Chapter 108: Brother Monkey Teaches, Cultivating Divine Arts

"Communing with the Nether?" Su Chen's heart stirred.

"That's right!" Sun Wukong explained. "This 'Communing with the Nether' technique isn't just a simple spell—it's a true great divine art. Once mastered, it lets your physical body move freely between the realms of yin and yang. In plain terms, it lets a living person wander the Underworld like a ghost, without being corrupted by its yin energy."

Su Chen's eyes lit up—this was exactly what he needed!

"Brother Monkey, can you teach me this divine art?" Su Chen asked. "Also, I need a high-level transformation technique. My face is probably known to most of the celestial court now. If I just stroll into the Underworld like this, I'm bound to be recognized by the yin officials. If they spot me, the Ten Yama Kings will surely surround me with yin soldiers and ghost generals."

Hearing this, Sun Sun Wukong grew troubled, scratching his head and pacing.

"Little brother, teaching you isn't the problem—we're blood brothers, your affairs are my affairs," he said hesitantly. "But the Earthly Secrets' Seventy-Two Transformations were passed down to me personally by Master. If I teach them to you without his permission…"

"What if Master finds out and punishes you…"

Seeing Sun Sun Wukong's distress, Su Chen understood this touched a taboo—Sun Sun Wukong feared no one more than their master, Patriarch Bodhi.

"If it's too difficult, forget it. I'll find another way," Su Chen said.

"Bah, what's so hard!" Before Su Chen could finish, Sun Sun Wukong suddenly slapped his thigh. "You're also Master's disciple—we're fellow disciples. Didn't Master himself teach you the Dao arts? If I teach you just two of the Seventy-Two Transformations, I'm sure Master won't truly punish us!"

He recalled everything Su Chen had done for him lately, and his hesitation faded.

"Besides, if Master really comes looking, I'll take full blame—it has nothing to do with you, little brother!" Sun Sun Wukong thumped his chest, declaring boldly. "You want to learn? I'll teach you!"

Su Chen's heart warmed. He bowed solemnly. "Thank you, Brother Monkey. But if Master ever holds me accountable, I'll explain everything to him myself."

"Hey, no need for formalities with me!" Sun Sun Wukong waved his hand, then launched into an enthusiastic explanation.

"Little brother, listen closely. The 'Communing with the Nether' technique is hard, yet simple. The key lies in understanding yin and yang. Yang is life; yin is death. We living beings dwell in the yang world, but after death, according to the Way's cycle, we must journey to the yin realm. Yin and yang are like the two sides of a single sheet of paper, separated by a veil. Communing with the Nether lets you briefly pierce that veil and pass from the yang world into the yin."

"As for transformation arts, it's even more profound. Ordinary transformations only change appearance—they're illusions, useless against true experts. My Earthly Secrets Transformations demand change from within. Not just your form, but your aura, your very essence—everything must become identical to what you're imitating. Only then is the transformation flawless, undetectable by anyone."

As he spoke, Sun Sun Wukong demonstrated.

His body shimmered, transforming into a buzzing fly that darted around Su Chen's face—its form, its faint life aura, indistinguishable from a real fly.

Then he reverted to his original form. "To master such transformation, you must deeply 'awaken' to it. If you wish to become something, you must first understand it fully—otherwise, you'll end up a grotesque mockery."

Su Chen listened intently, memorizing every word Sun Sun Wukong uttered.

His own "Compendium of the Hunyuan Golden Core" expounded the supreme principles of yin-yang and the Five Phases—he had full confidence in his understanding of yin and yang.

As for transformation, though it sounded mystical, its core lay in mastery over oneself and the target—something he was equally confident he could achieve.

"Good, Brother Monkey, let's begin. I want to master these two divine arts as soon as possible," Su Chen said.

"Alright!" Sun Sun Wukong beamed. "Let's go to the back mountain of the Waterfall Cave—it's quiet there, no disturbances."

Saying this, he grabbed Su Chen's arm and headed toward the back mountain of the Waterfall Cave.

Sun Sun Wukong brought Su Chen to a valley behind the Waterfall Cave, found a clean stone to sit on, and assumed the posture of a master instructing a disciple.

"Little brother, listen. The first step of Communing with the Nether is called 'Sensing Yin.' Close your eyes, empty your mind, and feel… how do I put this?"

When acting as a teacher, Sun Sun Wukong was far from his usual crisp, decisive self.

He had learned through innate talent and insight—many things were beyond words, impossible to explain clearly, so his teaching came out haltingly.

"Ah, no, not like that!"

"Little brother, you must…"

"Wrong, wrong!"

Sun Sun Wukong grew frantic, scratching his head, hopping around, as if he could shove his own sensations straight into Su Chen's mind.

Su Chen, however, remained patient. He was not rattled by Sun Sun Wukong's chaotic teaching—he calmed his spirit and carefully pondered the methods and insights Sun Sun Wukong imparted.

At the same time, he once again felt the gulf between his own talent and Sun Sun Wukong's.

According to Sun Sun Wukong, the Underworld was the dark side of heaven and earth, the embodiment of death and stillness.

To master Communing with the Nether, one must first sense the Underworld's presence.

Su Chen sat cross-legged, sinking his spirit into a state of empty clarity.

One day, two days…

For days on end, Su Chen made no progress.

He could sense the vitality of all things, and the decay of death's aura—but the Underworld's essence remained elusive, faint as mist.

Sun Sun Wukong had long lost patience. He left Su Chen alone to meditate and returned to the Waterfall Cave.

On the seventh day, while in deep meditation, Su Chen finally sensed the Underworld's presence.

In that instant, Su Chen's mind cleared like dawn breaking.

The moment he grasped it, the entire world transformed in his perception.

He "saw" that beneath the sunlit yang world lay another, corresponding realm—composed of endless gray and black.

A chilling, lifeless, yet immeasurably vast aura seeped from that shadowy world.

"Found it!"

Su Chen snapped open his eyes, a flash of brilliance in his gaze.

With the most critical step resolved, the rest of the cultivation flowed naturally.

Su Chen began attempting to construct a "gate" between yin and yang using the Communing with the Nether technique.

This process was no less difficult—it demanded exquisitely precise control of energy.

Failure after failure. Attempt after attempt.