The Immortal Court's Challenge

We're old now, we can't compare to you!

In the Gouchen Palace, a jujube with a fiery red color was used to entertain guests.

Zhang Xuezhou was speechless at this way of treating guests, but judging from Xuan Nu's satisfied expression, the date must have come from a pretty good background.

Emperor Gouchen gestured politely, then sighed with emotion.

"Laojun has the elixir of immortality, you will not die," Xuan Nu said.

"It may extend lifespan, but his elixirs do absolutely nothing to slow down aging," said Emperor Gouchen. "Two hundred years ago, I was quite handsome, but after taking ten longevity pills, I've aged to this state. Even lying down is a struggle. If I were to extend my lifespan any further, I'd be too ashamed to show my face!"

"Skin and hair are merely external things; why should you feel ashamed?" the Mystic Woman said.

"Fellow Daoist Xuan Nu, you're not the one who's getting old, so your mindset is naturally relaxed. It's very uncomfortable for someone like me!"

Emperor Gouchen muttered something, clearly extremely dissatisfied with his condition.

Longevity and immortality are wonderful, but the life of lying in bed with an old, stiff body is extremely uncomfortable.

"I sympathize with your distress," the Mystic Maiden comforted her, then added, "You are familiar with all the weapons in the world, why not refine your physical body? That would keep your body in a state of fullness and saturation. That shouldn't be difficult for you."

"The fuller the physical body, the weaker the effect of the longevity elixir," said Emperor Gouchen. "Choosing between living and looking good is not a difficult choice!"

"Incomprehensible!"

The Mystic Maiden shook her head, indicating that she could not understand the elixirs of the Immortal Court.

"Like this fire date, Fellow Daoist Xuan Nu, do you think fire dates can be preserved for a longer time when they are shriveled or when they are plump?" asked Emperor Gouchen.

"The jujubes will turn from wet to shriveled after half a year. Whether they are wet or shriveled, there is no difference in how long they are stored," the Mystic Woman asked in surprise.

"Then you want to eat regular dates..."

"I've never eaten a regular date before!"

It would be difficult for Emperor Gouchen and Xuan Nu to have a proper conversation, since Xuan Nu not only had racial advantages, but her conditions were also far superior to those of Emperor Gouchen.

Upon hearing that Xuan Nu had never eaten ordinary dates in her life, but instead had consumed rare and heavenly materials and earthly treasures her entire life, Emperor Gouchen felt his teeth were about to fall out from the sourness.

"We used to eat these dates by the basketful!"

Xuan Nu picked up the fire date and casually tossed it behind her. Zhang Xuezhou, who was bored behind her, didn't notice at first. By the time he reacted, the fire date had already fallen to the ground with a thud.

"Look at that clueless guy, he forgot to accept the dates!" Xuan Nu said. "When elders bestow gifts, you should pay more attention. Eat the dates and stand up straight!"

"The Holy Son is also a handsome man!"

Emperor Gouchen glanced at Zhang Xuezhou and saw him squatting there, reaching under the chair for fire dates. His demeanor lacked any composure or dignity, yet the golden robe he wore exuded the air of a superior, creating a highly contradictory impression.

If he wasn't mistaken, he felt that Zhang Xuezhou hadn't worn this outfit for long, and that the Emperor had to change it because he was being pushed out.

"He's been gilded, yet you can still tell he's good-looking. How did you figure that out?" the Mystic Maiden asked in surprise.

"People who can wear these clothes are all good-looking," said Emperor Gouchen.

"I don't think so," the Mystic Maiden shook her head. "Clothes can be worn by different people, but people's appearances vary greatly, and you can't judge them by their clothes!"

In the short period of communication, Emperor Gouchen and the Mysterious Woman repeatedly showed differences in their views.

Even if they can have a peaceful chat like this, their differences will remain. However, when it comes to matters from the perspective of their respective interests, the only solution is to resolve them with swords.

Many past events cannot be attributed to anyone being wrong, nor can they be simply defined as bad people. Rather, they stemmed from differing perceptions and perspectives, which led to the long-standing conflict between the Immortal Court and the Heavenly Court.

Emperor Gouchen lazily stroked his beard, and for a moment he couldn't help but drift into the kind of daydreaming and reminiscing that old people love.

It wasn't until the question, "Are there any more dates to eat?" came that Emperor Gouchen raised his head to look at Zhang Xuezhou, who had boldly asked for fire dates.

"Fire dates are good, but one should not overindulge," said Emperor Gouchen. "Fire dates can keep you full for a month, and each one can increase your Law Power by a fraction, but consuming more than one will do more harm than good. It can easily induce abnormal changes in the body, causing something to grow on your body!"

"How much longer?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully.

"There's a phrase to describe appearance: 'crooked melons and cracked dates,'" Emperor Gouchen chuckled. "Half of the reason this phrase comes from the fact that some people who ate fire dates underwent mutations and ended up with bizarre and strange appearances!"

"Your Majesty, is it that Emperor Gouchen is being stingy with the fire dates, or are they really going to cause illness?"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded repeatedly, but also asked Xuan Nu in a low voice.

His soft voice did not escape the notice of Emperor Gouchen, who coughed several times to cover his embarrassment.

"I eat whatever I want, and I don't know how many I've eaten, yet I've never grown into a deformed or grotesque person," the Mystic Woman whispered.

"What a pity! I thought Her Majesty would receive a grand welcome after meeting her old friends. It seems we weren't taken seriously at all!"

Zhang Xuezhou added a few more words to the story, but seeing that Emperor Gouchen only pretended to cough and did not express his opinion, he had no choice but to shut up.

Just as he had sensed before, Zhang Xuezhou felt as if something had increased in his body after swallowing a jujube.

It's like an accumulation of energy, as if it will only be consumed when truly needed.

Zhang Xuezhou's wish to eat a few more pieces was not fulfilled, but he didn't want to be too annoying. He simply said something and returned to his original position.

"The Holy Son is someone who needs to participate in the grand event, so he shouldn't eat too many fire dates, lest something go wrong and I get blamed," Emperor Gouchen replied after coughing. "However, the Holy Son can showcase his skills at the grand event!"

"Oh?"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, while Xuan Nu asked with a doubt.

"Have the questions for Lingxiao been released yet?" Xuan Nu asked.

"The questions at our grand gathering are quite interesting," said Emperor Gouchen. "If you are fortunate enough, young friend, you might even receive a few fire dates that I have placed here. However, if you get sick from overeating them, it won't be my fault!"

"It seems your Lingxiao Festival is more generous; at least you've prepared a few fire dates, unlike those bald monks from the Western Sect who only give out white rice," Xuan Nu said.

"Peace may not be a bad thing, and good fortune may be a curse," Emperor Gouchen said with a knowing smile. "The theme of our grand gathering is to find the Great Celestial Venerable. Whoever can see the Great Celestial Venerable will win first place!"

"Isn't this the kind of question that Lingxiao has the greatest advantage over, especially the one guarding the gate of Lingxiao Palace? It would be so easy for him to find the Jade Emperor," Xuan Nu said with a slight anger on her face.

"No, no," Emperor Gouchen laughed, "The Great Heavenly Venerable has set up an array, an array that is boundless and inexhaustible. Even if we were trapped inside, we would not be able to escape easily, let alone Wang Shan and the others!"

"How could these people possibly leave the formation to search for the Jade Emperor?" Xuan Nu frowned.

"This requires the comprehension to break the formation, or some other skill; who knows?" Emperor Gouchen laughed. "We have prepared some small gifts within the formation, and also hidden a few minor punishments. We welcome you all into the formation and wish you all success!"

Emperor Gouchen stroked his white beard.

The Immortal Court originally agreed that the topic of the grand event of the hundred-year covenant was not like this, but the two most powerful groups of young people were wiped out.

Although these people survived, their Dao hearts were unstable, and they were unable to directly face the Kunlun Holy Son in a short period of time, and they were also afraid of the Kunlun Holy Maiden's deadly attack.

The Immortal Court had no choice but to change the originally planned questions, directly eliminating the greatest combat advantage of the Kunlun Holy Son and Holy Daughter, and bringing everyone to the same level.