Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Told, Chapter 157: Seizing Divine Treasures
While deep in thought, Wukong heard someone calling his name from outside—it was Dayu. Wukong emerged from the cave and saw Dayu, radiant and smiling at him. Wukong asked, “Dayu, did you call me for some reason?” Dayu replied, “I’ve come here and nothing much to do, so I thought I’d explore around.”
Wukong smiled and said, “If you’re in such high spirits, I should accompany you.”
Dayu said, “That’s great. Since you’ve already been here, it saves me the trouble of asking for directions.” In truth, with his abilities, he didn’t need directions at all; he just said so.
Wukong knew Dayu must have a reason for seeking him out. Since Dayu hadn’t mentioned it, Wukong didn’t want to bring it up either. The two strolled leisurely through the heavens, sitting among the clouds and observing the affairs of all beings below.
After exploring this realm, Dayu said, “As for this realm, its appearance stems from the mind. Its master is quite interesting as well.” Wukong asked, “Has our elder noticed any flaws in this realm?”
Dayu replied, “This world is so vivid—where could there be any flaws?”
Wukong asked further, “Then… could our elder leave here?”
Dayu said, “Leaving isn’t difficult. Why do you ask?”
Wukong asked, “If a way could be found to save the beings in this realm, would that be possible?”
Dayu thought for a moment and said, “If we truly had two hundred years, it might be worth a try.”
Wukong was overjoyed and said, “If a few of you could lend a hand, the merit would be immeasurable!”
Dayu waved his hand and said, “This isn’t something we can decide. Have you asked the master of this realm?” Wukong asked, “Why ask him?”
Dayu replied, “The realm’s master holds ultimate power over life and death here. If he refuses, the world will collapse instantly. Even if we tried to save people, it would be like trying to quench a fire with a drop of water—how could we succeed in such a short time?”
Wukong was stunned. If it were truly as the Bull Demon King said, the Three Pure Ones surely wouldn’t stand by idly while he tried to save people and escape this realm. In that case, the unity of heaven and earth might even come sooner. It seemed this plan, though seemingly feasible, was unworkable. After thinking it over, Wukong put it aside for now and continued chatting casually with Dayu.
Dayu said, “Just now, Jumang and Rushou sent me a message. They want to take Fengtong and Wangyu as disciples. Both of them have agreed, but they also asked me to ask your opinion. It seems you hold considerable influence.” With that, Dayu nodded in approval.
Wukong was greatly surprised. “Disciples? This is too sudden. Why would the Wood God and the Metal God think of such a thing? Could it be they still feel guilty? If so, it only makes me uneasy.”
Dayu replied, “Not at all. Jumang simply said that Fengtong is far more talented in the arts related to wood than he is, but he hadn’t realized it yet. If he doesn’t teach him the powers of controlling wood, it would be a waste of talent. Rushou shares the same view, but Wangyu specializes in metal.”
Wukong was utterly puzzled. Jumang and Rushou were spirits of the five elements by birth, yet Fengtong Wangyu could surpass them both—what kind of innate endowment did he possess? Then Dayu said, “Created by fate, there are many mysteries beyond our understanding. Although Jumang is a spirit of wood, he is wood of a later origin. In my guess, Fengtong must be a spirit of wood from an earlier era.”
Wukong nodded and smiled, saying, “If that’s the case, I wonder what kind of being I am?”
Dayu was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter. “You’ve already tried wood, fire, and metal—only water and earth remain as possibilities.”
At that moment, Dayu suddenly noticed the Dragon Suppressing Tower on the ground and showed a slight expression of surprise before descending. “There’s a dragon below,” Dayu said.
Wukong’s cultivation wasn’t strong enough to detect it, so he recounted what he knew about the Dragon Suppressing Tower. Dayu suddenly realized, “I wondered why this realm was so stable—turns out it has the help of the Kunpeng.” He paused and added, “I’ve seen the dragon trapped beneath this tower before.”
“Ah? Where?” Wukong asked.
“The Supreme of the Three Purities is Yuan Shi. When he first established the Heavenly Court, he always rode in a nine-dragon carriage. The dragon underground is one of those nine dragons that pulled the carriage,” Dayu explained.
Wukong imagined Yuan Shi’s majestic appearance—a celestial being riding in a carriage high in the heavens, pulled by nine dragons—what an impressive sight!
“What a grand display!” Wukong sighed, then added, “There are five Dragon Suppressing Towers in this realm. Presumably, those five dragons are all Yuan Shi’s mounts. The dragon race, supposed to be the rulers of all scaled creatures, has declined to such a state—it’s truly lamentable.”
Dayu said, “Don’t say that. It’s said that Yuan Shi has the bloodline of Pangu. With such status, it’s not too harsh for the dragon race.”
Wukong asked, “I wonder where the bloodline of the esteemed Dayu ancestor comes from?”
Dayu was taken aback and laughed, “I don’t know either.”
Wukong said, “Then he’s just an ordinary person.” Dayu nodded, not understanding Wukong’s meaning.
Wukong continued, “I imagine that in later generations, the Great Sage and National Teacher, King Bodhisattva, would take pride in Dayu’s bloodline. Yet little do they know that Dayu too started as an ordinary person and became an ancient deity.”
Dayu laughed and said, “The older a rumor gets, the more mysterious it becomes.”
Wukong asked, “Could Pangu have also been an ordinary person?”
Hearing this, Dayu trembled. Wukong’s idea was utterly bizarre—how could Pangu, the deity who created the world, be an ordinary person? But since Wukong had given King Bodhisattva as an example and he couldn’t find any evidence to refute it, he could only say, “Your claim is truly astonishing.”
Wukong said, “There were no gods in the world originally. It was only because of fools that gods came into existence.” These words were imitated from the tone of a literati from later times, but spoken now, they carried deep meaning.
Wukong said again, “Perhaps people only distinguish between different levels of magical power and abilities, and use that to judge the nobility or humility of one’s bloodline. That’s rather absurd. I don’t agree with that view. Those who stand high above may not deserve endless worship, while those who live simply might actually be sages of their time.”
Dayu listened with growing astonishment, his face showing admiration. He sighed, “It’s truly a great fortune to converse with such a wise and divine ape.” Wukong replied, “I’ve just blurted out some wild words. Please don’t take them seriously, elder.”
After leaving the Dragon Subduing Tower, Dayu said, “From what you’ve said, there seem to be other two realms connected to this one. Shall we go take a look?” Wukong said, “Since we have nothing else to do, let’s go.”
The path from the Realm of Slaughter to the Realm of the Self is called the “Mystical Path,” while the path from the Realm of the Self back to the Realm of Slaughter is called the “Void Path.” The two used their supernatural powers and arrived at the Void Path in an instant, entering it without hesitation. With their abilities, they naturally felt no fear.
After exploring the Realm of Slaughter, Wukong found that it was far less peaceful than the Realm of the Self, with far fewer people. He randomly approached a cultivator to inquire, and only then learned that three hundred years ago, after the phrase “Half the cycle ends, heaven and earth unite” appeared in the sky, chaos erupted in the Realm of Slaughter, leading to endless battles and suffering for all living beings.
Wukong told Dayu, “If this continues, even before the sky collapses, few will be left from all the fighting among themselves.” Dayu replied, “What can be done when people’s hearts are like this?”
Unaware of it, the two flew into Yuhuo Continent. As they flew in the sky, they saw a figure emerging from the continuous mountains and heading straight for them. Wukong looked closely and realized they had arrived in the territory of the Six-Eared Monkey. Three hundred years had passed, yet it still remembered him.
Wukong smiled at Dayu and said, “This is an old acquaintance. You can just watch from the side, elder.”
Sure enough, the Six-Eared Monkey said nothing and swung its golden staff at Wukong. After their last battle, Wukong had disappeared without a trace. The Monkey had searched tirelessly for him, missing an opponent to train against, and had been frustrated for a long time.
Wukong raised his staff to meet it, and the two fought.
The Six-Eared Monkey had practiced hard for three hundred years, making rapid progress, but it could not compare to Wukong’s innate talent. After just over a dozen rounds, it showed signs of defeat. This was because Wukong was being lenient, considering the Monkey’s feelings and not wanting to cause it frustration.
The Six-Eared Monkey was shocked by the extreme heaviness of Wukong’s staff and the flawless, unpredictable nature of his moves. It wasn’t stupid either; realizing it couldn’t defeat Wukong, it turned to leave, and Wukong didn’t stop it.
At that moment, Dayu shook his sleeves, and a length of several thousand feet of fabric emerged, wrapping around the Golden Cudgel in the Six-Eared Monkey’s hand. He snatched it away in one motion. The Six-Eared Monkey felt pain in his heart but dared not rush to reclaim it. With a resentful glance, he vanished into the mountains.
Wukong was quite surprised. Given Dayu’s character, how could he do such a thing as stealing someone else’s weapon? But then he thought that the Golden Cudgel originally belonged to Dayu, so it was only right that it return to its rightful owner.
Holding the Golden Cudgel, Dayu laughed and said, “Wukong, fortune has brought you to me again.”
Wukong asked, “Where is this fortune?”
Dayu replied, “Now that all four Golden Cudgels are gathered, I intend to remelt the iron rod in your hands. With 54,000 jin of golden essence at my disposal, its power will surely reach new heights.”
It turned out that Dayu had taken the Golden Cudgel for his own benefit. Wukong felt grateful but also thought that the Six-Eared Monkey would likely no longer have a suitable weapon. Without that iron rod, he would never be able to pretend to be Sun Wukong again.
Dayu said, “I observe that monkey is no ordinary creature. I wonder if he belongs to the line of the Divine Ape of Fate?”
Wukong replied, “It’s just a guess of mine. I can’t tell for sure at the moment.”
Dayu nodded and said, “Everything will become clear eventually. This trip wasn’t in vain. I’ll go back and ask Zhu Rong to help me remelt this iron.”
Wukong said, “Since I’m already here, I have an acquaintance in this realm. It would be good to visit him as well.”
Dayu said, “That won’t take too long.”
So the two flew northward, heading straight for Luoyun City to find the Nine-Headed Worm.
At that time, the Nine-Headed Worm was arranging his troops in the city, planning to raid other places. Seeing Wukong and another person descending, he welcomed them joyfully and exchanged pleasantries.
Upon seeing the Nine-Headed Worm, Dayu felt something stir in his heart. He sent a message to Wukong, “Don’t get too close to this person. Just keep a superficial relationship.”
Wukong didn’t know the reason but remembered his words. The Nine-Headed Worm wanted to keep him there permanently, but Wukong said he still had important matters in his own realm. He had been in seclusion for three hundred years and had only come out now, first to visit an old friend. After finishing those matters, he would definitely come back for a feast.
Seeing Wukong’s sincerity, the Nine-Headed Worm stopped insisting. Wukong then bid farewell to Dayu.
On the way back, Wukong asked Dayu with a smile, “Does the elder still know how to read faces?”
Dayu replied, “No. Why?”
Wukong said, “Just by taking a glance, you knew this person wasn’t someone to get close to. Isn’t that the skill of reading faces?”
Dayu said, “When I saw the Nine-Headed Worm, I suddenly remembered someone.”
Wukong asked, “Who?”
Dayu replied, “Xiang Liu.”