Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 361: Avoid Greed

This matter is truly of great significance. At first, Wukong thought that both Creation Forges were brought by that person—one given to the Jade Emperor in heaven, the other left to Buddha. Such miraculous objects could indeed be said to have emerged naturally, yet it turned out they could also be crafted like magical artifacts.
If all the materials are gathered, one can forge such an artifact; with a Creation Forge, even three thousand Buddhas can be created… Then what force in the world could rival Buddha?
Hmm? Wukong asked Ran Deng, “The master said that to melt the Pillar Supporting the Heavens, one needs the Supreme Spirit Liquid. Where did you get it? Do you really have to capture beings one by one and drain their blood?” Wukong wasn’t very familiar with creatures with nine heads and nine tails, but he knew quite well the kings of the five categories. At least the Qilin had never said it had been captured—so how did Ran Deng obtain that spirit liquid?
Ran Deng replied, “That person also knew this task was enormous. Even if I had the ability, it would take a long time. Inside that jade box was ready-made Supreme Spirit Liquid, just enough for me to forge one Creation Forge.”
Wukong laughed, “That person is rather stingy. Probably afraid the master will create another one on his own.”
Ran Deng said, “When I first saw that spirit liquid, I didn’t know what it was. It wasn’t until later that I realized Buddha was secretly targeting the kings of the five categories, capturing Xiang Liu and the Phoenix, forcing the Qilin and Zhen Wu to cooperate, that I began to suspect something.”
“Later, when Buddha captured a nine-tailed fox, Xuan Nu came to see me and revealed the truth.”
Wukong asked, “If Buddha creates another Creation Forge, given time, even all the forces in the world might not be able to oppose him.”
Ran Deng shook his head. “Wukong, you’re thinking too simply. One Creation Forge is already enough. With another, there won’t be that much magical power to utilize.”
Wukong asked in confusion, “Then what does he need the Supreme Spirit Liquid for?”
Ran Deng tapped Wukong’s head and said, “Smart for a lifetime, but foolish for a moment. That spirit liquid is used to melt the Pillar Supporting the Heavens—it’s not only for creating Creation Forges!”
Wukong suddenly thought of something extremely terrifying. Could it be… Buddha wanted to destroy the Pillar Supporting the Heavens! It was said that pillar supported the heavens. If it were destroyed, wouldn’t the heavens collapse?
But it was said that when Pangu created the world, the pure energy rose to form the heavens, while the turbid energy sank to form the earth… Since the pure energy rose on its own, wouldn’t it be the same even without the Pillar Supporting the Heavens? Wukong knew the heavens were nothing but an illusion, utterly empty—there was no way they could collapse. So what exactly was that pillar supporting?

Ran Deng said, “Even the Tathagata knows that creating another Creation Furnace and nurturing three thousand Buddhas is by no means easy. It requires a tremendous amount of time—how could it be accomplished in just one go?”
Wukong replied, “That’s not difficult. Just create a realm where time flows extremely slowly, and that will do.”
Ran Deng was at a loss, laughing and crying at the same time. “If your method worked, wouldn’t the world be filled with sages by now? In a realm within a realm, time cannot increase or decrease. The Creation Furnace itself is a realm; entering someone else’s realm makes it useless.”
Wukong smiled sheepishly. He truly didn’t know such rules existed. He had previously imagined that cultivators with supreme powers could alter the flow of time by creating realms. If realms overlapped, wouldn’t that be an excellent means for cultivation? But now it seemed that each realm had its own rules, and those from other realms couldn’t violate them either.
Wukong asked, “Master, you said the Tathagata doesn’t want to create a Creation Furnace. Then what does he plan to do?”
Ran Deng replied, “This matter is extremely delicate; I dare not guess rashly. It must be related to the Pillar That Supports the Heavens.”
Wukong asked, “Has Master ever gone to see the Pillar That Supports the Heavens?”
Ran Deng said, “After obtaining the materials for the Creation Furnace from Mount Buzhou, I haven’t gone back. Just those eight solitary pillars—what’s there to see?”
Wukong fell into thought. Since Ran Deng hadn’t been there again, he surely didn’t know about the arrays on the Pillar That Supports the Heavens. He tentatively asked, “Master, could the Tathagata destroy the Pillar That Supports the Heavens?”
Ran Deng was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Not to mention there’s only one of each of the five types of kings—even if there were a hundred or a thousand, the spiritual liquid they could produce wouldn’t be able to do anything to that pillar. You really are bold in thinking!”
Wukong thought about it. The Pillar That Supports the Heavens was indeed an extremely vast and massive pillar. The blood of those five types of kings was truly insignificant. Since Ran Deng said his idea was bizarre, there was no need to worry. Besides, no one dared to provoke the Qilin in Qitianling, and Zhenwu in the Heavenly Court also had nothing to fear… After calculating everything, Wukong concluded that the Tathagata couldn’t achieve anything. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. Was the Tathagata really as simple as imagined?
Ran Deng said, “Are you wondering why the Tathagata still tries to do many things he knows won’t succeed?”
Wukong nodded. “Could it be that Master knows the truth?”
Ran Deng replied, “If even the Jade Emperor and Laozi like to appear weak, in my opinion, when it comes to endurance, no one in the world can compare to the Tathagata.”
Wukong laughed and said, “Master, if this is called endurance, I think it’s better to call it helplessness.”

Ran Deng said, “You’ve thrown yourself into the trap on purpose by joining the quest to obtain the scriptures. Don’t you realize? Though he doesn’t know about your secret dealings with Qi Tian Ling, he certainly won’t believe you’re truly sincere in your quest. This is using strategy against strategy—truly a rare case of feigning ignorance.”
Wukong’s eyes lit up. “Master, are you saying that as long as I continue on this quest, everything will be fine, and Buddha won’t trouble me easily, right?”
Ran Deng replied, “What’s there to be happy about? Even at the end of the quest, you still don’t know what schemes and traps await you!”
Wukong smiled and said, “Master, help me.”
Ran Deng looked grave. “Now I feel my entire cultivation is useless—how can I help you?” He raised his head and glanced at the ceiling of the hall. “I suppose the Three Pure Ones feel the same way.”
Wukong instinctively followed Ran Deng’s gaze upward. The ceiling of the hall was extremely high but hollow, emitting a warm, bright yellow light. Ran Deng waved his hand, and an object fell down from above.
Upon seeing it, Wukong was overjoyed—it was a peach!
Ran Deng said, “Back then, I risked everything by storming the Peach Banquet and stealing a few peaches. Thankfully, in my lifetime, they finally came in handy.”
Wukong exclaimed, “So that person was Master!”
Ran Deng was even more surprised. “How do you know about this?”
Wukong then recounted what the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Dragon had told him about the Peach Banquet. “At first, I thought it was Buddha himself, but he didn’t have the ability. So it was Master all along! You dared to storm the Peach Banquet alone—surely you had already made arrangements with the Three Pure Ones.”
Ran Deng sighed. “I was deceived by the Jade Box and spread rumors, feeling extreme remorse. I wanted to make amends with the rest of my life. Fortunately, Yuan Shi gave me guidance. He said that with the divine ape killed, much of the cosmic balance was disrupted. Only the peach tree planted by Pangu could restore the divine ape’s essence. That’s why I went to the Peach Banquet to subdue the immortals in heaven and forced them to give me a few peaches.”
Wukong thought for a moment. “Master hadn’t met me back then.”
Ran Deng nodded. “Exactly. I saw the divine ape die and be reborn several times. Each time, I couldn’t resist giving him peaches. But you were either naive or half-awake, never truly understanding the cosmic laws. In the end, I gave up on that idea.”
Wukong asked, “When Master took me as his disciple in the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars, why didn’t you give me some peaches? I could have awakened earlier.”
Ran Deng replied, “At that time, I only wanted to teach you skills and observe your true aspirations. If you had become, as in your past life, a naive accomplice to Buddha spreading his teachings, hum!”

Wukong laughed and said, “In that case, Master truly understands my heart.” He reached out to take the peaches, but Ran Deng pulled his hand back and asked, “Wukong, you said back then that you had a dream in which a 16-zhang-tall golden Buddha taught you the teachings of ‘emptiness.’ Was that true or false?”
Wukong was instantly stunned. If only Ran Deng had taught him his powers earlier, he could have made up a lie by leveraging his advantage of having traveled through time. But Ran Deng had clearly remembered this trivial matter.
Ran Deng said, “What, have you forgotten?”
Wukong replied, “It’s not that I’ve forgotten. It really happened that time. I’m also puzzled—why did the Buddha in the dream look exactly like Tathagata?”
Ran Deng said, “How can such a thing be? With the limited powers of a Buddha now, how could he enter the realm I created? It seems that person has their eyes on this matter. If that’s the case, it will be very troublesome.”
Wukong didn’t want to realize that his lie had caused trouble.
Ran Deng added, “Anyway, Tathagata must surely know that I took you as my disciple. Though he can’t do anything to me, he will be even more wary of you. You’d better go back and fetch the scriptures as soon as possible to avoid complications!”
Wukong felt somewhat melancholic. He still had many questions to ask Ran Deng, but a single lie had caused such a mess. Wukong said, “Master, time moves slowly here. It doesn’t matter if I stay a bit longer.”
Ran Deng replied, “We’ve talked enough today. It’s not as if we won’t have another chance to meet. Why are you in such a hurry?”
Wukong pointed at the peaches in Ran Deng’s hand and said, “These…”
Ran Deng said, “Do you think they’re for you to eat? You just ate two from Laojun, and you still have one left on you. How greedy!”
Wukong was speechless. It turned out that Ran Deng was looking up at the sky—it was Laojun communicating with him. Why was this Supreme Lord Laojun saying such useless things!
Ran Deng said, “You’ve reached a critical stage in your cultivation. You should focus on understanding on your own; you might experience unexpected blessings. Relying solely on the power of the peaches to overcome this stage may save you effort, but it will be detrimental in the long run.”
Wukong nodded reluctantly and said, “Master won’t give them to me, yet you bring them out to tempt me.”
Ran Deng said, “I’m telling you not to think about taking the peaches from the Heavenly Court. The Three Pure Ones and I can find ways to obtain them for you, but if you go there, you might lose control and bring about unnecessary disasters.”
Wukong asked, “Does Master still have concerns about the Heavenly Court?”
Ran Deng replied, “It’s not exactly concern. Although the Heavenly Court belongs to the Taoist sect, it’s indecisive. It might be advantageous for us, but if we act improperly, it could turn into an enemy.”
Wukong said, “Master, don’t worry. I definitely won’t cause trouble for the Heavenly Court.”

Having received Rendeng’s promise, he naturally felt relieved. Having someone collect peaches for him for free was indeed the best thing that could happen.
Seeing that Rendeng had no intention of keeping him any longer, Wukong said, “Master, I have one last question. I’ll leave right after I ask it!”
Rendeng replied, “Ask.”
Wukong said, “It concerns the Buddhist hell.” Ever since he saw the Gray Fate Pool in the Buddhist hell, he had been puzzled. Since collecting fate didn’t require such great effort, there must be another purpose for the Buddhist hell.