Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 365: The Essence of Creation

“Recall when the world first began, yin and yang energies had not yet separated, chaos had no form, and the heavens, earth, sun, and moon did not exist. The chaos resembled an egg, colored only in black and yellow, containing the essence of creation… This essence of creation was divided into nine parts—giving rise to Pangu, me, and the seven divine apes of chaos… The essence was split into nine; Pangu received three parts, I received two, and the seven divine apes received one…” These were the words spoken by Kunpeng to Wukong among the three realms.
Hearing Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva speak of the essence of creation, Wukong naturally remembered Kunpeng’s words.
It turned out that the essence of creation was scattered throughout the world, not floating freely but residing within the bodies of all living beings, deeply embedded in their souls. In human souls, creation had yin and yang aspects—yin creation was everywhere and thus not rare, but the essence of creation was limited to just that amount, the portion divided from chaos into nine. After Pangu, Kunpeng, and the seven divine apes took six parts, only three remained in the world. Was the Buddhist underworld’s persistent efforts aimed at obtaining this essence of creation?
With only three parts of the essence of creation available in the world, and the seven divine apes claiming one for themselves, no wonder they kept getting destroyed—they were holding a precious treasure without realizing it!
What did the Tathagata want with the essence of creation?
Wukong fell into deep thought. In the last cycle, the Tathagata was undoubtedly the greatest being in the world. Having overcome the challenges of that cycle, he could now pass through the next cycle unharmed—in other words, he possessed an immortal body and could reign eternally in this world. What more could one desire?
Unable to figure it out, Wukong asked Ksitigarbha, “What is the use of the essence of creation?”
Ksitigarbha replied, “The essence of creation is the foundation of the soul, so its uses are immense.”
Thinking Ksitigarbha had misunderstood, Wukong asked again, “What does the Buddhist underworld want by extracting people’s essence of creation?”
Ksitigarbha shook his head and said, “If I knew that, wouldn’t I already be the Tathagata?”
Wukong had intended to ask Dityan if he had heard of such secrets, but then realized that probably only the Tathagata knew the true purpose. Since this matter involved the entire world, he surely wouldn’t reveal it to anyone.
Wukong said, “Since I am a divine ape of creation, why can’t I see the distinction between yin and yang in creation? What’s so mysterious about the three souls and seven spirits? Please enlighten me, Bodhisattva.”
Ksitigarbha laughed silently and said, “These most basic skills are learned by ghosts and immortals. You were born with a body of creation—why learn such useless skills?”
Wukong insisted, “I must learn them! They are extremely useful!”

Ksitigarbha said, “If you wish to learn, I will teach you.” He simply stretched out his hand and touched Wukong’s head, and Wukong immediately felt a very hidden corner in his mind open up. Upon looking inward again, he indeed saw three small light spheres rotating quietly in his upper dantian, with seven even smaller and darker light spheres floating around them.

It was the first time Wukong had seen his own soul, and he exclaimed in joy, “So that’s how it is.” He observed quietly for a while longer and indeed found that his soul contained the power of creation. He could even instantly discern the distinction between yin and yang in this creative force, as Ksitigarbha had described.

Wukong was naturally astonished—he hadn’t even noticed any magic used by Ksitigarbha, yet he suddenly possessed such a supernatural ability. Ksitigarbha’s cultivation level must be no weaker than that of Ran Deng!

Wukong examined the yin aspect of creation with great excitement. This was the essence of creation from chaos. This essence of creation was the same as the trace of creation within the Qilin’s body, the same as that extracted from the golden ring on his head, and also the same as the creation on the black leaves of the seed on his Hunyuan Dao fruit…

As a Divine Ape of Creation, he naturally possessed countless times more essence of creation in his body than ordinary people, so it wasn’t surprising that he could form such a leaf. But where did the Tathagata get so much of this essence of creation? He actually used it to refine magical treasures!

Wukong asked, “Bodhisattva, can this essence of creation be taken from others?”

Ksitigarbha thought for a moment and replied, “People generally cultivate the yang aspect of creation, but yang can only achieve endless transformation with the aid of yin. Therefore, cultivators indeed possess much more yin essence in their bodies than ordinary people.”

Wukong asked further, “At the beginning of heaven and earth, there was no distinction among people. Who could know which would become immortals and which would remain mortals? Where does this extra yin essence come from?”

Ksitigarbha said, “Have you heard of souls scattering? After death, not everyone can be reborn. Often, there are wandering souls lost in the world, and their yin essence disperses as well. When cultivators absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they are actually absorbing creation, and unknowingly they also take in this yin essence. Few people know about this, and even rarer are those who realize that within creation lies further essence of creation.”

Wukong understood. It seemed that essence of creation was the foundation of cultivation. Not to mention ordinary cultivators, even he hadn’t known that creation had yin and yang aspects. Thus, the more essence of creation one had in their body, the stronger their foundation would be, and the greater their cultivation achievements would be.

At that moment, Wukong suddenly remembered that when Laojun and the others overcame the calamity of the previous cycle, it wasn’t as if all their cultivation energy had vanished. The essence of creation from that previous cycle must have been reclaimed by the forces of chaos during this cycle; even with the Barrier of Creation in place, they had to start from scratch. It seemed truly fair, then, how chaos operated!
People practiced cultivation in ignorance, yet Buddha had grasped its essence, directly extracting the essence of creation from people’s souls—something truly astonishing!
Ksitigarbha said, “Wukong, I’m leaving.”
As soon as Ksitigarbha spoke, Di Ting immediately stood up from the ground. His rise wasn’t a big deal, but it startled Wukong. Di Ting was actually so tall! When lying on the ground, he seemed only the size of a lion or tiger, but once standing up and stretching out, he was over five feet tall. Ksitigarbha mounted Di Ting’s back and said firmly to Wukong, “See you again soon!”
Wukong cried out urgently, “Bodhisattva!”
Ksitigarbha turned back and thought for a moment before saying, “I almost forgot something. You said Tang Seng is the Yin-Yang Divine Ape, right?”
Wukong replied, “That’s correct!”
Ksitigarbha said, “Di Ting heard Buddha say a sentence the other day. Since there was no reply, it seemed like he was talking to himself.”
A sentence that Ksitigarbha remembered must be significant. Wukong asked, “What was it?”
Ksitigarbha replied, “It was, ‘Hold Yin and Yang, control spirit and clarity—none can escape my grasp.’”
Wukong heard it clearly. What did it mean? Hold Yin and Yang, control spirit and clarity? Did it mean both of them were under his control? No, he had traveled the world freely. Buddha’s cultivation might not be as strong as his own—how could he control him?
Ksitigarbha waved his hand and rode off on Di Ting from the hall. Wukong shouted urgently, “Bodhisattva, if anything happens, where can I find you?”
Ksitigarbha’s voice came from afar, “Now that I’ve left this world, my name can be heard everywhere in heaven and earth!”
Seeing Ksitigarbha leave the netherworld, Wukong felt a sense of loss. He had spent ten thousand years saving people here, and countless acts of kindness must have emerged in the world. Perhaps this number was insignificant compared to the four great continents, but Ksitigarbha’s heart was truly as bright as the sun and moon. As Ksitigarbha said, the kindness of ordinary people pales in comparison to the evil of those in power!
In the secular world, when the emperor gets angry, blood flows in abundance. But in the context of heaven and earth, what happens when a sage gets angry? Though Ksitigarbha was extremely stubborn, he eventually understood the principles of good and evil. Compared to the common people, those who hold the power of life and death are the true source of good and evil!
Wukong looked at the empty hall and finally stomped away. He concealed his form and headed to Qitian Ridge to seek Hou Tu.

When Hou Tu saw Wukong, she was both surprised and delighted, repeatedly asking, “How, how did you escape?”
Wukong smiled and said, “Sister, there was no need to escape; I simply walked out on my own.”
Hou Tu asked, “How dare Ran Deng let you go?”
Only then did Wukong realize that Qilin had not told Hou Tu about his recognition of Ran Deng as his master. Although Dayu was aware of it, he still led his demon troops westward and would not have taken the trouble to inform Hou Tu.
Hou Tu complained, “You’ve really worried me! If you don’t return by tomorrow, I’ll go to the Western Heaven to rescue you!”
Wukong broke into a cold sweat and asked, “What did Senior Qilin say?”
Hou Tu replied, “He only said that Wukong was captured by Ran Deng. When I asked if we should attack Ling Mountain, he said Ran Deng would release him in three or five days, and today is already the fourth day.”
Wukong was speechless. Qilin was truly disrespectful in his old age—how could he lie about such a thing? If Hou Tu really attacked Ling Mountain, it would be a real mess. So he said, “Ran Deng is actually my mentor. Didn’t Senior Qilin tell you?”
Hou Tu exclaimed in shock, “No!” After thinking for a moment, her eyebrows raised as she cursed, “That red-haired old monster actually dared to deceive me!” Then she walked away.
Wukong hurriedly stopped her and couldn’t help but laugh, “It was just a joke. If I don’t return by tomorrow, Qilin will surely tell the truth.”
Hou Tu sat down angrily and said, “Hmph! I’ll settle accounts with him sooner or later!”
As for how she would settle accounts with Qilin, Wukong didn’t care. He asked Hou Tu, “Is Prince Xiao Zhang still alright?”
Hou Tu replied, “He’s still in a daze, neither alive nor dead. What do you think?”
Hou Tu took Wukong to see Xiao Zhang. Xiao Zhang was still listlessly sitting on a stool. Having received guidance from Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Wukong now understood the secrets of souls. He knew that the essence of creation within Xiao Zhang’s three souls and seven spirits had likely been completely refined. He came here merely to verify his guess and see if it was correct.
Wukong approached Prince Xiao Zhang and used his soul-seeing technique to examine his upper dantian. As expected, all three souls and seven spirits were there, but the essence of creation within them was completely gone.
Wukong turned to Hou Tu and said, “This person is no use anymore!”
Hou Tu said, “Since he’s useless, let’s not keep him here. But since you brought him from somewhere, he can’t reappear in the world.”
Wukong sighed and said, “Let him accompany King Bodhisattva, the Great Sage. After all, they are master and disciple, and their bond remains unbroken.”
The two left the cave and encountered Qilin coming toward them. When Qilin saw Wukong, his red eyebrows raised, and he let out a loud roar, swinging his fist at Wukong.

Hou Tu frowned, waved her hand, and raised an extremely thick wall of earth. When the Qilin punched at it, there was a loud crash, but the punch failed to penetrate the wall. The Qilin shouted, “Hou Tu, what are you doing?”
Hou Tu spat and said, “What are you doing then?”
The Qilin replied, “This kid deceived everyone; shouldn’t he be punished?”
Hou Tu said, “You deceived me too; you deserve punishment as well!”
The Qilin laughed heartily and said, “Everyone has been deceived. If we leave you out, wouldn’t that be unfair?”