Journey to the West: I am the fiercest bird under Bodhi's seat

Even though the monkeys live together in Huaguo Mountain, their birthplace, they all communicate in monkey language and have never heard anyone speak human language.

Of course, there are indeed seventy-two demon kings in the mountains, and each of those cave masters can speak human language.

For this reason, in the monkey's mind, any creature that can speak human language must be a great demon, and he instinctively believes that it should not be underestimated.

Therefore, as soon as Ye Feng spoke, the monkey immediately became frightened.

Despite his later unruly behavior and the disturbances he caused in Heaven, he was actually extremely shrewd and understood the principle that "a wise man submits to circumstances."

How many times during the westward journey did they prefer to call for reinforcements rather than fight head-on? They always relied on others' strength rather than exerting their own.

Some monsters, if they really fought hard enough, might be impossible to defeat.

But he refused to expend the effort.

This is a truly intelligent monkey.

He immediately adopted a respectful posture, imitating the etiquette he had seen in the human world, and bowed deeply: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I am the Monkey King of the Water Curtain Cave of Flower and Fruit Mountain in Aolai Country of Dongsheng Shenzhou. I have traveled across the ocean to seek the Great Dao and have mistakenly entered your esteemed territory. I hope you will forgive my intrusion."

"Are you perhaps a fake monkey?"

Ye Feng's heart was in turmoil.

This was completely different from the hot-tempered and unruly Monkey King he remembered!

When did they become so well-behaved? Could it be that they were brainwashed by Tang Sanzang beforehand?

He was in a bind; after all, "one shouldn't hit a smiling face," so he couldn't just take action directly.

But with the reward in front of us, we have to eat this "meal".

He cleared his throat, feigning authority: "So you're a monkey from the East, no wonder you don't know the rules. Considering you're new here, I'll spare you this time."

The monkey was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly expressed its gratitude.

"Wait a minute, thank me!" Ye Feng interrupted coldly. "Although I forgive your disrespect, I am the master of the Hundred Mile Mountain Forest, known as the 'Great Sage of Heavenly Wind.' I kill without blinking an eye and eat people without salt! All passersby must offer a mountain worship gift, or they will become dried meat to accompany wine. If you have any valuables on you, leave two to buy your life, otherwise... I'll castrate you and make you into monkey jerky to go with wine."

His words were filled with murderous intent, and the monkey's face immediately turned ashen.

Especially when I heard "killing without blinking an eye, eating people without salt," my legs trembled: How could I have run into such a ferocious beast? What utter bad luck!

With a pained expression, he pleaded, "Great King Tianfeng, please understand! I am devoted to the Dao and possess nothing of value; I have no treasures to offer. If you let me pass today, once I have successfully become your disciple and acquired supernatural powers, I will repay you tenfold!"

"So, you're saying you're not planning to give it to me?"

Ye Feng sneered, his wings fluttered slightly, and he took a step forward on the branch, his gaze icy and filled with murderous intent.

He has the full presence of a villain.

With a flap of its wings, its imposing aura pressed down, and the world seemed to darken for a moment.

The monkey's expression changed drastically. He suddenly felt as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest, making it difficult to breathe. Only then did he realize that the crow in front of him was not bluffing, but truly possessed extraordinary power.

In fact, if they had met moments earlier, Ye Feng would have been no match for the monkey.

Although he has passively absorbed the essence of the sun and moon for the past three years, his strength is only slightly better than that of an ordinary crow; at most, he is just a black bird with a slightly stronger physique.

Compared to the stone monkey who has lived for three hundred years, even if the other party has not cultivated magic, he can easily crush him.

However, just now, the system granted him "a thousand years of cultivation".

Even with his mediocre talent, his cultivation level had already propelled him to the realm of immortals.

To the monkey, it was utterly unfathomable and beyond comprehension.

"Hold your hand!" the monkey suddenly shouted at the critical moment.

He rummaged through his body for a while, and just as Ye Feng was wondering what was going on, the monkey took out a stone piece that was glowing with a hazy divine light from his pocket.

With tears in his eyes, he handed over the stones, saying, "These are the pebbles I picked up on the top of Huaguo Mountain on the day I was born. They are the remains of the mother stone that nurtured me... They may have some value. I beg Your Majesty to accept them and let me pass."

Ye Feng's pupils contracted sharply, and his eyes stared blankly.

This monkey truly hides something extraordinary. Legend has it that this naturally born stone monkey was transformed from a spiritual stone left behind by Nuwa when she mended the sky. Could this fragment before us truly be a piece of the divine stone that mended the sky?

A rare treasure, truly a rare treasure.

In a split second, Ye Feng's heart stirred, and he hesitated whether he should take the divine stone for himself.

But if I actually take it, won't I have to come up with an excuse to cover it up later?

He only hesitated for a moment before resolutely leaping up and grabbing the rubble with his claws.

The monkey was overjoyed at the sight and asked tremblingly, "Your Majesty, may I leave now?"

Ye Feng's expression was cold and stern when he suddenly spoke: "That's about enough—are you wearing a hat?"

The monkey looked bewildered: "N-nothing, what's wrong?"

Before he could finish speaking, the crow flapped its wings and its eight paws, swift as the wind, slapped the monkey's face hard.

"I told you not to wear a hat!"

Xiniuhezhou, Fangcun Mountain.

Dust billowed in the forest. From a high vantage point, one could see ancient trees falling one after another, birds taking flight in fright like clouds, and beasts scattering in all directions.

The monkey looked distressed, as if it were in the eye of a storm.

He had no idea what mistake he had made.

This ferocious bird is completely unreasonable.

Did someone resort to violence simply because someone said "you're not wearing a hat"?

What kind of monkey wears a hat?

This is absolutely outrageous!

Anger surged within him, and he gritted his teeth, ready to fight back.

However... it was of no use.

The crow's wings were like cast iron, and its beak was like a knife's edge. Although it was small in size, every strike it made contained immense power.

From beginning to end, he could only passively take the beating.

boom!

With a muffled thud, Ye Feng slammed his claw heavily onto the monkey's head, sending sparks flying.

What a hard head!

Ye Feng was slightly taken aback: Is this person's brain made of stone?

Well, the monkey was already exhausted and at its last gasp. This attack made its brain explode, and finally its eyes rolled back and it fainted.

The mountains and forests have returned to silence.

Ye Feng let out a long breath and flapped his wings, trying to find a tree to roost in, only to find that the surroundings were already a mess and there wasn't a single intact tree.

Shaking his head in resignation, he simply landed on the monkey's head and stood there.

It must be said that he seriously underestimated the monkey's strength.

Even without having become a disciple of Bodhi or having learned any magic, this monkey's talent alone far surpasses that of ordinary demons.

Its body was as hard as stone, and even the beak of a bird infused with demonic energy could not break its fur.

It makes sense when you think about it—he was originally a stone monkey born of heaven and earth.

It has absorbed the essence of the sun and moon for countless years on the top of Huaguo Mountain.

According to "Journey to the West", Huaguo Mountain is the ancestral vein of the ten states and the source of the dragon of the three islands, making it a top-notch blessed land.

This monkey was definitely not born from an ordinary spirit stone; it was most likely formed from the essence remaining from the Heaven-Mending Divine Stone.

Over the years, the power hidden within his body has become terrifying, no less than that of many innate beings at the beginning of creation.

That's why, in the original story, he was able to sweep away all the immortals after only ten years of training.

It wasn't that he was particularly skilled in his studies, but rather that his innate abilities were so strong that he grasped things instantly—the Bodhi Patriarch was merely helping him awaken his potential.

Just as he landed firmly on his head, the system's voice quietly sounded:

"The monkey has been successfully stunned. The reward of a thousand years of cultivation has been activated. Please take it to become Bodhi's disciple as soon as possible. Upon completion of the mission, you will be additionally rewarded with the Three-Legged Golden Crow bloodline."

In an instant, Ye Feng felt a vast surge of spiritual energy erupt from his dantian, flowing throughout his body, bringing him immense comfort and bliss.

Although he had briefly gained a thousand years of cultivation before, he always felt that the external power was difficult to control.

Now they are completely integrated, forming a unified whole.

He clearly perceived his own transformation, and the world became clearer in his eyes than ever before.

Roughly estimated, he has now truly entered the realm of demon immortals.

Even if you venture into a mountain range alone, you can still reign supreme and be a carefree mountain lord.

However, his ambitions extend far beyond that.

With a flick of its claws, the fragment of the Sky-Mending Stone rose into the air, then vanished instantly as it was concealed by the wings.

After becoming a demon immortal, he gained a new understanding of the rules of heaven and earth.

One can use demonic energy to create a personal space, which, though small, is enough to store items.

The newly opened space was about three zhang square, empty and bare, and only then was a small stone thrown in.

After taking care of everything, he grabbed the monkey by the back of its neck again, flapped its wings, and flew towards the Three Star Cave.

The woodcutter had given me directions, and I had already memorized the location.

……

On this day, at Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, at Xieyue Sanxing Cave.

Inside the Taoist temple, the patriarch sat on a high platform, lecturing on the Great Dao as always.

Below, nearly a hundred disciples and children dressed in Taoist robes sat cross-legged on prayer mats, listening with rapt attention.

The patriarch's words were profound and mysterious, sometimes discussing the Dao, sometimes talking about Zen. When he spoke to the most brilliant points, heavenly flowers fell and golden lotuses emerged from the ground.

Although it is described in a profound and mysterious way, it is actually only a superficial understanding of the great principles, not the true secrets.

These disciples may be able to glean some insights from it, but it is absolutely impossible for them to expect to achieve instant enlightenment or even attain supreme supernatural powers through preaching.

The law should not be lightly transmitted, and the way should not be taught indiscriminately.

The true mysteries and profound truths are only revealed quietly in secret; how could they be openly proclaimed?

Such a public statement, even if not to deceive the world, certainly does not reveal any true secrets.

As for these disciples in front of him, they were just random cultivators he had taken in casually when he had nothing else to do, not his personal disciples.

They didn't even know the true identity of this patriarch, only that he possessed extraordinary magical powers and was a reclusive master who had attained enlightenment long ago.

While preaching, Bodhi was silently calculating the time in his mind.

He had already foreseen that a naturally born stone monkey would come seeking the Dharma today.

This monkey has a deep predestined connection with him, and is destined to become his disciple. In the future, it will stir up the three realms and create tremendous waves.

To this end, he even enlightened a woodcutter and guided him on the way.

At this moment, he was pondering how to set up a test for the monkey when it arrived, so that it would know how difficult the path to immortality was.

Just then, a boy rushed in and knelt down in front of the prayer mat.

The sermon abruptly stopped.

The disciples, who had been immersed in the Daoist chanting, were all startled awake and glared angrily at the newcomer.

The patriarch lightly brushed the whisk in his hand, his tone calm: "What's the matter with this panic?"

The boy said urgently, "Reporting to the Ancestor, a crow has come outside, carrying a hairy-faced, thunder-mouthed monkey that has fainted, and it's clamoring to become my disciple."

"Monkey? Crow?" The patriarch's expression shifted slightly.

He knew about the monkey, of course, but where did the crow come from?

After a moment's hesitation, he said calmly, "Bring him in."

A moment later, a jet-black crow flew into the hall, dragging the unconscious monkey behind it. When it reached the patriarch's seat, the crow loosened its claws, letting the monkey land on the ground, and then folded its wings, just like a mortal bowing in greeting.

"Greetings, Master."

Bodhi nodded slightly, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the monkey on the ground, and his heart trembled once again.

Not only him, but even the disciples gasped in shock when they saw the monkey's appearance.

It's too awful.

The golden retriever was covered in blood, its face a mix of blue and purple. Its once glossy golden fur was now mottled and shattered, exposing its bare skin, which was mixed with dirt and grass, as if it had been brutally beaten.

Many people even doubted whether the monkey was still alive.

The patriarch sat upright on the high platform, appearing calm and composed, as if everything was under his control.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that his eyelids trembled slightly, his gaze shifting back and forth between the crow and the monkey, and he remained silent for a long time.