Chapter 985: Visiting the Golden Monkey

The banquet ended.

Li Qi bid farewell to his relatives and friends, then spent some more time with Shen Shuibi.

During this time, Shen Shuibi finally felt at ease.

The rabbit's personality had hardly changed, or rather… for beings like them, who are almost immortal, change is a difficult thing to occur.

In this regard, Li Qi was truly considered mutable, but this Aptitude… was likely due to his identity as a demon child.

Ever-changing, with an unpredictable temperament.

But for a homebody like Shen Shuibi, it was completely different; the rabbit's temperament was very stable.

After all, personality, in the end, is shaped by one’s Dao, and the Dao is a collection of one's worldview, philosophy of life, and various concepts, knowledge, and wisdom.

And for high-grade immortals, their Dao is undoubtedly very stable; nothing short of a cataclysmic event would cause it to change.

This is like those elderly people; the older they are, the more experiences they have, and the more stable… or rather, 'stubborn' their views become.

Once they become stubborn, unknowingly, cognitive biases also appear.

With cognitive biases, progress also becomes a difficult thing, just as they find it hard to learn to use the most advanced electronic products, because such things do not exist in their 'Dao'.

Of course, this is not absolute; some people's 'Dao' can accommodate new things and allow for rapid learning and understanding, but this is only because their Dao is more receptive to new things, not that their 'Dao' can be easily changed.

Their Dao makes them good at learning new things… so, in essence, it means they won't quickly become stubborn, old-fashioned, and unwilling to learn.

This is also a form of stubbornness, isn't it?

As their lives extend longer and longer, their concepts naturally become stable, and their personalities, ways of viewing the world, and manners of dealing with others also become fixed.

But Li Qi is different; he truly can change his concepts within a very short period, say a few hundred thousand years, which isn't long for an immortal. This sudden shift in his views is perhaps a manifestation of his rapid progress.

In any case, the rabbit remained unchanged as always; she settled down again, and all her past worries and fears vanished into thin air.

They often whispered to each other, as if making up for many years of past silence.

He even uncharacteristically picked out clothes for Shen Shuibi, something that would have been extremely rare in the past. Previously, Li Qi rarely cared about such trivial matters, as neither he nor Shen Shuibi paid much attention to external things.

What surprised Shen Shuibi even more was that Li Qi actually became picky about it. He summoned the weavers and Refiners, complaining that their fabric wasn't beautiful enough, and uncharacteristically put on airs, revealing arrogance in front of these people, making the Refiners and weavers tremble with fear, afraid that their Materials weren't up to par. This easily forced them to bring out their best Materials and craftsmanship.

He, who had never bought anything from any Refiner before, now inquired about everything, even the tailor's styles.

As for Shen Shuibi, the rabbit said almost nothing during this process, only lowering her head with a half-smile, trying to avoid Li Qi's sometimes questioning, sometimes puzzled gaze.

She hid, as if unwilling to reveal her barely concealed joy in front of the Refiners and weavers, which made her feel unhappy, yet this unhappiness was caused by happiness, making the rabbit surprised by her own lack of frankness, and also a little shy, but she was even more unwilling to show shyness, so she simply reverted to her original form.

Li Qi held a rabbit with runes puffing around it, as he selected the works of the skilled Refiners, a somewhat comical scene.

But later, Shen Shuibi seemed to gradually get used to it. When they traveled outside the domain, he would pull her into his arms, their heads resting together, face to face. They no longer needed any explanation or clarification, and even if someone was nearby, Shen Shuibi no longer felt awkward.

But these times were ultimately short-lived.

After about a hundred years, Li Qi had to leave, after all, he had serious business to attend to.

He quickly bid farewell to the rabbit. This separation was joyful; she merely told him to be careful and not cause so many problems again. Li Qi naturally agreed wholeheartedly and then set off.

This time, Li Qi was going to visit his sworn brother. Although it was a unilateral recognition from the other party, they had indeed become sworn brothers.

Golden Monkey, Sun Wukong.

Previously, Li Qi always felt he had nothing in common with him, and the so-called sworn brotherhood was just a theatrical performance with the suppressed Demon Monkey in the Desire Realm.

But now, looking back, Li Qi had vaguely sensed something amiss.

Firstly, what Li Qi encountered and was suppressed at that time was a Demon Monkey, not a Golden Monkey.

The Demon Monkey was Third Grade, but the Golden Monkey was Second Grade. Is there any connection between the two? Or is the Demon Monkey a manifestation of something?

Furthermore, the Golden Monkey has many stories. Li Qi doesn't know if they are true or false, but what he does know is… that the knowledge he acquired before his 'Transmigration'—no, rather, before he thought he 'Transmigrated'—was actually instilled in him by the Heavenly Demon.

There was no Transmigration; he merely thought he was a Transmigrator, but in reality, all his memories and perceptions were bestowed by the Heavenly Demon the moment he appeared in the Li River.

The similarity was simply because… the Heavenly Demon willed it.

Therefore, Li Qi's impression of the Monkey might also have been instilled by the Heavenly Demon, so his judgment of the Golden Monkey when he released him in the Desire Realm might also have been flawed.

From this perspective, the Monkey in his impression has no reference value, and his understanding of the Golden Monkey and the Demon Monkey might also be different.

Therefore, Li Qi decided to find this Golden Monkey, to understand the true 'Tang Nation' and the true 'pilgrimage for Buddhist scriptures', and then judge why the other party truly recognized him as a sworn brother.

Without delay, after briefly inquiring about the other party's Immortal Cave, Li Qi immediately rushed there.

It was a blessed land in the southeast, where all the demon race resided, named 'Flower Fruit Mountain'. Many Monkey Yao lived there, and a Great Sage of the demon race presided over it, making it essentially the Holy Land of the Monkey Yao.

Monkey Yao are considered exceptionally talented among all the demon race, primarily for one reason: they resemble humans.

The human body is the body of Haotian; the human body as a small Inner World is itself a form of homage to Haotian.

Imitating Haotian's body can indeed grant power and Aptitude.

One could even say that before the birth of other First Grades, when the Universe had only Haotian as the sole natural First Grade, the entire Universe was Haotian's 'Inner World'.

The Inner Worlds of the myriad beings today are merely clumsy imitations of Haotian's.

And monkeys, in fact, are a type of 'hominid', so compared to other demon race, they are naturally much smarter and find cultivation more convenient. There are naturally many Great Powers among them.

For example… the Golden Monkey.

Thinking of this, Li Qi felt a headache coming on.

Li Qi used to claim he understood a part of the Golden Monkey, but now he had completely let go of his memories and knowledge from before the Transmigration; it was better not to trust those things.

Therefore, the matter of 'Tang Nation Monk's pilgrimage to the Western Heaven for Buddhist scriptures' needed to be re-evaluated. Li Qi planned to come here to see the Golden Monkey's true form and discern the real intention behind that pilgrimage.

Because he now knew that the Golden Monkey and the Heavenly Demon actually had grievances. Perhaps the pilgrimage path itself was the Golden Monkey's process of suppressing Monkey Mind.

Pondering these thoughts, Li Qi had already arrived at Flower Fruit Mountain.

As a blessed land in the southeast of the world, the scenery here was quite beautiful.

Mountains covered in fir and pine, Spiritual Birds and wild cranes, white clouds and green smoke, the scenery was bright and harmonious, nine thousand li of verdant green, eight thousand li of azure mountains, layered upon layer, with white silk waterfalls, streams gushing loudly from rocky gorges, flying bridges suspended over rivers pouring into ravines, roaring down from the sky, with turbulent rapids for ten li.

Forest flowers scattered, fluttering over orchid marshes, mountain birds chirped, occasionally sounding from tall trees, the wind was clear in the deep valleys, the scenery beautiful in the lofty peaks, whose cliffs were carved, exhausting the wonders of creation, and whose deep ravines were dark and distant.

Among them, as if ghosts and gods were present, precious trees and Spiritual Plants, luxuriant with jade branches and green leaves, birds' banners fluttering with reflected light, beasts' canopies rising with flowing clouds, resting stones horizontally across waves, below them converging with the earth's axis, above them like scattered stars, drawing in the Xiang and Han Rivers.

Li Qi stepped into it, seeing only the continuous mountains, the four great rivers and nine streams, arrayed like constellations, exhaling and inhaling clouds and mist, unfathomably deep and immeasurably distant.

Of course, this is for mortals; as long as one knows a little about the art of cloud-riding, one can travel freely within it.

But one must certainly be careful of the many Yao creatures here. This is, after all, where the demon race reside, existing as an archipelago. From here, crossing a stretch of the sea leads to the human Dao country of Tang Nation, and going north, crossing another sea, leads to where the Daoists reside.

In the past, there was a Monkey King here who, in search of immortality, embarked on such a journey.

Li Qi also arrived at this overseas archipelago, standing on the mountain peak, gazing around.

The places where the demon race reside always have a more peculiar scenery, as if the green here is greener, the white whiter, and everything appears more vivid.

At the same time, like the Myriad Demon Reservoir World, this place is filled with a sense of 'aliveness'; the ground, the sky, the surrounding trees and air, and the wind, all possess an indescribable beautiful characteristic.

Li Qi knew that this was because the demon race encouraged all living things to be more vibrant. For the Demon Dao, they generally would not willingly submit to the 'Common Dao'.

And Li Qi actually had a certain degree of agreement with this view of 'uncommonness' among the Demon Daos.

This 'uncommonness' of the Demon Daos is probably part of Taiyi's continuous contradiction, and Li Qi, at this moment, seemed to be able to experience this sense of contradiction as well.

However, with his current physical structure similar to Taiyi's, he would no longer be affected by this contradiction.

The moment Li Qi arrived, the Golden Monkey's gaze had already fallen upon him. Li Qi could clearly see a gaze cast from within the waterfall.

Fiery Golden Eyes, truly keen and difficult to evade.

"A place where Profound Sages roam and Spiritual Immortals dwell, truly a good place," Li Qi said, then took a step and arrived before the waterfall.

The waterfall flowed swiftly, the mountain peaks were towering and steep, reaching into the clouds, dislodging rocks and trees, their sound echoing for hundreds of li.

The water crashed down onto the giant rocks in the mountains, causing mist to boil and swirl, and when the sunlight shone through, a rainbow hung in the sky. The sound of water and the cries of monkeys intermingled, forming a continuous melody.

This waterfall was a First Grade Spiritual Spring; the mist from its impact sprinkled upon all living beings around, nourishing their bodies and greatly improving their cultivation Aptitude.

The trees also benefited from this nurturing, so the surrounding mountains were covered in flowers and fruits, with various Spiritual Fruits blooming and hanging year-round, dazzling the eyes.

Li Qi arrived here and saw many baboons, gorillas, and macaques, among them not a few naturally extraordinary species, though most were vegetarians, feeding on the flowers and fruits here, playing around.

However, they were not wild; they even built houses and had their own cities, all quite proper, yet they could not hide their monkey-like features, which made them somewhat adorable.

Li Qi merely glanced around, then headed straight behind the waterfall.

Behind the waterfall was the Secret Cave of the Spiritual Source, whose source was deep and distant, serving as the origin of this Spiritual Spring and the true genesis of this blessed land, named 'Water Curtain Cave'.

The Golden Monkey joyfully leaped out, not wearing his majestic armor, but simply a monkey body draped in green leaves, running over surrounded by his monkey descendants: "Little brother, your re-cultivation is complete. What makes you think of visiting me now?"

"Monkey brother, last time the Heavenly Demon attacked, you fought him for my sake. I bear that in mind, so as soon as I awoke, I came to see you and discuss our matters," Li Qi cupped his hands and then presented a gift.

The gift was naturally something only Second Grades could produce. Li Qi offered some fruits from Shaman God Mountain cultivated with his own Dao Resonance.

Shaman God Mountain's vast cosmic source is abundant, so naturally, there are many Spiritual Fruits, forming their own unique style, though most are certainly not profound enough, as no one specifically cultivates them.

So before Li Qi came, he purified these Spiritual Fruits with his own Dao Resonance, making them unique in the world.

Handing the Spiritual Fruits to the monkeys crowding around, the monkeys joyfully accepted them, not caring who gave them, and one by one delivered them to the Golden Monkey.

The Golden Monkey casually took one, then distributed all the fruits to his monkey descendants around him.

Li Qi could see that these monkey descendants were all extraordinary; many of them had cultivated immortality methods, and the strongest few were even Fourth Grade! All were of the Spiritual Monkey lineage.

The Golden Monkey laughed: "Haha, I knew you'd come to talk to me about this. Let's go inside and talk. Do you know what's beneath my Water Curtain Cave?"

Li Qi asked, "What is it?"

"Below me is the Dragon Palace! The scenery there is good, let's go there to talk!" the Golden Monkey said.