At the same time, inside the Rakshasa Palace, Tie Shan stared blankly at the corpse that had suddenly vanished.
"Husband... where did you send Junior Brother's corpse?"
Axel answered casually without even turning around.
"To Taishang Laojun. Didn't I already say that?"
Tie Shan froze.
She had thought he was joking.
"How is that even possible? What kind of divine ability allows you to send something directly into Heaven?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the color drained from her face. She instinctively looked upward, almost expecting heavenly lightning to strike the palace at any second.
Seeing her frightened expression, Axel walked over and patted her head.
"Relax. No matter how serious things get, I'll handle it."
His tone remained easygoing.
"You just need to stay obedient."
"As for Red Boy, I'm not raising him as my own son, but Erlang Shen isn't a bad person. He'll teach the kid properly and return him to you eventually."
Axel glanced toward the palace entrance.
"Pack your things. We're moving to Little Western Heaven."
Tie Shan lowered her head.
"This concubine obeys."
At this point, there was nothing else she could say.
Her life had always been controlled by others. She had never truly made her own decisions. Now she was simply being swept deeper into the storm.
Not long afterward, the entire group prepared to leave.
Yang Jian stood at the front with a bruised and resentful Red Boy beside him. Bull Demon King stood nearby holding the frightened little fox girl, Ping Ping.
Behind them, the ox and horse demons gathered in high spirits.
Bull Demon King had always treated his subordinates generously, which was why they followed him so loyally. To them, moving locations meant nothing. Their only concern in recent years had been Bull Demon King's worsening condition.
Now that he had recovered, they were more than willing to follow him anywhere.
Ping Ping secretly glanced at Axel, then at Tie Shan sitting beside him with lowered eyes. Unable to understand the situation, she tugged lightly on Bull Demon King's sleeve.
"Father... why is Mother sitting there?"
Bull Demon King gently rubbed her head.
"That's not your mother."
His voice softened slightly.
"I'll go to the Underworld with Big Brother soon and bring your real mother back. Then our family can live peacefully together again."
He leaned closer.
"So don't make noise and upset Big Brother, understand?"
Ping Ping quickly nodded.
Bull Demon King then raised his head and looked toward Tie Shan.
A long breath escaped his nose.
If Taishang Laojun had never arranged that marriage in the first place, perhaps his life would have been far simpler.
But in the end, all of them were merely pieces on a chessboard.
After settling his wife and daughter, he swore he would overturn this damned Heaven completely.
While Bull Demon King remained lost in thought, Axel stood from his throne and walked over with a grin.
He threw an arm around both Yang Jian and Bull Demon King.
"So? Slept well last night? You two weren't kept awake by the noise, were you?"
"Of course not."
Yang Jian immediately cupped his hands.
"To be honest, Big Brother, I haven't slept that well in years. Without the monkey's consciousness affecting me, there were no strange dreams or endless chatter in my head. It was peaceful."
Bull Demon King nodded in agreement.
"Same here. My stomach pain disappeared, and I didn't have to think about Heaven's schemes for once."
Axel burst into laughter.
Bull Demon King then nudged Ping Ping forward.
"Quickly greet him."
"What's with all this 'Great King' nonsense?" Axel said. "Call me Big Uncle."
He crouched slightly and rubbed Ping Ping's head before suddenly raising his hand toward the sky.
Golden light gathered in his palm.
A shining golden circlet appeared instantly.
The moment Yang Jian saw it, his expression changed sharply.
Bull Demon King's nose twitched as his eyes widened.
"Wait... Big Brother, that's Taishang Laojun's Diamond Circlet!"
"That's right."
Axel casually tossed the circlet in his hand.
"This is my first time meeting my niece, so I should obviously give her something worthwhile."
He held the circlet toward Ping Ping.
Bull Demon King nearly jumped in shock.
"Big Brother, absolutely not! That treasure is far too valuable. My daughter can't accept something like this!"
"Then stop calling me Big Brother if you're going to reject my gifts."
Axel immediately grabbed Ping Ping's hand and slid the Diamond Circlet onto her wrist before Bull Demon King could stop him.
The little fox stared at the treasure with sparkling eyes.
Axel patted her head again.
"Now call me Big Uncle."
"Big Uncle!"
Ping Ping shouted happily.
Axel laughed loudly in satisfaction before wrapping his arms around Yang Jian and Bull Demon King once more.
He looked down at the countless demons gathered below.
"You all heard it yourselves. I'm the Great Sage, and I'm also the Big Brother of Erlang Shen and Bull Demon King."
His grin widened.
"From now on, you lot work for me, take my rewards, obey my orders, kill whoever I tell you to kill, and cut down whichever Buddhas I point at."
His voice thundered across the mountains.
"So tell me, are you willing or not?!"
"WE ARE!!!"
The countless demons roared in unison.
Their voices shook the heavens.
Axel nodded in satisfaction.
"Old Bull, your army's got spirit."
He smirked.
"When I start causing trouble later, at least I'll have people cheering behind me."
Bull Demon King laughed awkwardly.
"My brothers may not be clever, but they're loyal. As long as Big Brother gives the order, these ox and horse demons will definitely..."
Axel immediately interrupted him.
"What ox and horse demons? That sounds awful."
Bull Demon King blinked in confusion.
"We literally are ox and horse demons though..."
"I said it sounds bad."
Axel waved dismissively.
"And stop calling me Great Sage every other sentence. We're brothers now."
Bull Demon King hesitated briefly before finally speaking again.
"...Big Brother."
This time, the words felt much smoother.
For years, he had always been the one others relied on. Now, unexpectedly, having someone stand above him actually gave him a strange sense of relief.
At the same time, Axel released the two of them and raised his hand high.
"Move out! We're heading to Little Western Heaven!"
"UNDERSTOOD!!!"
Black winds erupted into the sky.
Countless demons surged forward like a tidal wave, blotting out the sun as they charged toward the ruins of Little Leiyin Temple.
The weaker demons who could not fly were placed under the command of Ma Tianba and ordered to travel by land.
With Bull Demon King's banner and Erlang Shen's authority protecting them, no one along the way would dare interfere.
Before long, the massive army arrived near the ruins of Little Leiyin Temple.
Bull Demon King stared at the enormous palm-shaped crater below in shock.
"Big Brother... that palm strike is terrifying. Was it done by the Buddha?"
"I did it."
Axel shrugged casually.
"I get irritated whenever I see temples, so I smashed this one."
Bull Demon King fell silent.
His understanding of Axel deepened once again.
Meanwhile, inside Little Leiyin Temple, Zhu Bajie and the others rushed out in alarm after sensing the overwhelming demonic aura approaching.
After Yang Jian and Kang returned the previous night, they had already heard rumors about Axel fighting Yang Jian.
Now that the sky itself had turned black from demonic clouds, everyone assumed another disaster had arrived.
Zhu Bajie flew upward immediately.
"That damned Yang Jian, that plague-bringing ox-head, what did you idiots do to my Great Sage... huh?"
Only after flying into the sky did he clearly see Axel standing at the front.
"Great King!"
Greenback Dragon transformed into his dragon form and shot upward in excitement.
Kang's face lit up as well.
"Great Sage!"
His voice carried obvious joy as he looked at Axel with undisguised admiration.
Behind Axel, Tie Shan's expression instantly tightened.
Her eyes narrowed sharply as she glared directly at Kang.
___
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