Since Mount Huaguo had appeared, then naturally the Water Curtain Cave could not be absent.
As the saying goes, "Mount Huaguo is a blessed land, and Water Curtain Cave a paradise," if Mount Huaguo is an earthly paradise, then Water Curtain Cave is a heavenly cave dwelling, leaving a deeper impression than any other scene.
When Kaiser used Sonído to move through space and arrived at the mountain peak, he immediately saw this heavenly cave dwelling.
It was located at the spot where the Western Heavenly Palace once stood, now replaced by a cliff.
On the cliff, a waterfall cascaded down like a white rainbow, plunging straight into a lake below, splashing water and sending waves surging.
The sound of the waterfall echoed in all directions, and beneath it, the flow of water split apart to reveal an entrance.
It was a "person"-shaped entrance facing south. The waterfall's stream was only slightly obstructed, not fully covering it, instead forming a watery curtain that veiled it faintly, making it impossible to clearly see the inside of the cave.
"It's actually become like this here?"
Standing at the former location of the Western Heavenly Palace, Kaiser looked at the Water Curtain Cave ahead and immediately understood.
"The inside of this cave entrance should be the original corridor that led to the Netherworld."
Now, it seemed the corridor to the Netherworld had completely collapsed.
In other words, entering through this entrance no longer led to the Netherworld, but into the interior of the Water Curtain Cave—what used to be the inside of the Western Heavenly Palace.
However, that place must have changed drastically and could no longer be the original sight of the Western Heavenly Palace.
As for what was inside the Water Curtain Cave…
"Do I even need to go in and look?"
After all, the gatekeepers had already seen him.
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
The beings that let out such dragon-like roars were monkeys stationed as the left and right guardians of the Water Curtain Cave.
That's right—still monkeys, and monkeys that could roar like dragons.
Because, unlike the monkey divine envoys that had appeared below, these were over twelve meters tall, robust and brawny, with long arms and short legs, their massive frames resembling mighty apes, exuding an aura so strong it could suffocate a human.
The moment they spotted Kaiser, they immediately charged over with a speed like a storm—swift and fierce, even blasting the water into the air.
That kind of power—these couldn't be divine envoys anymore; they were unquestionably Divine Beasts!
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
The two monkey Divine Beasts charged toward Kaiser, opening their massive mouths—one spewed crimson lotus flames, the other unleashed a raging gale—combining into a fiery storm that surged toward Kaiser.
Judging by that form and that power, calling them monkeys was an understatement; they were comparable to dragons.
If it were Erica and Liliana instead, even together they might barely be able to handle one.
Even Seishuin Ena, wielding Sode no Shirayuki and using Spirit Possession, would likely only manage to contend with one. To face two at once, she would need to be holding Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi.
Even the strongest Paladin-class human would struggle to deal with these two monkey Divine Beasts and would need to exhaust every possible means just to win.
Unfortunately, what they faced was not a human, but a Demon Lord, a Rakshasa, the ruler who slays gods.
"Boom!"
The waves that had been blown skyward suddenly surged.
No, it wasn't just the waves—it was the entire waterfall, the entire lake, all the rivers flowing through Mount Huaguo.
Whether it was the waterfall, the lake, or the rivers across Mount Huaguo, all surged at once, raising towering torrents that formed fierce water tornadoes rising from every direction, rapidly converging here.
In the blink of an eye, a sky-covering water dragon took shape, roaring as it charged forward.
It swallowed the crimson lotus flames, extinguishing the fire beneath the pressure of surging water.
It tore through the violent storm like a raging beast in a tempest, silencing the winds.
The two monkey Divine Beasts didn't even have time to react before they were devoured by the water dragon's roaring maw.
Blue blood immediately appeared in the water, and the water dragon dove down into the lake with a thunderous crash, making the lake tumultuous, stirring wave after wave without end.
The entire mountaintop of Mount Huaguo was instantly overwhelmed by the surging waves.
"Still not coming out?"
Kaiser stood atop the waves, as if walking on water, and at some point had a trident gripped in his hand.
"If you don't come out, I'll go in, okay?"
At Kaiser's call, within the Water Curtain Cave already engulfed by furious waves, a stone monkey opened its Fiery Golden Eyes.
"Boom!"
The stone monkey's entire body trembled and erupted, sending countless stones flying from the blast's center.
And at the heart of that explosion, a golden figure soared into the sky, shattering the Water Curtain Cave's ceiling, smashing through the cliff face of the waterfall, soaring straight into the heavens.
At that moment, everyone saw the figure rising from the summit of Mount Huaguo.
It passed through the clouds and across the sky, its voice thundering like a storm.
"I pray for purity and freedom from defilement!"
"With the six senses pure, thus my five viscera gods find peace!"
"Because of peace, I share the same roots as the gods of heaven and earth!"
"Now, grant me a pure body and Divinity!"
"I am the heaven, the one who equals heaven!"
The monkey god who made his declaration to heaven and earth landed upon the clouds, riding the mist, radiating golden light.
He stood around 160 centimeters tall, clad in a yellow jacket, with a hairy face and thunderous mouth, wielding a golden iron staff, and his aura soared sky-high.
"The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, is here!"
That voice echoed clearly between heaven and earth, entering everyone's ears.
"Chichi!"
"Chichichichi!"
In Nikko City, all the monkeys suddenly screamed with excitement. Whether transformed humans or monkey-haired beings, they all shouted as if seeing their king, filling the entire city with monkey cries.
"The Heretic God Sun Wukong!"
"Has emerged!"
At the foot of the mountain, Erica and Liliana, who were confronting a group of monkey divine envoys, simultaneously looked up to the sky.
"Fiery Golden Eyes, iron head and arms, copper back and body, boundless divine powers, infinite transformations…"
Mariya Yuri, protected by Erica and Liliana, also looked to the sky, muttering in a daze.
"Fierce and manifesting evil, surname Sun, given name Wukong, self-proclaimed—Great Sage Equaling Heaven!"
Kaiser's gaze spanned several thousand meters, looking at Sun Wukong standing atop the clouds, a smile appearing on his face.
"At last, he shows himself."
He really made him wait a long time.
...
At Mount Lu, Luo Hao, dressed in Hanfu and resembling a descended immortal lady, was moved by a sudden premonition, stepping out from her temple to the cliff's edge, gazing toward the distant East.
As a Daoist priestess, Luo Hao possessed the Thousand-Mile Eye ability, and hers was far stronger than any current practitioner.
She could fly straight from Mount Lu to Tokyo—naturally, she could also see Nikko City from here, see Mount Huaguo, and see the monkey god atop the clouds, even hear his proclamation.
"Great Sage Equaling Heaven, finally liberated from that disgusting short stature."
The Martial Arts King of China smiled beautifully, both dazzling and cold.
"Excellent. Only in such a form do you deserve to be called a hero of our nation."
"Seeing you like this brings back the shame of a hundred years ago."
"Feel honored, Heretic God Sun Wukong. For my younger brother's sake, the one who shall bestow you with a glorious death will be him."
Luo Hao's gaze turned toward the summit of Mount Huaguo, watching Kaiser walking on the waves, her smile deepened.
"Dear younger brother Kaiser, show yourself to your elder sister. Let me see whether you truly have the power to repel the Wolf King and slay the monkey god."
As Luo Hao's arrogant words faded into the wind, in the distant sky, the monkey god wielding the golden staff rode the clouds, descending toward Mount Huaguo.
...
"Splash—"
The sound of surging waves still echoed across Mount Huaguo, churning wave after wave, lingering endlessly.
The monkey god, riding clouds and mist, arrived, looking down at the figure walking atop the water, and laughed heartily.
"You're even more impatient than I expected."
The Heretic God Sun Wukong made such a statement.
"I thought you'd at least wait until tomorrow's sunrise, for me to find you myself!"
That was supposed to be the day of Sun Wukong's emergence, as prophesied by Mariya Yuri.
But Kaiser hadn't waited until then.
"Who told you to make such a huge scene?" Kaiser's mood had already calmed. He said, "I don't want to fight in a place full of monkeys."
"Are you scared?" Sun Wukong raised a brow and said, "Well, my monkeys and grandchildren have even fought ten thousand celestial soldiers—what's one little God-Slayer daring to face me alone?"
"Just shrimp soldiers and crab generals. Don't take them too seriously." Kaiser looked up at the Sun Wukong standing atop the clouds and said, "Don't think I haven't noticed. Your power has already reached its peak. The reason you haven't revealed yourself until now is because you were preparing thoroughly."
Kaiser's eyes glowed faintly gold—he had used the special vision granted by the Golden Sword's "Warrior" incarnation to see through Sun Wukong's nature.
"If I really waited until tomorrow's sunrise, all the people who turned into monkeys would become your soldiers, transformed into divine envoys, maybe even into Divine Beasts."
"To muster the strength of an entire nation just to deal with the so-called trivial God-Slayer you mock—such caution doesn't match your usual style."
"Isn't the Great Sage Equaling Heaven the one who dared to barge into the Jade Emperor's palace alone?"
Kaiser suddenly smiled and said:
"Seems like the one who's afraid… is actually you."
Hearing this, Sun Wukong burst into loud laughter.
"So you even saw through my secret preparation—the Great Assimilation Curse?"
"Well, that's nothing. After all, I am the one who once stole immortal pills, drank heavenly wine, and snuck peaches in the Celestial Palace."
"Since you've seen through it, then let's fight fair and square, fellow God-Slayer from my homeland!"