Far ahead, Mother Nuwa already sensed the fierce surge of spiritual power rushing toward her.
Her eyes widened slightly, and her first instinct was to shield General Lee behind her.
In the next instant, a beam of golden light shot in from afar and collided heavily with Mother Nuwa.
A rampaging aura swept out, the fierce wind turning the endless sea below into rippling waves.
The two figures became twin arcs of light, flung into the sky.
General Lee was stunned by the sudden turn of events.
Looking up, he saw Mother Nuwa gritting her teeth as she slowly retreated, while Monkey curled his body in midair, eyes wide, grinning mischievously at her.
"So you did chase after me. This time, it won't be so easy!"
"Great Sage!"
Just as General Lee reached out, Monkey launched his attack again.
He shot through the air toward Mother Nuwa, the razor-sharp wind whistling past his ears as the whole world seemed to tremble violently.
The Golden Staff spun rapidly in his hands, sending powerful gusts raging outward, so fierce that General Lee couldn't keep his eyes open.
Mother Nuwa's eyes narrowed to slits as she gazed coldly at Monkey's incoming assault.
She calmly spread her arms, leaning back slightly.
Just before Monkey crashed into her, countless silver threads—barely visible to the naked eye—quietly formed in front of her.
In the next moment, the two collided with a force like meteors, crashing heavily into the sea.
A towering wave shot up to the heavens.
"Great Sage! Stop fighting!" General Lee cried out in alarm at the giant wave.
Before his words had faded, another wave, like a pillar reaching the sky, erupted nearby. Monkey's figure shot out from the spray.
"Great Sage! Stop fighting!"
"Shut your mouth! Don't think I don't know what the Heavenly Court is plotting. Keep talking and I'll kill you too!"
General Lee swallowed the rest of his words in terror.
On the other side, Mother Nuwa's figure slowly passed through the seawater, rising to the surface.
Yes—passed through. The surrounding seawater barely interacted with her at all—because she was nothing but a soul-projection.
"Such arrogance. You really think you can kill even the generals of the Heavenly Court?"
Monkey raised his eyebrows, grinning: "What if I told you I've already killed countless of them—would you believe me?"
"You've killed countless, and the Three Pure Ones just let it go?"
"It's already generous that they didn't let me kill them all at once. You think they'd care?"
"Great Sage!" General Lee couldn't help but shout, "Her Ladyship Mother Nuwa created all beings—her merit is supreme. If you really think about it, she's the mother of all living things!"
"That has nothing to do with me." Monkey kept raising his spiritual power, his voice cold: "I was born from the primordial stone at the dawn of creation—born of Heaven and Earth!"
"The stone on Blossom Mountain?" At those words, Mother Nuwa paused, visibly surprised.
"So what if it is—!" With a flick of his hand, Monkey's Golden Staff suddenly extended, sweeping toward Mother Nuwa.
"Then it truly has nothing to do with me." Mother Nuwa subtly shifted her stance, evading Monkey's attack with perfect precision. "Still, I never imagined that stone would produce a monkey like you."
In an instant, a giant hand surged up from the sea, grabbing Monkey whole and freezing him solid inside.
"Hahaha! You think this is like before? Come on, come on—now that we're free of baggage, let's have a real fight!"
Before General Lee could even breathe a sigh of relief, a sharp crack rang out—the giant hand slowly split open.
The next moment, the hand shattered into a storm of icy shards shooting skyward.
Amid the blinding white, the Golden Staff thrust straight at Mother Nuwa.
Panicked, Mother Nuwa could only flee in five different directions at once.
Yes, five directions—at that moment, she split into Five-Element Avatars, each a different color, scattering to the winds.