Chapter 43: General Yuan Soars to the Heavens to Rescue the Great Sage

Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, in the Palace of Heartbreak, within the Douluo Palace.

The Supreme Elder hung the purple-gold red gourd above the Eight Trigram Furnace, seated cross-legged upon a rush mat, and addressed the golden and silver attendants behind him: “Today, I will be refining elixirs behind closed doors. No matter who comes, I shall not see them. Go now.”

“Yes!” The golden and silver attendants bowed their heads in acknowledgment and went outside to stand guard, not allowing anyone to approach.

Not long after, the Star of Dawn shone brightly, and the venerable, kindly-faced Grand White Star descended outside the Douluo Palace. From afar, he saw the two attendants and smiled as he asked, “Immortal children, do you know where the Elder might be?”

“The master is refining elixirs behind closed doors and has left word that he will see no one. Please return,” replied the golden furnace attendant.

“I come by the Jade Emperor’s command, bearing urgent matters for the Elder. I beg you to be accommodating and report my arrival,” Grand White Star said, smiling.

“Very well, please wait here. I shall go and inform him.” Hearing that this visitor came by imperial command, the attendant set aside his hesitation, entered the palace, and went straight to the elixir chamber: “Master, Grand White Star seeks an audience.”

“Not seeing him,” the Elder replied, eyes closed in meditation, his whisk flicking softly.

“Yes!” The attendant hurried back outside, waving his hand, “The master is at a critical moment in his alchemy and cannot see you. Please return!”

“Very well!” Grand White Star had no choice; though he bore imperial command, he dared not offend the Elder. He turned from the Thirty-Three Heavens and returned to the Southern Heaven Gate.

After a while, a radiant glow shone from the west. The clear-eyed, handsome Beneficent Walker rode the clouds to the palace, and on seeing the attendants, asked anxiously, “Do you know where the Elder is?”

“The master is refining elixirs behind closed doors and has left word that he will see no one. Please return,” replied the silver furnace attendant.

“I come by the order of the South Sea Bodhisattva, seeking news of Sun Wukong. Please be accommodating and report my arrival,” Beneficent Walker said.

“Very well, please wait here. I shall go and inform him.” Hearing that this visitor came by the Bodhisattva’s command, the attendant set aside his hesitation, entered the palace, and went straight to the elixir chamber: “Master, Beneficent Walker seeks an audience.”

“Not seeing him,” the Elder replied, unmoved, eyes closed in meditation.

“Yes!” The attendant hurried back outside, waving his hand, “The master is at a critical moment in his alchemy and cannot see you. Please return!”

“Very well!” Beneficent Walker could only sigh. Though he bore the Bodhisattva’s command, he dared not force entry, so he ascended a cloud and left the Thirty-Three Heavens for Mount Putuo of the South Sea.

But soon after, a golden light streaked across the sky. General Yuan, eight feet tall with a golden crown binding his hair, arrived with his hands behind his back. He tossed out, “I’ve come to see Grandmaster,” and strode toward the palace.

“Hey, hey, hey! This is the Douluo Palace, not the Hall of Supreme Harmony! However urgent you are, you must let us report your arrival!” The golden furnace attendant stopped General Yuan, signaled to the silver attendant, and sent him inside: “Master, General Yuan seeks an audience.”

“Oh?” The Elder half-opened his eyes, divine light glimmering, and said, “Let him in.”

“Yes!” The silver attendant rushed outside, declaring, “The master will see you now!”

“Ah, many thanks!” General Yuan tapped the heads of the two attendants as he entered the elixir chamber. There, he bowed deeply: “Grandmaster, please accept your disciple’s obeisance!”

“Well, you ought to be in the Dragon Virtue Star reflecting on your mistakes. What brings you to the Palace of Heartbreak?” the Elder asked.

“Grandmaster, ever since your last admonition, I have remained on Dragon Virtue, not daring to take a single step away! It is only because my wife has long missed you and sent me to pay our respects,” General Yuan replied earnestly.

“Hmph, before, you took the name Heavenly Gang and divulged celestial secrets among mortals, committing a grave offense. According to the celestial laws, you should have your three blossoms atop your head stripped away and be cast into the cycle of reincarnation for three lifetimes! Only because the Jade Emperor considers you a guardian of the Dao and an old acquaintance of the Supreme Emperor did he commute your punishment to guarding the Dragon Virtue Star, never to leave. Yet, you still fail to repent—secretly descending to the mortal world, first visiting Gao Village and then the Five Manor Temple. Do you think I am unaware?” the Elder said coldly.

“Hehehe, Grandmaster’s powers are vast, his blessings eternal, his longevity equal to Heaven, his might shakes the Three Realms, and none can rival him!” General Yuan’s flattery flowed easily, making the Elder frown as he rebuked, “Enough! Why have you come to my Douluo Palace today?”

“I beg Grandmaster to spare my brother’s life!” General Yuan’s smile vanished, and he dropped to the ground in a deep bow.

“Sun Wukong’s demonic nature has revived, and he intends to slay the celestial gods. If I do not destroy him, I fear I cannot answer to the Jade Emperor,” the Elder refused without hesitation.

“Grandmaster, this is a matter of our Daoist sect—what need have we to answer to that old Jade Emperor?” General Yuan raised his head, indignant.

“The Jade Emperor governs the Three Realms in place of the Supreme Emperor; this is fate! Sun Wukong’s slaughter of the celestial gods is defiance of fate! Since the primordial age, any who defy fate are doomed to be rejected by the Way of Heaven and perish between Heaven and Earth.” The Elder paused, then spoke gently: “Moreover, Sun Wukong was originally the demon embryo of the ancient demon Wuzhiqi, abandoned by Heaven and Earth. He should have met his calamity five hundred years ago! Only because you pleaded so earnestly, since you share the same origin, did I borrow the hand of the Western Buddha to use the light of the Dharma to dispel the demonic nature in his heart, hoping he could then walk the right path…”

General Yuan knew the Elder spoke truth. Five hundred years ago, Sun Wukong was like a demon descending, the rebirth of Wuzhiqi, defiant of Heaven’s rule, gathering countless great demons in Flower Fruit Mountain, intent on challenging the Heavenly Palace. The Daoists, seeing Sun Wukong as a Heaven-born stone monkey, could not bear to destroy his destiny, so they either feigned ignorance or pretended weakness, enabling him to rampage through the Hall of Supreme Harmony. But the Jade Emperor, long frustrated by the Daoists’ dominance in Heaven, saw their lack of effort cause Heaven’s prestige to falter, and thus deliberately drew the Western Buddha to suppress Sun Wukong…

“Shuisheng, this monkey’s demonic heart is deeply rooted. You may save him once, but not for a lifetime. Best you return,” the Elder sighed softly.

“Grandmaster, if I can save him once, I can save him again!” General Yuan knelt once more. “I implore you to return the Moonlight Treasure Box to me. I wish to guide Sun Wukong back to the righteous path!”

“You still refuse to give up?”

“I will never give up!”

“You are not regretful?”

“I will never regret!”

“Shuisheng, even if you manage to guide Sun Wukong back to the right path, he will still be subject to fate, continue his journey to the West for scriptures, and in the end, his merit will belong to the Western Buddhist sect. Why trouble yourself so?”

“The Buddha is originally of the Dao! So long as Sun Wukong returns to the right path, whether he is Buddha or Daoist, what difference does it make?” General Yuan knelt a third time.

“If that is your resolve…” The Elder pondered for a moment, drew out a square long box from his sleeve, and handed it to General Yuan: “This Map of Rivers and Mountains was originally bestowed upon you by Lady Nuwa. Only because you caused trouble in the mortal realm did I take it away. Now I return it to you officially. Use it well—do not provoke trouble again, remember this!”

“Thank you, Grandmaster!” General Yuan received the Map of Rivers and Mountains, its center inscribed with Sanskrit: “Mahaprajnaparamita.” To the left were mountains, rivers, and grass; to the right, sun, moon, and stars—

It was originally Lady Nuwa’s treasure, one of the ten supreme innate holy relics. Within the map were heaven and earth, nourishing all beings, capable of creating all things, even reversing time and space—a primordial treasure indeed.

For certain reasons, Lady Nuwa had bestowed the Map of Rivers and Mountains to General Yuan for protection, so he could act in Heaven’s stead to confer gods.

Later, for convenience, General Yuan transformed the map into a rectangular treasure box to carry close to his chest. Because his original form was the White Ape with Long Arms, who loved moonlight above all, he jokingly dubbed the treasure box: the Moonlight Treasure Box, and nothing more…