When Lord Lao arrived outside South Heaven Gate, he found that a large assembly of immortals had already gathered there at some point. Upon his arrival, each of them bowed respectfully. Even Li Jing, standing by the gate, did the same.
With a faint glance at the gathered immortals, Lord Lao picked out Birdie from among them, summoned her to his side, and softly handed her a token: "Go to Crescent Star Cave for me..."
Great Thunderclap Temple on Spirit Mountain was still in chaos, as the Buddhas argued fiercely over what measures to take to prevent Lord Lao from regaining his cultivation.
In just a short time, Lord Lao had clearly replaced Tripitaka as the greatest threat to the Buddhist Order.
Upon the lotus dais, Lord Buddha sat cross-legged, his expression as unmoving as cast steel, revealing not the slightest ripple—almost as if he were in deep meditation.
Beside him, the Right-Dharma Radiance Buddha stood motionless, but his gaze flickered ever so slightly.
After a long moment, he walked step by step to the center of the hall, silently bowed to Lord Buddha, and withdrew from the hall with a deep bow.
Suddenly, all the Buddhas inside the hall exchanged baffled glances, unsure of what had just transpired.
On the drill field of Lionback Kingdom, hundreds of demon officers stood quietly in two rows. Six-Eared Macaque, already dressed in new attire, strode up and down with his hands on his hips, cheerfully inspecting the ranks.
Gavin Goathorn, the goat demon, followed closely behind, bowing and whispering, "Great Sage, these are the elite backbone of Lionback Kingdom. With them here, and you personally overseeing things, unless the Buddhists launch a full-scale assault, no one will be able to lay a finger on Tripitaka."
"Oh? That formidable?" Six-Eared Macaque asked casually. "But what if the one attacking is that Monkey?"
"Uh..." Gavin was stunned by the question, unsure how to respond.
Glancing back at the bewildered Gavin, Six-Eared Macaque lazily waved his hand, "Alright, enough flattery. I know exactly how strong my own men are. We're not here to clash with him head-on this time."
With that, he resumed his inspection, lost in his own thoughts.
Gavin nervously swallowed and caught up, whispering, "Great Sage, maybe we should bring Nine-Headed Wyrm and King Roc with us? It’d be more reliable that way."
"No." Six-Eared Macaque inspected a demon officer’s belt as he spoke. "If we bring everyone, who’ll guard Lionback? Besides, too many people isn’t always a good thing. Last time, the reason we learned about the infighting on their side was exactly because there were too many people. Fine... heh, let them fall apart—then we’ll step up openly to take on the task of protecting Tripitaka on his Westward Quest. Let’s see who still doubts that I’m the true Great Sage Equal to Heaven!"
Hearing this, Gavin couldn’t help but furrow his brows slightly.
Taking on the Westward Quest means becoming the real Great Sage Equal to Heaven? Gavin couldn’t make sense of the logic, but since that was what the Great Sage said, he didn’t dare argue.
After a short while, Six-Eared Macaque turned and asked, "Has he left yet?"
"Uh..." Gavin hurriedly looked around in embarrassment.
Just then, a demon officer hurried over from afar, knelt on one knee before them, and reported, "Great Sage, that Monkey—somehow, he quarreled with Tripitaka but hasn’t left. Right now, he’s talking with Marshal Silver."
"What are they talking about?"
"No... couldn’t find out."
"Keep investigating!"
"Yes, sir!" The demon officer saluted and withdrew.
Watching the demon officer’s retreating figure, Six-Eared Macaque bared his teeth in annoyance. "He’s not... staying again, is he? If he doesn’t leave, this could be trouble. I’m not sure I can out-compete him."
At that moment, by the dried-up creek, the two were still standing quietly.
Marshal Silver asked softly, "If the price of helping Lord Lao restore the Heavenly Dao’s Non-Action is to give up your freedom—to become the fully orthodox Sun Wukong within Heaven’s order—would you accept it?"
Monkey answered blankly, "I don’t know..."
Glancing at Tripitaka from afar, Marshal Silver murmured, "You said before that Lord Lao’s ‘Heavenly Dao’ doesn’t include Tripitaka’s Westward Quest. In other words, it’s a binary choice. The best outcome, of course, would be Tripitaka’s successful enlightenment on his journey. But right now, none of us are sure. If it fails, will Lord Lao’s path still be open... that’s hard to say."
"A binary choice... a binary choice..." Under the moonlight, Monkey clutched his head, muttering to himself over and over.
In the distance, the demon officers still waited quietly, awaiting the final decision.
But Monkey just kept pacing back and forth, sighing and struggling with indecision.
This time, he absolutely could not afford to choose wrong.
"Has he left yet?"
"Great Sage, he hasn’t left yet."
"Keep investigating!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Has he left yet or not?"
"Gr—Great Sage, he still hasn’t left..."
"Keep investigating!"
"Yes, sir!"
"He still hasn’t left?"
"Great Sage, he... still hasn’t left."
"So what is he doing now?"
"He’s... just spacing out."
"Spacing out?"
For a moment, Six-Eared Macaque felt his mind stall. Just when everything seemed to be falling into place, why had it suddenly gotten stuck?
"Spacing out? Is he really not leaving?"
"Looks like he’s not leaving."
Nearby, the demon officers’ hushed whispers reached Six-Eared Macaque’s ears. The string of disappointing answers had already stoked his anger and worn down his patience; now, with these inexplicable comments, it was like throwing fuel on the fire.
Annoyed, Six-Eared Macaque barked, "Prepare to move out!"
"Move out?" Gavin was startled and blurted, "Great Sage, he... still hasn’t left."
"So what if he hasn’t left? He’ll leave eventually. We’re moving out now!"
With that, Six-Eared Macaque turned and soared into the sky, ignoring whatever Gavin said. The demon officers had no choice but to follow him.
On a distant pavilion, Anna Yang watched the grand procession from afar, murmuring to herself, "They’ve set out... Did they receive some new information?"
"Probably not." The demon officer behind her replied softly, "The news I’ve gathered says no. If they go now, the two sides are likely to collide head-on."
"A head-on clash isn’t such a big deal." Anna Yang smiled bitterly. "Both of them once cultivated the Heavenly Dao—apart from a heavenly tribulation, who could touch them? It’s just the ones beneath them who’ll suffer."
The demon officer behind her bowed his head slightly, saying nothing.
After a long silence, once Six-Eared Macaque and his demon officers had gone far, Anna Yang finally turned and walked slowly toward her study, instructing softly, "Check everyone’s reactions—be thorough. Especially Lord Lao and Subhuti. Those two old foxes... never mind, just do your best. I doubt you’ll find anything useful anyway."
"Yes, ma’am."
Down the long stone steps, the Right-Dharma Radiance Buddha descended, and from afar saw Venerable Leonard and Saint Samuel seated in a pavilion.
Rising and bowing, Saint Samuel laughed and called out, "Venerable, where are you headed?"
Right-Dharma Radiance Buddha also laughed, raising his voice in reply, "To put out a fire—!"
Hearing this, Saint Samuel laughed even harder, calling out, "On the whole Westward Quest, Venerable, you only ever got things started and never stepped in again. What brings you out now?"
Right-Dharma Radiance Buddha sighed lightly and smiled, "I want to see how the Westward Quest turns out. If all this effort leads to nothing, wouldn’t that be a shame?"
Saint Samuel didn’t answer, just kept laughing. Even Venerable Leonard, usually solemn, joined in.
When he reached the two, Right-Dharma Radiance Buddha pressed his palms together and bowed, "Would you two care to come down the mountain with me?"
"No, no, this water’s too muddy for us to wade through." Saint Samuel shook his head and waved his hand. "Venerable, you’re the one with the enthusiasm—go ahead. We’ll just stay here and wait for your good news."
Right-Dharma Radiance Buddha glanced at Saint Samuel, then at Venerable Leonard, and sighed, "Alright then."
He bowed silently to both and continued down the mountain path.
Inside the Hall of Silent Meditation, all the disciples had gathered, watching Master Sage Subhuti sigh over and over. He walked to the window, gazed out as if reaching for the scenery beyond, then drew back and returned to his seat. Back and forth he went, never uttering a single word.
This was a completely unexpected outcome. Lord Lao’s intervention had instantly turned the board into a contest with three players, and only one could win.
Worse, Lord Lao had disguised himself so well these past years that no one had guarded against him. Until now, both the Buddhists and Subhuti had been focused solely on each other, giving Lord Lao the perfect chance to step in. It might even push Monkey entirely onto Lord Lao’s side.
This was an outcome Master Sage Subhuti absolutely could not accept.
But now, what else could he do?
Only Monkey possessed memories of another world, which meant he held an irreplaceable place on Lord Lao’s board. Yet if Subhuti sided with Monkey, Six-Eared Macaque would turn completely to the Buddhists. What would the Buddhists have him do then?
Monkey was the key to Lord Lao regaining his Heavenly Dao cultivation, and Six-Eared Macaque was Monkey’s nemesis. If Subhuti sided with Monkey and gave him more choices, he could cut off Lord Lao’s hopes. But then, regarding the Westward Quest, he’d be at a disadvantage against the Buddhists. To abandon Monkey and win Six-Eared Macaque’s trust would give him the upper hand against the Buddhists, but success on the Westward Quest would be far from certain—and it would leave Lord Lao with a huge opportunity, maybe even the biggest obstacle to enlightenment at the crucial moment...
Thinking this, Master Sage Subhuti felt his head start to spin. He shut his eyes tight, sat cross-legged on his cushion, and pondered deeply as beads of sweat trickled down his brow.
Eight hundred years of planning—now, victory or defeat would be decided in a single thought. How could he not be anxious?
The disciples before him watched in confusion, not knowing what to do.
Soon, Eugene entered from outside, bowed, and reported, "Master, Six-Eared Macaque has taken his men to seek out Tripitaka. Also... Lady Birdie from Tusita Palace has arrived, holding Lord Lao’s command token. She requests to see you."
At these words, Master Sage Subhuti was startled and slowly opened his eyes.
The moment of decision had come.