Chapter 458: Subhuti Imparting The Dao

　　Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire

　　The flowers bloomed and withered, another year had passed. Mountains within the Fangcun Mountain Range had immortals!

　　The immortal qi was misty, and the auspicious clouds filled the air, brimming with a sense of spirituality that caused one’s heart to be as still as water. The sky was filled with cirrus clouds, which was drifting leisurely through the air.

　　On a mountain peak, a golden-furred monkey sat cross-legged. Its chest heaved up and down as it breathed in and out. Spiritual qi flowed around it, forming a spiraling vortex with him at the center. The aura radiating from it rapidly strengthened at a speed visible to the naked eye.

　　Its aura was retracted, yet it was as vast as the abyss.

　　The monkey stood up. An unruffled and calm aura could be sensed from it, like it was an eminent reverend that had achieved the Dao. It showed no signs of being a wild animal.

　　Evidently, the monkey’s state of heart had developed and reached the next level. The ruthless qi in his heart was also suppressed to the extreme, and it would never be able to control its actions ever again. Sun Wukong, as the Monkey King, had long since been used to rule with tyranny on the Flowerfruit Mountain. There was an innate surge of ruthless qi in his heart, which also undoubtedly increased his innate power.

　　But cultivation emphasized on subduing one’s heart.

　　If one’s mind couldn’t calm down, one would often encounter many external demons during cultivation which would then serve as obstructions. It would be tough for the cultivator to advance any further.

　　That stone monkey tempered itself in the mortal world for over ten years, enduring suffering to intentionally diminish its own impatience and hot-temper.

　　But now, he entered the Fangcun Mountain and used heart sutras to temper his mind and heart, subduing the last bits of ruthlessness and wild aura in him.

　　The stone monkey now was no different from a buddhist cultivator with a profound state of heart and high attainments in the Dao.

　　No waves stirred his heart. Only people whose state of heart reached the grand completion level would be able to reach this realm.

　　Feng Lin understood in his heart that he had only achieved this because of the Measureless Heart Sutra.

　　The monkey slowly walked down the mountain. It was clad in the long robes of humans and was extremely conspicuous.

　　“It’s none other than this fellow who angered the master. I heard he was even beaten.”

　　“I wonder why the master didn’t want to kick it out from the sect?”

　　“The master has deep intentions, how can people like us manage to guess his thoughts?”

　　…

　　When the people saw the monkey walking over, most of them coldly stared at him as they muttered to themselves.

　　However, the monkey’s state of heart was already completely different. Its hearing was sharp and it naturally could hear everything they were saying. However, it disregarded them completely, treating their words as nothingness.

　　This time, Feng Lin had sufficient time. He was willing to silently stay in the consciousness of the stone monkey to observe things quietly.

　　He had to experience everything the mythological illusion-scape had to offer to probe his complete mythological path to clear the fog obscuring the mysteries of his cultivation.

　　The stone monkey grew bit by bit, experiencing everything personally to aid his deduction better.

　　It had always been alone in the Fangcun Mountain, not interacting with anyone.

　　Time held no meaning in the mountain.

　　Very swiftly, three years had passed.

　　During these days, Master Subhuti was extremely elusive; he didn’t even show up once.

　　It was like Subhuti, who imparted the Measureless Heart Sutra to the stone monkey, wasn’t his original self.

　　Saints could see the past and the future; they possessed boundless might. It was very hard to guess the meaning behind their words. Thus, Feng Lin didn’t probe too far rashly without careful consideration, all to prevent accidents from happening in the mythological illusion-scape.

　　He just had to continue, endure, and experience everything slowly. Sooner or later, he would uncover all the riddles and mysteries of the entire mythology of Sun Wukong. Why should he be hasty and act carelessly which might create accidents and troubles?

　　In the blink of an eye, the date where Master Subhuti imparted the dao arrived again.

　　Master Subhuti sat upon the law platform and stared at all the disciples here. His gaze was penetrating, being able to see all changes and manifestation in the world, covering everything with a single glance.

　　“Today, I will be preaching about the dao classics.” Subhuti glanced at the surroundings as he continued, “Do you have any questions?”

　　These cultivators all had faces filled with joy. They exchanged mutual glances; no one dared to speak recklessly for fear of causing the master to change his mind.

　　Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong involuntarily obeyed the wild side of his monkey nature. He danced around and shouted loudly, “Master, master. I want to listen to it!”

　　Compared to the cowardice and the trepidation of others, his actions were as gutsy as ever, almost to the point of tyranny and lawlessness.

　　The master nodded. He wasn’t angered and was smiling. “Monkey, you are still as mischievous as ever. But it’s fine, seems like your cultivation of the heart sutra has reached a high level. Today, what type of dao do you want to learn from me?”

　　Sun Wukong replied, “I will follow master’s instructions. As long as those Daos grant longevity upon mastery, your disciple will learn them all.”

　　The master laughed uproariously. The strands of his long beard fluttered in the wind. “Hahaha! Monkey, your ambition isn’t small. I will tell you guys that there are a total of 360 doors leading to different Daos. Each will eventually lead to the same destination. Which do you want to learn?”

　　Upon hearing that the Daos were so convenient, Sun Wukong couldn’t help but feel joy. He continued, “I will obey master’s will. This disciple will listen carefully.”

　　Master Subhuti then spoke, “How about I teach you the ‘术’ (technique) of the door of dao?”

　　Sun Wukong asked, “The dao door of technique? What is that?”

　　“The dao door of technique can allow you to summon some minor immortals to divine the future and aid you to embrace fortune and avoid calamity.”

　　“Can I gain more longevity from this?”

　　“You can’t, you can’t!”

　　“I won’t learn it then!”

　　“How about I teach you the dao door of ‘流’, (flow)?”

　　“What doctrine does it contain?”

　　“The dao door of flow contains doctrines from Confucius, School of Yin-Yang, Daoism, Medical, Mohist, and Buddhism.”

　　“Can I gain longevity from this?”

　　“No. If you want to gain longevity, you first have to ‘stabilize your inner pillars’.”

　　“Master, I’m a simple man and don’t understand deep words. What do you mean by stabilizing my inner pillars?”

　　Master Subhuti replied, “When someone constructs a building, the pillars of the building will serve as the foundation. As long as the foundation is solid and stable enough, it wouldn’t be a problem even if one wants to build a skyscraper. However, once the pillars are damaged, everything will collapse.”

　　“This means that it won’t last long either. I don’t want to learn it.”

　　…

　　And following that, Subhuti shared the two daos of ‘movement’ and ‘stillness’ to Sun Wukong. But because he couldn’t gain longevity from this, Sun Wukong shook his head and refused to learn.

　　Earlier, Master Subhuti seemed extremely casual and easy-going. But now, he was completely enraged by this monkey. Although he exuded a celestial air, once he was angered, his temper was like thunder and lightning and he was quick to take action.

　　Upon hearing that, he leaped down from the platform and pointed an iron ruler at Sun Wukong. “Bratty monkey, you don’t want to learn anything. What are you staying here for?”

　　He then moved forward and used the ruler to hit Sun Wukong three times on his head. The monkey shivered from fear; it looked somewhat comical.

　　After that, the master clasped his hand behind his back, directly turned and departed, leaving everyone here, not intending on continuing the lecture.

　　When the others saw Master Subhuti unprecedentedly revealing his anger, they were extremely frightened and began to blame Sun Wukong.

　　“Damn monkey, you are too insolent. Master is imparting the Daos to you, why don’t you learn them?”

　　“Arguing with the master? Now that he is angered, no one knows when the next lecture would be.”

　　“Daring to make trouble and causing my cultivation to be delayed? I won’t let matters rest like this!”

　　…

　　That monkey wasn’t enraged nor embarrassed. It ignored all the ugly words spoken by these people and disregarded them.

　　So it turned out that the monkey had already solved the riddle here. It kept quiet, not bothering to argue with these people, as it also turned to leave.

　　This departure lasted an entire day. The monkey closed its eyes and regulated its breathing, focusing on absorbing the spiritual qi of heavens and earth.

　　After the appointment time arrived, Feng Lin opened his eyes. He wore his robes and opened the door stealthily, avoiding the crowd as he snuck into the depths of the Bodhi Cave.

　　Master Subhuti was curled up, seemed to be sleeping.

　　Sun Wukong didn’t dare alarm him. He simply knelt before the bed and waited.

　　After some time, Master Subhuti suddenly mumbled to himself.

　　“Difficult, difficult, difficult! The Dao is so mysterious. Treating the golden pill as ordinary. All words imparted would only be wasted if I don’t meet the correct person to impart the correct Dao!”