Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 364: On Yin and Yang

Ksitigarbha silently recited a scroll of scriptures. When he finished, all the fierce spirits and evil ghosts outside the hall scattered. Ksitigarbha sighed, “The scriptures of my original vow were meant to save people, yet today they have destroyed the bridge to that goal.”
Wukong said, “Saving people—be not too kind.”
Ksitigarbha asked, “What do you mean?”
Wukong replied, “Don’t you realize that goodness can nurture evil?” Then he recounted various matters related to the realms of good and evil in the three realms. After hearing this, Ksitigarbha said, “This is also a method. Since my mind is in chaos today, I must first do one thing before I can settle down to work.”
Wukong didn’t understand why Ksitigarbha was saying these things and asked, “Does the Bodhisattva intend to enter seclusion?”
Ksitigarbha waved his hand and said, “Have I not been in seclusion all these years? I’ve thought through everything. What I mentioned earlier was actually to verify one thing.”
Wukong asked, “Does the Bodhisattva intend to verify… Buddha?”
Ksitigarbha nodded and said, “Exactly. I have no desire to become a Buddha, but I do aspire to approach Buddhahood. Most of the Buddhist scriptures in the world originated from the current Buddha. I simply want to see if there really is a Buddha in this world.”
Wukong asked, “How can that be determined? The Bodhisattva once said that Buddha is ultimately the Dao—can’t you even understand that?”
Ksitigarbha looked at Wukong and smiled faintly, “I certainly understand it, but the people of the world are still in the dark.”
Wukong exclaimed in shock, “The Bodhisattva intends to—”
Ksitigarbha nodded and said, “I intend to expose layer after layer of hypocrisy and reveal the true nature of those who sit on lotus thrones.”
Wukong was speechless. Ksitigarbha was truly stubborn. From his words, it seemed he intended to cause chaos on Mount Ling. With such confidence, how great must his abilities be? And what was the difference between this and destroying the Buddhist hell? Wasn’t it also forcing the Tathagata into a corner?
If it had been before, Wukong would have hoped for greater chaos on Mount Ling. But ever since Ran Deng mentioned the three Dharma bodies of the Tathagata, Wukong had a vague sense that the Tathagata must possess some extremely powerful contingency plan. Otherwise, how could he act tyrannically in the world with such confidence? If that person’s true form were truly revealed, well, it was unimaginable!
Ksitigarbha said, “Wukong, do you have a purpose for coming here? If not, I’ll destroy this hall and leave.”
Wukong hurriedly said, “Bodhisattva, wait! How could I have no purpose?”
Wukong thought to himself that if Ksitigarbha left the Abyss of Nine Netherworlds, it would be hard to find him again in the future. He must get clear answers today. So he said, “Bodhisattva, first I must ask—who built this netherworld?”
Ksitigarbha replied, “Naturally, it was built by the Heavenly Court.”
“Then why is it under the Bodhisattva’s control?”
Ksitigarbha smiled and said, “That’s a long story. Actually, this netherworld was taken from me by Hou Tu.”

“Oh? There were also such complications?”
Ksitigarbha replied, “I was originally just a Buddhist novice, spending my days chanting scriptures and praying to Buddha, with nothing else on my mind. I don’t know why Pangu chose me to become the Judge of Fate.”
Upon hearing this, Wukong quickly raised his hand to stop him and asked, “What? So you weren’t born as the Judge of Fate?”
Ksitigarbha said, “What’s so strange about that? These three forces of essence wander through time in search of hosts. It seems the powers of fate arrived much later than I did.”
Oh, no wonder Xuan Nu could obtain the Eye of Fate. It turns out these three powers of fate were just looking for the right person. As long as they couldn’t find one, they remained without a master. Since they were searching for someone, there had to be a standard. Wukong had no doubt that Pangu possessed such power; he was just wondering what that standard was.
Ksitigarbha continued, “It’s not surprising that Pangu found me as the one for these powers of fate. As the Judge of Fate, right and wrong become immediately apparent. I’m naturally good at making judgments. I suppose the powers of hearing and seeing fate work in a similar way.”
After thinking carefully, Wukong realized that Xuan Nu truly deserved the Eye of Fate. She was never one to talk much, preferring to observe the world with a cold eye. In the past, she had seen through Buddha’s schemes and predicted the disasters of the Yuan era. In this life, she saw through what the Buddha was planning, decisively killing Nagarjuna to slow down the spread of Buddhism to the East.
Ksitigarbha added, “With the help of these powers of fate, my cultivation greatly improved. For some reason, I no longer wanted to stay on Mount Ling. Since I’ve always been impartial, no one on Mount Ling stopped me from leaving to save people.”
“That was because the Netherworld had already been established. I happened to meet Hou Tu, who was also wandering the world alone, feeling very lonely. Hou Tu loved earth, so she moved to the Abyss of Nine Nether Realms to build a palace. But this place was extremely close to the Netherworld. At that time, the Heavenly Court held great power, so naturally, they wouldn’t allow Hou Tu to stay there. In her anger, Hou Tu used Xi Rang to seal off the Abyss of Nine Nether Realms. Even the most skilled people in the Heavenly Court couldn’t use their earth-transmigration techniques to enter and obtain the powers of fate.”
“Left with no choice, the Heavenly Court had to bow to Hou Tu and make her one of the Six Imperial Ministers, ranking only below the Jade Emperor. Hou Tu wasn’t unreasonable either; she easily let bygones be bygones but asked the Heavenly Court to give me the position of ruler of the Netherworld. At that time, I thought that saving souls was better than saving people, so I accepted. I never expected to stay here for tens of thousands of years.”
Wukong listened in fascination. He didn’t realize that Hou Tu had once been so powerful. She probably didn’t know that sealing off the Abyss of Nine Nether Realms struck a direct blow at the core of the Heavenly Court. Without access to the powers of fate, it would greatly affect the refinement of heaven.
Wukong asked, “Did the Three Pure Ones intervene back then?”

Ksitigarbha said, “Among the Three Pure Ones, only Laojun came to take a look. As soon as he saw the vital soil, he exclaimed, ‘Amazing!’ Then he returned to heaven.”
Wukong laughed and said, “Laojun might not be unable to overcome it, but he simply doesn’t want to.”
Ksitigarbha replied, “The Three Pure Ones are surely wise enough to distinguish right from wrong. How could they support the arrogant behavior of the heavenly court?”
Wukong nodded and said, “There’s another important matter related to the secrets of souls.”
Ksitigarbha smiled and said, “You’re good at finding the right person. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”
Wukong said, “Bodhisattva, then I’ll ask from the basics. Please don’t think I’m being annoying.”
Ksitigarbha nodded, signaling that Wukong could speak freely. Wukong asked, “Bodhisattva, may I ask if a person’s body can be divided into yin and yang?”
Ksitigarbha replied, “What exactly do you want to ask? Among the ten categories of creatures in the world, including the Seven Divine Apes, which one can escape the influence of yin and yang?”
Wukong then asked, “Immortals often claim to have a ‘pure yang body.’ Why is that?”
Ksitigarbha explained, “Pure yang is just an appearance. You should know that yang is responsible for creation and transformation, while yin is responsible for nourishment. When yang is aided by yin, creation and transformation are endless; when yin is aided by yang, its source never runs dry. It is only through the balance of yin and yang that one follows the proper path of cultivation.”
Wukong asked further, “Then, Bodhisattva, what is a true yang body?”
Ksitigarbha laughed and said, “You monkey, why are you asking such a thing?”
Wukong was puzzled. Was this really funny? Ksitigarbha explained, “Just now we talked about the balance of yin and yang. But if yin energy is insufficient, it becomes a true yang body. In the case of ordinary men, if yang energy becomes excessive and cannot be balanced, it gradually depletes the yin energy in their bodies. If this continues, it marks the beginning of a true yang body.”
“As for those who practice cultivation, they can use techniques to balance yin and yang within their bodies, distinguishing between emptiness and fullness, openness and closure, softness and hardness. In this way, yang never leaves yin, nor does yin leave yang—this is truly the way in which heaven and earth interact.”
Wukong was confused and said, “So, a true yang body is not good?”
Ksitigarbha replied, “Of course it’s not good. A true yang body means yang energy is unbalanced and yin energy is insufficient. How could that be good?”
Thinking of Tang Seng, Wukong felt sad. Tang Seng had been reincarnated countless times and was probably always in such a state. If he weren’t a naturally sexless Yin-Yang Divine Ape, he would surely have died from pent-up energy!
Wukong asked again, “If I wanted to harm someone, how could I make them develop a true yang body?”
Ksitigarbha replied unhappily, “How could you even think of harming others?”
Wukong explained, “I don’t really mean to harm anyone. I’m just asking to understand the principle.”
Ksitigarbha said, “I doubt you would do that. It’s simple. I just need to seal his ability to practice cultivation and then find a way to make him anxious and irritable—then it will happen naturally.”

Wukong thought to himself that if it were that simple, why would Tang Seng have been reborn so many times. He asked, “Is there any other way?”
Ksitigarbha King replied, “Then one must address the issue at its root.”
“What does it mean to address it at its root?” Wukong asked eagerly.
Ksitigarbha King said slowly, “One must change his constitution by altering his soul.”
Wukong perked up, finally getting to the point.
Ksitigarbha King continued, “Humans have three souls: the fetal light, the agile spirit, and the subtle essence. The fetal light is the soul that governs one’s fate; it contains the pure yang energy of the heavens. The agile spirit is the soul that governs wealth and fortune; it contains transformed yin energy and belongs to the five elements. The subtle essence is the soul that brings misfortune and decline; it contains mixed yin energy and belongs to earth.”
“Besides these three souls, there are also sevenspirit. The first is the heavenly surge, the second is the intelligent spirit, the third is related to energy, the fourth to strength, the fifth to the central core, the sixth to essence, and the seventh to bravery. Among these seven, there are also yin and yang distinctions…”
After listening to Ksitigarbha King’s long explanation, Wukong finally understood that there were so many nuances involved in the three souls and sevenspirit.
Ksitigarbha King added, “If I wanted to harm someone and turn them into a being of pure yang forever, I would use secret techniques to refine their three souls and sevenspirit, extracting the yin energy from them, and that would achieve the goal.”
Extract it? Extract it! Wukong suddenly thought of the gray pools in the Buddhist hell. Could it be that all those torments were created by refining people’s three souls and sevenspirit? All those repeated stabbings, burns, and tortures were actually part of this process! He had wondered why killing someone didn’t require so much effort. It turned out that the Buddhist hell wasn’t just pointless work—it had a deeper purpose!
Wukong asked again, “What is yin energy? What’s special about it?”
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was also curious and asked in return, “Wukong, why are you asking such strange questions today?”
Wukong then recounted the story of the gray pools in the Buddhist hell and revealed the secret that Tang Seng was actually the Yin-Yang Divine Ape.
Upon hearing this, Ksitigarbha King’s expression turned extremely grim as he murmured, “No wonder, no wonder…”
Wukong asked, “What’s no wonder?”
Seemingly not hearing Wukong’s question, Ksitigarbha King said, “The Buddhist hell has such great ambitions. No wonder they want to destroy nations…”
Wukong urged, “Please explain, Bodhisattva!”
Ksitigarbha King stared at Wukong and said, “Don’t you know that creation also has yin and yang distinctions?”
Wukong shook his head in confusion. “I’ve never heard of it.”
Ksitigarbha King replied, “There are only two types of creation in the world: the scattered creation in heaven and earth, and the creation used by those who practice cultivation. Those are all yang creation. Everyone has yin creation, but no one pays attention to it.”
“What is it then?” Wukong asked urgently.

“That is— the essence of creation!”