Chapter 1: Heavenly Dao Life Simulator

On the shores of the Eastern Sea, there's an island with a famous mountain within the domain of Ao Lai, known as Huaguo Mountain.

Atop the cinnabar cliffs of Huaguo Mountain, twin phoenixes cry in color; before the sheer walls, a lone Kirin lies.

At the peak, one hears the brocade roosters crow; in the stone caves, one often sees dragons coming and going.

In the woods dwell deer of longevity and foxes of immortality, and in the trees, spiritual birds and mysterious cranes.

Rare grasses and strange flowers never wither; the green pines and verdant cypresses are eternally alive.

At some unknown time, a stubborn stone that had existed since time immemorial on the mountain top split open to reveal a stone egg, and with a gust of wind, it transformed into the likeness of a monkey.

From its eyes shot two beams of golden light that penetrated the heavens and alarmed the firmament, but ultimately, for various reasons, nothing came of it.

This stone monkey stumbled and tottered as it learned to walk, then after bowing to all directions, drank from the mountain springs and ate the fruits of the forest, the golden light in its eyes vanished, and it mixed with the animals of Huaguo Mountain—

It kept company with jackals and insects, formed groups with tigers and leopards, befriended deer and deer, and became kin with macaques and apes.

Especially among the apes, who treated the stone monkey as one of their own, living with it year-round, until one day, while frolicking in the mountain brook, they fancied to find the source of a clear spring, and the fearless stone monkey leaped into Shuilian Cave.

But behold:

The ground was carpeted with emerald moss and floating white clouds, light danced with fragments of mist and rosy clouds. In the silent chamber beyond the airy windows, even the smooth stools and plank beds bloomed. Milk-white cave pearls hung like dragon balls, and the ground was entwined with a profusion of wondrous flowers.

Close to the cliffside cooking range were signs of past fires; by the sideboard with jars and pitchers, one could see remnants of meals. The stone seats and stone beds were truly endearing, the stone basins and stone bowls even more praiseworthy.

One saw bamboo poles, one or two; plum blossoms dotted three or five. A few green pine trees always seemed to bear rain, looking all the world like a human dwelling.

"Marvelous!"

The stone monkey could not contain its admiration, "This truly is a paradisiacal dwelling. It must have once been someone's home and now, it has fortuitously become ours."

Thus, the stone monkey described the details of the cave to the monkeys outside and led them into Shuilian Cave.

However, upon entering Shuilian Cave, the monkeys began to fight over the various pots, pans, and other utensils, causing a ruckus. The stone monkey felt that if it suggested they make it their king now, it might get injured.

Even though the monkeys had previously proposed that the one who could enter and exit without harm should be made their king.

But it had only had a head start; any other monkey with the courage could surely enter and exit as well. Better to wait for them to tire of their games before stepping forward.

So it waited until all the monkeys were out of breath and thoroughly exhausted, while it, still in good physical shape, seated itself on the naturally formed stone chair and addressed them, "My fellows, a person without credibility is unworthy. You all said that whoever has the skill to enter and exit without injury should be made the king. Now I have come in and out, and I have found this divine abode for all of us to sleep peacefully and enjoy the blessings of home, why not make me your king?"

The monkeys looked at each other, all feeling that the stone monkey made sense, and with such a brave and wise Monkey King to lead them, they need not worry about the tigers, leopards, and wolves in the forests.

Afterwards, surrounded by the other monkeys, the stone monkey dropped the word "stone" from its name and became known as the Handsome Monkey King.

From then on, under the leadership of the Handsome Monkey King, the monkeys became the overlords of Huaguo Mountain, living a joyous life where "in spring they picked flowers to drink and eat, in summer they searched for fruits to sustain themselves, in autumn they harvested yams and chestnuts for the season, in winter they looked for yellow essence to pass the years."

Several centuries later, having grown accustomed to the birth and death within the monkey troop, and spurred by a reminder from a hunchbacked ape, the Handsome Monkey King learned that immortals, Buddhas, and sacred beings can live forever without aging. Thus, he became determined to set out to sea in search of immortality.

So, on the night before his departure, the Handsome Monkey King held a grand feast of flowers and fruits for the monkeys, drinking himself into a stupendous stupor and falling asleep on his stone chair.

After all the monkeys in Shuilian Cave had rested, the ten large characters on the stone tablet inside the cave reading "Land of Fortune of Huaguo Mountain, Heavenly Abode of Shuilian Cave" shone brightly.

An invisible glow emerged and transformed into a swirl of purple qi, entering the head of the Handsome Monkey King.

The Handsome Monkey King scratched his buttocks unconsciously, turned over, and then…

Fell to the ground.

But the Handsome Monkey King felt nothing and continued to sleep deeply.

However, within the deep slumber, he seemed to hear a voice:

[Heavenly Dao Life Simulator Binding...]

[One percent]

[Two percent]

...

[One hundred percent]

[Binding successful, wishing the host lots of fun and the accomplishment of your own true fruition!]

The next day.

When the Monkey King woke up, he felt a bit groggy in the head and exclaimed, "What's going on, why is my head so dizzy? I must not have slept well last night."

Nevertheless, the Monkey King didn't let this interfere with his day, for he was an honest monkey; he said he would set off today, and so he would, never going back on his word.

Thus, the Monkey King set off to sea on a bamboo raft made by his monkey subjects, pushing along with a bamboo pole in a direction away from Huaguo Mountain.

Since he didn't know which direction to take, he just chose one at random.

As long as he left the small island where Huaguo Mountain was located.

Because the Monkey King knew for sure that there were no immortals on the island.

[Ding! Heavenly Dao Life Simulator Activated!]

[Number of Simulations: One!]

"Yikes!"

As the Monkey King was munching on fruit aboard the bamboo raft, he suddenly heard a voice in his head, promptly threw the fruit core he was holding, and looked around, looking left and right but did not spot anyone.

"How strange, what is it that's talking?"

Calm down, the Monkey King realized that a screen had suddenly appeared before his eyes, it seemed to have some words on it, different from the ten big characters inscribed on the Shuilian Cave's stone tablet.

Yet, just like the ten characters that read "Huaguo Mountain, a blessed place, Shuilian Cave, a celestial land," he could understand them at a glance.

"What does 'simulate' mean?"

The Monkey King scratched his ears and cheeks in a rush, then raised his hand and tapped, only to see an image appearing on the screen.

"Eh? Isn't that Huaguo Mountain? That's where I was born."

The Monkey King was exceedingly joyful, clapping his little hands and cheering, "So this thing can let me see my homeland, even if I'm far away from Huaguo Mountain, I can soothe my homesickness."

[Boom! Atop Huaguo Mountain, a stubborn stone that had existed since the primordial chaos fractured into an egg. The stone egg transformed into a stone monkey in the wind, and two beams of golden light alarmed the Jade Emperor in Heaven. However, he deemed you unremarkable because the Three Realms were abound with naturally born spirits and monsters.]

"So the world I live in is called the Three Realms, and even immortals were alerted when I was born," the Monkey King giggled, then became anxious again, "Looks like immortals are in Heaven, how am I supposed to get up there?"

[After you were born, you made friends with all sorts of animals in the forest, naturally understood the languages of beasts, and were a natural at socializing.]

"Haha, not bad, not bad, I'm just as lively and lovely," the Monkey King clapped his hands with glee and continued watching.

[Later, you encountered a group of monkeys, and feeling that they looked like you, you mingled with them. They didn't reject you, and during a bout of playing around, you found Shuilian Cave. Then, with your little wits and no effort, you became the Monkey King.]

[After living carefree for three to five hundred years, you matured, became accustomed to life and death, and wanted to forever enjoy the happy life at Huaguo Mountain. But that was impossible.]

[However, you then heard about immortality, Buddhas, and divinity from a certain bare-backed macaque, and thus harbored the thought of venturing out to seek eternal life.]