Chapter 96 - 094: Viewing Everything as It Is
Wukong left the Peach Garden only to see the entire world grievously wounded, with the heavens and earth shattered and the sun and moon damaged.
This realm was so utterly broken that it scarcely looked like itself anymore, with the essence of chaos seeping in everywhere, devoid of any living beings.
Guided by his memories, Wukong traveled to Dongsheng Immortal State. Flower-Fruit Mountain too had been destroyed in the great catastrophe of the world, now lying in utter ruin.
Wukong found it hard to believe that everything that had happened to him was merely a great dream of the Spring and Autumn period. All those grandiose words and crafty schemes, deceitful plots were nothing but emptiness. In the end, he had achieved Buddhahood, embraced the void in the principle of ’all is empty.’ Moreover, a sleep had spanned so many years, and now everything was no longer there.
Wukong then went to Mount Meru, which also lay in ruins, no longer resounding with the booming incense and the chanting of Buddhist scriptures, all destroyed during the great universal catastrophe. Previously, Buddhist light used to flicker here and constant sacred chanting was heard, deterring demons and ghosts, but now, only desolation and solitude remained.
"Da Xiong Palace."
The four characters on this plaque had rotted away, their divine light dimmed, not anymore as before, seemingly symbolizing the end of an era.
Wukong muttered softly, "Why has it come to this?"
He silently walked to where he remembered his lotus platform was placed and sat down cross-legged, beginning to channel his divine skills.
"All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow, like dew, or lightning. One should perceive them like this."
Suddenly, Wukong thought of many things, no longer able to distinguish between what was dream and what was reality. Even by channeling "Sutra of the Other Shore," he could not fathom it completely anymore.