The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 99 - 097: Solving the Profound Secret and Producing Pills from the Pill Furnace

Chapter 99: Chapter 097: Solving the Profound Secret and Producing Pills from the Pill Furnace

Wukong, amidst the Bagua World, finally grasped the profound secrets of the Eight Trigrams, ultimately unraveling the mysteries within.

As he finished reciting a passage of scripture and opened his eyes, he was already out of the Bagua Oven.

He saw Laozi seated on a meditation cushion, with Tao Yao standing beside him, her hair completely white, yet her smile contained a hint of radiance and contentment.

Laozi opened his eyes and said indifferently, "Congratulations on unraveling the mysteries of the Bagua World and escaping from it."

Wukong looked around and realized he was back in Doulu Palace, and couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, "Was everything that just happened a dream?"

Laozi replied, "It was a dream, yet not a dream."

Seeing Tao Yao’s white hair, Wukong asked, "Tao Yao, why are you here? And why is your hair white?"

Tao Yao smiled, sat down cross-legged, and slowly closed her eyes, feeling extremely weary and desiring nothing more than to rest.

"You need not worry; she has simply expended too much of her vital essence. She’ll recover after a good period of rest," Laozi said, glancing at Tao Yao with a detached expression.

Wukong breathed a sigh of relief and expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Master!"

Laozi’s expression turned strange as he asked, "Master? I am certainly not your master."

Wukong, however, laughed and said, "If you’re not my master, then why would you help me?"

Wukong had plenty of reasons to suspect that Laojun was indeed Patriarch Subhuti, and that Laojun, with his divine skill "One Qi Transforms into the Three Pure Ones," could create three separate incarnations of himself. Perhaps Patriarch Subhuti was one of his incarnations. There were many signs suggesting that Laojun was Subhuti; otherwise, how could Wukong have stolen the Immortal Pill from Doulu Palace? And being the hierarch of Human Teachings, who had enlightened Confucius and had sent Daoist Duobao into the Western Religion after departing from Hangu Pass, he must be profoundly knowledgeable in the scholarship of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

Laozi said, "Helping you, of course, has a purpose. Otherwise, why would I help you? Your master is Subhuti, and I am the Grand Supreme Lord. I have no connection to him."

"So, is he one of the Three Pure Ones? A Buddhist? Or a hermit?" Wukong inquired.

Laozi thought to himself, "This Macaca is indeed clever; no wonder he can grasp the Unity of the Three Teachings!" Aloud, he said, "If your master does not wish you to know, why bother asking? This time, by escaping the Bagua Oven, you have mastered Emperor Fuxi’s Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Method, and the Seventy-Two Transformations you have been secretly practicing will now be even more powerful."

Wukong exclaimed, "Ha! And you still claim you’re not my master? How else would you know I secretly learned the Seventy-Two Transformations?"

Laozi did not answer his question but continued, "The Buddhists have wild ambitions and aim to ruin the fate of the Four Great Continents. Do you understand this?"

Wukong scratched his head and said, "I know that Tathagata is no good person and has great aspirations. But after all, Tathagata is just a reincarnation of VLOOKUP(A1289,[1]Sheet1!$A:$B,2,0), a disciple of the Celestial Venerable Spiritual Treasure. Why does Laojun bother with such trouble? Why not take the Banana Leaf Fan and go directly to Mount Meru to capture him?"

Hearing Laojun deny being Subhuti, Wukong did not pursue the matter further, but he couldn’t help thinking, "Is Laojun playing dumb, or is he really not my master? My master is indeed too mysterious."

Laozi gave him a look and commented, "It’s not as simple as you think, and it’s not suitable to discuss the reasons with you. Do you know what we are planning?"

Scratching his head, Wukong replied, "You said Tathagata intends to ruin our Four Great Continents’ fate, but I don’t understand what you mean."

Laozi responded, "I won’t explain further. As long as you are clear where your own heart lies, whether you will be with Buddhism or Daoism, destiny will decide in due time."

Wukong laughed and said, "Naturally, I’ll side with you, Lord Laozi. With your boundless mana and as the chief of the Three Pure Ones, with you protecting me, why should I fear Tathagata?"

But Laozi could only give a wry smile, shaking his head and saying, "I’ve helped you as much as I could; you can’t expect more from me in the future."

Wukong then said, "If not you, then whom else can I rely on?"

Laozi couldn’t help but curse, "Such an irreverent Macaca!"

Wukong spoke up, "Lord Laozi, be honest, if I were to cause a huge commotion this time, would it draw out Tathagata?"

Laozi replied, "Whether you cause trouble or not, Tathagata will emerge this time."

Wukong was taken aback. His capture for the Journey to the West had been agreed upon by both parties, and they wouldn’t let him off easily. Regardless of whether he caused trouble or not, Tathagata would come forth to suppress him beneath Five Elements Mountain. Even if he snuck down to the mortal realm, Tathagata would prosecute him based on his past crimes! If he had been compliant from the start, someone would still come to prosecute him. Luring him to steal treasures from the Dragon Palace was incited by Subhuti and Wusheng, and Black and White Impermanence coming to apprehend him was ordered by King Ksitigarbha. No matter his actions, he was destined to fall out with the Heavenly Court, and with the strategy of the Three Pure Ones, the Jade Emperor was fated to be outmatched by him. Wasn’t the Great Strength Bull Demon King, leader of the Seven Great Saints, a disciple of Laozi’s steed, the Green Ox?

What about the significance of the Purple Flame Lantern in his possession? Wasn’t it a Spiritual Treasure created by the purifying purple flame of Laozi’s Doulu Palace? Otherwise, how could Wusheng communicate with Laozi and, borrowing Laozi’s mana, capture the Heavenly Illuminating Holy King with it?

Wukong inwardly resented the situation but felt helpless and said, "Why did you choose me as the battleground for your conflict between Buddhism and Daoism? Truly, I am innocent!"

Laozi fanned the flames inside the Bagua Oven with a Banana Leaf Fan and said, "You are a Crystal Stone left by the Queen Mother, transformed by absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, and inherently, you have great fortune and virtue. Moreover, you possess spirituality, so it is likely that you will strive to reach the state of Hunyuan. Buddhism and Daoism are now as hostile as fire and water, yet they fear each other and are reluctant to make a move. Therefore, they’ve chosen to select an individual to carry out a small-scale game. In addition, they can use you to trim the Jade Emperor’s prestige, and then invoke the Divine Whip to redefine the supreme authority in the Three Realms."

Wukong, lost in thought, realized that this was pretty much what he had suspected. Buddhism and Daoism were wary of each other and reluctant to start conflict, so they were limited to small-scale games. Along the way, they set up various types of obstacles to prevent his quest for scriptures, which was actually just the forces of Buddhism and Daoism tussling with each other. The reason Mao Ri Ji could kill the Scorpion Demon so easily had seemed suspicious to Wukong, thinking the Scorpion Demon might have intentionally held back, but now he wondered if Mao Ri Ji had obtained a Magical Treasure from a Great Emperor or Saint, secretly using it to kill the Scorpion Demon who had been subjugated by Buddhism.

The fact that Zhen Yuanzi allowed Wukong to steal the pepinos and topple the tree was to obstruct his quest for scriptures and to see what the great mystics of Buddhism could do to restore the pepino fruit tree. It was Guanyin who came forward to save the tree, and Wukong suspected that without the Tathagata’s guidance, she would not have had the means to do so since her mana was not as strong as Zhen Yuanzi’s.

Both Buddhism and Daoism placed their own disciples along the Journey to the West to vie for dominance and determine the victor.

Wukong slapped his own head, realizing that dealing with the Tathagata would not be so easy.

Laozi added, "I don’t know how you managed to cultivate and produce two Primordial Spirits, but clearly, it is your destiny. The Daoist Equal to Heaven must be your second self, right? And somehow, you also managed to obtain the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Transformations, you are truly formidable." Laozi thought to himself, "Perhaps he learned the Seventy-Two Transformations from Erlang Shen."

Wukong snickered, "You claim not to be my master, yet you know all my secrets, Old Master. Please show mercy and save your disciple."

Laozi grunted, "I am not your master! Don’t disrupt my speech or else I really will toss you into the Bagua Oven for a thorough refining!"

Wukong wasn’t convinced that Laojun’s Bagua Oven could kill him, so he closed his mouth and dared not interrupt Laojun’s words.

Laozi scolded, "You still come to seek me out. Don’t you have your own plans? Isn’t the Daoist Equal to Heaven the lifeline you’ve left for yourself?"

Wukong chuckled mischievously but dared not join the conversation.

Laozi glanced at Tao Yao and asked, "Do you know her background?"

Wukong answered, "I don’t know that much, only that she calls the person inside that coffin ’daddy’."

Laozi furrowed his brows slightly and pondered for a moment. Then he asked, "What coffin are you talking about?"

Wukong replied, "A black coffin, from which I also received the Swallowing Dragon Stele."

Laozi calculated briefly before murmuring to himself, "So that’s how it is, it’s him... Fortunately, I didn’t refine this peach tree to death, otherwise, that would have been troublesome. But if he really does come looking, it would not be easy to speak with him."

Wukong inquired, "What trouble? Is the coffin’s origin so significant that even you, Old Lord, cannot provoke it?"

Laojin scolded, "Mischievous Monkey, you’re being too talkative again!"

He grabbed his dragon-headed cane and rapped it down on Wukong’s head, causing Wukong to wince in pain and not dare to interrupt his thoughts again.

As a person of great divine power with a mana that reached the heavens, when Laozi brought down his cane, Wukong saw it coming clearly yet damned if he couldn’t dodge it, which he found quite remarkable.

"Alright, you can speak now," Laozi said.

Wukong felt frustrated dealing with these major figures, remembering how in his past life he had sent Laozi flying with a tumble after coming out of the Bagua Oven, which was quite satisfying to recall. Now he somewhat regretted showing his intelligence, for Laozi, aware of his brilliance, had stopped pretending, and in this life, it was no longer possible to throw him head over heels.

Looking at Tao Yao, Wukong asked, "How did she come to be here?"

Laozi replied, "Perhaps upon hearing you were caught for alchemy, she came to save you. If not for her, you wouldn’t have been able to leave the Bagua World this lifetime."

Wukong frowned and asked, "Is she alright?"

Laozi said, "As I told you earlier, she lost too much vital blood and needs to recover slowly. There’s no need to worry. I have plenty of elixirs here. I will give her one to ensure her safety, but after that, she must recover on her own."

Suddenly, Laozi had a golden elixir in his hand, which he passed to Wukong.

Wukong took the elixir, thinking to himself, "If you can truly be called ’poor Daoist,’ then the Jade Emperor would be a beggar living off alms!" Just having been hit with the cane, he had learned to be polite and asked with a bow, "Thank you, Old Lord. Should I feed this elixir directly to her?"

Laozi nodded, "Exactly!"

Wukong held the elixir, walked over to Tao Yao, pried open her small mouth, and threw the elixir inside. Seeing her white hair, he couldn’t help feeling sad since it was for his sake that the little demon had come to this state.

To discover what happens next, please tune in to the following Chapter.