"Twenty-eight constellations gather, pushing Phoenix's influence to a new high."
The line reads: "Deng Chanyun on her end contacts Yun Xiao, who then contacts the disciples of the Kejiao sect of the Shengshen Heavens."
This resulted in numerous former disciples of the Jiejiao sect flocking to join the battle.
The jurisdiction of the Emperor of Ziqi and the Douting Yuanjun overlaps greatly. These former disciples of the Jiejiao sect, whether by origin or by their current positions, are under the command of the Douting Yuanjun.
The Tortoise Spiritual Mother pondered every day about the possibility of reincarnation and resuming her path of immortality. However, due to the abrupt departure of Tongtian Teachings from the Hongwang era, she found herself in an awkward situation, unable to advance and having nowhere to retreat.
Her thoughts are not on her duties at all; she merely gets through her work as it comes.
Many of the former disciples of the Jiejiao sect do not have such great enthusiasm for cultivation, and they can be free and easy, whether they are gods or immortals is acceptable.
She does not work herself, and her subordinates have no way to make progress, causing a lot of dissatisfaction with the Tortoise Spiritual Mother's actions.
Seeing this, many former disciples of the Jiejiao sect thought, "Well, if you're not going to manage things, we'll go work for the Emperor of Ziqi. Who knows, we might even get a position or two."
The deities listed in the "Bian Shen Pai" are actually numerous, aside from the Thunder, Fire, and Water departments, most of the immortals are included in the "constellation list".
They have positions but no official roles; they are all referred to as "Star Lord of such-and-such," yet they can only receive a meager subsistence allowance. The meagerness of their incense offerings is beyond description.
In the end, it is because they have not had the opportunity to prove themselves.
Jiang Ziya's God Bestowing is akin to a blind marriage and deaf betrothal, it's better to say those they know, can match their own abilities, can bestow a relatively average God's job, but more often than not are strangers, Jiang Ziya also does not know how tall and fat this person is, what ability they have. He is a pure tool, what the name on the list is, he reads it out as written.
They serve on high, the Taiyuan Heaven for a time dared not act at random with their appointments.
Some, like the sealed needle in a bag, naturally exhibit their due ability. For instance, Wenqu Xingjun Geng and Wuku Xingjun Dou Rong. These are officials with exceptionally strong work capabilities, and they are all very loyal. Taian thus chose to give them heavy responsibilities.
Some are truly unremarkable in terms of their abilities, such as the one hundred and eight constellations led by Gao Yan and Huang Zhen. What are these people capable of? It is said that they brothers must never be separated, and they have to do everything together in groups of one hundred and eight. In the Heavenly Court, does any position require the collective efforts of one hundred and eight people? Even cleaning latrines doesn't need so many people.
If it weren't for Phoenix's organized army of invading Ziqi Star, they would be on their way to optimization.
Now, Gao Yan and his group have taken advantage of their past connections with the Jiejiao sect brothers to come under the protection of the Marshal God. They are aiming to secure a 'loyalty merit' position.
Phoenix readily agreed, saying that she would share in the wealth and status with everyone, as their promotion and wealth are something predictable.
Many Star Kings came to the North Pole Marshal's Mansion, bringing together all the stars. They were not there on their own, each bringing their troops and generals. Roughly calculated, more than 80,000 heavenly soldiers had gathered at the North Pole Marshal's Mansion.
Phoenix was pleased. Although she was leading a group of minor commanders into battle with no coordination between them, looking rather chaotic, that was the norm for this era, and one couldn't expect too much.
However, she still divided the army into twenty corps according to the abilities of their commanders. Those familiar with each other were grouped together. The range of Zhu Wei Star is vast, and with her alone clearing the demons, it would take ages. It is better to divide the area into regions and clean up the demons within each region, and to call for support if needed.
Zheng Lun and Chen Qi returned to report their mission and submitted the petition. However, no one paid attention to them.
They waited outside for an hour, and there were no instructions from Taian. Phoenix guessed that her father-in-law was probably in a bad mood, so since she couldn't stop it, she might as well pretend not to know about it.
Okay, if the expansion of heavenly forces is successful, but if it fails, the loss will be to Phoenix's own reputation.
"All right, the two of you have worked hard. In this battle, your own units will serve as the vanguard. I hope to hear the good news of your victory."
Being a vanguard in this era is a great honor, and it allows you to be the first to seize war booty, making it a good job no matter which way it goes.
The Hum and Haha Two Generals immediately thanked, went down to regulate the troops, and prepared for the expedition.
"General! By no means should you resort to arms. Please calm your wrath and wait for the favorable celestial timing, that is the wiser course!" Just as Phoenix was preparing to issue orders for deployment, an elderly man with white hair and beard, who walked with a tremulous gait, was supported by two attendants and was brought into the grand tent. Upon entering, he began to speak discouragingly.
Phoenix looked at Long Ji and asked, "Who is this guy? He's so old, and he still has such a big mouth. Must be your grandfather?"
Long Ji nodded towards the west and Phoenix realized that she recognized him. It was indeed the western emperor of heaven and earth, Bo Yikao! Why has he gotten so old? She didn't recognize him at first glance.
Jiang Ziya had previously gone to the Underworld to help extend Bo Yikao's life by twenty years, out of respect for the friendship between Zhou Kingdom and Ji Chang. At that time, the six sages were still in the primordial chaos. Now, almost ten years have passed since then.
Lifespan extension means only that a person will not die, and not dying is not the same as being immortal. Bo Yikao had no cultivation methods and his physical body aged rapidly, looking like a candle in the wind, with the potential to extinguish at any moment.
This fellow was quite lucky; during the time when Zhu Rong trampled on the Lingxiao Palace, the entire thirty-third heaven collapsed.
At that time, Bo Yikao was resting in a small palace located quite far from the Lingxiao Palace, thus he managed to escape the first wave of impact. Later on, his nominal subordinate, the Western Inspecting General Tai Bai Jing, did not want to bear unnecessary causality and saved him, bringing him to the ten heavens.
Taian's attitude towards this fellow was the same as before - just wait, waiting for him to die of old age. Even so, he told his subordinates to serve him with their hearts and minds and by no means to show disrespect.
For a God of the Saint level, ten or twenty years is nothing at all.
Now, Bo Yikao has become an unapproachable figure in the Heavenly Court. Everyone fears that he might die in his own hands, so they all avoid him as much as possible.
At this moment, the four great kings were in a state of utter silence, fearful that the sound of their breathing would be too loud, thus directly sending away this emperor and causing a great injustice.
Phoenix did not want to waste time with Bo Yikao. All that talk about righteousness and forgiveness, don't waste my time. If you're worried about casualties, then don't go at all? The arrow is on the string.
Phoenix gave a glance to Long Ji, and the Heavenly Court Princess had to step in.
"Your Majesty, please remain calm. I will explain to you."
"Princess."
Bo Yikao valued etiquette greatly as a ruler. There were very few in the Heavenly Court who paid much attention to Long Ji's status as a princess. Only he did, persistently performing formal greetings and courtesies to her every time.
Long Ji pulled Bo Yikao away, and Phoenix immediately deployed troops for the expedition.
The twenty corps looked quite imposing. Zheng Lun and Chen Qi led the first two, which is to say 8,000 heavenly soldiers set off first.
Phoenix led the remaining 70,000 troops out of the North Heavenly Gate, starting her major expedition!
