Chapter 921

Xiaotian laughed and said indifferently:

"The Four Royals and Five Elders of the Heavenly Court are all at the peak of Taiyi, and there are multiple Daluo standing behind them."

"The Four Heavenly Kings of the Heavenly Court are also powerhouses at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm, and Li Jing, who commands the heavenly soldiers and generals, also long ago passed his tribulation to become a peak Golden Immortal."

"Add to that the Master and the Third Prince, who were already peak Golden Immortals at that time."

"Could the Great Sage, who had just achieved the Golden Immortal realm, sweep through a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals?"

"The East Sea Dragon Palace has the backing of the Dragon Ancestor of the East, the Azure Dragon, and Ao Guang himself is a peak Golden Immortal. In the East Sea Dragon Palace alone, there are over a dozen peak Golden Immortals."

"Do you guess how the Great Sage was able to break in?"

"The Dragon Palace, which collects countless supreme treasures and even has Taiyi-level immortal artifacts, only had the Golden-Hooped Rod and that set of Golden Immortal armor taken by the Great Sage?"

"The Ten Kings of the Underworld are all peak Golden Immortals, and behind them is the Great Emperor of Mount Tai, a peak Taiyi, and behind him is the Mother Houtu, a Daluo."

"Is the Underworld really that easy to attack?"

Xiaotian shook his head with some emotion.

"The longer you live, the more you understand the schemes of the great gods."

"When the Great Sage entered the Dragon Palace, the Old Dragon King participated in this game and conveniently held back many treasures that were circulating in the Dragon Palace and should have gone to the Heavenly Court, claiming they were lost by the Great Sage."

"The Old Dragon King smashed treasures bestowed by the Jade Emperor and conveniently blamed it on the Great Sage as well."

"In this round, the Old Dragon King used the Great Sage's hand to get one up on the Heavenly Court."

"After the Great Sage caused chaos in the Underworld, King Jean Guang used the Great Sage's hand to clear up the Underworld's accumulated bad debts in the Book of Life and Death that couldn't be known, leaving the Heavenly Court with nothing to investigate."

"Along the way, many Celestial Immortals and Earth Immortals under King Jean Guang's command also took the opportunity to change the lifespans of their descendants' families in the Book of Life and Death."

"How could they not owe the Great Sage a favor?"

"Later, Li Jing purged the incompetent among the heavenly soldiers and generals, reported that the losses in the great battle were too heavy and that fresh blood was needed, and made a profit."

"The losses in the Flat Peach Garden, the losses in the Imperial Horse Stables, the losses in the Tushita Palace..."

"It just so happened to clear up the bad debts accumulated over countless years."

"With the Great Sage as such a useful, hot-headed fool, why wouldn't the immortals use him?"

"In the midst of schemes and plots, taking advantage of others—perhaps they didn't need the benefit itself, as long as they were happy, that was enough."

"And in the end, the Tathagata took action to suppress Monkey Brother. After this opening drama was finished, everyone totted it up, and everyone made a profit. Only the Jade Emperor lost in this game."

"For this alone, the Old Lord and the others celebrated..."

"I clearly remember that after the Great Sage was suppressed, the Jade Emperor, who had seemed panicked, instantly returned to normal."

"And the Old Lord, the Tathagata, and many other Taiyi laughed and teased the Jade Emperor that his methods and reaction this time weren't fast enough, and that he had lost face."

"Afterward, the Azure Dragon Old Ancestor brought Ao Guang, and the Great Emperor of Mount Tai brought the Ten Kings of the Underworld, all ascending to Heaven together."

"So many immortals and gods—there was no panic from being threatened by the Great Sage, only teasing that the Jade Emperor had lost this round."

"They didn't care what treasures they had lost; they only cared that in this play, everyone had taken advantage of the Jade Emperor, he had lost, and they were all happy..."

"This is the essence of the Heavenly Court's business..."

"Pleasing oneself..."

959. Xiaotian: Give me a Flat Peach

"Alright."

Seeing that everyone had a feeling of their faith collapsing and their Dao hearts shattering, Jiang Yan didn't let Xiaotian continue.

After all, these matters involved many high-level figures of the Daoist sects. As far as Jiang Yan knew, when the Journey to the West happened, the three Old Ancestors of his own Shushan had also intervened.

In Jiang Yan's view, this was normal; the strong dominating the weak has always been the truth of the world.

Rather than blaming others for bullying the weak and despising life, it is better to reflect on oneself: why are you so weak that you can only endure when bullied?

No one in the world truly sympathizes with the weak; pity, perhaps, but that is all.

Blindly complaining about the unfairness of fate and praying for the strong to have a change of heart and protect the weak is, in itself, very stupid.

To entrust even the hope of survival to others—what kind of achievement can such a person have?

But Jiang Yan is different from them, and Xiaotian is also different from them.

Jiang Yan, born in the cultivation world, and Xiaotian, born in the Immortal World, are accustomed to the law of the jungle. In their hearts, the concept that the strong are supreme is as deeply ingrained as the idea that the Archons of Teyvat must love their people.

But the current Shushan disciples are mostly converts, so naturally, they cannot accept this concept quickly.

Jiang Yan is not in a hurry; slowly, they will get used to it.

Habit is a terrifying force.

This is the great trend; no one can defy it. Situated within the great trend, everyone is a victim, and everyone is also a perpetrator.

The moment one possesses wisdom, begins to look up at the starry sky, and contemplates the true meaning of the world, life is swept into the rolling, flowing great trend, inevitably.

And they must accept it and get used to it.

Withdrawing his complicated thoughts and putting away the many treasures scattered on the ground, Jiang Yan said softly:

"Things have reached this point; saying anything else is useless. Let's take it one step at a time."

"Xiaotian, has your strength fully recovered?"

Xiaotian's face fell, and he said faintly:

"What do you think? This place in the lower realm doesn't even have a bit of immortal energy. If it weren't for the contingency plan left by my Master, I wouldn't even be able to wake up now."

"Up to now, I have only recovered to the peak of the Earth Immortal realm."

Jiang Yan nodded slightly and said softly:

"The peak of the Earth Immortal realm is enough. In the lower realm, such power is sufficient to deal with all problems; it's just that you cannot use your full strength casually."

"Kid Jiang Yan, aren't you planning to share some benefits with me? We've had a friendship for so many years, and all these treasures were brought to you by me."

Xiaotian chuckled and leaned toward Jiang Yan.

The latter said helplessly:

"What do you want?"

"A Nine-Pattern Flat Peach!"

"Don't even think about it!"

Jiang Yan refused flatly, shaking his head:

"This is a treasure the Old Ancestor fought to get for me."

"How can you say that? Am I not a guest elder of your Shushan?"

Xiaotian leaned in shamelessly, smiling:

"One Nine-Pattern Flat Peach, and I will help you watch over Shushan. I will also help you teach these Shushan disciples."

"I have the teachings of a peak Celestial Immortal, and I've also learned many methods from my Master and the Great Sage. With me on the job, you can rest easy."

Jiang Yan still shook his head:

"No way. The Nine-Pattern Flat Peach is the most essential fruit of the top ten innate spiritual roots, the Flat Peach Tree. The Old Ancestor didn't send many, and it's not even enough for my own cultivation. Choose something else."

"Then the Ginseng Fruit, or the Enlightenment Tea leaves from the sub-branches of the Enlightenment Tea Tree of the Shushan upper realm. Don't tell me you don't have them; Old Ancestor Qingxu and the others sent you the entire Shushan fortune."

"I know very well how wealthy Shushan is. The Enlightenment Tea leaves and the sub-roots of the Enlightenment Bodhi are both in your hands, right?"

Jiang Yan laughed and scolded:

"You sure know how to pick! But no."

"The Enlightenment Tea Tree and the Enlightenment Bodhi are not currently planted, and as for the Ginseng Fruit, I only have four or five here. I need them when I break through to the Taiyi realm."

Xiaotian became anxious.

"You kid are so stingy! Do you think I'm stupid? Let alone the Ginseng Fruit, your Shushan upper realm has been prosperous for countless eras. I truly don't believe you haven't saved up any tea leaves or Bodhi!"

960. The Shushan gate-guarding divine dog, Xiaotian

Looking at Jiang Yan, who was unmoved, Xiaotian snorted and said unhappily:

"When I was in the upper realm following my Master, what good things haven't I eaten? I had a seat at the Flat Peach Banquet every year."

"Even when I went to Shushan, I was treated to good food and drink. You kid, are you now cutting my wages?"

Jiang Yan rolled his eyes.

"Stop bragging."

"It's fine if the Second Brother has that kind of treatment, but you..."

"Hey!"

Xiaotian became anxious.

"What's wrong with me? In the upper realm, I was also a peak Celestial Immortal, a famous great god. Can't I eat a few Flat Peaches?"