Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapter 84: Exchange of Gifts

Amidst the joyful atmosphere, Wukong suddenly remembered something and asked, “Brother Yang, I’ve heard that you possess seventy-three forms of transformation, surpassing even those of the Earthly Fiends. What is this extra form?”
Yang Jian was taken aback and smiled bitterly. “All immortals wish to hide their abilities deep within themselves. Yet my humble powers have become known throughout the world.”
“I’ve used this seventy-third form only once in my life, and I’ve never had the chance to use it again.”
Wukong said, “Then it must be an extremely powerful ability.”
Yang Jian nodded, then shook his head. “It’s hard to say. It’s useless against ordinary opponents, but it’s only useful when facing those who can create realms. Wukong, what do you see different about me now?”
Wukong looked at Yang Jian’s face and saw that the third eye between his brows was closed. When this eye was shut, it matched that of an ordinary person perfectly. He said, “That third eye is closed; nothing special.”
Yang Jian replied, “That’s right. These seventy-three forms lie in this very eye. In Buddhism, there’s a supreme skill called ‘Divine Eye Power.’ Ordinary immortals can only see inward, but once they master Divine Eye Power, they can see closely and from afar. In the Heavenly Court, there’s an immortal official named ‘Thousand-Mile Eye’ who has mastered the ability to see from afar. My Divine Eye Power isn’t derived from Buddhism; it was learned from ancient immortal texts. These texts are called ‘Secrets of the Mysterious Sky,’ said to have been written by the Nine Heavens’ Mysterious Maiden. If mastered to the extreme, one can see the splendor of the Great Luo Heaven even while living in the mortal world.”
Hearing about those who can create realms, Wukong couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked urgently, “This is still just the ability to see from afar. What does it have to do with those who create realms?”
Yang Jian replied, “Indeed, seeing from afar is only useful for distance. But what I mean for those who create realms is the ability to see closely. With this ability, one can see ghosts in the void, distinguish the truth from falsehood, and identify the gates within realms.”
Wukong understood the first two points immediately—they were similar to his own Fire Eye Golden Eye ability. But he wasn’t clear about the last one. Before he could ask, Yang Jian explained, “You must know that no matter how powerful a realm-creator is, the realm they create always has gates. But the world we live in was created by Pangu from within outward, without any gaps.”
Wukong nodded but didn’t interrupt Yang Jian, fearing he might miss this matter crucial to everyone’s fate.
Yang Jian continued, “The close-viewing technique mastered through ‘Secrets of the Mysterious Sky’ allows one to see these realm gates.”

Wukong was filled with excitement. The palm of Buddha Tathagata was the eternal pain in his heart. Most likely, that palm from which he couldn’t escape with his somersault cloud was the realm created by Tathagata. If he could master this “Mysteries of the Void,” wouldn’t that give him an extra trump card when facing Tathagata?
Seeing that Wukong remained silent, Yang Jian asked with a smile, “Does Wukong want to learn it?”
Wukong was overjoyed and replied, “Of course I do!” Yang Jian was straightforward, so he didn’t feign hesitation, lest he become a laughingstock. But then he pretended to be reluctant and said, “Never mind. Such a secret technique must be passed down directly by one’s master. How could I trouble Brother Yang?”
Yang Jian seemed displeased and said, “Of all my skills, only the Earthly Fiend Transformations were taught directly by my master. This ‘Mysteries of the Void’ was something I obtained by chance. A man’s word is his bond—once I say I’ll give it to you, I’ll give it to you!”
With that, he took out a small book from his bosom and placed it on the table. Wukong asked, “Does Brother Yang have a copy?” Yang Jian replied, “I’ve already memorized it. There’s no use keeping it.” Wukong stood up, bowed respectfully, and thanked him, saying, “To be honest, it’s not that I’m insatiable. This technique is crucial to my life and future, so it’s extremely useful. When I find some rare treasures in the future, I’ll repay Brother Yang.”
Yang Jian waved his hand and said, “Just take it. There’s no need for fuss. Let’s drink!”
After obtaining the “Mysteries of the Void,” Wukong was overjoyed. Though nearly drunk, he still drank heartily. In his daze, Yang Jian praised Wukong’s staff skills as truly remarkable and rarely seen in his life. Wukong, being generous, took out two books—the “Heaven-Piercing Staff Techniques” and the “Arsenal Manual”—claiming he had obtained them by chance.
Yang Jian flipped through the “Heaven-Piercing Staff Techniques” once before returning it to Wukong, saying that the staff skills were very different from those of the Three-Pointed Dual-Bladed Divine Blade and thus useless to him. Instead, he picked up the “Arsenal Manual” and began flipping through its pages, his joy evident on his face.
The Three-Pointed Dual-Bladed Divine Blade ranked 48th in the “Arsenal Manual.” Considering only weapons, that was a quite high rank. When Yang Jian saw the Pangu Axe ranked first, he was amazed. He took out a small axe from his satchel—it was identical to the Pangu Axe, even the patterns on it were the same.
Wukong was shocked and asked, “Is this… the Pangu Axe?”
Yang Jian smiled and said, “No. This is the axe I used to split mountains and rescue my mother back then. Although it’s also called the Pangu Axe of Creation, it’s an imitation. My master, out of pity for my solitude, specially forged it for me.”
Wukong asked, “Where is the real Pangu Axe now? What makes it so special that it ranks first?”

Yang Jian said, “You don’t know this. According to my master, when chaos gave birth to the world, only two things existed— the Creation Furnace and the Pangu Axe. This axe fell into the hands of the great god Pangu, whose power to create the heavens was unmatched. It shattered this divine artifact into countless fragments. But since it was a divine artifact, it possessed spirit, and those large fragments each became a magical weapon. It is said that the Taiji Diagram, Pangu Banner, and the Four Swords for Exterminating Immortals were all created from the Pangu Axe. That’s why these magical weapons are not listed in the ‘Arsenal Canon’—only the Pangu Axe appears there.”

Wukong felt emotional. All these magical weapons were beyond his reach; he only had his solitary Golden Cudgel.

Yang Jian flipped through the pages casually and stopped at the eighty-first entry, the Ruyi Golden Cudgel. Smiling, he said, “This is your iron cudgel. It’s quite remarkable too.”

Wukong replied, “Compared to your Three-Pointed Two-Edge Divine Blade, it’s several places down in ranking. But this cudgel is very easy to use, and I’m satisfied with it.”

Yang Jian flipped back and pointed at the weapon ranked second. “I’ve never heard of this before. I wonder why it’s ranked second.” Wukong saw that it was also a cudgel, roughly the same shape as his own, but its shaft was dark, with the tip slightly curved. During his idle time on Flower-Fruit Mountain, he had learned some classical Chinese from scholars and saw five characters written beneath the illustration—“Ruyi Tianji Cudgel.”

After examining it for a long time, they couldn’t discern any mystery in it. Wukong said, “If you like to play with it, I’ll leave this ‘Arsenal Canon’ with you.” Yang Jian was delighted. “Really?”

“Of course,” Wukong replied. “How could there be any lie?”

“Then I must accept it humbly,” said Yang Jian. Though the ‘Arsenal Canon’ was interesting, it was only for viewing; it wasn’t particularly useful. Yang Jian did this to prevent Wukong from feeling indebted after he took his ‘Mysteries of the Void Realm’.

Wukong roughly understood Yang Jian’s intentions and felt somewhat guilty. Yang Jian’s words and actions always reflected the demeanor of a gentleman, while he himself fell far short in comparison. Alas, life was full of difficulties. In the World of Journey to the West, things were very different from Yang Jian’s life. What seemed glorious on the surface was actually full of dangers, nowhere near as stable as Yang Jian’s life. He wasn’t really coveting Yang Jian’s ‘Mysteries of the Void Realm.’ It was only after entering the Cave of the Three Stars in the Waning Moon that he realized the existence of creating realms in this world. Today, with Yang Jian’s confirmation, he believed even more that Buddha’s palm was a realm in itself. From Yang Jian’s description, the ‘Mysteries of the Void Realm’ was the skill to break realms. To save his life, he had no choice but to be bold.

“I will surely not forget Yang Jian when I achieve success someday,” Wukong vowed secretly.

The two drank until dawn was breaking. Only then did Wukong get up to leave. Yang Jian stared for a long time at Wukong’s figure disappearing into the clouds on the horizon, murmuring, “It’s hard to find true gentlemen in the celestial court. Who says demons aren’t men? This world… is strange…”

At that moment, Wukong was extremely anxious. Holding the “Secrets of the Mysterious Sky Art,” he longed to find a secluded place to practice immediately. Yet he was deeply concerned about the battles on Flower-Fruit Mountain, fearing the celestial court might devise some trick. How could he be at ease without being there?

He used a cloud somersault to reach Flower-Fruit Mountain. It was the hour of Yin, and roars could be heard constantly from the Lion-Tiger Cave as the tigers went out in search of food. Wukong went straight to the Water Curtain Cave, summoned the four marshals, and instructed them not to disturb him unless necessary. For minor matters, they should turn to Fengtong; for major ones, to the Nine Spirit Saints. Only in the face of a powerful enemy should they summon him.

Knowing Wukong was about to enter seclusion again, the four marshals immediately agreed.

Finding a quiet room, Wukong used a sealing spell to lock the door before opening the book. The “Secrets of the Mysterious Sky Art” was a small book with very little content, divided into three volumes, each containing about a thousand words.

After skimming through it, Wukong’s anxious heart finally settled. Though created by the Nine Heavens’ Mysterious Maiden, this book was meant for ordinary immortals. For a Taiyi Golden Immortal like Wukong, mastering this art was not particularly difficult.

Volume 1: Unsayable. Chapter 85: The Arrival of the Bodhisattva.

Volume 1: Filtering the Dust. To achieve the power of heavenly vision still depends on one’s mindset. People born in chaotic times inevitably have wild thoughts, giving rise to many useless or even harmful distractions. This first volume, “Filtering the Dust,” teaches one to focus one’s mental energy on the eyes, discarding what one does not wish to see, remaining dedicated and undistracted, thus achieving purity and clarity.