The Tathāgata Must Fail

Sun Wukong has not returned for a whole day, and Ao Luan is extremely anxious.

At noon, she suddenly sensed a familiar aura in the forest.

"Brother, where did you go yesterday?"

Ao Luan hurriedly flew over and was startled to see the middle-aged white-bearded Daoist behind Sun Wukong, stammering in her speech: "Im-Immortal Zhenyuan."

"You know me?"

Immortal Zhenyuan was surprised and then smiled as he nodded, "So it's the Dragon Girl of the East Sea, no wonder..."

"Great King."

The other Demon Kings followed Ao Luan and asked Sun Wukong: "Who is this Daoist?"

"You need not ask."

Immortal Zhenyuan snorted coldly: "I'm but an Independent Immortal, just came to see."

Sun Wukong nodded, but he cursed inwardly, calling him a damn proud fool.

Yesterday, he received an invitation from Immortal Zhenyuan. The two talked for a day and felt a kindred spirit; Immortal Zhenyuan was so pleased he wouldn't let him return even at night.

If it weren't for the worry that he would cause trouble in the Three Realms in the future, Immortal Zhenyuan might have sworn brotherhood with Sun Wukong on the spot with a ceremonial paper burning.

Today, when Sun Wukong extended an invitation, Immortal Zhenyuan agreed immediately.

However, he didn't expect that, upon arriving at Huaguo Mountain and seeing the other demons, Immortal Zhenyuan's expression changed.

"Stay back, I have matters to discuss with the Immortal."

Sun Wukong didn't want Ao Luan and the others to influence Immortal Zhenyuan's attitude, so he instructed them to follow from a distance.

Immortal Zhenyuan's attitude immediately became much warmer: "Younger brother, how many demons do you have in Huaguo Mountain?"

"Over six hundred thousand."

Sun Wukong answered, thanks to meticulous management, the count of demons in Huaguo Mountain was very precise.

"Six hundred thousand…"

Immortal Zhenyuan stroked his beard in thought, this was definitely the largest gathering of demons in the world.

He turned and noticed the strange tool in the hands of the Wolf Demon King.

"Little brother, what is that dog demon holding?"

Immortal Zhenyuan asked.

Sun Wukong glanced at it: "A vernier caliper."

Vernier calipers are measuring tools that can measure length, internal and external diameters, and depth; their precise scale has helped the craftsmanship of Huaguo Mountain develop, benefiting many industries.

Immortal Zhenyuan recognized this tool as extraordinary.

"Can you gift me one?"

Immortal Zhenyuan asked.

Sun Wukong nodded: "Of course."

He told the Wolf Demon King to give the vernier calipers to Immortal Zhenyuan.

Immortal Zhenyuan stored the calipers in his sleeve and then exclaimed: "Huaguo Mountain truly is a wonderful place…"

Not only the vernier calipers, but also some of the little demons he saw along the way were adorable.

"Immortal."

Sun Wukong said: "Shall we clear a space to conduct experiments first?"

"Of course."

Immortal Zhenyuan nodded and then looked around: "This forest is not big enough."

"I'll clear the area."

Sun Wukong took out the Mountain God token from his waist.

He looked up, his gaze passing over the forest that stretched like a green sea, looking towards the distant mountains.

Sun Wukong raised the wooden token, and a tremendous roaring sound echoed through Huaguo Mountain.

That moment seemed as if the whole world darkened, and all the demons in the forest saw nothing but pitch black. They stared dazedly at the sky, enveloped by a huge shadow that covered everything.

A mountain floated in the air.

In front of it, the demons were as minuscule as dust particles.

"Go."

With a command from Sun Wukong, in the blink of an eye, the forest overhead returned to a clear sky.

But the vacant plain in front told the demons that the original mountain was gone.

All the demons couldn't help but inhale sharply.

"Gr-Great King."

The Demon Kings asked in a trembling voice: "Where is the mountain?"

"It's moved to the sea."

Sun Wukong had not yet replied when Ao Luan took the initiative to provide the answer.

As a Dragon Girl, she sensed the anomaly on the sea surface—but it was not a significant disturbance.

Ao Luan understood that only the Mountain God could alter the terrain so subtly.

She looked at the token in Sun Wukong's hand: "Brother, where did you get the Mountain God token from?"

The Mountain God is the foundation of the Heavenly Palace, and Huaguo Mountain has never had a Mountain God, how could there suddenly be a Mountain God token.

Sun Wukong put away the wooden token: "I made it myself."

"How is that possible!"

Ao Luan was shocked deep down—tokens of the Mountain God were a secret of the Heavenly Palace, nobody knew how the Mountain God connected with the land.

Brother actually made a Mountain God token himself?

How profound must his Daoist Skill be!

"Brother!"

Ao Luan wanted to continue asking Sun Wukong.

But Sun Wukong just snorted coldly.

Ao Luan immediately closed her mouth, knowing that now was not the time to discuss this.

Sun Wukong turned his head to consult Immortal Zhen Yuan: "Do you think this space is sufficient?"

"It's enough."

Immortal Zhen Yuan nodded, thinking this monkey was indeed immensely skilled: "First, show me the Barrier you've made."

"Give me a moment."

Sun Wukong picked up six Daoist Talismans, silently recited a Spell, and transformed into a white light that shot into the sky.

The six beams of white light rapidly ascended; reaching their peak, they suddenly curved in mid-air, drawing a long arc, and hovered in six different directions.

Golden light fell from the sky, and the vast expanse of ground was quickly covered by a bubble-shaped Barrier.

The Demon Kings exclaimed in amazement.

This Barrier was large enough to encompass a city.

"What an exquisite Barrier." Immortal Zhen Yuan stood by the edge of the bubble, extending his hand to touch the Barrier, and couldn't help but exclaim, "How long did you study this?"

"Ten years."

Sun Wukong replied, he had started studying this Barrier after acquiring knowledge from the Dragon King.

"Not bad."

Immortal Zhen Yuan's eyes shimmered faintly, using his mana, the structure of the Barrier appeared as clear as transparent before his eyes.

Inside the Barrier, many spots on the ground flickered with starry specks of fire, forming dragons that connected together.

The more Immortal Zhen Yuan looked, the more amazed he became; this was not a mere Defensive Barrier.

The Barrier could transform the Sun and Moon Essence, which shone unutilized onto the land, into Spiritual Energy that remained in the ground, circulating in some special pattern inside, endlessly revitalizing.

"Brilliant, truly brilliant!"

Immortal Zhen Yuan was overjoyed: "Combining the Spirit Gathering Array with the Barrier, this is truly a genius idea!"

"I call it the Spiritual Network."

Sun Wukong smiled.

This was not just a Defense Barrier, but a multifunctional network.

His idea stemmed from the electrical grid described in the Heavenly Book—although he could not recreate it, he tried to convert Spiritual Power into 'electricity'.

"Spiritual Network?"

Immortal Zhen Yuan nodded: "Good name."

This Spiritual Network was no simple matter; it could serve both as a Barrier and a Spirit Gathering Array.

"Intriguing."

Immortal Zhen Yuan looked at the bubble, smiling broadly: "This Spiritual Network is not yet complete; do you want me to help you perfect it?"

Sun Wukong nodded: "That is precisely my intention."

"You've found the right person."

Immortal Zhen Yuan laughed heartily.

This Wise Monkey indeed lived up to his name, with truly unique ideas—no one within the Three Realms had thought of the Spiritual Network.

If this Spiritual Network materializes, the Sun and Moon Essence shining upon Huaguo Mountain would accumulate, transforming into a place rich in Spiritual Energy, an Earthly Immortal Realm.

With the increase in Spiritual Energy, the demons of Huaguo Mountain would also benefit.

What's more, the Sun and Moon Essence were originally ownerless, only Spiritual Objects could absorb them. Unrefined, the Spiritual Energy would dissipate, but the Spirit Gathering Array of the Spiritual Network would retain even those dissipating energies bit by bit.

This method wouldn't offend anyone, and Immortal Zhen Yuan could implement this technology in his own Daoist Temple.

He was delighted and pulled Sun Wukong to sit down, carefully researching together.

Ao Luan and the other Demon Kings had no idea what they were researching, exchanging perplexed looks behind their backs.