Volume 4: The Revelation of Cosmic Secrets Chapter 555: The Manifestation of Fate

Just as Wukong was reaching a state of mastery, he suddenly heard Lao Zhuang speak of “fate as the ultimate force,” which instantly enlightened him.

What is fate? It is the most crucial element in this world. Fate exists within every living being; without it, there is no vitality. Human effort has limits, but fate is endless. How can humans become masters of fate? Only fate itself is the eternal ruler of this world.

For all living things, fate holds supreme authority. Fate is intangible, yet it speaks. By “the speech of fate,” we mean its rules. The deeper one’s understanding of fate, the better they can utilize it to wield magical powers.

The “speech of fate” spoken by the Master of Mount Mahasumera naturally reflected his own understanding of fate. Yet a more important aspect was the process by which he created the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Heroes and the Seventy-Two Transformations of the Earthly Demons.

These powers were all discovered by the Master himself. As for the powers of other sages, they were either imitations of the Master’s or creations of their own. In any case, at the level of a sage, their connection with fate is far stronger than that of ordinary people. With a mere thought, they can draw upon fate, turning it into a formidable magical ability. However, when using one’s own fate to influence the fate of the world, the amount used and the intensity of the power can vary greatly. The same magical ability, when wielded by the Master of Mount Mahasumera, possesses far greater power than when used by ordinary sages. Ultimately, it all depends on the depth of one’s understanding of fate.

What truly matters is knowing how to use mantras to link these powers with the fate of the world. Fate has no emotions or will of its own—why should it obey you? This process is essentially a means of communicating with fate. Most cultivators only know how to force fate to serve them, using brute force, thinking they can control it. But the Master of Mount Mahasumera treated fate as a sentient being, engaging in conversation with it as if talking to an old friend, without any coercion.

Wukong, upon seeing this, felt ashamed in secret. Though he could transform into a divine ape at will, he only felt respect for fate. When wielding his powers, he still relied on force, just like other cultivators, forcing fate to obey him.

Suddenly, Wukong realized that although he had inherited the Master’s teachings and his magical power was comparable to the Master’s own, he still lagged behind when facing Buddha. The issue lay in his attitude toward controlling fate.

Fate is not inferior to even the most intelligent beings, nor is it superior to the humblest creatures. Fate is the most forgiving force in this world. Whatever attitude or mindset you bring to it, it will reflect back to you exactly the same.

As the Tathagata pondered whether what Laozi and Zhuangzi had said was true or false, he suddenly sensed a gradual change in the forces around him. He immediately became wary, noticing that these forces were all flowing toward Wukong. The Tathagata grew even more alert—where was Wukong, deep in thought? Was he mastering some supernatural power?

Looking over, he saw Laozi and Zhuangzi smiling at him. The Tathagata grew angry—how dare they do such a thing? Were they not afraid it would tarnish his reputation? With a wave of his sleeve, he sent out two streams of true energy, targeting Laozi and Wukong respectively.

Laozi easily stepped back, while Wukong remained motionless. As the true energy approached, it was drawn aside by the gently flowing forces and slipped past him.

The Tathagata was shocked—his own forces were not under his control and had been effortlessly countered by Wukong. In astonishment, he exclaimed, “What… is this?”

Wukong seemed unaware, still immersed in the “words of creation.” A soft voice reached his ears, like a gentle breeze and flowing water, soothing to hear: “You seem to be enlightened, yet not truly enlightened. Who are you?”

Wukong couldn’t determine the source of the voice. He realized he wasn’t the master of Mount Sumeru… No! The voice referred to “enlightened one”—a term that could apply both to the master of Mount Sumeru and to the Divine Ape of Enlightenment. Their spiritual concepts were connected, and now they had merged. Wukong grew excited—had they figured it out? He asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m seen by you every day, yet you don’t recognize me?” the voice replied.

Wukong was puzzled. Whether in the furnace or in this world, who could see him every day? He had been living alone for a long time.

The voice asked again, “Where did you come from?”

Wukong’s body trembled. He was almost certain this mysterious voice knew! It must know! He had come from modern society—a secret he hadn’t shared with anyone, nor had anyone ever asked him such a question. They all thought he was the Divine Ape of Enlightenment born from the immortal stone on Flower-Fruit Mountain.

“Who are you? How do you know? Can you help me go back?” Wukong asked in quick succession.

“I am not someone. I am Creation,” the voice replied.

It was as if a thunderbolt struck Wukong’s mind—Creation?! Creation was actually a person?

“Where are you?” Wukong asked. Though his mind was absorbed in spiritual concepts, his cultivation allowed him to sense even the slightest movement within millions of miles. He didn’t detect anyone else in his vision or consciousness.

“Creation is everywhere,” the voice said.

Wukong felt somewhat ashamed. Though he knew it was the Will of Fate, he still asked where it was. The Will of Fate was everywhere, yet this fact was truly beyond comprehension. He knew the Will of Fate had no form, no emotions, no trace, but he never expected it to have thoughts and be able to communicate.

“Why… why are you talking to me?” Wukong asked in confusion.

“Among all beings in heaven and earth, only you understand me. If I don’t talk to you, then to whom?”

“So you’ve also talked to the Mountain Lord?” Wukong said.

“He seems to half-understand.” The voice sounded somewhat regretful. “Where are you from?”

Wukong thought for a while and finally decided to tell the truth: “I come from another world.”

“Another… world? Another realm?” the voice asked.

“You could say that. It’s very different from here,” Wukong replied.

“Hmm… very different… Then why did you come?”

Wukong was at a loss for words. He still didn’t understand why he had come to this realm, so he said, “I just came here in a daze.”

“If you don’t know how you came… do you want to go back?”

Wukong quickly replied, “It would be best if I could go back.”

At that moment, Wukong saw Buddha waving his sleeves, sending out two streams of powerful energy toward Laozi, Zhuangzi, and himself. Just as he was about to defend himself, he felt the Will of Fate turn around beside him, enveloping him in a strong sense of safety. The energy passed right by him without even disturbing his clothes.

Wukong knew it was the Will of Fate helping him. He finally understood why the Mountain Lord of Mount Sumeru was invincible—by understanding the language of the Will of Fate, one could gain its protection. No matter how powerful you are, can you defeat the Will of Fate?

“You didn’t come here without reason,” the voice said.

“Oh?” Wukong perked up. He only remembered that he had been reading Journey to the West, mistakenly turning Journey to the West: The Legend of Deliverance into Journey to the West: The Legend of Equaling Heaven. Then he entered the Furnace. People say traveling between worlds is a blessing, but if he had known there was no way back, he would have given up and stopped worrying. But now that he had found some clues and a glimmer of hope, Wukong naturally wouldn’t give up.

That’s roughly how the story of Journey to the West unfolds. Most of the mysteries have been solved. As for the remaining details, Wukong didn’t want to delve into them. Although there were many concerns in the Furnace, with the Will of Fate helping him, it would be easy to subdue Buddha. Aside from Buddha, most saints in this world were simple and kind, accumulating good deeds for blessings. No one else would cause trouble.

Within the great furnace, the spiritual thoughts of all the sages have merged into one entity. Without leaving this furnace, they have no influence over the world. The sages surely understand this principle. When Fuxi saw yin and yang, he only felt a desire to protect them, with not the slightest trace of greed—thus Wukong knew Fuxi could never swallow yin and yang. In this way, the world and the great furnace remain unrelated; the furnace exists in its own corner, content in its freedom.

“Is it not without reason? Do you know the reason?” Wukong asked.

“I am creation—both master and servant. Those who see me as a servant are as numerous as the sands of the sea, but their achievements remain limited. Those who see me as a master are rare, yet they are all supreme. Back then, Lingming understood the language of creation and regarded me on equal terms, which surprised me greatly—after all, he was the first to see me in that light. Later, Laozi and Zhuangzi had much interaction with Lingming and gradually also understood this truth, wishing to honor creation as their master. But they were unrestrained by nature, determined only to break free from the bonds of the world, though their ambitions were somewhat excessive.”

“Excessive ambitions? Can’t one leave this world?” Wukong asked anxiously.

“The world is infinitely vast. One cannot leave it.”

Images of the vast starry sky and the boundless universe flashed through Wukong’s mind. Could the place he was in now also be a planet like Earth? Even if someone could leave Earth like a spaceship, the universe is so enormous that no matter how far one flies, it remains within the same space as Earth… Perhaps, in some distant place, Earth’s existence could be found?

No, if he could find it, then the master of Mount Sumeru could have found it too. Yet in the master’s spiritual thoughts, there was no memory of such a thing—only an unfathomable sky and an unfathomable earth…

The voice of creation continued, “Others certainly cannot leave, but you are different from them.”

Wukong thought for a moment. The only thing that made him different from others was his memories of a future life from which he had come. What else? As for possessing the power to leave the universe and his second form, Wukong didn’t place much hope in them, for he guessed that leaving here must be an extremely complicated task. What good would these powers be if he couldn’t use them at all?

Just then, an elephant sent by Buddha rushed over. The elephant raised its front foot, stepping down like a small mountain toward Wukong’s head. Wukong, still talking with creation, leaped aside to avoid it.

Seeing Wukong’s swift movements, Buddha stretched out his hand and grabbed the golden wheel treasure in front of him. “The wheel has a thousand spokes, intricately carved.” As soon as the wheel was in his hand, the colors of the world dimmed—turning out the wheel’s ability to extinguish the light of the sun and moon was no exaggeration.

Wukong didn’t understand why Fate remained silent and unhelpful at this moment; he could only focus on facing it alone. Having grasped Fate’s words, he realized that wherever his mind reached, Fate was at his disposal—so what was there to fear?