In the story of Journey to the West, Monkey King is an excellent protagonist who is witty, brave and skilled. However, even such a powerful monkey had a major mistake in choosing his weapon. borrowed treasure from the Dragon Palace in the East China Sea back then, although Sun Wukong finally chose the famous "Golden Hoop Stick", he missed a more magical and powerful weapon. What exactly is this weapon? Why did Sun Wukong miss it, and how does it compare to the Golden Hoop Stick?
The origin of the golden hoop rod and its limitations
It is said that Taishang Laojun is the supreme immortal of the heavenly realm, and refining weapons is even more superb. In the primeval period, Taishang Laojun condensed the essence of heaven and earth, used the true fire of Samadhi, and after tens of thousands of years of training, finally created a magical golden hoop stick. The original name of this golden hoop stick is "Dinghai God Needle", the whole body is golden and bright, engraved with the four big characters of "Ruyi Golden Hoop Stick", weighing 13,500 catties.
Later, Dayu made a contribution to the flood control, and Taishang Laojun gave this magic needle to support the force. Dayu used this magic needle to dredge the river, and finally succeeded in calming the flood. But after the success, Dayu found that this magic needle was extremely heavy, and he couldn't pull it out of the East China Sea. In desperation, Dayu had to leave the magic needle in the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea.
Thousands of years later, Sun Wukong left Huaguo Mountain and went to the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea to borrow treasures. Seeing that Sun Wukong's skills were extraordinary, the Dragon King had to open the treasure house and let him personally select weapons. When Sun Wukong saw this golden hoop stick weighing 10,000 catties, he immediately felt good. With all the strength he could eat, he finally pulled the golden rod from the ground.
Sun Wukong took it in his hand and found that this golden hoop stick was magical, not only could it be lengthened and shortened at will, but also had spirituality to the master and obeyed his words. While Sun Wukong was happy, he also discovered some flaws in the golden hoop stick. It turns out that although this golden hoop stick is from the hand of Taishang Laojun, it is not Laojun's proud work, the workmanship is rough, and the attack power is limited.
In contrast, there is an even more magical weapon in the Dragon Palace-the Fang Tian Painting Halberd. This Fang Tian Painting Halberd has an extended rod at the tip of the spear, and its attack power is extremely strong, weighing 7,200 catties, which is a real heavyweight weapon. It's a pity that Sun Wukong was very good at that time, and he only valued the heavy weight of the golden hoop stick, and turned a blind eye to the advantages of the other party's heavenly painting halberd, thus missing this more powerful artifact.
Another artifact that Sun Wukong missed
It is said that there are countless treasures hidden in the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea, in addition to the golden hoop stick that Sun Wukong finally selected, there is also a more magical and powerful weapon. This is the famous "Fang Tian Painting Halberd".
Fang Tian's halberd is a kind of spear and halberd weapon, which is composed of two parts: the tip of the gun and the long rod. The spear is sharp enough to pierce through enemies, while the long shaft is full of sharp barbs that can tear through the flesh of enemies. The total length is more than three zhang, and the weight is 7,200 catties, which is actually a heavyweight lethal weapon.
When he chose a treasure in the Dragon Palace, although Sun Wukong took a fancy to the majestic figure of Fang Tian's halberd, he was finally persuaded to retreat by its huge size. Sun Wukong was only concerned about choosing heavy weapons at that time, thinking that weight equaled strength, but ignoring the strong attack power of Fang Tian's halberd.
Unexpectedly, Fang Tian's halberd was later obtained by the Dapeng Bird, and since then he has become the main soldier of the Dapeng Bird. The Roc Bird is huge and powerful, making it a suitable super heavy weapon. With the help of Fang Tian's painting halberd, the combat power of the Dapeng Bird has been greatly improved.
According to the storyline of Journey to the West, Dapeng Bird once ambushed Tang monks and apprentices in the bushes in an attempt to block them and rob them. Fortunately, Sun Wukong reacted quickly and waved the golden hoop stick in time to fight against him, and a tragedy was avoided.
It is conceivable that if the Dapeng Bird was not holding Fang Tian's halberd at that time, but other ordinary spears, I am afraid that even if Sun Wukong is alert, he will not be able to escape. Fang Tian's painting halberd spear was sharp and had a wide range of attacks, even if Sun Wukong dodged the tip of the spear, the barb on the long pole was enough to drag him down.
Moreover, the Dapeng Bird is huge, with a wingspan of several feet, wielding the Fang Tian Painting Halberd in mid-air, it is simply a mobile killing machine. Even if Sun Wukong is extraordinary, he will inevitably fall into a desperate situation. At that time, even if Bajie and Sha Seng wanted to help, they would inevitably be injured by Dapeng Bird's Fang Tian Painting Halberd.
Comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the two artifacts
Although Sun Wukong finally chose the golden hoop stick as his magic weapon, Fang Tian's painting halberd was by no means completely unadvantageous compared to the golden hoop stick. We might as well compare the strengths and weaknesses of the two artifacts one by one.
First of all, from the point of view of attack power, Fang Tian's halberd was obviously superior. Fang Tian's halberd spear is sharp and can directly pierce the enemy, and the long pole is covered with barbs, which can even tear the enemy's flesh and blood, and the lethality is very amazing.
In contrast, although the Golden Hoop Rod is extremely hard, it is only an iron rod after all, and its attack range and lethality have certain limitations.
Secondly, in terms of mobility, the two artifacts are equally matched. Although Fang Tian's halberd is huge, Sun Wukong is agile and can wield it freely in battle. Although the golden hoop stick can be expanded and contracted at will, Sun Wukong rarely reduces it to carry it on weekdays, so there is not much difference in mobility between the two.
Finally, we have to mention the difference in weight between the two artifacts. Fang Tian's painting halberd weighed 7,200 catties, which was a real heavyweight weapon, and although the golden hoop stick also weighed 10,000 catties, it could be made smaller at will, making it more convenient to carry. However, as far as Sun Wukong's selection criteria at that time were concerned, weight became the main reason for his preference for the golden hoop stick.
Although the artifact is important, cultivation is even more crucial
Although the Golden Hoop Stick and the Fang Tian Painting Halberd are extremely magical weapons, we cannot ignore a key question: where does the power of the artifact come from?
To talk about this, we have to start with Sun Wukong's cultivation. As we all know, Sun Wukong is the posthumous son of the ancestors, born with visions, and has shown extraordinary understanding since he was a child. Under the guidance of Patriarch Bodhi, Sun Wukong not only learned the seventy-two supernatural powers, but also comprehended the supreme fiery eyes.
It is with such a profound cultivation as the foundation that Sun Wukong can bring the divine power of the golden hoop stick to the extreme. Let's imagine that if the golden rod were in the hands of an ordinary monster, how could it perform such a myriad of miraculous skills?
In the same way, even if it was a sharp weapon like Fang Tian's Halberd, if it was held by a guy with mediocre martial arts, it would inevitably be considered an expensive ornament. After all, although the attack power of Fang Tian's painting halberd is amazing, the difficulty of operation is also quite high, and the user needs to have excellent skills and superb martial arts to control it freely.
Let's review the various scenes of Sun Wukong's use of the golden hoop stick. In the Flaming Mountain, Sun Wukong wielded the golden hoop stick and beat the red boy to the ground; in the Black Wind Mountain, Sun Wukong used the "somersault cloud" and "fiery eyes" to defeat the Lion Camel King with the golden hoop stick; not to mention that later on the way to learn scriptures in the west, Sun Wukong repeatedly used the magic power of the golden hoop stick, and finally escorted Tang Seng and his party to Tianzhu Kingdom safely.
It can be seen that the reason why the golden hoop stick can be famous in the monster world is not only because of its own magic, but also because of Sun Wukong's superb martial arts and wisdom. If someone else holds a golden hoop stick, I am afraid it is difficult to have such a terrifying record.
We might as well recall that when selecting treasures in the Dragon Palace, why did Sun Wukong turn a blind eye to Fang Tian's halberd? Doesn't this show that Sun Wukong's vision at that time was still a little superficial?