Volume 4: The End of Heavenly Secrets Chapter 505: Birth Without Roots

The two were not overly disappointed. If leaving heaven were so easy, the Kunpeng would have long left the Heavenly Furnace and gone off to roam freely. But what should they do now?

Entering was impossible. Only then did Wukong realize what it meant to have no way out of heaven. Yet giving up so easily was hard for him to accept.

Yin Yang didn’t overthink it and said, “Let’s go.”

“Where?” Wukong still wasn’t convinced and tried to find another flaw.

Yin Yang replied, “There’s no path ahead. Why stay stuck here? Let’s return to the earth. We’ll have to come up eventually.”

Wukong thought for a moment. Indeed, there was nothing he could do here. Sigh, he had come full of hope but only found the source of the gale winds—nothing else.

Though these monsters had high cultivation levels, since they were controlled by others, they seemed pose no threat to the world. Since the being from beyond wanted to create a Heavenly Furnace, he surely wouldn’t interfere further. Otherwise, if he could build it, he could also destroy it. The lives of everyone inside the Heavenly Furnace depended merely on the will of that being.

But what was his purpose in creating this furnace?

Leaving this place was much easier than entering. Wukong and Yin Yang found a hole and rushed downward. The strong gale winds blew them out.

As they fell at lightning speed, Wukong’s mind was filled with thoughts. Leaving heaven was truly extremely difficult—even Buddha couldn’t do it, nor could the Kunpeng. Although he and Yin Yang had reached the realm of Yin Yang, they were still far behind the Kunpeng.

But why did the Kunpeng want him and Yin Yang to try together? Did he know something? Did he believe he could leave heaven? What did he have that the Kunpeng didn’t?

Suddenly, Wukong remembered something, and his mind cleared as if struck by lightning. He quickly asked Yin Yang, “Do you know the Tongtian River?”

“The Tongtian River?” Yin Yang thought for a moment. “Of course I do. We crossed it during the journey to obtain the scriptures and even stayed at Chen’s family’s house in Yuanhui County for some time.”

Wukong said, “It’s exactly that place. Then do you know there are arrays in the Tongtian River?”

“Oh? Arrays? I’m not aware of that.”

Wukong said joyfully, “Let’s go and give it a try at the Tongtian River.”

“Try what?” Yin Yang asked.

Wukong was extremely anxious now. He told Yin Yang about how he had used the Heavenly Secrets Rod to cross the Tongtian River and been transported to the heavens by an unnamed array.

Yin Yang pondered, “The Heavenly Secrets Rod? Beyond heavenly secrets, there’s nothing more mysterious. This rod actually has such amazing powers?”

Wukong said, “There are many wonders. What I know is probably not even one-tenth of them.” The two rushed to the Tongtian River like the wind. Just as Wukong was about to enter the water, he suddenly laughed and said, “There’s something coming up now.” Yin and Yang were speechless for a moment—what in the world could be more important than matters related to heaven? So they said, “If there’s something, we’ll go back later.” Wukong replied with a smile, “Do you know if something truly arises from heaven, will we even be able to return?” Yin and Yang asked, “Very well, what is it?” Wukong didn’t answer. Instead, he leaped into the air and rushed westward. Just as he entered the river, an alarm signal appeared on his body—it was the spell he had cast on Monk Longshu, which suddenly went off as a warning. If Longshu hadn’t been in danger, this alarm would never have sounded. Monk Longshu was truly mysterious; even though Wukong was eager to leave heaven, he had to save him first. Otherwise, if anything happened to Longshu, he would feel great regret. In the blink of an eye, Wukong found Monk Longshu within the lands of Tianzhu. At that moment, Monk Longshu was tightly tied to a large tree with a green rope, surrounded by dozens of Taoists—members of the Ciyun Temple in the Biqiu Kingdom, including Zhang Hui among them. Zhang Hui’s uncle, the Taoist in yellow, looked extremely angry, his face turning green and red alternately. Facing Longshu, who remained calm despite being tied, he shouted, “Buddhism belongs to Buddhism, Taoism belongs to Taoism. Someone like you, who changes sides like a weed on a wall, what can you achieve?” Wukong and Yin and Yang watched from above. Seeing that Monk Longshu was temporarily unharmed, only tied up, they stopped worrying and hid, observing their argument. From the yellow-robed Taoist’s behavior, it was clear he was at a disadvantage and, out of anger and shame, had used magic to tie up Monk Longshu—not really intending to harm him. After all, one was a celestial being with divine powers, while the other was a mortal with no magical abilities at all. If the yellow-robed Taoist killed Longshu, many of his disciples would surely despise him. Monk Longshu remained calm and said, “Who belongs to whom is just your prejudice. If you want to pursue the great path, you must abandon prejudice.” The yellow-robed Taoist replied, “If it weren’t for me converting the barbarians, who in the world would know about your Buddhism?” Monk Longshu said, “Even before me, there were already Buddhas. What does that mean?” Although the yellow-robed Taoist had magical powers, his knowledge of Buddhist scriptures was far inferior to Longshu’s. Whenever discussions about scriptures arose, he could never outshine Longshu. So he stopped arguing and said, “You lot sitting in meditation are all practicing blindly. Sitting until your buttocks are broken, tormented by inner flames—only to bring disaster upon yourselves!” Monk Longshu replied, “What about Taoists going astray?”

The old man in yellow said nothing, and Nagarjuna simply continued to refute him with solid evidence. The old man in yellow could only ask questions without answering, thus falling at a disadvantage. He had always been arrogant; although he had studied quite a bit at the Ciyun Temple in the Bhiksu Kingdom, he thought he could still show off his knowledge even when arriving at the Spirit Mountain and gain a reputation as a learned Taoist. Yet halfway there, he was left speechless by a young monk.

So he said, “Hmph, I won’t debate you. If you claim Buddhism is superior, then come out and face me yourself.” The old Taoist waved his hand and told his disciples, “Let’s go!” Clearly, he intended to abandon Nagarjuna there.

Nagarjuna wasn’t in a hurry. Smiling, he said, “If reason fails, you resort to brute force. If all Taoists are like you, there’s no point in going further east.”

How could the old man in yellow fail to hear Nagarjuna’s mockery? But with a stamp of his foot, his group rushed westward, truly leaving Nagarjuna behind. That green rope contained magical power; even ordinary people who happened to see it couldn’t untie it, let alone in this desolate wilderness where fierce beasts might lurk. The old man in yellow’s actions were nothing short of harmful.

Yin Yang, however, paid no attention to this. His eyes were fixed on Nagarjuna as he asked Wukong, “Is this man extraordinary?”

Wukong was intrigued. If Yin Yang could see Nagarjuna’s extraordinariness, then he asked, “In what way is he extraordinary?”

Yin Yang replied, “He was born without roots, and that’s why he’s extraordinary.”

“What does it mean to be born without roots? How do you know that?” Wukong asked.

Yin Yang said, “I have gained much from the powers of the Kunpeng. Naturally, I’m not like before. Over the cycles of time, I’ve only seen two and a half such beings born without roots.”

Wukong asked, “Two and a half? How can there be half?”

Yin Yang replied, “The first one is, of course, the Kunpeng. He was born without roots.”

“Ah?” Wukong remembered that Yin Yang had said that during the first era, the Kunpeng was born after the Creative Divine Ape. Both Pangu and the Creative Divine Ape seemed to be destined from chaos, but the Kunpeng was clearly an exception.

Yin Yang continued, “The Kunpeng once said that within chaos there was ambiguity, but an inherent sense of freedom. This force arose from the frustration of chaos confined within this world’s furnace. From emptiness, it solidified, and thus the Kunpeng was born.”

“I see. At that moment, Wukong remembered the copy of ‘Free and Easy Wandering’ that the Ancient Lamp-Burning Buddha had given him when he first entered the Water Curtain Cave: ‘In the northern seas, there is a fish called Kun. Kun is so huge that its size is unknown—thousands of miles long. When it transforms into a bird, it is called Peng. Peng’s back is also thousands of miles long. When it flies in anger…’ A spirit of ninety thousand miles spans the heavens, with a pure heart returning to nature, wandering freely through the world… It seems carefree, but in truth, the heart of Kun and Peng remains confined.”
“No wonder Kun and Peng want to leave heaven. They embody the power of freedom in chaos—how could they be willing to stay trapped in this cosmic furnace? In the trials of the primordial era, dying and being reborn over and over again—what joy is there in that?”
“And during this primordial era, Kun and Peng naturally noticed something different, which is why they asked Yin and Yang to bring Wukong out of heaven. Wukong has already found the answer to this difference—he plans to verify it in the River of the Heavenly Flow. He faintly feels that the chances of success… are extremely high!”
“Then who is the other half?” Wukong asked.
Yin and Yang replied, “The other half is the Ancient Lamp-Burning Buddha. Though he is said to be born from the essence of Pangu, he actually has no roots. Yet there are traces he can be followed, so he can only be considered half.”
“Is the other one this Monk Longshu?” Wukong asked.
“Exactly!” Yin and Yang nodded firmly. “Having spent time with Kun and Peng and learning from him, I’m certain about this. This monk definitely appeared out of nowhere in this world. Before he was born, not even a trace of his soul or essence could be found in this world!”
After hearing this, Wukong finally understood. Yin and Yang meant that creation in the world is not constant and can arise in many ways, but Monk Longshu’s origin is not from natural creation within the world, nor from the essence of creation—it simply appeared out of thin air?
Nonsense! How could something appear out of thin air? Thinking this way, the answer became clear—could this Monk Longshu come from beyond heaven?
Wukong had previously thought that those from beyond heaven should not get involved in the affairs within the cosmic furnace. But with Yin and Yang’s question, there seemed to be no other explanation—why would someone from beyond heaven create a monk like Longshu who has no powers?
Wukong shook his head. The matter of leaving heaven already gave him headaches, and now the issue with Monk Longshu had become even more confusing. Seeing Wukong troubled, Yin and Yang said with a smile, “I just say what I think.”
Wukong quickly figured it out and said, “Even so, he’s definitely no ordinary person. Why should I care about him? Let him live and die—someone else will take care of it, right?”

Yin Yang Dao said, “Even if no one is in charge, you don’t need to worry about it.”
Wukong was momentarily stunned, then laughed and said, “Good! If no one cares, then I won’t care either!” Feeling relieved, he stopped looking at Monk Longshu and continued running with Yin Yang toward the Tongtian River.