Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

By the time the two men entered the mountain, the Mountain God Earth God bid them farewell, "Buddhist Disciple, my dear sir. Ahead lies the prison of the Great Saint. Our mana is but meager, so we dare not accompany the two of you further, lest the Great Saint becomes furious."

After finishing, he glanced at Lu Yu. They had a very deep impression of this Scholar who came to visit the Great Sage Equalling Heaven from time to time; they had not expected that he would brazenly come in this time on the coattails of the Buddhist Disciple, pretending not to recognize them.

Inwardly, they couldn't help but sneer, "What's the act for? You're well-acquainted with the Five Elements Mountain, even if the Buddhist Disciple is not. Pretending as if it's your first time here. Whom are you trying to fool?"

Of course, these thoughts remained unvoiced, as they didn't dare to speak them out loud. On the face of it, they were still very respectful, addressing him formally as 'sir'.

Lu Yu certainly did not mind the small schemes of the Mountain God Earth God. He was fully focused on preparing to watch the upcoming spectacle and had no time to bother with the thoughts of some irrelevant figures. Your next chapter awaits on empire

They had not yet seen the monkey when they heard the sound of thunder coming from the depths of the Five Elements Mountain, and upon listening carefully, it became clear that it was the booming sound from someone practicing their mana, resonating from within their body.

"I had heard of the Great Sage Equalling Heaven's fame before and always thought it was an exaggeration, but now, though I have not seen him, just by hearing this sound, one can glimpse his prowess; he must indeed be an extremely strong individual," remarked Golden Cicada, who, despite being in mortal form, still retained an insightful perspective.

He naturally deduced that the monkey had achieved the mark of Five Qi approaching perfection.

At this moment, Sun Wukong was sinking his mind into his body, circulating his innate Five Qi, constructing an internal universe. As the Five Qi merged, a thunderous roar resounded, akin to thunder, reminiscent of the creation of the heavens and earth within the body. However, if the Five Qi approaching perfection was not complete, it would not be possible to form a stable inner universe.

Only through the meticulous toiling of Kung Fu, by slowly adjusting the discordant elements within the Five Qi, could one eventually construct a stable inner universe, at which point one could truly be said to have achieved Five Qi approaching perfection.

Suddenly aware of someone approaching, the monkey opened his eyes, revealing a glint of golden light, and saw a Scholar in a green robe smiling fondly at him; he immediately excitedly exclaimed, "Scholar, you've come to visit me so soon."

He only realized after speaking that Lu Yu had not come alone this time; there was a Monk standing beside him, with a handsome face and the unique aura of one who pities the world. However, Sun Wukong had no good impression of monks and said sullenly, "And where does this monk come from?"

"Amitabha, I am the Buddha Ancestor's second disciple, Golden Cicada, and I pay my respects to the Great Sage Equalling Heaven," said Golden Cicada, clasping his hands together and addressing the monkey.

"Oh! A disciple of that old Tathagata. I see you are devoid of mana, clearly a mere mortal, yet you carry an immense fortune and destiny. Truly strange and curious indeed," the monkey commented after taking a glance at Golden Cicada.

"Monkey, you're underestimating him. Take a closer look," Lu Yu said with a smile, prompting him.

Heeding Lu Yu's suggestion, the monkey became intrigued. If Lu Yu went so far as to prompt him, it had to be extraordinary. Employing his Brass Eye Divine Skill, he carefully examined Golden Cicada, and immediately inhaled sharply in astonishment.

Within Golden Cicada's body, he saw the Human Path fortune and destiny transforming into a True Dragon rampaging within, its sheer magnitude causing even the monkey to tremble.

"What a ruthless monk, to daringly incorporate such colossal fortune and destiny into his own body. I admire that," to encounter such a resolute person, the monkey felt a sense of admiration; honestly, he admitted to himself that he could not have done the same.

"It still falls short in comparison to your Havoc in Heavenly Palace," retorted Golden Cicada with a smile.

"Ha-ha, this monk sure knows how to talk. Old Sun likes you," although he was suppressed under the Five Elements Mountain, the Havoc in Heavenly Palace remained the monkey's most glorious achievement, so he was overjoyed to hear others praise it.

Meanwhile, Lu Yu inwardly scoffed, "You won't like it in the future."

"Scholar, hurry up and bring out the wine; My mouth is so dry I could spit out a bird," the Monkey excitedly demanded the wine from Lu Yu.

Lu Yu reluctantly pulled out a Wine Gourd, which he had made from a Spirit Gourd he picked at Huaguo Mountain. It only had a storing function and was a utensil he specifically used for brewing alcohol. He had let the Monkey taste the Liquor Worm brewed wine last time as if offering a treasured gift, not knowing the Monkey would actually get addicted.

Ever since he encountered the Golden Cicada, that meat-and-wine Monk, he had been very reluctant to take it out, after all, brewing too often could harm the foundation of the Liquor Worm, and that would be more loss than gain.

However, the Golden Cicada's eyes lit up as he said with a smile, "I didn't know that Lu the Scholar had such fine wine. This time I'm also basking in the Great Saint's glow to have a taste of the Liquor Worm brewed wine."

"I knew I couldn't escape the clutches of you meat-and-wine Monk," said Lu Yu with a laugh.

The three of them drank and chatted, with the Monkey unusually cheerful, praising Golden Cicada endlessly, which made Lu Yu immensely embarrassed. Little did he know that the Golden Cicada probably knew all his trivial matters inside out, having used him as a negative example to teach the Little Black Bear earlier.

But the Golden Cicada had thick enough skin, listening earnestly to the Monkey's boasting and occasionally expressing sounds of amazement to complement the Monkey's performance, which left Lu Yu quite speechless.

"You Monk really hit it off with me; if you ever have any troubles in the future, just summon the big name of yours truly," the Monkey was just short of thumping his chest, inviting the Golden Cicada to follow him around.

"Amitabha, most wonderful, most wonderful, with the Great Saint's words, Golden Cicada can rest assured. I only hope that the Great Saint will keep his promise when the time comes!" Golden Cicada clasped his hands together, with a smile on his face as he spoke.

The Monkey was somewhat baffled by the Golden Cicada's words, sensing that the Monk was implying something, but since he was unaware of the Journey to the West, he was blind to the subtleties behind Golden Cicada's words.

Looking at Lu Yu, the Monkey frowned and asked, "Could there be some hidden information I'm unaware of?"

"Golden Cicada, don't trick the Monkey, trying to set up karma so quickly, could it be that your Buddhism is too stingy to spare a Buddha's fruit position?" Lu Yu's words were already quite unfriendly, after all, although he got along well with Golden Cicada, he had a closer kinship with the Monkey.

"Lu the Scholar, do not be angry, this poor Monk only wishes to form a good connection with the Great Saint. After all, in the days to come, I will need the power of the Great Saint to complete my merits, and a Buddha's fruit position, my Buddhism can certainly afford," Golden Cicada said with a smile.

The Monkey's eyes brightened at once, sensing from Lu Yu and the Golden Cicada's conversation that there was a chance for him to break free.

"Scholar, tell me quickly, what's going on?" the Monkey asked urgently.

"You caused it; you explain it. If those big shots lay blame, you take it," Lu Yu said irritably to Golden Cicada.

Originally, Lu Yu hadn't planned to tell the Monkey about the Journey to the West so soon; time was still on their side, and telling him would only make the Monkey restless.