Volume 4: The Revelation Revealed Chapter 441: Secret Sabotage

After hearing what Xiang Liu and Kongque said, although he didn’t learn much, Wukong wasn’t overly disappointed. How could Buddha reveal his true thoughts to others? In this world, Buddha was probably the loneliest one.
Xuan Nu said, “The scripture mentioned by Kongque is the key for Buddha to control the three thousand Buddhas and countless Bodhisattvas.” Wukong nodded. As Kongque had said, who could resist the power of dreams? Buddha gave people a dream—a truly beautiful one—encouraging them to pursue it according to their own desires. That was his most insidious tactic.
Xuan Nu said, “It’s too late to say anything now. Buddha’s plans predate even this gathering. Who can stop him? I must take the Three Pure Ones back to the Jade Pure Palace. I’ll also take Kongque and Xiang Liu with me. They probably won’t be able to reappear for a hundred years.”
“Oh! So long?”
Xuan Nu replied, “The Three Pure Ones are severely injured and need proper treatment. Do you really think Laojun’s golden elixir is a miracle cure?”
Wukong asked, “Can Kongque recover to his original state?”
Xuan Nu shook her head. “I still don’t understand the mechanism of that scripture. I’ll do my best.”
Xuan Nu picked up the Three Pure Ones, along with Kongque and Xiang Liu, and leaped out of the cave. After traveling a short distance, she turned back and said, “For a hundred years, Buddha won’t take action. He must consolidate the cosmic forces to help his third body form sooner. If you can protect the people of the four great continents, that’s ideal. If not, use every means to strengthen your power. Remember this!”
Wukong nodded firmly. His thoughts were similar to Xuan Nu’s. The current situation meant they had to destroy the Buddhist hell realm before Buddha’s third body was completed.
After Xuan Nu left Qitian Ridge, Wukong circled the ridge, telling everyone to guard it carefully and focus on cultivation, ignoring other matters. He soared into the sky alone but wandered aimlessly. Jizang returned to Qitian Ridge with the others—where had he gone?
Wukong thought for a moment. Since the Three Pure Ones were not in the sky, Jizang surely wouldn’t go to the Jade Pure Palace on his own. Could it be… Jizang missed the old days and returned to the netherworld?
Wukong rushed to the netherworld. The distance was covered in an instant. Above the Abyss of Nine Netherworlds, many heavenly soldiers and generals were shuttling back and forth, along with ghostly messengers, all driven by the soldiers toward the netherworld.
Huh? Why is it so bustling here? Could it be that the netherworld is being rebuilt? Wukong concealed himself and entered the netherworld. After searching around, he didn’t see Jizang but encountered an acquaintance—the Southern Pole Immortal.

How did this old fellow end up in the netherworld? He saw many immortal generals addressing the Southern Pole Immortal as “Lord of the Hall,” and Wukong immediately understood that the Jade Emperor indeed wanted to rebuild the nether hell, and the Southern Pole Immortal had taken on this task. Recalling how the Southern Pole Immortal used the Creation Furnace to transform corpses, Wukong thought to himself that if he wanted to become the lord of this nether hall, he might not necessarily have the intention of serving the heavenly court; it would be strange if he didn’t seek some benefit for himself.

Seeing that the netherworld was still in ruins and not knowing how many years it would take to restore it to its original state, Wukong had no intention of staying there and decided to return in a few years to check again.

After leaving the netherworld, Wukong headed straight to the Thirty-Six Heavens. A great battle had taken place in the Buddhist hell, and although the world seemed normal on the surface, profound changes were hidden beneath. As for what had happened in the heavenly court during this time, he had overlooked much because he had been focused on the Buddhist hell. Was there still an authentic Creation Furnace there?

Upon arriving at the Purple Cloud Palace, the Turtle and Snake generals saw Wukong coming and quickly stepped aside to let him in. Inside, Zi Wei and the Holy Mother of Li Shan were both there, their faces showing obvious worry.

Seeing Wukong, Zhen Wu asked, “How are the Three Pure Ones?” Zhen Wu had known the Three Pure Ones and Ran Deng for the longest time. He was deeply saddened by Ran Deng’s death, and if anything happened to the Three Pure Ones again, he didn’t know what he would do.

Wukong replied, “Their lives are safe. Xuan Nu has taken them back to the Jade Pure Palace for treatment.”

The Holy Mother of Li Shan said, “With my master’s intervention, they should be fine.”

Wukong smiled bitterly and said, “It’s just that they won’t be able to leave their abodes for a hundred years.”

Zi Wei said, “What’s a hundred years? It’s just the blink of an eye.”

Zhen Wu said, “In the Buddhist hell, we truly feel powerless despite our good intentions. We’re extremely ashamed.”

Wukong waved his hand and said, “Why would the Great Emperor say such a thing? Everyone’s determination to resist Buddhism is as clear as the sun and the moon!”

Zhen Wu sighed and said, “This world of Nili is full of evil forces. Our cultivation levels have been greatly reduced, but the ancient deities seem unaffected.”

“Huh?” Wukong recalled the battle and found it was indeed similar to what Zhen Wu had described. Great Yu, Hou Tu, the Golden God, the Wood God, and others had remained mostly normal and contributed the most. Wukong noted this in his mind and said, “I’ll go ask later to find out what exactly differs.”

The Holy Mother of Li Shan said, “There’s no need to ask. The ancient cultivation methods are simple and straightforward, without any fancy tricks. As the saying goes, a heavy sword has no edge, so it’s less affected by other magical forces. Later generations of immortals focused more on spells and supernatural powers, losing the simplicity and solidity of their origins. If their minds become chaotic, how can their cultivation not decline?”

Wukong asked, “Even the Ancestral Dragon and the Qilin, who are kings among the five categories, are affected by this?”

Zhenwu smiled bitterly and said, “I’m ashamed. What we’ve learned both of us is rather scattered. On that white jade bead I gave you, countless supernatural techniques are recorded. It seems I really tried to learn too much at once.”
Wukong nodded. It seemed he truly took this as a lesson—that learning too much wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Ziwei asked, “Wukong surely didn’t come here for no reason.”
Wukong replied, “I couldn’t find King Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, so I visited the Netherworld. There, I saw the Southern Pole Immortal giving orders—probably planning to rebuild the Netherworld.”
Ziwei said, “Exactly! The Netherworld was destroyed, and the Heavenly Court lost a lot of its opportunities for cultivation. He’s gathering immortal herbs and elixirs while rebuilding the Netherworld.”
Hearing this, Wukong suddenly had a bold idea and said, “Shouldn’t the two of you take advantage of this situation?”
The Holy Mother of Lishan saw a sly look in Wukong’s eyes and laughed, “Are you trying to divert trouble elsewhere?”
Wukong was stunned. He hadn’t thought that far. The Jade Emperor and Empress were puppets set up by Buddha in this world. Could they really defy Buddha?
Wukong said, “I just want to disrupt the Jade Emperor’s plans. The Heavenly Court’s cultivation methods are probably similar to those of the Buddhist Hell’s cultivation furnace—both are harmful to the world. Why not take advantage of this reconstruction to block their source of cultivation?”
Zhenwu pondered and said, “This could work! I also want to see what the Jade Emperor and Empress have been up to all these years!”
Ziwei shook his head and said, “If you want to do it, I won’t stop you, but I always feel something’s off.”
The Holy Mother of Lishan said, “It’s worth a try. The Heavenly Court acts like it’s staying out of it—dragging them down will do as well.”
Wukong laughed, “The people in Qitianling won’t have a moment’s peace then.”
Zhenwu said, “The Heavenly Court isn’t as terrifying as the Buddhist Hell. You don’t need to involve the people from Qitianling.”
“Oh? What do you mean?”
Zhenwu said, “You’re a disciple of Ran Deng. It’s impossible to hide this anymore. You should take control of Ling Mountain in the name of a Ran Deng disciple and have Maitreya secretly cause trouble for the Heavenly Court. This way, even if the Heavenly Court holds grudges, they won’t be able to retaliate against Qitianling.”
Wukong thought for a moment and said, “What’s the difference?”
Zhenwu replied, “Ling Mountain is outside, while the three of us will coordinate from within. The Jade Emperor surely won’t suspect us of colluding with Maitreya. But the condition is that you must stay hidden. Understand?”
Wukong then understood that Zhenwu wanted to help secretly. But since the Jade Emperor knew Zhenwu had some connections with Qilin and Wukong, if Maitreya handled this, there would be no such concerns.
The Holy Mother of Lishan said, “Besides Ling Mountain in the West, there’s another person we can use.”
“Oh? Who is it?”
“Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva.”

“Ah!” Wukong never expected the Holy Mother of Lishan to mention Guanyin. He said, “Guanyin Bodhisattva once said she resides in the South Sea and will not re-enter the world. I’m afraid I won’t be able to persuade her.”
The Holy Mother of Lishan replied, “You surely can.”
“Why should she get involved? What’s in it for her? How can I persuade her?” Wukong asked.
The Holy Mother said, “First, you have a debt of gratitude to Guanyin. Second, I know her very well. She’s never been one to stay put; I’m afraid she’s also looking for an opportunity to enter the world.”
Wukong was skeptical. “Since the Holy Mother highly recommends it, why not give it a try?”
Zhenwu said, “The Jade Emperor wants to send people to the Ten Continents and Three Islands to gather spiritual herbs and immortal plants. You can start from here. With your cultivation, even if you change your appearance, few people will be able to recognize you.”
Wukong rejoiced, “I love this kind of task! There are many treasures in the Ten Continents and Three Islands, but…” He pretended to be worried.
Zhenwu asked, “What’s your concern?”
Wukong replied, “The immortal plants wither easily, and I don’t have a suitable magical container to hold them…”
Zhenwu laughed heartily. “Just say it outright. You monkeys are really not straightforward.” Zhenwu went into the inner room and brought out a square small cauldron. “Even a hundred thousand-zhang-long jade pieces won’t cause any problem if put in here.”
Wukong took it and asked, “Is that all?”
The Holy Mother of Lishan smiled and said, “I also have a sachet here. You can use it to store some of the immortal plants.”
Wukong took both and said, “I’m off then.”
Leaving the Purple Cloud Palace, he didn’t rush to the Western Heaven but flew straight to the South Sea. It had been many days since he had taken this route. Was Guanyin Bodhisattva now devoted to her cultivation or eager to act?
Upon arriving at Mount Putuo Luojia in the South Sea, the twenty-four heavenly beings were no longer there. Guanyin was no longer part of Buddhism; for her, all titles meant nothing. It was unclear whether that was truly what she desired.
From a high vantage point, Wukong saw Hui’an the Monk still standing behind the lotus throne, and the Dragon Maiden, motionless like a statue, holding a willow branch while allowing the goldfish in the lotus pond to play with it. The old turtle Wu Ping carried a pure water bottle, breathing in and out seawater by the shore, but there was no sign of Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Wukong landed in front of Wu Ping and said, “Long time no see, old brother.”
Wu Ping was embarrassed upon seeing Wukong and didn’t know what to say. Years ago, he had been sent by Guanyin to the Western Heaven to fetch Buddhist scriptures. How could he not desire to achieve enlightenment and a golden body? Along the way, he had diligently protected Tang Sanzang and made many contributions. But the quest to the Western Heaven turned into a farce. He didn’t know whether to blame this monkey. Alas, how could this clumsy old turtle see through the clever heart of Sun Wukong?
Seeing Wu Ping remain silent, Wukong asked, “Where has the Bodhisattva gone?”

At that moment, a cool voice sounded: “There are no bodhisattvas here; only the Great Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.” Wukong looked up and saw the Dragon Maiden approaching gracefully. Seeing the starlight in Wukong’s eyes, she froze in place, her mind filled with countless thoughts.