Inside the Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave.
After Sun Wukong returned to the dojo, he noticed that no one paid attention to him, and quietly sneaked back into his meditation room.
Then he continued his cultivation of the Nine-Turn Profound Art.
Having deployed the Wind Escape Technique with such potency, he became even more convinced of the formidable nature of this nameless cultivation technique and that diligent practice could enhance his chances of survival.
However, compared to the speed of mastering the Wind Escape Technique, the cultivation of the Nine-Turn Profound Art was significantly slower.
What followed disheartened Sun Wukong somewhat: a whole day of cultivation only yielded a slight increase.
Although he now seemed only one step away, the progress in his cultivation technique had notably stalled, which irritated Sun Wukong.
"Older Brother taught me an escape skill and a cultivation technique. With the escape skill, I reached the extreme and could only traverse several hundred thousand miles, but if it were Older Brother, he could at least travel a million miles. Although it's not much, it's still decent. But my cultivation has somehow stalled. I'm afraid it might disappoint Older Brother!"
"When the time comes, will Older Brother disdain my aptitude and thus refrain from teaching me other cultivation methods?"
The more he delved into this cultivation technique, the more worried Sun Wukong became.
He was somewhat aware that cultivation required perception, and now, having only cultivated for a short while, his progress had already halted.
Clearly, his aptitude was not very good; how could he not worry?
However, what Sun Wukong did not know was that cultivating the Nine-Turn Profound Art was inherently challenging. Otherwise, even the disciples of the Three Pure Ones wouldn't be few in number who could practice it.
He had managed to reach the peak of Refinement of Void and Merging with the Dao within a few days, just a step away from becoming an Immortal, which was already defying the heavens.
If an ordinary person were to cultivate a common technique, he would face countless obstacles, and might never have the chance to achieve the cultivation level of an Immortal in their entire life.
And this was just an ordinary method; the one Sun Wukong was practicing was known to be extremely challenging.
Having reached his current level in just a few days already surpassed those disciples of the Three Pure Ones.
Moreover, breaking through to become an Immortal was not just a matter of technique and perception but more about accumulation.
Wang Yang took hundreds to thousands of years to make his breakthrough to become an Immortal.
That was truly against the heavens.
In terms of the rate of his current cultivation, even if placed in the era of the Primordial Continent, he would rank among the best.
Of course, Sun Wukong himself knew none of this and, after resting for a while, began his cultivation again.
And with each session of repetition in his practice, he gained a deeper understanding of the Nine-Turn Profound Art; the operation became even more natural to him.
Afterward, Sun Wukong also realized that for divine skills and spells, the mana within oneself was even more important.
No longer fixated on attaining the cultivation level of an Immortal, he discovered that the Nine-Turn Profound Art could greatly enhance his bones, physical body, and spirit holistically.
He immersed himself in cultivation, as time slowly passed.
...
On the other hand, although Wang Yang's cultivation could be accelerated, it was just a speed boost.
However, compared to Sun Wukong, he was nowhere close.
From time to time, he would hear to what extent Sun Wukong had cultivated.
Then it was conveyed to him, prompting Wang Yang to lament, "Is this monkey even human?"
He is not!
It doesn't matter!
Helplessly, Wang Yang realized his centuries of cultivation were less than what the monkey achieved in a day.
Not only was his physical body incredibly robust, but his Primordial Spirit was also full and potent—this was the result of cultivating both simultaneously.
Generally, most people nowadays focus on cultivating one aspect.
Most demon beasts, even when they cultivated into demons, focused only on their physical bodies since their physical forms were inherently powerful.
While the human race, having weaker physical bodies, focused on cultivating their Primordial Spirits to strengthen themselves.
Only during the ancient times, some Innate Celestial Deities also practiced both, and though their realms were the same, the power they wielded and the force they erupted with were much stronger than usual.
Moreover, if Sun Wukong continued his cultivation in this manner, he might very well become, over so many years, the eighth Saint.
Wang Yang was increasingly shocked.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just then, the sound of a bell rang, its resonant toll echoing within the Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave.
Wang Yang was startled.
"My teacher is actually going to preach, how rare!"
Wang Yang muttered to himself, somewhat incredulous.
It had been decades since the last sermon.
Wang Yang walked out of the Daoist Temple, one disciple after another heading towards the dojo.
Inside the Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave, there was a high platform specifically for Patriarch Bodhi to preach.
That spot within Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave was also the most sacred area.
Most of these disciples either had Human Immortal or Earth Immortal cultivations, with only a handful reaching the level of Heavenly Immortal.
Of course, these disciples were all casually taken in by Patriarch Bodhi, just like him.
Anyone who made it to the Three-Star Guan was taken in.
And given the richness of spiritual energy here, not to mention cultivators, even some demon beasts, or even pigs, would become spirits after hundreds of years here, let alone those who had methods of cultivation.
Wang Yang also walked over.
"Brother!"
Just then, an urgent voice came from behind.
Wang Yang turned around to see a bearded face with Thunder Duke lips—it was Sun Wukong.
At that moment, Sun Wukong's aura was retracted, his physical body powerful, and his vitality abundant, already resembling that of a Golden Body. However, Sun Wukong's face carried a trace of guilt.
"What's wrong, junior brother?"
Sun Wukong approached, head bowed, and said, "Brother, I've been pondering for several days and have practiced the cultivation techniques and spells you taught me. I think my spell practice is okay, but my progress in the techniques has stalled, and I can't improve my cultivation level at all. Is my aptitude too poor?"
Hearing this, Sun Wukong, fearing that Wang Yang might blame him, lowered his head and scratched his ears in distress.
"Huh?"
When Wang Yang heard Sun Wukong's words, the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily, goodness, within a few days he had cultivated one of the hardest techniques in the Three Realms to a level just shy of Immortal.
And you tell me your aptitude is poor?
A simple Wind Escape Technique had directly evolved into the Chaos Escaping Technique, and you're telling me it's just okay?
Goodness.
If Wang Yang didn't know that Sun Wukong knew nothing, he might actually think the monkey was showing off, and invisible showing off is the most deadly.
The key was that Sun Wukong didn't even know he was showing off, still thinking his aptitude was poor.
Wang Yang's eyes shifted nimbly; naturally, he couldn't just say well done. If he did, this monkey might become arrogant again, and the incident from a few days ago could reignite.
No, he couldn't let this monkey think he was doing well. He needed to instill a sense of crisis to avoid a repeat of Havoc in Heaven or another ordeal of snatching the iron rod from Dragon Palace.
At that moment, Wang Yang subtly nodded and said, "Your aptitude isn't exactly poor. You now have the ability to protect yourself, and it's fine to continue cultivating slowly. However, the strength you currently possess is considered trash in the eyes of your senior brothers. You should continue to strive hard and try to catch up with them!"