Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

His aura remained as clear and calm as a flowing spring, full of natural vitality, untouched by any dust.

In an instant, he seemed to resonate with some mysterious power in the world, carrying an ancient and divine charm. He swung the sword in reverse, and sword energy burst forth!

A simple wave of the hand, yet it blends with nature and permeates with profound and subtle principles.

This sword truly aligns with nature, embodies the principles of harmony, and reaches a level of perfection that is beyond comprehension and exquisite in its subtlety.

This sword strike was unpredictable, almost flawless, seemingly without the slightest weakness!

what!

Ah Qing's eyes widened as she imprinted the sword in her mind. She picked up the bamboo stick and swung it lightly. Although she couldn't match Li Xiuyuan's skill, her method was refined through countless trials, and she instantly found the knack.

Upon seeing this, Li Xiuyuan smiled and praised, "Good, this humble monk is willing to take you as my disciple and teach you swordsmanship, Aqing, are you willing to learn?"

After saying that, he stared intently at Aqing. This was a peerless jade stone, which, if properly polished, was destined to shine with astonishing brilliance.

Upon hearing this, Aqing chuckled and said, "Just like Grandpa White Ape?"

As she spoke, the smile on her face was like a blooming flower.

Li Xiuyuan nodded and said, "Yes!"

Li Xiuyuan also saw the white ape. It was at the Golden Core stage of cultivation. Although it was not as powerful as him, it was still considered quite extraordinary.

Aqing nodded and replied, "Alright! I'm willing to become your disciple."

She agreed without hesitation. She was just an innocent young girl who didn't understand the meaning of becoming an apprentice; she simply had an instinctive love for swordsmanship.

Perhaps due to her innate talent for swordsmanship, A Qing has a strong love for swords, and she is naturally willing to learn if Li Xiuyuan is willing to teach her.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyuan's lips curled up, and he chuckled, "Alright, from today onwards, this humble monk will begin to instruct you."

After saying that, he affectionately patted Aqing's head, and she seemed to enjoy it.

It must be said that Li Xiuyuan's temperament became very gentle due to the practice of the Great Sun Tathagata Sutra, which naturally made people feel close to him.

…………

Aqing was just a shepherd girl who was born with a sword-wielding talent and received instruction from a white ape. She also had a mother at home. Since Li Xiuyuan took her as his apprentice, he began to improve Aqing's life.

With several hundred taels of silver spent, Aqing's mother practically sold her daughter, following Li Xiuyuan day and night without a care in the world.

At the same time, Li Xiuyuan and this little girl also developed a deep relationship. Aqing began to feel dependent on this cheap master, and she no longer needed to herd livestock.

In addition, Li Xiuyuan had not forgotten what he was here in the capital of Yue Kingdom to do. The most important thing was to rebuild Lanruo Temple, and the first thing he needed to do was to attract the attention of the King of Yue.

Li Xiuyuan released the fire qilin, but forbade it from harming people and revealing itself to ordinary people. At that time, news of the qilin would be spread. Since ancient times, the qilin has been known as an auspicious beast.

The appearance of the Qilin (a mythical creature) is a sign of good fortune, and is sometimes used to describe a person of outstanding talent and virtue. Now that King Goujian of Yue has been released by Fuchai, he naturally craves talented individuals to avenge his previous humiliation.

Therefore, Li Xiuyuan firmly believed that he didn't need to go to the King of Yue; the King of Yue would come to him three times.

In the blink of an eye, Li Xiuyuan had been outside the Yue Kingdom's capital for three days. Goujian did not see him, but a white ape arrived instead. It was the same monkey that had taught Aqing the skills. Unexpectedly, upon encountering Li Xiuyuan, it pounced on him as if it had some deep-seated hatred.

Li Xiuyuan simply waved his hand, letting Aqing deal with it. After dozens of rounds of fierce fighting, Aqing had defeated the white ape. Her swordsmanship had improved rapidly in recent days, and even the white ape was no match for her.

Ultimately, considering the white ape had taught him, Li Xiuyuan released it. Clearly, the monkey didn't like humans, otherwise it wouldn't have acted so strangely.

Although Li Xiuyuan knew this from the original work, he still didn't expect it to be like this.

…………

Two days passed in this way. While Li Xiuyuan was teaching A Qing swordsmanship, he had a feeling that someone was watching him. And as time went by, this feeling became stronger and stronger.

Li Xiuyuan let out a long roar: "What kind of demon are you, spying on me here!"

After saying that, he stared at the guy. This guy was getting bolder and bolder. Originally, they were only a hundred miles apart, but now they were in the jungle behind the mountain. Did he really think he couldn't see him?

Squeak!

A shout came, and a lively and clever monkey jumped out. It had a peach-shaped face with two round little eyes. Below the eyes was a small, flat, and flat nose with large nostrils.

It also has a pointed, big mouth, which is very cute. Most importantly, this monkey has very long ears, at least three times longer than those of ordinary monkeys.

In addition, it has silver fur, a red rump, and a short tail that hangs down, which only the monkey king dares to stick out.

Squeak!

After the monkey jumped out, it knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly to Li Xiuyuan, with a series of 'bang bang' sounds.

Upon seeing this, Li Xiuyuan's lips curled up, and he said calmly, "You want to become my disciple?"

After saying that, he carefully examined the monkey and felt that it looked more and more similar to him. He tried to calculate with his fingers, but he couldn't figure it out.

Squeak!

After hearing this, the monkey seemed to understand what Li Xiuyuan meant, and made a gesture with its two paws as if to say yes, yes, yes!

Li Xiuyuan pondered for a moment and said, "Let me guess, you are the Six-Eared Macaque. I wonder if I am right?"

Having said that, he gazed at the monkey. Within the Three Realms, only this monkey was worthy of his status, possessing such extraordinary abilities.

Chapter 113 The Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Techniques

Within the universe, there are five immortals: Heaven, Earth, God, Human, and Ghost. There are five insects: Snake, Scaled, Hairy, Feathered, and Insect.

This creature is neither heaven, nor earth, nor god, nor human, nor ghost; nor is it a snail, nor a scaled creature, nor a hairy creature, nor a feathered creature, nor an insect. There are also four monkeys that roam the world, not belonging to any of the ten categories of beings.

These four monkeys are:

First is the intelligent stone monkey, who understands transformations, knows the seasons, is familiar with the terrain, and can move stars and change constellations.

The second is the Red-Bottomed Macaque, which understands Yin and Yang, knows human affairs, is good at entering and exiting, and can avoid death and prolong life.

Third is the Long-Armed Ape, which can grasp the sun and moon, shrink mountains, discern good and bad fortune, and manipulate the universe.

Fourth is the Six-Eared Macaque, who is good at listening, discerning reason, knowing the past and the future, and understanding all things.

These four monkeys are neither classified into the ten categories nor recognized by the two realms.

The Spiritual Stone Monkey is still being nurtured in Flower Fruit Mountain and has not yet been born.

The red-bottomed macaque was suppressed long ago during the time of Yu the Great's flood control efforts.

The Long-Armed Ape, who cultivated for a thousand years during the Investiture of the Gods period, transformed into a human and was the leader of the Seven Heroes of Meishan, named "Yuan Hong".

It led troops for King Zhou and was a great general of the Shang Dynasty, repeatedly defeating the Zhou army. Later, it was defeated by Nuwa and returned to its original form, trapped in the Mountain and River Map, and gloriously listed on the Investiture of the Gods.

Finally, there is the Six-Eared Macaque, which was born the earliest, but its skills were the worst. This was because it did not go to Zixiao Palace when the Dao Ancestor was preaching, and it tried to steal the master's teachings by relying on its innate supernatural abilities.

Later, the saying "the secrets of the spell must not be passed on to six ears" came into being, so no one in the Three Realms dared to teach it the secrets. That's why it has its current form. It's also thanks to the extraordinary talents of the Four Spirit Lords that it survived long ago.

The reason why he sought out Li Xiuyuan this time has to be traced back to after defeating the white ape. The Six-Eared Macaque was originally the monkey king of the area. When he saw his subordinates being bullied, his first thought was to take revenge.

But when it heard Li Xiuyuan imparting the Dharma to Aqing, it had other ideas and wanted to become his disciple, which led to the scene before us.

"Yes, Master, please accept me as your disciple!"

Over the years, Liu Er has encountered countless setbacks because he is labeled as the Dao Ancestor, so no one dares to take him as a disciple, even if he is exceptionally talented.

A sentence echoed in Li Xiuyuan's mind. It was transmitted through divine sense by the Six-Eared Macaque. He said calmly, "Six-Eared Macaque, have you thought this through? My magical power may not be as good as yours."

What he said was true. The Six-Eared Macaque had lived for tens of thousands of years. Although it had not cultivated magic, its physical body had already reached the level of an Earth Immortal, and ordinary Heavenly Immortals were no match for it.

The Six-Eared Macaque was overjoyed upon hearing this, knowing that it had a chance to become an apprentice. It squeaked, "This disciple is willing! This disciple is willing!"

After saying this, he kowtowed again, as if afraid the other party would disagree.

Having lived for tens of thousands of years, the Six-Eared Macaque knew very well that it would make no progress without a master. Since it had finally met someone willing to take it as a disciple, it naturally wouldn't give up.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyuan's lips curled up, and he chuckled, "Very well! I will accept you as my disciple, and from this day forward you will be my chief disciple."

As he spoke, he slowly pointed out a golden light, which entered Liu Er's mind.

This contains the Nine Revolutions Yuan Gong and the cultivation methods of the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture, as well as the Qiankun Staff Technique, all of which were handed over to the Six-Eared Macaque.

Li Xiuyuan said calmly, "After I pass on the cultivation method, you may practice it on your own."

As he spoke, he looked at the Six-Eared Macaque kneeling on the ground.

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"

At this moment, the Six-Eared Macaque was extremely excited, thinking that if he had a cultivation technique, he would no longer have to suffer the scorn of others.

Li Xiuyuan pondered for a moment and said, "Well, after I pass on this cultivation technique, you must remember not to cause trouble, or don't blame me for taking back your cultivation."

While Li Xiuyuan couldn't actually do this right now, he could still intimidate them, as the Four Spirit Lords were all unruly. Fortunately, Li Xiuyuan had passed down the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture, so he wasn't worried about them disobeying.

Although the four Spirit Marquises possessed extraordinary talents and could achieve remarkable success through body cultivation, Li Xiuyuan still hoped that Liu Er could learn more and also control himself better.

Li Xiuyuan had his reasons for accepting the Six-Eared Macaque as his disciple. First of all, its talent was extremely high, no less than that of the Spiritual Stone Monkey Sun Wukong.

In the future, as Li Xiuyuan's cultivation deepens, the Demonic Sect should also be established in the Immortal Realm. Naturally, a Demonic Sect protector is needed, and the Six-Eared Macaque is the most suitable.

In addition, the Six-Eared Macaque is indispensable in Li Xiuyuan's plan, and it would be even better if he could take the Spiritual Stone Monkey as his disciple.

Unfortunately, the Spiritual Stone Monkey had already been targeted by Zhunti. Li Xiuyuan knew that in the next few hundred years, he would not be able to grow to the point of ignoring the sage.

The Investiture of the Gods war had just ended, and the Buddhist Journey to the West would begin in a hundred years at most. During this period, Li Xiuyuan needed to recover his cultivation as quickly as possible.

"Disciple obey!"

The Six-Eared Macaque knelt on the ground and nodded hurriedly. Although it was unruly, it was not as ignorant as the Spiritual Stone Monkey. After all, it was an ancient being from the primordial world and knew that there were many people in this world that it could not afford to offend.

Li Xiuyuan nodded upon hearing this. Although he didn't know why the Six-Eared Macaque would come looking for him, since the Six-Eared Macaque was his disciple, he naturally had to take good care of him.

Furthermore, Li Xiuyuan's taking in the Six-Eared Macaque has caused him a great deal of trouble. Judging from the plot of Journey to the West, someone had been eyeing it for a long time. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been the calamity of the real and fake Sun Wukong. It seems that someone taught it martial arts techniques.