Chapter 58 of 100

Chapter 58

16 min read4,017 words

After leaving the Kingdom of Biqu, Li Changgeng, the Star of the White Toad, took to the clouds and hurried to the Heavenly Court. Entering the Southern Heavenly Gate, he made his way to the Lingxiao Hall.

At this moment, it was not the time for the assembly of the immortals, and the Lingxiao Hall was empty. After informing the celestial official to announce his presence to the Jade Emperor, Li Changgeng waited inside the Lingxiao Hall. Sure enough, not long after, the Jade Emperor hurriedly arrived, sat on the dragon throne at the top, and asked Li Changgeng, "My loyal minister, why have you returned alone?"

"Your Majesty, that cat demon is a friend of the Monkey King, Sun Wukong. Perhaps he saw what happened to Sun Wukong, and thus..." Li Changgeng deliberated for a moment before slowly speaking.

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor sighed and said, "Sigh! The Three Realms are now very unstable. First, the Buddhist sect is stirring, and now even the Great Emperor Ziwēi dares to challenge me. Yet, I have no capable people around me. Li Jing is loyal, but his cultivation is not high. Nezha and Yang Jian, though powerful, do not heed my commands. The Twenty-Eight Constellations and the Thirty-Six Celestial Generals are divided between me and Ziwēi. They can be mobilized normally, but if Ziwēi causes trouble, the consequences are unpredictable. As for the other celestial deities, they are not worth mentioning!"

Hearing the Jade Emperor's complaints, Li Changgeng also sighed silently. Although Li Changgeng's combat strength was not strong, he was useful in strategizing and was very loyal. Therefore, whenever the Jade Emperor had matters to discuss, he would consult Li Changgeng.

"A hundred years ago, although we invited the Buddhist sect to subdue the Monkey King, due to the Great Emperor Ziwēi's secret machinations, four loyal star officials were lost. If this continues, a great battle between Your Majesty and the Great Emperor Ziwēi is inevitable," Li Changgeng analyzed the current situation and continued, "Your Majesty, although that cat demon does have some skills, given his character, even if he is recruited to the Heavenly Court, he will likely be like Nezha and Yang Jian, paying lip service while secretly defying the Heavenly Court's laws."

"How could I not know this?" the Jade Emperor said. "But among the current experts in the Three Realms, apart from the reclusive Daoist cultivators and the Bodhisattvas of the Buddhist sect, there are only the unruly demon race. Looking at the entire Three Realms, the only one who can be recruited to the Heavenly Court is him."

Li Changgeng replied, "Your Majesty, please allow me to try again. In fact, this descent to the mortal world was not without gains. That cat demon, under the name Yang Zhen, has been the national advisor of the Kingdom of Biqu for sixty years. He must have a purpose. If we can find out Yang Zhen's purpose, we can use it to persuade him to join the Heavenly Court and accept an official position. Once Your Majesty has complete control over the Heavenly Court, dealing with a cat demon will be as easy as turning your hand."

"Very well, I will follow your advice!" the Jade Emperor said.

Meanwhile, while the Jade Emperor and Li Changgeng were plotting against Yang Zhen in the heavens, Yang Zhen was also troubled by the matter of 'ascending to heaven' in the mortal world.

To say that Yang Zhen was not moved by this was impossible. Having been in this world for several hundred years, Yang Zhen naturally knew the benefits of serving as a celestial deity in the Heavenly Court.

What is the duty of the Heavenly Court? To govern the heavens and earth, maintaining the order and laws of the world.

In other words, everything in this world, including the wind and rain, the changing seasons, the twelve hours of the day, the rising and setting of the sun, and the cycle of life, death, and illness, is controlled by the celestial deities of the Heavenly Court. Since the Heavenly Court is responsible for so much, what do they gain?

Of course, it is merit!

People often say that a certain deity has boundless merit, meaning that the responsibilities of that deity bring great benefits to the mortal world, which is why people worship these deities.

What does Yang Zhen need most now?

Time! Merit!

To have enough self-preservation ability before the Journey to the West begins, reaching the realm of a Golden Immortal is sufficient. With four hundred and forty years until the Journey to the West begins, Yang Zhen is confident he can reach the realm of a Golden Immortal by continuing to serve as the national advisor of the Kingdom of Biqu. With the merit provided by the Kingdom of Biqu, the double experience pills are enough.

However, learning skills is not enough. To master all the skills and level them up, a tremendous amount of merit is required. Yang Zhen has calculated that he would need to stay in the Kingdom of Biqu for over a thousand years to learn all the skills and level them up. This time is clearly insufficient, and without the skills from the store, Yang Zhen would have no chance against those with higher cultivation.

After becoming a celestial deity, the responsibility would be to govern the entire world of Hongmang, including the four continents of Dongshengshen, Nanzhambu, Xiniuhe, and Beijutulu. With the merit provided by the four continents, it would definitely exceed that of the Kingdom of Biqu, which is the most appealing point for Yang Zhen.

Based on the words of Li Changgeng before he left, Yang Zhen believes that Li Changgeng will return. Therefore, before Li Changgeng returns, he must make a plan to turn the passive situation into an active one to gain the greatest benefit.

The first thing Yang Zhen needs to clarify is the purpose of Li Changgeng, or rather, the Jade Emperor, in recruiting him to the Heavenly Court.

Yang Zhen is not foolish enough to believe that the Heavenly Court really needs more deities, which is why they are recruiting him. There are countless cultivators in the Three Realms who want to become deities. If the Jade Emperor felt that the Heavenly Court really needed more deities, he could easily recruit countless cultivators from the Earthly Immortal Realm, and the positions in the Heavenly Court would be in high demand.

So, what is the Jade Emperor's purpose?

"Master~!"

Hearing the voice outside the door, Yang Zhen came back to his senses and smiled, "Is it Jiayao? Come in!"

"Click!" Pushing the door open, Jiayao timidly looked at Yang Zhen and said in a low voice, "Master, I heard that the old man with the white beard wants you to become a deity in heaven?"

Looking at Jiayao, Yang Zhen said, "Yes, what do you want to say, Jiayao?"

Nodding, Jiayao's eyes turned red as she looked at Yang Zhen and said, "Master, will you leave me behind if you become a deity in heaven?"

Seeing his beloved disciple with a look of abandonment, Yang Zhen could not bear to tease her and explained, "Of course not. As my disciple, you will naturally be with me. If I become a deity in heaven, you will also go with me and become a little deity. How does that sound? Are you happy now?"

Hearing this, Jiayao was no longer sad, but her tone was still low, "Of course, it's best not to be separated from Master. But... but I will have to leave my friends behind. I will miss them so much, and I don't know if anyone will play with me in heaven."

Yang Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Of course, there will be people to play with in heaven. Jiayao, do you know that in the Heavenly Court, there is a little brother who never grows up? Although you are smaller than him now, in a few years, you will be bigger than him, and then you can call him little brother."

"A little brother who never grows up! No! A little brother, I will be a big sister!" Little Jiayao was no longer sad, as children's emotions come and go quickly.

That night, Yang Zhen, who rarely skipped his cultivation, spent the evening having dinner with Jiayao.

It had been a long time since he had a meal, and the taste of human food was truly unique. Yang Zhen enjoyed the dinner very much. After dinner, he played with little Jiayao until she fell asleep, and then he returned to his room.

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