Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Told, Chapter 150: Devoted Cultivation

In the realm of the self, within the belly of the Kunpeng, on Eastern Green Wood Peak, atop the Tree of Immortality, Wukong had lived on this tree for a full hundred years. His internal magical energy kept fluctuating—emptying and filling again and again. The Green Wood Elixirs accumulated by the Wood God Jiumang over tens of thousands of years were now almost gone.

By the third year, the Green Wood energy within Wukong had taken root, occupying a place in the cultivation sphere of his dantian. By the sixth year, he finally realized that the Tree of Immortality was endless, cycling endlessly; even after six years of climbing, he had not reached its peak. By the twelfth year, Wukong learned from Jiumang that his Wood Control skill had reached the Ghost Immortal realm, comparable to the Red Flame level of Fire Control skills. By the twenty-fourth year, his Wood Control skill had advanced to the Human Immortal realm, equivalent to the White Flame level of Fire Control skills. By the forty-eighth year, it reached the Immortal realm, comparable to the Green Flame level of Fire Control skills. By the ninety-sixth year, his Wood Control skill finally reached the Earth Immortal realm, truly marking his mastery, akin to the Purple Flame level of Fire Control skills.

At this point, Jiumang advised Wukong to stop practicing breathing exercises. Over the next four years, he taught him various wood-related spells. Although Jiumang’s own Wood Control skill had reached the Sacred realm—a achievement earned over tens of thousands of years—Wukong’s ability to advance his wood-related skills to the Earth Immortal realm in just a hundred years was beyond imagination. In fact, Jiumang was on par with Zhu Rong.

Four years passed in the blink of an eye. After teaching all the spells, from simple to complex, Jiumang took out a long sword and said, “This is the ancient divine weapon, Miao Dao. It embodies the essence of wood energy. As for its origin, even I do not know exactly. Today, I give it to you and will also teach you a set of sword techniques. Practicing these techniques alongside wood energy cultivation will be of great benefit to you.”

Upon hearing about Miao Dao, Wukong suddenly remembered that it was ranked eighth in the “Arsenal Canon.” He immediately refused, saying it was too precious for him to accept.

Jiumang replied, “My wood energy has reached its peak; few in the world can match me. This sword is of no use to me anymore. Stop refusing.” Jiumang was usually quiet, but when he spoke in such a firm tone, Wukong found it hard to refuse. After a hundred years of guidance, if Zhu Rong could be considered a friend, then Jiumang could already be regarded as half a teacher to Wukong.

The sword technique consisted of only seven moves, and Wukong memorized them in just half an hour. He tried practicing them once. Not only were the techniques exquisite, but they also activated the wood energy within his body, making it circulate rapidly. It turned out that these techniques could not only be used to attack enemies but also served as an excellent method for cultivating energy.

Jiumang said, “A hundred years have passed. I suppose Dayu and Zhu Rong have not succeeded in crafting their weapons yet. Let me take you to look for Rù Shōu.”

Wukong was surprised and asked, “It takes a hundred years just to craft one?”

Jumang said, “A hundred years is not long. Back then, Dayu spent five hundred years refining the golden essence to turn one into four. The two of them refined weapons inside a volcano, where one day there equals one year on the surface—still only a hundred days at most.”

Wukong took the opportunity to ask, “Why is one day in the volcano equal to one year on the surface?”

Jumang shook his head and said, “You are a deity of creation, yet you do not understand the principles of creation.”

Wukong replied, “I truly do not understand. Please enlighten me, God of Wood.”

Jumang said, “Heaven and earth are like a bag containing all things; the universe is also contained within this bag. Even though there are four great continents in heaven and earth, I can encompass them all in just a moment of time. Do you understand?”

Wukong thought for a while and said, “I sort of understand, but not completely.”

Jumang smiled rarely and said, “I also only sort of understand. Only by breaking through the realm of the Primordial Golden Immortal and attaining sainthood can one glimpse the edges of the universe. For now, I only know that using the power of creation can alter the pace of time.”

Wukong asked, “Then that volcano was created by the God of Fire, Zhurong. But why would she do that?”

Jumang was stunned, his gaze drifting afar, before slowly saying, “Perhaps she is lonely.”

Rushou lived in the Shuojin Valley in the west. The mountains surrounding the valley were all made up of golden ores. After sending Wukong there, Jumang hurriedly took his leave, not staying even for a moment longer.

When Rushou saw Wukong arrive, his face was filled with joy.

Wukong looked at the figure of God of Wood Jumang, wondering why he had left in such a hurry. Rushou chuckled and said, “Don’t you understand why he left in such a rush?” Wukong nodded, and Rushou replied, “This old fellow has fought against me countless times but has never gained the upper hand. If he doesn’t leave, is he waiting for me to mock him?”

Wukong felt a chill in his heart. He thought the God of Wood was quite reserved, and his wood-related powers were already at their peak, yet Rushou seemed even more powerful than Jumang. Then Rushou added, “You should know that metal naturally overcomes wood. Yet he refuses to accept this—doesn’t that mean he’s inviting trouble?”

Wukong suddenly understood. He had just begun learning about the five elements and didn’t even know such basic principles.

Rushou said, “I’m not good at teaching others either. Come, let’s have a few exchanges to see where we stand.”

Wukong actually had the same intention. He had long wanted to test the powers he had learned since arriving, but never had the chance. Rushou’s offer was perfect. With a wry smile, he said, “My trusty iron staff was taken by Dayu to be refined…”

Rushou replied, “I don’t have much here. If you’re looking for a weapon, hehe.”

He led Wukong into the valley. There were no houses inside, only several huge caves. Rushou pointed casually and said, “Go in and choose one. Anything will do as long as you give it to me.”

Wukong entered the cave and saw no less than a thousand weapons inside, each finely crafted and shining brightly. He picked up an iron rod, weighed it—it was about a thousand pounds heavy. Though not as handy as the Ruyi Jingu Bang, it was still passable. He deliberately made things difficult for Lu Shou by choosing a short weapon, the Tian Chi, to see how he could use the short to overcome the long.

Lu Shou took the Tian Chi and smiled, “Not bad. You’re quite strategic. Let’s go.”

Wukong charged forward, swinging his rod to strike. He thought Lu Shou would use light to counter heavy force and dare not meet it head-on. But Lu Shou simply raised the Tian Chi and swung it to the side; the iron rod seemed stuck, refusing to obey Wukong’s control.

Lu Shou stepped forward aggressively, flipped the Tian Chi, and pressed it against Wukong’s chest. Wukong’s iron rod was too long, and he couldn’t pull it back in time, so he hurriedly stepped back. Yet despite Lu Shou’s rough appearance, his movement skills were no less than Wukong’s. He stayed close like a persistent pest, keeping the Tian Chi no more than three inches from Wukong’s chest.

After turning several times, Wukong saw that Lu Shou still had plenty of strength left and realized he wasn’t his match. Sighing, he said, “I lose.”

Lu Shou said, “One more round!”

Wukong went back into the cave and this time picked up a Fang Tian Ji.

In this clash, it took only three exchanges before Wukong’s iron rod was locked by the Fang Tian Ji, leaving him immobile.

For the third time, Wukong changed to another iron rod, wanting to see what ingenious techniques this Golden God had.

During this fight, Wukong noticed something strange. Every time the two rods clashed, his own rod would vibrate, causing discomfort in his palms and delaying his next move by a moment. Though it was just a slight delay, in a battle between masters, not even the slightest mistake was allowed. This time, he managed to hold on for over a dozen rounds before finally losing control of his rod and being knocked aside by Lu Shou.

Both of them said at the same time, “Enough!”

Wukong carefully recalled every detail of the fight. Lu Shou’s moves weren’t particularly sophisticated, but each one seemed to anticipate his opponent’s actions. This had nothing to do with the power to control metal—it seemed more like the result of accumulated combat experience.

Lu Shou said, “To learn the art of controlling metal, one must first be familiar with various weapons. Since I began my cultivation, I’ve even slept among piles of weapons, always surrounded by metal objects. Understanding their nature, shape, and principles is the foundation.”

Wukong said, “Good. I must learn it.” He had already realized when practicing fire and wood powers that what he really wanted to learn was the metal powers. Dayu said that after being reforged, the three Ruyi Jingu Bangs were more than ten times stronger than before—such temptation was too great to resist.

Thus, following Ru Shou’s guidance, Wukong carried out all the weapons from the cave one by one. With his abilities, he could have accomplished this quickly using magic, but Ru Shou said, “The faster you try to succeed, the less likely you are to achieve it. Gradual progress is the key to mastering skills.” There were thousands of weapons, none alike, and Ru Shou explained the intricacies of each one. Just among the staffs, there were dozens of types—such as the shoulder-height staff, double-jointed staff, fire-water staff, chain-bead staff, wolf-tooth club, demon-subduing staff, golden mace, sky-splitting staff, coiling dragon staff… Each had its own uses and secrets. After the explanation, Wukong tried them out one by one. He already knew how to use staffs, and after listening to Ru Shou’s insights, he understood quickly. In less than half a month, he had mastered most of them. Ru Shou praised him highly, and the next day he began teaching him about spears. There were even more types of spears than staffs—such as the horse-blocking spear, red-tassel spear, double-pointed spear, hook-sickle spear, and so on. He briefly mentioned others, but spent more time explaining weapons that combined spear and staff functions, like the soul-chasing spear and phoenix staff. Wukong gradually realized that the principles of staff use also applied to spears. “Staffs rely on their weight, while spears rely on their sharpness. Weight represents the strength of metal, and sharpness represents its edge…” Ru Shou, though a rough man, spoke far more than Zhu Rong. His explanations about controlling metal were elaborate, sometimes lasting three days straight. Unaware of this, Wukong grasped everything quickly, and Ru Shou felt as if he had met a kindred spirit, so he taught with extra care and effort. At the Foot of the Ghost Flame Peak, Dayu and Zhu Rong sat facing each other. Using the Xi Rang furnace to refine weapons was more difficult than using ordinary stoves, as Xi Rang was constantly changing and unpredictable. Only someone as knowledgeable as Dayu could succeed. The three Ruyi Golden Cudgels had already been turned into gold and water by Zhu Rong. Dayu focused intently on controlling the Xi Rang furnace, not blinking even once. Both held their breath, relying solely on their internal energy, as Xi Rang grew when exposed to wind, and any external interference made it even harder to predict. Dayu frequently reminded Zhu Rong of the changes in temperature. Zhu Rong, who probably had never been this serious before, carefully observed the color of the flames with her almond-shaped eyes. With her ability to control fire, she could sense even the slightest change even with her eyes closed. But this time, while refining weapons for Wukong, she dared not be the slightest bit careless. In her heart, Wukong had taken a very delicate and special place—as if their meeting was predestined, yet there was no trace of it. Seeing that the three streams of gold and water had fully merged, Dayu exerted force with his fingertips, causing a jet of blood to shoot from his right index finger straight into the Xi Rang furnace. Like the furnace, this blood was instantly turned into vapor by the intense purple flames.

Though the blood was separated from the body, it remained under Da Yu’s control. With his divine power, he guided the blood vapor to evenly permeate into that spherical mass of gold and water. Da Yu silently recited a spell, and the Ruyi Lock Demon Rope in his arms flew out on its own and entered the furnace, disappearing into the gold and water.

Da Yu used his divine consciousness to instruct Zhu Rong to lower the temperature of the fire, causing the flames to shift from purple to green, and then from green to white. At this point, the Xirang Furnace began to rotate gradually, rising a bit with each turn. In just a short while, the furnace elongated into a rod-like shape.

Da Yu’s divine consciousness commanded, “Refine it repeatedly with the Three Flavors of True Fire!” So Zhu Rong made the fierce fire cycle while the gentle flames swirled. This skill in controlling fire left Da Yu in awe.

This process continued for forty-nine days. Then Da Yu told Zhu Rong to use only the gentle and fierce flames for further refinement. The Xirang Furnace kept expanding and contracting, changing shape like a golden staff.

Another thirty-six days passed. Seizing the right moment with the gentle flames, Da Yu reached into the furnace and scooped out a thin layer of gold and water. With a divine trick, this gold and water turned back into the Ruyi Lock Demon Rope, flying back into his arms and disappearing.

Da Yu exclaimed in joy, “The divine power is recovered!”

Zhu Rong held his breath, staring intently at the Xirang Furnace, and asked Da Yu, “Is it done?”

Da Yu replied, “It’s done!”