Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapters 33, 34, 35 – Challenges Arise

Suddenly, Wukong thought of Chang’e. The Nine Heavens’ Mystic Maiden had left behind such a mysterious daughter. If the Three Pure Ones knew, surely the Tathagata must also be aware.
Judging from the Tathagata’s expression, he still held considerable trepidation toward the Nine Heavens’ Mystic Maiden. Why didn’t he try to take control of Chang’e? Or perhaps the Tathagata had already tested her, and found no connection between her and the Mystic Maiden?
Wukong always felt that someone like the Nine Heavens’ Mystic Maiden would not readily sacrifice herself. But if it wasn’t Chang’e, then who could it be?
Wukong increasingly believed that the current Buddha Tathagata was in frequent contact with the Three Pure Ones’ master. Hearing the conversation between the Tathagata and the Mystic Maiden only reinforced this belief.
The Tathagata was determined to firmly control the two divine apes, Lingming and Yin-Yang. In his past life, he had disrupted things due to the Mystic Maiden; in this life, he arranged the quest for the scriptures. Among the seven divine apes, Lingming was the leader, followed by Yin-Yang. It seemed there were many secrets that the Tathagata knew better than even the divine apes. If he claimed to be a native of this era, Wukong really found it hard to believe.
The Tathagata said, “Mystic Maiden, have you forgotten how to escape the calamity of this era?” He also added, “Even if heaven and earth return to chaos, I still have a way to escape.” With his current level of cultivation, he was likely not even on par with the Qilin, Phoenix, and the Three Pure Ones. Why then was he so confident in saying such things? Could it be that he had helped the Three Pure Ones and the Mystic Maiden escape the calamity of the previous era? Could it be that he had created the Creation Furnace? If he had such great powers, why did he still have to be so cautious in his actions?
If these two Tathagatas were the same person, the Three Pure Ones would surely be extremely uneasy. Wukong suddenly had a strange idea: Could it be that the current Buddha Tathagata had inherited the memories of that other Tathagata but not his cultivation?
The Tathagata lacked the strength to retain the Nine Heavens’ Mystic Maiden and didn’t even consider fighting her—clearly, his power was insufficient. But why didn’t the Mystic Maiden kill the Tathagata? Why not eliminate him once and for all? This matter became increasingly incomprehensible.
Poor Nagarjuna—until his death, he never knew that he had been helping the villain all his life. If it weren’t for him being reborn as the divine ape Lingming, if it weren’t for him coming to this world, this secret might have remained hidden forever.
From Nagarjuna, Wukong thought of the Yin-Yang divine apes. He didn’t know how many lifetimes they had gone through, nor how they were born or died, but their suffering was a hundred times worse than Nagarjuna’s.
Fate was blameless, and the divine apes were blameless—yet they still had to endure such torment. Wukong was filled with rage, and a flame of indignation surged within him.

Suddenly, the purple flames faded gradually. Wukong was astonished to realize that this unnamed flame was none other than the “ghost flames” mentioned by Zhu Rong. Zhu Rong had said that such flames needed to be sought deep in the netherworld to find embers, so they could take root in the body and gradually be tempered. He had just been extremely angry, and yet ghost flames had appeared out of nowhere—wasn’t that a remarkable thing?

Wukong thought for a while. Anger alone might not be enough; there could also be the power of the Immortal Peach at play. This one Immortal Peach had brought him far too many surprises.

In just a short while, all the purple flames in his body turned into ghost flames, which he absorbed into the Hunyuan Dao Fruit. He had experienced the mutual generation of the five elements—metal, water, wood, fire—and now all four were complete; his gains were already immense.

Within the Hunyuan Dao Fruit, a wisp of earth-yellow energy drifted out, floating alone in the void of his body, seemingly forced out by the pressure of metal, wood, water, and fire. It should be noted that while the five elements generate and restrain each other, it’s not absolute. As the saying goes, “When water comes, earth covers it.” Logically, earth should be able to overcome water. But if the water’s force is extremely strong, it can even break dikes and dams—this is what’s called mutual destruction among the elements.

Watching this wisp of earth energy in the air, Wukong realized he had gone too far in his cultivation. The other elements were all strong, while earth was the weakest. To master the secrets of the Mysterious Void Technique, all five elements needed to be cultivated together.

Suddenly, Wukong had an idea. Laojun had said that time flowed very slowly in his furnace. Why not use this place to practice the mantras passed down by the Earth God, with the help of the power of the Immortal Peach? Perhaps it might yield remarkable results.

He already knew those mantras by heart. Wukong sat cross-legged and began to recite them silently.

※　※　※

In Qitian Ridge, Fengtong sat facing Qilin.

Qilin laughed loudly and said, “I really couldn’t tell. Your act was quite convincing.”

Fengtong asked, “I wonder if Guanyin can see through this trick.”

Qilin replied, “Doubt is inevitable. But Guanyin relies on her golden hoop as something invincible, so she surely won’t pay attention.”

Fengtong said, “It’s rather unusual that the elder doesn’t step in to stop us.”

Qilin laughed, “The northern foothills are far away. It’s understandable if I missed it for a moment. She’s too happy to have any doubts.”

Fengtong nodded. “Guanyin could never dream that I have a way to break her golden hoop.” He then turned to Qilin and said, “It’s better to hold off on taking action regarding the pilgrims for now.”

Qilin asked, “Why?”

Fengtong replied, “We don’t want to attract powerful beings who might expose the fake Wukong’s true identity.”

Qilin said, “Then let them pass safely. After all, the Thorns Ridge in the Western Sacrificial Country is also part of Qitian Ridge’s territory. If we need to stop them, we can wait until Wukong returns.”

※　※　※

The four of them, including Tang Seng, bid farewell to Guanyin and continued on toward the northwest. After what had happened before, everyone was much more cautious. The fake Wu Kong, though pretending to be the real one just for the sake of the act, also hoped for peace and safety. If his disguise were exposed, Wu Kong’s situation would become extremely difficult.

After traveling for a few days, Tang Seng saw a village ahead and said, “Disciples, we’ve been very tired these days. Look at that village over there—there’s smoke rising from the chimneys, showing a peaceful atmosphere. It must be a good place.”

The fake Wu Kong replied, “Master, it’s best to be careful. Let me go explore first.” With that, he soared on clouds to the village. There, he saw two old men playing chess by the main road, with another old man watching. The fake Wu Kong landed and asked, “Sir, what kind of village is this?”

The two playing chess didn’t even lift their heads, while the one watching turned to look at the fake Wu Kong, shuddered in fear, and stammered, “You’re… a monkey! How can you speak?”

The fake Wu Kong thought to himself that this place wasn’t far from Qitian Ridge. Could these old men have lived such a long life without ever seeing a demon? He said, “There are many strange creatures in the world. What’s so unusual about that?”

The old man placed a hand on his chest and said, “We’ve only heard about them; we’ve never seen any in real life.”

After taking a few more looks, the fake Wu Kong saw no signs of deception, so he went around the village again—still finding nothing unusual. Then he returned to find Tang Seng and said, “Master, it truly is a good place.” Tang Seng was overjoyed and urged his horse forward to the village entrance.

At that moment, the three old men were packing up their chessboards and heading back. The village roads were narrow, and the three of them, walking side by side, almost blocked the path, standing in front of Tang Seng’s horse.

Worse still, they moved extremely slowly. Tang Seng was hungry but didn’t want to rush them. Wu Ping, however, grew impatient, leaped forward, bowed first, and then said, “Sirs, could you please move aside so that my master can pass first?”

One of the old men glanced at Wu Ping, then at Tang Seng, and asked, “You’re much older than him. Why do you still call him master?” Tang Seng wasn’t actually Wu Ping’s master, but Wu Ping didn’t bother explaining. He replied, “My master is the Holy Monk of the Tang Dynasty—someone of great virtue and profound knowledge of Buddhism. One cannot judge his status by age.”

The old man showed a pleased expression and said, “If he has such profound knowledge of Buddhism, then indeed he deserves to be called master. May I ask—are you heading to the village?”

Wu Ping replied, “That’s right!”

The three old men stepped aside and said, “We’re also from this village. We have a keen interest in Buddhist scriptures. We’ll come back to ask more questions later. Please go ahead, Holy Monk.”

Tang Seng bowed back from his horse, and the four of them passed by the three elders and rushed forward to the village. Tang Seng dismounted and entered a larger household. His polite manners made him very likable, so he was offered vegetarian food and stayed there for the night.

Just as they sat down in the guest room, someone outside called out, “Is the holy monk from the Great Tang here?” Tang Seng opened the door and saw the three elders he had met on the road. He bowed and said, “Elders, I am humble.” The elders replied, “We have heard that your distinguished disciple said you are highly skilled in Buddhist teachings. I too have studied Buddhist scriptures for a few years but still have many doubts. I hope you will kindly enlighten me.” Tang Seng said, “I appreciate your praise, but I am not worthy of such honor. However, we can discuss the scriptures together.” He invited the three elders inside. Fake Wukong, Wu Ping, and Hong Haier—none of them liked studying scriptures. Seeing the four of them discussing them for what seemed like hours, they all left.

One of the elders sat down and asked, “Has the holy monk heard of ‘Yuan Dun’?” Tang Seng nodded, “Of course I know it.” The elder continued, “I’ve heard that ‘Yuan Dun’ is the path to Buddhahood. Is that true?” Tang Seng smiled and said, “Yuan Dun is a great teaching, and while it can lead to Buddhahood, ordinary people cannot achieve it in their lifetime. Practicing Buddhism is different from other practices; without a solid foundation, how could one receive such great opportunities?”

The elder nodded and said, “Thank you, holy monk. Let me ask another question: What does ‘The nature of return to origin is one; there are many paths to enlightenment’ mean?” Tang Seng replied, “All dharmas ultimately return to one. There is little difference in people’s true nature. In the end, perhaps only the word ‘Buddha’ remains. But though the ultimate truth is one, there are countless paths to enter it, and there’s no need to deliberately choose one.”

Another elder said, “Your words are like a revelation. I have a question that has puzzled me for years. I hope you can guide me.” Tang Seng said, “Elder, please feel free to ask.” The elder asked, “What does ‘Repentance eliminates further offenses and eradicates root karma’ mean?” Tang Seng praised, “Elders, you have read widely!” The elder replied, “Not at all; I’ve only skimmed through them.” Tang Seng explained, “This means that it doesn’t matter if one makes mistakes; as long as one repents sincerely and avoids repeating them, they can eradicate their karmic obstacles completely!” The elder asked, “Can even the most serious sins be forgiven?” Tang Seng answered, “All of them!” The elder then asked, “What if someone kills people in an entire country and then repents—can that be forgiven?” Tang Seng shuddered and said, “How could that be possible?” The elder laughed and said, “I’ve heard that King Tang waged wars across the land, causing countless deaths. If his sins cannot be forgiven, he would surely end up in the eighteen layers of hell.”

Tang Seng grew suspicious and asked, “May I know your noble surnames and names, gentlemen?”