Honghuang: Eat a Hunyuan Daluo

This was Sun Wukong's first time visiting Taiyin Star. Taibai Jinxing had visited several times, but had never stayed on Taiyin Star for long.

Because the Taiyin Star is synonymous with coldness and profundity in the eyes of ordinary beings, every inch of land on the Taiyin Star is filled with Taiyin Qi, which is an unparalleled cultivation resource for beings born on the Taiyin Star.

However, for other living beings, especially the weak ones, it is probably no different from a deadly poison. Even a Great Immortal would feel a chilling sensation penetrating to the heart when absorbing the Yin energy.

Although Sun Wukong was born of nature and was a stone monkey with a body of copper and iron, he felt a bone-chilling cold the moment he stepped onto the Taiyin Star.

Sun Wukong looked around and saw nothing but silver frost.

"Monkey King, stop flying. The Moon Goddess is the most revered being in Heaven besides His Majesty the Jade Emperor and the four Great Emperors. We should show her some respect."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong landed on the ground. This wasn't because he had any respect for Taiyin Xingjun—he didn't even know Taiyin Xingjun, so how could he have any respect? He was just giving Taibai Jinxing face because Taibai Jinxing had just helped him out of the crisis at Huaguo Mountain.

The man and the monkey stopped flying and walked on the ground. After walking for about half an hour, a huge palace appeared in front of them.

This palace seems to be carved from a single piece of jade, with an overall ice-blue color that gives people an endless chill. At the same time, an immense pressure slowly spreads out!
Even Sun Wukong was shocked. Judging from the oppressive aura, the Taiyin Star Lord was definitely a Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Upon arriving at the gates of the Moon Palace, Venus bowed and said, "Venus, I have descended to the mortal realm by order of the Great Heavenly Venerable to capture the Jade Rabbit. Now that I have brought the Jade Rabbit back, I have come to request an audience with the Moon Goddess."

The voice of Venus echoed over the Moon.

A few breaths later, the ice-blue gate slowly opened, and a woman dressed in white and silver gauze, with a slender figure and cascading black hair, slowly walked out.

The woman's face was shrouded in a layer of silver gauze, obscuring her features. Sun Wukong secretly glanced at her with his Golden Eyes of Truth, and upon seeing her, his hair stood on end. In his eyes, the woman seemed to be one with the Moon Star, and behind her stood a silver-white tree of unknown height.

The aura of this tree was even more terrifying. Sun Wukong had never seen a Quasi-Saint, but he had seen the Dragon King, a Great Luo Immortal. The power contained in this tree was something that even hundreds or thousands of Dragon Kings combined could not match.

"What kind of tree is this? How can it be so terrifying?"

"This is a laurel tree, one of the ten innate spiritual roots in the primordial world." The cool voice of the Moon Goddess rang in Sun Wukong's ears.

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong felt a chill run down his spine, and an endless coldness welled up within him.

Venus's expression grew even more respectful: "Venus pays his respects to the Moon Goddess."

“Fellow Daoist Li, there’s no need for such formalities. Our tribes used to be neighboring, so you’re practically a stranger to us. Such a grand gesture would make me seem rather unfriendly.”

Upon hearing this, Venus smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, there is no need to take offense. I hold a second-rank divine position in the Heavenly Court, while you are a first-rank Taiyin Star Lord. It is only right that I pay my respects to you."

Chang'e pursed her lips and skipped the topic. She looked at Sun Wukong and said, "Monkey, my rabbit ran down to the mortal world while I was going to find my husband, causing you quite a bit of trouble. If there's anything you want, you can tell me, and I'll try my best to make it up to you."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong subconsciously thought of the laurel tree.

"Oh? You monkey dare to covet the laurel tree? You've got some nerve."

Hearing that the Moon Goddess had once again revealed his thoughts, Sun Wukong couldn't help but ask, "Goddess, can you hear my thoughts? Or have you cultivated some kind of Buddhist secret technique called telepathy?"

Heng'e shook her head and said, "I can neither hear your thoughts nor have I cultivated telepathy. It is only that I am connected with the laurel tree. You have designs on the laurel tree, and the laurel tree senses your malice and will respond to me."

Upon reflection, Sun Wukong realized it was true; his penetrating golden eyes had seen the laurel tree and that he had just wanted it, all of which were known to the Taiyin Star Lord.

"The laurel tree is the most precious thing of the Taiyin Star. Even the Sage Bai Jing wanted the laurel tree in the past, and he had to exchange it for a top-grade innate spiritual treasure. You monkey, don't even think about the laurel tree. Let's talk about something else!"

"Does the Star Lord possess any elixirs for prolonging life?"

Heng'e was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled and said, "I do have some. When I was unable to cultivate, my husband found a lot of these kinds of spiritual herbs to send to me in order to prolong my life. What kind of spiritual herb do you want?"

"It can be harvested and consumed multiple times."

"There are those that can be harvested multiple times, but there are none that remain effective after multiple uses. In this world, only the peaches of immortality and ginseng fruit can help people prolong their lives after multiple uses. Other spiritual medicines will have a diminishing effect on prolonging life after one use, and at most three times will have no effect on prolonging life."

Sun Wukong was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything more. He simply asked for the medicinal herbs that could be harvested multiple times.

Chang'e raised her hand and pointed, and a fruit tree that was entirely blood red appeared in front of Sun Wukong.

"This tree is a mid-grade innate spiritual root, the Heavenly Origin Wood Fruit. It flowers once every hundred years and bears fruit once every hundred years, yielding forty-nine fruits each time. This fruit can bring the dead back to life and heal flesh and bones. It is a holy medicine for healing wounds for cultivators below the Quasi-Saint level, and it also has some effect on Quasi-Saint cultivators."

Besides, the first time one takes this fruit, it can extend one's lifespan by five hundred years; the second time, the effect is halved; and the third time, it has no life-extending effect.

Sun Wukong was overjoyed upon hearing this. He had actually gotten a mid-grade innate spiritual root from coming with Taibai Jinxing. This was a huge windfall!

Venus looked at Heng'e, clearly puzzled as to why she was making such a grand gesture.

Chang'e noticed Taibai Jinxing's gaze and snorted, thinking to herself, "It's all because your Heavenly Court is dishonest, making me cooperate with you to trick this monkey into going to heaven. Otherwise, would I need that mid-grade innate spiritual root as compensation?"

Thinking of this, Heng'e found Taibai Jinxing even more repulsive. She wondered what the Heavenly Court was up to, trying to trick this monkey into going to heaven.

However, after breaking through to the Great Luo realm, he remembered his relationship with Da Yi and flew directly to the mortal realm, breaking the rules of the Heavenly Court. The Heavenly Court seized on this and had no choice but to compromise and put on this show.

"Alas!" Heng'e sighed and said, "Give me the Jade Rabbit and you should leave! This Taiyin Star is not a place for you to stay for long."

Venus took the Jade Rabbit out of the Haotian Tower and handed it to Heng'e.

Chang'e took the jade rabbit, glanced at Sun Wukong, and then returned to the Moon Palace.

Sun Wukong felt that Heng'e's glance was quite meaningful, but he couldn't figure out what it was, so he could only take it one step at a time.

So Sun Wukong put away the fruit tree that Chang'e had given him, and turned to Taibai Jinxing and said, "Old man, the rabbit has been returned, and I, Old Sun, should go back to Flower Fruit Mountain."

"It's time to go back. Monkey King, do you remember the way you came?" "Yes, yes!"

"Then please make yourself at home, Monkey King! I won't see you off." With that, Venus took his leave first.

Sun Wukong didn't care about Taibai Jinxing's twists and turns. He did several somersaults and flew out of Taiyin Star, then headed towards Huaguo Mountain.

Halfway there, Sun Wukong encountered the Jade Emperor's imperial carriage.

Seeing the imperial carriage pulled by a real dragon and circled by a real phoenix, Sun Wukong had no choice but to stop.

"Huh? A monkey? How come there's a monkey in the Heavenly Court?" The Jade Emperor's voice came from his imperial carriage.

Taibai Jinxing, who was standing nearby, quickly said, "Your Majesty, you sent me to capture the Jade Rabbit that had descended to the mortal realm without permission. The Jade Rabbit happened to land on Flower Fruit Mountain, which is the territory of this Monkey King. He and I captured the Jade Rabbit together, and just now we returned the Jade Rabbit to Taiyin Xingjun together."

"Your Majesty, I am in a hurry to report back, so I have taken my leave. I suppose the Monkey King is not very familiar with the roads of Heaven, which is why he bumped into Your Majesty's imperial carriage. Please forgive him."

"I see. It's alright then. This monkey's cultivation is already at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, and his spiritual energy is balanced and peaceful. Obviously, he hasn't done anything murderous and has cultivated step by step on his own. In that case, monkey, would you be willing to become an official in my Heavenly Court?"

Upon hearing the Jade Emperor's question, Sun Wukong refused without hesitation: "I, Old Sun, am used to being carefree and don't want to be an official."

"That's a real pity. In that case, you may go!" With that, the Jade Emperor's carriage departed.

Sun Wukong was completely bewildered. He had just thought that the Jade Emperor had deliberately let him run into the Jade Emperor so that he could stay in the Heavenly Court, but now it seemed that was not the case.

In fact, it was indeed the Jade Emperor who deliberately changed course and bumped into Sun Wukong. However, the Jade Emperor did not necessarily want to recruit Sun Wukong to Heaven; he simply wanted to meet the chosen one of this era.

Sun Wukong is indeed a chosen one, but his fortune is not that important to the Heavenly Court now. Whether he serves as an official in the Heavenly Court or not has little impact on the Heavenly Court, which is now the Heavenly Realm. The recruitment just now was just a casual remark.

It wasn't the Jade Emperor who sent Sun Wukong to heaven; the real culprit was yet to come!

After flying forward for a while, Sun Wukong encountered a middle-aged Taoist priest with disheveled hair, wrinkled robes, and a generally unkempt appearance.

The Taoist priest lay on the rocking chair, looking as if he hadn't woken up yet.

Sun Wukong instinctively avoided the Taoist priest, but after flying a considerable distance, he unexpectedly encountered him again.

Sun Wukong was full of questions, but he didn't make a sound. Instead, he did another somersault and once again bypassed the slovenly Taoist.

Then, unsurprisingly, Sun Wukong encountered the Taoist priest again.

Once is never enough. Even the slow-witted Sun Wukong realized something was wrong, not to mention that he was quite clever.

With a thought, the golden cudgel appeared in his hand.

"What tricks have you played, Taoist priest? Why are you blocking my path?"

The disheveled Taoist stretched and said, "You rude monkey, disturbing my peaceful sleep! You're the one who got lost, what does it have to do with me?"

Seeing the disheveled Taoist priest's nonchalant demeanor, Sun Wukong's anger flared even more, and he shouted, "You charlatan! Take this from my old Sun!"

The golden cudgel roared up, bringing with it a gust of wind, and smashed straight towards the Taoist's head. The cudgel was as powerful as thunder, cracking the rocks and seemingly tearing the air apart.

To everyone's surprise, the Taoist simply raised his eyelids lazily, extended a finger and flicked it lightly, which deflected the golden cudgel!
The immense force made the golden cudgel vibrate, and Sun Wukong felt his tiger's mouth go numb. His fear deepened, and he activated his Golden Eyes of Truth to try and see through the Taoist's identity.

To Sun Wukong's surprise, under the power of his Golden Eyes of Truth, the Taoist priest appeared to be just an ordinary human.

Sun Wukong looked incredulous: "An ordinary human? That's impossible! You Taoist priest, you're still playing tricks." With that, Sun Wukong put away his golden cudgel, and in a flash, he used his seventy-two transformations to become a fierce tiger and pounce on the Taoist priest.

The tiger's claws were like knives, flashing with cold light, aiming straight for the Taoist's throat. However, the Taoist yawned, waved his sleeve, and a streak of green light flashed. Wukong only felt a blur before his eyes, and the tiger's body was thrown back, returning to its original form, and falling ten feet away.

Sun Wukong was unconvinced, so he plucked a tuft of hair, blew out a breath, and instantly it transformed into a hundred or so little monkeys, who surrounded the Taoist from all directions. Each monkey held a golden cudgel and smashed down in unison, creating a scene like a net covering the sky and a mountain of cudgel shadows.

The Taoist priest simply stretched and muttered, "It's so noisy."

With a casual wave of his hand, a cloud of mist flew out from his robe, enveloping the cloned monkeys, which instantly turned into monkey fur and fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Sun Wukong flew into a rage and leaped into the air, shouting, "Behold my old Sun's Law of Heaven and Earth!"

In an instant, Sun Wukong's body swelled to enormous size, towering like a mountain, and his golden cudgel transformed into a colossal pillar, crashing down on the Taoist priest. This strike caused the wind and clouds to change color, and the mountains and rivers to tremble, as if it were about to smash through the Heavenly Court.

Unexpectedly, the Taoist priest merely glanced up, slowly stood up from the rocking chair, stretched out a hand, and a phantom image of a Tai Chi diagram appeared in his palm.

The giant club struck the Tai Chi diagram, but it vanished without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea. Wukong was taken aback, only to hear the Taoist slowly say, "Monkey, have you had enough? I just wanted to get a good night's sleep, but you insisted on disturbing my peaceful dreams."

Sun Wukong withdrew his supernatural powers, panting heavily, and glared at the Taoist priest, saying, "You ox-nose, who exactly are you? My seventy-two transformations, the Law of Heaven and Earth, and even my golden cudgel can't do anything to you. What kind of demonic magic are you using?"

The Taoist scratched his messy hair and said with a smile, "Demon magic? Not at all. I merely borrowed some of the mysteries of heaven and earth. Although you, monkey, are incredibly powerful, you still lack the necessary skills. To pass this road, you need some real ability."

"So it really was you who stopped me, Old Sun! You old Taoist priest, you really are something else!"

Before Sun Wukong could finish speaking, he felt himself being swept up by something, and the next second he appeared in a palace.

Sun Wukong looked around and felt that this place was nothing special, there were no powerful cultivators, and even the slovenly Taoist was nowhere to be seen.

"Why did you bring me, Old Sun, here?" Sun Wukong shouted.

But apart from his echo, no other sound came from within the palace. (End of Chapter)