Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 343: Metal Gives Birth to Water

Although Laojun’s cultivation was extremely high, he still could not attain Pangu’s essence like Yuanshi, and there were many principles he found difficult to comprehend. Hearing Yuanshi’s explanation, he immediately asked, “What about the Yin-Yang Divine Apes?”
Yuanshi replied, “Based on my reasoning, human Yin and Yang are similar to those of heaven and earth. In terms of heaven, the sun represents Yang, while the moon represents Yin—these are the Yin and Yang of heaven. If we consider the sun as the awakened state of the Yin-Yang Divine Apes, then the moon represents their sleeping state. Since the light of heaven and earth endures forever, the moon is not in utter darkness.”
After hearing this, Laojun said, “So, according to what you say, the Yin-Yang Divine Apes are always awake?”
Yuanshi answered, “Not exactly. In short, they represent two extremes—Lingming is hard to awaken, while Yin and Yang are easy to awaken. Perhaps this is why Tathagata keeps the Yin-Yang Divine Apes firmly under control.”
Laojun shook his head and said, “I still don’t understand. If Tathagata brings the Yin-Yang and Lingming Divine Apes together, there must be some hidden reason.”
Yuanshi smiled and said, “You come to ask me—then who else can I ask? When the Yin-Yang Divine Apes reach Qitian Ridge and are influenced by the wind, they are confused and lost. This is likely the most difficult time for them.”
Laojun said, “I was too simplistic. I thought that if the seven divine apes gathered, they could combine a portion of the essence of creation, which would be highly beneficial.”
Yuanshi replied, “There is indeed benefit, but now is not the right time. All seven divine apes have suffered severe injuries. Even Wang Yu and the others have not fully awakened and are unaware of many taboos.”
Laojun asked, “There are still taboos?”
Yuanshi nodded. “That’s right. I only mentioned half of it. As for heaven, Yin and Yang have already been determined. On earth, water represents Yin, and fire represents Yang. Thus, when the Yin-Yang Divine Apes encounter water, they sleep; when they encounter fire, they become awake. As for the interrelationships among the five elements, it’s quite complex. If all seven gather together, it’s uncertain whether it will bring fortune or disaster. Only when they are all awake can things be guaranteed.”
Laojun was shocked and murmured, “Sleep when encountering water, awake when encountering fire?” Suddenly, he exclaimed, “Then aren’t the Intelligent Divine Apes related to fire? They actually encountered each other now!”
Yuanshi said, “The Intelligent Divine Apes are still not awake. What use is it if they meet?”
Laojun smiled and said, “It seems I was too hasty. It’s just that the Lingming Divine Apes are having good fortune this lifetime, and I can’t help but become impatient.”
Yuanshi replied, “Lingming is the leader of the divine apes. All the other creative divine apes rely on him.”
Laojun pointed at his gourd and laughed, “He’s enjoying the blessings inside!”
Yuanshi was stunned and asked, “What blessings?”
Laojun recounted the story of the gray-robed monk from the Western Heaven allegedly being one of the three thousand Buddhas, as well as the incident where the Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor asked Yuanshi to release the seventy-two Golden Immortals. Yuanshi pointed at Laojun and smiled helplessly, saying, “Overkill.”

Laojun said, “Please enlighten me, senior brother.”
Yuanshi replied, “I’ve never seen the Creation Furnace on Ling Mountain, but I imagine it’s much like the one in the Heavenly Court. Inside that furnace are countless arrays, where moving one thread affects the whole. It seems that the Tathagata, after years of refinement and understanding the essence of these arrays, dared to exchange out three people. With one of the Three Thousand Buddhas missing, those arrays could be completely destroyed at any moment. That’s why it’s merely an ‘exchange’—do you understand?”
Laojun smiled and said, “Of course I understand. That’s why I agreed to the Jade Emperor’s request. Whether in the Western Heaven or the Heavenly Court, having three more Hunyuan Golden Immortals won’t affect the overall situation. But with just a small trick, you can exchange for three Peach Fruits—quite worthwhile indeed.”
“Three Peach Fruits? The Queen Mother has great courage!” Yuanshi said.
Laojun nodded and said, “Exactly. Even I was surprised. It seems that after the discussion at the Jade Pool last time, the Jade Emperor no longer wants to appear weak in the West.”
Yuanshi said, “Ziwei and Zhenwu are good. If they take reckless risks, it could ruin everything.”
Laojun said, “Ziwei and Zhenwu aren’t surrendering, but as long as they don’t cause trouble, the Jade Emperor will be much more at ease.”
“That’s natural. One is the Great Emperor of the North Pole, who commands all the stars in the world, and the other is the Ancestral Dragon, the ruler of all dragons. No one dares to underestimate these two forces.”
Laojun said, “It seems you’ve agreed then.”
Yuanshi said, “You’ve even brought the peach fruits. How could I refuse? But this is a very good move. Though there are many creations in the world, what could compare to Peach Fruits for the Creation Divine Ape?”
Laojun asked again, “In your opinion, how many people at most can the Three Thousand Buddhas exchange for?”
Yuanshi replied, “The arrays in the Creation Furnace vary in difficulty. What the Tathagata exchanged must be from the outermost layers. Since I’ve never seen the design of that furnace, I can’t be sure. But for the Creation Furnace in the Heavenly Court, I’m confident I can exchange for the numbers of the Great Yan Sequence.”
Laojun was quite surprised and asked, “Fifty people?”
Yuanshi nodded and said, “But since Ling Mountain managed to exchange out three people, the Heavenly Court only needs three as well—more is unnecessary.”
Laojun said, “Your words are wise. But if I mention one more thing, I’m afraid you won’t think so anymore.”
Yuanshi asked, “What is it?”
With a serious expression, Laojun recounted how Wukong had explored the Buddhist hell connected to the River of Mother and Child.
Yuanshi’s expression turned solemn. After hearing this, he said, “In that case, the troubles in the Three Kingdoms must be related to this.”
Laojun nodded silently.
Yuanshi sighed and said, “Sages are heartless, treating ordinary people like straw dogs. And the title of ‘supreme sage’ belongs only to Hunyuan the Supreme. If judged by heart, no one can truly deserve it.”

Laojun understood Yuanshi’s thoughts. There were sages in the Western Heaven, and the Three Pure Ones were also sages, but when the sages in the Western Heaven took action to destroy ordinary people, they had gone beyond the realm of “lack of compassion” and were no different from wanton killing. Even the Three Pure Ones were moved upon hearing this, and even Yuanshi was deeply affected—this was not the behavior of sages.

Yuanshi said, “The Western Heaven has gathered so much creative energy, all for use in the Furnace of Creation. You should ask Randaling where the troubles of the Three Kingdoms originated.”

Laojun replied, “I will follow my senior brother’s orders.”

Yuanshi remained silent for a long time, then looked at Laojun’s gourd and said, “Wukong, oh Wukong, do not disappoint the hopes of so many people!”

※　※　※

At this moment, Wukong was in great joy. After consuming a peach of immortality, the creative energy within his body began to move swiftly, flowing like golden threads through his body. There was no pain at all—only an indescribable sense of pleasure.

As the power of the peach spread, the threads of creative energy gradually solidified and merged into golden strands, which after a while turned into golden arrows. Wukong felt as though his body had become part of the void, with golden arrows moving chaotically within it. Occasionally, when two arrows collided, they would merge into one.

It was unclear how long this continued, but as the arrows decreased, the golden creative energy grew denser, eventually coalescing into the shape of the Qi Tian Gun. Wondering what was happening, Wukong used his mind to move the gun. Without any deliberate effort, he simply let his thoughts guide it. The Qi Tian Gun seemed to be controlled by an invisible force, gradually forming a set of martial techniques. Wukong was astonished—these techniques were similar to those of the Qi Tian Gun but also included many variations.

His thoughts continued unabated, and the Qi Tian Gun, formed from creative energy, was moved for half an hour before starting over again—each sequence of moves having been completed. Overjoyed, Wukong realized that the Qi Tian Gun could be used in this way. Since a staff is inherently a tool of great strength, although he had known earlier that the Qi Tian Gun could transform in countless ways, he had only used it as a Golden Cudgel to conceal its true nature.

These martial techniques combined hardness and softness, with each move being ingenious. Sometimes the first half of a move was extremely fierce, while the second half became gentle as silk. Suddenly, Wukong remembered a saying: “Great softness is not soft; ultimate hardness is not hard.” It seemed to describe exactly this.

Wukong memorized these techniques thoroughly. Whenever he thought of them, the Qi Tian Gun, formed from creative energy, would instantly disperse into threads of energy, returning to every corner of his body.

At that moment, a sharp golden energy surged within him, causing his entire body to feel tingling and itchy in a very pleasant way. Meanwhile, the creative energy in his body was covered with a bright golden glow.

Where the golden light shone, it seemed to refine Wukong’s entire body. Wukong already possessed a body of diamond-like strength, and now he gained an extraordinary degree of flexibility as well. He thought to himself that this must be related to the wonderful Qitian Staff techniques he had learned—the principle of combining utmost hardness with utmost softness, under the influence of the power of the Immortal Peach, not only took root deeply in his mind but also transformed into reality, bringing great benefits to his physical body.

At that moment, Wukong felt that his control over golden energy had reached a new level. Recalling all the weapons Ru Shou had taught him, he suddenly realized that it wasn’t just the staff techniques—any weapon or magical artifact, if mastered to the extreme, could embody both hardness and softness.

Wukong pondered the essence of controlling golden energy in silence, growing increasingly convinced of its correctness. After what felt like an eternity, his body trembled, and he was overjoyed—he had finally overcome the last obstacle in mastering golden energy.

Before he could fully rejoice, he sensed another surge of power within him, like raging waves in a stormy sea.

For a moment, Wukong couldn’t tell whether the power within him was like water in a boat or if his own body was the boat in the water. Since there was water, it was time to use his control over water energy. With a thought, he activated it, and wonders began to unfold.

The power within him, once turbulent as a flood seeking an outlet, suddenly calmed down as he used his water control skills. As the power of the Immortal Peach spread, its color deepened from light to dark, eventually turning into a pale black.

The Hunyuan Dao Fruit within him, which originally had hues of black, white, red, and green, now appeared entirely pale black. Was this good or bad? Wukong felt slightly uneasy and dared not act rashly.

As he remained still, the power within him also ceased to move. It seemed as though Wukong and the power within him had reached a tacit understanding. Although he had previously been able to control the flow of power, he had never experienced such immediate response to his thoughts before. After a long while, his mind cleared, and the strands of pale black energy appeared to him as flowing water—water like the waterfall before the Cave of the Water Curtain on Flower-Fruit Mountain, like the tranquil lake reflecting his second true form in the three realms, like the vast ocean within the mouth of the Kunpeng, like the sea spirit given to him by Wu Zhiqi…

Suddenly, memories of his first arrival on Flower-Fruit Mountain came to mind—walking barefoot to Beiju Luzhou, with snow falling from the sky and mountains and rivers frozen over. The day he encountered snow in front of Jinpao Mountain, with its old appearance now transformed. The day the power within the Mother River surged, appearing clear yet murky. The day in the netherworld, with dark currents in the black water, seemingly solid yet fluid.

Gradually, the dark, flowing energy began to glow, transforming into the eyes of the Dragon Maiden of the South Sea, staring intently at Wukong…