Once he was sure Taishang Laojun wasn't joking, the Jade Emperor felt his scalp prickle.
What was this?
Were they afraid no one would find out that the Interception Sect was up to something?
Especially when he thought of the aura that had burst out in the mortal realm earlier, the Jade Emperor's heart began to pound even harder. He had a terrible feeling that disaster was about to strike.
After all,
if Tongtian truly set his mind on taking him down, even Hong Jun might not be able to protect him. And now he couldn't even get in touch with Dao Ancestor.
"It should... It should have nothing to do with me, right?!"
After waving Taibai Jinxing away, the Jade Emperor stood and paced back and forth through the hall, trying to remember whether he'd suppressed the Interception Sect over the years.
Maybe... perhaps... actually... just a tiny bit?
"Ugh~!"
The more he thought about it, the more panicked he became. The Jade Emperor was just about to seek comfort from Taishang Laojun when Clairaudience and Clairvoyance stumbled into the hall.
"Y-Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"
"What?!"
The Jade Emperor's heart lurched at the sight of them, and he blurted out, "Have people from the Interception Sect attacked?"
"Huh??"
Clairaudience and Clairvoyance froze. What did he mean, people from the Interception Sect had attacked? Weren't the Interception Sect their own people?
Could the Interception Sect have joined forces with Buddhism?
Then they were done for!
Wasn't the Heavenly Court about to be reduced to rubble?
At the thought, the two of them hesitated. Should they make a run for it while the news hadn't spread yet?
"Scoundrels!!"
When the two stood there in silence, the already-irritable Jade Emperor flew into a rage. "Why are you stammering? Speak up! Do you think I'm going to eat you?"
"W-We... yes!"
After the Jade Emperor's thorough scolding, the two came to their senses. Given their abilities, there didn't seem to be anywhere in the world they could hide.
So they dutifully reported that Buddhism was on the attack.
"What did you say?"
"Buddhism is attacking?"
"How is that possible?"
The Jade Emperor was startled at first, but after making a careful divination, he relaxed and scolded them irritably:
"Shouldn't you get your eyes checked? Even if you're blind and deaf, you don't have to be stupid too! Why would Buddhism attack the Heavenly Court when everything's fine?"
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely true!"
Seeing that the Jade Emperor didn't believe them, Clairvoyance and Clairaudience grew anxious. They hurriedly swore oaths, as if they would be struck by lightning if they were lying.
"This..."
The Jade Emperor wasn't sure what to think. But after divining again, he still found everything normal.
Even so, he wasn't as confident now.
Because everything was too normal!
That meant either everything really was fine, or someone was disrupting the workings of heaven to conceal something.
"Quick, bring me the Haotian Mirror!"
With a foreboding in his heart, the Jade Emperor hurriedly had the divine artifact, the Haotian Mirror, brought over. Then he sent a stream of magical power into it.
In the next instant, the mirror showed a dense army of Buddhist monks blotting out the sky and covering the earth. At their head was none other than Buddha Tathagata...
More precisely, the entire Buddhist leadership had come, with Buddha Tathagata at its head!
"Hmph~!"
As if sensing the Jade Emperor's spying, Buddha Tathagata raised a hand and sent a streak of golden light flying. The Haotian Mirror shattered with a crash.
"Have they... have they gone mad?!"
The Jade Emperor broke out in a cold sweat. Once he recovered, his face turned livid, and he hurriedly issued the highest-level battle order.
"Those bald Buddhist bastards have gone too far! Do they really think I'm an easy target?"
"By my decree, the Five Directions and Five Elders, the Four Directional Emperors, the Twenty-Eight Mansions, and all the immortals of the Heavenly Court are to assemble!"
"Go, now!"
"Yes!"
The messenger hurried off to beat the assembly drum. The gods of the Heavenly Court who received the order all wore different expressions.
At this point, they still didn't know Buddhism was attacking.
They assumed
that the Jade Emperor was summoning them to discuss the Interception Sect's secret gathering. So whether they had a guilty conscience or not, they all dragged their feet as they answered the call.
Some were discussing what to do, while others gathered in groups of three or five, ready to watch the show.
Meanwhile, the Jade Emperor was hardly idle.
Doushuai Palace,
Taishang Laojun was refining pills when he saw the Jade Emperor enter. His expression remained calm, but his tone was clearly impatient.
"Haotian, I've told you already: don't meddle in the affairs of the masters. Why won't you listen?"
"Don't meddle? How can I not meddle? They're about to attack the Heavenly Court!"
The Jade Emperor—once the child attendant Haotian under Hong Jun—sounded aggrieved. "Laojun, what exactly did you arrange with Buddhism? Why are they bringing their entire forces to attack my Heavenly Court? All eight of their Buddhas are here!"
"Huh???"
This time, Taishang Laojun was the one who was stunned. What nonsense was this? Why would Buddhism attack the Heavenly Court when nothing was wrong?
But after he made a quick calculation...
"Damn?!"
Taishang Laojun sprang up from his meditation cushion, abandoning his pill refining. His face darkened as he waved the Jade Emperor away.
"Haotian, deal with those Buddhist bastards for now. I'll go ask the master what's going on!"
"Wait? What??"
As he watched Taishang Laojun vanish before his eyes in a wisp of green smoke, the Jade Emperor felt utterly miserable.
What the hell was going on?
Back during the Investiture of the Gods, Chanjiao had joined forces with the Western Teachings. And now it was the Interception Sect's turn to team up with the Western Teachings?
That's right!
Exactly!
In the Jade Emperor's mind, the Interception Sect's disciples had joined forces with Buddhism to overthrow him, the ruler of the Heavenly Court.
How else could it be such a coincidence?
The Interception Sect's disciples had just joined forces over here, and Buddhism had attacked over there?
That was why the Jade Emperor had such a strong feeling that disaster was about to strike.
There was no helping it!
If the Interception Sect and Chanjiao had joined forces, he wouldn't have feared those Buddhist bastards, not with the three hundred and sixty-five righteous gods of the Heavenly Court, along with its heavenly soldiers, generals, and assorted unaffiliated deities.
But the problem was, more than two hundred of the three hundred and sixty-five righteous gods in the Heavenly Court were disciples of the Interception Sect!
How the hell was he supposed to fight that?
Even if he could control their lives and deaths with the Investiture of the Gods, they could simply slack off—and that alone would be a huge threat to the Heavenly Court.
What's more...
After some thought, the Jade Emperor's expression shifted several times before he sought out Golden Spirit Mother, the leader of the Interception Sect in the Heavenly Court.
His plan was simple: if they helped the Heavenly Court this time, he would set them free afterward!
"Your Majesty, what did you say? Buddhism is attacking?"
Golden Spirit Mother's expression turned strange. Had her master learned to give them a taste of their own medicine?
Brilliant!
After Chanjiao and Renjiao teamed up with the Western Teachings to bully them last time, now it was the turn of those little nobodies to get bullied!
Still, why didn't this feel like her master's handiwork?
With her master's explosive temper, shouldn't he have torn the Two Saints of the West apart with his bare hands to avenge the ambush from back then?
Before you continue