Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 353: Who Is Coming?

Wukong was immersed in the sea of fire. Instead of feeling pain, he actually enjoyed the warm sensation. The purple flames that attacked him had no effect at all, but at that moment, Wukong noticed that his Tianji Stick had changed.
The purple flames emitted from the Flame Buddha’s palm merged into the sea of fire, and the Qitian Stick instinctively began to draw them in. Wukong was stunned—turns out the Qitian Stick was sentient. Even without his command, it could protect him.
At first, Wukong thought it was the stick’s innate ability to protect its master. But as more and more purple flames were drawn in, something within the Qitian Stick seemed to awaken, causing it to vibrate in his hands. When Wukong reached out with his mental power, he suddenly remembered what it was!
Before he was trapped under the Five Elements Mountain, the God of Gouchen commanded 108 Thunder Generals to set up the “Tiangang Disha Purple Thunder Formation” in an attempt to kill Wukong with purple lightning. Unexpectedly, the Ruyi Tianji Stick absorbed those lightning bolts, countless of them. He had gradually forgotten about this incident over time. Now, with the absorption of purple flames, the purple lightning within it had been awakened. What was the reason behind this?
Although Wukong had used the Ruyi Tianji Stick for a long time, he still didn’t know its true functions or why it was called the Tianji Stick.
Having achieved perfection in the five elements, Wukong tended to think in terms of these elements in everything. This iron stick was forged from gold essence, so its natural element was metal. It was also smelted in a Xirang furnace, making it related to earth. It had been baked in the fire of Zhurong for centuries, so fire energy was undoubtedly a part of it as well.
Using the Tianji Stick, he had entered two formations in the Tongtian River and the Zimu River. Could the Tianji Stick also be related to water? After pondering for a long time, Wukong couldn’t figure out any connection between it and wood.
As for this purple lightning… Wukong always thought lightning belonged to metal and fire. Could it actually belong to wood?
It was truly an extraordinary tale—someone who had achieved perfection in the five elements didn’t know the nature of lightning. But Wukong hadn’t risen step by step. As a Divine Ape of Creation, he had shortcuts everywhere and never had the chance to focus on fundamental elements. Yet, he guessed correctly—although lightning seemed related to metal and fire, it actually belonged to wood.
Wukong wasn’t sure if his guess was right. He saw that more and more purple lightning accumulated within the Tianji Stick, ready to burst out. So, he aimed at the Great Ming Buddha and released that pulse of purple lightning.

At this moment, Wukong finally sensed the presence of wood element magic. The thunderstorms rolled like endless falling leaves. The Tianji Stick could actually store wood element magic. All things in the world are based on the five elements, but some things are difficult to distinguish—such as heaven, earth, thunder, wind, mountains, and marshes. Further broken down, beneath the five elements lie the Eight Trigrams. Among the Eight Trigrams, wood corresponds to Zhen and Xun, while thunder and wind both belong to Zhen, and Zhen in turn belongs to wood; thus, thunder is classified under the wood element.

But what connection did the purple flames emitted by the Flame Buddha have with the wood element? Could it be that wood gives rise to fire? Why couldn’t he directly sense the presence of wood element magic from the purple flames? Why did he have to use the Tianji Stick to discern it?

Wukong naturally didn’t know that the Great Brightness Buddha and the Flame Buddha had once studied the methods by which past Buddhas achieved enlightenment, practicing diligently under the Sarva Tree. Yet due to insufficient self-realization, they failed to become Buddhas but instead developed great powers related to the wood element. It was only later, with the guidance of the Tathagata, that they finally attained a state of impermanence and non-existence.

The two of them combined wood and fire to create fierce flames, which naturally contained the essence of the wood element. Although Wukong had a complete mastery of the five elements, he still knew very little about the magical powers associated with them. In the past, he had only superficially learned these arts in the three realms without delving deeply into them.

But given time, with his current foundation, Wukong would one day be able to perceive the inner nature of various spells at a glance. By then, based on the principles of the interdependence and mutual restraint of the five elements, few would be able to match him.

It was unknown how much purple thunder energy was contained in this thunder pillar, but its speed was extremely fast. The Great Brightness Buddha knew that although these purple flames were powerful, they might not be enough to subdue Zhuanxu. So he prepared his spells, waiting for Wukong to emerge so he could strike him head-on.

After waiting and waiting, an unparalleled purple thunder bolt appeared—a thunder pillar over a foot thick that struck his chest. The Great Brightness Buddha was flung aside and could finally hold back a gush of dark red blood.

His defeat terrified Anuo, Kasyapa, and the others. The Great Brightness Buddha and the Flame Buddha were extraordinary masters in the Spirit Mountain. If it weren’t for the death of the Great Wisdom King Buddha, how would they have dared to reveal themselves so easily?

Who would have thought that Zhuanxu was so hidden? Although they had heard of his reputation before, they had never seen his strength like this. Alone, he had killed the Great Wisdom King Buddha, repelled Manjushri and Samantabhadra, severed one arm of the Pearl Light Buddha, and injured the Great Brightness Buddha… If there were more Zhuanxus in the Qi Tian Ridge, the Western Heaven would be in great danger!

Seeing the Great Brightness Buddha defeated, the Flame Buddha’s expression turned grim. He floated back and helped the Great Brightness Buddha up.

Wukong emerged from the sea of fire unharmed, not a single hair damaged. The Flaming Buddha demanded, “Who exactly are you?” Wukong was stunned. He thought to himself that he had already drawn too much attention today and might soon become a thorn in the Spirit Mountain’s side. But at this moment, he stiffened up and declared proudly, “I am Zhuanxu of Qi Tian Ling!”
The Bull Demon King grinned behind him and said, “So domineering!” The Great Peng was stunned. Those Great Bright Buddha and Flaming Buddha were said to be sacred figures—how could they be defeated by Wukong like this? Although it seemed a bit opportunistic, if it were a real fight, Wukong might still win. Truly, the Three Pure Ones had bestowed great fortune upon him!
The Great Peng whispered to the Bull Demon King, “Are you really Lord Laozi’s direct disciple?” The Bull Demon King glared at him and said, “So what if I am? What if I’m not?” The Great Peng replied, “Lord Laozi only guided Wukong for a few days, and he already became so powerful. After teaching you for so many years, that’s all you’ve achieved.”
The Bull Demon King sighed, “Alas, I was just an ordinary white ox. To have cultivated to this level is already enough for me to be content. As a Taoist disciple, how can I compare myself to others?”
Hearing the Bull Demon King’s sighs, the Great Peng was both surprised and awed. “It’s not easy for you to cultivate, second brother.” The Bull Demon King glanced at the Great Peng and said, “If I were born as the offspring of a phoenix or qilin, heh heh…” He hummed twice but didn’t continue. His meaning was clear—though you, Great Peng, are the offspring of a phoenix, you’re not much better than me.
The Great Peng didn’t expect the old ox to have such sharp wit. He snapped, “Stop it! Great Yu, Hou Yi, and the others were all ordinary people—how are they inferior to anyone?”
Hearing the two arguing, Great Yu couldn’t help but say, “Others may not know, but it’s obvious they can’t compare to Wukong.” Upon hearing this, everyone thought the same: The Fate-Bringing Ape truly lives up to its name!
The Flaming Buddha, along with the Great Bright Buddha, left without even greeting Anuo, Kasyapa, and the others, flying westward. Anuo and the others glanced at Wukong one last time with fear in their eyes before also flying away.
Wukong floated over to Great Yu and the others and said, “I’ve caused a huge mess today.” The Bull Demon King shouted, “When enemies attack, we fight back! What’s there to fear?”
The Great Peng said coldly, “Wukong is right. Although we’ve fought before, things were always under control, with no deaths or injuries. But today, a Buddha was lost in the West—this is no small matter. If word gets out, the Spirit Mountain’s reputation will be greatly damaged!”

The Bull Demon King roared, “Just because he wants fame, can he do as he pleases?” Wukong resorted to extreme measures because the Power King Buddha attacked him unexpectedly. Naturally, the Bull Demon King wouldn’t show weakness; he had already planned to return to the Tushita Palace and ask his master for help if necessary.

Wukong glanced at the Bull Demon King and thought to himself, “Laojun is really clever. He cast me out of the Jade Pure Palace—why exactly here? He must have known the Bull Demon King was in danger and sent me to save him. It seems Laojun still cares quite a bit about this brute ox.” If this matter were taken to its root, it might even draw the Three Pure Ones involved, which certainly wasn’t their intention.

Wukong said, “Now that things have come to this, further speculation is pointless. The strength of the Western Heaven remains a mystery. This is a good opportunity to find out just how deep it really is!”

Dayu smiled and said, “Exactly. Not only must we not show weakness, but we still need to head west!”

The Bull Demon King said, “Right, right! I’ll go call that giant serpent and clear this ditch first!”

The Roc said, “Let me do it.” The Roc spread its wings and flew away, returning shortly with the giant serpent. The serpent trembled all the way back—the Roc was its natural enemy, and its fear was genuine.

The Bull Demon King said, “It’s your turn to work.”

The serpent dared not disobey and dived underground. It was extremely long, and after diving in, it was gone for half an hour—by then, not even its tail was visible. The Bull Demon King muttered, “What is it trying to do?”

Suddenly, a loud rumble came from underground, and all the filthy mud in the ditch was lifted into the air. Wukong laughed and said, “That’s also a method.” This giant serpent was at least fifty or sixty li long, so with just a dozen or so such actions, the road could be cleared.

Fearing that more people from the Western Heaven might be sent, they waited there. In just one day, the serpent cleared the ditch, which had been filled with sediment for countless years.

Wukong went down and checked it out, then returned, covering his nose, and said, “The road is there, but it still stinks terribly.” He used magic to summon clouds and performed several rain-call spells, causing heavy rain to fall from the sky. In no time, the accumulated water formed rivers, washing the mountains clean.

The Bull Demon King praised, “Now we can cross with peace of mind.”

Wukong was somewhat puzzled. This time, the Western Heaven had suffered a severe defeat—there surely should be some reaction. After waiting a whole day with no one arriving, he said, “Could it be that there’s no one left in the Western Heaven?”

The Roc shook its head and said, “Don’t be ridiculous. There are people there. They’re probably trying to find someone suitable to deal with you.”

Wukong laughed and said, “Why do they need to pick someone? The rules in the Western Heaven are too many!”

Dapeng said, “You know too that there are factions on the Spirit Mountain. No matter which faction you side with today, none will spare you. Whoever captures you will claim credit, which is why they’re fighting there.”
The Bull Demon King replied, “Don’t exaggerate others’ strengths. Not many can actually capture Wukong these days.”
Just as Dapeng was about to retort, Dayu glanced westward, his expression instantly turning grave. “They’re coming!”
Seeing Dayu’s unusual demeanor, Wukong asked, “Does Dayu know this person?”
Dayu nodded and said, “The Ancient Buddha Ran Deng!”