481: Venus requests to join the battle!

"Kachacha... Boom!"

The gate tower shook violently. The golden runes surrounding the plaque flickered erratically. Finally, a hideous crack spread from the center of the plaque, splitting the three characters "South Heaven Gate" in two!

"Worthless trash!"

Carrying the axe, the further inside they walked, the more the majesty and solemnity of the Heavenly Court manifested.

Auspicious Qi solidified into substance, transforming into invisible pressure; Immortal palaces and divine temples stood shoulder to shoulder.

The further they went, the redder Chenxiang's eyes became, and the stronger the killing intent in his mind grew.

The Tongming Hall was already in sight. The vast, boundless plaza in front of the hall, usually shrouded in Immortal Qi, was now empty, save for two figures standing slightly abruptly at the bottom of the jade steps leading to the main hall.

One was a monk with a hairy face and a thunder-god mouth, carrying an iron rod, scratching his ears and cheeks, looking troubled.

The other had a large belly, carried a Nine-toothed Rake, and wore a complex expression, his eyes filled with worry and anxiety.

It was Monkey King and Pigsy.

"Whoosh—" Chenxiang and Erlang Shen stopped at the edge of the plaza. The Fierce Wind they generated caused the auspicious clouds at the plaza's edge to churn.

Chenxiang's blood-red eyes stared intently at the two figures blocking the path, especially Pigsy.

"Master, are you going to stop me too? After all the nagging, I thought that based on our relationship, even if you wouldn't help me, you would at least remain neutral!"

Monkey King scratched his head and sighed, "Ah, Erlang Shen, Chenxiang, why take it this far?

You've smashed the South Heaven Gate, and you've beaten the Heavenly Kings. Shouldn't you have vented enough anger? Any further, and there truly will be no turning back."

"Kid Chenxiang, something is very wrong with you right now. Don't fall into the Demonic Path!

The Old Man Jade Emperor has treated Old Sun well. He is currently contending with the Heavenly Dao at the highest point of Heaven. Old Sun cannot let you ruin the Hall of Miraculous Mist."

Pigsy also hurried two steps forward, planting his Nine-toothed Rake on the ground: "Chenxiang! Good apprentice, don't be foolish! Your uncle is foolish, but how can you follow suit?

There's a limit to how many times you can push it. This Heavenly Court is no joke, and it's not something you can rebel against casually!

It's one thing to cause trouble normally, as the Great Heavenly Venerate is magnanimous and wouldn't care too much, but what time is it now?

At this crucial moment, if the Great Heavenly Venerate frees his hands, he will show no mercy!

Quick, put down the axe, come back with your Master, and we can discuss this further..."

"Discuss this further?" Chenxiang suddenly laughed: "Pigsy! Master Pig, have you forgotten how you were banished to the mortal world? Have you forgotten how you were reborn as a pig? Have you forgotten Fairy Fairy of Guanghan Palace?

Have you forgotten the humiliation you suffered? The Heavenly Emperor is contending with the Heavenly Dao—has there ever been such an opportunity since the creation of Heaven and Earth?

I rebelled for your sake, killing my way here, yet you've become a loyal dog of the Heavenly Court, blocking me, the apprentice who sought justice for you? Ridiculous! Pathetic!"

Pigsy was flushed crimson by this barrage of questions, especially the mention of Fairy of Guanghan Palace and his banishment, which touched the most sensitive and vulnerable part of his heart.

He opened his mouth, wanting to argue that it was different, that the situation was now changed, that the new heavenly laws had appeared and brought hope... but these words all caught in his throat.

It only turned into a somewhat flustered retort: "You... what do you know! That's all in the past! Now... now I can't just watch you make mistake after mistake!"

"Mistake?"

Chenxiang grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth, which looked somewhat hideous against the backdrop of his bloody Magical Power: "I'm not wrong! What's wrong is this Heaven! It's this Jade Emperor! Whoever blocks me is wrong!"

The sky-opening axe in his hand executed a direct diagonal chop, targeting Pigsy's massive body and the Nine-toothed Rake blocking him!

The strike was fast, fierce, and accurate.

"Chenxiang! Stop!" Monkey King's expression changed, and his golden-hooped rod was about to shoot out to block it.

Erlang Shen's three-pointed, double-edged blade, however, shot out like a venomous Dragon leaving its lair. A silver flash perfectly blocked the path of Monkey King's golden-hooped rod.

"Monkey, let them settle their own grievances."

Pigsy hadn't expected Chenxiang to strike so suddenly and ruthlessly.

In his haste, he could only roar, muster all his Magical Power, and brandish the Nine-toothed Rake into a mass of black light, attempting to parry.

After all, he was once the Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy, commanding eighty thousand Heavenly River Naval Forces. Although he had become lazy later and his Cultivation had slipped, his Foundation remained, and this full-power defense showed considerable Aura.

"Old Pig will block this!"

"CLANG—!!!!!!"

The sky-opening axe and the Nine-toothed Rake collided violently!

They heard a sharp, teeth-grinding crunch!

The thick iron shaft of the Nine-toothed Rake was easily severed by the blade of the sky-opening axe, as if cutting tofu!

The fracture was smooth as a mirror, and the Spiritual Light instantly dissipated!

The axe blade continued its descent without hindrance!

"Pfft—!"

A flash of blood appeared!

Pigsy fell backward heavily onto the hard jade floor like a rag doll, sliding far away and leaving a dazzling trail of blood!

"Pigsy!!!" Monkey King cried out in alarm.

Pigsy lay on the ground, his rake broken in two beside him. The hideous wound slicing from his shoulder across his chest and abdomen nearly cleaved him in half. Immortal Blood gushed out, instantly staining a large area of the ground red.

His eyes were wide, and his face was filled with disbelief: "You are not Chenxiang... You are not my apprentice!"

"Those who block me die! Even my mother died beneath this sky-opening axe, Master, and you are no exception!" Chenxiang said coldly, his gaze turning to the Monkey:

"Always nagging, if you block me, then it will be your turn! You always said I was 'just a little short.' Now, I invite you to see if I'm still 'just a little short'!"

"Wretch!" Monkey King's eyes became extremely cold, and his killing intent surged.

His relationship with Old Pig, built over many years, was far deeper than his relationship with Chenxiang, whom he had only taught for two or three years.

Disrespecting one's Master and ancestors was precisely what the Monkey hated most.

"Then let Old Sun see exactly what you have learned!"

The axe light and rod shadow violently collided!

Chenxiang's eyes were crimson, his dark red Magical Power burned like flames around him. Every axe strike carried the savagery of creating Heaven and Earth, and its power was immense, boosted by the Heavenly Dao.

His Moves were now without form, yet each one was vicious and aimed directly at vital points, integrating the techniques taught by Monkey King with raw, instinctive killing intent.

The Seventy-Two Transformations, Incarnations outside the body, Somersault Cloud—all skills were used effortlessly.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Every collision shook the Tongming Hall plaza, causing Dragon Qi to explode and Immortal Clouds to dissipate.

Chenxiang grew wilder the longer he fought, actually suppressing Monkey King, who could only parry and had no strength left to counterattack.

"Master, now you are the one who is 'just a little short'!"

Erlang Shen watched Chenxiang, who was locked in battle with the Monkey, expressionlessly, and stepped toward the Tongming Hall.

In the Hall of Miraculous Mist, the Queen Mother of the West sat upright on the imperial throne.

"Go rescue Pigsy and send him to Doushuai Palace for treatment."

"Venus, go ask the God of Justice to stop."

"Yes! This old subject obeys the decree!" Holding his Whisk, the white-robed, white-haired Venus bowed respectfully.

Usually, no matter how big the matter, it wouldn't be the turn of Venus, a civil official, to take action. But today was different from the past!

The Heavenly Dao and the Heavenly Emperor were fighting a great battle. Spirit Mountain remained neutral. Within the Heavenly Court, the Stars of the Heavens were arranged by the Queen Mother of the West to set up the Zhou Tian Formation, blocking the battle's aftermath transmitted from Beyond the Heavens.

Available personnel were extremely limited. Venus, this old killing weapon, was finally deployed!

The figure of Venus appeared on the long white jade steps in front of the Tongming Hall, perfectly intercepting Erlang Shen's path.

He still looked like a civil official, immortal in demeanor, wearing wide robes and long sleeves, holding a Whisk, and bearing his usual gentle smile.

However, the moment he stood still, a chilling, Murderous Aura, formless and intangible, yet dark enough to dim the surrounding light, quietly spread out.

Erlang Shen's footsteps halted. The Heavenly Eye on his forehead twitched slightly, and the muscles beneath his silver armor tensed silently.

"Li Chang Geng?" Erlang Shen's voice was low. His three-pointed, double-edged blade pointed diagonally at the ground, the blade making a faint scraping sound against the jade brick.

"It is this old man." Venus nodded slightly, his smile unchanged. "True Lord, please stop. This path is closed today."

"You want to stop me?" Erlang Shen raised his eyes, looking past Venus toward the majestic and solemn Hall of Miraculous Mist high above:

"With just you... and this scholarly facade?"

Venus chuckled softly. The soft silver threads of the Whisk in his hand moved without wind, each strand stiffening like a needle.

"Is the True Lord referring to this shell?" Before he finished speaking and without moving his body, the Aura around him suddenly changed!