As the Dragon Girl tied Axel's hair, the massive cricket looked at the two beautiful plumes that had vanished from its head and let out a disappointed sigh.
Afterward, it bowed deeply toward Axel before kicking off the ground with terrifying force.
RUMBLE!!!
The instant the cricket leaped away, the entire area shook violently.
Pigsy stared at the disappearing figure in shock.
"That thing is this powerful? It only jumped once and the whole ground shook..."
Suddenly, his expression changed.
"Wait, what the hell is that?!"
A streak of golden light tore across the distant sky at terrifying speed.
Pigsy immediately looked toward Axel, but Axel simply raised one arm toward the incoming light.
Swoosh!
Boom!!!
A heavy impact exploded through the air.
Despite the collision, Axel remained seated without moving an inch. Even the dust around him stayed undisturbed under the protection of his overwhelming mental force.
The Golden Cudgel slammed directly toward him headfirst.
Axel caught it effortlessly.
Then he grabbed the shaft and smashed it into the ground.
"You've got some nerve."
Axel narrowed his eyes at the weapon.
"If Sun Wukong himself were standing here, he'd know I'm genuinely helping him. If I can truly help him crush the Lingxiao Palace and rebuild the Three Realms and Six Paths, then forget lending me a weapon, he'd probably hand over his life without hesitation."
He smirked coldly.
"So why are you trying to smash me? Did your old man order it?"
Axel leaned forward slightly.
"And who exactly is your old man anyway? The monkey, or somebody else?"
The moment he finished speaking, Axel casually lifted the Golden Cudgel.
Instantly, the weapon shrank down until it became thinner than a cotton swab.
Axel flicked it toward his ear.
The Golden Cudgel vanished directly into the seam of his ear without resistance.
Pigsy watched the entire scene with a numb expression.
After swallowing hard, he finally spoke.
"Great Sage... are you absolutely sure you're not my Senior Brother?"
Pigsy stared at Axel as if looking at a ghost.
"This world is full of lies and nonsense already, I genuinely can't tell anymore."
He rubbed his face heavily.
"You keep saying you're not him, and you even talk about reviving him someday, but..."
Pigsy shook his head.
"You're way too similar. That same arrogance, the same lawless attitude, the same look like Heaven itself can go to hell."
His voice became quieter.
"The only difference is that by the time I met Senior Brother properly, he had already become restrained."
Pigsy sat beside Axel with a sigh.
"Since you're fixing your hair anyway, Old Pig might as well talk."
He looked toward the sky absentmindedly.
"When the Heavenly Court tried suppressing Mount Huaguo back then, I never got the chance to participate. I was busy leading the naval forces in the Milky Way."
Pigsy laughed bitterly.
"Later, I heard the monkey returned to Heaven and was granted the title Great Sage Equal to Heaven. They even gave him his own mansion."
He shook his head slowly.
"That year, during the Lotus Appreciation Banquet, Old Pig went there to drink. I didn't even dare drink more than three cups because I was scared I'd cause trouble if I got drunk."
Pigsy chuckled softly.
"But I remember seeing Senior Brother drunk out of his mind while people carried him around. Honestly, I envied him."
His expression turned distant.
"When would I ever dare drink like that?"
Pigsy snorted.
"Even during the dance performances, I barely dared look around. I only remember the lead dancer, a white-haired beauty from the Moon Palace."
He spat angrily.
"Then I accidentally saw the Jade Emperor secretly meeting her, and Wang Lingguan reported it immediately."
Pigsy gritted his teeth.
"That bastard Wang Lingguan, if I could beat him, I'd have smashed his skull open a long time ago."
After cursing for a while, Pigsy sighed heavily.
"Heaven was always rotten."
His voice lowered further.
"The last time Senior Brother drank with me, he only said one thing."
Pigsy looked at Axel.
"He said this immortality couldn't continue forever."
Silence filled the air briefly.
"After that... I never saw him again."
Pigsy clenched his fists.
"If immortality truly had to end, why wasn't it those ancient bastards who died first?"
His eyes became slightly red.
"Why did it have to be the monkey?"
Axel listened quietly before smiling faintly.
"You're right."
He stretched lazily.
"If immortality deserves to die, then everyone should die together. Why should one person go first?"
Pigsy laughed bitterly.
Axel smirked again.
"And honestly, if countless worlds truly exist, who's to say there's only one Sun Wukong?"
He tapped his chest casually.
"Maybe someday there'll be several Sun Wukongs following me straight into Heaven."
Axel looked toward the sky with open disdain.
"If you people really care that much, then just treat me as another Sun Wukong from a different world."
He laughed.
"At our core, we're all the same anyway. None of us can stand those sitting above everyone else."
Then he shrugged.
"I'm just lazier than most of them, and stronger."
Behind him, Kang quietly secured the hairpin into Axel's tied hair and crown.
The moment the hairstyle was completed, Axel's expression suddenly changed.
His ear twitched slightly.
"What the hell?"
Axel immediately stood up.
Then he waved toward Pigsy and Kang.
"You two head back to Little Western Heaven yourselves. I just left and Bue's already calling for help."
His face darkened slightly.
"No clue what kind of idiot he ran into this time, but I'm heading back."
Pigsy immediately nodded.
"Understood, Great Sage. We'll follow right behind you."
The next instant, Axel vanished in a burst of flames.
Watching him disappear, Pigsy inhaled deeply before transforming into black wind and flying into the sky.
Beside him, Kang transformed back into her dragon form and flew alongside the black wind.
After a moment, she asked softly,
"Marshal Tianpeng... are you really planning to stay with the Great Sage now? What about your position as Altar Cleanser?"
Pigsy laughed.
"And didn't you abandon your own heavenly post already?"
The black wind trembled slightly before Pigsy spoke again.
"There's something I never told the Great Sage."
His voice carried obvious regret.
"Before Senior Brother died, he once asked me something while we were drinking."
Pigsy became silent for a few seconds.
"He asked if I wanted to abandon my position as Altar Cleanser and return to Mount Huaguo with him."
His laughter turned bitter.
"Back then, I rejected him every single time."
Pigsy clenched his teeth.
"And now, every refusal feels like a knife stuck in my chest."
The black wind surged violently.
"Why didn't I understand back then?"
Pigsy's voice became hoarse.
"To hell with the title of Altar Cleanser. Did Old Pig ever truly care about it?!"
Meanwhile, back in Little Western Heaven, near the ruins of Little Leiyin Temple...
After Axel left, Bue excitedly patted his stomach while gathering the remaining demons and survivors nearby.
Gold was still gold.
Even among demons, money carried enormous value.
Back then, the Bull Demon King accepted the Jade-Faced Fox's proposal partly because she possessed massive wealth.
Money moved both mortals and immortals alike.
So when Axel entrusted billions worth of treasure to him, Bue nearly felt honored beyond belief.
As long as he successfully rebuilt the Great Lingxiao Palace for Axel, maybe he'd eventually become Axel's true right-hand man.
As for Heaven attacking afterward?
Bue no longer cared.
Even Maitreya had fled already.
Who else could stop Axel now?
The Four Heavenly Kings?
The Twenty-Eight Constellations?
Li Jing?
Even if Erlang Shen personally showed up...
Just as Bue's imagination started running wild, a sudden chill crawled down his spine.
A plum blossom suddenly bloomed near his feet.
The instant Bue saw it, his expression changed drastically.
He immediately grabbed the small wolf-toothed club Axel had given him and barely blocked a sudden strike from a three-pointed double-edged spear attacking from behind.
Boom!!!
The terrifying impact launched Bue straight into the mountain wall.
Dust exploded everywhere.
Bue struggled to stand before staring ahead in disbelief.
Through the dust, a pair of black boots slowly stopped in front of him.
Then a cold voice spoke.
"Maitreya promised me a fragment of Futu Heaven."
The owner of the boots lowered the three-pointed double-edged spear slightly.
"So why was I suddenly expelled from it?"
A dangerous pressure filled the air.
"What exactly happened to Little Temple?"