"Actually, I am not a disciple of Guangchengzi; I merely inherited some of his legacy by chance."
Xu Xiao didn't take advantage of Guangchengzi's influence; that would have been incredibly foolish.
In a world teeming with powerful gods and Buddhas, acting rashly under the banner of a powerful being risks being exposed at any moment.
Regardless of Guangchengzi's character, if the Great Emperor Zhenwu discovers that he has been deceived, he will hold him accountable for the karmic consequences, which would not be a good thing.
Don't underestimate the fact that the other party is only one of the Four Sages, with the Great Emperor Ziwei, one of the Four Sovereigns, above him. The Great Emperor Zhenwu is definitely a powerful Daluo expert whose influence extends throughout the heavens.
To antagonize such a person, or to engage in deception, would truly be a losing proposition.
However, Xu Xiao didn't say much, only mentioning that he had obtained Guangchengzi's remains and briefly discussing the matter of transmigrators, Great Emperor Zhenwu understood.
When facing beings above the Daluo level, there's no need to conceal his identity as a transmigrator; this was Nüwa's advice to him.
Unless you remain hidden and undetected, your identity will be impossible to conceal once the decoy is revealed.
Zhenwu stroked his beard and looked at Xu Xiao, somewhat pleased with Xu Xiao's frankness.
"I've encountered quite a few time travelers, whether in this time and space or others, but few are as open and honest as my junior brother."
"Although I only obtained the remains, it can still be considered as receiving the inheritance of the Jade Void Palace. You and I both belong to the Three Pure Ones Daoist School, so we can still address each other as fellow disciples. What do you think?"
Since that's what they said, Xu Xiao naturally had no choice but to comply.
"Then thank you Zhenwu Brother Zhenwu."
I initially thought being found by a Journey to the Journey to the West big shot at the start would be a bad thing, but now it doesn't seem so bad.
With Zhenwu's recognition, Xu Xiao's identity becomes legitimate.
This gave Xu Xiao, who had been somewhat apprehensive, some comfort regarding his upcoming cultivation journey.
'Could we use the connection with the Great Emperor Zhenwu to cultivate peacefully in the Journey to the Journey to the West World, ideally remaining stable until we reach the Golden Immortal realm?'
An idea popped into Xu Xiao's mind.
Since Zhenwu allowed him to address him as a fellow disciple, it at least shows that the other party does not reject his identity as a transmigrator.
Not all transmigrators are pariahs. In fact, in the myriad worlds, especially in the eyes of these powerful Daluo cultivators, transmigrating to other worlds is not such a sinful act.
It's true that some time travelers do reckless things after arriving in certain worlds, but most time travelers actually live cautiously, quietly taking advantage of others for themselves, afraid of being discovered.
Xu Xiao, a transmigrator with ties to Zhenwu, one of the Three Pure Ones, could actually be of help to Xu Xiao.
Fun fact: According to the Goddess Nüwa, most great beings are actually quite willing to form a benevolent relationship with time travelers; on the contrary, great beings who consistently target time travelers are in the minority.
The higher you go, the less likely you are to make enemies. The right way is to live in peace and even help each other.
After all, once you reach the Daluo realm, every step forward becomes extremely difficult, and many advancements may not even be possible.
Instead of going to great lengths to make enemies, it's better to be lenient and make more like-minded friends. The key is that those small acts of kindness can be a lifesaver.
While Xu Xiao was pondering how to begin, the Great Emperor Zhenwu, after a moment's thought, also voiced his thoughts:
"Junior brother, I still don't know your Daoist name, and what brings you to this world?"
"Brother, from what you've said before, you've been quite critical of the Western Sect. Could it be that you've also come here for the sake of the Journey to the West Calamity?"
Sure enough, everyone knew about the Journey to the West Calamity, except for that monkey!
Xu Xiao paused for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded and shook his head:
"Senior brother, you misunderstand. I do have some reservations about the Western Sect, but I didn't come here for the sake of the Journey to the West Calamity."
"Although I dislike those Westerners like Hoover, I know that the Journey to the West Calamity is a great calamity for this world, with profound karmic consequences involved, so I won't rashly interfere."
"I came here solely to seek immortality and cultivate the Dao, hoping to ascend to the celestial realm as soon as possible."
"Really? Okay."
Upon hearing this, Zhenwu's face showed a barely perceptible hint of regret, which quickly faded before he regained his composure.
'No? I didn't come here to cause trouble, why are you so disappointed?'
Or perhaps I've misunderstood?
'Does the Great Emperor Zhenwu actually want me to interfere in the Journey to the Journey to the West?'
Xu Xiao believed his ability to observe emotions was unmatched, and he noticed the regret on Zhenwu's face, which was why he was puzzled.
In terms of status, Zhenwu is a righteous god of the Heavenly Court, definitely a mid-to-high-level official, so it's perfectly normal for him to know about the Journey to the West Calamity.
His identity, to be precise, should be that he vigorously promoted the Journey to the Journey to the West Calamity, whether to repay the karmic debts of the Western Sect or to resolve the invisible calamity, this is the duty of a righteous god.
Why did Xu Xiao look so regretful when he said he wasn't there to interfere in the Journey to the West Calamity: Great Tribulation?
'Could it be that the Heavenly Court isn't actually so happy about the Journey to the Journey to the West, and actually hopes someone will create unexpected changes?'
Xu Xiao pondered silently.
He had actually studied the process of the Journey to the Journey to the West carefully. On the surface, it seemed that the Western Sect was getting the benefits, but in reality, it was a win-win situation for both sides.
On the surface, the Heavenly Court only fielded two pawns Zhu Bajie and Sha Monk. In reality, whether it was the Six Ding and Six Jia, the Four Duty Officers who secretly helped, or the Heavenly Court's righteous gods who openly intervened to solve problems, they were actually the Dominator of this great calamity all along.
Similarly, the Heavenly Court also reaped considerable benefits from this major event of resolving the calamity between heaven and earth and sharing the merits together; otherwise, they wouldn't have cooperated so readily and devoted themselves so wholeheartedly.
You should know that in order to unfold the Journey to the Journey to the West, when the monkey stormed the Lingxiao Palace, everyone in the Heavenly Palace put on a show with him, and even the Jade Emperor had to swallow his pride and act like a grandson.
The Heavenly Court's contribution was considerable.
"Since you've come here to seek immortality and cultivate the Dao, you can stay at my Daoist temple for a while. The Spiritual Energy here is quite abundant, and there are also several scriptures in the hall. You can study and comprehend them on your own and ascend to the Immortal Dao as soon as possible."
Zhenwu didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he acted like a senior brother, chatting with Xu Xiao about cultivation. Afterward, he even arranged for Xu Xiao to stay at his dojo.
Xu Xiao initially wanted to say something more, but then he shut up.
Anyway, he didn't know why Zhenwu was so kind to him, so he accepted even the sweet talk.
At worst, he can just eat the sugar coating and run away as fast as he can.