Patriarch Bodhi is about to vanish.
After guarding the depths of Chaos for ten thousand years, his essence has finally burned away. He did not go to see the monkey who once wreaked havoc in Heaven. Instead, he went to the deepest part of the Underworld, sat down beside Di Ting, and told him the secrets of the ages. He had been there when Pangu opened Heaven and Earth, and had watched the human world lose its fate with his own eyes during the Investiture of the Gods. On Fangcun Mountain, he drove away the disciple he could not bear to part with, then went alone into Chaos and spent ten thousand years protecting the monkey with his life.
Wukong smashed open the gates of the Underworld and stormed inside, then sat down before a bronze door. On the other side, his master was telling the story of his life. On this side, forces from Mount Ling and the Heavenly Court arrived one after another. The Ancient Buddha Dipankara came to repay a debt, while Yang Jian led heavenly soldiers to exert pressure. Wukong laid his Golden-Banded Staff across his knees and refused to let anyone pass.
Only after his master finished the last part did the door open.
After Bodhi vanished, Wukong found a Hall of Heroes beyond the door. Thousands of ancient heroic spirits were sealed inside: Guan Yu, Lu Bu, Zhao Yun, Xiang Yu... On every pedestal were words of judgment Bodhi had carved ten thousand years earlier. They were not waiting to be freed. They were waiting for someone they would willingly call “my lord.”
Wukong led the heroic spirits in reclaiming the Underworld and restoring the human world to humanity. When the battle was over, he took no throne. He returned to the edge of Fangcun Mountain, rested his Golden-Banded Staff against his shoulder, and said to the stars, “Master, I’ve finished the journey for you.”
There was light in the wind. Beside a stone on the nineteenth level, Di Ting lay still, then twitched an ear.
Have a sense of innovation!