Legend of the Mythological Genes
chapter-232

The first among the Chaotic World Monkeys—beyond Three Realms and Five Elements—was the Spiritual Stone Monkey.

Chaotic World Monkey was born after receiving the essence of Heaven and Earth, thereby becoming a rare spiritual creature of the Three Realms. It possessed mystical abilities which originated from Heaven and Earth. One of which was the ability of transformation, the knowledge of heaven’s natural order, of Earth’s favorable location, and to shift the stars.

Yet, such powers were disguised.

Spiritual Stone Monkey was born extraordinary with a shocking level of spirituality. However, no matter how talented it was, it was still incomparably fragile and weak at birth. Naturally, in order to survive in that weakened state and avoid being killed, they must conceal their strengths and bide their time, keeping their mystical abilities out of plain sight.

Putting its safety first was also one of the reasons behind Sun Wukong’s eventual ability to gleefully and proudly traverse through the Three Realms, becoming the Great Sage Equal to Heavens who defeated immortals near and far.

If one couldn’t protect oneself while they were young, then what was the use of possessing talent?

If they lost their lives, then what more was there to say?

These were recorded in the mythologies, but Feng Lin regained it from the hereditary memories of Spiritual Stone Monkey Gene.

If even the Great Sage had to be wary and careful at a young age, then wouldn’t it ring even more true for others?

Feng Lin comprehended it to a certain extent and there was an inexplicable change to his state of mind.

The ability of transformations, the knowledge of heaven’s natural order, of Earth’s favorable location, and to shift the stars—these were the talents that came with Spiritual Stone Monkey Gene. There was no need to intentionally learn them as they came naturally to him without a teacher.

Pressured by the dangers of the beast tide earlier, Feng Lin unleashed his transformation powers naturally, disguising his natural state and dodging the bullet. However, it was merely a change in his physical appearance.

As far as the legend went, the 72 transformations of Sun Wukong weren’t an innate ability. Rather, he had learned it from Patriarch Subhuti.

Since he was only a Spiritual Stone Monkey now, it was only natural that he couldn’t will this transformation ability as he wished just yet.

The ability of transformations, the knowledge of heaven’s natural order, of Earth’s favorable location, and to shift the stars?

What were these four abilities then?

Feng Lin pondered. He grasped the transformation technique at a superficial level; he could change the color of his hair at will, but he still couldn’t decipher the rest.

From a full hair of black to pure gold at times, then to a pale, snow-white during others… to an eventual chaotic mixture of all.

Other than that, no other changes occurred.

His mind was almost as mixed up as the colors of his hair, his thoughts in a whirl.

Grumble…

A wave of thunder-like noise snapped him out of his endless thoughts. He didn’t reach an epiphany, instead…

Feng Lin frowned as he covered his stomach.

He was hungry again!

Why the word, “again”?

Like a déjà-vu, it was an experience he had already been through before. This might be an illusion-scape, but it was undeniably realistic.

From his birth, to escaping from the beast tide, he had unconsciously stayed atop the lonely peak for an entire night. With the rising sun, he began to grow hungry as well…

Like a routine, he began searching for food.

As he looked at his surroundings, he noticed something different.

Compared to the previous illusion-scape he had experienced, although most of it was still the same scenery, it was much clearer than before. It was as though the fog had lifted, transforming an old 2D image to a 3D, high-definition piece.

At the familiar place from the previous time, he found the forest as he had done before. It was littered with an abundance of bright red peaches, the size of a fist, fragrant and sweet.

Feng Lin couldn’t resist, licking his lips before taking a huge bite off the peach.

The peach was juicy; with a bite, it gushed through the opening, drenching the monkey fur in front of his chest.

It was sweet but not sickeningly so, fresh and tasty. Its flesh was refreshing, penetrating deep into the heart and into the intestines, leaving one with the desire of having more. There was simply no way to stop…

Feng Lin buried his head into munching the peaches, enjoying it immensely. He focused only on the best parts of the peach, throwing away the rest.

It was only when his stomach bloated that he stopped. The peaches in it gave off a wave of strength, clear as water as it spread across his body.

The energy wasn’t explosive; it was gentle but due to the overwhelming numbers, it surged violently, exploding in an instant. It might combust if one was careless.

Feng Lin, on the other hand, was well aware and anticipated this. He sat upright and cross-legged with the palms on his abdomen and began transforming the energy into qi.

Unsurprisingly, it caused a magical transformation. The spiritual qi from the peaches was gradually absorbed, replenishing his body.

Feng Lin felt the change immediately. Like a balloon which had been filled with air, his body expanded. The crackling sound of his bones echoed just as his fur regained its golden color, glistening and dazzling to the eyes.

His body felt as though it was engulfed by a cooling breeze and his pores opened gradually, penetrating through and through.

The peaches of immortality were untainted existence. As soon as it reached the stomach, it transformed into nutrients and energy, replenishing the body in haste and flowing through the veins like a fountain moisturizing a long dried up desert.

The cells in his body were like hungry ghosts gulping down mouthfuls of energy as it strengthened his body.

After a long while, Feng Lin’s bloated stomach began to subside. Standing to his full height, his bones crackled. There was a huge change to his physique.

From the skinny and weak monkey, he became a matured ape.

He unleashed his strength without warning, smashing his fist against a huge tree, making it sway by the impact before breaking through the middle. It collapsed with a loud rumble.

There was a hole in the trunk where his fist made contact.

Feng Lin nodded slightly at that. His strength increased tremendously and gained the preliminary ability to protect himself. As long as they were not in overwhelming numbers, he wouldn’t lose out much even if he were to meet the ferocious beasts from before, especially since he was armed with the knowledge of martial arts.

He began strolling through the Flowerfruit Mountain again.

This was the illusion-scape from Spiritual Stone Monkey Gene’s memory, and it contained Sun Wukong’s mythological inheritance.

For the body to be one with the gene, it must reach a point where they were not distinguishable from each other. Therefore, he must use the memory art to comprehend the essence of the gene.

Only this way could his breakthrough be unhindered in the future.

He strolled along the illusion-scape searching for traces of Sun Wukong’s growth, as well as other paths.

Huff!

All of a sudden, a cool breeze swept across his golden fur.

Feng Lin’s heart rippled at that and his head snapped up toward the sky with a vacant gaze.

Even though the weather was scorching hot with clear skies overhead, a strange feeling surfaced in his heart.

Something seemed to be brewing behind the calm weather, like an explosive power that would give way at any moment and overturn Heaven and Earth.

A thunderstorm was approaching!

That thought came to him without reason, but Feng Lin trusted it completely. All at once, he sought for shelter.

Plucking a few peaches, he cradled them and found a cave to stay for the time being.

It didn’t even take fifteen minutes!

The wind surged as the storm gathered and the weather took a drastic turn. Thunder resounded and vapor hung in the air around him.

It was Heaven’s wrath as heavy rain flooded the Earth, seemingly with the desire to drown the mortal world.

Everything was just as he expected.

However, before Feng Lin could relax, he frowned at the chaotic scene in front of him. With his spirit force, he scanned the area surrounding him.

(Something’s not right! The walls of the cave seemed thin; it might collapse!)

The rain was gushing like a stream outside, pouring down in torrents against the cave. At this rate, it wouldn’t be able to hold the pressure.

A thick fog of worry engulfed Feng Lin and it grew heavier by the minute. If he didn’t get out now, he was afraid it would become dangerous.

He didn’t hesitate for another moment and rushed into the heavy rain which soaked him through within a second. He looked miserable.

Before he even had time to regret, a loud thump resounded!

The cave behind him collapsed, rubble caving in as it formed into a landslide.

Feng Lin rejoiced inwardly before searching for a new shelter. With a scan of his spirit force, he felt a strange sensation.

Sensing through the millions of things between Heaven and Earth, something felt different.

He was able to scan his surroundings with the spirit force before, but only its exterior, its physical appearance. He was never able to sense the essence.

Yet, the Heart Monkey’s spirit force was drastically different. He could sense the innate energy of everything and see through fabrications. Everything was before him, clear as day and without omission.

Feng Lin gained an epiphany. It was as though he had scraped the essence of the Spiritual Stone Monkey’s strength, but he was still in a blur, unable to unravel it.

The heavy downpour continued tumbling like a waterfall, and the landslide continued flowing. There was nowhere else to stand.

Chaos covered the Flowerfruit Mountain. From time to time, he could hear the cries of beasts, ones which had been swept away by the currents of the landslide toward the unknown.

After a long time, Feng Lin found himself back at the peak he was born. It was unexpectedly the safest place.

He squatted there all by his lonesome self, drenched through the bones. His fur was weighed down by the water as the chill penetrated deep within, causing him to tremble uncontrollably.

By the time the rain passed, the sky had darkened and the clouds had cleared. Stars littered across the cloudless night sky.

Feng Lin lifted his head and took in the colossal size of Heaven and Earth. He felt incomparable loneliness.

As a lone monkey squatting upon the peak, he took in the skies and it was as though he was one… with Heaven, the Earth, and the sea.

Something stirred in Feng Lin as he felt an inexplicable sensation of being aligned with Heaven, Earth, and the stars above. It pulled upon his spirit force.

Huff~

The wind stirred!

Spiritual qi of Heaven and Earth gathered, howling as the wind blew. Along with it, millions of rays of white light cascaded down from the stars above.

Feng Lin was surrounded by them. His body and soul were cleansed by them, feeling as clear as glass.

He understood the key to Spiritual Stone Monkey’s power.

Regardless of the knowledge of heaven’s natural order, of Earth’s favorable location, and to shift the stars, the essence of its power was transformation.

There was an order to Heaven, fluctuations to Earth’s terrain, and rotation of the stars… These were nothing more than natural changes to the thousands of elements between Heaven and Earth.

The Heart Monkey’s strength was incomparably sharp; it could sense the essence of the thousands of objects between Heaven and Earth, aware of all their variations. These three abilities were merely the embodiment of changes in these different areas.

All of the aspects above changed as they pleased. But by using his spirit force, he could pry open the boundless world, listening to the tune of the universe.

This was the true nature of Heart Monkey’s power.

If it was strong enough, it could naturally control everything around it, even shifting the stars!

However, talent had its limitations. Even with potential in this area, it didn’t mean that one would be able to achieve that. A lot of experience and diligence in cultivation would be required to maximize this talent to its fullest potential.

Feng Lin solved this confusion and finally understood the intrinsic quality of his power.

Since that was the case, then there was no reason to continue staying in this illusion-scape.

There were still a great number of things which remained unknown in the Spiritual Stone Monkey’s memory illusion-scape. It would require time to explore them all.

A night’s time was extremely limited. Besides, he had just broken through and was hardly used to the abrupt increase of his cultivation.

This was an illusion-scape, one which made out of spirit force and could be awakened by his own effort.

Feng Lin sat cross-legged on the ground as his spirit force sank into a pit of gloom. He forgot everything else; his mind was like a quiet lake without ripples.

Wake up, wake up, wake up…

A faint voice called out from deep within. It sounded both distant and like a whisper beside his ears at the same time. Ripples began to surface in his heart and it spread gradually.

Like a mirror, the illusion in front of Feng Lin shattered and he found himself sitting cross-legged in the furnace. His life seemed to have been turned on its head by the change.

=====

Name: Feng Lin

Vitality: 318

Transcendent-Grade Gene: Spiritual Stone Monkey Gene x1

Primeval Gene: Stone Monkey Gene x10; Spirit Gene x10

Basic Genes: Monkey Gene x10; Stonebirth Gene x10; Adrenaline Gene x4; Mental Genes x9; Psychokinesis Gene x6; Spirituality Gene x8.

Gene Potential: 3688%