Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Told, Chapter 131: Attempting to Change Heaven

Thinking of the Nine-Headed Worm’s thousand-year effort, Wukong thought, “As the saying goes, nothing is impossible for those who are determined. Though it seems difficult, there are still people who succeed.” Fengtong added, “That Nine-Headed Worm doesn’t understand the mysteries of the five elements. It thinks its efforts fall short, but in reality, it’s still far from success.” Wukong exclaimed, “What? Where exactly is the mistake?”
Fengtong explained, “These so-called ‘five elements’—among these twenty-five men, based on their birth dates, five belong to each of the elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Among those with a birth date associated with metal, they must each possess a pure yang essence corresponding to red fire, green wood, black water, white metal, and yellow earth. Such pure yang beings are hard to find even in that realm, let alone in this one.”
After thinking for a while, Wukong understood and said, “There are no calendars in these three realms, so it’s truly difficult to determine birth dates, right?”
Fengtong nodded. “That’s one aspect. What I meant by ‘impossible’ refers to the ‘spiritual blood.’ This isn’t the blood of these twenty-five men—it’s the blood of the phoenix!”
“The phoenix?”
“Yes, precisely. Haven’t you heard, ‘The phoenix is a bird of the fire element, the essence of yang.’ Among all creatures that soar through heaven and earth and possess a pure yang essence, only the phoenix can blend seamlessly with those twenty-five pure yang beings. But the phoenix has long vanished from the world—where else can we find it?”
After hearing Fengtong’s explanation, Wukong had no other thoughts in mind but to pity the Nine-Headed Worm. If it knew its thousand-year effort had been in vain, what would it think?
Wang Yu interjected, “Any clues about leaving this realm?” He was very sparing with words, speaking only a few words at a time, refusing to say more.
Fengtong shook his head. “My master sent me here to find a way out. In the past, it was he who let me leave. Now that I’m making my own decisions, I don’t know what to do.”
Wukong said, “Since it was said before that it’s not just the three of us searching for a way out, there might be some unknown experts who have already explored this for a long time. Let’s travel around and see if we can find their methods, which might give us some inspiration.”
Fengtong and Wang Yu agreed, “Exactly.”
In this realm, the terrain was extremely simple—just one mountain, one sea, one plain, one island, and one city. Yet each type of landscape covered a vast area. At that moment, Wukong and the others were walking through these endless mountains.

Endless mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, and in the midst lay a tranquil lake. The surrounding cliffs were steep and dark green, covered with lush trees that provided shade. The sky was vast and blue, with layers of clouds drifting gently, reflecting in the bottomless waters of the lake—creating a delicate ink-wash landscape painting.

Tongfeng exclaimed, “What a precious place! If no immortals live here, how about we build a cave dwelling here?” Wukong sighed, “Do we really have to stay in this realm forever?”

Tongfeng said, “I know you have many concerns, but if the matters in this realm aren’t resolved, everything else is meaningless. It’s better to settle down and focus.” Wukong realized Tongfeng was right. Hurrying to leave this realm was pointless; it would be better to follow Yuan Shi’s intention and delve into the mysteries of the universe, letting fate decide whether it would be beneficial or not.

Wukong said, “It doesn’t matter. We’ve both entered the true path, immune to disasters. As long as there’s no violence or calamity, we can live forever. I’m not worried about these five or six hundred years.”

Tongfeng laughed and said, “Good! Then let’s start anew in this realm, brothers!”

Wukong asked, “There’s one more thing. I see few people in this realm—it’s far less bustling than the Realm of Slaughter. Why not establish our base there?” Tongfeng replied, “You don’t understand. Although the Realm of Slaughter has more people, most of them have low cultivation levels. How can it compare to this realm? Those who go there usually failed here and made enemies, making it hard for them to survive. If they can’t survive in the Realm of Slaughter, they have no choice but to go to the Realm of Good and Evil.”

Only then did Wukong understand that although this realm’s name didn’t suggest superiority, it was actually far more dangerous than the Realm of Slaughter. Even heroes like the Three Tigers had difficulty surviving in both realms and had to flee to the Realm of Good and Evil.

Wukong said, “Good. Everything is difficult at the beginning. Let’s start with the hardest part.”

Tongfeng said, “Building cave dwellings is easy, but we still need to decide on a name.”

Wukong immediately suggested, “How about calling it Cuntian Cave?”

Wang Yu asked, “What does it mean?”

Wukong replied, “Although Yuan Shi Tianzun only told us to find a way to leave this realm, I boldly guess that his true intention was to preserve creation at the end of the world, so that the beings in this realm wouldn’t suffer. That’s why I call it Cuntian—hoping that this world can endure and not perish. That’s the true path.”

Tongfeng thought for a moment and praised, “Good! Simply fleeing would be cowardly. Cuntian actually means saving and preserving the world!”

The three then displayed their powers. Wang Yu used his magical weapon, the God-Slaying Circle, to carve three cave dwellings directly into the rock walls. These caves were connected to each other and had winding passages inside. Tongfeng also set up many arrays to ensure the three could practice in peace. Even when no one was around, those who didn’t understand the arrays couldn’t enter.

The three of them built a cave dwelling but did not enter it. Instead, they made an agreement to patrol an area of five thousand li, capturing any demons or immortals with considerable powers they encountered first. So, they rode on clouds and began to survey the mountains. After traveling less than a thousand li, they saw a mountain shrouded in mist. Before they could approach, a demon flew out from a deep cave. This demon had a strange appearance—human face with a beast’s body, wings and arms, yet also a long snake tail. It was the first time Wukong had seen such a monster. Fengtong also frowned, as he didn’t recognize it either. The demon had a fierce and evil look, clearly greedy and murderous by nature. Wukong laughed and said, “No wonder it hides in the deep mountains; such an ugly appearance is truly unbearable.” The demon showed its teeth and eyes, clearly displeased that someone was criticizing its ugliness, and shouted, “This entire area of a thousand li is under the rule of my king. If you want to pass by, better take a detour!” Wukong was pleased—there seemed to be a group of demons gathered here, which would give him more strength. He could simply capture them all. You might wonder why the three of them were searching for demons in the mountains. It was because they had enjoyed the comfort of being served by many small demons on Flower-Fruit Mountain, with others handling all tasks big and small. As the saying goes, more hands make light work, so they wanted to gather some followers to establish a foothold here. Wukong laughed heartily and said, “Your king is truly despicable. What does a thousand li even count for? From now on, this mountain belongs to me!” The demon sneered, spun around, and disappeared. Soon after, a hundred or so demons emerged from the cave, mostly lions, tigers, bears, and leopards. The leader among them was over ten feet tall, with broad shoulders and a round waist. His head was black as charcoal, with only his eyes showing a hint of white. He wore black armor and black leather boots. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a black bear demon. Wukong thought to himself that there was indeed a black bear demon in the world of Journey to the West—perhaps this was it. He stepped forward and said, “Hey, you bold bear demon! How dare you set up a stronghold in my territory without reporting first?” The bear demon was stunned for a moment before shouting, “You little pretty boy, you’re so unreasonable! I’ve been practicing here for thousands of years—who has ever seen you before?” Wukong sneered and said, “The past doesn’t count. From today onward, every mountain will bear the surname Sun!” The bear demon looked around at Fengtong and Wang Yu, then laughed heartily and said, “Sure enough, a monkey—bearing the surname Sun suits your companions’ true nature.” The other demons laughed uproariously. Wukong, of course, wasn’t angry. He retorted, “If I were your father, I wouldn’t give you the surname Sun. I’d give you the surname Black and the name Charcoal—fitting for your true nature, wouldn’t it?”

The black bear demon grinned and said, “What’s the point of arguing? It’s better to settle it with a fight.” Wukong was surprised to find that although the black bear looked honest, it wasn’t a fierce warrior after all.

Wukong said, “Fighting alone is boring. We need something to bet on.”

The black bear demon asked, “What treasures do you have to bet?”

Wukong retorted, “If I show you my treasures, I’m afraid you can’t match them. I’d rather see what you have.”

The black bear demon laughed and said, “Words alone aren’t enough. I have many treasures in my cave—things you wouldn’t even recognize. As long as you can defeat me, I’ll move my entire cave off this mountain to make way for you. How about that?”

Wukong replied, “That’s not necessary. How about if you lose, you give me your cave?”

The black bear demon snapped, “You bold monkey! What kind of status do I have that I’d belong to someone else?”

Wukong was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. “So you’re all show and no substance! You were the one who said we should settle it with a fight. If you weren’t brave enough, why boast?”

The black bear demon angrily ordered his subordinates, “Bring my precious spear!” He took a black-tasseled spear and shouted, “Do you think I’m afraid of you? If you lose, you and your three monkeys will kneel before my desk every day, offering fruits!”

Wukong revealed his Golden Cudgel and said, “If you can defeat me, everything is yours!”

Seeing their king about to fight, the demons fell silent and retreated far behind, realizing the black bear demon was extremely powerful. The black bear demon turned back and said, “Let’s fight in the sky!”

Wukong asked, “Why?”

The black bear replied, “This place is too close to my cave. I’m afraid we’ll damage things.”

Wukong laughed, “It will eventually be mine anyway. Why worry?”

The black bear demon wasn’t Wukong’s match in a fight. He swung his spear at Wukong, who blocked it with his cudgel. After just a few exchanges, it was clear the black bear demon had real skills and truly deserved to be the master of his cave.

After blocking one strike, Wukong leaped into the air. It wasn’t for anything else—fighting on the ground limited his mobility, and since he was agile, fighting in the air gave him a significant advantage.

The black bear followed, swinging his black-tasseled spear at Wukong’s face. The shiny iron handle created a huge spray of sparks, showing how much effort he put into it.

But even that wasn’t enough to defeat Wukong. Since mastering his “Heaven-Level Cudgel Technique,” he had never lost. Earlier, after fighting the Six-Eared Monkey for days, his skills had improved dramatically, incorporating many unique techniques, making him far stronger than before.

He didn’t rush to attack but instead defended firmly. After a long fight, seeing that the black bear demon had used up most of his tactics, Wukong sneered, “Your skills stop here. Enough!”