The seven peach-picking fairies had been frozen stiff all day by Wukong’s magic spell. When they finally broke free, they returned to the Queen Mother of the West with empty baskets and a long list of complaints:

“Great Sage froze us with a spell, ate the sacred peaches, roughed us up, and grilled us about the banquet guest list. We told him the truth, and then—bam!—he froze us again and vanished.”

The Queen Mother of the West was furious and stormed off to report this to Jade Emperor. Before she even finished her rant, the heavenly brewers showed up and wept: someone had stolen their wine and eaten all the party food! And then came Taishang Laojun reporting that the monkey had stolen his precious alchemy pills.

Chaos broke out in the Celestial Court.

As if things weren’t bad enough, a court official from the Great Sage’Manor arrived, reporting: “Sun Wukong went out yesterday and hasn’t returned.”

Jade Emperor’s face darkened. Just then, Barefoot Immortal chimed in, “I saw Wukong yesterday. He told me Your Majesty sent him to rehearse for the ceremony at the Tongming Palace, so I didn’t go to the Peach Banquet.”

That was the last straw. Jade Emperor finally realized that Wukong had forged a royal order to trick the gods and crash the party.

Outraged, Jade Emperor ordered the Four Heavenly Kings, Li Jing, Nezha, the Lunar Mansions, the Nine Stars, the Mountain Gods, and River Dragons to descend with an army of 100,000 celestial troops and surround Mount Huaguo.

Winds howled. Purple mist rolled in. Troops flooded the sky, forming a siege around the mountain. Li Jing sent the Nine Stars to the cave entrance first.

As the Nine Stars reached the gate, they saw little monkeys bouncing around and barked, “Where’s your Great Sage? Tell him to surrender now. Or your whole clan’s finished!”

Terrified, the monkeys ran to inform Wukong, who was still drinking heavenly wine with his demon buddies. He laughed, “Drink today, worry tomorrow. Ignore them.”

Soon another monkey ran in. “They’re swearing at us and demanding a fight!”

Wukong grinned. “Wine before war, my friends. Let them yell.”

But then a frantic minion burst in: “Grandpa! Bad news! They’ve broken through the front gate!”

Wukong slammed his wine down. “Those petty gods are getting cocky!” He ordered the single horned ghost king and the seventy-two cave lords to attack. He and his four generals followed right behind.

The Nine Stars were no joke. As soon as the demons charged out, they were blocked at Iron Plate Bridge, unable to break through.

Then Wukong arrived.

“Out of the way!” he roared, swinging his golden cudgel. Now it is thick as a bowl and twice as long as a man. With one blow, he sent the enemy flying.

The Nine Stars were shaken. “You thieving Stable Boy! You stole peaches, wine, crashed the party, guzzled elixirs, and threw your own afterparty! Still not ready to surrender?”

Wukong just smirked. “It was me who did it. So what?”

“We’re under orders to arrest you! If you don’t surrender, we’ll destroy this cave of yours as well.”

Wukong snapped, “You weaklings think you can handle me? Taste my golden cudgel!”

He charged in, swinging wildly. The Nine Stars couldn’t hold their ground. They lost helmets, shields, and pride—fleeing back to report defeat.

“We couldn’t beat him,” they told Li Jing. “The monkey’s too powerful.”

Li Jing regrouped the Four Heavenly Kings and the Lunar Mansions to launch a second assault.

Wukong didn’t flinch. He lined up his demon army again, including the single horned ghost king, the seventy-two cave lords, and his four top generals.

What followed was an epic battle.

Blades flashed. Fog thickened. Banners whipped in the wind. Armor gleamed like mountain ranges. Weapons filled the sky like forests. Swords, spears, halberds, whips, maces, bronze sabers, and crescent blades clashed in a storm of chaos. Arrows flew like hail. The roar of battle shook the heavens.

Wukong fought in midair. His golden cudgel spun like a whirlwind and scattered the heavenly troops left and right. The noise was deafening. Even ghosts and gods trembled.

The fight raged from dawn till dusk. By nightfall, the seventy-two cave lords and the single horned ghost king were all captured. Only Wukong’s four generals and a group of monkeys managed to escape into the depths of the cave.

Wukong fought on, alone, facing Li Jing, Nezha, and the Four Heavenly Kings. As the sky darkened, he chewed a strand of hair, spat it out, and shouted, “Transform!” Instantly, thousands of clones appeared. Each wielded a golden cudgel. They beat the celestial troops into retreat.

Back at the bridge, his generals welcomed him with tears and laughter.

“Why did you see me and react with both crying and laughing?” Wukong asked.

“We cried because our comrades got captured and we feared you’d be next. But now that you’re safe and victorious. We’re overjoyed!”

Wukong nodded. “There’s no such thing as a bloodless war. As the saying goes, ‘For every 10,000 you kill, you lose 3,000 of your own.’ Those captured were tigers and wolves, not our monkey brothers. We’ll be fine. They’ll camp at the mountain base tonight, but tomorrow, I’ll settle this once and for all.”

That night, the monkeys drank coconut wine and fell sound asleep.

The Four Heavenly Kings returned to their camp and counted prisoners: tigers, leopards, wolves, and bears. But not a single monkey.

They set up a massive net trap at the foot of the mountain, ready for a final siege.

Meanwhile, Guanyin Bodhisattva, who had been invited to the Peach Banquet, arrived at the Jade Pool with her disciple Hui'an. But instead of a grand celebration, she found a mess. The immortals were standing around whispering. Not a single guest was at the table.

When the immortals explained what had happened, Guanyin said, “Well, the party’s ruined. Might as well visit Jade Emperor.”

The gods agreed and followed her to the Tongming Palace.

Outside the palace, the Four Celestial Masters and Barefoot Immortal were already waiting. They briefed Guanyin: “The Heavenly Army is stuck in a stalemate. The monkey’s too strong.”

“I’ll go speak to His Majesty,” said Guanyin.

Inside, the Queen Mother of the West and Taishang Laojun were already with Jade Emperor.

After exchanging greetings, Guanyin asked, “So how’s this year’s Peach Banquet?”

Jade Emperor sighed, “What banquet? That blasted monkey ruined everything.”

Guanyin asked calmly, “So where did this monkey come from?”

Jade Emperor sighed. “He sprang out of a stone on Mount Huaguo in the Eastern Continent. The moment he was born, beams of golden light shot from his eyes straight into the heavens. I didn’t pay it much mind at first. But then he started training, gained powers, tamed dragons and tigers, and—worst of all—erased his name from the Book of Life and Death.

“The Dragon King and Yama came to complain. I planned to arrest him, but Taibai Jinxing suggested mercy. Said any creature with a soul should have the right to cultivate. So, I brought him up to Heaven, gave him a low-ranking post as ’Supervisor of Heavenly Stables.’ He hated it. Said it was beneath him. He simply gave up and went back to his Mount Huaguo.”

“I sent Li Jing and Nezha to capture him, but none of them could defeat him. Subsequently, at his request, I agreed to let him become the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven. But this position offered no salary at all. So he lounged around doing nothing. Eventually, we put him in charge of the Peach Garden. He ate the peaches. Then, feeling left out of the Peach Banquet, he disguised himself as Barefoot Immortal and crashed the party and guzzled all the wine and food. He also ate Taishang Laojun’s pills. He stole some of my finest royal liquor and shared it all with his monkey gang.”

“This made me extremely angry, so, I sent 100,000 heavenly troops to surround his mountain. No news has been received so far.”

Guanyin turned to her disciple Hui'an. “Go down to Mount Huaguo and scout the situation. If a battle breaks out, do what you must. Just report back safely.”

Hui'an straightened his robe, grabbed his iron bar, and soared off on a cloud toward Mount Huaguo. From afar, he saw a sea of heavenly soldiers and tightly guarded camp gates. Hovering above, he called out loudly:

“I am Hui'an, disciple of Guanyin of the South Sea and second son of Li Jing! I’ve come on orders to observe the battle!”

The soldiers rushed to report, and Li Jing quickly ordered the net trap lifted to let him in. Hui'an bowed to his father and the Four Heavenly Kings. “Master saw the Peach Banquet in shambles and took us to see Jade Emperor. He said you’ve been fighting this monkey for days with no results, so he sent me to check in.”

Li Jing nodded grimly. “Yesterday, we sent the Nine Stars into battle. They were defeated. I led the full force until dusk. Wukong used his clone magic to push us back. We only captured some wild beasts—not a single monkey. No fighting yet today.”

Just then, a soldier burst in. “The Great Sage is at the gates, challenging us to battle!”

The generals gathered to strategize. Hui'an stepped forward. “My master said I could intervene if a fight broke out. Let me face the monkey.”

Li Jing nodded. “You’ve trained with Guanyin for many years. You should possess certain abilities. Be careful.”

Hui'an adjusted his robe, gripped his iron bar, and strode out of camp.

“Who here calls himself the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven?”

Sun Wukong twirled his golden cudgel and stepped forward. “That would be me. And you are?”

“I am Hui'an, son of Li Jing, disciple of Guanyin, here to assess the battlefield.”

Wukong chuckled. “Aren’t you supposed to be meditating by the sea? What brings you here?”

“You stirred chaos in Heaven. My master sent me to bring you down!”

Wukong scowled. “Big talk for a little god! Let’s see how tough you really are!”

And just like that, the fight began—golden cudgel against iron bar, blow for blow. One was an immortal rogue with unmatched strength, the other a divine warrior forged by discipline. They clashed mid-mountain, sparks flying, while the heavenly soldiers watched in awe.