Time travel is actually a very meaningful thing. Traveling from the modern era to ancient times, to another world, or to a mythological world is something that people find pleasing to the eye and long for. Naturally, this is also one of the most common contents in Mo Xuan's daydreams. However, if such a thing really happened to oneself, sometimes it might not be as interesting.
Mo Xuan was very depressed. Although he had traveled through time, he was still very depressed because he had experienced a birth and growth process that could only be described as depressing, and no other words could be found to describe it.
Because he had transformed into a bird, a crow, and this kind of transmigration started from inside an eggshell. After using all his strength to peck through the shell, his life of suffering began.
"I never knew being a bird could be so difficult!!!" After experiencing some things, he sighed in his heart.
Not to mention anything else, just learning to fly almost killed him. However, this can't be entirely blamed on his current crow mother, because Mo Xuan was a physics student in his previous life, a top student from Tsinghua University's Physics Department, and then a Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard. So when he started learning to fly, he tried to quickly master flight by referring to the principles of aerodynamics. The result of doing this was falling from the tree eighteen times in total, nearly losing half his life.
In fact, the dangers encountered in learning to fly were only a small part of the many incredible dangers. For Mo Xuan, the most painful thing since his transmigration was finding food.
Crows eat insects!!!!!!!!!
The most common foods were caterpillars and green worms!
These were the things that were sent directly to his mouth by his great crow mother when his feathers hadn't fully grown, things he had to eat whether he wanted to or not.
It was thanks to these insects that he could grow up and find food for himself!
Now, he is a vegetarian, with his main food sources being tree seeds, grass seeds, and some berries. Of course, nuts are also acceptable, as long as insects stay away.
It was precisely because of this extremely unreasonable diet structure that he once almost died of malnutrition, until an event occurred that could change everything for him.
Just when he was about to suffer from malnutrition and couldn't hold on any longer, preparing to go find small insects to eat, he felt something strange.
This traces back to one night when he couldn't sleep and was bored counting numbers. As he was counting, he felt a warm sensation flowing into his body along his feathers. He was a bit confused, and with a thought, that feeling disappeared.
At first, he thought it was just an illusion, or a misconception when he was about to fall asleep in a daze, and didn't pay attention to it. But when he counted numbers again, that feeling appeared once more.
Then it happened a third time, a fourth time, and finally, Mo Xuan confirmed that this was not an illusion, but a fact. Very soon, he determined the source of that feeling: moonlight.
Could this be the legendary absorption of the essence of the sun and moon?
He didn't know.
But this energy made him feel vitality and gave him new life. He had a vague feeling that if he continued to cultivate like this, perhaps he could really become something like a demon spirit as described in books, and then transform into human form, becoming a monster.
On this day, he lazily lay on a tree branch, his eyes half-closed, thinking about those wonderful things.
"First transform into human form, then occupy a poor mountain and evil water place, become a mountain king, just like those monsters in Journey to the West, that should be... wait, Journey to the West?!!" Strangely, when he thought of Journey to the West, his gaze happened to fall upon a monkey.
He saw that the monkey was short in stature, with a crooked face, sunken cheeks and a pointed mouth, golden eyes that burned like fire, and his body was covered with golden fur. Although there were quite a few monkeys on this mountain, this monkey was obviously different from the others. Just by the golden fur on his body, showing its appearance under the sunlight, Mo Xuan could determine that the efficiency of his fur in absorbing the essence of the sun and moon was much higher than his own.
And those lively eyes clearly showed that this monkey, like himself, had spiritual intelligence.
"Interesting, could it be that I've encountered Sun Wukong?!" Mo Xuan thought maliciously in his heart. However, he really didn't expect that he had hit the nail on the head. As he was watching the monkey jumping over mountains and leaping through forests, seemingly looking for something, his ears suddenly heard a song coming from deep in the forest. Listening carefully, it went:
"Watching the chess pieces rot, chopping wood with a steady rhythm, Slowly walking at the edge of clouds and the mouth of the valley, Selling firewood to buy wine, laughing wildly and enjoying oneself. The mountain path is high in autumn, lying against a pine root facing the moon, One sleep until dawn. Recognizing the old forest, climbing cliffs and crossing ridges, Holding an axe to cut withered vines.
Gathering it into a load, singing as I walk to the market, Exchanging for three liters of rice. No more competition, The market price is fair, Not versed in scheming and clever calculations, No honor or disgrace, living a peaceful life. Where we meet, if not immortals then cultivators, Sitting quietly and discussing the Yellow Court Classic."
This was strange indeed. Since he had transmigrated and been reborn as this crow, in these one or two years, he hadn't seen a single person, nor heard a human voice. How come as soon as this monkey appeared, people followed? Could it be that the legendary wheel of fate had begun to turn?
Wait, this scene seemed familiar from somewhere.
Just as he was feeling strange, he saw that the monkey also seemed to become excited, leaping up, and in a few jumps, entered deep into the forest. Mo Xuan spread his wings, following behind the monkey, and soon saw the first person since his transmigration.
Then what happened next almost made Mo Xuan's eyes roll back and faint.
"Spirit Platform on Mount Fangcun, Three Stars Cave, Master Subhuti!!!" Your grandfather's turtle grandson, this place was actually the world of Journey to the West, and the monkey in front of him was the legendary one.
Mo Xuan's brain froze for a moment. But then again, even something as mind-blowing as transmigration could happen, so the reason for transmigrating into the world of Journey to the West was naturally not something that his current crow brain, which was dozens of times smaller than a human brain, could figure out.
Standing there dumbfounded for a while, he found that the conversation between the monkey and the woodcutter had already ended. The woodcutter left carrying a load of firewood, while the monkey, following the woodcutter's directions, headed towards the Three Stars Cave.
Mo Xuan naturally didn't think much and flapped his wings to follow behind the monkey.
Seventeen or eighteen miles, this Spirit Platform on Mount Fangcun, Three Stars Cave was actually only seventeen or eighteen miles away from his small nest.
After cultivating demon energy, his flying ability greatly improved, but at the same time, he also felt the dangers around him, so safety first.
All along, he had habitually used his nest, which was actually a stone hollow hidden under a rock, as the center, with an activity range of about ten miles around it. And that Three Stars Cave was only seven or eight miles away from the edge of his active area.
At this moment, Mo Xuan didn't know what to feel in his heart, but thinking about it, there was actually nothing to it. Even if he had found it first, so what?
The Taoist priests inside, although they didn't seem very famous, were still Sun Wukong's senior fellow disciples after all. Although he now had slightly sharper claws, a slightly sharper beak, and slightly harder wings, compared to them, it was nothing at all. Not to mention them, even if he encountered ordinary people, he would have to retreat. After all, his body was just an ordinary crow's body. And he couldn't speak. If he rashly ran over there and encountered an unethical Taoist who didn't follow the rules, and directly caught him to skin him and extract his tendons to improve their meals, that would be too unfair. Thinking about this, Mo Xuan became even more cautious.
Hiding in the dense foliage of a pine tree not far from the Three Stars Cave, through the gaps in the pine needles, he reviewed the process of Sun Wukong becoming a disciple again. The difference was that before, he had seen it on TV, which only took a few minutes, but this time, it was a real historical event that took a full three to four hours before the monkey was allowed to enter, complete the discipleship ceremony, and be given a name. As Mo Xuan had expected, he was named Sun Wukong.
"So, what should I do?!" At this moment, Mo Xuan asked himself in his heart. Indeed, what should he do? He had already thought about it earlier, directly going to become a disciple like Sun Wukong was not the best choice. He was not that monkey. Although the monkey's later experiences were quite miserable, it could be said that at the beginning of this period, his luck was extremely good, and his fortune was also at its peak. As for himself, hehe, whether it would be good or bad was still uncertain!
Thinking of this, he began to ponder. He didn't know exactly what Master Subhuti did, but just the fact that he could teach the monkey made him a master. With such a master in front of him, it would be a shame not to take some advantage, but how to take advantage, he had to think carefully.
Now, Mo Xuan was somewhat regretful. If he had known that he would encounter such a situation today, why didn't he read Journey to the West carefully back then? At least he would know what to do and when. Now, apart from the monkey's general experiences, he knew nothing, and the things he was most familiar with wouldn't happen until five hundred years later.
Five hundred years later?!!!
D*mn, can I live that long? You think it's like in the song about Kangxi, borrowing another five hundred years from heaven, can you borrow it?
"Well, let's just listen for now!" Mo Xuan shook his head. He saw that the Three Stars Cave was more like a large manor than a cave, with layers of deep pavilions and jade towers inside, and pearl palaces and shell chambers. Of course, there were plenty of exotic flowers and plants, and naturally, there were many trees as well. Especially where the old master sat on the jade platform, it was under two ancient trees. Making a silent decision, Mo Xuan flapped his wings and flew into the manor, found one of the two ancient trees, found a good position, and stopped.
During this period, his heart was beating wildly, who knew if this old immortal would discover him.
Think about those martial arts novels, mythical novels, fantasy novels he had read before, which master couldn't sense enemies or creatures within dozens of meters, hundreds of meters, or even hundreds of miles with their divine sense? Although he thought it was nonsense when reading it at the time, in this situation, he had to believe it even if he didn't want to!!
However, fortunately, until he found the thickest branch and the most hidden place to stop, the old master still had no reaction. Only then did he relax. Whether he really didn't notice or was pretending to be confused, anyway, Master Subhuti didn't care.
In fact, he wasn't the only bird on this tree. Besides where he was standing, there were many birds in other branches and leaves, and he even saw several bird nests.
After seeing those bird nests, Mo Xuan wanted to follow suit and find some tree branches and rotten things to build a nest up there, but thinking about it, it wouldn't work. Not only would it be troublesome, but it would also be too suspicious. It's fine if the old master doesn't bother him, but don't let that detail-oriented Taoist discover a crow that doesn't move all day on this tree, that would be troublesome.
Mo Xuan was quite straightforward. After thinking for a long time without coming up with a good idea, he stopped thinking. Just then, the old master began to preach, so he honestly sat on that branch, concentrating on transferring every word the old master said into his limited brain without missing a single one.
Not to mention anything else, let's talk about the old master's preaching.
Originally in Mo Xuan's mind, the most memorable part of Sun Wukong's apprenticeship was when the monkey was hit three times and then followed the old master for private lessons, so he always thought the old master was keeping secrets.
But after listening to this, his thoughts immediately changed greatly. The old master preached magnificently, with flowers raining from the sky and golden lotuses springing from the ground. He would talk about Taoism for a while, then about Buddhism. Although there were many abstruse and difficult things in it, these things, when said from the old master's mouth, were easy to understand. It was truly: "Opening one word to return to the true principle, guiding to understand the profound nature of non-birth."
However, this old master didn't preach every day, only on the first and fifteenth day of each month did he open the altar to preach. On the first day, he preached the scriptures, and on the fifteenth day, he resolved doubts. Every time this happened, Mo Xuan would casually find a good position between those two old trees to listen to the preaching. On other days, he would practice according to the content of the old master's preaching, and his days passed quite comfortably.
To be honest, the effect of having someone teach and not having someone teach is different, completely different.
Before, Mo Xuan only absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the essence of the sun and moon based on instinct, and circulated qi accordingly. But after listening to the old master's preaching, Mo Xuan finally found a passage of scripture suitable for himself. It should be known that the content the old master preached was diverse and numerous, the whole person seemed like a library, with countless methods in it. Each of his disciples would choose a method suitable for themselves according to their actual situation. If there were any difficult problems, they would wait until the fifteenth to start asking the old master, and the relationship between master and disciple was quite natural.
As for Mo Xuan, he was completely an unregistered household, only able to listen to the preaching, naturally not able to get the right to resolve doubts. However, this couldn't stump him, because when he chose his method, he was clever - practicing the same method as Sun Wukong - the Nine Ranks of Heavenly Immortals Technique.