Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled Chapter 553: The Art of Leaving the Universe

As the Tathagata put it, he naturally believed that Laozi and Zhuangzi were inferior to the master of Mount Mahamaya. Hence, when the master of Mount Mahamaya was revered, Laozi and Zhuangzi remained silent—not out of ignorance, but out of fear.

Now, as Laozi and Zhuangzi spoke in front of the Tathagata about the imbalance in heaven and earth, the Tathagata naturally assumed they looked down on him, believing he was inferior to the master of Mount Mahamaya, and even inferior to Laozi and Zhuangzi.

Laozi sighed and said, “Lingming has gone, yet you still harbor a desire to win. It seems you truly are inferior to him.”

This was the last thing the Tathagata wanted to hear. He asked, “Why did Lingming leave? On the path of seeking the truth, one misstep can lead to eternal regret. The survivor prevails, the loser falls—this is the way of heaven!”

Laozi showed a surprised expression and said, “Oh? Do you really think he’s dead?”

“Is he not dead?” The Tathagata was slightly surprised, while inwardly wondering if Laozi was trying to deceive him.

Laozi asked, “What determines whether one is alive or dead?”

The Tathagata was stunned before suddenly understanding Laozi’s meaning. Lingming wasn’t dead; his path was actually quite similar to his own. He also didn’t believe his physical body could endure forever, which was why he sought to seize the spiritual thoughts of the saints to find a way out. But Lingming had no such intention—he only wanted to pass on his own spiritual thoughts.

At this moment, the Tathagata felt as though he had lost a crucial move in the game. He suddenly thought that the master of Mount Mahamaya must have done this on purpose. The moment the Divine Ape Lingming emerged, the words he heard, “I’m leaving my seclusion,” seemed like a long-planned trap. If so, did it mean the master of Mount Mahamaya had been paying attention to the Divine Ape Lingming all along? From this, it could be inferred that the master of Mount Mahamaya had long known about the Cosmic Furnace, yet he said nothing, allowing the Tathagata to imitate the saints’ spiritual thoughts and grow within the furnace. That old fellow seemed innocent on the surface, but he was actually very cunning!

The Tathagata judged the master of Mount Mahamaya with a petty mindset. While he had been speculating wildly, he didn’t realize that the master of Mount Mahamaya also held an indifferent attitude toward his methods. After all, the Tathagata was the second person to discover the path to seeking the truth after him. By not spreading this news in the world, he wanted to see if the Tathagata could succeed.

And the master of Mount Mahamaya also had unforeseen circumstances. Before he could see the outcome, his own life force had faded, forcing him to entrust everything to Wukong.

The Tathagata heard this clearly and unconsciously shifted his fear of the Lord of Mount Sumeru to Wukong, which then turned into intense resentment. He had devised this method to gather the spiritual energies of all the sages in the world, already considering those energies as his own. The spiritual energy of the Lord of Mount Sumeru was something he was determined to obtain, and now that it had passed to another person, it was as if the Tathagata’s own property had been snatched away—how could he tolerate such a thing?

The Tathagata laughed heartily and said, “Let each seek their own spiritual energy. What does his life or death have to do with me?”

Lao Zhuang replied, “That’s not what we mean. Remember when Lingming was alive—he cherished creation and cared for all beings. The balance of heaven and earth was in his hands. In other words, he was the fairest scale in the world! Can you do all that?”

The Tathagata suddenly became angry. “Why can’t I?”

Lao Zhuang pointed at the sages around them and said, “There are only a few dozen sages in heaven and earth, and most of them are now your enemies. Think about it—if you become the supreme being, how can heaven and earth remain peaceful?”

The Tathagata thought to himself that the sages of heaven and earth would eventually be under his control. After all, the strong rule—the why should I care what others think? The more he looked at Lao Zhuang, the angrier he became. He said nothing more, stretched out his finger, and sent out an invisible flame that scorched the air, spreading toward Lao Zhuang.

Lao Zhuang blew out a gust of energy to block the flame and said, “If you fight me, you won’t gain any advantage.”

The Tathagata sneered, “Stop boasting! Today, I’ll reveal your true nature.”

Lao Zhuang had always been elusive, with no one knowing what powers he possessed or how strong he really was. But seeing him effortlessly match the Tathagata just now, the hearts of the sages were stirred. Wukong was at a loss at the moment—Lao Zhuang was the only one he could rely on.

Lao Zhuang sighed, “A true struggle between sages is truly a disaster for heaven and earth.” He turned to the sages and said, “Stop watching from here. Go down and protect the mortal world. If you’re not strong enough… then at least save yourselves first.”

Hearing this, the sages realized that the battle between Lao Zhuang and the Tathagata would be earth-shattering, so they immediately flew down to the mortal world.

The Tathagata drove a giant elephant forward, using its trunk to sweep at Lao Zhuang.

Lao Zhuang stepped back a few dozen feet. As the elephant’s trunk stretched out, following him like a shadow, a long beak emerged from behind Lao Zhuang and snapped at the trunk. The elephant let out a mournful cry, clearly in extreme pain. That long beak obviously belonged to the Kunpeng.

Lao Zhuang lightly rose into the air and landed on the back of the Kunpeng. He struck out with a palm from afar. A colorful auspicious cloud appeared in the air, enveloping the Tathagata beneath it. “Enter my Realm of Freedom!” Lao Zhuang shouted.

Since the Tathagata is a Cakravartin who can create worlds in all ten directions and fears no other realms, Laozi and Zhuangzi struck first. Realizing that entering this realm would surely bring no benefit to him, the Tathagata stretched out his finger and conjured a transparent realm to keep the colorful auspicious clouds at bay.

Within this inner realm, Laozi and Zhuangzi secretly channeled their magical power, causing the colorful clouds to shrink rapidly in an attempt to suppress the Tathagata’s realm. Naturally, the Tathagata did the opposite, striving to expand his own realm to find a way to escape.

There is also a trick to mastering realm control: the smaller the realm created, the easier it is to control; the larger it is, the more magical power is required. With Laozi and Zhuangzi’s realm outside and the Tathagata’s realm inside, Laozi and Zhuangzi were slightly at a disadvantage. However, they did not wish to compete with the Tathagata in supernatural powers but instead chose to compete in realm control, fearing that their battle might affect others. Over time, this would ultimately disadvantage Laozi and Zhuangzi.

The magic practiced by Laozi and Zhuangzi was inseparable from the concept of “freedom.” When it came to traversing the world and crossing seas, no one could match them, but in a direct contest of magical power, it was not their strength.

After fighting for about two hours, Laozi frowned. Continuing like this was not a solution. Losing was one thing, but if he couldn’t control the Tathagata, who else in the world could?

Laozi understood what the Tathagata was doing. All those words he had spoken earlier were meant to provoke the Tathagata into anger and provoke a battle. Otherwise, the Tathagata could simply vanish and secretly practice methods to devour spiritual energy, and Laozi would have no way to stop him.

After some thought, Laozi gradually retracted his magical power, and the colorful clouds faded, revealing the Tathagata and the giant elephant inside. Laozi said, “Fighting you is pointless.”

The Tathagata replied, “If you continue fighting, you will surely lose.”

Laozi shook his head and said, “I fear hurting others with every move, so I can’t act freely.”

The Tathagata sneered, “As a cultivator, shouldn’t you abandon pretense of righteousness? Haven’t you heard, ‘The sage shows no kindness, treating the people like straw dogs’?”

“Dare you! Don’t distort the truth!” When it came to Daoist scriptures, Laozi would never back down.

The Tathagata said, “What are these Buddhist or Daoist scriptures? They are just steps on the path of cultivation. Once surpassed, they’re trampled underfoot.”

Laozi thought for a moment and said, “I won’t argue with you. If you really want to fight, let’s go to the Western Seas. How about that?” The Western Seas were vast and boundless; fighting there would surely not harm ordinary people.

The Tathagata laughed heartily and said, “I’m not afraid of you, but if you try to trick me away to save that monkey, that’s nothing but delusion!”

Lao Zhuang smiled bitterly and said, “How could he use me to save him? Do I even have the ability to save him?”
Tathagata spoke with slight disdain, “Don’t overestimate him either.”
Suddenly, Lao Zhuang’s eyes lit up as he pointed downward and said, “Isn’t he coming out?”
Tathagata didn’t even look and said, “Is Lao Zhuang trying to trick me too? I know best the formation I’ve set up. Whether he can come out or not—” At that moment, Tathagata fell silent because he saw that Wukong was standing right in front of him.
Pointing at Wukong, Tathagata was extremely shocked and said, “You… how did you get out?”
Wukong had been trapped by Tathagata for a long time, yet he showed no trace of resentment. He smiled and said, “Your formation is actually a formation without a true structure, right?”
Tathagata shook his head repeatedly, “No, that’s impossible! No one can break this formation…”
Wukong glanced at Lao Zhuang. He had overheard part of their conversation earlier. Lao Zhuang was also a great master of Taoism, kind-hearted and concerned for all beings in the world—naturally, a respectable person. Ignoring Tathagata, he gave Lao Zhuang a slight nod and said, “Lao Zhuang, Kunpeng, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard of you.”
Seeing that Wukong had appeared just by being mentioned, Lao Zhuang laughed openly without any disguise and said, “It’s better to save oneself than to rely on others. It’s good that you’ve come out!”
Tathagata continued to demand an answer, “How did you get out! Exactly how did you get out?”
Wukong replied, “It’s just the universe’s formation. How could it trap me? Do you think I don’t know how to use divine powers beyond the universe?”
Tathagata was even more shocked, and even Lao Zhuang found it hard to believe. He asked, “Beyond the universe? Have you really learned such divine powers?”
This time, it was Wukong who was surprised. If a true sage could use such divine powers, what was wrong with that? Then he suddenly remembered that among the Taoist teachings passed down to him by the Master of Mount Sumeru, there was indeed no mention of such divine powers!
The divine powers he had used earlier were actually something he had figured out on his own within the three realms. At that time, Wukong only had a vague understanding, and they sometimes worked, sometimes not. When trapped in that pitch-black formation, he felt it had no beginning or end, no source or destination, and he couldn’t find a way out no matter what.
After pondering for a long time, since he had learned the secrets of the Mysterious Void technique, there really seemed to be no formation in the world that he couldn’t see through. But then why couldn’t he spot any flaws in this formation at all?

Fortunately, Wukong closed his eyes and quietly experienced the mystery of this formation. Over time, he finally detected some extraordinary techniques within it. All formations in the world rely on one thing: movement! Once a person enters the formation, it immediately begins to function, and its power takes effect. Whether drawing on the strength of the formation’s master or the forces of nature, everything arises from movement. Yet the dark space where Wukong was located was completely still.
Stillness does not merely mean silence; it also does not mean immutability. This kind of stillness is actually stillness of time.