In Tusita Palace, Clara Heart gazed up at the azure sky. A gentle breeze swept past her, lifting her long hair.
"It seems the situation is growing tense again."
Sparrow sat quietly on the stone bench beside her, keeping her company in silence.
"Do you think it will be like it was six hundred years ago?"
Sparrow slowly shook her head.
"No?"
"I don’t know," Sparrow sighed softly. "The fate of the Three Realms has never been ours to predict. He is the one at the center of the storm. We may be on this chessboard, but at best, we are just pieces."
"Will Master help him this time?"
"Perhaps." Sparrow smiled faintly. "But at the very least, he won’t harm him. Master still owes Belle a promise, after all. You should trust Master, just as you did six hundred years ago. The Daoist Patriarch always keeps his word."
"Mm." Clara Heart nodded slightly and fell silent.
......
In the grand hall, a young Daoist attendant hurried up to Lord Lao, bowed, and said, "Master, His Majesty has arrived with General Lee and Grandmaster White, seeking an audience."
Upon hearing this, Lord Genesis and Lord Skygate, seated nearby, both glanced toward Lord Lao. Lord Lao merely pursed his lips and stroked his long beard, lost in thought.
"So, they've come seeking help after hearing the news?" Lord Skygate took a deep breath and gave a wry chuckle.
Lord Genesis remained silent.
Seeing this, the attendant quietly asked, "Master, shall I let them in, or not?"
"No." Lord Lao shook his head. "Just deliver my message: 'Hold South Heaven Gate at all costs. No matter what happens, do not deploy the troops.'"
"As you command." The attendant bowed again and withdrew from the hall.
"Best not to let them get involved. They wouldn't be of much use anyway." Once the attendant had left, Lord Lao stroked his beard, closed his eyes, and sighed. "What comes next will be a matter of life and death for our Daoist order. If we win this round, we'll still need their help to clean up the mess in the Three Realms—especially to take charge of the Netherworld, which requires skilled hands. The Heavenly Court today is not what it once was. They must preserve their strength."
Lord Skygate pursed his lips and said slowly, "That's true enough, but what are we supposed to do now? The two Monkeys have already gone to war, and two of the Four Great Buddhas are sitting at the edge of Lionback Kingdom, just waiting to reap the rewards. Are we just going to stand by and watch?"
"Don't be hasty," Lord Lao said with a long sigh. "Back then, even though the situation was a deadlock, it wasn't truly hopeless. In fact, it was precisely because I moved too quickly that everything spiraled out of control. In the end... heh, that Monkey is unlike anyone else. The sooner you make your move, the more passive you become—and you might lose everything. Now that he knows there is another path here, that's enough."
Lord Skygate nodded and sighed deeply. "That's true. Back then, we fought fiercely around him, and in the end... hmph. In the end, it was Lord Buddha and Master Sage Subhuti, always lurking in the shadows, who gained the advantage. We ended up with nothing at all."
Suddenly, Lord Skygate paused, as if remembering something. He frowned and murmured, "Lord Buddha remains inactive. Saint Raymond and Earth-Store King want to force Six-Eared Macaque to join the Buddhist Order, escalate the conflict, and bring the Westward Quest to a conclusion—we know that much. But what about Master Sage Subhuti? He’s wagered all his disciples on this. Would he really just hide quietly in Crescent Star Cave and do nothing?"
"Perhaps he’s a bit unsettled," Lord Genesis, who had remained silent, stroked his beard and spoke. "After all, the situation is quite sudden for him. He probably hasn’t yet thought of a better solution."
As he spoke, both men looked toward Lord Lao, who was frowning slightly, as if he too found the situation difficult to unravel.
......
With a roar, Six-Eared Macaque swung his staff with all his might. The Golden Staff suddenly extended in midair, its end thickening to the size of a barrel, and smashed toward Monkey.
The whirlwind unleashed by the blow spun outward in all directions.
Monkey flipped nimbly in the air and used his Iron Sentinel to block, but the instant the two weapons collided, his body was suddenly forced backward.
Gritting his teeth, Monkey managed to stabilize himself and even pushed the Golden Staff back a short distance.
"You think if I die, you'll get to live well? Even if I'm doomed to die, I'll drag you down with me!" Six-Eared Macaque roared, spun around, and his Golden Staff shrank back to its normal size. He shot toward Monkey like an arrow loosed from a bow.
The two figures clashed once again. This time, the impact was fiercer than ever before. The shockwave bent the trees and, for a moment, it was as if a giant sphere of light engulfed the world. Six-Eared Macaque pressed Monkey hard, gaining the upper hand.
Amidst the wind, Earth-Store King and Saint Raymond watched the battle in the sky in silence.
"Has Six-Eared Macaque gone mad?"
"He's letting anger cloud his mind—a mortal heart that has never escaped the Sea of Suffering," Saint Raymond said softly. "Fighting like this, he may gain the upper hand for a while, but he can't truly crush his opponent. Once time drags on, he'll run out of strength. It's a style meant for desperate survival, but he's using it in the wrong place. After all... his opponent is also good at this kind of fighting."
"Venerable, how much longer do you think he can hold out?"
Before Saint Raymond could reply, Six-Eared Macaque was suddenly knocked from the sky. His body crashed to the ground, piercing straight through the mountain!
In an instant, the whole mountain collapsed. Dust billowed like a tsunami, rolling out in all directions.
Saint Raymond froze for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the spot where Six-Eared Macaque had landed.
High above, Monkey was nearly exhausted, barely hovering in midair, gasping for breath. His body was covered in wounds, but fortunately, none were serious.
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After a long while, the dust on the ground slowly settled. At the very center of the impact, Six-Eared Macaque struggled to his feet.
One eye was already blind. Only a few stray tufts of fur remained in the socket—the eyeball itself was nowhere to be seen.
A large patch of scalp had been scraped raw, but there was no blood—just a chaotic tangle of new fur sprouting. His body was covered in wounds; nearly every inch of skin was split, with unruly fur poking through the cracks.
Yet he acted as if nothing had happened, still glaring up at Monkey, gritting his teeth and growling low.
At this, Earth-Store King let out a dry chuckle.
"Should we remind him again?"
Saint Raymond slowly shook his head. "No."
......
At that moment, deep within the temple of the Women’s Kingdom, Master Sage Subhuti stood quietly before a vast, gently rippling emerald crystal.
"Do they know you’re here in my palace?"
"No," Master Sage Subhuti replied, frowning slightly and hesitating before adding, "At least, I don’t think so... I’ve set up a decoy array. Unless someone enters the Meditation Hall directly, there’s no way they’d know."
A huge shadow flickered within the emerald wall, and clear laughter echoed through the cave.
Hearing that laughter, Master Sage Subhuti could only smile helplessly.
"It seems you’re feeling lost too. Should I lend you a hand?"
"No need." Master Sage Subhuti slowly closed his eyes and sighed. "Even if you did help, it wouldn’t matter. They’d all yield to you—except when life and death are at stake. Otherwise, the Three Realms wouldn’t be in this state."
"Some are already at the Heavenly Dao level, and some could reach it at any moment. As for me, trapped here as a half-Heavenly Dao being, I can’t do much to help."
Master Sage Subhuti smiled faintly. "You’ve already helped a great deal. For the success of the Westward Quest, you planted the most crucial seed. But now I can no longer protect that sapling as it grows—I can only let it weather the storms on its own. I hope it succeeds... and I hope Lord Lao doesn’t notice it too soon. Otherwise, no matter how patient he is, he won’t just stand by and do nothing. After all, if the Westward Quest succeeds, it means he’s failed."