Chapter 332: Two Monkeys Meet and Converse, Proposing a Trip to the Dragon Palace

"I dare not accept, I dare not accept~"

Sun Wukong was but a novice just stepping out into the world; facing this flattery from Yuan Hong, how could he possibly parry it? In a few words, he was coaxed into beaming with joy, and his impression of Yuan Hong became excellent~ "Chiming Divine General, you are not bad yourself! With such a heroic and spirited bearing, you truly are an outstanding talent of our monkey race~"

Having spent time in Nanzhan Buzhou, he had actually learned quite a bit about human affairs and was not truly a naive greenhorn.

Although, upon sensing, he felt he could take down this Chiming Divine General within a few dozen rounds, he still politely returned the flattery.

At the same time, he began to size up Yuan Hong.

He saw that this Chiming Divine General, whom the young ones constantly spoke of, did not appear in the form of an ape or monkey, but instead presented himself in a human body.

If not for the monkey tail still visible behind him, he would look entirely like a member of the Human Race, at most with hair of an unusual, deep crimson color.

What made him feel a bit envious was that, although this person's strength was clearly inferior to his own, the armor he wore and the weapon in his hand were top-tier treasures.

Even though he was not very knowledgeable.

Yet his innate spiritual sense told him that the armor worn by this Chiming Divine General was far better than the set the young ones had exchanged for him.

A hundred or a thousand times better would be an understatement; the two were simply not in the same league.

Although that set of armor was suffused with precious light, even more dazzling and eye-catching than the armor on this Divine General.

He just had a feeling that the set the Four Old Apes had brought out before his departure was, by comparison, nothing but scrap metal.

Being a stone monkey born of Heaven, his spiritual sense was indeed different from ordinary people; even if he lacked common knowledge regarding Dharma Treasures, he could still discern the good from the bad.

His intuition was not wrong; the set of armor the Huaguo Mountain monkeys had exchanged for him was indeed scrap metal compared to the armor on Yuan Hong.

The former was merely a set of Dharma Treasures, not even Spirit Treasures, while everything on Yuan Hong was a Spirit Treasure, with none lower than a Superior Spiritual Treasure.

The most important armor among them was even a Superior Spiritual Treasure, obtained not long ago, a reward from Fang Longye after he returned from his travels.

The two were naturally as different as clouds and mud~ "It is fortunate that I, Old Sun, know shame, and did not listen to those old apes before and put on that set of armor. Otherwise, I would have lost face completely~"

Sun Wukong felt immensely relieved in his heart.

Yuan Hong was unaware of his inner thoughts; seeing Sun Wukong heaping praise upon him, while happy, he also felt a sense of trepidation and hurriedly said: "In front of the Handsome Monkey King, I truly dare not accept the title of Divine General. Since we are both Golden Immortals, why not address each other as fellow Daoists?"

"Fellow Daoist?"

Sun Wukong came back to his senses, blinked his eyes, and suddenly clapped his hands, laughing: "The term 'fellow Daoist' is good~"

This drew a look of surprise from Yuan Hong.

He always felt that this Handsome Monkey King seemed so ignorant. He wondered how he had managed to cultivate to the Golden Immortal realm? He was even unaware of such a basic form of address that didn't even count as common knowledge~ After Sun Wukong finished laughing and clapping, he seemed to react to something, remembered something, and fished a wood box out from his bosom; it was small, no larger than a palm.

The craftsmanship was also very crude, with nothing remarkable about it.

He held the wood box in his palm and handed it toward Yuan Hong.

"This is~"

Sun Wukong said earnestly: "I came today to thank you all for your care toward my Water Curtain Cave. I have here a celestial pill obtained from an expert, to serve as a token of gratitude~"

What was contained in this wood box was nothing else but the celestial pill bestowed upon him by that expert he had encountered earlier.

This celestial pill was no simple matter; even now that he had attained the Golden Immortal realm, looking back at it, it was still a rare and precious item.

For his current self, it could still play a significant role, enough to make his cultivation progress by a large margin.

Originally, he had planned to find time to swallow and refine it after returning to the mountain. But since the Water Curtain Cave had received such immense grace from them over these years~ it would be inexcusable not to visit and express his thanks. And having nothing else of value, this celestial pill was the only thing he had that was worth presenting~ Yuan Hong had originally not thought much of it, as judging by the appearance of this Handsome Monkey King, he was clearly a novice, so how could he have anything good~

But after reaching out to take it, he couldn't help but let out an "eh," as he sensed a familiar aura from the wood box in his hand.

Out of curiosity, he immediately opened the crudely made wood box of ordinary material.

Upon seeing the contents, he couldn't help but smile: "Isn't this a coincidence? Fellow Daoist truly has a connection with my household~"

"How so?"

Facing Sun Wukong's question, Yuan Hong explained with a smile: "Fellow Daoist may not know~"

"My master, Dragon Lord Yuanlong, possesses a unique method of alchemy, and the pills he refines are 'one of a kind, with no other branch,' making them very easy to identify."

"As soon as I saw this celestial pill of yours, I knew it came from my master's hand~"

"You tell me, is this not fate?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong's heart stirred, and he said: "Could it be that the expert I encountered earlier was your master?"

Yuan Hong shook his head and said: "That is not necessarily so~"

He paused, then continued: "My master has opened a Xianfang, selling goods to all. Perhaps this celestial pill was bought by someone and then changed hands to you, who knows~"

Hearing this, Sun Wukong thought to himself that this Dragon Lord Yuanlong was running quite a large business! He became even more curious about this so-called Dragon Lord Yuanlong and couldn't help but ask: "I wonder if Dragon Lord Yuanlong is present? I, Old Sun, would like to thank him in person~"

While stepping aside to lead Sun Wukong toward Shuizang Cave, Yuan Hong shook his head and said: "I am afraid I must disappoint you, fellow Daoist! My master's dojo is far away in Beiju Luzhou, and especially now, he is preparing for a wedding! How could he have the leisure to come to this branch residence?"

"Beiju Luzhou?"

Sun Wukong muttered to himself.

"That's right, Beiju Luzhou~"

"I, Old Sun, have traveled to many places over these years and have seen the scenery of Nanzhan Buzhou and Xiniu Hezhou, but I wonder what kind of scenery Beiju Luzhou has?"

Sun Wukong pondered for a moment and couldn't help but ask.

Hearing this, Yuan Hong organized his thoughts and said: "It is not as comfortable as Nanzhan Buzhou, but it is still better than Xiniu Hezhou."

"Especially since Beiju Luzhou is different from other places; it is where we of the Demon Clan are the masters, and it can be considered a paradise for the Demon Clan."

"At least one doesn't have to worry about being shouted at and hunted down."

Hearing this, Sun Wukong thought of his own hardships in Nanzhan Buzhou, where he was often treated as an outsider and shouted at and hunted down, and couldn't help but envy him: "Yes, according to what you say, this Beiju Luzhou is truly a rare and wonderful place in Heaven and Earth~"

Yuan Hong shook his head and laughed: "It is not as good as you think, fellow Daoist~ In Beiju Luzhou, all things compete, and fighting and killing are common occurrences; it is not easy for those with weak strength to get by."

"In the eyes of those minor demons, I fear that even a place like Nanzhan Buzhou, where the Human Race flourishes, is much happier than being in Beiju Luzhou~"

"Of course~"

He turned his head to look at Sun Wukong and said: "If you have the strength and the means~ then in Beiju Luzhou, you can indeed live more comfortably than elsewhere~"

As they spoke, the two had already stepped into Shuizang Cave. Sun Wukong looked around at the scenery in the cave and couldn't help but praise: "What a Blessed Land and Grotto-Heaven!"

Yuan Hong smiled and said: "It cannot compare to Huaguo Mountain!"

Immediately after, he greeted him again: "Fellow Daoist, you have just returned from your cultivation and likely haven't had much rest, yet you rushed over to pay your respects. You truly are a sincere gentleman of our clan!"

"Today, let me fulfill the friendship of our kin and treat you well, just to welcome you and celebrate!"

Having said this, he pulled Sun Wukong toward the main hall within Shuizang Cave.

Once they arrived,

he immediately ordered the banners to be unfurled and the gongs to be struck, summoned his subordinates, set out a wide array of delicacies and fine dishes, and poured full cups of nectar and Immortal Brew to feast with Sun Wukong.

... Clang— "Stop fighting! Stop fighting!"

On the training grounds of Kanyuan Mountain, Sun Wukong dropped the large blade in his hand and said with a look of annoyance: "The weapons you have here are far too awkward for me to use—"

It turned out that after being wined and dined, Sun Wukong had let his guard down and, shedding his previous politeness, insisted on sparring with Yuan Hong.

Yet, after a round of fighting, it made him face his current problem once again: he lacked a good set of armor and a weapon.

He truly hadn't realized before that good armor and weapons were not just for show and prestige; the boost they provided to one's strength was quite significant.

This Chi Ming had relied on a fine set of armor and the divine weapon in his hand to fight him for over a hundred rounds without a winner—even though he sensed the opponent's strength was not actually that high—Yuan Hong laughed and said: "It was a hollow victory for me! However, Brother Sun, you really do need to change into a better set of armor and a weapon—"

"Not to mention, clothes make the man and a saddle makes the horse; the way you look now, you don't have a shred of the majesty a Great Sage Equaling Heaven should have—"

These words were spoken in such a way,

that they left Sun Wukong blushing with shame.

Yuan Hong continued in a leisurely manner: "Furthermore, as you have seen, a good set of armor and a weapon provide a quite significant boost to us."

Sun Wukong scratched his ears and cheeks, baring his teeth as he said: "Brother Yuan, you make it sound easy. You serve under that Yuanlong, and even you don't have any treasures that suit my fancy—where do you expect me to find them?"

Since both were monkeys, their temperaments matched, and they began to address each other as brothers—

Yuan Hong glanced at him and said: "It is only because you feel embarrassed yourself; otherwise, you could very well ask my master for a good set of armor and a weapon—"

After becoming familiar, Yuan Hong recovered his composure and no longer viewed this monkey of extraordinary origin as anything particularly remarkable.

He became neither humble nor arrogant in front of Sun Wukong.

It was truly because Sun Wukong acted too much like a country bumpkin; in the eyes of those who didn't know the inside story, it was hard to feel any awe toward him, even if his strength was peerless—

Sun Wukong gave a sheepish smile upon hearing this.

Monkeys have their pride too; he had already felt a great loss of face when he gave the Immortal Pills refined by others as a gift, and now he truly couldn't bring himself to ask.

Yuan Hong's eyes rolled, and he said with a smile: "Alright! I do know of a place that also has good treasures, and it definitely has things you will be satisfied with. Most importantly, it isn't very far from us—"

"And, come to think of it—"

He paused and said slowly: "The monkeys of your Huaguo Mountain are nourished by the essence of the sun and moon year-round, making them all strong and exceptionally powerful. There are many good seedlings for cultivation among them, and the armor and weapons exchanged from me won't be able to satisfy their future needs."

"And in that place, there are countless divine weapons and sharp blades, which would be perfect for you to pick out a batch to leave for your followers to use in the future—"

"It could also be considered your care as their Great King—"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly: "Tell me, tell me, is there really such a good place nearby?"

Not to mention that his own armor and weapon would be settled, the key was that, according to Brother Yuan, he could also show off in front of his own monkey descendants—

Just this point alone was too tempting! A strange look appeared in Yuan Hong's eyes, and he didn't beat around the bush, saying straightforwardly: "As the saying goes, 'Do not say the Dragon King has no treasures.' The Dragon Clan has a long history and is an ancient divine race; the richness of their collection is beyond what you or I can imagine."

"Even with a large family to feed, after accumulating for countless years, the treasures in the Longgong are still inexhaustible and too numerous to count—"

"Longgong—"

Sun Wukong was slightly stunned, and lost in thought, he said: "Indeed—"

"When I traveled the Four Seas before, I often saw the Human Race worshipping the Dragon King, but I never had the chance to see one, so I thought it was just a legend fabricated by the Human Race."

"I never imagined it actually existed—"

Speaking of this, he raised his eyes to look at Yuan Hong and said: "I just don't know how to get there?"

Watching Sun Wukong's eyes glowing with gold, Yuan Hong thought to himself, he didn't know what his master was thinking, actually encouraging this monkey to go to the East Sea Dragon Palace to demand treasures—wasn't it said that his master was already some sort of Young Lord of the Dragon Clan? Equivalent to the Crown Prince of the Dragon Clan—why was he specifically picking on his own kin? Shaking his head inwardly to dispel his confusion, Yuan Hong looked at the excited Sun Wukong and said: "As far as I know, under the Iron Plank Bridge at Huaguo Mountain, the water leads to the East Sea Dragon Palace. Brother Sun, you should know the Bishui; it is not difficult to go there."

"It's actually at Huaguo Mountain—"

Sun Wukong wore a smile, and in his excitement, he didn't even care to speak; he pulled himself up and was about to leave, every bit the impatient one.

"Wait—"

Yuan Hong grabbed Sun Wukong, but in the process, he didn't hold him at first and even stumbled—this monkey had such great brute strength!

Yuan Hong was secretly shocked; during their previous spar, he hadn't seen this monkey possess such power—could it be that he had been holding back? One must know that he was now favored by his master and had been taught a unique Dharma specialized in body refinement—the "Chi Ming Nine Heavens Map."

His own strength was like heaven and earth compared to the past, yet he was still no match for this monkey?!

It seems this monkey is truly extraordinary—

"Brother Yuan, why are you stopping me?"

Sun Wukong turned around to look at Yuan Hong, his eyebrows standing up, his face full of displeasure.

Damn it, is this monkey's face as fickle as a dog's? Yuan Hong cursed inwardly.

On the surface, he smiled and explained: "I haven't finished yet! The Longgong is indeed wealthy and has everything, but the East Sea Dragon Palace not only has the Dragon King presiding over it, but also countless soldiers and generals under his command."

"It can be called a true dragon's pool and tiger's den—even if you are a Golden Immortal, if you barge in like this, you will be swallowed alive—"

"It just so happens that my master, Yuanlong, is a Young Lord of the Dragon Clan, equivalent to a Crown Prince. I will write a letter first and have my master give a private order—"

"Then I will personally accompany you there—"

"I expect the East Sea Dragon King will not dare to be negligent and will surely treat us with great respect—"

After all, he was an Red Ape who had attained the Dao, and he had the common flaw of most monkeys; as Yuan Hong spoke, he began to boast with great excitement—

"Yuanlong? No wonder your master has this title; it was almost a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple—"

Sun Wukong's expression softened, but he still said confidently: "For the sake of your master, we will be a bit more polite and do as you say!"

"However, brother, you know my abilities. A mere East Sea Dragon King, a subordinate of your master, I don't even take him seriously—"

The monkey had just returned from his apprenticeship.

His self-confidence was overflowing, and even though he already knew the unfathomable nature of Fang Longye, the Yuanlong, he still felt that he had few rivals in the world.

He only considered Yuanlong to be a rare exception.

The most critical point is,

although he has traveled extensively throughout Nanzhan Buzhou and Xiniu Hezhou, he mostly spent his time mingling in marketplaces, so he is completely ignorant of some common knowledge.

At this moment, he only believes in his own strength; he does not understand what power and influence are, nor does he know the importance of background.

He simply assumed that since Yuanlong could command the East Sea Dragon King, the East Sea Dragon King must be Yuanlong's subordinate and inferior to Yuanlong in strength. And after using Yuan Hong for comparison, he felt he should be able to go fifty-fifty with the East Sea Dragon King.

As such, he naturally refused to lose the verbal battle. Yuan Hong was, of course, too lazy to explain the ins and outs of this to a bumpkin like Sun Wukong.

He only said, "Brother Sun, wait a moment; I will send a message to my master now."

"Go quickly, go quickly!"

Sun Wukong waved his hands repeatedly, signaling for Yuan Hong to go and return quickly, while hopping and skipping over to a stone couch at the edge of the martial arts arena, where he sat down comfortably.

He crossed his legs, peeled a banana, and began to eat, fully in the posture of someone waiting. (End of chapter)