Although Erlang God was able to capture Sun Wukong alive with the assistance of Taishang Laojun, this does not mean that his strength is inferior to Sun Wukong. In fact, according to the plot of the original book, his strength is obviously above that of Sun Wukong.
In the sixth chapter of the original work, Erlang God was ordered to suppress Sun Wukong, and the two sides first fought for 300 rounds without winning or losing, but then, the two competed in the art of change, and Sun Wukong was completely suppressed by Erlang God. For example, if he becomes a sparrow, Erlang God will become a sparrowhawk, and if he turns into a fish and hides in the water, Erlang God will immediately transform into an osprey and catch him.
Some people may say that this does not mean that Erlang's magic skills are superior, but that Sun Wukong's tactics are not used properly. He shouldn't change first, give Erlang God a chance to improvise, if you let Erlang God change first, it's him who can adapt to the situation, according to the things that Erlang God has changed, change the things that are mutually restrictive, and suppress Erlang God.
Actually, this has nothing to do with the first change, because the first change also has the opportunity to adapt to the situation. For example, when Sun Wukong turned into a sparrow, and Erlang God turned into a sparrowhawk to catch him, he could also turn into a falconer and suppress Erlang God in turn. Why did the author not design such a plot, but kept letting Erlang God suppress Sun Wukong, the intention is obvious, just to reflect that Erlang God's strength is superior.
We know that Sun Wukong and Erlang God are actually incompatible, for example, Erlang God has mastered the art of law heaven and earth, and Sun Wukong has also mastered the art of law heaven and earth, and Sun Wukong is proficient in seventy-two changes, and Erlang God is also proficient in seventy-two changes, so some people are curious, why can't Sun Wukong beat Erlang God?
Before answering this question, it is necessary for us to find out who the master of Erlang God is.
Some people believe that the master of Erlang God is a real person of Yuding. But this is the setting of "Romance of the Gods", in the world of Journey to the West, the master of Erlang God is a top god whose mana cultivation is far deeper than that of Yuding Zhenren. This great god is known as the Outer Heaven Immortal Sect, and his status in the Three Realms is so high that even the Jade Emperor has to salute when he sees it.
This great god is none other than the Bodhi Patriarch. If he is the master of Erlang God, wouldn't Erlang God and Sun Wukong have a brother-in-law relationship? This seems unbelievable. So, why is it said that Patriarch Bodhi is the master of Erlang God?
As mentioned earlier, Erlang God, like Sun Wukong, is also proficient in the seventy-two changes, and the seventy-two changes are the top spells in the Journey to the West world, and there are very few great gods who master this spell, and the great god who clearly introduces the mastery of this spell is only the Bodhi Patriarch.
Therefore, the mere fact that Erlang God is proficient in the seventy-two changes is enough to remind people that he is a disciple of the Bodhi Patriarch. Not to mention, he and Sun Wukong are incomparable, if Erlang God's master, Bodhi Patriarch, Patriarch, it is hard to imagine that another great god will teach him exactly the same skills as Sun Wukong.
Speaking of which, everyone must be very curious, since Erlang God and Sun Wukong are from the same school and master the same skills, their strength should be equal, why is Erlang God better?
In the mythical world, a person's mana cultivation is directly proportional to the cultivation time, and the longer the cultivation time, the stronger the mana cultivation. The same is true for cultivating a certain kind of spell, the longer the cultivation time, the more proficient the use of the spell will be, and the stronger the strength will be.
Although the supernatural powers are unique, the time for Erlang God to practice spells is obviously much longer than that of Sun Wukong, you must know that when Sun Wukong was not born, Erlang God had already become an immortal. His cultivation may be hundreds or even more than a thousand years beyond Sun Wukong. In this case, his strength is stronger than that of Sun Wukong, and it is not surprising that Sun Wukong can't beat him. What do you think?