Deep Meditation

A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving last week!

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"..." Lai Wen had a melancholy expression on her face as she looked at Lin Tao. Her thoughts were cloudy and filled with a sense of guilt. Lin Tao noticed this but couldn't understand the situation even now.

"But- You went into the forest with me. Isn't that dangerous she's your granddaughter…" The Request Pavillion Master chuckled. Instead of saying himself, he let Lai Wen explain.

"Grandfather packed my Spatial Ring personally. Plus I have a ton of Profound Artifacts on me at all times. I was never in any real danger."

"Indeed as she said, even a Sky Profound Realm Cultivator would need to exert themselves quite a bit on such an attempt." Lin Tao was surprised again, but thinking back it made sense. Lai Wen was cautious but he never remembered her being terrified or scared for her life.

At best she was scared of the creepiness of the forest or that he would try something. She even chased after him when he fought with the Red Tiger without worrying about being caught up in the fight.

"Then it all makes sense now. The Request Pavillion is directly under the government's authority and the Imperial Family. So that means this is all the result of a power struggle right? But as far as I know, The Grand Asura Nation is still alive and well and has no heirs." The Pavillion Master was a bit surprised.

"Oh? You're quite clever for someone so young, no wonder my granddaughter had such high praises. Though sadly I don't have the authority to confirm nor deny that. Plus it would be best if you didn't think about it." Lin Tao noticed the sharp glint in the Pavillion Master's eye. It put him on guard almost instantly.

Seeing that the Pavillion Master laughed.

"Relax, no need to be so on guard. Simply keep assisting me and you will be paid appropriately. Normally I wouldn't think of involving an outsider but in this situation, you're beneficial as you are." Lin Tao narrowed his eyes.

"So you simply want me to do whatever you say and act ignorantly on everything else. And if not, you're going to kill me?" No matter how the old man sugar-coated his words this was the underlying takeaway. Lai Wen seemed to feel the shift in tone causing her to fidget slightly.

"Hm? And here I thought you would go along with me. Fine then, how about I change my offer? Alongside paying you, if you manage to complete all of the missions I request I'll lend you the Imperial Family's Profound Ark. You'll be able to get to the Blue Wind Empire within a matter of days." Lin Tao's eyes widened a bit.

'I guess it's not surprising he found out what I needed the money for, but still does he really has access to the Imperial Family's Profound Ark? Even if he's the Request Pavillion Master…' It was suspicious and this whole situation was too strange.

Above all, though there was one thing Lin Tao could say hated it was being used as a tool.

If he didn't play his role he would be killed, if he agreed, who knows how long he would be stuck in this situation. He had lowered his guard around Lai Wen too much due to how innocent she appeared. But she had led him into a situation where he had no escape.

It caused him to glance at her, and he noticed she was staring at the floor. The smirk she had before had disappeared. Clearly, the atmosphere had gotten to her a bit. Either she knew about this but didn't like it or she didn't but is still remaining quiet.

Either way, he had to blame himself for being so naive.

"Fine… I'll play along, but how long will this take?"

"We don't want to drag this out any more than you do. While I can't give you a direct time I can assure you this will all be over soon. During each mission, I'll have my granddaughter accompany you, as a guide. All you have to do is your part." The Pavillion Master smiled as he looked towards Lin Tao.

Not an ounce of annoyance or any emotion at all could be seen on his face.

A pathological liar, that was who this old man was. A few minutes later Lin Tao left the room with Lai Wen in tow.

"Li-" She was about to speak but he cut her off.

"Relax, I'm not going to lash out at you or something like that. You didn't look like you enjoyed the outcome any more than I did. I should have known something was up, I got overconfident." He would have never made a mistake like that if he was still a Nascent Realm Cultivator.

Unconsciously the habit of being careful and observant he had built up over the years had been dulling itself. After merging with Sun Wukong he seemed to forget that even though he was strong, there is always a taller peak.

He had never been interested in fighting or growing stronger before. But the situation has changed now. If he wasn't careful he was going to get killed as a casualty of a conflict he wanted no part of. But unlike a normal person, he did have a way out of this. One he planned on fully taking advantage of.

After she heard Lin Tao she watched him walk off with a strange expression on his face. Standing there she could only sigh and shake her head before heading back to work. There was nothing she could do or say at the end that would make things better.

The rest of the day Lin Tao spent in his thoughts back in the Purple Raven Sect. When night came he didn't hesitate to immediately get ready to sleep. He held the jade scroll in his hands when he lied down, closing his eyes and letting his mind drift.

Soon the world shifted around him and when he opened his eyes he was in a different room. The jade scroll was in his hands and his clothes had once again changed. Sitting up he looked around taking everything in. Now that he wasn't as confused he could properly look at his surroundings.

'This place isn't that big, but it's extremely well built.' Walking out of his room everything was clean and well organized. No signs of decay or negligence could be seen anywhere. As he was walking he spotted disciples speaking to one another. He had no idea where he was going and planned to ask them where Subhuti was.

But the moment he opened his mouth the two glared at him.

"I hope you don't believe that just because you've become an official student doesn't mean you're on the same level."

"I still can't believe Master even took in an animal like you. Like a monkey could ever understand the path to being an immortal." Scoffing, the others turned and left without giving Lin Tao another look.

"Sun Wukong?" Lin Tao heard a familiar voice as he turned around. Ying Lian was walking with a few of her fellow students. Seeing him she gestured to them before walking over. At the same time, she saw the other two students who had walked past them with hostile expressions.

"Where are they bullying you?" Lin Tao almost laughed at the question but shook his head.

"I see…" She seemed to hesitate before speaking.

"Master Subhuti chose all of us as his students because he can see beyond what we are. It's an honor to be chosen under his gaze since he himself is a disciple of the Buddha." Lin Tao immediately looked shocked.

"The Buddha? He was a disciple of 'THE' Buddha?" Ying Lian nodded.

"It's true, though even Master is still far from reaching an enlightened state he is wise beyond mortal bounds. To be selected as a student of his is an honor. You can see why they would be discontent…" Her words trailed trying not to come off as rude. She personally treated Lin Tao nicely, despite his monkey-like appearance.

She believed if one was to take Subhuti's teachings to heart, you had to practice them even outside of study and lessons.

"I see…" Lin Tao was still trying to comprehend the fact The Buddha existed in this world. On the Profound Sky Continent, The Buddha was simply a concept, not a being.

"Oh, right I almost forgot but do you know where Su- I mean Master is?" Ying Lian shook her head.

"Don't you remember he usually leaves once or twice a week, though we don't really know where he goes or what he does? Still, he won't be back for quite some time." Hearing that Lin Tao sighed inwardly.

'Even in the Dreamworld everything seems to be against me. I really don't get a break.' From the outside to Ying Lian it looked like Lin Tao had gotten depressed from her news. Frowning a bit she spoke again,

"How about I help you? I'm not the best student but I can still explain a few things." Her friends' faces turned when they heard her. Some of them were confused why Ying Lian would lower herself like that. While the males of the group felt jealousy well up from within their hearts.

On the other hand, Lin Tao didn't have a reason to refuse her offer.

"Alright then, follow me to my room. I have a bunch of books on my desk we can look at." Her words caused their faces to turn even darker. Still in the end they could only watch as the two of them walked off.

Lin Tao was brought to a different corner of the school where they entered a room. It was bigger than his own and was built differently as well. A bed was placed against the wall in the center of the room, with a large desk covered in books and papers leaned up against the adjacent wall.

"So what is that you didn't get?" Ying Lian pulled out a chair for herself and Lin Tao as she asked this.

"Basically everything in this scroll." Opening up the jade scroll Lin Tao showed her. However, he immediately noticed she seemed confused and looked up at him.

"What, you don't get it either?" Ying Lian tilted her head.

"It's not that I don't get it, I can't even read those characters." Lin Tao froze as he looked back at the scroll. To him all of it was in a language he could understand without an issue. But to Ying Lian, it looked like a bunch of symbols she had never seen before.

Having run into the issue, Lin Tao decided to simply convey what he did not understand. Luckily despite not being able to read it herself, she could understand a few of the concepts. But to his surprise, a lot of them even surpassed her knowledge, apparently not even taught in their lessons.

A few minutes passed and those minutes transformed into hours. The two of them fell into the deep conversation going over the concepts contained within the jade scroll. Yet even after all this time they still haven't even gotten past the first section. As they did so Lin Tao learned more than he could have ever expected.

If the Profound Way was considered a linear process of Cultivation then this method was full of twists and turns. It was based more on understanding and knowledge than talent and will.

'Contain all you are in the body, breathe, and spirit. Lock your existence and let none leak. Formulate your own Yin and Yang and let it become your source. Refine the mind before the body and body before the spirit…' Lin Tao repeated these words in his mind. He felt as if he was on the cusp of understanding something beyond the words themselves.

Ying Lian didn't even notice due to her writing notes down in a book but when she turned to look at Lin Tao she saw he had entered a trance state. His eyes were opened but his mind was closed off to the outside world. He had entered a state of mediation.

Staring at him a small smirk appeared on her face as the Dreamworld began to twist and turn, collapsing in on itself.

"Keep at it… You're finally on your way." The voice that came from her was not her own. Though Lin Tao was too deep in mediation to notice. Change had already begun occurring inside of his being, ones that could not be fully understood.

Yet deeper he fell with a strange force penetrating through his entire body.