Volume 4: The End of Secrets Chapter 507: Controlling the Cosmic Secrets

But what good was existing eternally here? Wukong wasn’t thinking about immortality at all. Besides, in this desolate place, where was there any joy in life?

Seeing the towering jade pillars, Wukong understood. He looked around, and everything else appeared similar—these pillars formed the framework of this furnace, with extremely intricate arrays between each pair of pillars.

Thanks to these arrays, those inside couldn’t escape, while the forces of anti-creation couldn’t enter. Tathagata, a naturally gifted being, had uncovered some of the secrets of these arrays and used the forces of anti-creation, which meant there must still be weaknesses in them.

But Wukong didn’t know the secrets of these arrays. He had arrived here blindly through the arrays in the River of Heaven. Even if he wanted to go back, he had no way. With no option but to move forward, he continued upward.

Since it was a furnace, there must be an end to it. Below was the furnace bottom, and above was the furnace lid. The hardest part was that their cultivation levels were less than one in a hundred among those affected by anti-creation. At their current pace, it was uncertain when they would reach the top of the furnace. And even if they did, could they really escape?

Wukong said, “The forces of anti-creation are vastly different from those of creation. Though we can barely use them, we can only mobilize a small amount.” With a bitter smile, he added, “With such limited abilities, I really feel lacking in confidence.”

Yin Yang said, “It seems there’s no one here, so there’s no need for much worry.”

Wukong replied, “This place seems to be designed for storing the forces of anti-creation. It’s not strange that there’s no one here. But wouldn’t it be better if there were techniques specifically for drawing out those forces?”

Yin Yang explained, “We are Divine Apes of Creation, whose cultivation techniques are all based on the forces of creation. Only by reaching the realm of Yin and Yang can we transform between them and generate anti-creation forces.”

“What?” Wukong asked. “So your anti-creation forces arise only after reaching the realm of Yin and Yang?”

Yin Yang was even more surprised than Wukong and asked, “What’s wrong with that? Aren’t you the same?”

Wukong was stunned for a moment. Of course not. Ever since he had cultivated to the level of Hunyuan Golden Immortal, this black leaf had appeared on his body as a result of the Hunyuan Dao Fruit. He remembered being surprised at the time because the creation energy on this black leaf was identical to that in Tathagata’s Golden Cudgel. At that time, he had no idea it was the force of anti-creation.

Though surprised, he didn’t take it seriously, assuming everyone else, like himself, would naturally develop such leaves after attaining the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm. But hearing about Yin and Yang today, he realized it wasn’t the case. It turned out he was different from the other Creative Divine Apes; only Wukong and Yin and Yang possessed the power to counteract creation. For the Five-Element Divine Apes, if their cultivation didn’t reach the level of Yin and Yang, they could only rely on the power of creation.

In that case, were the only ones who could transcend through the Creation Furnace himself and Yin and Yang? Needless to say, Pangu and Kunpeng were beyond that realm, their cultivation surely surpassing that of Yin and Yang. Judging from their attitudes, Kunpeng clearly aimed to transcend, while Pangu remained steadfast.

Apart from them, figures like Xuan Nu, the Three Pure Ones, and the Kings of the Five Categories would find it quite difficult to reach the Yin and Yang realm at this stage. And the most extraordinary being was still the Tathagata.

He didn’t know what realm the Tathagata could attain, but he had blazed a different path, understanding that the key to transcending was the power to counteract creation. Without this mysterious force, even achieving sainthood would be useless.

When there was no power to counteract creation in the world, Bodhisattva Nili could only endure in the Buddhist hell, not daring to even let a single hair escape that realm. Later, the Tathagata used a formation to introduce this power into the world, allowing Nili to finally emerge from the Buddhist hell and display his might.

Thinking of this, Wukong wondered why Nili, possessing both positive and negative creation powers, saw no impact on his cultivation, while he and Yin and Yang could only wield a minuscule amount of magic.

Sigh, though the Tathagata wasn’t born of creation, his understanding and mastery of it far surpassed that of the Creative Divine Apes. Truly, those from beyond the heavens can see further.

And this method of merging positive and negative creation together… Could he really not figure it out?

Wukong could no longer bear this situation. He clearly had the cultivation of the Yin and Yang realm, yet could only use a thousandth of it, like a bird with its wings tied, unable to soar but forced to hop on the ground.

He thought about it—power to counteract creation was also a form of creation. The power within him now came from creation, forming into a black leaf. Aside from the Hunyuan Dao Fruit, everything emitted from his body was still pure creation energy.

To use supernatural powers now, one must forcefully expel the force of anti-creation from the black leaves. Due to his poor control over this force, he can only obtain a trace each time. This trace of creation, simply put, is the magic power that Wukong can use—hence the scarcity of his supernatural abilities. It’s like having vast wealth but only being able to take out one coin at a time; it seems unremarkable usually, but when money is urgently needed, the difficulty becomes apparent.

Wukong tried countless times, yet the force of anti-creation remained as weak as a thread, unresponsive to his commands. Seeing that Yin Yang was also pondering this issue, he guessed their situations were not much different.

Left with no choice, Wukong said, “Even if I only travel a thousand miles per day, I must go up and take a look.”

Yin Yang widened his eyes and said, “Traveling a thousand miles a day—this might take decades.” Though he didn’t know how high the cold white canopy above was from the furnace’s top, as a Divine Ape of Yin and Yang, he understood the principle of balance. In this furnace, there was likely half creation and half anti-creation.

From the ground to this cold white canopy, they had already traveled at least ten million miles. If there were another ten million miles to go upward, good heavens, when would they ever get there? But what other option did they have if they didn’t go up?

Yin Yang suddenly said, “Wukong, why not try using the Heavenly Fate Rod?”

Wukong slapped his forehead, realizing he had been foolish—only focusing on using his own brain while forgetting about this mysterious treasure he possessed. The Heavenly Fate Rod was said to be “beyond mystery itself.” Since it had brought him here, it might also help him escape this predicament. Even if it couldn’t get him out of the furnace, bringing him back to the world outside would be far better than staying here.

Taking out the Heavenly Fate Rod, Wukong asked Yin Yang blankly, “How do I use it?”

Yin Yang rolled his eyes at Wukong and said, “I just asked you to take it out and try. How would I know how to use it?”

Wukong fiddled with the rod a few times, but nothing happened. He simply sat down with it, deep in thought for a solution.

He hadn’t fully figured out its uses yet—only that it could absorb lightning, penetrate barriers, and… Suddenly, Wukong remembered that during his fight with the remaining body of the Great Sun Tathagata, he had absorbed all the force of anti-creation from that severed arm and its white jade palm. Could it be…

Thinking of this, Wukong jumped up eagerly and said, “There might be a way out after all!”

Before Yin and Yang could respond, Wukong plopped down again, holding the Tianji Stick and closing his eyes to cultivate. Yin and Yang saw no unusual signs, but Wukong was overjoyed inside—his cultivation method allowed the forces of anti-creation in this world to flow into his body through the Tianji Stick, entering his dantian and disappearing into the black leaves of the Hunyuan Dao Fruit.

Wukong scolded himself for being foolish. He should have known the Tianji Stick could absorb anti-creation forces. As someone from the Creation lineage, who always relied on creation itself, perhaps due to habitual thinking, he had forgotten to delve deeper into this matter.

He had previously not understood the purpose of anti-creation, but now he knew that without it, it was impossible to transcend the heavens. Even the Great Sun Tathagata was likely constantly absorbing anti-creation forces. If he could surpass him here, would he be unable to control the Tathagata in the future? With this thought, Wukong focused intensely and began to absorb the anti-creation forces here, which were far stronger than the weak forces in the world. He could clearly feel that it was almost as effective as his progress in reciting the Tao Te Ching across the three realms—a truly rare opportunity.

After cultivating for a while, Wukong’s excitement gradually subsided, and he suddenly remembered Yin and Yang. He stopped cultivating and said, “Guess what happened?”

Yin and Yang shook their heads. “It seems you entered meditation,” they said.

Wukong replied, “That’s right. I suddenly realized that anti-creation forces can be extremely useful. How about we cultivate together?”

Yin and Yang were delighted. “That would be perfect. But…”

“But what?” Wukong asked.

“I can only reach the realm of Yin and Yang no matter how much I cultivate; I can’t go any further,” they said.

Wukong said, “It’s worth trying.”

So Wukong held the Tianji Stick in his left hand and Yin and Yang’s hands in his right, beginning to cultivate again. Only then did he realize that while he continued to absorb creation forces as usual, only a trace of anti-creation forces entered Yin and Yang’s bodies. Surprised, he asked, “What’s going on? Both of us are of the Creation lineage; there should be no obstacles.”

Yin and Yang released their hands. “I see now. You can only use the Tianji Stick to absorb creation forces, but you still don’t know how to apply them.”

Wukong said, “Do you still remember when we first entered the heavens? There, using anti-creation forces doubled our speed. Why can we only exert a tiny amount of magic here? It’s strange.”

Yin and Yang replied, “Creation is mysterious. How could we possibly understand it? Let’s keep cultivating quickly; don’t waste time.”

Wukong knew that further attempts were futile. Fortunately, there was a limit to the practice of yin and yang, and with a slight reduction in the power to reverse fate, he was still in the realm of yin and yang, so it wasn’t a huge loss for them. But he was different—he could transcend the realm of yin and yang. Perhaps beyond it, he could easily reach heaven.

Day after day, year after year, Wukong sat there for a full forty years, with yin and yang accompanying him. There was nothing else in this place, so he had nowhere to go. He could only wait until he completed his cultivation, when perhaps a turning point would arise.

One day, as Wukong felt his power to reverse fate growing increasingly abundant and harder to absorb, he suddenly heard a surprised voice from above: “Huh? It’s actually the two of you.”