"I can't hold on much longer!" Sun Wukong cried out with difficulty.
The cracks on the Heaven-and-Earth Stone Stele had already spread downward and were about to reach the Spatial Fissure in its center.
At that moment, a mass of black light suddenly lit up on Shen Luo's arm, transforming into a massive Black Lotus Platform that supported the Heaven-and-Earth Stone Stele from below.
Black light surged upward from within it, and a vast force rushed skyward, stabilizing the stele in an instant.
Sun Wukong watched in disbelief, his gaze involuntarily turning toward Shen Luo.
"You two leave first. Leave the rest to me," Shen Luo said calmly, though the aura emanating from him was exceedingly strange.
Sun Wukong was about to speak, but when he saw Shen Luo's resolute expression, he held his tongue.
After a brief hesitation, he left behind the words, "We'll wait for you outside," then turned and departed.
"Cai Zhu, go. You can't help with the battle here," Shen Luo urged when he saw Nie Caizhu still standing where she was.
Normally gentle and obedient, Nie Caizhu stared fixedly at Shen Luo with tears welling in her eyes. She neither moved nor showed the slightest intention of leaving.
"Do you want me to wait helplessly for you for another thousand years?" Nie Caizhu asked.
A trace of guilt flashed through Shen Luo's heart. After a moment of silence, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Then stay and watch from the side. No matter what happens, don't make a move. And protect yourself."
Nie Caizhu nodded without speaking, remaining where she stood.
Shen Luo raised his hand, and intense black light erupted from the Black Lotus Platform, surging upward and violently colliding with the axe light.
A mass of chaotic gray light burst forth at