Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

As he spoke, the old ape suddenly burst into tears, and tears the size of soybeans dripped down his cheeks and onto the ground.

After crying twice, the old ape grabbed a thick wooden stick from the ground with a look of grief and indignation, and followed behind Sun Wukong, attacking the little demons in the Water Dirty Cave.

Sun Wukong fought his way into the cave and wiped out all the demons, big and small, in the Water Dirty Cave.

After slaying all the lesser demons in the Water-Dirty Cave, Sun Wukong shook his hairs and retracted them all onto his body. Then he saw thirty or fifty more monkeys that he couldn't retract into the cave; these were some of the little monkeys from his Water Curtain Cave on Flower Fruit Mountain. Wukong asked, "Why are you here when you weren't in your cave?"

The thirty or fifty little monkeys, all with tears in their eyes, said, "Your Majesty, since you went to cultivate immortality two or three years ago, a mischievous demon king has appeared here. This mischievous demon king comes to our cave to quarrel with us from time to time, and steals all our stone bowls, stone tables, and stone chairs. We fought with him, and were captured by him as well. Fortunately, Your Majesty has arrived today, otherwise, we don't know how much longer we would have had to stay here!"

Sun Wukong said, "I feel sorry for you. When we get back to the Water Curtain Cave, I will make it up to you properly."

After saying that, Sun Wukong looked at the stone tables, stone bowls and stone chairs and said, "Since these things belong to us, you can take them all back with you."

After moving all the stone bowls, tables, and chairs from the Water Dirty Cave, Sun Wukong set off a raging fire, burning the entire cave to the ground.

Sun Wukong said, "My children, come back with me!"

The thirty or fifty little monkeys looked at each other and said, "Your Majesty, when we came here, we only heard the wind whistling past our ears. We floated here and don't know the way. How do we get back to the Water Curtain Cave?"

Sun Wukong laughed, "This is just a trick he concocted, what's so difficult about it! Now that I've mastered one trick, I can do it too. Close your eyes, don't be afraid! Don't be afraid!"

Having said that, Sun Wukong made hand seals and chanted incantations. Instantly, a gust of wind arose, carrying the thirty or fifty little monkeys into the air. They spun around several times before landing in front of the Water Curtain Cave.

Sun Wukong said, "My children, open your eyes! We've arrived at the Water Curtain Cave!"

The thirty or fifty little monkeys, their feet firmly planted on the ground, quickly opened their eyes to look around. They found themselves in a spacious cave, with a babbling stream flowing out from under an iron bridge beneath their feet.

"We're back!" The little monkeys recognized the Water Curtain Cave and jumped for joy. They hurried back to their old caves, naturally encountering many old friends along the way. They wept as they recounted their experiences of being captured by the Demon King in the Water Curtain Cave.

When the monkeys in the Water Curtain Cave saw Sun Wukong return, they all rushed out of the nearby stone caves, shouting and cheering excitedly. After a while, they sorted themselves into order and paid their respects to Sun Wukong.

A monkey came out and asked Sun Wukong about saving people. Sun Wukong didn't hide anything and told him the whole story in detail. The monkeys were overjoyed and said, "Your Majesty, now that you have such abilities, I wonder who will dare to bully us anymore? I just don't know where you've been all these past ten years, Your Majesty, to learn such skills. We are truly envious!"

Sun Wukong said with a hint of pride, "Back then, I bid farewell to you all, drifted with the current, crossed the Eastern Ocean, went straight to the Southern Continent, learned to take the form of a human, wore these clothes and shoes, and wandered around for eight or nine years without ever attaining enlightenment; then I crossed the Western Ocean to the Western Continent, visited for a long time, and was fortunate enough to meet an old ancestor who passed on to me the true power to live as long as heaven and the great method of immortality."

Before leaving, Li Xiuyuan had said something to Sun Wukong.

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Chapter 443 Purchasing Weapons

Sun Wukong was forbidden from mentioning his own name in the future, or his life would be threatened. Therefore, Sun Wukong only said that he was in Xiniu Hezhou, and did not reveal that he was the Heavenly Dragon Ancestor, who was actually the Great Sun Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva, a manifestation of Li Xiuyuan.

Although the Heavenly Dragon Ancestor was merely an incarnation of Li Xiuyuan's benevolent corpse, the Great Sun Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva, if people knew this, it would still be easy for them to deduce his whereabouts.

However, all of this was only to keep those who didn't know the truth from afar. Those saint-level beings naturally already knew that Sun Wukong was Li Xiuyuan's disciple.

Knowing something is one thing, but stating it out loud is another.

The monkeys listened with great joy and presented Sun Wukong with monkey wine, peaches, grapes, fairy fruits, and coconuts.

Sun Wukong grabbed a peach, leaped onto the stone table, and said with a hint of pride, "My children, in the more than ten years I've been away, besides learning a whole set of skills, what makes me happy is that I now have a name!"

The monkeys were playing around when they heard Sun Wukong say this. They all looked curious and asked, "Your Majesty, what is your surname?"

Sun Wukong said, "My surname is Sun, and my Buddhist name is Wukong."

The monkeys clapped and cheered, "Since Your Majesty's surname is Sun, then we'll also be surnamed Sun. I'm the second Sun, he's the third Sun, the fourth Sun... hahaha!"

The next day, Sun Wukong stood atop a peak in the middle of Flower Fruit Mountain and looked around. Flower Fruit Mountain was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see, its rolling hills forming a natural screen. Ancient trees reached for the sky, adorning the entire mountain range like a green carpet.

Below the mountain peak, there were thousands of monkeys, each one full of energy, waving bamboo spears and wooden knives, shouting loudly, advancing and retreating like an army.

Sun Wukong, however, organized all the monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain into one force, forming an army that they practiced daily.

While sitting quietly, Sun Wukong suddenly thought to himself, "If we stay here, our charade might become real, alarming the human king, or even the kings of birds and beasts, who might recognize us as our leader and accuse us of rebellion, sending troops to kill us. But they only have bamboo poles and wooden knives; how can we fight them? We need sharp swords and halberds. What should we do now?"

Feeling troubled, Sun Wukong appeared somewhat dejected. An old ape nearby noticed and asked, "What troubles Your Majesty? Why are you unhappy?"

Sun Wukong told the old ape about his worries, and the old ape said, "Your Majesty! What is there to worry about? Two hundred nautical miles away from our Flower Fruit Mountain, there is a country called Aolai, where there is a human king. If Your Majesty is worried about weapons, why not go there, buy or make some weapons, and use them to train the children? Wouldn't that be useful for protecting our home?"

Sun Wukong's face lit up with joy, and he said, "In that case, you all wait for me here. I'll be right back!"

Having said that, Sun Wukong leaped up, somersaulted, and boarded auspicious clouds, flying towards Aolai Kingdom.

Seeing Sun Wukong leave, the old ape who had spoken earlier revealed a faint smile. That old ape was none other than the transformed Great Sun Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva, the benevolent corpse of Li Xiuyuan. Otherwise, if it were an ordinary ape, it would be impossible to traverse such a vast place as Flower Fruit Mountain; how could it possibly know that a country existed two hundred nautical miles away?

Ever since Sun Wukong was driven back to Flower Fruit Mountain by Li Xiuyuan, the Great Sun Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva also followed Sun Wukong back to Flower Fruit Mountain.

"Next, we need to send him to retrieve the Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff), and the time for the Monkey King to wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace is getting closer and closer."

Li Xiuyuan, the Bodhisattva of the Great Sun Dragon who was transformed from a benevolent corpse, looked down at the monkeys who were advancing and retreating with precision, wielding bamboo knives and spears, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"I wonder how many of these monkeys will survive when they wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace?"

With a single somersault, Sun Wukong arrived in the capital city of Aolai Kingdom in just three or four breaths.

Standing atop the clouds, Sun Wukong saw that the capital of Aolai Kingdom was not large, only about a hundred miles in circumference, enclosed by a ring of blue stone bricks.

Within the capital city, the six streets and three markets were bustling with people, filled with the sounds of hawking, talking, and discussing, creating a lively atmosphere.

Sun Wukong thought to himself, "There must be weapons down there, but instead of going down to buy some, I'd rather use my supernatural powers to find some. It'll be more convenient, and I won't have to spend any money."

Having made up his mind, Sun Wukong took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks, and blew it down towards the capital city below.

Suddenly, the sky, which had been perfectly clear and bright with the sun shining high, was covered by a dark cloud. The entire sky was plunged into darkness, like paper splattered with ink, enveloping the whole world and leaving no trace of light.

The sky was terrifyingly dark, as if a storm was about to break at any moment.

Gusts of wind swept up, and stones the size of a thumb were blown away, hitting people in the face and immediately creating bloody holes.

The once bustling capital city was now eerily deserted, not a soul in sight. Only the stalls that hadn't yet been packed up remained, blown away by the fierce wind and floating in the air.

Seeing this, Sun Wukong descended from the clouds and landed on the ground, heading straight for the weapons hall. Upon opening the hall door and looking inside, he saw countless weapons: knives, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, halberds, sickles, whips, rakes, maces, bamboo sticks, bows, crossbows, forks, and spears—eighteen weapons in total, all complete and not missing.

Sun Wukong was delighted upon seeing this and said, "With all these weapons, it was truly worth the trip. However, there are so many weapons, how can I carry them all by myself? I'll have to use my clone technique!"

Thinking this to himself, Sun Wukong plucked a handful of monkey hair from his body, chewed it up, and spat it out. Instantly, hundreds of monkeys, each three or four feet tall, chattered and surrounded Sun Wukong, calling him "Great King!"

Sun Wukong said, "Children, stop fooling around! Come with me and carry these weapons back to Flower Fruit Mountain!"

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Chapter 444 Acquiring Weapons

Urged on by Sun Wukong, the hundreds of little monkeys finally began moving the weapons in the armory. They grabbed and scrambled about, the stronger ones taking five or seven items, the weaker ones taking two or three. In no time, the armory was completely empty.

"Children, take your things and let's go!" The little monkeys had already emptied the weapons hall of everything.

Sun Wukong gave a brief instruction. He then formed a hand seal, chanted an incantation, and summoned a gust of wind that carried the hundreds of little monkeys towards Flower Fruit Mountain.

While Sun Wukong went to fetch the weapons, the remaining monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain, big and small, were playing and fighting outside the cave. Suddenly, they heard a whooshing sound and saw countless monkey spirits flying over in mid-air, startling the little monkeys into running and hiding in panic.

In a short while, Sun Wukong descended from the clouds, dispersing the mist. He shook his body, collected his hairs, and with a rustling sound, the weapons were piled up haphazardly in front of the mountain.

Sun Wukong shouted, "My little minions! Come out here! Quickly, collect your weapons!"

When the monkeys saw Sun Wukong standing alone in front of the cave entrance, they grew a little bolder and ran up to ask him something.

Sun Wukong did not hide anything and recounted the events of sending the whirlwind and moving the weapons.

The monkeys were incredibly surprised to hear this. They all kowtowed and thanked them profusely, and then rushed to grab knives and swords, fight over axes and spears, and pull out bows and crossbows, making a racket and playing around for a whole day.

"Now that we have the weapons, all that's left is to train these monkeys under my command. It's getting late, let's talk about it tomorrow!"

Sun Wukong looked at the monkeys playing around and thought to himself.

On the second day, Sun Wukong directed the troops to set up camp and gathered the monkeys, totaling more than 47,000.

During the training, the shouts of battle were deafening, alarming all the demons on Flower Fruit Mountain, including wolves, insects, tigers, leopards, and various other demon kings. There were seventy-two caves in total, and they all came to pay homage to Sun Wukong as their lord.

These demon kings, seeing the excellent weapons in the hands of the monkeys, were about to seize them, but suddenly, sensing the powerful aura emanating from Sun Wukong, they all quickly stopped their thoughts and came to pay homage to Sun Wukong.

The strongest of those demon kings was only at the True Immortal level, which was two realms lower than Sun Wukong's Great Luo Golden Immortal level.

Moreover, those demon kings were all wild demon kings and did not possess any supernatural powers or magic. If they were to truly compare with Sun Wukong, Sun Wukong would probably be able to kill them all in a single encounter.

The demon kings presented tributes annually and performed their duties throughout the four seasons. Some participated in drills, while others collected grain according to festivals, all working together to make Flower Fruit Mountain resemble an impregnable fortress. The various demon kings also contributed drums, colorful flags, and armor, bustling about as they practiced dances and prepared for battle each day.

The overall strength of Huaguo Mountain instantly increased significantly.

Just as he was rejoicing, Sun Wukong suddenly said to the crowd, "My children, although you all have suitable weapons, the knife in my hand is rather unusable and does not meet my needs. What should I do?"

The nine-ringed broadsword in his hand was one he had snatched from the Demon King. If this sword were in the mortal realm, it would be capable of cutting through anything, making it a formidable weapon.

But in Sun Wukong's hands, it seemed a bit weak.

Upon hearing Sun Wukong's question, the monkeys exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what to do. At this moment, the old ape, transformed from the Bodhisattva Great Sun Dragon of Li Xiuyuan's good body, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is a sage of the immortal realm; mortal weapons are naturally of little use to you. But I wonder, Your Majesty, are you able to go into the water or not?"

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Since I heard the Dao, I have mastered the seventy-two transformations of the Earthly Fiends; the somersault cloud has immense supernatural powers; I am good at invisibility and escape, and I can use magic to subdue others; there is a path to heaven and a door to the earth; I can walk on the sun and moon without casting a shadow, and I can enter metal and stone without hindrance; I cannot drown in water, nor can I be burned by fire. Where can I not go, let alone in water?"

Li Xiuyuan's benevolent corpse said, "Since Your Majesty possesses such supernatural powers, the water under the Iron Bridge in our Water Curtain Cave connects to the Dragon Palace of the East Sea. The Dragon Palace is full of treasures. Since Your Majesty can enter the water, why not go and find the Old Dragon King and ask him for a weapon? Wouldn't that be just what you want?"

Sun Wukong was overjoyed and said, "In that case, I'll be right back!"

Having said that, Sun Wukong arrived at the iron bridge of the Water Curtain Cave, made hand seals, chanted incantations, and used a water-avoiding spell. With a splash, he plunged into the water, parting the waterway and heading straight for the Dragon Palace of the East Sea.

They had only gone halfway when a sea yaksha suddenly appeared in front of them, asking, "Who is that person pushing the water? Explain yourself so we can announce our arrival."

Sun Wukong said, "I am Sun Wukong, a born saint from Flower Fruit Mountain, and a close neighbor of your Dragon King. Why don't you recognize me?"

"What, a born saint?" The Dragon King was taken aback, and then suddenly thought, "I recently heard that the monkey who jumped out of that rock on the top of Flower Fruit Mountain three hundred years ago has returned. Could it be him?"

Immediately, the Dragon King rose and led a group of dragon sons, grandsons, shrimp soldiers, and crab generals out of the palace to greet him. From afar, the East Sea Dragon King saw a hairy-faced, thunder-mouthed fellow rushing towards him.

Sensing the cultivation level of a Great Luo Golden Immortal emanating from Sun Wukong, the Dragon King of the East Sea was startled. He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "My apologies! My apologies! I was completely unaware that the Immortal had been staying by my side for so long. Now that the Immortal has arrived, we must drink until we are completely drunk."

Speaking of which, the Dragon King of the East Sea also possessed the cultivation of a Great Luo Golden Immortal, making him comparable in strength to Sun Wukong. Moreover, the Dragon King of the East Sea was appointed by the Heavenly Court to guard the East Sea, governing countless billions of miles of sea area, with countless shrimp soldiers and crab generals under his command, making him virtually a regional lord.