Great Demon Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong suddenly remembered that the Void Transcendence Flower on his master's body had existed since the beginning of the world, or to be more precise, had appeared when Pangu split the Chaos with that Divine Axe to open the Pangu Realm. The one who cleaved the Chaos with an axe had to be Pangu without a doubt, so the Transcendence Flower must have been the first to come into contact with Pangu's aura. But now the Transcendence Flower told Sanzang that the Heaven-Supporting Divine Ape was also Pangu – what was going on?

Could it be that the Heaven-Supporting Divine Ape was actually Pangu's true body or the true body of a doppelganger? But that didn't seem right either. Pangu was supposed to belong to the Chaotic Giant Clan, so how could he be part of the Demon Clan, and a monkey at that? Or could it be that Pangu was actually the Pioneer? Did the Pioneer not die in the ancient war but instead continued to exist in the form of Pangu after the battle? And then, for some unknown reason, came here to create the Pangu Realm with a doppelganger? That did seem like a possibility.

And this also explained why the heart of the Pioneer was in the Pangu Realm and ultimately obtained by himself. However, this was all just Sun Wukong's speculation without any evidence, so it was not possible to jump to conclusions. Shaking his head with some annoyance, Sun Wukong found these matters were becoming more elusive and more complex, feeling as if his understanding of everything was gradually being overturned.

Furthermore, another spatial rift appeared after master's Tribulation, and once again, they saw those mysterious images. Sun Wukong speculated it must indeed be man-made, but this person was clearly not omnipotent, only able to utilize the Heavenly Tribulation phenomena triggered during the Tribulation to seize the opportunity and take Sun Wukong and the person undergoing Tribulation into them, allowing Sun Wukong to see those images.

And after this incident, Sun Wukong also realized that this person must have great limitations, otherwise all the images would have been shown during Bajie's Tribulation. But they weren't. Instead, part of them was seen last time, and another part this time. The reason less was shown this time might be that Sanzang's strength was not as great as Bajie's, and the Heavenly Tribulation he triggered was much smaller, so that person could only show Sun Wukong one image before sending them back.

It felt particularly like someone was trying to convey secret information to Sun Wukong without the notice of certain others, but who was this person, and why were they doing this? Who was the one this person wanted to keep in the dark? These questions still had no answers. The only way was to wait, to see if this situation would occur again the next time someone underwent Tribulation. Sun Wukong suddenly became somewhat expectant, wondering what he would see next time?

Last time it was the Ancient Great Formation, this time it was the birth of the Pangu Realm, but what would be next? Since there was a connection between these images, the next one would surely be related too. Perhaps the more he saw, the more he would learn. Common sense suggested that the person showing these images from behind the scenes must be conveying something very important, and it was certainly something with a final outcome.

But thinking any more about it now was futile. Sun Wukong still needed to do some things according to his previous plan. After asking about master's condition, Tang Sanzang said he felt very good, his strength had increased, and Tang Sanzang felt as if he had suddenly acquired a sense of mission. This startled Sun Wukong, who quickly asked, "Master, please tell me in detail, what's going on?"

Tang Sanzang nodded, paused, and said, "Just now, when I saw Pangu creating the world, a sense of enlightenment suddenly rose in my heart. All sentient beings suffer, and I want to do everything within my power to rescue all beings from suffering and lead the people to transcendence!" As Tang Sanzang said this, his expression was sacred, and Sun Wukong felt somewhat abashed. If this were before, Sun Wukong wouldn't have thought much of it, as Sanzang's great vow had always been to rescue the beings suffering in the sea of misery, which was why he went on the long and arduous journey to the Western Paradise to pay homage to Buddha and seek the scriptures.

Yet now, upon hearing this, Sun Wukong suddenly felt a thrilling sensation because he remembered the monks from the Buddha-worshipping Sect and those two Cultivators whose cultivation had improved. Something was off. His master's vow was somehow becoming a reality. Before, it was inconceivable for the Buddha-worshipping Sect to have so many people living together peacefully. Although Buddha's Pure Land was a Buddhist world, the struggle was still intense, and killing for treasure was all too common.

But under the influence of the strange power emanating from the master, so many people gathered at the Buddha-worshipping Sect and yet no one harbored any ill will – all were sincerely devout. It seemed as if they had truly been transformed by master, washed of all evil thoughts. But Sun Wukong was clear that this was definitely not true transformation, but more like the method used by the Buddha Lord Tathagata of the Pangu Realm, brainwashing others to make them into Buddhism's lackeys with no will of their own, like living puppets. And now, master's action was all too similar, although it was done gradually and by influence, not control.

However, no matter what, this approach is somewhat akin to the Evil Path. When did Master acquire this ability? Moreover, it seems that Master is unaware of it. Therefore, Sun Wukong felt he must inform Tang Sanzang, "Master, I would like to talk to you about something." As Tang Sanzang gazed at the distant sea, he responded, "What is it?" Sun Wukong nodded and said, "Master, are you aware of what happened when you were preaching the teachings of Buddhism at the Buddha-worshipping Sect?"

Tang Sanzang nodded and said, "Of course I know. Many people came to discuss the Buddhist teachings with me, and I indeed had many insights during those discussions." Sun Wukong, however, shook his head and said, "Master, that's not what I'm referring to. It's about the special aura that you emit while preaching Buddhism, an aura that affects many people and even transcends them!"

Tang Sanzang was taken aback and said, "Transcend? But I didn't activate the power of the Transcendence Bloom!" Sun Wukong gave a wry smile and said, "I know that, but for some reason, the power of the Transcendence Bloom has been slowly emanating from you while you practice and preach Buddhism, and it's already affected many people!" Tang Sanzang was extremely naive; as soon as Sun Wukong explained, he immediately grasped the crux of the problem. "Wukong, could this have any negative consequences?"

Sun Wukong nodded and said, "Indeed, all those influenced by Master will gradually lose their self-identity, and I fear they might eventually become puppets devoid of consciousness. So, Master, your most important task now is to find a way to control the Transcendence Bloom, to prevent it from giving off any aura when you're not actively engaging it. Otherwise, I'm afraid that in the near future, everyone in Buddha's Pure Land will become unconscious walking corpses!"

What Sun Wukong said was not entirely accurate, with a bit of exaggeration, as the aura hadn't caused anyone to lose their self-identity so far but merely guided them to be more devout towards Buddhism. However, it was unknown whether this was the end of it or just the beginning. If it were just the beginning, the scenario Sun Wukong described might very well occur, and then Tang Sanzang might become a true leader of an Evil Cult, which was definitely not something Tang Sanzang would want to see.

With a look of terror on his face, Tang Sanzang truly hadn't anticipated that he was unwittingly doing something so horrifying. No wonder there were suddenly so many people coming to him to hear the teachings of Buddhism, and their attitudes were increasingly reverent. Nodding hurriedly, Tang Sanzang said, "Wukong, can I really control the Transcendence Bloom?" Sun Wukong replied, "You can, because the Transcendence Bloom is essentially a part of your life's cultivation. Previously, you simply hadn't noticed it. For now, you should comprehend your breakthrough in cultivation here while I observe!"

Tang Sanzang nodded repeatedly and immediately sat down cross-legged to cultivate. Soon after, that strange aura began to spread from Tang Sanzang again. Sun Wukong frowned slightly and thought to himself: As Master's cultivation progresses, this aura seems to grow stronger. It appears to be a cycle: increase in strength leads to stronger aura, stronger aura leads to more affected people with greater impact, and the more people overcome realms through this aura, the faster Master's cultivation will progress. This looks eerily like the methods used in the Evil Path.

"Master, that aura is spreading again. Try to control the Transcendence Bloom," Sun Wukong said. As he spoke, cold sweat began to form on Tang Sanzang's forehead, but clearly, with his active control, the aura started to weaken gradually until it completely disappeared. Sun Wukong nodded, confirming his guess was right—Master could indeed control the Transcendence Bloom.

In this world, when it comes to cultivation, there really are no shortcuts. Aside from those blessed with extraordinary destiny who repeatedly encounter fortuitous adventures, everyone's cultivation requires methodical progress step by step. All who whimsically hope for instant success inevitably meet a very tragic end. Those who hope to easily elevate their realms through the power emanating from Master do not realize that they are essentially on a path to self-destruction.

At the same time, Sun Wukong also wondered, if Master's involuntary release of the Void Transcendence Flower's aura was already so powerful, what would happen if Master were to fully unleash it? And what kind of spectacle would that be? Master's situation was strikingly similar to Bajie's, so what exactly was hidden behind this? (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Starting Point (qidian.com) to vote and offer your Monthly Pass. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read at m.qidian.com.)