In Journey to the West, after being burned for 49 days in Laozi’s Eight-Trigram Furnace, Sun Wukong emerged unscathed. This led many readers to assume he was completely fireproof.
In fact, Wukong’s relationship with fire was neither absolute immunity nor vulnerability—it depended on the fire’s potency and his preparedness.
Immunity to Mundane Fire
As a stone monkey beyond mortal flesh, he was inherently immune to ordinary fire (e.g., campfires, torches).
Enhanced Fire Resistance
Repeated exposure to flames further tempered his body, granting resistance to lower-tier divine fire.
The Fire-Avoiding Charm
Wukong mastered the Fire-Avoiding Charm, which—when activated—bolstered his defense against most supernatural flames.
Vulnerability to Supreme Flames
However, he possessed no defense against top-tier fires:
- Red Boy’s Samadhi True Fire
- Flame Mountain’s eternal blaze
- Yin-Yang Qi Vase’s consuming flames
Even the Eight-Trigram Furnace’s fire could have harmed him. His survival was due to positioning: he stood in the windward position, avoiding direct combustion but suffering smoke irritation.
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