Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

"Haha, it looks like your cultivation has made great progress lately; your aura is quite startling." Lu Yu said to the Monkey with a smile.

Only then did the Monkey wake up from his meditative state. Being pinned under the Five Elements Mountain, he had nothing to do all day long, with no one to chat and relieve his boredom, except for cultivation which was his only choice.

When the Monkey opened his eyes and saw a familiar face, he said excitedly, "Scholar, you finally came to visit me. I thought you had forgotten about me after all these years without a visit."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Lu Yu looked at the delighted face of the Monkey and was very pleased, for one thing because the Monkey's mentality had recovered well and he no longer looked dejected, and for another because he himself had survived a disaster, which meant the two of them still had a chance to meet.

"It wasn't that I didn't want to visit you; I was nearly killed by someone's scheme and it took me a great deal of effort to recover." Lu Yu thought back with some lingering fear. He hadn't had so many thoughts during the tribulation itself, but afterwards, the realization made his heart pound.

Had it not been for his Enlightenment Tea Tree, had not his Fortune and Destiny greatly increased at that time, had he not fortuitously activated his Fire Element Qi, he might not have made it through the fire disaster.

"Who was it? Tell me, and I'll avenge you once I get out," said the Monkey resolutely, his aura surging so much that the entire Five Elements Mountain seemed about to collapse. This panicked the Mountain God and Earth God outside, who kept yelling for the Monkey to withdraw his Divine Skills.

"It's one of the hidden great powers of this world who, by a freak coincidence, wanted to turn me into his pawn." Lu Yu then recounted to the Monkey the events that had taken place recently.

"There's such a powerful being in the Three Realms? I've never heard of him before." Although the Monkey had many acquaintances, most of them were fair-weather friends, and no one had mentioned these secrets of the Three Realms to him.

"This great power was very famous in ancient times, but unluckily later he crossed paths with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who restrains him greatly. That Bodhisattva has taken a great vow to save all the evil spirits in the world before proving the Great Dao, which has forced him not to emerge lightly for several years."

"Hmph, serves him right," the Monkey snorted coldly. He had no good impressions of those great powers who liked scheming from the shadows, especially those who had almost killed Lu Yu.

If not for knowing he was not their match, the Monkey might have rashly declared he would storm their door, but in his heart, he made a firm decision to seek them out with his Jingu Bang once his own cultivation was sufficient.

"Don't worry, we've only cultivated for so many years. Take it slow, and we will have our chance." Lu Yu tried to reassure the Monkey.

"But looking at your current situation, it seems you'll soon achieve 'Five Qi towards the Yuan.' As soon as you break free, you'll stir up the Three Realms again," Lu Yu said with a change of topic and a smile. The Monkey's progress in cultivation was indeed rapid.

Yang Jian had spent countless hours after his Divine Enthronement to reach the point where the chance for 'Five Qi towards the Yuan' appeared, yet the Monkey caught up quickly, which truly symbolizes the force of good timing.

"Haha, I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. Ever since I was pinned under this mountain, I gradually began to understand the things that puzzled me before. I often stimulate the Five Elements Mountain with my own Five Qi, observing the circulation of the Five Elements within the mountain; this has given me direction," the Monkey shared his insights with Lu Yu, hoping to help him cultivate better.

"By the way, I brought some good stuff this time." Lu Yu took out the Monkey Wine he had prepared beforehand, and the meals he had specially ordered from the human world's restaurants, placing them one by one in front of the Monkey.

"Good Scholar, I haven't tasted the delicacies of the human world in a long while." The two of them had often enjoyed the food of the human world during their quest for the Dao, and the Monkey remembered them fondly.

"I know it's been a long time since you had it, I brought them specially for you." Watching the Monkey eat with his face smeared with grease, Lu Yu said with a smile, feeling a bit melancholy at the same time. After all, it saddened him to see the once high-spirited Monkey so delighted by a simple meal from the human world.

However, the Monkey didn't seem to harbor any melancholic emotions and continued to eat happily.

"Why are you more sentimental than me? I've realized during this time that cursing fate and others is useless; it's better to seize the time to cultivate properly. I'm still too weak," the Monkey said at that moment, his sophistication shining through, almost appearing like a wise man.

Lu Yu was very happy to see this, for with this mindset, five hundred years in this cage wouldn't be too unbearable for the Monkey.

"By the way, Monkey, have you ever heard of the name Eastern Emperor Taiyi in the Heavenly Court?" Lu Yu was very curious about this name. Though in his previous life he knew quite a lot, he wasn't sure what was true and what wasn't. The Monkey, after all, had spent a long time in the Heavenly Court and being the Demon Race's Great Saint, he probably knew a lot.

As soon as he finished asking, he saw the Monkey's embarrassed face as he said, "You know I used to spend my time drinking with those guys in the Heavenly Court; I had no interest in paying attention to these matters."

Lu Yu then remembered that the Monkey was the number one loafer in the Heavenly Court, a title holder of the Great Sage Equalling Heaven but devoid of any official duties, idling away his time looking for people to drink with, and he had never shown much interest in these ancient legends.

The fact that the Monkey had never heard of this name was likely because someone deliberately faded it into obscurity, which was very normal for the Monkey. Stay updated through empire

"But who exactly is this person, and why are you so fixated on him?" The Monkey knew that his friend was usually privy to the secrets of the Three Realms, and the fact that he mentioned this name meant that it must be out of the ordinary.

"From what I know so far, this person is the ancient Sun God, the lord of light, the leader among gods, a celebrated figure in ancient times."

"Isn't that like the Jade Emperor? No, wait, seems even stronger than him," the Monkey commented, laughing.

"In ancient sacrificial documents, he was the original Heavenly Emperor, but back then there probably wasn't something called the Heavenly Court." Lu Yu speculated based on information from the fragmented work left by the Dragon Court in the Great Chu, although he wasn't certain. After all, as members of the human race who worshipped the Eastern Emperor, they naturally exaggerated their claims.

However, this also indirectly proved his mightiness, because not every Divine Spirit dared to accept worship in the capacity of the Heavenly Emperor.

Thinking that such a powerful being was taken by the Ancestral Master, who was said to have achieved Transcendence, to patch the Heavenly Dao, he couldn't help but shiver. It took a formidable force to do that.

"This world is far more dangerous than you think, Monkey. We must be careful in the future and can't be as reckless as before," Lu Yu said sincerely.

Yet while Lu Yu saw strength and reflected on how to proceed safely, the Monkey's eyes shone brightly. There were still so many masters in the world, and to him, they were the perfect opponents.

"Good, that's how it should be; otherwise, the world would be too lonely." The Monkey muttered to himself, his eyes full of the hunger for battle.