Chapter 831: Seventy-Two Transformations, Somersault Cloud, and the Wondrous Method of Immortality!

"This old immortal’s discourse is truly..." At that moment, the Elven Queen, Kellynchel, was mingled among a crowd of elves, listening while continuously verifying the words against her own learning. To her surprise, she felt that many points struck precisely upon the crucial nexuses. For those at the peak of the Saint-tier like them, many insights were already just a single step away, becoming perfectly clear at the slightest hint.

"This whatever 'West Cow-Gift Continent'... how can an old immortal found so casually on a mountain be this formidable...?" Her face was filled with wonder. "Are all the people here like this?"

"As expected of an immortal... truly extraordinary..."

Immediately after, her heart gave a sudden thud, and she thought again of those immortals who were to bring down the Great Tribulation. If the immortals were each this formidable, wouldn’t it mean utter ruin?

One must consider that this immortal lived in a mountain forest that even a few woodcutters could enter, whereas earlier, when Sun Wukong was born, there was also some 'Heavenly Court' with its magnificent splendor... immortal towers and palatial halls, which looked exceedingly powerful.

It felt that although both were powerful, the Patriarch Subhuti before them... still seemed less formidable than that Heavenly Court of others.

After all, they were the ones who specifically governed the immortals.

"I wonder if this old immortal can teach any even more formidable arts..."

Although they had absolutely no reassurance in their hearts regarding whatever divine punishment or Great Tribulation lay ahead, having a couple more skills to protect oneself was always good.

At this time, Patriarch Subhuti finally inquired about what Sun Wukong wished to learn.

The examples cited were naturally the four paths of 'Art', 'Lineage', 'Stillness', and 'Motion' among the three hundred and sixty heterodox schools under the Patriarch's seat mentioned previously.

As for what was cultivated in these four paths, the crowd had also followed along to watch and learn a bit during the six or seven years Sun Wukong spent staying in this Three-Stars Cave.

The feeling was...

"It’s actually quite good..." In any case, it was all taught by an immortal. Regardless of whether the immortal was formidable or not, he was at least more formidable than themselves, so they all followed the trend to learn.

And whereas before they were just following along to learn, now...

"Is the Patriarch going to teach it personally?!" Inside the various old shops, a crowd of cultivators and martial artists had faces full of excitement.

And at this moment, they heard Sun Wukong ask: "Can practicing like this achieve longevity?"

As for the path of 'Art', without the support of cultivation base, longevity was naturally impossible.

As for the path of 'Lineage', reading scriptures and reciting Buddha's name, choosing one to practice from among the Confucian, Buddhist, Taoist, and various other schools, although one could obtain longevity, it was like 'setting a pillar inside a wall'. When the grand mansion is about to collapse on another day, there is naturally no reason for this pillar not to fall.

As for the path of 'Stillness', meditating in Chan and sitting cross-legged, maintaining purity and non-action, entering samadhi and sitting in seclusion, as to whether longevity could be obtained, it was like 'an unbaked clay brick at the kiln's mouth'. A fetus that has not been fired, though possessing the form of longevity, has after all not been forged by water and fire. Once a torrential rain pours down (the Great Tribulation arrives), it will, just like that clay brick, utterly disintegrate.

And refining elixirs and consuming herbs to prolong life and increase longevity seemed as though it could also grant long life, but it merely extended the span of life. How many people could truly refine the elixir of immortality? It was merely the moon in the water or a flower in the mirror, visible but unreachable.

"Then I won’t learn it, I won’t learn any of it!" Everyone saw the Sun Wukong before them showing a wave of disdain.

"Oh my! Why is this Sun Wukong refusing to learn any of them!?" The crowd watched with faces full of bewilderment.

After all... could ordinary people ever live to see the grand mansion of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism collapse? Could they ever live to see the Great Tribulation from which even immortals could not escape? Therefore, what the Patriarch said about... 'setting a pillar inside a wall' and 'an unbaked clay brick at the kiln's mouth' was simply used to bluff people, wasn't it!

"Not good... the Patriarch is going to be angry!" A crowd of cultivators in various shops, such as the Jiuhua City shop and the Yuanyang City shop, all stared wide-eyed, deeply afraid that Patriarch Bodhi would drive this monkey out in a fit of rage, leaving them with nothing to learn either.

And afterwards, sure enough, they saw Patriarch Bodhi brush his sleeves and depart, and before leaving, he even struck three times with his ruler.

Subsequently, when night arrived, they even saw that in the depth of the night, a monkey stealthily slipped into the Patriarch's room.

"Ah—!" A crowd of people let out long sighs, looking absolutely anxious to death.

"This Daoist art, he won't succeed in learning it!" Gu Tingyun sighed deeply.

"This is simply courting death, this!" Su Tianji evaluated.

"If he still isn't driven out after this, this young master will live-stream eating three pounds of dung!" Song Qingfeng was also watching along with a crowd of classmates from the Lingyun Academy at this time.

At this moment, they saw Patriarch Bodhi curling his body up, sleeping facing inwards.

A crowd of people looked on so tensely that they hardly dared to breathe, as if deeply afraid of accidentally disturbing the Patriarch, and then Patriarch Bodhi would suddenly leap up from the bed and beat this monkey out.

Just at this moment, the sleeping Patriarch suddenly spoke.

The monkey wasn't frightened, but several elves were startled into shrinking their necks first!

A crowd of cultivators even retreated several steps in panic, deeply afraid that the Patriarch was about to display some formidable immortal art.

Just at this moment, they only heard Patriarch Bodhi speak: "Since you have broken the secret riddle in the presentation, come closer to me and listen carefully; I shall impart to you the wondrous way of longevity."

He then chanted a passage of secret mnemonic formulas:

"The secret and the manifest are completely understood in the true wondrous formula, care for and cultivate life with no other words to say.

...

Gather the five elements and use them upside down, when the work is complete, one becomes a Buddha or an immortal."

There were eight lines of the mnemonic formula in total, yet the audience felt as if a whole eight years had passed...

"This mnemonic formula, could it be... is truly the wondrous method of longevity—?!" After a long while, someone suddenly roared out.

"My goodness—!"

"Hiss—! What a lofty and profound mnemonic formula..."

"Can we learn this...?!"

"Eh? What do these lines mean?" Gu Tingyun was somewhat utterly bewildered...

He turned to Zong Wu beside him: "Did you understand it?"

"Not yet..." Zong Wu shook his head like a rattling drum.

"Hmm...? This...? The jade rabbit is hidden in the moon, the crow is hidden in the sun, naturally the tortoise and the snake entwine with each other... what does that mean?" Even Nalan Hongwu was somewhat like a monk twelve feet tall unable to scratch his head at this moment.

"This 'it is good to face the elixir terrace and admire the bright moon'... what does it mean again?" On the other side, Lanyan also looked towards Nalan Mingxue beside her with a face full of bewilderment.

"Uh..."

While they were discussing, at this time, they saw a monkey over there treading on the rosy clouds, already flying up.

"...Look at that..." Song Qingfeng pointed in the direction of Sun Wukong.

"Hmm...?"

"Holy crap!?"

"He knows how to do it already...?!" A crowd of people stared with eyes wide open, completely stupefied.

There was simply no comparison at all!

Afterwards, he was taught the seventy-two transformations.

Transforming into a pine tree!

"Ah—!?" (⊙⊙)

The Somersault Cloud!

One somersault spans a hundred and eight thousand miles!

"Oh—!?" Σ(っ°Д°;)っ

"Oh my—!" A crowd of elves looked at each other.

"Not a single one of us has learned it—!"

"How can his talent be so great?!" The cultivators and martial artists also watched dumbfounded.

At this time, more than twenty years had already passed since leaving the Flower-Fruit Mountain, which for the crowd watching the drama, passed in just a flash.

Over ten years of arduous searching, another seven years of learning etiquette, scriptures, and meanings with the senior brothers to lay the foundation, and another three years of practicing arts and learning the Dao to consolidate what was learned.

"This time... how formidable should he be...?!"

"From this day forth, you are forbidden to call yourself my disciple, and I... shall never see you again." Before the Cave of the Three Stars, the hour of parting had finally arrived. "Go now..."

"Why drive him away now, just after teaching him everything..." Watching Sun Wukong's eyes well with tears, the gathering of cultivators felt a pang of shared heartache.

Yet, in the end, there was nothing to be done.

Having watched his journey from the start, they had grown accustomed to the hardships of his quest for the Way, and had witnessed the sheer joy when immortality was finally within his grasp.

They had felt, even more deeply, the profound and earnest devotion of a disciple within his heart.

Though mischievous, he possessed a soul that remained entirely pure and sincere.

Born from the gathered essence of heaven and earth, he was like the most precious treasure in all the boundless universe.

Quick-witted and lively, his presence turned even the most tedious scriptural debates among the disciples, and the long, dry waiting before the third watch, into moments of pure delight throughout the entire episode.

Gradually, these people from another world had unconsciously fallen in love with this monkey, even if, at this moment, he was merely a "shrewd monkey" in the eyes of his senior brothers, and a "macaque" to the Patriarch.

With lingering reluctance, he bowed in farewell to his master, and now turned back toward the Flower and Fruit Mountain of the Eastern Sea.

The Somersault Cloud soared!

An immortal legend from an ancient land in the distant East, known as Cathay, had officially begun!

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