Outside the Imperial Horse Bureau.
Amidst the drifting clouds and mist, on a nondescript floating stone, Lord Lao sat quietly cross-legged, eyes closed.
His ears twitched faintly from time to time, as if listening for something.
......
Inside the Imperial Horse Bureau, in a small room.
Monkey lowered his head slightly, deep in thought, his eyes flickering.
Seeing this, Lord Skygate grew somewhat smug and continued, "Maintaining balance is the shared consensus of all the great powers in the Three Realms. Even the Western Lord Buddha agrees. If not, I would never have led my disciples into the Investiture War. Tens of thousands of my followers, and in the end only three hundred sixty-five were made official deities—where did the rest go? Both my sect and the Chan Sect suffered the same fate. Do you think your Blossom Mountain can be an exception?"
Recalling the tens of thousands of disciples he lost, Lord Skygate's tone grew heavier. He said sternly, "When Heaven and Earth lack the Dao, all living things become mere fodder. Those who achieve military merit, the outstanding ones, are granted godhood in Heaven; those who fail, their cultivation dissipates and they fall into reincarnation to start anew. Such is the law of the jungle. Otherwise, where do you think all the abundant spiritual energy in this world comes from?"
"A mere demon monkey, making such demands—truly ignorant of your place! My sitting here to speak with you today is already more respect than you deserve, so do not push your luck!"
After his tirade, Lord Skygate glared angrily at the unruffled Monkey.
He had thought that, having revealed the hidden truth, Monkey would finally face reality.
But he was wrong.
This Monkey seemed to have no awareness of his own position at all.
Under Lord Skygate's furious gaze, Monkey simply met his eyes expressionlessly. After much hesitation, he spoke in a negotiating tone: "Honored Master, tell me, if we don't do this, will spiritual energy really dry up inevitably?"
Was he questioning me?
Lord Skygate was momentarily stunned, then drew a sharp breath and retorted, "What else do you think would happen?"
Staring silently at Lord Skygate, Monkey slowly shook his head and sighed, putting on a helpless air: "Honored Master, your calculation methods need work."
"My calculation methods need work?" Lord Skygate's face twitched violently.
"Don't worry, I won't spread this around. No wonder you lost so badly in the Investiture War. I get it." As he spoke, Monkey even reached out and patted Lord Skygate's shoulder, acting as if they were kindred spirits.
Watching that furry hand land on his shoulder, Lord Skygate's sword-like brows twitched uncontrollably.
Monkey let out a slow breath and said languidly, "Without spiritual energy, only cultivation is affected—it doesn't impact the growth of other living things. But will spiritual energy really run dry? Not necessarily! Peaches of Immortality are limited; not everyone can have them. Those who can't get them can't continue cultivating or extend their lifespan, so what happens? Very simple—they grow old and die. When that happens, spiritual energy is released back into the world. So, the world has spiritual energy again. That's another kind of balance. True, spiritual energy may never be abundant again, but at least it's not so bloody. Immortals and demons could coexist in peace. Honored Master, do you think I'm right or not?"
With that, he grinned at Lord Skygate.
Hearing this, Lord Skygate shot to his feet, his tiger eyes glaring wide as bronze bells.
Unfortunately, Monkey paid no heed to that angry glare, lounging idly in his seat and letting him stare.
After a long pause, Lord Skygate gritted his teeth and barked, "You think I don't know all this? If spiritual energy thins out, how are you or I supposed to cultivate?"
"Is cultivation really that important? Honored Master, you have endless years ahead—just take your time."
Lord Skygate's face turned red and pale by turns.
After a moment's thought, Monkey added, "If you really want to do it your way, that's fine too. Let's count heads: my Blossom Mountain has millions of demons, Heaven has millions of gods. Out of these three hundred sixty-five official deity seats, shouldn't half go to me? Otherwise, you great powers can just stand aside and let us juniors fight another Investiture War—winner takes all. What do you think?"
At this, Monkey suddenly remembered a saying and blurted it out: "The emperor's throne goes round—this year it belongs to my family." Tsk, tsk, now that I think about it, there's some truth to those words."
"Impudent!" Lord Skygate's face turned the color of pig liver, but Monkey remained oblivious.
"You arrogant monkey! How could a mere demon monkey like you have any say in Heaven's investiture of deities?" Lord Skygate practically roared this line.
Monkey replied coolly, "Tell me, if I offered Lord Lao the same terms—half of Heaven's official deity seats in exchange for a complete Heavenly Dao, and for you all to keep groveling at his feet—do you think he'd accept?"
At this point, the polite 'you' became just 'you.'
Lord Skygate was beside himself with rage, his pointing hand trembling: "You..."
Before Lord Skygate could finish, Monkey cut in: "Honored Master, you concern yourself with the fate of the world. I'm just a little monkey—I don't have such grand ambitions. I only care about those around me. The demons of Blossom Mountain call me 'Great King,' so they are my people. Their interests are my responsibility. I could never send them to their deaths."
"Of course, you could kill me right now. If you do, the Heavenly Dao Stone will crack a little more. Maybe just a fraction—maybe ten years, maybe a hundred—before it heals. During that time, whether you great powers can develop a countermeasure is up to fate." Monkey shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Actually, Lord Lao probably thinks the same as you. He doesn't know how long it will take to repair, or whether you'll find a way in the meantime. That's why I'm still alive. So, Honored Master, do you want to gamble?"
"But if you do kill me, you'd better make sure it's done cleanly. If I happen to come back to life, I'll do exactly as Lord Lao wishes."
With that, Monkey crossed his legs and tossed his head, refusing to engage further.
Lord Skygate's hand, charged with spiritual energy, froze in midair and did not move for a long time.
Outside the Imperial Horse Bureau, Lord Lao's hand was likewise raised in midair, ready at any moment to seize Monkey's soul.
Inside and outside the room, time itself seemed to freeze at that moment.
After a long, long time, Lord Skygate's frozen hand never struck. Instead, he let his spiritual energy dissipate and slowly withdrew his hand.
At the same time, the spiritual energy at Lord Lao's fingertips also faded away. His brow furrowed slightly in regret.
Glaring at Monkey with hatred, Lord Skygate could only grit his teeth and growl, "See to your own affairs."
With that, he turned and vanished in a swirl of black smoke.