I am a fairy in Journey to the West

Buzhou Mountain, Huoling Palace, Qunguang Hall.

Fire Spirit Immortal has been in charge of the affairs of the Divine Palace for half a month, and all matters have been planned in an orderly manner.

Although the Human Realm Grand Master of Fate is in charge of all human affairs, to be honest, it has hardly ever managed them before, and has not issued a single decree to the Four Continents and the Five Sacred Mountains.

This cannot be said to mean that Zhuang Yan is lazy. It's just that for him, there are very few things in the human world that are beyond his control, so he doesn't need to manage everything, let alone interfere too much with the Five Sacred Mountains and the Four Continents.

Just like the Buddha, he didn't need to manage Buddhism in great detail; in fact, he often turned a blind eye to things.

One reason is that he can see through the secrets of heaven with just a thought, and know what the people below are doing.

Secondly, the Buddha was not worried about how much trouble his followers would cause. No matter how big the trouble you caused, could it be bigger than the Buddha's?

Therefore, Zhuang Yan was the same. As far as the power they possessed was concerned, they didn't bother to care about what was happening below, because no matter how big the problem was, he could handle it.

If even Zhuang Yan can't be dealt with, then unless it's someone of the Buddha or Lao Tzu causing trouble, and besides, if someone of that level is going to cause trouble, no matter how much you pay attention beforehand, it won't help; they simply won't let you find out in advance.

But the Fire Spirit Immortal is different. She does not have that kind of great power, and now she has to help Zhuang Yan manage all the affairs of the Great Fate Palace in the mortal world. She must use the authority of the Great Fate Palace to monitor and control the affairs of the various palaces.

However, the current Fire Spirit True Immortal is no longer the hothead who once competed with the Bodhisattva for incense offerings. If he were to directly and forcefully issue orders to the Five Sacred Mountains and the various divine palaces below, it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction among them.

If the various divine palaces below outwardly comply but inwardly disobey, then she will not be able to achieve her goal.

No matter what you do, you always need an entry point, and right now there just happens to be a very suitable one.

Soon, a young attendant entered the hall and said to Huo Ling Zhenxian, "Lord, the Heavenly Dou Pavilion Master, Hongshan Jun, has arrived and is waiting to see you outside the hall."

Fire Spirit Immortal said, "Please invite him in."

"Yes." The boy responded and went out, and soon Lord Hongshan came in.

"Lord, you wanted to see me?" Lord Hongshan arrived at the hall, bowed to True Immortal Huoling, and asked.

Fire Spirit Immortal asked with a smile, "Is the Heavenly Dou Pavilion busy lately?"

Hongshan Jun said, "There are quite a lot of people, especially as more and more people learn about the Heavenly Profound Jade Talisman and come to Buzhou Mountain to apply for it. So from the very beginning, there has been a constant stream of people coming to apply for the Heavenly Profound Jade Talisman."

Fire Spirit Immortal nodded and said, "Let me ask you something: Can the Heavenly Profound Jade Cup be split?"

"Huh?" Lord Hongshan was stunned. After a long while, he reacted and asked, "Splitting it? Why do you want to split the Heavenly Profound Jade Cup, Lord?"

Fire Spirit Immortal said, “It’s not the kind of splitting you’re thinking of, but rather splitting its function. I intend to open branches of the Heavenly Fighting Pavilion in the Four Continents. In the future, you will take charge of the main body of the Heavenly Profound Jade Fighting Pavilion, and then split it into four parts and send them to the Four Continents, so that the beings of the Four Continents can directly obtain the Heavenly Profound Jade Talisman in their own continent.”

Upon hearing this, Lord Hongshan immediately understood. "Does Your Excellency mean to delegate the authority to issue Heavenly Profound Jade Talismans through the Heavenly Profound Jade Cauldron?"

"Authority?" Fire Spirit True Immortal chuckled. "You mean authority?"

Hongshan Jun shook his head and said, "No, Your Majesty, the Heavenly Profound Jade Cup itself has authority, and the authority to issue Heavenly Profound Jade Talismans can also be delegated."

"Oh? Is that so?" Fire Spirit Immortal said, "So that means we can do it this way?"

Lord Hongshan nodded and said, "Yes, Your Excellency, the Heavenly Profound Jade Cannon can delegate authority, but it needs to be supported by a 'spiritual treasure'. If we want to open branch pavilions in the four continents, we will need four spiritual treasures."

Fire Spirit Immortal said, "Four spiritual treasures are nothing."

Having said that, the Fire Spirit Immortal raised his hand and flipped it over. With a flash of immortal light, four spiritual treasures immediately appeared in the Fire Spirit Immortal's hand, one of which was the 'Three Magic Treasures Silver Pestle'.

Fire Spirit Immortal used his magic to send the four spiritual treasures to Rainbow Mountain Lord and said, "Use these four spiritual treasures to carry them. Now go and assign the authority to issue the Heavenly Profound Jade Talisman to these four spiritual treasures, and then send them to me."

Lord Hongshan bowed and said, "Your subordinate obeys."

After saying this, Lord Hongshan accepted the four spiritual treasures, then bowed and turned to leave the Hall of Radiant Light, departing from the Fire Spirit Palace to return to the Heavenly Dou Pavilion.

Not long after, Lord Hongshan arrived at the Qunguang Palace again. After announcing his entry, he took out the four spiritual treasures.

The four spiritual treasures now are quite different from before. They have been reshaped by the power of the Heavenly Profound Jade Dou and have become small Heavenly Profound Jade Dous, only the size of a human head. The base is engraved with four small characters: 'Heavenly Profound Secondary Dou'.

The four secondary battle vessels emitted a soft, jade-like light. Lord Hongshan presented them to him, saying, "My lord, the secondary battle vessels have been completed."

Fire Spirit Immortal waved his hand and put the four secondary battle tokens into his sleeve, saying, "Alright, thank you for your hard work."

Upon hearing this, Lord Hongshan hesitated for a moment before saying, "My lord, these four deputy warriors can only issue Heavenly Profound Jade Talismans; they have no other function."

Fire Spirit Immortal smiled slightly and said, "That's enough. I'm not trying to take away your power; I'm just making it easier for all living beings to obtain the Heavenly Profound Jade Talisman. Since the True Lord has entrusted you with the Heavenly Profound Jade Dipper, then you will forever hold the Heavenly Profound Jade Dipper. However, the Heavenly Dipper Pavilion will be renamed the 'Heavenly Dipper Academy,' and you will serve as its head. The pavilions established in the four continents will be called Heavenly Dipper Pavilions, still under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Dipper Academy."

Upon hearing this, Lord Hongshan immediately bowed and said, "Yes, I understand."

Fire Spirit Immortal nodded and said, "Then you go ahead and get busy. I will let you know after I have set up the branch pavilions in various places."

Lord Hongshan accepted the order and said, "Yes, Your subordinate will take his leave."

After Lord Hongshan left, True Immortal Huoling got up and walked out of the Qunguang Hall. He said to the boy on duty outside, "If anyone looks for me recently, tell him that I have gone down the mountain. You can contact me with the Heavenly Profound Jade Talisman."

Upon hearing this, the two boys quickly bowed and said, "Yes, we've got it."

Then, the Fire Spirit Immortal left Mount Buzhou, rode on auspicious clouds, and flew directly towards the Southern Continent.

In the Southern Continent, in Chang'an City of the Great Tang Dynasty, at the Lingtai Taoist Palace.

Yan Junzhi, dressed in a blue Taoist robe, arrived outside Xuyun Pavilion carrying a stack of prayer forms. These were prayer forms submitted by special pilgrims who came to Lingtai Taoist Palace to offer incense.

The so-called special pilgrims were naturally the imperial relatives, ministers, generals, and high-ranking officials of the Tang Dynasty, because they knew that there were immortals in the Lingtai Taoist Palace.

Ordinary worshippers usually offer incense at nearby Taoist temples or Buddhist monasteries, and wouldn't travel all the way to Lingtai Taoist Palace. Even if they do come to Lingtai Taoist Palace to offer incense, they won't submit a petition, but will simply kowtow and silently make their wishes in their hearts.

Only those who know the background of Lingtai Taoist Temple will come specifically to offer incense and directly write their wishes into a petition and hand it to the Taoist priests of Lingtai Taoist Temple.

The Taoist priests would keep the memorials there, and after the Taoist temple closed its doors to visitors at the hour of You (5-7 PM), they would present them all to the temple.

Today it happened to be Yan Junzhi's turn to be on duty, so he came to the outside of Xuyun Pavilion with a stack of official documents.

“Master, your disciple Yan Junzhi requests an audience.” Yan Junzhi bowed deeply.

Soon, a tall girl dressed in purple robes, with exquisite features and a face that could topple kingdoms, appeared before Yan Junzhi.

Upon seeing the woman, Yan Junzhi quickly said, "Senior Brother, this is today's prayer petition."

Wu Zhao nodded, took the memorial from Yan Junzhi, and said, "You've worked hard. Go and rest now."

"Yes." Yan Junzhi bowed with his hands clasped, then turned and left.

Wu Zhao then turned and walked into the Xuyun Pavilion, placing the stack of petitions on the table in front of Tieguai Li, and said, "These are today's petitions."

After Tieguai Li finished drawing a deity image, he put down his brush and looked at the stack of memorials.

Wu Zhao then stepped forward, picked up the portrait of Tieguai Li that he had just finished painting, and then walked to the side and placed it on the sandalwood shelf to dry the ink.

"Is it Guanyin Bodhisattva again today?" Wu Zhao asked, somewhat puzzled.

Tieguai Li laughed and said, "Recently, more and more people have come to believe in Guanyin Bodhisattva, so there are many people seeking Guanyin statues."

Wu Zhao hesitated and said, "I don't quite understand. We are a Taoist temple and Taoist priests. Why do we paint images of Guanyin Bodhisattva for the common people?"

Tieguai Li smiled and said, "Take a closer look at that portrait."

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhao immediately turned his head to look again. He saw that the Guanyin Bodhisattva in the portrait was elegant and graceful, with a fairy-like appearance, completely different from the solemn and benevolent Bodhisattva images in Buddhism.

In particular, the Guanyin in the painting has her hair tied in a bun and wears a Shangqing hibiscus crown. Even her snow-white robe is in the style of a Taoist robe.

"Huh? It looks like a Taoist priest?" Wu Zhao exclaimed in surprise.

Tieguai Li nodded and smiled, "That's right, this is Guanyin Bodhisattva, not Guanyin Dashi."

Wu Zhao asked, "What is the difference between Guanyin Dashi and Guanyin Bodhisattva?"

Tieguai Li said, "Guanyin cultivates the methods of both Taoism and Buddhism, and is revered by all three religions. Therefore, the Taoists call her a Great Master, and the Buddhists call her a Bodhisattva. Guanyin Great Master is the Taoist title, while Guanyin Bodhisattva is the Buddhist title."

Wu Zhao nodded in sudden realization, "No wonder some Taoist temples also enshrine Guanyin. Now I understand why."

Tieguai Li had already picked up the memorials and was looking at them one by one, shaking his head as he looked. "Looking at them, they're all for those seeking immortality," Tieguai Li said helplessly.

Wu Zhao laughed and said, "These memorials are all the prayers of those imperial relatives, prime ministers, high-ranking officials and nobles. These people are all extremely wealthy and have nothing else to ask for but immortality."

Tieguai Li said, "Having already enjoyed wealth and honor in this life, why should I covet immortality?"

After saying this, Tieguai Li burned all the petitions seeking immortality.

Upon seeing this, Wu Zhao hesitated for a moment and said, "Master, these people are sincere and come to burn incense and worship all year round. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to just burn it like this?"

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Tieguai Li said. “These people are delusional. They won’t even get longevity, let alone immortality.”

At this point, Tieguai Li added, "As for the merits of their sincere worship, blessings will naturally descend upon them in the future."

Wu Zhao remained silent. Tieguai Li glanced at her and suddenly asked, "I heard that your family had a happy occasion a while ago?"

"Huh?" Wu Zhao was taken aback for a moment, then quickly said, "Master, what good news could there be in my family?"

Tieguai Li said, "Your two elder brothers have both become officials. Isn't that a joyous occasion?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhao's face immediately showed disgust. "I am nominally his brother and sister, but in reality, we have no affection for each other. No matter how high their official positions are, it has nothing to do with me."

"Well, that's good then." Tieguai Li nodded slightly, and then said, "My Lingtai Dao Palace is the number one Dao Palace in the world, appointed by His Majesty. I am also the Imperial Preceptor appointed by His Majesty. Although I do not serve as an official in the court, I can still influence the general trend of the court. Therefore, we must be more upright and not give away blessings indiscriminately."

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhao's expression changed several times. After a while, he came to his senses and said to Tieguai Li, "Master, I understand."

"Well, you should go back and rest too, it's getting late," Tieguai Li said.

Wu Zhao immediately took her leave and returned to her residence with a heavy heart. After closing the door, she took out a letter from her sleeve.

Her expression shifted in the candlelight, but she quickly made her decision without hesitation, placing the letter on the candle flame and setting it ablaze.

“I’m sorry, Mother, since I have already become a nun, I have abandoned the mortal world. Please forgive me for not being able to comply.” After saying this, Wu Zhao’s expression returned to calm, and even the complex emotions she had just experienced disappeared.

What she burned was the petition her mother had sent seeking immortality.

Because Wu Zhao had served as Zhuang Yan's personal attendant at the Lingtai Dao Palace, Li Shimin bestowed upon her mother the title of First Rank Imperial Consort and granted her generous rewards every year. As a result, Wu Zhao's mother's life has been getting better and better over the years, and she seemed to have become twenty years younger the last time they met.

When life gets better, greed inevitably arises, so she wanted to use her daughter's connections to obtain a blessing of longevity.

It was obvious that Tieguai Li's words were meant to enlighten her, and Wu Zhao, being clever and quick-witted, understood immediately. Upon returning, she burned her mother's petition for immortality without the slightest hesitation.

Inside the Void Cloud Pavilion, Tieguai Li suddenly showed a pleased expression, nodding slightly and smiling, "A promising young man." (End of Chapter)