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

Chapter 354 Emperors have always been heartless; the theft of divine weapons is a sign of evil spirits.

"Haha, it's nothing, it's just so you can show off a bit," Wukong replied with a laugh.

Seeing Wukong say this, the golden cudgel immediately perked up and said, "Haha, Great Sage, behold my divine power!"

The golden cudgel transformed into countless rays of light, shimmering in the sky, radiating divine brilliance and auspicious energy.

"Alright, alright, stop showing off and come back."

Seeing that the fire was almost ready, Wukong summoned back the golden cudgel.

At this moment, the prince and his three grandsons dared not sit down and hurriedly bowed to Tang Sanzang, Wukong, and the others.

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable."

Tang Sanzang hurriedly helped him up, and Wukong frowned repeatedly at his posture, but said nothing.

"Holy monk, three elders... I was just a mortal before and did not recognize the true faces of immortals and Buddhas. Please forgive me."

The crown prince clasped his hands in apology, and the three princes knelt on the ground, calling him "Master."

After apologizing, the prince looked at Wukong and the others and said, "My three sons are all fond of martial arts. Now they have developed a Bodhi mind and wish to become disciples of the king to learn some skills. I earnestly hope that Master Sun, Master Zhu, and Master Sha will uphold the principles of heaven and earth, pass on the sage's unique skills, and teach my sons. I will certainly offer my entire fortune to support them."

Seeing that there was still money to be made, Pigsy's eyes lit up. He was about to agree when he saw Monkey speak up.

“Your Highness is so ignorant. Since your son has the heart to do good, you must not mention the slightest benefit. Just treat him with affection, that is enough. Otherwise, it will be difficult to pass on the true Dharma.”

Upon hearing this, the crown prince repeatedly apologized, saying, "Master Sun's teachings are correct. I was ignorant. I hope Master Sun will not take offense."

After speaking, the crown prince looked at his three sons again and scolded, "You three blind wretches, why don't you quickly serve tea and perform the three kneelings and nine kowtows?"

Upon hearing this, the three princes immediately knelt down and offered tea.

Upon seeing this, Wukong and his two companions happily drank the tea, and then the three princes performed the formal ceremony of becoming disciples.

Wukong and the others repeatedly urged my disciple to rise, and thus he was accepted as a disciple.

"Hahaha, very good, very good. So, I hereby decree that I will hold a banquet to thank the teachers and to lavishly entertain the holy monk and his three masters."

It is said that the crown prince gave the order, and all kinds of delicacies were prepared, each and every item was extraordinary, and a sumptuous feast ensued.

……

Thus, the third prince became a disciple and practiced martial arts every day.

Now, let's talk about Pigsy and Sandy. They are both practitioners of unorthodox methods who have attained enlightenment and are very good at cultivating themselves.

Bajie was skilled in bedroom arts, a technique of the "movement" school. He only learned from the two princes how to indulge in nightly revelry and daily battles, and he was so happy that he forgot about the throne and only felt that cultivation was wonderful.

Sha Wujing's method of nourishing the body with blood and food is a secret within the Miscellaneous Characters Sect. He must consume various kinds of living things to generate blood and energy. These living things are useless to eat dead things. Therefore, these three princes cultivated a general's appearance with a fierce aura, making them a majestic and ferocious evil king.

Although these two methods are unorthodox, if practiced correctly, they can lead to enlightenment and ascension to heaven.

If one falls into depravity, then one will become like Pigsy and Sandy, who were banished to the mortal realm, turning into a lustful demon and a murderer.

Speaking only of Wukong, what he learned was the Golden Elixir Orthodox Method, which cultivates both body and mind. It is the most extraordinary and also the most difficult to cultivate, requiring one to endure all kinds of suffering.

Therefore, when the eldest prince saw that his second and third brothers were so dashing and made extraordinary progress in their cultivation every day, he couldn't help but feel jealous, but he hid it very well.

On this day, Wukong taught his disciples to watch as the grandson of the king practiced his various martial arts skills.

"My disciple, are you troubled?"

Wukong suddenly spoke, startling the eldest prince, who then lowered his head and remained silent.

“My good disciple, you do not know that when I was seeking immortality, I traveled by bamboo raft…”

Wukong recounted to the prince the hardships he had endured in his quest for enlightenment.

From leaving his homeland to entering the temple, decades have passed.

He spent several years doing odd jobs at the mountain gate before finally receiving the true method of the Golden Elixir.

Now that you, the eldest prince, are staying at home, you have such a fortunate encounter. What is there to complain about?

“Master, I know that you are very powerful, but... seeing my second and third brothers getting stronger and more powerful every day, I feel unbalanced.”

These two learned the trick, and the hardest part was that the third prince had to eat raw meat.

The second prince was not like someone who suffered. Every day, beautiful women were sent to his room. He would just engage in sexual intercourse and forget about the world. He would gain supernatural powers.

The saying "People are not worried about scarcity but about inequality" illustrates this point.

"Alright, alright, I'll ask you for a fairy fruit so you can first gain supernatural powers and immortality, and then we can talk about cultivating your mind, how about that?" Wukong then laughed.

Upon hearing the word "immortality," the eldest prince was immediately stunned, then repeatedly kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Master, thank you, Master."

Wukong took a single step and went to the Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain, hoping to obtain a ginseng fruit from Zhen Yuanzi.

After arriving at the Wuzhuang Temple, the lesser immortals saw Wukong's true appearance and knelt down repeatedly, calling him "Uncle-Master".

Before long, Zhenyuan Daxian came over laughing and said, "Brother, I am sorry for not welcoming you properly."

After Wukong and the Great Immortal entered the pass, they were only offered tea and water before Wukong began to discuss important matters.

"To be honest with my sworn brother, when I was helping Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, there was a prince in the country who wanted to become my disciple."

"My brother petitioned my master, Taiyi, and received permission to pass on the true method of the Golden Elixir. However, that method is difficult to cultivate. Without decades of experiencing the ups and downs of life to temper one's heart, it is feared that even a beginner can not grasp it. My disciple is merely an ordinary mortal, and after several decades, I fear that..."

Before Wukong could finish speaking, the Great Immortal already knew.

"I had no idea. It turns out that my eldest nephew has something to ask for in his cultivation. In that case, Qingfeng and Mingyue, go to the Golden Cudgel and get a ginseng fruit for your junior brother."

The immortal was overjoyed that Wukong had come to him asking for medicine.

It is said that the Taiyi Heavenly Sect has many disciples, but the Great Virtue initially had only two disciples.

Therefore, the monkey's eldest disciple is the only legitimate grand-disciple of the Great Virtue at the beginning of his life.

With such a promising start, the future is bound to be extraordinary. Now is the perfect time to help them achieve something and create a positive outcome.

Upon hearing this, the Great Sage repeatedly stood up to express his gratitude.

The immortal then laughed and said, "This is a small matter, no need for thanks."

The immortal then took Wukong and treated him to a meal before sending him away.

……

When Wukong returned to the Kingdom of Yuhua, it was already late at night.

Wukong summoned the Great Prince and said, "I have obtained the elixir of immortality for you, so that you may attain enlightenment through unorthodox means. But you must know that even unorthodox enlightenment is subject to the five signs of decay. If you do not cultivate diligently, you will simply turn to ashes when your time comes."

Upon hearing this, the eldest prince immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.

Wukong then took out the herb-rejuvenating pill and instructed the prince to swallow it in a few bites.

It is said that the various medicinal powers circulate throughout the body, resisting the evil spirits of the flesh, creating a flawless appearance, and granting a lifespan of 47,000 years.

"Remember, remember, you must not let anyone know that you have taken the Herb Rejuvenation Pill, otherwise evil spirits may use you as human flesh to make medicine, put you into the furnace, and refine you into the power of immortality."

The eldest prince was startled and quickly said, "There really is such a demon?"

"Hehe, a demon... he might not be a demon after all." Wukong just smiled and didn't elaborate, but repeatedly warned that no one else should know.

The eldest prince readily agreed.

As if he had thought of something, Wukong said again, "Even your parents and brothers cannot be taught to know."

Upon hearing this, the eldest prince smiled and said, "If my master doesn't tell me, I can't possibly teach them."

This time it was Wukong's turn to be taken aback, and he couldn't help but sigh, "Indeed, the imperial family is the most ruthless."

“What Master said is indeed refined and true.”

The royal heirs of the imperial family have already grown up; how could they possibly act so naive?
"Alright, now that you have achieved immortality, you should diligently practice your martial arts and supernatural powers, cultivating without slacking off every day. When you achieve the Golden Core, I will impart to you supreme supernatural powers, teaching you to be renowned throughout heaven and earth, and to be the number one among immortals."

The eldest prince's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Master, what kind of supernatural power is this?"

"This supernatural power is called the Initial True Understanding, which is the ancestor of all supernatural powers and techniques. If you understand the Initial True Understanding, you will be able to master all kinds of supernatural powers and techniques."

"But there is only one point: if you cannot cultivate the Golden Core and achieve the true fruition, you will immediately bleed from all seven orifices, die suddenly, and be reduced to ashes when you try to use this True Understanding Sacred Method. Therefore, I cannot pass it on to you now."

The original solution doesn't have such limitations.

If you can't learn it, you can't learn it; it doesn't cause any other harm.

However, Wukong said this on purpose, and while speaking, he also used the Buddha's ability to chant in Sanskrit, which frightened the prince so much that he changed color repeatedly, and at the same time, he was determined to achieve enlightenment.

"I will diligently cultivate myself every day and not cause my master any worry."

After sitting for a night, the eldest prince woke up in the morning and felt no fatigue at all, and began to practice his martial arts.

The stick that used to be used to snapped with a crack today after only a slight swing.

"This……"

The eldest prince was taken aback, and immediately ordered someone to bring him a fine steel rod.

With just a little force, the steel rod broke.

"What should I do?"

Just as the eldest prince was feeling troubled, Wukong suddenly appeared and pointed at the broken steel rod.

Instantly, boundless power intervened, transforming the steel rod into a piece of divine iron. Extraordinary phenomena arose, with ten thousand rays of light soaring into the sky and auspicious energy covering the earth in countless ways.

Such a strange phenomenon naturally alarmed countless people. The Crown Prince, along with his second and third grandsons, came here, followed by a large multitude of others, all of whom witnessed this divine iron.

"This is divine iron that I have inspired. You have forged it into an iron rod by your own hands, and thus it has the ability to do as you please. In the future, it can protect the Dharma and subdue demons, and grow with you."

Wukong patted the eldest prince on the shoulder.

Upon hearing this, the eldest prince was extremely grateful and immediately knelt down to kowtow.

The second and third princes were envious and said they would ask Pigsy and Sandy for a piece of divine iron to forge into a weapon themselves.

Bajie and Sha Wujing had no ability to manipulate fate, so they immediately approached Wukong.

"Brother, your two nephews also want a divine iron to be forged by hand into a protective spiritual weapon. I hope you will spare no effort."

Bajie and Sha Wujing found Wukong and offered him this advice.

Upon hearing this, Wukong laughed and said, "I wondered what this was all about. This is easy."

It is said that Wukong used his supernatural powers, as if he had turned stone into gold, transforming two large stones into divine iron, both of which were filled with radiant light that soared into the sky and auspicious energy that enveloped the jade-like surface.

Pigsy and Sandy thanked him repeatedly, and then gave the two pieces of divine iron to their second disciple.

The second disciple was overjoyed and wept. After thanking them, he then pleaded with the old pig and Sandy.

The second prince kowtowed repeatedly and said, "Master, please allow me to request that you lend me your divine weapon and have craftsmen forge a weapon in this style. I wonder if you would allow it?"

Upon hearing this, Pigsy laughed and said, "Good! Good! Good! That makes sense. It should be so. In the future, when you travel across the four continents and summon your weapons, everyone will know that you are my disciple, Marshal Tianpeng."

Seeing this, the third prince also made the same request to Sha Wujing, and Sha Wujing readily agreed.

On that day, the eldest prince saw his two younger brothers borrow their respective masters' divine weapons and have them made in the same style. He was filled with envy and immediately went to ask Wukong for help.

Wukong did not refuse and ordered the golden cudgel to follow his eldest disciple.

The three divine weapons, along with three pieces of spiritual iron, created an auspicious aura that illuminated the heavens and could be seen within a radius of hundreds of miles; it was truly extraordinary.

……

As the saying goes, one should not flaunt one's wealth. Such unusual phenomena would naturally attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

It is said that there is a Leopard Head Mountain, which is only a hundred miles away from the city of Yuhua Kingdom.

There is a Tiger's Mouth Cave in the mountains, and there lives a demon cultivating in the cave.

At night, the demon saw a bright light shining in Yuhua County. She looked from afar and saw three divine weapons and three pieces of spirit iron. She was overjoyed.

"Excellent, excellent! Such a treasure is rightfully mine. Take it!"

That demon was extraordinary; it had a master behind it and supernatural powers in its hands. It reached out from dozens of miles away and took away the three divine weapons and the three pieces of spirit iron without making a sound.

Now, how extraordinary is that golden cudgel? It possesses intelligence like a human, and is itself a weapon of great supernatural power. It can revive on its own, and even the gods and Buddhas in heaven may not be able to defeat this golden cudgel.

Even so, the golden cudgel itself did not realize that it had been taken away. By the time it came to its senses, it had already been sealed.

The next morning, the three princes went to forge weapons, only to find that the three divine weapons were missing, and they were greatly alarmed.

They hurriedly went to find Wukong and the other two to ask if they had been taken away by their three masters.

Upon hearing this, Pigsy and Sandy both looked terrified.

Their supernatural abilities were originally quite ordinary; they relied entirely on their decent weapons. Now that they have lost their weapons, they have no ability to protect the Dharma whatsoever.

Bajie quickly looked at Wukong: "Brother, you have great supernatural powers, please take a look and see where our weapons have gone."

Sha Wujing echoed, "Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother."

Wukong simply said that he activated the Double Pupil Technique and saw the past.

Suddenly, a hand appeared from the vast sky and took away all three divine weapons along with the spirit iron.

Immediately, Wukong knew that his golden cudgel had been stolen. However, even with his supernatural powers, he could not find any trace of it.

Even if the golden cudgel is lost, it should be found by oneself.

It is likely that they were manipulated by villains.

"Are there any evil spirits or demons around here?" Wukong asked.

The three princes looked at each other, none of them knowing what was going on.

A short while later, the crown prince was alerted and came to the courtyard, where he learned the whole story.

After a moment's thought, the prince said, "My lords, you may not know this, but to the north of my city, there is a mountain called Leopard Head Mountain and a cave called Tiger Mouth Cave. People say there are immortals, tigers and wolves, and monsters in the cave. I have never seen them with my own eyes, so I dare not speak of them."

(End of this chapter)