Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!

The true form of the Intelligent Stone Monkey is derived from the remnants of the Five-Colored Stone left by Nuwa when she mended the heavens, inherently entwined with cause and effect. Their forcible scheming might have provoked Nuwa's wrath.

Only a Saint could obscure their vision of the divine workings.

"Junior Brother, watch your words!" Jieyin hastily stopped Zhunti from speaking further.

"Although our Sister Nuwa is not confined to Zixiao Palace by our teacher as we are, she is still restrained from intervening. Moreover, the Intelligent Stone Monkey has become the protagonist of a great calamity, a role decreed by the Heavenly Dao. Even if she harbors any resentment, she would not act out in such a way!"

"Perhaps it is the beginning of the great calamity that veils the workings of fate. Maybe if we search more, we'll find the monkey in the next few days."

Zhunti nodded and said, "Brother is right. I will inform Tathagata and have the followers of Buddhism search for him."

"The Buddha told Subhuti, 'All Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas should subdue their minds so, with respect to all categories of beings...'"

Within the Great Thunderclap Monastery, Tathagata was expounding the Buddhist Scriptures but suddenly stopped.

The marvelous discourse ceased abruptly, causing everyone to turn their gaze towards Tathagata, only to see his face showing utter bewilderment.

What happened?

Everyone was puzzled, wondering why Buddha Ancestor was acting this way.

This was the first time they had seen Tathagata with such an expression.

After a moment, Tathagata spoke solemnly, "The Dharma assembly is suspended for now. The monkey is missing."

The monkey is missing?

Everyone was completely baffled. How could that be possible?

Naturally, they knew who the "monkey" Tathagata referred to was. The only one who would warrant such attention from their Buddhism was the Intelligent Stone Monkey.

"That's impossible. I personally saw that monkey enter Mount Fangcun!" Guanyin blurted out.

The mountain not only had prearranged paths but also was home to the residing Shan Shi Bodhi Patriarch, a Saint. How could the monkey be missing?

"It was Saint Zhunti who conveyed the message to me," said Tathagata with a shake of his head.

As it was a Saint who had spoken, there could be no mistake.

Tathagata glanced at everyone and continued, "Where are Guanyin, Samantabhadra, and Manjushri?"

"Present, Buddha Ancestor," they responded.

Three figures stepped forward, the three great Bodhisattvas of Buddhism.

"The fate of the monkey is deeply concealed, beyond divination. You, along with the Arhats and Bhikkhunis, must search carefully. We must find the monkey at all costs. The Journey to the West cannot afford any mishaps!" instructed Tathagata.

The three Bodhisattvas put their hands together, nodded slightly, and said, "Amitabha, we will heed the Buddha's command."

On another note, seeing that the monkey had gone to wash, Chen Nuo cleared away the plates left by Sun Wukong after eating his fried rice and spoke, "System, activate the Spirit Root."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining the Innate Spiritual Root Flat Peach Tree."

Damn it! Wasn't that meant for the monkey?

Chen Nuo's mouth twitched slightly, feeling a bit disappointed.

After all, the Flat Peach Tree is probably the least rare of the Innate Spirit Roots, and there are as many as three thousand six hundred in the Queen Mother's Peach Orchard!

"Which year's Flat Peach is this?" Chen Nuo asked.

The quality of the Flat Peach Tree varies greatly: they ripen every three thousand, six thousand, and nine thousand years.

"Nine thousand years!"

Hearing this, Chen Nuo nodded, "Well, that's acceptable. But if I have to grow the Innate Forest Root from scratch, when will I ever get to eat it?"

"By the time Journey to the West is over, would it finally grow out?" he wondered.

As he was fretting over it, the system spoke again, "You only need to plant it within the bounds of Chaos Residence, and like any ordinary fruit tree, it will bear fruit once a year without any loss of efficacy."

Chen Nuo's eyes widened, fruit once a year? Awesome!

Now the monkey is even less likely to leave.

Chen Nuo found a good spot in the backyard and with a light tap, a dense flat peach tree instantly sprouted from the smooth ground.

Glimmers of flowing light were faintly visible, its mere appearance revealing its extraordinary quality.

"Not bad, very good indeed!"

Chen Nuo nodded with satisfaction and knew it wouldn't be long before he was the little prince of flat peaches.

He guided water with his mana to water the tree, and then he returned inside the house.

Taking a seat, he thought about making the egg fried rice and his eyes revealed a hint of joy.

It was a success indeed!

Chen Nuo's system not only retained its previous capabilities but also boasted an extremely awesome ability.

Each time he cooked, the cookware he used would instantly gain Merit Qi, Innate Qi, Hongmeng Qi, and Chaos Qi.

Merit was akin to a cure-all and its benefits need not be mentioned.

Innate Qi, on the other hand, could elevate the grade of magical treasures. Accumulated to a certain extent, it could even revert acquired treasures back to their innate state, but this type of Qi was distributed among various innate treasures at the moment of The Primordial World's formation.

Hongmeng Qi, fully known as Hongmeng Purple Qi, had once caused unrest throughout The Primordial World.

As for Chaos Qi, that was even more formidable; it was the undifferentiated chaos before heaven and earth were divided, the very essence of chaos, its laws directly connecting to the great Dao!

Now, his spatula had increased by a thousand Innate Qi, while his knife and ladle had each gained three thousand Merit Points. Compared to the beginning, the Qi emanating from his cookware was even more mysterious.

He had previously missed out on the opportunity to use Spiritual Treasures Cookware due to having only ordinary cookware that could not withstand the energies.

But now that was no issue at all. Even though his Divine Marvel was but a Postnatal Spiritual Treasure, with this ability, there was no need to worry about its grade.

This Journey to the West era was not like the Primordial Era; even the easily attainable Merit Points were now sought in vain.

Not to mention the other three forms of energy which had become extinct.

Chen Nuo felt that if he kept on cooking, he might very well destroy the whole world with his Divine Marvel one day!

Since that was the case, he set a small goal for himself; to kill a Saint with a single chop of his knife!

When that time came, he would dub himself the Knife Saint!

"Master!"

Suddenly, an excited voice from Wukong interrupted Chen Nuo's thoughts.

Chen Nuo looked up and saw that Sun Wukong had already changed into new clothes, a red robe and a red headband, matched with his lanky figure, he indeed looked a bit like Liu Maoxing.

"Not bad, you look very spirited," Chen Nuo said with a slight smile, generously offering his praise.

Wukong said with relish, "Master, these new clothes are really good-looking and they fit just right."

"Glad you like them," Chen Nuo nodded and said, "Wukong, starting tomorrow, you should practice that basic sword skills manual. Sword skills are the first foundation of culinary arts!"

A cook who can't wield a knife is not a good cook!

Wukong hurriedly nodded, his eyes shifting craftily as he said, "Master, can I still eat the food you make every day?"

Chen Nuo rolled his eyes and chided with a smile, "You, always thinking with your stomach. Since you're my disciple, could it be possible to miss out on your meals?"

The monkey chuckled and said no more.

Time quietly passed, and in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.

During the day, Wukong tirelessly practiced basic sword skills, and at night, he reflected on what he had learned, making rapid progress.

Having learned that the backyard housed the flat peach tree, Wukong became even more excited and took extra care of it.

He was eagerly looking forward to the day he could taste the peaches.

Of course, regarding Chen Nuo's egg fried rice, Wukong couldn't get enough of it.

In the span of this month, the egg fried rice not only completely stabilized Wukong's Delusion-breaking Golden Eyes, but Chen Nuo's Delusion-breaking Golden Eyes also reached a remarkably adept level.

Unfortunately, during that time he never drew a second dish, and not a single person visited the store!