Chapter 16: The Borderlands, Secret Treasure Land

"Wukong, you are exceptionally gifted and diligent, and your future achievements are boundless. Today, I will assist you further by infusing the Great Dao Runes from this secret scripture into your body, allowing you to comprehend them on your own in time."

Indeed, the Puti Patriarch was not just explaining the secrets of the scripture to Sun Wukong, but was forcefully infusing the Great Dao Runes from the scripture directly into Sun Wukong's body. This way, even if he had not yet comprehended the related Heavenly Dao Laws, he could remember them, and slowly understand them as his cultivation realm advanced.

"Disciple thanks Master for his great kindness!"

Sun Wukong was overjoyed. He immediately knelt on both knees and respectfully kowtowed three times to the Puti Patriarch. The scripture written with Great Dao Runes was truly the Puti Patriarch's ace up his sleeve, and now he was teaching everything to him. This was something unprecedented in Wukong's past lives, and he felt a gratitude towards the Puti Patriarch that words could not describe.

"Alright, get up!"

After receiving Sun Wukong's three bows, the Puti Patriarch waved his hand, and the Great Dao Runes flew out from the scripture, pouring into Sun Wukong's glabella. However, the amount of runes recorded in the scripture hadn't diminished at all; it felt as if the Puti Patriarch had created a copy. Meanwhile, mysterious Great Dao Runes started floating around the Mud Palace Pellet within Sun Wukong's spiritual space, where the Time-Space Life-Death Talisman, already floating there, faintly began to emit a faint light, drawing the floating runes towards it.

The Puti Patriarch did not notice this, as probing into someone else's Mud Palace Pellet with spiritual power is highly invasive and dangerous. A slight mistake could scatter one's Divine Sense and even damage the Soul's True Spirit; naturally, the Puti Patriarch wouldn't do such a thing.

Sun Wukong himself also didn't realize that, similar to the Thirty-sixth grade Cleansing World Lotus Stem, the Time-Space Life-Death Talisman, besides functioning in times of peril, floated quietly within the Mud Palace Pellet, completely beyond Wukong's control.

The transmission of the entire scripture lasted for an hour. The scripture's light began to fade and no more Great Dao Runes flew out. Sun Wukong's figure floated three feet above the ground, level with the scripture, his eyes tightly closed, not yet awakened. The Puti Patriarch knew Sun Wukong was still adjusting to the runes entering his spiritual space in the Mud Palace Pellet, so he remained silent and walked out of the Scripture Pavilion.

After three full days, Sun Wukong finally woke from the profound state and opened his eyes, a brilliant flash of golden light disappearing in the depths of his eyes and a slight smile on his lips, the Puti Patriarch's infused Great Dao Runes within his spiritual space in the Mud Palace Pellet were all absorbed by the Time-Space Life-Death Talisman, which seemed to have begun transforming. Wukong felt a real, blood-bound connection to it, unlike the ethereal one before.

The runes absorbed by the Time-Space Life-Death Talisman did not disappear; with a single thought, Wukong could view them within the talisman, not hindering his future contemplation and cultivation.

The Puti Patriarch was not in the Scripture Pavilion, Wukong deeply inhaled and in a flash, he was out of the attic, seeing the Puti Patriarch standing outside the Scripture Pavilion.

"It looks like you have adapted well, faster than I expected."

The Puti Patriarch turned around and smiled at Sun Wukong, "Wukong, you have been my disciple for over two hundred years, and I have not bestowed any magical treasures upon you. Now that it is time for you to leave, I will give you one final gift. The kind of treasure you can obtain depends on your own fate!"

With that, he waved his hand, and a light gate emitting a bluish light appeared.

"Master, this is...?"

"This is the gateway to the secret treasure land of the Three Realms. Inside are various magical treasures that have been lost since the dawn of creation and remain unclaimed. You may go and choose a treasure for yourself. Within a hundred years, regardless of whether you have selected a suitable item or not, you will be transported out of the secret land."

The Puti Patriarch paused and then with a tender look in his eyes and a sigh, said, "Wukong, this farewell might mean we will never meet again. In the future, no matter what fame you achieve or what trouble you cause, it will have nothing to do with Mount Fangcun. You must not mention your connection to me to anyone else, do you understand?"

"Master!"

The Puti Patriarch indeed still forbade him from revealing his mentorship. Sun Wukong felt a pang of pain, his eyes instantly reddening, and he heavily knelt down and kowtowed three times to the Puti Patriarch before getting up and walking into the light gate.

"Wukong, don't blame your master! It's not that I'm heartless; this is all for your own good. If one day you truly reach my realm, there might indeed be a day when our paths cross again..."

A long sigh from the Puti Patriarch echoed long in the mountains behind the Three-Star Cave Heaven...

In the Borderlands of the Three Realms, the secret treasure land that the Puti Patriarch mentioned.

Suddenly, a ring of light appeared in midair, and Sun Wukong tumbled out from it.

Indeed, he tumbled! The gravity in this secret treasure land of the Three Realms was ten times that of the rest of the realms. Sun Wukong had just poked his head through the portal when he felt as if his body had suddenly become much heavier, lost his footing, and plummeted from midair.

"Damn! What kind of place is this? Why is there such a strong gravitational pull?"

Climbing out of the pit he had fallen into, Sun Wukong grimaced in pain. The gravity had increased tenfold, intensifying the pain as well. That fall had definitely not been light, and thankfully, there was no one else around. Otherwise, how could he, the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong, have face to rule over the Three Realms if word got out that he plummeted face-first into the ground from mid-air and created a human-shaped crater?

Looking around, everything was shrouded in a grey mist. There was no sun in the sky, no moon, nor any stars. All around was an endless plain of grass, each blade about three feet tall, almost reaching up to his thighs, stretching as far as his eyes could see.

"Is this the Secret Treasure Land? Didn't master say that there were many treasures here from the beginning of heaven and earth? Why haven't I seen a single one?"

In this weird place, aside from the unusually strong gravity, all his sensory abilities were also restricted. Sun Wukong had searched the area and found no treasures. Surely, the Puti Patriarch wasn't just messing with him?

No, that couldn't be! After all, the Puti Patriarch was a Heavenly Dao Saint, a grand master, and wouldn't joke about such things. The treasures must be here in the Secret Treasure Land; it's just that he hadn't found them yet.

Shaking his head, Sun Wukong started walking forward. Adapting to ten times the normal gravity wasn't easy. Before he could adapt, he probably wouldn't be able to ride the clouds anymore and had to rely on his legs to slowly walk.

"This place is so weird..."

Having walked around the Secret Treasure Land for a full three days, the scenery hadn't changed at all, and Sun Wukong started to feel something was off. He was walking, but he had actually quietly used the ability "Shrinking Earth into Inches." He could have walked from East Victorious Divine Continent to Western Cattle Gift State in these three days, yet he still hadn't seen the end of this grassland. It was supposed to be in the Borderlands of the Three Realms; surely it shouldn't be this vast, right?

Something was off, very off! Could there be some sort of Natural Formation here?

Sun Wukong stopped walking, sat down cross-legged, and started to meditate using his Divine Sense, trying to calculate his situation. Over the years, he had read almost every ancient book in the Scripture Pavilion of the Three-Star Cave Heaven, including many about formations and restrictions. Through his calculations, he indeed sensed a Natural Great Formation, and he was right in the middle of it.

Compared to man-made formations, Natural Formations formed innately were often much more powerful because of their innateness and extremely high concealment; even if one was trapped within, it was very hard to notice, just like how Sun Wukong had walked for three days without any clues.

"Good thing I've studied formations over the years, otherwise, I might have been trapped here forever!"

Natural Innate Great Formations had one characteristic: once detected, breaking through them wasn't difficult. Sun Wukong didn't take much effort to grasp the operating pattern of the formation and channelled his Primordial Force fiercely towards a spot about ten meters to his front right.

This was the weakest point in the Natural Great Formation at that moment. With a punch from Sun Wukong, the formation barrier instantly shattered, creating a large hole over half a person tall. Not daring to delay, Sun Wukong's figure flashed as he darted out through the hole, escaping the Great Formation Space.

"Who's there?"

"Bang!"

"Ouch!"

No sooner had Sun Wukong emerged from the Great Formation Space when a large face appeared right in front of him. Instinctively, Sun Wukong kicked out, and amidst a cry of pain, a man dressed in a purple long robe was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the ground several meters away. An unsightly large shoe print now decorated what was once a handsome face.

"Who are you, and why are you trying to scare me by sneaking around?"

Directly hitting his target, Sun Wukong didn't pause for a second and quickly stepped forward, pressing his hand on the man's clavicle, ready to shatter it should the man make any suspicious moves.

"Who scared you? You started hitting people as soon as you appeared; now you're the one playing the victim!"

The man's face was a mix of frustration and slight anger. "Get your hand off me, or I won't be polite anymore!"

"Oh ho! Quite the bold one! I'd like to see just how 'impolite' you can get!"

Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow. He had always preferred reasoning over violence, but here was this man, threatening him right after trying to talk. Was this not a provocation?