Man in the heavens, wins by lying down to prove the truth

Chapter 331 The Monkey King Ascends to Heaven, Yu Yun Attains Dao

Time flies like an arrow; several years have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, in the Taiyi Grotto Heaven, pure energy soared into the sky, and yin and yang intertwined to form a great elixir, which was Taiwei Hua attaining enlightenment.

Since beginning his cultivation, Taiwei Hua subdued the five minds, gathered the medicine within his body, and achieved perfect merit, ultimately becoming a great medicine.

Ordinary people, as long as they take one step at a time without relying on external forces, and reach this stage, will have a clear mind and can be considered to have a chance of achieving the Golden Elixir.

After that, the process of severing the three corpses, passing the three trials, and forming the holy embryo is said to be a slow and steady process with few obstacles.

"Congratulations, Hua'er, you have a good chance of achieving the Golden Core stage."

Zhou Cheng smiled as he looked at the Taiwei Hua that was swallowing and spitting out the great medicine to nourish itself.

Taiwei Hua also let out a long sigh: "After thousands of years of arduous cultivation, the fruition is now in sight. Success is imminent, but crossing the river is still a long way off. We cannot be careless. I plan to continue my seclusion."

Taiwei Hua today is far more composed than before, especially in crucial moments.

"Alright, you can continue your cultivation in seclusion. With me here, you have nothing to worry about." Zhou Cheng stroked Taiwei Hua's long hair and said with a smile.

After a tender moment, Taiwei Hua went into seclusion again, and Zhou Cheng also looked into the distance.

……

It is said that in the blessed land of Flower Fruit Mountain, the seven demon kings swore brotherhood. Wukong, who boasted of his great supernatural powers, joined forces with the great demons, intending to wipe out all the demon caves and become the master of the demon race, the uncrowned king.

Such a grand commotion naturally terrified the minor immortals and local deities, who immediately burned petitions to report to the Great Heavenly Venerable that this demon was rampant.

On that day, in the Lingxiao Palace, immortals gathered and gods lined up.

The Great Celestial Venerable sat on the Jade Terrace and said, "I have heard that a demon monkey is causing trouble in the mortal realm, wreaking havoc in the underworld, and capturing demons with great force. I wonder where this demon monkey comes from and how it possesses such supernatural powers?"

All the immortals and gods shook their heads, having not heard of this matter. Only the Thousand-Mile Eye and the Wind-Following Ear stepped out from the ranks and kowtowed to the Great Heavenly Venerable: "Your Majesty, this monkey is a stone monkey born hundreds of years ago. When it was born, its eyes emitted golden light that shot straight into the Dipper Palace, startling Your Majesty. Afterwards, it attained enlightenment somewhere, wielding great supernatural powers, intimidating the demon realm, and aspiring to become the King of Ten Thousand Demons and the Sovereign of Ten Thousand Monsters."

The Great Celestial Venerable then laughed and said, "This impudent monkey is truly ignorant of his own limitations, daring to claim himself as the King of All Demons. In that case, which noble lord is willing to descend to the mortal realm and subdue this demon monkey?"

As the Jade Emperor's virtuous words fell, all the immortals and gods present looked at their noses, their mouths, and their hearts, remaining silent.

No one is stupid.

In just a few hundred years, he has become a great master; who would dare to act rashly?

In the ordinary cycle of heaven and earth, the formation, existence, decay, and emptiness last for one kalpa. Only a handful of people with great supernatural powers are born, and they all take tens of thousands of years of cultivation to attain enlightenment.

Seeing that everyone remained silent, the Old Immortal Taibai stepped forward from the ranks, kowtowed to the Great Heavenly Venerable, and said, “Your Majesty, this monkey possesses great supernatural powers and has abilities that reach the heavens. It is said that this monkey was born of Heaven and Earth, therefore it must be cultivating its life force but not its nature, which is why it is so arrogant. Why doesn’t Your Majesty issue an imperial edict to appease it, thus fulfilling the will of Heaven and helping this monkey to calm its mind, teaching it to know the compassion of the High Heavenly Emperor, so that the Three Realms may have one more truly virtuous and accomplished person?”

The Jade Emperor nodded in praise, saying, "Your words are wise and insightful. In that case, I will have the God of Literature draft an edict to offer amnesty. Since this monkey is so restless and willful, I will personally appoint him as the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses to help him tame his restless mind and restrain his willful desires."

The official positions in the heavens are similar to those in the human world. There are two types: officials with rank and officials with assignments.

The so-called official ranks are such as so-and-so emperor, so-and-so heavenly king, so-and-so true lord, etc., which are divided into nine ranks from one to nine.

As for the dispatched officials, they were responsible for certain affairs, such as supervising the Heavenly River Navy or supervising a certain department of celestial officials, etc., and there was no concept of rank.

Taking Marshal Tianpeng as an example, the Four Saints of the North Pole, True Lord Tianpeng, is a high-ranking official, while the Marshal of the Heavenly River Navy is a subordinate.

The position of Bi Ma Wen (弼马温) was a dispatched official, and generally, it was a concurrent post held by a high-ranking official. Normally, someone who could concurrently serve as the head of the Imperial Horse Administration was at least a fourth-rank official, and there was never a separate post for him. This time, it was considered an exception.

……

Now, Venus, having received the Jade Emperor's decree, went straight out of the South Heavenly Gate, descended on auspicious clouds, and flew to the Water Curtain Cave of Flower and Fruit Mountain.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the auspicious cloud landed in the territory of Flower and Fruit Mountain.

Immediately, a group of little monkeys surrounded him, each holding a divine weapon or magical artifact, which shone with magical light and flowed with Taoist charm, making Jin Xing's heart tremble with fear.

"This Flower Fruit Mountain has truly become too powerful to control. Even the lesser demons all possess great treasures. How can the heavenly soldiers possibly stand against them?"

Among the monkeys, the leader said, "Hey old man, who are you? Why are you trespassing on my sacred land of Flower Fruit Mountain, the Water Curtain Cave? Quickly state your name!"

"Gentlemen, I pay my respects."

Venus first politely bowed, and the little monkeys, seeing this, quickly returned the bow in a comical manner, which surprised Venus.

"I am an angel sent by the Supreme and Compassionate Heavenly Venerable. I have a holy decree here to invite your king to heaven to be appointed as an official. Please inform him quickly."

Upon hearing this, the little monkeys were taken aback, but were overjoyed and immediately reported it up the chain of command.

Meanwhile, deep within the grotto, the demon kings were feasting when an old monkey approached and said, “Your Majesty, an old man with white hair has come from outside, carrying a document on his back. He claims to be an angel sent by the Great Heavenly Venerable, with a holy decree inviting you to heaven.”

Upon hearing this, the Monkey King was taken aback, then overjoyed, and hurriedly said, "These past few days, I was just planning to go to Heaven to ask the Jade Emperor for an official position, but unexpectedly, an angel has come to invite me. You all should quickly follow me to welcome the old angel in."

After speaking, the Monkey King first imitated the Confucian etiquette of the Southern Continent, straightening his clothes and hat, and then greeted them at the door.

The Venus, surrounded by numerous demon kings, entered the grotto-heaven, stood facing south, and said, "I am Venus of the West. By order of the Jade Emperor and the Supreme God of the Mysterious Vault, I request Your Majesty to ascend to heaven and be granted an immortal title."

The Monkey King immediately became serious, accepted the imperial edict, and said, "Thank you for your hard work, old angel. Minions, quickly prepare a grand banquet to entertain the old angel."

Upon hearing this, Venus quickly said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am carrying the imperial decree and dare not linger. Why don't you come with me? We can reminisce about our past friendship after you have been promoted to a higher position."

Upon hearing this, the monkey instinctively felt it made sense. He immediately apologized to the demon kings and then instructed General Bengba and Marshal Ma Liu: "Train your children and grandchildren well and be strict with them. I, your old grandson, will go to heaven to investigate and then take you all to live in heaven."

Upon hearing this, the four old monkeys quickly agreed, saying, "We will obey Your Majesty's decree."

A moment later, golden light and auspicious clouds rose up, soaring straight to the top of the nine heavens. This was the promotion to the rank of a high-grade celestial immortal, and his name was listed in the Cloud Rank Precious Register!
After the monkey went to heaven to pay homage to the Jade Emperor, the Great Heavenly Venerable smiled kindly and asked, "Monkey, are you a disciple of the Great Emperor of Hongmeng Juntian?"

Wukong was taken aback, then shook his head and said, "I don't know my master's name, I only know that he studied Taoism in the Taiyi Cave Heaven."

"Then that's settled."

The Jade Emperor nodded and smiled, “I see that your mind is like a wild monkey and your will is like a galloping horse, so I appoint you as the head of the Imperial Horse Stable, with the assistant supervisor, deputy supervisor, clerk, and strongman under your command, each performing their duties, so that you can tame your wild mind and subdue your galloping horse.”

"Is the position of Imperial Horse Supervisor a high-ranking one?"

The monkey, unaware of what was happening, looked towards the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor laughed and said, "Anyone who can usually serve as my imperial horse supervisor is not a True Lord or a Dao Master?"

The Monkey King was overjoyed upon hearing this, thinking to himself: I have heard of that True Lord, he is truly remarkable. In that case, I will become the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses.

After receiving the imperial decree and expressing his gratitude, the Monkey King began to take office. He immediately summoned all the officials in the prison to investigate the affairs of the prison and named hundreds of heavenly horses, all of which were fine steeds.

The good monkey was overjoyed to see the heavenly horses, each one extraordinary.

"This Heavenly Court is indeed a fairyland. These fine horses are all of dragon descent. They are extraordinary. No wonder it is said that the Heavenly Palace has all kinds of strange objects, and there is nothing like them in the world."

After reviewing the accounts, the Monkey King, his face stern, instructed his men to take care of the celestial horses. The good monkey did as he was told, taking everything seriously. He personally inspected the horses daily, and ordered the strongmen to feed them at night and let them play during the day. They were all well-nourished, strong and spirited, able to tread the mist and ascend the clouds with great strength.

……

It is said that one day in heaven is equivalent to one year on earth.

Several years passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, the Taiyi Cave Heaven was bathed in Buddhist light and filled with the chanting of Buddhist hymns. Moreover, a Western Bodhisattva came to visit.

"Namo Elementary King Buddha above, this humble monk, by the decree of the Buddha Tathagata, requests that the Buddha attend the Ullambana Festival ten years from now."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cheng smiled and asked, "I wonder why the Venerable Master is holding the Ullambana Festival?"

This Ullambana Festival is different from the Peach Banquet in Heaven.

That Peach Banquet only happens once every five hundred years.

The Ullambana Festival has been held for thousands of years, yet it is also held twice every four or five hundred years, with no discernible pattern.

The Bodhisattva shook his head repeatedly and said, "This humble monk does not know. The World Honored One, the Buddha, has not made it clear, so this humble monk dares not speculate."

Zhou Cheng nodded, looked the Bodhisattva over, and asked, "Is this Jin Chan, the second disciple of the Buddha?"

"I never imagined that the Buddha would hear my humble name. He was filled with trepidation and fear."

This little monk was indeed the Golden Cicada Master.

It was a cicada on the tree where the Buddha attained enlightenment. Hearing the wondrous Lotus Sutra, he was enlightened from his ignorance and thus became the Buddha's second disciple.

"In that case, please ask Venerable Jinchan to inform Venerable Buddha that he has important matters to attend to and is unable to attend. Therefore, he has asked his senior disciple to go instead. Please forgive any rudeness."

As Zhou Cheng spoke, he summoned Yi Feizi and asked him and Jin Chanzi to greet each other and become acquainted. Then he sent Jin Chanzi back to Mount Ling.

After Jin Chanzi left, Yu Yun appeared and looked at Zhou Cheng, saying, "If I remember correctly, this Jin Chan Master was demoted to the mortal realm during the Ullambana Festival."

"It's still early. It's not the Ullambana Festival yet. By then, the monkey will already be imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain. It will be at least two hundred years from now. If you observe the future, you will know."

Yu Yun couldn't help but roll her eyes and said, "How could I casually observe that sacred mountain realm?"

After making a complaint, Yu Yun, having heard something, said, "Isn't the Ullambana Festival the highest Buddhist event? Why is it held only once every two or three hundred years?"

"There is no set date; when it will be held depends entirely on the Buddha's own wishes."

Zhou Cheng explained, speculating, "I foresee that three grand gatherings will be held within a thousand years. Such frequency is probably because the Buddha is preparing for the Mara matter."

"I didn't attend this time, but next time this old Buddha will probably come to my door in person to invite me to the meeting."

Yu Yun suddenly said, "Since you can see the future of someone who has just reached the halfway point of transcendence, you should be able to see whether you will succeed in your battle against that Demon."

"I cannot see it. A thousand years later, when the great calamity erupts, I will perform a great act of annihilation. If I fail, the cause and effect will dissipate, and I will not be able to see it."

"If successful, then one will transcend to the highest level. How can those who have not transcended see the vision of the transcendent realm?"

"As for Moro, he is doomed to die no matter what."

Zhou Cheng hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and touched Yu Yun's forehead, dispelling the shared fate contract.

Yu Yun was taken aback and looked at Zhou Cheng warily: "What are you going to do?"

“A great calamity is about to begin. In the future, I will also settle my karma, and you will forget me. If I fail, I will still need to leave a foundation for you to establish yourselves in this world.”

"You've always hoped that in the future you could reach a realm of semi-transcendence through your own abilities."

"But looking to the future, I see no possibility of that."

A person who has taken a half-step beyond and can survey various conceptual worlds is an extremely rare individual.

In some conceptual worlds, there are not even any figures at the half-step transcendence level, and those who can reach the Tai Shi realm are extremely rare.

Even reaching the end of a certain path is extremely rare.

Although Yu Yun is exceptionally talented, she has only been able to reach where she is today thanks to Zhou Cheng's assistance and her previous enlightenment in the Great Luo Heaven Sacred Realm, which enabled her to achieve great supernatural powers.

The potential has actually reached its limit.

Holding Zhou Cheng in her arms, Yu Yun sighed, "Since that's the case, then I'll leave it to you."

Zhou Cheng is about to face a tribulation, and she does need a foundation and strength, at least enough to protect herself and not hold Zhou Cheng back.

"Your understanding of the profound mysteries of Yin and Yang is the same path I once walked."

"The so-called Yin and Yang encompass all the oppositions and unity in the world, including the two mysteries of order and disorder."

"This is order, which I call Wuji (the ultimate void)."

"This is disorder, which I call chaos."

“By explaining the two principles of order and disorder, we can use them as a springboard to comprehend a glimpse of the profound Dao of the Primordial Beginning.”

Zhou Cheng infused his own insights about the Great Beginning into Yu Yun's Dao Fruit.

The Daoist spirit shimmered, Yu Yun's entire body was crystal clear, rippling with the primordial radiance, her Dao fruit trembled, and she received boundless nourishment.

Such boundless and profound Daoist mysteries nearly swallowed up Yu Yun's consciousness. If it weren't for Zhou Cheng's protection, her mind would have been completely consumed by the Dao, leaving her with no more thoughts.

"There's too much, slow down... let me take my time and reflect on it slowly."

Yu Yun felt her consciousness becoming chaotic, with endless principles explaining the unity of opposites, using the concepts of Yin and Yang to illustrate the profound mysteries of the Primordial Dao, flowing into her inner being.

As time goes by, more than a hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, two extraordinary phenomena were observed to occur simultaneously.

There were rolling auspicious clouds stretching for ninety thousand miles, a sign that Taiwei Hua had attained enlightenment.

Then auspicious omens descended from the heavens, golden lotuses sprang from the earth, and purple energy swept across the heavens and earth. This was the extraordinary phenomenon of Yu Yun comprehending the Great Beginning and attaining the Primordial Dao Fruit.

Taiyi Grotto Heaven, atop the Jade Terrace.

Yu Yun was immersed in the Daoist rhythm, her exquisite body radiating light. As she stepped on it, she could see spiritual liquid flowing and Daoist rhythms intertwining, transforming into a misty fragrance that nourished the spiritual essence within the cave.

After a long while, Yu Yun opened her eyes, looked at the spiritual liquid on the Jade Platform, waved her hand without changing her expression, and then pressed Zhou Cheng down: "You looked directly at the Great Virtue's true face and body, which is considered impolite. You should be severely punished as a warning to others!"

(End of this chapter)