"Thank you for telling me this method. I never expected to get such a wonderful treasure!"
Honghong didn't have much concept of how precious the treasure transformed from the golden dragon's tooth was; she only knew that Li Qi was the one who had allowed her to obtain it.
As for Li Qi, he had gained three Tiangang great divine powers, so his harvest was not small either.
The Taiyi Golden Immortal behind this mysterious dragon tooth treasure was not dead, and some kind of karma and affinity might exist between that entity and Honghong.
Moreover, Honghong had good "fish character," which he rather appreciated, so naturally, he would not harm her.
"You were willing to save me; this is just me repaying your life-saving grace."
Li Qi expressed his thoughts.
Then he asked a question that had been weighing heavily on his mind:
"By the way, you mentioned that the monkeys in the mountain are extremely powerful and are the dominant race of Huaguo Mountain. What is that all about? Could it be that they have also cultivated to a very high realm?"
The monkeys of Huaguo Mountain were connected to the future Sun Wukong, so naturally, he was curious about the secrets behind them.
"Oh, that? I seem to have heard a fish demon mention it. The monkeys of Huaguo Mountain don't cultivate; it seems very difficult for them to cultivate mana, but their physiques are tremendously powerful! Their bloodline is of a very high level!"
"A regular Huaguo Mountain monkey possesses power at the level of Refining Spirit to Return to Void! Ordinary demons who have cultivated for over a hundred years are no match for them!"
"Furthermore, Huaguo Mountain itself favors them. Any Demon Cultivator who attacks this group of monkeys within Huaguo Mountain will find their mana extremely difficult to mobilize, and can only rely on brute force. It's as if something is protecting them, and anyone who approaches them will have their entire body's mana suppressed!"
...
Honghong was very excited as she shared the intelligence she knew about the monkeys of Huaguo Mountain.
In truth, she had a bit of a chatterbox attribute as a little carp; she was very eager to communicate with others and have someone listen to her expression.
Through the information revealed by Honghong, Li Qi finally understood one thing.
Why was it that in the world of Journey to the West, demons were everywhere—including countless monsters throughout Huaguo Mountain—yet they could allow a group of ordinary monkeys to become the mainstream of Huaguo Mountain.
It turned out that they truly were special in themselves, brimming with martial prowess and favored by the heavens!
Leaving Sun Wukong aside, this group of monkeys alone probably harbored heaven-defying secrets.
However, he had no intention of probing too deeply.
Even less did he have any desire to interfere with Journey to the West.
Li Qi only thought about how to become an immortal, attain eternal life, live as long as the heaven and earth, and become an invincible, super-powerful being.
For now, he could only carefully develop himself, making sure not to easily fall into any plots or schemes.
"By the way, are there any wonders or interesting things in Huaguo Mountain?"
Ye Feng asked.
Yet what he wanted to ask about most was the immortal stone that nurtured Sun Wukong.
With so many demons in Huaguo Mountain, he refused to believe that no one had noticed that mysterious nine-apertured immortal stone.
"There is one place that is very special, but it's a forbidden zone of Huaguo Mountain. Not a single demon cultivator or living being that breaks into it ever comes out alive."
Honghong thought for a moment before she thought of such a place.
Honghong had never been to the outside world, but through underwater currents, she had traveled to many parts of Huaguo Mountain.
"Follow me, I'll take you to see it. To be honest, that place is truly very special! Everyone knows there's a big treasure there, but not a single person dares to go in."
Honghong swam toward a fork in the subterranean current, entering a small grotto that led upward.
The water current was swift here, but both Honghong and Li Qi were demon cultivators, so they easily rode the current and rushed upward.
Making twists and turns, they finally emerged through a rock fissure, arriving at a small stream. Following the stream upward, they reached a mountain spring that gushed into a pool.
It had taken the two little demons two whole days of traveling just to get here.
This location was extremely high, though not the highest.
"Look, right there!"
Honghong pointed toward a gigantic rock peak opposite this mountain. That rock peak was exceedingly high, wreathed in clouds and mist, and its cliff walls were nearly vertical at ninety degrees—extremely precipitous and sheer!
At the very summit of that peak stood a gigantic precious rock that appeared to be riddled with many holes.
Through these holes, it invisibly exhaled and inhaled the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
This rock seemed ordinary at first glance, but if one felt it carefully, a terrifying aura was hidden within, making one look upon it with awe and terror in their heart!
Ye Feng and Honghong had exceptionally good eyesight and clearly saw the full picture of this mysterious rock.
It was three zhang six chi five cun tall, corresponding to the number three hundred and sixty-five of the celestial cycle.
It was two zhang four chi wide, corresponding to the twenty-four solar terms.
In the perception of the demon cultivator Honghong and under the observation of Li Qi's spiritual will, this rock—which looked ordinary at first glance—had a magnificent presence, as if some invisible divine wonder was guarding it.
It was not only inhaling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but also absorbing the quintessential power of the great sun from the sky.
Its breathing existed in the realm of the mysterious and profound, imperceptible to anyone who had not cultivated truth and attained immortality.
That aura clearly indicated that a powerful, extraordinary existence was being nurtured and growing within it.
When Li Qi saw this strange rock, he understood that it was the immortal stone that nurtured Sun Wukong, and it might well be the stone used to patch the heavens.
Furthermore, it might even conceal the holy blood of Nüwa!
Since this immortal stone existed here, it was impossible for it to go undiscovered by those who had achieved success in cultivation; the fact that it could peacefully exist here meant it was definitely guarded by terrifying power.
"That's it. The mountaintop where that precious rock is located is the most untouchable forbidden zone in all of Huaguo Mountain. Of all the demons and immortals who have ever broken into it, not a single one has been able to come out alive."
Honghong gazed at that immortal rock, her pair of fish eyes filled with terror.
She had once witnessed with her own eyes a tiger demon that refused to believe in evil break into it; as a result, the moment that tiger demon entered the mountaintop, it vanished, and vaguely, she seemed to see a puff of flying ash.
From that moment on, Honghong understood that that tiger demon had likely been reduced to ashes by a powerful force.
It was just that everything happened so fast, as if it had simply ceased to exist right there.
Li Qi, however, understood in his heart that the life nurtured within this rock was Sun Wukong, the most important Son of Destiny of the next era.
Such a figure was tied to the overall grand plan of Buddhism; leaving aside the possibility of Buddhist forces guarding it, the Heavenly Dao itself would never allow anything to go wrong with it.
Li Qi curiously looked at that immortal stone, watching the rhythm of its exhaling and inhaling the primordial Qi of heaven and earth, and once again entered a special state of epiphany.
Moreover, a special, tranquil Dao rhythm began to faintly emanate from his body, causing the little carp Honghong to also enter a state of epiphany.
"Blessed by heaven, as you observe the heaven-patching stone, you have a realization and fall into a special state of epiphany."
"You have comprehended the profound mystery of the inhalation and exhalation of heaven and earth spiritual energy, as well as the creation mystery of life nurturing. Combining these with the Transcending Immortality Cold Moon Technique and the Pure Primordial Secret Art, you have obtained the further advanced Five-Turn Transcending Immortality Cold Moon Scripture, which can simultaneously strengthen the body, the soul, and mana!"
"This scripture can strengthen the physical body, strengthen the soul, and strengthen mana!"
"At the same time, it possesses the ability to inhale and exhale the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, no longer limited to absorbing the power of moonlight, but capable of absorbing ordinary primordial Qi of heaven and earth, as well as the essence of the sun and moon."
"The Five-Turn Transcending Immortality Cold Moon Scripture can be cultivated up to the Human Immortal Realm; although the upper limit of cultivation has been lowered, it lays down an extremely high foundation for cultivation."
"Based on the meaning of patching the heavens contained within the heaven-patching stone, you have comprehended a minor divine power, the Lesser Heaven-Patching Art!"
"The Lesser Heaven-Patching Art can consume a certain amount of mana to achieve rapid healing of life. As long as there is mana, even damaged organs such as the head and heart can be repaired by the Lesser Heaven-Patching Art."
"The Lesser Heaven-Patching Art is a minor divine power that automatically activates whenever the human body is damaged!"
Through perceiving the heaven-patching stone from which Sun Wukong was born, Li Qi harvested immensely this time. Not only did he upgrade his cultivation technique through the epiphany and comprehend the Five-Turn Transcending Immortality Cold Moon Scripture—which allowed for the simultaneous cultivation of essence, energy, and spirit—he also comprehended the minor divine power, the Heaven-Patching Art.
The latter even endowed him with a fifty-percent undying ability!
However, Li Qi was not the only one who changed.
"Influenced by you, the blessed carp Honghong has also entered a low-level state of epiphany."
"Through perceiving the profound mystery of the nurturing of higher-level life, she has comprehended the essence and mystery of bloodlines. Honghong successfully evolved from a blessed carp into a blessed dragon carp, awakening a certain amount of jiaolong and higher-level carp bloodline!"
"At the same time, she has perceived the power of water, and faintly been summoned by a great fortuitous encounter!"