Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor waved his hand and said indifferently, "No need."
"With so many experts blocking his way, Jidu Xingjun may not be able to succeed."
Venus bowed respectfully and said no more.
As the Jade Emperor's confidant, his stance was solely for the Jade Emperor's benefit.
Even if he had a past relationship with Ketu Star Lord, if the Jade Emperor gave the order, he would definitely start plotting how to sabotage Ketu Star Lord's path to enlightenment.
However, the Jade Emperor had no such intention, and Venus was happy to avoid getting his hands dirty to prevent criticism.
He was, after all, a powerful cultivator at the seventh level of Quasi-Saint realm, and a high-ranking official in the Heavenly Court, with a renowned reputation...
Venus, the planet of Venus, still desires a good reputation.
A powerful being as shameless as the Chaos Shark is ultimately very rare.
Of course, Venus also understood the Jade Emperor's inner conflict at this moment.
"Great Heavenly Venerable, as the Jade Emperor, you should rightfully rule the Three Realms. Once your decree is issued, all the gods of the Eight Desolations and the immortals of the Six Directions will submit to you."
"However, Mahayana Buddhism, Hinayana Buddhism, the Human Teaching, the Intercepting Teaching, the Elucidating Teaching, the Fire Cloud Cave, the Underworld, etc., all obey orders but not proclamations."
"The two tribulations of Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West increased the strength of the Heavenly Court. There are many immortals and Buddhas, who are all subordinates of the Great Heavenly Venerable on the surface, but their actions of outward compliance but inward disobedience are also common."
"Those immortals and Buddhas, backed by the Primordial Saint, are not afraid of the Great Heavenly Venerable. As long as they appear to have fallen from grace, that's enough."
"At the same time, because of those two great calamities, the relationship between the Heavenly Court and many religious sects has soured."
"There are signs of cooperation and alliance with Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism."
"But with the Daoist Guide, the Daoist Cundi, and the Buddha all present, how could Buddhism truly submit to the Heavenly Court?"
"These are all minor ailments, not the biggest problem. After all, the lineage of sages does not pursue the unification of the Three Realms! Of course, there are exceptions, such as the demonic path, but the Dao Ancestor will not sit idly by while the demonic path prospers. When the Dao Ancestor appears, the Great Heavenly Venerable will only gain more prestige!"
"Only the human race... Humanity is flourishing, and the Heavenly Way is indeed growing, but it may not necessarily be beneficial to the Heavenly Court."
"What the human race recognizes is the Fire Cloud Cave, not the Heavenly Court!"
Venus sighed inwardly, for the flourishing of humanity is a divine precept, and even the Great Heavenly Venerable cannot openly defy it.
Otherwise, his throne would be directly unstable!
Everyone knows that the Primordial Heavenly Dao has already been merged with the Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
As for Lord Ketu, he is one of the most powerful beings among the human race!
Once they break through, the human race's foundation will only become more and more terrifying!
The Heavenly Court received negligible assistance.
From the Jade Emperor's perspective, he naturally did not want Ketu Star Lord to break through to the next realm.
However, considering the existence of Dao Ancestor Hongjun, he couldn't actually make a move and attack Jidu Star Lord...
So the Jade Emperor was stuck here, caught between two difficult choices.
"However, what the Great Celestial Venerable said is not without reason."
"It is not only the Great Celestial Venerable who is wary of the great prosperity of humanity!"
"There are even people who are more anxious than the Great Celestial Venerable!"
"Can Lord Ketu withstand the obstruction from those powerful beings?"
According to Venus, the answer to this question is extremely uncertain.
After all, the representative of such figures is none other than the Demon Ancestor Rahu!
Only Dao Ancestor Hongjun could surpass him.
Most of the others are not as good.
Even the top-tier Primordial Saints like the Chaos Divine Tree are only on par with the Demon Ancestor Rahu.
If the Dao Ancestor does not appear...
Venus estimated that the Dao Ancestor would most likely not show up.
Only during the Investiture of the Gods did the Dao Ancestor briefly appear; otherwise, he lived in seclusion in the Purple Cloud Palace beyond the heavens.
As the primordial era turned, the Dao Ancestor paid little attention to it anymore.
"Fortunately, Jidu Star Lord broke through to the weak Saint realm. If he had broken through to the true Primordial Chaos realm..."
Venus's heart skipped a beat.
If that were the case, he dared not say that the Jade Emperor would not intervene!
"By the way, how are the reincarnations of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends progressing?" the Jade Emperor suddenly asked.
Venus quickly replied, "The Heavenly Star and the Earthly Fiend Star have already been reincarnated."
"This matter will be handled by the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden; there will be no problem."
"Furthermore, there is the cooperation of the Heaven of Separation from Hatred, the Illusionary Realm of the Great Void, and the Crimson Palace."
The Jade Emperor nodded, without asking whether the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals and Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends were truly willing.
What the Heavenly Venerable has decided, which of the celestial beings can refuse?
Even those with powerful patrons only dare to outwardly comply but inwardly defy them, rather than confronting them directly in court.
Moreover, these star gods have absolutely no connection to any saints.
Perhaps the only ones who are somewhat related are Cao Ya, the Star Lord of Jidu, and Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
However, even the Star Lord Ketu is currently in a precarious situation.
Although the Great Sage Equaling Heaven once wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, the Jade Emperor invited the Buddha Tathagata of the Great Thunder Temple on Mount Ling in the Western Paradise to suppress him. Later, after embarking on the Journey to the West, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven converted to Buddhism and became the Victorious Fighting Buddha. Having attained the status of a Buddha, how could he still help such a star god?
It should be noted that the Heavenly Court and Mount Ling have always been allies in cooperation.
The Buddha could not possibly stand idly by and watch the Buddha of Mount Ling ruin the Heavenly Court's plans.
Wouldn't this ruin the relationship between the two parties?
No matter how strong the Victorious Fighting Buddha is, he is ultimately no match for the Tathagata Buddha.
"Fellow Daoist Taixu and Fellow Daoist Chixia, it seems they are about to make their move." The Jade Emperor smiled.
“High probability… no, it definitely will!” Venus replied.
He harbored hostility towards Jidu Xingjun, Taixu Daoren, and Chixia Daoren.
After all, the schemes of the Illusionary Realm and the Crimson Palace, through coercion and enticement, forced the chosen immortals to descend to the mortal realm and plunge into tribulation... and the final outcome was unlikely to be good.
Most of those deities were acquainted with Ketu Star Lord.
In order for the plan to succeed, the two of them naturally did not want Jidu Xingjun to make progress.
This also saved the Jade Emperor one of his troubles.
“Those two fellow Daoists named their plan ‘Dream of the Red Chamber,’ while mine is ‘Water Margin.’”
"Hehe, Dream of the Red Chamber and Water Margin, if they could all come true... perhaps those two fellow Daoists could become saints in one fell swoop, and so could I..."
The Jade Emperor muttered to himself, his eyes as still as an ancient well, without the slightest ripple.
The events in *Dream of the Red Chamber* and *Water Margin* are related to their attainment of sainthood or their advancement to the Primordial Chaos Realm...
How could the Jade Emperor of Heaven, the Taoist Master Taixu of the Land of Illusion, and the Taoist Master Chixia of the Chixia Palace allow these two cases to be at risk of being disrupted by others?
For certain reasons, the Jade Emperor could not openly take action.
However, Daoist Taixu and Daoist Chixia had no such concerns.
The fact that the Jade Emperor valued them and personally recruited them to form an alliance speaks volumes about the power of those two Taoists!
They are all at the first-rate level of the weak saint realm, only a stone's throw away from the Hunyuan realm.
The three powerful beings in the Tushita Palace within the Heaven of Separation and Hatred did not believe that Laozi would interfere in this matter.
That was one of the manifestations of the Celestial Venerable Morality, who advocated purity and non-action and never interfered in the affairs of the Three Realms.
Occasionally, he would only offer guidance to disciples of the Renjiao sect or to those who were destined to receive it.
Suddenly, the Jade Emperor frowned.
He almost forgot that Jidu Xingjun also had some connection with the Human Sect.
Will the Moral Celestial Venerable intervene?
Such a terrifying sage, even the Jade Emperor, who had reached the Hunyuan realm, could not fathom.
Even if Laozi were to make a move, either Daoist Chixia or Daoist Taixu could easily stop him.
"Queen Mother..."
The Jade Emperor's gaze swept over the Jade Pool.
In recent years, none of the Queen Mother's little tricks have escaped the Jade Emperor's watchful eye.
However, the Jade Emperor did not stop it, pretending not to know, which could be considered as tacit approval.
He and the Queen Mother both served the Daoist Ancestor and were disciples of Hongjun.
Later, following the decree of the Taoist patriarch, they jointly established the Heavenly Court, with one becoming the Jade Emperor and the other the Queen Mother.
However, they are not in a Daoist couple relationship, unlike the previous Heavenly Emperors and Empresses.
After all, the Demon Court was once forcibly established by Donghuang Taiyi, Demon Emperor Dijun, Empress Xihe, and others, who used their own martial power to rule the sky and oppress the earth!
They are not like the Jade Emperor or the Queen Mother, who received someone's decree or had some important figure as their backer.
Because the central government of Heaven was in a state of disarray, the Jade Emperor wished that the Queen Mother would become powerful, like him, and become a saint!
At that time, with the two great sages in charge, the situation in the Heavenly Court will be different again.
As for the Queen Mother's private efforts to win over immortals and Buddhas, and the allegiance of the God of Justice, Erlang Shen, and Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun... the Jade Emperor didn't care!
I just have some dissatisfaction with Yang Jian's behavior.
I'm your own uncle!
Of course, the Jade Emperor also knew that he owed his sister Yao Ji a great deal, so he didn't blame his nephew Yang Jian for obeying orders but not summons.
Furthermore, Yang Jian was a highly accomplished disciple of Yu Ding Zhenren, belonging to the third generation of the Chan Sect, and had the backing of Yuanshi Tianzun and the Jade Emperor, yet even they were helpless against this nephew.
However, the Jade Emperor never regretted it! How could family compare to power?
Once he sat on the throne of the ruler of the Three Realms, the Heavenly Emperor, and the Great Heavenly Venerable, he had no intention of abdicating!
Anyone who blocks his path is his enemy!
Even with family, no mercy will be shown!
******
Inside the Jade Pool, the Queen Mother also noticed Ketu Star Lord's actions and immediately sneered.
"Lord Ketu, you underestimate those chaotic demons."
"Do you really think that killing a Chaos Demon Bull makes you invincible?"
The Queen Mother glanced at her with cold eyes, as if she were watching a good show.
They've targeted a great number of powerful beings from the human race!
There were also a lot of experts who wanted to assassinate Jidu Xingjun!
She is not the Jade Emperor, but the Great Heavenly Venerable, the ruler of the Three Realms.
The Queen Mother's duty is to command all the female immortals in the Three Realms!
Male immortals like Ketu Xingjun are not under her jurisdiction.
Therefore, the Queen Mother had no intention of intervening from the beginning, and thus did not have the same conflicting feelings as the Jade Emperor.
She even hoped that the Star Lord Jidu would stir up trouble so that she could reap the benefits.
"Erlang!" Suddenly, the Queen Mother paused, her delicate brows furrowing tightly.
She received a message from Erlang Shen Yang Jian at the mouth of the Guanjiang River on the celestial continent.
"Erlang, this is too risky. Why don't we... wait a little longer?" the Queen Mother advised.
"Your Majesty, Erlang has made up his mind. And this is the best opportunity!" Yang Jian's voice was resolute.
Regardless of whether the Queen Mother of the West agrees or not, he is determined to give it a try!
This is merely to inform the Queen Mother of the West.
At least on the surface, he pledged allegiance to the Queen Mother of the West and became her top general.
"Alright," the Queen Mother said, somewhat helplessly.
Yang Jian did indeed side with her, but he also had a very high degree of autonomy.
There was no other way; Yang Jian's strength was extremely powerful, reaching the pinnacle of Quasi-Saint, capable of fighting weak Saints!
Moreover, she also understood that Yang Jian's breakthrough would not attract as much attention because Jidu Xingjun had already drawn attention to it.
As a highly accomplished disciple of the Chan Sect, Yang Jian's path to enlightenment would inevitably be protected by the Primordial Celestial Venerable.
Unlike Ketu, Yang Jian doesn't face many enemies who can stop him.
The fellow disciples of the Chan Sect are enough to provide protection.
Not to mention, there's also the Queen Mother of the West.
We can't just ignore the number two person in our own camp.
"No way, there might be some Quasi-Saint level experts who also want to take this opportunity to break through their limits, right?"
The Queen Mother of the West was unaware that her words had become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
******
Guanjiang estuary.
Yang Jian, dressed in a white robe, stood in front of his Zhenjun Temple, gazing at the sky.
Behind him, the celestial dog barked twice.
"Lord Ketu is quite an amazing person!" Yang Jian said with a smile.
Daring to break through to a higher realm in full view of everyone... shows that Lord Ketu has a lot of confidence!
Coincidentally, he was also very confident that he could attain the status of a weak sage.
“In the past, I didn’t think about making breakthroughs because I wanted to avoid putting too much pressure on my sister and her son.”
"But times have changed. The development of the primordial world is incredibly rapid. Even quasi-saints are no longer able to influence the overall situation."
“Agarwood, if you want to grow up... you should at least become a weak sage before you can be considered excellent.”
"Let me, his uncle, put the most pressure on him!"
"At the same time, we must also rely on the Queen Mother of the West's intervention to break those unreasonable heavenly rules."
Yang Jian thought to himself, what is there to fear if I have to bear the infamy for the sake of my plan?
"I hope, Lord Ketu, that you can succeed!"
"Yes, helping me will ultimately lead to my success!"
"As for my own survival... that doesn't matter."
Yang Jian took it all in stride; as long as the plan succeeded, his personal life or death was of no importance.
******
In the Realm of Separation and Sorrow.
Multiple gazes, filled with scrutiny, were directed towards the northern star sea from both the Illusionary Realm and the Crimson Palace.
“Lord Ketu, he will not attain enlightenment.” The voice of the Taoist Taixu was filled with indifference.
“We don’t need to rush. There are plenty of people who are more anxious than us. Let’s see how things go first,” said Daoist Chixia.
Master Taixu had no objection.
Ketu Star Lord is powerful enough, and there's also the existence of the Fire Cloud Cave...
Both of these weak sages could foresee the great battle that was about to begin between weak sages and even true primordial beings!
"The situation in the Red Chamber cannot be allowed to be lost!" the Taoist Taixu whispered.
The establishment of the Land of Illusion and the birth of the Crimson Palace are both related to the situation in the Dream of the Red Chamber.
Of course, after forming an alliance with the Jade Emperor, he also became involved in the overall Water Margin storyline.
In short, their path to sainthood lies in this.
Even future advancements in the Hunyuan Realm... will depend on the layout of Dream of the Red Chamber and Water Margin!
The immortals who were forced to reincarnate in the mortal realm were all specially selected by the Jade Emperor, the Taoist Master Taixu, and the Taoist Master Chixia.
Each one of them is extraordinary, whether they possess amazing talent, have a sacred background, or a combination of both.
Through further scheming, it was brought into the realm of human destiny...
If successful, even Huoyun Cave will have no choice but to accept it.
As for the fates of those immortals, the beauties of the Dream of the Red Chamber, and the demons of the Water Margin... which of these three big shots would care?
Even if their soul is scattered and their body and spirit are destroyed, they won't even glance at it. —As long as they have gained something great!
******
At this moment, in the outer star river of the celestial realm, deep in the northern starry sky, on the star Ketu, the winds and clouds are changing, the Great Dao is surging, and the roaring sound resounds through the sky.
The crackling and popping sounds were incessant.
The Taiyi Divine Thunder, the Chaos Divine Thunder, and other divine thunders were all manifesting, covering the sky, poised to strike, and causing people to tremble with fear.
The mere appearance of the heavenly tribulation was extraordinary, demonstrating the immense power and profound resources of the Star Lord Ketu.
"Almost there."
Cao Ya channeled his magical power, and the profound mysteries of the "Cosmic Elixir Scripture" fully emerged. He seemed to transform into a black hole, swallowing the sun and moon and dissolving the three thousand Great Daos.
Suddenly, the celestial phenomena changed dramatically. In addition to various divine thunders, calamities such as heavenly fire, divine wind, and divine water shook the Milky Way, and all directions were shocked.
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