Chapter 838: New Changes in the Cultivation Room!

Over on that side, Xiaoyao the Grandmaster—one of the four ancient patriarchs—along with Dugu Yi and their peers, had each purchased the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, hero skin bundle.

In a flurry of impatience, they plunged into the game.

"First... we play a normal match to practice our hand," Xiaoyao the Grandmaster muttered, rubbing his palms together. Though Sun Wukong was a melee hero, having watched *Journey to the West*, he knew the formidable immortals of every stripe could fight both far and near, mastering both spells and blades; thus, he intended to dabble in the art.

Having just joined the match, he scanned the champion select screen, pondered for a moment, and spoke up to ask, "Which lanes are you all taking?"

"First pick, top lane!"

"Second pick, mid lane!"

"Then... third pick, support!"

"Fifth pick, I will take the jungle."

"Hmm...?" Xiaoyao the Grandmaster felt a wave of eccentricity. "They always say everyone picks blindly and chaotically in normal matches, so why is it so harmonious today?"

They had actually left a carry position for him!?

However...

He had come specifically to play the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, so he spoke tentatively, "How about... I play support? By the way, what heroes are you all choosing?"

As he spoke, he was just preparing to lock in the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, but the very moment he was about to select him, with a heavy clink, the hero turned grey.

"Hmm...?" He saw that above the hero selection of his teammate in the first slot, there sat a massive monkey head.

"???" Xiaoyao the Grandmaster suddenly froze.

"First pick, monkey top lane!" came the utterly domineering declaration.

"???" As a master-tier expert, I have not even played the Great Sage Equal to Heaven myself, yet you, coming from god knows where, demand monkey top lane the moment you arrive?!

Before he could speak, the second pick had already chimed in, "Second pick, monkey mid lane! This seat is a Glorious Gold tier expert! Guaranteed not to feed!"

"Bullshit!" the fifth pick instantly cursed. "This humble one is a Diamond tier expert!"

Xiaoyao the Grandmaster knit his brows. "Stop arguing, this Grandmaster is a Master tier expert. Let me have the Great Sage for this match."

Second pick replied, "Beat it! Today I have been dragged down by over a dozen fools claiming to be Master tier. Monkey mid lane, give it to me or I feed!"

No sooner had the words fallen than another heavy clink resounded; the first pick locked in the selection on the spot!

Standing behind him, Master of the Command Ring Lingxuzi glanced at his patriarch and spoke up, "The Patriarch is playing League of Legends again! Everyone, come watch and learn!"

A crowd of cultivators from the Xiaoyao Grotto-Heaven gathered around.

"Huh? Patriarch, why did you bring Revive and Teleport again?"

"Wait!? Why are you all rushing straight into the enemy tower!?"

"Uh?! Patriarch!?"

"This bunch of teammates is simply a bunch of... a bunch of...!?" Xiaoyao the Grandmaster slapped the table, flying into a towering rage.

"A bunch of primary schoolers!" Lingxuzi, seeing his patriarch at a loss for words, immediately supplied.

"Yes! A bunch of primary schoolers!" Xiaoyao the Grandmaster roared in abuse. "This match is lost! Ruined!"

Just as he finished cursing, he saw the Demon Emperor Shang Jiuwen beside him, operating a monkey and playing with immense relish.

He glanced at the score: 0-9.

"...You primary schooler!"

...

"I hear that Erlang Zhenjun is also exceedingly powerful, not a whit inferior to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven..." Having finished watching the fourth episode of *Journey to the West* today, almost everyone in the shop, aside from the players buying the Great Sage skin bundles, was discussing *Journey to the West*.

"What exactly is the background of this Erlang Zhenjun...?" Many in the shop hurriedly sent messages to the owner. "Boss, care to explain a bit?"

After all... this mythological system was truly far too vast. Even with some foundation in immortal cultivation and myths from *The Legend of Sword and Fairy* and *The Legend of the White Snake*, many bizarre wonders remained utterly unheard of.

At this moment, Fang Qi was in the cultivation room, studying the system after its upgrade progress had reached fifty percent.

The system panel read: Upgrade incomplete; please experience some upgraded features on your own, Host.

Before his eyes, the heavens and earth lay desolate, the land shattered, leaving only countless celestial pillars supporting a massive, magnificent palace that floated in the void.

A flawless, incomparably noble phantom of a supreme god stood grandly atop the divine palace!

It was none other than the Abandoned Heaven Emperor!

Opposite him, a white-clad swordsman opened his cold, sharp eyes. The fierce wind howled, his robes and ribbons danced wildly, yet he stood entirely unafraid!

Beside that swordsman, a white-clad monk held one palm in prayer, his face reflecting a look of compassion.

Characters were displayed beside the figures:

Sacred Demon Primordial Fetus, Abandoned Heaven Emperor; Synchronization Rate: 3%; Synchronization Possible (within this space): No

Demonic Flowing Sword, Feng Zhihen; Synchronization Rate: 15%; Synchronization Possible (within this space): Yes

The Brahma, Yi Yeshu; Synchronization Rate...

Then, as the pendant in Fang Qi’s hand spun, the scene before his eyes shifted.

It transformed into a monkey clad in golden armor and wielding the Golden Cudgel; before his eyes... was a sky filled with gods and Buddhas!

Great Sage Equal to Heaven; Synchronization Rate: 2%; Synchronization Possible (within this space): No

Erlang Shen, Yang Jian; Synchronization Rate: 2%; Synchronization Possible (within this space): No

(Note: Synchronization rate is related to Fang Qi's practice progress and is unrelated to the character's strength)

"To think... such a wonderful new function has been added!? To think I can project into a certain battle or a certain character to cultivate within the cultivation room!?" Boss Fang looked at the scene before him in absolute pleasant surprise.

"Huh... who is messaging me again?" Just as he was about to enter cultivation, he felt his communication jade vibrate with a heap of messages.

"Erlang Zhenjun...?"

Jiang Xiaoyuan: "Boss... won't you tell us a little bit about him...? (Jiang Xiaoyuan acts cute)"

"I'm busy..." Boss Fang replied.

"Busy with what..." Jiang Xiaoyuan said with a pitiful face. "Reveal just a tiny bit first... just a little bit!"

"Uh..." Boss Fang thought for a moment and said, "Then I shall tell you about the Heavenly Dog Devouring the Sun..."

"Wonderful, wonderful!" The young girl immediately beamed with joy.

(The legend of the Heavenly Dog devouring the sun refers in one version to the Howling Celestial Dog, and in another to the story of Mulian saving his mother; there is more than one version)

...

"Do you know of the Heavenly Dog Devouring the Sun? It is said that the Howling Celestial Dog was mischievous and swallowed the sun into its belly, which is why situations occasionally occur over there where there is no sun even during the day..." In the new shop of the East Continent, Xiaoyuan was bragging about her understanding of these myths while playing League of Legends.

"To think that even Erlang Shen's dog is so powerful..." A chorus of gasps erupted around her, and a crowd of senior sisters and elders all looked at her in astonishment. "How do you know this!?"

"Hehehe! The boss told me."

"Why didn't the boss tell this old man!" Supreme Elder Zhuge Qingyun looked thoroughly depressed. "Ah me!"

"Uh..."

Sun Wukong's identity had been almost completely brought to light, but the identities of these other various deities had also aroused the intense curiosity of these cultivators.

For instance, this Erlang Zhenjun, the only one capable of fighting on equal terms with the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

"This Erlang Zhenjun can actually perform the Seventy-Two Transformations as well... Do you all think it possible that this Erlang Zhenjun is, in truth, the Senior Disciple of Sun Wukong?!" Yu Yin mused aloud.

"Did the Great Sage not already say as much? This Jade Emperor is his maternal uncle..." Mu Qing countered. "Did he not question him before the clash even began? The Great Sage asked, 'I recall that the Jade Emperor's younger sister, longing for the mortal realm, descended below and wed a Master Yang, giving birth to a son who once clove Mount Taoshan with his axe—is that person you?'"

(Note: The archetype of Chenxiang cleaving the mountain to rescue his mother is suspected to originate from the God Erlang; of course, the exact details are now impossible to investigate, as both tales have been passed down from ancient legends and are by no means modern fabrications.)

"There seems to be quite a history buried within this," remarked Xiao Yunhe, an elder of the Haotian Sect. At this moment, it was not merely the disciples, but even the elders and the sect master themselves who were locked in discussion within a Tencent QQ chat group named 'The Lineage of Haotian'. "But let us set that aside for the moment. Tell me, how exactly did the Great Sage master these capabilities... Take a mere handful of monkey fur, for instance... how can it possess such miraculous, shifting power!"

"Precisely..." agreed Dugu Xiao, who stood nearby. "At Mount Fangcun... we never saw the Patriarch teach him that either!"

Gu Tingyun observed, "As this old man sees it... the mnemonic formula imparted by the Patriarch is infinitely wondrous and profound; once one truth is mastered, a hundred others follow. Coupling that with those divine elixirs and miraculous medicines, his cultivation was vastly elevated yet again. Only thus could he wield these immortal arts to such a formidable degree!"

"Then this old man must certainly turn back to listen once more... to look once more!" declared Zhuge Qingyun, the Supreme Elder of the Haotian Sect. "I shall review the Patriarch's sermon yet again!"

...

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