The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 318 - 279: Thirty-Six Types of Transformations Show Their Divine Might

Chapter 318: Chapter 279: Thirty-Six Types of Transformations Show Their Divine Might

It is said that Wukong had a fierce battle with Nine Heavens Responding Origin Thunder God Puhua Heavenly Venerable Wen Zhong. Indeed, as the Heavenly Venerable of the Thunder Department, Wen Zhong’s mana was strong and extremely formidable.

After Wen Zhong broke out of the Eight Trigrams Array, the hearts of all Buddhas in the Buddhist sect felt secretly displeased, as this was mocking their sect as inferior to the Daoist. Moreover, a Buddha Ancestor even went to learn the spells of the Daoist Sect.

Wukong brought his palms together, smiling, "Buddhism and Daoism come from the same source, both seeking that supreme Hunyuan. Where is there ’you’ or ’I’? Grand Preceptor Wen, spare your words and watch the attack."

Wen Zhong only heard a loud bang and then saw that Sun Wukong had transformed into three heads and six arms, each arm wielding a Jingu Bang, charging at him. In an instant, Wen Zhong also shook his form, and beneath him, an Ink Qilin appeared. He mounted the Ink Qilin and engaged in combat with Wukong. Wukong, with his feet on the clouds, moved freely, jumping back and forth. Wen Zhong’s twin divine whips couldn’t touch him, infuriating Grand Preceptor Wen to the point of exploding.

Tathagata thought to himself, "This Heaven-Penetrating Sect Leader is indeed best at teaching disciples, producing such a naturally gifted Stone Monkey. These Thirty-Six Types of Transformations are used brilliantly to perfection."

The thing that the Heaven-Penetrating Sect Leader was best at was teaching his disciples. Under him, Daoist Duobao managed to fight the Interpretation Sect’s Twelve Golden Immortals until they searched the ground for their teeth. In the end, it was a Saint who captured Duobao and threw him to The West, where he was transformed into Duobao Tathagata. He taught without discrimination, welcoming anyone who sought the Dao, refusing none, imparting methods, passing on magical treasures, and treating all equally.

Tathagata, watching Wukong fighting Wen Zhong, couldn’t help but silently admire him. Wen Zhong, as the Heavenly Venerable of the Thunder Department, had been famous since the Ancient Times and had, on his own, subdued the barbarians of the North Sea! Now, his mana was even more profound, but Wukong was able to fight him to a standstill. For someone newer to the scene, that was truly impressive.

Wen Zhong’s Ink Qilin under him kept roaring, emitting thunderbolts, while Wen Zhong swung his twin divine whips, flashing with lightning as if setting off firecrackers, with a continuous cracking sound, deafening all around.

"Sun Wukong, if not dismount now, then when?!" Wen Zhong suddenly roared, his voice thunderous, sweeping all directions.

"Dismount" was his habit of speech. In ancient times, when immortals helped mortals in battle, they rode on horses. A shout from him could make those immortals crash down from their mounts, and with a throw of his male and female whips, he would immediately capture them.

Wukong felt as if his Primordial Spirit was bound by a strange power, his True Qi not circulating smoothly, and he fell down from the clouds.

Wen Zhong laughed loudly and threw his male and female whips to directly capture Wukong!

Wukong shouted, "The will of the Heavenly Dao is my will; the Heart of Heaven and my heart, freely wandering!

The will of the Heavenly Dao is vast and freely wandering, not bound by anything. When Wen Zhong used a secret technique to bind Wukong’s Primordial Spirit, he immediately circulated his law abilities, combining his own intent with the intent of the Heavenly Dao, and astonishingly broke free from Wen Zhong’s bond instantaneously! Such is the formidable aspect of the Law Realm, it can borrow certain powers of the Heavenly Dao, especially for someone as uniquely favored as Wukong, who can draw upon even mightier powers of the Heavenly Dao.

"Freely Wandering! This Macaca has even read my ’Free and Easy Wandering,’ and has a remarkable understanding of it. Indeed, he is worthy of being a naturally gifted Stone Monkey left by Goddess Nu Wa." Zhuang Zhou gently stroked his beard, nodding secretly to himself.

Wukong, who had studied the knowledge of a hundred schools, comprehended the principles, with Zhuang Zhou’s ’Free and Easy Wandering’ representing the ultimate Daoist philosophy, liberating thoughts and casting off restraints—truly grand. Zhuang Zhou became a Saint on earth after writing ’Free and Easy Wandering.’ The principles in this book were in no way inferior to those of any other scriptures! Having reached the Law Realm, he had a deeper understanding of principles. The will of the Heavenly Dao, free and unfettered, he combined it with ’Free and Easy Wandering,’ and instantly broke free from Wen Zhong’s secret technique.

Wen Zhong was also greatly shocked and thought, "Ordinarily, someone subjected to my shout would immediately dismount and surrender. This Macaca still has the strength to resist? Truly formidable, not to be underestimated!"

Tathagata also secretly heaved a sigh of relief, truly afraid that Wukong would be defeated by Wen Zhong, in which case the reputation of the Buddhist sect would be greatly damaged.

"The will of the Heavenly Dao is infinite and cannot bind me," Wukong swung his Jingu Bang, knocking Wen Zhong’s incoming male and female whips flying away.

Wen Zhong exclaimed, "Good, very good! Had you been so easily captured by me, I too would have been greatly disappointed! Fight on!"

Just then, a vertical eye opened on Wen Zhong’s forehead. This vertical eye, developed through special divine skills when he was Grand Preceptor, could distinguish loyalty and treachery, good and evil. Now, with the vertical eye open, it seemed to embody the will of the Heavenly Dao, an overwhelming aura pressing down, making Wukong shudder.

"I execute the thunder on behalf of Heaven, my eye is the Heavenly Eye! The Thunder God’s Eye, demons be gone!" A horrifying thunderbolt burst from Wen Zhong’s vertical eye, like a waterfall, crushing down.

"I have the inheritance of the Ancient Thunder God; how can mere thunderbolts harm me? City of Thunder!" Just then, Wukong waved his hand, releasing a massive city. Wen Zhong’s crushing thunderbolts were absorbed entirely by the Thunder City, and from it, one hundred and eight ancient thunder cannons roared, releasing thunderbolts, attacking Wen Zhong.

Wen Zhong got a shock, not having expected that Wukong had secretly acquired the inheritance of the Ancient Thunder God and obtained the City of Thunder. Since the place was immune to thunder magic, except possibly the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, it posed little threat to him.

Wen Zhong utilized the Thunder God Whip, with talismans on the whip flashing brightly, absorbing all the incoming thunderbolts, thus unable to harm him.

If the Universally Transformative Heavenly Venerable of Thunder, Responsive to the Nine Heavens, were harmed by mere thunderbolts, wouldn’t that be a great joke through the ages?

"Watch out, Grand Preceptor Wen!" Just as Grand Preceptor Wen had gathered the Divine Thunder Whip to withdraw the thunder, he suddenly heard a loud roar from behind. It was Wukong who had employed the Five Elements Great Escape to his rear, and he hurriedly raised the Divine Thunder Whip to block.

The two clashed fiercely, with staff and whip exchanging blows, creating a startling cacophony with each clash accompanied by roaring thunder and a plethora of ingenious moves being rapidly deployed.

As their battle intensified, so did their speed, invoking the Laws of Heaven with each divine skill they executed, clashing continuously and fighting fiercely, neither able to overpower the other.

The more they fought, the more alarmed Grand Preceptor Wen felt, thinking to himself, "This Macaca has only cultivated for a thousand years, yet possesses such profound cultivation, truly shocking! What kind of esteemed person is Subhuti to have taught such a disciple? However, he has raised a thankless wretch who has now turned his back and joined the Buddhist sect. Hmph!"

Unknown to Grand Preceptor Wen, Subhuti was in fact his own ancestral patriarch, the Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch. As he battled with Wukong and saw his myriad techniques, he realized that Subhuti was no ordinary person.

Wukong had no desire to continue entangling with Grand Preceptor Wen. Folding his hands into a spell, he chanted, "Heart of Heaven is my heart, will of Heaven is my will; freely wandering, manipulating creation!"

"Manipulate Creation" is one among the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Transformations and the most formidable divine skill; he had never been able to master it until he grasped the Will of Heaven’s Dao, subsequently cultivating it. Creation, born from the Heavenly Dao, encompasses fate, causation, power, and laws—manipulating creation means controlling these forces, connecting with the Heavenly Dao! This divine skill was originated by Goddess Nu Wa, who used it along with the Five-Colored Crystal Stone to sacrifice her body to mend the heavens.

"Manipulate Creation! The ultimate divine skill among the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Transformations, so hard to learn, and yet he has managed to execute it?" Grand Preceptor Wen was taken aback.

Wukong’s ten fingers spread open, each fingertip entwined with terrifying strands of laws, embodying order and a tangible manifestation of the Heavenly Dao.

"Invert Yin and Yang!" Wukong shouted, unleashing the second form of the Thirty-Six Transformations, reversing Yin and Yang, altering heaven and earth.

Grand Preceptor Wen felt the Yin and Yang Qi within his body wildly course through, nearly uncontrollable. This Yin and Yang Qi, fundamental to a person, if thrown into disarray, could lead to unimaginable consequences, potentially causing one to deviate into madness, blasting one’s physical body apart! The human body’s internal organs, governing the Five Elements Qi and also the Yin and Yang Qi—kidneys govern Yin, liver governs Yang, the reversal and backflow of this Qi caused chaos in his internal True Qi.

For Taoists, rebirth and life are precious, and the physical body is indispensable, as many supernatural Daoist Methods rely on it. For instance, Zhang Junshi’s Tai Chi Fist requires the use of kidneys and liver to stimulate the Yin and Yang Qi, achieving a balance of firmness and softness, integrating Yin and Yang—a human body is like a microcosm.

Observing this body, arisen from nothingness, due to causation and accumulation of essence and Qi, embodying spirits through karma, as grand as Heaven and as solid as Earth, containing Yin and releasing Yang. Differentiating the Five Elements to correspond with the four seasons. Eyes as the sun and moon, hair as the stars, eyebrows as celestial cover, and head as Kunlun, setting up the palatial spirits. Among all beings, humans are the most spiritual.

Every structure of the human body is meticulously detailed, thus it is also referred to as the Innate Daoist Body. With Wukong’s abrupt Inversion of Yin and Yang causing a chaos in Grand Preceptor Wen’s internal Yin and Yang Qi, how could he sustain?

"Creation’s Heavenly Intent!" Wukong punched out, forcing Grand Preceptor Wen to barely block, but he was driven back repeatedly by the force of the punch.

"Creation of Mountains and Rivers!" After one punch, Wukong placed another palm onto his dantian and then pushed out fiercely with another palm, the terrifying force of the strike causing all three of Grand Preceptor Wen’s eyes to shut.

"Creation of Prajna!" Holding the Prajna seal in his hand, Wukong struck downward, and Grand Preceptor Wen roared, struggling to reorder the Yin and Yang Qi within his body, rearranging the Five Elements and Yin and Yang.

"Creation of Yin and Yang!" As he manipulated creation, all creation under heaven was within his control. His fists bombarded out, evolving the laws of creation, leaving Grand Preceptor Wen powerless to retaliate.

Grand Preceptor Wen screamed miserably as he was flung sideways, falling off the Ink Qilin, and spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood, his Primordial Spirit nearly blasted out of his body.

Only then did Wukong slightly bow towards Grand Preceptor Wen, saying, "Thank you for your indulgence!"

Grand Preceptor Wen got up from the ground, landed behind the Ink Qilin, and with a darkened expression, said, "The Victorious Fighting Buddha indeed possesses profound mana, I am no match for him!"

He had not expected Wukong to cultivate the Thirty-Six Transformations so perfectly and unpredictably. The inversion of his internal Yin and Yang Qi and the alteration of his internal cosmic structure had almost burst his physical body open, leaving him no choice but to end in defeat under a barrage of Creation Divine Fists.

Seeing Grand Preceptor Wen defeated by Wukong, Tathagata burst into laughter, saying, "The Victorious Fighting Buddha indeed possesses a profound origin, so closely connected with the Heavenly Dao’s creation. Even I have broadened my horizons!"

Wukong then turned to Tathagata, gave a bow, and resumed his seat on the Lotus Platform, immovable like a Great Enlightened One.

To find out what happens next, please stay tuned for the next part. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to visit Starting Point (qidian.com) to vote for it with recommendation tickets or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)