Chapter 199: Monkeys Seek Help to Slay the Demon; The Immortal Stone Ruins Become a Fortune [5k]

Bullying the weak and fearing the strong—that really is a universal truth.

These top-tier existences of the Honghuang, despite clearly thirsting for information regarding transcendence, act as if they see nothing.

Yet, the explicit incarnation of Xihuang—the Fuxi Human Emperor—is wandering right before their eyes, and they treat him as if he were invisible.

As for him, simply because he is suspected of having obtained the handiwork of Xihuang, a transcendental being, they have all turned their gazes toward him like sharks smelling blood.

Not willing to relax for even a moment.

Heh!

Regardless of whether it is malice or goodwill.

Whether they intend to draw their blades and use force, or curry favor and build connections through marriage.

In essence, isn't it all just bullying the weak and fearing the strong? If they had the ability, why not go directly to the Fuxi Human Emperor? It's just that he, this small shrimp, is easy to bully!

Thinking of this, Fang Longye felt a bellyful of anger.

It took quite a bit of effort to disperse the injustice that had sprouted in his heart.

He turned his head and instructed Long Xuan, who was acting as the coachman outside the carriage: "Why are you just standing there? Why don't you hurry up and lower the carriage? You really have no sense of the situation at all~"

Seeing Long Xuan swallow her anger and comply with his order, driving the carriage down with a look of grievance, a smile appeared at the corner of Fang Longye's mouth.

It was not that he was narrow-minded, nor that he had a wicked nature, insisting on bullying such a Longgong Princess who pursued free love.

Rather, he had a full understanding of the fate of Long Xuan, this Dongting Princess.

No matter how much she resisted the arrangements of her elders, could an arm ever twist a thigh? In the near future.

She would still have to return to the path charted for her by the various Dragon Clan powerhouses, enter his, Fang Longye's, harem, and serve as a representative of the Dragon Clan's influence.

To safeguard that share of the Dragon Clan's interests, or rather, the interests of the Dragon Clan of the Yinglong Laozu lineage.

Whether in past lives or the present, among mortals or immortals, there are many young people who scoff at the idea of using marriage to build connections and reap benefits.

Yet, looking throughout history and legends, both ancient and modern, domestic and foreign.

Marriage has always been the most cost-effective means of building connections and reaping benefits.

Not to mention anything else, even before Fang Longye transmigrated, when it was already a modern society, didn't those large clothing manufacturers in the south still adhere to the tactic of marrying if you can't beat them? It is only because history has proven that marriage is effective. Yang Jian built the Sui Dynasty because of it, and Li Yuan relied on it to establish the Tang Dynasty.

However, Fang Longye did not think he would be the Yuwen clan or Yang Guang; with his own strategic vision and full confidence, he felt that at the very least, he would be a Zhu Yuanzhang.

Therefore.

Whether it was the high-level members of the Dragon Clan who had long since planned it, or Fang Longye who realized his own future crisis, for the sake of interests, they could be said to have reached a tacit agreement in this regard.

As for Long Xuan's opinion, that is not important~

It can be said that this pitiful-looking Dongting Longgong Princess becoming a member of his harem is a certainty.

And for the sake of the stability of his harem, Fang Longye felt it was better to grind down her temper first.

Or, find a mistress of the house who can suppress her? What seemed like a thousand thoughts turning in his mind was actually just a momentary divergence of thought.

As the carriage landed with a boom, Fang Longye sank these considerations into the bottom of his heart and stepped straight out of the carriage.

With a few strides and a shift in space, he landed in front of the swarming monkeys that were running toward the carriage.

As early as when the carriage fell from mid-air with a boom, the movement, which he did not deliberately conceal, had already attracted the attention of the monkeys of Huaguo Mountain.

"An immortal!"

"It really is the immortal from the legends!"

Seeing Fang Longye arrive in a Golden Crown and feathered robes, surrounded by Divine Light, the monkeys could not help but cheer and jump for joy.

In an instant, they surrounded Fang Longye, blocking him in and out, leaving no room to pass.

Afterwards, they knelt on the ground one after another, wailing and begging.

"We beg the Immortal Grandfather to have mercy and save us!"

"Immortal Grandfather, please beat away that terrifying Demon!"

"Immortal Grandfather,..."

For a time, the sound of "Grandfather" was everywhere, making Fang Longye feel as if he had transmigrated again and become a monkey himself.

Looking at these monkeys surrounding him, Fang Longye could not help but marvel; truly, one side of the land nurtures one side of the people! These monkeys of Huaguo Mountain are not simple.

Perhaps because they have multiplied in such a primordial treasure land, even without practicing the Dharma, each one of them is quite spiritual and possesses astonishing strength.

They are born with immense strength and an incredibly vigorous Bloodline. Even the weakest monkey has strength comparable to the Primordial Spirit Realm.

Tearing tigers and ripping leopards is nothing more than a trivial matter.

Especially a few of the monkeys, whose Bloodline is quite extraordinary.

"Tongbei Ape, Chijiri Horse Monkey."

Fang Longye's eyes were bright as they landed on the four most conspicuous monkeys among the group.

Although they have not entered the innate state, they are rare exotic species of the Honghuang.

Fang Longye does not know if this world has the concept of the "Mixed World Four Monkeys" mentioned by Rulai in the Journey to the West of his past life.

In any case, he did not see this concept in the books of the Demon Master Mansion.

Not to mention the term "Mixed World Four Monkeys," he had not even heard of the names of the two divine monkeys, Lingming Stone Monkey and Six-Eared Macaque, in the Demon Master Mansion.

However, the names of the two monkey species, Tongbei Ape and Chijiri Horse Monkey, were indeed listed in a classic called the Record of Primordial Exotic Species.

Both of these can be considered long-circulated exotic species of the Honghuang. However, while they are not unique in the heavens, they are not common goods either.

Within the entire scope of the Honghuang, they are quite rare.

As a result, four of them appeared here.

Should one say it is worthy of being a primordial treasure land that has existed since the beginning of heaven and earth? Even exotic species of the Honghuang appear in clusters.

After much consideration, Fang Longye turned his attention back to these four exotic species of the Honghuang.

Two Tongbei Apes and two Chijiri Horse Monkeys; not to mention anything else, just their size alone was much larger than the other monkeys.

Moreover, they were extremely intelligent; just by watching their gestures and movements, one could tell that these four old monkeys were the leaders among this group of monkeys.

Although they were clearly four old monkeys, their life force and blood were far beyond the other monkeys.

As for their cultivation, without exception, they also did not understand cultivation. But regardless of their realm, judging solely by their strength, they could already rival cultivators of the Yuan Immortal realm.

They were truly Honghuang exotic species with extraordinary bloodlines.

Of course, this was also because they inhabited an innate treasure land like Huaguo Mountain.

It is just a pity that success can be one's undoing, just as failure can be one's undoing.

Although their bloodlines were good, these four old monkeys had been confined to Huaguo Mountain for a long time, and their temperaments had long since been smoothed away; their growth potential was likely average.

"Speaking of which, these four old monkeys already have the strength of Yuan Immortals. What kind of strength should that unseen Handsome Monkey King, the future predecessor of Sun Wukong, have? He must at least be above the True Immortal level~"

After Fang Longye looked over the entire monkey troop, his thoughts shifted, and he arrived at this question.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of sourness in his heart~ Good heavens.

So he had worked hard and cultivated until now, only to barely catch up to the strength that monkey had when he first left the mountain? No envy, what was there to envy? No matter how deep the foundation, he fell into schemes before he was even born, and his entire life was a product arranged by others. What was there to envy? I am not envious at all! He thought of the traces he had seen in his eyes that involved the handiwork of great beings.

Fang Longye forcibly suppressed the full belly of sour water rising within him, and with an Ah Q spirit, he comforted himself.

……

After this, Fang Longye cast aside all distracting thoughts, looked at the chattering monkey troop, each speaking their own piece, and shook his head with a smile: "Do not be anxious, do not be anxious! Speak one by one~"

Afterwards, he pointed to the cliff stone beside him.

The stone's color immediately swirled all around, rising up in layers of auspicious mist and Divine Light, as if lotus flowers were growing upward, condensed and five-colored.

Fang Longye leaped up and sat down on it, steady and secure. He revealed his Golden Immortal auspicious clouds, and the Three Flowers and Five Qi emerged one by one.

Mysterious immortal music played, and the spiritual energy all around resonated with the Aura of his body, instantly transforming into sweet rain and dew, scattering down upon the crowd of monkeys.

A hundred illnesses were prevented, and all pain vanished. A clear coolness entered their hearts, and one by one, they brushed away the restlessness in their minds.

They immediately quieted down.

They looked at each other, silent and still.

A moment later.

Among the monkey troop, one of the Tongbei Apes came forward holding a lotus leaf, upon which were melons, fruits, and fresh vegetables, carrying drops of spiritual dew.

Afterwards, he bowed his head and knelt, then said: "May the senior allow me to report~ Not long after our Great King went out to visit immortals, a Demon came here and frequently bullied us. We..."

Fang Longye had already understood everything through his mental probing earlier.

To put it plainly, it was because after that heaven-born Shihou sprouted a Dao heart and went out to sea to seek a master and learn arts.

The means laid down by that great being also vanished along with it. It no longer shielded this innate treasure land of Huaguo Mountain.

With the treasure land revealed, it naturally attracted some minor paths and Demons of the Leftist Path who did not know the depth of things, causing them to harbor covetous hearts.

Do not be fooled by the severity of the old ape's words.

In reality, the one who, in Journey to the West, was the first villain the protagonist encountered—the Hunshi Demon King—had not yet grown to the arrogant strength he possessed when Sun Wukong returned from his studies in the original work.

To these monkeys, it was mainly just harassment; it was far from the point of stealing their belongings, capturing their children and nephews, or wanting to forcibly occupy their Cave Abode. Therefore, Fang Longye did not take the old ape's account to heart. However, he began to mutter to himself about the old ape's words and actions.

"This old ape is so polite; his speech is not at all like a wild ape in the mountains. It is truly very suspicious!"

"I remember that in the original Journey to the West, it was a Tongbei Ape who guided that Handsome Monkey King to go out to sea to worship a master and learn arts."

"Where could a wild ape in the mountains know so many things? Being so knowledgeable, how does he look like someone who has lived in the closed-off Huaguo Mountain all his life?"

However, no matter how he probed the old ape, he found no abnormalities.

"Perhaps it is inherited memory?" Thinking that this old ape belonged to a Honghuang exotic species, Fang Longye could only attribute it to this.

He did not know.

Including this old ape, the two Tongbei Apes and two Chijiri Horse Monkeys, although there was no problem with their origins and they had indeed lived in Huaguo Mountain all along.

But even they themselves did not know that they had long since been possessed by divine thoughts.

And not just once.

The most recent time was when that Handsome Monkey King sprouted a Dao heart; a great being possessed this old ape to guide him to go out to sea to worship a master and learn arts.

It was just that the divine thought dissipated afterward, leaving not the slightest trace behind.

Of course, these things behind the scenes were naturally unknown to Fang Longye~

After the old ape finished speaking, Fang Longye looked at the expressions of the crowd of monkeys looking at him expectantly, and he chuckled inwardly.

He had originally come to build a good connection, so he naturally would not refuse the request of these monkeys.

What's more, for him, it was just a matter of lifting a finger.

He immediately laughed loudly, feigning a heroic and free-spirited attitude, waved his sleeves, and said: "Very well! Today, having an affinity, I happen to have arrived at this place, so I will help you solve this Hunshi Demon King."

"May I ask the Immortal's name?"

This was exactly what Fang Longye wanted; he was so enthusiastic precisely because he wanted to use this to build favor with the future Great Sage Equaling Heaven.

Who knows, he might be able to reap some benefits in the future~ "This seat is the Yuanlong of Cangmang Mountain~"

Fang Longye sat upright, his appearance solemn, causing the crowd of monkeys to involuntarily feel a sense of admiration.

……

Huaguo Mountain.

Longevity deer and immortal foxes appear in the forest, spiritual birds and mysterious cranes dance on the cliffs.

Strange flowers and jade grasses, red wells and cinnabar springs.

The wind brought waves of fresh fragrance of flowers and fruits, which condensed and did not disperse, drifting up to one's lapels.

Fang Longye stood quietly on the summit of Huaguo Mountain, looking at his surroundings.

After agreeing to the request of the monkeys of Huaguo Mountain, Fang Longye did not immediately go to the Cave Abode of the Hunshi Demon King to find trouble with this bit-part villain.

Instead, he came to the summit of the mountain, to the original site of the immortal stone that had previously nurtured Sun Wukong.

He mainly wanted to see if there were any scraps he could pick up.

For instance, the fragments of the immortal stone left behind after Sun Wukong was born, or the fragrant orchids that grew alongside the immortal stone, and so on.

Unfortunately, I gained nothing.

Except for a shallow little pit right in the center, the four sides were bare.

There was neither forest to provide shade, nor any trace of the fragrant orchids mentioned in the original work.

"I actually thought I could cultivate a 'Sister Lin' belonging to the Monkey!"

Fang Longye shook his head, feeling greatly disappointed.

He remembered that the original Journey to the West mentioned that the immortal stone which gestated the Monkey had fragrant orchids flanking it.

Just imagine, if one were to cultivate those fragrant orchids from beside the immortal stone into spirits, and have them take the form of beautiful maidens, what a delightful thing that would be~ As someone who is half a prankster, he really wanted to see what changes would occur if the Monkey, this "Brother Bao," were to have a "Sister Lin."

Would he still be that Shihou who pointed at the Seven Fairies and went off to steal peaches instead?

And how would the story unfold from there? What a pity~

Composing his mood, Fang Longye continued to look at the original site of the immortal stone that gestated the Monkey.

He sighed: "Truly, it is the root of the earth that no calamity can move!"

Even though that immortal stone which gestated the Shihou had already crumbled and scattered, with even its fragments nowhere to be found.

This place still generated its own rules, with spiritual essence like rain, falling in abundance. Wisps of Innate Golden Spirit lingered all around.

Thinking of how Sun Wukong was called "Golden Lord" in the original Journey to the West, Fang Longye immediately had an epiphany.

I fear that Sun Wukong, this heaven-born Shihou, was an Innate Golden Spirit gestated by Huaguo Mountain!

The immortal womb gestated by the immortal stone is precisely the way of earth generating metal, which does not contradict the Five Elements transformation.

Casting aside these reveries, he carefully sensed the place. A mysterious charm, secretly in harmony with heaven and earth, flowed continuously.

Fang Longye could even feel that the shallow pit before him was suffused with a thin layer of Xiantian Spiritual Essence.

He couldn't help but step inside and sit down cross-legged.

Instantly, as if it had consciousness, a mysterious Aura—neither smoke nor cloud—was exhaled from the deepest part of this Xiantian treasure land, Huaguo Mountain.

It flowed continuously into his body.

……

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—

Fang Longye's entire essence, energy, and spirit seemed to gather as one, responding to it and emitting a sound like suction.

He felt as if he had become a creature born of heaven and earth, being gestated by Huaguo Mountain.

His whole being breathed in and out along with the rhythm of the Xiantian Spiritual Essence of Huaguo Mountain. Indescribable mysteries surged into his body, refining his physical form.

The Bloodline throughout his entire body was lively, as if the power he was born with was being activated from its deepest depths, thereby deriving a continuous stream of mysterious insights.

After a long while.

Fang Longye opened his eyes and sighed: "Alas, I am ultimately not a creature gestated by Huaguo Mountain!"

Although the Xiantian Spiritual Essence was abundant, it had nothing to do with him; he could not rely on a special connection to mobilize it for cultivation.

His gains were purely because the birth of that Shihou was equivalent to opening a gap in the otherwise seamless Huaguo Mountain.

This allowed the Xiantian Spiritual Essence to leak out.

And the shallow pit left behind after the Shihou was born just happened to form a special environment that could preserve the leaking Xiantian Spiritual Essence.

However, it was merely a tiny, insignificant gap. Even with the continuous leaking of Xiantian Spiritual Essence, there wasn't much of it.

This harvest had completely exhausted the accumulation of several hundred years since Sun Wukong was born.

Still, it could be considered a fruitful gain!

Fang Longye stood up, looking at the shallow pit that hadn't changed in the slightest, and sighed with emotion: "It truly is a rare treasure land for cultivation; the creation is truly miraculous!"

It was clearly a gap caused by the birth of the Shihou, yet through the masterful workmanship of creation, it had become a rare treasure land for cultivation.

Fang Longye had an inexplicable, indescribable realization about this. It seemed that absolute perfection was not necessarily a good thing.

Just like a flaw in a piece of white jade, it couldn't be better~ Clearing his mind, Fang Longye felt the changes in himself; he had truly gained quite a few benefits.

He couldn't help but marvel: "It is indeed the ancestral vein of the Ten Continents and the origin of the Three Islands!"

"It can truly be called a first-class Xiantian treasure land. A slight imperfection, instead, was turned into creation by masterful workmanship."

Only—

Seeming to think of something, Fang Longye stopped marveling and began to sigh instead.

His eyes darted about, full of contemplation.

If he remembered correctly, according to the plot of the original Journey to the West from his past life, as things developed.

After that Monkey caused Havoc in Heaven, this kind of treasure land was burned clean by that fellow Erlang Shen with a single fire.

Who knows how much benefit he snatched from it! It's no wonder he thought this way; one must know that this Huaguo Mountain before him was a genuine Xiantian treasure land.

Never mind ordinary immortal fire, even Sun True Fire could not possibly burn such an immortal mountain until no grass grew and it became a barren wasteland.

It couldn't even recover on its own, and it required the Monkey, after escaping from under Five Elements Mountain, to use his methods to reorganize Huaguo Mountain.

Based on Fang Longye's current knowledge.

If it were truly as described in Journey to the West, then there is only one possibility.

That is, after the Monkey was suppressed by Rulai, a crowd of immortals and gods laid their hands on Huaguo Mountain, digging up the Earth Vein, draining the earth energy, and snatching away all the Xiantian Spiritual Essence.

Only then did Huaguo Mountain fall into such desolation. Even as time passed, it could not recover. It still required the Monkey to reorganize Huaguo Mountain after he was released from prison.

Unfortunately, by that time, no matter how Huaguo Mountain was nurtured, it could not compare to what it was before.

"It seems~ when the time comes, I must prepare in advance and get a share of the spoils!"

Today's chapter~

(End of this chapter)