The next morning, when Axel woke up on Tie Shan's couch, he saw her kneeling beside him with her legs pressed together.
The moment she noticed him awake, Tie Shan immediately lowered herself onto the couch, bowing deeply with flushed cheeks.
"Did my husband sleep well?"
Axel laughed and pulled her into his arms.
"When I woke up and didn't find you beside me, how could I possibly sleep well?"
He teased her for a while, messing up her hair until she was breathing unevenly and struggling to keep her composure. Only then did he finally let her go and sit up.
While Tie Shan hurriedly fixed her appearance, Axel raised a hand. Several streaks of light flew from his ears and wrapped around his body, instantly forming a suit of armor.
Beside him, Tie Shan froze for a moment when she saw him fully armored, then her face turned red again.
Her life had never been easy. For most of it, she had been treated like a pawn. Yet this man who had forcefully taken her was unexpectedly considerate toward her. Though ruthless to outsiders, he treated her with genuine affection.
There was only one thing she disliked.
Whenever Axel wore armor and carried a staff, he reminded her far too much of Sun Wukong.
The thought alone made her scalp tingle.
What if, during an intimate moment, he suddenly called her "sister-in-law"?
Tie Shan nearly buried her face in her hands.
What was wrong with her today? Why was she thinking such ridiculous things?
While she sat there blushing in embarrassment, Axel suddenly spoke.
"Flaming Mountain Land God, get out here."
"This humble immortal is here. What are your orders, Great King?"
The Land God appeared in the hall in a flash of light. The moment he arrived, however, his gaze instinctively drifted toward the couch.
Seeing Tie Shan dressed elegantly with affection still lingering in her eyes nearly shattered him on the spot.
How could this be?
Shouldn't his senior sister be suffering humiliation and misery right now?
Why did she look... satisfied?
For over a thousand years, he had stayed by her side, yet she had never even allowed him to touch her hand. Now she looked at this demon king with tenderness he had never received.
In the end, it came down to strength.
If he possessed the same overwhelming power as Axel, if he could crush Erlang Shen and dominate the heavens, then perhaps Tie Shan would have belonged to him.
Power.
Everything depended on power.
Just as his thoughts spiraled, Axel suddenly looked at him.
"What are you staring at?"
The Land God jolted and immediately dropped to his knees.
"This humble immortal was merely awed by the Great King's heroic bearing. Seeing you felt like seeing my ancestors themselves. My legs nearly gave out from fear!"
He hurriedly forced out a flattering smile.
"The Great King and Madam are truly a perfect match, a heavenly pair blessed by fate itself. If this humble immortal could have parents such as the two of you, it would be a blessing earned over three lifetimes..."
"Enough."
Tie Shan frowned sharply.
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll ask my husband to cut off your head."
She moved closer to Axel and gently held his hand before speaking again.
"My husband, this man is my junior brother. My master stationed him here to monitor both me and my son."
Her eyes turned cold as she looked at the kneeling Land God.
"Do not be fooled by his obedient appearance. Once we leave for Little Western Heaven, he may secretly report everything back to my master."
Tie Shan leaned closer against Axel.
"In my opinion, since you intend to confront Heaven eventually, you may as well kill him now and remove future trouble entirely."
"Senior Sister?!"
The Land God stared at her in disbelief.
His entire world felt like it was collapsing.
Not only had she accepted Axel, she was now personally suggesting his execution.
Axel lightly patted Tie Shan's head.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Only a fool would accept amnesty from Heaven."
As he spoke, he casually played with her curled toes beneath the couch.
"You don't need to rush into proving your loyalty."
The Land God froze for a moment.
Then realization struck him.
Of course.
Tie Shan had no choice. She was only pretending to side with Axel so she could survive.
She did not truly want him dead.
Thinking this, the Land God immediately stepped forward.
"Great King, I..."
Boom!
Before he could finish speaking, Axel had already appeared in front of him.
His hand pierced straight through the Land God's skull.
The sound of cracking bone echoed through the hall.
Axel casually crushed his brain into pulp before withdrawing his hand in disgust.
Blood and gray matter splattered across the floor.
Using the corpse as a canvas, Axel dipped his fingers into the blood and wrote across his robe:
"Taishang, wait for me."
After staring at it for a second, he frowned.
"Feels incomplete."
He dipped his finger again and added a large smiling face beside the sentence.
Tie Shan stared at the ridiculous drawing before suddenly covering her mouth and laughing softly.
Axel glanced sideways at her.
"What do you think? Cute enough? Do you think Taishang will understand my mood?"
Tie Shan blinked.
"I don't know whether my master will understand your mood…"
She looked at the corpse.
"But if this body reaches him, I can imagine his expression."
Axel laughed loudly.
"Probably the same old thing. First shock, then anger."
With a flick of his hand, the corpse burst into flames and vanished.
At that same moment, inside a side hall near the Jade Pool of Heaven, Taishang Laojun was bowing before the Jade Emperor.
"Your Majesty, this old Daoist truly cannot determine the origin of that Great Sage. He exists outside the Three Realms and beyond the Five Elements. Even I cannot fully see through him."
Taishang narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"The last person who underestimated him was Maitreya, and now Maitreya has become a laughingstock in the Buddhist Realm."
He paused.
"This Great Sage may be an ancient demon deliberately stirring chaos for the sake of the six roots of destiny. The only question is how ambitious he truly is."
Suddenly, both Taishang and the Jade Emperor looked forward simultaneously.
A corpse wrapped in flames dropped onto the floor.
The Land God's skull had been shattered open.
The bloody sentence on the robe stood out immediately.
So did the crude smiling face beside it.
The Jade Emperor stared at it for several seconds before laughing softly.
"Old Lord, it seems Buddhism will not be the only side losing face this time."
His expression gradually turned colder.
"This Great Sage is even more arrogant than Sun Wukong ever was. He has already dragged my nephew into this mess and now openly threatens Heaven itself."
The Jade Emperor's eyes narrowed.
"If he truly succeeds in causing chaos here, the prestige of Heaven will suffer greatly."
He looked directly at Taishang.
"We can no longer sit back and observe."
"Gather people. Track him personally and test his strength."
Taishang bowed slightly.
"This old Daoist obeys Your Majesty's decree."
As he turned and left the hall, his expression darkened.
To openly kill one of his attendants, write a threat in blood, and send the corpse directly into Heaven before the Jade Emperor himself...
This Great Sage truly did not know the meaning of fear.
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