Volume 4: The Revelation Revealed – Chapter 439: Good and Evil

In this world, there is only the Divine Ape of Fate; there are no Gourd Kids. Then, who else could occupy a place in the Furnace of Fate?
Wukong said, “That’s nothing but delusional thinking.”
Xuan Nu replied, “Even delusional thoughts require courage to entertain. Without far-reaching plans and grand ambitions, who would ever think of doing such things?”
Wukong nodded. What Buddha did was indeed beyond the understanding of ordinary people. Just from this perspective, he was worthy of pride. Wukong then looked inside the jade box and saw a small bottle about the size of a palm. He picked it up and shook it—it seemed empty. Upon opening it, Wukong sensed a familiar aura. It contained the essence of the phoenix, the supreme spiritual liquid. Unfortunately, only two drops remained.
“Two drops might still be very useful,” Xuan Nu said. She put those items back into the jade box and handed it to Wukong. “Since they belong to your master, it’s only right you keep them.”
Wukong accepted them without hesitation. Xuan Nu then took out two small cloth bags from her bosom. Inside each was a person—one Xiang Liu and the other a peacock—both restrained by her magic, unable to resist.
Xuan Nu asked Wukong, “Which one shall we interrogate first?”
Wukong was puzzled. The peacock was the offspring of the phoenix; logically, they should be on the same side, so they should be interrogated together. He said, “Let’s interrogate Xiang Liu first.”
Xuan Nu lifted the restriction on Xiang Liu. When Xiang Liu saw the two of them, fear appeared in his eyes, yet he spoke defiantly, “You two are lucky to still be alive, not killed by my master!”
Wukong loathed Xiang Liu deeply. He threw a fireball, scorching Xiang Liu’s face until his green skin sizzled. Xiang Liu cursed, “Sooner or later, I’ll capture you!”
Wukong asked Xuan Nu, “This wretch is beyond redemption. Why not kill him first and then search his soul?”
Xuan Nu replied indifferently, “It’s not as straightforward as you say.” She placed her hand above Xiang Liu’s head, and a beam of white light shone on him. Xiang Liu suddenly became extremely agitated and painful, his face contorting. Before long, tears streamed down his face.
Wukong was stunned. How could this evil and cruel man cry so pitifully? Xuan Nu said, “Human nature is both good and evil. Viewing evil through the lens of good leads to disdain, while viewing good through the lens of evil brings compassion. My divine power is called ‘Calling for Goodness,’ forcing him to see his own evil through the light of his inherent goodness, thus making him deeply repentant.”
Wukong exclaimed, “Xiang Liu also has inherent goodness?”
Xuan Nu glared at him and said, “Great evil harbors great goodness. What’s so surprising about that?” Wukong couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He had already understood this principle clearly during his time in Laojun’s Realm of Good and Evil. It was just that Xiang Liu had given him no positive impression, which was why he asked. It seems that applying knowledge in practice is indeed the hardest part.

Xiang Liu cried for a while. Seeing that the time was right, Xuan Nu asked, “How did you fall under the temptation of Bodhisattva Nili back then, leading you down the wrong path and making you serve as his accomplice?”
Xiang Liu replied, “Back then, I was the ruler of all insects, truly the king beneath the earth. With my venom and stealth skills, I had few enemies. Unexpectedly, I met Nili, who lured me into the Buddhist hell using a strange treasure. He subdued me in just a few moves. Seeing the power of his magic, I willingly followed him to practice.”
Xuan Nu nodded and said, “It was still greed that drove you—no wonder.”
Wukong asked, “What was Nili’s weakness?”
Xiang Liu shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him lose.”
Wukong asked again, “What’s the purpose of the Buddha Tower?”
Xiang Liu looked puzzled. Xuan Nu said, “How could he know?” Then she softly asked, “What do you plan to do by setting up formations on the Pillar That Supports the Sky?”
Without hesitation, Xiang Liu replied, “To shake the Pillar That Supports the Sky.”
“Lies!” Wukong shouted. “With just the formations you’ve set up, can you really shake that pillar?”
Xiang Liu said, “That’s what my master said. I also had doubts, but my master never explained further, and I didn’t dare ask.”
Xuan Nu said, “He wouldn’t lie.”
Wukong asked, “How are these formations activated?”
Xiang Liu replied, “Naturally, with the blood of the kings of the five categories, along with the blood of creatures with nine heads and nine tails.”
Wukong said, “The kings of the five categories can no longer be gathered. Isn’t this formation useless then?”
Xiang Liu shook his head. “Not at all. There must always be kings of the five categories; none can be missing.”
“What do you mean?” Wukong looked at Xuan Nu, who also shook her head, pretending not to know.
Xiang Liu said, “If I die, another Xiang Liu will emerge. In short, the line of kings of the five categories must not be broken. There is only one king of each category—no second can exist. If I don’t die, no second can arise.”
Wukong was still confused. “Where would it come from?”
“I don’t know either.”
Wukong said, “The phoenix is dead. Why isn’t another phoenix appearing?”
Xiang Liu replied, “It can’t happen that quickly. There must be a process.”
Wukong was skeptical. Could really another phoenix appear out of thin air? It seemed utterly unbelievable. Could it be that the Creator was manipulating everything? How amusing—was the Creator playing with all living beings? If so, He must be extremely bored.
Xuan Nu thought for a moment and said, “That’s not right! The qilin is one of the kings of the five categories. So why are there two?”

Xiang Liu said, “It seems like two, but in reality, it’s still one. As long as this qilin doesn’t perish, the little qilin will never be able to master its innate divine powers. Thus, even though there are two qilins, there is only one with true divine power.”
Wukong seemed to understand a bit better—determining which is the king of the five categories depends on their innate divine powers. In that case, the phoenix’s innate power is nirvana. If the peacock or the roc could master nirvana, could they become phoenixes?
Wukong thought for a moment and then said, “Beings with nine heads and nine tails—Buddha hasn’t obtained many of them either. The sacred liquid of the supreme ruler still can’t be created.”
Xiang Liu replied, “It may not be possible now, but it doesn’t mean it won’t be possible in the future. The so-called supreme ruler is just a guise. My master has one nine-tailed fox, and that’s enough. The rest are merely used to test people’s hearts.”
Hearing this, Wukong and Xuan Nu exchanged glances. So that’s what the sacred liquid of the supreme ruler was all about. In that case, the nine-tailed pipa spirit back then allowed Buddha to see the motives of Vimalakirti and Ran Deng.
Wukong, accustomed to Buddha’s intricate schemes, asked again, “How do you enter and exit the Buddhist realms and hells?”
Xiang Liu answered, “The exit to the Buddhist realms and hells is at the Stupa in the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom. Only from there can one enter or exit. If entering through another path, permission from Bodhisattva Nali is required; otherwise, one can only break through the barriers.”
“Back then, you pursued the qilin and Zhen Wu relentlessly. Was it to capture them, or did you have other motives? With your abilities, you shouldn’t be able to defeat either of them,” Wukong asked.
Xiang Liu replied, “I indeed can’t defeat them alone, but with the help of the phoenix, what am I afraid of? Besides, my master gave me two golden rings specifically for capturing them.”
Wukong thought to himself that one of those rings was already on his head. Without Yuan Shi to break its magic, it would indeed be an excellent artifact for controlling people. If the qilin and Zhen Wu were truly under Buddha’s control, who knows where the fate of the world would lead?
At that moment, Xuan Nu suddenly struck Xiang Liu on the head with her palm, knocking him unconscious. Wukong wondered, “Why did she do that?” Xuan Nu replied, “This spell has a time limit.”
Wukong said, “Then it’s fine. We can’t get anything out of this filthy creature anyway. It’s better to kill him.” Xuan Nu smiled and said, “Killing him is easy, but if we need the blood of the king of the five categories in the future, where will you find another Xiang Liu?”
Wukong was obviously speaking sarcastically. The king of the five categories is truly a treasure among treasures—capable of blending with the blood of the pillar that supports the sky. What else in this world could do such a thing?
Xuan Nu glanced at the peacock and said, “This one is a bit tricky. He’s both good and evil; I can’t figure him out either.”

Wukong said, “Back in the day, the peacock sent out two young peacocks to communicate with Relighting Buddha. Later, it helped Tathagata fight for the soul of the Yin-Yang Divine Ape and attacked its biological father, the Phoenix, in the Buddhist hell without any mercy. Its ability to transform at will is truly strange.”
Xuan Nu said, “We should at least wake him up first before talking.”
Xuan Nu cast a slight spell, and the peacock opened its eyes. It looked around, checked itself, and remained extremely calm and alert. It asked, “What’s the matter?”
Wukong asked, “Are you good or evil?”
The peacock glanced at Wukong and said, “Who are you?”
Wukong was stunned. Even in his form as Zhuanxu, the peacock didn’t recognize him. He reverted to his form as the Creative Divine Ape and said, “I am your sworn brother, the Intelligent Divine Ape, Sun Wukong.”
“The Intelligent Divine Ape…” The peacock repeated those words, then looked at Xuan Nu and asked, “Has my father… left?”
Xuan Nu didn’t know how to answer. She nodded but felt it was inappropriate and said, “Perhaps.”
The peacock said, “I’m still clear-headed now, but I can only stay like this for half an hour a day. Ask quickly if you have anything to ask.”
Wukong asked, “Why only half an hour?”
The peacock replied, “It’s because I’m under the control of the Nili Curse. What can I do?”
“Oh? Are all those in the Buddhist hell like this?” Wukong asked further.
The peacock shook its head. “Others willingly convert. Only I and Tathagata are enemies, so I tried to uncover his deepest secrets.”
Hearing this, Wukong couldn’t help but sigh. These father and son truly shared the same temperament. In that case, hadn’t the Phoenix misunderstood the peacock?
The peacock continued, “There are great secrets in the Buddhist hell. I created a male and a female peacock and sent them out to send messages when that realm was unstable. I wonder if Relighting Buddha received them.”
“Oh? What messages did you send?” This had always been a mystery to Wukong. Since the peacock had volunteered to tell him, he naturally wanted to dig deeper.
The peacock said, “I heard that the Buddhists in the hell are plotting to destroy kingdoms on earth. How could such a cruel act go unchallenged by Tathagata?”
Wukong grew solemn. What you don’t know is that those male and female peacocks were shot dead before reaching the Western Heaven, and the plan to destroy kingdoms was never stopped.
At that moment, Wukong remembered something and asked the peacock, “I heard that peacocks are extremely vicious at birth, capable of eating humans. They can suck a person in with one bite over a distance of forty-five miles. Is that true?”
The peacock looked at Wukong and sneered, “Is that what Tathagata said?”
“Oh, how do you know?”

“Amazing that you’re still such a clever monkey. If I were to eat people, I could harm them even from a thousand miles away—why would I go the extra forty-five miles? Since I was born, I’ve only eaten one person, and that was Buddha. Alas, when one wants to impose a crime, excuses are always easy to find. Buddha is truly the most hypocritical person in the world!”
Wukong thought to himself, Not only hypocritical, but also an utter villain! As the supreme ruler, Buddha made a judgment about the peacock, so naturally most people regarded the peacock as evil.
But what fault did the common people have? Was it naivety or hasty judgment? How many people can truly understand the truth?