Three stars Bodhi Cave, Spirit Platform on the Fangcun Mountain.

High above the immortal mountains, mist and clouds flooded the area. It seemed extremely far, yet so near that it was before one’s eyes.

On the mountain peak, a figure sitting cross-legged in the air could be seen. His fur was golden and had a face resembling the god of thunder. His aura was calm and he glowed with divine light. No signs of wildness could be felt from him.

There was no concept of time in the mountains. As his cultivation deepened, he was no longer the wild monkey that used to run about in the mountains. He was a true cultivator that had attained his Dao.

All of a sudden, a point of light could be seen arcing through the sky, resembling a shooting star.

The monkey opened his eyes. A sharp light flashed in his golden eyes as he stood up. He then glanced down its surroundings from a height, seeing numerous mountains that seemed to be tiny. In this state, everything in the world seemed to be imprinted in his vision, causing his heart to expand.

Cultivating the heart and the personality.

The stone monkey’s expression was calm with no ripples at all.

After cultivating assiduously, the stone monkey finally subdued the ruthless qi and wild nature in himself and successfully achieved his Dao.

Feng Lin submerged in the depths of the stone monkey’s heart and personally witnessed all the transformations.

Although the mythological illusory realm was an illusion, it was not completely false.

If he interfered and tried to change things, any actions made by him might result in unpredictable consequences.

He simply had to wait patiently, witness the growth process of the stone monkey, and allow things to develop as they would. He would then naturally be able to understand the true essence behind how to break through to the next realm. There was no need for him to do anything extra.

One must know that it was precisely his cultivation time on the Fangcun Mountain that allowed the stone monkey to transform into the Great Sage that wreaked havoc through the three realms.

Although the stone monkey was an innate spiritual monkey with the heavens as his father and the earth as his mother, there was a streak of wildness in his heart. After he entered the path of cultivation, he was looked down upon and viewed with contempt by humans because he was different and had an innate dao body.

If it was the stone monkey in the past who had reign supreme on the Flowerfruit Mountain, with his lawless nature, he would definitely explode upon facing so many insults and unleash havoc on the Fangcun Mountain, flipping it upside down.

But after tempering his heart and mind in the mortal world for tens of years, he was already a different person.

It was extremely difficult to seek the Dao. He had to truly cherish the opportunity to cultivate the Dao before he could curb his innate temperament and personality.

Every bits and pieces came together, resulting in his current success.

Maybe it was because of this that he rose extremely quickly the moment he entered the immortal sect. Dao Ancestor Subhuti regarded him highly and imparted the Dao to him.

After such a long time of tempering, the monkey finally had a seamless Daoheart. Maybe, this was the true meaning behind why the Dao Ancestor Subhuti imparted the Grand-grade Heavenly Immortal Art, one of the true classics of the immortality Dao to him.

If we were speaking of talent, the stone monkey was absolutely top-tier.

As for temperament, the monkey wasn’t inferior as well.

Comparing to those humans with mediocre aptitudes, the monkey was naturally like a crane among a flock of crows. The decision to pass down the true classic to him was obvious.

In truth, the monkey had also lived up to the old ancestor’s expectation. His cultivation speed was extremely quick.

As an innate spiritual creature of heaven and earth, during the span of his breathing, the spiritual qi would gather from all directions and form torrents of unimaginable power, capable of toppling mountains and overturning seas. The phenomenon created was magnificent.

The initial phase, mid-phase, late phase of ‘cultivating qi restoring the spirit’…

A year after a year after a year…

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

The monkey advanced in his cultivation and soon reached the late-phase of ‘cultivating qi restoring the spirit.’ He was a step away from perfection.

The moment he broke through this stage, he would reach another realm, the realm of refining spirit returning to the void!

Upon reaching that step, the primordial spirit of cultivators would resonate with the heavens and earth. Their words would be like laws, the energy of heaven and earth would circulate around them, and they would enter sainthood and could be considered as deities by mortals. Experts of this level were known as ‘loose immortals’.

Although these were only loose immortals, as long as they became one, they would not be mortal any longer.

Immortals and mortals were two different classes!

Even though the stone monkey’s heart was extremely determined, he could no longer control the surging emotions. He wanted nothing more than to instantly breakthrough!

He summoned a strand of qi, wanting to make use of the opportunity to rise in one shot.

The true energy in his body surged out, wanting to break through all shackles and rushing into the next realm.

The barrier to the next realm was trembling from the impact.

His divine soul then broke through the shackles of his body and formed a resonance with the heavens and earth, causing a phenomenon to manifest.

Tribulation qi gathered as thunder manifested.

Dark clouds covered the sky above the Fangcun Mountain. The atmosphere was incomparably tense, shocking many cultivators as they fled away. They all felt incredibly amazed.

“Who exactly is the one undergoing the tribulation?”

“The tribulation qi is so thick, it’s about to take form. How mighty would its force be?”

“Who is it that has such cultivation?!”

A pair of eyes filled with calmness opened. The eyes stared through space and were filled with admiration as it gazed at the stone monkey.

RUMBLE~

A thunderclap echoed out loud in the space. All of a sudden, the stone monkey felt a source of great danger taking form above his head. His heart pounded with trepidation as he instantly awoke.

A pair of golden eyes stared up at the sky.

Although the tribulation clouds had dispersed, they had not gone completely yet.

It seemed that if he took another step and attempted to barge through that invisible barrier of the next cultivation realm, boundless terror would descend and crush him into nothingness.

Cultivation originally was already a behavior that went against the heavens. Those that cultivated to a certain level were bound to suffer from heavenly punishments.

The stone monkey’s instinct told it not to move.

Just when he was hesitating, a loud voice suddenly drifted over from the distance.

“Today, there’s a Dao lecture at the Dao platform. Those who are keen, please head over as soon as possible!”

(The ancestor is giving a dao lecture?)

The stone monkey involuntarily felt joy.

It had been three years since the ancestor last spoke about the Dao. Now, there was finally another Dao lecture.

What an opportune timing!

He had countless questions in his heart which he wanted to ask. He hoped that the ancestor could help him solve the questions, showing him the right path.

The stone monkey soared into the air, transforming into a beam of light as he shot over.

At the elevated platform at the peak of the Fangcun Mountain, Dao Ancestor Subhuti sat there as he chanted words of the great Dao. A phenomenon of snow falling on his head could be seen.

A bunch of disciples sat beneath the platform and was completely focused.

Although the phenomenon seemed extraordinary, the meaning of these words was shallow.

The stone monkey was now at the late-phase of ‘the refining qi into spirit’ realm. He was just a step away from becoming an immortal.

These shallow arts no longer attracted his attention.

However, his nature was calm. He no longer had that streak of wildness of the past. He silently came below the ancestor’s seat and waited as he seriously listened to the lecture.

The Dao ancestor gave the lecture. His words contained a unique rhythm that influenced the depths of one’s heart, causing everyone to immerse themselves in the great Dao.

The stone monkey was also listening respectfully. He sorted out his past knowledge and revised them. He also gained some benefits from this, allowing his foundation to be even sturdier.

The Dao ancestor’s eyes opened. He glanced around, eyes filled with admiration.

Two hours soon passed. Each of his words was like gold, and the Dao lecture had come to an end.

Everyone had an unsatisfied look on their faces, wishing the Dao lecture would continue.

The ancestor suddenly spoke, “Is Wukong here?”

“Disciple is here.” The stone monkey hurriedly knelt.

“What have you been doing?”

“Disciple has been strengthening his foundation and is now proficient in the magical arts.”

“Since you are proficient in magical arts and understand your roots, gaining a divine body, you still need to be wary of the ‘three powerful calamities’.”

When the stone monkey heard this, he instinctively felt the fear in his heart when he thought back to the terror before this. If the source of the calamity descended, he would be crushed into dust and swept away by the wind.

However, he who was limited in his cultivation knowledge didn’t understand what was going on.

The stone monkey then continued, “Master please advise me. I often heard that those who attained the Dao shared longevity with the heavens and earth, invulnerable to fire and water, and wouldn’t fall ill to any sickness. Why would they have to suffer from the three calamities?”

The Dao ancestor laughed. “This is an unusual Dao: You can seize good fortune of the world and immerse in the essence of the sun and the moon. If the Dao is formed, ghosts and gods wouldn’t be able to do anything to you.

“After five hundred years, heavens will send Heavenly Lightning to strike you. You have to be clear of heart and anticipate this so you can hide in advance. If you can successfully hide, you will gain longevity equal to the heavens and earth, but if you failed to hide, you will be doomed.

“If you failed, another five hundred years later, the heavens will send a fire calamity to burn you. This fire isn’t heavenly fire or mortal fire. It is known as ‘Yin Fire’. The Yin Fire generates from your life spring and can directly breach your defenses and burn your inner organs, withering your four limbs, turning your 1,000 years of cultivation into nothing.

“Yet, another five hundred years will pass, and the heavens will send the wind calamity down on you. This wind isn’t the north wind, south wind, east wind or west wind. It isn’t the wind that carries the fragrance from the bamboos and flowers. It is known as the ‘Vile Wind’. It can directly blow into your six bowels, through your dantian, through your nine orifices, and strip the flesh from your bones. You have to hide from all these things.”

The monkey’s blood ran cold when he heard this. He kowtowed. “Please pity this disciple and impart me a way to evade the three calamities. This disciple will never dare to forget your kindness.”

Was Subhuti finally going to impart the stone monkey the seventy-two transformations?

At this moment, the Dao ancestor spoke again, “Initially, this is nothing difficult. However, you are different compared to the others. Therefore, I cannot impart the knowledge to you.”

The stone monkey spoke, “My head is also bearing the weight of the sky and my legs are on the ground. I also have four limbs and nine orifices, five visceras, and six bowels. How am I different from humans?”

The Dao ancestor spoke, “Although you resemble humans, your facial features are still not there yet. You don’t have cheeks.”

He was naturally referring to the sunken faces of monkeys. It was very hard for him to learn transformation arts.

The stone monkey frowned, but he was as expected of a spiritual creature that was innately birthed by the heavens and earth. He touched his head, and his eyes spun about as he smiled. “Master, my face might not be completely like a human’s, and I don’t have cheeks, but I have a tail and they do not. After adding and subtracting them, it works out to almost the same thing!”

When the Dao ancestor heard this, he laughed loudly. “This monkey. Fine, you want to learn a transformation art? I know of the heavenly dipper thirty-six transformations and the earthly fiends seventy-two transformations. Through the art of transformation, it can aid you to avoid the three powerful calamities.”

The stone monkey didn’t even consider it and instantly replied, “This disciple is willing to learn the seventy-two transformation.”

The ancestor spoke, “Since you came here, I will impart to you the oracular formula.”

The stone monkey hurriedly leaned over as the ancestor began to impart the formula in a low voice.

Upon hearing the marvelous aspects of this true classic, the monkey was radiant with delight. He started to jump about in excitement, unable to suppress his happiness.

The other people stretched their heads out, wanting nothing more than to hear a sentence of two, yet they couldn’t hear anything. If they could hear just a sentence, it would be of immense benefit to them.

It was a pity that the true classic could only be imparted to someone fated.

The ancestor was clearing imparting the Dao before their eyes, yet they couldn’t even hear a single word.

Secrets must not be passed on to six-ears!

They could only sigh helplessly.

Yet, they didn’t know that all of this was completely heard by a person.