One day, the Monkey King instructed his four generals to prepare a feast, inviting the six kings to drink. Oxen and horses were slaughtered, sacrifices were offered to heaven and earth, and the monsters danced and sang, all becoming thoroughly drunk. After seeing the six kings off, the Monkey King rewarded his leaders, large and small, and then, under the shade of a pine tree by the Iron Bridge, he instantly fell asleep. The four generals and their followers surrounded him, not daring to make a sound. The Monkey King, in his sleep, saw two men holding a document with the words "Sun Wukong" on it. They approached him, and without a word, put a rope around his neck and took his soul away, staggering and carrying it to the edge of a city. The Monkey King gradually awoke from his drunken stupor and looked up. On the city wall was an iron plaque with three large characters: "Netherworld." The Monkey King suddenly realized, "The Netherworld is the abode of Yama, the King of Hell. Why have I come here?" The two men replied, "Your lifespan is about to end. We have been summoned here by imperial decree." Upon hearing this, the Monkey King said, "I, Old Sun, am beyond the Three Realms and outside the Five Elements. I am no longer under his jurisdiction. How dare you, in your ignorance, come to summon me?" The two men, determined to drag him inside, kept pulling and tugging. Enraged, the Monkey King pulled out a treasure from his ear. With a flick of his wrist, it became as thick as a bowl. With a slight movement, he smashed the two men into mincemeat. He untied the ropes, threw them aside, and swung his staff into the city. The Ox-Headed Demon was terrified, hiding in all directions. The Horse-Face Demon fled in all directions, and the ghost soldiers rushed to the Yama's Palace, reporting, "Your Majesty, disaster! Disaster! A hairy-faced Thunder God is coming!"
The ten kings of the underworld, startled, hastily straightened their clothes to look. Seeing his fierce appearance, they immediately lined up their ranks and called out, "Immortal, please leave your name! Immortal, please leave your name!" The Monkey King said, "If you don't recognize me, why did you send someone to summon me?" The ten kings replied, "We dare not! We dare not! Perhaps the messenger has made a mistake." The Monkey King said, "I am Sun Wukong, the naturally born saint of the Water Curtain Cave on Flower Fruit Mountain. What are your official ranks?" The ten kings bowed and said, "We are the ten kings of the underworld." Wukong said, "Quickly state your names, or you will be beaten!" The ten kings said, "We are King Qin Guang, King Chu Jiang, King Song Di, and King Wu..." "King Guan, King Yama, King Pingdeng, King Taishan, King Dushi, King Biancheng, King Zhuanlun," Wukong said. "Since you have ascended to the throne, you are all spirits and divine beings, why don't you know what's good for you? I, Old Sun, have cultivated immortality and attained the Dao, living as long as Heaven, transcending the Three Realms and escaping the Five Elements, why have you sent someone to arrest me?" The ten kings said, "Immortal, please calm your anger. There are many people with the same name and surname in the world, could it be that the death-bringer has mistakenly gone?" Wukong said, "Nonsense, nonsense! As the saying goes, officials are wrong, but the person who comes is right. Quickly bring me the Book of Life and Death!" Upon hearing this, the ten kings immediately invited him to the palace to examine it.
Holding his Ruyi Jingu Bang, Wukong ascended to the Hall of Yama and sat down in the center, facing south. The Ten Kings immediately ordered the judge in charge of records to bring out the registers for inspection. The judge dared not delay, so he went to the office and brought out five or six registers and ten categories of books, examining them one by one. Insects, hairy insects, feathered insects, worms, and scaly creatures were all unnamed. Then he saw the category of monkeys. These monkeys resembled humans but were not listed under human names; they resembled insects but did not live in any kingdom; they resembled beasts but were not under the jurisdiction of the Qilin; they resembled birds but were not under the rule of the Phoenix. There was another register, which Wukong personally inspected. Only at the entry for the character "Soul" (魂) 1350 did he find his name, Sun Wukong, a naturally born stone monkey, destined to live 342 years and die peacefully. Wukong said, "I don't remember my lifespan, so just erase my name. Bring me a pen!" The judge hurriedly brought a pen, dipped it in thick ink. Wukong took the register and crossed out all the monkeys with names listed. The caterpillar, having written in the ledger, said, "Settled accounts, settled accounts! This time I'm no longer under your jurisdiction!" He then beat his way out of the underworld. The ten kings dared not approach him and all went to the Jade Cloud Palace to worship Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, discussing how to submit a memorial to Heaven. But that's another story.
The Monkey King, having fought his way out of the city, suddenly tripped over a clump of grass, stumbled, and awoke with a start—it was all a dream. As he stretched, he heard his four generals and the rest of the monkeys shouting, "Great King, how much wine did you drink? Why didn't you wake up last night?" Wukong replied, "Waking up is the least of my worries. I dreamt that two people came to take me away, leading me to the gates of the Underworld. Only then did I realize what had happened. I used my supernatural powers, shouting all the way to the Hall of the Ten Kings of Hell, arguing with them. They looked at our Book of Life and Death, and crossed out all our names, so we are no longer under their jurisdiction." The monkeys kowtowed in gratitude. From then on, many of the mountain monkeys remained young, because they had no names in the Underworld. After the Monkey King finished recounting his story, his four generals informed the demon kings of the various caves, who all came to congratulate him. A few days later, his six sworn brothers also came to offer their congratulations. Upon hearing the reason for their names being erased, they were all overjoyed, and they spent their days in celebration.
Six monkeys ascend to the Heavenly Palace
Now, the monkey was lured into the underworld, causing trouble. In doing so, he shortened the lifespan of monkeys, attacked the underworld's divine soldiers, and angered the people in the underworld. These people were nothing more than the remnants of the witch clan and the people of Penglai Island, all of whom possessed considerable magical power. If someone hadn't secretly intervened beforehand, the monkey, with its meager cultivation, would have had a real difficulty escaping the underworld.
Inside the Dutian Palace on Penglai Island.
Xuan Tian sat on the futon as always. He didn't know why, but before he became a saint, he used to go out and see the things in the world and enjoy the scenery. He had done a lot of things like that. But after becoming a saint, he changed his temperament and no longer felt that going out was good. He rarely went out except to preach to the living beings on the island. He mostly sat on the futon, his primordial spirit entrusting itself to the void, wandering in the vast emptiness, and comprehending the ultimate truth of the heavenly way.
Perhaps he truly is a saint, seeing all things as mere ants, not worth a glance.
Below, two people knelt in worship. One was dressed in a dragon robe, gleaming with gold, bound at the waist with a gold belt, wearing a golden crown, with dragon whiskers entwined around his head. He had a ruddy complexion and white teeth, and was quite handsome. The other was dressed in a dark black robe. Although he lacked the golden majesty, he exuded an imposing aura. He wore a black hair crown and his face was also dark. Both of them knelt quietly before Xuan Tian, not daring to make the slightest move.
Xuan Tian said, "Get up, all of you."
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