Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Told – Chapter 177: The Secret of Clarity

Wukong listened to the King of Yama nagging for a while longer before releasing him and saying, “Be careful!” Then he left the great hall. The King of Yama sat slumped on the ground, unable to recover for a long time, as if he had just had a nightmare.
After leaving the Hall of Yama, he saw the ghost messengers busily capturing spirits and sending them away. Yet Wukong felt an indescribable irritability. He searched through the ten halls several times but ultimately failed to find the residence of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, so he left in frustration.
After flying up from that abyss, he saw Nezha, the Four Great Vajras, and the Twenty-Eight Stars wandering in the sky from afar. Unfazed, Wukong drew out his Ruyi Tianji Stick and attacked. The heavenly generals, knowing that Wukong had emerged just a few days earlier, formed a battle formation to confront him.
If Wukong had wanted to leave, it would have taken just a moment, but he was puzzled—why had the Heavenly Court sent these people, knowing they couldn’t defeat him, only to invite trouble for themselves?
With his stick techniques, how could the Twenty-Eight Stars resist? After receiving just one or two of Wukong’s moves, their arms became numb, and their weapons even flew out of their hands. Moreover, numerous spells proved ineffective against Wukong—this monkey truly seemed like an invincible monster.
As he fought, Wukong headed westward, with Nezha and the Four Great Vajras following behind, along with the groaning Twenty-Eight Stars. They did not challenge him directly but merely kept a distance. Wukong ignored them and headed straight for the Northern Sea. He had already mastered the elements of metal, wood, and fire among the five elements, but water and earth remained unmastered. This time, he intended to seek Wu Zhiqi to learn the power to control water. As for the group behind him, he really didn’t care much—only that he needed to find a way to keep their identities hidden.
With this in mind, Wukong turned south at full speed. He wanted to keep the Heavenly Court in the dark about his destination. Once he reached the south, he could simply use his cloud somersault to return—who could catch up?
Yet after traveling about a thousand li, he heard a loud shout from the sky: “Where is the demon monkey going?” A blinding flash of lightning followed. Wukong quickly retracted his form, but how could he avoid the heavenly thunder?
Emperor Gouchen waited patiently, aiming to catch Wukong off guard. For someone of his status, launching a surprise attack was truly the first time in his life. The thunderbolt struck right between Wukong’s eyes. He felt his entire body go weak, as if all his powers had left him, and he plummeted straight down, muttering, “Not good!”
Seeing that his strike had worked, Emperor Gouchen ordered, “Capture the demon monkey.”

Nezha and the others arrived just in time. Seeing that the demon monkey had no strength left to resist, they unfurled a large net to intercept it beneath Wukong. Floating in midair, Wukong was clear-headed but unable to move his body. Just as he thought he would surely be captured, he felt the lightning within him move on its own to his arms and instantly enter the Ruyi Tianji Stick.

Wukong immediately regained his freedom, overjoyed at the discovery that the Ruyi Tianji Stick had such a function. Seeing the net beneath him, he swung the stick, unleashing bolts of lightning that shattered the net into pieces. The heavenly generals, witnessing Emperor Gouchen land a heavy blow on Wukong only for him to recover instantly, were shocked and stepped back.

Even more astonished was Emperor Gouchen. After all, lightning magic involved the combination of metal and fire, with the five elements interacting in cycles of generation and restraint. Merging any two elements was extremely difficult, let alone breaking through such a spell—it was as hard as scaling the heavens. The demon monkey not only remained unharmed but also used Emperor Gouchen’s own lightning against him, which was utterly unbelievable.

Wukong retrieved Emperor Gouchen’s lightning and, seeing Emperor Gouchen appear among the clouds, grew angry. One of the Six Imperial Aids resorting to ambush tactics! Without saying a word, he swung his stick at Emperor Gouchen.

Emperor Gouchen had no weapons in his hands, but when he saw Wukong charging, he remained calm. With a flick of his hands, his left hand transformed into a giant black hammer, and his right hand into a golden staff. The hammer and staff intersected, creating a web of lightning that kept Wukong at bay.

Unfazed, Wukong continued to swing the Ruyi Tianji Stick with full force. Emperor Gouchen smirked coldly—the lightning web was destroyed like burnt spider silk the moment it touched the stick, vanishing without a trace.

Only then did Emperor Gouchen show signs of panic. He dodged the iron stick with a quick movement, narrowed his eyes, and said to Wukong, “Dareful demon monkey! How dare you attack me?”

Wukong laughed loudly, “Do you still think you’re something? Just a thief who relies on ambushes! Fighting you would tarnish my reputation!” He raised his voice on purpose so that Nezha and the Vajra Stars could hear clearly.

Realizing Wukong wanted to provoke him, Emperor Gouchen suppressed his anger and said, “The Third Prince and I will seal off all exits. Today, I will capture this demon monkey alive!”

Wukong shouted, “Great! I’ll test your strength today!” Then he charged forward again.

Knowing Wukong’s strange weapons, Emperor Gouchen quickly dodged to the side and said, “If you’re not afraid of death, come at me!”

But Wukong only feinted, twisted his waist, and vanished in a somersault cloud.

Meanwhile, Nezha, the Four Great Vajras, and the Twenty-Eight Stars were about to form a battle formation when they found Wukong missing, leaving them at a loss. Seeing Wukong escape, Emperor Gouchen cursed, “What a cunning demon monkey!”

The others returned empty-handed and went back to heaven without mentioning it. Wukong performed a somersault and arrived at the sea’s core in the Northern Sea. He knew he couldn’t defeat Gou Chen at this moment; although it seemed he had the upper hand, it was only because Gou Chen had underestimated him. Fighting with him now was pointless—just keeping the heavenly soldiers from figuring out his whereabouts would suffice. He used his water control skill to dive straight into the sea. A few small dragons saw Wukong enter the sea and went to report it. Unexpectedly, Wukong quickly sent those dragons flying and arrived at the underwater palace first. Wu Zhiqi and Fu Haijiao were training their subordinates when they saw Wukong coming through the waves. They rushed forward joyfully, saying, “Wukong has arrived!” Wukong smiled and asked, “Did you call for me?” Wu Zhiqi replied, “It was you who said you’d come; who else would call for you?” Wukong said, “If you have nothing to do, then I have something to do.” He then told Wu Zhiqi about his desire to learn water control skills. Wu Zhiqi said, “This is extremely easy.” Wukong asked, “How can it be easy? I’ve already learned the other five elements, and each took about a hundred years.” Wu Zhiqi replied, “That was someone else teaching you. If I teach you, it will only take half a year.” Wukong exclaimed, “Don’t try to fool me!” Wu Zhiqi ignored him and turned to Fu Haijiao, saying, “I’ll go into seclusion with Wukong in the back hall. You stay here and take care of things.” Fu Haijiao stepped forward and asked, “What skill is it? Can I learn it too?” Wu Zhiqi glared at him and said, “Apart from your scales all over your body, I can still teach you.” Fu Haijiao shuddered and said, “Then better not.” Among the Eight Saints, Fu Haijiao feared Wu Zhiqi the most. Wu Zhiqi led Wukong into the back hall, found a secluded room, and said, “Half a year is an overestimate. If everything goes smoothly, it will take three or four months.” The more Wukong listened, the less he understood. He asked, “Could it be that the skills you teach are very different from theirs?” Wu Zhiqi replied, “The theory of the five elements may seem mysterious, but for us, it’s extremely simple. What you learned before was correct—you were indeed exploring the secrets of the five elements. The mistake was in the approach of tracing back to the origin.” Wukong asked, “What’s wrong with tracing back to the origin?” Wu Zhiqi said, “That’s the way ordinary people do it. When others learn the art of the five elements, they progress from the basics upward, which is logical. But I, as a divine ape born of nature, can naturally generate the five elements—why go against that?” Wukong listened, half understanding, and said, “Just tell me how to learn it.” Wu Zhiqi replied, “It’s not about teaching you, but awakening the innate methods of the five elements within your own nature. Do you still remember the water control skill I taught you back at the Great Sage’s Temple?”