Sun Wukong knew there was no way for him to remain with Patriarch Bodhi any longer. He bowed farewell to his master, took leave of his fellow disciples, recited the spell he had learned, and mounted his somersault cloud. In less than an hour, he was back at the Water Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain.
What he found there was miserable. The mountain was desolate and ruined, no longer the lively home he remembered.
After he had left, a demon known as the Demon King of Havoc had taken over the Water Curtain Cave and carried off many of the monkeys. When Wukong heard this, he ground his teeth in anger and stamped his feet. After asking where the demon lived, he immediately set out to take revenge, riding his cloud northward.
Before long, he arrived outside the demon’s Water-Dirty Cave. He shouted at the little fiends guarding the entrance:
“Tell that worthless demon king of yours that he has bullied my monkeys again and again. I’ve come today to see which of us is stronger!”
The little demons rushed inside to report. The Demon King of Havoc quickly put on his iron armor, seized his great saber, and came out surrounded by his minions.
Wukong had no weapon in his hands, but that made no difference. He snatched away the demon king’s saber and split him in two with it. Then he plucked a handful of hairs from his body, chewed them up, and spat them out. The hairs turned into countless little monkeys, who charged into the cave, killed every demon inside, rescued the captured monkey children, and set fire to the Water-Dirty Cave.
Afterward, Wukong called back his hairs and told the rescued monkeys to close their eyes. He performed a spell, and a fierce wind rose up. Riding that wind, they all returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain.
From then on, Wukong had the monkeys make bamboo spears and wooden swords. With the great saber he had taken from the demon king, he began teaching them martial skills. But after some time, he decided that bamboo spears and wooden swords were no real weapons for battle. Two monkeys told him that the nearby kingdom of Aolai was sure to have proper arms.
Wukong rode his cloud over Aolai and recited an incantation. At once, a violent gale swept across the sky. Sand and stones flew everywhere, frightening the soldiers and civilians in the city so badly that no one dared come outside. Taking advantage of the chaos, Wukong slipped into the armory. He pulled out a hair, blew on it, and changed it into more than a thousand little monkeys, who carried off weapons in every direction. When he saw they had taken enough, he shifted the wind and returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain.
After this, the fame of the Water Curtain Cave grew even greater. Demon chiefs from all around came to pay their respects to Sun Wukong, including the lords of the seventy-two caves.
Yet Wukong still had one thing on his mind: the great saber was too light for him and did not suit his strength. An old gibbon with long arms told him that beneath the bridge at the Water Curtain Cave there was a passage leading straight to the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea. If he wanted a fitting weapon, he should go there and ask the Dragon King.
Wukong went at once to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace and explained his purpose to the old Dragon King, Ao Guang. The Dragon King could not easily refuse him, so he ordered his shrimp soldiers to carry out a nine-pronged fork weighing three thousand six hundred jin. Wukong took it, played with it for a while, and said it was too light.
Ao Guang then commanded his crab generals to bring out a Fangtian painted halberd weighing seven thousand two hundred jin. Wukong took one look and again complained that it was too light.
“There is no weapon heavier than this,” said the Dragon King.
Wukong did not believe him, and the two began to argue. The Dragon Queen then quietly said to Ao Guang, “The divine iron used by Great Yu to measure the depths of the sea has been giving off light recently. Give him that. Whether he can use it or not, at least it will get him out of here.”
The Dragon King took her advice and told Wukong, “That treasure is far too heavy. If you want it, you must fetch it yourself.”
Sun Wukong followed him down to the bottom of the sea. The Dragon King pointed and said, “The shining one is it.”
Wukong saw a pillar of iron blazing with golden light. He walked over and touched it. It was as thick as a measuring vessel and more than two zhang long. He tried moving it with his hands and said, “Too long, too long. It would be better if it were shorter and thinner.”
Before he had even finished speaking, the treasure shortened by several feet and grew slimmer. Wukong looked at it and said, “It would be even better if it were thinner still.”
The treasure truly shrank again. Wukong picked it up and saw words written on it: “Compliant Golden-Banded Staff, weight thirteen thousand five hundred jin.” He swung it about for a while and found it perfectly suited to him.
Back in the Crystal Palace, Wukong was still not satisfied. He demanded that the Dragon King also provide him with clothing to match his new weapon. Ao Guang had nothing suitable, but he feared that Wukong might cause more trouble if refused. He struck the emergency golden bell and summoned the Dragon Kings of the Southern, Northern, and Western Seas: Ao Qin, Ao Shun, and Ao Run.
The four brothers together gathered a set of golden armor, a phoenix-wing purple-gold crown, and a pair of cloud-walking shoes woven like lotus root silk. These they presented to Wukong.
When Wukong returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain, he discovered that the Golden-Banded Staff could shrink to the size of an embroidery needle, small enough to hide inside his ear.
One day, he held a feast for all the demon kings. After drinking too much, he fell asleep under a pine tree by the bridge. In a daze, he saw two figures approach, holding a warrant with the words “Sun Wukong” written on it. Without a word, they threw a rope around him, pulled him up, and dragged him away.
Still half-confused, Wukong followed them until they reached a city gate. On the tower above the gate was a sign with three large characters: “Region of Darkness.” He realized this was the realm of King Yama and turned to leave. But the two soul-collecting ghosts held him fast and insisted on taking him inside.
Wukong’s temper flared. He pulled the Golden-Banded Staff from his ear and beat the two ghosts into pulp. Then he shook off the noose, brandished his staff, and fought his way into the city, straight to the Hall of Senluo.
The ten kings of the underworld saw how fierce and terrifying he looked and were so frightened they did not know what to do.
Wukong shouted, “Since you sit on royal thrones, you ought to have some spiritual awareness. Why did you not know I was coming? I, Old Sun, have already attained the immortal way and can live forever. Bring me the Register of Life and Death!”
The ten kings hurriedly ordered the judge to fetch the records. Wukong climbed into the Hall of Senluo and searched until he reached entry number 1,350 under the category of souls. There he found his own name. He took up the brush and crossed out not only his name, but the names of all the monkeys.
“Excellent! Excellent!” he said. “From now on, we are no longer under your control.”
With that, he fought his way back out of the Region of Darkness. The ten kings of the underworld quickly went to the Palace of Green Clouds to see Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and discuss how they should report the matter to the Jade Emperor.