Volume 4: The Revelation Revealed – Chapter 404: The Heart of Pangu

Pangu was a unique being—the foremost figure of this era. He split the chaos to create heaven and earth, becoming one with the land itself. Unafraid to defy the laws of creation, he used his own body to bear fruit for all living things, nurturing all existence under the heavens.

Although Yuan Shi, Xuan Nu, and the others belonged to the same lineage of creation, they both revered and feared Pangu. Had it not been for Lingbao Daozun’s impatience in issuing such a command, they might not have had the courage to seek Pangu directly.

Xuan Nu said, “The words are crude, but they make sense.” She disliked Lingbao’s domineering tone but knew it was the simplest way.

Wukong replied, “Alright, let’s go!” Having learned many mysteries from seeing the Kunpeng, he was eager to meet Pangu now.

Xuan Nu gave Wukong a cold look and said, “Just because you say so, you’ll go? With your current cultivation, you probably can’t even touch Pangu the Great’s hair.”

Wukong scratched his head and looked at Yuan Shi. Yuan Shi glanced at Lingbao Daozun and Laozi, who both nodded. Yuan Shi said, “Good, the three of us will go in your place!”

Wukong was overjoyed and thanked them repeatedly.

Xuan Nu said coldly, “What’s there to thank? If it weren’t for the Heavenly Secrets Staff, would they help you?”

Laozi smiled apologetically, “Sister, you underestimate us three too much.” Xuan Nu chuckled and asked, “Now you call me sister?”

The Three Pure Ones led Wukong down from the Jade Pure Palace and flew west for a long distance. Yuan Shi checked the direction and said, “It was here last time.” Laozi put Wukong inside the gourd and said, “Wait inside. I’ll show you how to come out when the time is right.” The three linked their hands and feet into a strange posture—a spell of their own creation. By using their divine powers together, they could sustain their energy without wasting much strength.

The Three Pure Ones descended underground. Their cultivation had grown even stronger, and their speed had increased significantly. While they were busy here, Wukong inside the gourd grew bored.

After entering the gourd, he waited for a long time with no signs of activity. Then he suddenly remembered that time flowed differently inside Laozi’s gourd compared to the outside. One day outside might equal more than a year in here. So, he didn’t have much free time after all.

Since that was the case, he couldn’t waste it. Wukong sat down to meditate, but his mind was restless as he wondered what to ask Pangu when they met. How could he cultivate in such a state?

Reaching into his bosom, he took out the black pill given to him by Xuan Nu. Xuan Nu had said it could only be taken after reaching sainthood, but since he was already at that level, it was suitable for him now.

He held the pill in his hands, carefully studying the secrets of the Mysterious Void Technique. He couldn’t tell what the black shell was made of, and even the secrets of the Mysterious Void Technique failed to reveal its interior. After much hesitation, Wukong finally mustered the courage to crush the black shell.

As soon as the shell broke, a wisp of white energy drifted out. Wukong was overjoyed—this energy was identical to that of the Immortal Peach. He wondered what method Xuan Nu had used to store all the essence of the Immortal Peach within it.

With a quick inspection, he realized there was at least the equivalent of two Immortal Peaches inside. Holding the pill like a precious treasure, he sat down on the ground and began to meditate and cultivate.

Upon absorbing it, Wukong was surprised to find a trace of Dao essence within—it was the secrets of the Mysterious Void Technique as understood by Xuan Nu. The Dao essence covered only the third volume, “Preserving Truth,” seemingly prepared by Xuan Nu especially for Wukong.

The “Preserving Truth” volume allowed one to discern the true nature of all things, filter out unwanted elements, and ensure that nothing could hide from its true form. Although Wukong had mastered the five elements, their interrelationships and the principles governing growth, acceptance, nourishment, and ascent were complex—how could he learn them all at once? Xuan Nu’s gesture saved Wukong countless efforts.

Eagerly, Wukong continued to cultivate. Unaware of the passage of time outside, he had now reached the stage of sainthood and was in urgent need of this essence. Xuan Nu’s instruction for him to take it after attaining sainthood surely had its reason.

It took the Three Primordials four full days to reach the same place they had been before. Just as before, they reached this point and could go no further. The Three Pure Ones were extremely anxious and spared no effort. After sitting down to regulate their energy and completing several cycles, they finally balanced their breaths before Yuan Shi dared to speak, “Great God Pangu, Yuan Shi seeks an audience.”

As soon as he spoke, a thought entered his mind—Pangu’s voice said, “Why disturb me?”

Hearing Pangu’s slight displeasure, Yuan Shi hurriedly replied, “It’s not that we are presumptuous, but it is the Spiritual Intelligent Ape who wishes to see you.” Knowing there was a special connection in the lineage of creation, he immediately brought up Wukong.

“Hm. Let him come out. You go.”

Yuan Shi did not dare disobey, so Laojun released Wukong. The three of them left in haste, not caring about how Wukong would return to the surface from such depths.

By now, Wukong had absorbed all the essence from the black shell and was struggling with the final challenge of the secrets of the Mysterious Void Technique. Suddenly, the scene changed, and he found himself in dark soil. A muffled voice asked, “Are you the Spiritual Intelligent Ape?”

Wukong was shocked—it was Pangu! He immediately stopped cultivating and wondered if Pangu couldn’t tell he was the Spiritual Intelligent Ape. He replied, “Indeed!”

Pangu remained silent for a long time, and Wukong did not dare to speak much either. After a while, Pangu finally said, “Sigh, you are indeed wise.”
Wukong asked anxiously, “Why do you sigh?”
“I sigh because you are too weak!”
“Ah!” Wukong was greatly surprised. Since he had reached the state of sainthood, his cultivation had advanced rapidly, yet Pangu still said he was too weak.
Wukong thought for a moment and asked, “What does it mean to be strong?”
Pangu replied, “To control fate, reverse yin and yang, move stars and planets, turn back the sky and sun… Have you learned all of these?”
Wukong was shocked. These were the thirty-six transformations taught to him by Ran Deng, powers said to surpass those of Buddhism and Taoism. How could Pangu know them in such detail? Wukong asked, “Do you know Ran Deng?”
“Ran Deng was created from my breath. How could I not know him?”
Wukong was shocked again. Ran Deng was the only being born of heaven and earth in this world. So he was actually created from Pangu’s breath—meaning he must be Pangu’s son! He asked further, “Why isn’t he a being of fate?”
Pangu replied slowly, “A being of fate? There’s no real advantage to it. Naturally, I wouldn’t pass that on to him.”
Wukong asked again, “Do you know that Ran Deng was used by the Tathagata to establish Buddhism?”
Pangu snorted and said, “Are you also coming to question me?”
Wukong replied, “I dare not question you. I just have many uncertainties and doubts.”
Pangu said, “People give birth to children, discipline them in their youth, and then let them go their own ways when they grow up. What’s different about me?”
Wukong thought for a while. Pangu’s words made sense, but he still wasn’t convinced. He asked, “Why create Ran Deng? What’s the difference between having him and not having him?”
Pangu replied, “Although he isn’t a being of fate, he possesses the roots of fate, so naturally he is beneficial to you all.”
Wukong asked further, “Was there also Ran Deng in the previous cycle?”
Pangu said, “Yes.”
“What’s the difference between the two cycles?”
“Great differences.”
“What are those differences?” Wukong asked again.
“You’ll know in time.”
Wukong felt helpless. After all, Pangu didn’t know what would happen in the future either, but he knew about various variables in the world. His methods of inference were merely rough guesses—no one could predict the future with certainty.
Wukong thought and asked, “How can we solve the mysteries of heaven and earth?”
Pangu replied, “Beyond the secrets of heaven, there is no mystery left.”
Wukong was shocked. These eight words spoken by Pangu were exactly the annotation below the Heaven’s Secret Staff in the “Instrumentary Canon.” Indeed, the Heaven’s Secret Staff was the most crucial thing.
“Who wrote the ‘Instrumentary Canon’? Was it you?”
Pangu said, “I wrote it myself. If it’s said to be my work, then it can be considered so, barely.”

“Oh? ‘More or less,’ what does that mean? Is there someone else involved? Could it be written by Kunpeng and Pangu together? If it was written by them, how did it end up in Buddha’s box? Pangu doesn’t like to talk much, so Wukong can only ask some concise and crucial questions.”
He asked again, “Buddha, where did you come from?”
“From beyond the heavens!”
“Ah!” Wukong almost fell to the ground. Could Buddha also be from another world? He seemed to foresee everything and had everyone under his control. If he came from beyond the heavens, that was indeed possible! But compared to himself, Buddha seemed to have arrived a little earlier.
“Beyond the heavens… what is beyond the heavens?”
“Oh…” Pangu let out a long sigh, his voice filled with endless sorrow. “That’s my home.”
Great! So indeed, there are heavens beyond the heavens—another world exists outside this one.
“Did you and Buddha meet in beyond the heavens?” Wukong gave up the idea that Buddha came from another world. Since Pangu said beyond the heavens was his home, then Pangu and Buddha must have come to this world from the same place. Probably the same goes for Kunpeng.
“Enemies for countless years—naturally, we met,” Pangu replied.
Indeed. No wonder Buddha orchestrated the entire quest for the scriptures; ultimately, it was to seize Pangu’s essence of creation. They had known each other for a long time.
“What exactly does Buddha want?” Wukong asked nervously, fearing Pangu wouldn’t answer.
“He? He naturally wants to leave.”
“He wants to take your essence of creation. Do you know that?”
“Of course I do!”
“If you know, then why is your essence still moving?”
“It’s natural. In the realm of creation, balance is maintained by itself. You still don’t understand,” Pangu said indifferently.
Wukong was speechless. He truly didn’t understand. But Buddha knew everything about the realm of creation. It was obvious he had targeted Pangu’s weakness. Fortunately, the Yin-Yang Divine Ape sought its own destruction; otherwise, Buddha would have succeeded this time.
Wukong asked again, “Why don’t you kill Buddha?”
Pangu replied, “I am for creation, not for killing. Besides… I can’t kill him.”
“Ah! Is he that powerful?” Wukong was shocked. Many of Pangu’s answers were beyond his imagination. Pangu possessed three-nines of the essence of creation yet couldn’t kill Buddha. Then wasn’t Buddha invincible?
“If even the great Pangu is powerless, should we just watch him harm the living beings in the world?” Wukong asked.
“Beyond the mysteries of fate, there is nothing more mysterious!” Pangu repeated those words.
Wukong nodded secretly. Since you say so, today I’m here to take your vital essence and use it to forge my Heaven’s Secret Staff.

Wukong asked, “Then why did you make Yuan Shi, Xuan Nu, and others part of the Creation lineage?”
“To help you kill the Tathagata!”
Ah! Can I really kill the Tathagata?