Honghuang: Eat a Hunyuan Daluo

At the summit of Flower Fruit Mountain, the stone monkey breathed in the fresh air, its golden eyes shining, and headed straight down the mountain.

The monkey troop was stationed on Huaguo Mountain. Not long after descending the mountain, the stone monkey encountered the monkey troop.

When the monkeys saw the stone monkey, their eyes widened in surprise. One of the monkeys ran over and asked, "Where did you come from? I've never seen you before!"

The stone monkey pointed to the mountaintop and said, "I was born from that giant rock on the mountaintop."

The monkey troop circled the monkey a few times, their eyes shining. The monkeys' fur was mostly gray and black, but the stone monkey, with its golden fur and golden eyes, was the most handsome among the monkeys.

Finally, the most robust-looking gray monkey in the troop extended its hand and said, "My name is Big Gray. Would you like to join us?"

The stone monkey looked at the big gray hand and didn't know what to do for a moment.

Seeing this, Big Gray explained, "I learned this from the human race. Among them, cultivators or nobles will cross their hands and bow, while ordinary people express friendliness through physical contact. If you agree to join, we can just shake hands."

Upon hearing this, the stone monkey quickly grasped the big gray furry hand and said with a beaming smile, "Great! I'm willing to join."

Thus, the stone monkey joined the monkey troop and became a member of the troop.

With its outstanding appearance, agile skills, and honest and generous personality, the stone monkey quickly became one with the monkey tribe in just a few days.

In this Flower and Fruit Mountain, the stone monkey lived a carefree life. When thirsty, he drank from the spring; when hungry, he ate fruit; and when he had nothing to do, he would cultivate himself. He was very content.

Meanwhile, in the Northern Underworld, within the Demon Master's Palace, Kunpeng slowly opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing between his brows: "This monkey, so clever right from birth? Could it be because it is protected by great fortune?"

That old ape with a long back was no ordinary demon. In fact, it makes sense that it could be an ordinary demon to be entrusted with such an important mission. It was an incarnation personally crafted by Kunpeng.

However, Kunpeng dared not check on the incarnation's condition frequently, because Kunpeng had recently learned by chance that this stone monkey was a key figure in the eastward spread of Buddhism and a chosen one of great fortune in this era.

Kunpeng approached the stone monkey only to share some of its fortune, and then combine it with the fortune of the various schools of thought and Taoism to create the Great Dao of Speed ​​in one fell swoop, and then attain the Great Golden Immortal of Hunyuan.

Little did they know that Bai Jing had already discovered Kunpeng's little tricks. The Buddhist sect, however, hadn't noticed, but they knew the stone monkey's importance in spreading Buddhism and were making some preparations.

Duobao wasn't good at scheming against others. In Duobao's opinion, Buddhists should openly take the stone monkey under their wing, teach him cultivation, and when the time was right, begin the eastward transmission of Buddhism.

Now that Duobao is in charge of the Desire Realm and is also the master of Buddhism, no one will object to what he says. Therefore, Buddhism sent eighteen Arhats to Flower Fruit Mountain to monitor the situation, waiting for the right time to recruit the stone monkey into Buddhism.

Returning to Flower Fruit Mountain, the old ape with a long back, under the control of Kunpeng, transformed into a black-haired monkey and attempted to blend into the monkey troop.

The monkeys of Huaguo Mountain are mostly covered in ordinary brown fur, but there are also quite a few with black or gray fur. The golden-haired stone monkey is unique.

Therefore, the Kunpeng incarnation easily blended into the monkey troop, and gave himself a name that fit the characteristics of the monkey troop—Big Black.

During that time, he didn't have much contact with the stone monkey, but he became acquainted with him.

During his time on Flower Fruit Mountain, the stone monkey had become familiar with the monkey troop. One day, the stone monkey picked a large basket full of peaches and shared them with the monkeys.

The monkeys feasted, their juices splashing everywhere, and looked satisfied as they lay down on the grass to sunbathe.

Just as the stone monkey was dozing off, the giant black creature that Kunpeng had transformed into brought fruit and took the initiative to find the stone monkey and show him goodwill.

The stone monkey sensed that the aura on the big black creature was somewhat familiar, so it used its golden eyes to observe it. The golden eyes, which were usually invincible, were thwarted for the first time. It was as if there was a cloud of mist around the big black creature, and it was impossible to see clearly no matter what it did.

The stone monkey felt a sense of unease: "This big black monkey is not simple, not simple at all."

Just then, the "system" Bai Jing had given the stone monkey spoke up: [Familiar vital signs detected. It has been determined that this black monkey is the transformed form of the Tongbei Old Ape. Host, please be vigilant.]

"It's that guy! He's like a persistent ghost." The stone monkey thought to himself, but his expression remained unchanged.

Over the next few days, Dahei frequently visited the stone monkey, bringing fresh fruits and vegetables. The stone monkey accepted everything without hesitation, eating whatever was brought to him with great contentment.

The stone monkey didn't listen to a single word that Dahei said.

Big Black was getting anxious. He had gone to great lengths to please the Stone Monkey in order to trick him into going to the Demon Master's Palace in the Northern Sea to become a disciple of Kunpeng.

However, the stone monkey remained unmoved by reason, which made Big Black quite anxious.

Just then, the monkey troop came to a mountain stream where a waterfall cascaded down, splashing water everywhere. One of the more mischievous monkeys pointed at the waterfall and said, "This waterfall is so powerful; whoever can dive in and come out unharmed will be our king!"

"King? What is a king?" asked a young monkey who had just reached adulthood and had little knowledge of such things.

"The king is the leader. All the monkeys in the tribe have to listen to the king. The king also has several female monkeys to serve him. Fruits are delivered to his mouth every day. He is very comfortable."

"Is being king so great? Then I want to be king!"

"I want to be king too!"

"And me!"

"Count me in!"

With just a few words, the mischievous monkey piqued the interest of all the other monkeys, who excitedly jumped around, shouting that they wanted to be king.

Big Black stealthily approached the stone monkey, its eyes gleaming with a strange light, its words full of seduction: "Stone monkey, do you want to be king?"

The stone monkey decisively shook his head: "No, isn't it better for me to live a carefree life on my own? If I were king, I'd have to take care of so many monkeys. I'm not going to be king!"

In the Journey to the West that the stone monkey saw, he became the Monkey King. Later, in order to prevent his monkey subjects from suffering the pain of separation and death, he went out to seek immortals. Therefore, the stone monkey had an instinctive aversion to becoming the Monkey King.

Not to mention, to the stone monkey, Big Black was completely untrustworthy.

Besides these two reasons, there is another reason: the monkeys only saw the good things about the monkey king, but they couldn't see the price they had to pay to be the monkey king.

The waterfall is located between cliffs, and a waterway leads directly to the sea below it. The waterfall flows turbulently all year round, and no one knows what lies behind it. Jumping in is too risky; one wrong step and you will fall into the sea.

After these days of cultivation, the stone monkey has already reached the level of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation. His "Nine Revolutions Profound Technique" has also progressed rapidly, reaching the mid-stage of the first revolution of the Profound Technique, with a physical body comparable to that of a mid-stage Celestial Immortal.

However, the stone monkey did not have any matching supernatural powers. The two cultivation methods, "White Lotus Primordial True Explanation" and "Nine Revolutions Profound Skill," were respectively an extremely profound cultivation method for cultivating the primordial spirit that leads directly to the Great Dao, and a body-refining method of the Wu tribe. Neither of them had any matching supernatural powers.

This was actually Bai Jing's intention. The accompanying supernatural powers in the "White Lotus Primordial True Explanation" were not very suitable for the stone monkey, so Bai Jing thought that he should let the stone monkey become a disciple of Bodhi.

Bodhi attained enlightenment through the Dharma hundreds of years ago and is now teaching his disciples.

Even Bai Jing didn't know what path Bodhi had used to attain enlightenment. Before attaining enlightenment, he lived in seclusion and avoided the world. After attaining enlightenment, he remained so, never making a move or communicating with any powerful beings.

Even after he attained enlightenment, only Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi sent him their blessings. Given Hongyun's personality, who in the prehistoric world didn't have a good relationship with him?
Therefore, Bai Jing wanted the monkey to become Bodhi's apprentice, partly to test Bodhi's abilities. He was confident that Bodhi wouldn't discover his intentions, given his own methods. Of course, the stone monkeys were unaware of this; at this moment, he was yawning, listening to Da Hei's flattery.

Big Black coaxed, "Stone Monkey, others may not be able to, but you certainly can. Among all the monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain, you are the most agile and the strongest. Besides you, who else has the ability to cross the waterfall without getting hurt?"

Upon hearing this, the stone monkey shook his head repeatedly: "What's the point of being king? You be king, I won't." After saying that, the stone monkey turned around and fell fast asleep.

Da Hei Qi trembled all over. How could this chosen one of destiny not make sense? Not only did he have no ambition, but he also lacked any drive to improve himself. It was truly frustrating.

Meanwhile, by the waterfall, a mischievous monkey said, "Hey everyone, stop talking! Who's going to be the first?"

Big Gray, who had previously invited Stone Monkey to join the monkey troop, confidently stepped forward: "I'll go first."

As Big Grey approached the edge of the cliff, looking at the bottomless ravine and the spray from the crashing waves, he trembled with fear.

"I... I think I'll pass."

Big Gray's attempt to back down immediately drew laughter from the other monkeys.

After that, several more monkeys came out, but without exception, they were frightened away by the flood.

Witnessing this scene, the stone monkey, with a blade of grass in its mouth, squinted and exclaimed, "Ah, sunbathing is so comfortable!"

Time flew by, and several months passed. Occasionally, monkeys would go to the edge of the cliff, trying to cross the waterfall without getting hurt, but none of them dared to do so.

Dahei would also occasionally persuade the stone monkey to try leaping over the waterfall and becoming the monkey king.

The stone monkey always refused without saying a word.

However, that night, a strange change occurred. The set of top-grade innate spiritual treasures that were being nurtured in the Water Curtain Cave suddenly emitted a golden light.

The golden light came and went quickly. Bai Jing confirmed through the "system" in the stone monkey's mind that the reason why the spiritual treasure in the Water Curtain Cave was acting strangely was because it sensed that it was time for him to be born.

However, the golden light that shot out from the cave this time attracted the attention of the Demon King of Chaos in the nearby Kanyuan Mountain.

There is a cave in Kanyuan Mountain called Shuizang Cave. A white bear spirit lives in the cave and is called the Mischievous Demon King by the surrounding mountain spirits and monsters.

The Demon King has hundreds of lesser demons under his command, who usually run rampant and act tyrannically.

Inside the Water-Dirty Cave, the Mischievous Demon King was fast asleep when suddenly a little demon rushed in and woke him up.

The Demon King was furious and was about to unleash a barrage of punches on the little demon when he heard the little demon shout, "Your Majesty, it seems a treasure has been born on Flower Fruit Mountain next to us."

The mischievous demon king's fist stopped in mid-air, and he asked with interest, "Treasure? What treasure?"

"I don't know exactly what kind of treasure it is. I only saw golden light flashing in the Flower and Fruit Mountain, shooting straight into the sky."

"Is this true?"

"Of course it's true. Besides my subordinates, many other monsters also saw it."

Upon hearing this, the Demon King laughed loudly: "Hahaha! Very good! This treasure is so close to me, it must be destined for me. Minions, take your weapons and come with me to Flower Fruit Mountain to seize the treasure."

Soon, the Mischievous Demon King led three hundred lesser demons to Flower Fruit Mountain in a grand procession.

On Flower Fruit Mountain, the Mischievous Demon King sat imposingly on a blue stone, below him a troop of trembling monkeys.

The Demon King, his eyes filled with arrogance, asked fiercely, "I've heard that your Flower Fruit Mountain has produced a treasure? Tell me obediently what the treasure is, or from today onwards, ten monkeys from your Flower Fruit Mountain troop will be slaughtered and eaten by me every day."

After finishing his speech, the Mischievous Demon King, seemingly to demonstrate his strength, raised his hand and struck a thick bluestone.

With a loud crack, the bluestone shattered into pieces, and dust billowed up.

Although the monkey troop has no king, it is protected by four burly monkeys: Beng, Ba, Ma, and Liu.

Seeing that the monkey troop was being threatened, the four monkeys resolutely stepped forward. The future General Beng stared at the Mischievous Demon King and shouted, "Flower Fruit Mountain is the territory of my monkey troop, and you will not be allowed to act so presumptuously."

The Mischievous Demon King glanced at the four monkeys and said with disdain, "You four are just monkeys who have just refined their essence and qi, yet you dare to be arrogant? If you're not afraid of death, come on up!"

The four monkeys exchanged a glance, each picked up a weapon, and attacked the Demon King.

The Mischievous Demon King was thick-skinned and had reached the Refining Spirit and Reversing Emptiness realm. The four monkeys' weapons hit him as if they were just tickling him.

With a backhand kick, he sent the four generals flying through the air in a graceful arc before crashing to the ground, unconscious.

"You overestimate yourself! Men, bring me ten monkeys!"

Upon hearing this, the demons under the command of the Mischievous Demon King immediately stepped forward, grabbed the ten monkeys closest to them, and put shackles on them.

The heavy shackles bent the monkeys' backs, and their faces were filled with despair.

The mischievous devil laughed loudly: "Have you ever heard of monkey brains being a delicious and long-lasting accompaniment to wine? Today we'll eat monkey brains, and if they don't hand over their treasures tomorrow, we'll keep eating them!"

"Monkey brains as a snack." The stone monkey, who had been hiding in the shadows, heard the Demon King's arrogant words and his head buzzed with blood.

The stone monkey had lived with the monkey troop on Flower Fruit Mountain for several months and had long since become one of the monkeys there, with whom it had a very good relationship.

Now the stone monkey has to watch helplessly as its people are captured by monsters, their skulls opened, and their brains eaten.

The stone monkey couldn't hold back any longer. He forgot all about being schemed against by the gods and Buddhas and about Big Black.

If he can't even protect his own people, what's the point of his cultivation?
So the stone monkey slowly walked out from the monkey troop, looked calmly at the Mischievous Demon King, and said, "Put them down."

The Demon King looked the stone monkey up and down and laughed: "I didn't expect there to be a golden-haired monkey in Flower Fruit Mountain. Minions, take this golden-haired monkey with you."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The two little demons responded, took a pair of shackles, and walked towards the stone monkey.

The stone monkey snorted coldly and casually kicked the two little demons twice.

The two powerful kicks landed heavily on the two little demons, sending them flying like cannonballs before they crashed heavily into a large tree.

The two little demons slowly slid down, their heads tilted to the side, and they instantly lost their breath.

Only then did the Demon King notice that this stone monkey actually possessed the cultivation level of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation. (End of Chapter)