The following noon.

It took quite a while waiting at the harbor before Lady Earth Flow saw Sun Wukong arriving at the merchant ship, carrying a heavy load of books.

"Sir, why do you bring so many books?"

A twitch formed at the corner of Lady Earth Flow's lips.

"Traveling far means I need some books to read on the way."

Sun Wukong replied.

"Truly a bookworm."

Lady Earth Flow thought to herself.

She led Sun Wukong onto the merchant ship and into a cabin: "This is your room, sir. It's a bit small, please don't mind."

Sun Wukong didn't care about the size of the room, and with books in tow, he walked in. However, the door seemed too narrow and, inadvertently, his carrying pole hit the door frame, causing two books to fall.

Lady Earth Flow picked up the two books and after a brief glance, a trace of surprise crossed her face.

"Sir is also a scholar of runes?"

It was a book about rune materials and manufacturing.

"Just a bit interested."

Sun Wukong nodded: "Wanling Country values runes. I hope to reduce the difficulty of producing runes, so that other countries can also manufacture them."

"..."

This is a genius indeed!

Lady Earth Flow thought, wondering what other knowledge could be mined from his brain.

She promptly helped Sun Wukong move all the books into the cabin and tidied up the room, then started asking for advice.

"Sir, no longer studying currency casting?"

Lady Earth Flow inquired.

Sun Wukong shook his head: "Half copper, half lead in casting, that's the baseline for coinage using copper. Below fifty percent copper, the coins shatter when they hit the ground, unsuitable for circulation."

Lady Earth Flow nodded.

"If that's the case, then is sir's casting method the most advanced?"

"It should be."

Sun Wukong nodded: "Even if old coins are recalled and new ones cast, the amount of copper can largely be maintained intact."

A sparkle flashed in Lady Earth Flow's eyes.

With an open mind and eagerness to learn, she started asking Sun Wukong for more knowledge about currency.

Sun Wukong answered all her questions one by one.

Lady Earth Flow wished she could write them all down.

This bookworm is truly learned; many things, once he spoke of them, carried the scent of profit for her.

The two conversed in the cabin for half a day until sunset, and after sharing the dinner brought by the servants, Lady Earth Flow reluctantly stood up to say goodbye.

"If sir wishes to promote coinage, you'll have to start with one country, to prove the technology is feasible."

Lady Earth Flow said: "My husband is the Grandmaster of the Kingdom of Chechi. Perhaps he could help persuade His Majesty, ask you to serve as prime minister."

Sun Wukong agreed immediately.

"Then I'll trouble lady for this."

"Rest assured, sir."

With a smile, Lady Earth Flow left Sun Wukong to rest and left the cabin.

Light on her feet, she returned to her own room.

"Madam."

An old man was waiting in her room: "How learned is the master?"

"A bit dull, but indeed erudite."

Lady Earth Flow's eyes rolled, then she said: "Go tell them to take out all the silver taels and gold from the business, secretly buy up as many copper coins as possible, the more the better. Remember, don't let other countries find out."

The old man showed surprise: "Why collect copper coins?"

"That you don't need to worry about."

Lady Earth Flow's eyes shone slightly: "I want Buddha to see me in a new light."

Their entire conversation was overheard by Sun Wukong.

"So that's the plan..."

Sun Wukong guessed Lady Earth Flow's scheme.

She is clever, let her stir things up for now, to see what she can achieve.

"Buddha sees something in her, not without reason."

Sun Wukong thought.

He was initially hesitant about whether to offer Lady Earth Flow more pointers but didn't know how far he could go without crossing the Heavenly Rules.

With Lady Earth Flow's impressive comprehension, he was spared the effort.

After realizing this, Sun Wukong took out the Mysterious Light Mirror.

"Big brother, how come you've left behind a doppelganger, and the true self has left."

Ao Luan asked in the mirror.

She had been calling out to Sun Wukong for a long time with no response, only now making contact.

"I have something to attend to and will be away for a few days."

Sun Wukong replied, "Don't worry."

"Just a few days?"

Ao Luan appeared doubtful.

"Yes."

Sun Wukong nodded.

As his divine skills grew, his senses became increasingly sharp.

He had a premonition that this trip would be very brief.

Having just finished speaking with Ao Luan, Sun Wukong felt a movement in his heart, stood up, and walked out of the cabin.

He arrived on the deck.

"Great Master."

The merchant ship's guards immediately came forward, saluting Sun Wukong: "It's cold and windy at night, why have you come out?"

"The cabin was a bit stuffy; I came out to take a breath of fresh air."

Sun Wukong offered an excuse, then turned his gaze eastward.

At the point where the sea and the sky converged to the east, the night was clear with sparse stars, and nothing was out of the ordinary.

"A hallucination?"

Sun Wukong wondered internally, watching for a while longer.

After failing to detect anything unusual, he turned and returned to the cabin.

Meanwhile, within the Heavenly Palace, everything was as tranquil and comfortable as ever.

Gold Star Taibai rushed to the Palace of the Polestar.

The hall was empty, with the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals having been called away, leaving only one person standing inside.

"Heavenly Venerate."

Gold Star Taibai saluted the old man: "Your Majesty, he..."

"Ah."

Yuqing nodded with a somewhat solemn expression: "He has just descended to the Mortal World."

"That..."

Gold Star Taibai's heart tightened, and he hurriedly asked: "Then Your Majesty's memories..."

"The memories are with me."

Yuqing took out a mirror which seemed to have revolving lights within: "If Your Majesty descended with his memories, he wouldn't be able to truly blend into the Mortal World."

Seeing the worry on Gold Star Taibai's face, Yuqing shook his head and reassured him.

"Your Majesty has rejuvenated but it is still his true self that descended, plus he is protected by the Tao; there is no one in the world who could harm him."

Only then did Gold Star Taibai sigh with relief: "If that is so, then I am at ease."

"This must not be revealed even in the slightest."

Yuqing continued: "Before Your Majesty's return, we must handle matters cautiously, especially concerning that Great Sage Equalling Heaven."

"The Great Sage?"

Gold Star Taibai was startled.

"Your Majesty instructed before his departure, that the Great Sage, knowing he has left, will not miss the opportunity to seize the Heavenly Book."

Yuqing continued: "I will take the Jade Emperor's place in overseeing the Three Realms, and I must guard the Heavenly Book vigilantly. Even if Sun Wukong causes trouble up in the Heavenly Palace again, we cannot let him obtain it."

Hearing this, Gold Star Taibai couldn't help but ask: "What about the Buddha?"

"The Buddha has no interest in the Taoist Heavenly Book."

Yuqing replied: "Buddhism has its own scriptures which are not the same as ours. However, that Sun Wukong, wanting to establish the Wanling Immortal Path, will surely need the Heavenly Palace's techniques."

"I understand."

Gold Star Taibai nodded, his face clouding with concern.

"Don't worry too much."

Seeing him like this, Yuqing followed up with a smile.

"Your Majesty has laid out a strategic deception in the Western Continent. That Sun Wukong believes the Heavenly Rules are flawless, and to this day remains oblivious. Just a few more years, and all the vital energy of Wanling Country will be cut off."

It was a chess game invisible to the naked eye.

The Jade Emperor was skilled at chess. Once his pieces took effect, they would create various obstacles for Sun Wukong, enough to delay him for decades, leaving Sun Wukong no mind to look eastward.

By the time Sun Wukong realized, the Jade Emperor would have returned from the Mortal World.

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