Chapter 439: Breaking Stubbornness Requires Wukong
Sun Wukong was seeking help from himself, and Jiang Liu was somewhat hesitant about this.
It wasn't that he didn't want to save Sun Wukong from death, but rather he found Sun Wukong's current predicament strangely odd.
If it were really the Five Elements Mountain of the Tathagata, and truly the Buddhist Sutra of the Tathagata, he could of course lift it, for back on the Five Elements Mountain, Jiang Liu had already successfully rescued Sun Wukong.
However, could it be that a mere nightmare evolved into a dream, and the Tathagata it transformed into was capable of pinning Sun Wukong beneath a mountain? And could the Buddhist Sutra of the nightmare Tathagata press down on Sun Wukong so he couldn't move?
Jiang Liu found such a situation very surprising.
As Sun Wukong began to call out to him for help, a passive quest was naturally triggered, and this quest seemed to confirm the suspicions in Jiang Liu's heart.
More importantly, it solved his puzzles.
What was the name of the quest? Heart Demon!
So, what did this so-called Heart Demon refer to? The nightmare?
Or was it Sun Wukong's own Heart Demon!?
"Monkey, are you truly pressured by the Five Elements Mountain right now, and glued down by the Tathagata's Buddhist Sutra, unable to move?" As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Jiang Liu sent a message to Sun Wukong.
"Yes, master, I, Old Sun, I can't move at all now, and Zixia's life and death are unknown. Hurry, come and save me, I, I..." Sun Wukong was evidently struggling frantically, looking anxious, but he was pressed hard by the Five Elements Mountain.
In Sun Wukong's heart, only his master coming to his aide could rescue him from his predicament.
"Monkey, don't forget! Your teacher has already taken off the Buddhist Sutra for you! But why are you still trapped beneath the mountain?" Hearing Sun Wukong's response, Jiang Liu asked.
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"I, Old Sun, don't know why, by rights, the nightmare's ability shouldn't be comparable to the Tathagata's, yet, strangely enough, his Buddhist Sutra is as powerful as the Tathagata's!" Sun Wukong answered, all the while shouting for Jiang Liu to save him quickly.
"Ah, it seems that your teacher only rescued your body from beneath the Five Elements Mountain, but your heart, has it always been suppressed under the mountain?" Sun Wukong's reply made Jiang Liu sigh deeply.
"My heart is suppressed under the mountain? What do you mean?" Sun Wukong was taken aback by Jiang Liu's words.
"If I am not mistaken, it is not the nightmare, nor the Buddhist Sutra that have trapped you under the Five Elements Mountain, but rather, it is you, Monkey!"
"Although you came out of the Five Elements Mountain long ago, you've been suppressed under it for five hundred years, and the Five Elements Mountain has become a curse in your heart, even a Heart Demon. The nightmare merely drew out this Heart Demon from within you! Monkey, you need to break this mountain yourself, I cannot help you," Jiang Liu said to Sun Wukong.
"A Heart Demon? So, what's pressing me down isn't the mountain, nor the Buddhist Sutra, but myself, Old Sun!?" Trusting Jiang Liu's words unconditionally, Sun Wukong fell silent.
Thinking carefully, what the teacher said seemed to make sense, right?
If the Tathagata's Buddhist Sutra could suppress him, it made no sense for a mere nightmare to have such divine skills, even if it was a dream created by the nightmare!
If he was truly so powerful, would there be anyone in the Three Realms and Six Paths who could be his match?
"So, this mountain, this Buddhist Sutra, are they all me, Old Sun!?" Taking a deep breath, Sun Wukong stopped struggling and began to murmur to himself with his head bowed.
"Amitabha, Rascal Monkey, what now, have you given up!?" The Tathagata that the nightmare transformed into looked down from above at Sun Wukong, noting that his struggling was getting weaker, and eventually stopped completely, and he asked.
However, in response to the Tathagata of the nightmare, Sun Wukong didn't reply, his mind suddenly recalling a moment from his past at the Spirit Platform of Square Inch Mountain.
At that time, when he first entered the Moon Three-Star Cave, Ancestor Bodhi asked for his name, and he only mentioned that he was an orphan, nameless and surnameless.
Then, Ancestor Bodhi said, "Looking at your appearance and behavior, you resemble a macaque. I will remove the beast radical and give you the surname Sun. As for the given name, my disciples have twelve characters in total: Guang, Da, Zhi, Hui, Zhen, Ru, Xing, Hai, Ying, Wu, Yuan, Jue. It's your turn, and it happens to be the character 'Wu'. From now on, you shall be called Sun Wukong."
At that time, Sun Wukong felt that the name Wu Kong given to him by Ancestor Bodhi was casually chosen.
It wasn't until he was learning the seventy-two transformations that the matter of his name came up again. Ancestor Bodhi once struck him with the Ruler for Discipline, mentioning he had wasted the good name Wu Kong.
At that time, he even asked if there was a deeper meaning to the name Wu Kong?
What did Ancestor Bodhi say then?
"I named you Wukong, hoping that you will not be stubbornly unenlightened. You need to understand that the vast cosmos was originally natureless at its inception, to break through obstinate ignorance you must comprehend the principle of 'Wu Kong'."
"The vast cosmos was originally natureless at its inception, to break through obstinate ignorance you must comprehend 'Wu Kong'!?" Sun Wukong, pressed under the Five Elements Mountain, murmured this phrase to himself softly.
Until now, I've never truly understood the profound meaning of that statement. But today, pinned beneath the Five Elements Mountain, Master said that this mountain, this Buddhist sutra, is but a burden one places upon oneself. Sun Wukong, for the first time, seems to have a completely different comprehension of these words.
"That day, Master saved me, yet only freed my physical form. But my heart, suppressed for five hundred years, must be liberated by myself?"
The Nightmare, transformed into the Tathagata, saw Sun Wukong laying motionless, apparently having given up struggling completely, and felt a secret thrill of joy.
Indeed, everyone has a weakness, even the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong, is no exception. By exploiting his own heart demon against him, the effort required was halved.
"Once I devour Sun Wukong's primordial spirit, my abilities will surely increase significantly. At that time, even the Daluo Golden Immortals will be within my hunting grounds, no? Despicable Jade Emperor, despicable Empress, you have suppressed me for a thousand years. This vengeance, I shall repay it sooner or later!"
Seeing that Sun Wukong seemed to have given up struggling entirely, joy surged wildly in the Nightmare's heart.
A figure like Sun Wukong, under normal circumstances, would never dare be hunted by me. But this time, he jumped into the dream realm on his own. Isn't this just offering up some tender flesh on a platter?
Crackling...
Just as the Nightmare, transformed into the Tathagata, was preparing to make a move, suddenly, a strange noise came from the Five Elements Mountain, and at the same time, the Nightmare could see cracks forming on the surface of the mountain.
"What's happening? This, isn't this the monkey's own heart demon?" Seeing the Five Elements Mountain actually showing cracks, the Nightmare was profoundly alarmed.
"So that's it, I understand now, it's actually like this..." Sun Wukong, who had been burying his head and motionless, lifted his head at this moment, his eyes shimmering brightly, no longer showing any previous fear.
The fissures on the Five Elements Mountain grew deeper and longer, and even the Buddhist sutra that had been stuck to the mountain began to dissipate like smoke.
All of a sudden, Sun Wukong stood up while shouldering the entire Five Elements Mountain.
With a sweep of the Jingu Bang, Sun Wukong instantly smashed the Five Elements Mountain to pieces.
Even the shattered mountain dissipated into thin air like wisps of smoke.
"Fiery Eyes and Golden Gaze!"
Sun Wukong let out a low shout in his heart, and golden flames flickered in his eyes as he glanced at the Nightmare that had taken the form of Tathagata.
"That's right, Master certainly didn't speak wrongly. The truth of the matter turns out to be this!" Holding the Jingu Bang, Sun Wukong took steps towards the Nightmare.
With the ability to see through all illusions, the Fiery Eyes and Golden Gaze, the Nightmare felt as if it had been completely seen through.
"Hmph, don't get cocky, you monkey! Witness my power!" Sun Wukong's Fiery Eyes and Golden Gaze filled the Nightmare with terror, but on the surface, it kept its composure. As it spoke, numerous figures appeared and swarmed towards Sun Wukong.
However, Sun Wukong, holding the Jingu Bang, totally ignored these assaultive doppelgängers of the Nightmare.
These attacking doppelgängers of the Nightmare turned out to be illusions within the dream realm, directly passing through Sun Wukong's body.
Without any unnecessary words, Sun Wukong lifted the Jingu Bang in his hands and smashed it down fiercely in front of him.
A scream arose, and a figure was sent flying away by Sun Wukong!
"Nightmare? Your ability is indeed formidable. Even I, Old Sun, nearly fell into your trap. However, I have to thank you. Without you, I, Old Sun, wouldn't have broken through the demon in my heart!" Holding the Jingu Bang, Sun Wukong confidently spoke as he could see through the Nightmare's illusions.
"No, it's impossible. How can you see through me... This is a world within a dream. I, I am the ruler of this world..." Watching Sun Wukong approach step by step, the Nightmare was panic-stricken and spoke in disbelief.
What the dream world looks like now, Jiang Liu naturally does not know. As far as Jiang Liu is concerned, what needed to be said has been said. From here on, it's up to Sun Wukong himself.
Only Sun Wukong himself can overcome the heart demon; no one else can be of help!
When Sun Wukong suddenly faced a life-and-death crisis, Jiang Liu's heart was, of course, filled with anxiety and even some restlessness.
However, just as Jiang Liu's heart was secretly worried, suddenly, a system prompt appeared.
Notification: Complete the task "Heart Demon", gain 60,000,000 Experience Points, and obtain an Epic Level Treasure Chest*1.
Notification: Level increased by 1, current level 57.
The consecutive system notifications brought Jiang Liu both surprise and joy. Since the "Heart Demon" task had been completed, it must mean that Sun Wukong had successfully overcome his heart demon, right?
"This seems to be the fastest task I've completed since I gained the quest function, right? An epic-level task with a reward of 60 million experience points; from accepting to completing the task, barely half a minute has passed?"
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