After receiving the Ruyi Jingu Bang (The Golden Staff of Destiny), Sun Wukong was delighted. He hosted grand banquets in the Water Curtain Cave, drinking with the young monkeys day in and day out. Once they had their fill of wine, he had the monkeys practice their martial arts in front of the cave. He promoted four elder monkeys as generals, two monkeys with red rear ends as Marshal Ma and Marshal Liu, and two large monkeys with strong backs as General Ben and General Ba. From then on, the trivial matters of Huaguo Mountain (Flower-Fruit Mountain) were all managed by the four generals, while Sun Wukong spent his days riding clouds, traveling to immortal mountains, making friends, and enjoying a carefree life, coming and going at will.
One day, Sun Wukong held a grand banquet at the Water Curtain Cave, inviting his newfound brothers: Niu Mo Wang (The Bull Demon King), Shi Tuo Wang (The Lion King), Mi Hou Wang (The Macaque King), Jiao Mo Wang (The Flood Dragon King), Peng Mo Wang (The Roc Demon King), and Yü Rong Wang (The King of the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey). They toasted to Heaven and Earth, drank and danced merrily, and before long, everyone was drunken beyond recognition. After the feast, Sun Wukong saw his brothers off, then staggered and leaned against a pine tree near the Iron Bridge to sleep off his drunkenness. The four generals stood watch over him, afraid to make a sound.
In his drunken stupor, Sun Wukong had a strange dream. He saw two figures holding a piece of paper with the name "Sun Wukong" written on it, walking toward him. Before he could explain himself, the two figures bound him with a rope, dragging his soul as they staggered toward a city gate. Sun Wukong slowly began to wake up and realized that he was being dragged toward the city. Looking around, he saw an iron plaque on the city wall with the words "Yomi Realm" (The Realm of the Underworld).
At that moment, Sun Wukong understood that these two beings were taking him to the King of the Underworld (Yama). He asked, "This is the realm of Yama, the King of the Underworld. Why are you dragging me here?"
The two figures replied, "Your time has come. We are here to bring you to the Underworld to claim your soul."
Sun Wukong, still irritated, retorted, "I, Old Monkey, am not bound by the Three Realms nor the Five Elements. I am no longer under anyone's jurisdiction! Why are you so foolish to come after me?"
The two soul collectors, unaware of Sun Wukong's power, ignored his protestations and stubbornly tried to drag him to Yama's palace. Sun Wukong was not one to let anyone get away with such insolence. He took out his Ruyi Jingu Bang (Golden Staff) from his ear, expanded it to the size of a bowl, and with two swift blows, ended the lives of the two soul collectors.
Sun Wukong continued to storm through the Underworld, terrifying the demons and spirits, sending them scurrying in all directions. A small demon rushed to report to Yama, saying, "Lord Yama, there's a terrifying figure outside—someone who looks like the Thunder God, with a monkey's face!"
Yama and the ten kings of the Underworld panicked and quickly donned their attire to investigate. When they saw Sun Wukong, fierce and menacing, they immediately asked, "Mighty Immortal, please tell us your name."
Sun Wukong sneered, "You don't recognize me, yet you sent people to claim my soul? Who do you think you are?"
The ten kings replied, "Forgive us, Mighty One. It must have been a mistake made by our soul collectors."
Sun Wukong angrily retorted, "I am Sun Wukong, the Great Sage of Huaguo Mountain. Who dares to send someone to capture me?"
The ten kings answered, "We are the Ten Kings of the Underworld."
Sun Wukong scowled, "If you're truly the Ten Kings of the Underworld, then why are you so ignorant? I have ascended beyond the Three Realms and the Five Elements. I am immortal! Who gave you the right to capture me?"
The ten kings quickly apologized, saying, "Please do not be angry. There are many people with similar names in the world, and it seems our soul collectors have confused you with someone else."
Sun Wukong snapped, "Nonsense! Do you think soul collectors can make such mistakes when it comes to life and death? Bring me your Book of Life and Death! I want to see for myself!"
With that, Sun Wukong took his Golden Staff and sat on the throne in the Samsara Hall.
The ten kings, afraid to disobey, ordered the Judge of the Underworld to bring the Book of Life and Death. The judge fetched the book, which contained several volumes. He flipped through them, starting with the records of insects, worms, and animals. But to his surprise, Sun Wukong's name was nowhere to be found. He searched through the records of insects, flying creatures, and walking animals, but found nothing. After much searching, the judge finally opened the record for monkeys.
It turned out that although Sun Wukong looked like a human, he was still considered a monkey. He didn't belong in the records for humans, nor did he belong to the realm of beasts or birds, and therefore wasn't listed in the usual volumes. Sun Wukong impatiently snatched the Book of Life and Death from the judge and began searching himself. Finally, at the 1,350th entry, he found his name—Sun Wukong, a stone monkey born of Heaven and Earth, whose life was supposed to end at the age of 342.
Sun Wukong exclaimed, "I don't care how many years I'm supposed to live. Just strike my name off the list right now! Find me a pen!"
The judge hastily brought a brush and ink, handing it to Sun Wukong with respect. Sun Wukong took the brush and, with a flourish, crossed out his name and the names of all other monkeys in the book, declaring, "Done! Now I'll never be under your control again!" He threw the book aside, laughing, and then leaped out of the Underworld.
The ten kings, though seething with anger, didn't dare challenge Sun Wukong. They stood there, helplessly watching him leave.
Sun Wukong flew back to the Water Curtain Cave but tripped on the way. When he awoke, he realized that his visit to the Underworld had been nothing but a dream. He stretched and heard the four generals and the monkeys around him asking, "Great King, how much did you drink? You've been asleep all day!"
Sun Wukong responded, "It was a terrible sleep. In my dream, two figures came to claim my soul and dragged me to the Underworld. I argued with the ten kings and made them admit they had confused me with someone else. In the end, I erased my name from their Book of Life and Death, and now I'm free. We'll all live forever, as long as we wish!"
The monkeys, hearing this, immediately bowed down before him and expressed their gratitude. From that day on, all the monkeys of Huaguo Mountain were free from the rule of Yama, the King of the Underworld, because their names were no longer in the Book of Life and Death. No soul collector ever came for them again.