You think you can rely on being the Jade Emperor?
Taishang Laojun shook his head and laughed. "With this little tea, it'll be gone after two more pots. And you still want to drink your fill? What a boast."
"This little? Isn't it enough?"
The Jade Emperor chuckled and waved his hand, tossing a burlap sack in front of Taishang Laojun.
What?
Seeing the Jade Emperor pull out a burlap sack, everyone had assumed it was filled with rags.
But no one could have imagined that the sack was actually filled with Enlightenment Tea!
There had to be at least three hundred jin of tea leaves!
Three hundred jin of Enlightenment Tea!
Even Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor in Zixiao Palace, did not have half a liang of Enlightenment Tea!
Oh, my heavens.
The Jade Emperor was that generous?
He had just said that this was tea he had newly picked. Could it be that he owned an Enlightenment Tea plantation?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
If such a tea plantation existed in the Primordial World, it would definitely be in Zixiao Palace, not anywhere else.
And there was no Enlightenment Tea plantation in Zixiao Palace!
Taishang Laojun was utterly shaken. As he stared at the Enlightenment Tea, his breathing quickened, and his eyes practically turned red with envy.
"How is it? Become My subject, and you can drink Enlightenment Tea every day from now on." The Jade Emperor was very pleased by Taishang Laojun's expression.
So what if he was a Saint? Saints would turn red-eyed over Enlightenment Tea too!
"Jade Emperor, are you still dreaming?"
Taishang Laojun threw his head back and laughed. "Enlightenment Tea is indeed excellent, but it's actually not particularly useful to Saints like us. Do you really think you can make Me submit with this Enlightenment Tea?"
"Saints like us?" The Jade Emperor sneered. "You're merely a benevolent-corpse avatar. Do you even deserve to call yourself a Saint?"
"Hmph. Mere verbal provocation." Taishang Laojun rose to see him off. "Please leave."
"Lao Jun, three days. I'll give you only three days. Submit, or die." The Jade Emperor calmly shook out his dragon robe and spoke those murderous words in a gentle voice.
"Please." Taishang Laojun flicked his horsetail whisk without answering.
"Ah, what a pity~"
The Jade Emperor sighed regretfully, but his face was wreathed in smiles as he strolled away from Doushu Palace. "The illustrious Lao Jun is about to vanish into thin air~"
"Heh heh. You, Zhang Bairen, will ultimately become this lord's puppet. The Heavenly Court is my Taishang's Heavenly Court!"
Watching the Jade Emperor leave, Taishang Laojun sneered.
Taishang Laojun did not believe the Jade Emperor had any ability to shake his position.
In the Heavenly Court, he, Taishang Laojun, was the uncrowned king!
Outside Doushu Palace.
The Jade Emperor strolled leisurely forward and soon spotted Taishang Laojun's mount, Green Ox.
"I remember Father saying last time that our family should roast a whole ox next time. This ox of Lao Jun's should taste pretty good, right?"
The Jade Emperor stroked his chin, a hint of amusement curling at the corner of his lips. With a flash, he released the full might of a peak Quasi-Saint for an instant, then withdrew it. Green Ox, who was only at the Golden Immortal realm, was instantly taken into his sleeve. The Jade Emperor then vanished from Doushu Palace.
"Jade Emperor brat!"
Inside Doushu Palace, Taishang Laojun had barely sat down when he sensed that his mount, Green Ox, had been abducted.
Furious, Taishang Laojun cursed loudly.
Meanwhile, the Jade Emperor laughed heartily.
Part 21: Jade Emperor: Father, Your Son Has Come!
The Journey to the West Pilgrims had been wiped out!
This news swept through the entire Primordial World like a monstrous tidal wave!
"Really? Is that true?"
"How could it be fake? Lion Camel Ridge was flattened! Not even a single minor demon remained!"
"Brutal. Truly brutal."
"That Yang Jian is really something!"
"Who says otherwise? Golden-Winged Great Peng was butchered too—and he was Tathagata's maternal uncle!"
Every ordinary cultivator who heard the news felt their scalps go numb and sucked in a cold breath.
The Heavenly Court was truly formidable!
The Journey to the West Pilgrims had originally been protected by the Three Realms. They had drawn the attention of the entire world and traveled onward with high spirits, singing their way along a smooth road.
Countless great powers of the Primordial World had wanted to establish ties with the Journey to the West Pilgrims.
It was said that when the Journey to the West project had first begun, countless people had fought tooth and nail to join the group.
Unfortunately, they had not gotten the chance.
Just look at Zhen Yuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple. In order to establish ties with the Journey to the West Pilgrims, he had actually swallowed his pride and sworn brotherhood with Monkey Sun.
He had thrown away even his dignity.
But now, in the blink of an eye, the entire Journey to the West Pilgrims had been wiped out!
"Thank goodness, thank goodness. I'd wanted to imitate Zhen Yuanzi and become sworn brothers with Zhu Bajie. Luckily, I didn't go!"
Wuzhuang Temple.
The Ancestor of Earthly Immortals, Zhen Yuanzi, had a face so gloomy it seemed capable of dripping water.
His sworn brother Monkey Sun had been cut down with a single slash. What was he, as that brother, supposed to do?
Go seek revenge?
Wouldn't that be throwing himself into a fire pit?
But if he did not take revenge, he would surely be mocked by all the great powers of the Primordial World!
"Yang Jian! Jade Emperor!"
Zhen Yuanzi ground his teeth in fury.
At that moment, Yang Jian was leading Yuan Hong and several others, along with more than a dozen subordinate generals, toward Zhang Yifan's residence.
The Heavenly Court.
"Taibai Jinxing, have you chosen the people?"
"Reporting to the Jade Emperor, the candidates have all been selected. They are all great deities of at least the second rank. Their backgrounds are clean, and they are all loyal to Your Majesty."
"Excellent. Have them disguise themselves and gather in the mortal world. Yang Jian and the others are still waiting." The Jade Emperor was very satisfied.
The mortal world.
A hundred kilometers from Zhang Yifan's farmhouse, Yang Jian and the others descended from the clouds and hid among the mountains.
"Remember, do more and speak less. Once the job is done, return immediately. From now on, act as though today's matter never happened. Understood?"
Yang Jian warned his subordinate generals.
"Yes, True Lord." The generals knelt on the ground and accepted their orders.
"Good. You are my most trusted and capable subordinates. This will be the greatest opportunity of your lives, so be sure to seize it."
"Yes!" everyone answered.
Afterward, Yang Jian and the others waited.
Yuan Hong and the others did not ask why they were not leaving.
After waiting for several hours, the Jade Emperor appeared with his people.
Yuan Hong and the others were startled when they saw the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor had actually come as well, and they hurriedly saluted.
"Greetings, Jade Emperor!"
"Mm. You did well." The Jade Emperor nodded and praised them.
"It is our good fortune to resolve the Jade Emperor's worries."
Yuan Hong and the others naturally knew what the Jade Emperor was referring to: the destruction of the Journey to the West Pilgrims.
"Yang Jian told you everything, right?"
"Yes, Uncle."
"Mm. Let's go." The Jade Emperor waved his hand, and the group vanished from the spot.
The farmhouse.
The Jade Emperor and the others hauled a great deal of lumber and building materials to the outside of the courtyard.
"Father! Your son has come!"
Before he even entered the courtyard, the Jade Emperor shouted loudly.
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