Journey to the West: Demon Emperor: Beginning as a Little Toad

Chapter 581 Receiving the Axe Technique
"The laws of heaven and earth..."

At this moment, Xiao Chen was not particularly surprised to see that Wu Gang knew the "Law of Heaven and Earth" technique.

It is rumored.

The principle of "following the laws of heaven and earth" originated from Pangu, the great god who created the world.

This is the supreme supernatural power by which cultivators emulate the majestic form of the great god Pangu when he created the world.

Those who perform this technique have the heavens above their heads and the netherworld beneath their feet. Their bodies swell to a height of ten thousand feet, almost reaching the height of heaven and earth.

Thinking back to the great battle of the Investiture of the Gods.

Although Yang Jian possessed great supernatural powers, he never used this "law of heaven and earth" technique.

It is likely that at that time, he had not yet grasped the mystery of this matter, nor had he obtained the method of "following the laws of heaven and earth".

However, by the time of the battle at Flower Fruit Mountain, Yang Jian was already able to use this technique, and fought a fierce and evenly matched battle with the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong.

It is likely that Yang Jian later gleaned the profound mystery of "following the laws of heaven and earth" from the "mountain-splitting axe," thus acquiring this supernatural power.

Wu Gang, confined to the Moon Palace, spent countless years chopping down the cassia tree in that cold and lonely place, his axe never leaving his hand, through the changing seasons, never slacking off in the slightest.

Wu Gang was fortunate enough to obtain the "Toad Palace Laurel-Plucking Axe," which was formed from fragments of Pangu's axe. This axe was extraordinary, containing the residual power of creating the world.

He also witnessed the illusion of the great god Pangu creating the world, and obtained some of its essence and spirit.

By sheer coincidence, Wu Gang turned misfortune into blessing, and surprisingly inherited a portion of Pangu's magic.

Therefore, it is reasonable and not surprising that Wu Gang, inheriting the power of the axe that split the heavens and earth, and with the unwavering determination to chop down the cassia tree for ten thousand years, communicated with the true meaning of the beginning of chaos in his daily labor. Thus, he learned the method of "following the laws of heaven and earth".

At this moment.

Xiao Chen's gaze fell on the "Axe for Plucking the Laurel Tree in the Moon Palace" that Wu Gang handed over. He saw the axe blade gleaming with a cold light, faintly revealing the sharpness of an indestructible and divine nature, as if it could cut through all the shackles of the world.

This is a truly precious treasure, containing a trace of the power to "destroy" the Great Dao.

Feeling the unparalleled sharpness and "destructive" aura of the Great Dao originating from the time of Pangu's creation of the world, Xiao Chen's heart surged with heat, and he no longer hesitated.

"Copy the Axe of the Moon Goddess! Fuse it with—the right metacarpal bone!"

Xiao Chen's mind raced, and he issued the order without hesitation.

The thought had barely crossed my mind.

Then a torrent of intense heat, which was extremely refined yet contained boundless destructive power, surged wildly from the divine axe in his hand.

Following his meridians and blood vessels, like all streams converging, it went straight to the bones of his right palm!

"Uh……"

Xiao Chen groaned, feeling as if his right palm had been plunged into the boiling innate furnace deep within the Earth's core!
The lingering echoes of creation brought by the fragments of the Heaven-Opening Axe blade were imprinting, melting, and reshaping his bones in a cruel and direct way!

Amidst the excruciating heat, the indestructible true meaning of creation is being forged!

Shatter! Reassemble! Shatter again! Reassemble again! The cycle repeats endlessly!

Each repetition is a tearing apart of flesh and blood, and a tempering of the soul and will!
On the Axe of the Moon Palace, the dark golden divine patterns filled with the intent of the laws of "destruction", "delay" and "severance" are formed deep within the bones, as if imprinted with the rules of heaven and earth!

At the same time, a vast and pure source of magical power surged in...

After a few breaths, the burning sensation subsided, and the pain transformed into a deep and stable sense of power.

The notification sound came clearly again:
"Copy successful! The 'Toad Palace Axe' has been integrated into the right metacarpal bone."

"The host has successfully fused with the original power of the fragments of the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe, and his cultivation has increased by five hundred years."

"call……"

He let out a long sigh of relief.

Xiao Chen forcibly suppressed the turbulent emotions caused by the surge of power and the overwhelming force that was about to burst forth from his palm.

Without showing the slightest unusual expression, he steadily lifted the "Divine Axe for Plucking the Laurel Tree in the Moon Palace" with both hands and handed it back to Wu Gang.

Xiao Chen looked at this ill-fated moon palace woodcutter and said sincerely:

"Brother Wu Gang, the sharpness of this divine axe contains the true meaning of the Great Dao."

"I have benefited greatly from this visit, and I am deeply grateful for your kindness!"

Wu Gang grinned, took the axe and casually hung it at his waist, his deep voice carrying a hint of hearty cheerfulness:

"Haha, Brother Yang, you're too kind!"

"It's a trivial matter, nothing to worry about!"

"It's all fate that my axe, Old Wu's, has been appreciated by Brother Yang."

Xiao Chen's gaze held a hint of complexity and inquiry as he finally asked the enormous question that had been lingering in his mind:
"Brother Wu Gang."

His voice was deep, and his gaze was piercing as he looked directly at the other man, slowly asking Wu Gang:
"Emperor Yan once punished you by making you cut down the cassia tree in the moon palace, saying that you would not leave the moon palace until the cassia tree was exhausted."

"But now, you have mastered the art of axe fighting and possess this divine weapon, so you are no longer afraid of the indestructible power of the primordial laurel tree..."

Xiao Chen raised his hand and pointed to the vast and boundless forest of osmanthus trees:

"Why don't you wield this divine axe and cut down all the cassia trees in this palace?"

"Break free from the shackles and escape?"

"The world is vast, where can't you go?!"

"Break free from the shackles and break free..."

Wu Gang's movement to catch the axe suddenly froze!
That hearty smile froze instantly.

Instead, there is a profound, almost solidified, desolation and confusion.

He did not answer immediately, but stood there, seemingly lost in endless thought.

"Fell down all the cassia trees...sever the shackles..."

He repeated it in a low voice, hoarse and dry, filled with endless exhaustion and numbness.

"Fell down all the cassia trees...sever the shackles..."

Wu Gang slowly shook his head, his eyes gazing blankly at the enormous, lush, innate laurel tree that stretched across the void.

"Hey……"

After a long while, a heavy sigh finally escaped his lips.

"Easier said than done..."

Wu Gang murmured to himself, carrying with him the vicissitudes and helplessness of millennia.

"Emperor Yan's decree... Human laws and regulations..."

His voice was low, carrying an almost numb calmness, yet beneath that calm lay a profound and poignant desolation:
"Back then, Emperor Yan issued an edict, expelling me from the human race despite my status as the Human Emperor..."

“I was banished by the Emperor, and that imperial edict severed my roots completely.”

"Once the Human Emperor issues his decree, who among the human race would dare disobey?"

“I, Wu Gang, have not only been expelled from the human race, but have also been regarded as a traitor to the human race and despised by everyone.”

He paused, stroking the rough handle of the axe, soothing his numerous wounds:
"At this point, I... am also without a clan!"

"Ancient tribes, the land that gave me birth and nurtured me... Ten thousand years of vicissitudes, dynasties changing, gods and demons clashing... Where is my homeland now?"

He paused, a deep sense of desolation in his eyes:
"Now, the tribe has vanished, turned to dust, and all blood ties have been severed... I... am just a lonely ghost forgotten by the world."

"At this point, I have no country."

His eyes dimmed, and his voice deepened:

"Wife...sigh...it's better not to talk about the pain."

He closed his eyes slightly, as if forcibly suppressing the pain in his heart:
"My wife committed adultery, and my child is not my child. Ha ha ha, I... have long since lost my home!"

"Hehehe, that place that should have been the warmest... Heh... Betrayal is like a knife, shattering all my attachments."

"My home is ashes, my heart is as cold as ice... Where can I find any smoke from the chimney?"

He abruptly raised his head, looking directly at Xiao Chen, his eyes filled with a complex and unfathomable expression—a mixture of self-mockery, despair, and an indescribable resignation.

"Brother Yang! I am a person without clan, without country, without home... The Three Realms are vast and boundless, how can they possibly... accommodate my ominous body and exiled soul?!"

"This Moon Palace and Cassia Hall..."

"That's right, it's the shackles I've carried for countless years!"

Wu Gang spread his arms and looked around at the forest that he had cut down countless times and where starlight once dwelled. The forest was like his cage, yet it was also like his only refuge.

"This Moon Palace and Cassia Hall, it is a cage! A cage! It locks up my physical body and my past... But it is precisely this cage that, in the vast world, gave me this eternal imprisonment... a 'place to stand' to shelter me from the wind and rain!"

"Once I leave this place, in the vast Three Realms and the boundless world, where will I, Wu Gang, find even an inch of shelter?"

"Where is there still a sound... of 'Wu Gang' worthy of being called?"

His tone wasn't one of utter grief and indignation, but rather a deep-seated resignation and loneliness, worn smooth by time. Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen's eyes flickered slightly, his gaze firm and calm, and he said in a deep voice:
"Brother, I, Yang Guoshan, cannot agree with your statement!"

"In the beginning, Father God Pangu separated heaven and earth, and his body transformed into all things, evolving the primordial world, which gave rise to these three thousand great worlds, where countless living beings multiplied and lived!"

"The beings of the Three Realms are not limited to humans."

"In the Three Realms, there are five immortals: Heaven, Earth, God, Human, and Ghost; and five insects: Snake, Scaled, Hairy, Feathered, and Insect."

"The phoenix is ​​a feathered creature that soars above the nine heavens."

"Dragons are scaled creatures that lurk in the deep sea."

"The Qilin is a hairy creature that walks on the earth."

"Scorpions are insects that hide in the dark, and they have their own way of surviving."

"Humans are nothing more than one of the snipes."

"But whether they are snipes, scaled insects, hairy insects, feathered insects, or insects, tracing back to the source, we, the creatures born in the primordial world, all inherit the flesh and blood of Pangu and are all descendants of Pangu's bloodline!"

"Why confine yourself to the name of 'human race', brother?"

Why cling to the prison drawn by that old imperial decree?

"When you look out over this vast and boundless wilderness, with heaven and earth residing in your heart, where can't you make your home?"

……

The ancients used "insect" as a general term for animals, adhering to the concept of harmony between man and nature, and humans were also included in it, classified as a genus of insects.

The term "naked insect" refers to creatures that are hairless, scaled, and armored, with their skin exposed.

For example, tigers are called "big worms," ​​snakes are called "long worms," ​​nine-headed birds are called "nine-headed worms," ​​and humans are called "naked worms."

In ancient texts, naked insects are often used as a metaphor for people.

In Journey to the West, the Buddha also said:

"The five insects are snails, scaled creatures, hairy creatures, feathered creatures, and insects."

……

Actually, what Xiao Chen wanted to say was:
“Brother Wu Gang, since you have such extraordinary abilities, the human race can no longer tolerate you and has banished you to the Moon Palace.”

"Why don't you broaden your horizons and join my demon race?"

"Sit down in a chair!"

However, in this celestial realm, on the Taiyin Star, there are many eyes and ears, so Xiao Chen certainly cannot speak openly.

Wu Gang gazed at the vast expanse of heaven and earth:

"I appreciate Brother Yang's kindness."

"I am fortunate to have received the blessings of Father Pangu and to have witnessed the creation of the world. This is the greatest fortune in my misfortune."

"If this primordial world were to face the danger of chaos returning and the collapse of heaven and earth, I, Wu Gang, would not fail to live up to the legacy of the Heaven-Opening Axe. I would take up the axe and go forth to protect this world. This is the duty I have come to understand in these ten thousand years."

He gazed at the wound on the enormous cassia tree in the distance, which was still slowly healing, his gaze seemingly piercing through the endless time spent felling the cassia in the moon palace:
"As for other things, fame, fortune, freedom and leisure... in this desolate world of ten thousand years, they have long since faded and dissipated, just like the clear light of this palace."

"The gains and losses, honors and disgraces, grudges and affections of the secular world... are to me like the broken wood of this laurel palace, with no thought of their rebirth."

"I live out my remaining years by guarding this legacy of Pangu, which is not necessarily... a kind of fulfillment."

The timeless melancholy and detachment in his words brought a pang of sorrow to the heart.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen looked at this tough man who had been tormented by fate but had found a spiritual refuge in despair, and understood.

As the saying goes:
"The greatest sorrow is the death of the heart; physical death is secondary."

Some people are alive, yet they are already dead.

Wu Gang, though his physical body is imprisoned in the Moon Palace, is in an even deeper prison that is his heart, pierced by betrayal and worn down by time, losing all hope.

That heart, once full of hope and passion, was riddled with holes by his wife's betrayal, his people's banishment, and the world's indifference.

Now, he has no home, no country, and no clan, like a drifting leaf with nowhere to belong in this world.

The laurel tree, once cut down, will grow back, endlessly repeating the cycle, just like his "life imprisonment" itself.

His value seems to be reduced to mechanically swinging an axe, searching for a sense of emptiness in this eternal cycle.

Thus, the cassia tree died and came back to life.

Wu Gang chopping down the cassia tree is an endless tale.

Just like the moon, which waxes and wanes, endlessly repeating itself.

Since things had come to this point, Xiao Chen said no more.

He carefully put away the two ends of the innate cassia wood, which contained unparalleled spiritual materials.

Subsequently.

Xiao Chen then took out all the remaining Heavenly Imperial Wine from his Ruyi Treasure Pouch, including the exquisite nectar that could intoxicate even immortals and gods, and presented it all to Wu Gang with both hands:

“In that case, brother… I will go and report back to the Moon Goddess.”

"This is Heavenly Jade Liquor, extremely potent. I hope you will drink it, brother, to temporarily soothe your heart!"

"I will remember your great kindness in guiding me through this cassia-picking journey!"

Wine is a way to forget worries.

Perhaps, a few jugs of strong liquor that could intoxicate even immortals and gods are the only source of warmth and comfort for this lonely soul without clan, home, or country in the eternally cold Moon Palace.

Wu Gang did not refuse; his calloused hands took the wine jar, and a genuine smile finally appeared on his heavy, rough face.

"Excellent! Very good! Wine is a wonderful thing; it can drown all sorrows!"

"All the loneliness and sorrow that have lasted for millennia can be washed away with this fine wine!"

"Since you have such a kind intention, I, your elder brother, will... shamelessly accept it!"

Just as Xiao Chen turned to leave.

"Brother Yang! Wait a moment!"

Wu Gang's booming voice rang out from behind him, carrying a rare hint of reluctance and solemnity.

Xiao Chen paused and turned around, his eyes filled with inquiry:
"Brother Wu Gang, is there anything else you need?"

Wu Gang's face straightened, and his expression became solemn and dignified.

He carefully took something out from deep within his coarse cloth garment.

It was a scroll that was neither silk nor bamboo slips, but rather a scroll made of thin, naturally formed pieces of cassia wood, imbued with inner radiance.

With the sharpness of the "Axe for Plucking the Laurel in the Moon Palace" as its emblem, countless axe shadows are meticulously engraved on it. The axe shadows crisscross, seemingly containing endless mysteries and secrets. It is a set of exquisite axe techniques diagrams!

It exudes a solemn and ancient aura of creation, as if one can feel the magnificent power of the father god Pangu when he created the world.

"Brother Yang, this is a set of axe techniques that I, your elder brother, created while trapped in the Moon Palace and the Cassia Hall, felling cassia trees for ten thousand years, swinging my axe countless times in desolation, observing the movement of the sun, moon and stars, and then occasionally getting inspiration from the illusion of the Father God Pangu creating the world."

He gently stroked the scroll, as if soothing his own flesh and blood:

“I named it ‘Wu Gang Chopping the Laurel Tree’ Method, or ‘The Moon Palace Plucking the Laurel Tree’ Method…”

He sighed deeply, a sigh filled with eternal loneliness and endless desolation:
“I, Wu Gang… am afraid that in this life, I will be forever confined to the Moon Palace and will never be able to leave.”

"The waxing and waning of the moon, the growth and decay of cassia trees—this is my destiny."

Wu Gang's gaze was fixed intently on Xiao Chen, carrying with it the last glimmer of hope for the continuation of the torch:

"However, this set of axe techniques embodies my life's work and insights, and contains the spirit of the axe that created the heavens and earth."

“I cannot bear to let it rot and be buried in this desolate place along with me, a prisoner for thousands of years.”

He paused, looked at Xiao Chen, his eyes filled with a pleading look:

"Brother Yang, we've known each other since we're acquainted through our shared love of axe techniques, and we're kindred spirits. You should practice your axe skills..."

"If you don't mind my crude skills, brother..."

Wu Gang held the "Wu Gang Chopping the Cassia Tree" painting in his palms and handed it to Xiao Chen:

"I will then teach you this axe technique."

"I also ask you, my brother, to select a talented and virtuous person to pass on this axe technique to me!"

"May this axe light pierce through the vast expanse of heaven and earth beyond the Moon Palace!"

"We must continue the torch!"

"It wasn't in vain that I, Wu Gang, came into this world."

(End of this chapter)