104: Chapter 104: Three Years to Become a Celestial Immortal 104: Chapter 104: Three Years to Become a Celestial Immortal He had to admit that what the Gou Chen Great Emperor said made a lot of sense.

If Gou Chen ascended to power, he would have the chance to overthrow the Gou Chen Great Emperor and become the Great Heavenly Venerate of the Three Realms, and at that time, the Buddhist Sect might flourish uniquely, with even the entire Three Realms transforming into Buddha’s Kingdom.

If the Jade Emperor remained in power, he would never achieve this; at most, under the Jade Emperor’s direction, he could develop the Buddhist Realm to compete with the Daoist Sect and then maintain a balance.

The Jade Emperor’s strength was entirely capable of suppressing him.

But Gou Chen did not possess that kind of strength and was only his equal.

“Are you confident?”

Li Ling stared at Gou Chen, not immediately agreeing but asking another question.

Gou Chen thought for a moment, and then he seriously said, “I have some understanding of the Jade Emperor, and since he is not very guarded against me, we have a thirty percent chance.”

Thirty percent?

Li Ling fell silent.

He pondered for a while before finally lifting his head and saying, “I agree.”

A smile appeared on Gou Chen Great Emperor’s face as he said with a laugh, “From today onwards, we are allies.”

Li Ling gave a slight nod.

Their gazes met, both seeing the smile in each other’s eyes.

Just at that moment, the door was pushed open.

Li Ling was somewhat surprised.

Why had Bi Lian woken up so early this time?

Had his spell failed?

The Gou Chen Great Emperor vanished in an instant.

Bi Lian looked somewhat anxious as she rushed over and said with some caution, “Ling’er, where is that man just now?

He didn’t hurt you, did he?

I was careless, I didn’t expect his strength to be so formidable, he actually ambushed me.”

Li Ling stared at Bi Lian, his expression somewhat strange.

Bi Lian touched her face, asking doubtfully, “Why are you looking at me?

Is there something on my face?”

Li Ling shook his head and said, “Nothing, the person just now was the Gou Chen Great Emperor from the heavens.

He said I have a destiny with immortality and wanted to take me to become immortal.”

“What?”

Bi Lian’s almond eyes widened in shock.

But she quickly said, “Ling’er, you mustn’t be deceived.

That person must be some demon in disguise.

The Gou Chen Great Emperor is a God of the heavens, supremely revered.

How could he come to help a mortal become immortal?

He must be trying to trick you.”

Li Ling smiled slightly and said, “That’s what I thought too, so I refused.

He didn’t insist and just left.”

Bi Lian breathed a sigh of relief, then said, “That’s good, I’m relieved.”

“Ling’er, if you wish to follow the path of Immortal Dao, I can help you become immortal.

I’m almost an Earth Immortal now, and once I become an Earth Immortal, I can help you become one as well.”

Li Ling smiled faintly, without a word.

Bi Lian knew he didn’t like to talk about the Immortal Dao, so she didn’t bring up the matter again.

Someday, she would lead Li Ling into the Immortal Dao, becoming an Earth Immortal, and they could be together forever.

Li Ling’s eyes flickered.

He had a feeling that he had overlooked something very important.

…

Atop Huaguo Mountain, Sun Wukong sat cross-legged, growing ever more tranquil.

No one disturbed him.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said that Sun Wukong was at an important stage where he was likely overcoming mental obstacles.

Once successful, reaching the Heavenly Venerate’s realm would come naturally.

“If the Great Saint hadn’t been suppressed for thousands of years, even with a heavy heart, he could have proven the Dao with force, directly breaking through the Celestial Immortal’s realm, entering the Heavenly Venerate’s realm.

One does not necessarily need an enlightened Dao Heart to become a Heavenly Venerate; there are many other methods,” Ksitigarbha lamented.

“Do you know how many years the Great Saint cultivated to become a Taiyi Celestial Immortal?”

He asked the crowd.

Everyone shook their heads.

Bai Yu tentatively said, “Although the Great Saint possesses exceptional talent, to achieve the Taiyi Celestial Immortal status would take at least a hundred years, right?”

In fact, a hundred years was already considered a very fast pace, and even ninety-nine percent of cultivators couldn’t achieve it.

“Three years,” Ksitigarbha said indifferently.

Everyone was shocked.

Three years to become a Taiyi Celestial Immortal?

How was that possible?

Seeing the shocked faces, Ksitigarbha shook his head and said, “You find it hard to believe, don’t you?

The moment the Great Saint was born, he was already being watched by some.

I have also checked the Book of Life and Death; the Great Saint indeed became a Taiyi Celestial Immortal in three years.

It’s just that no one knows which divine being in heaven and earth has such ability to have taught a disciple like the Great Saint.”

“Even you don’t know who the Great Saint’s master is?”

Ksitigarbha shook his head and replied, “I don’t know.

This is the greatest mystery in the Three Realms.

If I knew, I would have already told the Great Saint.

In reality, the Great Saint himself probably does not know the true identity of his teacher, but it must be one of the few powerful beings between heaven and earth.”

People began to speculate in their hearts, The Three Pure Ones, Queen Mother of the West, Eastern King, Nuwa, Tathagata, Jade Emperor, Four Heavenly Kings, Amitabha Buddha, Bodhisattva Zhunti.

Aside from these individuals, no one else in the Three Realms possessed such divine skills.

The Queen Mother of the West, Eastern King, Nuwa, Four Heavenly Kings, Amitabha Buddha, and Zhunti could all be ruled out.

Although they were also top deities, they each specialized in only one field.

Sun Wukong had told them that his teacher was proficient in the cultivation methods of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.

Only the Three Pure Ones, Jade Emperor, and Tathagata remained.

But who was it?

No one knew.

If one of The Three Pure Ones were Sun Wukong’s master, it would be somewhat acceptable to him.

If it was either the Jade Emperor or Tathagata, it would be a tremendous blow to Sun Wukong.

Both had schemed against Sun Wukong to the core.

The Tathagata had even suppressed Sun Wukong twice, lasting several thousand years.

Sun Wukong’s current breakthrough in overcoming his mental barrier was definitely related to news of his teacher.

He sat for a total of forty-nine days.

The struggle between the Great Sage Sect and those minor demons under Tathagata’s command had also reached a white-hot stage.

The Macaque King had intervened several times, only to be thwarted each time.

The Barefoot Immortal had targeted those Heavenly Generals more than once, nearly managing to slay several of them.

As a result, he caught the attention of He Xiangu, who chased him for ten days and nights, leaving him no escape to the skies or entry to the earth.

In the end, he transformed into a turtle and hid in a foul ditch, narrowly escaping disaster.

Ever since then, the Barefoot Immortal would shiver at the mention of He Xiangu.

She was the most terrifying woman he had ever seen.

None of the women who had become immortals on their own accord were to be trifled with.

Those Fairy Maidens didn’t count, just look at some of the well-known female immortals, every one of them was a fierce character.

Lord Taiyin, He Xiangu, Nu Ba, Lady Houtu, Queen Mother of the West, and others.

Any of those with some reputation in the Three Realms were not to be provoked.

The Macaque King and his ilk were so infuriated they didn’t bother with the rescue, wishing He Xiangu would directly finish off the Barefoot Immortal, this good-for-nothing troublemaker.

In two months’ time, they had lost one-tenth of their territories for collecting incense offerings.

The conflict between the two sides grew increasingly intense, to the point where even their incense visitors began fighting among themselves.

At that time, Great Emperor Ziwei directly issued a decree, stating that demons were bewitching the people, collecting incense offerings clandestinely, and he ordered the Great Sage Sect to eradicate those demons and restore clarity to heaven and earth.

With the issuing of this decree, the Macaque King’s side became even more perilously unstable.