Chapter 48

Sun Wukong's momentum weakened by three parts the moment he was told this by him.

Although he didn't say it out loud, he understood in his heart that what Su Chen said was the truth.

He was arrogant by nature, but he was not stupid.

"Little brother, what exactly are you trying to say?" Sun Wukong's tone softened.

Seeing that the timing was about right, Su Chen finally revealed his true intentions.

He lowered his voice and said in a solemn tone, "Brother Monkey, I won't hide it from you. Before I came down the mountain back then, Master once mentioned you to me in private."

"Master mentioned me?" Sun Wukong's eyes lit up instantly, and his body leaned forward involuntarily. "What did his old self say?"

Su Chen looked at his expectant gaze and thought to himself, "Brother Monkey, oh Brother Monkey, for your own good, Master can only take the blame this one time."

He cleared his throat and said slowly, "Master said he calculated that you, this unruly monkey, would inevitably bring about a monstrous disaster in the future because your nature is too arrogant and you don't understand the rules of heaven and earth, and you might even be in danger of losing your life."

"What?!" Sun Wukong was startled. "Is it that serious?"

"Exactly!" Su Chen nodded heavily. "Master also specifically entrusted me with one thing."

"What thing?" Sun Wukong pressed.

Su Chen's gaze locked onto Sun Wukong's as he said:

"Master said that the Heavenly Court will notice you sooner or later. In order to maintain their own face and also to recruit you, they will, nine times out of ten, send someone to the lower realm to invite you to heaven to serve as an official."

"Serve as an official in heaven?" Sun Wukong's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

This sounded like a prestigious thing.

If he could go to heaven and be a high-ranking official, wouldn't that be even more glorious than being a mountain king in the lower realm?

Su Chen took in every change in his expression and continued, "Master specifically instructed that if that day really comes, you must absolutely not agree!"

"Ah?" The excitement on Sun Wukong's face instantly turned into astonishment. "Why can't I agree? Isn't serving as an official in heaven a good thing?"

In his simple value system, serving as an official in heaven was such a prestigious thing.

Su Chen looked at his naive appearance and really wanted to slap him awake.

But he knew he couldn't be too blunt right now.

He just shook his head and said in an inscrutable tone, "Brother Monkey, you think too simply of the Heavenly Court. The waters there are very deep."

"Master only said that the Heavenly Court cannot be gone to. Once you go, you are stepping into a trap set for you by others. When that time comes, calling to heaven will get no response and calling to earth will get no answer; it will be too late to regret!"

Su Chen said this half as a threat and half as a bluff.

He dared not speak directly about the "Keeper of the Horses" matter, fearing that the karma involved would be too great for him to bear.

He could only use this ambiguous way to first plant a seed in Sun Wukong's heart.

Sun Wukong listened, feeling confused and half-believing.

"A trap? What trap? With all my skills, should I be afraid of them?"

He was still somewhat unconvinced.

Su Chen looked at him, preparing to add more fuel to the fire by telling him how those gods in the Heavenly Court looked down on demon immortals like them from the lower realm.

However, the moment he was about to speak.

The Heavenly Secret Treasure in his mind suddenly vibrated violently without any warning.

Su Chen's complexion changed in a flash.

Two lines of extremely clear golden characters appeared in his mind.

【Warning: You are touching the core karma of the "Journey to the West Great Tribulation." Subsequent words will directly interfere with the key node of the "Havoc in Heaven."】

【Continuing to leak heavenly secrets will attract a backlash of heavenly secrets at the Saint level. The consequences are unpredictable and extremely dangerous! Please stop immediately, Host!】

These two lines of text, every single character, boomed like a great bell in Su Chen's sea of consciousness.

A backlash of heavenly secrets at the Saint level!

Su Chen was scared into a cold sweat.

My God!

Just wanting to give a slight hint about the "Keeper of the Horses" matter would actually attract a backlash at the Saint level?

This is too exaggerated!

He understood instantly.

Sun Wukong going to the Heavenly Court, being appointed as Keeper of the Horses, and then feeling humiliated because the official position was too small, leading him to angrily rebel against the Heavenly Court.

This is the direct fuse for the "Havoc in Heaven" plot and a crucial turning point in the entire Journey to the West Great Tribulation.

He had actually wanted to pinch out this fuse just now.

This is no longer a simple change of karma; this is simply arm-wrestling with the Heavenly Dao!

No wonder the Heavenly Secret Treasure's reaction was so intense.

"Can't afford to provoke, can't afford to provoke..."

Su Chen kept saying he was lucky in his heart, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

He had no doubt that if he had really spoken the truth just now, a giant hand reaching down from beyond the thirty-three heavens would have crushed him into powder the next second.

A Saint!

That is a supreme existence that overlooks the river of time and views all living beings as ants.

His little bit of cultivation, in front of them, doesn't even count as a speck of dust.

In an instant, all the rhetoric Su Chen had just prepared was forcibly swallowed back.

The expression on his face also became somewhat stiff and pale due to this sudden fright.

Sun Wukong was pricking up his ears, waiting for Su Chen's follow-up, but found that he had suddenly stopped talking, and his complexion had become so ugly, so he couldn't help but feel a bit strange.

"Little brother? What's wrong with you?" Sun Wukong reached out and waved in front of him. "What trap? Speak up!"

Su Chen snapped back to his senses.

He looked at Sun Wukong's curious gaze and felt miserable in his heart.

Speak?

Do I still dare to speak? If I keep talking, my life will be gone!

He had a flash of inspiration and threw the blame onto his master again.

He took a deep breath, his face showing an expression of lingering fear.

"Brother Monkey, don't ask anymore." His voice even carried a trace of trembling. "I can't say anymore..."

"Why can't you say it?" Sun Wukong became even more anxious, scratching his ears and cheeks as he pressed, "Do you know something? Tell me, Old Sun!"

"I don't know!" Su Chen shook his head violently, a trace of fear appearing in his eyes. "I don't know anything. Master only mentioned this one sentence to me casually back then, and I just happened to remember it."

"Alright then." Sun Wukong waved his hand. "Forget it if you don't know. It's a pity that Master didn't tell me anything when I left!"

"But I have remembered it!" Sun Wukong's expression became serious. "Since it was Master who said it, I will listen to him. From now on, no matter who the Heavenly Court sends to invite me to be an official in heaven, I won't go! I will stay here at Huaguo Mountain and be my Great Sage Equaling Heaven!"

Su Chen looked at his solemn appearance and finally let out a long sigh of relief in his heart.

"That's good, that's good."

He knew that he had successfully planted a seed in this monkey's heart.

Even if the Heavenly Court really sends Taibai Jinxing to offer amnesty in the future, Brother Monkey will definitely not be like in the original work, foolishly following him without any precautions.

As long as he has doubts, as long as his behavior deviates even a little from the original work, his goal will have been achieved.

"Phew, at least it wasn't all for nothing," Su Chen sighed in his heart.

This whole night, what with acting and being frightened, he felt even more tired than after a great battle with those demon immortals.

Just at the moment his mind relaxed.

The Heavenly Secret Treasure in his mind hummed gently once again.

But this time, it was no longer a warning.

It was a notification.