Chapter 3: Unveiling the Divine Realm

Chu Xiaoyu asked, “Have you ever learned any skills?”
The monkey shook his head. “Reporting to Immortal Master, this disciple has yet to learn any skills. Ever since I leapt out of that stone, my days have been muddled and confused. I’ve been starving, gnawing on raw meat and drinking blood—those days were truly miserable.”
As he spoke, the monkey, who was a born actor, pretended to wipe away a couple of tears.
Chu Xiaoyu saw right through the monkey’s little act, yet could do nothing but continue to ask, “Then, do you know of Flower-Fruit Mountain? Or the Water Curtain Cave?”
The monkey shook his head again. “Never heard of them.”
Chu Xiaoyu was baffled.
It seemed this monkey had only just emerged from the stone, like a newborn baby, ignorant of everything in the world.
In the world of Journey to the West, the sage on Spirit Platform Mountain, Grandmaster Bodhi, was Sun Wukong’s first teacher, the one who gave him his name and taught him the Cloud Somersault and Seventy-Two Transformations.
Yet the reality now appeared quite different. Instead, Chu Xiaoyu had become the monkey’s first teacher.
Well, what was this? Taking over another’s nest like a cuckoo?
This storyline was absolutely twisted!
Downright poisonous!
Deadly!
“Immortal Master, Immortal Master, I wish to learn powerful immortal arts from you—like immortality, sword flight, turning stone to gold. Can you teach me all these?”
The monkey’s words snapped Chu Xiaoyu back to reality. “Immortality, sword flight, turning stone to gold? Cough, cough…”
Honestly, I’d love to know as well.
Is the truth about this ‘Immortal Master’ about to be revealed? Won’t even a scrap of dignity remain?
Chu Xiaoyu choked on his own saliva, his face flushing red.
“Immortal Master, are you alright?” the monkey asked, feigning concern.
Chu Xiaoyu waved a hand, mortified. “I’m fine.”
“If you’re fine, then please begin teaching me those immortal arts,” the monkey said eagerly.
Doomed!
Curse this monkey!
If I truly knew those so-called skills, I’d have soared to the heavens, become an immortal, called the Buddha ‘brother’ and strolled the world hand-in-hand with Guanyin herself.
Would I still be here, living a lazy life on this tiny farm?
What a joke! Dream on!
Chu Xiaoyu’s inner monologue was truly a masterpiece.
Seeing Chu Xiaoyu’s indifference, the monkey looked lost. “Um… Immortal Master, is there something you can’t say? Or am I too dull, and you’re disappointed in me? Is that why you won’t teach me?”
The monkey’s face fell, brimming with grievance.
“Ahem… It’s not what you imagine. I was just contemplating how best to instruct you.”
“Wukong, you see, your spiritual awareness has only just awakened. My own arts are rather powerful, and since your foundation is still shallow, it’s not suitable for you to learn them now.”
“How about this: I’ll recommend someone to you. He resides in the Cave of Three Stars beside the Slanting Moon on Spirit Platform Mountain. His name is Grandmaster Bodhi.”
“His teachings are quite decent. You need only learn his Cloud Somersault and Seventy-Two Transformations. When you’ve mastered all that, then I’ll begin to teach you the secret arts of our own immortal sect.”
Bluff! Supreme-level bluff!
As Chu Xiaoyu spoke these words, not a blush or tremor betrayed him.
The monkey looked completely puzzled. “The Cave of Three Stars on Spirit Platform Mountain? Grandmaster Bodhi? Immortal Master, am I to seek another teacher?”
But why?
This Immortal Master seems so formidable—why won’t he teach me himself?
Could he be a charlatan? All appearance, no substance?
But seeing the Immortal Master’s manor shrouded in thick auspicious purple clouds, it was clear his arts were profound and mysterious.
A hermit living in such an environment is always a true master.
The monkey was convinced: the master he’d chosen was a true sage.
Yet he remained tangled in his worries.
System Notification: Divine Domain Space has been activated.
When Chu Xiaoyu received this message in his mind, he was stunned.
The surrounding aura shifted abruptly, becoming eerie and strange.
The monkey sensed it first, his face draining of color as he trembled in fear.
The atmosphere in the space turned suddenly oppressive, wild and fierce.
The monkey had no idea what was happening, only that he was so terrified he fell to his knees, shaking uncontrollably, feeling as if his body might be torn apart at any moment.
He prostrated himself, crying out, “Ah… Immortal Master, spare me! I’ll never again dare disrespect you, I deserve to die, I’ll never do it again, please spare me!”
As the Divine Domain abruptly awakened, a spectral force surged forth, shrouding Chu Xiaoyu in mystery and might, awe-inspiring and domineering.
It was the energy of heaven and earth, intense and overwhelming.
When that aura unfurled, it felt as if everything in creation would be burned to ashes, reduced to ruin.
What was this terrifying power? How could it be so fierce?
With a casual gesture, Chu Xiaoyu lifted the kneeling monkey into the air.
The monkey nearly lost control of his bowels and bladder, pleading desperately, “Immortal Master, don’t kill me, I know I was wrong, I’ll never again disrespect you. Spare me, Immortal Master! Please… I truly know my mistake.”
With a flick of his finger, he sent the floating monkey crashing heavily to the ground.
Power!
This was true mastery over power!
Magnificent!
The sudden awakening of the Divine Domain filled Chu Xiaoyu with wild joy.
So many bizarre and thrilling events had happened in a single day, yet he’d moved from shock to calm acceptance.
Like a phoenix reborn from the ashes, Chu Xiaoyu had been utterly transformed in the span of one day.
The sleeping dragon had awakened, and its roar shook the mountains.
He was now the supreme god among mortals!
The monkey, thrown down so hard he nearly shattered, was racked with pain, his whole body feeling as though it might be ripped apart.
That mysterious power had immobilized him, leaving him utterly helpless.
The might of the Immortal Master was formidable—terrifyingly so.
The monkey was now so frightened his soul nearly fled his body, and there was no trace of doubt or disrespect left in him toward Chu Xiaoyu.