Chapter 194: Change of Temperament

A huge living human had been forcefully stuffed into the Golden Monkey’s body using a magic spell. The clash of the purest powers of the metal and wood element in its body drove the already evil and cruel creature to new extremes. It started wreaking havoc all across the western region and had finally stoked the anger of a master cultivator.

(Author’s Note: Why do I feel like I’m narrating Journey to the West huh?)

The story of the King’s heroic deed in leading his loyal and brave warriors to capture the monkey had appeared briefly about seven hundred years ago, coinciding with when the Tibetan army was preparing to march on the town of Tuer. The divine singers that appeared before and after that event had never sang such a story before. All these matters were already past the point of verification, but whoever had come forth to kill the Golden Monkey, whether it truly was King Gesar or not, must certainly have been a kindhearted and brave practitioner, his heart devoted to the wellbeing of the people of earth.

The master of the highland may have caught the monkey but he did not have the power to kill it. The Golden Monkey was born out of the world’s metal element after all and it would take a huge amount of effort to take its life.

Since there was no way to kill it, this highland practitioner came up with an idea. It decided to suppress and seal way the Golden Monkey instead.

The master caught a Dog-Headed Eagle of the fire element and sealed the Golden Monkey into the body of this creature.

Back in ancient times, Dog-Headed Eagles had been apart of massacres all over the western region. These monsters had a dog’s head and an eagle’s body came in various sizes. The smaller ones were sizes of bald eagles and fed on smaller animals. These creatures were cunning in nature but cowardly. Common folk did not fear them. The larger ones could block the skies and blot out the sun. They swallowed smoke and spat out fire, feeding on large pythons and even the occasional dragon. Considered spiritual beasts born of the fire element, even dragons would avoid the Dog-Headed Eagles. The legend goes, if the golden-winged Dapeng that hated all evil were to come across these creatures, they would certainly kill it without a second thought.

The red monkey Qian Ren jumped and stared straight at Qin Zhui as if confronting a formidable enemy. “Now don’t you go asking me where the cultivator had got ahold of Dog-Headed Eagle! He did not say a word to me of his plans so I do not know where he found this creature.”

The Dog-Headed Eagle was a strange beast belonging to the fire element and thus was perfect in restraining the Golden Monkey’s sharp metal element. The Dog-Headed Eagle’s fire qualities did not equal the pureness of the monkey’s metal element though. Even with this method of restraining, this prison would only hold the monkey for a few centuries. Sooner or later, the monkey would break free.

The practitioner then employed another unique skill. He fused the Golden Monkey and the Dog-Headed Eagle into one. This form of magic was similar to the ‘enter the body’ spell used by Kong Nuer when refining Qian Ren into the monkey’s body. The difference was that Qian Ren and the monkey’s body had been completely fused together to become one while the Golden Monkey only became a part of the giant Dog-Headed Eagle’s body. The monkey still existed as itself and could move freely within the giant body but it would not be able to leave.

Wen Leyang and the others stood staring at each in wonder. They had just figured out, the giant corpse they were standing in was a giant monster that had the head of a dog and the body of an eagle.

The Dog-Headed Eagle was a wild and untamed monster but it was significantly easier to handle as compared to the Golden Monkey. The practitioner sealed away the Dog-Headed Eagle, that was imprisoning the Golden Monkey, at the edge of Natmso Lake. He channelled the pure water powers of the lake using the Tibetan Buddhism Sect mandala and shackled down the Dog-Headed Eagle of the fire element.

A human trapped inside the body of a monkey, which was trapped in the body of a giant bird, a giant bird with a dog’s head…

Breaking the wood element with the metal element, trapping the metal element with the fire element, and suppressing the fire element with the water element…

Kong Nuer’s evil scheme had triggered the growth and seized the Ending Cave from Qian Ren. Qian Ren had been sealed away by his best friend into the Golden Monkey’s body. The Golden Monkey then created trouble across the western region. The highland master then trapped the Golden Monkey and had sealed it within the body of a Dog-Headed Eagle of Fire. Then using the water power element of Namtso Lake, the cultivator had then grounded the Dog-Headed Eagle the edge of the lake. The Tibetan Buddhism Sect mandala had been set up in the town and its residents had chosen to stay behind to guard it, giving up their chance at rebirth. The general picture had been painted clearly by the monkey Qian Ren but there were still a few holes left. How did the dung beetles get in and how was Qian Ren controlling the Golden Monkey now? Also, how was the small town of Tuer connected to the nine-headed snake?

No one was thinking of those dung beetles at this moment though. Wen Leyang and Gu Xiaojun have barely kept up with the sequence of events, even the magic history experts had trouble keeping up. The monkey shut up then, seeing that they were all clearly confused. It looked towards them and smiled, giving them time to digest all the information.

After some time, the hideous Qin Zhui spoke cautiously, “So all this… there’s something that we’re not getting right?”

The monkey laughed loudly, its face filled with anticipation. “Of course there’s something you’re not getting but you have to figure it out which part it is yourself.” Wen Leyang did not understand why Qian Ren was so friendly to his ugly friend.

Qin Zhui rolled his eyes in thought. He pondered out loud, stuttering, “The Golden Monkey had become a part of the Dog-Headed Eagle’s body. This magic spell is albeit amazing but there’s a huge flaw in the master’s plan.”

The monkey Qian Ren’s eyes lit up. It gave out a shouted, roaring like thunder, “Continue, please!”

Qin ZHui puffed out his chest and continued as if he had suddenly glimpsed a spark of inspiration. “The two beasts had existed in the same body. There may have been an inter-restricting factor between the five elements but the Golden Monkey is far stronger than the Dog-Headed Eagle when comparing strength alone. The monkey would eventually rule take control of the other. The monkey may not be able to leave the Dog-Headed Eagle’s body but in reality, it had actually been positioned to take control of the Eagle…” Qin Zhui stopped for a moment and thought his statement was misguided. He changed tack. “No no… The Dog-Headed Eagle became the armour of the Golden Monkey. Whether dead or alive, its body which was initially its prison would later become the monkey’s armour instead!”

The monkey Qian Ren looked to the sky and laughed, it was delighted. “That is correct! You, my child, may be hideous but you have quite the inquisitive mind. It is not an eventuality though, it has been for a long time! Since a few centuries ago, the monkey had already gained control over the Dog-Headed Eagle and just like you said, this eagle became the monkey’s flesh armour from that point on!”

Qin Zhui seemed delighted that he had been acknowledged but he still had questions. “What was the use for a suit of armour? The Dog-Headed Eagle had been suppressed by the mandala seal powered by the Lake Namtso, the armour can’t go anywhere, it was still trapped in a prison after all.”

In the learning atmosphere, the dwarf Taoist priest too temporarily forgot about the enmity between the two parties. “The wood element in your body had been neutralized by the monkey while the fire element of the eagle, in turn, melted away the monkey’s metal element. The giant eagle had been suppressed by the water of Natmso Lake though. If you wished to see the light of day again, you would have to first break the mandala seal or destroy Natmso Lake. As long as the mandala remained, any other effort would be a waste of time.”

The monkey Qian Ren was unforgiving towards the dwarf Taoist priest. It glared at the priest with huge angry eyes. “You are such a fool! The power of the fire element may appear in this realm in the form of flames but it is not the flames itself. The heavenly power of wood shelters itself in trees and grass but it the foliage itself isn’t the wood power.”

Wen Leyang was all muddled and confused when he heard that but the dwarf Taoist priest and Qin Zhui gradually came to understand.

Qian Ren truly regarded itself as a teacher, treating the cross-eyed elder and the ugly youth in front of him as his disciples. The monkey breathed in deeply and slowed down his speech, explaining patiently. “The inter-restriction of the five elements, I’ll use the simplest example, water beats fire. Now, The ‘water’ here is not actual water and ‘fire’ isn’t actually just fire. It only manifests itself in those forms but what we need to look at is the essence of these objects. The way that water restricts fire is not as simple as pouring a basin of water a fire to extinguish it. We should see it as the essence of water has the power to contain the essence of fire!”

Monkey Qian Ren paused, then his voice suddenly grew sonorous and forceful. “Water may restrict fire but that does not mean that the Yin water had destroyed the Yang Fire into nothingness. The Yang fire still exists, it only lost its material form and was melted into the water. The act of holding, that is the golden rule when we speak of inter-restriction. All of you here liken inter-restriction to simply a power being destroyed but what about the inter-promotion between the five elements? The monkey’s sharp metal dissolved the wood element in my body but this did not destroy its power, instead, absorbing the power into itself. The wood element lost its material form and from then on, posed no more harm to me. Do you understand now?”

Old Gu and Wen Leyang did not understand the monkey’s long explanation. They stood around feeling embarrassed, trying to play it off by busying with their clothes. The few other practitioners, including the giant pangolin, were ghastly pale. Their eyes filled with intense disbelief. The ancient books and recordings that they had been studying all their lives, the principles that had been passed down by their teachers and seniors, had only spoken of the inter-restriction of the five elements as one element destroying the other. Qian Ren’s claim shattered their whole understanding of the five elements, it blinded them all. A crucial point drifted before their eyes but they could not find it in themselves to grasp it fully.

It was Gu Xiaojun who finally broke the silence. He said to the monkey Qian Ren, “I think its best if you just continue with your story first. As for the principle of the five elements, we will try to comprehend it slowly.”

Qian Ren looked towards the glazed-eyed looking group before it, all feelings of enthusiasm from before was gone. With a ‘heh’, it waved its hands and tried to rouse the group. “Everyone! Stop thinking now! If you get possessed with figuring this out, the old man will have to waste time in healing you later! The practitioner had drawn upon the water element of the sacred lake using the Tibetan Buddhism Sect mandala but this was only a temporary measure. At most, it would only hold for a few millenniums but sooner or later, the monkey would have broken out of the prison after having gained control of the giant bird.”

By the time the monkey had gained control over the giant bird, Qian Ren’s wood element, the Gold Monkey’s metal element, and the Dog-Headed Eagle’s fire element had fused and converged into the body of the giant bird. This would have severely changed its level of power, making this beast now stronger than ever before. No matter how powerful the water element of Lake Natmso was, it would not have been able to withstand the combined forces of the other three elements.

The monkey Qian then chuckled. “The highland master had already taken into account all these things. He predicted that the monkey would gain complete control of the giant eagle’s body and the bird would be dead by then. The Dog-Headed Eagle was a spiritual beast of the fire element though and its corpse would never decay. That was why when he sealed away the Dog-Headed Eagle, he simultaneously cast another spell that sealed in a strange species of dung beetles in with the giant bird. Upon the death of the Dog-Headed Eagle, the dung beetles would then be released upon its decaying corpse. The dung beetles would then make quick work of the corpse, tearing away the flesh and leaving only bone but new flesh was always growing…

The Dog-Headed Eagle corpse would go through this cycle, again and again, being chewed into nothingness and then regrowing new flesh. Over and over this process repeated itself over many centuries. Meanwhile, the monkey that had been fused to the bird could not gather enough strength to break through the mandala seal. The pangolin Po Tu had only been captured by the monkey because it had unknowingly entered the body of the Dog-Headed Eagle. The monkey Qian Ren may not have possessed any powers outside of the giant’s body but within it, it had no equal.

This time, everyone understood the chain of events. Everyone wore an expression of shock. They were in awe and astonished at the highland master’s thorough plan of action.

The master cultivator had employed two methods in his plan to suppress the monkey. He had drawn upon the power of the sacred lake into the town of Tuer and created the seal. This was meant to shackle the Dog-Headed Eagle while it was still alive.

After the monkey has gained complete control over the bird’s body and the flesh armour was dead, phase two would be launched. The dung beetles would be released and they would start chewing away on the corpse, rendering the flesh armour of the monkey useless.

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In truth, the mandala seal in the town of Tuer had been useless for years. The true shackles that kept the creature down were the countless amount of dung beetles!

Qin Zhui may not have understood the principle of the five elements which Qian Ren was trying to explain earlier but he did understand this part. He stretched out a finger and pointed to Qian Ren, “So tell us, how are you controlling the monkey’s body now?”

Qian Ren’s head bobbed up and down as it laughed. “I too thought that I would never see the light of day ever again. The Golden Monkey was by right a spiritual creature, born of the metal element. It was born out of the power of Heaven and Earth and was never supposed to leave its spiritual home. Upon being sealed into this void and away from the energy source of its primordial spirit, the monkey’s soul was severely injured. Over the many years it was locked away, its spirit gradually withered and faded away into nothingness. What was left was a body without a master which naturally became mine. This ending, neither Kong Nuer nor the master practitioner would have been able to predict it.”

Qian Ren had been sealed away into the monkey and the monkey, in turn, had been sealed into the Dog-Headed Eagle. Many years passed and the monkey finally gained control over the Dog-Headed Eagle, and now Qian Ren controlled the monkey.

The Golden Monkey which had originally been gold in colour had turned red, due to the convergence of water, fire, metal, and wood elemental magic in its body. The creature that stood in front of them currently had red fur and golden eyes.

The giant pangolin Po Tu was a burly creature with a square, wide face. It tossed about its thick, huge tail as he studied the monkey carefully. It exhaled a long breath as if relieved. The pangolin’s message was obvious enough. The monkey’s transformation was quite favourable, even pretty. It was certainly better than having a tuft of red fur here, a tuft of yellow there, then another tuft in green…

Qin Zhui laughed as he shook his head. He concluded, “So, a thousand years later, the story finally comes to an end huh!”

The monkey Qian Ren had been through a great ordeal. He was first harmed by his best friend Kong Nuer through a series of evil schemes. Kong Nuer then had turned him into a parasite in the body of a monkey. After that, the monkey had been caught and captured by the master practitioner of the highland, firmly sealed away. Qian Ren then finally managed to gain control over the monkey and the bird but he still went through days and nights of endless torture from the dung beetles chewing on its flesh.

The monkey Qian Ren unconsciously stretched out its claws and scratched its neck a few times. After a few moments, it stopped and chuckled. “I’ve been in this monkey’s body for too long. I seem to have picked up some of its bad habits. When I saw the giant pangolin pass by, I couldn’t help myself. If I was in my right mind, I would not have captured it or forced it to eat bugs.”

The pangolin spat on the ground in fury, asking in a low growl, “Those bugs, why don’t you catch them yourself? Once you’ve caught them all, you could-”

Qian Ren interrupted the pangolin, its face squeezed into a hideous smile. “The Dog-Headed Eagle corpse is apart of me, its flesh is my flesh. It certainly would not be difficult for me to kill one or two bugs but if you expect me to bore into my own skin and bones to kill off thousands and then find their eggs and obliterate those, you must be crazy.”

Qian Ren was just a monkey but even if it had been an immortal monkey, he would not necessarily have the ability to part his own flesh and catch all the bugs and dig out the eggs from between its bones. He could only hope to get help from outsiders.

Qin Zhui realized something and cried out in alarm. He turned and glared at the monkey. “You asked us to help you exterminate the bugs just so that you could gain control of this body. You would be unstoppable then!” He shook his head as if he had said the wrong thing. “I am not afraid of you escaping this seal but the old father is angry at you for tricking me. Now that you have accidentally told us the truth, the old father shall see to it that you are properly dealt with.”

The monkey was stunned at Qin Zhui scolding him, it blinked its eyes and stared at Qin Zhui. He asked in puzzlement, “Since when did the old father trick you?” Qian Ren was a monkey that refused to give up. He must take back the title ‘old father’ for himself.

Qin ZHui waved his Tang knife in a rage. “Just now you had told us that the act of catching the bugs and killing them is not related to your powers. In reality, once the bugs have been exterminated, your power will be restored!”

Qian Ren finally understood their concern. It raised its small head and laughed aloud. “I have not tricked you. The bird’s body is just a flesh armour. If the bird’s body is not restored, I would certainly be powerless towards outside objects. No matter how strong I am, I would not be able to exert my powers right now. However, if the fight is imminent, you will be dealing with me inside this bird’s stomach, not with the giant bird outside.”

Qin Zhi was stunned for a moment, “So you’re saying that this giant bird is unrelated to you?”

The monkey jumped up and down in impatience. “Where did this fool come from? To deal with outside forces, I would have to depend on the giant bird’s body. However, within the giant bird itself, I can deal with you directly and have no need for the bird!”

Qin Zhui sniggered. “You should use the word ‘bird’ so carelessly. It sounds like you’re cursing someone.” (Translator’s Note: The word ‘bird’ here is also used to refer to male genitals.)

The monkey’s eyes were blazing, it was outraged. The rest of them were slightly amused by Qin Zhui’s silly comment.

The origin of the monkey was completely unrelated to the nine-headed snake. Gu Xiaojun and Wen Leyang’s real concern laid in the town’s recent transformation. Why had the nine-headed snake followers gathered in this town? Where had the town’s residents brought the followers to? How did this all relate to the mandala seal that was left there?

Gu Xiaojun’s forehead wrinkled with so many questions, every line in his forehead was a deep furrow. He hoped that the monkey would be able to shed some light on this. He hastily took a step forward and briefly recounted the incidents back in Tuer Town. He intended to guide the topic of discussion to the small town. “Mon… Qian Ren, what happened in Tuer?”

Wen Leyang’s expression was not as easygoing as before. It was as if he was frightened of something. He tried to speak but a cat seemed to have caught his tongue.

From the beginning, both parties had agreed that the monkey was to answer all their questions and then the group would be responsible for exterminating all the bugs in return. The monkey had the attitude of a true businessman after all. It burst out laughing. “The residents of the town were followers of the master practitioner which followed him to capture and kill the monkey. You now know that these people had actually died, volunteering to give up their chance at rebirth and become zombie soldiers under the reanimation of the master cultivator. They stayed was to guard the town of Tuer for all eternity, to prevent outsiders from damaging the mandala seal. The highland master’s powers were great but he had missed one crucial detail.”

Gu Xiaojun rapted to attention. “What was it?”

The monkey Qian Ren gave him the evil eye. “You look too eager right now.” Without acknowledging Old Gu’s slowly reddening face, the monkey continued. “This place is an entanglement of four elements, water, fire, metal, and wood. Only one element is missing out of the five and that would have been fine if it was just for a few years but after so many centuries, this place has already become-”

Qin Zhui cut him off before he could even finish. “The missing element was earth! This would upset the balance between Heaven and Earth and the malevolent energy of the entire world would leak into this place!”

There should always be a balance between the five elements. The process of inter-promotion and inter-restriction between the elements should be a continuous, unbroken cycle but in this little town of Tuer, there had only been the presence of four elements. The thickest and heaviest element, earth, had been missing. To any practitioner who cultivated the power of the five elements, they would know that this would result in the breaking of Heaven and Earth.

The monkey Qian Ren broke out laughing while nodding its head vigorously. “That is correct! As time passed, the balance between Heaven and Earth in this town was broken and evil energy had started to accumulate here. Although, countless eminent monks had performed their rituals next to the sacred lake. This did help in dissolving most of the evil energy here-”

Gu Xiaojun stomped his foot in rage. “Will you please get to the point?! Stop talking in circles already!”

The monkey disregarded him completely, raising its head and burst out laughing again. “The old father has not had anyone to speak to for far too long. If I do not take this chance to say everything I can, I would never forgive myself!”

The small town had become evil and malicious after having absorbed all that evil energy. The Sacred Lake did help in dissolving most of that energy but after so many years, it would take a toll on the townspeople.

Great master Rangjung’s eyebrows shot up, his gaze turned razor sharp as he explained to Wen Leyang and the rest, “The people of this town had opted out of being reborn, choosing to exit the three levels of the universe and six realms of existence of their own free will. These people had the purest and kindest hearts when they were alive but after their death, if they had been absorbing the evil energy all this time, there is no doubt that they have become corrupted by now. Their hearts would have changed.”

The monkey chuckled as it took over from the head lama. “Most importantly, under the corruption from the evil energy, these living dead soldiers could no longer retain the purity and tranquillity that they had possessed upon their death. They could not even hold on to their dying wish. Now that you understand this, know that it was them who had turned their backs on Tuer Town. The damage upon the Tibetan Buddhism Sect’s instrument, the instruments that held down the four corners of the mandala, was destroyed by their very hands.”

Qian Ren’s sounded rather nonchalant with this topic, after all, the thing was keeping it there was not the magical power of the Tibetan Buddhism Sect mandala but it was those giant dung beetles that could not stop feasting on its body.

Head lama Rangjung’s predictions before coming down here have been proven to be absolutely wrong. Whether this monster would see the light of day once again was not dependant on the mandala. In other words, it had served its purpose in suppressing Qian Ren, it had completed its mission. It could now retire with dignity.

Of course, the residents of Tuer had not followed suit. They turned their gaze elsewhere instead. They had left to attend to matters regarding the nine-headed snake.

Wen Leyang’s anxiety grew. These small town’s residents had been corrupted by the evil energy. They had destroyed the mandala and departed from the highlands but these things still gave them no clue as to why the nine-headed snake followers had gathered here.

The monkey watched in glee as Wen Leyang and the rest grew ever anxious. Only when it was satisfied, did the monkey reveal the truth to them. “These people had been tainted with evil energy, the pureness in their heart could not last. A few decades ago, they had been enslaved by another embodiment of pure evil.”

Wen Leyang ground his teeth together. “What do you mean an embodiment of pure evil?”

Qian Ren chuckled, “It was a practitioner who drew upon the evil energy of the world. The residents of Tuer Town shed their role as disciples of the highland master and instead turned to follow a new master.”

When Qian Ren finished its sentence, a click sound came out of head lama Rangjung’s mouth, followed by a river of blood flowing out from the corner of his mouth.