Just returned to the Heaven Palace, the Phoenix hasn't had a chance to gather its old army yet. It was caught by Long Ji and dragged into the room with force, complaining: "Where have you been? It's been so many years, and I haven't heard a single word from you! You haven't even written me a letter!"
Old bear, Dragon Girl, Dang Kang and Zou Wu were lying around the door to watch, four heads from top to bottom, from big to small, like hanging a bunch of grapes.
"Don't pull, don't pull, let them laugh at the joke."
Long Ji made a face with pursed lips, indicating that he wasn't afraid to be laughed at.
The Phoenix glared at the old comrades on the sidelines, watching the fun without causing any trouble. They didn't even try to comfort her.
Old Bear and Dragon Girl showed no reaction, maintaining their composure as if they hadn't noticed her glance. They treated Dang Kang and Zou Wu as honest children, shrinking back in fear, but after some hesitation, they didn't leave after all.
The Phoenix could only deal with the immediate problem at hand, saying, "Don't worry, I can explain it to you. Just listen to me first."
Now she's not afraid of Hao Tian, but she's afraid to meet Long Ji. She thinks Long Ji has already learned everything that should be known and everything that should not be known, and it's impossible to make it up. The reason why she is still covering her ears and stealing bells is that she does not want to face the Ji beside her.
As for whether Daji knows or not? Maybe, possibly, probably she does know? But there's Little Five on that side, who is clearly much closer to her.
There's no good way to deal with such facts, we can only wait for enlightenment. Once Deng Chanyu becomes a saint, these small things will be forgiven! What's wrong with just making a little mistake? It's just a mistake that everyone makes.
"You know that in the early era, the regulations on Phoenix were very strict. This time I went out to repair the Phoenix Staff. I traveled to a very remote place to seek ancient legends and explore old secrets. I went through 81 hardships, and on the way, I was attacked by an old ancestor of Mí Hé, who was struggling fiercely with me. Only after successfully defeating him and repairing the Phoenix Staff!"
The Phoenix narrated the story vividly, but whether Long Ji was listening or not was unknown. At least the four guys outside had listened in. These days, entertainment activities were so scarce that even a bit of storytelling could attract a crowd of listeners.
Long Ji often listened to her tell stories, so his threshold had been artificially increased. Ordinary stories would not move him at all.
She asked in a slightly coquettish manner, "You're not leaving this time, right?"
The Phoenix shook her head immediately: "I still have to go. Although Liangyuan is very good, it is not a place for long-term attachment. What? Is this Liangyuan in Emei Mountain? I haven't been to Emei Mountain! Who said Emei Mountain? It must be the bear who just spoke, right? Why go to Emei Mountain? Long Ji, listen to me. Although the Heaven Palace is good, it is ultimately your parents' place. As young people, we should start our own business and enjoy the fruit of our own career. This is how it is: Ziwu Star has already appeared in the world. That's where we can realize our dreams. Do you still have any dreams?"
She rambled on in a vague and elusive manner, talking about the future and dreams. Between the lines, it seemed not that the Ziwu Star was being discussed, but rather a wedding room. In less than a quarter of an hour, the Ziwu Star had almost reached the stage of new house renovation and decoration in her words.
Listening to her, Long Ji's face turned slightly red. She couldn't help but look up at the sky: "Ziwu Star? Is it the highest star among all the stars in heaven?"
The Phoenix nodded immediately: "Of course."
Long Ji asked with a hint of meaning, "Would it be very far from the Underworld?"
"That's right."
Phoenix's eyes flickered. Why should she take the blame for the trouble of her body?
After she personally confirmed that the Ziwu Star was incredibly far from the Underworld, a world apart, Long Ji nodded, her expression showing great satisfaction.
Using mental victory tactics to console herself, she thought, "I'm in the sky, while that someone is down below. That's a kind of victory, isn't it?"
Long Ji is more than one hundred percent in favor of going to the Ziwu Star to "start a business". It would be better if he never returned.
As for whether the Phoenix's appointment as the Ziwu Emperor would affect her father's rule, Long Ji had never even considered it, nor did she care about it.
The Ziwu Emperor is the deputy of Hao Tian Shangdi, which is the original political structure of the Heaven Palace. Even if Phoenix were now to be appointed as the Emperor, she would have to appoint a Ziwu Emperor to assist her.
There is no element of conspiracy involved here. It's just that Hao Tian worries about being stripped of power, so he has delayed appointing the Ziwu Emperor by using the excuse that the candidate's character is not suitable.
Whether it's Zhang San or Li Si, the Saint can forcefully appoint one. Who is the deputy of the principal job that was appointed by himself? It's always appointed by the superior.
If the Saint were to appoint someone forcibly, Hao Tian couldn't refuse. However, the Saint didn't want to cause any displeasure between the two sides over such a trivial matter. More importantly, they had to give Hongjun face, who knows what Hongjun is thinking? A small matter isn't worth making a big fuss over.
Whether the Ziwu Emperor appears wouldn't shake Hao Tian's rule. It wouldn't cause confusion among the officials and celestial beings. All of these are non-existent.
Using human affairs as an analogy, the emperor is the largest military leader, and the numerous ministers below are smaller military leaders. The country is a confederation-like organization, which can be seen from the merger of Yan and Huang two tribes.
After the defeat in the Battle of Banquan, Emperor Yan continued with his affairs as usual. Emperor Yan still had his own territory and people. It was impossible for Emperor Huang to say, "Emperor Yan was defeated, and the winner takes all. Let's have him executed!" That was not possible.
Deng Jiugong's Han Dynasty was also in this mode, and so is the Heaven Palace.
This was a confederation-like ruling body. The people from the teaching of Taishou Laojie, Xianyou's southern spirit venerable from the Chuan teaching, and Taixing Jiujv, the supreme deity of saving misfortune from the Purple Abyss Palace, all joined the Heaven Palace as well. Adding to this, Hao Tian and Yaochi came from Daozong with their son origins. This was an alliance-like governing organization.
Adding a Ziwu Emperor is just like adding a COO (Chief Operating Officer) on top of the CEO (Chief Executive Officer).
It hasn't reached the point where the sky falls and the earth shakes, and the Heaven Palace is completely in chaos.
Only the heaven above might be unacceptable. He envisages a three-world supreme sovereign more like the emperor in the Ming and Qing Dynasties at the height of power, who speaks as a decree and enjoys ultimate authority. On top of him, all officials and generals must kneel and listen.
As it stands now, it's a confederation; there's very little royal power.
The gap between reality and fantasy is too large, which often makes Hao Tian's mindset and external appearance seem quite bizarre.
Hao Tian's opinion was not within the scope of Phoenix's consideration.
Long Ji pondered for a moment and asked, "You mentioned gathering troops; is it because there are enemies on the Ziwu Star?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
The time for casual chatter had passed, and in case Long Ji would be overconfident later on, the Phoenix exaggerated the severity of the situation, presenting three parts danger as seven parts.
She said, "There are inner demons for the mind, the sky, and the earth. As the eye of the Zhuiwu Star was the site of the grand array of stars and planets for the former celestial court of the demon race, countless powerful demons from the demon race have died on this star. They have not entered reincarnation and do not submit to the jurisdiction of heaven. They have become demons and can be called 'demonic beasts'. I estimate that there are many demons in this star. Therefore, we need to lead a large army to conquer them."
