"Esteemed Sage Yuqing, your box is excellent in all aspects: its materials, craftsmanship, and the inscribed spells and formations are all superb. It has but one flaw."
"Which is..."
"Alas! Look at my glib tongue, overly seasoned from eating too many bananas. How can I, a junior, dare to show off in front of the esteemed Sage Yuqing? Therefore, please ignore me, as if I never spoke."
"With your treasure refining skills, this minor flaw is nothing."
"It's not as if you'll be backlashed when using it, or that it will explode, or other such dire fates. Those are just scare tactics; don't believe them. Don't you, Sage Yuqing, have enough confidence in yourself?"
Sun Kong's acting was unparalleled.
Truly, the premier troublemaker of the Primordial Three Realms.
He clearly intended to bait Yuanshi Tianzun, yet he spun it as his own inability to speak, his fear, forcing Yuanshi Tianzun to beg him to speak.
The sheer audacity of this act, playing with a Saint, would be enough to startle ten thousand Rulai and a million Guanyins!
Indeed.
After he deliberately spoke in riddles, Yuanshi Tianzun, despite his Saintly cultivation allowing him to see through Sun Kong's ploy to lure him, had no choice but to inquire.
There were two reasons.
Firstly, he genuinely cared for this Primordial Treasure Box. Even if he hadn't foreseen that he would use it to defeat Buddhism after the immeasurable kalpa, he vaguely sensed that the prosperity of the Chan Sect was inextricably linked to this box!
It must be perfected.
Secondly, it was known that many had observed the moment Sun Kong first used the Journey to the West Gatling to subdue his second brother, Wu Zhiqi.
Leaving aside others.
Yuanshi Tianzun, as the leader of the Chan Sect, was profoundly shocked by the terrifying power of the Journey to the West Gatling, its peculiar bullets, astonishing speed, and unescapable accuracy.
Thus.
This led to today's unique meeting.
Since Sun Kong had arrived, and on one hand, clarified his relationship with Nuwa, thus dispelling the Jade Emperor's rumors and bringing him peace of mind.
On the other hand, he had truly identified the issue with the Primordial Treasure Box, but was hesitant to speak directly due to their difference in status.
Considering how considerate he had been towards him.
Why should he, Yuanshi Tianzun, not be a little more approachable and humble himself to ask for advice?
"Indeed, I asked the Eight Golden Immortals, and they only praised me, their master, for my treasure refining skills. None of them saw, nor dared to point out, the flaws."
"I also asked my eldest senior brother, but he could only see the problem, not the solution."
"It is indeed my junior sister Nuwa's son, Young Friend Sun, who is remarkable. No wonder he can control that near-innate supreme treasure, the 'Jia', the 'Lin'."
"His great fortune is comparable to a hundred times that of Jiang Ziya during the Investiture of the Gods calamity. He is truly a generation's monkey... Great Sage."
"No, under no circumstances can I make him feel pressured or coerced. I must humbly seek his counsel, even if it means losing a little of my Saintly dignity!"
With these thoughts, before Sun Kong could "truly" leave and cease offering improvements, Yuanshi Tianzun, for the first time, lowered his voice and pleaded.
His first words were...
Not anything else.
But a change in his address to Sun Kong!
"Young friend Sun, there's no need to mind those formalities."
"This way, to express my sincerity, Yuanshi, from this day forward, we shall dispense with the old way of addressing each other. From now on, considering your relationship with my junior sister Nuwa, you may call me Uncle."
"And I, Yuanshi, have never had a nephew. After this, I discover you have more potential than the Eight Golden Immortals. Why shouldn't I call you Nephew Sun?"
Well done, Yuanshi Tianzun!
To gain Sun Kong's advice and perfect his Primordial Treasure Box, he was willing to humble himself and address him as uncle and nephew.
If this were to truly happen, Sun Kong's relationship with the Chan Sect and Yuanshi Tianzun would be unique.
Even the Eight Golden Immortals would not compare.
Not to mention Nezha, Yang Jian, and others who had previously harbored intentions of attacking him.
This form of address was more precious than a hundred Saints' reverence!
"My Uncle Yuanshi is indeed sensible."
"He knows that this Old Sun has been troubled by a lack of new progress recently, and he promptly bestowed upon this nephew this title. Won't this make things much more convenient in the future?"
"The prestige of the Chan Sect is far greater than that of the Lesser Vehicle Buddhism. Be it the Chan Sect, Spirit Mountain, or the Heavenly Court, this is a golden signboard!"
"Even that Jade Emperor must give me some face."
Seeing Yuanshi Tianzun's attempt to win him over, addressing him as Nephew Sun and truly producing a blank token temporarily made with divine power, offering him to inscribe any title he wished.
Sun Kong felt an immense joy.
Even more so than acquiring three Journey to the West Gatlings!
"Thank you, Yuqing... Oh, no, I should call you Second Uncle Yuanshi, is that correct?"
Sun Kong chuckled shrewdly.
"You speak well, you speak well. Second Uncle Yuanshi? Hmm, it sounds rather good. We three Saints have never had nephews, let alone a nephew as sensible, intelligent, and capable as you."
Yuanshi Tianzun paused for a moment before finally accepting the title.
Seeing this.
Sun Kong no longer stood on ceremony.
He pointed out that while the Primordial Treasure Box was nearly perfect, it only contained ordinary spiritual energy, lacking innate energy and chaos energy, making it difficult to achieve perfection and maximize its power.
This shocked Yuanshi Tianzun for the fourth time.
Contributing 0.0012 reverence!
Meanwhile, he also smilingly asked Yuanshi Tianzun to personally inscribe the characters, and moreover, ones that he favored!
"Nephew Sun is indeed remarkable, hitting the mark with a single word. I, your poor Daoist... oh no, I, your Second Uncle, am greatly pleased."
"What characters do you desire?"
"Sun the Great Sage? Sun Wukong? Or..."
Yuanshi Tianzun was about to personally inscribe the characters to thank Sun Kong.
But he heard a reply from Sun Kong that made him both amused and exasperated!
Sun Kong did not want "Sun the Great Sage" or "Sun Wukong."
He actually wanted the eight characters: "Nephew Sun - Inscribed by Second Uncle Yuanshi"!
Even an ordinary person could see that Sun Kong was leveraging Yuanshi Tianzun's influence for his future endeavors.
How could Yuanshi Tianzun not see it?
However, on second thought, a suggestion to perfect the Primordial Treasure Box plus a familial relationship was far more valuable than these eight characters.
Even if Sun Kong were to leech off some influence in the future, so what?
Wasn't he already cooperating with him on the Journey to the West?
Thus.
Yuanshi Tianzun, for the first time, broke his rule by inscribing characters for an outsider, for the first time recognized Sun Kong as a nephew, and for the first time, did not feel he had lost anything, but rather gained.
Finally.
Yuanshi Tianzun personally and warmly saw Sun Kong off.
His demeanor, waving goodbye and urging him to be careful, was more like a doting elder than Tang Sanzang himself!
...
New Flower Fruit Mountain.
As Sun Kong landed with the Nephew Sun token, before he could even catch his breath, General Pa suddenly reported.
A new distinguished guest had arrived.
This time, it was...