Riding the gusts, King Roc spread his mighty wings and soared toward the camps of Louis Quickpaw and King Bullhorn.
Meanwhile, the fierce battle at the North Sea raged on.
With a thunderous crash, a pillar of water shot skyward. Damon Six-Ears vaulted into the air, then turned to flee southward.
Before the spray even settled, another column erupted—Monkey, wielding his Golden Staff, was hot on Damon Six-Ears’s heels.
The two streaked across the heavens like twin meteors, one chasing, one fleeing, tearing through ten thousand miles of sky.
“Hahaha! You can’t kill me. Have you forgotten? You are the Way of Heaven, and so am I. Neither of us can die. Only Heavenly Tribulation can destroy us.”
“Even if you can’t die... I’ll make sure you never find peace in any lifetime!” Monkey roared, sweeping his Golden Staff in a wide arc, slicing the clouds in two across half the sky.
Damon Six-Ears barely dodged the Golden Staff, his ornate shoulder guard sliced clean off and sent flying. He quickly steadied himself and continued his frantic escape.
“You’ve wasted all those years, only to become a lackey for the Buddhist Order. Why bother with the Westward Quest? Pathetic!”
“What do you know! Do you even understand what kind of power Lord Buddha wields?”
“Of course I do. Many-Eyes the Centipede told me everything.” Damon Six-Ears grinned into the wind, laughing wildly. “If he wants to kill someone, let him. Even if everyone dies, even if the Three Realms are destroyed—so what? As long as I survive, what does it matter how many others perish? And you broke your Dao-heart over this? Truly pathetic!”
Monkey’s brow furrowed. He said nothing, but swept out his staff once more. That was answer enough.
Dodging Monkey’s attack yet again, Damon Six-Ears turned to grin at him. “What’s wrong? You can’t do it, can you? Doesn’t matter—I can. That’s why I should be the one to replace you and keep living. Only I have no weaknesses. Even if Lord Buddha himself comes, he can’t do a thing to me!”
“No weaknesses?” Monkey snorted. “If you were truly without weakness, would Lord Buddha have let you out? Listen—whether it’s you or me, if we want to survive in the end, we have to bring down Lord Buddha!”
“Hmm.” Damon Six-Ears pretended to ponder, then said casually, “You might be right. In that case, why not coexist peacefully and team up against Lord Buddha? But on one condition—everything that’s mine must be returned to me. The title Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Anna Yang—all of it belongs to me!”
“Keep dreaming!” Monkey swung his staff hard once more. The Golden Staff suddenly extended, gouging a massive scar into the earth—but still missed its mark.
Damon Six-Ears plunged downward, pivoting at the instant his toes touched the ground and springing back into the air.
In a flash, Monkey was once again right behind him.
“Hahaha, just teasing you. Don’t worry—there’s no need to split anything. Winner takes all. Soon, Heavenly Tribulation will return, and only one of us will survive. So I’ve been thinking up ways to kill you, haha!”
“The Westward Quest isn’t over. Even if you beat me, so what? You’ll still lose to Lord Buddha. When that happens, not just Anna, but the entire demon race will suffer because of you!”
“That’s for later. If I die, whether the world survives or not—what does it have to do with me?”
Turning back, Damon Six-Ears looked at Monkey, grinning mischievously.
Seeing that eerie smile, Monkey was stunned for a moment.
At this moment, Monkey finally understood exactly what this other self was.
This was a complete madman—one who ignored all rules and morality. He had no memories, and thus no feelings, not even a sense of belonging. For him, survival was all that mattered; everything else was insignificant. That included Anna Yang’s life, Birdie’s life, and the lives of all demons. To him, everything in the Three Realms was expendable.
Given that, there was nothing left between Monkey and him but a fight to the death.
Gritting his teeth, Monkey suddenly accelerated and gave chase...
......
Meanwhile, King Roc had already arrived at the camp of Louis Quickpaw and King Bullhorn at Mount Hua.
King Roc stared at them; Louis Quickpaw’s face was expressionless, while King Bullhorn frowned deeply. The main tent was silent.