When the distance was truly calculated, Sun Yuan finally understood how vast this mythical world was.
But what confused him even more was a fact: in such a vast mythical world, how could the original Sun Wukong have crossed the Four Great Continents with a mere bamboo raft?
For the pre-immortal Sun Wukong, the bamboo raft could take him to Xiniu Hezhou, and also to Nanzhan Buzhou.
Now that he had truly transmigrated, Sun Yuan wanted to exclaim, this is not scientific!
"Perhaps, there were countless gods and Buddhas aiding him."
Sun Yuan found another explanation.
According to the Journey to the West conspiracy theory, or the Primordial World plot explanation.
The reason why the Handsome Monkey King could travel to the Four Great Continents with a bamboo raft, which was clearly unreliable and could hardly be called a 'boat', was because countless gods and Buddhas were protecting him from behind.
With the help of immortals and gods, as the favored son of destiny in the Journey to the West tribulation, he could naturally achieve such an incredible feat.
After considering this possibility.
Sun Yuan attempted to set sail directly into the sea with his bamboo raft, to see how the gods and Buddhas hidden behind him would protect him.
But he failed.
The waves were monstrous, truly monstrous.
In the face of such waves, unless one had modern steel behemoths, ancient ships made of wood would be destroyed one by one, let alone a mere bamboo raft?
Sun Yuan did not see any divine or Buddhist assistance until the bamboo raft was scattered by the waves, and until he faced a life-or-death crisis.
Fortunately, he had approached it with a trial mentality, and being not far from Flower Fruit Mountain, he managed to salvage his life.
Having narrowly escaped death, Sun Yuan's eyes were filled with confusion.
"Am I not the Handsome Monkey King? Am I not the favored son of destiny in the Journey to the West tribulation? Why am I now facing a life-or-death crisis when my bamboo raft enters the sea?"
"It seems there are no gods or Buddhas protecting me from behind."
Sun Yuan's eyes were filled with bewilderment.
This was the first time since transmigrating into Sun Wukong that he felt a chill and confusion in his heart.
He had originally thought that no matter what he did afterwards, whether he became a free immortal or the Victorious Fighting Buddha in Buddhism, he would ultimately be one of the 'immortals, gods, and sages', and still be the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who possessed great divine abilities among ordinary immortals.
But he never expected that he couldn't even get past the hurdle of seeking immortality at sea.
This mythical world was boundless, how could he reach Xiniu Hezhou by bamboo raft? Without the aid of gods and Buddhas, this was absolutely impossible.
But he, until he faced a life-or-death crisis, had no divine or Buddhist assistance.
Sun Yuan could be sure that if he hadn't relied on his innate divine strength, and if he hadn't been lucky enough to grasp a sliver of hope, he would have faced death immediately!
This was not just a problem of being unable to reach Xiniu Hezhou, but it also made Sun Yuan deeply question one thing: what story was this mythical world composed of?
Was it according to the Journey to the West conspiracy theory, or the Primordial World plot?
Or, was there no Journey to the West conspiracy theory at all, and the Handsome Monkey King's quest for immortality at sea had never been noticed by gods and Buddhas from beginning to end?
"What is the original text of Journey to the West?"
Sun Yuan recalled the original text of Journey to the West.
When the stone monkey was born, and two golden lights shot from his eyes straight to the Heavenly Court.
The Thousand-Mile Eye and the Wind-Following Ear reported to the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor, with benevolent grace, said: "The being below is born from the essence of heaven and earth, and is not to be considered extraordinary."
Not to be considered extraordinary...
If we do not follow the Journey to the West conspiracy theory, and do not follow the Primordial World version of Journey to the West...
Looking only at the original text of Journey to the West.
It seems the Jade Emperor truly did not care much about the stone monkey.
The stone monkey, at most, was born well, born from the essence of heaven and earth, and thus transformed from a stone.
In this vast mythical world, where was the lack of such prodigies? Although his origins were indeed good, he had not reached the point of attracting the attention of the great figures of the Heavenly Court, nor the attention of countless gods and Buddhas.
Therefore, the Jade Emperor's evaluation was: "Not to be considered extraordinary."
The gods and Buddhas might not have taken Sun Yuan seriously.
He was just a stone monkey born from a stone.
Moreover, Sun Yuan recalled the original text of Journey to the West, and there seemed to be no explicit statement that he was transformed from the Nüwa's Stone.
The origin represented by this stone was merely the condensed spiritual energy of Flower Fruit Mountain, and the spiritual energy condensed since the creation of heaven and earth.
Was there any sentence that involved Nüwa?
No.
The so-called Nüwa's Stone seemed to be a later interpretation.
Just like the emergence of the Journey to the West conspiracy theory.
And like the Primordial World plot.
They should not be taken seriously.
This was a terrifying fact.
Sun Yuan, from the modern era, knew this.
The value of a person's life lies in whether they are valued by others.
Looking at the Primordial World plot, regardless of whether Sun Wukong became a lackey of Buddhism, at least Buddhism valued him.
If he had no value, who would bother to scheme against him?
Being schemed against was, conversely, proof of one's own value.
The most frightening thing was not being schemed against, but not even having the qualification to be schemed against!
The most frightening thing was being ignored.
When he realized that perhaps countless gods and Buddhas, the Heavenly Court, and Buddhism had not noticed him, nor were they scheming against him,
Sun Yuan truly panicked.
He looked at this magnificent mythical world and, for the first time, realized that he was not the protagonist.
Immortals, Buddhas, gods, and sages, who were high above, would pay attention to one person?
Although Sun Yuan was a stone monkey born from heaven, he was not necessarily Nüwa's Stone, nor was he related to Nüwa. Such an origin, condensed from the spiritual energy of Flower Fruit Mountain since ancient times, could naturally be considered good, otherwise it would not have alarmed the Thousand-Mile Eye and the Wind-Following Ear.
But it was also impossible to receive the boundless attention and scheming of countless gods and Buddhas, the foundation for the great prosperity of Buddhism.
In the end, it could only be said that he had the potential to become an immortal, not comparable to ordinary monkeys or common demons, but it was not extraordinary.
"No immortals or Buddhas to help..."
Upon realizing this fact, Sun Yuan finally let go of his pride in knowing that he had transmigrated into Sun Wukong.
The path is walked by oneself.
Since seeking immortality at sea was not a viable path, and there were no gods or Buddhas to help,
Then, he would learn the methods of demon cultivation from the seventy-two cave lords of Flower Fruit Mountain.
Being able to condense a demon core would at least allow him to live for over a thousand years, which was better than dying at the age of three hundred.
Temporarily giving up on directly seeking immortal divine abilities from Patriarch Bodhi,
Sun Yuan's goal changed to cultivating demons first, condensing a demon core, and then seeing if he could enter Xiniu Hezhou to become a disciple of Patriarch Bodhi.
In this way, Sun Yuan patiently sought guidance on demon cultivation from the Tongbi Ape and embarked on the path of demon cultivation.
Body Forging Realm, tempering one's own strength.
Law Manifestation Realm, strength from outside to inside, generating magical power.
Form Transformation Realm, not true form transformation, but the ability to temporarily manifest a human form with magical power, and to speak human language.
Demon Core Realm, condensing a demon core within the body with immense magical power, extending lifespan for a thousand years.
After all, Sun Yuan was a stone monkey born from heaven. Although he did not receive the attention of countless immortals and Buddhas as in the Primordial World version of Journey to the West, he could still make progress in his cultivation.
Ten years to reach perfection in Body Forging, twenty years in Law Manifestation, thirty years in Form Transformation, and fifty years to condense the core.