Volume 4: The Revelation of All Secrets Chapter 397: Fury Consuming the Soul

In an instant, Tang Seng lost all breath. This so-called Yin-Yang Divine Ape, who feared death the most, knew nothing more about life and death than anyone. With a casual remark, he took his own life. Though he had attachments, he hesitated not for a moment.

He had been reborn over ten times, spending most of that time at the top of the Pagoda of Buddhism, where the strange techniques of the Three Thousand Buddhas gradually eroded the essence of his innate vitality. Apart from that, he had only been away from the pagoda for three lifetimes. In his first life, at the dawn of creation, it was the happiest time for the Seven Divine Apes. But when the war to eliminate them began, peace was lost forever, and from then on, the Yin-Yang Divine Ape was under Buddha’s control. In his previous life, as Jin Chanzi, he was also under Buddha’s control, yet Jin Chanzi did not know his true identity, and this life was relatively peaceful. In his third life, he was reborn as Xuanzang of the Eastern Land. From a young age, he entered a temple and devoted himself to Buddhism, unaware that he had already fallen into Buddha’s scheme. Fortunately, in this life, the Wise Divine Ape revealed the truth, allowing him to finally understand his true self.

The ultimate goal he had vowed to pursue turned out to be a trap set by his enemies from past lives. When he finally awakened and learned his true identity, and spent a few days enjoying himself in the mountains with his brothers, the Nine-Ring Staff transformed into the Bonding Staff of Fate, imprisoning and binding the Yin-Yang Divine Ape as he continued westward. His happy times collapsed in an instant! Could there be anything more tragic in the world?

With the Bonding Staff of Fate inside his body, Tang Seng knew that the Seven Divine Apes were now connected—sharing joys and sorrows. The more pain he suffered, the more pain the other apes felt. Even Pangu and Kunpeng were affected, which was far from what he desired.

Wukong resolved to save him from this plight, but for Tang Seng, his existence in this life was no longer necessary. To exist was to be a burden. As the Yin-Yang Divine Ape, he had countless ways to end his own life. Everyone fears death, but true heroes dare to weigh life and death and make a choice.

Wukong gently held Tang Seng’s body in his arms, filled with towering rage. It was all Buddha’s doing! Yet at that moment, Wukong only wanted to spend one more moment with Tang Seng—every extra moment was a source of comfort. No matter what form the Yin-Yang Divine Ape took in future lives, in Wukong’s heart, perhaps only this moment of Yin and Yang was eternal.

Tongfeng stood silently beside them, overwhelmed by indescribable sorrow. He always felt guilty about the hardships faced by the Divine Apes. The Yin-Yang Divine Ape had spent only a few days with him in this life, yet there was no distance between them. Their sudden departure was like a devastating disaster for him.

Ksitigarbha and Diting also understood the cause and effect of past and future events, recognizing that fate was often full of twists and turns. Though they were not good at speaking, their hatred toward the Spirit Mountain grew even stronger. Dayu and Houyi saw Wukong utterly obsessed and didn’t know how to comfort him, so they simply waited quietly nearby. At some point, Wu Zhiqi, Wang Yu, and the clever divine ape also arrived and stood quietly beside Wukong, with the qilin closely following behind them, clearly worried.

Just then, a dark shadow rushed from the west like lightning—it was the Golden-Winged Roc. Seeing Wukong holding Tang Seng’s body, it was initially stunned, then quickly said, “The Buddhas of the Spirit Mountain are rushing east at lightning speed; their momentum is fierce. I don’t know why.”

A flame of anger flashed in Wukong’s eyes. With the roc standing in front of him, Wukong instinctively stepped back in awe. Wukong realized that the Buddhas of the Spirit Mountain likely came to seize Tang Seng’s body, or perhaps Buddha Tathagata had another plan—using Tang Seng’s body to bring forth the essence of Pangu’s creation.

A sinister smile appeared on Wukong’s lips as he nodded and said, “Just in time!”

He turned his head westward and saw auspicious clouds rolling in. His vision had greatly improved; even from thousands of miles away, he could clearly see the faces of the Buddhas in the west.

Though he could see them clearly, Wukong didn’t recognize many of them. Among them were the venerables Ananda and Kasyapa, along with the Eight Vajras. There were at least seventy or eighty other Buddhas and Vajras, and behind them were countless Yakshas, radiating murderous intent from afar.

King Ksitigarbha recognized them all and called out their names one by one: “The Medicine Buddha, the six Buddhas before the Medicine Buddha, the Buddha of Guiding to Truth, the Buddha of Beautiful Sound, the Buddha of the Precious Banner, the Buddha of the World-Lighting Lamp… Is this… Vairocana?”

After hearing him list them all, Wukong noticed that the Venerable Maitreya was not among them. His murderous intent surged instantly. He handed Tang Seng’s body to Feng Tong and said, “You don’t need to intervene!”

When the Buddhas from the West arrived, Venerable Ananda acted as if he didn’t see the others present and only said to Wukong, “The Buddha has ordered that Master Xuanzang is the reincarnation of Jinchanzi. Although his pursuit of Buddhism failed halfway, his heart is praiseworthy. He has ordered us to take Tang Seng’s sacred body to the ten directions of the Spirit Mountain for all to worship!”

Wukong could no longer hold back his anger. He used a movement technique to get close to Ananda and, channeling his magic, shouted, “Get lost!” That roar was like thunder, shaking Ananda violently and also startling the Bull Demon King, the Nine Sacred Spirits, and the Three Gods of Fire, Wood, and Metal in the Lion Camel Cave.

The Bull Demon King saw that in just a short time, the army of the Spirit Mountain had gathered throughout the mountain. Unable to suppress his fighting spirit, the Nine Sacred Spirits and Zhu Rong also prepared themselves, knowing full well that today would surely be a fierce battle.

Anuo was startled by Wukong but still forced himself to say, “If you try to stop me, be careful—my Buddhist powers are boundless!” No sooner had he spoken than his body suddenly became light, and a giant hand appeared at his throat—it was Sun Wukong who had lifted him up!
Wukong used a simple spell to capture Anuo, staring at him coldly before snapping through his teeth, “Your Buddhist powers may be boundless, but mine are merciless!” He grabbed Anuo with his right hand as if holding a chick and held his bald head with his left, twisting it lightly—thus, the once-proud Western Heaven noble was split in two, dying on the spot.
The change was utterly sudden; in just a few words, Anuo disappeared from the world. The people on Qitian Ridge were filled with rage, while the Buddhas on Ling Mountain closed their eyes and chanted “Amitabha” upon seeing Anuo’s tragic fate.
Wukong discarded Anuo’s body, wiped the blood from his hands on his clothes, conjured the Ruyi Tianji Stick, and pointed at the Buddhas on Ling Mountain, asking, “Buddhas, do you know about life and death?”
The Buddha King of the Treasure Banner was the most violent of them all. Seeing Anuo die unjustly, he raised his treasure banner and swung it at Wukong without hesitation. Wukong grew to five or six zhang tall and swung his Ruyi Tianji Stick to meet it.
The ten-zhang-long treasure banner, made entirely of cast iron, was much heavier than the Ruyi Tianji Stick. When the two collided, there was a deafening noise, and Wukong managed to break the banner with a single strike.
It turned out that during the last battle on Ling Mountain, the Buddha King of the Treasure Banner had used his banner to attack the qilin, only for the qilin to punch it, creating a crack. Though seemingly minor, this crack could withstand immense force. With the weight of 54,000 jin and Wukong’s fierce anger, the Ruyi Tianji Stick shattered this renowned weapon into two!
While the Buddha King of the Treasure Banner was in shock, Wukong began using his Qitian Stick techniques. In just three moves, he forced the Buddha King to have no escape. That single strike would likely leave him seriously injured, if not dead.
At that moment, a Vajra Mace flew through the air toward Wukong, but the qilin stepped forward and blocked it with one hand, shouting, “Fight alone! Don’t interfere!”
With the qilin handling the threat, Wukong had no worries and attacked again. The Buddha King of the Treasure Banner was furious—if he failed to capture this monkey on his pilgrimage, it would be a great disgrace to the Buddha. He took out the Ruyi Pearl, recited a few spells, and shouted, “Disbelieving the Three Saints, taking evil as truth—transform through will!”
A red light shone on Wukong, blocking his attacks. This was the Buddha King of the Treasure Banner’s ultimate spell, the “Blood Curse.” Wukong sneered, “It’s all illusions obscuring vision. How dare you try to transform me?” With a flash, he emerged from the red light and delivered another strike.

The Buddha King of the Precious Banner was shocked beyond measure. That day, he had used this blood curse to capture the qilin, only to find that the monkey remained unharmed at all—the blood curse had no effect on him! How could he know that although Wukong’s cultivation was not as high as that of the qilin, his spiritual resolve surpassed that of anyone else in the world? After all, Wukong had come from another era and gone through countless trials. The principle of “never losing one’s true heart” surpassed all Buddhist and Taoist scriptures and aligned with the innate nature of creation—how could such a principle be shaken by a blood curse?

Wukong swung his staff downward, and the Buddha King of the Precious Banner quickly dodged using his agility. This swing was not part of the Qi Tian Staff technique but rather the Divine Golden Power he had learned from Rù Shōu. All weapons in the world are interconnected, and even a staff could be used to execute the axe technique known as “Slicing Mount Hua.” To the onlookers, it seemed the Buddha King had managed to avoid the strike, yet blood mist splashed in midair. When they looked again, half of his body was covered in blood and flesh, his left arm was severed at the elbow, and the broken arm had been torn to shreds by the immense force.

Frightened, the Buddha King fled in haste. Once Wukong resolved to kill, he sought to eradicate evil completely. Any sense of compassion, morality, or concern for creation was cast aside after the death of the Yin-Yang Divine Ape. Now, facing the Buddhas on Spirit Mountain, he wanted to kill them all to strip away even the Buddha’s support.

Wukong intended to pursue them further, but was stopped by a ten-zhang-tall Buddha—none other than the Medicine Buddha. Surrounded by six other Buddhas, accompanied by the Sun and Moon Bodhisattvas, and followed by twelve Medicine Arhat generals, the Buddha King knew the Medicine Buddha’s power and said to Wukong, “Do not attack this person.”

Seeing the Medicine Buddha’s extraordinary might, Wukong stood tall, over ten zhang high, and asked, “Which evil Buddha are you?”

The Medicine Buddha held a supreme position on Spirit Mountain; even the World-Honoring Buddha often resided beneath him. To be questioned like this by Wukong was both infuriating and amusing. Yet he still replied, “I am the Blue Glazed Light Medicine King Buddha of the Western Heaven. You have committed countless acts of killing; I must capture you and take you back.”

The Medicine Buddha! Wukong recognized this name. In the final enumeration of the Buddhas in the Western Heaven in *Journey to the West*, the Venerable Medicine Glazed Light King Buddha ranked just after the Ancient Lamp Buddha but before the World-Honoring Buddha. For Tang Seng’s physical body, even such a great Buddha had been mobilized!

Wukong sneered, “I kill whenever I want. What does it matter to you? Was that bald fool your father or your son?”

The Medicine Buddha replied calmly, “I am compassionate and pity all sentient beings—”

“Nonsense!” Wukong cursed loudly. “How many people died of famine in the Western Ox and Joy Continent back then? How many innocent mortals were thrown into the Buddhist hell and deprived of their fate! You all sit high above, yet you’ve never cared about the sentient beings!”

The Medicine Buddha was taken aback and replied, “Buddhist hell? What is that?”
Upon hearing this, Wukong saw that all the Buddhas on Spirit Mountain also appeared confused, and then he realized that none of them knew about the existence of Buddhist hell.