The Jade Emperor Points the Way

The Jade Emperor received a rather useless answer.

Zhang Xuezhou's cultivation was excellent, but he couldn't imitate it.

Of course, he wasn't jealous of Zhang Xuezhou's quick-fix cultivation method; in fact, he hoped that Zhang Xuezhou would become powerful enough to truly strike at Donghua.

The Jade Emperor and the Three Pure Ones Ones' attack on the Donghua Society triggered a large-scale conflict, causing a full-scale war between Lingxiao and Kunlun, which in turn benefited the Western Sect.

However, Zhang Xuezhou was once the Holy Son of Kunlun, and this identity destined the struggle between Zhang Xuezhou and Donghua to be a civil war within Kunlun, thus simplifying the relationships involved.

"Your Lingxiao and Kunlun secret realms were invaded by the Western Sect cultivators, causing a conflict between the realms. This incident also served as a pretext to bind the Western Sect, allowing many great immortals to search for the Investiture of the Gods at Mount Ling and Mount Milu until they find the Investiture of the Gods?"

"Right!"

"Did you find it?"

"We're looking for it, and I feel that the Investiture of the Gods is related to them, or at least connected to them, even if they don't have it in their possession!"

The back of the Lingxiao Secret Land also possesses gravity; sitting on the rock layer of the secret land results in the view of the earth above your head, but otherwise there is no difference.

Zhang Xuezhou withdrew his golden body to avoid the lightning, and the Jade Emperor, unconcerned about the floating lightning, directly clashed with the Jade Emperor several times in this lightning-filled area.

"Have you been practicing the Heart Sutra?" the Jade Emperor asked.

Do I look like someone practicing the Heart Sutra?

Donghua was wrongly accusing the two leaders of the Western Sect, and the Jade Emperor also knew that the two leaders were being framed.

The Jade Emperor gazed intently at Zhang Xuezhou's body.

He scrutinized Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly, trying to discern something from Zhang Xuezhou.

If the two leaders were wronged, the Buddha's light seen by the immortals must belong to someone else. Having witnessed Zhang Xuezhou's rapid success in cultivating the Twelve-Zhang Golden Body Technique, Donghua truly suspected that Zhang Xuezhou had hastily mastered the Heart Sutra.

"Whether it looks like the real thing or not is not important; what matters is whether you have the ability," the Jade Emperor said.

"You think I mastered the Heart Sutra with my left hand and the Twelve-Zhang Golden Body Technique with my right?" Zhang Xuezhou grinned and said, "If that's what you mean, then I'll admit it!"

"Cut!"

The Jade Emperor nearly spat out Zhang Xuezhou.

Communicating with Zhang Xuezhou was just so uncomfortable. If he only relied on the first sentence, he would think that Zhang Xuezhou must have practiced the Heart Sutra. But when Zhang Xuezhou added the second sentence and even admitted that he had practiced it, the Jade Emperor felt that things were not reliable again.

"You've even entered the True Self Realm?"

After observing for a moment, the Jade Emperor also noticed that Zhang Xuezhou's realm was stable and he was no longer the Sole Self Realm cultivator he once was.

If someone wants to advance in cultivation, practice the Twelve-Foot Golden Body Technique, and reach a high level in the Heart Sutra, the Jade Emperor believes that such a cultivator should not exist.

For a great cultivator, reaching the True Self Realm is the easiest thing to do, while raising one's technique to the Unfathomable Realm is the difficult one.

The Jade Emperor's Twelve-Foot Golden Body Technique was not easy to cultivate, and the Western Sect's Heart Sutra was also difficult to cultivate; both required a long period of time to achieve their goals.

For a moment, the Jade Emperor trusted his sixth sense, but reason told him that he had to be rational and could not confirm things based solely on his feelings.

"Yes, I started thinking about improving my Technique Method a few days ago after I entered the True Self Realm!"

The Jade Emperor asked a casual question, and Zhang Xuezhou readily admitted it.

"And then you chased lightning and came here?"

"Right!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded in agreement, and the slight unease in the Jade Emperor's heart subsided.

"Now that you've achieved True Self cultivation, you should be going to find Donghua, right?" the Jade Emperor asked.

"I can't beat him, why would I bother with him?" Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand and said, "Only the Investiture of the Gods can suppress him. Once I get the Investiture of the Gods, I'll definitely go after him!"

"Hehe!"

The more the Jade Emperor wanted Zhang Xuezhou to take the lead, the less Zhang Xuezhou would go. The Jade Emperor was at a loss, after all, confronting Donghua was not as simple as just exchanging words. He could only respond with a dry laugh.

"Finding the Investiture of the Gods as soon as possible is better than anything else," Zhang Xuezhou said. "It's a decree passed down by the Sage Hongjun, witnessed by the Yuanshi Heavenly Venerable himself. Following the Sage's method will definitely work!"

"The Investiture of the Gods wasn't particularly rare before; it was a treasure used for official business. We never imagined it would be used again after a thousand years," the Jade Emperor said. "Laojun is most skilled at nurturing magical Law Treasure. We entrusted the Investiture of the Laojun for safekeeping, but no one expected that Laojun would divide the Three Pure Ones and cause chaos. One of his bodies died in West Ox Hezhou, where it's currently guarded by his mount. The other body has disappeared without a trace, and we suspect the Investiture of the Gods is in the possession of that body!"

"We need to find this body quickly!" Zhang Xuezhou urged.

"His other body was hidden too well, or perhaps it was also dead, and then someone hid it!"

"Do you suspect that those two cult leaders used underhanded tactics? I told you they weren't good people at first glance; those two cult leaders must have been behind it all!"

The Jade Emperor voiced his suspicions, and Zhang Xuezhou immediately echoed him, his tone almost identical to Donghua's.

"They use Mount Ling as their main sacred site, while their other secret location, Mount Milu, is off-limits to outsiders year-round!"

The Jade Emperor disregarded Zhang Xuezhou's words and simply continued to recount his own information.

The world is full of wonders. Some things are impossible for many people to accomplish in their entire lives, but are easily achieved by others.

The same thing happened in the Investiture of the Gods war a thousand years ago. Even the Three Pure Ones could not complete it directly, but the insertion of Jiang Shang brought a dead end to life, thus determining the winner and completing the replacement.

The Jade Emperor felt that the current situation might also be similar.

If Laojun's body were so easy to find, Laojun have found it long ago, instead of going mad from time to time in the Immortal Court.

"Mount Milu is thirteen thousand li away from here, but if we go through the Western Heavenly Gate, it's only six thousand li away," the Jade Emperor said. "You were able to defeat Yuanshi in the Yuanshi of the Sole Self Realm with your flying ability, so it's easy for you to fly over there and investigate!"

"Those two leaders are ruthless. They almost killed the Buddha's disciple with a single slap. How could I, with my small frame, dare to rush over?" Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Their strength lies in controlling people's hearts, and they also possess the Twelfth-Grade Lotus Platform, which excels in defense, and the Seven Treasures Tree, which is the pinnacle of offense," the Jade Emperor said. "But now a good opportunity has arisen!"

"What good opportunity?" Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.

"Jieyin was easily kicked by Lingbao at the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly, and his physical condition seems a bit off!"

The Jade Pool Palace hosted the Grand Assembly of Ten Thousand Immortals. The main purpose of this assembly was to share the Immortality Elixir, which led the two sect leaders to bring their families along.

In the dilapidated secret place, the group inevitably engaged in open and covert struggles, and some even deliberately took action to test each other.

The Jade Emperor felt that the Sect Master Jieyin was in a very problematic state.

Having been targeted by Lingbao Tianzun, the two Western religious leaders will inevitably be inseparable, unable to separate in the short term and unable to reside in different secret locations.

The Jade Emperor felt that now was a good opportunity to search, and since the Immortal Court had already dispatched nearly half of its great immortals to inspect Xiniu Hezhou, Zhang Xuezhou would not stand out among them.

That's basically it. I've told you everything I needed to know. Whether you can seize the opportunity is up to you!

The Jade Emperor smiled gently.

He felt that Zhang Xuezhou, having achieved great mastery of his cultivation, would inevitably be eager to explore certain dangerous places, especially since he had provided relevant information and Zhang Xuezhou had such a need; the possibility of him going was almost 100%.

He had spoken with Zhang Xuezhou several times and felt that he knew Zhang Xuezhou very well.

"Then I'll just go and run that errand on my way!"

When Zhang Xuezhou nodded in agreement, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, and leaped away, the Jade Emperor couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.

But just a few seconds after he could no longer see Zhang Xuezhou, the Jade Emperor's face turned slightly ashen.

"It took me 1,750 kalpas to cultivate to a twelve-zhang golden body, and 720 kalpas to cultivate to a nine-zhang golden body. How can he cultivate to a nine-zhang golden body with just a little mortal lightning...?"

The Jade Emperor has suffered a lot, and he can accept that others have gained their own abilities after enduring hardship. However, it is truly difficult for the Jade Emperor to accept that his own suffering is worthless to others.

Although he was extremely well-mannered, he couldn't help but break down and mutter curses under his breath at this moment.

After repeatedly cursing to calm his emotions, he composed himself and left the place of cultivation that had caused him some heartache with a faint smile.