Journey to the West: With a supernatural understanding, he entered Fangcun Mountain at the beginning
Chapter 3 - The Celestial Reckoning

Chapter 3: The Celestial Reckoning

When the monkey successively rejected the four great paths—Technique, Flow, Stillness, and Motion—Patriarch Subodhi’s fury shook the heavens.

“You impudent ape!” The ancient immortal thundered. “You spurn this teaching and that doctrine—what manner of enlightenment do you seek?”

In a blur of celestial movement, the Patriarch materialized before the monkey and delivered three precise strikes with his disciplining ruler. Then, with a dismissive flick of his sleeve, he vanished into the ether. The disciples recoiled in collective horror—all save Qin Chuan. Like a pack of jackals, they turned on their simian brother.

“You insolent beast!” Cried the most vocal among them. “To dare refuse the Patriarch’s wisdom! Who knows when we shall hear his sacred teachings again!”

The contrast between Qin Chuan and the monkey couldn’t have been starker—where one was revered as a cultivation prodigy who achieved divine consciousness in mere months, the other was viewed as a troublesome ne’er-do-well. Had Qin Chuan provoked the Patriarch’s wrath, the disciples would have made excuses rather than accusations.

Such were the unspoken rules of their immortal sect—proof that even celestial beings couldn’t escape the pettiness of mortal politics.

(Would these same disciples dare speak thus to the future Great Sage Equal to Heaven? The thought was laughable.)

The monkey, for his part, seemed deaf to their vitriol. Rubbing his stinging scalp with a vacant grin, his eyes shone with some secret understanding.

“Senior brothers,” Qin Chuan interposed smoothly, materializing like a breeze between the factions, “Sun Wukong meant no offense. Should the Patriarch witness this discord, his displeasure would only deepen.”

At Qin Chuan’s intervention, the grumbling disciples dispersed like morning mist, though their resentful glances lingered.

When they were finally alone, the monkey grabbed Qin Chuan’s sleeve, his whisper trembling with excitement.

“Qin Chuan—fortune smiles upon us! A serendipity beyond measure!”

The young cultivator’s lips curled knowingly. “Indeed, my friend. A destiny-shaping opportunity.”

He’d always known this peculiar monkey would prove worth the trouble.

[Through the ‘Technique’ Path → Comprehended Celestial Art #14: Future Sight]. [Through the ‘Flow’ Path → Comprehended Celestial Art #29: Unbarred Perception]. [Through the ‘Stillness’ Path → Comprehended Celestial Art #18: Nine-Cycle Breath Cultivation]. [Through the ‘Motion’ Path → Comprehended Celestial Art #2: Cosmic Inversion].

Four Supreme Celestial Arts! Each treasure among the Daoist canon’s most guarded techniques.

While commoners often confused the Thirty-Six Heavenly Methods and Seventy-Two Earthly Arts with mere transformation techniques, true initiates understood their terrifying requirements—mastery demanded at least Great Luo Golden Immortal-level cultivation, putting them in an entirely different realm from the paltry tricks used to evade heavenly tribulations.

The Midnight Pilgrimage

As the gibbous moon cast mottled shadows through the ancient pines, its light silvering the third watch drum’s final echoes, a lone figure slipped through the darkness towards the Patriarch’s sanctum.

As dawn’s first light touched the mountain, the monkey slipped quietly from the Patriarch’s chamber—his destiny forever altered after a night spent mastering the Great Heavenly Immortal Scripture.

The Stone Monkey of Numinous Wisdom, already blessed with the merits of heaven-mending and ordained as a protagonist of creation, had spent seven years tempering his spirit. Now, his cultivation path was poised to soar beyond the clouds.

“Enter.”

Moments after the monkey departed, Patriarch Subodhi’s voice summoned Qin Chuan. The air shimmered as the young disciple materialized before his master, kneeling in reverence.

“Your disciple greets you, Master. You called for me—dare I hope for special instruction?”

Subodhi chuckled. “They say that heaven-born ape is clever, but you, my pupil, possess true seven-aperture insight.”

“You honor me too much.”

“Yesterday, when I struck Sun Wukong three times, I glanced at you.” Qin Chuan pressed his forehead to the floor. “Was this not your meaning: ‘Seek me at daybreak’?”

Laughter echoed through the chamber. “As expected of the Primordial Light’s chosen! Your perception is peerless.”

Qin Chuan’s head snapped up.

“…Master knows of the Light?”

“Few things in the Three Realms—even amidst this heavenly tribulation’s chaos—escape my notice,” Subodhi said mildly. “I encountered this radiance during the Primordial Epoch. I recognized its presence within you immediately.”

Qin Chuan’s mind reeled. The Light of Comprehension—his greatest advantage in this world. If the Patriarch could perceive it…

“Peace,” Subodhi soothed. “Upon reaching Golden Immortal status, none shall detect it. Until then, avoid direct confrontation with major powers.”

Golden Immortal… Qin Chuan exhaled. Achievable—even the monkey surpassed that before leaving the mountain. With the Light’s aid, he wouldn’t fall behind.

“Master,” he ventured, “the Light claims to be creation’s first dawn-gleam. What is its true nature?”

Subodhi’s gaze grew distant.

“When Pangu split chaos and ordered the cosmos, as purity ascended and dregs settled, a singular luminescence emerged. Neither divine nor demonic, neither sacred nor profane—it was wisdom incarnate.”

“From it sprang the Five Phases, the Seasons, and all existence. Mountains, rivers, stars—all grew from its essence. It is boundless, eternal, a mirror reflecting all truths. Seekers may petition it, but only the enlightened grasp its gifts.”

“This is the most miraculous, most profound wonder born of creation’s breath.”

As the revelation settled, Qin Chuan’s expression grew strained.

Could this “Light” be… my system notifications?

“But what intrigues me,” Subodhi mused, starlight dancing in his eyes, “isn’t the Light—but you, Wuxin.”

“I’ve scoured the cosmos with my mightiest divinations… yet found no trace of your karma.”

A cold drip traced Qin Chuan’s spine. Does he know I’m a transmigrant?

“Either a supreme being shields you,” the Patriarch continued, “or you are the escaped singularity…” Shaking his head, he changed tack. “You’ve surely noticed peculiarities about Wukong. Regardless, as my disciple, you deserve equal gifts.”

“That Light grants you unnatural affinity for mystical arts. What have you mastered?”

Relieved by the shifted focus, Qin Chuan grinned. “The Great Heavenly Scripture, several Heavenly Methods, some Earthly Arts—though my weak cultivation hampers the grander techniques.”

“All arts require foundation,” Subodhi nodded. “The Great Scripture suffices until Grand Unity Golden Immortalhood. Still…” A sly smile emerged. “Shall I teach you Heavenly or Earthly Transformations to evade tribulations?”

Qin Chuan’s eyes gleamed. “Might this greedy disciple request… both?”

“Hah!” A flick to the forehead sent him sprawling. “The Light’s corruption is evident!” Rubbing the sore spot, Qin Chuan protested. “Wouldn’t wasting such a treasure be foolish?”

“Logic I cannot fault. Very well—Thirty-Six Heavenly and Seventy-Two Earthly Transformations are yours.”

[System: Comprehended Metamorphosis of Heaven and Earth].

Qin Chuan kowtowed deeply.

“Master, I crossed oceans and braved countless dangers to seek your wisdom… Might this humble disciple beg one final boon—a travel technique?”

[Patriarch Subodhi grants Heavenly Method #9: Golden Earth Traversal → Evolved into Solar Ravens’ Rainbow Flight].

By noon, as sunlight blazed, a vibrant rainbow erupted from the Patriarch’s abode—first a slender emerald thread, then a crimson arc streaking across the firmament…