NOVPUBSun Wukong discovered that the few runes in his eyes weren’t particularly profound; the only significant aspect was their concealment ability, which he had now identified. After confirming for the third time that there were no other runes hiding in his eyes, he adjusted his state before beginning his work. His approach was simple: since these runes possessed the power of seals, he would follow suit by using sealing power to counter them. Sealing runes with the power to seal might sound difficult, but in practice, it wasn’t. Once Sun Wukong had mastered the Seal Heavenly Stamp, he gained a deep understanding of the power of seals, which was also why the adversary hadn’t used forceful methods to seal his Heaven and Earth Fire Eyes.
Two Chinese Hours later, Sun Wukong slowly opened his eyes. His eyes lacked any extraordinary luster, resembling those of an ordinary person. However, rather than being disheartened, he heaved a sigh of relief. He had successfully used the power of the Seal Heavenly Stamp to completely seal the runes in his eyes. Now, his eyes had indeed become quite ordinary, but this was only temporary. Once he completely refined the runes in his eyes, they would gradually recover until they regained their peak condition.
Nonetheless, Sun Wukong now needed to rest; sealing those runes had consumed a considerable amount of his energy. He had to be extremely careful with the runes in his eyes; otherwise, he risked blinding himself. As Sun Wukong was preparing to meditate and rest, a little monkey beside him suddenly said, "You are quite strange, choosing to sleep at a time like this. I’ve already led you here, so shouldn’t you fulfill your promise now? Give me the Elixir first. If you go in and then can’t come out, I’ll be at a loss." Sun Wukong chuckled and replied, "You’re quite shrewd, aren’t you?" Then, he tossed a slightly larger Jade Vase to the little monkey. It contained fifteen elixir pills, a cut above the previous ones.
Sun Wukong no longer felt much animosity towards the little monkey, and although he still didn’t know whether the island was as peculiar as the monkey claimed, those elixir pills weren’t of much use to him, so he decided to be straightforward about it. Watching the little monkey joyfully clutching the Jade Vase and showering it with kisses, Sun Wukong found it amusing. After some thought, he took out a palm-sized, purple Lingzhi mushroom from the World Within the Artifact. As soon as he took it out, the little monkey immediately turned its head and began salivating over the Lingzhi.
Sun Wukong tossed the Lingzhi into the little monkey’s arms and said, "This is extra compensation for you, more effective than those elixir pills. I hope that after I enter, you will wait for me here, and we’ll have to go to the next place when I come out!" It was a blatant bribe, an approach Sun Wukong had used more than once, each time to great effect. This time was no different; the little monkey took a bite of the Lingzhi and grinned at Sun Wukong, nodding continuously, "Don’t worry, if you don’t come out, I’ll come to rescue you. Don’t underestimate this place!" After saying that, it stopped paying attention to Sun Wukong and began refining the medicinal power inside it.
This Buddha’s Hand Lingzhi had a miraculous effect on soul enhancement, and there were only three pillars’ worth in Sun Wukong’s World Within the Artifact. This was indeed a major sacrifice, but it was worthwhile. With the monkey’s assurance, Sun Wukong felt very confident. He thought it best to rest for a while, then enter once the runes in his eyes were fully refined. Although entering after his eyes had completely recovered would be safer, Sun Wukong did not want to delay any longer. Another three Chinese Hours passed, and he heaved another long sigh.
It had to be said that the Five Elements power at its peak within him was formidable, giving him an extremely strong adaptability to various situations. Even using an infinitesimal amount of this Five Elements Power for refinement, the result was extraordinary. He had initially estimated that the complete refinement would take several days; however, it was accomplished in just three Chinese Hours. Now that the seal within his eyes had entirely dissipated, he only needed to wait another three to five days for his eyes to fully recover. After notifying the little monkey, Sun Wukong stepped into the blood-red forest.
This forest didn’t differ much from ordinary forests, except the usual greenery was blood-red here. There were no paths, nor were there any wild animals, so quiet it seemed as if Sun Wukong was the only person in the entire forest. His Divine Consciousness was constantly extended, scouting the surroundings, and based on the results of his Divine Consciousness Scouting, there didn’t seem to be any peculiar creatures here.
"Could it really be just that it’s easy to get lost here? That shouldn’t be the case, though. If a place is merely easy to get lost in without any other dangers, it wouldn’t be considered anything special." As you know, any forest that is seldom tread by humans is very easy to get lost in. Therefore, Sun Wukong didn’t let his guard down; instead, he was fully alert as he walked deeper into the forest. He walked for an entire day, yet still found nothing—considering the size of the island he had seen from the outside, Sun Wukong should have been close to the center of the island by now, supposedly the core area of the forest. But there was still no sign of anything unusual, which was quite strange. So Sun Wukong began to doubt whether that little monkey was deceiving him. After searching for another three or four Chinese hours and still finding nothing, Sun Wukong had largely concluded that the little monkey had been deceiving him.
Thus, Sun Wukong decided to go out and settle accounts with the little monkey. However, that’s when Sun Wukong discovered something was wrong. Because he was lost—nothing untoward had happened on his way in, but when he decided to turn back, he found he couldn’t walk out. At first, Sun Wukong rested against a large tree, but no matter which direction he walked, whenever he decided to stop, he would find that the same large tree was always around him, either behind or beside him. Initially, Sun Wukong refused to believe in curses, thinking it was due to the complexity of the forest, but when he ended up back beside that large tree after three consecutive attempts, he knew things weren’t as simple as he had thought.
So, he punched and broke the large tree, but before he could set off again, the tree he had broken regrew right in front of him. After several attempts to destroy the tree with destructive power, turning it into nothingness, the large tree still recovered. Not just that one, but all the other plants too—apparently, the plants in this forest simply couldn’t be destroyed. By this time, Sun Wukong had sensed the eeriness of the place. So, he thought of flying up, intending to fly straight out of the island. But once again, Sun Wukong failed; no matter how he tried to fly, he just couldn’t leave the forest. It was as if the surrounding trees were growing rapidly to match his ascent.
Undestroyable, unescapable, unleaveable through the air—the situation here was far more tricky and troublesome than Sun Wukong had imagined. For seven consecutive days, Sun Wukong had tried every method he could think of, all in vain. He had attempted to spread out thousands of doppelgangers created from his monkey hair, scattering in all directions; surely, with so many doppelgangers, at least one should find a way out. But even after all the doppelgangers were dispersed and lost contact with him, not a single one found a way to leave. The forest surely couldn’t be that vast; the maximum distance of connection between Sun Wukong and his doppelgangers was 30 million li. Could it be that this small island was actually 30 million li wide? That obviously made no sense.
Latter on, Sun Wukong tried using Spatial Sand. He controlled the Spatial Sand to fly in one direction until it was almost out of his control before he gave up, yet he still failed. At the same time, Sun Wukong also tried to reset the time around him through his Space-time Divine Power, but no matter how he tried to reset it, it made no difference. Sun Wukong even attempted Earth Escape, but the result was the same as flying; he couldn’t get out even after a day and a night. It seemed as if there really wasn’t any way to leave?
"No, that’s not right. That little monkey said he once came here, and though he was trapped for a while, he managed to get out. Which means there must be a way to leave this place, it’s just that I haven’t found it yet?" 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Right at that moment, Sun Wukong suddenly felt joy—his Heaven and Earth Fire Eyes had fully recovered!
(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Starting Point (qidian.com) to vote for Monthly Pass, and recommend tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
