Chapter 26: Breaking Out of the Cocoon (Part 1)

  Daming Zhenren and Hongzhi stood up from the ground one after another. Daming wiped away his tears and bowed to Hongzhi, saying: "Senior brother, I'll leave this place in your care." After finishing speaking, he also transformed into a flowing light and left. In front of the Shui Tan, only Hongzhi was left, somewhat dazed. Suddenly, a wailing cry shook the sky and earth, startling Hongzhi, who turned his head to look, and found that it was a group of monkeys crying out in grief.

  Inside the Cold Spirit Stone, Hailong sat on the ground with a thud. Everything that had happened before was clearly visible to him, although he couldn't hear any sounds from outside. However, the deep gaze of Liu'er Mihou as she left had left an indelible mark in his heart. Suddenly gritting his teeth, Hailong muttered to himself: "Senior, I'll be right there. I'll definitely cultivate into a deity and go to the Deity Realm to see you." As soon as he finished speaking, an exceptionally powerful surging force suddenly rushed in from all directions. The Inverse Heaven Mirror on Hailong's chest shone brightly, and his entire body was instantly enveloped in a silver glow. Before he could even understand what was happening, he had already fainted in the midst of that enormous and scorching energy, falling into the stone pit on his left side. The three types of cultivation within him began to fluctuate violently, and unknowingly, Hailong, with his profound good fortune, had begun the process of energy fusion.

  Originally, when Liu Er Miao left the Ascension, he used all his cultivation to inject as much of the Xianling gas emitted by the Seven-Colored Auspicious Cloud into the Hansheng Stone as possible, in order to perfect the Sea Dragon. Although most of the vast Xianling gas was absorbed by the Hansheng Stone, the remaining amount was not something that the Sea Dragon could withstand all at once; he needed a process of absorption and transformation.

  The meridians in the dragon's body had undergone two rounds of strengthening and had become exceptionally resilient. The three mixed energies inside his body were fiercely opposing each other, but they could never break through the meridian's containment. The small iron rod and the Inverse Heaven Mirror simultaneously emitted energy, with the Inverse Heaven Mirror protecting the dragon's internal organs and the small iron rod continuously inputting energy into the dragon's body. In a natural state, the dragon entered a deep sleep that lasted for a very long time.

  ……

  Hong Zhi stretched his body a bit, feeling the gentle Buddha power inside him, and couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile. He muttered to himself: "I'm finally about to enter the state of great perfection. Once I pass this stage, I'll be heading in the direction of Buddha's tribulation. I really want to experience that Buddha power that even Master is afraid to face. If Master knew how fast I've progressed, he would definitely be very happy. Liu Er Shixiong was right, the spiritual energy in Lianyun Mountain Range is abundant, and with those few gourds of monkey wine he gave me, my Buddha power has advanced at a speed that even surprises myself. What a pity! If there were some delicious food here, it would be even better. Big Brother, you've been cultivating for so long, when will you wake up? I and Xiao Jiling have already waited with some impatience."

  It was as if verifying what he said, a figure floated to the side of Hongzhi, "Ah! This guy Haicheng is not awake yet, I'm about to die of anxiety. Brother Hongzhi, why don't we break this stone from the outside? Your lotus pot's attack power is so strong, it should be able to do it." The speaker was actually a large monkey covered in silver-gray fur all over its body.

  Hong Zhi smiled slightly and said, "You're clever, but it's not as simple as you think. This piece of Wan Nian Han Ling stone is extremely hard, and since Sixth Elder let Big Brother cultivate inside, he must have his reasons. Let's just go with the flow for now. So many years have passed already, let's just wait a bit longer."

  The little monkey, still dissatisfied, scratched his head and said: "Yes! So many years have passed, you've helped me refine the counter-bone at the back of my brain, but Hai Long is still not awake. It's really infuriating. When he comes out, I'll definitely use a peach to slap him in the face." As he spoke, he also angrily pointed his middle finger at the Ten Thousand Year Cold Spirit Stone.

  Hong Zhi solemnly said: "Little clever one, you must remember that cultivation is a difficult process. In the beginning, your ancestor Liu Er was also cultivated for ten thousand years before achieving his immortal body. If you are too impatient, I'm afraid everything will be in vain."

  The little fellow stuck out his tongue and said: "Don't pretend to be so serious with me. If you keep talking like that, I won't give you any monkey wine."

  "Hold on, hold on, my monkey ancestor! The fruit here has already made me almost lose interest in life. If I don't have a drink soon, I'll go crazy!" It turned out that to commemorate the Six Ears Macaque, Xiao Jingling had picked various fruits from all over Moyun Peak and brewed them into a fine wine after fermentation. Although its effect was far inferior to the one brewed by the Six Ears Macaque, the taste was not much different. Even Dao Ming Zhenren would occasionally come to fetch two calabashes of it. Now, Hongzhi had already evolved into a drunkard. If he didn't drink for a day, his whole body wouldn't feel comfortable, and he couldn't even muster up the energy to cultivate.

  The little demon spirit said with a pleased expression: "If you want to drink, be more polite to me. Otherwise, heh heh. By the way, Brother Hongzhi, do you feel that the spiritual energy emitted by this Cold Spirit Stone is not as abundant as before? Is it being absorbed by the Sea Dragon from inside? I wonder what kind of state he will reach when he comes out."

  Hong Zhi nodded and said, "It should be. I think he has been cultivating for so long, after coming out from inside, his cultivation will at least increase by three or four realms. With your current level, it's best not to provoke him, otherwise, you might be the one who gets beaten up by Peach. Hmm, no, quickly let those monkey brothers of yours hide far away, I'm afraid the Sea Dragon is about to come out." A joyful expression appeared on his face, Hong Zhi clearly saw that the Ten Thousand Year Cold Spirit Stone began to emit a circle of faint golden light, and the entire stone seemed to be trembling. This unprecedented situation had already hinted at many things to them. Little Machine was also overjoyed, blowing a loud whistle, all the monkeys immediately retreated far away.

  Hongji and Xiaojilong exchanged a glance, and with a wave of his hand, the Buddhist crystal rosary floated out and hovered above the Wannian Hansheng Stone. With his hands clasped together, Hongji solemnly chanted: "The Buddha said that the void has no boundaries or edges. It cannot be measured. The Bodhisattva's generosity is boundless, like the void. The merits obtained are also like the void, immeasurable and boundless. In this world, nothing surpasses the void. Among all natures, none surpass the Buddha-nature. The Buddhist Dharma has no boundaries, universally saving all sentient beings." As he spoke, his ten fingers trembled in unison, and one by one, the dharma seals were imprinted onto the rosary, amidst an atmosphere of solemnity. Hongji activated the immense Buddha-power of the Vajra Mantra, completely enveloping the Wannian Hansheng Stone within it. Compared to last time, he was much more skilled in his use of the Vajra Mantra, with sufficient spiritual power to support him, and he could now bring out the basic efficacy of this great divine ability.

  The fluctuations of the Ten Thousand Year Ice Spirit Stone grew larger and larger, causing the surrounding cold pool to ripple with wave after wave. Suddenly, the fluctuations reached an extreme in an instant, BOOM! A deafening sound shook the air as the top of the Ten Thousand Year Ice Spirit Stone suddenly exploded, and a figure wrapped in golden light shot up like a cannonball. It heavily crashed onto the Golden Vajra Mantra formed by the Buddhist rosary beads. The Golden Vajra Mantra stretched out with great elasticity under the impact of that figure. Hong Zhi felt his pressure greatly increase, and the Buddha's power within him was somewhat uncontrollable, rushing towards the Buddhist rosary beads. With a slight smile, Hong Zhi recited: "The Buddha said it is already in the scriptures. Elder Subhuti, as well as all Bhikkhus, Bhikkhunis, Upasakas, and Devas, Asuras, and all beings in the world, heard what the Buddha said and were all greatly delighted, believing and accepting to practice." A flash of yellow light, and the Golden Vajra Mantra disappeared. The Buddhist rosary beads returned to Hong Zhi's hand once again. And that golden figure, without any obstruction, rapidly shot up into the Ninth Heaven.

  The little machine spirit tightly grasped Hong Zhi's sleeve and excitedly asked: "Hong Zhi brother, is that, is that the Sea Dragon?"

  Hong Zhi shook his head, looking at the little demon who was as startled as if he had been splashed with cold water. He smiled and said, "That's no longer the big brother of the past. He has completely changed. He has become even stronger than I imagined. Just now, I used the Diamond Sutra to seal the Ten Thousand Year Ice Spirit Stone because I was afraid its explosion would destroy the surrounding environment. But it seems that Big Brother had already thought of this problem and broke out from the top. Look, the Ten Thousand Year Ice Spirit Stone no longer has any spiritual energy left." As he spoke, he looked up at the sky, where a golden light gradually grew larger, flashing once before a person floated gently down in front of him and Little Demon. The man was completely naked, with black hair and beard that had grown to the ground, his entire body shining with a faint golden glow. He held a long staff that shone with dark light, and on his chest, a silver mirror glowed brightly. If not for the reflection from these magical tools, this sudden appearance would have looked like a wild mountain man.

  Hong Zhi suppressed his surging emotions and asked in a trembling voice: "Elder brother, is it you? Is it really you?"

  The wild man's whole body shook, his voice was a bit stiff, "Xiao Zhi, Xiao Zhi, and Xiao Jiling, it's me, it's me! I am Hai... Long..." A huge wave of sound suddenly rose up, shaking the surrounding forest. Indeed, the one who emerged from the broken stone was Hai Long. After absorbing the Xianling gas and entering a deep sleep, he didn't know how long he slept before waking up. When he woke up, he found that the three energies in his body had merged into one, turning into a golden light, and several lines of cultivation characters flashed in his mind, seemingly a basic cultivation method. Almost unconsciously, he began to cultivate according to the method, while cultivating, he drank from another stone pit's monkey wine, under the stimulation of the monkey wine, the suppressed power was finally fully released. Every day, he repeated the same cultivation, even he himself couldn't say how many times he had closed his eyes, or for how long each time. Finally, after finishing all the monkey wine, he conducted the last closure. When he woke up, he was shocked to find that in his spiritual platform, all the golden powers combined into a chicken egg-sized golden elixir, and at the same time, another cultivation method rose up in his mind, this time, it seemed like just an instant, he had learned many things. Unable to bear the loneliness of the stone anymore, Hai Long used the new method to stimulate his small iron rod, the entire cold spirit stone seemed to light up, the small iron rod flashed with intense golden light, under Hai Long's full force stimulation, the inverted heavenly mirror on his chest also transmitted a power, finally, the million-year-old cold spirit stone that had lost all its spiritual energy could no longer withstand such a huge impact. Hai Long finally broke out of the stone and returned to the world.

  Hong Zhi Meng rushed up and wrapped his arms around Hai Long's shoulders, calling out with deep emotion: "Big brother, I've missed you so much!"

  Hai Long suddenly pushed Hong Zhi away, saying: "You're a glass, I don't like men." Looking at the stunned Hong Zhi, Hai Long burst out laughing and pounced on him, hugging him tightly. "But I really miss you, Xiao Zhi! Oh, right, and you too, my little clever one." As he spoke, he also pulled in the little monkey that had jumped up to join them, embracing it as well. The three of them stood there, silently hugging each other, savoring the deep affection between them.

  After a long time, Hongzhi suddenly pushed Hailong away and said in the same tone as before: "You're a glass, I don't like men." Hailong and Xiaojiling were both stunned for a moment, then the three of them burst out laughing. When their laughter subsided, Hailong pointed at Hongzhi and teased: "Now you look nothing like a monk."

  Hong Zhi joined his palms together and said, "I'm guilty, I'm guilty. This monk just spoke nonsense earlier. Big Brother, the Buddha will definitely forgive me, it's because I saw you were too excited that I became like this."

  Xiao Jiling said: "Hailong, don't mind him, this guy is just a fake monk, always asking me for wine to drink, it's annoying me to death."

  The dragon stared at Little Ingenuity with his mouth agape, muttering: "You, you, you can talk? Although your appearance has changed a lot, I still recognize your smell. Little Ingenuity, why can you talk?" He asked twice in a row, clearly filled with astonishment.

  The little fox said proudly: "What's so great about speaking? My counter-bone has been refined, not only can I speak, but my wisdom is no less than yours, humans."

  Hailong suddenly remembered what Liu'er Mihou said to him before he left, and he suddenly realized that he was muttering: "So you learned the cultivation method of your predecessor. Refining the bones? Predecessor Liu'er once said that it took him hundreds of years to refine his bones, so if I say this, my cultivation this time has lasted for a hundred years, right? How come I didn't feel like it was that long?"

  Hong Zhi smiled and said, "A hundred years? If it were only a hundred years, would you have achieved your current level of cultivation? Big brother, we've been separated for nearly eight hundred years. That means you've cultivated for eight hundred years!" Hai Long's body shook, looking at Hong Zhi in disbelief, then looked at the nodding Xiao Jingling and muttered, "Eight hundred years, has it really been that long?"

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