Chapter 2: The Secret To Immortality
"While yes, you would have great power and become a God, you would lose everything that made you an individual." Xia Ye listened as Sun Wukong explained. "Becoming part of everything means you become nothing at the same time. You would no longer have a soul or be yourself. You would experience no rage or sorrow, anger or ignorance. It would all be gone."
Hearing that, Xia Ye felt like he began to understand. "Oh… I suppose that makes sense. Losing everything that makes you a unique person in return for becoming a God. You wouldn't even be able to enjoy the accomplishment." Sun Wukong seemed to smile as he heard Xia Ye. "By the time I realized what it meant, it was too late."
Pointing to himself, he spoke. "In the end, I fragmented my own soul into the person you see before you. Along with that, I sent the treasures I had obtained in my time to this world. All my remaining power was on your birth. To create a body capable of breaking through the limits even I couldn't."
Xia Ye's eyes widened as he looked down at himself as Sun Wukong continued. "Of course that being the case I broke laws so forbidden you couldn't even imagine. It did more than go against the Heavens but against everything. My original self no longer exists, Xia Ye. Everything I was has been transferred to this world. And to you." Xia Ye looked up at Sun Wukong as he asked.
"But why? Why would you do something like that?" Sun Wukong looked up as he replied. "You can call it my last selfish act, but I simply didn't want to disappear. I didn't want my Legacy and Legend to end the way it was going to. I wanted the Monkey King to live on through you." Sun Wukong stood up suddenly as he sighed.
"Honestly, I never thought I would do something like this. But it was the only way." Xia Ye didn't know how to feel as he listened to Sun Wukong. He felt as if a bomb had gone off within his mind as so many questions he had for himself were answered. But at the same time, he wasn't sure if he should be happy or sad about it.
"I understand that I can't force this upon you. If you truly wish, I can leave you be, and you may live the rest of your life how you wish. However, if you are willing to take up my selfish request, then I will be grateful." Xia Ye looked at Sun Wukong and then back at himself. He had known he was different from his siblings and everyone else.
It was instinctive, but he had known. He had wondered so many things about himself, and now he knew why. Sun Wukong's words echoed in his mind. 'Go back to living my life? Unable to do what I wanted. Shackled by my inability?' He clenched his fist as he stood up and looked Sun Wukong in the eye.
"I refuse to fall back into that kind of life." Sun Wukong's eyes seemed to grow fiercer as a smile appeared on his face. "Then do you choose to accept my Legacy? If you do then you will never be free of it. If the Heavens try to suppress you then you must fight the Heavens. If the Gods try to shackle you then you must break their chains."
Pointing his staff as Xia Ye, he spoke. "If you can truly accept this, then you accept what the title of Monkey King truly is." As he stared eye to eye with Sun Wukong, Xia Ye felt that feeling again. The urge to go deeper, to explore and unravel. "Yes." Maybe he truly didn't understand what he was agreeing to, but he wanted to understand it and reach the potential dream he had and beyond.
"Good." Sun Wukong slightly thrust his staff forward as it tapped against Xia Ye. Slowly Sun Wukong's body turned into golden light and began to flow into Xia Ye's head. "Let us reach our goal together then shall we?" Xia Ye felt his eyes open as he found himself in that same cave lying on his back.
As he sat up, he felt something had changed. The pulsing golden light had stopped as Ruyi Jingu Bang sat there silently. Standing up, Xia Ye held out his hand. Ruyi Jingu Bang began to vibrate and shake as the stone that kept it in place cracked. Breaking free, it flew towards Xia Ye's hand as he grabbed it out of the air.
'Ruyi Jingu Bang…' Sun Wukong had left three things in his mind when he left that strange world. One of those things was information about his weapon Ruyi Jingu Bang. It was always by his side and the thing he trusted most in his life. Now he had given it to Xia Ye as he tightened his grip on Ruyi Jingu Bang.
[Seems Ruyi Jingu Bang likes you already.] Xia Ye suddenly heard Sun Wukong's voice and looked around. [Don't bother, I embedded myself into your Soul, you can't see me anymore.] Xia Ye calmed down a bit as he questioned. "Oh, I thought you had disappeared." Xia Ye heard Sun Wukong laugh when he said that.
[I'm just a remnant of my original spirit but I don't plan on leaving this world yet. There's still a lot more I need to pass on to you. When you're ready of course.] Xia Ye nodded. "I see well that's a worry off my chest I suppose." Xai Ye slowly climbed out of the cave and saw sunlight peeking out of the entrance. Realizing that, he began to run home.
Entering Floating Cloud City once more, he made his way to the Xia Manor and snuck back to his room.
After arriving, he saw no one had realized he went missing for an entire night and relaxed. Sitting on his bed, he began focusing on what Sun Wukong had imparted to him. One, of course, was Ruyi Jingu Bang and how to use its abilities. In all honesty, calling it a divine weapon didn't do it justice at all.
It was capable of changing not only its size but also its weight. On average, it would weigh over 8 Tons which was impossible for him to lift as he was. However, as soon as Ruyi Jingu Bang became his, it began to adjust its weight and size for him to wield properly. 'That aside, it's even capable of flying and has its own consciousness in a way.'
The second thing Sun Wukong had imparted onto him was not physical but more like teachings. There was a reason why he didn't have Profound Veins, and it stemmed from the fact the cultivation method Sun Wukong used did not require them. Even with the teachings in his mind, the concepts behind them were completely foreign.
There was no mention of Profound Energy or anything cultivators in his world used. "But that does mean I can finally cultivate?" He heard Sun Wukong say something once more. [From what I can see in your memories the cultivation everyone here goes through is quite different than my own. However, yes it should be possible.]
"Really?" Xia Ye seemed to be in a state of disbelief. [Try it for yourself and truly focus, don't get distracted. This cultivation method doesn't truly have a name so I simply call it The Secret To Immortality.] Hearing that name Xia Ye jerked. "Wait, are you saying that…" Sun Wukong responded, shocking Xia Ye. [Indeed this was the method I used to become Immortal for the first time.]
Xia Ye laid Ruyi Jingu Bang on his bed and sat down on the floor. In truth, this cultivation technique didn't actually have a name. Xia Ye felt as if his brain had been rattled by the idea. What was Immortality to a Cultivator no to anyone in the world? It was the end goal everyone wanted to reach but never could. "Immortality…"
Sitting down on the floor Xia Ye began to follow the instructions in his mind. The first stage required you to seal your body off from the outside world completely. Slowly Xia Ye entered a calm state as he stopped breathing and slowed his heartbeat. Focusing you take the energy naturally within the body you guide it to the brain.
There it will be purified and released back into the body, which transforms it. As this cycle repeats, the energy being purified and refined begins to channel itself through the Dantian naturally. Despite Xia Ye holding his breath, he didn't feel like he had a lack of air for over an hour. He continued to practice in silence, trying to make as much progress as possible.
It was only after the hour mark that Xia Ye began to sweat. Sun Wukong hadn't said a word due to him not wanting to interrupt Xia Ye's progress. Ten minutes later, however, Xia Ye finally reached his limit as he opened his eyes and took a deep breath. "This is difficult… It gets hard to concentrate on keeping your body so secluded from the outside world."
He couldn't let a signal sound distract him during the process, or else he would lose progress. [Not bad although not as good as when I first attempted it you still surpassed the others by far.] Xia Ye didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or simply Sun Wukong bragging. Either way, he had a smile on his face.
Having rested for a bit, it didn't take Xia Ye long to continue. For the next six hours, not including breaks, he practiced performing the cycle over and over again. As he did so, something began to form in his body. It was small, just bigger than a raisin; however, it had a slight blue glow and resembled a beautiful pearl.
'I think… I did it!' Feeling the small pearl within his body, Xia Ye stopped his cultivation collapsing on his bed. He had successfully started the first stage of The Secret To Immortality. As more energy passes through your Dantian, a Spiritual Pearl is formed. It naturally allows the body to generate energy independently without relying on outside sources like food, water, or even pills or elixirs.
Right now, his was small, so it did not generate that much. However, as he kept practicing and he was able to purify more energy in his body, it would grow. And as more energy coursed through his body and refined it, he would grow stronger. While Profound Veins relied heavily on their surroundings, this method was based entirely on the person cultivating it.
And Xia Ye just so happened to have the perfect body to do so with no Profound Veins to get in the way. As he lay there, he suddenly heard a knock on his door followed by Xia Yuanba's voice. "Brother Ye, are you awake yet?" Xia Ye sat up as he responded. "Ya, what's up, Yuanba?" Normally Yuanba wouldn't bother him this early and would be cultivating.
Opening Xia Ye's door, he explained. "I saw you were pretty down last night at your birthday party. So did you want to go out and do something with me?" Hearing that, Xia Ye smiled. "Thanks for looking out for me, Yuanba, but I'm fine." Suddenly Xia Ye heard Sun Wukong say something. [Hmm he should be good enough. You should fight him.]
'What?' Xia Ye was shocked by Sun Wukong's words. 'Why would I fight him? I just started cultivating plus he's at the 4th Level of the Elementary Profound Realm.' Xia Yuanba could easily break him in two. [Just trust me and fight him. If you worry about something as small as this you won't be able to advance in the future. The Monkey King fears nothing.]
Xia Ye was at a loss for words as he turned and looked at Xia Yuanba. "Actually there is something I wanted to ask you." Xia Yuanba's face lit up as he nodded. "Sure what is it?" Xia Ye hesitated a bit before speaking. "I was wondering if you would mind training with me for a bit. I've been feeling pretty good lately."
Hearing Xia Ye's request, Xia Yuanba looked surprised. "Are… Are you sure?" Xia Ye saw he was worried as he hopped off his bed and grabbed Ruyi Jingu Bang. "Ya just to work off some stress. Besides, isn't Father always saying you eat too much?" Xia Yuanba rubbed the back of his head as he spotted Xia Ye's staff.
"Woah, where did you get that from?" Xia Ye walked past Xia Yuanba as he told him. "Eh, it was a birthday gift. I really liked it, so I took it from the pile before anyone saw it." Xia Yuanba showed a look of understanding. "I see. I probably would have done the same." The two of them made their way to the indoor training area within the Manor.
Early in the morning, only the servants were walking around while some of the guards off duty were training. One of them noticed the two of them as he frowned. "What are Young Master Yuanba and Ye doing here?" The guard training with him turned and spotted them as well. "Don't tell me they're planning to spar."
Everyone in the Manor knew Xia Ye was strong for someone who didn't cultivate, but still, that was nothing. Even if Xia Yuanba was only at the 4th Level of the Elementary Profound Realm, he was still leagues beyond Xia Ye in strength. "Young Master Ye might end up getting hurt." One of the servants nearby was watching as the two brothers got in position.
Xia Yuanba's thought process followed everyone else watching as he spoke to Xia Ye. "You can make the first move." He didn't want to risk hurting him, so he would play defense. Xia Ye nodded as he twirled Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hands. 'Alright, this is the perfect chance for me to practice with the staff. I'll start with a thrust.'
Taking a step forward, Xia Ye thrust Ruyi Jingu Bang towards Xia Yuanba, who put up a crossguard and used a minimum amount of Profound Energy to defend himself. 'Huh?' Yuanba's eyes widened as he felt the staff hit his arms. Almost instantly, he felt as if his body had been lifted off the ground slightly as he fell over and was sent flying back.
Everyone had shocked faces as Xia Yuanba landed on the ground, including Xia Ye himself. 'What.' He had used a normal amount of strength for that thrust, and he didn't dare use Ruyi Jingu Bang's abilities during this. After all, he believed he was weak, but Ruyi Jingu Bang was not. It could easily end up hurting or killing Xia Yuanba by accident.
However, even then, for some reason, Xia Yuanba was on the ground after one attack.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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