As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Bajie slowly raised his head again.
His eyes burned with a crimson glow.
White mist poured from his nose and mouth as he stared coldly at the magnificent Lingxiao Treasure Hall in the distance.
At the same time, Axel glanced at the Fairy Maiden crying on the ground, then at the terrified dancers from the Moon Palace who had completely stopped performing.
He sighed lightly before pulling the Golden Cudgel from his ear and tossing it toward them.
The weapon slammed into the clouds with a heavy thud.
"Seriously, does your Moon Star Lord spend all day thinking up nonsense like this?"
"Come here, little beauties, hold onto my cudgel properly."
"Take it back to the Moon Palace and practice pole dancing for me."
"I'll come inspect it personally later."
"And if anyone dares bother you, smash them with my cudgel. Got it?"
The moment Axel finished speaking, the Golden Cudgel let out a low hum.
The pink-haired Fairy Maiden froze briefly before nervously reaching for it.
The instant her hand touched the weapon, its weight suddenly lightened, allowing her to lift it with ease.
Beside Axel, Erlang Shen frowned slightly before leaning closer.
"Big Brother, without your weapon, won't your strength be affected?"
"If it's only meant as protection, I can leave behind the Guanjiangkou True Lord Seal instead. The Moon Star Lord should still respect my name."
Axel laughed casually.
"Relax. The cudgel only limits my combat power."
"My fists hit harder anyway."
The Golden Cudgel immediately released a dissatisfied buzzing sound from the Fairy Maiden's hands.
Axel waved dismissively.
"Enough dancing already."
"I only care about pole dancing. Everything else is useless."
"Go back and practice properly."
"Erlang, Old Niu, Old Pig, come with me."
"I want to see what kind of welcome the Heavenly Court prepared ahead."
With that, Axel walked directly through the group of Fairy Maidens staring at him in shock.
Erlang Shen, the Bull Demon King, and Zhu Bajie followed behind him, each suppressing the anger boiling inside them as they stepped through the endless sea of clouds toward the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.
After the four disappeared into the distance, the pink-haired Fairy Maiden suddenly lost her strength and nearly collapsed.
Several Fairy Maidens quickly rushed over to support her.
"A Yu, careful!"
"Forget about yourself, don't drop the Great Sage's cudgel!"
"Wait... doesn't this weapon look familiar?"
"It looks exactly like the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's Golden Cudgel!"
"And that armor too!"
"What armor? I didn't even notice it. I was staring at the Great Sage's feet the whole time."
"They looked unbelievably perfect."
"You shameless girl!"
"Hurry and carry the cudgel back to the Moon Palace first!"
"We need to protect A Yu from the Star Lord!"
"And we still have to learn this pole dancing thing quickly. The Great Sage said he's coming back to inspect us."
"But what exactly is pole dancing?"
"I've never heard of it before."
"If we don't understand it, we'll ask the Star Lord."
"The Star Lord definitely knows."
"Right, ask the Star Lord!"
"But who exactly is this Great Sage?"
"Even True Lord Erlang calls him Big Brother."
"Could he be some ancient immortal who returned after reincarnation?"
"That can't be true, right?"
"And did you notice something strange?"
"It felt like the Great Sage and True Lord Erlang were ready to start fighting at any moment."
"How is that possible? This is the Heavenly Court!"
As the Fairy Maidens continued chattering endlessly, the Four Heavenly Kings standing guard nearby finally developed headaches from the noise.
One of the Heavenly Kings plucked the strings of his zither sharply.
The sound instantly silenced the entire crowd.
"Esteemed Fairy Maidens!"
"Since the matter here is settled, please return to the Moon Palace immediately."
"The South Heaven Gate is an important military checkpoint."
"Please do not make things difficult for us brothers."
After speaking, the Four Heavenly Kings turned back toward the gate and resumed their duties.
Still, none of them could hide the unease in their eyes.
Over the years, they had fought alongside Erlang Shen many times.
Because of that, they understood him better than most.
And the current Erlang Shen was clearly in a battle-ready state.
Which meant one thing.
The Heavenly Court was probably about to face serious trouble.
Meanwhile, Axel's group had not traveled far before they spotted an elderly Daoist in long robes waiting ahead with a smile on his face.
The old man stepped forward respectfully and cupped his hands.
"Great Sage Axel, True Lord Erlang, Great Strength Bull Demon King, Marshal Tianpeng."
"This humble immortal, Great White Venus, has been waiting here under His Majesty's orders."
As Great White Venus bowed politely, Zhu Bajie stared at him coldly before speaking to Axel.
"Great Sage Brother, this old bastard is the Jade Emperor's smiling errand boy."
"If there's dirty work to handle, it usually goes to Immortal He, but neither of them are decent people."
"That crane-faced old freak is annoying enough, but this smiling old man disgusts me even more."
"He smiles all day long."
"Old Pig has seen too much already, enough that I can barely smile anymore."
"But this old man knows even more than I do, and he still smiles like nothing matters."
"That alone proves he's a real bastard."
As Bajie spoke, he lifted his Nine-Toothed Rake slightly, looking as though he wanted to smash Great White Venus on the spot.
Seeing this, Great White Venus immediately bent his back lower with a helpless smile.
"Marshal, your words truly wound this old man."
"So smiling is also a crime now?"
"I have indeed seen many things."
"But what could I possibly change?"
"I lack the power to stop any of it."
"If I didn't force myself to smile, I would've cried myself to death long ago in the Heavenly River."
"Heaven and Earth treat all living things equally."
"The road to immortality has always been built upon struggle and sacrifice."
"The Western Buddhist Sect refines living beings into blood cocoon Buddha relics to prolong life."
"The Daoist immortals of Heaven refine poison, karma, and tribulations into pills and elixirs."
"In the end, everyone seeking immortality is feeding on others in one way or another."
"The methods simply differ."
"Even mortals are no different."
"When people fight for power and wealth in the mortal world, aren't they also devouring one another?"
Great White Venus sighed before continuing.
"Even if you Great Sages took control of Heaven and Earth, would you truly abandon immortality?"
"And even if you did, what about the generations after you?"
"As long as living beings fear death, this cycle will never disappear."
After speaking, Great White Venus looked toward the distant Taiyin Star with sorrow in his eyes.
"His Majesty already understands why you came here today."
"And honestly, this journey is dangerous even for me."
"If you immortals become angry enough to kill this old man, then so be it."
"At worst, I'll reincarnate for a century before returning to Heaven."
"I'm not here to persuade you."
"We are all cultivators. Everyone understands what they truly seek."
"But there is one thing I still wish to say."
"What you seek today is something His Majesty once sought as well."
"The Jade Emperor has endured countless kalpas, each lasting one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred years."
"What do you think he witnessed during those ages?"
"He witnessed suffering."
"He witnessed the endless cycle of Heaven itself."
"And even now, he still has not found a true solution."
"Because Heaven and Earth do not belong to him alone."
"If you genuinely believe you can create a better future than the Jade Emperor, then this old man has nothing left to say."
"At that point, being beaten to death by you would simply be my fate."
"But if you truly care about the common people... then endure things a little longer."
"The current world is cruel, but at least there are still rules holding it together."
"Ordinary people can still survive."
"But if you overturn Heaven completely, nobody will know what kind of future awaits the world afterward."
"And nobody will be able to predict the outcome."
Great White Venus gave another bitter smile before stepping aside and gesturing ahead.
"This old man has said everything he needed to say."
"Esteemed immortals, please follow me."
"After crossing the main hall and one hundred and eight side halls, you will finally reach His Majesty."