The carriage flew over Huaguo Mountain's airspace.

Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad parted the curtains and saw beneath the wheels a luxuriant forest, the wind blowing in fresh and sweet, lifting his spirits.

"This carriage is really steady."

Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad exclaimed.

Lady Rakshasa was somewhat pleased: "This is our latest carriage."

She turned to look at Sun Wukong, hoping for his praise, but saw Sun Wukong sitting on the cushion, supporting his head with one hand, seemingly resting.

"Great King is drifting off again."

Lady Rakshasa said, since following Sun Wukong, she would occasionally see him close his eyes and drift off.

"But he's not drifting off."

Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad glanced over and smiled: "He's not even here at all."

Lady Rakshasa was puzzled.

Isn't the Great King right here?

Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad did not continue to explain and turned his head back to enjoy the scenery outside the window.

Ten minutes later, the carriage landed in front of a Daoist Temple on Yongchun Island.

"Is this the place for alchemy?"

Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad got off the carriage, took a deep breath, and indeed smelled the fragrance of elixirs in the air.

"This Daoist Temple doesn't seem to have been built for long."

Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad remarked.

Sun Wukong got off the carriage: "It hasn't been many years."

He patted the stout blue ox that pulled the carriage to show his thanks, then led the two into the Daoist Temple.

"I'm not very familiar with the art of alchemy; the development of alchemy in Huaguo Mountain started rather late."

Sun Wukong said to Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad.

Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad was surprised: "Is there something you're not good at?"

"There're plenty."

Sun Wukong laughed.

Back in the day when he studied at the Three Star Cave, besides martial arts and Daoist skill, he hadn't delved deeply into things like music, chess, calligraphy, painting, or alchemy.

"Great King."

Zhang Liang, along with a group of Taoists, came out of the Alchemy Room to greet them.

After Liu Qi left, Zhang Liang started working here.

Sun Wukong introduced to Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad: "This is Zhang Liang, the person in charge of the Daoist Temple."

Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad looked at Zhang Liang and felt an inexplicable kinship, and knowing from calculating that he shared a master-disciple fate with Zhang Liang.

In the future, Zhang Liang would attain Dao and become an Immortal, fit to be one of his attendant boys.

Since he was qualified to be his attendant boy, Zhang Liang's alchemy skills naturally needed no questioning.

Zhang Liang showed Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad the elixirs they had refined, all of which are used for cultivation, typically given as rewards, used by Ao Luan to commend demons.

"Not bad."

Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad casually picked up an elixir and tasted it.

"Plants from Huaguo Mountain really are different."

The biggest difference in alchemy from Huaguo Mountain and the outside world lies in using some plants unique to Huaguo Mountain, especially some hybrid plant species.

Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad was quite curious about the unfamiliar elixirs and started discussing with Zhang Liang.

Seeing them having a good chat, Sun Wukong was about to take Lady Rakshasa and leave.

"Don't go."

Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad stopped him: "You listen in as well."

Sun Wukong and Lady Rakshasa sat down and listened.

They listened for an entire day, with Lady Rakshasa growing drowsy and Sun Wukong frowning constantly.

It seemed that Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad intended to give him some pointers, but Sun Wukong had little interest in alchemy.

Besides the necessary knowledge, alchemy required extensive hands-on experience, not something that could be learned overnight.

As Sun Wukong was about to take his leave, Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad took out a Pill Furnace and asked Sun Wukong to try and concoct a type of elixir.

"Why do you want me to refine it?"

Sun Wukong was puzzled but still gathered some herbal medicines and after half a night's toil, managed to produce a few pills.

Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad picked up the elixir: "Indeed."

Even though this elixir hadn't yet taken shape, its emergence surprised both Zhang Liang and the other Taoists.

"Great King, how ever did you manage to make such an elixir?"

They asked.

Sun Wukong was a bit perplexed: "Is there something wrong with this elixir?"

"Of course not."

While examining the elixir, Lord Lao Zi said: "I merely taught you some blind methods of alchemy, yet you actually managed to concoct it."

His guidance to Sun Wukong had been quite vague; he hadn't expected Wukong to independently figure out a different method.

Lord Lao Zi inquired: "How did you come up with the idea to refine an elixir that cures illness?"

"Lord, I have written pharmacological classics."

Sun Wukong responded that having composed pharmacological texts, it was only natural for him to consider using elixirs for healing.

The idea of elixirs curing illness wasn't strange, but even so, the elixir Wukong concocted had its unique features and was very easy to popularize.

Lord Lao Zi couldn't help but laugh: "I knew you were different from ordinary people."

Sun Wukong was broad in knowledge, but had little contact with alchemy, which in Lord Lao Zi's view was an invaluable treasure trove.

If he was taught alchemy in an unconventional manner, perhaps he would come up with some eye-opening ideas.

The recent alchemy attempt had already shown it to be possible to Lord Lao Zi.

"Go to the library and learn some alchemy techniques."

Lord Lao Zi said: "It's best not to learn too much, just read a couple of books will suffice. In the future, when you have time, come watch me perform alchemy and chat with me."

He then told Sun Wukong the titles of those two books.

Lord Lao Zi didn't exactly want Sun Wukong to practice alchemy; he was just interested in his ideas.

"And there's this..."

Lord pulled out an Immortal Hammer from his sleeve and handed it to Sun Wukong: "Return this to Immortal Zhenyuan."

Sun Wukong found the Immortal Hammer somewhat familiar.

"Tell Immortal Zhenyuan not to swing it randomly."

Lord Lao Zi stated: "Who knows what he's struck with it; the exterior is deformed and the interior has been completely shattered. I had to nurture it for half a year to restore it."

"I understand."

Sun Wukong bid farewell with Lady Rakshasa by his side.

He was headed to Wuzhuang Temple to return the Immortal Hammer, while Lady Rakshasa took the initiative to go to the library to find those two books.

With a use of the Shrinking Earth Skill, Sun Wukong instantly arrived at Wuzhuang Temple.

Immortal Zhen Yuan came out to welcome him, receiving back the Immortal Hammer while casting a smiling gaze upon Wukong.

"Immortal," Sun Wukong spoke: "The Lord says you shouldn't swing it anymore."

Immortal Zhen Yuan was taken aback: "Why?"

"I'm tougher than the hammer."

Sun Wukong replied.

He then bid farewell to Immortal Zhen Yuan and returned to Shuilian Cave.

It wasn't long before Lady Rakshasa came back with two books.

"Great King, I saw Fairy Chang'e in the library."

She reported to Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong grew curious: "What is she doing at the library in the dead of night?"

"She seemed to be looking at a musical score."

Lady Rakshasa answered: "And she didn't appear happy either."

Sun Wukong became even more intrigued: "Why?"

"Perhaps because she doesn't want to lose to Daji in singing."

Lady Rakshasa said: "I heard that Daji is also staying up late to practice her dance, claiming that she will concede Fairy Chang'e's defeat in the singing and dancing contest."

This was quite unexpected for Sun Wukong.

The singing and dancing contest was an annual event on Huaguo Mountain, with the champion every year being Daji; but this year, with Fairy Chang'e participating, the outcome was not so certain.

However, Sun Wukong always found the thoughts of women unpredictable, and he had thought those two got along well.

The discord between the two was somewhat troublesome for Sun Wukong.

But upon reflection, he considered that their competition might actually be for the better.

Sun Wukong decided to leave them to it.

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