"The third disciple?" Black Tortoise looked at Musen with confusion. In his memory, he had never heard of ancestor of martial arts ever accepting any disciple. Then he asked, "Master, do I have a senior fellow apprentice or asenior sister?" If he was the third, there must be another two disciples before him.
Stroking his head, Musen laughed and said, "You have two seniors, but you can't see them until the moment is right. At that time, you will meet each other naturally. Well, look! This is a gift for you." A turtle shell, the size of a palm, suddenly appeared in his hands.
When Black Tortoise saw the turtle shell, a sense of kinship rose inside him. He said, "Master, it ... " The turtle shell became a flowing light into his body. Black Tortoise was alarmed. "Master, what's going on? How could it get into my body?"
Musen laughed and said, "It doesn't matter. It should have belonged to you. I am just returning it to its original owner. It will greatly benefit your later cultivation when you fully absorb it. Go bid farewell to your parents. Then you can come with me to the Holy Land to begin your cultivation.
Black Tortoise returned to his tribe and bid farewell to his parents who were happy and surprised to hear that their son had been accepted as a disciple of ancestor of martial arts. As was known to all, Musen was the strongest person in the Human Tribe. With the opportunity of being his disciple, Black Tortoise would have a promising future. Thus, Black Tortoise's parents would certainly not stonewall him from cultivating in the Holy Land.
Taking Black Tortoise back to the the Holy Land of Human Tribe, Musen began to teach him detailed Martial Arts cultivation methods and expounded on the way of cultivation for Golden Body of Martial Arts. Though Black Tortoise was wondering why he could cultivate Golden Body of Martial Arts as the Three Ancestors of Human Tribe did, he still followed it. When he asked Musen about it, Musen just replied that it was a matter of time before everything was settled.
After converting the turtle shell and Blood of Essence left from his preexistence, he made his cultivation in Martial Arts surging up while blood of essence dissolved into his blood. In the meantime, the turtle shell was fully integrated with his body. Combined with Golden Body of Martial Arts, Black Tortoise's defense power was surprisingly strong while the Way of Martial Arts he comprehended matched his preexistence exactly.
Minghe felt relieved when he learned that Black Tortoise was on the path of Martial Arts. His third disciple was gifted with a benevolent nature and bore no ill will toward anybody. By means of his previous cultivation, he could travel freely in the Untainted Land even if he could not covert his body. However, he had chosen to stay in the sea, making it clear that Martial Arts of the Human Tribe was extremely suitable for him.
Real Martial Arts could stop wars from happening. Hardly anyone at the same level as him could rival Black Tortoise because of his Golden Body of Martial Arts. His previous turtle shell equipped him with strong power. In addition, the Way of Martial Arts was cultivated in his previous body, leaving no opportunity for others to better comprehend the mysteries than Black Tortoise.
Compared with Black Tortoise who had just started on the path of cultivation, Minghe's other two disciples were even more powerful. Liu Er, the first one, have been at the level of Da Luo Golden Immortal. But for Minghe, he would have used primordial spiritual treasure for separation. And Kong Xuan had been at the Secondary Stage of Da Luo Golden Immortal.
Following with Minghe to cultivate for thousands of years and fight against Ominous Beast reared in pens from time to time, Liu Er, who was gifted with excellent aptitude, already had no difficulty in killing Evil Separation. However, Minghe did not allow him to do it because he was counting on Liu Er to advance to Sage-to-be. Pitifully, Liu Er's disposition was not suitable to comprehend the Divine Law.
But this was the right time for separation. Seeing a mass of black liquid in his hands, Minghe called Liu Er with a smile. "Liu Er, have you ever been resentful of me for not allowing you to make breakthrough in your Realm?"
Liu Er said, "It's nothing. Having followed you to cultivate for thousands of years, I know deeply that everything you have done is for me. Thus, you must have a good reason for not allowing me to make a breakthrough of it. However, it is I who have let you down. Having comprehended the Divine Law for thousands of years, I feel ashamed that I haven't reached the Realm of Sage-to be yet."
Minghe laughed and said, "It's time for separation. I have found something for your separation. Here you are." Then he gave the liquid to Liu Er. Liu Er took it and displayed a sort of surprise, as if he was already slightly familiar with it.
Minghe laughed and said, "Do you find that the liquid is a little similar to your Origin?" Liu Er nodded but felt something strange and then asked, "Master, where did you get this? Why do I have a sense of kinship with it, as if it were mine originally?"
Minghe explained, "Liu Er, you're originally Liu Er Macaca Mula. In addition to you, there are Wise Monkey, the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey and the Long-Armed Ape Monkey in the world. You are the Four Monkeys of Destruction, incarnated quarterly from the Origin of the Demon Monkey of Destruction who is one of the three thousands Rakshasas. You are holding the Origin inherited from one of the Four Monkeys of Destruction, Wise Monkey.
The Wise Monkey had been incarnated from a Five Colored Stone left from mending the Sky by Goddess Nvywa. The Five Colored Stone, the one not converted successfully by the Cauldron of Heaven and Earth, had inherited one fourth of the Origin of the Demon Monkey of Destruction. This was why it had been difficult to convert.
However, when Goddess Nvywa was converting the Five Colored Stones, Minghe had been secretly controlling the Cauldron of Heaven and Earth and refining the Origin of Demon Monkey of Destruction out of the Five Colored Stone. As for the birth of Sun Wukong, Minghe did not care about it. Nevertheless, it was estimated that Stone Monkey would emerge later from the five percent of merits falling down to the Five Colored Stone. But it would not be the kind of Wise Monkey who had a beneficial attitude.
Owing to this event, Minghe had owned some of the Karma intended for the Stone Monkey incarnated from the Five Colored Stone. He did not care about it at all. There would be opportunities for him to compensate the Stone Monkey in the future. Since it concerned Liu Er's way of Dao, how could he consider it too much?
Liu Er was one of the Four Monkeys of Destruction. Given that he was using the Origin of the other three Monkeys of Destruction to separate Three Separations, he would likely be able to integrate the Three Separations. If he had Hong Meng Immortal Qi, he would be the second one to become a Sage through the integration of Three Separations, following Hongjun.
Even if he obtained Hong Meng Immortal Qi, Minghe certainly would not allow him to do so. If he became a Sage by means of Hong Meng Immortal Qi, he would become puppet of heaven just like the other seven Sages in the Untainted Land. Otherwise, the Hong Meng Immortal Qi Minghe had snatched would be left for Liu Er. But obviously he could not do that.
What Minghe cultivated was the Arcane way of Divine Beings, aiming to transform himself into the body of Rakshasa. Liu Er did as well. Once Liu Er used the Origin of the other three Monkeys of Destruction to separate Three Separations, his physical body as a Demon Monkey of Destruction would be much more likely to reappear with the integration of his Three Separations and then he could become a Rakshasa. This would be much better than other Sages.
Seeing Liu Er's surprising countenance, Minghe continued, "I have drawn out the Origin of the Wise Monkey. This is a kind of Karma, you will need to compensate him in the future. Besides, to shape the physical body of Rakshasa and become a new Demon Monkey of Destruction, you also need the Origin from the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey and the Long-Armed Ape Monkey to separate Three Separations."
Liu Er did not know what to say. What Minghe said somewhat exceeded his cognition. But he knew that Minghe would not mislead him. He just needed to follow it.
Minghe said, "Liu Er, you have been accepted as one of my disciples, so I have high expectations for your future. Sage-to-be is by no means your final destination and a better stage is waiting for you. You need to separate your Three Separations once you have fully comprehended it."
Liu Er left after hearing what Minghe said. Seeing his silhouette, Minghe was overwhelmed with relief. Though active in nature, Liu Er was very diligent in cultivation. Supposing that he could fulfill Minghe's conception, his future would be boundless and the Untainted Land would also no longer be his endpoint.
As for Kong Xuan, he did not worry about him at all. He almost never had to trouble Minghe except when some confusion in cultivation needed to be explained. The reason was that he followed his own way of Dao. Since he'd entered into Da Luo Golden Immortal, he had begun to comprehend the Law of Five Elements, respectively Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Cultivating the Five Elements simultaneously, his speed in cultivation consequently slowed down considerably.
Yet, a more profound foundation would be built for Kong Xuan this way. Furthermore, his strength was so strong that Minghe's mount, Chixuan at the Late Stage of Da Luo Golden Immortal , could not rival him. By the time Kong Xuan entered into the Late Stage of Da Luo Golden Immortal , he could have towered above his contemporaries. Perhaps, it would not be impossible for him to defeat Sages-to-be at the Early Stage if he reached the Da Luo Golden Immortal Summit.
Minghe was very satisfied with his three disciples who were excellent enough to sustain his Taoism lineage. In armies, the number was not so important as quality, the same went for recruiting disciples. It was useless to accept too many disciples. How many disciples could really enlighten the Tao? For instance, Tongtian, though having a large number of disciples, had been tricked by others in the end. It would be a dereliction of duty for the Master not to protect his disciples.