Amidst the wild grass, a mortal soldier, looking battered and desperate, clung to his helmet and gazed into the distance.
In the sky, the Heavenly soldiers and generals all widened their eyes in shock.
Those half-witted grass-spirit gods began whispering among themselves.
“So... the Third Saintess marrying the Great Sage Equal to Heaven... sounds pretty good, actually.”
“Exactly, at least the Heavenly Court wouldn’t dare come to Blossom Mountain for her.”
“That slap was fierce! The Third Saintess really knows how to choose!”
“So do we get wedding wine?” someone suddenly whispered.
At that, the grass-spirit gods finally understood, staring blankly.
Anna Yang lifted her head high, her face streaked with tears, yet her eyes and brows were smiling.
The Monkey King furrowed his brow slightly, his eyes quietly glancing at Erik Yang.
Erik Yang stared at Anna Yang in terror, beads of sweat as large as soybeans slowly dripping from his forehead.
The situation had changed so quickly that he hadn’t even sorted out his thoughts.
On the horizon, a black fleet like a swarm of locusts was already appearing. The decks were packed with demons, each craning their necks and cheering.
General Titan wiped his sweat vigorously, again and again.
“So... what do we do next?”
General Lee parted the crowd of officers and appeared before him, glancing at the three standing on the ground and whispering, “Next? We watch. If we’re not eaten, we should count ourselves lucky. Capture someone? Wait for the right moment... then withdraw.”
General Titan blinked blankly.
Only now did he finally understand why General Lee, as the commander, had never stepped forward.
Turns out, he’d been walking right on the edge of disaster this whole time. If he’d made a move before Erik Yang arrived... this fleet probably wouldn’t be going home at all.
Just thinking about it sent chills down his spine.
“How do we fight?” the Monkey King asked in a low voice.
“Of course, you fight with everything you’ve got.” Anna Yang lifted her head, wiped her tears, and smiled softly. “My brother is the war god of the Three Realms. If you can beat him, I’ll marry you.”
Glancing at the terrified Erik Yang, then at Anna Yang, who couldn’t hide her smile, the Monkey King reached into his ear and drew out the Golden Staff, spinning it casually into an attack stance. “You said it yourself.”
With that, he furrowed his brow and looked at Erik Yang. “Sorry, brother-in-law, but for my bride, I have to do this.”
“You really want to fight?” Erik Yang exclaimed, stepping back in surprise.
“Second Brother, help me teach this stinking monkey a lesson!” Anna Yang winked hard at Erik Yang.
Before Erik Yang could prepare, the Monkey King lunged forward, swinging the Golden Staff in a heavy sweep toward Erik.
With a thunderous boom, the Trident Saber blocked the Golden Staff. With a quick reversal, Erik Yang counterattacked.
In an instant, the two peerless weapons clashed, sending out brilliant sparks—dazzling as fireworks in the night.
Anna Yang covered her mouth, giggling with delight.
A clash between two peak Traveler’s Path cultivators at Great Luo Immortal level—the shockwaves blasted across the vast earth, making both armies squint against the force.
In the distance, the demon ranks erupted in thunderous cheers.
Nezha frowned helplessly, staring blankly. “They really do treat us like we’re invisible...”
“Good thing they’re treating us as invisible,” muttered King of Holding the Nation beside him.
Twin bolts of golden lightning intertwined. They battled from earth to sky, then sky to land, chasing each other along the mountains, heedless of the armies, even flying over rivers and splitting the currents as they passed.
Every leaf in the forest trembled at their passing, while the clouds above twisted into fantastic shapes.
More than a million troops stared in awe, bursting into cheers now and then.
“Go, Second Brother! Beat that stinking monkey!” Anna Yang, dressed in wedding robes, waved her arms and shouted.
Erik Yang opened the Third Eye at his brow and unleashed a barrage of blasts—grass and trees before him turned to flying ash, the scene like a rain of fire.
Seizing a moment to dodge, the Monkey King landed beside Anna Yang and whispered, “If I really get killed here, you’ll have to be careful living as a widow.”
Anna Yang grinned at the Monkey King. “If you die, I’ll just move on. There’s plenty of people lining up to be my groom.”
Erik Yang, wielding the Trident Saber, charged over and drove the Monkey King away, scolding in a low voice, “What’s so great about this monkey anyway? Why do you like him?”
“If you beat me, I won’t marry him, right? But if my brother loses, well, there’s nothing I can do.”
“You!”
In a flash, the Monkey King charged back, bringing the Golden Staff down from above—only to have Erik Yang catch it firmly.
With a stomp of his feet, the ground instantly cracked open.
“Hey, brother-in-law, is that how you talk about your sister’s husband? ‘Better break ten temples than break one family’—don’t you know that saying?”
“He’s not the eldest brother, he’s the second.” Anna Yang quickly corrected.
“Fine, Second Brother-in-law.”
“Get lost—!” Erik Yang flung the Monkey King away, unleashing a barrage from his Third Eye.
Turning to Anna Yang, Erik Yang hurriedly said, “Do you even know who he is? If you wanted to marry a mortal, fine—I’d just seal you under a mountain myself, it’d be like house arrest. Someday, when things change, I might let you out. But do you know what this monkey is? He’s the king of all demons! Marrying him changes everything!”
“So what if it changes? Isn’t that a good thing?” Anna Yang blinked.
Erik Yang was stunned.
Watching from afar, General Lee turned his face slightly and whispered, “See? Erik Yang’s fighting him. If Erik wins, it’s settled. But I doubt he’ll win. If he loses, it’s no big deal—who’s going to blame you if even Erik can’t do it? Report back to His Majesty, and the Emperor will issue an edict ordering Erik Yang to bring Anna Yang in. That’s all on him. Now it’s Erik who has to worry.”
General Titan wiped his cold sweat and chuckled awkwardly, “Thank you for the advice, Your Majesty.”
“No need to thank me—we’re colleagues. But next time, don’t just charge ahead. Think about why others aren’t doing what you’re doing.”
“Understood.”
“The demon army’s getting closer. If we don’t leave now, we’ll be stuck here. Give the order to retreat—quietly. Remember, quietly.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Stop wiping your sweat—everyone’s watching you. A true general should stay calm even if Mount Tai collapses before him.”
Before he finished speaking, a monkey’s head suddenly appeared before General Lee.
“Leaving so soon, General Lee? You haven’t even had any wedding wine—won’t you honor us?”
General Lee’s face turned pale. He backed away in terror as the surrounding generals hurriedly drew their weapons.
Before they could prepare, the monkey vanished, and Erik Yang appeared in his place.
He paused and cupped his hands to General Lee. “Forgive me, General Lee.”
“No problem... you go ahead.” General Lee wiped his sweat and stammered.
His heart was pounding in his throat.
Watching Erik Yang’s retreating figure, General Titan muttered, “Everyone’s watching you. Stay calm, stay calm—‘A true general stays composed even if Mount Tai collapses before him.’”
General Lee swallowed hard and glared resentfully at General Titan.
“Are we still retreating?” General Titan asked in a low voice.
General Lee trembled slightly and gripped General Titan’s wrist. “Better not yet. The demon monkey’s noticed our retreat—if we move now, it could end even worse.”
Both sides unleashed their Heaven-Earth forms, transforming into giants a hundred feet tall, making the earth tremble beneath their feet.
The demon army kept advancing, while the South Heaven Gate fleet and Guang River Estuary troops gave way.
“What a grand wedding,” Rina stood on the deck, frowning at the sky-darkening warships. She glanced at Nigel Wyrm beside her. “Ours was nothing compared to this spectacle.”
“Let’s go pick up the bride!” Yisu stood at the prow, calling out.
Instantly, a thunderous cheer erupted.
Countless demon generals soared into the air, landing before Anna Yang and kneeling on one knee. “Forgive us, Holy Mother—we arrived late to rescue you.”
Anna Yang pressed her lips together and smiled. “You may all rise.”
Yisu approached and saluted. “Yisu respectfully welcomes Holy Mother. With this battle dragging on, why not return with us to Blossom Mountain?”
“Mm.” Anna Yang nodded quietly.
She touched her toes to the ground and soared into the air, gliding toward the demon army to receive their cheers.
Her fiery red wedding dress became the sole focus amid the pitch-black demon fleet.
Bai Juan was entranced, sighing, “So beautiful. From today, she’s truly our matron.”
“She’s been Blossom Mountain’s matron in everyone’s hearts for ages. The Great Sage was just too dense to make it official.” Shortbeak beside her tossed a handful of melon seeds into his mouth and gazed at Bai Juan. “I saw it as early as the Battle of Dragon’s Pool.”
A duel between two peak Da Luo Golden Immortal cultivators—neither dared use their full power, so the fight dragged on endlessly, shaking heaven and earth.
Amid the cheers of a million demons, Anna Yang stepped onto the flagship’s deck as the army began its retreat.
Seeing this, the Seven Sages of Meishan quietly sent someone to say: once the date is set, let us know so we can all skip work and come drink wedding wine.
After Anna Yang gave her affirmation, the Guang River Estuary fleet began retreating as well.
General Lee and General Titan stared in a daze, unable to recover for a long moment.
Soon, no one knew where Monkey and Erik Yang had gone—the Guang River Estuary troops and Blossom Mountain demon army had vanished without a trace.
Under the setting sun, two crows slowly flapped their wings as they flew by.
Between heaven and earth, only the South Heaven Gate fleet remained, motionless, as the celestial soldiers and generals exchanged uneasy glances.
General Titan whispered, “So... what do we do next? Erlang and the demon monkey still haven’t finished their fight. If His Majesty asks when we return, what do we say?”
“We can’t just go back empty-handed, but standing here isn’t helping either.” General Lee pointed to a scholar shivering in the ruins. “Let’s take him back as our report. We didn’t get the bride, but at least we caught the groom, right? It wasn’t a wasted trip. As for what happens next... we’ll deal with it then.”
Turning, General Lee gently patted General Titan’s shoulder and whispered, “Capturing the groom alive from a million demon soldiers... that’s no small feat.”
General Titan suddenly understood and quickly bowed. “Brilliant, Your Majesty!”