Each with His Own Designs

The competition in the Immortal Court did not begin only after Zhang Xuezhou and his Zhang Xuezhou arrived; it had already started before they even arrived.

The time limit for searching for the Great Celestial Venerable is three days. You may choose to withdraw at any time, but you must not exceed the time limit.

The final ranking is based on the time taken to find the Grand Celestial. If no one finds the Grand Celestial, the distance to the Grand Celestial will be used as the ranking.

"This formation is called the Great Heavenly Evolution Boundless Formation..."

The voice of Emperor Gouchen still echoed in my ears as the Eight Views Chariot soared through the sky.

Upon learning that members of other factions had already begun participating in the grand event held at the Immortal Court's home ground, Xuan Nu nearly cursed.

Despite Emperor Gouchen's repeated explanations that the timing of participation in the grand event would not affect the outcome, Xuan Nu still felt cheated and hurriedly left Gouchen Palace.

"Those old demons in Heavenly Court have lived far too long!"

In the Gouchen Palace, the hunched figure of Emperor Gouchen slowly straightened, and the signs of old age gradually faded from his body.

He reached out and drew a long sword, then twirled it a few times before casually tossing it back, allowing his body to continue to display its aged appearance.

The Mysterious Maiden's visit to test her sword and greet him was so effortless; compared to her youthful and healthy state, Emperor Gouchen needs to be careful.

After a brief recollection and comparing it to his own combat abilities, Emperor Gouchen felt a sense of inferiority.

This is not because his martial arts skills are lacking, but because of his physical limitations. In his old age, his energy and spirit are not as strong as Xuan Nu's. Even if he gains the upper hand for a while, he will inevitably lose if the battle drags on.

"It seems we'll need to step aside after the grand event!"

The Immortal Court had an extremely glorious eight hundred years, and also remained powerful for five hundred years after its collapse.

However, the longer this continued, the more the powerful Immortal Court declined, and fresh blood was insufficient to replenish Immortal Court deficiencies.

In terms of merely prolonging their existence, the Immortal Court, dominated by human immortals, is clearly inferior to the Heavenly Court, dominated by demon gods.

The two factions are of different races, have different physical conditions, and different lifespans.

Emperor Gouchen coughed softly a few times, glanced at the distant area of rolling white clouds, and then lay back down on the wicker chair.

"Master Hongjun has not given any alms for a long time, nor has he responded in recent years, and Zixiao Palace has been blown up and is now in ruins!"

"Lingbao Tianzun was imprisoned and forced to reflect on his actions; Laojun got into trouble trying to prolong his life; Yuanshi Tianzun was running around trying to keep up with his efforts!"

"Taiyi is dead, and the successors of Zhenwu have come and gone. The four Heavenly Kings of the Southern Heavenly Gate possess the bodies of demon gods, yet they are weak and brainless. I am old and sick, and the four Heavenly Gates cannot even guard their gates. The Great Heavenly Venerable can only set up an array for self-defense. If the array is broken, given his physical limitations, he may not be able to withstand the schemes of those with ulterior motives!"

Despite the extremely negative words spoken by Emperor Gouchen, the Immortal Court remains very powerful.

Whether such power is worth using for reckless fighting is another matter entirely.

Like the Western Kunlun, which lack new generations, the Immortal Court is also facing a generational gap.

The Immortal Court lacks control over powerful nations, a continuous supply of top-tier talent, and a constant pool of cultivation resources, making it difficult to cultivate talent in the long term.

Most of the talents cultivated are like weeds, dying out after a hundred years or so, resulting in a large investment but little return.

If the Heavenly Court, making a comeback, is relatively strong, and the Western Sect, its allied forces, is not effective, Emperor Gouchen believes that the Immortal Court's retreat is inevitable, and he can take advantage of the grand event of the hundred-year agreement to back down.

Just as Emperor Gouchen was pondering the Western Sect, he heard a familiar voice outside the palace ask, "I wonder if Fellow Daoist Gouchen is here?"

"So it's the Sect Master Jieyin!"

Emperor Gouchen rose from the rattan chair, his weary old body quickly getting up to greet him.

The gates of the Daoist palace opened, and the Sect Master Jieyin, with his hair in a Daoist bun and a pained expression, stepped onto a lotus platform ten feet wide, followed by two handsome young men.

"The sect leader has arrived a little early; Gou Chen has failed to greet you properly!"

Emperor Gouchen and the Sect Master Jieyin exchanged polite greetings.

"In previous years it would have been fine, but this time those demons and monsters from the Heavenly Court have joined in, and they are currently extremely powerful. I want to see what the Jade Emperor thinks," said the Sect Master Jieyin.

Two of the three events have concluded. While Western Kunlun didn't win first place in either event, it still holds the top spot in total score.

As long as their performance in the final match isn't too bad, Western Kunlun has a very high probability of winning the championship this time.

The Sect Master Jieyin didn't wait for an answer before considering discussing it, so he came over early to see what the Immortal Court's attitude was.

"The Great Celestial Venerable remained indifferent to this," said Emperor Gouchen.

"Indifferent?"

The Sect Master Jieyin glanced at them and cursed under his breath.

Clearly, the Immortal Court doesn't want to be the first to step forward. If the Western Sect is willing to put up a fight, the Immortal Court might be able to resist Kunlun.

If Western Sect show hesitation and indecision, this indifference turns into abandonment.

He wanted the Immortal Court's stance, while the Immortal Court needed the Western Sect to demonstrate its stance.

"What does it matter if I gain or lose?" Emperor Gouchen asked.

Gains and losses!

The Sect Master Jieyin nodded, indicating that he knew the answer.

If this had happened hundreds of years ago, when the Immortal Court controlled the Great Zhou Dynasty, there would have been no possibility of retreating even half a step.

The Immortal Court currently has a weak foundation in the mortal realm and has nothing to lose. As long as Western Kunlun does not annex the Lingxiao Secret Realm, everything else is negotiable.

"We still don't know what kind of question the Jade Emperor has set this time?"

Teams coming from the Western Heavenly Gate would inevitably visit Gouchen Palace, which in effect served as a conduit for communication.

The Sect Master Jieyin also obtained information from Emperor Gouchen to avoid having to consult someone else later.

After listening to Emperor Gouchen recount the story, he couldn't help but curse inwardly, feeling incredibly unlucky to be the last to arrive.

If they had known that the Immortal Court had these rules, they would definitely have been among the first to come here.

Whether you can find the Jade Emperor and get first place is uncertain, but those who are ranked earlier have a significantly higher chance of obtaining heavenly materials and earthly treasures, while those who enter later will only be able to search in the same areas and miss out.

"Brother Gou Chen, after I've sent these two children in, I'll come over and have a drink with you!"

The Sect Master Jieyin quickly stood up and led the two Buddhist disciples who were participating in the competition out of the Dao Palace.

"Brother Jieyin, have you brought some fine wine?" Emperor Gouchen asked with a slight smile.

"You are the host, and a host should treat his guest with hospitality. This wine is on you. We can discuss other matters when you come to my sacred mountain!"

The voice of the Sect Master Jieyin from outside the Dao Palace drifted back from afar, then disappeared into the distance as the lotus platform rose into the sky, prompting Emperor Gouchen to curse.

"Every time I visit Mount Ling, I serve him white rice. This old bastard who loves to take advantage is truly stingy," Emperor Gouchen cursed under his breath. Then he called to the boy, "Come here, fetch the Thunder Liquid I've stored for five hundred years!"

The Immortal Court relies on the Western Sect, and the Western Sect relies on the Immortal Court.

When they are powerful, it's one thing, but when they are weak, they inevitably have different thoughts and hope that the other party will bleed first.

The Sect Master Jieyin- together for a drink, wouldn't even offer a bottle of wine; it was impossible for the other party to step forward.

Emperor Gouchen only wanted to take out the most potent nectar from the entrance of Gouchen Palace, and when he compensated the other party with the wine, he would make sure the other party's mouth was numb. This way of getting revenge wouldn't be too much of a loss.