Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Spoken Of Chapter 104: My Path

Upon hearing these words, everyone was astonished, yet their thoughts varied greatly. Most immortals thought to themselves that Laozi truly possessed great power. It was said that even the demon monkey had the cultivation level of a Taiyi Golden Immortal, far surpassing them all, yet it was utterly destroyed at Laozi’s hands. Some cunning ones wondered, “Laozi, are you truly foolish or pretending to be so? Even if you’ve subdued that demon monkey, you can’t reveal it here. If word gets out, won’t its many brothers seek revenge for it? Even if you have great power, with you in the open and them in hiding, how can you defend yourself? Your Douluo Palace will surely no longer be peaceful.”

A few of higher-status beings were skeptical. Zhenwu and Ziwei naturally didn’t believe it—the demon monkey was the reincarnation of a wise divine ape; it would be strange if Laozi were willing to kill it.

The Jade Emperor said, “Well done! This is exactly what’s needed—to kill one to scare the others. By subduing this monkey, Laozi is intimidating all the demons. Who among them will dare to cause trouble again?”

Seeing the Jade Emperor’s praise, the Queen Mother whispered a few words to the fairy beside her. The fairy carried a jade plate with two large, half-red, half-green flat peaches emitting a sweet fragrance, which she placed on Laozi’s table.

Seeing the Queen Mother’s gesture, Laozi couldn’t afford to be rude and quickly stood up to express his gratitude.

Taking this opportunity, everyone drank again. Li Jing, the Heavenly King Who Carries a Pagoda, felt embarrassed and returned to his seat in frustration.

After the feast, the Barefoot Immortal went to the courtyard, first paying respects to the Jade Emperor, then approaching Laozi and saying, “Laozi effortlessly captured that demon monkey, showing just how profound and extensive the power of our Taoism is. I bring you two Jiaoli fruits and several fire dates as a gift—please accept them.” Jiaoli fruits and fire dates were immortal fruits that could enable mortals to ascend to heaven during the day; they were quite extraordinary. Laozi didn’t refuse, thanked him with a laugh, and accepted the fruits. Then the Southern Pole Immortal stepped forward, offering purple ganoderma and precious herbs, as well as green lotus elixirs—Laozi accepted those as well. Some clever scattered immortals, carrying rare treasures, also came forward to offer them to Laozi. Most people checked their pockets and realized they had nothing worthy to offer, so they gave up, resenting having missed the chance to make friends with the founder of Taoism.

The grand banquet lasted nearly half a day, leaving everyone drunk. Laozi bid farewell to the Jade Emperor and didn’t return to his Douluo Palace but headed straight to the Jade Pure Land. Upon arriving in the great hall, he sat in silence and observed the world, greatly surprised.

He saw sixty-four countries within the realm, with people busy in the fields, enjoying a bumper harvest. In the lands under oppression, the social atmosphere had changed greatly—Meng Ke, the great Confucian scholar, was now treated like a national advisor, with his disciples spreading his teachings throughout the country.

Laozi counted on his fingers and laughed, “What a clever monkey, what a divine ape! Why not give it another chance?”

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Wukong sent the three Tiger Strength Immortals away and practiced for a month. Then, as instructed, he investigated the country and found that the three Tiger Strength Immortals had indeed done an impeccable job—every village and town knew the method of pollination. When he returned to the Country of Deception, he saw that Mencius now enjoyed extraordinary prestige there.
Thus, he became at ease and focused solely on his cultivation. In this realm, the more he read the Tao Te Ching, the less he wanted to stop. Here, the progress in learning and cultivating was astonishingly fast, and his own cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. The pale purple light sphere he had at first arrived with had now grown larger and its color had deepened.
One day, as he sat in meditation on the top of a solitary mountain, he suddenly felt something falling from above. With quick reflexes, he reached out and caught it—a huge flat peach!
This peach was round and flat, half red and half green, with purple patterns on it. Without even needing to smell it closely, Wukong could sense its extraordinary fragrance. Confused, he wondered how a peach could fall from the void.
After some thought, he realized the situation was strange and decided to be cautious. This was Lord Laozi’s realm, and such a peach was certainly no ordinary thing—it might very well be from the Queen Mother’s garden. But human hearts are unpredictable, so he didn’t dare eat it until he understood its origin. After some more thought, he put the peach into Tiger Strength Immortals’ Cosmic Bag. Years earlier, during a casual conversation with the Bull Demon King, he had learned that items stored in the Cosmic Bag would remain intact even for ten thousand years.
It was said that peaches with purple patterns were the best kind—eating one could grant a lifespan as long as that of heaven and earth, and a life span equal to that of the sun and moon. Most of this was probably exaggeration. After all, even the Ginseng Fruit Tree, which was considered a sacred plant from the creation of the world, couldn’t claim such things. Peach trees could be grown in large quantities, and their effects were likely inferior to those of the Ginseng Fruit. Yet even so, they were still rare treasures of the world.
Why did Lord Laozi give me a peach?
Oh, peach! Which cultivator doesn’t long to obtain one? It’s rare to find someone who gets one without eating it—probably only me, Old Sun, aside from a few others. Wukong put the peach away and stopped thinking about it.
Since the peach had disturbed his focus on cultivation, he simply got up and headed to the Country of Deception to find Mencius.
By now, Mencius had achieved great success. He was nothing like the disheveled scholar he used to be. In the capital of the Country of Deception, the king had bestowed upon him a vast mansion, thousands of servants, and countless disciples spread throughout the country. Whenever he went out, he was surrounded by an entourage as grand as that of an emperor.

Meng Ke knew that it was all because of the man in white. He was filled with emotions: I had spent decades striving, teaching day after day, yet my efforts were not even enough to govern a small town; yet in just half a year, this man had reached such a high position. Now, the people of this country hold, see, and remember nothing but what I, Meng Ke, have written. In not much time, this country will be renamed the Great Benevolence Country. But to be fair, this is not my achievement—it is due to the supernatural powers of that scholar. If so, doesn’t it mean that the ways of scholars are inferior, and only immortals are truly extraordinary? If that’s the case, what’s the point of us seeking knowledge and the Way? It would be better to cultivate immortality together, so we could control wind and rain and do anything.

Wukong never expected that his actions would lead Meng Ke to think about cultivating immortality. He went to the capital of the Great Benevolence Country and, after a little inquiry, found out where Meng Ke was.

At that moment, Meng Ke was sitting in his study, lost in thought. Suddenly, a blur appeared before his eyes—the man in white stood there. Overjoyed, he had a big question he wanted to ask the scholar for an answer.

Meng Ke bowed and said, “Elder Immortal, I have been waiting for you for many days.”

Wukong laughed and said, “You’ve lived in this world for decades—why are you in such a hurry now?”

Meng Ke replied, “When nothing changes, time passes in confusion. But once things start to develop, I become anxious.”

Wukong said, “Being anxious or unhurried is not the behavior of a great sage.”

Meng Ke said, “The pursuit of knowledge by scholars is vastly inferior to that of immortals—what a pity.”

Wukong asked, “Why do you think so?”

Meng Ke did not hide anything and told Wukong openly what he had been thinking lately.

Wukong laughed heartily. He had heard Meng Ke’s name in that small town and assumed he was the Great Sage Mencius, forgetting that even sages grow up from children—a point he had overlooked. Now he understood that although this Meng Ke could still write books, he was not yet the great scholar he once was. His desire to seek knowledge was not strong enough, and it was far inferior to that of the good people he had met in the Land of Great Evil. His principles changed with external circumstances, showing a low level of cultivation.

So Wukong composed an oracle poem and recited it: “The Taoists pass down profound texts; the Buddhists chant scriptures to achieve emptiness. The Confucians uphold benevolence, righteousness, propriety, aspiration, and faith—though all paths share the same origin, there is no single sect. If one’s principles keep changing, in the end, it’s all in vain.”

Meng Ke shuddered. Wukong’s words had struck at his core. After pondering for a while, his cheeks turned red with shame, and he could hardly suppress his sense of guilt. “If the principles of righteousness in one’s heart keep changing, it will all be in vain in the end.” If he gave up his path of benevolence and turned to cultivation instead, would he still change if he encountered a method even more powerful than cultivation in the future? His mother had taught him since childhood to stick to his principles. He had only seen the advantages of cultivation but forgotten even the simplest truths—how could he not feel ashamed?

He bowed deeply to the ground, and when he rose, his expression became resolute. Meng Ke went to the table and tore apart a piece of silk covered in the character for “way,” declaring loudly, “One day, my path of Meng Ke will be famous throughout the world!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a voice from the sky suddenly said, “Since you have understood the way, I grant you permission to leave this realm!” The moment the voice faded, Meng Ke vanished into nothingness.

With such cultivation, Wukong hadn’t even noticed any signs—Meng Ke had already disappeared.

Meng Ke was gone? Left this realm?

“Since you have understood the way, I grant you permission to leave this realm!” Was “understanding the way” the condition for leaving? If so, where is my way?