After much wrangling, everything was finally "negotiated" and settled.
Under the countless eyes of the Dragon Palace Imperial Guard, Monkey strode step by step toward the Ocean Pillar Rod, a smile on his face.
A current swept past, rocking the suspended army formations, while the kelp forest swayed gently.
A gleam flickered in his eyes—a kind of fanaticism.
"Golden Staff, Golden Staff, Golden Staff..." he muttered over and over.
He stopped before the sky-supporting pillar, tilting his head to gaze upward—above lay endless darkness.
He grinned broadly.
At last, he would be worthy of the name carved on his tombstone. If he could endure this trial and win time for Blossom Mountain, then next would come the journey to the Netherworld.
He would investigate the fate of the souls, and then...
He gazed into the boundless darkness, grinning.
"This time, I'll do as you wish."
In that darkness, Lord Lao floated quietly, clutching a fly-whisk. He sighed helplessly, raised his head, and his eyes narrowed to thin slits.
...
At this moment, the sun was setting in the west, and the sea surface was a magnificent sight.
A gentle sea breeze blew by, accompanied by the cries of seagulls. Belle, who had slept the whole day, rubbed her eyes and slowly sat up.
"How long have I slept? Huh? How are you all right now?"
Looking down, she saw that the whale, once on the verge of death, had completely recovered. Carrying Belle, it glided gently across the sea surface. Hearing her voice, it spouted water with a joyful flourish.
"Hehe, as long as you're fine, that's all that matters!" Belle happily sprawled across the whale's back, rolling around.
She was already wearing the beautiful purple-haze gauze robe, but still looked like a child. If Lord Lao saw her now, he would surely be speechless again.
Slowly getting up, Belle patted the whale's back and smiled, "You haven't dived at all—were you afraid I'd drown? Thank you. I couldn't help you, but you still cared for me so much."
The whale spouted water again with a joyful sound.
Rolling up her sleeves, Belle closed her eyes and carefully sensed the spiritual power within her.
After a long while, she opened her eyes, looking completely confused.
"What's going on? I still haven't recovered much—can't even fly yet. Before, a good sleep would always restore me." She seemed to realize something, lowered her head, and looked at the whale with some guilt: "If I stay here, does that mean you can't dive or feed? What should we do..."
...
Deep beneath the sea, Monkey swallowed hard, half-squatting as he slowly reached out his arm.
His hand trembled, his heart trembled—never before had he felt such a surge of emotion.
In the distance, Tina Ao watched him quietly, her face expressionless.
This demon monkey's strength far exceeded her imagination—she had already realized this the last time she visited Blossom Mountain with Coral Ao.
According to intelligence reports, she had long known that Monkey used the South Heaven Gate campaign against Eastrealm to shelter a large number of demons. Yet when searching with magical treasures from high above, she saw only a handful. Clearly, Monkey had been hiding, lying in wait, seeking far more than the carefree life of a common demon.
He had abandoned his status as Subhuti's formal disciple, hidden himself among the demons of Blossom Mountain, living wild and raw. Even the proud sister of Erlang Shen had fallen for him, willingly serving as his right hand...
"Heh..." She couldn't help but laugh.
With such a wild monkey here, the Eastern Sea shores would know no peace.
With such a wild monkey in their midst, the Eastern Sea’s shores would never know peace again.
Ever clever, Tina Ao found herself powerless now—she could only surrender to fate, hoping that the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace might weather this gathering storm.
This time, the light did not shrink back. Monkey spread his arms wide and embraced the pillar.
The giant pillar awakened, trembling as fragments and dust cascaded down, shrouding the kelp forest in a thick cloud.
The Dragon Palace ranks broke and scattered; soldiers fled, watching from afar with terror.
After a long while, the dust settled.
At the center, Monkey still half-squatted, arms wrapped around the pillar. He brushed sand from himself, frowned, and with a roar, hooked his fingers into the carved seams of the pillar.
A piercing sound of metal grinding erupted, booming and stabbing at the eardrums of everyone present. Yet to Monkey, it sounded like a summons.
"Up—!" He opened his eyes wide, baring his fangs as veins bulged on his forehead. His hysterical roar mingled with the harsh grinding noise.
Everyone retreated in terror.
At the pillar’s base, wisps of sand and dust rose.
The giant pillar trembled, slowly being pulled free bit by bit.
A surging current of seawater burst from the hole, sweeping so fiercely that Monkey couldn’t open his eyes. Like a hurricane, it instantly tore through everything.
Countless Dragon Palace soldiers were swept into the air. Even the Dragon King and Tina Ao, supreme beings of the sea, could only slowly retreat.
...
High above the Eastern Sea, a chariot from the Heavenly Marshal Corps sped by, carrying several Skyward Rangers.
"Hey, what's that?"
The other two Skyward Rangers also leaned forward to look.
The once-calm sea surface suddenly bulged with mountain-like columns of water!
At the last moment, the chariot driver panicked and pulled the chariot up into the clouds, barely escaping the surge. The three were drenched to the bone.
The once-serene surface of the Eastern Sea suddenly heaved, towering columns of water rising like mountains!
It was as if the sea surface had been raised by another layer.
"What happened? A tsunami?"
Before they could figure it out, the chariot had already sped far beyond the reach of the giant waves.
"Look, there's a girl on that whale!" one Skyward Ranger suddenly shouted, pointing ahead.
"Oh no, she probably won't survive."
"Whether she lives or not, what does it matter to you?" The chariot driver lazily flicked his whip. "Once you've ascended to Heaven, you should understand that life and death are ruled by fate. If her destiny ends here, no one can save her."
"Look! There’s a girl riding that whale!" one Skyward Ranger cried, pointing ahead.
"Damn it! What's down there?" Monkey roared loudly. As soon as he shouted, the surging seawater flooded into his mouth.
Caught completely off guard, he nearly choked.
"Below is the Eastern Sea's spring eye!" the old Dragon King shouted.
Monkey cursed, but when he opened his mouth, only bubbling noises came out.
Amid the surging seawater, he summoned his spiritual power to force his body down, but he simply couldn't control the flow.
As the giant pillar slowly rose, his feet sank into the mire, and the water surged past him like countless knives scraping his body.
On the surface, the once-joyful whale sensed disaster and bolted, sending splashes that stung Belle’s face like whips.
...
On the surface, the once-joyful whale seemed to sense something and began to dash madly, splashing water that stung Belle's face.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?"
Belle cried out in panic.
A world-shaking roar echoed from behind her.
Turning around, she saw a giant wave—over twenty zhang high—rushing toward her like a towering wall.
Monkey had no way of knowing the crisis above. Deep in the raging currents, all his will was bent on wrenching free the Ocean Pillar Rod.
...
At that moment, deep beneath the sea, Monkey was still completely unaware of the crisis above. Amid the raging currents, he was focused solely on pulling out the Ocean Pillar Rod.
Thirteen thousand five hundred catties? If that were true, Monkey could have lifted it easily with one hand.
Something must be wrong again.
Monkey had no idea how heavy the Ocean Pillar Rod truly was—he only knew that even with all his strength, it barely moved.
Gritting his teeth, he unleashed Three Heads, Six Arms, all six hands hooking into the carved seams, his muscles swelling to the limit as he roared with all his might.
The instant the sky-supporting pillar was lifted from the ground, the spring eye it had suppressed for countless years erupted in full force.