After this departure, Sun Wukong, to avoid further delays from trivial matters, escorted the Golden Cicada Master while dispatching a monkey hair clone to scout ahead.
In the remaining few days of their journey, he fully absorbed the various benefits from this significant reward.
The four drops of Pangu's essence blood were a given.
Mixed with his original nine drops of Pangu's essence blood, Sun Wukong's Pangu bloodline concentration reached thirteen drops. While still not substantial, it was far stronger than before!
Two passes?
For Sun Wukong, who sought to court death and alter karma at every turn for rewards, he certainly wouldn't wish to flee at the slightest inconvenience.
Therefore,
these two passes, which were quite useful to others, were to him like the passes given by the Six Sages in the past.
They were all but useless.
But it would be a shame to discard them.
So he would store them; they could be given away as gifts in the future!
"Now, the last two rewards worth reviewing are these two books. It is said that 'Chronicles of the Great Desolate World' is comprehensive, and 'The Method of Becoming a Sage in the Great Desolate World' should record truths, not falsehoods."
"The latter is of little significance to me; I can read it and then hand it over to Shakyamuni. My little Nini is destined to become the eighth sage in the future, and he will need such a thing."
"As for the former, the Heavenly Dao of the Great Desolate World couldn't possibly be without its own agenda. By giving this book to me, its aim is nothing more than to resolve my previous doubts and ensure my continued service to it."
"Currently, it seems our goals are aligned."
"I'll read it as extracurricular material. After all, in the pitch-black Great Desolate World at night, there are no entertainment options like those on Blue Star. I'll treat it like reading a novel, with a healthy dose of skepticism."
With this thought, Sun Wukong indeed used his leisure time on the journey to Fuling Mountain to finish reading these two books written by the Heavenly Dao of the Great Desolate World and Patriarch Hongjun.
One had to admit.
These two figures were genuinely trying to win him over and support him, and the rewards they bestowed were quite substantial.
For anyone else, these books might have contained a mixture of truth and falsehood, intended to mislead.
But these two individuals spoke the absolute truth, leaving Sun Wukong utterly unmisled.
Instead, he discovered many "truths" unknown to others!
Among them,
the latter book, the so-called "The Method of Becoming a Sage in the Great Desolate World," was remarkably similar to the three methods of becoming a sage that Sun Wukong knew from his past life on Blue Star.
The book recorded that aside from obtaining the opportunity to become a sage through special circumstances before the creation of the heavens and earth, as Patriarch Hongjun or the Demon Ancestor Luohu did in the past.
All beings born after Pangu created the heavens and earth, whether of the Heavenly Dao, the Demonic Dao, or other paths,
had only three methods to achieve sainthood.
The first type was called achieving sainthood through merit. For example, Sun Wukong or Luohu accumulating enough Heavenly Dao merit or Demonic Dao merit, causing a qualitative change through quantitative accumulation.
There was a certain probability of achieving sainthood.
Alternatively, completing a task with immense merit for the Heavenly Dao or Demonic Dao could also lead to becoming a Sage of Merit.
The previous successful example was Empress Nuwa.
She gained immense Heavenly Dao merit by creating humans, becoming the Mother of the Human Teachings, and the first among the Six Sages.
The advantages and disadvantages of this method were clear.
The advantage was that it was the fastest method to become a sage among the three.
For instance, Empress Nuwa achieved sainthood with remarkable speed, surpassing others.
This commanded respect from the other five Sages.
However, the disadvantages were also evident.
There were approximately two aspects.
The first aspect was that the merit required to elevate a person to sainthood was too vast and demanding; not everyone could be as fortunate as Empress Nuwa, who could break through simply by creating a race.
A failed example was Patriarch Styx.
Envious of Empress Nuwa's rapid ascent to sainthood, he also created the Asura race, but there was no reaction!
The second aspect was that even if one could gather immense merit, the cultivation of a sage achieved through this method was the weakest among the three.
Empress Nuwa, despite being addressed as "Junior Sister Nuwa" and revered by all, appearing peerless.
Yet, for countless eons, she remained secluded, not daring to casually participate in certain tribulations.
This was precisely because her cultivation was the weakest.
The second type was more common, adopted by almost all beings in the present three realms of the Great Desolate World who aspired to or had already achieved sainthood.
Colloquially, it was called achieving sainthood through the Three Corpses.
In simple terms, it involved splitting one's primordial spirit into three, entrusting each to a spiritual treasure, thus severing three powerful avatars.
The main body was called the Corpse of Obsession, controlling all.
The aggregate of good thoughts was called the Good Corpse.
The aggregate of evil thoughts was called the Evil Corpse.
While this method did not guarantee that everyone who severed the three corpses would eventually become a sage, it could rapidly enhance their strength.
Not looking too far back.
Before the passing of Tathagata, including him, the Demon Sage, the Jade Emperor, Patriarch Styx, Patriarch Netherworld, Patriarch Yellow Springs, Zhen Yuanzi, Chan Master Wuchao, and Patriarch Kunpeng.
These nine quasi-sages all enhanced their strength by severing the three corpses.
And above them, the Heavenly Sage Laozi, the Primordial Sage Yuanshi Tianzun, Patriarch Tongtian, Patriarch Jieyin, and Patriarch Zhunti.
Among these five known Sages of the Heavenly Dao lineage, three explicitly severed the three corpses.
They were Laozi, Jieyin, and Zhunti.
The one who clearly did not follow the path of the three corpses was Patriarch Tongtian.
Positioned in the middle, it was still unknown whether Yuanshi Tianzun had severed the three corpses or followed that path.
It could be exaggeratedly said that these Sages and nine quasi-sages served as role models for trillions of beings, making the second method of becoming a sage, achieving sainthood through the three corpses, the most widespread.
And apart from these two methods, the third method, which was once popular and later, with the downfall of the Wu and Yao clans, almost no one studied.
It was called proving the Dao with strength!
Regarding this method, "The Method of Becoming a Sage in the Great Desolate World" also recorded it in detail. The most successful and most failed example was none other than Donghuang Taiyi, the top expert of the Yao clan back then!
"On Blue Star, many Great Desolate novels are based on Donghuang Taiyi, relying on his Chaos Bell to amass wealth."
"However, few would realize that the path of proving the Dao with strength is extremely arduous. Even Donghuang Taiyi, who once fought against the Three Pure Ones, failed. What about those who came after?"
"Furthermore, I, Sun Wukong, am not like others. The last time I entered the Chaos Void, I saw that the primordial spirits of all the Sages were controlled by the Heavenly Dao and had to be entrusted to it."
"Besides, the whereabouts of the Chaos Bell are still unknown!"
Reading this, Sun Wukong suddenly felt a moment of profound enlightenment!