Wukong and the others encountered Dream Demon in Beiming, causing Tathagata to dream, which affected Tathagata's prestige. So, Tathagata burned Dream Demon to death with Karmic Fire.
Wukong just pretended not to recognize Tathagata, all smiles and without any trouble, which kept Tathagata from being suspicious.
Tathagata asked, "Would you like to accept my protection from now on and join my Buddhist sect?"
Wukong replied, "What's so good about your Buddhist sect? Can I eat meat and drink wine?"
Tathagata laughed and said, "If you join my Prominent Sect and learn Hinayana Buddhism, you might be able to eat some venison, but you certainly can't touch wine."
Wukong asked, "Isn't it said 'Wine and meat pass through the intestines, while Buddha Ancestor stays in the heart'? If I join your sect and you protect me, can't I just keep drinking and eating meat, keeping you in my heart?"
Hearing this nonsense from the Rowdy Monkey, still all smiles, Tathagata found it somewhat amusing and said, "You wild Macaca, talking nonsense and showing no respect. Let's set this matter aside for now. I can't be bothered to argue with you, as you will eventually come to understand, and your restless mind must eventually be tamed."
With those words, Tathagata used the Buddhist Sect's secret technique, Great Thunderclap Spell, intending to plant a seed in Wukong's heart that would sprout in the future. However, Wukong silently recited the cultivation mantra passed down by Patriarch Subhuti, remembering the four words 'just seek your original heart' spoken by Patriarch Subhuti. His twin Primordial Spirits exerted their power, and their palms met. Tathagata's mana was powerful and the Great Thunderclap Spell was incredibly potent, capable of dispersing demon heads in all directions. With such cultivation, it was extremely difficult for Wukong to resist. Yet the spell created by the unity of the Three Teachings by Patriarch Subhuti was hardly ordinary. By guarding his mind, he did not give Tathagata any advantage.
"Hey, Tathagata, I'm not willing to join your sect, so you don't have to shout and scream, do you? It's making my ears nearly deaf!" Wukong scratched his head and face, clearly impatient.
Wukong's heart harbored hatred towards Tathagata, deep as the Four Seas, endless, and now he had to pretend he didn't know him and speak insincerely; it was truly frustrating!
Tathagata was a bit surprised that his Great Thunderclap Spell had not shaken the monkey's spirit. However, he did not overthink it, considering that this was a dream, which might be why it was ineffective. He smiled faintly, and a clear thread of thought detached from his body. His entire body slowly turned into a golden light and dispersed, clearing the fog in the dream. Wukong was also sweating profusely and suddenly woke up to find Ox Demon King and others slowly rising from the deck, rubbing their foreheads.
"Damn, I had such a long dream. I dreamed of my wife, which scared the heck out of me!" If there was anyone Ox Demon King was afraid of, it was certainly Princess Iron Fan.
Jiao Demon King had dreamed of the Four Seas Dragon Kings gathering to chase him, leaving him no escape to the sky or into the earth. His greatest fear was the Four Seas Dragon Kings; after all, he had lived long in the North Sea, and their imposing manner deeply instilled fear in him, always worrying that North Sea Dragon King might come searching for him one day. Dragon Whale's dream was similar to Jiao Demon King's. Those from the aquatic tribes living in the Four Seas naturally feared the Four Seas Dragon Kings.
Unfortunately, Dream Demon's luck was poor, drawing out the fears in Wukong's heart and thereby involving Tathagata. Tathagata, being the Respectful Ruler of the World, could not tolerate a demon posing as Buddha Ancestor and causing mischief. A thought from Mount Meru immediately burned Dream Demon to ashes—a move that surprised and frightened Wukong, recalling how he had fallen for Tathagata's tricks in the past, perhaps due to the Great Thunderclap Spell that had confused him, leading him to make that bet.
Wukong said, "Just now, we entered the domain of the Dream Demon, which is why we all fell into a deep sleep and struggled in the dream. But now that the Dream Demon is gone, it's only natural that we should wake up."
Ox Demon King said, "So that's it! You nearly scared me to death. My wife almost beat me to death."
Jiao Demon King couldn't help laughing, "I didn't expect the big brother to be afraid of his wife!"
Ox Demon King, still shaken, said, "You don't know, my wife is very capable, and I am no match for her."
Suddenly, Wukong saw light ahead, apparently about to leave the Beiming sea area.
"There's light! Have we already left Beiming?" Jiao Demon King quickly urged the warship forward towards the light.
Wukong temporarily set aside the matter with Tathagata, but his determination grew stronger. Even though Tathagata was so powerful, he had to confront him; without resistance, he would ultimately turn to ashes, repeating past mistakes. The name Tathagata weighed heavily on Wukong's heart like a mountain.
The warship finally sailed out of the Beiming sea area. However, the sea water was still filled with dead aura, which even Daluo Golden Immortals dared not enter; their Primordial Spirits and Three Flowers and Five Qi could be extinguished instantly by the dead aura. The source of this dead aura seemed to be ahead. They looked ahead and saw a massive island and a distant iceberg. The entire island was bursting with life and lush trees, unlike the situation in the rest of the sea.
"Look, those warships are docking there! Let's follow them onto the island," Jiao Demon King called out loudly.
"Let's go. The source of this dead aura might be related to that island. Let's go ashore and take a look," Wukong said, standing at the mast.
After sailing on the sea for over a month, they finally spotted an island where they could go ashore, which greatly delighted the Ox Demon King.
This time, a considerable number of cultivators had come to Beiming, probably associating it with a great war from the Middle Ancient Period and hoping to find some treasures. However, these treasures were not easy to obtain; several small sects' warships were directly destroyed at sea, and their crews perished in this sea of death.
The Jiao Demon King steered the warship towards the island, and about a half-hour later, they finally docked. Several people jumped ashore, and the Jiao Demon King stored the warship away.
Wukong saw an old, weathered stone stele standing on a rock on the island, inscribed with characters from Ancient Times.
"War God Secret Realm?" Wukong pronounced each character on the stele slowly.
The Ox Demon King, being the most experienced and knowledgeable, exclaimed in surprise, "War God Secret Realm? Are you sure you're not mistaken? Those are ancient characters; even Old Bull here can't recognize them."
Wukong smiled and said, "No mistake, it's the War God Secret Realm. If I'm wrong, you can kick my butt!"
The Jiao Demon King then asked, "Big brother, is there a problem with the War God Secret Realm?"
The Ox Demon King replied, "Of course, there's a problem! Have you ever heard of the name Xing Tian, the War God?"
Wukong and the Jiao Demon King were both startled, and Wukong asked, "Could it be that this War God Secret Realm is related to Xing Tian?"
The Ox Demon King nodded and said, "Indeed, it is related. The War God Secret Realm was founded by Xing Tian, and it was inhabited by his people. In Ancient Times, during the struggles between Yan Huang and Chi You, it was rumored that Xing Tian died following Chi You's defeat. Unexpectedly, the War God Secret Realm was hidden here in Beiming, and it appears that the great war of the Middle Ancient Period erupted here. Yet some say Xing Tian and the others didn't die, as Yan Huang spared them, and it was actually during the great war of the Middle Ancient Period that they truly perished."
Wukong glanced around and spotted some broken Magical Treasure materials on the ground, which had lost their luster and efficacy, becoming nothing more than scrap iron.
"And what exactly is a 'Secret Realm'?" asked the Jiao Demon King curiously.
"Secret Realms are... let's just call them training grounds created by some great beings of Ancient Times! That was a golden age for cultivators, an era of myriad clans vying for supremacy, shaking the heavens and the earth with the devastating calamities they initiated: the Sky-Opening Calamity, the Dragon and Phoenix Calamity, and the Witches and Goblins Calamity, followed by the struggle between Yan Huang and Chi You, topped off with the battle for divine enthronement amongst the saints — an era that witnessed five deadly cataclysms. Many powerful beings from Ancient Times, like Xing Tian, had their own Secret Realms; Emperor Gongsun Xuanyuan had the Xuanyuan Secret Realm, the Immortal Phoenix had the Rainbow Secret Realm, and the Ancestral Dragon established the Nine Dragons Secret Realm. Nevertheless, these Secret Realms were still traceable during the Middle Ancient Period. After an unrecorded great war during that period, they vanished completely," the Ox Demon King explained thoughtfully, relaying knowledge he had absorbed from listening to his master.
While they marveled at this revelation, the warship of Erlang Shen Yang Jian, whom they had encountered at sea, also docked, and he jumped down to look at them.
"Brother Yang Jian, it truly is fate that brings us together! How about we join forces and seize the treasures on this island?" the Ox Demon King suggested.
"Thanks for the kind offer, Lord Ox Demon King, but I'm used to going solo and would rather proceed on my own," Yang Jian replied, leading his large black dog that stood as tall as a man's shoulders away, much to the Ox Demon King's annoyance. Yang Jian was really too arrogant and temperamental.
Wukong said, "Big brother, don't be angered. We've just arrived at this War God Secret Realm and still don't know what's inside. It wouldn't be too late to see how we measure up to Yang Jian after we've figured out the situation."
The Ox Demon King nodded and replied, "What you say makes sense, brother. Let's not delay here any longer, let's hurry to the deeper parts of the island and see what's there. This island looks endlessly vast from the outside; it's hard to imagine how Xing Tian managed to create it. Such power is truly terrifying!"
Wukong and the others agreed wholeheartedly. These Secret Realms were also known as Void Secret Realms, purely formed by mana and floating in the infinite void, typically invisible, especially after the Middle Ancient Period when Secret Realms almost entirely ceased to appear. Whether they were destroyed in battle or what exactly happened remains a mystery, along with that great but unrecorded war from the Middle Ancient Period.
As for Yang Jian, his visit to the War God Secret Realm was due to a karma-related pull he sensed in the North Sea about something connected to him. His remarkable abilities enabled him to have an uncertified god construct a warship, after which he set out to sea alone with the Howling Celestial Dog in search of it.
Wukong and the Ox Demon King didn't delay on the periphery of the Secret Realm any longer, but mounted the clouds and headed deeper into the realm.
The realm was devoid of fierce beasts and appeared very tranquil, home to only some small, harmless creatures that would shy away upon seeing them.
As for the mysteries hidden within the Secret Realm, please tune in next time.