bioinnovel Chapter 393 Flower Fruit Mountain
Chapter 393 Flower Fruit Mountain
Sun Wukong squatted on the edge of the battlement, his golden cudgel resting on his knees, the golden light of Mars reflected in his monkey eyes.
He slammed the stick against the city bricks and stood up.
"You handle the will network connection yourself. I went back to Flower Fruit Mountain, and my monkey grandchildren haven't seen me for tens of thousands of years. Last time I went back, I barely had time to sit down before you dragged me outside the membrane to connect the fragments."
"I'm going back to stay a few more days this time. If you have time after you finish with the Willpower Network, come to Flower Fruit Mountain for some peaches. I'll have my monkeys pick the reddest ones for you."
"Go ahead. Leave a few peaches; don't eat them all."
Su Fan tucked the Pangu Axe into his waistband.
Sun Wukong somersaulted, his golden armor leaving an arc of light in the air before disappearing in the direction of Flower Fruit Mountain.
Su Fan turned around and walked to the center of the South Heavenly Gate city wall. He slammed the Pangu Axe into the city brick, and the axe tail wedged into the brick three inches deep.
The thin golden line in his left palm activated itself the moment it touched the axe handle. The will of all beings surged from the line into the axe handle, then into the axe blade, and finally spread from the axe blade along the pale gold patterns on the city bricks to the entire city wall.
The gold patterns on every brick of the city wall lit up simultaneously the instant they received the will of all living beings.
After the light was fully extinguished, the golden law marks on the weapon fragments in the hands of the 10,050 remaining soldiers simultaneously began to pulsate.
The pulsating rhythm was perfectly synchronized with the thin golden line on Su Fan's left palm.
Qingfeng stuck the broken sword into the city brick. After the will of the Dao of All Beings was poured into it, the dark red law pattern on the sword changed from dark red to a very light gold.
He glanced down at the blade, then looked up at Su Fan.
"The wills of 10,050 people are all connected to the Ruins. Can the heart and blood vessels of the Ruins withstand so many wills being poured in at the same time?"
"It can withstand it. The heart network of the Ruins grew from the fragments of the Eastern Emperor Bell and the roots of the flintwood. The capacity of the network's laws increased at least several times after the Ruins' foundation merged with the mountain roots."
"After 10,050 streams of will were poured in, the pulse network would automatically divert the will to the larva deep within the foundation of the Ruins. The larva would then transmit the will to the sedimentary layer on the outside of the membrane through the flint root system."
"Every node in the entire transmission chain has a law buffer layer. Will will not be concentrated on any one node."
Su Fan gripped the axe with both hands and pushed the pressure of the transmission law of the will of all living beings upwards a bit further.
The law markings on the 10,050 weapon fragments on the city wall simultaneously changed from pale gold to extremely bright.
The light spread along the golden patterns on the city bricks toward the cracks in the ruins, and was automatically received by the heart network of the ruins when it reached the edge of the cracks.
Xu stood barefoot at the deepest part of the Guixu foundation, his right hand pressed against the pale gold line on his chest, and his left hand supporting the core of the stone embryo.
When 10,050 wills simultaneously poured into his heart's energy network, the Eastern Emperor's heart in his chest cavity suddenly jumped, and after the jump, the heart rate increased.
He removed his right hand from his chest, and the transparent scorch mark on his index finger split open on its own in the torrent of will. The embers of flint that surged out of the crack mixed with the torrent of will and traveled along the flint roots inside the larva deep in the foundation of the Ruins towards the membrane wall.
As the torrent of will was transmitted to the inside of the membrane, Su Fan pulled the Pangu Axe out of the city bricks, held it with both hands, and raised it above his head.
The golden light on the axe blade suddenly brightened under the influence of the torrent of will, so bright that it reflected the entire mask wall as a very pale gold.
He pointed the axe blade towards the membrane wall, and 10,050 streams of will shot into the interior of the membrane wall along the tip of the axe blade, penetrating the membrane wall and striking the primordial law sediment layer on the outer side of the membrane wall that had not yet been transformed.
The fragments of the ancient god's life laws sealed deep within the sedimentary layer were activated the instant they came into contact with the torrent of will.
Thousands of fragments rose spontaneously from the ravines of the sedimentary layer, each fragment containing a faint, dark red dot of light.
After receiving the will of all living beings, the light spot changed from dark red to dark gold, and its pulsation frequency was completely synchronized with the Eastern Emperor's heart in the Xu's chest cavity.
Thousands of fragments hung above the sediment layer, flying towards the membrane wall simultaneously under the guidance of the will of all living beings, their flight trajectories extremely stable.
As they pass through the membrane wall, the internal patterns of the membrane wall automatically move aside, creating thousands of extremely narrow channels.
After passing through the membrane wall, the fragments did not linger but directly merged into the law cycle inside the membrane wall. Each fragment formed a very faint golden law node at the point of embedding.
The law patterns inside the node and the original law patterns on the membrane wall fit together perfectly. After the connection was completed, the node began to operate on its own, absorbing the surrounding fragments of chaotic laws into the node.
The absorption rate is at least twice as fast as the original cycle of the membrane wall.
After all the thousands of fragments were embedded into the membrane wall, the golden light on the surface of the membrane wall slowly subsided from its extremely bright state. After the light subsided, the density of the laws in the membrane wall jumped up again.
After the torrent of will dissipated, the heart's vascular network automatically adjusted its heart rate back to a normal rhythm.
He put the stone core back into his bosom, and placed his right hand back on the pale gold line on his chest, sensing the structural changes in the membrane through the heart's vascular network.
Thousands of new law nodes are embedded inside the membrane wall, and each node is absorbing fragments of chaotic laws on its own, increasing the self-healing speed of the membrane wall by at least several times.
He stood deep within the foundation of Guixu for a moment, then walked along the ascending passage of the Guixu crack towards the South Heavenly Gate.
Barefoot on the white rocks of Guixu, with each step he took, the Eastern Emperor's heart in his chest beat once, the heartbeat perfectly synchronized with the rhythm of the thousands of new law nodes inside the membrane.
Su Fan stood at the edge of the South Heavenly Gate, with the Pangu Axe stuck at his feet.
The law imprints on the 10,050 weapon fragments on the city wall returned to a very faint gold color after the torrent of will dissipated, and the pulsating rhythm was extremely steady.
Qingfeng pulled the broken sword from the city bricks, and the newly formed golden law pattern on the sword blade shone slightly under the golden light of Mars.
The human warrior leaned against the edge of the battlement, the Demon Emperor's Spear resting on his knees. The old scars on his two broken legs tingled slightly as the torrent of will swept over them. He looked down and saw that the new skin on the old scars had grown even thicker.
Gongsun Bao gripped the axe, which was mostly healed. The silver-white law patterns on the axe blade flowed around on their own after the torrent of will, and then embedded themselves deep into the metal texture of the axe blade.
Nezha leaned against a pillar on the city wall, carrying his Fire-Tipped Spear. The mark of law on his left shoulder brightened slightly as the torrent of will swept over him, before returning to its stable state.
He pressed the Pure Yang Talisman on his chest at the Tanzhong acupoint, and the warm current of the talisman spread along the meridians to his limbs, slowly dissolving the lingering remnants of the law in his meridians.
After resolving the situation, he slung the gun over his shoulder and walked over to Su Fan.
"The will network is complete. The wills of 10,050 people have been channeled into the membrane, and thousands of fragments of ancient gods have been embedded within it, becoming law nodes. The law cycle of the membrane is now completely complete. What else is there to fight?"
"The remaining two limbs of Rahu are still deep in the pool of liquid, the torso is pressed under the Zixiao Palace, and the head is sealed under the remains of Buzhou Mountain."
"The six severed extremity fragments deep within the chaos decomposed on their own within the law-deposited layer on the outer side of the membrane, and after decomposition, they merged into the repair layer on the outer side of the membrane."
"Once the cycle of laws within the membrane is complete, the fragments of chaotic laws will be continuously absorbed, and disorderly expansion will no longer occur. The singularity collapse will not recur."
"The extraterrestrial gods have been defeated, the well has been sealed, the Void has been filled, and the Heavenly Dao is no longer leaking. Laozi was right. This Southern Heavenly Gate no longer needs to be guarded."
Su Fan pulled the Pangu Axe out of the city bricks. There was no light on the axe blade and no law patterns on the axe handle.
He tucked the axe into his waistband.
Yang Jian stood up from below his spine, piecing the two broken pieces of the mirror together and placing them in his palm.
The real-time sealing image of the bottom layer of the Bone Mountain in Beiju Luzhou appeared on the mirror. The seal of Di Jun's main body was stable, and the law crystals after the three demon emperor heads were exorcised were embedded in the tip of the demon emperor spear, reflecting a very faint golden light on the mirror.
He turned the shattered mirror toward Su Fan.
"The seal on the remains of the myriad demons in Beiju Luzhou is stable, and the law structure at the bottom of the bone mountain has been reinforced by itself after the law cycle of the membrane wall is complete."
"Emperor Jun will not awaken for three thousand years. There's no need to inspect Bone Mountain for now. The remnants of the laws in this half of the shattered mirror are enough for a few more uses. Once the laws of the membrane wall are fully circulated, the law environment of the outer perimeter of the primordial world will enter a very long period of stability."
"During the stable period, the dark gold barrier on the outer side of the membrane wall and the law nodes inside the membrane wall will automatically maintain the balance of the laws. The need for external intervention is reduced to a very low level."
"I'll leave the broken mirror to you. In case anything gets close to the outside of the membrane, the mirror will be able to sense it in advance."
Yang Jian broke the shattered mirror in two, tucking one half into his waistband and handing the other half to Su Fan.
Su Fan took the half-shattered mirror and tucked it into his waistband.
Then he turned and walked towards the South Heavenly Gate.
After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back at everyone on the city wall.
Qingfeng stood by the crenellation, leaning on his broken sword; the human warrior held the Demon Emperor Spear across his lap; Gongsun Bao leaned against a pillar of the city tower, holding his axe; Yang Jian sat cross-legged under the ridge; and Nezha stood at the city gate, carrying his Fire-Tipped Spear.
Xu stood barefoot at the edge of the Guixu Crack, his right hand pressed against the pale gold line on his chest.
The golden light of Mars shone on everyone, and the newly grown pale gold patterns on the city bricks shone on their own in the golden light.
"I'm going back to the mortal realm. The fried dough stick stall is still open."
Su Fan hoisted the Pangu Axe onto his shoulder, turned around, and walked out of the South Heavenly Gate.
Stepping on the fragments of Kunlun mother rock floating in the void, they walked towards the mortal realm.
Nezha watched him walk away, then slung the Fire-Tipped Spear over his shoulder.
"Back to the fried dough stick stall again. Last time I went back, I ate four fried dough sticks and took ten with me to eat on the way. I don't know how many I'll eat this time."
After Nezha finished speaking, he carried his gun to the edge of the battlements, turned his back to everyone, and the mark of law on his left shoulder shone for a moment in the golden light of Mars.
Rainwater from last night still clung to the bluestone slabs of that narrow street in the mortal realm.
The walls of the old residential buildings on both sides of the street were covered with ivy, and the ivy leaves were glossy in the morning sunlight.
The air was filled with the smell of frying dough sticks, the beany smell of soy milk, and the white steam billowing out when the steamer baskets at the breakfast stalls were opened.
After the white steam dissipated, the outline of the breakfast stall on the street corner came into view.
The stall owner was still the same old man, wearing a white apron covered in grease, standing in front of the oil pan, flipping the fried dough sticks with long chopsticks.
The oil in the pan was bubbling, and the fried dough sticks were expanding in the oil, turning from white to golden brown, with a thin, extremely crispy crust around the edges.
The stall owner looked up and saw Su Fan. His long chopsticks stopped in mid-air, with a freshly fried dough stick still on them.
He stared at the very ordinary axe on Su Fan's waist for a long time, then put his chopsticks down by the oil pan, wiped his hands on his apron, picked up an oil paper bag from the cutting board, put two fried dough sticks in it, and handed it over with both hands.
"You're back again? Did you finish those ten fried dough sticks from last time? Where's the Great Sage? Why wasn't he with you?"
"The Great Sage has gone back to Flower Fruit Mountain to eat peaches. He's finished his fried dough sticks, so he'll come back and eat a few more."
Su Fan took the oil paper bag and took a bite of the fried dough stick.
The outer skin of the fried dough stick is extremely crispy; you can hear a very subtle cracking sound when you bite into it. The inside is soft, and hot air escapes from the cut surface.
He chewed twice and swallowed.
"No peaches from Flower Fruit Mountain can compare to my fried dough sticks. Sit down, I'll fry another batch for you."
The stall owner turned around and pulled out a new oil pot from under the cutting board, put it on the stove, poured half a pot of new oil into it, then scooped out a lump of dough that had been rested from the basin, sprinkled a layer of dry flour on the cutting board, and began to knead the dough.
Su Fan sat down on a low stool next to the fried dough stick stall, took the Pangu Axe off his waist and leaned it against the stool leg.
The three thin golden lines on the axe handle were still there, but the three orbs of light had flown away a long time ago.
He glanced down at the axe handle and pulled his phone out of his pocket.
The phone has power, and the screen is lit.
He opened the live streaming app and pointed the camera at the oil pan at the fried dough stick stall.
The barrage of comments flooded in almost instantly.
The stall owner leaned over to look at the phone screen, grinned, waved at the camera, and then put several fried dough sticks into the oil.
The fried dough sticks sizzled in the oil.
Su Fan ate two fried dough sticks, rested his phone against the vinegar bottle on the fried dough stick stall, and said something to the camera.
"The cycle of laws governing the membrane is complete. The Southern Heavenly Gate no longer needs guarding. The battle is over. I'm eating fried dough sticks."
Then he stopped talking and continued eating the fried dough stick in his hand.
The streets are starting to fill with pedestrians: parents dropping their children off at school, vendors riding tricycles to the market to buy goods, and elderly men carrying birdcages for a stroll.
Everyone who passed by the fried dough stick stall glanced in this direction. Some people recognized Su Fan, paused for a moment, and then continued walking.
Some people didn't recognize him; they were just attracted by the live stream on their phones, came over for a quick look, and then walked away.
The little boy with the schoolbag came again.
He stood in front of the fried dough stick stall, looking up at the very ordinary axe on Su Fan's waist for a long time.
"Uncle, you're back again. Last time you said this axe wouldn't chop anything anymore. Is it still not going to chop anything now?"
"No need to cut anything. Just hang it on your waist."
Su Fan reached out and ruffled A Dou's hair.
A Dou nodded and took out a tiny wooden carving from his schoolbag.
The wood carving is of an axe, with two characters crookedly carved on the handle.
Pangu.
He placed the wood carving in Su Fan's palm.
"I carved it. It's for you. Your axe has no light, but mine does."
A Dou pointed to a green mark drawn with a highlighter on the blade of the wooden axe.
Su Fan looked down at the wooden carving in his hand and remained silent for a long time.
Then he stuffed the wood carving into his pocket and placed it together with the half-broken mirror.
"Thank you. This axe shines."
Su Fan stood up, tucked the Pangu Axe into his waistband, stuffed the last half of the fried dough stick into his mouth, and picked up his phone from next to the vinegar bottle.
The comments were still scrolling, and one comment was scrolled countless times.
"Broadcast. Next time, we'll show Flower Fruit Mountain. The Great Sage invites you to eat peaches."
After Su Fan finished speaking, he turned off the live stream and put his phone in his pocket.
"Take it with you on the way. Is Flower Fruit Mountain far?"
The vendor packed the freshly fried dough sticks into an oil paper bag, tied the bag tightly, and handed it to him.
"It's not far. Just a somersault and you're there."
Su Fan took the oil paper bag, slung the Pangu Axe over his shoulder, and turned to walk towards the street corner.
He walked a few steps and then stopped, glancing back at the fried dough stick stall.
The vendor had already continued frying dough sticks with his head down; the oil in the pot was still bubbling, and the smoke was rising in the morning light.
The steam from the steamer carried the aroma of fried dough sticks and the beany smell of soy milk, and when the morning breeze blew, the whole street was filled with this smell.
Su Fan withdrew his gaze, shouldered the axe, and headed towards the street corner.
Su Fan stepped on the aftershock of the calamity left by Sun Wukong at the alley entrance, crossed the ruins of the South Heavenly Gate, and flew towards Flower Fruit Mountain.
The golden light of Mars receded further and further behind us, while the clouds ahead grew lower and lower, transitioning from extremely thin celestial law clouds to earthly water vapor clouds.
As we passed through the last layer of clouds, the outline of Flower Fruit Mountain emerged at the edge of the East China Sea.
The mountain isn't very high, but it's extremely green, with fruit trees covering everything from the foot to the summit. The trees are laden with peaches, their colors ranging from green to red in layers.
The waterfall on the mountainside is still flowing, and behind the water curtain is the Water Curtain Cave.
On the stone wall at the entrance of the Water Curtain Cave, there are three large characters carved by Sun Wukong with his golden cudgel: Flower and Fruit Mountain.
The handwriting was crooked and the edges of the engravings had long been worn smooth by wind and rain, but the faint remnants of the laws of the chaotic stone embryo were embedded deep within the engravings, which had not dissipated for 30,000 years.
A group of monkeys were squatting on the stone steps at the entrance of the cave, peeling peaches.
A sharp-eyed little monkey was the first to spot Su Fan descending from the sky, stepping on the golden law membrane. Peach rolled off the stone steps from its hand, pointed in Su Fan's direction, and squeaked twice.
The entire group of monkeys raised their heads and then rushed towards the cave entrance in a frenzy.
Sun Wukong emerged from the Water Curtain Cave, half a peach still dangling from his mouth.
He wasn't wearing golden armor; he was only covered by an old battle robe he'd brought back from the South Heavenly Gate, with a hole in the cuff.
He saw Su Fan land on the stone steps at the cave entrance, take the peach out of his mouth, and grin.
"They arrived faster than I expected. Is the will network complete? Is the cycle of laws within the membrane wall complete? The wills of 10,050 people have all been poured into Guixu. Did that kid Xu withstand it?"
"Has Qingfeng's broken sword healed again? Has Nezha's mark regained its light? When I left, your axe had lost all its light; has it regained it now?"
Sun Wukong fired off a string of questions, then laughed at himself, shoved the half-eaten peach in his hand into Su Fan's hand, and turned to shout into the cave.
"Men, bring out last year's monkey wine! My brother's here!"
Su Fan took the peach and took a bite.
The peaches were incredibly sweet, and juice dripped down the corners of my mouth.
He sat down on the stone steps at the cave entrance and took the Pangu Axe from his waist, leaning it against the stone wall.
The three thin golden lines on the axe handle gleamed slightly in the mist of the Water Curtain Cave.
The wooden axe that A Dou had given him peeked out from his bosom, the green marks from the highlighter pen standing out starkly against the dim cave entrance.
Sun Wukong looked down at the piece of wood carving, then picked it up and examined it several times.
The wood carving was extremely rough, the axe blade was crooked, and the two characters on the axe handle were all wrong; the character "盘" was missing a horizontal stroke, and the character "古" had an extra vertical stroke.
The monkey stared at the two characters for a long time, then gently placed the wooden carving on Su Fan's lap.
"This was a gift from the kid. He said your axe doesn't shine, but his does. The green color is from a highlighter, the kind of marker that ordinary kids use to draw; it absorbs light during the day and glows at night."
Su Fan took a bite of the peach.
Sun Wukong remained silent.
He picked up the wooden carving again and placed it on the stone steps at the entrance of the cave, letting the sunlight coming in from outside the Water Curtain Cave shine on the green fluorescent mark on the axe blade of the wooden carving.
A moment later, he returned the wooden carving to Su Fan, stood up, waved to the group of monkeys carrying wine jars at the cave entrance, then sat down again and said in a very calm tone:
"He's a good lad."
Su Fan stuffed the last bite of peach into his mouth and tossed the peach pit down the stone steps.
Then he took out the half-shattered mirror that Yang Jian had given him from his bosom, put A Dou's wooden axe back into his bosom, pressed it against the shattered mirror, and said:
"Peach pits can be planted. If that brat A Dou wants to learn how to use an axe in the future, tell him to come find you at Flower Fruit Mountain."
"Laojun used his Dao Heart to scan the star trails and discovered that the frequency of the laws of those three signals was 80% the same as the Dao will of all living beings in Pangu Axe, so they were not enemies."
Su Fan paused for a moment, then handed the broken mirror to Sun Wukong.
Sun Wukong took the broken mirror and looked down at the three extremely faint signals of law on its surface.
He returned the broken mirror to Su Fan, then picked the biggest and reddest peach from the pile of peaches at his feet and stuffed it into Su Fan's hand. He stood up, brushed the peach fuzz off his clothes, and said:
"It's good that they're not the enemy. I told you we could rest for a few days after the battle. Don't think about those empty things these next few days, just stay at Flower Fruit Mountain for a few days."
"Peaches are plentiful, and monkey wine is plentiful. After we've rested enough, I'll go with you. Last time I said I'd teach that brat A Dou how to wield the golden cudgel, but you insisted he practice with a wooden axe first. Bring him to Flower Fruit Mountain, and I'll teach him myself."
After he finished speaking, he added another sentence.
Several little monkeys carried a jar of monkey wine, still sealed with mud, out of the cave. The jar was placed on the stone steps, and the aroma of the wine mingled with the mist from the Water Curtain Cave, spreading around the cave entrance.
Sun Wukong slapped open the mud seal with his palm, picked up two stone bowls, filled them, pushed one bowl in front of Su Fan, and picked up the other bowl himself and took a big gulp.
Wine dripped down his chin, which he wiped with the cuff of his old battle robe before slamming the stone bowl onto the stone steps.
"That's great. When I was trapped under the Five Elements Mountain, this was the drink I craved the most."
"Later, on the journey to the West, we passed through the Kingdom of Zhu Zi. The king invited me to drink royal wine, but I spat it out after just one sip. It was not even a tenth as good as the wine brewed by the monkeys."
Su Fan picked up the stone bowl and took a sip.
The liquor was extremely strong, but after it went down his throat, a warm current spread from his stomach to his limbs, resonating slightly with the will of all living beings within the thin golden line on his palm.
He put down the stone bowl and looked at the group of monkeys and their offspring who were sharing peaches at the cave entrance.
A little monkey was rolling around on the stone steps, holding a peach that was bigger than its head. When it rolled to Su Fan's feet, he reached out and caught it, pushing the peach back to him.
The little monkey squeaked twice, then ran away with the peach in its arms.
Sun Wukong took another swig of wine, placed the stone bowl on his lap, and turned to look at Su Fan:
"Those three signals at the edge of Mars are neither enemies nor friends. They are the last few traces of the laws that remained when Pangu separated the guardian will from the twelfth chaotic stone embryo."
"They share the same origin as the Eight Fragments, but are much weaker, so weak that even the heart network of the Ruins cannot detect them. Laozi used his Dao Heart to scan them several times before he could separate them from the star trail noise."
"They neither approach nor retreat, but just hang there in the deepest part of the void, jumping up every now and then, as if waiting for something."
"Waiting for Pangu. When Pangu is gone, they will wait for the path of all living beings."
Su Fan picked up the stone bowl and took another sip.
"Yes. All the fragments of Pangu's will are waiting for you to retrieve them."
Sun Wukong downed the last mouthful of wine in the bowl and stood up.