Xu Xiao went straight to the Heavenly Court, and when he arrived at the South Heaven Gate, he saw an old immortal with white hair waiting for him.
"Star Lord, it's been a long time. Greetings." Xu Xiao bowed and greeted Taibai Jinxing.
An old acquaintance, this Daoist Sect immortal would still occasionally come to visit when Xu Xiao was confined to the Tushita Palace, and would sit down and discuss Daoism with him, so they had a good relationship.
"Officer, please don't stand on ceremony. The restrictions have just been lifted, and you're already heading to the lower realm? Could it be...?"
Taibai Jinxing's words were full of inquiry.
"Feeling that the Dao of Cause and Effect had changed, I descended to the mortal realm, only to unexpectedly encounter the Buddhist Sect arbitrarily fabricating stories about the karma of ordinary people."
"The dignified Guanyin, for the sake of the Buddhist Sect scheming, actually disregarded heavenly rules and arbitrarily tainted the lives of mortals..."
Xu Xiao then recounted the story of Guanyin about the top scholar Chen Guangrui and Yin Wenjiao.
Although he knew he couldn't do anything to Guanyin about this, he still had to tell her the truth.
Some things are known to Celestials, but saying them out loud is another matter entirely.
"Sigh! This is really... outrageous, but..." Taibai Jinxing sighed first.
"This concerns the Journey to the Westward Calamity, so some sacrifices are necessary. The Western Sect is in charge of the Journey to the Westward Calamity to the West, so even if we report this to the Great Heavenly Venerable, it will be useless."
Your tactic won't work; they're the ones in control, so complaining won't change anything.
"That's none of my business. I'm in charge of monitoring cause and effect in the Three Realms and Heavens. If anything unusual happens, I'll naturally report it. As for punishment... that's definitely up to the Great Heavenly Venerable to decide."
Xu Xiao also stated his position.
He doesn't care whether complaining is useful or whether there will be any punishment; he just wants to speak out about these things.
"It's good that you understand, Cao. It just so happens that the Great Heavenly Venerable has summoned you and the God of Battle to an audience. Please wait a moment."
Taibai Jinxing bowed respectfully, and Xu Xiao readily agreed.
The two waited at the South Heaven Gate for a short while before a white cloud rolled over from the horizon, quickly revealing the monkey's silhouette.
"Brother! Old man."
The monkey was still as 'polite' as ever, to which Taibai Jinxing could only shake his head and smile wryly.
"Since you two are here, let's go and see the Great Heavenly Venerable."
Taibai Jinxing led the way, while the monkey walked alongside Xu Xiao.
"Brother, has that damn Journey to the West begun yet?"
"The reason we've been summoned at this time must be related to the Journey to the West journey."
Xu Xiao patted the monkey on the shoulder, and they walked side by side with Taibai Jinxing into the interior.
Upon entering, the Lingxiao Palace remained as majestic and Kamui- inspiring as ever.
The Jade Emperor at the head of the table remained as majestic and mysterious as ever, and Xu Xiao led the monkey to pay their respects.
"Your humble servant Cao Zhi, of the Sky-Patrolling Bureau, pays homage to the Jade Emperor."
"Your subject Douzhan pays respects to the Jade Emperor."
With Xu Xiao's guidance and his experiences across several worlds, the monkey was not as lawless as in the original story.
All the great gods who knew their original destinies secretly applauded this, especially the Jade Emperor.
In the past, in order to cooperate with the progress of the Journey to the Westward Calamity, He really lost some face. Although it was just a charade, the one who lost his composure was just a disguise.
But the one who truly lost face was him!
The monkey's unruly and reckless nature is now well hidden; on the surface, he is a True Immortal who has attained enlightenment.
"Rise."
The Jade Emperor slowly nodded and spoke to Xu Xiao and the other person.
" The Journey to the West Calamity has begun. As agreed with the Buddhist Sect on that day, you will all enter this calamity to undergo trials."
"I have summoned you all here today specifically to give you this instruction."
"This Journey to the West is entirely led by the Buddhist Sect, and our Heavenly Court is also cooperating to resolve this calamity."
"Minister Xu, Minister Sun, you are all celestial officials of the Heavenly Court. Now that you are undergoing tribulation, you must not disgrace the dignity of the Heavenly Court."
The Jade Emperor said a couple of sentences, but the meaning was the same.
The Journey to the West was decided by the Buddhist Sect, but now you are all members of my Heavenly Court, so don't embarrass yourselves.
As for whether the Heavenly Court will accept the Buddhist Sect's leadership in this great calamity, that depends on whether the other side is sensible.
Unlike the original tribulations of the Journey to the West, those who entered the tribulations back then were either criminals who defied the heavenly rules or immortals and gods who were demoted for their mistakes. Theoretically speaking, they had little to do with the Heavenly Court.
The current Monkey King is different from Xu Xiao. Although he agreed to let the Tathagata allow the two of them to enter the tribulation, their status as celestial officials is that of a true member of the Heavenly Court faction.
Tathagata wants to take revenge on Xu Xiao or to win over the Monkey King to the West, it all depends on whether he can make a good deal of the exchange of benefits and whether he can save face for the Heavenly Court.
In short, the Haotian Jade Emperor is the true ruler of the world. Even if we cooperate with the Journey to the Journey to the West calamity, we still need to consider His interests and face.
"Your Majesty, we will obey your decree!" Xu Xiao and his companion bowed and accepted the order.
After bowing, Xu Xiao looked up and asked,
"I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness for my rudeness. This humble immortal only wishes to ask one question: what is the plan for this calamity on the Journey to the West? And how did we come to be involved?"
How to get involved was something Xu Xiao had been pondering deeply.
Although Jin Chanzi was reincarnated as Tang Sanzang ten times without changing his identity, the Monkey King did not cause havoc in the Havoc in Heaven, nor was he imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain, and naturally, the story of Tianpeng being demoted to a pig's womb due to drunkenness did not occur.
As for the Juan Lian, that guy was indeed quite unlucky. Even though everything had been changed, he still repeated the same trajectory for five hundred years, Teuchi the Glazed Lamp and being banished to the mortal realm to become a man-eating water demon.
Fortunately, he wasn't a particularly important figure in the Journey to the West. Xu Xiao was only thinking about how he and the monkey would get involved. Even if the Western Sect wanted to start their apprenticeship program, there were no more prerequisites.
"The method of entering the game will be discussed with you later by someone from the Shakya Sect. The Journey to the West is a calamity of Heavenly Dao, and the secrets of Heaven must not be revealed."
The Jade Emperor did not answer, but simply smiled and then dismissed the two men.
Xu Xiao had no choice but to obediently go out and wait. Fortunately, Zhenwu also quietly followed.
Upon exiting the Lingxiao Palace, Zhenwu stepped forward and called out to Xu Xiao, "Junior Brother, please take care."
"Senior Brother Zhenwu, I knew you would come along." Xu Xiao looked at Zhenwu with a smile, certain that the Daoist Sect would help him.
It should be noted that it was the Great Emperor Zhenwu who initially got Xu Xiao involved in the rare causal relationship.
Now that the journey to the Journey to the West is about to begin, and it's not convenient for him to tell others, he should at least give Xu Xiao some inside information.
"You're so clever! Nothing can be hidden from you. Come on, let's go to my residence for a chat."
Zhenwu smiled and then extended an invitation.
Xu Xiao, of course, readily agreed and went along with the monkey.