Haotian Arrives in Person, Are You Forcing Me?

Outside Golden Turtle Island.

The envoy from the East Sea Dragon Palace had been waiting for half an hour.

He was an old official of the Dragon Palace.

His hair and beard were snow-white, and he still carried the briny scent of the sea.

He tried to peer into the island several times, but he dared not trespass.

This was because Holy Mother Guiling stood not far away.

She crossed her arms and watched the old official.

"What's the rush?"

"Isn't the Sea Eye something that belongs to your East Sea?"

The old official's face turned bitter.

"Holy Mother Guiling, if the Third Sea Eye truly collapses, even the East Sea Dragon Clan cannot hold it back."

"Then go find the Heavenly Court."

Holy Mother Guiling sneered.

"Haven't you always claimed that the Four Seas are under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court?"

The old official's lips moved, but he dared not retort.

In the past, that was indeed what they said.

When trouble arose, they claimed they were following the orders of the Heavenly Court.

When it came to dividing benefits, they claimed the Dragon Clan had merit in suppressing the seas.

Now that they had encountered a Sea Eye they could not suppress, they came begging to the disciples of the Jie Sect.

The more Holy Mother Guiling thought about it, the angrier she became.

"When Qingxiaozi was guarding the Sea Eye in the past, why wasn't your Dragon Palace in such a hurry?"

The old official lowered his head.

"In this matter, our Dragon Palace is in your debt."

"In debt?"

Holy Mother Guiling let out a scoff.

"The word 'debt' is certainly cheap."

Inside the hall.

Zhao Xuan did not go out.

He sat in the side hall, looking at the jade slip in his hand.

On the jade slip were the records of Qingxiaozi guarding the Third Sea Eye for the past two thousand years.

Which year the spiritual tide surged.

Which year the Dragon Palace requested reinforcements.

Which year the Water Department shirked responsibility.

Which year Qingxiaozi was injured.

Every single entry was recorded within.

Holy Mother Jinling stood by his side and whispered:

"Senior Brother, the East Sea spiritual tide is still rising."

"The Dragon Palace has already sent three waves of people to urge us."

Zhao Xuan did not look up.

"Let them wait."

Holy Mother Jinling nodded.

She did not try to persuade him.

Because she already understood Zhao Xuan's intent.

This time, things could not continue as they had in the past.

Whenever others begged, the Jie Sect would go.

Once the Jie Sect went, the matter would be suppressed.

Once the matter was suppressed, the credit would vanish.

The account would also be wiped clean.

In the end, everyone felt that this was simply what the Jie Sect ought to do.

The Jie Sect would no longer do such things.

Zhao Gongming stood to the side, frowning.

"Will Haotian come?"

Zhao Xuan closed the jade slip.

"He will."

"If he does not come, the Third Sea Eye will come for him."

High Heaven Hall.

By the time Taibai Jinxing returned, the hall was already in chaos.

Immortal Officials of the Water Department knelt across the floor.

Communication jade slips flew in one after another.

"Your Majesty, the seal of the Third Sea Eye has cracked by thirty percent!"

"The East Sea Dragon Palace reports an emergency: the Sha Qi from the seabed has already surged into the outer sea!"

"General Xuan Lang is missing, and the Water Department has failed to maintain the formation!"

"The spiritual tide in the surrounding three thousand li of sea is surging backward; if we delay any longer, I fear it will harm the living beings along the coast!"

Haotian sat upon the Imperial Throne, his expression grim.

He did not speak immediately.

The more critical the moment, the less he could afford to be flustered.

The Heavenly Court was the orthodoxy of the Three Realms.

If the Heavenly Emperor were to lose his composure first, those beneath him would only fall into greater disorder.

Yet, every urgent report pointed to the same thing.

The Third Sea Eye could no longer hold.

And the only person capable of stabilizing the Third Sea Eye was still on Golden Turtle Island.

Taibai Jinxing walked to the center of the hall and bowed.

"Your Majesty."

Haotian looked at him.

"What did Zhao Xuan say?"

Taibai Jinxing hesitated for a moment.

"Immortal Zhao Xuan said that this matter is not about the Jie Sect taking action."

"It is about the Heavenly Court requesting the Jie Sect to take action."

The hall fell into an instant silence.

The expressions of many Immortal Officials shifted.

Request.

This word carried too much weight.

If the Heavenly Court requested help, it was equivalent to admitting that it could not hold its own.

It was even more equivalent to admitting that the Water Department's previous attempt to hold Qingxiaozi accountable was wrong.

An Immortal Official of the Water Department could not help but speak up.

"Your Majesty, this precedent cannot be set."

"If the Heavenly Court bows its head to the Jie Sect today, how will the various departments command the Primordial World in the future?"

Taibai Jinxing glanced at him.

"Then will you go to suppress the Third Sea Eye?"

The Water Department official immediately fell silent.

Taibai Jinxing's voice was low.

"Now is not the time to worry about whose face looks better."

"If the Third Sea Eye collapses and disaster strikes the East Sea, the Heavenly Court will lose face all the same."

Haotian tapped his fingers lightly against the armrest.

Once.

Twice.

No one else in the hall spoke.

Everyone was waiting for his final decision.

Haotian, of course, knew exactly what Zhao Xuan wanted.

Zhao Xuan did not want Qingxiaozi to return.

Nor did he want a few bottles of pills.

Zhao Xuan wanted the Heavenly Court to admit it themselves.

The contributions of the Jie Sect disciples could no longer be brushed aside.

Haotian raised his eyes.

"Prepare the carriage."

An immortal official in the hall was startled.

"Your Majesty, do you truly intend to go to Golden Turtle Island yourself?"

Haotian cast a cold glance at him.

"If I do not go, should I send you instead?"

The immortal official immediately lowered his head.

Haotian stood up.

"My going is not a concession to the Jie Sect."

"I go for the sake of all living beings in the East Sea."

When these words were spoken, the immortal officials in the hall all breathed a sigh of relief.

At the very least, in name, the Heavenly Court still had a way to save face.

Taibai Jinxing, however, knew clearly in his heart.

A way to save face was just that.

But the moment Haotian stepped onto Golden Turtle Island.

He would have already lost half a step.

Outside Golden Turtle Island.

The light of the heavens suddenly pressed down.

The sea of clouds parted.

A Celestial Emperor Chariot descended from the nine heavens.

There was no fanfare.

There were no ranks of heavenly soldiers.

Only a few immortal officials and Taibai Jinxing followed.

Yet, the moment the aura of the Celestial Emperor descended, the entire East Sea seemed to sink.

An old official of the Dragon Palace looked up abruptly, joy appearing on his face.

"His Majesty has come!"

Holy Mother Guiling glanced at him.

"What are you happy about?"

"He is not the one who suppressed the sea eye."

The old official's expression stiffened.

He dared not speak further.

Zhao Xuan walked out from Golden Turtle Island.

The disciples of the Jie Sect followed behind him.

Haotian stepped down from the chariot.

The two looked at each other across the surface of the sea.

One was the Celestial Emperor.

The other was the eldest senior brother of the Jie Sect.

Neither spoke first.

In the end, it was Haotian who broke the silence:

"Zhao Xuan, the Third Sea Eye concerns the living beings of the East Sea."

"This is not the time for petty grievances."

Zhao Xuan looked at him.

"Your Majesty is mistaken."

"It is the Water Department that is acting out of spite."

"And it is the Heavenly Court that is shifting the blame."

"Only those who follow the rules are truly part of my Jie Sect."

Haotian's eyes darkened slightly.

Zhao Xuan continued:

"Qingxiaozi guarded the Third Sea Eye for two thousand years."

"The formation diagrams, command tokens, and spiritual tide records were all handed over clearly when he left his post."

"But now, because the Water Department couldn't handle it, they came to seize him."

"When they couldn't take him, they went back to the Heavenly Court and claimed the Jie Sect did not respect the Heavenly Court."

"Now that the Sea Eye has collapsed, the Heavenly Court wants him to go back."

Zhao Xuan's tone was very flat.

"Your Majesty, what would you call this?"

Haotian did not answer immediately.

Taibai Jinxing stood to the side, sweat faintly beading on his forehead.

These words were too blunt.

Yet, every single sentence was true.

Haotian said slowly:

"The Water Department was at fault, and I have already punished them."

"Xuan Lang has also been sent to the Third Sea Eye to guard it in atonement."

Holy Mother Guiling sneered.

"And then he got sucked in."

"That punishment was certainly swift."

Haotian glanced at her, his brow furrowing.

Holy Mother Guiling did not back down in the slightest.

Zhao Xuan raised a hand to stop her.

"Who Your Majesty chooses to punish is an internal matter of the Heavenly Court."

"I only ask one thing."

Haotian said:

"Speak."

Zhao Xuan looked at him.

"If Qingxiaozi returns to the Third Sea Eye, in what capacity will he return?"

Haotian frowned.

"Naturally, to assist the Heavenly Court in suppressing the Sea Eye."

Zhao Xuan shook his head.

"Assisting will not do."

"Helping will not do either."

"From this day forward, Jie Sect disciples will not accept vague assignments."

Haotian's expression finally darkened.

"Then what do you want?"

Zhao Xuan took out a blank jade slip and tossed it into the air.

The jade slip immediately turned into a stream of light, landing steadily before Haotian.

"The Heavenly Court must issue a formal request."

"State clearly that the Heavenly Court is requesting the Jie Sect disciple Qingxiaozi to temporarily act on behalf of the Water Department to guard the Third Sea Eye."

"All merits during this period shall belong to Qingxiaozi."

"All karma shall be borne by the Heavenly Court."

"If the Sea Eye backlash damages Qingxiaozi's Dao foundation again, the Heavenly Court shall provide compensation."

"Furthermore, subsequent divine positions, authority, and destiny shall be calculated separately."

The surface of the sea fell completely silent.

The old ministers of the Dragon Palace turned pale as they listened.

This was no longer a request for Qingxiaozi to save the day.

This was forcing the Heavenly Court to admit its debts in front of the East Sea and the Jie Sect.

At that moment, Haotian stared at the jade slip for a long time, then looked coldly at Zhao Xuan.

"Are you forcing Me to sign this?"