Chapter 732

Sun Wukong snorted: "Do you understand immortals, or do I understand immortals? Immortals have never been like the legends say. Take this area—aren't there plenty of demons and monsters?"

The boy nodded.

Living in this world, he heard tales of demons and monsters every day, terrified out of his wits.

Sun Wukong pointed to a city in the west and said: "The Great Sun Tathagata resides in that city—why hasn't he subdued the demons and monsters? Do you know why?"

The boy was stunned, then shook his head frantically.

Sun Wukong then explained his western journey plan.

"For the sake of this western journey, the Tathagata ignores the people's suffering—is that any different from what you believe about immortals?"

The boy fell silent.

In myths and legends, immortals always rescued the suffering.

Yet now, this young immortal boy said—immortals are stingy, cruel, cold, and ruthless.

The shock was too great for him.

After a while, he finally believed it.

Sun Wukong picked up the boy and leapt away, leaving the Mount Wuzhi area.

Even with the heavenly patterns in chaos, such a commotion here could not go unnoticed by the Great Sun Tathagata.

If we wait any longer, we'll surely run into him.

Arriving in the city, Sun Wukong ordered a table of wine and dishes and ate slowly.

"After five hundred years, eating good wine and fine food again—truly wonderful!"

The boy snapped back to reality and looked at Sun Wukong.

"Immortal, what do you intend by telling me all this?"

Sun Wukong smiled lightly: "You entered Mount Wuzhi—that proves you have talent. How about becoming my disciple?"

"Me?" the boy froze. "I'm just an ordinary person."

Sun Wukong said calmly: "All living beings in this world are ordinary to me—what difference does it make? You broke my seal, and your talent is good, so I'm willing to teach you the way to cultivate."

"Become an immortal?" The boy was deeply tempted, yet fearful. "If I become an immortal, won't I have to go to the Heavenly Court? Then I'll fear offending someone and being imprisoned."

"Don't worry, don't worry," Sun Wukong shook his head. "The heavenly slaughter is about to begin—who will rule the Heavenly Court in the future is still uncertain. Maybe you'll be the next Heavenly Emperor."

The boy was speechless.

He had never dared to dream of becoming an immortal, let alone ruling over immortals.

"Boy, just say whether you're willing," Sun Wukong asked.

The boy steadied himself and said: "Disciple Lu Yan bows to Master."

"Good, good, good!" Sun Wukong, for the first time as a Master, felt something wonderfully new—he tapped a finger, transmitting the path of the Celestial Immortal. "Ask me anything you don't understand."

Lu Yan nodded, closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong asked: "Any part you don't understand?"

Lu Yan felt embarrassed: "It seems I don't understand anything."

"You don't understand anything?" Sun Wukong was stunned.

The Celestial Immortal path had been explained clearly, but who was Lu Yan?

He was just an ordinary herb gatherer—maybe he couldn't even read—and yet he truly understood it all.

Sun Wukong didn't believe it—he asked several questions in succession. Lu Yan didn't give textbook answers, but still provided responses close enough through his own understanding.

After hearing them, Sun Wukong was speechless.

"Good boy, you're truly extraordinary," Sun Wukong praised. "Eat first, then cultivate after."

He activated the chat group with a thought.

Sun Wukong: "Big news—I've taken a disciple, and he's a genius. I just transmitted the Celestial Immortal path to him, and he understood it all."

Lin Daiyu: "No way? Even I needed time to grasp it. How long did he take?"

Sun Wukong: "Using the group timer, five minutes."

Su Xiao: "Five minutes? Lin Meimei, how long did you take?"

Lin Daiyu: "... I took fifteen minutes. Master Sun's disciple is too talented!"

Hu Yifei: "By the way, Master Sun, what's your disciple's name?"

Sun Wukong: "His name is Lu Yan—he's a herb gatherer. He plucked the lotus from the mountaintop and freed me, so I decided to teach him cultivation."

Xiao Mai: "Has Master Sun become so kind? Wouldn't your nature have been to eat the one who freed you?"

Sun Wukong: "... Am I really that brutal?!"

Su Xiao: "If it were the old you, maybe."

Sun Wukong: "Come to think of it, maybe I was. But lately, chatting with all of you has lifted my spirits—I'm not like I used to be."

Hu Yifei: "Sentient beings need interaction. Five hundred years in solitary confinement—how could your malice vanish? Master Sun, your anger has lessened because of this conversation."

Zhu Zhu: "Lu Yan? I think I know why!"

Ning Xiang: "I know too! Lu Yan—Lu Chunyang, one of the Eight Immortals of the Upper Caverns. Master Sun picks up a celebrity the moment he takes a disciple!"

Hu Yifei: "Wait—I recall Lu Chunyang hadn't been born yet in this era."

(Wang Qian Zhao) Zhang Taixuan: "Parallel world—historical events shift, let alone someone's birth and death."

Sun Wukong: "Is Lu Yan Lu Dongbin, a reincarnated immortal?"

Zhang Taixuan: "I just calculated—he's not a reincarnated immortal, just possesses a Pure Yang body and extraordinary talent."

Zhang Taixuan: "Also, congratulations—taking Lu Yan as your disciple has increased your destiny by at least ten percent."

Sun Wukong: "Ten percent? He's just a mortal!! I'm nearly at the Jin Xian realm—how can he boost my destiny by ten percent? Is he that terrifying?"

Zhang Taixuan: "Do you think anyone could enter Mount Wuzhi? His ability to enter it speaks volumes. You triggered cosmic changes with the Celestial Immortal path, and right after, someone frees you—don't you find that too convenient?"

Sun Wukong: "The Dao of Heaven released me. And Lu Yan—is he a pawn of the Dao of Heaven?"