blink of an eye, another sixty years passed.
In the past 60 years, Li Changshou had taken the time to go out and travel once. He found a place to hit dozens of nails. It could be considered “not forgetting his main job”.
Although the Heavenly Dao did not stop observing the place, it was focused on the monkey, not him, Patriarch Bodhi.
The wind and clouds in the world stopped, and everything was calm. Nothing major happened.
The mortal world of the South Continent was stable. Few people had mentioned the Great Shang Nation hundreds of years ago. Most of them were criticisms.
For example, Di Xin had already been scolded as a fatuous ruler in the mortal world. He had even posthumously been given the title of Emperor Zhou. He had pinned all the crimes on Emperor Zhou.
Di Xin’s current situation was to be an idle immortal in the Heavenly Courts and live happily with Daji.
Although he did not win, it was not a loss.
The Heavenly Courts were also developing steadily. The Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals did not expand infinitely. Instead, they maintained a stable level, as Li Changshou had suggested.
Groups of elite soldiers were better than making up the numbers.
The trichiliocosm was relatively stable. The Heaven Ascension Hall and the Immortal Alliance became the right-hand men of the Heavenly Courts and assisted the Heavenly Courts in managing the trichiliocosm.
However, the reputation of the two factions had gradually become “rotten” in the mouths of the Qi Refinement cultivators.
That was actually unavoidable.
Order will restrict individual freedom, and excessive freedom will in turn destroy order.
To the living beings of the trichiliocosm, the Heaven Ascension Hall and the Immortal Alliance represented order. The Qi Refinement cultivators felt uncomfortable with them and naturally would not give them a good attitude.
He said that he would return to Ling Tai Mountain.
In just sixty years, Monkey’s cultivation level had reached the late-stage of the Perfected Immortal realm.
Of course, the monkey did not know what True Spirit Indestructibility was. It only followed Li Changshou’s guidance and advanced one realm after another.
The hidden spiritual power in his body had already been triggered and he took a step towards the Longevity realm.
It was not just the Dao Realm. In the past sixty years, Monkey had learned all kinds of mystical abilities in fights of magical powers. He had officially entered the 72 Transformations. It was not a problem for him to ride the clouds.
Monkey’s advancement inevitably caused two lemon trees to fall on Fangcun Mountain.
For example, today, before Li Changshou prepared to preach the Dao, a male disciple reported to him that Junior Brother Wukong had been in the sect for a long time, but he still looked like a monkey and was unwilling to transform into a Connate Dao Body.
Li Changshou only smiled and shook his head. He looked at the scene of Sun Wukong playing with the disciples in the mountain and said slowly,
“It’s fine. He can choose his own path and Great Dao. He can also choose how to live. Disciple, your heart is not calm.”
The disciple looked ashamed. He lowered his head and bowed before hurriedly leaving.
Li Changshou pondered and pinched his fingers to deduce. Soon, he chuckled.
He had to be steady. Tomorrow, he would arrange for this male disciple to go out and travel to avoid any teaching accidents.
He was serious about teaching the monkey.
