Xuanwu let out a low growl, "I will teach him the Xuanwu Transformation. If he can master it, I will give him the Water Element Laws."
"Fourth Brother, the Xuanwu Transformation is a unique technique of your Xuanwu clan, unmatched in defense across the Three Realms," Di Ting said with a hint of anxiety in his eyes. "However, it's a technique exclusive to your clan; outsiders can't possibly learn it!"
"If you don't want to give the Water Element Laws to Chen Nan, just say so. Why use this method to refuse him?"
Techniques in the Three Realms are as numerous as ox hairs.
But if one were to ask which technique offered the strongest defense,
it would undoubtedly be the Xuanwu Transformation.
"Fourth, you've gone too far!" Qing Long's voice thrummed with intense anger. "I tell you, Chen Nan is not my chosen one. He is the hope chosen by those ancient sages collectively."
Xuanwu calmly asked, "Are the choices of those ancient sages necessarily correct?"
"You..." Qing Long was left speechless.
Xuanwu continued, "You should know that the great calamity befalling the Three Realms, while not directly caused by those ancient sages, originated because of them."
"If they hadn't appointed Tathagata to rule the Three Realms,"
"Tathagata would never have allowed Six-Eared Macaque to replace that monkey for his own selfish reasons."
Hearing this.
Chen Nan's heart trembled violently. He quickly pressed, "Senior, what do you mean by that?"
Qing Long lowered his voice, "Chen Nan, do not inquire about this matter. Knowing too much too soon will do you no good."
"No!" Xuanwu countered. "Since he is the seed chosen by those ancient sages, he ought to know the truth, to know good from evil."
Qing Long remained silent.
"Let me explain!" Di Ting sighed, a flicker of pain appearing in his eyes. "Back then, that defiant monkey escorted the Tang Monk on his journey to the West, and encountered tribulations on the way."
"An extra defiant monkey appeared."
"You should know this story."
Chen Nan: "The True and False Monkey King?"
Di Ting nodded. "The Six-Eared Macaque was not a tribulation arranged by Tathagata, but an unforeseen event."
"And the true identity of the Six-Eared Macaque was an alien demon."
"That's right."
"The reason the Heavenly Court was shattered and the gods fell,"
"was all due to the collusion between Six-Eared Macaque and the alien demons."
"Otherwise, with just the alien demons' methods, they would never have been able to breach the Three Realms."
Chen Nan's scalp tingled. He swallowed hard and asked in shock, "Did Tathagata not discover the true identity of the Six-Eared Macaque?"
Di Ting sneered, "Even I could distinguish between the Six-Eared Macaque and that defiant monkey. How could old Tathagata not know Six-Eared's identity?"
"But why did Tathagata want to kill Sun Wukong? Why did he let Six-Eared replace Sun Wukong?" Chen Nan couldn't comprehend it.
He still found it hard to accept.
That Sun Wukong had actually died on his journey to the West with the Tang Monk.
Di Ting whispered, "Perhaps he couldn't stand that monkey's rebellious, fearless, passionate, and hatred-filled personality!"
Chen Nan looked utterly incredulous. "Just because of that, he wanted to kill the real Sun Wukong and have Six-Eared Macaque take his place?"
He felt the matter was far from that simple.
Di Ting continued, "That defiant monkey was immensely powerful, intelligent, eager to learn, hated evil, dared to challenge authority, never flinched in the face of difficulty, was loyal to his brothers, and devoted to the Tang Monk."
"And he was optimistic and driven."
"This is why so many people liked him."
"But do you think Tathagata would allow such a flawless great demon to exist?"
"Tathagata wanted to save all sentient beings; he needed countless devout believers."
"But the appearance of that defiant monkey had already drawn his displeasure."
"Because that defiant monkey learned to resist."
"He feared no authority."
"Even if the Jade Emperor offended him,"
"he dared to charge into the Lingxiao Palace."
"Precisely because of this, Tathagata came to hate that defiant monkey."
"This is why he arranged for the Tang Monk's journey to the West."
"He wanted to completely convert that defiant monkey on the journey."
"But things went against his wishes."
"That monkey remained fearless."
"It wasn't until the appearance of Six-Eared Macaque that Tathagata changed his plan."
"Since he couldn't convert that defiant monkey,"
"he would find someone to replace him!"
"This also laid the groundwork for the alien demon invasion later."
"Because even Tathagata didn't expect the docile Six-Eared Macaque to collude with the alien demons and storm the Lingxiao Palace."
Chen Nan's scalp prickled.
Even though Di Ting was telling him this, he found it difficult to accept for a while.
The shock was too immense.
He had always believed that after Sun Wukong obtained the true scriptures, he achieved merit and became the revered Victorious Fighting Buddha in the eyes of the world.
But...
Who could have imagined.
That the real Sun Wukong had long been killed by Tathagata?
He clenched his fists, his eyes filled with nervousness and unease. "Is that monkey really dead?"
Di Ting shook his head. "That defiant monkey was born from heaven and earth, a spiritual being conceived from a celestial stone at the time of creation."
"Even if Tathagata could end his life,"
"he couldn't extinguish his three souls and seven spirits."
"One day, he will return powerfully in a brand-new form!"
Despite saying so.
Di Ting himself did not know when that defiant monkey would return.
"Therefore, I do not trust the judgment of those ancient sages," Xuanwu murmured. "If they hadn't allowed Tathagata to become the ruler of the Three Realms,"
"the monkey wouldn't have died, and the Three Realms wouldn't have suffered this catastrophe!"
"If you want me to give this child the Water Element Laws, he must pass my trial."
Qing Long's eyes were filled with endless rage.
Yet he was speechless.
Because Xuanwu was right.
The reason the Three Realms had become this way.
Although Tathagata was the main culprit.
Those ancient sages also bore responsibility.
"I am willing to accept the senior's trial!" Chen Nan rose into the air and slowly landed on the surface of the Luo River.
He quietly gazed at the Xuanwu before him.
Its head alone was as vast as Mount Tai.
Green light flickered in Xuanwu's eyes.
The light flashed and then disappeared, entering Chen Nan's mind.
The next moment.
Chen Nan's head split with unbearable pain.
Clutching his head, he let out a soul-piercing scream.
Enduring the pain, he memorized the Xuanwu Transformation technique.
Then, he sat cross-legged on the water, slowly integrating the techniques.
Sunset, moonrise.
The stars shifted.
Chen Nan meditated on the river for three days.
And on the evening of the third day.
A dazzling green light erupted from within him.
Emerald green radiant light illuminated the heavens and earth.
It was exceptionally dazzling.
The green light then transformed into a tortoise shell ten meters in diameter.
The tortoise shell hovered on Chen Nan's back, appearing somewhat strange.
Di Ting and Qing Long watched with expressions of disbelief.
Clearly, they had not expected Chen Nan to have actually cultivated the Xuanwu Transformation.
"Don't celebrate too soon. Even though he has manifested the tortoise shell, he has not yet mastered the Xuanwu Transformation. He must be able to condense the tortoise shell to a hundred meters!" Xuanwu's voice was calm.
It still did not think highly of Chen Nan's ability to cultivate the Xuanwu Transformation.
After all, this technique was far more complex than the world imagined.
It required transcending life and death to master this powerful art.
Just then.
Chen Nan's body blazed with radiant light.
Dense, radiant light coalesced into a tortoise shell a kilometer in diameter.
Upon seeing this, Qing Long let out a triumphant laugh. "Fourth, what do you have to say now?"