Water Curtain Cave was situated at the border between Southern Ridge Demon Mountain and the Eastern Divine Region. It was once a paradise, worshipped by all demon tribes within ten thousand miles solely because it had produced a beautiful Monkey King who had formed sworn brotherhoods with several other demon masters. Today, Water Curtain Cave is in ruins, no longer visited by anyone. Should anyone come, they would be scattered by the Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons.
Wukong had left the Eastern Divine Region and was heading towards Water Curtain Cave, holding a horsetail whisk in his hand. He recited, "There is righteousness in heaven and earth, randomly bestowed upon all forms. Below are rivers and mountains, above are the sun and stars. In humans, it is vast and boundless, saturating the dark expanse... I look up at the drifting white clouds with a heart heavy with aimless sorrow. The realm of wise men has long faded; punishments are from times long past. The wind carries tales of ancient paths drenched in learned colors."
His voice resonated with righteousness that rose straight into the clouds.
"May I ask the Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons, is this place Water Curtain Cave?" Wukong smiled casually at the heavenly dragons in the clouds and asked.
"Who are you? This is sacred ground of the Buddhist Family, leave quickly!" Garuda waved his hand, and Yaksha was already quite impatient.
Wukong smiled and said, "Sacred ground of the Buddhist Family? There is neither Buddha nor Bodhisattva here, how did it become Buddhist sacred ground?"
Having heard Wukong's song, filled with spirit reaching the skies, Garuda knew this was no ordinary man. Wishing not to provoke further trouble, he explained gently, "This is a task set by the Buddha Ancestor for us, not allowing any life to appear in Water Curtain Cave."
Wukong made a show of pressing his palms together and said, "Amitabha Buddha, heaven values all lives, and Buddhist folks are minded with compassion. How can they deny life here?"
Mahoraga however said, "Because the owner of this mountain has committed innumerable evils."
Wukong laughed and said, "Even the Buddha Ancestor himself fed eagles with his flesh, why don't you give this person a chance?"
Yaksha grew angry and said, "Stop prattling on!"
Wukong laughed loudly and said, "Could it be that you feel guilty and thus resort to violence?"
Yaksha, knowing that the Taoist before him had nothing to fear, cursed, "If you do not leave, I will teach you a lesson!"
Wukong said, "Shouldn't Buddhist people be compassionate? You, as a messenger, are so unreasonable, resorting to violence at the slightest disagreement."
The Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons saw the Taoist was tiresome and felt immensely annoyed. Just as Yaksha was about to strike, Garuda stopped him.
"What exactly do you want to do?" Garuda asked.
"I'm not doing anything, just asking for clarity," Wukong replied with a smile.
Suddenly, he waved the horsetail whisk in his hand and laughed, "Do you want me to leave?"
Yaksha said, "I'm afraid no one can tolerate your incessant babbling!"
Wukong spoke amiably, "Let's not get angry, getting angry would break the rules of serenity! You want me to go? If you want me to go, just say so. How would I know if you don't tell me? Although you look at me very sincerely, you still need to tell me to go! Do you really want me to go? Then I'll go. You don't really want me to go, do you? Do you actually want me to leave?"
"Damn it!"
The Eight Divisions thundered loudly, and together raised their magical treasures to attack.
These Eight Divisions were no more than Dharmakayas, just like external incarnations; Wukong was in no way afraid. By now, he had achieved the rank of Taiyi Golden Immortal, and even if their real bodies descended, he would not be afraid!
"You, Taoist, why are you so tiresome? Today, forfeit your life!" Yaksha roared furiously, treating Wukong as a mere wild beast as he thrust his steel fork to impale him.
Wukong sighed, "Ah, even if you want me to go, there's no need for violence!"
As he spoke, he swung his horsetail whisk, and a Seven-Colored Divine Light flashed, immediately toppling Yaksha with a somersault.
As the remaining seven charged forward, Wukong swung again with force. Unable to withstand it, they were directly swept away.
"This World-Cleansing Dust Whisk is truly powerful!" Wukong thought, for he had come to test this magical treasure against these eight figures.
Thinking this, he ascended into the air and once again swept Yaksha away, lunging forward with his spear, piercing him through. The dharma body of Yaksha instantly vanished into nothingness.
"A swift battle is best, in case they discover their Dharmakayas are destroyed and report to that Tathagata scoundrel, making my escape impossible."
Wukong's mind was clear as a mirror. He looked up and let out a long howl. With his left hand, he continuously swung the horsetail whisk, and the Seven-Colored Divine Light overwhelmed the skies.LayoutStyle: clear and forceful.
"Golden Crow Chasing the Sun!"
Wukong's hand-sign changed again as he executed the supreme movement technique created by Di Jun, moving behind Mahoraga like a phantom. With a sweep of his horsetail whisk, he turned him instantly into flying ash.
"This creature is cunning; no need to confront him directly—let's go!" The dragon crowd shouted loudly, calling a few to escape.
Wukong had already slain four in the blink of an eye. How could he let them go? The horsetail whisk moved continuously, causing the four to stumble repeatedly, unable to cast their escape techniques.
Wukong drew his long spear and pressed towards the four, unleashing a barrage of staff techniques, pummeling them until they cried out in agony.
"Heh heh, the Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons are nothing more than this." Wukong sneered coldly, turning the dragon crowd into ashes with a sweep of his whisk.
Emperor Gou Chen furiously said, "Who are you, thief? Dare to state your name! I shall crush you into dust tomorrow."
Wukong replied coldly, "I am the very Buddhist Slayer from that day in Zhenjiang, also known as the Heaven-Defying Taoist!"
Having said that, he no longer wasted words with these three. The carved Golden Crow on the whisk suddenly burst into brilliant light.
A Golden Crow burst forth, continuously spewing True Sunfire, leaving the three with no escape to the skies or doors to the ground below.
With several more sweeps of his whisk, Wukong quickly enclosed the three, brought down the Heavenly Emperor's Giant Seal, and instantly turned them into flying ash.
After killing eight, Wukong did not linger, two sweeps of his whisk caused divine rain to fall, rejuvenating the scorched earth of the Water Curtain Cave.
A ginseng fruit fell into his hands; he squeezed it, sprinkling the juice and pulp around. After changing the hand-sign, sprouts immediately appeared from the charred earth, rapidly growing into trees a zhang high. Then, Wukong swept the mud from the river, flicked a water droplet into it, and that droplet swelled crazily, soon filling the entire river...
Thus, although Water Curtain Cave had not regained its former beauty, it looked much better than the blackened state it was in before.
Years ago, after Tathagata had slain Wukong, the Heavenly Court had Thunder deity and his wife strike it with three days of thunder and lightning, followed by the Fire deity burning it... and thus, Water Curtain Cave was left in that ugly state.
"Who, who brought rain to Water Curtain Cave!"
In the Heavenly Court, Emperor Gou Chen roared in anger, his fury like a thunderstorm.
Wukong thought to himself, "This Emperor Gou Chen is truly formidable. Although he did not make a move during the great upheaval in the Celestial Palace, I have heard a bit about him. Among the four great emperors of the Heavenly Court, aside from the Jade Emperor, that old fool who's nothing but a pillow of brocade, which one of them does not have heavenly capabilities?" With a somersault, he chuckled, "The matters of Water Curtain Cave must be approached slowly. My actions today were merely to slap the faces of the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist Sect."
Shortly after, Emperor Gou Chen emerged from the Southern Heavenly Gate and landed on Water Curtain Cave.
"You cowardly rats, running at the sight of me, stay if you dare!" Emperor Gou Chen snorted coldly.
He coldly glanced over the now lively Water Curtain Cave and said, "Go call the Fire deity."
His attendant immediately bowed and rushed to the Celestial Realm to summon the Fire deity.
Upon seeing the Fire deity, Emperor Gou Chen gave his orders and then returned to the Celestial Realm.
The Fire deity sighed, pinched a Dharma Decree, chanted a spell, and exhaling, he shot out Samadhi True Fire, instantly scorching the life out of the rejuvenated mountain. After the fire raged for three days and nights, ensuring no life remained, the Fire deity then returned to the Heavenly Court.
Wukong, having slain the Dharma Bodies of the Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons and used a ginseng fruit to restore life to Water Curtain Cave, now saw it burned to ashes again but was not annoyed. Today's Wukong was far from the naive and carefree Monkey King of the past. His actions were simply meant as a harsh slap.
He understood that rebuilding Water Curtain Cave was not a day's work, nor was he in a hurry. He would wait until his cultivation level was higher, then ascend to Western Heaven, demanding the myriad Buddha bow and apologize. Even if it were rebuilt now, he couldn't protect it.
Although his cultivation had reached the level of a Taiyi Golden Immortal, he was uncertain if he could contend with Emperor Gou Chen. Wukong did not dare to risk it, fearing that if Gou Chen detained him and people from Western Heaven came, he would surely have nowhere to be buried. He would wait for another day to find an opportunity to battle the hermit of the South Pole, who preferred solitude—this might be a good chance!
The hermit of the South Pole was none other than the Longevity Emperor, one of the four great emperors of the Heavenly Court.
Today, Wukong had tested the Divine Skill Spells of Di Jun and the power of the whisk, finding them astonishingly effective. Swinging the World-Cleansing Dust Whisk sent all eight tumbling; with some effort in refining it further, his cultivation could reach even higher levels, perhaps rivaling the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree. As for the Heavenly Emperor's Divine Skills, they were profoundly amazing, invoking the power of the sun and condensing True Sunfire. With a single seal, nothing could withstand it, and the movement technique was unmatched, unpredictable as spirit or ghost.
There were still more Divine Skills he hadn't had the chance to use, as the Eight Divisions had already been turned to ash—an actual pity.
Most of the cultivation techniques within Hongmeng Purple Qi were for cultivation, not combat.
Only the Primordial Great Strength Technique was truly practical, allowing Wukong to clash head-on with the Great Might Heavenly Dragon Dharma Body. One must know that the Great Might Heavenly Dragon is the most powerful Bodhisattva in the Buddhist Realm, capable of shaking Mount Sumeru.
Today, after having tested the whisk, Wukong was in high spirits. He found a secluded place in Southern Ridge Demon Mountain to meditate deeply and refine what he had learned today, without a word.