“Clang,” “clang”…
The nine-colored battle robe chimed softly, ringing out clearly, radiating brilliant light, its aura pressing down upon all who beheld it — this was the ultimate imperial weapon of Shencan Ridge, flashing with dreamlike splendor as it fell away from the Battle-Triumphant Buddha’s body, revealing his true form.
This was a gaunt, withered old ape, every single golden hair on his body crystal-clear and translucent, giving him an air that transcended the mortal world, dignified and solemn beyond compare.
What did it mean to have attained the Dao? This old ape offered the finest example — standing before them, untouched by a single speck of worldly dust, as though he existed beyond this world entirely.
He stood like an eternal, ancient boulder, utterly still, seemingly puzzled by what Pang Bo had said, indicating he had never been to the Central Lands’ Great Tang. He pressed his palms together, a ring of Buddha-light rising from behind his head, appearing like an old monk, his body still as withered wood.
At this moment, Pang Bo seemed possessed by Tu Fei’s spirit, transforming into a great loudspeaker, rattling on rapid-fire, pouring out every legend he knew all at once.
The Battle-Triumphant Buddha shook his head — he knew nothing of what Pang Bo described, and had never left this ancient star, nor had he ever been suppressed for five hundred years.
Beside him, the Monkey’s expression darkened, saying: “My uncle is such a hero — who could possibly suppress him?”
Pang Bo looked embarrassed. What he had heard, after all, was only legend, and events from the far side of the starry expanse at that — how could it possibly be true? Even he himself found it somewhat absurd.
“Not all of it is mere rumor. I have met Śākyamuni.” said the Battle-Triumphant Buddha.
“What?!” Both Ye Fan and Pang Bo cried out in shock, their minds flooding with questions they desperately wanted answered.
The old Battle-Triumphant Sacred Ape leaned on the pitch-black immortal treasure iron staff, all traces of the overwhelming dominance from the great battle moments ago now entirely restrained, leaving only a compassionate expression, like an elderly monk advanced in years.
“Years ago, I met Śākyamuni, though we never crossed blows…”
Two thousand years ago, the Monkey’s uncle had awakened from within a divine source, reappearing in this world, in the Western Desert, at a time that happened to coincide with an age of great prosperity.
During that era, Śākyamuni had taken up residence on Mount Sumeru, presiding over the Great Thunder Sound Temple — this ancient figure from beyond the domain, from some unnamed star region, possessed profound magical power and won over many eminent monks, being elevated to become Lord of the Spirit Mountain.
However, not long after, due to differences in doctrine, the various sages and bodhisattvas of Mount Sumeru broke with Śākyamuni, refusing to recognize him as Lord of the Great Thunder Sound Temple.
Buddhism speaks of cause and effect, cultivating primarily toward the future, believing in the existence of future lives. At first, when the various sages saw Śākyamuni’s boundless magical power and unmatched Buddha-nature, they all believed he was the reincarnation of the ancient Amitābha Buddha — but when the doctrinal conflict arose, they immediately rejected this.
And so a great dispute arose, and Mount Sumeru descended into great chaos, nearly splitting into two separate sects.
Someone lit the Buddha-lamp, wiped clean the Mirror of Past Buddhas, and used it to illuminate Śākyamuni’s true form, hoping to learn of his past, to determine whether he truly was the reincarnation of a true Buddha.
The result came out — the lamp illuminated his body, and Śākyamuni was rejected, no longer recognized as the Buddha Lord, and was driven from the Great Thunder Sound Temple, deemed a demon.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo exchanged glances — such a thing had actually happened! In the past, the White-robed Little Nun had mentioned some of this, but had never touched upon the hidden secrets within it — all the truth had been sealed away.
“Śākyamuni possessed boundless magical power. Back then, he alone could have overturned Mount Sumeru and rebuilt the Buddhist faith, moving freely in and out of the Great Thunder Sound Temple with none able to stop him…” said the old Battle-Triumphant Ape. Two thousand years ago, he had not yet ascended Mount Sumeru — all of this he had witnessed and heard while in the Western Desert.
Due to the doctrinal differences, once the Mirror of Past Buddhas revealed he was not the reincarnation of Amitābha Buddha, the Vajra Guardians of Mount Sumeru all rose up together, originally intending to destroy Śākyamuni, because there were even rumors that he was a Buddha wrapped in a demon’s shell.
However, in the final decisive battle, Mount Sumeru was defeated — even wielding the demon-subduing pestle left behind by Amitābha Buddha, they could not capture him, could not stop him from descending the mountain and departing — and one must understand, that was the weapon of an ancient Great Emperor.
“To not be a Sage and yet attempt to wield Amitābha Buddha’s demon-subduing pestle — to leave behind someone at the very least at the level of a Great Sage or a Quasi-Emperor — the difficulty of that is immense.” the Black Emperor muttered to itself not far away.
In this battle, Śākyamuni had displayed a state that transcended into sagehood, moving alone through Mount Sumeru, even capable of overturning Buddhism entirely — because of this, it became a forbidden topic, one that Buddha’s disciples were never again permitted to mention.
“I met him at an ancient temple, and we sat and discussed the Dao, talking through the entire night. He spoke to me of his Dao and his doctrine, which I found deeply fascinating.”
The old Battle-Triumphant Sacred Ape had been drawn in — his own cultivation had hit a bottleneck at that time, and he needed to forge his own path forward. What Buddhism advocated — future lives, cultivating primarily toward what was to come — had moved him greatly.
After that night, Śākyamuni set out on his journey, leaving the Western Desert, and where he ultimately went, even the old sacred ape did not know.
“He possesses the strength of a Quasi-Emperor.” This single sentence from the Monkey’s uncle shook everyone present — just how immense must such magical power be?
From that point on, Buddhism had no Tathagata, but Mount Sumeru gained a Battle-Triumphant Buddha instead — he entered the Great Thunder Sound Temple, studying its various scriptures, contemplating the profound mysteries of life and death.
“This is getting confusing…” Pang Bo rubbed his temples, still unable to extract himself from his own tangled thoughts — reality and legend were two entirely different things.
“Is Śākyamuni truly a Buddha wrapped in a demon’s shell? Why is there such a claim — did the Mirror of Past Buddhas truly reveal something?” Several of them had many points of confusion.
Back then, those who had lit the blue lamp and polished the ancient mirror had all inexplicably died in meditation, leaving behind no useful records — their deaths had been strange indeed. Even the Monkey’s uncle had never managed to uncover anything.
How had Buddhism come to be? Pang Bo felt puzzled — wasn’t it born in ancient India? Why had this side of the starry expanse designated Śākyamuni as a traitor?
Ye Fan spoke up to explain — he had read some ancient texts and knew a little of the matter.
On the other side of the starry expanse, some ancient books recorded that Śākyamuni, during his travels, had seen Buddhist disciples harming their bodies through cultivation, believing this was not the proper path — and thereafter created the teaching of the Tathagata, establishing his own sect.
There was a legend that, before this, the Buddhist teachings had already existed for a very long time, but the Dharma had reached its end, and it was Śākyamuni who once again brought it to flourish.
“There are far too many secrets here — I truly want to go back and investigate this thoroughly!” Pang Bo muttered to himself.
Laozi and the Buddha were both figures from twenty-five hundred years ago, living in almost the very same era, both people of great wisdom from ancient times, and both had entered the star regions — Earth held far too many mysteries.
“The pre-Qin Qi Cultivators…” Ye Fan and Pang Bo held many unresolved questions about ancient China, deeply wishing they could return to the other side of the starry expanse to investigate thoroughly.
“There’s one thing this benefactor got right — since ascending Mount Sumeru and converting to Buddhism, I took the Dharma name Wukong.” said the old Battle-Triumphant Sacred Ape.
Pang Bo’s jaw dropped, utterly dumbfounded, and after a long moment finally managed to say: “Wukong… some of the legends really are true. How on earth did this get passed down to ancient China?”
“Uncle…” The Monkey then stepped forward, and everyone else, sensing the moment, retreated to give the two of them space for their uncle-nephew reunion.
“Once you reach the realm of a Sage, come to Mount Sumeru and find me — I will pass down your father’s immortal treasure black iron to you.” said the Battle-Triumphant Buddha. He remained in secluded cultivation year-round, seeking only to attain the Dao, painstakingly contemplating life and death, and ordinarily saw no one at all.
“Auntie, she…” the Monkey carefully brought up Princess Shencan.
The Battle-Triumphant Buddha did not respond. Over all these years while he sat within the ancient temple, Princess Shencan had ascended Mount Sumeru nine times, and each time he had avoided seeing her. At this moment his eyes held a profound depth, as though he had come to comprehend both his past life and the life to come.
This time, Princess Shencan had staked her life on entering the primordial ancient forbidden ground to gather the Nine Wondrous Undying Herb, sending word to him, finally forcing him to emerge.
After a long while, the uncle and nephew finished their conversation. The Battle-Triumphant Buddha, his body glimmering with golden fur, radiating boundless Buddha-light, prepared to depart on a long journey.
Before leaving, he walked toward the Big Black Dog and said: “For the offense committed those years ago, I offer my apologies.”
“Woof — if the Beginningless Great Emperor were alive, a single hand of his would be enough to suppress you. Too bad I got established and then broken down again — how unlucky, never got the chance to deal with you.” the Big Black Dog bared its teeth.
“Please forgive the disrespect of years past.” A halo of light rose from behind the Battle-Triumphant God’s head, and then he extended a hand and pointed, sending a dazzling beam of light shooting toward the Black Emperor.
“What are you trying to do?” The Big Black Dog’s entire body of black fur bristled upright.
“Hum!”
The void trembled, and its bald tail suddenly sprouted glossy black fur, becoming just like the rest of its body — as lustrous as black silk.
“Heh heh…” Ye Fan, Li Tian, Pang Bo, Li Heishui and the others all tried to hold it in, but in the end they all burst out laughing, finally understanding why the Big Black Dog held such a grudge against the Monkey.
At the same time, they also finally understood why its entire body was covered in thick, glossy black fur except for its bald tail — it turned out all of this was the doing of the Battle-Triumphant Sacred Ape back in the day, no wonder it could never be cured.
“Woof, woof, woof…” The Big Black Dog flew into a rage from embarrassment, chasing after them and biting wildly.
“Please, Senior, guide us on the way home!” Ye Fan stepped forward, blocking the Battle-Triumphant Buddha’s path, requesting his guidance.
“I do not know the ancient starry road leading beyond the domain.” The Battle-Triumphant Buddha shook his head, gazing deep into the primordial ancient forbidden ground, where a Five-Colored Altar stood, sealing the abyss — he warned them not to attempt going there.
Finally, Pang Bo asked about Kai De — that clumsy foreigner who had been converted by an old monk and taken to the Western Desert, and they didn’t know how he was doing now.
He had only asked on the off chance, never expecting the Battle-Triumphant Buddha to actually know. Kai De was the tonsured attendant serving at his place of secluded cultivation.
The Buddhist monks believed Kai De possessed extraordinary innate gifts, with golden hair and blue eyes somewhat resembling the Battle-Triumphant Sacred Ape, and so had him listen to the Dharma in that sacred place, serving the ancient Buddha, being groomed as a Vajra Guardian.
“God damn you, you abandoned me. I despise you. Praise the Buddha — when I attain enlightenment I’ll go back myself, and Satan can go have afternoon tea. God, go to hell!”
This was Kai De’s special morning prayer, cursed every single morning upon waking, gradually becoming known and remembered by some of the monks there.
In the end, no one could keep the Battle-Triumphant Buddha there — with a single step he strode out of the mountain range, vanishing into the far distance.
“Monkey, stop right there — do you mean to never see me again for the rest of your life?” Princess Shencan appeared, chasing after him.
“He gave the ancient imperial battle robe of Shencan Ridge to that dead monkey — how could he not go see her? He’s just avoiding us.” the Black Emperor said with a curled lip.
“Ahem!” the Monkey glared, warning it not to keep being hostile toward his uncle.
Yellow leaves drifted down; this was a stone cliff right at the edge of the primordial ancient forbidden ground. Ye Fan and Pang Bo, revisiting this old place, felt a flood of emotion, recalling the various events from when they had first arrived in this world.
“I’ve always felt that someone who should have died long ago never actually died — I must get to the bottom of this, dig out this ghost.”
Ye Fan and Pang Bo walked side by side, striding forward, arriving before a crack beneath a stone cliff — there was a stone cave here.
Years ago, Liu Yunzhi, Li Changqing, and Wang Yan had tried to have them killed, and as a result had instead been thrown into this tiger den — by all rights they should have died for certain. Back then, the clear sound of a tiger’s roar had rung out from within.
But over all these years, Ye Fan had always felt a pair of malicious eyes watching him from the darkness, someone who understood him all too well. He believed that whoever was targeting him might be among his old acquaintances, and the people who held the deepest hatred for him and Pang Bo would have to be Liu Yunzhi, Li Changqing, and Wang Yan.
“Time to uncover the truth.” Pang Bo sneered coldly, striding into the stone cave — but the moment he saw what was inside, he froze completely.