There is no sixty-year cycle in the mountains, and one does not know the year of the cold.
One day, the Patriarch was walking in the forest. Counting with his fingers, he realized that the Stone Monkey had already been here for seven years.
"Wukong."
The Patriarch called out, but the Stone Monkey was nowhere to be seen.
"Master."
The two children bowed to him. "Have you forgotten again? Last time, he secretly drank your medicinal wine and was punished by you to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors."
The patriarch recalled and couldn't help but sigh. That monkey had been accompanying him all these years. He was smart and obedient, and he was close to him every day. It was to the extent that he wasn't used to the days without him.
"The seven days of seclusion are up."
Patriarch instructed the children, "Children, help me call him over."
"Yes."
The two immortal children acknowledged and turned to walk towards the corridor.
"Master, why is your punishment so light?"
A celestial child asked. The patriarch had always been strict. If a disciple made a mistake, he would never let them off just because he locked himself up for seven days.
"I don't understand either."
Another celestial child replied, "Speaking of that Goku, he has been here for seven years, so he really isn't a big deal."
When the Stone Monkey first joined the sect, he had given all the disciples a fright when he announced his ambition.
In the first two years, the disciples often mocked the Stone Monkey, but the Stone Monkey didn't get angry. Instead, he performed well. At that time, there were even some disciples who felt that the Stone Monkey was unfathomable.
However, after seven years, the Stone Monkey had not made any progress in his cultivation. Compared to the other disciples, he was the weakest. Everyone gradually looked down on him.
Moreover, the Stone Monkey had recently revealed his monkey nature and was no longer as mysterious as he was in the beginning.
"As expected, it's because he can tell stories, right?"
"It must be."
As the two immortal children conversed, they soon arrived at the Stone Monkey's dormitory.
Before he entered the room, cheers could be heard coming from the dormitory.
The immortal children looked at each other.
"He's telling stories again."
"Let's go in and listen!"
The two children quickened their footsteps as they entered the dormitory.
In the dormitory, a group of senior brothers surrounded the Stone Monkey, clapping and cheering for the Stone Monkey's storytelling.
"Rumor has it that Fairy Rosy Cloud attacked Huang Tianhua with the eye-piercing bead. This bead specializes in injuring people's eyes. Huang Tianhua was caught off guard and his two eyes were injured …"
The Stone Monkey who was currently telling a story was very captivating.
This story was called the Investiture of the Gods. It was enormous in length and had a peculiar imagination, and the plot was gripping. All the immortals, devils, ghosts, and monsters that were involved were lifelike in form and spirit.
Even the two immortal children couldn't help but listen when they entered the dormitory.
If there was anything special about the stone monkey, it would be its mouth. For some reason, it could always come up with some strange and dazzling, absurd and humorous stories.
Whenever the Stone Monkey was free, he would talk about ghosts and gods with his senior brothers. The stories he told were all fictional, but the warmth and coldness of the human world, karma and retribution, and fate were well told, and the more they listened, the more real they became.
The disciples had been listening to his stories for a long time, and some even began to suspect that the stories they knew were fake.
For example, Taishang Laojun. In the Investiture of the Gods, his status was extremely high, but it was very different from what they knew.
Moreover, immortals had to go through tribulations to enjoy their positions, but in the Stone Monkey's stories, they were described as human beings. The more they thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
The disciples instinctively realized that these stories would shake their Dao hearts, but they really couldn't stop.
They were all cultivators with a pure mind and had no interest in the affairs of the mortal world, but they couldn't resist the strange stories of immortals.
After half an hour, the Stone Monkey's mouth was dry and he decided to stop.
"That's it for today."
The Stone Monkey drank a mouthful of honey and said, "If I want to listen to the next story, I will have to ask my senior brothers to find me some hundred-year snow lotuses."
"No problem."
"We will definitely find some for junior brother!"
The disciples hurriedly promised.
They didn't have enough of the Investiture of the Gods. The hundred-year snow lotuses weren't ordinary items, but the disciples were able to find them. Naturally, they wouldn't refuse.
"Wukong."
The two immortal children walked toward the Stone Monkey. "Master wants to see you."
"Wait for me to change my clothes."
The Stone Monkey was overjoyed. He had been staying in the house for the past few days, and he was bored to death.
The Stone Monkey changed his clothes and followed the two immortal children out.
However, when he went out, the Stone Monkey was shocked. He saw the patriarch standing at the door with a sullen expression. The dozen or so senior brothers who were listening to the story earlier were lined up in front of him, not daring to move at all. They looked like they were obediently waiting to be scolded.
"Master."
The Stone Monkey reacted and hurriedly bowed.
"Stand at the back!"
The patriarch shouted.
The Stone Monkey immediately stood at the back of his senior brothers.
The patriarch coldly swept his gaze over the disciples. When his gaze passed by the Stone Monkey, the Stone Monkey's round eyes kept on moving. Compared to the other disciples who were trembling in fear, he was truly different.
The reason why the patriarch was here was because the immortal children hadn't returned yet.
Seeing that the immortal children hadn't returned for a long time, the patriarch came to take a look and discovered that the Stone Monkey was telling a story.
The moment the patriarch heard it from the door, he knew that the story was both true and false. For those whose Dao heart wasn't firm, it would be a fatal poison.
"Do all of you admit your mistakes?"
The patriarch asked the disciples.
The disciples all lowered their heads and admitted their mistakes, not daring to argue.
Only the Stone Monkey didn't seem to know the immensity of heaven and earth.
"Master, I'm just telling a story."
The Stone Monkey asked, "What did I do wrong?"
"You macaque!"
The patriarch was exasperated. With a thud, he pointed the ruler at the Stone Monkey and said, "I told you to reflect on your mistakes behind closed doors, but you are messing around in my courtyard!"
The patriarch took the ruler and hit the Stone Monkey's head three times. He then glanced at the Stone Monkey, only to see the latter rubbing his head with an expression as if he had understood something.
This monkey was becoming more and more clever!
The patriarch coldly snorted and then left the courtyard with his hands behind his back. He closed the door and left the disciples behind.
His actions scared the disciples who were listening to the story, and they started to complain about the Stone Monkey.
"Junior brother, you are dead for sure this time!"
"You clearly know that Master is angry, but you still talk back to him!
I wonder how he will punish you for offending him this time! "
The disciples were complaining about the Stone Monkey while gloating, feeling that the macaque was dead for sure.
The Stone Monkey was extremely happy in his heart.
The patriarch hit him three times and then entered the door with his hands behind his back. He was going to teach him true abilities!
That night, the Stone Monkey waited for his senior brothers to fall asleep. After calculating the time, he put on his clothes and found the back door of the Patriarch Subhuti's residence.
The back door was exactly the same as in the book. It was half open.
The Stone Monkey was overjoyed. He then entered the door and walked to the side of the patriarch's bed.
The patriarch was lying on his side, sleeping with his face facing inwards.
The Stone Monkey didn't dare to disturb him. He knelt beside the bed and waited.
After a while, the patriarch suddenly recited a poem.
"Difficult, difficult, difficult!
The Dao is the most mysterious, don't treat the Golden Core as ordinary.
If you don't meet an expert to impart the wondrous formula, words will be useless! "