Sensing the growth of the Daoist inheritance fortune.
Ning Xunqiu was pleased, moved his heart, and left Cyan Mountain Heaven and Earth.
"I will return." He looked longingly at the Seal of Mountains and Rivers in the sky, then turned and flew straight to the end of the world.
Boom!
Ning Xunqiu's body suddenly felt a heavy pressure, as if squeezed by an invisible force.
With a sweep of his heart spirit, he found himself in the midst of a vast, endless dark deep sea, surrounded by endless darkness and cold seawater.
Turning his heart and mind back to scan, he couldn't find the entrance to the "Magical Treasure: Mountain and River Seal."
A grain of sand, a world.
The state of the Mountain and River Seal was precisely in such a mysterious state.
"After attaining Dao, the Mountain and River Seal's ability to shield celestial secrets... even immortals cannot predict."
Ning Xunqiu thought to himself.
The entrance to the Mountain and River Seal was not fixed but moved according to the heart's intent and appeared according to fortune, only truly manifesting when conditions were met.
However, as someone born from that Mountain and River Seal, with Cyan Mountain's branch inheriting, he could use this karmic connection to find his way back.
...
Three months later.
East Sea Linyuan Domain, Zhiyu Country.
"Selling buns, fragrant hot buns for sale!"
A vendor pushed a cart full of snacks, with steaming baskets giving off an enticing aroma, attracting passersby to stop.
Inside the teahouse, the scent of tea lingered as guests sat around listening to a storyteller vividly narrate tales of demons, ghosts, and gods in the world, enjoying it immensely.
The street was bustling with people coming and going, a scene of prosperity.
"Three months, finally seeing people..."
Just then, a red streak of light cut through the sky, landing among the crowd, transforming into a man in a cyan robe who looked around, sighing in amazement.
"Qingxu Realm is truly vast..."
The man was Ning Xunqiu.
He had navigated the vast sea with the Celestial Derivation Volume to determine the correct and safe direction, taking three months to fly intermittently with the Divine Weapon Flame Sparrow to reach the nearest human country.
As for other directions, it would take more than three years, truly not an exaggeration.
A short figure wearing a hood was happily munching on a peach, listening to the storyteller's tale of immortals. Suddenly, his eyes widened, seeing a streak of light descend from the heavens, transforming into a human form.
"Immortal?!" His mouth gaped, body stiff, letting the peach in his hand fall to the ground.
He stood stunned for several breaths, and seeing Ning Xunqiu about to leave, he hurriedly pushed through the crowd, excitedly shouting, "Immortal! Immortal, wait! Disciple greets Master! Master! Do not leave!"
The person rushed to Ning Xunqiu, full of joy, displaying a wide grin of pearly whites.
Ning Xunqiu looked closely and saw a monkey face grinning sheepishly, blurting out:
"Demon?!"
He was a Soldier Master, also a Celestial Human Realm Martial Artist, whose power of the heart and mind constantly enveloped him, making ordinary mortals unable to perceive his presence.
"Demon?!"
The surrounding people were startled by his words, turning to look at the monkey-headed figure in broad robes, immediately stepping back a few steps.
The monkey ignored the reactions of those around, energetically making obeisance in front of Ning Xunqiu, continuously bowing, "Disciple is devoted to the Dao, please take me as a student, impart the Longevity Dao to me."
"I am not an immortal," Ning Xunqiu said.
Because of Yiya, he bore no bias towards aliens, and importantly, the monkey had no sinister evil qi.
The monkey noticed Ning Xunqiu's attitude was mild, unlike the usual human race calling for the demon race's head, his eyes brightened, clinging tightly to Ning Xunqiu's sleeves:
"I saw it with my own eyes, Master descended swiftly from the heavens, and Brother Xiong said, those who can fly and transform into light have divine techniques, you must be an immortal! Don't try to fool me!"
"Brother Xiong?" Ning Xunqiu's heart was moved, glancing at the ever-growing curious onlookers nearby, "Let go first, and let's talk properly."
"No way no way!" The monkey feared he might fly off, gripping even tighter, "Master, Master, take pity on your disciple."
Ning Xunqiu said no more, picking up the monkey and soaring into the air, shortly arriving at a desolate mountain ten li away.
The monkey, now with messy fur, weak hands and feet, yet admiring expression, looked at Ning Xunqiu, incessantly kowtowing, "Master! Master!"
"Stop, stop, stop!" Ning Xunqiu raised a hand to interrupt, his expression serious, "If you keep calling me Master, I'm leaving."
Worried about karmic ties with the Moral Immortal, he took two books on Qi cultivation methods, "Chaos Seven Orifices Chapter," "Wind and Dew Qi Collection Scripture."
Over ten years, rewriting his life three times, each time Ning Xunqiu sought Duan Hong for cultivation insights, whatever magical techniques he needed, Duan Hong would easily provide, but as soon as he mentioned wanting to cultivate the "Orthodox Inheritance of the Moral Immortal Sect,"
Duan Hong's face changed drastically, turning hostile faster than Ning Xunqiu himself.
Even if Ning Xunqiu outwardly agreed to go to the Divine Land to deliver a message, it was the same.
Obviously.
The Dharma cannot be lightly transmitted.
Even Duan Hong, an almost Dao-attaining Qi Cultivator, cannot transmit the Dharma.
Ning Xunqiu also understood Duan Hong's actions only after becoming the Cyan Mountain Daoist Master and establishing a Daoist Inheritance Fortune.
Duan Hong is merely a disciple of the Moral Immortal Sect and indeed has no right to transmit Dharma.
The monkey was very perceptive and saw Ning Xunqiu's serious expression: "Listen to the Immortal."
"Introduce yourself," Ning Xunqiu said, relaxing his expression slightly.
"Eight hundred years ago, I was still an unremarkable stone on the East Sea Purple Bamboo Cliff Mountain, muddled and ignorant for who knows how long. One day, Immortals engaged in magical combat, the world flashed with dragon roars, and a lightning bolt accompanied by a ray of golden light struck the stone, allowing me to develop a trace of spirituality."
The monkey truthfully recounted.
Ning Xunqiu was suddenly startled upon hearing this and thought to himself, "Eight hundred years ago? Magical combat by Immortals? Dragon roars? It must be Duan Hong's Profound Flood Dragon... what a fateful encounter."
Magical combat by Qi Cultivators is a cataclysm for ordinary beings and also a great opportunity for rebirth.
The monkey continued:
"The stone was weathered by wind and rain for another five hundred years. One day, a group of monkeys passed by, frolicking freely, and I longed for that, transforming into a monkey and moving around."
"I played carefree among the monkeys in the mountains for a hundred years until a Qi Cultivation Immortal Master of the human race came and established a Dao field on the Purple Bamboo Cliff Mountain to teach and transform living beings."
"I went with my brothers in the mountains to listen to the Dao, thus completing my spiritual wisdom. I was born of heaven and earth, without name or surname. The Immortal called me 'Monkey.'"
"East Sea, Purple Bamboo Cliff Mountain... Qi Cultivation Immortal Master..."
Ning Xunqiu memorized each detail, asking the monkey, "Then how did you come here?"
The monkey immediately wore a pained expression:
"I'm bitter..."
"My original form is a stone, not a monkey, different from ordinary beings. My Primordial Spirit is not only lacking all seven orifices, but not a single one is open, making it impossible to cultivate the Qi Cultivation Method."
"At first, I didn't take it seriously. If I couldn't cultivate, so be it, and continued to roam freely."
"But one day I suddenly slept for seven days and nights, only waking from a lightning bolt. Terrified, I hurried to ask the Immortal Master about it. From him, I learned that the lifespan of everything under heaven is fixed. Though I am a stone, my body is immortal, but my spiritual wisdom would gradually disperse, with creation only enough for a thousand years of fixed lifespan."
"Eating peaches, fine wine, watching the sea, riding the wind, being a king, with attendants and heralds. How carefree and majestic! I was unwilling to return to being an ignorant stone."
"So, I had no choice but to go out and seek the Dao."
"Brother Xiong said that in my situation, if I want to cultivate, I must find the Immortal Righteous Method. My only option was to try my luck in the great mountains of the human race, seeking that 'Orthodox Sect.' I left the East Sea, seeking for a hundred years but never met an Immortal."
"I was even slandered by Qi Cultivators of the human race as a Cannibal Demon Fiend and hunted for over ten years..."
The monkey recalled those years of hardships, energetically gesturing and jumping to reenact the perils and difficulties of those years.
Ning Xunqiu patiently listened for a while, only wanting to write the word "tragic" on him.
However, he felt that the monkey's past experiences sounded so familiar... Isn't this a replay of Sun Wukong?
Only—how did it turn into a loser story?
"Immortal you..." The monkey sneaked a glance at Ning Xunqiu.
"Don't call me Immortal; I am not one yet," Ning Xunqiu corrected.
Not yet? So you will be in the future... the monkey heard the implication and asked, "Then what should I call you?"
"My surname is Ning; you can call me Mr. Ning." Ning Xunqiu thought for a moment, "Take me to find the Zizhu Immortal Master, and I will teach you the Acupoint Opening Skill."
Abandoning prejudice and exercising enlightenment on all beings, the Zizhu Immortal Master must be a person of high virtue, with many Qi Cultivator friends. Ning Xunqiu needed to integrate into the Qi Cultivator community to exchange for the Spiritual Objects and information necessary for cultivation.
Additionally, he saw a "stone" become a spirit.
He realized that the "Chaos Seven Orifices Chapter" might not be meant for "human race" cultivation, but for beings like the "Stone Monkey," these earthly aliens.
Or this Acupoint Opening Skill was originally created for "earthly alien attainment" to benefit fellow beings.
Of course, most importantly, Ning Xunqiu's gaze fell on the monkey's head.
There was a line of golden script—Fortune "Twenty-Eight."
To date, it was the highest Fortune he had seen.
But there was a question, why couldn't this monkey find the true method in a hundred years? Is it truly so hard to find the true method?
"Acupoint Opening Skill?"
The monkey was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately saluted.
"Thank you, Mr.! Thank you, Mr.!"
...