Kunlun Court Council
Traveling 8,000 li west from the Broken Soul Ridge area, you will enter the Kunlun Sacred Land.
Zhang Xuezhou wasn't foolish enough not to take shortcuts.
Although the two leaders of the Western Sect restricted Bai's route back to Mount Ling, which did not overlap with the route to Western Kunlun, heading west would save him a great deal of travel.
Three hours after leaving the area where Suoyang was located, Zhang Xuezhou was already standing at the familiar entrance to the Kunlun Sacred Land.
It was completely dark when Zhang Xuezhou returned to the Sacred Land. Instead of wandering around, he shouted repeatedly.
"You were the last one back; I thought those two old geezers had kidnapped you!"
As the Emperor's voice rang out, Zhang Xuezhou felt a sudden brightness before his eyes, as the light of the secret realm came into view.
He leaped into the secret realm.
The surrounding formations had no effect on him. Zhang Xuezhou reached out and removed his mask, then quickly took dozens of steps forward, revealing the grand hall complex of Jade Pool Palace before him.
The Emperor's voice echoed in the palace, and the voices of the Empress and others could be faintly heard as well.
Zhang Xuezhou strode forward.
Stop wandering around down there, just fly in!
Just as Zhang Xuezhou was about to enter Jade Pool Palace through the right-hand door, Emperor Lang Shuang's voice reached his ears.
He leaped into the air, riding the waves, and the main hall of Jade Pool Palace quickly came into view.
In the past, the Western Kunlun were deserted, but now the main hall of the Jade Pool Palace was filled with all sorts of strangely shaped cultivators.
"In my youth, I was known as Shaohao, and at that time, the Heavenly Court was filled with outstanding talents," the Emperor said from the central throne in the hall. "Zhurong, Gonggong, Xuanming, Yuqiang, Jumang, and the Four Heavenly Emperors ruled over the north and south of the sea. Luwu, Yingzhao, Lizhu, the Golden Armor God, Chiyou, Xingtian, Fengbo, Yushi, Chisongzi, Limu, the Divine Emperor, Yinglong, Yinglong, Ba, Kuafu, Kua'e, Dating, and the Five Dragons—any one of them would be formidable!"
"Your Majesty?" the Emperor and Empress asked hesitantly.
"When I ascend the throne, all the great gods will either be old, dead, or have left the Heavenly Court. Although the great gods such as Golden Crow, Willow God, Mysterious Woman, Tortured Ghost, Wraith, Sending Away the Poor Ghost, Taotie, Old Child, Changqin, Li, Chong, and Peng are still capable of fighting, they are far inferior to their former selves. In addition, their treasures have been transformed into mortals, so they are indeed not as good as the human immortals of the Immortal Court," the Emperor said.
"That's right," the Emperor and Empress nodded.
"After another fourteen hundred years of silence, you will either grow old or die, and I will grow old too," the Emperor sighed. "Sleep can maintain physical condition, but our lifespan will truly and permanently decline!"
"Does Your Majesty have no intention of returning to public life?" the Emperor and Empress asked.
"The Holy Son performed very well at the grand event," the Emperor said, "But we are not qualified to lead the Three Realms!"
Seemingly because of Zhang Xuezhou's arrival, the Emperor repeated some of his words and explained them to the gods again.
The Emperor wanted to show himself and break free from the constraints of Western Kunlun to gain his freedom. He even considered killing the three Celestial Venerables to overthrow the Immortal Court.
But the Emperor never imagined that the Immortal Court would yield so readily, even allowing him to lead and guide the order of the Three Realms.
This is an opportunity to become a leader, but it is also a matter of lingering trouble.
The Emperor's meaning was simple: a thousand years ago, he could have led the order of the Three Realms, but now that the old are old and dead, even if he himself wanted to, he would not be able to hold it up alone.
If they were to antagonize the Immortal Court and then eliminate Immortal Court, the Emperor felt that these old bones could still hold on. But right now, the Immortal Court was retreating and lying low. If the Immortal Court were to turn against them when conflicts arose, how could he possibly hold on?
The Immortal Court's submission left him with no reason to attack Immortal Court, and of course, he didn't have the strength to eliminate Immortal Court at the moment.
Having heard the Mysterious Maiden's explanation of the Immortal Court's grand formation, the Emperor knew very well that he was no match for the Immortal Court's people. As for methods like severing the Spirit Spring and eradicating the greenery to besiege the Immortal Court, such tactics could only be used when one had an absolute advantage, thus exhausting the enemy. How could he possibly besiege the Immortal Court now? It wouldn't be easy to gather all the people guarding the four Heavenly Gates of the Immortal Court.
Various factors left the emperor in a dilemma, unable to rise above or fall below.
Zhang Xuezhou and others performing poorly would be unacceptable, but performing too well would also put him in a difficult position.
"What does Your Majesty intend to do?" the Emperor and Empress asked.
"I currently prefer to govern jointly with the Immortal Court," the Emperor said. "Although there will be some controversy, overall the advantages should outweigh the disadvantages!"
"If the Immortal Court discovers our true situation, I fear that after a period of joint rule, we will be in a very passive position, and may even be countered by the Immortal Court," the Emperor and Empress said worriedly.
"We cannot give them this opportunity," the Emperor shook his head.
"What does Your Majesty mean?"
"On the one hand, we need to cultivate new successors, and on the other hand, we need to eliminate the people of the Immortal Court to maintain a balance between Kunlun and Lingxiao!"
The Emperor spoke without any hesitation, clearly intending to gain an advantage over the other.
How to manipulate this is a skill in itself.
In general, it was about constantly sending the people of the Immortal Court to their deaths while continuously cultivating new talent.
Once several decades or even a century have passed, the overall situation will basically stabilize.
A controllable, powerful force is not what the emperor seeks, but a powerful force can bring many benefits.
For example, he can summon many rare and exotic plants from all over the world, and he can test and verify various techniques when cultivating new gods. The more geniuses he gathers, the faster the Heavenly Court will be renewed, which can even affect the Emperor himself.
All these needs made the Emperor willing to make the sacrifice.
His gaze swept over Zhang Xuezhou, and he felt that ' Mr. Ren's' students could indeed easily change the balance of power.
The Immortal Court was clearly a powerful force, causing headaches for the Emperor and others. They never expected to encounter a situation where the Jade Emperor was willing to abdicate and go into seclusion in the Fragrant Palace.
Whether it was Jiang Shang's ability to change dynasties in just over a decade or Zhang Xuezhou's ability to inexplicably subjugate the Immortal Court over a period of ten years, both are simply unbelievable.
He could only be thankful that he hadn't misjudged the situation; otherwise, it would be hard to say where Zhang Xuezhou would be.
"Holy Son, do you have any insights?"
The Emperor arranged a very high seat for Zhang Xuezhou, placing him only below the Emperor and Empress, and opposite the Mysterious Maiden, a position higher than many other empresses and demon gods.
If this weren't a rare court meeting in Kunlun, the Emperor would have introduced Zhang Xuezhou to these old demon gods of Kunlun.
"I have no opinion; these matters are all decided by the teacher," Zhang Xuezhou said, shaking his head repeatedly.
Zhang Xuezhou has been working in the Great Han Dynasty for so many years. Even if he had prestige within Kunlun, he wouldn't speak carelessly.
The Emperor has already made himself very clear, and he obviously has a plan in mind.
His aimless chatter and attempts to join in the fun only made him a laughingstock, and he was then given some guidance by the Emperor and the gods.
"I saw you rush back to the Sacred Land and just happened to be there during the court meeting. I thought you had some profound insights," the Emperor said with a smile.
"I rushed back hoping to get my teacher's wife's permission to pick some Drunken Peach, and that's how I happened to run into this place," Zhang Xuezhou said, spreading his hands.
"If you want to eat them, just go pick them yourself," the Emperor and Empress said with a smile. "Those peaches are good for the skin; eating a few regularly can help maintain a youthful appearance!"
"Thank you for your permission, Master's wife," Zhang Xuezhou said, bowing in thanks. "I met Buddha Son Shigong on the way. He has been freed from the bewitching spell, but the Curse of your hairpin still remains. He bleeds and suffers intense pain with the slightest movement. He asked me to inquire whether you could remove the Curse from the hairpin and return it to me?"
"That Non-Self cast an evil curse," the Emperor and Empress shook their heads and said, "That Ruyi Vermilion Hairpin is somewhat spiritual. It has been worn on my head for many years, so it is considered to Gaogao. When it suddenly hurt someone, it became tainted with filth and stench. I'm afraid it has become evil and fallen from its spiritual power!"
The Emperor and Empress frowned.
The Ruyi Divine Weapon is no ordinary divine weapon. This kind of divine weapon can not only change size as desired, but also has its own unique characteristics.
Once someone's temperament changes and they become unruly, even the emperor and empress cannot control them.
Judging from Zhang Xuezhou's words, Zhu Chai must have been tainted too much, and even if she were to be taken back, she would likely be difficult to control, let alone exert her former power.