Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled Chapter 401: On Divine Weapons Wukong followed Xuan Nu out of the 35th Heaven’s Jade Clear Palace. From a geographical perspective, the 36 heavens of Taoism were located to the southeast of the four great continents. Standing at such a great height, Wukong could see most of the Eastern Sea and the Southern Sea. In the past, even if he reached sufficient heights, his vision was limited. But after achieving perfection in the Five Elements, his mastery of the Xuan Kong Secret Technique had improved greatly, allowing him to see extremely far. To his surprise, Wukong noticed that a portion of the Eastern Victory Continent jutted out. According to later accounts, this place was surrounded by seas on three sides and should be called a peninsula. Yet this protruding part was extremely narrow, and at its end lay a large, angular island that resembled an axe. Together, these two parts exactly matched the shape of the Pangu Axe described in the “Instrument Canon.” It was then that Wukong remembered passing by this place back when King Ksitigarbha had set up the ordeal of the Endless Gorge, forcing Wukong to search the Southern Sea for the Thousand-Foot Jade. But due to other matters on his mind and flying at a low altitude, he only had a vague impression. It was not until today that he could see this peculiar landscape in its entirety. Xuan Nu asked, “What do you see?” Wukong replied, “The Pangu Axe.” Xuan Nu nodded and said, “Can you see it completely?” Wukong said, “There’s an axe head and a handle—should that count as seeing it all?” Xuan Nu said, “Look more carefully.” Wondering, Wukong focused his gaze as instructed. Indeed, it was the Pangu Axe. Could there possibly be any other patterns to discern? Seeing Wukong’s confusion, Xuan Nu said, “You haven’t mastered the Xuan Kong Secret Technique yet, have you?” Wukong felt a bit guilty. He hadn’t practiced this technique for a long time. Although he had achieved perfection in the Five Elements, his understanding was shallow, and he had only mastered volumes one and two; volume three was not yet at its peak. Perceiving Wukong’s thoughts, Xuan Nu said, “It’s not your fault. I was too hasty. Since you can’t see anything, let me tell you.” “The Pangu Axe originated from chaos and is not one of the Five Elements. After creating heaven and earth, it transformed into Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, scattering across the earth to become several extraordinary magical weapons.” Wukong remembered Yang Jian once saying that after the Pangu Axe shattered, it became the Taiji Diagram, the Pangu Banner, and the Four Swords for Exterminating Immortals—only six items in total. If it was related to Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, there should be at least seven. So he couldn’t help asking, “Who possesses the Taiji Diagram and the Pangu Banner?” Xuan Nu was taken aback and laughed, “Where did you hear such nonsense?” Wukong replied, “Yang Jian, the Second Lord God, told me.” Xuan Nu said, “That little Yang Jian is quite amusing. He takes mortal stories as truth.” “Isn’t it true?” Wukong asked.
“Of course not! What he said is that only the Four Swords for Exterminating Immortals truly exist in the world; the rest are rumors.”
“Then are there seven magical artifacts related to yin and yang and the five elements?” Wukong asked.
Xuan Nu shook her head. “No, it’s not seven, but eleven.”
“So many?”
Xuan Nu said, “The Pangu Axe is extremely peculiar and the most famous, yet only one person has ever seen it—Pangu himself. After Pangu used it, the Pangu Axe scattered immediately and would not reappear on earth until the next cycle.”
Wukong thought to himself that since the Pangu Axe could only be separated and not reassembled, the most powerful weapon in the ‘Arsenal Catalog’ must be the Tianji Stick in his hands.
Then Xuan Nu said, “Although the Pangu Axe is a magical artifact, it seems to understand the will of creation. Each of these eleven magical artifacts related to yin and yang and the five elements is extremely formidable.”
Eager to know more, Wukong asked, “What are they?”
Xuan Nu replied, “There are two artifacts related to yin and yang. The first is called the Hun Tian Fan, belonging to yin, and the second is the Dun Huang Qi, belonging to yang. These two artifacts originated from the back of the axe. When combined, they possess the power of yin-yang chaos and are extremely powerful.”
Wukong asked anxiously, “Who has them?”
Seeing Wukong’s panic, Xuan Nu laughed and said, “They’re both with the Primordial Lord. Why are you worried?”
Fearing that these powerful artifacts might fall into enemy hands, Wukong suddenly remembered that when the Great Heavenly Lord Taiyi captured the Nine Spiritual Saints, Feng Tong had used a small yellow flag to protect the Bull Demon King. Could it be this Dun Huang Qi?
Xuan Nu continued, “As for the five-element artifacts, the metal element is represented by the Four Swords for Exterminating Immortals, which originated from the blade of the Pangu Axe. The Four Swords are scattered everywhere, and it’s unknown who has them now.”
Wukong said, “I know one is with the Eastern Emperor; it’s very likely the Sword for Slaying Immortals.”
Xuan Nu replied indifferently, “There’s only one, and it’s actually not very useful. The wood element’s artifact is called the Tree of Immortality. You’ve seen it before—it’s naturally in the hands of Jumang. If Jumang hadn’t obtained the Tree of Immortality by chance, how could he become the God of Wood? But since Jumang isn’t from the lineage of creation, he can’t fully unleash its power.”
Hearing this, Wukong became thoughtful. The Seven Divine Apes were also divided into yin and yang and the five elements. Could these artifacts created from the Pangu Axe be prepared for them? At this thought, Wukong grew excited. If that were true, the combat strength of the Seven Divine Apes would surely increase greatly.
“The water element’s artifact is in the hands of the Sea-Submerging Dragon,” Xuan Nu said.
“The Sea-Submerging Whip!” Wukong guessed correctly.
Xuan Nu said, “Wu Zhiqi has been with the Sea-Submerging Dragon for a long time, yet he has never touched this artifact. Among the Seven Divine Apes, aside from you, the monkey who has eaten many peaches, he possesses the strongest essence of creation. If we give him the Sea-Submerging Whip now, he cannot be underestimated.”
Wukong was overjoyed. He had thought that such precious treasures must be hidden from the world, but to find that most of them were in the hands of his own kind was beyond his expectations.
Xuan Nu continued, “The fire-type treasures are two fans.”
Wukong said, “I know that. They must be Laojun’s Banana Fans. But only one of the fans can produce fire—why is that?”
Xuan Nu replied, “One fan controls fire, and the other controls wind. When the two are combined, their power increases by more than ten times!”
Wukong was amazed. He never imagined that two fans could be used in this way. Each fan alone was already an extraordinary treasure; if combined… Good heavens, they would truly be deadly weapons!
Wukong asked, “Why did the Three Pure Ones obtain so many treasures?”
Xuan Nu said, “Yuan Shi obtained the essence of creation left by Pangu before us. When he learned that Pangu’s axe had transformed into many divine weapons, he naturally went to search for them. There’s nothing strange about that.”
Wukong said, “It is said that the Banana Fans were created from the essence of the Moon Goddess—is that not correct?”
Xuan Nu replied, “Of course not. That’s something Laojun deliberately hid to prevent others from coveting them.”
Wukong said, “It’s a shame he lied. Fortunately, it fell into the hands of the Great Supreme Yuan Shi. If it had been obtained by the Tathagata, it would have caused great trouble.”
Xuan Nu said, “In the past era, Pangu’s axe transformed into seven divine weapons. Although they also followed the principles of yin and yang and the five elements, they were very different from those of this era. The Tathagata does not belong to the lineage of creation, so even if he possessed them, it would be difficult for him to understand their mysteries.”
Wukong asked, “Is there another earth-type treasure? Where is it?”
Xuan Nu replied, “That treasure is called the Earth Spirit Pearl.”
Since Xuan Nu only mentioned the name of the earth-type treasure without further explanation, Wukong asked, “What makes it special? And where is it?” Xuan Nu said, “I know it is deep underground, but after several attempts, I’ve failed to find it. It’s likely in someone else’s hands.”
Wukong said, “Oh? Is there something even Xuan Nu can’t find?”
Xuan Nu replied, “If it’s hidden within the realm, I naturally can’t find it. Earth-type magic isn’t my strength.”
Wukong stared at the lifelike Pangu’s axe on the ground, realizing that Xuan Nu mentioning these treasures wasn’t casual. After thinking for a while, he asked, “If I master the secrets of Xuan Kong magic, what else can I see?”
Xuan Nu replied, “I can see this Pangu’s axe on the ground divided into eleven pieces, each representing the shape of one of the eleven treasures.”
Wukong suddenly understood—the more proficient one became in the Xuan Kong Fa secrets, the more mysteries of the world one could perceive. It seemed he really needed to intensify his training. But another important task ahead was to remake his Tian Ji Gun. After hearing Xuan Nu say that the Pangu Axe couldn’t be recast, Wukong valued his own Tian Ji Gun even more. Ran Deng told him to seek the Five Elements Gods—earth as the foundation, wood as the catalyst, fire as the medium, water as the endpoint, along with the blood of creation—to forge a true Tian Ji Gun. Now that the journey to obtain the scriptures was over and the battles had ceased, he finally had time for meticulous work. Wukong said, “Xuan Nu, there’s one more place I want to visit.” Xuan Nu asked, “Where?” Wukong replied, “The Buzhou Mountain in the northwest.” Xuan Nu nodded and said, “You go ahead.” The two descended, and Wukong used his Rendou Cloud to cover hundreds of thousands of miles in a single leap. Xuan Nu caught up behind him and asked urgently, “Did Ran Deng teach you this Rendou Cloud?” Wukong nodded and asked, “Why?” Xuan Nu said, “Do you know how far you traveled in that single leap?” Wukong shook his head and said, “A hundred and eighty thousand miles—I never counted.” Xuan Nu said, “Strange. Even I can only travel a hundred and eighty thousand miles in a teleportation. How did you manage to go over a hundred and thirty thousand miles?” Wukong didn’t understand. Since he had reached the level of Hunyuan Zhi Sheng, it wasn’t surprising that his Rendou Cloud skills had improved. Xuan Nu added, “You don’t know this, but in this world, the farthest one can travel in a teleportation is still a hundred and eighty thousand miles. Even the Three Pure Ones, Ran Deng, me, and the Kunpeng can’t break this limit. How did you do it?” Huh? Wukong wasn’t aware of this rule and replied blankly, “I just did as usual. I didn’t notice any difference.” Xuan Nu thought for a long time before shaking her head and saying, “It’s truly strange. Perhaps it’s just the innate talent of the wise divine ape?” The two continued toward the northwest. In no time, they arrived at the Golden Heaven and Silver Earth. Wukong gazed at Buzhou Mountain. If his assumptions were correct, a long-standing mystery in his heart was about to be solved. Upon reaching Buzhou Mountain, Wukong climbed straight up to where the Pillar Supporting the Sky was divided into nine sections. He saw another formation there, not much different from the one on Qingqiu Mountain, so he stopped for a while. But despite his sacred cultivation level, he couldn’t understand the intricacies of this formation. Xuan Nu said, “I’ve known about this formation for a long time. Its mystery lies in the fact that those above the level of Hunyuan Jinxian can only see it but not touch it. Therefore, it’s impossible to break it. Sigh, Tathagata is so cunning—he placed this formation right on the Pillar Supporting the Sky. If it were elsewhere, we could just destroy its foundation. Now, there’s no way around it.”
Wukong said, “If we can’t break it, we’ll just ignore it for now; there will be a way eventually.” In his heart, he thought that once he gathered the blood of the kings of the five categories, there would be no need to worry about breaking it.
Although the gale here was strong, it had little effect on the two of them. Wukong knew that this place was the threshold to the Hunyuan Jinxian realm. He flew upward along one of the nine branches, only to see those branches spreading in all directions, resembling tree branches.
This time, he didn’t know how high he had flown, but finally he saw that this branch also split into nine more branches.