WuKong: The Monkey King

Chapter 39 The Treasure is Forged

Reading the "Tao Te Ching" generated Fate within, and Sun Wukong felt quite joyful. The "Tao Te Ching" was pure and orderly in its creation of Fate; the more it produced, the greater its use. Since reading the scriptures could generate Fate, he thought there was no harm in reading them whenever he had free time.

When it came to reading the "De Jing," the latter part of the "Tao Te Ching," Sun Wukong suddenly wondered what the effect would be if he used his clones to recite the scripture together. With his magical powers, he created two clones, each identical to himself, dividing his spiritual essence into three to recite the thirty-eight chapters of the "De Jing" together.

"The highest virtue is not virtuous; therefore it has virtue. The lowest virtue never loses virtue; therefore it has no virtue..." In no time, the thirty-eight chapters of the "De Jing" were recited, and Sun Wukong checked the Fate within his clones and summed it up, only to find it increased by six hundred. It turned out that the Fate created by the two parts of the "Tao Te Ching" was the same, and having three clones did not bring about more Fate.

Sun Wukong thought about it and couldn't help but laugh at himself. Whether it was his dantian or his spiritual essence, neither would become stronger by splitting into clones; it was merely divided into parts. The method of obtaining Fate through reading scriptures was entirely through the spiritual essence. Dividing himself into three did not change this fact. His actions, he realized, were as naive as a monkey who could not differentiate between three in the morning and four in the evening, and found it amusingly childish.

The method of using clones to replace cultivation, as mentioned by Tongfeng, should only be considered when one is strong enough to fight with half their strength without danger. Then, it would be possible to send out a clone for peaceful cultivation. However, during a time of many troubles, with the Seven Great Sages not yet fully revealed, he might face danger and trials at any moment, so it was not yet feasible.

Yet, with the Yu King still in seclusion, Sun Wukong felt he needed to do something. Inspired, he decided to have one clone continue reciting scriptures, another to keep practicing the thirty-six transformations, and the third to only practice the Equal-to-Heaven staff technique. Although it was not ideal, it was a way to progress evenly.

Three years passed, and the "Tao Te Ching" was recited countless times by Sun Wukong's clones. Both the Heavenly Gang transformations and the Equal-to-Heaven staff technique improved significantly, and his cultivation advanced greatly, much to Sun Wukong's satisfaction.

One day, Sun Wukong felt as if he had sensed something and joyfully said, "The Yu King has finally reappeared. It seems that the magical treasure has been refined." He leaped out of the Water Curtain Cave and went to the mountain base to find the Yu King.

Indeed, the Yu King was standing in the mountains, his eyes brimming with joy, holding a white ring in his hands. Sun Wukong was amazed; in this journey to the West, all ring-shaped magical treasures were not to be underestimated, from the golden hoop on his head to Laojun's diamond cutter. Each was incredibly powerful, and surely the Yu King's ring was no ordinary item.

Sun Wukong approached and said, "Congratulations, brother, for refining this treasure." The Yu King replied, "This Mount Huaguo indeed surpasses Mount Aolai by far. The quality of this treasure has exceeded my expectations." He demonstrated the ring, which seemed to be made of shining silver, capable of expanding, shooting flames, and changing size at will. "This ring is called the God-Slaying Ring, given to me by my master along with the method to refine it. It can sever the connection between an opponent and their magical treasures, then claim those treasures for its own use. What do you think?"