[A new book takes flight, with action-packed updates coming fast]
The pilgrimage to the West was nothing more than a staged performance.
That lawless monkey became a Buddha, his eyes empty, a puppet dangling from strings. But the real Sun Wukong had his true spirit extracted and forged into a relic long ago, during the trial of the True and False Monkey King. He was imprisoned beneath Spirit Mountain.
And what became of his sworn brother, Marshal Tianpeng? He was banished to the mortal realm, reborn in a pig’s body, and became a laughingstock across the Three Realms. Everyone thought that was the end.
No one remembered that Tianpeng had once been the ancient Dao Lord of the Human Way.
On the anniversary of his investiture at Spirit Mountain, the big-eared Altar Cleanser Envoy tore off his kasaya, revealing the ancient seal on his chest. Before the assembled Buddhas, he crushed his own Buddha’s rank.
“Where’s my eldest brother’s soul?”
The hall fell deathly silent.
The Tathagata’s golden body trembled faintly, and Guanyin’s fingers tightened around her vase. In Lingxiao Palace, the Jade Emperor smashed his wine cup.
That day, Tianpeng stormed the Great Hall of Spirit Mountain.
That day, half of the Ninefold Heavenly Dao Seal shattered beneath his axe.
That day, the Three Realms remembered a name that had been erased:
Dao Lord of the Human Way, Marshal Tianpeng.
Tianpeng: “Tathagata, you used my brother to forge a relic. Today, I’ll shatter your golden body and flatten Spirit Mountain!”
Tianpeng: “Hongjun, you enslave all living beings in the name of the Heavenly Dao. I’ll rekindle the flame of the Human Way!”
He didn’t want much:
Topple Spirit Mountain, chop down the Heavenly Dao, and bring that little monkey back to Flower-Fruit Mountain.
That was all.
