Mandrill Chief Characters

Location

Added to the journal when claiming the Skandha of Consciousness after defeating the Giant Shigandang north of the Mantis-Catching Swamp shrine in chapter 6. To fight it, you’ll need four Skandhas, listed below.

• Skandha of Form
• Skandha of Feeling
• Skandha of Thought
• Skandha of Choice

Poetry

A heart caring with dreams unclear,
She left the mountain, ventured far and near.
Seeking the Five Skandhas, found naught,
True wisdom lies in letting go, she’s taught.

Description

The “Tripitaka Scriptures” depict the Mandrill as possessing extraordinary abilities, capable of grasping the sun and moon, shrinking mountains, discerning fortunes, and manipulating the universe with its power.

In Mount Huaguo, a day unlike any other unfolded. The Mandrill Chief was leaping through the mountains when she suddenly saw the celestial stone on the mountaintop explode, producing a stone egg. As the wind blew over it, the stone egg transformed into a stone monkey. The Mandrill Chief approached to observe, and the stone monkey began to mimic, learning to crawl and walk. Subsequently, the stone monkey bowed to the four directions, and its eyes emitted two beams of golden light that shot up to the Celestial Palace. Delighted, the Mandrill Chief brought the stone monkey into the forest to meet the other monkeys. This extraordinary stone monkey soon proved its worth and, after a series of contests, became the king of the monkeys, earning the title “Handsome Monkey King.”

For three to five hundred years, the Monkey King led the monkeys in carefree joy. One day, he began to worry about life and death. The Mandrill Chief advised the Monkey King to go out and seek the Dao. After the Monkey King returned, he rewarded the Mandrill Chief by appointing her as a general. Later, the Monkey King was titled the Great Sage, became a celestial official, caused havoc in the Celestial Palace, was subdued and imprisoned under a mountain, became a monk, achieved enlightenment, and finally became a Buddha… After several rises and falls, he ultimately returned to the mountain and transformed back into a stone.

One day, an immortal appeared in the dream to the Mandrill Chief, telling her that all Five Skandhas are empty and can transcend all suffering. The immortal explained that if she could visit all the sacred places and temples in the world, gather the essence of the Five Skandhas, and make the Five Skandhas Pill, she might be able to awaken the stone and restore its divine spirit.

Thus, she traveled across the three realms and four lands, searching for ingredients to make the pill, until she encountered a monkey that looked exactly like the Monkey King…