After seeing the Red Snake carry the massive egg back home, Axel and the others continued toward the Yellow Flower Temple and stopped in front of the fourth talisman.
Fourth Sister stared at the glowing talisman in silence, her hands clenched tightly at her sides. Axel, meanwhile, casually reached forward and tore it down.
Sizzle!
A faint burst of electricity crackled through the air. Fourth Sister's body trembled slightly, but after waiting several moments and seeing that nothing else happened, she finally let out a relieved breath.
"So that's it?"
"That's it?"
Standing beside her, Axel repeated the words with an irritated expression.
If I hadn't come over here myself, you would have been screaming your head off in this place.
Now suddenly it's, "So that's it?"
Do you even realize how much trouble I went through to remove this thing safely? I practically had to beat up the Buddha himself.
Axel smirked to himself.
Behind him, Taiyin Xingjun stood neatly dressed with an elegant smile before speaking calmly.
"I have never personally visited this place before, but I have heard quite a few things about it from friends."
"The Lower Realm has several breeding grounds established by the Daoist factions of the Heavenly Court. Every one of those places serves a different purpose."
"Some are used to imprison unfortunate individuals with rare destinies or special birth charts sought after by the Daoist sects."
"Others are used to raise mountain spirits, exotic beasts, and precious birds that are difficult to find elsewhere."
"As for Spider Silk Ridge..."
She paused deliberately and glanced toward the Little Spiders nearby.
The sisters immediately looked back at her, their expressions filled with curiosity and unease.
Meeting their gazes, Taiyin Xingjun sighed softly.
"Spider Silk Ridge exists to cultivate venomous creatures."
"The Heavenly Court and Spirit Mountain have not been on good terms recently. If not for the True Lord's sudden rise, a major conflict might have already begun."
"And after the events of Journey to the West, everyone knows Tathagata Buddha once suffered greatly after being poisoned by a scorpion."
"Because of that, venomous creatures became extremely valuable."
"The Daoist sects gathered all kinds of poisons capable of affecting Buddhas, and they also conducted numerous experiments here."
"From what I heard, even Bodhisattva Pilanpo's severed arms were sent to Spider Silk Ridge by the Daoist sect. Nobody knows what they intended to do with them."
"Besides that, the Five Poisons and Five Gu from Spider Silk Ridge are often used in alchemy."
"Many of the Daoist sect's new elixirs released over the past decades carry the mark of the Yellow Flower Temple. Most likely, they were produced here."
"So honestly speaking, meeting the True Lord was the greatest blessing any of you could have received."
As her words ended, pity filled Taiyin Xingjun's eyes while she looked at the spider sisters.
The happiness they had felt earlier completely disappeared.
They always knew they were monsters.
They understood they could never compare to immortals or monks, and those powerful beings would never truly value them.
But they never realized things were even worse than that.
To those high and mighty figures, they were nothing more than materials.
Consumable resources.
The mood remained heavy for the rest of the journey toward Little Western Heaven.
Only after the clouds descended and the Little Spiders saw snow for the very first time did their spirits improve slightly.
An endless expanse of snowy mountains stretched before them.
Sixth Sister immediately ran barefoot into the snow, unable to hide her excitement any longer.
Zi Zhuer hurriedly tried to stop her daughter, but Zhu Bajie grabbed her arm with a grin.
"Come on, wife, let the kid enjoy herself."
"Even if all our daughters ran off to play in the snow, what's the big deal?"
"Little Western Heaven is still a complete mess anyway. It'll take forever to rebuild."
Then he turned toward Axel.
"Big Brother Great Sage doesn't mind, right?"
"Of course not."
Axel bent down and scooped up a handful of snow, casually shaping it into a snowball before throwing it.
Thud!
The snowball struck Sixth Sister directly on the back of her head.
"Ah!"
Startled, she spun around with wide innocent eyes, trying to find the attacker.
Axel stood proudly with his hands behind his back, deliberately glancing toward Fourth Sister.
Sixth Sister instantly understood.
Without hesitation, she made her own snowball and threw it at Fourth Sister in retaliation.
The snowball smacked directly into Fourth Sister's chest.
Her expression darkened as she looked helplessly toward Axel.
Axel burst into laughter and waved dismissively.
"Go play already."
"And stop obsessing over the whole maid thing. I don't need servants watching over me every second."
"It's just a title."
Hearing that, Fifth Sister could no longer restrain herself. She immediately rushed into the snow alongside Sixth Sister.
At that moment, Iron Fan Princess approached Axel while holding her two children.
"Husband."
She floated closer before glancing curiously at the four remaining Little Spiders.
"Who are these sisters?"
"Zhu Bajie and Chang'e's daughters from Heaven. They'll be serving under me from now on."
"When I travel around, help look after them. Don't let anyone bully them."
Then Axel pointed toward Taiyin Xingjun.
"And this white-haired woman, before you misunderstand anything, let me explain first."
"I absolutely do not have some weird obsession with white-haired women."
"She's Taiyin Xingjun from Heaven. Keep a close watch on her and don't let her run off."
"Anyway, Erlang and Red Boy will probably need some time to locate Sun Wukong's spiritual root."
"So until then, we'll focus on rebuilding this place."
Just like that, the Little Spider family smoothly settled into Little Western Heaven and officially became part of the Great Hall of Supreme Heaven.
While everyone busied themselves constructing homes and repairing the ruined land, Axel quietly left Little Western Heaven and returned to Gotham in a single step.
Erlang and the others still needed time.
Even after finding the spiritual root, reviving Sun Wukong would not happen immediately.
Besides, Axel still had to return home every now and then.
Otherwise, the cat burglar living there might get bored enough to start robbing people again.
Especially since this was technically the first time Axel had failed to return home overnight since arriving in this world.
Iron Fan Princess had simply been far too tempting.
Thinking about it still gave Axel a strange thrill.
Even though nobody would dare question him, the excitement of sneaking back home after disappearing all night made the situation oddly entertaining.
By the time he arrived in the courtyard, Axel had already prepared several explanations for Catwoman.
But the moment he appeared, he was instantly surrounded by people.
Someone shoved him from behind.
Axel immediately turned around and glared at the man responsible.
The thug blinked innocently for half a second before his eyes widened in shock.
"Wraith Boss, you're back!!!"
"What?"
"Wraith's back?!"
"It's the Boss!"
The crowd instantly exploded into chaos.
People hurriedly shoved one another aside, forcefully clearing an open space around Axel.
The thug who pushed him quickly spoke again.
"Boss, thank God you're back!"
"That crazy Greek bitch attacked while you were gone!"
"Boss Victor got carried away injured, and Boss Batman's already in the hospital!"
"She completely humiliated Gotham!"
"But now you're here, Boss. That bitch is finished!"
Axel frowned immediately.
"Wait."
"How long was I gone?"
The thug looked confused.
"A few minutes, Boss."
Axel froze.
A few minutes?
He had clearly spent almost two full days away.
His gaze slowly swept across Gotham.
Could it really be like the legends?
One day in Heaven, one year on Earth?
Had his time become synchronized with the Heavenly Court itself?
Then what about all the tension and excitement he felt over not coming home for the night?
Did all of that just become meaningless?
===
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