"Hahaha——Is the Great Celestial Marshal willing to spar with me in array techniques with his disciples of the Jiejiao Sect?" Zhao Gongming laughed heartily.
"On the spot, besides Jin Ling, he has the highest status. Jin Ling just lost, so he is speaking now to boost morale."
Certainly, a group of Jiejiao immortal beings began to loudly protest, followed by various immortals also joining in the ruckus.
"The law cannot hold against the majority; can't you just kill us all, can you?" The wandering immortals had the most grievances against the heavenly court, as they had no patrons. If the Jiejiao Sect could gain the right to be free from the jurisdiction of the heavenly court, they too would benefit.
Emperor Hao frowned slightly and clenched his fists, willing to fight in a head-on clash. He was not afraid of the challenge himself but worried about the well-being of his underlings—the heavenly troops and generals.
Now if only someone would step in to mediate, the problem is, there is no one.
The Human Teaching only has Xuan Dong Great Sage, who would never interfere in this matter.
Explanation Sect? Yue Qing Zhenren is still enjoying the cold skin and preparing to watch them bleed. Moreover, why should the Explanation Sect intervene in a mortal conflict between heavenly troops and Jiejiao Sect? It's not oil pastry, is it?
Buddhism? The Buddha Moon commands the tight closure of the gate of Ling Mountain, leading in prayers and scriptures for the well-being of all beings in the primordial chaos. Mediation? That's not happening!
Who else remains? Zhenyuan Zi and Yinhe?
Both sides have been forced here. If they don't fight, they will lose face completely.
If the Golden Ling Holy Mother were to say, "We of the Jiejiao Sect recognize Your Majesty as the Supreme Ruler of the Three Realms," he would withdraw his troops immediately.
The problem is, both the Sky Lord and Jiejiao Sect want face.
Bi Gan spoke softly: "Your Majesty, tens of thousands of troops are practicing the Zhou Tian Xing Dou array day and night. Today is the time to demonstrate our might to the heavenly court and to offer our loyalty to you. Please allow us to go out and fight."
Emperor Hao pondered for a moment, then immediately understood his meaning. Bi Gan was reminding him that the Jiejiao Sect dare not openly act against the heavenly court or Emperor Hao, as this was an appointment by Emperor Hongjun. However, they also did not want to bow their heads, so they had made up an excuse of competing in array techniques.
This excuse is also needed by Emperor Hao, as he cannot say that the Jiejiao Sect is a heretical or rebellious group. As long as the Holy Mother Golden Ling does not die, using array technique competition as an excuse is a good one.
He gave a wink to Jiangziyao next to him, and the old Jiang could only grit his teeth and step forward, saying, "Our great formation is here. Dare the disciples of the Jiejiao Sect come and break the array?"
Zhang Gongming sneered and laughed, "Who are you? Why do you lack such insight? That is clearly the Zhou Tian Xing Dou formation of the demon tribe, not yours at all!"
Jiangziyao, who was not good at physical combat, was good at using his tongue: "Hahaha, the Taijiquan produces two yin and yang, and two yin and yang produce four images. All the changes in various array formations in the world are derived from it, renewing and recycling. What is wrong with that?"
Old Zhuang was at a loss for words, as he usually could easily find the faults in Jiangziyao's speech, but in such a public setting, he knew the other party was being deceitful and could not think of anything to say.
He stubbornly argued that Emperor Hao had added yin-yang transformations to the original Zhou Tian Xing Dou formation, creating two arrays that complemented each other, which wasn't entirely without reason.
From his quasi-saintly perspective, the formation did indeed differ slightly from the original Zhou Tian Xing Dou array, just a little.
Golden Ling Holy Mother readily agreed: "The array of the Great Celestial Sovereign still has many shortcomings. Please quickly perfect it, and in one hour, the disciples of our Jiejiao Sect will come to break the array!"
No mention was made of the outcomes for the winner or the loser.
However, both sides are well aware of the truth.
If the heavenly court wins, then the disciples of the Jiejiao Sect will be lower in status before the heavenly court. If the heavenly court loses, Emperor Hao's rules and decrees will no longer hold sway over the Eastern Sea.
Both sides started to gather their forces.
The Seven Immortals have been low-key since Bi Lu Xian went to Buddhism. Their "playmate" attribute disappeared when Tong Tian Jiao Zhu went to Chaos, and their status was reduced by a notch again. Today, with the Golden Ling Holy Mother's call, all six of them arrived promptly.
All the famous immortals from the Jiejiao Sect were present, except for the Dao Ren Duobao who was in seclusion and the Holy Mother Wudang, who served as a guardian.
The number of Jiejiao Sect immortals on the spot quickly exceeded one thousand five, and there were even more wandering immortals, among whom were a few dragon clans. If they could drive out Emperor Hao's forces from the Eastern Sea, the dragon clans could also breathe a sigh of relief.
On the other side, the heavenly court also had more high-level practitioners.
The Five Mountains Emperor joined the fray, with Huang Tianhua brandishing two silver hammers, his expression unfriendly. He had no reason to refuse, and could only go into battle with a stubborn expression.
The legendary immortals arrived in the hundreds, including Yang Ren, the Star of Fire Deity; Zhang Shan, the Star of Chimera; Hong Jin, the Star of Dragon Deity; Zhang Kui, the Star of Seven Killers; Yu Hualong, the Main Plague Gorgeous Heavenly Sage, and many others whose names are not mentioned.
Not a single Jiejiao disciple was present; most were soldiers of the Yin Dynasty, and a few like Hong Jin were also from prestigious schools, their skills, magical abilities, and combat prowess were not inferior to those of the Jiejiao disciples.
The Emperor of the Eastern Paradise riding on a nine-headed lion slowly walked onto the battlefield. This emperor was dressed as a layman and had not spoken to anyone, but it was clear that he had taken sides with the heavenly court.
Yang Jie held the Sanjian Lieren Knife upside down, accompanied by howling heavenly dog, leading eight hundred grass spirit soldiers to support. Regardless of victory or defeat, this was his second contribution to Emperor Hao.
A faint shadow appeared beside Emperor Hao, and Taiyuan Holy Mother emerged with four emperor maidens serving by her side.
"Lady, I'm sorry for being late."
"Madame, what have you done wrong? I implore you to lend me your support."
"Naturally, it is my wish, and I would never dare to ask."
The heavenly court has three quasi-saints: Emperor Hao, Taiyuan Holy Mother, and the Emperor of the Eastern Paradise. One was decapitated, two were dismembered.
On the Jiejiao side, the quasi-saints are Golden Ling Holy Mother, Zhang Gongming, and Yun Xiao. Two were decapitated, and one was dismembered.
The heavenly court side is full of senior figures, while the Jiejiao side is composed mainly of younger immortals, placing them in a state of being suppressed in terms of cultivation.
The war between the two sides is about to break out at any moment.
Above the Eastern Sea, there was a piece of white cloud.
A cuckoo bird was hiding in the clouds, looking down with a slightly mischievous gaze. Its gaze kept switching between the two combatants.
Deng Chanyu's voice came from the cuckoo bird: "Master, is it possible to see clearly from here?"
After a few breaths, the voice of Nuwa echoed from afar: "Good! Let's stay here then. Yes, this angle is clear enough!"
The cost of the telepathic conversation between the teacher and disciples is not small. Before that in the Ten-level Heaven, they talked for just two or three sentences, and now in the Eastern Sea, they've talked for another two or three sentences. In total, they have only said ten sentences, but this has consumed Deng Chanyu's 3000 heavenly days of cultivation, which are all good merits!
Nuwa, who is in Chaos, communicates through merit and responds with merit again.
Nuwa is wealthy and doesn't care much, but she does feel a bit of pain. If it weren't for a huge project she still needs to complete later, she wouldn't dare be so lavish.
Where did this merit go? She feels that all of it has been taken away by the telecom operator (Hongjun).
Seeing that Emperor Hao was still finalizing the last preparations for the great array, Yun Xiao on the Jiejiao side was discussing ways to break the array with Zhang Gongming and Golden Ling Holy Mother, and there was still a bit of time left.
Deng Chanyu's curiosity could no longer be contained, and she couldn't help but ask, "Master, did you find some great opportunity outside of the Chaos? Is there a path to cultivation beyond the level of the Hongyuan Daluo Jinxian?"
Nuwa, who is located somewhere in the Chaos, scratches her head, wondering how to phrase this question.
She can only say, "Master has found a clue about the Chaos Pearl."
