After finishing their meal, Jade Cauldron and Skylar Loft sat together in the cave, chatting leisurely. Anna Yang tidied up the table and then prepared the beds where the two would sleep tonight.
Afterward, Anna Yang busied herself with Jade Cauldron’s collection of bottles and jars, holding a bamboo slip inscribed with mysterious notes, gesturing as she tried to decipher them. Every so often, she would call Jade Cauldron over to ask a question.
Bored out of his mind, Simon Stone slipped out of the cave and began to practice his staff techniques.
The scroll he’d acquired from the Scripture Pavilion—titled Ninefold Heaven Shifting Staff Technique—sounded impressive, but in truth, it was just an ordinary staff form, with only a handful of basic moves.
At first, Simon Stone wanted to toss it aside after a quick glance. But at the end of the scroll, Master Sage Subhuti had left a red-ink annotation, stating that true mastery of staff techniques lies not in flashy moves, but in solid fundamentals. If one honed these basics to perfection, even a few simple forms would be enough to conquer the world.
Reading this annotation, Simon Stone suddenly felt as if it had been written just for him. Because of those words, he didn’t discard the unremarkable staff technique, but instead practiced it seriously several times with his wooden staff.
As a result, those few moves were now second nature to him, and he performed them with effortless familiarity.
Following Skylar Loft’s instructions, Simon Stone channeled his spiritual power into the Cloudwalker Staff, raising its weight to about three hundred catties—but he couldn’t push it any higher. He couldn’t help but marvel at Skylar Loft’s precise estimation.
But three hundred catties was the limit. Staff technique depended on speed, and trying to channel spiritual power while swinging the Cloudwalker Staff at that weight quickly drained all his strength.
Helpless, after a short rest Simon Stone reduced the staff’s weight to two hundred catties. Instantly, the movements felt much smoother and easier.
Three hundred catties might be the upper limit, but with Simon Stone’s current abilities, he couldn’t maintain that weight as his regular state.
By midnight, a torrential rain poured down outside the cave, shrouding the world in a misty gray. Even the trees just ten meters away were reduced to swaying shadows, their branches and leaves lost in the storm.
Simon Stone curled up at the cave entrance, clutching his Cloudwalker Staff as he gazed into the storm. Forks of lightning crisscrossed the sky, illuminating the mountains and forests before him.
The damp chill of rain, swept along by the wind, brushed past him, and Simon Stone suddenly felt a deep, penetrating coolness.
It reminded him of the Cascade Cave at Blossom Mountain.
Perhaps it was his inexplicable fear of the world back then; after finally crossing the waterfall, he hadn’t even stepped inside to see if there really was a stone tablet inscribed with "Cascade Cave" as the legends said, let alone the naturally formed throne.
If he truly mastered the Seventy-Two Transformations and brought Birdie back to life, would he also return to Blossom Mountain and live in that cave dwelling?
The thought flashed through his mind, lingering only for a moment.
To Simon Stone, mastering the Seventy-Two Transformations meant having everything. If he truly succeeded, not only could he revive Birdie, but he could also attain all that he desired.
He would never again have to live under someone else’s roof.
Truth be told, Master Sage Subhuti had never wronged Simon Stone in the slightest—in fact, he owed the sage a great debt, and that was beyond question. Yet Simon Stone simply couldn’t stand living each day under someone else’s calculations.
If he could, he would have left Crescent Star Cave long ago.
"But it won’t be long now. Soon, I’ll master the Seventy-Two Transformations. When that day comes, I’ll be free to roam the heavens and the earth, doing whatever I please, living the life I want."
Thinking of this, Simon Stone couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
Staring out at the misty world before him, he suddenly burst into laughter, stripped off his shirt, gripped his Cloudwalker Staff, and stepped out into the rain—dancing wildly, lost in the moment.
He thrust upward, swept sideways, struck straight ahead—the long staff whistled through the wind, scattering the racing raindrops in a rush of exhilaration.
He leaped high, landing with a heavy splash, sending water flying and coating himself in mud.
Soaked to the skin, he laughed with a rare, unrestrained joy.
A bolt of lightning split the sky, its glow slanting through the cave entrance to illuminate the pitch-black tunnel.
Anna Yang stood quietly at the far end of the tunnel, watching the madcap monkey from a distance. She smiled softly, let out a long breath, and walked lightly to the cave entrance, set down a plate of fruit, then turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Exhausted from dancing and laughing, Simon Stone closed his eyes and lay back in a puddle, letting the torrential rain wash over his face. He opened his mouth wide, breathing deeply and freely.
After a long while, he wiped his face, propped himself up with the staff, and stood. The rain rinsed the mud from his fur as he strolled cheerfully to the cave entrance—only then noticing the plate set on the ground.
"Anna Yang? Or Jade Cauldron?" he wondered aloud, then grinned. "Doesn’t matter. I didn’t eat my fill tonight anyway. All those meat dishes—was Anna Yang doing it on purpose, I wonder?"
Sitting cross-legged at the cave entrance, heedless of the water dripping from his body, he grabbed a pear and gazed up at the lightning-streaked sky, munching contentedly.
That night, he watched the rain for hours, and finally drifted off to sleep on the wet stone at the entrance, a smile lingering on his face even in his dreams.
...
In the Thirty-Third Heaven, Lord Lao strode through the clouds, Divine Wand in hand. Soon, the mist parted to reveal a magnificent, golden palace before him.
The building rose five stories high, each level towering nearly nine zhang, its broad base so expansive that it hardly resembled a tower at all.
Landing steadily on the White Jade Tiles, Lord Lao hurried down a path lined with exotic trees toward the grand entrance. A young boy in blue robes came forward to greet him.
"Welcome back, Master."
"During my absence, has there been any change in the Heavenly Dao Stone?" Lord Lao casually handed the Divine Wand to the attendant.
Taking the Divine Wand, the boy bowed and replied, "Master, the fissures in the Heavenly Dao Stone seem to have healed quite a bit."
"Oh?" Lord Lao’s lips curled into a faint smile. He strode over the high threshold and ascended the white jade steps into the hall.
The boy hurried after him. "Also, Master, Grandmaster White has arrived. He wishes to see you and has been waiting for quite some time."
"Tell him to return for now. Say that I am occupied with important matters and cannot spare the attention. If there is anything urgent, he can send a message."
"That is what I told him, Master, but he refuses to leave. He says it is urgent and must be discussed with you in person."
"Hmph. What urgent matter could he possibly have? If he won’t leave, let him wait."
"Yes, Master." The boy bowed slightly.
Before long, the two arrived at the grand hall.
The grand hall stretched ninety-nine by eighty-one zhang in length and width, and soared forty-nine zhang high. All four walls were built of white jade, carved with dragons and phoenixes so lifelike they seemed ready to leap into the air. At the center stood an immortal pool, its high railings encircling bubbling spring water and swirling mist. Floating above it was a massive black stone—the Heavenly Dao Stone—pitch-black and roughly twenty zhang tall, ten zhang wide, irregularly oval, its surface covered in countless tiny characters twinkling like stars in the night sky.
With a flick of his sleeve and a light touch of his toe to the ground, Lord Lao rose gracefully into the air. He flew to the top of the black stone, examining its surface closely.
"Indeed, many of the fissures have healed. Ha ha ha, this journey has yielded great rewards!" Smiling, he circled the black stone, lightly touching the gradually mending cracks with his hand.
After a moment, his expression shifted, growing serious. He muttered to himself, "Most of these fine cracks have healed, but why has this one not only remained, but grown larger? What could be the reason?"
Tilting his head, he stroked his long beard, pondering deeply. "Could there be a fish that slipped through the net?"
At this thought, a jolt ran through him. He turned and descended quickly to the ground, striding urgently toward the hall's exit.
Faced with Lord Lao’s unusual behavior, the hall’s guardian dared not ask and could only bow respectfully from behind.
In no time at all, Lord Lao arrived at the abandoned town.
He landed softly and tapped the ground with his foot.
But this time, the Land Warden did not appear as he had before.
A trace of doubt crept across Lord Lao’s face. He quickly pinched his fingers to calculate.
"This is bad!" Without another thought, he spun and flew off toward the distance, soon landing on a lonely hillside.
On the hillside stood a small tree, beneath which lay a solitary grave. The wooden marker was crookedly inscribed: 'Grave of the Lady, Wife of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong.'
"This is..." He scooped up a handful of soil from the grave and kneaded it thoughtfully. "Someone has been here in the past few days. The grave’s owner must have died before her time because of the stone monkey, but why is there no wandering spirit? Could it be that her soul was led away by someone else? And now, with the Land Warden missing, I fear he’s met with foul play!"
After a long moment, he straightened slightly and sighed deeply. "A single misstep... I should have asked more questions back then. Clearly, someone took advantage of my oversight!"