Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Told – Chapter 147: Forging Divine Iron

Time flew by swiftly. Unknowingly, Wukong had spent a whole month beneath the second volcano. Throughout this month, Zhurong remained seated motionless, quietly observing Wukong master fire spells and using the ghost flames from the magma to refine his body with the virtue of fire. When Wukong occasionally misused a spell, Zhurong would offer guidance. There were countless fire spells, with five types of flames combining to create hundreds of variations; if additional talismans were used, the possibilities became as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Initially, Kunpeng had no fire within itself—all flames originated from Zhurong’s body—but now they had entered Wukong’s body. Wukong sensed that Zhurong’s gaze toward him was somewhat unusual, but he pretended not to notice. As the essence within him shifted from white to green, his feelings toward Zhurong gradually grew warmer. He did not understand the principle behind “all fires returning to their source”; he simply thought it was because they had spent time together. The volcano also grew colder. After Wukong absorbed the last ghost flame, the two set off for the largest volcano—Ghost Flame Mountain. This mountain was much larger than the previous ones; not a single plant grew within a thousand miles of it, and no one lived there. As soon as one stepped into that area, one could feel the heat radiating from the volcano. Zhurong said, “This mountain is filled with ghost flames. Most of my accumulated power over tens of thousands of years is here.” Wukong exclaimed, “What if this volcano erupts? Entire regions might suffer.” Zhurong retorted angrily, “Silly boy, of course, it’s up to me to decide.” Wukong’s heart stirred. How could Zhurong address him in such a manner? He did not realize that essence was something all things in the world desired, and he, having cultivated a body of fire virtue, was perfectly suited for Zhurong. Zhurong’s closeness to him was natural, not feigned. Since childhood, Zhurong had been betrothed to Gonggong, but only later did she realize that water and fire could never coexist, and they could never be together in this life. In her dreams, there was always the figure of a man in white. His face was blurred, but he possessed a body of fire virtue. If the two could train together to master fire powers, it would be the happiest thing in the world. Thus, when Wukong achieved a body of fire virtue, Zhurong was not overly surprised. When Wukong took on the appearance of a man in white, matching the figure in her dreams, she began to believe that fate had its own plan. Upon arriving at this place, they saw a figure standing on the summit of the volcano—it was none other than Dayu. Zhurong flew over quickly and asked anxiously, “Is it that kid Jumang, worried?” She thought Jumang had sent Dayu to take Wukong away so as to teach him wood-related spells.

Dayu smiled and said, “When did you gain such patience? Is this still the nature of the Fire God Zhurong?” Seeing Zhurong’s face turn red, Dayu changed the subject and said, “It’s me who has come to borrow your Ghost Flame Mountain for a while.”

“Borrow Ghost Flame Mountain? Are you going to forge something again?”

Dayu nodded, then asked Wukong, “I heard from Chi Songzi that you have a Stabilizing Rod.” Wukong nodded and took out the Ruyi Golden Cudgel from his ear, saying, “It’s this rod. I obtained it from the bottom of the Eastern Sea.”

Dayu took the Ruyi Golden Cudgel and sighed, “I never thought I’d see you again in this life.”

Wukong said, “I heard that the Stabilizing Rod was created by Dayu. Now it seems to have returned to its rightful owner.”

Dayu shook his head repeatedly and said, “No, no. What use would I have for it?” He reached into his chest and took out two iron rods, each five inches long, and placed them together with Wukong’s rod. With a flick of his hand, the three identical Ruyi Golden Cudgels grew longer in the wind and stood firmly on the ground.

Wukong exclaimed, “This is…”

Dayu said, “Back then, I obtained gold essence from beneath the earth, weighing 54,000 jin. I destroyed that gold essence and created four iron rods and a Ruyi Demon-Sealing Rope. Indeed, the Effortless Soil Furnace was quite effective. Though these five items aren’t world-shocking, they’re certainly not ordinary.”

“A Ruyi Demon-Sealing Rope? Is it this one?” Wukong took out the Ruyi Demon-Sealing Rope he had taken from Wu Zhiqi. Dayu took a look, frowned, and said, “This object can only be melted with the blood of my descendants. How did you take it away?”

Wukong recounted how he had rescued Wu Zhiqi. Dayu said, “Thank you for showing mercy. Back then, out of kindness, I left Wu Zhiqi in the care of future generations. It seems that decision was also wrong—imprisoning creation wasn’t a wise move.”

Wukong said, “Later, when we went to the Great Sage Zen Temple, we found it destroyed and empty. We don’t know who did it.” Dayu said, “As expected. Is every rise and fall not a consequence of past actions?” After saying that, Dayu weighed the Ruyi Demon-Sealing Rope in his hand and said, “Consider it your good fortune. With this rope, refining will be easier.”

“Refining what? Why is this rope necessary?” Wukong asked.

Dayu said, “Back then, I poured the golden essence into the Xirang furnace. No matter how I tried to divide it, the golden essence never ceased. It was only by using my blood as a catalyst that I was able to separate it. At that time, I used the essence of my blood to forge this Ruyi Whip. Later, when refining the golden essence again, using this whip as a catalyst made it much easier. I had only hoped that after controlling the floods, I could remelt these four iron rods into one, but I never got the chance. Now that I’ve retrieved the one in Rushou’s hands, plus yours, having three combined is still quite satisfactory.”

Wukong was excited upon hearing this. “Three combined? That must be extremely heavy!” Dayu replied, “Of course. With your cultivation level, you should be able to lift it. But you won’t be able to play around with it as before.” Hearing this, Wukong felt disappointed—turns out Dayu wasn’t thinking of him after all.

Zhu Rong shouted, “No! You’re being unfair! If Wukong can’t lift it, what’s the use of refining it?”

Dayu laughed and said, “Don’t worry. Have you forgotten that Rushou is the God of Gold? Once he attains a body of golden virtue, he’ll be able to lift not just this iron rod but even an entire mountain of gold. If it’s not for Wukong, then surely it’s for myself?”

Zhu Rong glared at Dayu, then his expression darkened as if he had thought of something. He thought to himself, “If he attains a body of golden virtue, then he won’t be of the Fire Virtue anymore…”

Dayu continued, “If these three Ruyi divine irons are melted together, their power will be more than ten times greater than before. However, the process of forging them takes a long time. Wukong, there’s no need to rush.”

Wukong said, “Such trouble makes me feel guilty.”

Dayu waved his hand and said to Zhu Rong, “I need to borrow your Ghost Flame Mountain. Are you happy about that?”

Zhu Rong shouted, “No! I still want to teach Wukong how to cultivate the Body of Fire Virtue!”

Dayu replied, “To master the secrets of the Mysterious Sky Method, Wukong’s current ability to control fire is sufficient. Do you really want him to become another Fire God?”

“What, it’s not okay?” Zhu Rong snapped.

Dayu shook his head. “That’s not right. The mysteries of the Five Elements are profound and intricate. How can one achieve mastery overnight? Even if one studies like this for a thousand or eight hundred years, they’d only master fire control. When will they be able to master the Mysterious Sky Method?”

“What’s so great about those secret methods? Why must we learn them?” Zhu Rong demanded confidently.

Dayu said, “You don’t know. The Nine Heavens’ Mysterious Maiden created the ability of Heavenly Eye Vision, benefiting all immortals—what a great merit that was! But later, influenced by others, she accidentally killed a divine ape, committing a grave mistake for life.”

“When I invited her to enter the Kunpeng’s belly back then, she simply said, ‘Karma cycles; let it be.’ But she told me that she had modified her Tianyan Tong technique and spread it throughout the world. If any Divine Ape were to master it in the future, it would be of great use, serving as some compensation for the sins of the past.”
Zhu Rong asked, “Why have I never heard you mention this?”
Dayu replied, “This place is no different from death. What’s the use of talking about it? But who could have imagined that a Divine Ape would actually come here! Jiutian Xuannu once dominated heaven and earth; no one could match her in cultivation. Since she said this method would be extremely useful, it must be a supernatural power. Fire God Zhu Rong, do you really think your meager skills can compare to Jiutian Xuannu’s?”
Zhu Rong’s face turned red as he said, “If you want to refine that staff, I won’t interfere. Why bother teasing me?”
Dayu laughed heartily and said, “Don’t be upset. Three out of the four elements of gold essence have been gathered here. Once we leave this realm, we must find the fourth one too, then we’ll be truly invincible.”
Zhu Rong said gloomily, “Since you’ve taken over this place, where can I go to help him refine his Fire Virtue body?”
Dayu replied, “Once we return to that realm, there are countless good places. Why be confined to the present? Remember, there’s still time ahead.”
Hearing the words “there’s still time ahead,” Zhu Rong finally showed a slight smile and said, “Alright, if that’s the case, shall I help you control fire here?”
Dayu was overjoyed and said, “I couldn’t ask for more! Then let’s immediately ask Jiumang and Rushou to teach Wukong the arts of controlling wood and metal!”
Jiumang, the God of Wood, who was inherently a wood spirit, was quite surprised to hear that Wukong had cultivated a Fire Virtue body in just a hundred years, not realizing that most of it was due to the effects of the Peach of Immortality. Zhu Rong said proudly, “Wukong has not only cultivated a Fire Virtue body but can also control two of the three true flames. Give me another ten or eight years, and… hmph…” His implication was that even if given a hundred years by Jiumang, he couldn’t teach Wukong as effectively as he could.
Jiumang couldn’t argue with Zhu Rong and simply said, “Alright, then I’ll teach him for a hundred years too to see how it turns out.”
Wukong and Jiumang flew away from Ghost Flame Mountain. Jiumang said, “Though this realm has no directions, we can define our own. The Kunpeng’s throat is due south, its tail is due north, its left side is east, and its right side is west. Right now, we’re flying east.”
Wukong asked, “Did I really spend a hundred years here?”
Jiumang replied, “Why, for immortals, a hundred years passes in the blink of an eye. It’s not unusual for them to retreat in seclusion for a thousand years. Don’t you even know that?”
Wukong said, “When I went into the sea, two brothers were waiting for me above, worried about me.”
“Hmm, worrying is useless. We must first resolve the matters here before we can leave,” Jiumang said.
“What matters here?” Wukong asked in confusion.
Jiumang replied, “Your own affairs are the major matters.”

In the blink of an eye, the two arrived at a lush, green mountain. Atop the mountain was a peak covered in dense trees, all of unusual species. From afar, Wukong saw green mist swirling around and realized it was a wood-related supernatural power. Jumang said, “This peak is called Qingmu. What do you think of it?” Wukong examined it closely, but aside from the green mist, there was nothing special about it. He replied, “Pardon my poor eyesight; I can’t see any mystery in it.” Jumang laughed heartily and said, “That’s exactly right. Although this mountain has a strong presence of Qingmu energy, its essence lies within—it’s naturally invisible from the outside.”