Journey to the West: With a supernatural understanding, he entered Fangcun Mountain at the beginning
Chapter 25 - Stealing the Peaches, the Curtain Rises

Chapter 25: Stealing the Peaches, the Curtain Rises

The Pan Tao Garden, located in the Ninth Heaven of the Heavenly Palace, is adjacent to the residence of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. The garden is home to peach trees of all shapes and sizes, with lush branches and colorful, vibrant flowers. The peach blossoms bloom, their petals floating down like brocades, enchanting all who see them.

The garden was surrounded by strict protections, which Qin Chuan once peered into with his Heavenly Eye. Any unauthorized intruders would face a punishment of being struck by lightning and burned by fire. Today, the garden is under the watchful eye of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who is patrolling the area. The protections around the garden have disappeared without a trace.

“Great Sage, the garden contains three thousand six hundred peach trees. The peaches mature once every three thousand years, and eating them can prolong life. Every six thousand years, they become capable of granting immortality; every nine thousand years, they grant immortality and the ability to live as long as the heavens,” the Earth Spirit, a short and white-haired figure, explained to the monkey and Qin Chuan.

“Every time the Queen Mother of the West holds the Yao Hai Grand Gathering, she gifts these peaches to the immortals to show her favor.”

In the Pan Tao Garden, the Earth Spirit was explaining the situation to the monkey and Qin Chuan. Hearing this, the monkey was overjoyed and said to the Earth Spirit, “Thank you for the information. Let me pick a few to taste.”

The Earth Spirit hurriedly replied, “Great Sage, please do not. These peaches are not ordinary. You must wait until the Yao Hai Grand Gathering before picking and eating them. It is still early, and we do not want to anger the Queen Mother.”

Reluctantly, the monkey was about to speak when Qin Chuan interrupted him, “Monkey, the Jade Emperor entrusted you to guard the Pan Tao Garden. How can you steal the peaches?”

The monkey was stunned for a moment and then realized what Qin Chuan meant. He laughed and said, “You’re right. I was just testing if this Earth Spirit has any thieving intentions.”

The Earth Spirit, shocked, hurriedly bowed and apologized, “I would never dare steal the peaches! What I said is in accordance with the Queen Mother’s wishes. I would not violate her orders. Great Sage, please forgive me.”

The monkey laughed heartily, “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t blame you.”

Qin Chuan smiled at the Earth Spirit. He has only been guarding the Pan Tao Garden for a short time, and from his reaction, it seemed that he would not dare touch the six-thousand- or nine-thousand-year-old peaches. But the three-thousand-year-old peaches, the most abundant, could be taken with no one knowing.

The monkey and Qin Chuan then count all the peach trees and fruits in the garden before heading back to their residence.

As the Earth Spirit watched them leave, a worried look crossed his face. He knew it’s safer to just follow the rules, lest he get any ideas of stealing in the future. He shivered, scaring himself, and then burrowed into the ground.

Back at the Great Sage’s residence, the monkey looked around to see if anyone was watching, then used a sound-transmitting technique to whisper to Qin Chuan, “Those Pan Peaches are really something. The peach trees on my Flower-Fruit Mountain are rare treasures, but they don’t compare to the Queen Mother’s peaches.”

Qin Chuan laughed, “Do you know what these Pan Peaches really are? They’re the essence of the primordial Ren Water Peach Tree, a spirit root that existed even before the world began. Just like the Five-Needle Pine we ate before, these are roots that existed before heaven and earth were created. It’s said that eating one can make you live as long as us immortals.”

The monkey’s eyes light up. “Wait a minute, I’ll use a spell to make the Earth Spirit fall asleep. Then we can eat as many peaches as we want and take some back for my monkeys and descendants.”

One day, Qin Chuan and the monkey cast a spell to shrink to the size of insects and flew into the Pan Tao Garden. The monkey blew a light breath from his fingers, and a wisp of green smoke entered the ground. Immediately, the Earth Spirit fell into a deep sleep, snoring loudly.

Seeing the vast garden full of peaches, they were overjoyed. The monkey first picked a three-thousand-year-old peach and devoured it in just a few bites, then moved on to the six-thousand-year-old peaches.

Qin Chuan, however, headed straight for the nine-thousand-year-old purple-veined peaches. Unlike the monkey, who loved eating peaches, he was more interested in the immense life essence within the peaches.

The nine-thousand-year-old Pan Peaches were filled with abundant life essence. Just smelling them made one feel invigorated. Upon eating one, the peach was as sweet as honey and smelled like flowers, immediately refreshing the mind and body. Then, a cooling sensation spreads from the mouth, like spring water gushing forth, washing away any heat.

Qin Chuan’s eyes brighten. Aside from everything else, the flavor of these peaches was already superior to the Five-Needle Pine. As the peach entered his stomach, a powerful surge of life energy flooded his body, like a rushing river, invigorating him.

[Eating the nine-thousand-year-old Purple-Veined Pan Peach, Qin Chuan gains insight into the Supreme Heaven Great Divine Power: Transformation of Fate.].

Qin Chuan was overjoyed, feeling his cultivation bottleneck loosening. Meanwhile, the monkey also came over, grabbed a nine-thousand-year-old peach, and started eating it.

Time passed, and the Pan Tao Garden remained as beautiful as ever, with flowers in full bloom and a fragrance filling the air. The peaches shine like pearls, radiating a dazzling light.

However, a closer look revealed that the peaches were smaller, and the six-thousand-year-old peaches were now rare to see.

After eating, the monkey fell asleep in the Pan Tao Garden, while Qin Chuan returned to the Great Sage’s residence to focus on refining the energy from the peaches.

One day, the monkey was awoken by whispers. He opened his eyes to find seven female immortals wandering through the Pan Tao Garden, picking peaches and placing them in baskets.

The monkey immediately revealed his true form, pulled out his Golden Cudgel, and shouted, “Who dares to steal the Pan Peaches?”

The seven fairies were startled. Upon seeing the monkey with a rough face and thunderbolt-like mouth, they realized this was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, whom the Earth Spirit had mentioned.

They quickly bowed and apologized, “Great Sage, please forgive us. Due to the Queen Mother’s birthday, the Pan Peach Grand Meeting is being held at the Yaohai, and we were sent to pick peaches. We could not find you, so we began picking here first.”

“Oh?” The monkey asked curiously, “Who has been invited to this Pan Peach Grand Meeting?”

The fairy replied, “Naturally, according to tradition, the various saints of the West, the immortals of the Ten Continents and Three Islands, the gods of Heaven, and the eight eminent gods of the Eight Caves.”

“Did you invite me, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?” The monkey interrupted, asking sharply.

The fairy hesitated and awkwardly replied, “I’ve not heard of it! What I said was the usual tradition, but it may be different this time.”

The monkey nodded, “I see, it’s probably because I just arrived in Heaven, and my invitation hasn’t arrived yet. You may go ahead.”

Just as the seven fairies were about to leave, the monkey used a spell to freeze them all in place. He then conjured clouds beneath his feet and, without returning to the Great Sage’s residence, headed towards the Yaohai.

In the Great Sage’s residence, Qin Chuan looked at the rough figure flying away and smiled. The curtain rises, starting from the fact that the Queen Mother did not invite the Great Sage Equal to Heaven to the Pan Peach Grand Meeting.

With a flick of his hand, a delicate invitation appeared. This invitation was not made of paper or silk, but rather woven from the silken threads of the Tianshan snow silkworm, as thin as a cicada’s wing and light as smoke. Its color was neither red nor purple, but dyed with the morning glow of Kunlun Mountain’s dawn, bright like peaches and dazzling like gold.

It read: “Please, with the blessings of Heaven, the Emperor of the Earth, attend the Pan Peach Grand Meeting!”

The writing flowed like clouds and water, as if a dragon soaring in the air, written with ink made from the tears of the East Sea’s merman, flowing smoothly and freely.

Qin Chuan held the invitation in his hand, contemplating for a moment. Then, with a flick of his mind, the invitation turned into sparkling starlight and scattered with the wind.

With a leap, Qin Chuan flew out of the Great Sage’s residence, chasing after the direction the monkey had taken.