Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Told, Chapter 107: The Realm of Slaughter

On the Taiji diagram, at the intersection of yin and yang, stood 365 towering peaks that, at first glance, appeared quite picturesque. Who would have thought that this place was the only bloody spot in the entire realm?
Fights raged in the sky, and as the day of entry approached, more and more people came to fight for a foothold on the peaks. Originally, those at the fifth rank or above among the immortals could occupy a peak for a while, but now at least those at the rank of Earth Immortal were needed to have a chance, with even Celestial Immortals appearing among them.
Wukong and Zhang Hui had not been at ease since they sat down. Zhang Hui was only at the rank of an immortal, while Wukong, though a Taiyi Golden Immortal, pretended to be at the rank of Earth Immortal, so naturally he could not intimidate others.
The Realm of Slaughter was nothing but about killing.
Faced with these challenges, Wukong did not pursue ruthless extermination. Those who knew when to retreat would surrender after a few attempts, and Wukong wouldn’t go too far against them. As for those reckless and insolent fools, Wukong showed no mercy. With his Golden Cudgel in motion, more than a dozen lives were taken.
On the last day, many more Earth Immortals of the eighth and ninth ranks, as well as Celestial Immortals, arrived.
These people, confident in their high cultivation, came on the last day, clearly confident in their ability to seize a peak. A few of them, with just a glance, made the cultivators they targeted quickly give up their positions and seek elsewhere. Clearly, their ferocity was well-known, and no one dared defy them. Though Wukong saw their arrogance, he saw it as none of his business and ignored them.
At that moment, three people flew to the peak where Wukong was. Below, on the seven other peaks, there were five Earth Immortals of the fourth or fifth rank, a scholar in white at only the first rank of Earth Immortal, and another giant who was only at the rank of an immortal.
The three were two men and one woman. The two men wore black and white, while the woman was flamboyantly dressed like a peacock. All three were at the ninth rank of Earth Immortal, on the verge of reaching the rank of Celestial Immortal.
The man in black landed and pointed at Wukong and Zhang Hui, then casually pointed at an Earth Immortal sitting on a peak, shouting, “You three, give way!”
The Earth Immortal, upon seeing these three, got up and left without a word. Zhang Hui felt uneasy upon seeing them, but seeing Wukong remain calm, he also mustered the courage to stay seated.
“Huh?” The man in black was surprised. These insignificant figures dared to defy his orders, immediately making him feel embarrassed. Seeing that Zhang Hui was only at the rank of an immortal and unworthy of his attention, he struck Wukong with a palm from the air.
Wukong remained seated, calmly meeting his attack with his own palm.

The man in white and the woman in colorful clothes in the sky were shocked to see that the scholar in white still dared to confront them head-on, showing utter ignorance of his limits. They simply waited for Wukong to be flung away by the man in black. With a loud “boom,” Wukong remained unmoved, while the man in black was sent flying many yards away, spewing a stream of blood from his mouth. The two who accompanied him were terrified and rushed over to help him. The woman in colorful clothes was the leader of the three; her eyes brimmed with hatred, but she dared not fight Wukong directly. Instead, she asked from afar, “Who are you? Dare you reveal your name?” Wukong glanced at her sideways and then closed his eyes, sitting in silence. His intention was clear—“You are not worthy of knowing!” Filled with rage, the woman pressed her lips together and whispered, “Let’s go!” The three had come arrogantly but left in panic, all in just a short while. At that moment, another loud noise came from the sky, followed by a voice that roared like a dragon or tiger: “Leave good and evil behind, enter the realm of slaughter; separated by life and death, it’s impossible to turn back.” Wukong recognized this voice—it belonged to the same person who had led Mencius out of the realm, none other than the Supreme Lord Laozi. Those four sentences, just fourteen characters long, contained profound meaning. Everyone called this realm the “Realm of Life.” Did “leave good and evil behind” mean the realm’s name was the “Realm of Good and Evil,” while the realm of slaughter to be entered was called the “Realm of Slaughter”? What did “separated by life and death, it’s impossible to turn back” mean? Once one left, could they never return? Even so, why did so many people risk their lives to enter this Realm of Slaughter? Since there was no turning back, and although this place was safe, Wukong knew that the way out was “understanding the Dao.” Yet he understood that although understanding the Dao seemed easy, actually reaching that state was extremely difficult. Mencius had only managed to cultivate a heart of benevolence through chance with his help. His understanding of the Dao was that of an ordinary person; to achieve the same level as a Taiyi Golden Immortal would be millions of times harder. Since there was no guarantee, it was better to explore another realm. “Impossible to turn back”—for now, he would just take it at face value. There must be a way when faced with a challenge! After those four sentences, the fighters in the sky immediately stopped fighting, realizing that the 365 gates of death had already chosen their owners, and further struggle was pointless. After a moment of silence, beams of white light shot down from the void above, each covering a mountain peak. When the light disappeared, the people on top of those peaks vanished as well. Wukong did not resist at all; he closed his eyes and focused inward. This feeling was very similar to the instant teleportation he used with his Ruyi Cloud. The difference was that he could teleport 365 people at once—such a level of cultivation was truly astonishing.

This moment seemed both extremely short and incredibly long. Wukong felt an uncontrollable surge within his body—a sensation he was familiar with from his first encounter with Wu Zhiqi, as well as when he met Feng Tong and Wang Yu. But who was here? Could it be one of the Seven Divine Apes who had come to this realm?

Finally, his feet touched solid ground. Wukong opened his eyes and the first thing he did was look for the burly man, Zhang Hui. Fortunately, he was still by his side.

The area was covered in yellow sand, with strong winds sweeping across, creating a vast sea of sand that made it hard to see anything.

Wukong pulled Zhang Hui closer and asked, “Do you know where this place is?”

Zhang Hui replied, “In this Realm of Slaughter, there’s only one place with yellow sand— it’s the Cangshan Blood Desert in the far west.”

Wukong asked further, “Is this realm called the Realm of Calamity and Slaughter or simply the Realm of Slaughter? The name Cangshan Blood Desert sounds strange. Does it have any origin?”

Zhang Hui said, “The Realm of Calamity and Slaughter is the same as the Realm of Slaughter; there’s no difference. Once you enter this realm, killing is inevitable. I’ve never seen any calamities. As for Cangshan Blood Desert… this place is extremely strange. During the day, it looks like just yellow sand, but at night, under the moonlight, all the sand turns blue-green. If you pick up a handful, it can even produce blood. Isn’t that strange? That’s why it’s called Cangshan Blood Desert.”

Hearing “far west” and “day and night,” Wukong felt much more at ease. He had spent many days in the Realm of Good and Evil, where there were no concepts of day or night, black or white, east or west—truly chaotic.

After thinking for a while, Wukong asked again, “Are there any restrictions on entering or leaving the Gate of Life and the Gate of Death? Is it possible to return to our original realm?”

Zhang Hui replied, “Of course it is. As long as you have the ability to claim a mountain, you can leave. But those who go from the Realm of Slaughter to the Realm of Good and Evil usually return within two months. That realm is so plain and uninteresting—what’s the point?”

Wukong suddenly understood. The so-called “difficulty in turning back” didn’t refer to the body but rather the heart.

Three hundred and sixty-five people stood in the desert, like three hundred and sixty-five flags. Their clothes fluttered in the wind, and sand blew in their faces, yet none of them moved.

What were they waiting for?

Wukong said to Zhang Hui, “Let’s go.”

Zhang Hui replied, “No, we can’t leave!”

Wukong asked in doubt, “Why not?”

Zhang Hui said, “It’s about to get dark.”

Wukong looked up. A dim sun hung in the sky—probably around the time of Shen hour. It couldn’t get dark that quickly.

Suddenly, the wind and sand stopped. A red sun, as if pulled by a thread, began to sink straight down.

In moments, clouds covered the sky, the moon became dark, the wind and sand intensified, and a gloomy, eerie atmosphere surrounded them.

Wukong frowned. The scene was indeed strange. He asked Zhang Hui again, “Such a fine sun—just disappears when you say so.”

Zhang Hui said, “Elder, you must be careful now. Soon, the Desert Lone Souls will attack—they are extremely difficult to deal with.”
Wukong was skeptical. Zhang Hui’s cultivation level was low, yet he seemed to know so much. He asked, “How many times have you entered and exited this Gate of Life and Death?”
Zhang Hui was stunned and replied, “Only this once.”
Wukong smiled and said, “You know quite a lot.”
Seeing Wukong’s reaction, Zhang Hui hurriedly explained, “Please forgive me, Elder. Though my cultivation is low, there are a few people in my clan who are renowned in this Realm of Slaughter. Besides, these stories have long been widely known here—it’s nothing secret.”
Wukong nodded and asked, “Since the Lone Souls are coming, why aren’t you afraid at all?”
Hearing this, Zhang Hui’s expression darkened. He took out an object from his bosom—a gray-green, dull-looking jade pendant—and said, “This was given to me by my good… good friend. It protects one from ghosts. Moreover, for some reason, these Lone Souls only target those with high cultivation. With my meager skills, no one pays attention to me.”
At that moment, a scream was heard. A Earth Immortal shrieked wildly before starting to slaughter indiscriminately, using his strongest spells. Those around him couldn’t dodge in time, and some who were already injured began cursing, creating complete chaos.