Chapter 51: The Sudden Appearance of the "Way Follows Nature" Immortal Lord

“Buddha, we beg you to have mercy, please spare our eldest senior brother, give him a chance, we beg you.”
Fat Ox and Iron Fan both knelt down and bowed their heads to Tathagata right then and there.
Up in the Heavenly Palace, the Jade Emperor and the gathered immortals watched the scene below with cold indifference.
“Amitabha. Please rise, both of you. Sun Wukong must face the consequences of his own actions and accept his punishment. There is a cause for every effect; all of this is of his own making.”
Though Tathagata felt some sympathy for the monkey’s plight, rules were rules—compassion alone could not overturn them.
The monkey had to pay the price.
“Iron Fan, Fat Ox, stand up at once! It’s no use; do not plead on my behalf. I deserve this. I am to be suppressed here. Ha… Five hundred years! Heavens above, I will not accept it!”
Sun Wukong’s mournful cry echoed between heaven and earth.
“Eldest brother…”
Fat Ox and Iron Fan were already in tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
Far away in the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars on Mount Lingtai, Patriarch Bodhi looked at the vision of his disciple Sun Wukong, pinned firmly beneath the Five Elements Mountain by powerful magic, barely able to move.
Alas!
Oh, little monkey, had you known this would happen, would you have acted as you did?
The Patriarch could only sigh in regret for his disciple’s fate.
“Eldest brother, you’ll be trapped here for five hundred years—what are we supposed to do? What will become of us?”
Iron Fan wept bitterly, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed.
Fat Ox’s tears fell as well.
Sun Wukong could not hold back his own tears: “Fatty, please, take Iron Fan back home. Tell our master that this disciple, Sun Wukong, is unworthy and can no longer fulfill his filial duties. Go, please, both of you!”
“Eldest brother, don’t send me away. I just want to stay with you.”
“Iron Fan, let’s go back.”
“No, I won’t go! Eldest brother is suffering so—how can I leave him alone?”
“Ah, Wukong, are you still mischievous now? When you make mistakes, you must pay the price. For you, that price is five hundred years lost.”
Suddenly, a light, drifting voice came from the sky, startling Tathagata, the Jade Emperor, and all the immortals to their core.

Heavens!
Who in the world would dare speak so boldly before Tathagata Buddha?
All present were at a loss.
Iron Fan and Fat Ox grew excited, gazing up at the sky.
Iron Fan shouted, “Sir, is that you? Please, I beg you, save our eldest brother!”
Fat Ox joined in, shouting with excitement, “Sir, please, save our eldest brother!”
Tathagata’s brow furrowed; with a wave of his hand, he attempted to probe who this mysterious being might be.
Yet after all his efforts, Tathagata made a shocking discovery:
He could not sense even the faintest trace of the other’s presence.
How could this be?
Tathagata was inwardly shaken.
Had this person already transcended the Three Realms and Six Paths? Was he but a phantom?
Otherwise, with his own divine powers, how could he fail to detect the slightest trace of the other?
Tathagata’s heart trembled all the more.
The Jade Emperor and the gods at the Southern Heavenly Gate were the same—unable to sense anything at all.
None of the immortals knew that, on the other side of the sky, Chu Xiaoyu had simply opened his Divine Eye, seeing through both immortals and mortals in a glance.
Though Tathagata probed with all his might, he could not find a single sign of life from the other, and finally had no choice but to ask, “Amitabha, Infinite Life Buddha, may I ask who you are?”
“Tathagata, is it? There’s no need to investigate me. Even if you did, you would find nothing.
I have come for only one thing: Sun Wukong is my disciple. Since he has erred, it is for me, his master, to discipline him—not for unrelated outsiders to interfere.”
The voice drifting from the sky was still light and airy. All the gods in Heaven tried to probe and investigate, but in the end, they could only give up in vain.
They simply could not detect anything about this being.
“May I ask your Dao title?” Tathagata had no choice but to humble himself.
Inwardly, he thought: So that troublemaking monkey has such a powerful immortal as his master? No wonder he fears nothing—he has someone formidable behind him!

No wonder…
“You wish to know my Dao title? Very well. In truth, I am but a carefree wanderer. ‘The Way Follows Nature’—that is my title.”
The Way Follows Nature? It sounded impressive indeed.
“The Way Follows Nature?” Sun Wukong murmured the name.
Only now did he learn his master’s Dao title.
So, The Way Follows Nature…
This sudden, seemingly extraordinary wanderer left the immortals abuzz with speculation.
None of them had ever heard of such a person.
Could there really be such a powerful, domineering being beyond the Three Realms and Six Paths?
“The Way Follows Nature?” Tathagata wracked his memory, recalling all the ancient immortals and celestial beings within and beyond the Three Realms and Six Paths, but in the end could only give up.
He truly had no recollection of such an immortal.
“Tathagata, I have no more words for you. As Sun Wukong’s master, it is for me to discipline him. Do you have any objections?”
“Buddha, you must not!” The Jade Emperor immediately tried to intervene.
“Hmph, this is none of your concern, old Jade Emperor. Step aside.”
Chu Xiaoyu’s words were nothing short of domineering.
The Jade Emperor? The immortals? Under his Divine Eye, they were as ants.
Tathagata spoke again: “Immortal of the Natural Way, first let me express my regret. Sun Wukong is already suppressed beneath the Five Elements Mountain; even I cannot release him. Only after five hundred years, when the monk destined to seek scriptures from the West passes by, will the seal be lifted, and then…”
“Five hundred years? Heh, I’m afraid I can’t wait that long.”
“Eldest brother, did you hear? The master said he has a way to save you!” Iron Fan exclaimed in delight.
Sun Wukong, tears streaming down his face, was overcome with emotion. “Yes, yes, I heard it all. Master… save your disciple! I truly know my faults now. I cannot bear to be trapped beneath this mountain for five hundred years.”
Five hundred years—what does that mean? It is an unimaginably long time; the seas will turn to mulberry fields, and all things will have changed.