After that clash, the Three Realms—once a powder keg on the verge of explosion—fell into an eerie, inexplicable calm.
Yet anyone could see this was merely the calm before the storm. Undercurrents were surging beneath the surface.
From that day on, Monkey became withdrawn and silent. He spoke little, never hurried Tripitaka, but his dark, brooding gaze seemed to remind everyone exactly what needed to be done.
Louis Quickpaw and the others who followed Monkey closely began quietly carrying out covert operations.
They summoned their elite troops and formed a defensive cordon a hundred li wide around the Westward Quest procession. Before Tripitaka arrived anywhere, squads would appear and sweep every corner thoroughly. Any being whose spiritual power exceeded the norm—whether human, demon, or otherwise—was either killed or driven far away. Not only demons, but even mountain gods sent by the Heavenly Court, and monks from the Buddhist Order, were purged without exception.
Anything that approached—even a single fly—would be inspected without mercy.
Yet at Tripitaka’s side, everything remained perfectly tranquil, as if nothing had happened at all.
Except for Tripitaka, everyone in the Three Realms could feel Monkey’s gnashing pain.
At this moment, Monkey was no longer so easy to approach. Anything that blocked his path or hindered the Westward Quest would be utterly crushed.
Not just the Buddhist Order—even the Heavenly Court and Daoist sects, who had long maintained a tacit understanding with Monkey, now had no choice but to keep their distance.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the demon race, Damon Six-Ears and his Lionback faction were working feverishly to prepare for relocating the capital to Blossom Mountain.
It was, in truth, an impossible task—at least, for now.
Blossom Mountain had endured more than six hundred years of drought before finally seeing rain. It would take at least a century for the land to recover its vitality.
Demons, too, need to eat. At least, most of them do.
Right now, this barren land couldn’t support a demon kingdom the size of old Blossom Mountain—nor even a scaled-down version like Lionback.
To revive the demon race in such a place, there was only one way: transport food over long distances with a massive fleet. But Lionback had nothing resembling a real fleet.
So, an unprecedented shipbuilding program—the largest in the Three Realms—was proposed.
Lionback lacked a proper fleet—so where would it find the resources to build one so vast?
Clearly, it did not have them. And in the short term, there was no way it could.
Immediately following this shipbuilding plan came a resource acquisition scheme. In it, Anna Yang advised Damon Six-Ears to threaten and extort resources from every major power in the Three Realms—including the Buddhist Order...
Holding such a plan, Many-Eyes the Centipede’s face turned green.
"Your Holiness the Holy Mother, forgive my bluntness, but this plan is not feasible." For the first time, in order to protect his own work, Many-Eyes the Centipede summoned the courage to challenge an opponent he’d never dared confront: "Forget the Buddhist Order, which is far stronger than Lionback—even the battered Daoist sects and the weakened Heavenly Court would never accept such extortion. Even the Sea Kings’ Palaces or the Netherworld, though weaker, have powerful backers. On ordinary days, asking for a few minor things might be fine, but this list..."
At this point, Many-Eyes the Centipede stopped. He bowed slightly, staring blankly at Anna Yang seated high beside Damon Six-Ears.
Everyone, consciously or not, was watching Anna Yang—even Damon Six-Ears was no exception.
But Anna only smiled calmly and said, "Let’s make a wager."
"A wager?"
"Yes, a wager." Anna rose slowly, smiling. "Forget the Sea Kings’ Palaces or the Netherworld, even the Daoist sects and Heavenly Court—let’s talk about the Buddhist Order alone. If they accept this proposal, then from now on, Lord Many-Eyes, you must keep silent. If they refuse, I’ll keep silent. How about it?"
With those words, Many-Eyes the Centipede was utterly stunned. He gaped at Anna, unable to reply for a long moment.
This was like issuing a military order the moment she stepped into court...
After a while, he nervously glanced at Damon Six-Ears, hoping for help to ease the tension. But Damon Six-Ears simply clapped his hands and declared, "I’ll take this bet for Lord Many-Eyes. Someone, bring brush and ink—I’ll personally write a letter to Lord Buddha!"
With that, he burst out laughing.
Beside him, Anna Yang gazed calmly at Many-Eyes the Centipede standing below the steps, a faint smile on her lips.
Many-Eyes was completely dumbfounded.
A thousand thoughts spun through his mind, yet he couldn’t come up with a single idea, nor could he fathom Anna’s true intentions.
Could it be... the Buddhist Order would really agree?
......
Half a day later, the letter was delivered to the main hall of the Great Thunderclap Temple.
As the messenger monk recited its contents, the hall erupted into chaos.
"This Six-Eared Macaque is far too arrogant, isn’t he?"
"Never mind that he owes his very existence to the Earth-Store King’s favor—even thinking back to the battle at Blossom Mountain six hundred years ago... Does he really believe the demon race won that war?"
"Hmph, he can’t even tell who’s strong and who’s weak. Even at Blossom Mountain’s peak, they weren’t this conceited!"
"He’s probably drunk on victory. The real Monkey King at least has some brains. This Six-Eared Macaque is nothing but a wild monkey, ******, really thinks he’s somebody now!"
In the crowd, a certain Arhat murmured, "I’ve heard this letter was actually written by Anna Yang, not the Six-Eared Macaque."
"Anna Yang?"
At this, the assembled Buddhas and Arhats were stunned.
"Could this be Anna Yang’s scheme to draw disaster westward?"
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"But could we really go to war with Lionback Kingdom over a single letter? Isn’t that underestimating the Buddhist Order?"
The Buddhas exchanged glances.
After a long moment, Lord Buddha, who had sat silent atop his lotus throne, finally let out a gentle laugh.
He opened his eyes and sighed softly, "Tell the demon who delivered the letter that the requested materials will be sent to Lionback Kingdom soon."
"Yes, Master!"
The disciple bowed deeply, then rose and walked out step by step.
The great hall fell silent.
Almost everyone present wore a look of confusion.
After a while, Lord Buddha sighed softly, "Anna Yang may lack cultivation, but she has the vision of a ruler. She did, after all, govern Blossom Mountain for over a century as demon queen."
At these words, the Arhats stared at Lord Buddha in astonishment.
......
When the news reached Lionback Kingdom, not only Many-Eyes but nearly every demon present—including Damon Six-Ears himself—could hardly believe their ears.
Among all the officials in court, the only one who remained calm and saw it as perfectly natural was surely Anna Yang.
Damon Six-Ears, ecstatic, leapt from his throne, clutching the Buddhist Order’s reply, reading it over and over, grinning from ear to ear.
"Even the Buddhist Order has yielded! Who else dares object? Hurry and prepare brush and ink—send letters to the Heavenly Court, the Daoist sects, the Four Dragon Kings of the seas, and the Netherworld, and demand tribute from them all!"
"Great Sage, this must not be done! If you go this far..."
Before Many-Eyes could finish, Anna Yang snorted coldly from atop the steps.
Instantly, all eyes turned to Anna.
Anna Yang lowered her gaze, idly playing with her fingers, and sighed, "Lord Many-Eyes, you’re truly forgetful—have you already forgotten the wager we just made?"
"I..." Many-Eyes was at a loss for words and could only look to Damon Six-Ears.
Yet all he saw was a face full of disdain.
Damon Six-Ears looked at Many-Eyes coldly and said with meaning, "Just now, you nearly ruined my grand plan. From now on, keep quiet about this matter, understood?"
His words were light, but spoken in public before all the key figures of Lionback Kingdom—Nine-Headed Wyrm, King Liontusk, King Roc, and others.
The once most-favored Chancellor Many-Eyes lost his power in front of everyone.
Soon, letters full of threats radiated from Lionback Kingdom to nearly every power in the Three Realms. Most ended up in the hands of Lord Genesis and Lord Skygate.
......
"What does this mean?" Lord Skygate pointed at the spread of letters before him, incredulous. "Lord Buddha actually gave in?"
"It’s not giving in." Lord Genesis shook his head and chuckled. "The Buddhist Order preaches Fourfold Emptiness; these things are external. Even if they give them away, what does it matter? Besides, it’s just shipbuilding material. Even a thousand or ten thousand warships are nothing but scrap iron before the Dao of Heaven."
Hearing this, Lord Skygate was left bewildered.
For ages, he’d always thought in Daoist terms and rarely considered the Buddhist perspective.
After a while, he could only sigh in resignation and chuckle, "This is a brilliant move... The Buddhist Order has painstakingly set up Damon Six-Ears as their chess piece; with the Westward Quest still undecided, they won’t risk offending him. Naturally, they’ll hand over the materials. If Buddhism won’t take the lead, we can’t either. We’ll just have to follow suit and send our own tribute. Hahaha, this Damon Six-Ears is clever indeed."
"No, it’s not Damon Six-Ears who’s clever."
"Oh?"
"It’s Anna Yang." Lord Genesis paused, then sighed, "With the Westward Quest unresolved, she’s maneuvered Damon Six-Ears into offending the entire Three Realms... Making everyone feel his menace, she subtly pushes them toward Monkey’s side. After all this commotion, all he gains is a pile of scrap metal... Heh, she’s truly determined to ruin Damon Six-Ears."