Volume 4: The End of Secrets Chapter 503: Beasts from Beyond the Sky

Wukong reminded Yin-Yang Dao, “The path ahead is uncertain. It’s better to rest for now.”

Yin-Yang nodded. Though they were at the pinnacle of mastery within the Furnace of Heaven and Earth, belonging to the realm of Yin and Yang, the world beyond the sky was entirely unknown. Just looking at this boundless sky canopy and that enormous red sun, it was far beyond their current capabilities. Therefore, caution was essential.

They sat in meditation with closed eyes for a long time, perfecting their cultivation, before rising together and flying toward the hole. After flying for half a day, they finally approached it. Wukong touched the blue sky canopy beside the hole and murmured, “It’s indeed made from the material of the Pillars of Heaven. But… how could there be so much of it?”

Yin-Yang Dao replied, “Though the Pillars of Heaven are rare in the Furnace, they might be everywhere beyond the sky. Who knows? There could also be special substances capable of counteracting them.”

Wukong’s eyes lit up. Yin-Yang’s idea was highly plausible. If they could find something to counter the Pillars of Heaven, it might help break those formations.

Wukong said, “Let’s go in!”

They exchanged a glance and leaped in together.

The sky canopy was merely a thin layer, about twelve feet thick. Inside the hole, the gale winds were extremely fierce. As soon as they entered, they were caught off guard by a gust of wind and blown out.

Standing in midair, they were filled with terror.

It turned out these holes were the source of the gale winds. They had thought a distance of twelve feet could be covered in one leap, but they were blown out even before reaching two feet inside.

Yin-Yang tried to enter again, but Wukong stopped him, lost in thought. Gale winds existed everywhere in the sky. If every starlight represented a hole, could one escape through any place with starlight?

The gale winds in the Furnace blew in through these holes, and since these holes were scattered across the sky, it meant there was endless gale wind beyond this canopy.

Wind could penetrate anywhere. If that was the case, even if he and Yin-Yang managed to break through this canopy, could they survive beyond the sky? Were the gale winds in these holes different from each other?

Wukong assessed the situation. The force of the previous gust had been extremely strong. Even if they were prepared, passing through here would be extremely difficult. So he said, “Let’s try another place.”

There were stars near the moon. Compared to that, this hole, though much smaller than the moon, still covered an area of hundreds of miles. They flew toward it, but before they could get close, they found it hard to move forward—seemingly, the gale winds here were even stronger than before.

Wukong said with a wry smile, “We said we wanted to escape the sky, and now that the door to escape is right before us, we still can’t get out.”

Yin and Yang said nothing and rushed into that hole with all their strength. From miles away, they could go no further and had to retreat. What made things worse was that in this fierce wind, all teleportation techniques were ineffective, as if they were under some kind of restriction. A distance of twenty feet became an insurmountable barrier.

Wukong said, “This wind varies in strength. It seems we’ll have to try each hole one by one.”

After discussing for a while, the two separated and searched among the starlit sky, trying each hole in turn. It was imperative to find a way out. Being inside the furnace was like being in a mist; they must not give up due to difficulties.

So Yin and Yang headed east while Wukong went west, searching along the blue sky. Most of these starlit holes had winds similar to that of the Moon Hole, with only slight differences in intensity. Occasionally, some adjacent holes had extremely strong winds, but the reason for this was unknown.

As they searched, Wukong gradually noticed a pattern: centered around the holes with the strongest winds, the wind strength decreased gradually. When it reached its weakest point, it increased again, leading to the next center of strong wind.

If a circle was drawn centered on a hole with extremely strong wind, that circle contained about a thousand stars. The hole with the weakest wind was not on the edge of this circle, nor inside it, but outside!

There were always a few holes separated by the boundaries of adjacent circles—these were the places with the weakest wind. Wukong called Yin and Yang over. When they approached, Yin and Yang said to Wukong, “Indeed, I’ve also made some discoveries. But no matter how much we search, we keep thinking there might be holes with even weaker winds ahead.”

Wukong replied, “Maybe there are, but this is enough.” At that moment, Wukong couldn’t help but recall how Yuan Shi sealed the illusion arrays on the Pillar of Heaven. Yuan Shi had already successfully sealed seven illusion arrays. Even if the eighth still existed, the speed at which the forces of chaos surged in was much slower than before. So, if he had stopped then, it would have taken Buddha at least ten times longer to refine his body into that of the Great Sun Buddha. Yet, mortals always strive for perfection, and even Yuan Shi wasn’t exempt—such a slight mistake was no accident.

Buddha was truly cunning, gradually luring Yuan Shi into his trap and using him to facilitate the influx of chaotic forces. Ultimately, this reflected his ultimate understanding of human nature. It was hard to tell whether it was greed or inertia—perhaps, sometimes stepping back from a peak is also a wise move.

The two of them then focused their energy beside the holes, bringing their cultivation to its peak before stepping inside.

Although the wind force in this cave was less than half that of the most intense areas, the pressure was still extremely high. The two of them entered hand in hand, and as soon as they went in, they felt their breaths become trapped. The fierce wind seemed to seal off their meridians, even affecting the flow of life energy. Clinging to the cave walls, they moved forward inch by inch, each step consuming a great deal of their magical energy. With their magic nearly exhausted and having covered less than half a zhang, they realized that even though the wind here was weaker, it was still beyond their ability to pass through. After exiting, Wukong looked depressed, his confidence greatly shaken. He asked Yin Yang, “Could it be that our cultivation is not enough?” Yin Yang thought for a moment and said, “If it were not enough, how could the Kunpeng have taught us a way out?” Wukong replied, “The Kunpeng said that reaching the realm of Yin and Yang would allow us to leave this world. How could he lie?” Wukong nodded. Since the Kunpeng had said so, it must be true. But with Wukong and Yin Yang’s current abilities, they truly were powerless. The wind force in this cave was already quite weak, and finding one even weaker wouldn’t make much of a difference. Yin Yang also fell into deep thought. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he said to Wukong, “Do you still remember that divine technique?” “What technique?” Wukong asked, seeming to understand. “Reversing Heaven and Earth! This technique is a wonderful method to escape from another’s realm. Why not try it now?” Yin Yang suggested. Wukong hesitated. “Are you saying that this world might also be a realm?” Yin Yang replied, “Regardless of whether it is or not, it’s worth giving it a try.” Wukong nodded, gathered his magical energy again, and carefully recalled the intricacies of the “Reversing Heaven and Earth” technique. Also known as “Reversing Yin and Yang,” it was taught to him by the Patriarch Ran Deng. The Patriarch Ran Deng originated from this very realm, born from the essence of Pangu. The Thirty-Six Transformations of Heavenly Qi were techniques he developed through years of effort, combining the teachings of Buddhism and Taoism. Wukong had used it several times before, and it had always worked perfectly. After gathering his energy, Wukong waved his hand, summoned Yin Yang into his arms, approached the cave entrance, muttered an incantation, and unleashed the “Reversing Heaven and Earth” technique. What was inside and what was outside? With this technique, everything was instantly reversed. Wukong felt as if he had entered a passage he had never been in before. This sensation passed in an instant, and when he steadied himself, he felt solid ground beneath his feet. At that moment, Wukong clearly knew he had left that cosmic furnace. Before he could fully settle down, he heard several loud noises above his head—sounds like those emitted by several monstrous creatures at the same time. Yin Yang leaped out of Wukong’s arms, and the two looked up. The shock they witnessed was truly immense.

The blue sky of the vast furnace-like world lay beneath their feet. Though Wukong had no idea what lay beyond the sky, he could never have imagined it to look like this. Above the blue sky was another layer of white sky, emitting a cold white light. The moonlight and starlight came from this layer of sky, passing down to the ground through those holes. Between the blue sky and the white sky, countless enormous monsters hung in the air—roughly a thousand or more. Some of them had their mouths open, others were waving their claws, all in various postures, and it was from these monsters that the gale winds originated. Where Wukong and Yin Yang stood was still filled with gale winds, but the space here was much larger than those holes, and since they were standing on solid ground, the pressure was much less. Wukong was at a loss for a moment—were these monsters the source of the gale winds? It seemed like they had entered some kind of trap. Yet these monsters showed no hostility toward the two of them; those nearby cast surprised glances at them. Taking advantage of this moment, Wukong used the secrets of the Xuan Kong technique to see the monsters between the two layers of sky clearly. There were five types of these monsters, each at least a thousand zhang in size, and their cultivation levels were beyond his ability to discern—likely at least above the Yin Yang realm. The nearest monsters had human faces and bird bodies, hovering in the air, with two arms and two legs on their sides, and a two-headed dragon sitting beneath them, its eyes closed as if asleep. A bit further away was a monster with a sparrow’s head and a deer’s body, but with a long snake’s tail, its body covered in leopard patterns. Even further away was a monster with a dog’s body and a human face; it grinned at Wukong as if smiling, but its smile was cold, like that of a puppet controlled by strings—far from friendly. Looking eastward, there was an extremely long snake-like monster, entirely red, as if pulled from a pool of blood, with a huge human face. This monster neither opened its mouth nor moved its body; only its eyes opened and closed, generating gale winds. These monsters were incredibly strange in appearance, and Wukong didn’t recognize any of them. The last group, however, seemed somewhat familiar—several giant blue bulls without horns, their eyes shining like the sun and moon, their nostrils flaring with thunderous roars. Strangely, these blue bulls had only one foot each. Wukong remembered—these monsters seemed to be the legendary Kui bulls! According to legend, the Kui bulls shone like the sun and moon, their roars like thunder, bringing wind or rain wherever they went, and they were among the ancient divine beasts.