"Is that a letter from the little girl?" Anna Yang appeared behind him without warning and asked, "What kind of script is this? It looks a bit like the characters you carved on that tombstone."
Monkey King was startled and quickly dodged to the side.
"Last time, did you peek at me?"
Anna Yang smiled with interest at the flustered Monkey King. "Don’t worry, I couldn’t understand it."
It was truly rare to see Monkey King so flustered.
"What do you want with me?" Monkey King instinctively stuffed the letter into his pocket.
"Nothing much. I came over to say goodbye to Elder Stillwater and Miles Moon, but it turns out they've already left." Anna Yang rose on tiptoe to look west, then glanced at Monkey King's pocket with the letter, asking, "What did she write that makes you so nervous? I’ve never seen those characters before—they’re so simple and practical. You must have taught them to the little girl, right? Where did you learn them? Maybe you could teach me sometime?"
Monkey King's already flushed face grew even redder. "It wouldn’t be useful for you to learn. Have you picked a cultivation method yet?"
"I’m just curious. Elder Stillwater said you’re a soul outside the Heavenly Dao, that you don’t belong to this world. Those characters—did you bring them with you? Do you still remember your previous world? What kind of place was it?"
"That world..." Monkey King's expression tightened, and he replied coldly, "Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand."
With that, Monkey King turned and walked away.
Anna Yang hurried after him, refusing to let him go.
You never told me, so how can you know it's impossible to explain?
It's a completely different world, so it's impossible to explain.
How is it different?
Rain doesn’t depend on the Dragon King, there’s no Book of Life and Death, no souls, no reincarnation, and no past or present lives. There are no gods in the sky, no Buddhas in the West, and no one practices cultivation—at least, that’s what I know.
Anna Yang stopped, frowning slightly in thought. "What kind of world is that?"
She hurried after him again. "Then how did you get here? Can you go back?"
Monkey King shot her a look and replied, "I'd like to know that too. Did you find the cultivation method I asked for?"
I've chosen the cultivation method. This one is the most suitable.
We're still missing one.
Missing one?
We still need a Sage’s Path cultivation method; this one is just for the Traveler’s Path.
You want to cultivate Sage’s Path demons?
Yes. We can’t rely only on the Traveler’s Path, or we’ll always be at a disadvantage.
But do you know how long it takes to cultivate a Sage’s Path demon?
I know.
You know, and you still plan to do it?
Precisely because it takes so long, we need to start early. It’s the same logic as opening a school.
The two walked farther and farther away. In the distant mountains behind them, a stranger—a young Daoist—peeked his head out from the grass.
... ...
Western Ox Continent, Cloudwatch Harbor.
Under the blazing sun, a vast floating landmass hovered above the ocean of clouds. Warships came and went all around, and countless Heavenly Court craftsmen were busy on the land.
A massive blue gem, at least twenty zhang tall, was being moved out of a huge warship’s hold by dozens of cultivators working together, slowly lowering it into a cavern at the center of the land.
Marshal Silver stood on the deck of a warship floating high in the sky, gazing into the distance.
"The gold essence is in place, the treasury’s materials have arrived, and we’re working day and night. It should be finished in ten months," said General Ward, flipping through his notebook behind Marshal Silver.
Turning slowly, Marshal Silver walked step by step toward the tower’s main gate. "What if we only put part of it into use? How long would that take?"
"Marshal, if we only partially deploy it..." General Ward looked down and flipped through his notebook. "It would still take at least six months."
Six months?
Two Heavenly soldiers standing guard at the hatch saluted the two simply, then pushed open the big doors.
Lifting his leg to step over the threshold, Marshal Silver asked casually, "Any movement from the various factions in Western Ox Continent lately?"
No sign of activity from Crescent Star Cave, Five Village Temple, or the Buddhist sects, but the monsters nearby have been noticeably more active these past few days.
Looks like they can’t sit still." Marshal Silver smiled faintly, walked up the steps, turned and sat down at the head seat in the main hall, took the tea handed to him by the Heavenly soldiers, sipped it, and asked, "Any news from the spies we sent into the enemy ranks?"
"Yes." General Ward lowered his head, flipping through his notebook. "It's confirmed that the Drake King is in the Bull King's cave. The demon kings move around every few days, and lately their movements have been even more frequent. Also, the Roc King wants to contact our army, but the Bull King strongly opposes it. The two had some disagreement over this, but the Roc King is still reaching out to us through various channels, seems like he wants to stay out of it."
Contact our army? What about the other demon kings?
The Lion King is undecided, the Drake King is strongly opposed, and the rest are unclear for now." General Ward quietly closed his notebook.
Marshal Silver took a deep breath. "Well, at least that means they're not united. What about Nine-Headed Wyrm?"
Nine-Headed Wyrm is staying at the Dragon King of Ripple Lake’s palace and hasn’t contacted the other demon kings. He seems quite interested in Princess Ripple, though. However, the Dragon King of Ripple Lake does have some connection with the Bull King.
Marshal Silver leaned back in his chair, stroked his chin, and said, "Dragon King of Ripple Lake? I remember he’s a drake spirit."
Marshal, that’s right. In fact, the Dragon King of Ripple Lake and the Drake King are distant relatives.
He hasn’t officially received his immortality register yet, right?
That’s correct, Marshal. But the Dragon King of Ripple Lake is on good terms with Ao Run, the Dragon King of the West Sea. The West Sea Dragon King already submitted a memorial recommending him to guard Ripple Lake. The Jade Emperor hasn’t approved it yet, but hasn’t rejected it either, so his status is unclear.
Marshal Silver’s lips curled up slightly. "If the Jade Emperor approves the West Sea Dragon King’s request, then the Dragon King of Ripple Lake will officially become the lord of Ripple Lake. In that case, Nine-Headed Wyrm marrying into the Dragon King’s family would also gain immortality status... The Heavenly Court never interferes in Dragon King family marriages, so Nine-Headed Wyrm doesn’t seem intent on opposing Heaven."
Nine-Headed Wyrm is powerful, though he has a checkered past, but at this juncture, if he gains immortality status and doesn’t side with the demon kings, it’d be good for our army. Once Western Ox Continent is pacified, if you want to deal with him, just check Heaven’s records—plenty of reasons will come up.
So, should I help the Dragon King of Ripple Lake during the assembly at the Hall of Supreme Harmony?" Marshal Silver tilted his head, thought briefly, and smiled. "Support his immortality status first, then go after his son-in-law... On second thought, my Heavenly River Navy doesn’t need to get involved in that kind of gossip."
Shaking his head, Marshal Silver lowered his eyes and sipped his tea.
Also, Marshal, we’ve traced the source of the monsters’ weapons and pills.
Speak.
According to current intelligence, they’re being supplied by Zhenyuan.