I am a fairy in Journey to the West

Zhuang Yan arrived at the Hall of Mortals and looked at the gods worshipping below. He reached out and said, "Rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The gods bowed in gratitude and rose. Zhuang Yan then said, "Please sit down."

The gods bowed in thanks again, and then each sat down on a sandalwood chair on either side of the main hall.

Zhuang Yan looked at the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors and the Nine Heavenly Lords and said, "This is the eighth meeting already, isn't it? What? Is it just a matter of vertical jurisdiction that makes you so afraid?"

"Your Majesty," the Eastern Peak Emperor stood up first, and said with a wry smile, "It's not that I'm afraid, but once this vertical governance is implemented, wouldn't our power as the Five Peaks Emperors be shared with the Five Directions Heavenly Lords? In that case, the Five Peaks Emperors would be unworthy of the title. Why don't you abolish the Five Peaks Imperial Palace and let the Five Directions Heavenly Lords govern the Five Continents?"

"The Eastern Peak Emperor is right," the Southern Peak Emperor chimed in. "It's not that we crave power, but rather that duties are clearly defined and authority is clearly assigned. Since the Five Peaks Imperial Palaces have already been established, why should the Five Heavenly Lords be allowed to govern them as well? This would lead to confusion of authority, how could decrees be implemented, and how could all living beings be governed?"

The Great Emperor of Zhongyue rarely commented on the decrees of the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm, but this time he took the initiative to express his opinion: "Your Majesty, authority should be centralized under one master, just like the 'Three Primal Systems' mentioned before, where the three Primal Divine Lords each perform their duties and wield their respective powers, which is excellent. But here at the Five Sacred Mountains, how come they are mixed up with the Five Heavenly Lords? Putting aside other matters, just consider this: if a major event occurs, will the people below listen to the Five Sacred Mountains Imperial Palace or the Five Heavenly Lords' Palace?"

Listening to the opinions of the three emperors, Zhuang Yan turned to the Fire Spirit True Immortal below and said, "The concerns of the three emperors are also true. Do you have any contingency plans regarding this decree?"

Fire Spirit Immortal said, "Your Majesty, I have another contingency plan."

"Oh?" Since Zhuang Yan had a plan, "Then let's present it."

So the Fire Spirit Immortal took out a memorial from his sleeve, stood up and personally presented it to Zhuang Yan, who opened the memorial and read it carefully.

The Five Great Emperors below looked up with great concern, while also exchanging glances with each other.

A moment later, Zhuang Yan put down the memorial and said, "Since the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors are worried that vertical jurisdiction will lead to unclear authority and unclear division of responsibilities, then let's abolish the vertical jurisdiction clause."

Upon hearing this, the Five Great Emperors felt a weight lifted from their hearts and rose with joy, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty is good at accepting good advice and makes wise decisions. We thank Your Majesty for your understanding."

Zhuang Yan smiled and gestured for them to sit down, saying, "Please sit down, everyone. There's no need for such formalities."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The Five Sacred Mountains Emperor bowed in gratitude, then rose and sat down.

But as soon as they sat down, Zhuang Yan waved the memorial in his hand and said, "Since vertical jurisdiction has been abolished, let's proceed according to this plan."

Upon hearing this, the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors immediately turned their gazes upwards again. The Eastern Sacred Mountain Emperor was the first to ask, "May I ask Your Majesty, what is the method of this contingency plan?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "Abolish the vertical jurisdiction of the Nine Heavenly Lords and replace it with the power of supervision."

"what?"

"what?!"

"this!!!"

The Five Great Emperors' expressions changed drastically, their eyes filled with astonishment, and some even exclaimed in surprise.

So the Fire Spirit Immortal was waiting for them here? He first gave them a vague "vertical jurisdiction" to provoke their resistance, and then, after pulling them to a certain point, he brought out Zhuang Yan and issued the real decree: to supervise the Five Sacred Mountains.

If the previous vertical jurisdiction only allowed the Five Heavenly Lords to vaguely obtain the authority of the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors, then this supervision of the Five Sacred Mountains is to truly allow the Five Heavenly Lords to supervise the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors and the Five Sacred Mountains Imperial Palaces.

The Five Sacred Mountains Emperors could even imagine that no matter what policies they issued, what they did, or what people they used, the Five Heavenly Lords were always watching them.

How could this be? The Five Great Emperors almost simultaneously stood up, walked to the center of the hall, bowed, and said, "We believe this is inappropriate."

"Hmm?" Zhuang Yan's face darkened as he looked at the Five Great Emperors and said, "Do you think my Dust Realm Palace is a marketplace? Are you trying to bargain with me here?"

“You opposed a previous decree on vertical jurisdiction for seven days. I will not make things difficult for you and will abolish the decree on vertical jurisdiction.”

"But now that the Five Heavenly Lords are to oversee the Five Sacred Mountains, you still object? Do you think I'm a pushover?"

"Even the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm is subject to the supervision of the Thunder Department, so what's wrong with letting the Five Heavenly Lords supervise the Five Sacred Mountains? And you're still complaining to me."

The Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak said, "Your Majesty, even if you want to supervise the Five Sacred Mountains, you should let the Heavenly Emperors of the same rank supervise them. Why let these minor gods supervise us? Isn't this an insult to us?"

"You audacious Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak!" Fire Spirit True Immortal roared, pointing at the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak and saying, "We are all righteous gods of the Heavenly Court, each with our own duties. How can we distinguish between great and small? How dare you disregard the gods?"

Having said that, Huo Ling Zhenxian immediately bowed to Zhuang Yan and said, "Your Majesty, I want to impeach the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak for resisting the law and showing contempt for the Heavenly Officials. I request that the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak be executed."

Upon hearing this, the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak glared angrily and roared at the True Immortal Fire Spirit, "True Immortal Fire Spirit, you villain, you traitor, how dare you kill me? Come, come, try killing me!"

"Do you think I wouldn't dare?" Fire Spirit Immortal immediately shouted towards the outside of the hall, "Where are the heavenly soldiers before the hall?"

In an instant, a squad of Zhang Tianying Heavenly Soldiers, clad in Eight Treasures Armor and wearing Seven Treasures Swords at their waists, entered and bowed to the Fire Spirit True Immortal, saying, "Present."

Fire Spirit Immortal pointed at the Eastern Peak Emperor and said, "Take the Eastern Peak Emperor out and behead him."

"Huh?" Qin Ju, the captain of the Heavenly Soldiers, was dumbfounded. Execute the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak? Me?
The Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak was even more enraged, pointing directly at the True Immortal Fire Spirit and cursing, "Fire Spirit, you traitor, I swear I will not rest until I kill you today."

After saying this, the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak summoned the True Form Diagram of the Eastern Peak and was about to make a move. Upon seeing this, the four Great Emperors of the Northern Peak, Western Peak, Southern Peak, and Central Peak changed their expressions drastically and quickly stepped forward to hold the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak tightly.

Fire Spirit Immortal was not to be outdone. He directly unleashed the Supreme Golden Buddha Sacred Fire and said to the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, "Today I will burn you to death, you old thief, and then I will find someone else to rule the Eastern Peak."

As things progressed to this point, even the Nine Heavenly Lords could no longer sit still. The Five Heavenly Lords went to stop the Fire Spirit True Immortal, while the other Four Heavenly Lords stood between the two, constantly trying to persuade them.

Not to mention the Heavenly Soldier Captain Qin Ju and the others, they had never seen such a scene before. Any one of these great gods in front of them was someone they could not afford to offend.

"Stop it, all of you!" With a clear shout, Zhuang Yan finally spoke.

As soon as Zhuang Yan spoke, the entire hall fell silent. Even the Fire Spirit True Immortal and the Eastern Peak Emperor stopped shouting.

Zhuang Yan waved to Qin Ju and the others first, saying, "This is none of your business. Go down first."

Qin Ju and the others felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They quickly bowed and responded, then fled from the Chenhuan Palace as if they were running away.

After Qin Ju and the others withdrew, Zhuang Yan raised his hand and pointed lightly. In an instant, the Supreme Golden Buddha Sacred Flame in the hand of the Fire Spirit True Immortal was extinguished, and the True Form Diagram of the Eastern Peak Emperor in the hand was sent back to the Eastern Peak Emperor's spiritual platform.

"You have a point about vertical jurisdiction, saying that the power structure is chaotic and the responsibilities are unclear." Zhuang Yan looked at the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors. "But what's wrong with supervising the Five Sacred Mountains? Do you Five Sacred Mountains not want to be supervised by the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm?"

Upon hearing this, the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors' expressions changed, and they immediately bowed and said, "We dare not. Of course we are willing to accept the supervision of the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm, but we do not accept the supervision of the Five Heavenly Lords."

"The Five Heavenly Lords are the divine officials established by the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm to coordinate the affairs of the Five Sacred Mountains and manage the affairs of the Five Continents on behalf of the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm. They are the officials of the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm!" Zhuang Yan said.

The Five Sacred Mountains Emperors paused abruptly, then fell silent, bowing their heads in silence.

"Why don't you speak?" Zhuang Yan asked. The Five Great Emperors raised their heads, looked at each other, and finally the Southern Great Emperor spoke up: "Since Your Majesty has said so, what else can we, your subjects, say?"

"Oh?" A smile appeared at the corner of Zhuang Yan's eyes. "It seems you're still not convinced."

The Great Emperor of the Southern Peak lowered his head, and the other four Great Emperors of the Four Peaks also remained silent, their meaning quite clear.

Upon seeing this, Zhuang Yan immediately addressed the people inside the hall: "The Five Great Emperors, stay here. The rest of you, go out and await orders. Close the hall doors."

Fire Spirit Immortal, Nine Directions Heavenly Lord, and all the immortal officials and attendants in the hall bowed and accepted the order, and then all withdrew.

As the doors of the Dust Palace slowly closed, the light inside the hall dimmed instantly.

The Five Sacred Mountains Emperor looked up at Zhuang Yan above, only to see him roll up his sleeves and step down from the palace steps.

"Since the Five Great Emperors cannot understand the decrees of the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm, then I will use another language to properly explain to the five emperors." The moment Zhuang Yan finished speaking, a great power instantly enveloped the Five Great Emperors.

That immense power sealed away all their cultivation and power. The Five Great Emperors were all astonished and horrified, and they all looked at Zhuang Yan and asked, "Your Majesty Shenxiao, what...what are you going to do?"

Zhuang Yan smiled slightly, then suddenly threw a punch. This punch was divided into five parts, which hit the Five Great Emperors' faces evenly and fairly. The Five Great Emperors screamed in pain and were sent flying at the same time.

Outside the Dust Palace, True Immortal Fire Spirit and Lord Nine Directions waited for three whole days.

Eastern Celestial Lord Wen Qiong asked with a puzzled expression, "Why has Your Majesty been discussing with the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors for so long?"

Because they couldn't hear or see what was happening inside, no one knew how Zhuang Yan and the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors were discussing their plans.

Guan Yu, the Heavenly Lord of the South Pole, stroked his long beard. Hearing Wen Qiong's words, he frowned slightly and said after a moment, "We haven't reached a consensus yet, have we?"

Then everyone looked at True Immortal Fire Spirit, who had his arms crossed and was leaning slightly against the white jade pillar outside the hall. When he saw everyone looking at him, he said, "Why are you looking at me? I don't know what's going on inside."

“But it’s been three days already,” said Liu Yan, the Celestial Lord of the North Pole. “With His Majesty’s divine power, how could it be that he hasn’t reached a consensus with the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors in three days?”

The Four Seas Heavenly Lords all shook their heads. The Western Heavenly Lord remained silent for a while before saying, "Is there anything else we need to discuss?"

"I don't know then," said the Heavenly Lord of the South Sea, shaking his head.

Just then, Zhuang Yan's voice suddenly came from inside the Chenhuan Palace: "Baojie and Xiuhuang, come in."

Upon hearing Zhuang Yan's voice, everyone outside the hall immediately perked up. "The discussion is finally over," said the Northern Sea Heavenly Lord with a smile.

Fire Spirit Immortal immediately straightened up, lowered his hands, and stepped outside the palace gate. He saw the two attendants, Baojie and Xiuhuang, push open the gate and go inside.

The rest of the people, having not received an imperial edict, dared not enter the palace and could only look around from outside.

"Why is there such a malevolent aura?" Donghai Tianjun asked, puzzled.

However, just moments later, Xiuhuang Tongzi ran out in a horrified expression and hurriedly left Lingtai Palace.

"What happened? Why did Xiuhuang Tongzi look so panicked just now?" Wen Qiong asked in surprise.

Everyone shook their heads in confusion, but after only a moment, a group of people arrived outside the Chenhuan Palace. When everyone turned around, they saw Erlang Shen leading ten Zhang Tianying captains carrying five palanquins to rush to the outside of the Chenhuan Palace.

"Erlang Zhenjun?!" Upon seeing Erlang Shen, everyone hurriedly bowed and paid their respects.

But Erlang Shen had no time to pay attention to them. He immediately led the ten captains into the Chenhuan Palace. When they arrived at the center of the hall, they all gasped in surprise.

Zhuang Yan sat calmly in the hall, drinking tea, while the Five Great Emperors lay on the ground, their faces bruised and swollen, emitting muffled and painful groans.

Erlang Shen was shocked. Had the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors rebelled? How could they have been beaten like this?

"Your Majesty," Erlang Shen greeted Zhuang Yan with a bow, "What is the meaning of the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors?"

"Oh." Zhuang Yan put down his teacup and smiled. "I was discussing the matter of supervising the Five Sacred Mountains with them. Because we were so engrossed in the conversation, the five emperors were so happy that they forgot themselves and excitedly banged their heads on the ground, which caused them some injuries. You should immediately send the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors to the imperial carriage and dispatch the Heavenly Soldiers of the Zhangtian Camp to escort the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors back to the Five Sacred Mountains Imperial Palace."

Erlang Shen looked speechless and excitedly banged his head on the ground? It's more likely that you were the one pressing their heads down to 'bang their heads on the ground,' right?

"What?" Zhuang Yan looked at Erlang Shen and asked, "Do you have any questions?"

"No, no, Your Majesty, I obey." Erlang Shen hurriedly accepted the order; any slower and he might have 'excitedly banged his head on the ground'.

Erlang Shen immediately ordered his men to carry the injured Five Sacred Mountains Emperor, who had 'banged his head on the ground,' onto a palanquin, and then bid farewell to Zhuang Yan and left the Mortal Realm Palace.

When the gods outside the Hall of Mortals saw the dying Five Sacred Mountains Emperors being carried out, their faces first showed astonishment, then horror, and finally they began to tremble.

Did His Majesty really beat the Five Great Emperors to death?!

So, does this mean the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors didn't hold any meetings these past three days, but were instead being beaten by His Majesty the Divine Firmament?

A fine layer of sweat quickly covered Jiufang Tianjun's forehead, and even Huoling Zhenxian's eyes widened, his face full of shock.

"Everyone outside, come in." Zhuang Yan's voice came from inside the hall again.

The Fire Spirit Immortal was the first to regain his senses and immediately said to the still bewildered Nine Directions Heavenly Lord, "His Majesty summons us to the palace."

After speaking, True Immortal Huo Ling calmed himself down, straightened his clothes, and took the lead in stepping into the Dust Realm Palace.

The Nine Heavenly Lords also came to their senses, quickly tidied their clothes and appearance, and followed the Fire Spirit True Immortal into the main hall.

After the gods entered the main hall to pay homage to Zhuang Yan, Zhuang Yan granted them permission to rise. He then smiled and said, "The Five Great Emperors are indeed worthy of being called the Great Virtuous Emperors of the Heavenly Court. Just now, they all vied to affix their seals and sign their names, indicating their willingness to accept supervision. They were even seriously injured in the struggle. Their loyalty is truly commendable."

Fire Spirit Immortal immediately said solemnly, "I did not expect the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors to be so loyal. I have misunderstood them."

The Nine Directions Heavenly Lords trembled with fear and broke out in a cold sweat, all of them joining the Fire Spirit True Immortal in praising the 'loyalty' of the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors.

As he spoke, Zhuang Yan presented the "Supervisory of the Five Sacred Mountains" document to Huo Ling Zhenxian. Huo Ling Zhenxian took it and saw that it indeed contained the precious seals of the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors.

Fire Spirit Immortal, his face beaming with joy, immediately bowed to Zhuang Yan and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhuang Yan smiled and looked at the Nine Directions Heavenly Lord, saying, "From now on, you will begin to exercise the power of supervision over your respective Heavenly Domain, Continent, and Sea Domain Divine Palace. Do not disappoint me."

Upon hearing Zhuang Yan's words, the Nine Heavenly Lords trembled and bowed deeply, saying, "Your subjects obey the decree." (End of Chapter)