Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 238: Finally Achieved

Besides the matter of the Great Sage National Advisor Wang Bodhisattva, there was also the strange formation mentioned by Da Peng. Once a Taiyi Golden Immortal entered this formation, they could not escape, but a Hunyuan Golden Immortal could pass through unimpeded—this formation was indeed peculiar.
Wukong recalled the first time he met the Xiang Liu Phoenix; they too had set up a formation on Mount Buzhou. No wonder the Xiang Liu Phoenix was rarely seen in the Four Great Continents—turns out they spent most of their time in the Golden Heaven and Silver Earth.
That Pillar Holding Up the Sky must conceal some great secret!
Wukong suddenly felt a strong sense of urgency. He needed to improve his strength immediately. As Da Peng had said, above those nine peaks of the Pillar Holding Up the Sky lay the domain of the Hunyuan Golden Immortal. Without such strength, he might miss many exciting moments. So Wukong said to Da Peng, “Third brother, since I’ve decided to head west, I must see it through to the end. My master is trapped in Wuzhuang Temple—I must rescue him!”
Da Peng replied, “You have your own reasons for doing things. I’ll just follow your lead!” Da Peng’s trust in Wukong wasn’t unfounded. Though Wukong wasn’t at the top in terms of cultivation, he often foresaw events, which earned him genuine admiration.
Wukong said, “Good. Although Zhen Yuanzi is powerful, if we attack him separately, he won’t be able to deal with both of us. The most important thing in Wuzhuang Temple is the Ginseng Fruit Tree. I’ll lure Zhen Yuanzi out, and you can take the chance to steal the Ginseng Fruit. What do you think?”
Da Peng was taken aback and asked, “Weren’t we supposed to rescue someone? How did it turn into stealing the Ginseng Fruit?”
Wukong chuckled and said, “Such a rare opportunity won’t come again. Third brother, don’t say you’re not interested in the Ginseng Fruit.”
Da Peng laughed and said, “Alright! As long as your master is still in the temple, I’ll steal the fruit first and then rescue him. But I need you to keep Zhen Yuanzi at a distance.”
Wukong said, “This time, I’m going to make him furious!”
After discussing it, Da Peng stayed put, waiting. With his swift movement skills, he could reach anywhere in an instant.
Wukong returned to Wuzhuang Temple. Seeing the temple gates tightly closed and silent, he took out his iron rod and smashed at the doors. Though the wooden doors were sturdy, they couldn’t withstand Wukong’s strike, and soon a hole appeared.
Wukong shouted, “You wretched old Taoist! Return my master!”

He shouted a few times, but seeing no one come out, the front hall was completely empty. Thinking, “Let me show you what I’m capable of,” he used a fire spell, throwing several fireballs into the front hall. The entire hall was made of wood, and Wukong’s fireballs were extremely hot, causing the wood to ignite instantly with crackling sounds, and in no time, flames soared into the sky. Wukong didn’t throw the fireballs recklessly; since Wuhui was by Tang Seng’s side, his presence meant he needn’t fear such a small fire.

Sure enough, Zhenyuanzi couldn’t hold back any longer. He rose from the back hall and shouted angrily, “Sun Wukong, are you seeking death?”

Unfazed, Wukong also rose into the air and shouted, “It’s you who recklessly obstruct my journey to obtain the scriptures! If you don’t hand over my master, I’ll burn down this Wuzhuang Temple!”

Zhenyuanzi floated forward, trying to capture Wukong, but Wukong refused to fight and fled on his cloud. Just a few miles away from the temple, Zhenyuanzi turned back, and Wukong followed, demanding, “Return my master!”

Zhenyuanzi sneered, “Your trick of luring the tiger away from the mountain may work on others, but not on me!”

Wukong said, “Tch! If it weren’t for the Goddess of Mercy not being here, you’d already be kneeling and begging for mercy!”

Zhenyuanzi replied, “Stop trying to fool me. Even if the Goddess of Mercy were here, reason must be upheld!”

Seeing that he couldn’t trick Zhenyuanzi, Wukong gritted his teeth and charged forward with his staff. Avoiding him all the time wasn’t a solution. Although Zhenyuanzi’s “Sleeve World” technique was powerful, it wasn’t infallible. Wukong remembered that the Golden Winged Roc had managed to dodge it before, so he would just need to be careful.

Seeing Wukong dare to approach, Zhenyuanzi grew confident. He spread his sleeves and covered Wukong. Before Wukong could fully use his staff, everything around him turned yellow—he had entered Zhenyuanzi’s sleeves.

This was the second time Zhenyuanzi had captured him with this technique. The first time, he had been caught off guard, but this time he was on high alert. Yet the outcome was the same.

But Wukong’s mindset was much stronger now. He had escaped from the Buddha’s palm and endured the trials of the Primordial Lord of the Three Realms. With a quick glance, he realized that Zhenyuanzi’s technique was merely a imitation of the art of creating worlds—it was far less refined and sophisticated compared to the Buddha’s technique.

Wukong activated the secrets of the Mysterious Void Technique, and he sensed a dazzling light—clearly at the edge of Zhenyuanzi’s sleeve. He leaped to the edge and used a golden flash to return to the world, breaking Zhenyuanzi’s technique that could trap even a mustard seed within Mount Sumeru in the most direct way.

Zhenyuanzi was utterly shocked. His signature skill, upon which he relied for fame, had been instantly broken by Wukong, leaving him momentarily stunned.

Wukong wouldn’t miss such a good opportunity. He stepped forward and swung his staff. Zhenyuanzi hurriedly raised his dust whisk to block it, but he greatly underestimated the power of Wukong’s iron staff. He felt as though the strike weighed as much as a mountain. After all, Zhenyuanzi was also a Hunyuan Golden Immortal, so he was flung through the air by the force of the strike. Despite his quick reflexes, his face turned red with pain.

Seeing that Zhenyuanzi couldn’t deal with him, Wukong unleashed his full might, using his extraordinary staff techniques. Zhenyuanzi dared not resist any longer and could only fight while retreating.

Wukong had other plans; he wasn’t intent on harming anyone. His flashy staff movements terrified Zhenyuanzi. Unconsciously, the two had left the territory of Wuzhuang Temple.

Zhenyuanzi was so preoccupied with Wukong’s formidable iron staff that he had no time to think about anything else. The more he fought, the more terrified he became. This monkey had suddenly become so powerful—his cultivation was inferior to Zhenyuanzi’s, yet he could still force Zhenyuanzi to be defenseless.

After fighting for a while, Zhenyuanzi suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. Seeing that Wuzhuang Temple was out of sight, he tried hard to use his agility to leap out of the combat area, but Wukong followed closely behind him like a shadow. Zhenyuanzi, having just become a Hunyuan Golden Immortal a few days ago, was not yet stable. In terms of jumping and teleportation skills, he was indeed slightly inferior to Wukong. But since the ginseng fruits were more important at the moment, Zhenyuanzi gritted his teeth, ignored what was behind him, and flew straight toward Wuzhuang Temple.

Seeing an open chance behind Zhenyuanzi, Wukong thought to himself, “If I don’t leave him a glimmer of hope, this man really doesn’t know his limits.” So he raised his iron staff and struck Zhenyuanzi from below with all his might. He used only a fraction of his strength for this strike. Zhenyuanzi felt a gust of wind behind him and couldn’t dodge in time. His thigh bones hurt intensely. He turned around and cast a resentful glance at Wukong, who naturally paid no attention. Wukong shouted, “Ancestor of Earth Immortals, don’t go!”

Zhenyuanzi returned to Wuzhuang Temple. Seeing that the disciples had already extinguished the fire in the main hall, with only wisps of smoke remaining, he grew anxious. He went to the back garden and entered the ginseng orchard. Upon counting carefully, he was as if doused in ice water from head to toe—out of the original twenty-one ginseng fruits, only six remained.

He rushed to the main hall and asked a disciple, “Was anyone here just now?”
The disciple shook his head in confusion, not knowing. Zhenyuanzi then thought of Tang Seng and went to the side hall to look for him. At the door of the hall, he saw two guards lying unconscious, seemingly under some unknown spell. Zhenyuanzi had no time to save them and went straight into the hall.

Inside, cowhide ropes were scattered around the pillars—the formation he had set up had long been destroyed. He picked up the ropes and examined them carefully; they seemed to have been cut by a sharp blade.

Before leaving, Zhenyuanzi had already subdued Tang Seng and the other two with his tricks. Now that they had disappeared without a trace, it must be someone else who had come to rescue them. He flew outside the hall and encountered Wukong coming towards him, who shouted, “Return my master!”
Anxious and furious, Zhenyuanzi spat out a mouthful of blood and pointed at Wukong, saying, “Damn you, mischievous monkey! I will never tolerate you!” Without caring about his dignity, he attacked with his injured leg.
Seeing Zhenyuanzi in such a state of chaos, Wukong knew that the Golden Winged Roc must have succeeded. But since he was acting out a role, he had to make it real. Seeing Zhenyuanzi in such a pitiful condition, he couldn’t bring himself to kill him. He held up his iron rod against his dust whisk and said, “Have you gone mad? I just came to find my master—why do I need to risk my life?”
Zhenyuanzi gritted his teeth and said, “If it weren’t for you, how could I have lost those fifteen ginseng fruits?”
Wukong almost laughed. Fifteen, huh? That Golden Winged Roc was really ruthless—almost cutting off a person’s roots. But he still pretended to be confused and then snapped angrily, “Even if your tree was uprooted, what does that have to do with me? All this trouble is your own fault. If it weren’t for you causing trouble and blocking our way westward, who would take advantage of the situation? Where is my master now? Speak up!”
Suddenly, Zhenyuanzi stopped attacking. After thinking carefully, he realized it was the Supreme Lord Laozi behind this. Without hesitation, he took out a jade slip from his bosom and crushed it, then sneered, “Monkey, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t blame you. But if it is you, you certainly can’t escape!”
Wukong was puzzled. Zhenyuanzi crushed a jade slip and seemed to regain his calmness in an instant. Was he trying to summon his backer?
The two faced each other in the side hall. Wukong stood there with his iron rod, full of doubts, while Zhenyuanzi grew increasingly impatient. With Laozi’s cultivation, he could reach the nine heavens and ten earths in an instant. Why wasn’t there any sign of him after waiting so long?
Wukong grew impatient and said, “What are you waiting for? Just speak up!”
Zhenyuanzi replied, “I’m not in a hurry. Why are you?”
Wukong said, “My master is of inestimable value. If even the slightest harm comes to him, no amount of your lives can make it up!”
If it had been earlier, Zhenyuanzi might still have had some confidence. But now that he had crushed the jade slip and seen no one arrive, he naturally thought of Buddha’s tactics again and shuddered.
Wukong rushed into the side hall and saw broken ropes on the ground with no one around. He stepped out and shouted, “Where did you hide my master?”
By now, Zhenyuanzi had lost all fighting spirit. He murmured, “He actually deceived me… The Three Pure Ones actually deceived me…”
Seeing Zhenyuanzi seemingly possessed, Wukong ignored him and left Wuzhuang Temple to search for the Golden Winged Roc. He circled around the temple several times but saw no sign of the roc.

With a decision in mind, Wukong headed east, returning to the place where he had met the roc. He lingered there for a while, and sure enough, the roc appeared in a flash. Wukong asked, “Have my master and the two others been taken care of?”
The roc replied, “That Taoist used some unknown magic; they’re all asleep and still haven’t woken up.”
The two flew far east, and indeed, Tang Seng and the others were found by the roc in a thicket, unconscious. Seeing that their breathing was regular and there was nothing amiss, Wukong felt relieved.
After flying a few more steps to a secluded spot, the roc took out the ginseng fruits one by one from its bosom and said cheerfully, “I’ve longed for these fruits; finally, I’ve got them today.”
Holding the ginseng fruits, which resembled those of a child and exuded a pleasant fragrance, Wukong was also excited. Since the roc had longed for them, so had he. The divine herbs that grew from the essence of heaven and earth were finally in his hands.