Magic Square Mountain, Cave of the Three Stars under the slanting moon.
As usual, Sun Wukong first practiced calligraphy with his fellow disciples, burnt incense, discussed the scriptures, and then swept the floor, fetched water, tended flowers and trimmed trees, and before he knew it, the day had passed.
At dusk, he glanced at the tightly closed gates of the Daoist Temple, wondering when his master would teach him the Art of Longevity.
But the peaches on the back mountain had ripened seven times, and since he first arrived at the mountain, he had only seen his master once and had not seen the master open his gate again.
"Since the master accepted me as a disciple, he surely wouldn't break his promise," Sun Wukong scratched his hand.
Although he was anxious in his heart, he did not dare to disturb his master's meditation and turned back to his dwelling.
Late at night, while resting, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Heed advice, be satisfied with your feast, congratulations on awakening your Advice-Heeding System]
"Hmm?" Sun Wukong flipped over and jumped up, looking around, thinking one of his senior brothers was playing a trick on him.
The next moment, many instructions and guidelines surged into his mind, explaining the "Advice-Heeding System."
Though some phrases in the instructions seemed odd, he was naturally quick-witted and quickly understood what this was all about.
The Advice-Heeding System allowed him to receive treasure boxes of different ranks just by heeding others' advice.
Opening the treasure box could randomly grant Cultivation Techniques, Divine Skills, insights into cultivation, treasure weapons, Immortal Pills, and other treasures.
The higher the rank of the treasure box, the higher the chance of obtaining higher-grade rewards.
"Oh? Treasure boxes? Treasures?" Sun Wukong's eyes shone. Could it help him with immortality?
He hurriedly followed the guidance in the instructions and tried to activate this Advice-Heeding System.
At once, his consciousness felt like it passed through countless temporal and spatial barriers in the vast expanse, finally anchoring in a specific point in time and space.
In his mind, a glowing frame appeared with some characters he had never seen before, but he could somehow understand them at a glance.
The two large characters at the top of the frame were "Wisdom Platform," and below them, a smaller line of text read, "If there is a question, there will be an answer."
"Wisdom Platform? What sort of treasure is this?" Sun Wukong scratched his hand.
Following the guidance from the Advice-Heeding System, if he posed a question on the Wisdom Platform page, he could receive replies from netizens and thus heed their advice.
"Hmm, who are these esteemed netizens?" Sun Wukong pondered.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the Wisdom Platform page had a small box in the center where he could see his own questions and the netizens' replies.
"Interesting, interesting," Sun Wukong blinked, his mind buzzing with plans.
Then, following the instructions, with a thought, a new question post appeared on the Wisdom Platform page.
"I am Sun Wukong. I have been at Magic Square Mountain for seven years, but my master still hasn't taught me the Art of Longevity. What should I do?"
After posting, Sun Wukong closely monitored the Wisdom Platform page in his mind without taking his eyes off it for a second.
Soon, a reply appeared under his question post.
"Sun Wukong? I might as well claim to be Qin Shi Huang. Hurry up and wire me money!"
"Why should I wire you money when I don't know you, Old Sun?" Sun Wukong scratched his face, not annoyed but wondering when he had gotten to know an Emperor Qin Shi Huang.
Quickly, another new reply came: "Cultivating for immortality? This is the Dharma-Ending Age; I advise you to give up your fantasies and go back home to farm!"
"The Dharma-Ending Age?" Sun Wukong frowned.
In the past few years at Magic Square Mountain, discussing and debating with his fellow disciples, and reading through all kinds of texts in the Scripture Pavilion, he had come across similar sayings.
It is said that the Western Buddhist order divided the Buddhist Law into three periods: the Proper Dharma Period, the Semblance Dharma Period, and the Dharma-Ending Period.
Could this netizen who answered the question be related to the Buddhist order?
Before he could think deeply, a voice rang out in his mind once again:
[You've received a new suggestion: Give up your fantasies, go home and farm the land, completing this suggestion will reward you with a Sixth-Rank Treasure Box]
"This is a suggestion? Not appropriate, not appropriate!" Sun Wukong shook his head repeatedly. He hadn't yet learned the Art of Longevity; how could he accept such a suggestion?
A moment later, another new reply appeared.
"Idiot, just wasting my time. Who doesn't know that a monkey has to sweep the floor for seven years before he can learn the Art of Longevity? What else can be done but to wait?"
"Hmm?" Sun Wukong's gaze flashed, immediately noticing the key point of this reply.
When he asked the question earlier, he hadn't mentioned sweeping the floor on the mountain, so how did this person know about it?
And they also mentioned that he would have to sweep the floor for seven years before he could learn the Art of Longevity; could it be that this idiot netizen was some immortal senior who could foresee his future?
A series of questions surged to his mind, and he became so anxious that he scratched his ears and cheeks, until a voice rang out in his mind once again.
[You've received a new suggestion: Just wait a bit longer. Completing this suggestion will reward you with a First-Rank Treasure Box].
"Hehe, this is simple, simple." Sun Wukong became happy.
Then came another new reply: "Monkey bro, monkey bro, I just got out of sixth grade. I know the answer to this question.
You wait for the day Bodhi, the Patriarch, lecturers, just make a ruckus in his class, then he will transmit to you the spell of impermanence instead of longevity, you just refuse it.
In the end, the Patriarch will knock on your head three times with the disciplinary ruler, then turn around with his hands behind his back and close the middle door as he leaves.
Wait until the deep night, you follow this hint and find him at the back door, this way you'll be able to learn the Art of Longevity."
After reading the reply carefully, Sun Wukong was very surprised and full of doubts.
This reply was so vivid, as if it had seen his future. Could it be that this sixth-grade netizen was also an immortal senior?
Or do all the netizens on the Wise Hu platform possess such Divine Skills?
Setting aside these doubts, Sun Wukong realized that through their replies, he could confirm one thing.
The Patriarch Bodhi was about to start teaching!
"Well, let's just wait and see." Sun Wukong scratched his face.
If this was indeed the case, that would mean that both the Listen to Advice System and these netizens hadn't been deceiving him.
At the same time, two suggestions had already sounded in his mind.
[You've received a new suggestion: Disrupt the order in the class when Patriarch Bodhi is lecturing and refuse his transmission. Completing this suggestion will reward you with a Third-Rank Treasure Box]
[You've received a new suggestion: Follow Patriarch Bodhi's hint, find him at the back door in the dead of night, and learn the Art of Longevity. Completing this suggestion will reward you with a Second-Rank Treasure Box]
He waited a considerable time afterward but saw no new replies.
Feeling somewhat unfulfilled, Sun Wukong reluctantly closed the Wise Hu page in his mind.
In the dead of night, Magic Square Mountain was peaceful and silent, but the heart of the Great Sage Equalling Heaven couldn't stay calm, pondering the bizarre experience he just had.
He half-believed the Listen to Advice System and looked forward to those replies coming true, for then he would be able to learn the Art of Longevity!
The next day, Patriarch Bodhi did not start lecturing.
But Sun Wukong still completed his chores of sweeping, fetching water, tending to flowers, and pruning trees; however, when discussing scriptures and preaching with his fellow disciples, he seemed somewhat distracted and unfocused.
On the morning of the third day, he got up as usual to fetch water, but before he finished, one of his fellow disciples ran towards the Hall of Teaching.
As he passed by Sun Wukong, the disciple joyfully said, "Monkey, stop your chores! The Patriarch is going to lecture today, let's hurry and listen."
"The Patriarch is going to lecture?" Sun Wukong was immediately scratching his ears and cheeks in surprise and delight. He threw his broom aside and leaped up in two or three bounds, following the disciple to the Hall of Teaching.