"It's not up to me?" Monkey King gripped the Iron Sentinel in his hand and slowly broke into a smile. He drew a deep breath, then looked up at the swirling clouds overhead. "You're saying it's not up to me, is that it?"
"Are you deaf?" Six-Ears Damon raised his brows slightly.
Lowering his head, Monkey King fixed his gaze on Six-Ears Damon and enunciated each word: "Then let's try it. If I can't settle accounts with Lord Buddha, do you think I can't handle you?"
Half-squinting, Six-Ears Damon stepped back, widening the distance between himself and Monkey King, and assumed a battle stance.
At that moment, all the onlookers around them couldn't help but swallow nervously.
Standing behind Six-Ears Damon, Saint Raymond staggered, nearly collapsing to the ground. Fortunately, the Earth-Store King reached out from the side and caught him.
Manjusri slowly walked over to the two and stood quietly at their side, watching Six-Ears Damon and Monkey King ahead.
For them, everything that needed to be done was finished. All that remained was to wait quietly for the outcome of the Westward Quest.
In the distance, Tripitaka stared wide-eyed, frozen in place. His lips parted, but for a long while, not a single word came out.
He was supposed to be the protagonist of the Westward Quest, but what could he do? Would either of these two monkeys listen to him?
As for the current situation, he—the supposed protagonist—had long since become powerless to change anything.
......
In Great Thunderclap Temple, Lord Buddha slowly opened his eyes and swept his gaze to the side.
Immediately, the Buddha he glanced at hurried down the steps, came to the center, bowed deeply with palms joined, and said, "What are your orders, Venerable One?"
"Go. Convey a message from me to Saint Raymond."
"As you command, Master." With that, the Buddha bowed, saluted, and walked forward in small steps.
Soon after, the Buddha hurried out of the hall, leapt skyward, and sped toward Lionback Kingdom.
......
Inside the Temple of Nuwa, Master Sage Subhuti gazed at Mother Nuwa's silent figure within the Emerald Wall and let out a deep sigh.
......
In Tusita Palace, Lord Lao's brows twitched slightly. The hand holding his teacup loosened and tightened, tightened and loosened again.
......
"Kill—!" With a furious roar, Monkey King was already swinging the Iron Sentinel, his figure turning into a streak of golden light as he charged at Six-Ears Damon.
Six-Ears Damon suddenly raised his hand and gripped the Golden Staff horizontally.
In the next instant, a wild torrent of air exploded once again, spreading madly across the ground. Under the violent winds, all those nearby shut their eyes tightly to shield themselves from the sand.
Immediately after came a deafening roar. Two streaks of golden light crisscrossed within a space less than ten zhang wide, drilling downward like a pair of augers. The ground's rock was shredded to dust in an instant, reduced to ash.
In just a split second, a pit five zhang deep appeared where they fought, expanding at a frenzied pace.
The earth itself trembled.
As the shockwaves spread, fissures branched out like crazed vines in all directions. In the blink of an eye, the ground—just flattened by their battle—was now riddled with ravines. The remaining mountain collapsed swiftly amid the thunderous noise.
This moment was unlike any before. The two monkeys were no longer trading blows, retreating or chasing, or fighting passively. Now, they were truly unleashing all their power, battling for the one name that should have belonged to both.
"You can't beat me! I'm already a Buddha, with a complete body! And you—you're barely hanging on!" Six-Ears Damon's voice thundered across the heavens.
"Hahaha! You'll only know if you try! At worst, it's just death! I've never been afraid of dying!" Monkey King laughed madly.
In the depths of the pit, Iron Sentinel shot up like a sky-piercing pillar, reaching for the third heaven. Six-Ears Damon, gripping the Golden Staff, leapt nimbly aside, landing on the distant flat ground.
A brief calm.
In the next moment, Iron Sentinel contracted slightly. Six-Ears Damon spun and charged, smashing directly into the side of the pit—piercing through!
Yes, he pierced straight through! Without using any burrowing techniques, he relied solely on his own strength to blast into the rock, heading straight for the depths below.
At once, the sand and dust erupted like a gushing spring, spreading out in all directions.
A series of muffled booms echoed out.
Everyone looked down, watching the trembling ground beneath their feet, and the sand and stones jumping across its surface.
"If they keep fighting like this... could they end up punching their way straight into the Netherworld?" Prince Adrian asked cautiously.
Erik Yang's lips trembled slightly. "If they break through to the Netherworld, the disaster from six hundred years ago may repeat itself. The common people will suffer, and the great powers... will simply watch."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
In the struggle between Heaven and Earth, whether Buddhist, Daoist, demon, or immortal—regardless of right or wrong—whoever wins, isn't it always the common people who suffer?
Tripitaka lowered his gaze, saying nothing.
After a long time, he quietly asked, "How far is it from here to Spirit Mountain?"
"Well, it's far if you think it's far... but really, it's not so far." Prince Adrian replied softly.
Turning around, Tripitaka faced the Western Paradise, pressed his palms together, and began to walk slowly forward.
"This monk needs no protection. I can walk to Spirit Mountain myself—and end all of this!"
Those around him froze in surprise.
From afar, everyone saw a streak of golden light rush from the west and land before Saint Raymond.
The Buddha delivering the message bowed slightly and said, "Saint Raymond, a decree from the Buddha has arrived."
"A decree from the Buddha?" At those words, all the Buddhas were taken aback.
Unlike the Heavenly Court, Spirit Mountain isn't a tightly organized institution; in most cases, it hardly qualifies as one. It's more a gathering place. Thus, Buddhas coming from Spirit Mountain to support Saint Raymond generally don't need his approval. Even so, decrees from the Buddha do exist—though any Buddha can choose whether to obey.
Because of this, it's been tens of thousands of years since a decree was issued. Its sudden appearance now is truly shocking.
Gently pulling away from Earth-Store King's supporting hand, Saint Raymond straightened his robes, knelt, and bowed. "Saint Raymond receives the decree!"
Seeing this, all the surrounding Buddhas knelt as well.
The messenger Buddha drew a golden scroll from his sleeve, unfurled it, and read aloud: "The Way of Heaven is limitless; disaster looms large. The events of six hundred years ago serve as a warning—heed them well."
When he finished, the crowd strained to listen, but the messenger Buddha quietly rolled up the scroll.
"That's it? Nothing else?" The message was brief, without even a signature or heading. For a moment, all the Buddhas stared at each other in confusion—even Earth-Store King and Manjusri looked puzzled.
Only Saint Raymond gave a slow, bitter smile.
Someone asked softly, "What... does this mean?"
"It means a lot." Saint Raymond rose slowly and sighed. "The Way of Heaven is limitless—not just for Simon Sun, but also... Six-Ears Damon."
The Buddhas present were stunned.
In Tusita Palace, Lord Lao let out a dry chuckle. The tea in his hand had long gone cold, but he hadn't taken a single sip.
"What does this mean?"
"Didn't I already say?" Lord Lao looked up and sighed. "The Buddhas are one faction, and the Tathāgata on the lotus throne is another. Now, he's just drawn a red line for all rivals but himself. Anyone who crosses it—no matter the debate—he'll step in to clean up the mess."
The Grandmaster of the Jade Purity Sect snapped, "Does he want to watch the two monkeys fight forever across the world?"
"Fighting forever is still better than giving Tripitaka a Heaven's Way 'limitless' helper, isn't it?"
At that, the Grandmaster of the Jade Purity Sect fell silent.
From a distance, Black Bear Spirit glanced at the stunned Buddhas, gritted his teeth, and hurried toward Tripitaka.
"Master Tripitaka, a moment ago we were only a thousand li from Spirit Mountain—here, it's ten thousand! If you must walk, you should start from there!"
Without waiting for a reply, he hoisted Tripitaka onto his back and leapt into the clouds.