Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 378: The Seal in the Light

When Wukong saw the centipede demon shed its Taoist robe, he immediately knew it intended to use the golden light from its armpits. He had no intention of dodging at that moment. He thought to himself, “That so-called ‘Beautiful Monkey King’ is merely at the level of a Taiyi Golden Immortal. Under the illumination of your Hunyuan Golden Immortal light, he will surely suffer greatly. My cultivation is now on par with yours—let’s see what you can do to me.”

The Taoist stripped off his clothes and raised both hands to the sky. Indeed, his armpits were covered with countless eyes, all emitting streams of golden light that shone directly on Wukong.

Wukong suddenly felt his vision blur. A golden haze rose from nowhere, enveloping him in light and shadow, leaving him unable to move for a moment.

But that was still the lesser of the problems. What surprised Wukong even more was that the Hunyuan Dao Fruit within his body could not escape the golden light either. It shrank significantly, and the black and white leaves seemed on the verge of dispersing.

Wukong was filled with terror. He knew very little about those two leaves. If they were scattered, it was uncertain whether they could be restored to their original state. If their power was damaged, wouldn’t all those peaches he had eaten be in vain?

Fortunately, the black and white leaves reformed shortly after dispersing, returning to their original state, which relieved Wukong somewhat.

He had no idea how to counter this golden light, nor could he understand how such a powerful being as the centipede demon could exist. Its golden light seemed capable of reducing someone’s cultivation level—a truly heaven-defying ability. Wukong forcefully summoned the secrets of the Xuan Kong method and looked upward, finally discerning the truth.

Amidst the endless golden light, a large seal hung alone. It was true that the centipede demon emitted golden light, but its light lacked real power. It was the golden light emitted by this seal that was truly formidable.

Upon seeing the seal, Wukong was shocked. Wasn’t this the Hunyuan Golden Seal, ranked fourth in the “Instrumentary Canon”? He also clearly remembered the inscription beneath it: “Create transformation, stir yin and yang.”

Wukong suddenly understood the centipede demon’s intentions. By using golden light to cover itself, it was actually trying to conceal the Hunyuan Golden Seal hidden within that light, thereby affecting his yin and yang leaves. As he had guessed, this Hunyuan Golden Seal had the power to reduce the cultivation level of a Hunyuan Golden Immortal.

What a close call! If it weren’t for him accidentally reaching the pinnacle of Hunyuan Golden Immortal cultivation, who knew what would have happened today? If not for his cultivation being strengthened by the pureness of ginseng fruits and peaches, his years of effort might have been ruined in an instant.

What ruthless tactics, what deep scheming!

It seems I was wrong about the origin of the centipede spirit. The one I hoped would see my cultivation greatly reduced could never be the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor might hate me too, but he never got involved in the matter of the Divine Ape and would never risk angering the Three Pure Ones to harm me secretly. This person must undoubtedly be the Tathagata! Only the Tathagata fears the rise of the Divine Ape and worries that I might awaken too soon; he would even risk using such a precious magic artifact on the centipede spirit to carry out his plans through him. Even if others guessed it, there would be no evidence. No wonder Mother Li Shan reminded me to seek Bodhisattva Virupa, and no wonder Bodhisattva Virupa helped me without hesitation. Recalling Bodhisattva Virupa, she only intervened twice in “Journey to the West” — once for the lute spirit and once for this centipede spirit (or the Primordial Golden Seal). These two interventions seemed ordinary but were actually crucial! Oh, Nine Heavens Goddess, this woman is truly extraordinary. A nameless anger arose in Wukong’s heart, and he wanted to rise up and kill the centipede spirit. But after thinking it over, he realized that if he really killed it, it would mean he had at least the powers of a Primordial Golden Immortal. So he decided to play along, pretending to be controlled by golden light and seeking help from others. Seeing that the Primordial Golden Seal was too close above, Wukong didn’t dare go upward, so he used the Earth Escape technique to dive downward. Though the golden light seemed endless, it actually only covered twenty or thirty miles. After escaping for a while, he poked his head out and found himself safe and sound. Wukong remembered that after escaping in “Journey to the West,” he met Mother Li Shan, who advised him to seek Bodhisattva Virupa to subdue the centipede spirit. He searched the barren mountains for a while but saw no sign of anyone. Wukong wondered if Mother Li Shan wouldn’t come after all. After thinking carefully, he realized he didn’t even remember where Bodhisattva Virupa lived. Besides, even if he did know, would it be too presumptuous to go there directly? As he was pondering, suddenly a piece of paper drifted down from the sky. Overjoyed, Wukong chased after it and caught it. On the paper were two lines of delicate handwriting: “Go south for a thousand li to Qianhua Cave on Ziyun Mountain.” The signature read “Li Shan.” Wukong almost laughed out loud. It turned out Mother Li Shan hadn’t broken her promise. From this, it seemed she was also part of the group led by Burner of the Lamp and Maitreya. The power of the Longhua Assembly was truly immense! Wukong flew straight south and soon reached a mountain. Indeed, the mountain was surrounded by purple clouds, which was quite unusual. In front of a stone cave, there were flowers everywhere in the ravine, fragrant orchids surrounding the house, lush grass and ancient trees, wild birds and fawns, along with auspicious mists and clouds — truly like a fairyland on earth.

Wukong landed in front of the cave full of joy and went inside. Inside, there was another wonderful world. After walking for two or three miles, he finally saw Bodhisattva Virupa sitting on a couch. Upon seeing her, Wukong felt greatly excited—this was the Nine Heavens Maiden! The first time he met her, he didn’t recognize her identity and felt nothing special, but today he was filled with indescribable emotion. When Bodhisattva Virupa saw Wukong arrive, she wasn’t surprised and asked, “What brings you here, Wukong?” Wukong replied respectfully, “Bodhisattva, while protecting Tang Seng on his journey to obtain scriptures, I encountered a fierce demon that could emit golden light and was extremely difficult to subdue, so I came here—” Bodhisattva Virupa laughed and said, “You monkey, who are you trying to deceive? Though that centipede demon is powerful, it’s no match for the wise divine ape like you. If you really want to defeat it, it shouldn’t be hard at all. So, what’s the real reason?” Realizing his deception had been exposed, Wukong wasn’t ashamed and said with a smile, “Bodhisattva, it was the Old Mother of Li Mountain who guided me here.” Bodhisattva Virupa was slightly surprised and said, “Others aren’t in a hurry, but she is.” Hearing that Bodhisattva Virupa seemed very close to the Old Mother of Li Mountain, Wukong regarded her even more highly. The Old Mother of Li Mountain was also a very mysterious figure—whose background was unknown? Bodhisattva Virupa said, “Since you’ve come to seek me, I’ll surely help you. First, capture that centipede demon, and we’ll talk later.” Wukong thanked her first, then led the way, taking Bodhisattva Virupa to Huanghua Temple. Upon arrival, they saw a Taoist priest resting on the mountain top. When the priest saw Wukong, he emitted golden light again. Bodhisattva Virupa simply pointed, and the golden light was shattered. Wukong was surprised to find that the Hunyuan Golden Seal was gone from within the light. Bodhisattva Virupa waved her hand again, and the Taoist priest rolled down into dust, revealing his true form—a giant centipede over seven feet long. The Bodhisattva ordered, “Go to Ziyun Mountain in the south and wait for my decision!” The centipede demon didn’t dare say anything more and obediently flew away on a cloud. Wukong was shocked—Bodhisattva Virupa was truly domineering; with just a finger movement, she had made that Hunyuan Golden Immortal obey like a pet. Bodhisattva Virupa asked, “Is there anything wrong with Tang Seng?” Wukong shook his head. Bodhisattva Virupa flew back, and Wukong followed her back to Qianhua Cave. The Bodhisattva ordered the centipede demon to guard the cave entrance, then led Wukong inside. After sitting down, she asked, “Did you see the Hunyuan Golden Seal?” Wukong nodded. Bodhisattva Virupa took out the seal from her bosom and held it in her hand, saying, “This seal is indeed a treasure, but if it’s in your hands, it might cause trouble. It’s better if I keep it.”

Wukong was speechless. The “Instrumentary Canon” ranked fourth—how could it not be a treasure? Yet the Bodhisattva only showed it briefly before putting it away again, leaving him eager for more. The Bodhisattva said, “Your Tianji Stick is truly the best in the world. Find an opportunity to refine it as soon as possible.” Wukong indeed wanted to refine the Tianji Stick, but with the journey to obtain the scriptures ongoing, he had no time for it. So he asked, “Is this urgent?” The Bodhisattva replied, “It might be important, or it might not. You’ll need it sooner or later.” The answer was vague, and Wukong didn’t dare ask further. He knew Vimalaprabha wasn’t one of the Three Pure Ones and often acted in peculiar ways; he feared saying the wrong thing might cost him the chance to probe further. Wukong decided to ask about the immediate matter instead and said, “Does the Bodhisattva know anything about the male and female peacocks in the Zhu Zi Kingdom?” Vimalaprabha nodded and asked, “How do you know about this?” Wukong replied, “It was Guanyin Bodhisattva who told me.” Then he recounted in detail how the Golden Fur Wolf had kidnapped the queen of the Golden Holy Palace. Vimalaprabha said, “Guanyin’s lie is truly beneath her status.” Wukong asked, “Why? Is it really not true?” The Bodhisattva replied, “It is true, but the male and female peacocks didn’t return to the Western Heaven to report, and the Buddha Mother Peacock isn’t in the Western Heaven either.” “Ah!” Wukong was shocked. “Then where is she?” The Bodhisattva said, “In the Buddhist hell.” So that’s how it is. Wukong asked again, “Then… is she one of the Boundless Bodhisattvas?” The Bodhisattva replied, “All the Boundless Bodhisattvas are in the Buddhist hell. As for the Lingshan Bodhisattvas, only a few, like those you’ve seen, are still in the world.” Wukong was horrified. It seemed there were great schemes in the Buddhist hell; otherwise, why would so many Bodhisattvas be needed? Wukong asked, “Why did the Buddha Mother and her two sons run away from Lingshan and go to the Zhu Zi Kingdom?” The Bodhisattva said, “Why don’t you think about it yourself?” Think about what? Wukong was confused and remained silent. The Bodhisattva sighed and said, “I’ll tell you then. Those two peacocks aren’t the Buddha Mother’s sons. They were created by her using the powers of the Buddhist hell.” Oh? So that’s how it is. Wukong followed this line of thought. If the Buddha Mother was in the Buddhist hell, how could she still be the Buddha Mother? She was basically no different from a laborer. Being in such a perilous situation, how could she have the time or leisure to create two peacocks for fun? They must serve some important purpose. What was that purpose? And how did those two peacocks get out of the Buddhist hell?

Wukong had a sudden insight and said, “I know now! The Buddha Mother wants these two peacocks to deliver messages! These two peacocks… came out of the River of Mother and Child, then headed west to find Buddha Ran Deng. On their way, they passed by the Kingdom of Zhu Zi, but were accidentally shot down by a mortal king.”
Bodhisattva Vimalaprabha smiled and said, “Not too stupid. But you’re only half right.”