Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 362: Seizing Their Yin Energy

The Buddhist hell is extremely mysterious and eerie. Although Wukong managed to pass through unharmed, thinking back now fills him with fear. Had he not been incredibly lucky and avoided entering the realm governed by Bodhisattva Nili, who knows what fate would have befallen him?

In the netherworld, Wukong had seen heavenly generals go to the underworld to collect “creation energy,” which was mostly used to refine the heavens in the Creation Furnace. No one—even the Three Pure Ones or Ran Deng—knew exactly how this refinement process worked or its purpose. Only the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother, who controlled the Creation Furnace, as well as the Tathagata, were aware.

The Heavenly Court’s Creation Furnace was staffed by eight or nine Golden Immortals, while in the Western Heaven, it had three thousand Buddhas. In terms of numbers, these two Creation Furnaces were vastly different, and so were their internal structures. So, could their purposes in refining the heavens be the same? In the netherworld, ghosts used the most direct method to strip away a person’s life essence before reincarnation, leaving only the three souls and seven spirits to be reborn. The Buddhist hell, however, was much more complex—repeating the process of refining a person’s soul over and over, from death to life, from life to death. Yet, this process yielded only “gray creation energy,” another key difference between the two hells.

Both Creation Furnaces were connected to hell to obtain endless creation energy. Ultimately, these furnaces were created by humans. Thus, although the Heavenly Court and the Western Heaven seemed to be in opposition on earth, they were likely serving the same person. The Three Pure Ones surely knew this, and so did Ran Deng. But Ran Deng said the Heavenly Court might not necessarily be an opponent. Could it be that the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother had realized something and refused to remain mere puppets of that person? And surely, that person would have left a backup plan.

When Wukong asked about the Buddhist hell, Ran Deng replied, “What you want to ask, I’m afraid I don’t know.”

Wukong laughed and said, “Master, I haven’t even asked yet, and you say you don’t know.”

Ran Deng replied, “I invested a great deal of effort in building the Buddhist hell. It wasn’t for its own sake. I merely wanted to understand the Tathagata’s intentions. That’s why I managed to secure half of its territory. In truth, the Buddhist hell consists of two realms—one mine and one belonging to Bodhisattva Nili. Since these two realms are connected, I knew when Hou Tu entered it and that she fought against Bodhisattva Nili. Hehe, how could I possibly gain an advantage fighting against Nili in his realm? In fact, their cultivation levels are roughly equal.”

“I promised the Tathagata that I wouldn’t interfere in matters related to the Buddhist hell, nor would I tell anyone about it. He promised that Nili wouldn’t enter my realm, and otherwise, we wouldn’t interfere with each other. Though my cultivation is high, I don’t understand creation energy, so I can’t see much.”

Wukong suddenly understood. Ran Deng had anticipated that his question would relate to the workings of fate, and what other major matters could there be in the Buddhist hell realms besides fate? Wukong asked, “Master, though I understand fate, I don’t comprehend the nature of souls, which is why I still can’t figure out the matters of the Buddhist hell realms.”

Ran Deng replied, “That’s quite difficult. Is there anyone in this world who both understands souls and fate?” Hearing this, Wukong immediately realized that Xuan Nu hadn’t told Ran Deng that he was the one who controlled fate. Naturally, Ran Deng also didn’t know about Di Zang’s identity as someone who controlled fate as well.

Wukong felt something in his heart. Fate—indeed, it formed its own distinct path. Di Zang, upon seeing him, spoke openly about it without any concealment. Xuan Nu, despite her long friendship with Ran Deng, remained secretive about matters related to fate.

Since Xuan Nu wouldn’t speak, Wukong naturally wouldn’t reveal it either. He said, “Whether there is such a person or not, I must find them!” What Wukong was looking for was none other than King Di Zang Bodhisattva. As the ruler of the netherworld, Di Zang had an unparalleled understanding of souls. Moreover, as the one who judged fate, he was the only person in the world who understood both. There was no one else suitable but King Di Zang.

Ran Deng said, “If you enter the Buddhist hell realms again, go in through the River of Mother and Child. Once inside, don’t wander around, and nothing will go wrong.”

Wukong nodded and asked, “Master, do you know how the Earthly Mother entered back then?” Ran Deng snorted and said, “Her? I don’t know how she managed to get in—she simply forced her way through by cutting a gap in the realm of mud plows!”

Wukong was speechless. The Earthly Mother was truly powerful and incredibly bold, daring to break in no matter what realm it was.

Wukong asked, “Master, since you created the Buddhist hell realms, why did you build the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom above them? And why did you leave entrances and exits in the River of Mother and Child?”

Ran Deng replied, “The Western Liang Women’s Kingdom was created by me as a method to prove the existence of yang within yin. There are souls destined to be born as women in the waters of the River of Mother and Child, so naturally, all the people in that kingdom are women. The formation in the river was a flaw I deliberately left. I thought the Three Pure Ones and others would notice it, so I was prepared. But those three Taoists were too stubborn; they didn’t even take a look because they thought the kingdom had too much yin energy!”

Wukong laughed and said, “The Three Pure Ones probably never expected Master to hide something, so they didn’t pay attention.”

Ran Deng said, “It’s not that I want to hide it. This was a promise I made in exchange for something from the Tathagata. If even he can keep his promise, well, how could I fall short of him?”

Ran Deng glanced deeply at Wukong and said, “I never expected you to be able to spot such a deeply hidden flaw.” Wukong felt ashamed; if he weren’t a being of extraordinary destiny and hadn’t been reminded by Ksitigarbha, how could he have known there was such a great secret in the Mother and Child River?

Ran Deng continued, “Originally, the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom was created out of momentary impulse, but unexpectedly, Tang Seng came here on his pilgrimage. Haha, Tang Seng possesses a true yang constitution. Upon entering this women’s kingdom, he naturally became regarded as a treasure.”

Huh? Didn’t Ran Deng know that Tang Seng was the Yin-Yang Divine Ape, or was he unaware of the concept of genderless destiny? How could he say Tang Seng had a true yang constitution? A Yin-Yang Divine Ape should possess both yin and yang in balance. If it has a true yang constitution with extreme yang energy, where has the yin energy gone?

Suddenly, Ran Deng seemed somewhat disappointed. “Who would have thought that Tang Seng is actually the Yin-Yang Divine Ape? Tathagata has hidden him so well! It’s truly infuriating!”

Wukong realized that Ran Deng had just learned about this as well, so he asked, “Master, why do you say Tang Seng has a true yang constitution?”

Ran Deng replied, “I have spent many years in the realm of yin and yang, so I can tell at a glance. What more is there to explain?”

Wukong asked again, “Is it really the case for a Yin-Yang Divine Ape?”

Ran Deng was stunned and shook his head repeatedly. “Huh, so the Yin-Yang Divine Ape isn’t like that. In ancient times, I also saw a Yin-Yang Divine Ape. He had profound mastery over the powers of yin and yang, life and death. Every move he made was like the rotation of the sun and moon. Tsk tsk, what a pity.” As he spoke, he shook his head and sighed, seemingly feeling injustice for Tang Seng and regretting his own past actions.

Wukong had no intention of comforting Ran Deng. Instead, he kept pondering what changes had taken place in the Yin-Yang Divine Ape, why its constitution had changed from yin-yang to true yang.

In his own body, two leaves—one black and one white—had formed on the Hunyuan Dao Fruit. Ran Deng also said he was at a critical stage in his cultivation. Perhaps, if he took one more step forward, he would reach the realm of yin and yang. So, he definitely had a body that combined both yin and yang, without any abnormalities like those in Tang Seng.

The biggest difference between Tang Seng and himself was that Tang Seng had been reincarnated many more times. It was said that each reincarnation weakened the Divine Ape greatly. Could it be that this weakening consumed the pure yin energy within?

The more Wukong thought about it, the more convinced he was of his guess. His desire to meet Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva grew even more urgent, so he said, “Master, if there are no other matters, I’ll take my leave right away.”

Ran Deng nodded and asked, “Wukong, how’s your mastery of the thirty-six transformations coming along?”

Wukong replied, “Although I haven’t practiced day and night without pause, I’ve never forgotten them. Yet, there are a few powers that I simply can’t master no matter what.”

Ran Deng nodded and said, “Back then, I asked you to choose between the numbers of Tian Gang and Di Sha transformations. You chose Tian Gang—why was that?”
Wukong smiled sheepishly and said, “I simply thought that since heaven is above the earth, the powers of Tian Gang must be far more powerful than those of Di Sha.”
Ran Deng laughed and said, “You’re right. Although the seventy-two transformations of Di Sha are also top-tier spells in Taoism, they’re not exclusive to me. The thirty-six transformations of Tian Gang were created by me and the Three Pure Ones after much effort. These powers belong neither to Buddhism nor Taoism, nor are they influenced by the five elements. They are divine powers rooted in the essence of heaven and earth. I feared they might ruin your bright future!”
Unaware of all these complexities, Wukong was about to express his gratitude when Ran Deng stopped him, saying, “This is also part of your fate. Back then, when you chose these two sets of powers, I was quite uneasy, fearing you would choose the seventy-two transformations.”
Wukong replied, “It was also pure luck.”
Ran Deng said, “Among these thirty-six transformations, the most difficult to master are the six celestial powers: controlling fate, reversing yin and yang, moving stars and planets, reversing the course of heaven and sun, summoning wind and rain, and mending the sky and cleansing the sun…”
Wukong said, “Master, I can already summon wind and rain.”
Ran Deng laughed heartily and said, “I can’t even master these six immortal spells. How could you possibly use them now?”
Wukong wondered, “Back in the Cave of the Three Slanting Moons, didn’t Master perform the spell of reversing the course of heaven and sun?”
Ran Deng replied, “The Mountain of Lingtai Fangcun is a realm I created. Within it, I am omnipotent. When I showed you that spell, it was only to give you a glimpse. True celestial powers must be demonstrated in this world itself, and even I can’t do that yet.”
Only then did Wukong realize that Ran Deng didn’t possess such powers either. But then why did he know Wukong could? Wukong asked, “Master, aren’t you making things difficult for me?”
Ran Deng said, “When the Divine Monkey was first born, it already had the ability to pierce through chaos. What are these spells compared to that?”
“Ah! So I was that powerful… yet… I was still killed, wasn’t I?”
Ran Deng’s face twitched as he said, “You… are too soft-hearted.”
Wukong fell silent. Too soft-hearted—did that mean the Divine Monkey had held back when fighting enemies, or disliked killing and failed to eliminate its foes completely? Enough. All those past actions weren’t his true nature. The Wukong here was his true self. Wukong smiled calmly and said, “Master, kindness in past lives was part of the Tao. In this life, my heart follows the Tao without kindness. Please stop worrying about me. I have my own resolve and know how to handle myself.”
Ran Deng nodded and said, “The wisdom of this life is the true wisdom in my heart.”

Wukong said, “Master, since you can wield these six kinds of divine powers in your realm, you should surely teach me a shortcut.”
Ran Deng replied, “None of these six powers can be used without great cosmic forces at work. I can wield them in my own realm because I control its cosmic forces. If I can control the cosmic forces of this entire world, I can use them here as well. Do you understand?”
Wukong frowned and said, “Isn’t that even harder than reaching heaven?”
Ran Deng slowly said, “Xuan Nu once said that those with discerning eyes can see those great cosmic forces.”