2: Chapter 2 Apprenticeship
It is said that in past years, the tribes often suffered from famines, as well as various natural disasters and demonic plagues, making life difficult for everyone.
Unexpectedly, one day, a "Great Immortal Huangfeng" appeared, who curbed the rat infestations, cleared away locust plagues, protected the grain harvests, saved the villages from disasters, and ensured the safety of the region.
Ever since then, every year brought favorable weather and abundant harvests, filling the granaries.
The villagers, grateful for his benevolence, took the initiative to build a temple to worship him, calling him Great Immortal Huangfeng, and incense burned there throughout the four seasons.
However, five years ago, Great Immortal Huangfeng vanished without a trace.
Some villagers said that Great Immortal Huangfeng had protected the human race, fulfilled his karmic merits, and ascended to heaven to become an immortal.
Once these villagers lost the protection of the Great Immortal, their suffering began.
First, there was a famine, and then a multitude of minor demons swarmed out, treating humans as "two-legged sheep" to be eaten, skilled in boiling, frying, and roasting them.
In just five short years, the people of the several village tribes had all ended up in the bellies of these demons.
Only the few people present now had survived.
The old man was elderly and often went to the temple to offer worship; he had even been fortunate enough to see Great Immortal Huangfeng use the Yellow Wind to dispel disasters.
During the previous fight, seeing Huang Shuo blow the Yellow Wind, and now with him letting them leave, the old man had roughly guessed his identity.
"Great Immortal Huangfeng!"
"We pay our respects to the Great Immortal!"
Their faces were filled with excitement, and they knelt repeatedly on the ground, kowtowing incessantly to Great Immortal Huangfeng, each and every one filled with gratitude.
If Great Immortal Huangfeng had not appeared, they would likely have already fallen into the trap.
"You may go now."
Huang Shuo sighed softly, waved his hand, and said nothing more.
The group bowed to Huang Shuo once more, then left the demon cave and fled for their lives.
Left alone in the cave, Huang Shuo could not help but feel a myriad of emotions.
In just five short years, things had already changed completely.
"Buddhism..."
A trace of gloom and hatred flashed in Huang Shuo's eyes.
Five years ago, it was because Buddhist disciples from Lingshan had wantonly swept through the mountains to purge demons that he had suffered heavy injuries and barely survived.
Because he had been human in his previous life, in this life, even though Huang Shuo was a monster, he had never harmed the human populace.
Not only was he not tainted by negative karma, but he had even benefited the human race, rightfully making him a demon with karmic merit.
Yet those Buddhist disciples were completely unreasonable; any demon was subject to their purge!
"It is rare for the Buddhism of Lingshan to make such a big move. Could it be because the great calamity of the Journey to the West is imminent?"
A flash of inspiration struck Huang Shuo, and he thought of something.
The great calamity of the Journey to the West concerned the fortune of Buddhism, so their purging of various places was likely to plan the route for the journey west in advance, or even to clear out the mountains and demons along the way.
This was very likely!
The more Huang Shuo thought about it, the more he felt this was the case.
Five years ago, thanks to those Buddhist disciples, Huang Shuo, who had hidden underground, had by chance refined a pool of Taiyin Jade Nectar, thereby taking human form and greatly increasing his magical power.
Thus, upon his return, even when facing King Chihui, a snake-type demon that naturally countered rats, Huang Shuo was able to easily kill him.
"Huh?"
Huang Shuo steadied himself, as if he had sensed something.
Rats had keen spiritual senses and were adept at finding opportunities and treasures.
Huang Shuo went behind the throne at the head of the cave and smashed his spear directly into the stone wall to the side.
The stone wall shattered like tofu.
Then, he saw a groove inside, and within the groove was hidden a treasure box.
"This must be the treasure hidden by King Chihui!"
Huang Shuo stepped forward and took out the treasure box.
The box opened, and inside lay an irregular object.
It was pitch black, made of an unknown material, with many dense Daoist inscriptions engraved on the surface, shaped into five faces.
"Is this a shapeshifting Rubik's cube?"
Huang Shuo felt curious.
From its appearance, it looked very similar to the five-sided cube he had encountered in his previous life.
This object did not seem to have any spiritual energy fluctuations, and King Chihui likely couldn't figure out its use, so he just hid it in the stone wall.
"I'll put it away first and study how to open it later."
After putting it away, Huang Shuo opened his mouth and blew a gust of Yellow Wind, moving the numerous demon corpses out of the cave.
He then changed the three characters engraved at the cave entrance, "Chilian Cave," back to "Huangfeng Cave."
After returning to the cave, Huang Shuo set up layers of traps so that he could respond early if there were any dangers.
After settling everything, Huang Shuo went to the depths of the cave.
This was his original residence for cultivation, and now it hadn't changed much.
It was nighttime.
The full moon hung high in the sky.
Huang Shuo activated the Moon-Swallowing technique and opened his mouth slightly.
He saw wisps of moonlight appear between heaven and earth, which he slowly inhaled into his nose and mouth, merging them into his body.
What Huang Shuo was performing was the Moon-Swallowing method that his lineage of the Yellow Wind Rat was skilled in.
The Yellow Wind Rat was a unique monster among rats with extraordinary bloodlines, hence they were adept at sensing spiritual energy to find treasures, controlling wind, and swallowing moonlight.
This cultivation involved absorbing the essence of Taiyin, using the moonlight to nourish his demon core, and advancing his cultivation.
For a time, the moonlight was soft, and the spiritual energy was dense.
When dawn arrived, Huang Shuo slowly opened his eyes.
For the next few months, nothing major happened in Yellow Wind Ridge.
Huang Shuo cultivated at night by inhaling the essence of Taiyin to aid his Daoist practice, and his cultivation constantly improved.
In his spare time, he dismantled the shapeshifting cube, wanting to explore its mysteries.
Three more months passed.
Click!
On this day, hearing a crisp sound, the five-sided shapeshifting cube in Huang Shuo's hand had finally been dismantled.
Hum—
For a moment, immortal light rippled, and strange phenomena surged within the cave.
The shapeshifting cube seemed to turn into five fragments, then immediately fused and pieced together into an object resembling an order token.
On the front of the token was engraved a looming, majestic mountain gate.
On the back, the two characters for "Longevity" were engraved with a certain Daoist rhythm.
Around the token, as the immortal light intertwined, a line of golden seal characters emerged:
"Hold this order token, follow the path into the mountain, enter the immortal gate, and cultivate to attain longevity."
"Enter the immortal gate and cultivate for longevity?"
A look of surprise and joy appeared in Huang Shuo's eyes.
After the golden seal characters dissipated, he continued to examine the token before him.
"Longevity... could it be..."
"Longevity Mountain!"
Huang Shuo had obviously thought of something.
The various factions of the Journey to the West were intertwined, and one of these factions was Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain.
The one who held the position there was the Great Immortal Zhenyuanzi, known as the "Ancestor of Earth Immortals."
His seniority was extremely high; he was friends with the Three Pure Ones and neighbors with the Four Royals.
He did not obey the Jade Emperor's edicts, did not worship the Buddhas of the Western Heaven, and was famous throughout the Three Realms solely for his Ginseng Fruit.
Moreover, Great Immortal Zhenyuanzi possessed vast supernatural powers, and his cultivation was unfathomable—he was definitely a great power!
"If I could become a disciple of Great Immortal Zhenyuanzi, that would certainly be excellent."
Huang Shuo took a deep breath, calming his slightly excited state of mind.
One must know that in the world of the Journey to the West, the path of keeping a low profile is useless.
Even if you hide in this Yellow Wind Ridge forever, when the great calamity arrives in the future, you will ultimately be unable to escape death.
Besides, being able to fight is useless; when you are out in the world, you need influence and a background.
The Scorpion Demon of Du Di Cave dared to prick even the Tathagata with her Daoma Poison Stake; how extraordinary were her supernatural powers?
The Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord of Yellow Flower Temple had the Thousand-Eyed Golden Light, which left The Monkey King helpless.
Both of these demons were top-tier demons on the road to the West.
But without backing or a background, the final result was that they could not escape death.
Look at the Yellow-Robed Monster of Bowl Mountain, the Gold and Silver Horns of Flat-Top Mountain, and the three demons of the Lion Camel Kingdom—the Azure Lion, White Elephant, and Great Peng—even if they committed monstrous crimes, all their faults were still pardoned, and they returned to their original positions.
Therefore, in these Three Realms, it is never about who is stronger; it is only about one's origin, background, and backing!
In an instant, Huang Shuo made his decision.
"Let's go to Longevity Mountain to seek a master and learn the arts!"