By now, the battle over the Dharma‑Quest Kingdom had reached its most intense, white‑hot phase.
Monkey braced the Golden Staff against the array’s shield, roaring as he hurled himself forward with all his might.
Driven by his force, the massive Seven‑Star Solar Array retreated at speed. Where its shield scraped the mountaintop, it sheared the peak away as easily as slicing tofu. At the spot where the Golden Staff pressed hardest, cracks were already beginning to show.
Master Taiyi was stunned. Beads of sweat the size of beans slid slowly down his forehead, only to evaporate instantly in the fierce outpouring of spiritual power.
Beside him, the already‑wounded Master Clearwater was on the verge of collapse.
It was obvious that, in this contest of strength, they were almost at their limit. At this rate, it wouldn’t be Monkey who ran out of spiritual power—it would be them.
“What do we do?”
“We can’t drag this out—let’s fight him head‑on!”
The remaining Golden Immortals hesitated for a moment, but in the end, each one nodded in agreement.
“Open!”
After a brief hesitation, the Golden Staff in his hand snapped back, and he gritted his teeth, charging once more at Master Taiyi.
This time, he didn’t strike immediately, but closed the distance at incredible speed.
Although Master Taiyi retreated rapidly, in an instant Monkey was less than ten zhang away from him.
At such close range, if Monkey struck, Master Taiyi would have no way to dodge—he could only take the blow head-on.
But just as Monkey was about to attack, Master Taiyi shouted: “Well Star, Four Auxiliaries, Void Star!”
The others quickly cast runes of different patterns, and the symbols across the array began to shift subtly.
“Go to hell!” Monkey roared, striking again.
He swung the staff single-handed, aiming straight for Master Taiyi’s crown. The Golden Staff, packed with brute force, swept out, trailing a long phantom, and struck Master Taiyi’s forehead without fail.
The head was sent flying.
The next moment, wary of any traps hidden within the array’s runes, Monkey retreated at high speed, putting hundreds of zhang between himself and the array, hovering in midair.