Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Told, Chapter 128: The Meeting of the Divine Apes

“The Great Five Elements Spiritual Blood Formation?” Wukong murmured, then asked, “This formation… though it sounds somewhat strange, what does it have to do with wind? Where did you get it? Did you hear it from others and get deceived?”
The Nine-Headed Worm replied, “With your cultivation level, you should know that this world does not exist in isolation; there are three realms connected to each other. The mysteries of the primordial essence and the lifespan of heaven and earth mentioned earlier refer not to this realm alone, but to the coexistence and destruction of all three realms.”
Wukong shook his head. “I only came to this realm from the Realm of Good and Evil. I’ve never been to the other realms. The Realm of Good and Evil seems peaceful, unlike this realm, which is full of violence. Could it also be destroyed one day? Who would want to do this, and what’s the background?”
The Nine-Headed Worm said, “I’ve also heard that those with extremely high cultivation can create realms, but I never imagined it to be this powerful. If the ruler of this realm decides to destroy it, no one else can stop him. Based on his whims, who can fathom his thoughts?”
Wukong thought for a while and said, “If it’s based on his whims, why choose a specific day? Does this matter depend on the almanac?”
The Nine-Headed Worm shook his head silently. Both of them were lost in thought.
Wukong thought that the Three Pure Ones creating realms must have had a serious purpose, not just for fun. Since the principles of creation in this realm corresponded to those in the original Realm of Journey to the West, it was likely that this realm was a test site to infer the changes in the original realm and find a glimmer of hope. If that were the case, even the Three Pure Ones wouldn’t be able to save the original realm—if not, why go to such lengths?
There were immortals and demons in this realm. Perhaps the Three Pure Ones deliberately spread rumors that this realm was about to collapse, forcing the countless powerful beings here to seek a way out in desperation, hoping that someone might escape. If such a possibility existed, the Three Pure Ones could gain insights from it and use them to find a way out of the original Realm of Journey to the West… The Three Pure Ones truly lived up to their reputation; this move was beyond what ordinary people could conceive!
Suddenly, Wukong asked, “Brother, I asked earlier where you got this formation, and you haven’t answered me yet.” The Nine-Headed Worm was startled and smiled. “I was so deep in thought that I forgot. Of course, I won’t hide it. This formation came from our own realm.”
“Our own realm? What do you mean?”

The Nine-Headed Worm said, “You’ve never been to that realm—this is the realm of the true self. That realm is the most interesting. Since it’s called the realm of the true self, it represents one’s true heart, which no one can change. Once you enter that realm, any thoughts or intentions appear on your face, and others can tell at a glance. If you harbor malice, your face will surely look fierce; if you have kindness in your heart, your expression will naturally be gentle. No matter how great your powers may be, you can’t change that there—your true self determines what your appearance will be.”

Wukong laughed and asked, “Indeed interesting. But I’m rather rash. May I ask, brother, what does your appearance look like in that realm?” The Nine-Headed Worm, expecting this question, laughed heartily and said, “Why don’t you guess?”

Wukong thought for a moment and said, “Could it be that you’ve revealed your true form?” The Nine-Headed Worm stopped smiling and nodded. “Not only can’t I retract my true form, but I can’t retract the tenth head either. It coils around my waist, looking rather ugly!”

Hearing this, Wukong burst into laughter. The tenth head of the Nine-Headed Worm was different from the nine heads on its neck—it was snake-like. If it stretched out around the waist, it would surely spoil the appearance.

The Nine-Headed Worm said, “I’ve only been to that realm once, and I’ll never go again!” His words were filled with resentment. He added, “Yet during that single visit, by chance, I obtained a rare book on formations. The Great Five Elements Spirit Blood Formation came from that book.”

Wukong replied, “I see.”

The Nine-Headed Worm pointed at the four people from Zhanghui and said, “Since these young men are my worthy brothers, I certainly won’t harm them. You should take care of them for now. I’ll ask them for help later. As for these three, I’ll take them back and keep them together with those twenty. Hmph! And that Red Flame Body—sooner or later, I’ll capture him!”

Zhanghui was already disheartened and didn’t care much about anything. Even though the Nine-Headed Worm spared him, he showed no joy. Seeing this, Wukong didn’t say a word of comfort either. When it came to matters of the heart, outsiders couldn’t advise—only the person involved could gradually resolve it.

Since the Nine-Headed Worm had temporarily spared Zhanghui, it was a favor of some sort. Wukong thanked him and said, “In that case, I’ll find a place for this boy first. I’ll go to Luoyun City to see you later.”

The Nine-Headed Worm replied, “Good. You must come to help me. That monkey, for some reason, is mixed up with that little kid. That makes things more difficult.”

Wukong naturally agreed, as it was a temporary solution.

After the two parted, Wukong sent the chapters back to Zhongxuancheng. Duan Tiande, the lord of Zhongxuancheng, saw Wukong return and also brought the chapters, greeting him with a smile but not daring to ask what had happened. Wukong handed the chapters to Duan Tiande and told him to take good care of them. Duan Tiande naturally obeyed. After ordering his men to arrange the chapters properly, he smiled apologetically at Wukong and said, “Sir Immortal, you might want to stay for a while; let me show you some hospitality as the host.” Wukong laughed and said, “You say one thing but mean another; in fact, you’re eager for me to leave.” Duan Tiande was caught off guard by Wukong’s words but managed to hide it well, pretending innocence and saying, “Sir Immortal, you’re joking. I truly mean it.” Seeing Duan Tiande’s feigned sincerity on his plump face, Wukong thought that if he threw this man into his own realm, it would be very interesting.

Although Wukong had taken care of the chapters, he wasn’t going to Luoyun City at this moment. Jiu Tou Chong’s actions went against the harmony of the heavens, so Wukong certainly wouldn’t help him. Talking about gathering twenty-five people to form a formation was clearly meant to kill innocent youths.

At this point, Wukong had an idea—to visit his own realm. So he asked Duan Tiande, “Let me ask you something. To get to my own realm, how do I go?”

Duan Tiande was surprised and asked, “Why would Sir Immortal go there?” Wukong retorted, “What, am I not allowed to?” Duan Tiande replied, “Of course not. That realm is the most boring of the three realms. Everyone there has an ugly appearance. I think… it’s better not to go.”

Seeing Duan Tiande hesitating, Wukong pressed him, “Then tell me, what’s so special about my own realm?” Duan Tiande said, “There’s not much. It’s just that once you get there, everyone changes their appearance, and monsters abound everywhere. It can’t compare to here. Even the monsters there can take on human forms, looking much more presentable.”

Wukong asked again, “Have you been there?”

Duan Tiande replied, “Of course. The people there are extremely powerful. With my meager skills, I couldn’t survive there at all.”

Wukong nodded and said, “Well then, I’ll go and take a look to see what’s so special.”

Duan Tiande said, “There’s a mystical gate connecting my realm to this one. It’s located at the far east of Xiumu Continent. You can see it after crossing the vast ocean.”

Inspired, Wukong asked further, “If it’s a mystical gate to go from this realm to that one, what’s it called when returning from that realm?”

“A void gate,” replied Duan Tiande.

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Wukong already soaring into the air, heading east. Duan Tiande placed a hand on his chest, took several deep breaths, and said, “Finally, that troublemaker has left. He made me too scared to even breathe.”

Wukong flew east on his cloud, muttering to himself the whole way: “The Gate of Life, the Gate of Death, the Mysterious Gate, the Void Gate… Life and death are so mysterious; these names indeed have a certain charm. But I wonder if I can uncover the mysteries of life and death in these three realms?”
The Far East, by Wukong’s abilities, could be reached in an instant. He crossed the vast oceans and indeed saw a large gate standing alone by the coast. Reaching the end of the sea, he thought to himself, Could this be the end of this realm? And what lies beyond this end?
Without entering the “Mysterious Gate,” he continued flying eastward, unimpeded the whole way. With a single somersault on his cloud, he looked again and was shocked.
It was said that a single somersault covered 108,000 li, yet this time he remained in the same place. Well, this was the same trick Buddha had used to trap the Monkey King back then. Wukong tried it no more and leaped straight into the “Mysterious Gate.”
Recalling the day he entered the Realm of Slaughter from the Realm of Good and Evil, countless people had fought over those 365 mountain peaks. Yet around this “Mysterious Gate” in the Realm of Slaughter, not a single person was to be seen. It seemed this realm really wasn’t popular among people.
Entering the Mysterious Gate, Wukong felt little difference from when he entered the Gate of Death. Time seemed to pass unnoticed within this gate, and the sound of wind rushed by his ears. In an instant, memories flooded his mind, as if in a dream.
Suddenly, a powerful energy surged within Wukong’s body. He was delighted—this feeling was all too familiar to him. He had felt the same when passing through the Gate of Death. But in the Realm of Slaughter, he had found no trace of the divine monkey, only a Six-Eared Monkey that, like him, had not yet awakened.
Now, this feeling was real and very clear. Delighted, Wukong rushed straight toward where the energy came from.
When he emerged from the Mysterious Gate, he didn’t know where he was. All around was the vast ocean. Amidst the rolling waves, giant sea beasts would occasionally peek out, only to quickly retract their heads upon seeing Wukong. Wukong saw that these sea monsters had high cultivation levels—many were at the second or third rank of celestial beings, and some even reached the seventh rank, comparable to Duan Tiande. Such beasts, if they entered the Realm of Slaughter, would have the strength to rule their own territories.
As he flew on, suddenly the waves ahead grew turbulent. He stopped abruptly and saw a water wall dozens of zhang high rising abruptly in front of him. This water wall kept rising without reason until it reached three or four hundred zhang before stopping.
Wukong was stunned speechless. He had seen huge things before; with his own magic, he could create structures that reached the sky. But this monster before him—its true form—was even greater. Those three or four hundred zhang wasn’t its body length; it had only shown half of its head. Good heavens, how big could it really be?

Wukong was blocked by this monster. If he wanted to pass, he could simply take a detour, but out of curiosity, he couldn’t bear to give up. So he shouted, “Why are you blocking me?”
Without the monster opening its mouth, a very muffled voice came from the bottom of the sea: “Huh—” It was just a long sound, followed by turbulent currents beneath the sea. After a long while, huge waves dozens of feet high rose on the surface. Then, the monster slowly sank back down.
Wukong wanted to chase after it to find out what was going on, but he was still concerned about the presence of the divine ape, so he kept this matter in mind and continued flying forward. Things went smoothly from there. In a short while, two figures rushed towards them from the opposite direction. Upon seeing each other, the three were overjoyed and immediately gathered together, cheering and jumping on the sea surface.
These two were Fengtong and Wang Yu.