Chapter Eighty-two: The Final Bow, Two Monkeys Learn Their Craft

  Slightly sensing, Zhuanti soon discovered that the causal force on his head had dissipated a lot, and he was suddenly delighted. He cupped his hands and left this space. As for his attitude towards Sun Yuan, it also made a big turn due to this.

  Sun Yuan had originally prepared to leave, but Bodhi Old Ancestor's expression suddenly changed, as if he was a little dazed. He quickly regained his composure and said: "Originally, I wasn't going to accept you as my disciple, but you've actually passed the 108th day of the Ascension Road and the Eighteen Steps of the Immortal Locks, which is extremely difficult. Considering your sincerity, I'll take you on as my disciple!"

  "Thank you, old ancestor!" Sun Yuan thudded to the ground with a loud bang, feeling as if he had risen from hell to heaven. It seemed that the road ahead was already a dead end, but when he looked down at the edge of the cliff, there was actually a cloud bridge below. At this moment, Sun Yuan's heart was filled with the joy of being reborn after a narrow escape.

  "Thank you, Old Ancestor!" Monkey King Sun Wukong saw Sun Yuan kowtowing on the ground and followed suit, also performing a ritual bow to Bodhi and paying his respects.

  "Alright, alright, you two get up!" Bodhi sat on the cloud platform, stroking his long beard and said "Now that you've joined my sect, you can be considered cultivators. Let me ask you, do you have names?"

  Sun Wukong and Sun Yuan looked at each other, shook their heads simultaneously, and Sun Wukong took a step forward, saying: "I report to the Master, I have no father or mother. Since I was born from the stone in the Flower Fruit Mountain, I only know how to accompany the group of monkeys, roaming freely between heaven and earth, but I don't have any name or surname."

  The ancestor nodded slightly and said in a loud voice, "Since you have entered my door, how can there be no reason for having a name. Alright, today I am free, so I will give you all a name, and in the future, it will also be good to have a title."

  "The two monkeys were overjoyed when they heard this and both bowed their heads in gratitude."

  "Wait and rise, let me think for a moment." The ancestor waved his hand to brush off the dust, his sleeves fluttering as he stepped down from the platform, seemingly lost in thought as he strolled through the cave. Sun Yuan and the others saw that the ancestor was deep in thought and did not dare to approach him.

  After a moment of contemplation, the old patriarch Bodhi was just like the one recorded in Journey to the West. He bestowed upon the Stone Monkey the surname Sun and the name Wukong, with the Daoist name Kong. Thus, he became Sun Wukong. After the Monkey King finished thanking him, Bodhi looked at Zhu Bajie and said, "Since you two are of the same kind, then you should also have the surname Sun. What do you think?"

  "Thank the ancestral master for bestowing a surname. As a disciple born with an ape's body, I dare not forget my origin. Therefore, I take one character from 'ape' and use it in my name. Also, since I have shed my animal nature and heard the master's teachings, the Great Way has hope. Thus, I remove the beastly class and take only one character, 'Yuan'. As a disciple of little talent, I wish to be named Sun Yuan." Sun Yuan saw that Sun Wukong was overjoyed and hastily replied, but in his heart, he had already made up his mind.

  "Sun Yuan, the monkey, doesn't forget his roots. Well, this name isn't bad, although it doesn't seem like someone from our Taoist sect, yet it has some Taoist aura to it. Since you've already decided on it, I won't make any changes. From now on, you'll be called Sun Yuan!" Bodhi Old Ancestor looked at Sun Yuan with a glance, nodded his head and said, but in his heart he was somewhat surprised, and then suddenly felt a sense of understanding. This ordinary monkey's comprehension seemed to be quite good, no wonder Bodhi Old wanted to take him as a disciple. In that case, it wouldn't hurt to do a favor for him."

  The two thanked their ancestors, and Bodhi simply introduced the two monkeys to the crowd of Qingyi disciples. He then said, "Today's lecture ends here. The Taoist mantra is only a few words, but it is profound and subtle. You need to carefully comprehend it in order to grasp the true meaning of our Taoist school. Don't be lazy, or you will end up like flowers in the mirror and moon in the water - all for nothing."

  "Thank you for the teachings of our ancestors. We will not disappoint the expectations of our ancestors, please rest assured." The crowd of young disciples bowed their hands and spoke in unison.

  "Alright, since that's the case, you should be careful and cultivate yourselves. From now on, these two monkeys have entered my school, and you need to treat them with care and attention. If I find out otherwise, I will not forgive you lightly!" The ancestor stood still in front of the courtyard, his eyes flashing like lightning as he swept a glance over the crowd of disciples. Although he didn't display any heavenly might, his aura was enough to intimidate everyone present.

  The disciples hastily responded in unison, and the master nodded in satisfaction, but pushed open the door of his sedan chair and left the lecture hall.

  Immediately, the crowd of disciples dispersed, each doing their own thing: some cultivating, some tasting tea, and others playing chess. Only two monkeys were left behind, feeling a bit bored.

  These two monkeys were quite clever, but instead of following the crowd, they cleaned up the lecture hall thoroughly. In the days that followed, they picked up some dirty and tiring work in the Xiewu Cave, and gradually gained acceptance from the others.

  In their leisure time, the two monkeys also went to the back mountain to play, eating mountain peaches and drinking spring water, having a great time. During this period, Bodhi Patriarch would occasionally come out of his cave to preach, which, in Sun Yuan's view, although without any extraordinary phenomena like petals falling from the sky or golden lotus flowers emerging from the ground, was still so captivating that one couldn't help but be deeply absorbed in it.

  After Bodhi's explanation, Sun Yuan seemed to have made great progress on the issue of Yuandan's cultivation. Some things that he couldn't understand before, now found answers in Bodhi's unintentional words. So these days of lectures were the most anticipated for Sun Yuan.

  In the mountain, there were about a dozen or so fellow disciples, whose cultivation was not particularly high in Sun Yuan's eyes. It was estimated that they were just some doorkeepers, but these fellow disciples had obtained one or two true transmissions, so when they listened to Bodhi Old Ancestor's lecture, they gained more than Sun Yuan.

  The Monkey King is indeed one of the four great spiritual monkeys. Once he met a famous teacher, his comprehension speed was incredibly fast, leaving Sun Yuan and others far behind. In just a few years, Sun Wukong's theoretical knowledge surpassed that of Sun Yuan, a three-hundred-year-old demon, and his understanding of the nature of heaven and earth even caught up with Sun Yuan. The gap of over three hundred years was bridged by Sun Wukong in just a short period of time. As for Sun Yuan, who knows what he's thinking in his heart?

  Fortunately, Sun Wukong had a realm but no matching cultivation, so Sun Yuan was still able to be arrogant in front of him. However, Sun Yuan knew that he would soon be completely surpassed by this monkey, and all it needed was an opportunity, which was the Golden Elixir Great Way of Bodhi Old Ancestor.

  However, Sun Yuan, who is familiar with the history of Journey to the West, knows that Sun Wukong still needs several years to obtain the inheritance of the Golden Elixir Tao. Therefore, he has time to plan and scheme. To say the least, this Golden Elixir Tao is the main reason why Sun Yuan chose to apprentice under Bodhi. In this world of Journey to the West, except for a few high-ranking individuals, no one else knows about the Golden Elixir Tao. This Golden Elixir Tao can be said to be an exceptionally sharp and powerful way, and Sun Yuan is determined to obtain it.

  After several years of living in the cave, Sun Wukong and the other two monkeys had become familiar with the disciples inside the cave. They also knew a thing or two about what they were learning. According to Journey to the West, these disciples were learning the 300 side doors of Taoism, which could eventually lead to ascension to immortality but required arduous practice. The process was extremely dangerous and belonged to the category of "double labor for half the result".

  In the years of getting along, Sun Yuan also knew a thing or two about some kung fu methods. These martial brothers were not stingy with their own kung fu methods. According to their words, these kung fu methods were all selected by Bodhi Patriarch based on their own characteristics. If they were given to others to practice, it would be mostly in vain. Sun Wukong had no interest in this at all, but Sun Yuan was very interested.

  No matter whether it's the art of seeking immortality and divination, or the method of meditation and Zen, as long as these masters are willing to teach, Sun Yuan is more than happy to learn from them. Even those techniques of drawing talismans to drive away ghosts, Sun Yuan doesn't let go of any opportunity to learn, it can be said that he really lives up to the saying "as long as there's some spiritual energy, I'll learn this too".

  As for Sun Wukong, he looked down on these people. In the past few years, his greatest gain was to learn a good stick method. Perhaps due to innate reasons, Sun Wukong's talent in stick method was very strong. Among these brothers, only Master Long Shuzi could match him in stick method now.