Gou Zai Xi You Dao Chang Sheng

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Li Yan's heart stirred.

"Old man, were those three moves to your liking?"

The gibbon was startled, then quickly lowered its head to hide the tears in its eyes.

"Sir, your method is wonderful. This old man...this old man has lost his composure."

Li Yan looked at it quietly.

"Old man, there's no need to be modest."

With your discerning eye, old man, you can surely see that these three techniques are merely the tip of the iceberg.

The gibbon raised its head and looked at him.

Those old eyes had now become cloudy again.

"Sir..." the gibbon began, but hesitated to speak.

Li Yan nodded slightly.

"If you have something to say, please speak frankly."

The gibbon remained silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up.

It bowed deeply to Li Yan.

"I will forever remember your kindness today, sir."

"But there are some things that I cannot say, and dare not say, at this moment."

"Please forgive me, sir."

Li Yan looked at it, didn't ask any further questions, and simply nodded.

"Since you're having difficulties, sir, don't say anything."

"You can come find me anytime you want to talk."

The gibbon bowed again, then turned and left.

The other three old monkeys also got up and followed it.

Li Yan stood there, watching their departing figures.

The jade mouse poked its little head out from its bosom and chirped twice.

Li Yan stroked its little head.

"No rush."

He said softly.

"They will tell."

The sixth day, midnight.

The moonlight, like water, spilled among the seventy-two peaks of Huaguo Mountain.

Li Yan sat cross-legged on a large rock outside the Water Curtain Cave.

The gray sable crouched beside my knees, facing the moonlight and breathing in its essence.

Those silver specks of light peeled off from the moon and fell into his mouth in wisps, merging with the stellar energy within his body.

The jade mouse nestled in his arms, fast asleep.

This little thing ran around wildly all day, chasing after those little monkeys all over the mountain, digging up a lot of strange and unusual stones.

At this moment, it was so tired that it didn't even bother to move its tail.

Li Yan closed his eyes and focused his mind on cultivation.

Inside the Niwan Palace, the Mustard Seed Cave Heaven slowly rotates.

In the center, that wisp of primordial yellow energy floated between the star map and the earth's veins.

It sometimes rises and merges with the starlight, and occasionally sinks and aligns with the element of Earth.

This object was formed from a wisp of primordial energy at the beginning of the universe. It can be integrated into the grotto-heaven to aid its evolution.

Li Yan used his divine sense to guide the wisp of primordial energy slowly into the depths of the cave.

There, a phantom image of a lotus seed floats silently.

It was during the time at Fangcun Mountain that...

Among the wonderful secrets passed down by the patriarch, it is good to plant a golden lotus in one's spiritual altar, and the golden lotus seed that is formed is the one that is formed.

The primordial energy touched the lotus seeds.

The lotus seed trembled slightly.

Immediately, the wisp of primordial yellow energy, like a gentle stream, slowly seeped into the lotus seed.

Faint golden patterns appeared on the surface of the lotus seeds.

The lines spread and intertwine, gradually forming a mysterious pattern.

The pattern is an image of the Eight Trigrams of the Primordial Heaven.

Qian (☰) is in the south, Kun (☷) is in the north, Li (☲) is in the east, Kan (☵) is in the west, Zhen (☳) is in the northeast, Xun (☴) is in the southwest, Gen (☶) is in the northwest, and Dui (☱) is in the southeast.

It contains all eight trigrams, and yin and yang complement each other.

The golden lotus seed absorbs the essence of primordial chaos, and life begins to sprout.

[Cultivation level +5%, Current progress: Mustard Seed Realm 75%]

[Golden Lotus Seed Growth Rate: 5% (Seedling Stage)]

Li Yan felt a slight joy in his heart.

This golden lotus seed is the key to opening the fourth level of the grotto-heaven, the blessed land.

Once it takes root, sprouts, and blossoms into lotus flowers, it can create a true blessed land within the grotto.

Planting spiritual plants and nurturing life are both possible.

Only then will his path truly be on the right track.

It was at this moment.

The mirror of my heart suddenly jolted.

Li Yan opened his eyes.

Under the moonlight, four figures were slowly walking down the mountain path.

It was those four old monkeys.

Two red-bottomed macaques and two gibbon-like monkeys.

They walk extremely slowly, each step seemingly carrying a thousand pounds of weight.

Li Yan stood up and stood on the stone.

The sable rose from beside her knees, its amber eyes fixed on the four figures.

The jade rat was startled awake, poked its head out from its bosom, and squeaked in a daze.

Li Yan pressed him back down again.

The four monkeys walked to a spot three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in front of the large rock and stopped.

The lead gibbon raised its head and looked at Li Yan.

Under the moonlight, those cloudy old eyes were now as clear as water.

"gentlemen."

It opens.

"I have a question I would like to ask you, sir."

Li Yan nodded slightly, but at the same time, a thought flashed through his mind.

Within the Niwan Palace, the tortoise shell of the Guizang (Returning to the Source) trembled.

A chaotic halo spread out, instantly enveloping an area of ​​ten feet in radius.

That secret was thus completely concealed.

"Please speak, sir."

The gibbon remained silent for a moment, as if it sensed something.

He glanced at the moonlight overhead, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

"Sir, do you know why we four monkeys have been hiding in Flower Fruit Mountain for hundreds of years?"

Li Yan shook his head.

The gibbon looked at him, a strange light suddenly flashing in its eyes.

"Sir, are you truly unaware?"

Li Yan tentatively asked, "What does the old man mean?"

The gibbons did not answer.

It simply raised its hand slowly.

That hand was dry and withered like the bark of an old tree, but its five fingers were unusually long.

With fingers extended like a sword, they slowly slashed through the void.

One stroke.

Two strokes.

Three strokes.

Under the moonlight, a faint trail appeared in the void.

At first glance, the trail appears chaotic, but upon closer inspection, it subtly forms a pattern.

Qian (☰) is in the south, Kun (☷) is in the north, Li (☲) is in the east, and Kan (☵) is in the west.

The trigram Zhen is in the northeast, and Xun is in the southwest.

The trigram Gen (艮) corresponds to the northwest, and Dui (兑) to the southeast.

The Eight Trigrams of the Primordial Era!

Li Yan's pupils contracted slightly.

The gibbon withdrew its hand and looked at him.

Li Yan remained silent.

Within the mirror of the mind, a rapid deduction is underway.

What is the origin of these four monkeys?

they……

"Sir, there's no need to worry."

"The gibbon suddenly said."

Li Yan gazed at it.

"Please speak, sir."

The macaque took a deep breath.

It turned around and looked at the other three monkeys.

The three monkeys nodded.

Then, the four monkeys simultaneously raised their hands and pressed them against their chests.

There, a faint light shone through.

The light was faint at first, but gradually became brighter.

The red-bottomed macaque's chest radiated a crimson light, like the rising morning glow.

The chest of the gibbon radiates a dark light, like the waters of an abyss.

Four colors of light intertwined and converged in the void to form an ancient pattern.

Li Yan recognized the pattern.

"The sealing of the grotto-heaven?"

He blurted it out.

The gibbon nodded.

"Exactly."

"I, the Fourth Monkey, was once..."

As he spoke, a complex emotion flashed in his eyes.

"He was once a guardian spirit ape of a powerful being."

"That powerful being possesses extraordinary cultivation, having reached the Primordial Chaos Realm."

"In the grotto-heaven, he created a vast world called the Spirit Ape Realm."

"We four monkeys are the four guardians of the Spirit Ape Realm."

Li Yan was shocked.

The Realm of Primordial Chaos?

The four monkeys were actually such powerful protectors?

The gibbon continued:

"Later, that great being suffered a great calamity, and his body and soul were destroyed."

"The Spirit Ape Realm also collapsed."

"I, the four monkeys, escaped with my life, carrying with me his dying wish, and ended up here."

"To avoid being hunted down by our enemies, we sealed our cultivation and hid among the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain for hundreds of years."

Li Yan remained silent.

Upon seeing this, the gibbon quickly spoke:

"Sir, what was that powerful being's dying wish?"

Before it could finish speaking, Li Yan suddenly raised his hand, stopping it from continuing.

"Wait a moment, sir."

He looked at the four monkeys, his eyes sparkling, and said in a deep voice:

"If I am not mistaken, once this will is spoken, it will bring karmic consequences."

The four monkeys exchanged a glance.

"At that time, even if I wanted to stay out of it, I wouldn't be able to."

The gibbon was taken aback, then gave a wry smile.

"Sir, you are indeed meticulous."

"That's right. Before his death, that great master said that whoever could break the seal on my four monkeys would be the successor of his lineage."

"We four monkeys shall serve as his master and protect him as he attains enlightenment."

"And the successor of that lineage must inherit the karma of his father."

Li Yan nodded slightly, but did not answer.

He lowered his eyes and looked at the drowsy jade mouse in his arms.

He glanced again at the gray sable perched on his shoulder.

"Old man, I have another question."

"Speaking."

"You have endured in seclusion on Flower Fruit Mountain for hundreds of years, why have you suddenly revealed yourself today?"

"Just because I've been preaching these past few days?"

The gibbon shook its head.

"The Master's sermon was indeed an introduction."

But what truly made me, the Four Monkeys, make up my mind was the aura emanating from the Master.

It pointed towards Li Yan's heart.

"Within your body, there is a chaotic energy that conceals the secrets of heaven."

"That energy source is the same as that of my great master."

Li Yan was shocked.

He remained calm and simply said, "Old man, you have a good eye."

The gibbon smiled bitterly.

"It's not that I have good eyesight, it's just that I'm too familiar with that energy."

"Back then, that great being also used this chaotic energy to conceal our whereabouts, allowing the four of us monkeys to escape the pursuit."

Li Yan remained silent.

He was performing a simulation.

The mirror of the heart hangs high, reflecting the vital energy of the four monkeys.

The tortoise shell slowly rotated, its eight trigrams patterns flickering, predicting the good or bad fortune of the matter.

The broken tortoise shell trembled slightly, its omens of good and bad fortune conveying a warning.

Meanwhile, the tortoise shell of the Gui Zang (a type of tortoise shell) trembled gently in the Niwan Palace (a point on the back of the head).

The results of the deduction made Li Yan's heart skip a beat.

Of what the four monkeys said, nine were true and one was false.

Those nine immortals were indeed powerful protectors, were indeed hunted down, and had indeed endured this situation for hundreds of years.

That false one is precisely this supposed will.

This will is incomplete.

[Analysis result: The last words spoken by the four monkeys are only the first half.]

The unspoken part concerns the master of Flower Fruit Mountain, the great calamity of heaven and earth, and Sun Wukong.

The mirror of the heart reflects a blurry image that flashes by in an instant.

That was the leader of the four monkeys, the gibbon that spoke tonight, conversing with a figure shrouded in gray mist on a dimly lit moonlit night.

The figure was exactly the same as the one Li Yan had seen during his deductions in the Dirty Water Cave.

Li Yan instantly made up his mind.

He simply said, "Sir, this matter is too great. Please allow me three days to consider it."

The gibbon was taken aback.

The three old monkeys beside it also showed strange expressions.

They waited for hundreds of years, and finally they found someone who might inherit their dying wish.

Unexpectedly, this person was so cautious.

The gibbon looked at Li Yan, a complex emotion flashing in its old eyes.

"Sir... do you not trust me, Four Monkeys?"

Li Yan shook his head.

It's not that I don't trust them.

"But this matter is of great importance, and once we take it on, there is no turning back."

"I need to think carefully so as not to fail the great one who entrusted me with this task."

The gibbon remained silent.

After a long pause, it nodded.

"What you say makes sense."

"Then I will come to visit again in three days."

After saying this, the four monkeys turned around and slowly disappeared into the night.

The sable poked its head out from its shoulder and nuzzled Li Yan's cheek.

It was asking, "Are there any problems with those four old monkeys?"

Li Yan gazed in the direction the four monkeys had gone, his eyes sparkling with starlight.

There's a problem.

He said softly.

"And it's not small."

The next day, at dawn.

In front of the Water Curtain Cave, the monkeys still gathered in large numbers.

Li Yan stood before the waterfall and began to expound on the principles of the day.

"Today I'm going to talk about steps."

"Footwork is the foundation of the body. If the footwork is unsteady, the body will not be stable. If the body is not stable, the staff will be powerless."

"Your climbing and leaping are footwork techniques. But your climbing is without foundation, and your leaping is without basis, making you easy targets for others."

"It should be known that there are three essentials to walking. First, be steady; second, be agile; and third, be swift."

"A stable person is one who is grounded and grounded, like a tree taking root."

As he spoke, he subtly shifted his feet.

In that instant, the monkeys only saw a blur before their eyes, and Li Yan had already moved three zhang away.

"Those who live adapt to circumstances and are not bound by convention."

With another movement, its form resembled a willow catkin in the wind, drifting erratically.

"Swiftness means moving like thunder and moving as fast as the wind."

With another movement, it returned to its original position.

After the three movements were completed, the monkeys stared in disbelief.

Li Yan then explained in detail.

During this time, he glanced at the edge of the crowd out of the corner of his eye.

The four old monkeys arrived earlier today than yesterday.

They squatted in one place, seemingly no different from ordinary old monkeys, but their eyes were always fixed on his feet.

The old, cloudy eyes of that gibbon held a faint glimmer of light.

It was deducing his footwork.

Li Yan's heart stirred slightly.

He remained outwardly calm and continued his sermon.

An hour later, the lecture ended.

The monkeys dispersed and resumed their individual practice.

The four old monkeys did not leave.

They remained crouched in place, gazing at Li Yan.

Li Yan turned around and walked towards them.

"Old man, do you have anything else to say today?"

The gibbon rose and bowed deeply to him.

"Sir, your footwork is in perfect harmony with the workings of the stars in the heavens. I am truly impressed."

Li Yan shook his head slightly.

"You flatter me, sir. It's just some rudimentary footwork, nothing to brag about."

The gibbon looked at him, a hint of earnestness flashing in its old eyes.

"Sir, after much deliberation last night, I have come to realize that there are some things I must tell you frankly."

Li Yan's gaze narrowed slightly, and the aura of Gui Cang enveloped him once more.

"Please speak, sir."

The gibbon slowly said:

"Sir, do you know why that troublemaker specifically chose to invade Flower Fruit Mountain?"

Li Yan's heart stirred.

Of course he knew.

But at this moment, he pretended not to know and only said, "I would like to hear the details."

The gibbon looked around.

"There's someone behind that troublemaker."

"Is anyone there?"

"Exactly." A hint of apprehension flashed in the eyes of the gibbon.

"That man comes from the north and is of extremely high status. We cannot see through his background."

"He only conveyed a decree to the Demon King of Chaos to investigate whether there were any unusual phenomena in Flower Fruit Mountain."

"If so, report it immediately."

Li Yan was shocked.

"Thank you for informing me, sir."

The gibbon looked at him, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping itself.

Li Yan knew what it was thinking.

He brought up the matter of his dying wish last night, but he did not agree.

The reason it revealed this secret was simply to make him owe it a favor, so that it would have a better chance of winning in the matter of the dying wish.

Li Yan understood, but said, "Father-in-law, please allow me to think about that matter for two more days."

A hint of disappointment flashed in the eyes of the gibbon, but it didn't say anything and could only nod.

"Then I will come to visit again in two days."

Having said that, the four monkeys turned and left.

Li Yan stood there, watching their retreating figures.

The jade mouse poked its little head out from my arms and squeaked twice.

What exactly are those old monkeys up to?

Li Yan stroked its little head.

"They want me to take on that dying wish."

"But that dying wish wasn't that simple."

"The things involved behind this are probably not even clear to them themselves."

The jade rat blinked, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Li Yan turned around and walked towards the Water Curtain Cave.

Deep inside the Water Curtain Cave.

Sun Wukong sat cross-legged on the stone couch.

The smallest monkey, Little Drill, was perched on my lap.

The little creature was sleeping soundly, its tail wagging gently.

Sun Wukong protected it with one hand while slowly stroking the void with the other.

He was deducing the deeper mysteries of the Somersault Cloud.

The five elements reverse their course, the true spirit is the axis, chaos swirls, the void is broken, and projection occurs.

Although he had grasped seventy percent of the trajectory of the patriarch's evolution that day, he always felt that he was still missing a layer of paper.

Upon seeing Li Yan enter, Sun Wukong stopped his deductions and looked up at him.

"Brother, you don't look well."

Li Yan sat down opposite him and got straight to the point.

"Your Majesty, there's something wrong with those four old monkeys."

Sun Wukong's golden eyes flashed.

"I figured it out a long time ago."

Li Yan was taken aback.

Sun Wukong grinned.

"I, Old Sun, am at least a half-step Golden Immortal. I could see through the seals on those four old monkeys at a glance."

"They just don't want to say, and I'm too lazy to ask."

Li Yan remained silent.

He hadn't expected that Sun Wukong had already seen through him.

"Does Your Majesty know their origins?"

Sun Wukong shook his head.

"Origin unknown."

But I can tell they mean me no harm.

"Otherwise, I would have kicked them out long ago."

Li Yan nodded slightly.

"Your Majesty has discerning eyes."

"However, they came to me last night."

Sun Wukong's golden eyes narrowed slightly.

"Looking for you?"

Li Yan nodded and recounted the events of the previous night in detail.

There's always a story waiting for you to uncover.