Volume 4: The End of Heavenly Secrets Chapter 506: The Heavens Above

The 800-li-long Tongtian River remained as before, its vast expanse bathed in moonlight, its reflections stretching across the sky.

Wukong remembered the location of the formation clearly—through this formation, one could reach the heavens. Last time, by chance, Wukong had passed through this formation using his Tianji Stick and found himself inexplicably in the sky. To verify its existence, he tried it again. He remembered vividly that the height he reached both times was exactly the same, and that height was the limit at which he could stand firm against the fierce winds.

The formation in the Tongtian River could transport people to the sky, but the height reached depended on one’s cultivation level. It seemed to serve as a form of protection for those who entered it. If Wukong, at his level as a Taiyi Golden Immortal, had been transported to the top of the sky, he would likely have been torn to pieces by the intense winds in an instant.

Now, both he and Yin-Yang had reached the realm of Yin-Yang. According to Yin-Yang, this realm allowed one to leave the heavens. If this formation indeed determined the height based on cultivation level, could they leave the heavens directly?

Wukong, unable to contain his excitement, said to Yin-Yang, “This formation is extraordinary. It requires my Tianji Stick as a guide to enter. You’d better use some transformation magic to take me out.”

Yin-Yang shrank in size and entered Wukong’s arms.

Wukong took a deep breath to calm himself, then used his water control magic to leap into the Tongtian River and swim upstream. He held his Tianji Stick tightly, pointing forward.

He remembered that location clearly—the Tongtian River was located at the core of Pangu’s dantian. Right here was the center of the earth, and the sky above was like a dome, tightly enclosing the land. The very center of this place was the heart of the sky. In other words, going upward from here would lead to the top of the sky.

The formation was right in the middle of the Tongtian River. At that moment, the Tianji Stick disappeared into it, acting like a rope that pulled Wukong into a space he had never been to before.

The process took some time. Wukong’s mind became clear, though filled with countless thoughts he didn’t know where to start. It felt as though everything that happened in the world was just a distant memory, and he seemed to be waking up from a long dream.

Even more strangely, during this process, Wukong couldn’t sense his own existence. It seemed as though there was only consciousness in this space—an endless consciousness, with everything being illusory, except for his own thoughts.

Finally, when he stopped moving, Wukong opened his eyes in a daze. Where was he? Below him was an endless expanse of white. He called out to Yin-Yang, and together they stood there. What they stood on was exactly the same as the cold white sky made of the material used for those towering pillars—perhaps that was the sky itself.

Heavens, am I finally stepped on? Have I finally left that cosmic furnace? Here, aside from the cold white ground beneath my feet, there is nothing else around. The biggest difference between here and that world is—here, there is no creative force! Instead, it’s all anti-creative force! Wukong suddenly understood why Buddha had to transform into the Great Sun Buddha—only a true body formed from anti-creative force could stand outside the heavens. As for himself and Yin-Yang, after reaching the realm of Yin-Yang, that black leaf above the Hunyuan Dao Fruit was also formed from anti-creative force. He hadn’t known how to use it before, but after being inspired by Yin-Yang, he realized that anti-creative force could be used independently in supernatural powers, with its strength multiplied many times over! Wukong asked Yin-Yang, “Is this the place Kunpeng mentioned?” Yin-Yang replied, “It’s probably so.” Although Kunpeng told them to leave the heavens, he himself had never left either, so how could he know what lay beyond? Seeing that Yin-Yang wasn’t sure, Wukong nodded and said, “We can no longer rely on others.” Inside the cosmic furnace, he was the wise divine ape, the leader of the creative apes, and had received help from many within that realm—Rendeng, the Three Pure Ones, Zhenwu, and even Pangu, all trying to assist him. But once outside the furnace, he was cut off from everything inside, and no one could come out to help them. Wukong took Yin-Yang with him and flew around, searching the empty space. They used their supernatural powers, but there were many differences from inside the furnace. Originally, they had endless creative force, but here, they could only rely on anti-creative force to cast spells, greatly reducing their strength. What made Wukong even more uncomfortable was that the secrets of the Mysterious Void Technique also seemed to have lost their effect; now, they could only see for dozens of miles. Yin-Yang wasn’t much better either. From being the two most powerful apes inside the furnace, they were now only on par with ordinary gods, which was hard to accept. Wukong laughed and said, “Flying like this, who knows when we’ll reach the end of this world?” Yin-Yang replied, “As long as there’s an end, we’ll definitely reach it.” Wukong shook his head and said, “Not necessarily. Once our powers run out, do we have to walk step by step?” Yin-Yang pursed his lips and remained silent, continuing to fly forward. Wukong joked, “Don’t worry, I still have two Peach Fruits here.” But then he thought that even the Peach Fruits were just rich in creative force and might not be very useful.

There were no flowers, plants, trees, nor ordinary people or beasts here, not even any immortals or demons. Apart from an endless expanse of white land, nothing else could be seen, which inevitably filled one with despair. Flying along this path toward the empty horizon was like a speck of dust falling into an endless ocean, tossed about by the waves—uncertain what lay ahead, yet longing only for the end of this ordeal, for no suffering could compare to the terror of the unknown. Day after day, two days, three days… There was no distinction between day and night here, so Wukong could only estimate the passage of time. Every four or five days, the two needed to rest and restore their powers. After more than a dozen such rests—amounting to fifty or sixty days of flight—they finally looked up one day, and Wukong suddenly let out a loud cry. Yin and Yang also looked up and were stunned. They had finally seen something, like finding a landmark in an endless desert. Yet Wukong and Yin and Yang felt no joy at all; instead, it seemed as though this landmark was the very one they had left behind at the start. What they saw was actually the Pillar of Heaven! The two exchanged a glance and landed together. The nine branches of the Pillar of Heaven stood tall just a few dozen miles away. Seeing it, Wukong realized they were still inside the furnace. Beneath the cold white sky they stood on was the Cosmic Furnace; they were still within it, only separated into two worlds by this sky. Below was the world filled with creation, while above was an empty void filled only with forces of anti-creation. Wukong murmured, “I never expected we’re still inside the furnace.” Yin and Yang said, “Out of the sky, out of the sky—who knew there could be another sky beyond?” Wukong replied, “It’s obvious. For those outside the sky, it’s easy to trap all beings inside the furnace.” Yin and Yang said, “That’s natural. Those wind-controlling monsters are enough to withstand any force in the world.” Wukong said, “But he installed this white sky to divide the furnace into two—there must be a reason for that.” Yin and Yang asked, “Since you say so, you must have noticed something.” Wukong nodded and said, “Do you still remember the Calamity of the Primordial Essence?” Yin and Yang replied, “How could I forget?” Wukong continued, “I have a guess that I’ve never mentioned before. Seeing that this place is filled with forces of anti-creation, it seems to give some support to that guess.” “You mean the forces of anti-creation are related to the Calamity of the Primordial Essence?”

“Exactly!” Wukong nodded. “In this cosmic furnace, there are two kinds of creation forces—one positive and one negative. Whenever the calamity of Huiyuan arrives, the negative creation force pours down from the heavens and fills this cosmic furnace. When the positive and negative forces mix together, it signifies the arrival of a great disaster for the universe. These two forces are extremely powerful, capable of destroying everything in the universe, leaving nothing but chaos—neither positive nor negative, neither yin nor yang.”

Yin Yang thought for a long time before saying, “Are you saying that it is only when this celestial canopy beneath our feet is removed that the negative creation force can flood in?”

Wukong replied, “It’s not necessarily that way. This canopy is so vast; moving it would take a great deal of effort.”

Yin Yang said, “If he can create such a huge furnace, surely he can also move this canopy.”

Wukong smiled and said, “I’m not saying he can’t move it. Do you know that the negative creation force already exists in the universe? It was brought in by Buddha using the Array of the Pillar Holding Up the Sky.”

Yin Yang finally understood and said, “I see. You mean that person can control the negative creation force and send it into the furnace through the array?”

Wukong nodded. “Exactly. If even Buddha can do it, isn’t it easy for that person?”

Yin Yang thought again and said, “Surely Buddha knows that allowing the negative creation force to mix into the universe is extremely dangerous?”

Wukong replied, “Buddha doesn’t care about the calamity of Huiyuan. First, he can escape from it. Second, he needs to use the negative creation force to form his body as the Great Sun Buddha in order to escape this universe. Heh heh, Buddha is taking a huge risk this time. If the calamity of Huiyuan arrives before he finishes forming the Great Sun Buddha, everything will return to chaos, and all his previous efforts will be in vain.”

Yin Yang said, “Buddha’s actions are somewhat puzzling. His ultimate goal is to become the Great Sun Buddha, so why does he go to such lengths to scheme against the Divine Ape and plan to obtain the essence of Pangu’s creation?”

Wukong replied, “Scheming against the Divine Ape and Pangu is all part of suppressing the forces of creation. I think there must be an inherent connection between the positive and negative creation forces—it’s not just simple suppression. Otherwise, why would Buddha waste effort on those things?”

Yin Yang pointed downward and said, “Well, if what you say is true, although we haven’t left heaven, we can rest easy here. The calamity of Huiyuan might not reach this place after all.”

Wukong said, “It’s very likely so. Just think—if the calamity of Huiyuan destroyed even this place, wouldn’t all those thousands of fierce monsters in the Gale Layer be gone? I don’t know what’s outside heaven, but gathering so many rare monsters must not be easy.”