Volume 3: A Long Journey Chapter 302: The Ring Formation

Wukong arrived at Qitian Ridge filled with doubts. The Qilin, looking vibrant as it gazed at the mountains, was startled upon seeing him and exclaimed, “That golden ring… Did you get rid of it so quickly?”
Wukong smiled bitterly. “It wasn’t that fast. For some reason, once I took on this form, I could no longer see the ring.”
The Qilin pondered, “Your second form… That’s not surprising. With your ability to transform, it makes sense you wouldn’t be able to see the ring. But since this artifact is rooted in the soul, go and see the Black Bear Demon.”
Wukong said, “There are strange formations on the ring. I can’t break them; I need Fengtong’s help.”
Soon, Fengtong brought the Black Bear Demon to meet Wukong. They found a secluded cave, where Wukong revealed his true form and showed Fengtong the golden ring on his head.
Seeing another ring on Wukong’s head, the Black Bear Demon burst into laughter. The Qilin glared at him, and he quickly stopped laughing. Fengtong looked at both of them and said, “These two magical artifacts must have been created by the same person.”
Wukong nodded. Fengtong’s analysis was roughly correct. “Is there also a formation on his ring?” Fengtong examined the golden ring on the Black Bear Demon’s head carefully and said, “There are formations, not just one. I can remove this ring.”
Wukong was overjoyed. Fengtong placed his hand on the Black Bear Demon’s head, closed his eyes, and focused his energy. He bypassed the formations inside the ring and cast a spell. Wukong saw strands of pale gray energy emanate from the ring and gather at Fengtong’s fingertips. Only the two of them could see this energy; the Qilin and the Black Bear Demon couldn’t.
After about half an hour, Fengtong absorbed all the energy from the ring. He said, “This energy is deeply embedded in the soul and dantian through this golden ring. Aside from you and me, I doubt anyone else can break it. If someone recites a spell that resonates with these formations, the victim would suffer greatly.”
Seeing the ring still on the Black Bear’s head, Wukong asked, “Why not remove it?”
Fengtong replied, “Although the energy inside is gone, to remove the ring, we first need to break the formation. Though it’s easy for me to enter the formation, breaking it requires some effort. Right now, though the ring is still on his head, it’s no longer effective. There’s no rush to remove it.”
Wukong said, “In that case, take a look at my ring too.”
Fengtong did as he was asked, placed his hand on Wukong’s head, and pondered for a long time, his expression shifting. Finally, he opened his eyes and said, “Do you remember when I told you about the most powerful formation in the world?”
Wukong thought for a moment and replied, “Was it the Yin-Yang Formation of heaven and earth?”
Fengtong nodded. “Exactly. I never thought I’d actually encounter it.”
Wukong was shocked. “What? You mean there’s a very powerful formation inside this ring?”

Tongfeng said, “Not bad. There are five formations in this ring, and three of them I can’t even name.”
Wukong’s heart sank. If Tongfeng didn’t recognize them, who else could? Unless it was the Primordial Heavenly Lord. As expected, Tongfeng continued, “My master should be able to recognize these formations, but he doesn’t have the ability to absorb their vital energy…”
Wukong smiled bitterly. “What should we do now?”
Tongfeng replied, “Don’t worry. I’ve already written down these formations. We can find an opportunity to consult my master. We must learn these formations at all costs.”
Wukong ordered the Black Bear Spirit to exit the cave, then stretched out his finger and condensed the light gray vital thread taken from the qilin. “Why is this vital energy so strange? How was it created?”
Tongfeng made a comparison and said, “It’s indeed identical to the vital energy in the golden hoop. This vital energy… though called vital energy, it doesn’t quite seem like it. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Wukong asked, “In the past, the Phoenix-Snake used this thing to find the qilin. With these two strands of vital energy in our bodies, won’t they cause any interference?”
Tongfeng shook his head and stored the strand of vital energy away. “Can you see any difference in me?” Wukong examined Tongfeng carefully for a long time. Once the vital energy entered Tongfeng’s body, it vanished without a trace, and it was impossible to detect. Apparently, only Tongfeng himself could control it.
Tongfeng said, “We live in this world using our vital energy bodies. Whenever vital energy enters our bodies, we can blend together. Though this vital energy is strange, it still can’t escape this world. Others naturally won’t be able to see it. You needn’t worry!”
Wukong put on the golden ring and felt extremely uncomfortable, unable to ignore its impact. The Phoenix-Snake wanted to capture the True Martial Qilin, obviously acting on someone else’s orders. Since Wukong had interfered, that person must have known. If that person resented him, it wouldn’t be good news at all.
And that person had an inseparable connection to the Western Heaven. The Tathagata would surely be aware of this. Wukong wondered if wearing this golden ring would have any impact on his journey to obtain the scriptures.
The more Wukong thought about it, the more depressed he became. He secretly vowed that in the future, whenever there was excitement, he would stay far away. But a battle between the five kings was something he would rarely see in his lifetime—how could he resist watching?
Hmm, after he was trapped by the golden ring, the Phoenix said, “Indeed, one thing subdues another.” What did that mean? Could this golden ring be a treasure specifically designed to subdue the Divine Ape of Vital Energy?

In “Journey to the West,” the Beautiful Monkey King tried repeatedly to free himself from the restraint of the headband on his journey to obtain the scriptures, but never succeeded until he converted to Buddhism and the headband was removed. This process is quite thought-provoking. Since the Beautiful Monkey King never experienced such circumstances—he remained a Taiyi Golden Immortal throughout and parted ways with the other six Great Saints—he most likely had no idea that he was actually the Divine Ape of Fate and was in a state of “unawakenedness,” hence he couldn’t comprehend the mystery of the headband.

If he were to remove the golden ring himself, wouldn’t that prove he already knew the secret of the Divine Ape of Fate? Could such an action alert the enemy? Could Guanyin’s urging to speed up the journey to obtain the scriptures be related to this? Was it necessary for him to reach the Western Heaven before awakening in order to fulfill Buddha’s wish?

Wukong, being cautious, felt much calmer upon thinking about it. This golden ring was different from the headband; there was no nagging Tang Seng around to control him, so it didn’t pose much of an issue for now.

He left the cave to look for Earthly Mother, who was sitting leisurely with Chang’e. Sensing someone outside the cave, she called Wukong in. Earthly Mother was naturally surprised to see the golden ring on Wukong’s head. Wukong didn’t go into details and simply found a wooden chair to sit on.

Chang’e, upon seeing Wukong enter, fixed her beautiful eyes on him without blinking, her gaze somewhat confused. Wukong found it strange—after all, he was the one who had reunited them as husband and wife—so why wasn’t she even polite?

Chang’e just stared at the golden ring on Wukong’s head, saying nothing. Earthly Mother was also slightly puzzled and asked, “Sister, what’s wrong?” Chang’e snapped out of it as if awakened from a dream and said, “It’s nothing. I think this golden ring has a mesmerizing effect, that’s why I was distracted.”

Hearing this, Wukong knew Chang’e was lying—surely the ring reminded her of something! Wukong asked, “Fairy Chang’e, are you living well at Qitian Ridge?”

Chang’e replied, “Thanks to everyone’s care, this place is like home. How could it not be good?”

Wukong asked, “Fairy, where’s your Jade Rabbit?”

Chang’e’s face turned slightly red. “One day I took her for a walk, and she disappeared into the bushes. My magic is weak, and I’ve searched for her for a long time without success.”

Seeing that Chang’e didn’t seem to be lying, Wukong said, “If she recognizes you as her master, she will return sooner or later.”

Chang’e said, “Perhaps she’s not used to it. The Jade Rabbit is also a sentient being. If she wanted to return, she would have done so by now. It’s been several years already, sigh.”

Wukong asked further, “Fairy Chang’e, do you still have any living parents?”

Chang’e replied, “Parents? They passed away tens of thousands of years ago.”

Wukong nodded. Hou Yi had said that Chang’e was reborn in a small tribe, and if her parents in this life hadn’t become immortals, they would surely be long gone by now.
Hou Tu smiled and asked, “Wukong, have you come to look for me or Sister Chang’e?”
Wukong replied, “Just chatting a bit.” He then asked Hou Tu, “Lady Hou Tu, where has the Armless Divine Ape gone?”
Hou Tu said, “He’s still in the Abyss of Nine Netherworlds.”
“Why did he go there?”
Hou Tu replied, “How could I know about matters between you brothers? Once he sees Fengtong, he hides far away—could it be due to old grudges?”
Wukong shook his head. The Creative Divine Ape and he were one being; how could there be any grudges? Suddenly, Wukong remembered a phrase said by the Celestial Master Lingbao: “Those spirits wander between heaven and earth; they enter when they encounter earth, flee when they encounter wood, and are pleased when they encounter fire.” Fengtong belonged to the element of wood, which precisely overcomes earth! Could that be why the Armless Divine Ape fled upon seeing Fengtong?
Wukong sighed, “When will the Armless Divine Ape be able to regain his true form?”
Hou Tu said, “Once he reaches the Hunyuan realm, it will be no problem. Didn’t you notice his personality change greatly when he saw you back then?”
Wukong replied, “I hadn’t met him many times before; how could I know what kind of person he was?”
Hou Tu said, “Since you don’t understand the art of controlling earth with the five elements, it’s natural for you to find it hard to understand him. Having spent time with him, I can easily tell.”
Wukong asked, “Is this change in personality good or bad?”
Hou Tu replied, “Of course it’s good! Before, the Armless Divine Ape was in a daze, deliberately forgetting many things and pretending to be clueless. Now that he’s devoted himself to hard practice, he’s full of vitality.”
Wukong was overjoyed. Wasn’t this exactly what he wanted?
Wukong stood up and bowed to Hou Tu, saying, “Thank you, Lady Hou Tu, for your help.”
Hou Tu smiled and said, “I merely offered assistance. If I hadn’t met you, the Armless Divine Ape would likely still be in his old state. You’re the one who drives things forward! I’ve told the Armless Divine Ape that if he can achieve the Hunyuan body, I will surely help him regain his true form.”
Wukong thought for a moment, then took out three golden elixirs from his bosom. These elixirs were obtained from the Old Lord Laozi when he left the three realms years ago and had never been used.
Wukong handed the elixirs to Hou Tu and said, “If you have time, please give these three elixirs to him; they should help him with his cultivation.” Hou Tu took the elixirs and exclaimed in admiration, “Indeed fine elixirs! I can’t help but want to swallow them just by looking at them.”
Wukong laughed and said, “Lady Hou Tu has seen countless treasures; why would you be attracted to just a few golden elixirs?”
Over there, Chang’e saw the three elixirs and murmured, “These are… the golden elixirs of the Supreme Old Lord Laozi.”

Wukong was stunned and asked, “Fairy Chang’e, how do you know her?”
Chang’e did not answer Wukong. With one jade hand, she supported her head and said to Hou Tu, “Sister, my head hurts a bit today. I’ll come talk to you another day.”
Hou Tu replied, “Sure, as you wish.”
Wukong watched Chang’e’s stunning figure leave the cave, lost in thought.