After many years of wandering, Sun Wukong finally reached the continent of Aparagodaniya and climbed the Spirit-Tower Heart Mountain, where the immortal sage Subodhi dwelled.

At the temple gates, he knelt for three days and three nights without moving, until the venerable patriarch took notice of this unusual visitor.

"What is your name, child?" asked Subodhi.

"Master, I have no name. I was born from stone and raised among monkeys."

Subodhi smiled. "I shall give you the surname Sun, meaning 'grandson of the monkey,' and the personal name Wukong—'Awakened to Emptiness.'"

For seven more years, Sun Wukong swept floors, chopped wood, and performed the humblest of tasks. He learned patience, humility, and discipline. At last, Subodhi agreed to teach him.

First came the Seventy-Two Earthly Transformations, allowing Wukong to take the form of any creature, object, or person. Then the art of the Cloud Somersault, a single leap of which could carry him thirty-six thousand miles.

But it was the third and most precious gift—the secret of immortality—that would change the fate of the cosmos itself.