Su Yang's lips curled slightly, his tone calm as still water, "You're nothing but a stone monkey. Even if you caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace, you're ultimately just a pawn on someone else's chessboard. I'm not worth making this special trip for a mere pawn."
These words pierced the heart of the Spiritual Stone Monkey like needles. His eyes were fixed, his pupils contracted, and even though he knew he couldn't move at the moment, his fighting spirit still surged from the depths of his eyes.
He once caused a great disturbance at the South Heaven Gate and was an enemy of the All Gods. Even though he is now trapped here, the pride in his bones has not been diminished in the slightest.
"You traveled all this way just to say these things?"
He gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, you did it. This Old Sun, am burning with rage right now. If it weren't for this mountain pressing down on me, I would fight you to the death!"
"No need."
Su Yang shook his head slightly, his gaze falling on the monkey head peeking out from the mountain, and said softly, "You're actually quite pitiful."
"Pitiful?"
Sun Wukong frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Literal meaning."
Su Yang reached out and pulled a few withered grasses from a crevice in the rock beside his head, his movements natural, as if he were already familiar with this scene.
The Monkey didn't stop them, but just watched quietly. This person was someone even the Jade Emperor feared, yet he was clearing weeds for him here; his words and actions were strange and unpredictable.
His mind raced: What was this person after? If it was to humiliate him, why was he so composed? If it wasn't malicious, why were his words so sharp?
Su Yang tossed the grass aside, clapped his hands, and continued, "Your path was preordained from birth. From your birth in the Water Curtain Cave of Flower-Fruit Mountain, to becoming a disciple of Bodhi, to causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace, and finally to being imprisoned here today, every step was merely a link in someone else's scheme."
The wind stopped for a moment.
Sun Wukong's facial muscles twitched slightly, and a complex expression appeared on his hairy face. His eyes, which had once illuminated all directions and discerned demons and evil spirits, now flashed with a hint of confusion.
You're saying I was framed?
He asked in a low voice, his voice laced with anger, but also concealing a hint of wavering that even he himself was unaware of.
Su Yang did not answer, but simply gazed at the distant clouds, as if waiting for an answer to emerge on its own.
Could the person Su Yang mentioned be referring to himself?
To be born through a scheme? That's utterly absurd.
Sun Wukong has always acted according to his own will; how could he have been manipulated by others? If, as Su Yang said, he was merely a pawn in someone else's scheme, then weren't all his past choices and actions predetermined?
If everything was predetermined, what is the point of talking about so-called free will? If it was the result of a powerful being's deduction, why did such an outrageous act as the havoc in the Heavenly Palace occur?
As if sensing the wavering in his heart, Su Yang chuckled softly and said slowly, "Do you really think that you've come this far entirely by following your heart?"
"Otherwise what?"
Are you sure that every decision you made was your own?
Su Yang's tone was gentle, yet carried an undeniable sharpness. "Why not recall everything that has happened to you since the moment you were born from the stone egg? And then ask yourself, were those actions truly from your heart, or were seeds already sown by someone?"
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Sun Wukong frowned and questioned, "In order to achieve immortality, This Old Sun, crossed the ocean and endured countless hardships, finally becoming a disciple of Bodhi at Mount Lingtai Fangcun Mountain and obtaining the Dharma Gate of cultivation."
After returning to Flower-Fruit Mountain, they went to the East Sea Dragon Palace to ask the East Sea Dragon King for weapons and armor.
"Later, when the underworld officials stole the souls of the monkeys from Flower-Fruit Mountain, This Old Sun, stormed into the underworld, altered the Book of Life and Death, and caused chaos among the Ten Kings of Hell. Wasn't all of this done to protect my own sons?"
" This Old Sun want is for my brothers to live longer, what's wrong with that?"
" The Heavenly Court then sent Taibai Jinxing to offer him a position as Bimawen), This Old Sun, looked down on that lowly post and turned to leave."
"Upon his return, he befriended the Six Great Sages, swore brotherhood with them, and proclaimed himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. The Heavenly Court, having no other choice, also bestowed this title upon him."
"Later, I was put in charge of guarding the Peach Garden. The Flat Peach were tempting, and the Immortal Wine was fragrant. I couldn't resist eating a few peaches and drinking a few jars of wine. I even took some golden pills to refine—isn't that just human nature?"
"Which of these things wasn't done by This Old Sun, personally?"
Sun Wukong's eyes blazed as he stared directly at Su Yang: "Then your men captured This Old Sun, threw me into the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and burned me with Samadhi True Fire for forty-nine days!"
"After emerging from the furnace, he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, and was ultimately suppressed by the Great Sun Tathagata under the Five Finger Mountain. Wasn't all of this done by me, This Old Sun?"
Su Yang listened quietly, a slight smile playing on his lips, his eyes deep and thoughtful. "That's right, you did indeed do it yourself."
He paused, then added, "But have you ever considered whether these things 'you did' were truly things you would have done in the first place?"
Sun Wukong was taken aback.
"What do you mean?" he asked in a low voice, a glint of inquiry in his eyes.
Su Yang made no attempt to conceal his purpose. He had come to the foot of Five Finger Mountain solely to meet the Spiritual Stone Monkey Sun Wukong, who was imprisoned there, and to uncover the truth hidden behind fate.
He pondered to himself, if this stone monkey had already known the workings of Tianji and that all the schemes were someone else's game, would it still have willingly worn the golden headband and followed Tang Sanzang on the journey to the West? Would it still have obediently headed towards the Western Ox Continent to obtain the scriptures from Spirit Mountain?
A slight smile played on Su Yang's lips as he gazed at the Great Sage Equal to Heaven before him, his tone calm as still water. "Have you ever considered that all of this might not be a coincidence? Perhaps from the very beginning, there was a higher-level being manipulating your destiny from behind the scenes."
"Manipulate This Old Sun?" Sun Wukong sneered, his eyes flashing with fire. "Who dares to even consider such a thing? That's just wishful thinking!"
" Saint," Su Yang uttered softly, his gaze profound.
Sun Wukong frowned. " Saint? What kind of deity is that?"
"Not a deity, but a realm," Su Yang slowly explained. "It is the realm of the Primordial Golden Immortal, a being who transcends the mortal world and escapes the cycle of reincarnation. In the entire Primordial World, there are only six such beings, collectively known as the ' Six Saints of the Heavenly Dao '."
He paused, his voice low yet clear. "These six are all Primordial Deity who once listened to the Dao from Hongjun at the Zixiao Palace. Three of them came from the East: Grand Pure Laozi, Jade Clarity Primordial Beginning, and Shangqing Tongtian, collectively known as the Three Pure Ones."
" The Empress Nuwa is also among them. She mended the Mending the Heavens stones and created the human race. She is the Four Saints of the East."
"As for the West, there are two disciples, Jieyin and Zhunti. Although they are only nominal disciples, they have also ascended to this This Realm and are in charge of the Western Teachings."
Su Yang looked up at the sky, as if piercing through the clouds and gazing into the Deep Chaos: "These beings are the true masters of the game of heaven and earth. Their will permeates the river of cause and effect; even Buddha Guanyin are but pawns in their game."
Sun Wukong was silent for a moment, then anger rose in his eyes. "Are you saying that This Old Sun havoc in the Heavenly Palace, my suppression, and my later protection of Tang Sanzang... were all arranged by them?"
"You don't believe me?" Su Yang withdrew his gaze and looked directly into the stone monkey's eyes. "But it's the truth. Your life was already decided in the Zixiao Palace."
As he finished speaking, Su Yang's gaze gently shifted to Sun Wukong, his tone calm as still water. "Those who plotted your fate were none other than the two Western Saint, Daoist Zhunti and Daoist Jieyin."
"Absurd!"
Sun Wukong took a deep breath, his brows revealing an unwavering determination, and looked directly at Su Yang, saying, "I, This Old Sun, act entirely according to my own conscience and never take orders from anyone. How could I be a pawn on someone else's chessboard?"
"What Six Saints of the Heavenly Dao, what Hongjun, the Three Pure Ones, and Nuwa and the Two Sages of the West? It's all nonsense! You're just making this up to deceive me!"
Faced with such a rebuttal, Su Yang's lips curled slightly, his expression indifferent. "What if I told you that even your master, Old Ancestor Bodhi, was merely someone who appeared to orchestrate a scheme? Would you believe me?"
Who are you talking about!?