Volume 1: Unsayable Chapter 94: Vast Heaven and Earth

Red.
The faint red of rouge, the red of maple leaves covering the mountains, the red of the evening sky—everything was red…
Upon entering this realm, Wukong was surrounded by red everywhere. It was a world created by Buddha’s palm, and within it, everything was red.
Wukong calmed himself down, sat down, and began to ponder.
This place was a realm created by Buddha, so it naturally had its own rules. Determining these rules was extremely difficult, and Wukong didn’t want to try. All he needed to do was find the entrance to this realm!
He applied the “Secrets of the Mysterious Sky Method” he had learned recently. The first step was to dispel this mesmerizing red. He sat in meditation, focusing his mind, and soon a state of “dust filtration” enveloped his body. When he opened his eyes again, the world around him was clear, with only a slight flesh-colored tint in the area where he stood, marked by numerous ridges. Wukong knew this was Buddha’s palm veins.
After filtering out the red, it was time to enter the realm. Wukong sat quietly, regulating his breath. His mind became as still as dust at the bottom of a lake, reaching a state of self-forgetfulness. By doing so, he could use his supernatural vision. Indeed, after entering, he could faintly see five flesh-colored pillars reaching into the sky—Buddha’s five fingers.
Still, Wukong remained motionless. At this moment, he was like fish in a butcher’s knife—his chance to use the Cloud Jumping Technique was only once. If it failed, he would be trapped forever. How could he waste it?
He looked around. Apart from the direction of those five pillars, everything else was vast and empty. He had thought that if he could bypass the edge of the palm and reach the back, he would succeed. But who knew how big this realm was? Buddha, standing outside the realm, could simply turn his palm and trap Wukong again. That path was blocked!
Where was the entrance to the realm? After thinking for a while, Wukong decided not to use the Cloud Jumping Technique. Instead, he used ordinary cloud movement to slowly circle the realm. He assumed Buddha must be complacent and confident in victory, considering him insignificant and not paying attention to such a minor move.
When he reached the five pillars, he circled one of them but saw no signs of activity. Wukong knew that when he reached the back, he would likely be at the edge of the realm. But any slight movement from him would allow Buddha to turn his palm, trapping him once more.
After searching around the five fingers for a long time with no results, he gave up and turned back. In the clouds, deep in thought, he instinctively stretched out his own palm and examined it carefully.

Judging by oneself, if there were someone in one’s own palm and wanted to get out, how could they do so? Wukong stared at his own palm back and forth when suddenly his eyes lit up with joy. If he wasn’t mistaken, the gateway to another realm was right here! Wukong rushed toward Buddha’s palm on his cloud. Looking back then, the five fingers were no longer visible. After passing through the palm, he continued forward, nearing Buddha’s wrist. Why was Wukong so delighted? He had actually been in a misunderstanding earlier—thinking that the edge of the palm or the fingers might have weaknesses, when in fact the most overlooked part was the wrist connected to the body. Even if he managed to get out of the palm, he might end up inside Buddha’s robe. Yet this most dangerous place might just be the only way out. He reached the base of Buddha’s palm and used the half-learned micro-sight technique. Ahead, he saw a faint green glow. Without hesitation, he activated his cloud somersault and vanished in an instant. When he reappeared, he was surrounded by that greenish light—sure enough, he had entered Buddha’s robe. At this moment, Buddha’s expression was unpredictable. Standing high above, confident in his victory, he had only just mastered the art of creating realms, but in his judgment, trapping this monkey was a piece of cake—nothing could be easier. At first, when he saw Wukong enter his palm, he didn’t rush to use the cloud somersault; he was quite impressed—this monkey was quite calm. Then, seeing Wukong head toward his five fingers, a smile grew on his face. There were gaps between the fingers, as everyone knew—nine out of ten people would look for weaknesses there. Yet even so, this monkey was an exceptionally rare and intelligent being. Unexpectedly, after circling each of Buddha’s fingers, Wukong still didn’t use the cloud somersault. Could it be that this monkey intended to stay in his palm? Suddenly, Wukong’s face lit up with joy as he turned back toward his palm. Buddha’s smile instantly froze—had this monkey figured it out? No, that’s impossible!

Buddha’s art of creating worlds actually tests the human heart, for Buddha himself has already mastered the ability to see through people’s hearts. Among ordinary people, three out of ten act recklessly and without strategy—they just go wherever there’s a path, never stopping until they’re battered and bleeding. Another four out of ten think they’re resourceful and decisive, yet they fail to realize that there are always greater challenges ahead, and their cleverness often leads to their downfall. Two out of ten are indecisive, hesitating too long and thus missing opportunities they’ll regret forever. The final one out of ten handles matters with calm precision and decisiveness—such people are truly outstanding. Yet some of them may be tempted by great rewards or fail to see things through to the end; among a hundred such people, only four or five might make it to the end. As for whether these four or five can succeed, it still depends on fate, and in the end, only two achieve perfect merit.

Even though Wukong was a clever and eloquent divine monkey, Buddha classified him as belonging to the reckless and unstrategic group based on his attempt to attack the Heavenly Court.

When he saw Wukong rush out without hesitation using his cloud somersault, Buddha realized he couldn’t rescue him in time. The base of Buddha’s palm, though a turning point for the hand, experiences the least change when the hand moves, making it extremely difficult to turn back—so he could only watch as Wukong forced his way into Buddha’s robe sleeve.

Buddha’s mind was as firm as rock. Having made such bold claims among the many deities in the Heavenly Court, he couldn’t afford to lose face. With determination, he was about to declare, “This demon monkey is already in my grasp!”

Suddenly, an old man’s voice rang in his ears: “Let him go! Don’t deny it! Otherwise, I’ll make sure your face is ruined!” Buddha was shocked—how could it be him?

He quickly changed his mind, shook his robe sleeve, and threw Wukong out.

Wukong had only been in Buddha’s palm for a little less than fifteen minutes, yet he was already drenched in cold sweat. The move he had made was extremely risky—if Buddha had chosen to deny it and keep him trapped in his sleeve, most people would likely not have noticed. Even if some wise ones could see through it, they would naturally refrain from siding with Wukong out of respect for the Buddha and the Heavenly Court.

Unexpectedly, Buddha showed great integrity by releasing him.

Buddha sighed and said, “This monkey accidentally ended up in my robe sleeve, but in any case, he has left my palm. In this wager… I have lost.”

At these words, chaos erupted in the Heavenly Court.

Buddha had lost—and admitted it himself. It wasn’t a big deal that he lost, but in the eyes of many deities, this wasn’t a fair fight. Trapping a demon monkey capable of traveling 108,000 li in a single somersault within one palm was simply too difficult.

But since he had lost, the Jade Emperor would have to admit his mistake—that was what everyone was really concerned about!

The Jade Emperor, as the ruler of all heavens, is the supreme sovereign in the Golden Palaces of Heaven. To admit fault to a demon monkey would make him the greatest laughingstock under heaven and earth! The gods discussed fervently, wondering how this farce would end, while the Jade Emperor sat in the Brightness Hall, his face revealing an undisguised smile—whether mocking Buddha’s defeat or concealing his own nervousness. Wukong stepped out of Buddha’s robe, still terrified. In the human world, he had been at the mercy of others like meat on a cutting board; he would never try such a thing again unless absolutely necessary. Just then, a transparent circle, as if coming from beyond the heavens, arrived silently and struck Wukong on the back of the head. Unprepared, he was stunned and fell to the ground. In the distance, a Taoist priest flew over—slightly unsteady, with his clothes half-unfastened, hair disheveled, and his face purplish-red. In his left hand was a large crimson gourd, and he was belching from drinking. Could it be none other than the Supreme Lord Taoist, Laozi?