A man and a monkey faced each other across the tombstone.
After a long while, the monkey seemed to discover something, leaping up in surprise and chattering excitedly while pointing at the peach on Xu Mu's head.
Xu Mu blinked, confirming the monkey posed no threat. He glanced up at the peach above him, then at the monkey darting and scratching its ears near the tombstone, and immediately understood the primate wanted him to pick the peach.
"Why don't you pick it yourself?" Xu Mu asked, jumping up and plucking a ripe white peach, examining it in his hand.
"Yi... wuwu..."
The monkey cried out anxiously, flailing its hands in the air as if wanting to approach, but an invisible barrier stopped it.
Xu Mu's brow twitched, and he instantly understood. He asked with a hint of amusement, "You can't get in?"
"Wu... yi..." The monkey nodded vigorously and scratched its ears, looking at the peach in Xu Mu's hand.
Xu Mu looked up at the peach tree, then at the ordinary-looking tombstone. After a moment's hesitation, he didn't throw the peach away. Instead, he brought it to his lips and took a bite.
The sweet juice flooded his taste buds, eliciting a satisfied sigh.
"Ah..."
"Wuwu... yi..." Seeing Xu Mu eat the peach, the monkey grew even more agitated.
"Stop crying, I'll get to it later," Xu Mu said indifferently, continuing to eat the peach as he walked to the tombstone. He stooped down and carefully examined the blurred characters below.
"Observing the way of heaven, the universe is in one's hand."
"Following the actions of heaven, myriad transformations are born from the body."
"What does that mean?"
Xu Mu scratched his head, puzzled. He carefully brushed away the soil covering the inscription and fell into thought, completely oblivious to the subtle changes occurring in the space around him due to his actions.
In the distance, the sea of clouds churned, and heavenly light cascaded down, bathing the peach tree. A gentle breeze rustled its leaves, and every leaf turned golden.
Xu Mu was jolted from his thoughts by this sudden anomaly. He looked around in astonishment.
The peach tree now appeared incredibly sacred, its peaches transformed into the magnificent and revered Pan Tao.
And the monkey was now on the Pan Tao tree, plucking peach after peach.
Xu Mu stared, realizing these phenomena seemed connected to his recent actions. He lowered his head once more.
The grave remained unassuming.
However, below the lines of text he couldn't comprehend, another line of elegant yet incredibly arrogant words had appeared.
"Life and death are mine."
...
"—Rumble!"
Xu Mu murmured, his mind going blank. His entire sea of consciousness felt as if it had been struck by an immense force. The mist from the churning sea of clouds converged at the mountain peak.
Simultaneously, high on a peak in Tianshi Mountain, an old immortal meditating before a statue of the Daoist patriarch suddenly opened his eyes. His expression was one of shock as he hastily pushed open a door, gazing at the distant, swirling clouds and trembling, "Who has stirred the cloud sea of Grand Supreme Ancestor?!"
On another mountain, at the highest point of the strictly disciplined Law Enforcement Hall, a gaunt old Daoist was meditating. Upon sensing the external changes, he rose with a solemn expression. He then performed a Daoist salute, flicked his horsetail whisk, and resumed his seated posture.
However, this time, the elder, renowned throughout Tianshi Mountain for his sternness, unyielding nature, and steadfast heart, could no longer cultivate in peace.
His horsetail whisk trembled subtly in the air.
...
Xu Mu's consciousness seemed to be pulled into another space. There was no sea of clouds, no cliff, only an ordinary peach tree and a man in a simple brocade Daoist robe, his figure lean.
The man looked at Xu Mu and asked, "Your name is Xu Mu?"
Xu Mu blinked and replied, "Yes."
The man sensed the Eight Trigrams within Xu Mu, his eyebrows raising in surprise. He then said, "You have cultivated the Innate Eight Trigrams of the Human Emperor, why do you still seek my inheritance?"
Xu Mu was taken aback again, then explained, "I didn't expect it to be like this."
"I wandered in here by mistake and then just plucked a peach."
The man looked at the half-bitten Pan Tao in Xu Mu's hand, its core revealing purplish-black veins. A trace of an inexplicable smile flickered across his face.
"I see."
"Go back. You are not the one I am waiting for."
"The Innate Eight Trigrams, while not passed down to you, you have learned it. There is no need to learn my Yi Shu."
Xu Mu nodded, then hesitantly pointed at the luminous screen behind him, asking, "Then... I'm leaving?"
The lean, smooth-faced, and handsome Daoist raised an eyebrow and said, "Wait."
Xu Mu halted.
The man looked at Xu Mu and frowned, "Your ability to reach this place proves you have fate with this humble one."
"I shall gift you a peach seed. Do you want it?"
Xu Mu didn't understand the use of a peach tree seed, but it was free, so he nodded.
"Yes."
The man nodded, satisfied. "Very well."
He waved his hand, and a budding, verdant seed landed in Xu Mu's palm.
Xu Mu looked down at it, then back up. The Daoist's figure had become indistinct.
Xu Mu knew he was about to leave. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, "Venerable Sir... what should I call you?"
The Daoist looked at Xu Mu and said calmly, "Humble one."
"Lü Dongxuan."
"—Rumble!"
Three words, triggering ten thousand feet of heavenly thunder.
Xu Mu's sea of consciousness vibrated violently, as if some taboo had been disturbed. The sky around them suddenly turned oppressively black, as if a terrifying presence was bearing down.
The Daoist looked up at the sky indifferently, gripping his horsetail whisk, and flew into the cosmos.
A thunderous rumble echoed through the air.
A moment later, the terrifying blackness vanished, and the Daoist's hearty laughter resounded through the sky, seemingly symbolizing the joy of victory.
Xu Mu watched this scene in astonishment. The surroundings shifted, and he suddenly found himself back on the cliff.
He was drenched in sweat, his face pale. He turned and looked around.
He saw that the peach tree was still the ordinary tree it had been, its peaches not transformed into Pan Tao.
The monkey was still outside the invisible barrier, scratching its ears in agitation.
"Was that all an illusion?"
Xu Mu couldn't help but wonder. He turned his head to look at the ordinary grave before him, at those four ordinary yet incredibly arrogant words, and shook his head slightly.
Regardless, he was alive.
It had nothing to do with him anyway.
He turned back to the monkey and said with an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry, it seems I can't help you pick peaches."
"This place is strange, and I believe you know that. So... if you don't mind, here's this peach for you."
Xu Mu said, carefully tossing the peach in his hand. The monkey caught it and began to eat without hesitation.
"Whew..."
Seeing this, Xu Mu breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed everything that had just happened was indeed an illusion.
"Brother Monkey, do you know how to get out of here?"
The monkey, busy gnawing on the peach, ignored Xu Mu.
Xu Mu's expression soured. He walked up to the monkey, snatched the peach, and feigned anger, asking, "Tell me, how do I get out of here!"
The monkey looked at Xu Mu's fierce expression, grinned, and seemed to not take him seriously at all.
Xu Mu was stunned. Just as he was about to say something more, the monkey suddenly leaped up, snatched the peach from his hand, and quickly ran towards a hidden mountain path to the right.
Xu Mu froze, then felt a sense of humiliation. He rushed to follow, but for some reason, despite the monkey not appearing to move fast, he couldn't catch up.
"Stop right there!!!"
Xu Mu ran along the narrow mountain path, the monkey leaping far ahead, still holding the half-eaten peach in its mouth.
Man and monkey chased each other down the mountain path.
After an unknown amount of time, the mountain path reached its end, and the monkey disappeared from Xu Mu's sight.
Exhausted and covered in sweat, Xu Mu bent over to catch his breath. Just then, a familiar voice sounded in his ear.
"You're finally out."
Zou Jing walked forward and said calmly, looking at Xu Mu.
"You?" Xu Mu blinked, looking at the man's calm face and the scattered young Daoists chatting nearby. He asked in a daze, "What about the monkey?"
"What monkey?" Their conversation was interrupted by a Daoist with a very displeased expression.
He strode over angrily, pointing at the setting sun in the sky and shouting, "You fellow, with such poor talent, how dare you take this mountain path? Couldn't you have taken another one!"
Xu Mu turned his head, looking at the lingering rays of the setting sun, his expression dazed, and said nothing.
He remembered it seemed to be morning when he arrived.
The Daoist, seeing Xu Mu's disheveled state, assumed he was intimidated. He then berated him, "With such mediocre aptitude, you'll at best become an outer disciple."
"Here, take your disciple plaque and quickly go live in the mountains. You're really wasting my time."
Xu Mu numbly accepted the Tianshi Mountain disciple plaque, holding it in his palm, his expression blank.
What had happened?
Where was the monkey?
"Who ate the peach? Don't you know the mountain gate rules about not littering!"
The Daoist continued to shout, then kicked the dirt-covered peach pit towards a rock, which then bounced to Xu Mu's feet.
The golden evening glow shone on the peach pit.
Its veins were purplish-black.
It was the pit of a Pan Tao.
Xu Mu's eyes narrowed, then he let out a哑然笑 (a silent laugh). Seeing this, the Daoist berated him again, "What are you laughing at, fool!"
"Hurry up and follow!"
...