Journey to the West: Demon Emperor: Beginning as a Little Toad

Chapter 23: The Monkey King Goes to Sea
"Monkey, have you seen me?"

Xiao Chen was stunned. He turned his head again and again, but he couldn't figure out what Monkey Brother meant. He only came here after Monkey Brother was born, so how could Monkey Brother have seen him?

"Hehehe, when I was still in that stone, there was a little toad that came to see me every day and kept talking to me about how he wanted to find a beautiful wife and concubines and how he wanted to find immortality!"

"Hahaha, Jinjiao, that little toad, isn't that you?"

The Monkey King looked at Xiao Chen and felt particularly close to him.

After all, he was bored when he was in the stone and had just gained intelligence. In recent years, it has been a rare opportunity for this little toad to come and chat with him from time to time, which has relieved his boredom a bit.

"Come, come, Brother Toad, take a seat and see how my new possessions compare to your Kanyuan Mountain!"

Monkey King immediately pulled Xiao Chen towards the Water Curtain Cave, and asked the other monkeys to seat Xiao Chen, serve him monkey wine, and entertain him.

Xiao Chen suddenly realized and remembered the stupid things he had done before. He couldn't help but smile awkwardly. So that's it.

When I was still a little frog, I went to see if Monkey King was born every day and made wishes to the big rock. Unexpectedly, Monkey King had gained some intelligence at that time and actually listened.

Naturally, Xiao Chen brought a lot of spiritual herbs and fruits as gifts on this trip, and distributed them all to the monkeys, causing them to scramble for them.

At this moment, Xiao Chen was naturally very excited to see the handsome Monkey King in his mind from his previous life. He picked up the wine bowl and drank with the monkeys. He was having a happy moment.

"Brother Toad, I understand what you mean by beautiful wives and concubines. It means finding a bunch of female monkeys and giving birth to a bunch of monkeys and grandchildren."

"But this, what does immortality mean?"

"Will I die if I wait?"

The Monkey King suddenly pulled Xiao Chen, scratched his ears and cheeks, and asked curiously.

"This……"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to respond.

"Your Majesty, after a few years, I will grow old and weak, and without the secret of immortality, I will inevitably die. There is no way to escape death!"

At this time, a very old white-haired monkey jumped out from the monkey group and explained while crying.

When the monkey king heard this, he suddenly froze, dropped his wine bowl, and became extremely worried. He asked the monkeys again, "Will we also not be able to escape death in the future?"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Yes, once we die, it will not be in vain that we were born in this world, and we will not be able to live in the heavens for long!"

Another old monkey also cried and echoed, his words were sad.

All the monkeys dropped their wine bowls, covered their faces and cried:

"My lord, I don't want to die."

"I don't want to die!"

"I don't want to die either!"

Seeing the monkeys crying, the Monkey King scratched his head and was also very anxious. He wanted to relieve the monkeys' worries and difficulties, and said angrily:
"But I, Your Majesty, do not have the secret of immortality!"

At this point, the Monkey King suddenly showed some hope, pulled Xiao Chen, and asked him:

"Brother Toad, I wonder if you have found the secret of immortality in these years?"

Xiao Chen looked at the familiar scene in front of him with a confused look on his face. Shouldn't it have taken another three to five hundred years for Monkey Brother to come up with this idea? How come it happened so early?

Is this the butterfly effect caused by myself?
Seeing Monkey Brother pulling him, his round, innocent big eyes were full of anticipation.

Xiao Chen also couldn't bear to deceive Monkey Brother, so he answered honestly: "Monkey, Toad, I haven't found the secret of immortality either."

Hearing this, the Monkey King became even more anxious and jumped up and down, scratching his ears and back, not knowing where he could find the secret of immortality.

At this moment, an old ape suddenly jumped out and shouted loudly:

"Your Majesty, I have heard that there are three beings, Buddha, immortal and holy, who have escaped the cycle of reincarnation, are immortal and have the same lifespan as the heavens, the earth and the mountains."

"If you are so far-sighted, why don't you go to the Ancient Cave Fairy Mountain, find a famous teacher, and learn the way to immortality!"

"That ancient cave fairy mountain actually has the way to immortality?"

Hearing this, the Monkey King's eyes suddenly lit up. He finally had a direction, and said with joy:

"My little ones, I will leave you tomorrow and go down the mountain. I will travel to the corners of the sea and the ends of the earth. I must learn the art of immortality!"

"When I come back, I will teach you all to avoid death! Always avoid the troubles of the Lord of Hell! Live a carefree and happy life!"

The monkeys were also innocent and stopped crying when they heard this. They clapped their hands and praised the Monkey King, saying:
"Good! Good! Tomorrow we will climb the mountains and find some fruits, and then prepare a feast for the king. When the king returns, we will all be saved from death."

Xiao Chen was confused at this moment, and couldn't help thinking:
"This monkey brother went out to sea to seek a master more than 300 years in advance? Can he still find Master Subhuti?"

"If he had found Master Subhuti, with this monkey's talent and cultivated for another three hundred years, would he still have been suppressed under the Five Finger Mountain when he caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace?"

"But the time has not come yet. If Brother Monkey has not found Master Subhuti, where can he learn magical powers and spells?"

"Could it be that the Journey to the West will be advanced because of this?"

……

At this moment, the Monkey King suddenly grabbed Xiao Chen and said expectantly:

"Brother Toad, you also want to find the art of immortality, and I also want to find the art of immortality. How about you and I become companions and find the way to immortality together?"

Xiao Chen held the Monkey King's hand and looked at his expectant eyes. The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, was the Monkey King of his dreams, and now he was right in front of him! Xiao Chen couldn't help but smile brilliantly, and also felt a little heroic. He thought to himself, "Brother Monkey, since you are here, no matter what kind of swords and fire, no matter what sinister calculations he has, I, Xiao Chen, will accompany you on this journey!"

"Besides, I only have the Taoism skills now, but I don't have any magical skills."

"The truth is not easily passed on. Among all the gods and Buddhas in the world, the only ones who are willing to teach a person like me who is covered with fur and horns and is born from an egg are Master Subhuti and Master Tongtian. If I can get some opportunities from Brother Monkey, I will be overwhelmed!"

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen nodded and responded: "Monkey, let's go together to find the way to immortality."

"However, Toad, I have a family business in Kanyuan Mountain. I have to go back for a few days and come back after I have dealt with it."

"Brother Toad, OK! OK! OK! I'll wait for you."

"Give me some wine, my friends. I'm going to drink with my brother Toad today."

Seeing that he had a companion on this journey, the Monkey King was very happy. He called all the monkeys, served monkey wine, picked fruits, and drank happily with Xiao Chen.

……

Day two.

Xiao Chen also returned to Kanyuan Mountain, issued orders and summoned all the monsters.

In the Golden Horn Cave, Xiao Chen sat on the throne, with the two demons Qingmian and Shu Wen serving on his left and right.

Inside the hall, there were more than a hundred commander-level monsters. Over the years, his reputation as the Golden Horned King had grown more and more powerful, even surpassing the previous Demon King, and had attracted many monsters to come and join him.

The monsters led by them were Tiegu and Wuman.

Xiao Chen glanced at the monsters, called Tiegu forward, and ordered:
"Your Majesty, I have something important to do. I need to be away for a while. It may take five or six years at the shortest, or more than ten years at the longest."

"When I'm not around, listen to Tiegu's orders and take good care of my family business. If a powerful demon king comes to take over, don't bother with him. Wait until I come back to deal with him."

"But, if you have rebellious intentions, you know what I will do, my king!"

At this point, Xiao Chen glanced at Wu Man coldly and warned him that he was a traitor who had stabbed his adoptive father before.

Wu Man felt Xiao Chen's sharp gaze and couldn't help but tremble with fear. He was the first to kneel on the ground and expressed his attitude: "I dare not. We will definitely take good care of the family business for the king and wait for the king to return!"

All the demons bowed to the ground and said, "We will definitely take care of your family business for you, Your Majesty!"

Tiegu also knelt on one knee and promised Xiao Chen: "Don't worry, my king, Tiegu is here! Kanyuan Mountain is here!"

Hearing this, Xiao Chen couldn't help but laugh and said, "Tie Gu, even if Kanyuanshan is gone, you have to be here too. To me, you are much more important than my family business."

Tiegu couldn't help but feel warm at heart when he heard this. He was a general of Donglai State in his lifetime, but was harmed by a treacherous prime minister. What he wanted was a monarch who believed in him.

"You just need to remember that if the monsters survive and the land is lost, both the monsters and the land will survive; if the land survives and the monsters are lost, both the monsters and the land will be lost!"

Xiao Chen instructed Tiegu.

"If the demons survive and the land is lost, both the demon land and the land will survive; if the land survives and the demons are lost, both the demon land and the land will be lost!"

Hearing this, his iron-boned body shook as if he understood something.

After the group of monsters dispersed.

"My king, my king, wherever you go, always bring your green face with you!"

"My lord, how can I live without you?"

The green-faced fish demon ran over, knelt down in front of Xiao Chen, and said with tears and snot that he felt like he had lost his parents. He looked extremely miserable.

Xiao Chen kicked the green fish demon down in anger: "Qingmian, Qingmian, your cultivation has not improved much over the years, but your flattery skills have improved a lot!"

Qingmian was kicked, but became even happier. He smiled and said:

"My lord, I have been your trusted little demon since the beginning. I have never flattered you in the slightest. It is all out of respect and love from the bottom of my heart."

Xiao Chen shook his head, threw the Black Wind Art of the Black Evil King to Qingmian, and ordered: "Practice well, don't fall behind in cultivation. With your current level of cultivation, how can I use you in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Qingmian held the "Black Wind Art" in his arms as if it were his lifeblood, and vowed: "My king, don't worry, I will practice hard and let you use my little demon as soon as possible!"

"Okay, let's go down."

Xiao Chen waved his hand, signaling Qingmian to go down.

Afterwards, Xiao Chen packed his luggage and rushed to Huaguo Mountain.

……

Six days later, at the foot of Huaguo Mountain.

The monkey demons picked peaches, exotic fruits, dug yams, peeled Polygonatum, orchids, fragrant irises, rare herbs and flowers. Everything was neatly arranged. They laid out stone benches and tables, and arranged for fine wine and delicious food to bid farewell to the Monkey King and Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen and the Monkey King sat in the upper seats. The monkeys came forward one by one, offering wine, flowers and fruits, and drank a bowl of wine.

"Your Majesty!"

"My king, take care!"

"My king, please come back soon!"

The monkey demons were reluctant to leave the Monkey King and they looked at him with tears in their eyes.

"Young ones, go back, go back!"

The Monkey King and Xiao Chen stood on the raft and waved goodbye to the monkeys. Then, the Monkey King and Xiao Chen pushed open the raft and floated towards the sea.

(End of this chapter)