He was an old man dressed in a white robe, with gray hair, a long beard, and red threads tied around his waist. He exuded an aura of romance, commonly known as the sour smell of love.
Without needing an introduction, Fang Xiu already knew who this deity was: the Old Man of the Moon.
The god who governs human marriages wears a red thread around his waist, which is the thread of fate.
However, the reason Fang Xiu paid attention to him was not because he was the matchmaker, but because a trace of demonic energy was faintly leaking from the injured leg of the other party!
The demonic energy was extremely subtle; if Fang Xiu hadn't been so familiar with it, he probably wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.
This made him frown. Had someone else eaten the peaches? Had Sun Wukong not destroyed them all?
No, that's not right. The Queen Mother of the West didn't necessarily only bestow peaches at the Peach Banquet. She must have also given them to other immortals and gods individually, or perhaps through other means.
This means that the Heavenly Court had actually been infiltrated long ago, but the extent of the infiltration was unknown.
What's most terrifying is that these corrupted immortals and gods are perfectly hidden. Without any damage to their physical bodies, they can prevent their demonic energy from leaking out in the slightest. If it weren't for Sun Wukong injuring the Old Man of the Moon, causing his demonic energy to leak out, this would have been a disaster.
If the unharmed Old Man of the Moon stood before him, he probably wouldn't even realize that he had been corrupted and turned into a demon.
This discovery weighed heavily on Fang Xiu's mind. He suddenly realized that the situation in the Heavenly Court was more serious than he had imagined.
Countless corrupted immortals and gods lurk within the Heavenly Court, and is the Queen Mother of the West truly a wife, or was she corrupted by her?
He vaguely felt it was the latter, because although the Queen Mother of the West was very strong, there were people stronger than her in ancient mythology, such as the three supreme gods: Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun, Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun, and Taiqing Daode Tianzun, collectively known as the Three Pure Ones.
In every version of the mythology, the Three Pure Ones stand at the pinnacle of the myth, their power beyond question.
No matter how strong the Queen Mother of the West is, she is no match for the Three Pure Ones. If the Queen Mother of the West were a wife, she would have no power to contend with the Three Pure Ones. Even if she successfully turned all the immortals and gods in the Heavenly Court into demons, she would still be no match for the Three Pure Ones.
That level of existence cannot be dealt with by sheer numbers.
Therefore, Xi Wangmu should not be considered a wife, but rather someone who was corrupted and controlled by a wife.
The most urgent task should be to find the Three Pure Ones or the Jade Emperor. He guessed that the Three Pure Ones and the Jade Emperor should not have been corrupted. It's a very simple logic. If such beings were corrupted, then there would be no need for the Queen Mother of the West to step forward. They could have corrupted the gods in a much simpler way.
Thinking of this, Fang Xiu immediately went to the Lingxiao Palace, the legendary palace where the Jade Emperor resided.
There's no need to worry about not knowing the way, because a large number of immortals and gods are heading towards the Lingxiao Palace. After all, such a big thing has suddenly happened in the Heavenly Court, and the gods must be going to have a meeting with the Jade Emperor.
......
......
The Lingxiao Palace.
At this moment, sitting at the very top of the main hall was a man dressed in a nine-chapter ceremonial robe, wearing a twelve-row pearl crown, with a full face, a dignified and solemn appearance, and an imposing presence without anger.
It was the Jade Emperor.
Below the stage stood a series of immortals and deities, arranged in order of rank, their ranks perfectly straight.
“Your Majesty, Sun Wukong wreaked havoc at the Peach Banquet, not only destroying all the peaches but also picking all the peaches from the Peach Garden and even consuming all the elixirs in the Tushita Palace. His crimes are truly unforgivable!” a deity reported.
The Jade Emperor, seated at the head of the table, remained expressionless, his gaze deep and distant, making it impossible to discern what he was thinking.
"Sun Wukong has already fled to the human realm. Your Majesty, please immediately issue an order to send troops to Flower Fruit Mountain to capture the demon monkey Sun Wukong and restore the prestige of the Heavenly Court!"
At this moment, the Jade Emperor slowly spoke, his steady voice resounding throughout the Lingxiao Palace: "Why did Sun Wukong cause such a ruckus at the Peach Banquet?"
The gods looked at each other, seemingly having never considered this question. In their minds, a mortal demon monkey was naturally unruly and it was normal for him to do something outrageous.
Nezha suddenly stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I know, I know!"
"Oh?" The Jade Emperor cast a glance his way: "Tell me about it."
Nezha seemed to enjoy the moment when everyone was watching. He straightened his back and said, "When I was fighting that monkey demon, I vaguely heard him complaining. It seemed that he was upset that the Queen Mother of the West did not invite him to the Peach Banquet."
"What a wicked monkey! If we don't invite him to the Peach Banquet, he'll ruin it! Your Majesty, this fiend is of evil character and is definitely not a good person!" a deity angrily said.
"But I heard that Sun Wukong seemed to have received an invitation, but he himself did not want to go."
"This is outrageous! He received the invitation but didn't go. Instead, he blames the Queen Mother of the West. This scoundrel is truly heinous!"
"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals to the mortal realm to capture Sun Wukong." Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, stepped forward and walked out of the crowd.
Nezha chimed in, "Me too! Your Majesty, I want to go with my father too."
The Jade Emperor seemed somewhat distracted and didn't ask any further questions, instead waving his hand and saying, "Granted."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Your subject, Li Jing, will certainly not fail Your Majesty's expectations!"
Li Jing bowed deeply and then turned to leave. Just then, a heavenly soldier in silver armor rushed into the main hall.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Someone has trespassed into the Lingxiao Palace!"
The words of the silver-armored celestial soldier startled all the gods.
"But has that Monkey King come to attack?"
"How dare he! We haven't even gone to find him yet, and he dares to come knocking on our door!"
In the minds of the gods, only Sun Wukong would dare to trespass into the Lingxiao Palace.
Unexpectedly, the silver-armored heavenly soldier hurriedly said, "It's not Sun Wukong."
The gods were taken aback.
"Not Sun Wukong? Then who is it?"
"I don't recognize him either. He was dressed in strange black clothes, had the cultivation of a demigod, was eight feet tall, and had a very imposing appearance."
"A demigod?" One of the immortals was immediately displeased.
"A mere demigod, we can take him down. What are you panicking about?"
The silver-armored celestial soldier was greatly alarmed and hurriedly explained, "That person is very strange, and none of us can do anything about him."
Li Jing's gaze darkened slightly: "Take me there to find him."
"No need to look anymore." A calm voice suddenly rang out from outside the Lingxiao Palace.
The gods looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man with black hair, black clothes, and black eyes slowly walking into the Lingxiao Palace.
His gaze was calm and profound, and he remained unfazed even when facing a group of powerful ancient gods and immortals.
The visitor was none other than Fang Xiu.
"Who are you? How dare you trespass into the Lingxiao Palace! What is your crime?!" A deity shouted angrily, and even reached out to grab Fang Xiu.
A jade-like palm, brimming with endless Daoist energy, seemed capable of suppressing heaven and earth, and fiercely pressed down on Fang Xiu.
However, the next moment, Dao Yun's hand grasped nothing.
Some knowledgeable immortals and gods were instantly terrified.
"The Way of Nothingness!? It's actually the Way of Nothingness!"
"Who exactly are you?"
Fang Xiu ignored the gods and immortals present. His calm gaze passed over them and landed on the figure on the head seat—the Jade Emperor!
He said calmly, "My name is Fang Xiu, and I come from the future."
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