Volume 4: The Revelation Revealed Chapter 509: Gathering Destiny Xuan Nu headed straight to the northeast, naturally to seek Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. The netherworld was under Ksitigarbha’s control. Though it no longer indiscriminately absorbed the destiny of ordinary people as before, it remained a place where all beings in the world were reborn, a gathering ground for destiny. When Xuan Nu arrived at the Netherworld Hall, Ksitigarbha seemed to have been preparing in advance. Smiling, he handed her a small cauldron and said, “There are many tasks at hand now. I’ll go see Wukong later.” Xuan Nu took the cauldron. Without sensing it, she knew it contained endless destiny. Naturally, she didn’t need to thank him. She asked Ksitigarbha, “You already knew Wukong had arrived?” Ksitigarbha replied, “With the Rain God Hall and the Earth Mother Hall, Di Ting is the least busy one now.” Xuan Nu bid farewell to Ksitigarbha and headed toward the Tongtian River. By the Tongtian River, almost all the world’s top experts had gathered—some floating in midair, some standing on the ground. In the center, sitting motionless with eyes closed, was Wukong. He had just eaten the two peach fruits, and the power of destiny filled his body, flowing toward his dantian. But in just a short while, the destiny from those two peach fruits was completely absorbed by the wildly spinning Hunyuan Dao Fruit. Wukong grew anxious. At the realm of Yin and Yang, it was difficult to advance in cultivation. This was a critical moment for training. Without destiny… The two peach fruits had caused the white leaves on the Hunyuan Dao Fruit to grow slightly, but they were still far from as thick as the black leaves. Wukong couldn’t help but sigh bitterly. Judging from this trend, no amount of additional destiny would be enough. Back then, he had absorbed over a dozen thousand-zhang jade rods to break through the Yin and Yang realm, and the destiny required for the next realm was naturally terrifyingly large. By chance, he had used the Tianji Stick to gather enough counter-destiny power in that space above the furnace. But Yin and Yang complemented each other—positive destiny also needed to be replenished. If Wukong stopped now, it wouldn’t matter much. But right now, he was like an bottomless cave in the deep sea. No matter where he went, wherever there was destiny, it would flow toward him. His cultivation at the Yin and Yang realm might become an unpredictable disaster for the world. Not to mention plants withering and all things withering away, even cultivators passing by Wukong might be instantly drained of their energy. Others didn’t understand the stakes, but Yin and Yang knew clearly. That’s why they searched everywhere for destiny, determined to help Wukong overcome this challenge. Just as Wukong was in trouble, he saw Laojun and Lingbao Daozun flying over urgently from the east. When Laojun and Lingbao came within a hundred miles of Wukong, they suddenly felt their dantians becoming unstable, as if all their magical power was flowing toward Wukong. Shocked, they immediately stopped moving and exchanged glances. Lingbao said, “There’s indeed something strange. Quickly throw the peach fruits over.”
Laojun hurriedly cast a spell using the cloth bag in his arms toward Wukong. As soon as the bag left his hand, it flew straight toward Wukong as if pulled by a thread. Laojun exclaimed in shock, “How could my thrown object move so fast?”
Seeing this miraculous object, which was like a bloodthirsty beast, the bag opened on its own mid-air, and the peaches inside tumbled into Wukong’s mouth one after another like pearls. Wukong’s sense of heat in his heart eased slightly as he quietly absorbed the power of these peaches. Ordinary peaches were naturally far inferior to those from the mother tree, but their abundance was an advantage—each peach was like a clear spring flowing into his dantian, gradually calming him down. If other immortals had witnessed this scene, they would surely be filled with admiration. Who in the world would dare to enjoy peaches in such a way? Laojun felt heartache seeing this; in his hands, those peaches could have become many miraculous elixirs for healing, advancing cultivation, and building a foundation—pure and perfect raw materials. Alas, who said the Divine Ape cherished creation the most? If it truly seized creation, no one in the world could stand against it.
After eating about a thousand peaches, the bag was completely empty. Laojun frowned and said, “So fast!” Wukong waved at him and called out, “Are there any more?”
Left with no choice, Laojun recalled Xuan Nu’s words that Wukong urgently needed creation. It seemed he would have to sacrifice a lot today. He took out a crimson gourd, unscrewed its lid, and recited a spell. Various elixirs flew out of the gourd, flashed through the air, and vanished into Wukong’s mouth the next moment. These elixirs included those for healing, enhancing cultivation, balancing the five elements, and calming the mind… Wukong didn’t distinguish between them. As a being of creation, he only cared about the creation within the elixirs; the rest didn’t matter much to him.
Watching Wukong swallow his elixirs one after another like they were nothing, Laojun’s heart ached as if torn apart. But since he had given gifts, he had to ensure they satisfied the recipient—otherwise, all his efforts would be in vain. Moreover, even if Laojun didn’t want to, he dared not defy Xuan Nu’s will. In this world, he feared neither Yuan Shi nor Tathagata—he feared Xuan Nu the most.
Overcome with heartache, Laojun shouted toward the west, “Lady Hou Tu, please save me!” Several figures appeared in the west—none other than Dayu and Hou Tu. It turned out that Dayu and the others were right behind Laojun and his group. If they hadn’t stopped, they would have arrived at the same time as Laojun’s Lingbao. But near the Tongtian River, they saw Laojun cast his spell first and feared disturbing him, so they stopped in the distance and waited.
After watching for a while, Hou Tu said with a smile, “Today is truly a day of misfortune for Laojun. He’s heartbroken now; if he endures any longer, his heart will shatter.”
Hou Tu took out the jade bottle in which the Qilin had collected the immortal herbs from the Heavenly Court, unscrewed the lid, and stood it upside down. From within, various treasures flew out: golden jumping pearl elixirs, sweet and precious herbs, cinnabar that turned into fiery crystal beads, thousand-year-old yellow essence, and ten-thousand-year-old ginseng—such a dazzling array, as if an immortal herb exhibition had opened. There were also countless immortals fruits like Poria cocos and fire dates, all treasures accumulated by the Heavenly Court over tens of thousands of years.
Lao Jun knew that each palace and courtyard in the Heavenly Court had its own dedicated immortal herb gardens, and these immortals fruits grew there. With thirty-six heavens under the nourishment of the underworld’s forces over tens of thousands of years, countless treasures must have accumulated. He never expected that the Qilin, though seemingly crude, had actually gathered all these precious immortal herbs.
Recalling that Wukong had saved the Qilin out of simple kindness back then, he thought that this miracle today was the Qilin’s way of repaying him generously.
These immortals fruits and herbs, though not as potent as Lao Jun’s peaches of immortality or elixirs, were abundant in number. Wukong used his supernatural power to transform his body into a towering ten-zhang figure, opened his massive mouth, and let the yellow essence and Poria cocos pour in like rain, which then transformed into spiritual energy and filled his dantian.
This “rain” lasted for half an hour before Hou Tu’s jade bottle was finally empty. Dayu laughed and said, “The Qilin taught you to return the jade bottle to him; perhaps he thought some would still be left.”
After absorbing this spiritual energy, the white leaves in Wukong’s dantian had grown to two-thirds the size of the black leaves, while the Hunyuan Dao Fruit remained as small as a fingernail, spinning continuously. Wukong didn’t understand what was happening and wondered if the Hunyuan Dao Fruit might even disappear.
Now, Wukong could also control his reckless absorption of spiritual energy. Though he still felt slightly unwell, it was no longer as uncontrollable as before. Just as he was about to stand up, Xuan Nu appeared in the distance and said to Wukong, “It’s too late!” When Lao Jun saw Xuan Nu, he went up with a sad face to complain, but Xuan Nu had no time to deal with him at the moment and said, “We’ll talk about it later.”
She threw the small cauldron given to her by Ksitigarbha at Wukong and shouted, “Catch it!”
Wukong had originally intended to give up, but when he sensed the powerful spiritual energy within the cauldron from afar, his spirit was stirred. He held the cauldron above his head, and the spiritual energy inside swam into his Mudra Palace like a white dragon.
Seeing Wukong in meditation and Guanyin and Yin-Yang flying in from the west, Xuan Nu finally felt relieved. How many secrets did the Divine Ape of Creation hide? She only knew of the past, not the future. Anything related to Wukong was of great significance.
Characters like Xuan Nu and the Three Pure Ones, who had come from the previous eon, knew that Tathagata had hidden great plans and had always strongly supported the Divine Ape of Creation.
But offering help wasn’t easy, as the uncertainties of the future often left even them unsure of what to do. Fortunately, Wukong was clever and resourceful; it seemed he had already subdued Tathagata. As long as the Great Sun Tathagata remained hidden, the world could not find peace.
Xuan Nu herself had no idea what to do next, but helping Wukong improve his cultivation was surely the right move. So she poured in all her efforts, even if it meant offending Laojun or seeking help from Ksitigarbha, just to help Wukong overcome this challenge first.
After about fifteen minutes, Wukong exhaled another puff of murky air and returned to his normal size. That murky air was the impure energy contained in the precious substances he had absorbed earlier, such as the Immortal Peach and other magical herbs. If an ordinary immortal obtained such treasures, they would probably eat even the dregs completely. But Wukong’s body couldn’t tolerate any impurities, so these useless elements had to be expelled.
Seeing that Wukong had absorbed all the energy in the cauldron, Yin and Yang threw the lotus platform under Maitreya at him. They had arrived so late because they had been collecting the colored lotus flowers from the Seven Treasures Pool on Mount Ling. In the past, when Tathagata spread his teachings, Western Ox and Joy Continent had expanded almost to the Eastern Lands, and six or seven out of ten people in the world were Buddhists. The energy accumulated from their daily chanting and prayers mostly went into the Seven Treasures Pool to nourish those colored lotus flowers. Needless to say, the amount was astonishingly large.
The people watching Wukong meditate quietly had varying thoughts. Some who had known him for a long time understood how perilous his journey had been; had it not been for his courage, things might be completely different now. But figures like Yu the Great of the Earth Realm thought it was only natural. Wukong had appeared in an extraordinary manner and had saved them from the three realms with his divine energy—so he was their savior. Thus, in the eyes of these ancient figures, Wukong’s status was even higher.
Guanyin, unable to discern Wukong’s cultivation level, couldn’t help asking Yin and Yang, “Is Wukong currently breaking through?” Yin and Yang couldn’t be sure either and replied, “Perhaps. If he has enough energy—”
At that moment, Wukong’s body suddenly expanded and contracted, as if taking a deep breath before exhaling quickly. A visible ripple spread out from him, surging into the surrounding space.
Yin and Yang shouted urgently, “Dodge quickly!” None of the people present were ordinary; hearing their cry, they hurriedly retreated. The ripple moved at incredible speed, turning any trees or rocks it touched into dust in an instant.