Clouds and mist shrouded the Ninth Heaven.
Patrol guards, long halberds in hand, marched in formation behind a heavenly general, their steps measured and deliberate.
On the ornamental rockery, spring water trickled, while several brilliantly colored koi glided through a pond strewn with petals.
Separated by only a wall, in the Imperial Study, the Jade Emperor reached out and handed a memorial with an attached letter to General Lee.
General Lee silently finished reading the memorial and letter, refolded them, and respectfully placed them back on the dragon-engraved desk.
"Any thoughts?" the Jade Emperor asked softly.
"This... I will follow Your Majesty's command," General Lee replied.
"I'm asking for your opinion," the Jade Emperor leaned back in his chair, one hand resting on the memorial, fingers gently tapping as he gazed upward. "He wanted rain for Blossom Mountain—I granted it. He wanted two Peaches of Immortality—I granted those too. Now he wants four peaches, and the Nine-Toothed Rake as well. Do you think I should still grant his requests?"
General Lee bowed slightly, watching the Jade Emperor with utmost caution, silent.
Time flowed quietly in the stillness.
After a long silence, the Jade Emperor let out a sardonic laugh and sighed, "It seems there's no other way but to give him what he wants. That demon monkey... I, the ruler, don't even have the authority to freely hand out Peaches of Immortality, yet a mere demon monkey can demand however many he pleases—and Heaven must oblige. If this continues, Heaven's treasury will become his personal vault, free for him to plunder at will."
General Lee slowly lowered his head, remaining silent.
The Jade Emperor furrowed his brows, pursed his lips in thought, and said, "Tell me, is there any way to divert this flood of calamity elsewhere?"
General Lee clasped his hands and answered, "Your Majesty, this flood is already flowing westward."
"And before he reaches the West? Am I still supposed to cooperate with him at every turn?"
"If all else fails, Your Majesty might consider Master Sage Subhuti. The Three Pure Ones will not intervene, and Daoist sects fear being entangled with Heaven. In my view, only Master Sage Subhuti is truly suitable. After all, he is the demon monkey’s own master—even if he fails, Monkey is unlikely to blame him."
The Jade Emperor glanced at General Lee and asked softly, "Didn't we already send him a letter last time?"
"We can send another."
Hearing this, the Jade Emperor could only shake his head and smile bitterly, resigned.
The mighty Jade Emperor—said to rule the Three Realms—in the eyes of true powers, is nothing at all. Not only would a summons go ignored, even a personal visit might meet with a closed door—and he would still have to smile and bear it, unable to voice any complaint.
In truth, the rebuilt Heavenly Court is weaker than it was six hundred and fifty years ago.
Back then, though the Jade Emperor still bowed to the Three Pure Ones, he did not need to grovel before Elder Terran Zhen or Master Sage Subhuti, nor did he have to watch the Great Thunderclap Temple’s every move. The earth-immortals, Netherworld Yama-kings, and the Four Dragon Kings all obeyed only the Jade Emperor’s command.
But now?
After reconstruction, both Elder Terran Zhen and Master Sage Subhuti joined the new order. Suddenly, the original three ‘supervisors’ became five. Worse, the Great Thunderclap Temple dominates the West; any major move by Heaven must be carefully tested. The Buddhist Order rarely intervenes, but when it does, Heaven is paralyzed.
As for mortal demons, though fragmented, they are no longer as vulnerable as before Blossom Mountain’s rise. Heaven cannot simply declare extermination; a misstep could unite them in revolt and shatter Heaven’s control over the mortal realm.
The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas still submit to Heaven, but their obedience is far from absolute.
The Netherworld’s Yama-kings now answer directly to the Great Thunderclap Temple; half of Heaven’s decrees lose effect the moment they reach the Netherworld.
General Erlang at Guang River Estuary treats imperial edicts as he pleases—obeying when he wishes, ignoring when he does not. Yet the Jade Emperor dares not hold him to account, and festivals and rewards must always be lavish. In truth, the stability of the Southern Lands depends on Erlang’s independent power.
If there is any advantage to Heaven now, it is that external threats have increased. With more dangers outside, internal rivals have fewer chances to scheme, and the Jade Emperor’s authority is somewhat strengthened. But this small benefit cannot make up for Heaven’s overall decline in power.
"Send another letter... Very well, it’s the best of a bad set of options." Slowly closing his eyes, the Jade Emperor sighed, "I’ll leave this matter to you. If necessary, I can visit Master Sage Subhuti myself."
"Understood." General Lee clasped his hands, hesitated briefly, then asked in a low voice, "And the Peaches of Immortality and the Nine-Toothed Rake...?"
"Send them to him," the Jade Emperor replied after a slight pause. "But delay the delivery a bit—Heaven must not appear entirely at his beck and call."
"Understood!"
...
Carrying the imperial edict, General Lee slowly withdrew from the Imperial Study. With two guards in tow, he walked down the long corridor to the small sky-dock reserved for the High Sky Throne Hall.
The South Heaven Gate troops, long stationed there, saluted in unison. Among them stood King Virūḍhaka, the Eastern Guardian King.
Before King Virūḍhaka could speak, General Lee signaled with his eyes, "We'll talk on board."
The warship unfurled its sails and launched into the sky.
Once seated in the cabin, General Lee dismissed the attendants, leaving only King Virūḍhaka with him.
Glancing out the porthole toward the High Sky Throne Hall, General Lee asked in a low voice, "Where is that demon monkey now?"
King Virūḍhaka replied in a low voice, "He has already left Gao Village, passed Yellowwind Ridge, and will soon reach the Quicksand River."
"He’s about to enter the Western Ox Continent—moving quite fast. Are there Buddhist forces shadowing him?"
"There were, back at Gao Village. Now, I’m not sure. That demon monkey’s senses are too broad, and the Buddhist watchers are all high Buddhas. We can’t risk open surveillance, so..."
General Lee nodded, took a deep breath, and sat down on a wooden chair nearby.
King Virūḍhaka followed closely and whispered, "By the way, Heavenly King, the Third Prince just rushed to Avalon Mountain and returned. Most likely, Master Taiyi already knows about the demon monkey and Tripitaka’s journey west."
General Lee paused, glanced at King Virūḍhaka, smiled, and said, "He knows. Keep quiet about it. If they know, we’ll pretend we don’t. When there’s a chance, leak the demon monkey’s position to Nathan."
"Understood." King Virūḍhaka replied, hesitated, then asked quietly, "Heavenly King, if this leaks, it may cause trouble later."
"Trouble is inevitable." General Lee slowly closed his eyes and said, "Buddhism, Daoism, the Jade Emperor—we’re caught between them and can only play dumb. If we’re too clever, even greater trouble will come, and then it won’t just be official matters."
"I will heed your instruction, Heavenly King."
Through the clouds and mist, the warship sailed slowly toward South Heaven Gate.
...
Northwest border of the Southern Lands.
A northern wind, carrying remnants of snow, howled past. The snow on the branches fell with a thud, forming a small pile by the roadside.
The endless mountains had long since turned into a vast white expanse. Anywhere you stepped, your foot would sink several inches into the snow.
Leading the horse, Little White Dragon couldn’t help but shiver.
Beside him, Lu Six-Cane laughed teasingly, "You’re even worse off than the horse."
"The horse has the Great Sage’s magic protecting it—do I have that?"
"Can’t you cast a spell on yourself?"
Little White Dragon glanced up at the monkey walking ahead, then turned to look at Tripitaka with his staff, and finally glanced back at Pigsy lagging far behind. He grumbled, "Don’t you know that reckless spellcasting brings the heavenly tribulation sooner? The Great Sage has already passed his tribulation—can we compare ourselves to him?"
Lu Six-Cane rolled his eyes at him and quickened his pace to catch up with the monkey.
By now, five months had passed since the group bid farewell to Old Master Gao’s family and left Gao Village. Yet the Peaches of Immortality promised by Heaven had still not arrived, leaving Little White Dragon grumbling about it whenever he had a spare moment.
During these five months, they encountered a few groups of demons and earth-immortals, but most of the time, as soon as Lu Six-Cane appeared, the opposition would wisely step aside.
After six hundred and fifty years, most of the new demons and earth-immortals no longer recognized the monkey. What they knew of him was limited to those half-true, half-mythical legends. Even if the monkey stood before them, they wouldn’t recognize him, nor believe that the vanished Great Sage had suddenly reappeared. More likely, they’d mistake him for the Macaque King, another monkey demon who wielded a staff.
By contrast, Lu Six-Cane’s name—one of the major powers among the demon clans—carried more weight. Unless the opposing side had direct ties to the likes of Bull Demon King or Nine-Headed Insect King, they’d usually show some respect when meeting Lu Six-Cane.
Catching up to the monkey, Lu Six-Cane clasped his hands and said in a low voice, "Great Sage, I may need to leave for a while."
"Leave?" The monkey walked on, leaning on his golden staff, and asked softly, "Where to?"
"I need to head back. My adopted son sent word—he’s had a run-in with Bull Demon King’s men and needs me to handle it."
"Does Bull Demon King know you’re traveling with me?"
"I haven’t let word get out... but it’s possible he knows."
"And he still picks fights with your people?" The monkey snorted and sighed, "Fine, go if you must. If you see Bull Demon King, tell him I send my regards."
"Well..."
Turning with a mischievous grin, the monkey added, "Then come back and tell me what his expression was like."
Lu Six-Cane hurriedly clasped his hands, "Understood, Great Sage."
Before he finished speaking, the monkey suddenly quickened his pace and dashed forward. The others froze for a moment, exchanged glances, and then hurried to catch up.
After running fifty zhang ahead, the monkey stopped and gazed into the distance. The rest quickly caught up.
Standing atop the cliff, they could clearly see, ten li away, a vast expanse of water—or rather, a colossal river like an inland sea—cutting across the continent.
The river’s water was yellow as sand, surging through the frozen landscape without a hint of ice.
"That’s the Quicksand River," Pigsy said softly from the rear.
The monkey slowly turned to look at him.
All along, Pigsy had kept his human form, never showing his true pig shape—he still seemed reluctant to embrace his demon identity.
Though Tripitaka’s persuasive words had forced Pigsy to accept the journey west, he always walked at the rear, rarely spoke to anyone—especially not to the monkey.
The only exception was Tripitaka himself. Of everyone here, Pigsy was probably the only one interested in Tripitaka’s teachings of universal salvation and Buddhist philosophy.
Taking a deep breath, Pigsy said softly, "Quicksand River is said to be eight hundred li wide, dividing the Western Ox Continent from the Southern Lands. There are no boats on the river; even if ordinary folk had one, they couldn’t cross."
"Hey, we’re not ordinary folk," Little White Dragon laughed, glancing at the monkey beside him and asking in a low voice, "Great Sage, didn’t you cross this river once before? How did you do it?"
The monkey replied, "I floated across in a barrel—drifted for days. This river isn’t really eight hundred li wide; that’s just exaggerated. I know it for a fact."
With that, the monkey turned and began to descend the mountain path.
"Drifted... drifted across?" Little White Dragon glanced back at the endless river, his eye twitching slightly. "You could really float across this place in a barrel?"
"Move faster," the monkey called back to the group. "There’s probably something waiting for us by Quicksand River."
"Something waiting for us?" Pigsy glanced at Tripitaka.
Tripitaka asked softly, "Marshal, do you recognize the former Curtain-Lifting General from Heaven?"
"Curtain-Lifting? What about him?"
"He’s descended to the mortal realm. The Great Sage said we’d meet him at Quicksand River and hopes to invite him to join our journey west."
As they spoke, the two continued down the mountain path.
Pigsy frowned, "First it was me, now it’s Curtain-Lifting. What’s the plan here? Besides, how does he know Curtain-Lifting is at Quicksand River?"
"Some things, even I can’t say. But if the Great Sage does it, he must have his reasons."
"I know Curtain-Lifting—we had plenty of dealings in Heaven. Back then, our cells in the celestial prison were right next to each other."
"Then, would you persuade Curtain-Lifting General to join our journey west? He’s wanted by Heaven now, but if this journey succeeds, the Great Sage promises to have Heaven wipe his record clean and restore his divine status."
Pigsy couldn’t help but laugh, "You’d better make sure Curtain-Lifting even cares about divine status."
Glancing back at Lu Six-Cane and the Black Bear Spirit carrying luggage, Pigsy said softly, "Besides, why do we need so many people for this journey west?"
Little White Dragon chimed in from behind, "You don’t get it. The more, the better. Remember, we’re up against the Buddhist Order. How many disciples do they have? How many do we? The more people, the better—if a fight breaks out, we’ll need someone to cover our retreat."
Hearing this, Pigsy shot him a contemptuous look, then turned to face forward and silently quickened his pace.
"Did I say something wrong?" Little White Dragon asked Tripitaka.
Tripitaka’s lips twitched slightly. He smiled faintly, "No, Crown Prince Ao, you’re quite right."
"If I’m right, then what’s with his attitude?" Little White Dragon muttered, glancing at Pigsy’s distant back.
And so they walked all the way to Quicksand River, where the group set up camp by the bank.
Yet after two full days of waiting, nothing happened.