Conflict over the Holy Son

The rebirth of the Golden Crow Great Emperor brought about a serious problem: the Nine Treasures Wine had become almost extinct, and the Emperor had lost the desire to brew wine and get drunk.

However, Zhang Xuezhou mentioned that his Tiandi Bridge was damaged and he needed to use the Nine Treasures Wine for some purpose.

The distillery was eventually handed over to Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou, who was then in charge of managing it.

"Sha Li, chop harder, cut it smaller!"

"Your Holiness, would you like to take another sip?"

"I can't drink anymore, I'm making me dizzy!"

The brewing of Nine Treasures Wine came to a standstill, and the feather that the Golden Crow Great Emperor had given to Zhang Xuezhou became the last demonic feather.

Zhang Xuezhou sometimes wondered if the Golden Crow Great Emperor had passed away because he had mentioned that the True Person had been dead for many years.

This once made him feel guilty, but if the Golden Crow Great Emperor could sever his will to live because of a single sentence, then it can only be said that his current life had become a prison, and this way of dying would be a kind of liberation.

For long-lived people, time brings endless repetition and monotony.

The Emperor was once the ruler of the Heavenly Court. In terms of both strength and temperament, he far surpassed many others and possessed a much stronger ability to regulate himself. However, the mental and physical abilities of other gods, demons, and spirits varied greatly.

Some left Western Kunlun early to find a way out, some couldn't bear the torment halfway and left, and some remained loyal and trapped in Western Kunlun until they died of old age.

What appears to be Sacred Land to outsiders is actually a cage that imprisons many powerful cultivators of the Heavenly Court.

The Golden Crow Great Emperor, whose wingspan could reach thousands of miles, could only soar in the small world of Kunlun Sacred Land, and had already reached the end before he had even finished warming up.

This is not much different from many wild birds kept in cages. After being imprisoned for a long time, they find it difficult to endure the torment. Even if they appear to be intact on the outside and can communicate normally, their hearts are actually riddled with holes.

This was not a judgment made by Zhang Xuezhou based on pseudo-psychology or other knowledge, but rather his most direct impression after interacting with many elderly people.

Without the Mental Strengthening Chapter, without the longevity elixir, and without the technological advancements brought about by the progress of the times, the people in the Old Age Mansion would still be a group of walking corpses, instead of still striving for benefits and hoping for the future.

Human life is short, less than a hundred years, and this is the case. But the long lifespan of the great gods of Kunlun Sacred Land, such as the Golden Crow Great Emperor, which lasts for thousands of years, brings a torment of imprisonment that is dozens of times worse.

Even if these great masters have reached the True Self Realm, a level of cultivation that is envied by the world, it cannot make up for the lack in their hearts.

Zhang Xuezhou picked up a wet piece of wood, placed it securely, and then summoned the water demon Sha Li to chop the wood with an axe.

"This axe is too... too heavy!"

Sha Li, panting heavily, brandished his long axe, yet had no choice but to respond to the urging.

This long axe was ten feet long, and the axe head was as wide and thick as Zhang Xuezhou's chest. Its length and weight were beyond the control of ordinary people. Even Sha Li, who had revealed his demonic form, had difficulty wielding it. Zhang Xuezhou could not lift it at all, let alone use it to chop firewood.

But this axe is one of the few things that can be used to chop wood.

Without the Golden Crow Great Emperor, the Western Kunlun Holy Land, though not reduced to a state of primitive destitution, has clearly become a precious resource for sustaining its fire, forcing them to cut down trees for firewood.

Zhang Xuezhou was currently gathering firewood, preparing to use it to brew Nine Treasures Wine after it dried.

He went to the Wondrous Dharma Palace to seek help from Sha Li and the Golden Toad Dharma King, and also presented the Golden Toad Dharma King with some highly concentrated Nine Treasures Wine.

After many twists and turns, things have come to this point for Zhang Xuezhou.

"Jiang Qi has entered the Divine Ability Realm in the past two days!"

In the Myriad Longevity Pavilion of Kunlun Ruins, the Emperor and Empress took a sip of cold tea, while the Emperor looked dejected and didn't even touch the tea.

He glanced back at the Emperor and Empress.

"Although Zhang Xuezhou is at the Divine Ability Realm, his two bridges to heaven and earth are damaged, making it extremely difficult for him to advance further in his cultivation," the Empress said. "I know you and Zhang Xuezhou have established a master-disciple relationship, but Zhang Xuezhou's appearance doesn't seem like someone who can participate in the hundred-year agreement!"

"Um!"

Xin Yuan had previously asked the Emperor about Zhang Xuezhou, and the Empress inquired about it again.

The Emperor had previously expressed the distinction between 'valuing' and 'acknowledging', and the reason the Empress acted as a persuader was that Jiang Qi had entered the Divine Ability Realm and possessed the same cultivation level as Zhang Xuezhou.

Compared to Zhang Xuezhou, Jiang Qi is obviously easier to train, and Jiang Qi's combat strength is indeed excellent, making him a standout among the younger generation of demon kings.

Normally, a young genius wouldn't be a big deal, but the Emperor, Empress, and others genuinely wanted to participate in a century-long agreement.

This was an idea they had long ago, and it involved some planning.

"Using the century-long agreement to explore the depths of various Sacred Land, using the century-long agreement to test and break the oath I made to Hongjun, and using the century-long agreement to leave Kunlun, is there anything else?" the Emperor asked calmly.

"His Majesty can endure it in Kunlun, but others cannot," the Emperor and Empress sighed.

"If you can't bear it, you can leave," the Emperor said. "My Heavenly Court has long since collapsed; I don't need them trapped here with me!"

"It's hard to get over," the Emperor and Empress shook their heads. "They've been loyal to you their whole lives; how could they possibly want to be branded as ungrateful in their old age!"

"These are all shackles in their hearts; only by shedding these shackles can they find their True Self!"

The Emperor uttered a sound, indicating that the many great gods in the Kunlun Sacred Land were not trapped in their bodies, but in their hearts.

Once the gods remove the shackles from their hearts, they can go anywhere in the world and are no longer confined to the Western Kunlun Holy Land.

"If His Majesty doesn't leave, they won't leave either," the Emperor and Empress said. "So I'm thinking, perhaps we could send Jiang Qi as the Holy Son to fulfill the hundred-year agreement, to investigate the truth and weaknesses of various places and learn the details. If we can win the first round and invite all the immortals and gods to Kunlun to discuss the matter, and then explore ways to remove the shackles on us, that would be a perfect outcome!"

The Emperor and Empress had clearly made two preparations. One was to investigate the details of the various Sacred Land and see if they could survive the attack launched by Western Kunlun. The other was to hope that Jiang Qi could win a great victory in the century-long agreement, so that the lords of the various Sacred Land could negotiate, such as inviting them to Western Kunlun for talks.

However, the things she arranged conflicted with the Emperor's wishes.

Jiang Qi was merely a powerful demon brought back by Cai Ma, a rogue cultivator from Mount Kunlun, while Zhang Xuezhou was a student acknowledged by the Emperor, possessing a legitimate title.

The probability of the Emperor seeking to transcend and break free from constraints is too small, which forces the Emperor and Empress to prepare other options.

Two days ago, the Emperor and Empress had no objections, and Zhang Xuezhou was allowed to become the Holy Son of Western Kunlun.

But Jiang Qi has entered the Divine Ability Realm, which is enough to overturn everything.

The Empress and the Emperor were incapable of cultivating a cultivator to reach the Divine Ability Realm. Even though Cai Ma had followed her for decades, he still hadn't entered the Divine Ability. This shows that the Divine Ability Realm is not something that can be achieved simply by wanting to.

This corresponds to the importance of cultivators at the Divine Ability Realm.

A newly promoted cultivator at the Divine Ability Realm is insignificant in the Western Kunlun, but if such a cultivator is of age that meets the century-long agreement, then things change.

The emperor and empress also acknowledged Jiang Qi's actual combat capabilities.

Having seen much, she believed that any cultivator with Divine Ability who could gain her approval must possess extraordinary strength, be qualified to suppress a region, and have a chance of winning the hundred-year agreement.

"Didn't you ever believe that Zhang Xuezhou's strength was also outstanding?" the Emperor murmured.

"He?"

The emperor and empress smiled in astonishment.

She had seen at least eight or ten thousand geniuses, if not ten thousand. The Empress could see Jiang Qi's ruthless prowess, but she truly didn't see anything particularly outstanding about Zhang Xuezhou.

The other party didn't even pick up the Xuan Tie Axe they had taken out for testing, so they had to go back to the Wondrous Dharma Palace and call a little demon to help.

While other cultivators were busy practicing Technique Method and martial arts, Zhang Xuezhou was busy chopping wood and brewing wine.

The contrast is too stark, and it doesn't suggest that Zhang Xuezhou has any formidable fighting potential.

Of course, the Emperor and Empress must say that Zhang Xuezhou was still a decent person. At least the other party remembered the Golden Toad Dharma King. Not only did they not make the Golden Toad Dharma King do heavy work, but they also let this old toad demon drink the Emperor's Nine Treasures Wine.