As for the advantage of his current body, it was probably this, Axel would have an extremely difficult time injuring him.
Axel was certain that with his current strength, he could shatter an entire planet with a single punch. But Old Tathagata's eyes alone were already hundreds of times larger than countless Earths combined, and his body was still expanding endlessly.
The most troublesome part was that the larger he became, the more hollow his form turned. Striking him felt like punching into empty air. Even Axel's psychic attacks were useless, like trying to slice a waterfall with a blade. No attack could truly land.
As Old Tathagata continued expanding, his existence became increasingly close to nothingness itself, resembling a living black hole.
Axel could already feel the terrifying gravitational pull coming from his body.
Even if Axel possessed enough destructive power to wipe out worlds one after another, brute force alone could not destroy something like a black hole. More importantly, while Old Tathagata's offensive and sealing techniques were ineffective against Axel, many of his defensive and escape abilities had yet to be revealed.
That created a frustrating situation.
Old Tathagata had no way to kill Axel.
But Axel also had no reliable method to completely destroy Old Tathagata.
After wasting more than ten minutes in this stalemate, Axel finally lost patience.
A burst of flames flashed across the sky as Axel instantly returned to the figurine inside the Jade Emperor's hand, reappearing beside Yang Jian and the others.
"Damn it, I'm done fighting. This is pointless. He can't kill me, and I can't finish him either. I'll need another method.
"If Old Tathagata is this troublesome, then the Jade Emperor probably isn't much different.
"If we want to truly kill them, we'll need to use this world's own rules and methods. We need to contact people, find enemies of the Heavenly Court, and come up with something effective."
As he spoke, Axel turned to leave. But just as he lifted his foot, the Star Lord of the Moon arrived grandly before the Hall of Supreme Harmony, riding clouds while leading thousands of Change maidens behind her.
Axel immediately stopped moving.
Beside him, Nezha looked surprised.
"Great Sage, did you think of something?"
"...Why don't we stay a little longer? Otherwise, wouldn't all these women have come here for nothing?"
Axel grinned before walking directly toward the Star Lord of the Moon.
Seeing him approach, she quickly bowed respectfully.
"True Lord, this humble immortal greets you. Please enter the palace and rest awhile so we may properly receive..."
"You people can keep waiting. Once I figure out a way to kill all of you, I'll come back and continue this game.
"And stop acting humble. You've already investigated my background thoroughly, and I've figured out plenty about you too.
"So let's see who wins in the end."
As he spoke, Axel casually reached out and smacked the Star Lord of the Moon on the backside.
Her expression changed instantly. She quickly stepped back and dodged his hand.
Axel looked genuinely surprised. Very few people could avoid his grab.
The next second, his body turned into flames again before instantly reappearing beside her.
Slap!
A sharp sound echoed across the Heavenly Court.
The Star Lord of the Moon's face darkened immediately, while dozens of nearby Change maidens dropped to their knees in terror.
"You...!"
She let out a startled cry, but the rest of her words died in her throat. In the end, she could only force out a stiff smile while retreating several more steps.
Everyone nearby witnessed the scene clearly.
The surrounding immortals nearly lost their minds. Countless gasps filled the area as the atmosphere turned unbearably tense.
At that moment, the Grand Supreme Elder and the Jade Emperor arrived one after another.
The Grand Supreme Elder rode over from the Thirty-Three Heavens Palace atop his ox, while the Jade Emperor emerged from the Hall of Supreme Harmony in his imperial robes, accompanied by the Queen Mother as both calmly nodded toward Axel.
The Grand Supreme Elder then cupped his hands respectfully toward the enormous Buddha filling heaven and earth.
"World Honored One, the Eastern Heaven will repay today's disturbance in the future."
Old Tathagata's voice echoed across the heavens.
"Old Lord, there is no need for courtesy. I truly cannot suppress this man. I will take my leave."
The moment he finished speaking, Old Tathagata and the two Bodhisattvas vanished silently from the Heavenly Court.
No one dared mention their departure.
It was as if nobody had seen anything at all.
The immortals of the Heavenly Court had long mastered the art of survival. They knew exactly who could be offended and who absolutely could not.
So naturally, nobody mentioned Old Tathagata's failure.
Instead, they immediately surrounded Axel with endless praise and congratulations, each trying to get closer to him.
If this had been an actual banquet, the line of immortals trying to toast Axel would probably have stretched from the Hall of Supreme Harmony all the way to the South Heaven Gate.
Originally, Axel had planned to stay and drink in Heaven for a while.
But seeing this fake atmosphere instantly ruined his mood.
He would rather sit in Gotham with a bunch of violent criminals drinking cheap liquor while they acted honestly than waste time exchanging fake smiles and meaningless compliments with a crowd of scheming officials.
At that moment, Old Pig hurried over with a grin, carrying the race-preserving bag.
"Great Sage Brother, those bald monks ran fast, like they were never even here.
"But thanks to your bag and this old pig's hard work, I managed to keep one Bodhisattva behind."
"One Bodhisattva isn't enough. These old monsters are way too difficult to deal with.
"Forget it for now. Let's head back down and think of another solution.
"If nothing works, I'll start calling for backup."
The moment he finished speaking, Axel directly left the Heavenly Palace and descended toward the lower realm.
Behind him, Yang Jian and the others walked proudly through the crowd of heavenly gods before following him toward Little Western Heaven.
The immortals quietly watched their departing figures before cautiously glancing toward the Jade Emperor.
The Jade Emperor simply stood there silently, staring at Axel's disappearing figure without speaking.
Only after a long while did he finally wave his hand, signaling for everyone to disperse.
Soon afterward, Axel and the others returned to Little Western Heaven.
The moment the demons saw them return, huge crowds immediately rushed over excitedly.
"Great Sage, how did it go?!"
"Nezha really got dragged into Heaven!"
"Hahaha! The Heavenly Court must've gone crazy!"
"Our Great Sage can come and go from Heaven whenever he wants!"
Amid the endless flattery, Axel sat down irritably and grabbed the wine bowl Iron Fan handed him.
After finishing the bowl in one gulp, he slammed it heavily onto the table.
"This is seriously annoying. Those old bastards have survived for far too long. Every single one of them has countless methods to save themselves."
"Big Brother."
Yang Jian interrupted with a smile.
"There's no need to rush. This world has always been like this. Just because they've lived longer and grown stronger doesn't mean they're truly unbeatable.
"If you ask me, we don't even need outside help right now. We only need to revive Wukong.
"Wukong is the Son of Calamity. A great calamity cannot end so easily.
"Although the Journey to the West ended and Buddhism once flourished, look at the mortal world now. Even the Great Tang is gradually declining, and in the Eastern Continent, suppression of Buddhism has already begun spreading again.
"The calamity never truly ended.
"Wukong simply chose another way to ignite it because he refused to bow to Spirit Mountain and the Heavenly Court.
"If Wukong himself refuses, nobody can truly kill him. Only he can end his own life.
"But when he secretly spoke with me back then, he never expected someone like Big Brother to appear.
"If he had known, he would've only needed to endure for a few more centuries.
"Once Big Brother arrived, Wukong, as the center of the calamity, could've joined forces with you and gathered even greater power from heaven and earth to destroy part of the gods' and Buddhas' very foundation.
"So right now, Big Brother, we already possess three of Wukong's roots.
"Our next step is finding the remaining three.
"Once all six roots are gathered, whether we revive him through rebirth or by building him a new body and temple, as long as Wukong returns completely, the great calamity will rise again naturally.
"So now...
"It's time for that monkey to come back."
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