This is a fresh, complete English translation of Wu Cheng’en’s public-domain one-hundred-chapter novel, produced with GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark assistance. It is an AI-assisted first edition, not a reproduction of an existing translation.

Once the Handsome Monkey King was given his name, he rejoiced and bowed before Patriarch Bodhi to offer thanks. The Patriarch immediately ordered the assembly to escort Sun Wukong beyond the second gate and taught him the rules for sweeping and cleaning, responding, and advancing or retreating with proper timing. The immortals obeyed and took him out. Sun Wukong, outside the gate, bowed again to the elder brothers and arranged his bedding between the hall colonnades. The next morning he studied with them: speech and etiquette, discussing sutras and doctrine, practicing calligraphy, and burning incense. Every day went on like this. In his spare time he swept the ground, dug the garden, tended flowers and trees, gathered firewood and kindled the fire, fetched water, and hauled gruel. For all household needs, nothing was lacking. In the cave he passed six or seven years without realizing it.

Flowers fell like blossoms from the sky, and golden lotuses surged forth from the earth. He wondrously expounded the three trainings, and the subtle Dharma in full was complete. Gently he swayed the yak-tail whisk, spouting pearls and jade. Its peal rang like thunder, shaking the Ninth Heaven. At times he spoke of the Dao; at times he explained Chan. The three teachings moved together, each true in harmony. He opened the one-syllable path of luminous faith and returning, guiding toward non-born awakened nature, profound and wondrous.

Sun Wukong heard the sermon from nearby and, delighted, pulled his ears and scratched his cheek, brows arched, eyes laughing. He could not help but have his hands dance and his feet move. Suddenly the Patriarch noticed him and called out, “In this assembly, why are you leaping and capering wildly, not listening to my teaching?” Sun Wukong replied, “Disciple listened with a sincere heart. Hearing the Master’s wondrous tones, joy overflowed and I could not restrain myself from this lively movement. Please forgive this offense.” The Patriarch said, “You already recognize the wondrous sound. Then tell me, how long have you been in this cave?” Sun Wukong said, “Disciple was originally obtuse and does not know how long it has been. Only this I remember: there was no fire under the stove, so I often went behind the mountain to gather firewood, found a good peach tree, and ate my fill there seven times.” The Patriarch said, “That mountain is called Rotten Peach Mountain. Since you ate seven times there, you must have been seven years. What is it you wish to learn from me now?” Sun Wukong said, “As for the Master’s instruction, whatever is taught, if it be even a little Dao-qi, disciple will study it.”

The Patriarch said, “Within the gate of the character Dao there are three hundred and sixty side-gates, and each side-gate has its own attainment. Do you know which one you want to learn?” Sun Wukong said, “As the Venerable Master wills, disciple listens with all his heart.” The Patriarch said, “I’ll teach you the way of the gate called Shu. What do you think?” Sun Wukong asked, “What is the doctrine of the Shu gate?” The Patriarch said, “The Shu gate contains arts of summoning immortals, invoking phoenixes, divination, and divining with yarrow stalks, knowing how to seek auspiciousness and avoid misfortune.” Sun Wukong asked, “Can one gain longevity this way?” The Patriarch said, “No, no.” Sun Wukong said, “Then no, I won’t learn it.”

The Patriarch said again, "I will teach you the way of the gate called Liu; how does it sound?" Sun Wukong asked again, "What principle lies in the Liu gate?" The Patriarch said, "In the Liu gate are the teachings of the Confucians, Buddhists, Daoists, Yin-Yang masters, Mohists, and physicians: reading sutras, reciting Buddha, and worshipping descending spirits and ascendant sages." Sun Wukong asked, "Will this attain longevity?" The Patriarch said, "If you seek longevity, this is like setting a pillar inside the wall." Sun Wukong said, "Master, I am plainspoken and do not understand market-tongue. What does it mean, a pillar set inside the wall?" The Patriarch said, "When building a house to make it sturdy, people set a beam between two walls. If one day the great hall topples, that beam will surely rot first." Sun Wukong said, "From this it is not lasting. No, I will not learn it."

The Patriarch said, "I will teach you the way of the gate called Jing; how does it sound?" Sun Wukong asked, "What fruit comes from the gate of Jing?" The Patriarch said, "It is fasting and guarding grain, practicing quietude and non-action, Chan contemplation and seated meditation, mantra recitation and keeping fasts, sometimes sleeping cultivation, sometimes standing cultivation, and also entering stillness, sealing in meditation, and all that sort." Sun Wukong asked, "Can this too lead to longevity?" The Patriarch said, "It is like unfired kiln bricks." Sun Wukong laughed. "Master, you truly possess some subtle art. Disciple cannot play market talk. How is that a 'unfired kiln brick'?" The Patriarch said, "Just as bricks and tiles shaped at a kiln yard have form already, yet have not been tempered by water and fire; when a torrential rain comes, they will all be ruined." Sun Wukong said, "Not enduring. No, I will not learn it."

The Patriarch said, “I will teach you the gate of Dong. How is it?” Sun Wukong asked, “What is the Dong gate?” The Patriarch said, “This is active technique: taking yin and supplementing yang, drawing a bow and using a crossbow, pressing the navel to pass the qi, making formulas and elixirs, firing hemp and forging cauldrons, ingesting red lead, refining autumnal stones, and also taking women’s milk, among others.” Sun Wukong asked, “Could one gain longevity by this?” The Patriarch said, “Seeking longevity this way is like trying to snatch the moon from the water.” Sun Wukong said, “Master, again—what do you mean by ‘snatching the moon from the water’?” The Patriarch said, “The moon is in the high heavens; in the water there is only its reflection. You can see it, but there is no point to grasp.” Sun Wukong said, “Also not. I will not learn it.”

Hearing this, the Patriarch cried out sharply, leapt down from the high dais, and, holding the disciple’s admonitory ruler, pointed at Sun Wukong: "You wild monkey, refusing this one, refusing that one—what do you expect?" He stepped forward and struck the top of Sun Wukong’s head three times. With his hands still behind his back, he walked inside, shut the center gate, and left the assembly behind him. The gathered disciples were startled into fear; all complained against Sun Wukong: "You reckless monkey, utterly shameless. The Patriarch imparts the teachings and you refuse to learn, then argue with him? You offended him so—who can say when he will let you out?" The whole assembly blamed him, looked down on him, and felt contempt. Sun Wukong was not even angry; only a smile of obedience sat on his face. The Monkey King had already broken the hidden riddle of the Patriarch’s words in his heart, and therefore he did not contend with others, choosing only to endure in silence. The three blows from the Patriarch taught him that he should keep intent through the third watch; the hands-behind-back gait into the hall and the shutting of the central gate taught him to come through the back gate and receive the secret transmission.

That day, Sun Wukong and the others were all in delighted mood in front of the Three-Star Cave, waiting for dusk and unable to bear the coming night. At evening they lay down together and, feigning sleep, steadied their breath and preserved their spirit. No watch was beaten in the mountain, and no one rang the bell, so he could not know the hour; he simply regulated the flow of breath in his own nostrils. Around the stroke of midnight he rose softly, put on his robes, slipped out through the front gate, avoided the assembly, and went out into the open. Raising his head, he looked up, and there before him was precisely:

Moonlight clear, the dew cold and bright; the eight directions far, untouched by dust. Deep trees where secret birds keep their roost, and at the source the water threads and slips away. Firefly light scatters shadows; migrating geese trace lines through the clouds. The third watch is exactly upon us; this is the moment to seek the True Dao.

You can see he came by the old path to the back gate and found the door half-open and half-shut. Sun Wukong rejoiced: “The Venerable Master truly intended to transmit the Dao to me, so he has left this gate open.” He stepped forward, sidled in, and went only as far as under the Patriarch’s bed. He saw the Patriarch crouched with knees drawn up, sleeping inward-facing. Sun Wukong did not dare to wake him and knelt by the bed. After a moment the Patriarch woke, stretched his two feet, and began softly chanting:

"Difficult! Difficult! Difficult! The Dao is most profound. Do not treat the Golden Elixir as common. Without meeting a perfect master who can transmit the wondrous secret, empty words only dry out the tongue and throat!"

Sun Wukong answered at once, “Master, disciple has been kneeling and waiting here for a long while.” Hearing it was Sun Wukong’s voice, the Patriarch rose, pulled on his robe, sat cross-legged, and cried, “You monkey, why were you not sleeping in front with the others and then come behind me at this time?” Sun Wukong replied, “Yesterday before everyone on the platform, you had already granted that at the third watch you would transmit the Dao through the back gate to me, so I boldly came straight here to bow at the foot of your bed.” The Patriarch, greatly pleased, thought inwardly, “This fellow is truly born of Heaven and Earth—how else could he have broken through my hidden riddle from within the bowl?” Sun Wukong said, “There is no other person here, only disciple alone. Please be gracious, Master, and pass on the way to long life; I will never forget your kindness.” The Patriarch said, “You now have affinity with this teaching; I am also glad to speak. Since you have understood the hidden bowl-riddle, come nearer and listen carefully; I will now transmit to you the wondrous way of long life.” Sun Wukong knelt in thanks and listened with all his ear and heart, kneeling beneath the bed. The Patriarch spoke:

The true wondrous secret of the perfect and complete esoteric transmission, for the cultivation of life and nature—there is no other doctrine to say. In all things is merely essence, vital breath, and spirit: guard them securely, seal them firmly, do not let them leak. Let there be no leakage; keep it stored in the body. If you receive my transmission of the Dao, it will thrive. Memorize the oral formula; it contains many benefits. Remove perverse desire and you will become cool and clear. When clear and cool, your light is pure and bright, fit to stand at the elixir altar and admire the bright moon. The moon hides the jade rabbit; the sun hides the crow. Therein are the tortoise and serpent coiling together. When they are coiled together, life and nature are made firm; then one can sow golden lotuses in fire. Gather together the five phases and apply them in reversal; when the work is complete, one may become Buddha and immortal together.

At that moment he had disclosed the root source, and Sun Wukong’s spirit was illuminated; he remembered every syllable of the formula exactly. He thanked the Patriarch deeply for boundless grace, then left by the back gate to look out. He saw the eastern sky just barely whitening and golden light blazing clear in the west. He returned by the same path to the front gate and quietly pushed it open. He sat back in his original place, and then shook the bed frame so it rattled, calling out, "Daylight has come, daylight has come—rise!" The assembly was still sleeping and did not know Sun Wukong had obtained the precious teaching. From that morning onward he moved about as before, hiding inwardly what he had gained, and by noon he practiced and regulated his breath.

Three years passed. The Patriarch again mounted the precious seat and taught the assembly. He spoke of precedents and parables, and discoursed on outer forms and skins. Suddenly he asked, "Where is Wukong?" Sun Wukong came forward and knelt: "Disciple is here." The Patriarch said, "What sort of Dao have you been practicing lately?" Sun Wukong answered, "Disciple’s understanding of Dharma has become fairly thorough; the root source is growing firm as well." The Patriarch said, "If you already comprehend the Dharma nature and know the root, and have already placed the spirit in the body, then still guard yourself against three dangers and harms." Sun Wukong reflected and after long thought said, "Your words are mistaken, Master. I have heard that the higher Way and lofty virtue lengthen life to equal Heaven; when water and fire are in harmony, a hundred illnesses do not arise. Then how can there be these three dangers and harms?" The Patriarch said, "This is an extraordinary Way: it seizes Heaven and Earth’s creative qi and intrudes on the secret mechanisms of sun and moon. Once the elixir is perfected, ghosts and spirits cannot endure it. Though it fixes the countenance and adds years, after five hundred years Heaven will bring down thunder and strike you; you must know your nature, awaken your mind, and avoid it in advance. If you evade it, your life will equal Heaven; if you do not, your life ends there. Five hundred years later, Heaven will send fire to burn you. This fire is neither heavenly fire nor common fire; it is called 'yin-fire'. It rises from your own Yongquan source point, burns through to the lower dantian hall, the five viscera become ash, and the limbs rot away, so all your thousand years of hard practice become illusion. Five hundred years again, Heaven will send wind to crush you. This is not wind from the east, south, west, or north; not aromatic gold wind, nor plum, willow, pine, or bamboo wind. It is called 'bì-feng' wind. It enters from the heart gate into the six bowels, passes the dantian, pierces the nine orifices, and the flesh and bones grow loose, the body coming apart. Therefore one must outwit all three calamities."

Sun Wukong heard this and shivered. He knelt and bowed, saying, "Please, Venerable Master, show mercy and pass on the methods for avoiding the three disasters; I dare not forget this kindness." The Patriarch said, "This is not difficult, but you are not like others, so it cannot be handed to everyone." Sun Wukong replied, "My head is round, touching heaven; my feet are square, treading earth. Like others I have nine apertures, four limbs, five viscera, six bowels. In what way am I different from other men?" The Patriarch said, "Though you look like a man, you have one less cheek." Indeed the monkey had a hooked face and hollow cheeks with a pointed muzzle. Sun Wukong reached up, felt his face, and laughed, "Master has not weighed it well. Though I have one less cheek, I have this plain-white pouch more than men, and that should make up the deficit as well." The Patriarch said, "Enough. What do you wish to study? There is the celestial-number arts: thirty-six transformations. There is also the earth-number arts: seventy-two transformations." Sun Wukong said, "Disciple would like to feel and seize the measure and learn one earth-number transformation." The Patriarch said, "Then come forward; I will transmit the oral formula." He bent close to Sun Wukong’s ear and whispered softly, no one knowing what wondrous methods were spoken. The Monkey King, once one aperture opened, had all the hundred opened at once; he promptly practiced the formula, self-cultivated and self-refined, and mastered all seventy-two transformations.

One day, the Patriarch and the assembly in the Three-Star Cave played and lingered into dusk. The Patriarch asked, "Wukong, have you accomplished your task?" Sun Wukong said, "Thanks to the Master’s vast grace, disciple’s results are complete and perfected; I can already mount and rise through rosy cloud-flight." The Patriarch said, "Show me this cloud-raising flight." Sun Wukong displayed his art: he straightened his body, made one linked backward-somersault, leapt five or six zhang into the air, rose on cloud and mist, and returned in less than one return of a meal-time. He landed before the Master and said, "Reverend Father, this is what is called cloud-rising and lifting." The Patriarch laughed, "That does not count as rising through clouds; it is only climbing them. From old times the saying runs: 'A true immortal goes north to the sea at dawn and to Cangwu by dusk.' In half a day, if you cannot go beyond three li and are only climbing the clouds, it is still not enough." Sun Wukong asked, "How does one 'go to Cangwu by dusk after leaving for the north sea at dawn'?" The Patriarch said, "One who truly flies the cloud rises from the North Sea at first light, travels the East, West, and South Seas, then turns to Cangwu. Cangwu is but a term for Lingling in the North Sea. Only one who goes to all four seas within a single day may be said to have ridden cloud and risen." Sun Wukong said, "That is hard. Very hard." The Patriarch replied, "Nothing is hard in this world; only let the heart be determined." Hearing this, Sun Wukong knelt and implored, "Teacher, if a man is to be thorough, then by great mercy reveal this cloud-rising method to me at once. I will never forget this debt." The Patriarch said, "All immortals who rise cloud and ascend do so by stamping and leaping up. You are not of that sort. I have just seen you: you only twisted and somersaulted in order to jump up. Given your present movement, I will teach you only a jindou cloud." Sun Wukong again bowed and begged, and the Patriarch passed on the oral formula: "With this cloud, seize the method, chant the true mantra, clench your fists tight, give your body a shake, and leap. In one jindou cloud you travel ten thousand and eight thousand li." The disciples heard and all burst into laughter: "Wukong’s destiny! If he can truly use this technique, he could serve as courier, messenger, or errand runner for anyone and always find something to eat, wherever he goes." Master and disciples returned to their caves as dusk fell.

That very night Sun Wukong refined his spirit and practiced the art, and he came to master the jindou cloud. Day by day he roamed unrestrained, free and untroubled, at ease in complete freedom—that, too, was the splendor of long life.

One day, spring turning toward summer solstice, the assembly gathered under the pine trees for long discourse. The disciples said, "Wukong, what root-practice of this life have you come to inherit? When, not long ago, our Teacher leaned to your ear and whispered to you the methods for dodging three disasters and transformations, have you mastered them all?" Sun Wukong laughed: "I will not hide from my elder brothers: first, it was the Master’s instruction; second, I applied myself night and day with diligence. I have learned all those skills." The assembly said, "At this good hour, try a demonstration so we may see." Sun Wukong, hearing this, straightened himself and showed off: "Respected brothers, please set a subject. Into what must I transform?" They said, "Transform into a pine tree." Sun Wukong took up the formula, recited the incantation, and shook his body—he became a pine tree. Truly it was:

Lush and smoky with life, through four seasons it bears smoke, rising straight through the clouds, its noble form upright. Not one trace of monkey demon remains, only frost-enduring, snow-beaten branches.

The assembly clapped and laughed aloud, and crying "Good monkey, good monkey!" Their uproar rose until it startled the Patriarch. He quickly came out with his staff and asked, "Who is making such noise here?" Hearing him, the assembly hurriedly composed themselves and adjusted their robes to face forward. Sun Wukong also took back his original form and among the crowd said, "Respectful Master, we were here in mutual discussion; no outsider noise was made." The Patriarch shouted in anger, "You all raise your voices and cry out; you do not look like practitioners at all. For one who cultivates the Way, loose mouth scatters spirit, and moving the tongue gives birth to disputes. How can you shout and laugh so here?" The assembly answered, "We do not dare to conceal it, Master: not long ago Sun Wukong demonstrated a transformation for us. We instructed him to become a pine tree and he indeed became one. All the brothers praised and applauded him, thus we raised our voices and disturbed you by mistake. Please forgive this fault."

The Patriarch said, 'You all, go and leave.' Then he called out, 'Sun Wukong, come here! I ask what divine art you have now shown, and why you changed yourself into a pine-tree. Is this an occasion to display such tricks before people? If you see another possessing this, why do you not ask him? If others see that you have it, they will certainly beg of you. If you fear calamity and still pass it on to him, fine; if you do not, he will surely harm you, and then even your life cannot be kept safe.' Sun Wukong knelt and said, 'Master, only grant me Your pardon.' The Patriarch said, 'I do not blame you; only go on your way.' At these words Sun Wukong burst into tears: 'Master, where are you sending me?' The Patriarch replied, 'Return from where you came, and that is all.' Sun Wukong suddenly awakened and said, 'I am from the Water-curtain Cave of Mount Huaguo in the kingdom of Aolai, on the Divine Continent of Dongsheng.' The Patriarch said, 'Go back at once and preserve your life; while you stay here, it must not be.' Taking this as penalty, Sun Wukong reported to his honored teacher: 'It has been twenty years since I left home. Though I look back and think of my children and grandchildren of old, I dare not return, for I still have not repaid the Master's great grace.' The Patriarch said, 'What great favor is there in that? As long as you do not stir up trouble and do not drag me into it, that is enough.'

Sun Wukong had no way to resist, so he bade farewell and parted from everyone. The Patriarch said, 'By going there you will surely produce evil. How can you provoke chaos and commit violence yet claim to be my disciple? If you utter even half a word, I will know. I will strip your skin, break your bones, cast your soul down to the Ninth Abyss, and make you unable to rise for ten thousand kalpas.' Sun Wukong said, 'I dare not even mention the Master for a single word. I will say only that all this is by my own cultivation.'

After thanking him, Sun Wukong withdrew, twirled the formula in his hand, snapped a cloud-summon, and leapt up on a jinding cloud straight back to the Eastern Victory Continent. In about one watch he already saw the Water-curtain Cave of Flower-Fruit Mountain. The Great Sage to himself murmured:

When I left, my mortal bones and flesh were heavy, yet once I obtained the Way my body became light. In all the world no one was willing to make a firm resolve; when one truly seeks the subtle Way, it becomes clear of itself. At that time crossing the sea, the waves were hard to push through; now in returning it is easy indeed. The separating instructions still ring in my ears—how, in a single instant, do I now behold the Eastern Ocean?

Sun Wukong settled the cloud beneath him and went straight to Mount Huaguo, searching out the road. Suddenly he heard the cry of cranes and the wailing of monkeys: the cranes shouted through the high heavens, and the monkey cries were so grievous and piercing. He called out, 'Children, I have come!' At the stone ledges beneath the cliff, in the flowers and grasses, in the trees, monkeys of every size bounded forth by the tens and tens of thousands and surrounded the beautiful Great Monkey King, then knelt and called, 'Great King, we may now rest easy of mind—why have you been away so long? We have all sat waiting here for you, hungry and thirsty at heart. Lately a demon has bullied us here, forcing himself to seize our Water-curtain Cave. We have fought with him, ready to sacrifice life and forswear breath and life itself. These past days he has stolen our hearth-fire, captured many of our sons and nephews, and made us sleepless day and night while we guard our household. If we had not seen you now, if you had not returned for another year, even the mountain-cave would all have been his.' When Sun Wukong heard this, he grew furious: 'What demon dares such shamelessness? Describe it carefully, and I will seek him out and avenge this.' The monkeys knelt and said, 'Tell His Highness: that brute calls himself the Chaos-Disrupting Demon King and lives in the direction of the true north.' Sun Wukong asked, 'How far is it from here to that place?' The monkeys answered, 'When he comes it is with clouds, when he goes it is with mist, now wind now rain, now lightning, now thunder—we know not how far the road is.' Sun Wukong said, 'Then do not fear; play and keep yourselves busy. I will go and find him.'

The good monkey king sprang once with his body and leapt ahead, coursing along on swift cloud-power until he came to the northern slope and saw a towering mountain, truly most perilous. A fitting mountain:

Peak-prongs rose upright, and crooked ravines sank deep; peak-prongs rose like brushstrokes, piercing the high vault of heaven, and bent ravines led down to the gate of the earth. On both cliffs the flowers and trees strove to outshine one another; here and there pine and bamboo contended in lush green. On the left, dragons—sleek and docile; on the right, tigers—flat and lying in ease. Where one sees the iron-bull plow, one often finds mounds of coin-seed. Hidden birds cry with wary throats, and vermilion phoenixes stand facing the rising sun. Stones glitter, ripples run clear; strange, crooked paths and uncanny bends seem fiercely grim. In this world there are numberless famous peaks, where flowers bloom and fade and bloom again. A sight to contend for, yet enduring forever—eight solar terms and four seasons remain unmoved. Truly this is the Well of Three-Realms source-mountain, nourishing the Water-Organ Cave of the Five Elements.

The Great Monkey King watched the scenery in silence, and then, hearing voices, immediately descended to seek out the source. That sheer cliff before him was in fact the Shui-zang Cave. Outside the cave mouth a few small demons were dancing, and when they saw Sun Wukong they ran. Sun Wukong said, 'Do not run! Speak in your own mouth and carry my words: I am the true master of the Water-curtain Cave of Mount Huaguo in the south. What is this rioting bird-spirit-demon in your place that has repeatedly bullied my sons and grandsons? I have come expressly to meet him and settle this matter.'

The little demon, on hearing this, hurried into the cave to report: 'Your Majesty, calamity has come!' The Demon King said, 'What calamity?' The little demon said, 'Outside the cave there is a monkey chieftain calling himself the lord of the Water-curtain Cave of Mount Huaguo. He says you have repeatedly abused his sons and grandsons, and he has come in person to settle terms with you.' The Demon King laughed and said, 'I have often heard these monkey spirits speak of him as having a Great King, one who went off to become a hermit; perhaps this is that very one coming now. What does he look like, and what weapon does he carry?' The little demon said, 'He carries almost nothing, only a bare head, a red garment, a yellow sash tied at the waist, and a pair of black boots. He is neither monk nor layman, neither Taoist nor immortal. He comes barehanded and unarmed, crying out at the gate.' Hearing this, the Demon King said, 'Bring out my mail and weapon.' The little one instantly brought them out.

The Demon King donned his armor, took up a broad sword, and came out with all the demons at the gate. He called out loudly, 'Who is this master of the Water-curtain Cave?' Sun Wukong quickly stared and saw the Demon King:

On his head he wore a black-gold helm, shining with the sunlight. Across his body hung a black gauze robe, fluttering in the wind. Beneath was black iron mail, cinched with leather straps. On his feet were pleated flower-pattern boots; he was as imposing as a field commander. His waist was broad across ten spans, his height three zhang. In his hand he held a blade, whose keen edge flashed brightly. He was called the Chaos-Disrupting Demon, with a broad and fierce aspect.

The Monkey King cried out, 'You wild demon, with eyes so bloodshot you cannot even see Old-Sun.' The Demon King, seeing him, laughed: 'You are not even four chi tall and no more than three decades old, with no weapon in your hands. How dare you be so wild and seek me face to face?' Sun Wukong shouted back, 'You wild demon, you truly have no eyes. If you think me small, it is no hardship to enlarge me; if you think me unarmed, these two hands grasp the moon on the edge of heaven. Do not fear—I will eat only one punch from this old Sun.' He leapt up and struck straight at the face. The Demon King raised his hand to parry, saying, 'You are so squat and low, I so tall and long. If you use fists, I use my blade; with a blade I would kill you, and men would laugh at me. Put down that blade and test your boxing against mine.' Sun Wukong said, 'It is fair. Good man—come.' Then the Demon King dropped his boasting and attacked at once. Sun Wukong slipped in and the two rushed into collision. They exchanged punches, kicks, thrusts, and rams: the long form seemed empty in the air, yet the short strikes were hard as iron. The Demon King was hit by Sun Wukong at the ribs and groin; in a few knuckle-jumps he was struck so hard he reeled. He sidestepped, picked up the large steel knife, and swung down to cleave Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong drew back at once; the blow sliced empty air. Seeing the demon grow fiercer, he used the external-body art, pulled out a lock of his own hair, chewed it to pieces in his mouth, spat it upward, and cried, 'Change!' At once he became three or two hundred little monkeys, gathering around in a dense cluster.

To become an immortal is to possess a body whose transformations know no bounds. It is not known that ever since this monkey king gained the Way he carries eighty-four thousand hairs, each hair able to transform, each transforming according to circumstance and heart. Those little monkeys, agile and clever in movement, could not be cut by swords nor wounded by spears. See how he bounded forward, leapt backward, dived upward, circled the Demon King, hugging and wrenching, poking at his waist, wrenching his feet, kicking and striking, pressing at his side, pinching eyes, pinching nose, lifting and shuffling him in confusion, making a full knot of battle around him. Only then did Sun Wukong wrest the sword away, part the little monkeys, strike once at the crown, and cut it into two pieces. He led the troop into the cave and slew all the demons, great and small. Then, shaking his hairs, he drew his scattered forms back to his own body; but the one who did not return was the monkey the Demon King had seized from the Water-curtain Cave. Sun Wukong said, 'Why have you all come here?' Of about fifty of them, all with tears, said, 'After Your Majesty ascended to cultivation, in these two years he has quarreled and taken us all by force. Is not that our cave’s hearth-fire? Even the stone basin and stone bowls were taken by this brute.' Sun Wukong said, 'If this is our household fire, carry all of it out.' At once he set the cave alight; he burned that Shui-zang Cave dry and made it all return to single ash. Then he told the group, 'Follow me back.' The monkeys replied, 'Great King, when we came we only heard the wind singing at our ears, drifting here on emptiness and mist, and we did not know the road at all. How can we return home now?' Sun Wukong answered, 'It is a trick of his sorcery. What is difficult? I can now pass through one opening and all openings; I can do the same. All of you close your eyes together and do not fear.'

When the monkeys gathered at the cave mouth, they crowded together and entered in order, then all kneeling they paid homage to the Monkey King. They prepared wine and fruit, welcomed the celebration, and asked him about the demon-subduing rescue of their sons. Sun Wukong explained it all in detail, and the monkeys praised him without end: “Great King, going to that place, how could you have learned such arts?” He went on: "When I left you, I was carried by the waves and drifted across the Eastern Ocean to Xiniuhe, then straight to Śāṅsāmana (South Jambudvipa), where I learned how to appear as a man. In these clothes, in these shoes—tottering and swaying—I roamed the clouds for eight or nine years and had not yet learned the Way. Again I crossed the Western Ocean, came to Xiniuhe, stayed long in inquiry, and by good fortune met an old patriarch who transmitted to me the true and complete art and fruit of long life with Heaven’s span, the Great Dharma of deathless longevity." The monkeys rejoiced: "Such a chance is hard to find in ten thousand ages!" Sun Wukong smiled: "Now, everyone among us has a surname." "Great King, what is your surname?" they asked. "I bear the surname Sun, and my dharma-name is Wukong," he said. Hearing this, they clapped and rejoiced: "The Great King is Old Sun; we are Er-sun, San-sun, Xi-sun, Xiao-sun … one family of Suns, one country of Suns, one nest of Suns!" Then all came to honor Old Sun, offering large vats and small cups of coconut wine and grape wine, celestial flowers and celestial fruit; it was genuine family joy. Aha!

Through one shared surname the body returns to its source, and then one only awaits promotion into the Immortal Register.

Yet how it all ends, and how this realm is to be endured to the end, remains uncertain for now. Listen, and we shall resolve it in the next instalment.