Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Told, Chapter 161: Upheaving the Heavens

Wukong asked, “Why is this so?”
Laojun replied, “Humans follow the earth, the earth follows the heavens, the heavens follow the Dao, and the Dao follows nature. Creation is the essence of nature. If humans disrupt creation, they are putting things in reverse order—how can there not be chaos? If the Chaos-Ape had not stirred up yin and yang at the beginning, how could there have been heaven, earth, and all things? Thus, the destruction of heaven, earth, and all things is truly self-inflicted. If we trace back to the root cause, isn’t the Creation-Ape the main culprit?”
Wukong finally understood Laojun’s meaning and couldn’t help but laugh bitterly as he retorted, “The Creation-Ape was born from creation itself. If we are at fault, then it’s the fault of creation—nothing to do with us! In my opinion… if anyone deserves blame, it’s Pangu. If he hadn’t split the chaos to create heaven and earth, there would be no such troubles!”
“How bold you are!” The voice was unfamiliar—it was naturally the Primordial Heavenly Venerable. Having obtained Pangu’s vital energy, he had achieved his current status, so he naturally wouldn’t allow Wukong to talk back so freely.
Wukong laughed and said, “The Great Heavenly Venerable is too stingy. Do you only allow the Three Pure Ones to tease me, but not me to tease others?”
Laojun said, “You monkey are really impatient. Do you think the purpose of stirring up chaos was merely to mix yin and yang at the beginning of heaven and earth, and then nothing more?”
Wukong laughed and said, “Do you expect us to go around causing trouble and turning heaven and earth into chaos?”
Laojun replied, “That’s not entirely wrong. Whenever there’s great chaos in the world, isn’t it always caused by the divine ape? The ape itself is innocent, but the troubles arise because of it. The name ‘Chaos-Bringer’ is indeed well-deserved. Even before, it was fine, but even now, though the divine ape seems to have disappeared from the world, which great immortals or heroes in the upper realms can plan anything without involving the divine ape in some way? Even if all seven divine apes hide from the world, creation itself will find you. Chaos-Bringer—hard to escape chaos!”
Wukong was left speechless by Laojun’s words and decided to change the subject. He said, “Whether what you say is true or false, no one can determine it. All this talk—what does it have to do with the Jade Emperor stealing the Daoist fortune?”
Laojun replied, “It’s highly relevant! Fortune is the force of creation! If people lose their fortune, their lives are full of hardships; if a nation loses its fortune, it suffers from internal and external troubles and cannot find peace. If our Daoism loses its fortune, it’s a minor issue if the sect weakens and talents decline, but if all believers turn away, it would be a sign of impending doom.”
“There are nine kinds of creatures born from creation. Pangu only focused on creating heaven, and the Kunpeng only focused on purifying the universe, then they hid from the world and never interfered with the laws of fate. In this world, only the seven divine apes can influence the forces of creation!”
“Wherever the divine apes go, that’s where the force of creation lies. Now do you understand?”

Wherever the Divine Ape goes, it shapes the course of fate! Wukong pondered its meaning and muttered to himself—Sure enough, as I expected! The quest for the scriptures indeed centers around Sun Wukong, and bringing back the Golden Cicada to Buddhism is probably just a decoy. The Western Sacred Mountain seeks to seize the fortune of Taoism, so naturally, fate tilts toward Buddhism. Unconsciously, Sun Wukong became entangled in this conflict, and step by step, he was captured by Buddhism—doesn’t this perfectly fulfill Laozi’s words? Laozi continued, “What we are doing now is to prevent all fortune in the world from converging in one place. That’s why we’ve brought you all into our realm to create a great transformation. As the Divine Ape’s cultivation grows, its wisdom will surely soar as well. Then, when facing schemes and deceptions, you’ll have more ways to protect yourself. Do you understand?” At these words, if Wukong still didn’t grasp the Three Pure Ones’ intentions, he couldn’t truly be called the Wise Divine Ape. It turned out the Three Pure Ones wanted the Wise Divine Ape to assist Taoism in opposing both the Heavenly Court and the Sacred Mountain. But as Laozi made clear, only in this way could fortune not be entirely dominated by the Sacred Mountain. There must be some ulterior reasons for the Tathagata to take the Divine Ape, and what about the Three Pure Ones? Had they also hidden many secrets from him? This strategy of giving first and then taking, of competing without conflict, was truly ingenious. At this thought, Wukong couldn’t help but recall the moment he escaped from the Tathagata’s grasp. If he had been trapped under the Five Elements Mountain by the Tathagata, would he have embarked on the journey to the West? After some thought, Wukong asked, “If I can restore Taoism’s fortune, I certainly won’t refuse. But if fortune is scattered across the world, will that stop the calamity of the Great Gathering?” Laozi replied, “I know you still have many doubts. Today’s words are not meant to draw you into my sect. Seeing the world in peril, I had to speak up. With your status as the Divine Ape of Fate, even we, the Three Pure Ones, wouldn’t dare to command you at will. So there’s no need for you to worry. With your intelligence, you’ll naturally know what to do in the future. Teaching you to absorb the fortune of the three realms is also a last resort. Anyway, these three realms will be reduced to dust in 200 years. If you don’t take it, all that fortune will just dissipate in the world.” Seeing the Three Pure Ones reveal their true intentions, Wukong’s impression of them improved somewhat. But hearing that the three realms would be destroyed, he couldn’t help but ask, “If you can take it, why can’t you send it back?” Laozi said, “Do you think we are reckless killers? Before this realm is destroyed, the three realms will open wide doors for life. Those who can escape on their own will naturally return to the world.” Wukong asked, “Then where will ordinary humans, beasts, and birds with flesh and blood go?” Laozi paused for a moment before sighing, “What else can they do? Death is inevitable for humans—”

Wukong interrupted the Old Lord and shouted, “Humans only have the desire to live; who would willingly think of death for no reason? Such actions are no different from killing innocents! To desecrate the workings of fate, fate will surely punish you!” These words from Wukong carried great significance—he himself was born of fate, so his statement that “fate will surely punish you” was like a curse.

Wukong expected the Three Pure Ones to become furious after hearing this, but he couldn’t hold back. If he didn’t use strong words, how could they be awakened? To his surprise, the Three Pure Ones remained silent.

Thinking, “If you won’t speak, then I’ll continue,” Wukong said, “The divine apes understand fate best. They would never resort to forcing fate like this. Your plans are completely futile.”

At that moment, the Primordial Lord spoke slowly, “It’s not easy for sentient beings. The three of us have also considered this matter. But there are countless creatures in the three realms, and with our limited powers, we’re powerless to help. Though such crimes will surely bring retribution, all we can do is sigh in despair.”

Hearing the Primordial Lord’s words, which seemed to imply a desire to save them, Wukong felt hopeful and said, “How can we save all these creatures? I beg the Great Lord to show us a way, to see if there’s any way to save them.”

The Old Lord replied, “It’s not that I underestimate you, but with your current level of cultivation, you can’t be of much help.”

Wukong asked, “Do we really need to reach the Hunyuan realm?”

The Old Lord said, “Wukong is indeed clever. I’ll tell you, just to dispel your hopes.”

“The three realms are vast and boundless. It’s not us boasting, but it’s hard to find three people in the world who can create such a vast realm. It’s only because the three of us share the same fundamental cultivation methods, know each other well, and have no conflicts that we can succeed. The three realms are connected, each with its own gate: Life, Death, Mystery, and Void.”

“There is only one path in this realm, which is where you are now. Once the formation is opened, the path will appear naturally. For celestial beings, leaving the realm isn’t difficult—they can simply fly out along the path once the formation is removed, reaching the Clear and Subtle Heaven. Since celestial beings can withstand the heavenly winds, they can descend on their own.”

“For lower-ranked immortals, if there are just a dozen or so, we can easily grab them with our hands. But for so many people to leave, there’s only one way: one person must use great power to connect the gates of Life, Death, Mystery, and Void, another must use transportation magic to move everyone to our realm, another must protect them from the heavenly winds, and yet another must open a path to the heavens for these mortals to follow. At least four Hunyuan Golden Immortals are needed for this. There are only three of us here—how can you expect us to do it?”

Wukong thought for no moment and said, “It’s quite simple now. There’s no need to do all four things at once. Two of us can first use magic to transport everyone to this realm, then another two can use magic to help the mortals descend to the lower world. That way, it will succeed.”

Laojun spat and said, “You monkey, do you want to drive us to exhaustion? Do you know how much magical energy it takes to cast such spells? I’ve already calculated it—even if we work nonstop for 200 years following your method, we can only save 10% of them.”

Wukong smiled and said, “Saving one life is better than building seven levels of stupas. It seems I really have to take action.”

Laojun said, “Stop joking around. Don’t overestimate yourself. With your current cultivation level, even the fierce winds of the heavens might not sustain you for ten days or half a month.”

Wukong asked, “If I can find seven Hunyuan Golden Immortals, can this task be accomplished?”

As soon as he said this, the mist before them vanished instantly, and the Three Pure Ones stood up together. Laojun demanded, “Is this true?”