At dawn the next day, before the sun had even risen, the Monkey King was already up, grooming himself as usual and beginning his cultivation.
Day after day, he cultivated in silence, always calculating how much longer it would take—how many more days until he could truly become Simon Stone, the Monkey King, master of divine powers and boundless wisdom.
Yet the more he persisted, the greater his anxiety grew. With each surge of pain, this path seemed endless, stretching out before him with no foreseeable end.
Faced with this inexplicable dread, he had no solution. All he could do was endure, day after day, steadfast and unyielding, no matter how bitter or difficult the journey became.
Just as he had once declared before Birdie's grave.
After taking the second Divine Elixir, he sat outside upon a moss-covered rock, half-shrouded by the ancient wall, and began his meditation, drawing in spiritual energy.
With the aid of the Divine Elixir, his mind remained clear, and his cultivation sped up considerably. Yet the harm from such extreme training could not be offset by a mere numbing tonic.
Threads of spiritual energy quickly gathered within him, transforming into spiritual power. Yet as this power surged outward, colliding with his flesh, every inch of skin was pierced with pain. It seemed the Divine Elixir could not entirely shield him from suffering.
A wave of heat rushed to his head, grinding away at a consciousness that was already far from lucid.
When the Monkey King had finished a full cycle of cultivation and his spirit once again hovered on the verge of collapse, Belle appeared before him, cradling a plate of freshly cut fruit and smiling softly.
He opened his eyes, forced his breathing to steady, clenched his teeth and pretended nothing was amiss. The Monkey King walked to the well, dumped another bucket of water over his head, and thus ended this round of cultivation.
After catching his breath, the Monkey King sat down beside Belle and started gnawing on some fruit. His hand, holding the fruit, trembled ever so slightly!
He stuffed a handful of sliced fruit into his mouth and chewed, sneaking a glance at Belle—she didn’t seem to notice his trembling at all.
Ever since they’d moved to Lingyan, with the kitchen just nearby, Belle had made it a habit to personally prepare meals for the Monkey King every day.
"How are you feeling?" Belle asked with concern.
"Pretty much there. I think in another two or three days... in another two or three days, I should be able to complete the transition from Spirit-Focusing stage to Spirit-Absorption stage. Faster than I expected, honestly."
Belle’s brows knitted slightly.
It was clearly something to celebrate, so why did she only see worry in the Monkey King’s eyes?
But that worry flickered and faded quickly. At least now, the Monkey King didn’t look nearly as tormented as he had before taking the Spirit-Absorption Pill.
"Two or three days? Hmph, I bet you’ll never reach the Spirit-Absorption stage in your lifetime."