The Cataclysm Ends, the Eight Proper Scriptures, and the Wordless True Scripture

The ripples in the River of Time gradually subsided. The earth-shattering battle between Li Fan and the two goddesses, Wangshu and Ziguang, had ended in less than half a day.

By the time they broke away and returned to the Prehistoric Universe's main world, half an era had quietly passed in the Primordial World.

Half an era was enough for seas to turn into mulberry fields, bringing yet another sigh-inducing tale of how everything had changed.

The smoke of the great calamity in the Primordial Three Realms had completely dispersed. With no Heavenly Court governing the world, order seemed to have returned to stability, yet the emptiness left behind by the catastrophe clung to the hearts of all living beings and refused to fade.

The loneliest of them all was undoubtedly the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong.

The Monkey King who had once caused an Uproar in Heaven, shattered the High Heavens, and remained undefeated in battle had now shed all his defiance and holed up on Flower Fruit Mountain.

The waterfall of Water Curtain Cave still cascaded down, and peaches in the grove still ripened and fell every year. But the monkey clan and his monkey descendants had long died in the Battle of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

He had no interest in anything all day. The Ruyi Golden Cudgel lay casually propped beside the cave entrance, covered in a thick layer of dust.

Ruyi, ruyi—nothing had gone as wished.

He sat atop the highest bluestone on Flower Fruit Mountain, watching clouds gather and scatter on the horizon. He held half a Mortal Realm peach in his hand, his eyes hollow and lost.

Sometimes, only after downing several jars of monkey wine and getting drunk would he mutter to the empty valley.

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