"Monkey? You call the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, 'Monkey'?"
Xiao Jin leaned back in his chair, rolling his eyes. "He's one of the original Seven Saints, achieved sainthood before the appearance of the Immortal Venerables, and even participated in two Immortal-Demon Wars. How can you possibly look down on him?"
"Xiao Jin, you must know more about the Great Sage Equal to Heaven than the Spirit Net. Tell me everything you know. Knowing both myself and the enemy will give me more confidence."
"Alright."
Xiao Jin nodded and silently extinguished his cigarette. He began to speak of the past.
"This goes back tens of millions of years. At that time, the sky had a huge rupture. A person named Nuwa found seven-colored stones and repaired the hole in the heavens.
During the process of mending the sky, a piece of seven-colored stone fell onto Penglai Immortal Island in the East Sea of the Eastern Lands. After the passage of time, and nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it finally gained life..."
Wan Lei's eyes, filled with doubt, flickered between Xiao Jin and the spirit jade in his hand.
"What you're saying is too outlandish. How is it different from what the Spirit Net says?"
"The Spirit Net only starts talking about the Monkey King from when he began his apprenticeship. I'm talking about what happened before that.
Of course, Nuwa mending the sky is utter nonsense. The cosmic barrier cracking wouldn't be fixed by mere stones.
However, the Monkey King did indeed emerge from a stone. As for why that stone could give birth to a monkey, you might have to ask what the Monkey King's father did to that stone..."
"That's not important. I need the information!"
Wan Lei didn't want to listen to Xiao Jin's rambling myths and legends anymore. He was about to face the most brutal of saints!
"Oh, after the Monkey King was born, he lived a simple, unremarkable life on Flower Fruit Mountain. But he was incredibly strong, and gradually became the king of all the monkeys.
One day, a saint named Patriarch Bodhi, on his immortal travels, discovered the Monkey King's extraordinary nature. He took him back to the Three Stars Cave of the Oblique Moon, accepted him as his chief disciple, and personally taught him the Dao.
The Three Stars Cave of the Oblique Moon is not located within the Immortal Realm, but outside of it. Yet, it does not detach from the Origin Plane. It is a realm created by Patriarch Bodhi himself.
Patriarch Bodhi was most skilled in the Dao of Time and Space. His Three Stars Cave of the Oblique Moon is one of the safest places in the world. He could even continuously teleport people to various planes to complete missions."
Wan Lei knew this. The current five殿主 (Palace Lords) of the Five Elements Hall were all disciples of Patriarch Bodhi and had participated in plane trials.
"Patriarch Bodhi meticulously taught the Monkey King and even requested the Heavenly Venerable to forge his life artifact, the Golden Cudgel.
The Monkey King lived up to expectations, displaying exceptional talent and growing rapidly, eventually achieving sainthood and becoming the first saint of the demon race.
Later, a drop of Origin Water fell into the Three Stars Cave of the Oblique Moon, and Patriarch Bodhi enlightened it. The Monkey King, upon seeing it, declared he wanted to swallow the water to enhance his cultivation.
Patriarch Bodhi rebuked him, saying it was the first drop of water in the Origin Plane and could not be given to him.
Later, as that drop of water nurtured, it gradually gained sentience and transformed into an infant. From then on, the Monkey King doted on the infant and cherished him dearly.
When that infant grew up, he became Patriarch Bodhi's fifth disciple, and also the Monkey King's fifth junior brother. He was determined to pursue the path to sainthood, but alas, he could not achieve it. Ultimately, with Patriarch Bodhi's help, his memories were wiped, and he underwent continuous reincarnation, eventually becoming the current Water Immortal Venerable..."
Wan Lei's expression turned peculiar. The more he listened, the more something felt wrong. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but slap Xiao Jin.
"I'm talking about the Monkey King, not the Immortal Venerable!"
"Oh, oh. Shortly after the Monkey King became a saint, he faced the second Immortal-Demon War. That battle was extremely brutal. The Monkey King fought desperately for the Immortal Realm, sustaining severe injuries. At the most critical moment, a swordsman named Yao,
achieved sainthood, hailed as the Starry Sky Sword Saint!
He, by himself, annihilated five prime gods..."
"I'm talking about the Monkey King, not the Sword Saint!"
"Oh, oh. Later, after the war ended, he returned to Flower Fruit Mountain. After another ten million years, the third Immortal-Demon War broke out. You've heard of this.
During the Great Decisive Battle of Immortals and Demons, in the southern defense battle, the Monkey King bravely died defending the Immortal Realm continent, transforming into a statue, standing tall and unyielding even in death!
In that battle, the Starry Sky Sword Saint also died. Later, the five Great Immortal Venerables..."
"Alright, stop. I know the rest. They were all resurrected by the Immortal Venerables. That's the end of history. Let's talk about the Monkey King's strength."
"Strength, huh? During the second Immortal-Demon War, the Monkey King was a One Yang Saint. Ten million years passed, and in the third war, the Monkey King was still a One Yang Saint.
Only fifty thousand years have passed now, and there's no news of him breaking through.
Currently, the Starry Sky Sword Saint and the Heavenly Emperor Di Jun, who achieved sainthood later than him, are both Two Yang Saints. Even the Sword Hall Sword Saint, the Thunder Hall Thunder Saint, and the Ghost Realm Ghost Emperor, who achieved sainthood fifty thousand years ago, are Three Yang Saints. Dong Huang Tai Yi is also a Two Yang Saint, but he alone has been slow to break through.
On the surface, people don't say anything, but there's a lot of gossip online, all implicitly mocking this proud and exceptionally talented Monkey King, suggesting he has already grown old and can no longer break through."
Xiao Jin took a puff of his cigarette and sighed.
"The Monkey King was somewhat of a protagonist in that era, but unfortunately, he didn't encounter any earth-shattering battles during his rise. He was born in the wrong era.
Furthermore, the later prodigies are more monstrous than the last, giving the feeling that they are pushing the Monkey King, the former wave, onto the beach."
"So, you're saying this Monkey King was once very powerful, but now he's just one of the crowd, not particularly outstanding among the saints, right?"
"You could say that. But the Monkey King is still brave and righteous. Therefore, I believe such a hero, who once sacrificed his life fighting to defend the Immortal Realm, is unlikely to engage in those so-called human experiments.
You don't need to fear offending him. As long as you haven't done anything wrong, have a clear conscience, and mention the name of the Five Elements Hall, he shouldn't do anything to you."
Xiao Jin patted Wan Lei on the shoulder.
"Should..."
Wan Lei forced a smile. He wasn't accustomed to entrusting his life to someone else's personality and character.
But now, there was no better option.
Wan Lei no longer hesitated. He extended his finger and pressed the accept button.
After accepting, a prompt appeared.
【Please wait in your cave dwelling. Within one day, a specialist will deliver the necessary supplies for executing the mission.】
"There are exclusive supplies for doing missions? That's good?"
Wan Lei was somewhat surprised.
"It's an inferno-level mission, how can you not prepare thoroughly? Under normal circumstances, these special missions require the provision of specialized items to better cope. Just wait, they say one day, but usually, they'll deliver it in less than half an hour."