Upon seeing his appearance, Wang Mang was taken aback, not understanding what was going on, but knowing that now was not the time to ask questions.
He had no choice but to suppress his doubts. He waved his hand and gave an order to the commander of the Imperial Guards behind him.
"Whoosh!"
At the commander's order, the 10,000 Imperial Guards dispersed, forming teams of three and groups of five, and began searching around Five Elements Mountain.
Wang Mang and Xiao Ning stood at the foot of the mountain, waiting patiently.
As the army set off, Xiao Ning felt as if a great calamity was about to befall him. He noticed several gazes descending from an unknown place, brazenly scrutinizing him and Wang Mang.
The immense pressure was so overwhelming that Xiao Ning could barely breathe, yet he had to pretend he didn't notice and act like an ordinary person.
Looking at Wang Mang, who was gritting his teeth and persevering, Xiao Ning couldn't help but sigh, sometimes, ignorance is bliss!
Those pressures are only for cultivators; they are useless to ordinary people. Even a fool knows that they must come from the Five Directions Protectors or the gods and Buddhas in heaven who are always watching this place.
"Damn it, they're still here?"
Xiao Ning inwardly grumbled.
In the heavens, there is a space that mortals cannot see.
"Alright, let's go. They're just ordinary people, nothing serious!"
After withdrawing his gaze, a man dressed as a deity waved his hand and left with several of his subordinates.
Finally, after a quarter of an hour, the immense pressure gradually dissipated, and Xiao Ning could no longer put his mind at ease. However, on the surface, he still dared not make any unnecessary movements, for fear that those unknown beings might launch a surprise attack.
Another half hour passed, and just as Wang Mang was getting impatient, a group of soldiers finally rushed back.
"Your Majesty, I have found the monkey head; it is in the shady part of the mountain!"
Several soldiers knelt down, and one of them shouted.
"What? You found it? Where is it? Haha, quickly take me there!"
Wang Mang's eyes widened, and he burst into laughter.
As the news spread, the commander ordered his men to recall the rest of the soldiers and surround the location the soldier had found.
After walking for a while, a valley appeared before them, facing away from the sun and covered with weeds on the loose rocks. It was the shady side of the Five Elements Mountain.
Upon arriving here, Xiao Ning had already spotted the monkey.
At the very bottom of the Five Elements Mountain, there is a small cave entrance, revealing a monkey head covered in golden hair and a pair of monkey arms covered in golden hair. The rest of the monkey's body is buried under the mountain.
At first glance, it would be easy to overlook, and no one would guess that the owner of that monkey head is none other than Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, who was the protagonist of the story of the havoc in the Heavenly Palace.
Born from a fairy stone egg, the monkey sought out a famous teacher, forcibly erased his name from the Book of Life and Death, caused havoc in the Dragon Palace to obtain the Golden Cudgel, wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, proclaimed himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, stole peaches of immortality and elixirs, and committed countless crimes. All the gods and immortals in the Heavenly Court wanted to put him to death.
It was unruly, arrogant, and conceited. Before being imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain, it considered itself invincible and looked down on everyone.
Now, imprisoned here, they are in a very sorry state.
With disheveled hair and a face covered in mud, he could only catch insects, rats, ants, and birds to eat; it was truly a pitiful sight!
Upon seeing this scene, Wang Mang was very disappointed, for what he saw was far different from the Monkey King in his mind.
He glanced at Xiao Ning with a questioning look in his eyes, as if asking, "Is this monkey Sun Wukong? Or is there a mistake?"
Xiao Ning nodded almost imperceptibly and gave him a look that said, "You're not mistaken, this monkey is Sun Wukong."
After exchanging glances for a while, Wang Mang gritted his teeth, coughed lightly, straightened his robes, stepped forward, and approached the monkey. He asked, "Are you the Monkey King Sun Wukong of the Water Curtain Cave on Flower Fruit Mountain, who failed to wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace but was easily suppressed?"
The scene fell silent for a moment.
When Wang Mang and his entourage arrived at the Five Elements Mountain, they were discovered by the monkey, whose magical power was imprisoned within its body and could not be used at all.
But don't forget, it was refined in Laozi's Eight Trigrams Furnace for forty-nine days, which gave it a pair of fiery eyes.
This eye is an acquired supernatural power. By focusing one's eyesight and using this power, one can break through all illusions and no change can escape detection.
With these eyes, Sun Wukong could clearly see the powerful magic within Xiao Ning's body, as well as the primordial spirit in his Niwan Palace.
Upon hearing Wang Mang's words, it couldn't help but grin.
"Was it that kid in the back who told you? Hey, I, Old Sun, never change my name or surname, I am none other than the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong! Kid, what brings you here to see your Grandpa Sun?"
It gave Wang Mang a disdainful smile.
"Hey, it's you! You're the one I've been looking for!"
Wang Mang looked up at the sky and laughed loudly.
"Speak your mind, get to the point! Stop dawdling, it's so inconsiderate!"
The monkey flew into a rage and shouted, "What? You saw your grandpa Sun in trouble, so you came here specifically to laugh at him?"
"I've come to settle accounts with you!"
Upon hearing the monkey's words, Wang Mang was furious, but he forced himself to suppress his anger and pretended not to hear. He said angrily, "Back then, you made a great disturbance in the Heavenly Palace and fought against the Buddha, but it affected my Great Xin Kingdom, causing me to lose more than 300,000 elite troops!"
"Tell me, how do you intend to compensate me?"
"Divine weapons and magical treasures, spiritual fruits and elixirs, and divine skills and techniques are all acceptable. I have a good appetite and am never picky about food!"
Wang Mang grinned and revealed his true purpose in searching for the monkey.