Volume 3: A Long Journey Chapter 271: A Thousand-Zhang Jade

Tang Seng said, “Though the demons have been defeated, they are still on the east bank. We must cross the river quickly.”

As they spoke, an old man emerged from the bay and knelt from afar, saying, “Great Sage, the god of the Black Water River bows before you.”

Wukong said, “This is the river god.” He then said to the god, “You can’t even defend your own palace—what are you doing here?” The god replied, “Great Sage, that little alligator dragon has many allies. He has taken over my river god’s palace. He is the nephew of the Dragon King. With no way to appeal, I can only stay in my old place. Where else could I go?”

Wukong said, “Now that the little alligator dragon has been captured, he will never return. You can go back and live in your river god’s palace.”

The god thanked Wukong, saying, “I am deeply grateful for the Great Sage’s kindness in restoring my water palace!”

The god then used magic to block the water upstream, drying up the lower part and creating a path. The disciples walked along the riverbed to the west bank, then climbed back up the cliff to continue their journey.

After crossing the Black Water River, they followed the main road westward. After several days, the green leaves turned yellow, and the winds grew cold—early autumn had arrived.

As they continued, a deep ravine appeared ahead. The ravine was at least a hundred zhang wide from east to west and seemed endless from north to south. There was no bridge to cross it.

Tang Seng jumped off his horse in panic, lamenting, “We just crossed the Black Water River, and now we encounter this endless ravine. What shall we do?”

Wukong asked, “Master, how do you know this ravine is called the Endless Ravine?”

Tang Seng replied, “I can’t see the end in either direction. Isn’t that what makes it the Endless Ravine?”

Wukong pointed to a stone tablet beside the ravine and said, “That tablet clearly states it’s the Endless Ravine. Your eyesight is quite good, Master.”

Tang Seng said, “I couldn’t see it. I just guessed based on my feelings.” Wukong looked closer and saw two lines of small characters beside “Endless Ravine”: “The sea of suffering has no end; turning back is the way to safety.”

Hearing this, Tang Seng said, “I set out to escape this sea of suffering and go to the West to obtain the true scriptures. Yet here’s a tablet telling me to turn back!”

Wukong said, “Master, ignore it. Since you want to go to the West, just keep going west. Never speak of turning back again.”

Tang Seng looked down into the ravine and was so frightened that his legs turned weak. He kept repeating, “Wukong, how can we cross? How?”

Wukong had no idea. He remembered every one of the eighty-one trials in Journey to the West clearly, but had never heard of the Boundless Gorge. Since leaving the Eastern Land, the hardships encountered along the way were mostly caused by those factions—the Yellow Wind Monster, the Green Lion Spirit, and the Old Man in Black were all acting under the orders of the Buddha from the East; the White Bone Spirit was causing trouble indirectly by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva; the Golden-Horned and Silver-Horned Demons did it on purpose by Laozi; most of the others acted unintentionally. In the end, it was Maitreya Buddha who was most committed to preventing the pilgrimage.

The Boundless Gorge, though seemingly free of any demons, presented a challenge just by having this deep ravine in front of them. Should they cut down trees to build a bridge? The phrase “The sea of suffering is boundless; turning back leads to safety” sounded like a Buddhist verse—most likely an arrangement by the Buddha from the East.

The Old Man in Black said, “Great Sage, although this gorge is wide, we could cross it with just a step, but it’s difficult for Master.” Wukong looked at the Old Man in Black and asked, “Do you have any idea?”

The Old Man in Black replied, “This gorge is extremely wide. Even if we cut down trees to build a bridge, ordinary trees wouldn’t be strong enough to hold up.”

Wukong asked, “Where in the world can one find trees that long?”

The Old Man in Black said, “I haven’t heard of such trees, but having lived in the South Sea for a long time, I’ve heard that in Yingzhou, one of the Ten Continents and Three Islands, there is a kind of jade called ‘Thousand-Zhang Jade.’ This name isn’t exaggerated. Nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, this jade can indeed reach a height of a thousand zhang. If we could get some of this jade and place it across the gorge, there would be no need to worry about crossing.”

Wukong was overjoyed upon hearing this and said, “Since you’re familiar with them, could you please go there for us?”

The Old Man in Black replied in distress, “I’m just a servant tasked with carrying bottles for Guanyin, not an official chosen for the pilgrimage. How could I possibly talk to the Nine Elders of Yingzhou? It’s better if the Great Sage goes himself.”

Wukong said, “Alright, then I’ll go.” He glanced at Tang Seng, who sat by the gorge, lost in thought and looking sorrowful. Then he said to the Old Man in Black and Wukong, “Please keep Master company to lift his spirits.” With that, he stamped his foot and flew into the sky.

Yingzhou was located east of the Eastern Sea. Wukong rode on his cloud, crossing the Eastern Sea in just two leaps. Despite the vast expanse of the sea, it took him some time to locate Yingzhou.

There lay a magnificent fairy island, with green mountains and waters, red cliffs and trees, filled with auspicious clouds and fragrant mists. From time to time, colorful birds sang in front of caves, and cranes danced on the mountain peaks.

When Wukong arrived in Yingzhou, he saw many immortals scattered about, most of whom he didn’t recognize. He searched deeper and indeed found a place where magical herbs grew in abundance. There, a few elders with white hair and long beards but youthful faces were sitting under the trees, chatting and drinking wine—living in a truly serene and carefree realm.

Yingzhou is the foremost of the Ten Continents, with the largest territory and the most immortals. The Nine Elders of Yingzhou are renowned throughout the world, all having attained a cultivation level far beyond that of Taiyi Golden Immortals. According to tradition, if the rulers of the Ten Continents reach the level of Taiyi Golden Immortals and wish to ascend to heaven, they must go to Fangzhang Immortal Island to seek registration with Emperor Donghua before awaiting assignment by the Heavenly Court. Those who do not wish to ascend and prefer to remain as wandering immortals must leave the territories of the Ten Continents and Three Islands to practice in the Four Great Continents.

The Nine Elders of Yingzhou are immortals born and raised in these lands, having arrived at Fangzhang Immortal Island many years before Emperor Donghua. Thus, they rightfully occupied Yingzhou, with no one questioning their claim.

When Wukong saw the Nine Elders, he called out from the air, “Elder immortals, Wukong pays his respects!”

Upon hearing the name “Wukong,” the Nine Elders immediately put aside their chess game and stepped forward to greet him, addressing him as “Great Sage.”

Wukong smiled and said, “It seems you elders lead quite a carefree life.”

The Nine Elders replied, “If the Great Sage hadn’t caused trouble in the Heavenly Palace back then, he would surely be living just as comfortably as we are. We heard you went west to worship Buddha—how did you find time to come here?”

Wukong said, “It’s true that I went west to worship Buddha, but I encountered a difficult problem, so I came here for help.”

The Nine Elders asked, “The Great Sage possesses great powers—what demon or monster could he not subdue?”

Wukong replied, “If it were a demon or monster, I wouldn’t have come to you.” Then he recounted in detail the situation at Wubian Gorge and said, “I heard there is a treasure on Yingzhou called Thousand-Foot Jade, so I’ve come to borrow it.”

Upon hearing that Wukong wanted to borrow the Thousand-Foot Jade, six or seven of the Nine Elders staggered, while the remaining two or three sat down immediately. They asked, “Who said there’s Thousand-Foot Jade on Yingzhou? Such talk is reckless—such people deserve punishment!”

Wukong laughed and said, “Don’t be like that. I’ll just borrow it temporarily and return it after use. Why be so stingy, Nine Elders?”

One of the elders said, “Great Sage, that Thousand-Foot Jade has an extraordinary origin. It grows over many years by absorbing the immortal energy from beneath the earth. No one knows exactly how many years it took to form. All the immortal energy on Yingzhou comes from this jade. If you take it away, Yingzhou will lose its source of immortal energy, and its energy will be reduced by at least half. It will then no longer be able to remain the foremost of the Ten Continents.”

Wukong was skeptical. “Don’t exaggerate. It’s just a piece of jade—how could it be so special?”

One of the elders said, “If the Great Sage doesn’t believe me, please follow me and see for yourself.”

The Nine Elders led Wukong north of Yingzhou Island. Before they even got close, they saw a solitary piece of milky-white jade towering into the clouds. The jade was slightly curved, crystal clear and smooth like ivory. Under the sunlight, it emitted a bright white glow, clearly indicating it was no ordinary object.

When Wukong approached the Thousand-Foot Jade and examined it closely, he realized it didn’t resemble ordinary jade at all but seemed more like stalactite formed by natural processes. Being highly sensitive to such things, he felt that this Thousand-Foot Jade indeed had an extraordinary natural essence.

Wukong stood nearby and felt an urge to seize this precious jade, so he stepped back two steps and said, “Indeed, it’s fine jade. May I ask—how tall is this jade?”
The Ninth Elder replied, “It’s said to be a thousand zhang tall, but in reality, it’s only a little over six hundred zhang.”
Wukong nodded and said, “That’s also extremely rare.”
The Fifth Elder said, “Great Sage, although Yingzhou is the foremost of the Ten Continents, it still can’t compare to the Three Islands. There are three such jades on Penglai Island, nine on Fangzhang Island, and on Kunlun Island, hehe, there are at least twenty or thirty!”
Hearing this, Wukong was both astonished and delighted. He said, “Since there’s only one on Yingzhou, I certainly won’t take what you cherish. Since there are many on Kunlun Island, I’ll go there to get one.” With that, he took his leave and left Yingzhou to head elsewhere.
Seeing Wukong go, one of the elders stamped his foot in frustration and said, “Fifth Elder, how could you say such a thing?”
The Fifth Elder replied, “I was afraid this monkey would become greedy and harm the sacred roots of this continent, so I led him elsewhere.”
The first elder said, “Sigh, you still don’t understand this monkey. He’s likely to cause trouble this time.”
After leaving Yingzhou, Wukong didn’t head to Kunlun Island but instead went to Fangzhang Island. He knew the Nine Elders of Yingzhou had given him this information for a reason. Kunlun Island? Hehe, it was said to be connected to the Kunlun Island in the Great Luo Heaven—how could he dare to go there lightly? His focus was now on helping Tang Seng on his journey to the West, so he would settle for Fangzhang Island instead.
Fangzhang Island was the residence of the Eastern Emperor. Once, when the Monkey King toppled the Ginseng Fruit Tree, he had also come here for help. But the Eastern Emperor only offered a Nine-Transformed Taiyi Elixir, which was said to be able to save all living beings in the world, yet it couldn’t save the Ginseng Fruit Tree.
Now, Wukong realized that these immortals often spoke half-truths. There were countless people in the world who could save the Ginseng Fruit Tree; they just didn’t want to exert effort. The Eastern Emperor was a Taoist deity and a senior figure in the heavenly court. It was likely he was resistant to the quest for the scriptures. It made sense that he might not be able to help or might not want to assist Wukong.
As Wukong approached Fangzhang Island, he remained cautious. Although there were nine thousand-zhang-tall jades on the island, they were indeed precious treasures. How could the Eastern Emperor give them to him for free? It would be better to observe the situation first before deciding on a plan.
Fangzhang Island rose high above the sea, resembling a celestial mountain, with rows of strange peaks and ridges. Wukong transformed himself into the appearance of an ordinary immortal and wandered around the island at will.

There were many immortals on the island; they flew around on clouds and cranes without any restraint, so naturally no one paid attention to Wukong. This island was more than ten times larger than Yingzhou. Wukong dared not use his advanced martial arts and was also afraid of breaking rules, so he only wandered in crowded areas. By listening to many people’s conversations, he learned that in the center of the main island there was another island above the water, called Zifu Zhou, which was the residence of the Eastern Emperor. Apart from Zifu Zhou, there were no restricted areas on the island, but it was not allowed to enter there casually.

After walking for a long time, Wukong still saw no Thousand-Foot Jade, so he guessed it must be on Zifu Zhou. With this information, he became more confident, concealed his presence, and headed toward Zifu Zhou in the center of the main island.

There was indeed a way to reach Zifu Zhou—a white jade bridge connected it to the outside. Many immortals did not dare use magic and instead walked along the steps, waiting outside the bridge for an audience with the Eastern Emperor. Most of them wanted to be registered as immortals and await the emperor’s judgment, while some had requests to make; naturally, all of them showed utmost respect.

Wukong, of course, could not walk. He flew in the sky and scanned the crowd, only to discover an acquaintance among the immortals, which surprised him greatly. Zhu Bajie! What was he doing here?