During the refining process, Xu Milu and A Qing gradually became acquainted, and the two would chat about gossip from the celestial realm: which celestial maiden had fallen in love with mortals and secretly descended to the mortal world; which celestial star general was punished by having his celestial bones removed and being banished to the mortal world for disturbing the celestial maiden of Yaochi; which deity was demoted to the mortal world for failing to properly guard his mount; and which celestial servant was punished for spilling tea while serving tea to the Jade Emperor...
There are many such rumors, and although their veracity is unknown, they are enough for Xu Milu to barely piece together a picture of a strictly governed Heavenly Palace.
Occasionally, the bronze beast would chime in, but it would only talk about old gossip, such as how the Snake Fairy and Qingyuanzi were originally Daoist partners before their ascension, but later they hated each other and never spoke to each other again. At the Queen Mother's Peach Banquet, the two happened to sit together, and as a result, the female fairy who served tea was implicated.
Before descending to the mortal realm, Marshal Tianpeng was a celestial being even more handsome than Erlang Shen, and many female immortals in the Heavenly Palace secretly admired him.
The Golden-Winged Roc beside Buddha was said to be eccentric and had devoured tens of millions of people in the Three Kingdoms period. It was said that it had been searching for its lost little phoenix all these years.
Xu Milu wanted to hear more, so she went along with it, praising its extensive knowledge until the bronze beast blushed with pride. She even brought up a fact that many people didn't know:
"Do you know the Great Sage Equaling Heaven?"
The bronze beast flicked its tail and said:
"It was the Great Sage who caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago. He later went on his journey to the West with Tang Sanzang, who was reincarnated from Jin Chanzi. When they passed by our Wuzhuang Temple, he accidentally knocked down the ginseng fruit tree. Later, Guanyin Bodhisattva saved it with the sweet dew from her pure bottle."
Seeing that Xu Milu and A Qing were not surprised at all, the bronze beast said mysteriously again:
"When the master saw that the ginseng fruit tree had come back to life, he put aside his past grievances and became sworn brothers with the Great Sage. The two addressed each other as brothers."
You should know that when the Tripitaka Master was Jin Chanzi, he knew his master, but the two never became sworn brothers. How could his master be willing to become sworn brothers with a junior like the Great Sage?
Is there some hidden story behind this?
Xu Milu was puzzled. She had also had doubts about this when she read "Journey to the West". After all, Zhen Yuanzi had already attained immortality in the primordial era, his cultivation was unfathomable, he was friends with the Three Pure Ones, and he was proud. How could he so easily become sworn brothers with Sun Wukong?
After all, the two are from vastly different generations.
When she was little, she attributed the reason to the Monkey King's powerful personal charm, after all, no one doesn't love the Monkey King.
Xu Milu tentatively asked, "Is it because the Great Sage is straightforward and his temperament is similar to that of this abbot that they became sworn brothers at first sight?"
"Hehehe, you wouldn't know that."
The bronze beast glanced at the temperature inside the furnace before explaining in detail:
"Everyone knows that the Great Sage appeared out of nowhere five hundred years ago, a stone monkey that sprang from a spirit stone, but few people know that the spirit stone was born on the top of Huaguo Mountain in Aolai Country of the Eastern Sea Divine Continent, and was a five-colored divine stone left over when Nuwa mended the sky."
It should be known that for all living beings in the world, the cultivation of the demon race is extremely difficult, especially for wood-type demons, not to mention the cultivation with spirit stones. The five-colored stone has existed since ancient times. When Nuwa saw that the spirit stone had developed a trace of intelligence, she placed it on the top of the mountain.
Then, the five-colored divine stone absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, the sun and moon, and the spiritual energy from ancient times to the present, thus giving birth to a naturally born spiritual creature, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
Others only know that the Monkey King caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago, and is at most eighteen hundred years old, but they don't know that if you calculate carefully, he gained sentience when the heavens were mended, making him older than the Queen Mother of the West. The Abbot admired his innate pride, which is why he became sworn brothers with him!
"?!"
Xu Milu's eyes widened in surprise: "I see."
She didn't think about Sun Wukong's age from this perspective; how could she possibly make such a claim?
No wonder no one corrected Sun Wukong in "Journey to the West" when he called the Jade Emperor "Old Man Jade Emperor" (of course, it's also possible that he couldn't beat him). The reason is actually here.
No wonder the Monkey King wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, forcing the Jade Emperor to seek the help of Buddha to subdue him. While others cultivate for five hundred years, he had existed since the time of Nuwa mending the sky, absorbing the essence of the sun, moon, and heaven and earth from the mountaintop before finally breaking free of his shell. Not only was he full of spiritual energy, but his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds.
Just like some ingredients, even though they grow slowly, they accumulate nutrients over the years, resulting in an extremely delicious flavor.
The bronze beast remained silent for a long time: "...Don't say that I told you to say that again, or I'll get beaten up."
Who taught you to use that kind of analogy?
Thinking of this, Xu Milu suddenly felt a little guilty. Could it be that she thought she had concealed her tracks very well, but Sun Wukong could actually figure it out?
Why don't you go back and write a letter to your master to admit your mistake first?
...
...
High above the nine heavens, at the end of the Milky Way.
Above the Star Platform, clouds and mist swirl, and wisps of ethereal immortal energy linger above the Milky Way. Tens of thousands of stars flow into the night sky along the Milky Way, each star changing size as it lands on a chessboard formed from the stars.
"Smack."
The one holding the white piece was a Taoist priest with an otherworldly air, dressed in a carefree crane cloak. This Taoist priest had the body of a child, the face of a beauty, three strands of black beard floating under his chin, and a layer of black hair like raven feathers stacked at his temples.
The Taoist priest held a star in one hand and a jade-handled whisk in the other. He casually glanced at the human world below the clouds before saying:
"Since you knew someone wanted to kill your disciple, given your temperament, how could you have let it go? Why didn't you just smash that mischievous phoenix to death with one blow?"
Sitting opposite the Taoist priest was the Monkey King, dressed in a plain-colored monk's robe. He leaned casually against his somersault cloud, half his body hanging precariously in the air, a hairy hand slowly scratching his head.
"I must spare that old bird's life so that my disciple can deal with him. Besides, my disciple is considerate and doesn't want me, his master, to suffer along with him. I'll just pretend I don't know anything."
As he spoke, Sun Wukong picked up a star from the void and landed it on the chessboard, laughing:
“I know you have a grudge against that old bastard, but I didn’t expect you to be so generous, even willing to lend the Creation Furnace to my apprentice.”
"snort."
Zhenyuan Daxian snorted coldly, his expression somewhat unpleasant:
“That old bird from beyond the realm dared to sneak into my Wuzhuang Temple while I was lecturing to the Three Pure Ones and steal the ginseng fruit that had become a spirit. This little phoenix is even related to him by blood. If it weren’t for this half of the phoenix feather, I would have had you, my little disciple, kicked out long ago.”
"Hehe! Why be angry, brother? The cause and effect here is quite complicated and can be quite a headache. Why not finish this game of chess with your foolish brother? I think the time it takes for this game of chess is enough for me, your disciple, to kill that old bird and apologize to you."
Sun Wukong chuckled and scratched his hand, his fiery eyes blinking nimbly.
"It's not too late to ask you about the whereabouts of that ginseng fruit spirit later!"
Zhen Yuanzi's expression softened slightly, and he then picked up a star and placed it on the plate.
...
...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
