The throne that lasted for a thousand years has been blown down, and the towering five-phoenix building has been shaken to its very roots.
The wind rose, startling the king of Aolai Kingdom. The three markets and six streets were in a panic, with everyone closing their doors and windows, no one daring to leave. Wukong descended from his cloud and rushed into the palace gates, heading straight for the armory. Opening the doors, he saw countless weapons: swords, spears, halberds, axes, sickles, whips, rakes, crossbows, forks, and lances—all complete. He was overjoyed, saying, "How many can I carry by myself? I'll use my clone technique to move them all!" The clever Monkey King plucked a handful of hairs, chewed them, spat them out, chanted a spell, and shouted, "Transform!" They transformed into hundreds of small monkeys, who frantically grabbed and scrambled, the strong taking five or seven items, the weak taking two or three, until everything was gone. He then stepped onto a cloud, used a magic spell to summon a raging wind, and led the little monkeys back to their original place.
Five Monkeys eliminate the monkey's life and retrieve divine weapons from the East Sea.
Meanwhile, Wukong returned to Flower Fruit Mountain and found that the monkeys had no weapons to control. So he used his supernatural powers to move all the weapons in Aolai Kingdom and bring them back to Flower Fruit Mountain.
The monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain, big and small, were playing outside the cave entrance when they suddenly heard a whooshing sound. They saw countless monkey spirits, seemingly endless and scraggly, in mid-air, and were terrified, scattering and hiding in panic. A short while later, the Monkey King descended from the clouds, dispelling the mist. He shook himself, gathering his hairs, and piled his weapons haphazardly in front of the mountain, shouting, "My little ones, come and collect your weapons!"
When the monkeys saw Wukong standing alone on the flat ground, they all ran over, kowtowed, and asked what had happened. Wukong recounted how he had summoned the whirlwind and moved the weapons. After thanking him, the monkeys rushed to grab knives and swords, fight over axes and spears, and pull out bows and crossbows, shouting and playing all day long.
The next day, the camp was set up again. Wukong gathered his monkey troop, numbering over 47,000. This quickly alerted all the monsters on the mountain, including wolves, tigers, leopards, deer, foxes, badgers, lions, elephants, lion-like beasts, gorillas, bears, deer, wild boars, oxen, antelopes, blue oxen, cunning beasts, and various other demon kings from seventy-two caves, all coming to pay homage to the Monkey King. They offered tribute annually and performed seasonally. Some participated in drills, while others collected provisions according to festivals. All were neatly organized, making Flower Fruit Mountain resemble an impregnable fortress. The various demon kings also contributed drums, colorful flags, and armor, bustling about, each family practicing dances and preparing for battle daily.
Just as the Monkey King was rejoicing, he suddenly said to the crowd, "You are all skilled with bows and crossbows and proficient with weapons, but my knife is really clumsy and does not suit my needs. What should we do?"
The four old monkeys stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is a sage, and mortal soldiers are of no use to you. But we do not know if Your Majesty can go into the water?"
Wukong said, “Since I heard the Dao, I have mastered the seventy-two Earthly Fiend Transformations. My somersault cloud possesses immense supernatural powers, allowing me to conceal myself, escape, and use magic to subdue others. I have a path to heaven and a door to the earth. I can walk on the sun and moon without casting a shadow, enter metal and stone without hindrance, and cannot be drowned by water or burned by fire. Where can I not go?”
The four monkeys said, "Since Your Majesty possesses such supernatural powers, the water beneath this Iron Bridge connects to the Dragon Palace of the East Sea. If Your Majesty would be willing to go down there, find the Old Dragon King, and ask him for a weapon that suits your needs, wouldn't that be perfect?"
Wukong was delighted to hear this and said, "Wait for me to come."
The Monkey King leaped to the bridgehead, used a water-closing technique, made a hand gesture, and plunged into the waves, parting the waterway and heading straight for the seabed of the Eastern Ocean.
As they were traveling, a sea patrol yaksha suddenly appeared and blocked their way, asking, "Who is that deity who is pushing the water? Explain yourself so we can announce our arrival."
Wukong, being simple-minded, simply said, "I am Sun Wukong, a born saint from Flower Fruit Mountain, and your neighbor, the Dragon King. Why don't you recognize me?"
Upon hearing this, the Yaksha hurriedly relayed the message from the Crystal Palace: "Your Majesty, there is a naturally born saint from Flower Fruit Mountain named Sun Wukong outside. He claims to be Your Majesty's neighbor and is about to arrive at the palace."
The Dragon King of the East Sea, Ao Guang, immediately got up, thinking to himself that this was indeed the master. It turned out that the Sage Xuan Tian had sent someone to instruct the Dragon King to act according to the script given by Xuan Tian. The four seas were all under the rule of Penglai Island, and none dared to go back on their word. They simply said that the true master had arrived and that they should do as he commanded.
He quickly led his dragon sons and grandsons, along with shrimp soldiers and crab generals, out of the palace to greet them, saying, "Please come in, Immortal!" Once inside the palace, after they were seated and tea was served, he asked, "When did you attain enlightenment, Immortal, and what immortal arts did you learn?"
Wukong said, “Since I was born, I have been cultivating as a monk and have obtained a body that is neither born nor dies. Recently, I have been teaching my children and grandchildren and guarding the mountain cave, but I have no weapon. I have long heard that my virtuous neighbor enjoys the Jade Palace and the Jade Pavilion, and must have extra divine weapons. Therefore, I have come to ask for one.”
Upon hearing this, the Dragon King felt it would be impolite to refuse, so he ordered the Commander of the Mandarin Ducks to bring out a large halberd and present it to him. Wukong said, "This old Sun doesn't know how to use a halberd; please give me another one." The Dragon King then ordered the Grand Commandant to lead the Eel Warriors to bring out a nine-pronged fork. Wukong jumped down, took it, and used it for a while before putting it down, saying, "Light, light, light! It's not handy! Please give me another one." The Dragon King laughed, "Immortal, haven't you seen this fork? It weighs three thousand six hundred catties!" Wukong said, "Not handy, not handy!" The Dragon King was frightened and then ordered the Admiral and the Carp General to bring out a painted-handled halberd. That halberd weighed seven thousand two hundred catties. Upon seeing this, Wukong rushed forward, took it in his hands, and with a few flourishes and some skillful maneuvers, planted it in the middle, saying, "It's still light, light, light!" The old Dragon King was terrified and said, "Immortal, this halberd is the only heavy weapon in my palace; I have no other weapons." Wukong laughed and said, "As the ancients said, 'The Dragon King of the Sorrowful Sea has no treasures!' Go and search again. If you find anything you like, I'll offer you a price." The Dragon King said, "I truly have none more."
Just then, the Dragon Queen and Dragon Girl appeared from behind, saying, "Your Majesty, this saint is no ordinary being. The piece of divine iron in our sea treasury that stabilizes the bottom of the Milky Way has been radiating brilliant light and auspicious energy these past few days. Could it be that it was destined to encounter this saint?" The Dragon King said, "That's a measuring rod used by Yu the Great to determine the depth of the rivers and seas during his flood control efforts. It's a piece of divine iron, but what use is it?" The Dragon Queen said, "Never mind whether it's useful or not, just give it to him. Let him modify it however he wants, just send it out of the palace." The old Dragon King did as she said and told Wukong everything. Wukong said, "Take it out and let me see." The Dragon King shook his head and said, "I can't carry it, I can't lift it! You must go and see it yourself, Immortal." Wukong said, "Where is it? Lead me there." The Dragon King indeed led him to the middle of the sea treasury, where suddenly ten thousand rays of golden light appeared. The Dragon King pointed and said, "That's the one emitting light." Wukong lifted his robe and stepped forward, touched it, and found it to be an iron pillar, about the thickness of a bushel and over two zhang long. He tried his best to wring it out with both hands, saying, "It's too thick and too long. It would be better if it were shorter and thinner." After he finished speaking, the treasure shortened by several feet and became thinner by a circumference. Wukong then shook it again and said, "It would be even better if it were thinner." The treasure really did become a few inches thinner. Wukong was very happy. When he took it out of the sea treasury, he saw that it had two golden hoops at both ends and a section of black iron in the middle. Right next to the hoops was a line of engraved words that read "Ruyi Jingu Bang, 13,500 catties." He secretly rejoiced and thought to himself, "This treasure must be just what I want!" As he walked, he kept thinking and shaking it, saying, "It would be even better if it were shorter and thinner!" When he took it out, it was only twelve feet long and as thick as a bowl.
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