Chapter Eighty-Seven: Bodhi's Secret Teachings, Two Monkeys Break Through the Plate of Confusion

  After a brief moment, the copper bell in the Xie Yue San Xing Cave rang out. Figures from all directions stopped what they were doing and looked towards the direction of the cave. Everyone knew that this was the Ancestor summoning them, because ringing the Seeking Dao Bell wasn't something the sect did unless it was at a critical moment of life or death, or when the Ancestor was about to begin another lecture.

  At this moment, the spiritual platform is calm and peaceful, naturally there will be no disaster, so what's left is obvious. Combining the date to infer, the disciples' hearts are clear, the annual large-scale sermon officially begins.

  In an instant, the Lingtai Fangcun Mountain's various directions flew up a burst of light, dragging five-color six-color tails, and fell straight towards the direction of Xieming Sanxing Cave.

  When Sun Yuan arrived, his fellow disciples had already arrived more than half of them. At this moment, they were all waiting quietly in the outer hall with a respectful face, but Bodhi Old Ancestor had not appeared yet.

  As soon as Sun Yuan arrived, the Monkey King, who had come a step earlier, scratched his head and walked quickly to catch up, saying in a low voice, "I don't know if this time the Ancestor will formally pass on the Taoist teachings to us. These years have been suffocating me."

  "Believe it's almost time! How is it, are you thinking of home?" Sun Yuan looked at the monkey with a worried expression and said seriously.

  "It's true that I've made some progress, but what I'm really craving is the Taoist arts. In these seven years, apart from slightly improving my staff skills, I haven't acquired any divine powers. But as for you, brother, I reckon you must have learned a lot of Taoist arts!" Sun Wukong grinned, showing a curious expression.

  "It's just some minor skills, besides the techniques passed down by our ancestors are very profound, and I've only grasped a little in a short period of time. If you're willing, I can teach you some."

  "Thanks for the kind intention!" The Monkey King shook his head like a rattle drum, saying "I'd rather not, just looking at their chanting and drawing talismans makes me feel a chill all over my body. This stuff requires too much patience, and I'm naturally lacking in that department. On the other hand, your recent progress in stick techniques is quite impressive, almost on par with Old Dragon Beard."

  "What's that, Monkey?" The two of them spoke in hushed tones, but unfortunately the cave was filled with cultivators of profound attainments. It could be said that their whispers were no different from shouting out loud. Just then, Dragon Beard strode in and caught Sun Wukong red-handed.

  "Hey, the master is here, let's behave ourselves!" Sun Yuan pulled Sun Wukong aside, ever since Sun Wukong defeated Long Xuzi in a stick fight, this monkey couldn't help but look for Long Xuzi to fight every day. Long Xuzi was also a proud person, and when they were alone, he wouldn't fight back against Sun Wukong, only when Sun Yuan was around would he engage in a match with Sun Wukong. This way, the monkey had some complaints about Long Xuzi's evasiveness, and whenever he got the chance, he would expose his weaknesses.

  "I, Ryūsuke, am in my prime, why should I show signs of old age? You are a unreasonable monkey!" Ryūsuke let out a hum and, to avoid the monkey's retort, didn't say another word. He immediately stepped forward and sat down on a cushion at the front, closing his eyes to meditate.

  "What a cunning old fox!" The Monkey King curled up the corner of his mouth, took advantage of Sun Yuan's intention to retreat, and found an excuse to step down. He sat down on a couch in the last row, and in this cave, everyone dared not make too much noise.

  At this time, all the disciples had arrived and found their seats, sat down cross-legged. Sun Yuan was no exception, his position happened to be right behind Sun Wukong's, which was the most backward position in the cave.

  After a while, a misty fog filled the air, and an unusual fragrance wafted through the hall. Everyone knew that Bodhi Patriarch had arrived. Before they knew it, a crane-haired and child-faced man appeared on the high platform in front of them, who was none other than Bodhi Patriarch himself.

  Everyone went through the rituals of respect, Bodhi Patriarch scrutinized with his eyes for a moment, after seeing that everyone had arrived, he nodded slightly and started the annual grand lecture.

  As the lecture went deeper, everyone gradually gained something from it and verified it with what they had learned. Among them, Sun Yuan was the most surprised. Due to his cultivation of various techniques, although it was easy to learn but difficult to master, he was now the one who gained the most. However, he controlled himself well and did not show any improper behavior.

  But he can control his emotions, which doesn't mean others can too. This time, the old ancestor Bodhi's lecture was very different from before. He spoke of the great principles of the Tao and the origin of spiritual powers. From the Golden Immortals to ordinary mortals, from the heavens to evil demons, and from pure and upright people to all things and creatures, everyone can gain the most suitable truth for themselves. Therefore, many people gained a lot and showed ecstatic expressions, with the Monkey King being the most extreme.

  Sun Wukong combined his staff skills with the Tao, and from it he gained a state of enlightenment, delighted to find that even if two Dragon Kings were to come forth, they would not be his match. Overjoyed, he couldn't help but let out a burst of monkey nature, forgetting where he was.

  He couldn't help but dance with joy, leaping about in front of everyone. This behavior was naturally seen by the Patriarch, who immediately stopped Sun Wukong and said "You're in class, why are you madly dancing and not listening to me? Is this in line with reason?"

  The surroundings were silent, the Monkey King came back to his senses from the surprise, and immediately stopped dancing. Seeing the ancestor questioning him, he hurriedly stepped forward and reported: "The disciple listened sincerely, heard the wonderful sound of the teacher's father, was overjoyed, and unconsciously made this joyful appearance, I apologize for my mistake, I hope the ancestor will forgive me!"

  "It was an unintentional mistake, and there's no need to say more." The ancestor nodded slightly, without pursuing the matter, but instead asked, "Since you recognize the wonderful sound, I suppose it's a coincidence that you've arrived. So, I'll ask you, how many days have you been in the cave? Have you counted them in your heart?"

  "Thank you, Master, for not blaming me." The Monkey King slightly bowed his head and thought for a moment before saying, "I was originally confused and didn't know how much time had passed. I only remembered that there was no fire under the stove. I went to the back mountain to gather firewood, and coincidentally saw a mountain with good peach trees. From today onwards, my brother and I have already eaten seven full peaches there."

  "Ah, seven times ripe peaches?" The ancestor stroked his beard and said, "That mountain is called Rotten Peach Mountain. The mountain peaches ripen once a year, so if you've eaten them seven times, it must have been seven years. You've been apprenticed for a long time, I suppose you have your own ideas. So, have you thought it through? What kind of Taoist methods do you want to learn from me now?"

  Before Sun Wukong could speak, Sun Yuan took a step forward and knelt down on the ground, saying "I beg to report to the Ancestor Master, I have long heard that in the world there is a great magical formula, known as the Golden Elixir Great Way. It is said to seize the creative power of Heaven and Earth, and invade the mysterious mechanism of the sun and moon. I am not talented, so I humbly request the Ancestor Master to impart the Great Way's formula."

  Sun Yuan's action naturally attracted the attention of all the disciples, but as soon as he spoke, everyone didn't hear anything, only to see Bodhi's sleeve flicking, a strong wind sweeping over, and in the eyes of the crowd, Sun Yuan's body suddenly shook violently, and then there was no sound.

  But in Sun Yuan's view, the Bodhi Patriarch showed a look of annoyance on his face, and immediately jumped off the high platform with a "ding" sound, holding a ruler and pointing at Sun Yuan: "You this gibbon, how dare you speak so rashly? Can the Golden Elixir Great Way be learned so easily? You really don't know what's good for you." He then walked forward, without saying another word, and hit Sun Yuan on the head with three strokes of the ruler. With his back turned, he walked into the inner room, closed the middle gate, and left the crowd behind. In an instant, the entire hall was left with only Sun Yuan alone.

  At this time, Sun Yuan didn't know what had happened, but he understood that he had finally gotten the opportunity, and suddenly felt a little excited.

  But in the eyes of others, nothing had happened, and it was just that Sun Yuan had obtained the old ancestor's transmission method. In order to avoid affecting the Monkey King, Bodhi Old Ancestor actually used an illusion technique on Sun Yuan.

  "Anyway, this Golden Elixir Great Way is indeed a supreme technique, but it's not something that just anyone can cultivate. Since Bodhi Old Man has placed all his hopes on this child, I'll just go along with the flow and pass on the technique to him. What harm could it do? Let's see how his own destiny unfolds; if he can't break through the confusion in front of him, then don't blame me!"

  Even if he could see through the confusion in the disk, and successfully cultivated it, when the three disasters came, it would depend on whether he chose Tian Gang Bian or Di Xiao Bian. If it was Di Xiao Bian, wouldn't that be even better?" Zhun Ti Dao Ren's thoughts turned around, and his mind suddenly changed direction, which led to the previous scene of casting an illusion spell.

  Next, Sun Yuan was affected by the illusion and couldn't observe what was happening in the hall at all. With Bodhi's illusion as cover, even if he intervened, it didn't affect the course of history, and the story in the hall still didn't deviate from its original trajectory.

  Seeing Sun Yuan standing still, the ancestor cast his gaze on himself, and the monkey indeed knelt down to the ground, saying "But relying on the master's teachings, there is some Taoist energy, the disciple has learned."

  Then, Bodhi Patriarch listed the 360 side doors of Taoist techniques one by one, but was rejected by King Monkey each time. Suddenly, he pretended to be angry and gave Monkey King three inches of stick, turned away from the crowd, walked inside, closed the middle gate, and frightened all the fellow disciples.

  Long Xuzi pushed aside the onlookers, circled around the Monkey King a few times, and clicked his tongue in disapproval. "You're truly a reckless and arrogant one, daring to defy even your ancestors! You mischievous monkey, you're so unruly! Your master taught you the ways of Taoism, how could you not learn from him? Instead, you argue with your master, this time you've gone too far, who knows when you'll come out of this!"

  But unexpectedly, Sun Wukong seemed to have changed his temper, not getting angry at all, but instead smiled apologetically, which made Long Shuozi dare not say more, fearing that the monkey would bother him in the future and not give him face in terms of stick skills. So Long Shuozi hummed a few times and left the cave immediately.

  The crowd murmured a few words and complained for a while, but seeing that their ancestor had already left, they were helpless. After a while, they all dispersed.

  It's just that nobody knows, the Monkey King has already broken through the plate of confusion, secretly in his heart, so at this moment he doesn't argue with anyone, but silently endures. The Bodhi Patriarch hitting him three times teaches him to keep his mind at the third watch, walking backwards into the inner chamber and closing the middle gate teaches him to enter from the back door, and secretly transmitting the Daoist incantation is also like this.

  At this moment, everyone has dispersed, and only two monkeys are left in the place. Sun Wukong is trapped in the environment of Zhuanti, unable to escape, and appears on the outside as if he is sitting cross-legged in meditation.

  The Monkey King observed for a moment and saw that Sun Yuan's breath was stable and his breathing was harmonious, so he came to the conclusion that Sun Yuan was cultivating, and then left the cave.

  Out of the cave, Monkey King and a few people who were very close to him on peaceful days were still playing and frolicking, without any unusual color, only occasionally watching the sky, wishing they could pull down the sun and replace it with the moon. At dusk, after all the little ones fell asleep, Sun Wukong adjusted his breath in and out of his nostrils, around midnight, he quietly got up, put on his clothes, opened the front door, avoided the crowd, walked out, and rushed to the back door.

  At the same time, on the other side of Líng Tái Fāng Cùn Shān, Sūn Yuán was released from the illusion. This illusion perfectly merged with the real world at dusk, and Sūn Yuán emerged from the illusion on a mountain peak in the real world, but he himself didn't feel anything unusual.

  He stood up, and although Sun Yuan had some doubts about his presence here, he had long known the true meaning of the mystery in the disk. At this moment, he couldn't think much, and suddenly unfolded his body shape, rushing towards the Xie Yue San Xing Cave.