The colossal red meteor continued to scream toward Blossom Mountain.
Under that terrifying crimson glow, vast ranks of demon soldiers began to scatter in all directions, becoming targets for the monks' slaughter. At this moment, even the most steadfast warriors had lost the will to fight.
In the blink of an eye, Nigel Wyrm, Big Horn, Shortbeak, Shadow, and other battlefield allies closest to Monkey were already trapped and surrounded.
"Out of the way! Move, all of you! Anyone blocking my path dies!"
Amid the chaos, King Roc swung his halberd and roared, leading his last surviving troops through Blossom Mountain's territory—charging in the opposite direction of the battlefield.
Several unfortunate demon soldiers who blocked his way were instantly decapitated.
Following close behind were the armies of King Liontusk, King Gloomape, King Bullhorn, and King Macaque.
Along the way, fleeing demons scrambled aside, each one staring at King Roc in terror.
After more than a century of unity, the demon kings had worked hard to forge an image of harmony. The history of fratricidal strife on Blossom Mountain had long faded from memory, but now, it seemed everything was repeating itself.
Standing on the flagship deck, Lindsay's hand tightened inside her sleeve again and again. She stared dazedly at her father—charging back and forth among the monks, drenched in blood—her face deathly pale.
"Princess Lindsay, we should... retreat," a demon soldier whispered.
"Retreat... where to?" Lindsay's eyes widened as she drew deep, shaky breaths. Her eyes glimmered with unshed tears.
"I..."
Defeat is like a mountain collapsing... Maybe, sending a large army to buy time for the rear to evacuate was a mistake from the start.
"In the end, I'm just not as good as the Holy Mother..."
......
At this moment, Monkey had already plunged into the depths of a ravine.
A great flock of birds was startled into the sky.
Stabbing pain from the depths of his soul came in relentless waves. He rolled and thrashed, clutching his head with one hand and swinging the Golden Staff with the other, smashing everything around him as he howled and roared in agony.
Everything he touched—mountains, trees—was instantly shredded, and the rising dust blotted out the sky. Yet no matter what he did, he could not break free of the hallucination before his eyes, nor recover his six senses.
The Buddha stood quietly atop the mountain peak, his face indifferent.
"Buddha! You scheming coward! If you have the guts, drop these underhanded tricks and fight me fair and square!"
"Amitabha. Birth, aging, sickness, death, encountering what you hate, separation from what you love, seeking but not obtaining, and the five aggregates—all are the Eight Sufferings. The pain you endure today is born of your own attachments. Unable to see through them, naturally you cannot break free. Even with infinite strength, what does it matter? In the end, you only sink deeper, bringing suffering to yourself and others alike."
"Shut up! Release... release the illusion..."
Dust billowed like a torrential rain, falling into the pit he had smashed. Monkey clung tightly to the Golden Staff, gritting his teeth, eyes squeezed shut and trembling.
"This monk merely stirred your six senses a little. If you could let go, how could you be trapped? Rather than sinking in a sea of suffering, why not ascend to bliss? If you surrender, give up, no longer persist, no longer cling to the past, all illusions will vanish—no one will ever be able to confine you or stop you again. Heh, with your world-shaking power, if you could cast off emotion and desire and devote yourself to my Buddha, even I could do nothing to you."
"Go surrender to your mother—!"
Monkey roared, and the Golden Staff in his hand instantly extended, sweeping around him in a massive arc.
A torrent of shattered stone surged across the sky.
Within that range, everything—including mountains—was leveled, except for the peak beneath the Buddha's feet.
At this moment, all his senses were in chaos; he could not even locate the Buddha.
......
King Bullhorn charged across all of Blossom Mountain, quickly catching up to King Roc and snatching him out of the air.
Trembling slightly, King Bullhorn glanced back toward the battlefield, glared at King Roc, and growled, "Who told you to retreat?"
"Who told me to retreat?" King Roc snorted, pointing at King Bullhorn's own personal guards nearby. "And who told you to retreat then?"
"You!"
"If not for me, where would we be now?" King Roc pointed at the battlefield, eyes wide. "If I hadn't run first, we'd be just like them. I think you've been a general so long you've gone soft in the head. Even they know you're King Bullhorn, and you still think you're one of them? We're demon kings—demon kings! Get it straight! If some have to die, better them than us!"
King Bullhorn gritted his teeth, clutching his mixed-iron staff, staring at the distant battlefield. "Holding out to the last and leading a retreat are two different things. If... if the Great Sage suddenly returned, what then? Could we still show our faces at Blossom Mountain? He'd kill us!"
"Don't be stupid, will you?" King Roc laughed, eyes wide, grabbing King Bullhorn's hand and whispering, "We all know that monkey's dead. Saying he's alive is just to trick those idiots into being cannon fodder. You really believe it? The sooner we run, the safer we'll be. If you're not happy, you can go back right now!"
King Bullhorn was left speechless, staring at the distant battlefield, blinking again and again, yet unable to muster the courage to decide whether to stay or flee.
......
High above in the Thirty-Three Heavens, Lord Genesis stood at the edge of a floating stone, quietly gazing down at the lower world, still bathed in firelight.
"Limitless against No-Self... Hmph, can he win?" After a long silence, he pursed his dry lips and turned to the others, saying softly, "The Three Realms ended up like this, and in the end, it's our fault. If only we hadn't let that demon monkey run wild..."
He took a deep breath and sighed helplessly: "If he wins, even if he comes for us later, that's better than being cursed for all eternity. But can he win? Shakyamuni is a master of illusion—can Monkey escape?"
(Irrelevant web novel prompt, skip translation.)
Zhenyuan and Lord Genesis remained silent, both turning to look at Lord Lao.
Lord Lao lay back, quietly watching the pitch-black sky. He spoke softly: "Relying on him alone, he can't win. As long as the Buddha controls his six senses, with that monkey's temperament, he'll never break free."
Lord Skygate hesitated, then asked, "He can't do it alone... so who can he rely on now?"
Lord Lao slowly closed his eyes, chuckled, and said nothing.
......
In the mortal realm, directly beneath South Heaven Gate, something was faintly glowing in the pitch-black ocean.
......
"No... no, I can't lose control. There must be a way, there must be a way... there has to be a way to defeat him."
All around had been leveled to bare ground.
Monkey clutched his head, gripping the Golden Staff, forcing himself to endure the pain as he curled up on the ground, trembling, muttering over and over: "There has to be a way, there has to be a way..."
"I've already told you the way. Just awaken, let go of everything, leave the sea of suffering, and you can break free." The Buddha still watched him quietly from the side, face indifferent.
......
Eyes squeezed shut, Monkey trembled, spreading his chaotic consciousness frantically outward, as if summoning something.
The Buddha slowly narrowed his eyes, face uncertain.
......
Deep beneath the sea, a glimmer of light flickered, suddenly seeming to gain sentience. It darted upward, broke through the surface, and shot southeast—a thousand li in an instant.
......
Monkey trembled, enduring fierce pain, curled motionless into a ball.
The Buddha's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
......
The colossal meteor drew closer. Beneath its red glow, the monks still surged forward in waves, while the demon army's morale collapsed—they were in full retreat.
Shortbeak landed on the flagship's deck, unloading the blood-soaked, unconscious Rhino from his back.
Several army medics rushed over to begin treatment.
Lindsay knelt on the ground, eyes wide, trembling as she reached out—only to pull her hand back the instant she touched Rhino's face.
Her eyes were already brimming with tears.
"Take Rhino and go, quickly. We can't hold out any longer. There's no strategy left—save whoever you can."
"What about you?" Lindsay looked up and asked.
"Me?" Shortbeak snorted. "I... lost the battle, even the Great Sage's nine senior brothers are gone. As marshal, I can't escape blame—what face do I have left to live? Dying is better than living. At least this way, I did my duty once."
Lindsay stared at Shortbeak, lips pressed tight, unable to say a word.
"I don't have time to talk you out of it, and I'm no good at persuasion... so do what you think best." Hastily wrapping a bandage on his arm, Shortbeak gripped his longbow, spread his wings, and flew toward the battlefield once more.
All around, the warships had begun to flee. Countless demon soldiers soared past the flagship's sides—the battlefield was chaos.
Lindsay stared blankly at her father.
Louis Quickpaw hurried over, stammering, "Hurry and retreat, if you don't... if you don't..."
He glanced nervously at the battlefield, then said, "If you don't retreat now, you'll really die here! As long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about firewood!"
In the distance, the giant beast shaped by Nigel Wyrm still fought, snarling as countless monks clung to its claws and wings—every inch crawling with monks.
Even a giant beast has its limits when faced with endless enemies.
Slowly, it was pressed down toward the ground, more monks still surging over it.
Head bowed, tears slid from the corners of Lindsay's eyes. She smiled faintly, whispering, "It's... too late now, isn't it?"
Smiling softly, Lindsay slowly closed her eyes, no longer looking, no longer thinking, as if quietly waiting for the final moment.
Time trickled away. The meteor grew larger, its red light brighter, and the time remaining grew ever shorter.
......
A streak of white light pierced the clouds, spanning the sky.
......
Monkey slowly opened his eyes, sweat streaming from the pain, yet he grinned.
The Buddha was faintly stunned, his gaze searching the surroundings.
Suddenly, Monkey leapt up gripping the Golden Staff, and a flash of light instantly landed in his hand.
Before the Buddha could react, Monkey had already slipped the light onto his wrist, raised the Golden Staff, and roared: "Target! Right-Dharma Radiance Tathāgata!"
The Golden Staff suddenly extended, shooting straight into the sky.
Only then did the Buddha realize that what Monkey had slipped onto his wrist was the Adamantine Ring!
......
High above in the Thirty-Three Heavens, Lord Lao gazed hazily at the sky and sighed softly: "Shakyamuni isn't the only one who knows how to keep a hidden card."
......
The sword-bearing Buddha raised his hand, looking up at the growing meteor. He asked softly, "How much longer?"
"One stick of incense." Right-Dharma Radiance Tathāgata was still fully focused, guiding the meteor.
"One stick of incense..." The sword-bearing Buddha smiled faintly, glancing at the distant demons. "After one stick of incense, these demons will all be liberated, and the matter can finally come to a perfect end."
Before the words had even faded, a deafening boom erupted as a surge of energy blasted outward, flinging sand and gravel in every direction.
The battlefield fell silent. Every monk, Buddha, arhat, and demon turned to look.
In the chaos, the sword-bearing Buddha soared into the sky, looked down, and was utterly stunned.
"What is that?"
On the ground, the exploded sand traced a long straight line, stretching off into the distance, beyond sight.
Along this path, mountains had collapsed, the earth was fractured—a canyon carved as if someone had dragged a spoon across a cake.
Lindsay gripped the ship's rail, eyes wide.
Shortbeak flapped his wings, dragging the barely conscious Blackie to watch.
Even Nigel Wyrm, pinned by tens of thousands of monks and struggling madly, froze for a moment.
The dust gradually settled.
A familiar staff appeared before everyone. At its tip, Right-Dharma Radiance Tathāgata, pinned and trembling, reached out a hand and said, "Retreat... retreat."
A strike from ten thousand li away!
"The... the Golden Staff." The Buddhas all gasped, their eyes twitching.
"It's the Great Sage! The Great Sage has returned!" All the demons cheered, the roar shaking the heavens.
"The Great Sage..." Lindsay covered her mouth, weeping tears of joy.
Louis Quickpaw collapsed to the ground, utterly spent.
"He's still alive..." King Roc was dumbfounded, trembling as he said, "Then what... what do we do now?"
"Make up for our failures! What else?" King Bullhorn glared at him, then led his troops charging back into battle.
The other demon kings hurried after him.
In an instant, the tide of battle reversed.
......
The Buddha hovered in midair, expressionless, staring at the Adamantine Ring on Monkey's wrist as it guided his attack.
After a long moment, he snorted and laughed, "No wonder—Lord Lao."
......
High above in the Thirty-Three Heavens, Lord Lao still gazed hazily at the sky, muttering, "You can't trick a true treasure with illusions. Limitless is hard to handle for Egoless, but with the Adamantine Ring, Egoless can't handle Limitless so easily either."