Volume 4: The End of Secrets Chapter 526: A Plan to Escape Heaven

Tathagata’s gaze was gloomy, filled with anguish, showing clearly how unwilling he had been at first. Wukong didn’t know what to say for a moment.

After a while, Tathagata raised his head and said to Wukong, “It’s fine. As long as I’m still here, there’s still a chance! If seven attempts fail, then seventy, seven hundred— I refuse to believe that man has no flaws at all!”

Wukong asked, “Why would that man do such a thing?”

Tathagata replied, “That man is the most hypocritical person in the world! Back then, I happened to meet him in that realm, and he called me a ‘demon lord,’ then imprisoned me here.”

“Oh?” Wukong thought to himself. How many good people could there be who are called demon lords? So he asked, “What did you do at that time?”

“What did I do? In that realm, it’s truly survival of the fittest. If I don’t kill, they kill me—everyone does the same!”

Wukong said, “You must have been a very powerful figure in that realm, right?”

Tathagata nodded and said, “In terms of cultivation, I had few equals!”

“If that man could capture you so easily, then surely he—”

“If I were inferior, I would naturally accept it. In terms of true skill, we were roughly on par. That man—he tricked me into coming here!” Tathagata roared.

Although Tathagata was cunning and full of schemes, he was usually gentle and polite. But after just a few words with Wukong today, he became emotional and angry. Only then did Wukong realize that not a single person in that realm could impress Tathagata, and that the man from beyond heaven was Tathagata’s most hidden weakness.

Since Tathagata said he was tricked into here, Wukong was somewhat puzzled. He had seen many people there, but none could match Tathagata’s wisdom. Although he was in the upper hand now, it was only because he had known the details of the Journey to the West in advance. Otherwise, he would have long reached the Spirit Mountain and become a Buddha. The fact that that man could deceive Tathagata was truly remarkable. Could that man be even more cunning than Tathagata? If so, finding a way out of heaven would be even harder!

“That man is good at using schemes?” Wukong asked skeptically.

“Hmph! Schemes? That man is infuriatingly stupid!” Tathagata said.

Wukong was astonished. “Then why did you fall for his trick?”

Still angry, Tathagata replied, “It’s precisely because of his old-fashioned and crude tactics that I never paid attention. I was caught off guard!”

Wukong sighed. “As the saying goes, even the wisest person makes mistakes, while the foolst often finds success.”

Tathagata said, “Though I was deceived into coming here, I haven’t stayed quiet all these years. There have been constant struggles, day and night—never a pause. He’s always on guard against me trying to leave; surely he can’t sleep or eat in peace.”
Wukong couldn’t help but laugh inwardly and said, “Why should he be unable to sleep or eat? He just needs to check on you every few tens of thousands of years. If anything seems amiss, he’ll unleash the Calamity of the Cosmic Cycle, forcing you to start over. By saying this, aren’t you just deceiving yourself?”
Tathagata glared, then, considering Wukong’s cultivation level, his spirit deflated like a punctured balloon. “True, you’re right. I am indeed deceiving myself. I’m almost at my wits’ end. I just hope to cause him more trouble.”
Wukong asked, “What exactly is the mechanism behind the Calamity of the Cosmic Cycle?”
Tathagata replied, “It’s not a secret. As you know, there are more and more forces opposing the natural order in this world. When these opposing forces reach their limit and the world can no longer hold them, a gap opens in the sky, and those forces pour down. Strong winds arise, and coupled with that person’s supernatural powers, everything in the world is destroyed.”
Wukong asked, “Did you use the Furnace of Cosmic Creation to refine the heavens in order to reduce those opposing forces?”
Tathagata nodded, then shook his head. “To be honest, I initially had that idea, but later I realized its effect was minimal. There are so many forces in the natural order of the world—refining the heavens is like trying to quench a vast ocean with a drop of water!”
Wukong asked again, “Why is time flow slower on Spirit Mountain and in the Heavenly Court? One day there, equals a thousand years on Earth. What’s the mystery behind that?”
Tathagata gave a bitter smile. “It’s because I’m extremely lonely.”
“Oh? Doesn’t that reduce the time you have for cultivation?”
Tathagata shook his head. “Do you know what I thought when hope grew increasingly dim?”
Wukong replied, “How could I possibly guess your thoughts?”
Tathagata said, “It’s not hard to guess. Seeing no hope of escaping this Cosmic Cycle, I naturally longed for the next one to arrive sooner.”
Wukong thought for a moment before suddenly realizing. “You mean, you destroyed Spirit Mountain because you saw hope!”
Tathagata said, “Of course. With hope of escaping, I naturally wouldn’t stay there any longer.”
“What hope are you referring to?” Wukong asked.
Tathagata glanced at the Great Sun Tathagata standing nearby. “I originally thought it would be impossible to create the body of the Great Sun Tathagata in this Cosmic Cycle. Relying solely on continuously neutralizing the opposing forces was far from enough. But fortunately, fate blessed me, allowing me to suddenly understand the formations beyond the heavens, and I was able to draw those opposing forces in. Haha! With the body of the Great Sun Tathagata formed, there’s now hope of escaping!”

Wukong reflected on the past and said, “So, if you had understood the formations beyond the heavens earlier, you wouldn’t have had to suppress the Divine Apes, nor would you have needed to plan the quest for the scriptures to seize the essence of Pangu’s creation?”
Tathagata replied, “That’s obvious. Pangu poses no real threat to me. If that old fool is called stupid, then Pangu is simply foolish—he only knows how to create the heavens; he ignores everything else. Leaving him here to watch me truly undermines my status!”
Wukong was somewhat puzzled and asked, “Have you ever thought that if Pangu were gone, no one would be able to create the heavens and earth? Chaos would reign forever, and you wouldn’t be able to cultivate. Wouldn’t that be even more advantageous for that person?”
Tathagata was stunned and said, “You’ve thought of that too? Hehe, in my view, that person likely has the mindset of a cat chasing a mouse—insisting on watching me struggle helplessly in these heavens and earths. What a malicious intention!”
Wukong secretly shook his head. Tathagata truly hated that person deeply, with such an ingrained belief that the heavens and earths were created solely for him. He was too arrogant, and it would be extremely difficult to change his mind. With such thoughts, many of his judgments would be biased, inevitably affecting his state of mind.
But Wukong naturally wouldn’t say anything. He asked again, “I heard from the Mystic Maiden that you intend to join forces with the Seven Divine Apes to escape the heavens?”
Tathagata’s eyes lit up. “That’s indeed my intention!”
Wukong sneered and said, “Have you ever considered that the Seven Divine Apes hate you deeply? How could they possibly help you escape?”
Tathagata laughed and said, “It’s understandable that you wouldn’t agree. To be honest, I’ve been suppressing the Seven Divine Apes secretly while trying to win them over openly. I’ve had this plan for a long time. With you and Yin-Yang as leaders, once I control you two, the other five won’t be a problem.”
Wukong asked, “If you want to win them over, why suppress them? Aren’t you afraid they’ll turn against you?”
Tathagata sighed and said, “The quest for the scriptures was meant to succeed anyway. I just didn’t expect that I’ve underestimated you—the Brilliant Divine Ape—throughout the whole process! Suppressing the Divine Apes was necessary. The Five Elements Divine Apes together pose a great threat to me, and if the Brilliant Yin-Yang awaken, they’ll also be a source of instability. I know this move is extremely risky, but it’s the only way to succeed through danger.”
Wukong said coldly, “Succeed through danger? With just one of your thoughts, the Seven Divine Apes have suffered for tens of thousands of years, and countless innocent immortals and demons have died.”
Tathagata replied confidently, “Though the Seven Divine Apes suffer greatly, the Creative Divine Ape cycles endlessly and is immortal. If I take you all out of the heavens, you might even thank me in the end! As for those fools, they fight for fame and fortune—their deaths are not worth mourning!”

Wukong said, “I won’t argue with you. Now that your scheme has been exposed and everything is ruined, what are your thoughts?”
Tathagata smiled and said, “What thoughts? Are you mocking me? At worst, we’ll start over from scratch. If this cycle doesn’t work, in the next one, I’ll surely bring the Seven Divine Apes under my control. Do you believe that?”
Wukong was speechless for a moment. What Tathagata relied on was his immortality. With the Creation Furnace, although Tathagata had lost much of his cultivation, he could act earlier than the Divine Ape of Creation. In the seventh cycle, he had mastered the celestial formations and could channel the power of creation back into the furnace. If it really came to the eighth cycle, Tathagata’s body would naturally be perfected long ago. By then, surely no one in the world could hold him back.
Wukong nodded rarely and said, “I believe it! You keep talking about transcending the heavens, and I’m somewhat tempted. But let me ask you—having planned to transcend for so long, how many ways are there to do so?”
Tathagata’s eyes were like deep pools. He sensed that Wukong wasn’t speaking empty words. If Wukong had no intention of transcending, with his current cultivation, it would be easy for him to subdue Tathagata.
Seeing Tathagata pondering, Wukong laughed and said, “If you truly mean it, maybe we can transcend together!”
Tathagata was stunned, then burst into laughter. “Since Lingming says so, I’ll surely tell you everything!”
Wukong thought to himself that Tathagata’s mood changed faster than flipping through a book. In just a short while, he became as friendly as an old friend long lost. No wonder people called him a demon—he killed people as easily as cutting grass, yet gave off the appearance of a sincere person. He was indeed a strange individual. Wukong asked tentatively, “There must be more than one way to transcend, right?”
Tathagata nodded firmly and said, “Indeed, there are more than one way.” He gave Wukong a meaningful look and said, “Your Heaven-Opining Staff hides a method to transcend!”
“Oh? Is that so?” Wukong pretended not to know, took out the staff, and said, “I thought it was just an ordinary weapon. I didn’t realize it had such great uses.”
Tathagata said, “In this world, there exists a Gate to the Heavens.”
Wukong laughed and asked, “A Gate to the Heavens? Is it on the River to the Heavens?”
Tathagata was greatly surprised: “You know about it too?”
Wukong was also surprised: “It’s really on the River to the Heavens?”
Tathagata nodded: “Indeed.”
What Wukong had said before were just excuses. Now he asked the real question he wanted to ask: “Since you know the Heaven-Opining Staff is the key to transcending, why don’t you take it from me?”