Volume 4: The End of Cosmic Secrets Chapter 508: Seeking to Reverse Fate

The voice was calm. Though it uttered an “eh,” there was little sign of surprise. Yet to Wukong and Yin-Yang, it sounded like thunder. Was there really someone here?

For forty years, no one had appeared. To show up now—was it intentional, or was there another reason? Was this person the one from beyond the heavens? The one who imprisoned Tathagata in the furnace? Were those monsters also under his control?

“Eh? It’s you two?” Though these words consisted of only seven characters, they revealed at least two things.

First, this person must recognize Lingming and Yin-Yang. Although they had gone through several calamities, their appearances likely hadn’t changed. But given this person’s abilities, he probably wouldn’t identify them by appearance. Alas, it seemed everything inside the furnace was under his control.

Second, this person was somewhat surprised. Apparently, in his estimation, it shouldn’t be Wukong and Yin-Yang who could reach here. From his tone, it seemed he was waiting for someone else—someone other than Wukong and Yin-Yang, which was why he asked that question.

With a response finally coming, how could Wukong miss this chance? He shouted loudly toward the sky, “Who are you? Did you create this furnace? If you created chaos, why try to destroy all things in the world?”

There was no reply for a long time.

Suddenly, Wukong and Yin-Yang were swept up by a hurricane and carried straight toward the sky. At the edge of the sky was the Pillar Supporting the Heavens. Wukong thought to himself, Could they be meant to be smashed to death against that pillar?

No. The hurricane carried the two monkeys around the Pillar Supporting the Heavens and blew straight into the void beyond the heavens. Wukong and Yin-Yang had no chance to resist and crashed into a massive array at the edge of the sky. Then, they disappeared from that space, which contained nothing but the power of reversing fate.

Disappearing from here, they reappeared elsewhere. Wukong and Yin-Yang felt icy all over. Fortunately, they remained conscious. They leaped out of the water. Wukong let out a long sigh and said, “The River of Heaven!”

Indeed, it was still the River of Heaven. That person had thrown them back!

They weren’t sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed. Their attempt to reach the heavens had been somewhat disappointing, but it wasn’t entirely fruitless. At least they now knew there was a world beyond the heavens, and that this furnace was divided into at least two parts—one positive, one negative. Having absorbed the power of reversing fate for forty years, it should be harmless.

But if that person wasn’t waiting for Wukong and Yin-Yang, then who was he waiting for? Did they still have a chance to leave the heavens? And if so, would they be thrown back again?

These thoughts flashed through Wukong’s mind as he leaped from the water into the air. Suddenly, he felt a profound anomaly in his dantian, and his expression changed instantly as he hurriedly began to practice his cultivation techniques. It turned out that he had absorbed the force of anti-creation there for forty years, and by now, the size of those black leaves had far surpassed that of the white ones. Since there was no “creation” in that area, though unbalanced, there was nothing he could do about it. Now that he entered this realm, the white leaves, encountering “creation,” began to absorb it frantically.

The Hunyuan Dao Fruit, which had been spinning nonstop for a long time, spun even faster than ever before. Its once clearly colored surfaces became indistinguishable, and most strangely, it grew smaller and smaller as all the “creation” within it rushed into the white leaves.

Wukong reacted swiftly, also grasping the underlying reason. As the principles of yin and yang dictate, creation and anti-creation are one yin and one yang. As the saying goes, yang energy originates from yin, and yin energy originates from yang. Without yin, yang cannot be born; without yang, yin cannot transform. Yin and yang are indispensable and cannot exist independently. Within the human body, a delicate balance between yin and yang is essential for proper cultivation.

Inside Wukong’s body, there was an excess of anti-creation force, so he needed to absorb creation to maintain balance. His first reaction was to take out the jade box from his arms and swallow the twopeaches peaches whole.

Yin and Yang also guessed what was happening. They waved their hands, creating a barrier around Wukong to protect him thoroughly, then rushed off at top speed toward the Jade Pure Palace of the Primordial Lord.

Since the Sky-Piercing Jade Pillar formation went out of control, the Primordial Lord had remained sequestered inside. Now, it was Xuan Nu who was in charge of the Jade Pure Palace’s main hall. Xuan Nu was the senior sister of the Three Pure Ones; in terms of cultivation level and dominance, she far surpassed them, and naturally, none of the Primordial Lord’s disciples dared to disobey her.

At that moment, Xuan Nu was explaining things to her disciples when suddenly Yin and Yang rushed in at lightning speed. One of the disciples who didn’t recognize them tried to shout at them, but Xuan Nu waved her hand, sending a gust of wind to block his mouth.

It had been forty years since they last saw Yin and Yang or Wukong. Their arrival must mean something serious! Without changing her expression, Xuan Nu quickly asked, “What’s wrong?” Yin and Yang replied, “Wukong urgently needs creation!”

Without hesitation, Xuan Nu took Yin and Yang and left the Jade Pure Palace. At the palace gates, she said, “You go to Qi Tian Ling and the Western Heaven for help. Leave the rest to me.”

Yin and Yang replied without turning around, “Wukong is by the Tong Tian River!” Before their words faded, they had already disappeared.

Seeing that Yin and Yang’s speed was even greater than before, Xuan Nu, filled with shock, headed toward the Flower-Fruit Mountain.

The Heavenly Court had perished, and the place with the most natural energy in the world was the Peach Garden under Laojun’s control. Although the mother peach tree bore fruit only once every ten thousand years, there were many smaller peach trees, which could provide some relief for the time being. Upon arriving at the Peach Garden, Xuan Nu rushed in directly. Seeing her arrive in such a hurry, Laojun was shocked and exclaimed, “Sister, what are you doing?” Xuan Nu replied, “Give me all the spiritual objects with natural energy!” Laojun’s expression changed, and he angrily said, “You said this garden belongs to me—why come to snatch it again?” Xuan Nu paused briefly before explaining, “It’s not that I want it; it’s Wu Kong who urgently needs this natural energy for his cultivation.” “Oh? How much do you need?” Laojun’s expression softened slightly. Though he was reluctant, he knew how crucial the divine ape was. If he said no, Xuan Nu might indeed force her way to take it. Xuan Nu said, “Why ask how much? Pick all the ripe peaches and then go to the Tongtian River to find him.” With that, she rushed off toward the Zixiao Palace. Zhenwu, Ziwei, and the Holy Mother of Lishan also had some stored resources, but naturally, they couldn’t keep them and handed them all over to Xuan Nu. After thinking for a while, she sent them to the northeast part of the world. In the blink of an eye, Yin and Yang reached Qitian Ridge. By then, the fate of the world had been settled. The Rain God Temple and the Temple of the Earth Goddess had become spiritual pillars for ordinary people, and all the immortals and demons were well-organized. There was no need for Dayu and the Earth Goddess to worry about trivial matters, so they returned to Qitian Ridge to live there. The Qilin moved the Lingxiao Palace to Qitian Ridge and renamed it Qitian Hall. It wasn’t occupied for long before it was left empty. When Dayu and the others returned, they naturally didn’t live in caves anymore. They found several other places in the Lingxiao Palace to stay in. At this point, Qitian Ridge had truly become the center of the world. Yin and Yang went straight to Dayu and explained Wu Kong’s situation. Dayu was overjoyed and said, “Wu Kong is back!” He immediately summoned the Three Gods of Metal, Wood, and Fire, as well as Hou Yi. When they heard about the need for spiritual objects, they all looked ashamed. The ancient figures focused mainly on warfare and never accumulated such things. Their daily cultivation was done diligently and earnestly, without relying on any elixirs. Only the Earth Goddess brought out some immortal pills and spiritual herbs, saying, “If I had known about this earlier, I would have accumulated more.” Just then, the Qilin rushed in in a hurry, muttering as he walked, “Many treasures from the Heavenly Court are with me. I usually don’t need them, but I almost forgot.” The Qilin took out a jade bottle and handed it to Yin and Yang, saying, “You must return the bottle to me.” Yin and Yang replied, “Of course.”

Yin Yang took out these treasures and handed them all to Hou Tu, saying, “You go to the Tongtian River first to assist Wukong; I still have matters to attend to.” Without waiting for Hou Tu and the others to leave, Yin Yang rushed to the Tongtian River first. Being careful, he first removed the restrictions around Wukong. If those restrictions weren’t lifted, no one else could find Wukong and thus couldn’t help him.

Only after seeing Hou Tu and the others approaching from the east did Yin Yang leave in peace, heading straight for the Ling Mountain in the West.

The temples and pavilions on the Ling Mountain remained unchanged. Since Yin Yang wasn’t familiar with Maitreya, he went straight to look for Guanyin. Guanyin was pleased to see Yin Yang, but upon hearing that Wukong urgently needed spiritual energy, she was puzzled and asked, “The Divine Ape in need of spiritual energy? Even he lacks it?”

Yin Yang replied, “Not just lacks it—it’s in dire need!” Others might not realize it, but Yin Yang’s heart was as clear as a mirror. At Wukong’s current level of cultivation, the amount of spiritual energy required to advance was terrifying. Even if all the immortal herbs and elixirs in the world were gathered, it might still not be enough.

Guanyin said, “I’ll go with you.”

Yin Yang replied, “Just Guanyin the Great Bodhisattva might not be enough. Could you please go to the Eastern Buddha as well?”

Guanyin was taken aback and laughed, “Do we really need that much?”

Yin Yang nodded carefully. Guanyin was truly surprised. Having cultivated for so long and believing she had amassed countless treasures, she still thought it might not be sufficient—clearly, Wukong had encountered a serious crisis.

Maitreya had a special bond with Wukong. Though they hadn’t interacted much, Maitreya considered himself a disciple of Ruleng and viewed Wukong as a brother-in-ordination. Before Guanyin could finish speaking, Maitreya had already heard everything. With a wave of his hand, he threw the towering lotus platform at his feet toward Guanyin, laughing and saying, “The Great Bodhisattva knows I’m poor and have nothing else; this lotus platform is the only treasure I have.”

Guanyin was shocked. This lotus platform was vastly different from the nine-tiered lotus seat once occupied by the Tathagata. That seat was formed from the collective faith of beings who wished to be reborn, who voluntarily dedicated themselves to the Buddha. As soon as such a thought arose, it condensed into the Seven Treasures Pool on the Ling Mountain. Meanwhile, Maitreya’s lotus platform was naturally formed from the devoted hearts of believers who chanted scriptures and recited the Buddha’s name day and night. Over the past three hundred years, all Buddhists in the world knew of the Eastern Buddha, and the spiritual energy accumulated there was incalculable.

Guanyin never expected that Maitreya would even be willing to give this lotus platform to Wukong. Yin Yang, knowing how precious it was, couldn’t help but thank Maitreya.

Maitreya waved his hand again and said, “The colored trees and lotuses in the Seven Treasures Pool are at your disposal.”

The colored trees in the Pool of Seven Treasures grew as the monks in the Western Heaven chanted Buddhist scriptures day and night in prayer, gathering the merits of the Three Jewels of Buddhism. These colored trees have been growing for tens of thousands of years, with thousands of them accumulated over time. As for the lotus flowers, they are precious blooms nurtured by the meritorious waters of the Pool of Seven Treasures; consuming them can greatly accelerate one’s spiritual progress, making them even more precious than the colored trees. To put it plainly, both of these treasures are actually creations of nature.

Yin Yang glanced at them with great joy—having such natural creations was truly a blessing for Wukong. He couldn’t help but think of how, before ascending to heaven, he had bestowed many such creations upon the clever divine ape, wondering if it had already overcome its innate obstacles.