Chapter 22: Sun Wukong Slaughters the Corpse to Become Heaven-Defying

These forty-nine levels of the Heavenly Ladder are indeed incomparably fierce. As Wukong stepped onto the fortieth level, he felt his mana depleted and his body drained of strength, yet the moment his feet touched the ground, the nearly four million catties of pressure dissipated instantly. Having borne such great pressure before, now that it was lifted, Wukong felt as though he was ascending to the heavens in broad daylight.

"The ladder's fortynine steps symbolize the essence of the Great Dao. Those who reach the fortieth step have all received great blessings from creation!"

A mighty divine voice sounded, unmistakably that of Di Jun.

After listening for a while, Wukong heard Di Jun say, "The final nine steps, one step one question about the Dao."

Wukong rested for a brief moment on the spot before stepping onto the forty-first stair. He stopped and heard Di Jun's voice again.

"The Western Religion speaks of cause and effect; Taoism also speaks of cause and effect. What is cause and effect?"

"Cause is simply cause, and effect is simply effect. I do not know their names, thus force to call it an obstacle! Regardless of the cause and effect of past lives, the present, or the future, anything that hinders is to be shattered with a single punch!" Wukong declared forcefully.

"Good. Although it's not the answer I had in mind, the Dao has three thousand aspects, each different. Cultivators each have their own understanding. It's good that you can see through this cause and effect," said Di Jun, and the barrier between the forty-first and forty-second steps disappeared at once.

Down below, Di Lin couldn't help but tremble, saying, "This Heaven-Defying Taoist is truly extraordinary, having reached the forty-first level! Ah, and now, he's ascended another level!"

Wukong stepped onto the forty-second level.

"Since you understand cause and effect, then I ask you, what is not included in cause and effect?" Di Jun questioned.

"Nirvana, the non-action law, is not within cause and effect! Where does the cause come from and where does the effect go?" Wukong answered, having followed Tang Sanzang, read through the Buddhist sutras extensively. Tang Sanzang was the reincarnation of Golden Cicada, with profound knowledge in Buddhism. While he spoke of the Buddhist law, Wukong would listen carefully by the side. With his high aptitude, after listening for a few years, he gained considerable insight.

After this question was answered, Wukong ascended to the forty-third level.

"Where is the heart?" Di Jun asked.

"What is the heart..." Wukong couldn't help but ponder silently, his eyes slightly closed. "Is the heart a thing? Non-thing? If the heart is a thing, where is it? If it's not a thing, where is the heart?" Suddenly he looked up, "The heart is everywhere, with no place to depend upon. The heart exists at all times."

Di Jun then removed the barrier to the forty-fourth level, and Wukong stepped up.

"Nirvana is not within cause and effect, then where is Nirvana!"

Wukong smiled slightly and said, "Nirvana is nowhere."

"Oh?" said Di Jun.

"Yet Nirvana is everywhere, with no place to depend upon," Wukong replied.

The forty-fifth level.

"Did you come here treading upon dreams?"

"Where do the dreams end? If one is within a dream, how can one know it's a dream?" Wukong countered, leaving Di Jun speechless.

The forty-sixth level.

Di Jun inquired, "Who are you?"

Wukong laughed and said, "Who are you!"

The forty-seventh level.

Di Jun asked, "Where do 'you' and 'I' come from?"

The more Wukong answered, the clearer and freer his Daoist heart felt, thoughts surging delightfully, almost answering without a second thought, "You and I, being neither you nor I, are named thus due to all things being born of cause and conditions!"

The forty-eighth level.

"What is the Doctrine of the Law?"

He answered, "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows; not the Doctrine of the Law, thus called the Doctrine! The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao!"

The forty-ninth level.

"What is the Dao?"

He answered, "The Dao lies beneath one's feet. There is no Dao in this world, wherever the feet fall, there is the Dao! Mountains of knives and seas of fire, one step back and it's doom, one step forward, and it's the Great Dao! My Dao is to shatter all that obstructs me! The Dao of Heaven is to treat all things as straw dogs, all beings as equal! With my Dao, I pursue the Heavenly Dao!"

"Good! Since it is so, you may proceed and take that magical treasure. Take care, this treasure is fierce!"

After Di Jun spoke, his divine sense faded away, and no one knew where he went. Wukong had actually walked across the forty-ninth level.

After forty-nine steps, there was a platform, and the Sun-Shooting Bow and Sun-Shooting Arrow were suspended nine feet above it.

Di Lin feared, "The emergence of such Magical Treasure might be unfavorable to our Golden Crow Clan."

However, Di Jun said, "You and the Heaven-Defying Taoist have a karmic tie with our ancestor. Your current Cultivation Level is still shallow, and you do not understand the matter of karma. If you understood it, you wouldn't need to worry. Everything has its own cause and effect. Since he could pass the trial of our ancestor, he is deeply connected to this Magical Treasure."

After hearing this, Di Lin was left deep in thought.

Di Jun declared, "Now that the Sun-Shooting Bow and Arrow have appeared, the end days for Indra are also upon us!"

Meanwhile, Wukong approached the Sun-Shooting Bow and Arrow. The bow was gold in color, shimmering with radiance, its surface stained with spots of blood. The nine arrows were also golden, with even more blood on them. After so many years, the stains were still surprisingly bright and not yet dry! A surge of malevolent energy burst forth, enveloping the entire platform.

Disturbed by this murderous aura, Wukong's vision blurred, and he suddenly saw the great war of Ancient Times.

The Witch-Demon war, earth-shattering, shaking the heavens!

Di Jun rode his chariot pulled by nine dragons, traversing in all directions, battling tribes across the world to ultimately claim the title of Heavenly Emperor. Then the Witch Clan rose, and in the ensuing battle between the two, blood stained the Nine Heavens, the earth shattered, rivers formed from the blood... Gonggong in his rage smashed into Mount Buzhou, causing the Heavenly Pillar to collapse. Eastern Emperor Taiyi, wielding a great bell, battled fiercely in all directions, the Twelve Ancestral Witches formed a great array, burning their Primordial Spirits to severely wound the Eastern Emperor; Hou Yi with the Sun Shooting Divine Bow pursued the nine Golden Crows, his arrows splitting the heavens, rain of blood scattering; Chi You and Xing Tian fought Di Jun, burned to death by the power of the sun, with Xing Tian's head being severed; Nine Heavens Profound Lady joined with the Three Pure Ones to battle Di Jun; Zhun Ti and another fiercely fought Eastern Emperor Taiyi...

Wukong felt the evil within his Dao heart surge suddenly, murderous intent overflowing from him!

"This isn't good. This Magical Treasure has witnessed an Ancient war and is imbued with endless resentment and murderous intent. If this continues, I fear I won't be the one wielding this Magical Treasure, but it will control me," Wukong thought to himself. He sat down cross-legged and began reciting the 'Song of Righteous Qi' aloud.

"Heaven and Earth possess righteous Qi, randomly bestowed to shape form; below, it becomes rivers and mountains, above, it becomes the sun and stars. In people, it's called 'vast', pouring into the dark expanse of the universe..."

The cries of slaughter clashed vividly with Wukong's loud recitation, both colliding and reverberating ceaselessly.

Wukong, poisoned by the Buddhist Sect, harbored extreme hatred toward Buddhism, and evil thoughts quietly blossomed in his Dao heart, turning extremely fierce. Now, triggered by the boundless murderous intent of the Sun-Shooting Bow and Arrow, they surged with great force! Wukong used the 'Song of Righteous Qi' to counter it, attempting to suppress the evil thoughts.

Thus, within his Dao heart, the two Wukongs battled furiously.

"To achieve Dao, I must Slay the Three Corpses, evil thoughts, good thoughts, and the self. Now, these evil thoughts have begun to emerge even before I reached the level of a Daluo Golden Immortal. What would happen if I slay them now?" A thought flashed through Wukong's mind, yet he dared not take the risk, for Slaying the Three Corpses was a feat only Daluo Golden Immortals would dare attempt.

To cut off evil thoughts and good thoughts is to become a Sect Founder Level being, a Semi-Saint. Only the self is the hardest to sever.

Retreat began to creep into Wukong's heart, but at that moment, the nine layers of stairs quivered in unison.

"Cause is cause, effect is effect. I do not know its name, and so forcefully call it obstruction! Never mind the karma of past lives, present, and future, any obstacle will be shattered with one punch!" The voice of Di Jun came, piercing the heavens like a massive bell, but only Wukong could hear it. Di Jun and his son, standing below the stairs, were not so fortunate to receive this chance, "If you intend to shatter everything, yet hesitate and flinch, what kind of stature is that!"

"The Dao lies beneath one's feet; in this world, there is no inherent Dao. Wherever one's feet fall, that is the Dao! Through mountains of knives and seas of fire, if you retreat, you become ash of calamity; but if you advance, you are on the great Dao! My Dao is to shatter all that obstructs me! The Dao of Heaven is for all creatures to be equal. With my Dao, I pursue the Heavenly Dao!" Di Jun's voice boomed like thunder, as if a bucket of cold water was poured over one's head, causing Wukong to shiver,"If you wish to pursue the Heavenly Dao with your own Dao, then why the hesitation now? If you take a step back, you become ash of calamity!"

This scolding jolted Wukong into a cold sweat, but it also clarified his thoughts. He had harbored thoughts of slaying evil, yet he contemplated retreating. Wouldn't that be denying his own Dao? This was decidedly unacceptable!

"The body is the Bodhi tree, the mind like a bright mirror's stand; originally there is nothing, where can dust alight? The good is me, the evil also is me, I am still me! I am Wukong, and I am also Heaven-Defying; the good is Wukong, and also Heaven-Defying; the evil is Wukong, and also Heaven-Defying! Therefore, today I will slay this evil thought and entrust it to the Heaven-Defying Taoist!"

"I want — to fight, to combat, to win!"

With a resolute heart, Wukong set out to slay his evil thoughts, and instantly his Primordial Spirit transformed into a Heavenly Saber, shimmering with a cold light.

His Primordial Spirit left his body, and with a slash, Wukong was cleaved into two halves, which then became two separate people.

At that moment, the pain in his Primordial Spirit was unbearable, as if being torn apart; the torment was indescribable, so intense that even Wukong's willpower could not help but to howl in agony to the skies.

In a moment, after the pain had passed, the two Wukongs finally calmed down.

The evil thought that was severed wore a black Taoist robe, of middle age, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, but the murderous aura between his brows was overwhelmingly dense. A mere shift of his gaze was enough to send shivers down one's spine!

"This act of Slaying the Three Corpses is truly terrifying. Had I not thoroughly understood my Dao on those nine steps, I might have slain not the evil thoughts but myself!" Wukong thought to himself.

Di Lin gaped in shock, his voice trembling, "Slaying the Three Corpses! A Taiyi Golden Immortal, to slay one's own thought? Who is this Heaven-Defying Taoist!"

Di Chen asked, "Father, what does 'Slaying the Three Corpses' mean?"

Di Lin shook his head, "I don't quite understand it myself; I only know that this person has severed one corpse!"

Di Chen said with a smile, "It's merely an additional incarnation."

Di Lin corrected, "It's not an incarnation! Look at that body, it clearly also possesses Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivation level, just with a much denser killing aura... If you were to create an incarnation, would it have even seventy percent of your own cultivation level? That would be incredibly impressive!"

Di Chen's smile froze, and he said, "Then, if we fight him, won't we be battling two Taiyi Golden Immortals?"

Di Lin, still not entirely understanding this Slaying the Three Corpses, responded, "It would seem so."

"The ancestor's Forty-Nine Heavenly Steps hold great fortune. Indra himself gained some understanding after reaching the thirty-sixth step. This Heaven-Defying Taoist is even more remarkable, having ascended to the very top. The steps above the fortieth must be a test of seeking the Dao; otherwise, he wouldn't have been there on the steps, speaking to himself those unfathomable principles... How did I not think of this? These Forty-Nine Heavenly Steps could be a place for trials for our Golden Crow Clan!" Di Lin had a sudden realization, murmuring inwardly.