Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled Chapter 550: The Sumeru Array The demonic thoughts contained within the Great Sun Tathagata are of utmost importance to him; these thoughts are the root of his demonic essence from before he created his realm. He used arrays to trap the Great Sun Tathagata and confuse his mind in order to reclaim those demonic thoughts. The Tathagata was extremely confident in his mastery of arrays. The Great Sun Tathagata, at only the level of a Profound Immortal, had no chance of understanding the chaotic-level arrays he had set up. Once the demonic thoughts entered his body, the Tathagata felt a sense of fulfillment. Now, he finally possessed a complete version of his own Dao essence, and the long-lost unity of his demonic and Dao aspects reappeared in the world. Yet, facing Wukong—the divine ape that had inherited all the Dao essence of the Lord of Great Sumeru—he still dared not be careless. He knew that the Lord of Great Sumeru’s powers were closely tied to this world, and in terms of cultivation, he was likely inferior. The only things he could rely on were his mental state and his arrays! The Tathagata did not believe that Wukong could comprehend all the skills of the Lord of Great Sumeru in such a short time. From what he knew about the divine ape, it knew nothing about arrays, while the art of arrays was precisely his trump card for dominating the world! There were three reasons why the Tathagata wanted to seize Little Sumeru Mountain: First, he knew Pangu’s nature—he was honest, kept his promises, and though filled with justice, he was also extremely rigid. Back then, the Tathagata had tricked Pangu with words and then defeated him with his own powers, forcing him to swear an oath to serve as his jailer for millions of years, guarding his demonic thoughts. Second, Little Sumeru Mountain was rich in Sumeru stones, the perfect materials for creating realms. The Tathagata secretly colluded with Xiangliu, using the insect race’s unique abilities to cut the Sumeru stones for himself and create the Realm of the Vast Furnace. Third, and most importantly, Little Sumeru Mountain had thirty-six peaks and seventy-two ridges. What seemed ordinary at first glance—where he and Wukong stood—actually hid the fact that the mountains and ridges formed a network of deadly threats. Within these mountains, the Tathagata had already laid out the most powerful arrays in the world, which were his greatest strength. The Tathagata’s gamble paid off. Wukong had never shown any interest in the art of arrays. Although the Dao essence he inherited contained many array secrets, Wukong’s focus was on the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Stars, and he had never delved deeply into arrays. Seeing Wukong’s fearless attitude, the Tathagata felt inward hatred. If not for having inherited the Lord of Great Sumeru’s Dao essence, he wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble. Now that his demonic and Dao aspects were united, he was invincible in the world and could focus on researching methods to devour other Dao essences. But since Wukong stood before him, he had to overcome this obstacle!

At this level of cultivation, words could summon laws. The Tathagata growled, “Form the array!”
Wukong stood still when suddenly the Tathagata vanished before his eyes. The surrounding peaks seemed to have grown wings and rushed toward him at lightning speed, while the sages in the sky also disappeared without a trace.
Was this an illusion array? Wukong used his discerning eyes, and the images before him changed again. The mountains remained the same, but still, not a single person was in sight. An array within an array? His discerning eyes delved deeper, peeling back layer after layer until he saw through seven layers of illusory light, and only then did the surrounding scenery return to its true form.
The Tathagata was truly formidable! If this array trapped others, they might never be able to escape it in their entire lives. It was fortunate that Wukong’s discerning eyes could see through the essence of all things in the world.
But even if he saw through it, what could he do? An array, on its own, was just an inanimate object. Yet when controlled by someone skilled in array manipulation, it became a sentient entity. A mountain ridge, like a blade, silently rushed toward Wukong.
This was not an illusion—it was true mountain-moving magic.
Faced with true divine powers, Wukong was not afraid. He used a technique to shift mountains and fill seas, diverting the mountain ridge. With a thunderous crash, the ridge collided with another peak, both breaking in half and falling into the valley.
Just as he dealt with that, another giant peak fell from above. Wukong used another technique to throw it into a deep ravine. Thirty-six peaks and seventy-two ridges, as if possessed of intelligence, kept attacking Wukong one after another. While dealing with them, he pondered—was this the Tathagata’s array? Though seemingly formidable, they posed no real threat to him.
Fuxi and the others watched in awe as Wukong displayed his incredible power, turning a vast mountain like Lesser Sumeru into ruins with every move he made.
From a closer distance, they felt the immense pressure of his divine powers and flew high into the sky to observe. Qilin asked, “Is this the Tathagata’s final gamble?”
The Phoenix, however, frowned deeply and said, “I’m afraid it’s more than that.”
The peaks of Lesser Sumeru collapsed under Wukong’s power as if torn apart easily. In the end, only the highest peak where Wukong stood remained.
By then, the Tathagata had arrived at the foot of the mountain at some point. Hidden beneath the broken peaks, he shouted, “Kill with the array!” As soon as his words faded, the highest peak was pulled up from the ground like an iron rod, at an incomparably fast speed. Where the peak once stood, a dark hole appeared. Wukong hung in midair, feeling a powerful suction force coming from the hole. He was greatly shocked—this array was actually an array within an array!

Within the array, even if the original formation is destroyed, those who set it up can use it as a foundation to create another array. In truth, this formation isn’t particularly powerful—so long as the setter acts swiftly enough to establish another array before the people inside can escape the original one.

Yet the fact that Tathagata was able to use this inner array to trap Wukong, who was at the True Sage realm, was truly astonishing. The suction force was immense, achieved by Tathagata leveraging the power of the entire Lesser Sumeru Mountain—in other words, it was as if thirty-six peaks and seventy-two ridges were all pressing down on Wukong at once!

Wukong immediately used several escape techniques such as Divine Spirit Control, Golden Light Leap, and Flight by Trace, but for a while he didn’t realize that the source of this suction force actually came from those peaks and ridges. It wasn’t until he used the technique of Transforming through Birth that he began to regain some mobility. By then, Tathagata had somehow arrived in midair and struck down from above with a palm strike. Wukong couldn’t move and had no choice but to take the blow, causing him to plummet straight down into a deep cave.

Upon entering the cave, Wukong felt as though he had fallen into darkness, but he felt no fear at all. With his current cultivation level and physical strength, there was no power in the world that could harm him. Yet, despite being so powerful, he still hadn’t been able to capture Tathagata and had instead been humiliated by Tathagata’s array—this filled him with resentment.

Tathagata surely knew that Wukong couldn’t harm him. This array was likely only meant to trap him; once he lost his freedom, no one in the world could stop him from continuing his plans.

Wukong secretly blamed himself for rushing things. He should have stayed in the Spirit Bright Hall for longer and fully mastered the core principles of the Greater Sumeru Mountain before leaving. Now, due to his haste, he couldn’t control Tathagata—what a mistake.

The cave was bottomless. Wukong kept falling, not knowing how deep he had gone. His eyes shone brightly, but he still saw nothing. Strangely, looking upward also revealed nothing—logically, there should be some light at the cave entrance at the very least.

After thinking for a while, Wukong forced himself to stay calm. Since it was an array, it couldn’t be judged by ordinary logic. He tried using the Great Five Elements Escape technique, but there was no reaction—apparently, there were no elements involved, otherwise he would have sensed them. Sumeru Mountain stones had nothing to do with the five elements. Tathagata must have made full use of the power of the Lesser Sumeru Mountain, investing countless efforts to create such an array designed specifically for him.

And with his own sharp eyes, he could hardly see anything—this was no longer simply a lack of light, but the result of the magic of the formation. What puzzled Wukong even more was that he had been falling for over fifteen minutes, and the downward momentum showed no sign of slowing, as if it were an endless passage.

Formations, formations… If the Lord of Mount Sumeru were here, how could such a formation trap him? Yet he had no foundation whatsoever in formations, and it was uncertain how much time it would take to fully understand this one.

Seeing Wukong trapped in the deep cave, the saints in the sky were greatly astonished. Wukong resembled the Lord of Mount Sumeru in appearance, and in their minds, he was an unattainable existence—how could he be defeated by Tathagata?

Without wasting time, they rushed forward and surrounded Tathagata.

Tathagata remained calm, a hint of ease on his face. His greatest concern had always been Wukong, and now that Wukong was trapped in his mysterious formation, his chances of escaping were slim—how could he not be pleased? Though surrounded by many saints, with his demonic thoughts, he felt no fear at all. To become the greatest being in the world, he would start by establishing his authority over these saints!

Fuxi stretched out his hand and captured Yin and Yang, putting them in his sleeve. Yin and Yang were too weak to participate in this level of conflict, and Fuxi naturally wouldn’t give up his own spiritual essence.

Qilin was the first to act. Without hesitation, he manifested himself, his horns emitting white light as he charged at Tathagata. Tathagata sneered, “Exorcism?” He extended his right index finger, which also emitted white light, striking right between Qilin’s horns. When the two beams of light collided, Qilin trembled as if struck by lightning and became motionless, the fear in his heart surpassing even the pain in his body. Tathagata could also use “exorcism”! That was his own innate power!

Fuxi’s expression turned serious as he took out a rusty Bagua mirror from his bosom. Inside this mirror was the Taiji diagram of yin embracing yang, while the outside featured the diagrams of heaven, earth, and the eight trigrams. As the saying goes, a mirror embodies the essence of metal and water—bright inside and dark outside. An ancient mirror, like a deity, can exorcise evil spirits. Seeing that Tathagata could skillfully use others’ powers, Fuxi assumed it must be some kind of dark art, so he brought out this mirror he hadn’t used in tens of thousands of years.

The ancient mirror was turned, and a greenish glow slowly spread, enveloping Tathagata.

Tathagata remained unperturbed, even smiling slightly. “You’re using your most precious treasures?” With a flick of his body, he generated a yellowish light and said to Hou Tu, “How does my power of earth compare to yours?”

Hou Tu’s expression changed drastically. Earth could hold all things and protect all beings—it seemed Fuxi’s mirror was almost certainly useless.