I am Jiang Ming, the Eternal Demon Emperor

Chapter 904 Two Hundred Years Later
Heavenly Court, Lingxiao Palace.

True dragons coiled around pillars, and true phoenixes formed murals, transforming into tangible celestial talismans, which were inscribed on the Lingxiao Palace.

The Jade Emperor sat high on his throne, looking down at the assembled civil and military deities of Heaven. "Where did this commotion come from? Thousand-mile eyes and wind-following ears, go and find out the cause immediately."

"According to the order."

The immortals who entered the Investiture of the Gods during the two great calamities of Thousand-Mile Eyes and Wind-Following Ears haven't made much progress in recent years. This is mainly because after entering the Investiture of the Gods, they essentially became immortals through their primordial spirits, abandoning their physical bodies. Or rather, their original physical bodies had already perished in battle.

However, even so, both of them were at the Golden Immortal Perfection level of cultivation. In the Heavenly Court, they served as the eyes and ears of the Jade Emperor and were highly valued.

Soon, the all-seeing and all-hearing eyes spotted Jiang Ming, who had just emerged from the stone. At this moment, Jiang Ming still needed Sun Wukong's instinctive, monkey-like antics to attract attention. This way, he would have time to grow and could naturally find the Bodhi Patriarch.

Soon, the two reported Jiang Ming's situation to the Jade Emperor.

At this time, no one knew that Sun Wukong would be the protagonist of this great calamity. After all, the great calamity had already appeared, and those with higher cultivation levels in the world could feel the terrifying force of the approaching calamity.

After experiencing the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, many gods were terrified and would absolutely not want to participate in the Great Tribulation unless absolutely necessary.

Of course, this great calamity was not very powerful; it could only be considered a minor calamity.

Jiang Ming could sense that the stone monkey wasn't truly an ordinary monkey at birth; it was a monkey born with an immortal body. It could be said to be the spirit of the Five Virtues of Primordial Chaos. Possessing all five virtues, it was exceptionally gifted and had the physique of an immortal.

Even before formally beginning cultivation, one can still perform simple leaps and bounds, and briefly glide through the air, relying solely on their physical body.

The monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain are a group of intelligent monkeys who are born with the ability to cultivate, and most of them know some bloodline inheritance breathing techniques.

The most powerful old monkeys all possessed the cultivation level of a Celestial Immortal at its peak.

It must be said, the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain should never be underestimated.

After all, among the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain, there are red-bottomed macaques and long-armed apes; the only missing one is the six-eared macaque.

Jiang Ming remained calm and unhurried as he began his cultivation on Flower Fruit Mountain. Most of his training involved letting Sun Wukong act on instinct.

Having found the Water Curtain Cave, they began two hundred years of carefree life on Flower Fruit Mountain.

Quietly wait for the right time, then go and seek the immortals and ask the Dao.

Taking it slow and methodical, proceeding step by step?

He called himself the Monkey King.

Over two hundred years, Jiang Ming naturally acquired the cultivation level of a Celestial Immortal through his instinctive breathing exercises. However, he did not understand the cultivation methods and only possessed magical power.

Of course, this is only the cultivation level he displays on the surface. In reality, Jiang Ming cultivates the Great Dao of Creation and has created his own Primordial Creation Landscape. In two hundred years, he has already reached the level of a Great Luo Golden Immortal at the peak of his cultivation.

On this day, while the monkeys were enjoying themselves, eating, drinking, and having fun, an old monkey at the peak of the Earth Immortal realm failed to break through and eventually died of old age.

In this vast universe, only those with a cultivation level of at least Golden Immortal can achieve the same lifespan as heaven and earth and endure as long as the sun and moon.

Under normal circumstances, a cultivator at the Earth Immortal level can only live for 120,000 years.

Flower Fruit Mountain is home to 100,000 spirit monkeys. For countless years, they have lived in seclusion, and no great master has ever come here to take them as disciples. The monkeys cultivate themselves entirely through instinct.

Most of the monkeys with cultivation did not die of old age, but were killed in battles with other monsters in the vicinity.

"Your Majesty, he is dead..."

One of the monkeys excitedly spoke up.

"Let me see. What is dead?"

Jiang Ming knew that the plot was about to begin, but he still cooperated and followed the script.

Over the years, he had not seen any dead monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain. This was because, ever since he discovered the Water Curtain Cave, a hidden paradise with all sorts of rare and precious materials, fruits, and springs, the monkeys could be self-sufficient and no longer needed to risk going to other forests to find food.

Therefore, this is the first monkey to die in two hundred years.

"It means that one is old and frail, and dies. One's soul returns to the underworld."

An old monkey immediately explained to Jiang Ming.

The old monkey had long known how extraordinary Jiang Ming was; he had personally witnessed Jiang Ming spring from a stone. Moreover, in recent years, Jiang Ming hadn't cultivated much, yet his cultivation had naturally advanced by leaps and bounds, catching up with him.

The old monkey thought that with Jiang Ming's talent, if he were willing to go out and cultivate, and find a powerful master, then Flower Fruit Mountain would truly have a reliable backer.

The world outside Flower Fruit Mountain is extremely dangerous. The monsters in the seventy-two caves are all native forces that originally inhabited the area around Flower Fruit Mountain, including various kinds of spirits such as wolves, insects, tigers, leopards, lions, elephants, foxes, badgers, and so on. —A natural group of caves formed by thousands of mountains and valleys, collectively known as the "Seventy-Two Caves".

"Yes, Your Majesty, we do not possess the art of immortality, and we will eventually face birth, aging, sickness, and death."

Another old monkey said sadly.

"Without the art of immortality, are we all destined to die someday?"

Jiang Ming immediately countered with a question.

"Yeah yeah."

The old monkey immediately said with a sorrowful expression.

This time it's for real. The old monkey is stuck at the peak of the Celestial Immortal realm. If he doesn't break through, his lifespan will end in another hundred years.

"We don't want to die! Waaah, we want to live a long and carefree life!"

The surrounding monkeys immediately began to wail and cry, their sorrowful cries of "the rabbit mourns the fox's death" flowing like a river.

"Don't cry, Your Majesty, I don't have the secret to immortality either."

Jiang Ming shouted.

"Your Majesty, you are born divine, why not go to the legendary ancient cave and immortal mountain, become a disciple and learn a skill, seek out a master and learn the art of immortality?"

The old monkey immediately stepped forward and gave a reminder.

Originally, Jiang Ming often speculated that the old monkey might be a spy for other forces, but now he understands. The old monkey is just an old monkey who has lived for a long time; he simply wants Jiang Ming, who is born with divine powers, to learn the art of longevity so that he can return and teach them after mastering it.

Is this what they call "when one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven"?
"The secret to immortality? Alright, I've made up my mind. Tomorrow I'll set sail to find that legendary secret to immortality."

Jiang Ming naturally made the decision immediately.

I've lived in Huaguo Mountain for quite a while now, and it's pretty boring.

It's good news that we can go out and relax now.

that's it.

The next day, Jiang Ming boarded the makeshift raft the monkeys had made for him. The monkeys had learned this from humans.

Then, Jiang Ming embarked on a journey to seek guidance from a master.

This time, he left Flower Fruit Mountain on a raft. He had drifted at sea for a long time, enduring many hardships. Fortunately, he was a celestial being and would not die so easily, and he was also blessed with great fortune. In some human-inhabited areas of the Eastern Continent, he learned to dress like a human, learned etiquette, and lived among the common people for eight or nine years.

After that, he once again got a boat and went out to sea, crossing the sea to Xiniu Hezhou.

(End of this chapter)