Primordial Era: A brick knocks Hongyun unconscious, and he seizes the throne at the start.

Xiniuhezhou, Lingtai Fangcun Mountain.

Bodhi Patriarch looked at the uninvited guest before him, especially at the dusty, seemingly ordinary brick on the man's shoulder that made even his saintly heart flutter slightly, and his expression became solemn.

"Daoist Master Lu Chen? I've long admired you." Patriarch Bodhi (an incarnation of Zhunti) suppressed his surprise and doubt, and said calmly, "May I ask what brings you here?"

"It's nothing, I was just passing by. I heard that you were waiting for a destined disciple, so I came to let you know." Lu Chen smiled sincerely. "Your disciple? I snatched him away. Oh no, he's more destined to be my disciple."

"What?!" Patriarch Bodhi's breath hitched, almost losing his composure. He had painstakingly planned and secretly pushed the stone monkey out to sea, all to take him under his wing, impart his supernatural powers, and cultivate a future protector for Buddhism. And now, his plans had been thwarted halfway through?

"Fellow Daoist, you jest." Patriarch Bodhi suppressed his anger. "That stone monkey is a divinely ordained protector of Buddhism, and we have a master-disciple relationship. This is the way of Heaven..."

"The Heavenly Dao?" Lu Chen interrupted him, weighing the Chaos Brick on his shoulder. "The Heavenly Dao also said that only the Four Sages could break the Immortal Slaughtering Formation, but what happened? When it comes to fate, whoever arrives first gets it. Your 'predestined' rhetoric might fool others, but don't show it off in front of me."

Bodhi Patriarch's face darkened completely. He knew Lu Chen was difficult to deal with, but he didn't expect the other party to be so direct, flipping the table without any attempt at concealment.

"Lu Chen, you have repeatedly thwarted my Buddhist sect's grand plans. Do you really think a saint can be deceived?" Patriarch Bodhi's voice turned cold, and his body was enveloped in faint Buddhist light.

"Deceive you?" Lu Chen sneered. "Zhunti, don't think I won't recognize you just because you're wearing a disguise. From the Investiture of the Gods to Journey to the West, haven't you always tried to get something for nothing? I'm telling you right now, I'm determined to teach Sun Wukong, and I'm determined to wade into the muddy waters of Journey to the West. If you've got the guts, show yourself now and come with me to the Chaos Realm to train!"

He shook the Chaos Brick, and the chaotic patterns on its surface flowed, releasing a heavy, earth-shattering pressure that caused the entire Fangcun Mountain to tremble slightly.

Bodhi Patriarch (Zhunti)'s pupils contracted. Although his avatar possessed the cultivation of a peak Great Luo Immortal, he had absolutely no chance of winning against Lu Chen, who wielded a Chaos Treasure and whose Great Dao of Power was perfected. More importantly, once his true form was exposed and he clashed with Lu Chen in the Primordial World, it would inevitably attract the intervention of other Sages, disrupting the entire Journey to the West plan.

"Very well, very well indeed." The Bodhi Patriarch laughed in fury. "Lu Chen, I will remember this humiliation. The journey to the West is long; we'll see!"

He said no more, transforming into a golden light and disappearing into the sky—he had retreated voluntarily, not wanting to fight Lu Chen head-on at this moment.

Lu Chen curled his lip: "You chickened out pretty quickly."

He escaped Fangcun Mountain using a brick-based escape technique, feeling quite pleased. He had disgusted Zhunti, but had also preserved Sun Wukong's "educational rights"—a win-win situation.

Next, it's time to move on to the next step—retrieve the treasure from the Dragon Palace!

According to the "script," after Sun Wukong returns from his apprenticeship, he will lack a suitable weapon. The old monkey will suggest that he "borrow" a treasure from the Dragon Palace of the East Sea, eventually obtaining the Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff). This staff was left behind by Yu the Great during his flood control efforts. It was forged by Laozi and later thrown into the East Sea by Yu the Great to stabilize the sea. It possesses immense power and will become Sun Wukong's iconic weapon in the future.

"Such a fine treasure, if I don't tamper with it beforehand, would I live up to my name as the sixth brother?" Lu Chen chuckled and used his brick-escape technique to fly straight to the East China Sea.

Deep within the Crystal Palace of the East Sea Dragon Palace, the Iron Sea-Stabilizing Needle stands silently, radiating a dark golden, ancient luster. Weighing 13,500 jin, it can change size at will.

Lu Chen sneaked into the Dragon Palace, concealed by a concealment talisman, so that even the Dragon King Ao Guang did not notice him. He came to the Sea-Stabilizing Needle and examined it carefully.

"The acquired merit treasure refined by Laozi contains merit energy and a size control restriction, its quality is comparable to that of an innate treasure..." Lu Chen rubbed his chin, "Simply stealing or switching it would cause too much of a commotion and would change Sun Wukong's destiny. How about... adding a 'backdoor' to it?"

He stretched out his palm and pressed it against the cool surface of the divine needle. From his palm, the primal power of the Chaos Brick quietly seeped out, transforming into countless chaotic Dao patterns tens of thousands of times finer than a hair, like the most sophisticated virus, silently seeping into the core of the restrictions inside the Golden Cudgel.

These Dao patterns do not change any of the Golden Cudgel's attributes or power, nor do they affect its recognition of its master. They only do two things:

First, record. Record all changes in the Golden Cudgel's state, combat data, the user's (Sun Wukong's) cultivation aura, and combat habits. This data will be synchronized in real time to the Chaos World Brick in Lu Chen's hand via the Chaos Dao Patterns.

Second, remote control. In extreme situations (such as when Sun Wukong encounters fatal danger or is completely controlled by Buddhism through means such as the golden headband), Lu Chen can temporarily take over part of the control of the golden headband through the Chaos World Brick, or activate some of its internal hidden functions (such as instantly bursting double weight, releasing chaotic aura to interfere, etc.), to create a glimmer of hope for Sun Wukong.

"This is called double insurance." Lu Chen nodded in satisfaction after finishing his work. "Monkey, from now on, I'll have half a share in your stick."

He left the Dragon Palace quietly, as if he had never been there.

Several days later, at Flower and Fruit Mountain.

Sun Wukong had achieved minor success in cultivating the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique, gaining immense strength, but he lacked a suitable weapon. On the advice of his old monkey, he somersaulted to the East Sea, and with his powerful physique and a bit of cleverness, he stormed the Dragon Palace, forcing the Dragon King Ao Guang to offer up treasures.

The Dragon King brought out numerous swords, spears, and halberds, but Sun Wukong found them all too light. The Dragon Queen secretly reminded him, "Your Majesty, in my sea treasury there is a piece of divine iron that has stabilized the bottom of the Milky Way. Recently, it has been radiating brilliant light and auspicious energy; it may be suitable as a weapon."

The Dragon King led Sun Wukong to the depths of the sea and pointed to the towering iron pillar: "This is it. It's very heavy; it must be yours, Great King..."

Before the words were even finished, Sun Wukong had already stepped forward, grabbed her with both hands, and shouted, "Little! Little! Little!"

As expected, the Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff) shrank in response, transforming into an iron rod about the thickness of a bowl and twelve feet long, with golden hoops at both ends and black iron in the middle, engraved with the words: "Ruyi Jingu Bang, weighing thirteen thousand five hundred catties."

Sun Wukong held it in his hand; the weight was just right, and when he swung it, it was even more powerful, shaking the Dragon Palace! He was overjoyed and tried it again. "Big! Big! Big!" The golden cudgel shot straight into the sea, startling the shrimp soldiers and crab generals, who staggered and fell.

"What a treasure! What a treasure!" Sun Wukong was so fond of it that he forced the Dragon King to present him with lotus-silk cloud-walking shoes, golden chainmail armor, and a phoenix-winged purple-gold crown. Dressed in these attire, he looked even more majestic.

He returned to Flower Fruit Mountain in high spirits, unaware that the divine weapon in his hand, which resonated with his heart, had already been quietly branded with the mark of a certain sixth brother.

In the Dragon Palace of the East Sea, after Sun Wukong left, Dragon King Ao Guang wiped away a cold sweat, but a doubt flashed through his mind: "That Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff), it seemed... unusually 'docile' just now? Was it just my imagination?"

He shook his head, not daring to investigate further, and hurriedly wrote a petition to the Heavenly Court to file a complaint.

Meanwhile, high above, Lu Chen cracked melon seeds, watching Sun Wukong wielding his golden cudgel in the Haotian Mirror, and then looked at the various data streams of the golden cudgel transmitted synchronously from within the Chaos World brick, and laughed even more heartily.

"Data collection is normal, and the backdoor is running stably. Monkey, you can borrow the stick for now."

"When you wreak havoc in Heaven, we'll cooperate and put on a grand show for all the gods and Buddhas!"