Then the Master again murmured a secret incantation into his ear, by means of which he gained the power to transform himself seventy-two times.
And when no more than a few days had passed Sun Wu Kung had learned the art.
One day the Master was walking before the cave in the company of his disciples. He called Sun Wu Kung up to him and asked: “What progress have you made with your art? Can you fly already?”
“Yes, indeed,” said the ape.
“Then let me see you do so.”
The ape leaped into the air to a distance of five or six feet from the ground. Clouds formed beneath his feet, and he was able to walk on them for several hundred yards. Then he was forced to drop down to earth again.
The Master said with a smile: “I call that crawling around on the clouds, not floating on them, as do the gods and saints who fly over the whole world in a single day. I will teach you the magic incantation for turning somersaults on the clouds. If you turn one of those somersaults you advance eighteen thousand miles at a clip.”
Sun Wu Kung thanked him, full of joy, and from that time on he was able to move without limitation of space in any direction.
One day Sun Wu Kung was sitting together with the other disciples under the pine-tree by the gate, discussing the secrets of their teachings. Finally they asked him to show them some of his transforming arts. Sun Wu Kung could not keep his secret to himself, and agreed to do so.
With a smile he said: “Just set me a task! What do you wish me to change myself into?”