After finishing the peaches, the master and his disciples continued on their way.
Wukong walked at the head of the group with the Golden Cudgel over his shoulder, his steps light, though he kept scanning their surroundings. He knew the demon had not fled far.
Meanwhile, the demon escaped with her life and rose into the sky.
She fled using the Corpse-Release Technique, her primordial spirit wrapped in a sinister wind as it shot straight into the clouds.
From above the clouds, she gazed down at the travelers. Her exquisite face was now twisted like a vengeful ghost's, her eyes filled with venomous hatred and resentment.
"Well, well, Sun Wukong!"
She gritted her teeth, her nails digging deep into her palms:
"I'd only heard that this Monkey King possessed heaven-reaching powers, a demon king who respected neither law nor heaven. Who would have thought he'd now cultivated the sanctimonious air of a bald monk!"
"'Help you escape your plight,' he said. 'Sever the root of your evil,' he said... His mouth is full of righteousness and virtue. What utter hypocrisy!"
"Then let's try again! I'll show you how I tear those false masks off your faces!"
Down came the demon on her dark cloud, and beneath the hillside ahead, her figure flickered.
As black mist churned around her, the young matron's graceful figure swiftly stooped, and her cascading black hair instantly turned into white strands like withered grass.
A moment later, she had transformed into an old woman.
Her temples were white as ice and snow, and the wrinkles on her face lay piled like wilted leaves. She walked slowly, her steps frail and faltering, as though a gust of wind could blow her over.
Eighty years of age, she leaned on a crooked bamboo staff and approached the main