I am a fairy in Journey to the West

The Great Luo Heaven, the Taiwei Yuqing Palace, the Yuji Hall.

The Jade Emperor, dressed only in a simple and elegant robe, swallowed a 'Taiji Pill' with the help of several Chang'e fairy attendants.

Zhuang Yan sat atop the auspicious cloud, watching this scene with a smile. Even though he was now a Great Luo Golden Immortal, he could still sense a mysterious and magnificent aura emanating from the 'Taiji Pill'.

He didn't know what the miraculous effects of the 'Tai Chi Pill' were, but the pills that the Jade Emperor took were incomparable to any other golden pill.

After the Jade Emperor consumed the 'Taiji Pill', he formed a hand seal and closed his eyes slightly. Zhuang Yan immediately felt a mysterious and vast power rise from the Jade Emperor's body, but it vanished in an instant.

The Jade Emperor opened his eyes and saw Zhuang Yan looking at him. He then joked, "Want some?"

Zhuang Yan also smiled and said, "If the Great Heavenly Venerable were to bestow upon me this precious elixir, I would be eternally grateful."

The Jade Emperor laughed heartily and stroked his long beard, saying, "I can bestow upon you everything, but I cannot grant you this elixir. It is not that I am stingy, but only I can take this elixir. If anyone else were to take it, it would only bring harm and no benefit."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "In that case, I'd better not accept it."

The Jade Emperor smiled faintly, then waved his hand to dismiss all the celestial officials and fairies in the hall. After a moment, only the Jade Emperor and Zhuang Yan remained in the Jade Palace.

Zhuang Yan's expression was solemn. The Jade Emperor was about to discuss a confidential matter. Sure enough, the Jade Emperor spoke to Zhuang Yan, saying, "I have summoned you to Heaven this time to temporarily take charge of the Great Luo Heaven."

Zhuang Yan looked somewhat surprised and asked, "With the Great Celestial Venerable and the Four Imperial Fellow Daoists present, how could I presume to act?"

The Jade Emperor said, "The Five Elements Heavenly Dao has been testing the Pangu Heavenly Dao repeatedly recently, and it is likely that it has truly developed its own consciousness."

Zhuang Yan asked in surprise, "What does the Great Celestial Venerable intend to do this time?"

The Jade Emperor's expression turned solemn, and he said, "I am going to meet the Five Elements Heavenly Dao. If he has truly developed his own consciousness, neither Laozi, Buddha, nor you are his match."

Zhuang Yan's expression changed. "The Great Celestial Venerable is going to personally fight against the Five Elements Heavenly Dao?"

“That’s right.” The Jade Emperor nodded and said, “If I don’t take action myself, the Five Elements Heavenly Dao is very likely to attack Laozi and the others.”

Zhuang Yan hesitated for a moment, "Great Heavenly Venerable, it is not that I am being disrespectful, but the Five Elements Heavenly Dao is a Heavenly Dao of its own, Great Heavenly Venerable..."

The Jade Emperor smiled slightly and looked at Zhuang Yan, saying, "Although I am one of the Great Luo Golden Immortals, there are differences between us. You will know this in the future. For now, just know that only I am the match for the Five Elements Heavenly Dao."

Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "Since the Great Celestial Venerable has made the arrangements, then I will accept the decree."

The Jade Emperor nodded and smiled, “I have already issued an edict, and the Four Emperors will follow. You should meet with them first. Only you know about this matter; even Laozi and Buddha are unaware. To the outside world, just say that I am in seclusion.”

Zhuang Yan knew the extent of this trust, and immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Your subject accepts the decree."

The Jade Emperor gestured for Zhuang Yan to sit down, then said, "My journey will take at least a few years, and at most several decades, but I will surely see the outcome. I entrust all matters concerning the Heavenly Court and the appearance of Pangu to you. The affairs of the Great Luo Heaven can be handled by the Four Emperors in ordinary times; you only need to take charge of important matters."

Zhuang Yan took a deep breath, rose again, and bowed, saying, "Your subject will obey the Great Heavenly Venerable's decree."

At this moment, a spirit official outside reported: "Reporting to the Great Heavenly Venerable, His Majesty the Four Emperors await an audience outside the palace."

Zhuang Yan immediately sat back down, while the Jade Emperor raised his head and bestowed the words: "Summon."

A short while later, the four emperors entered the Jade Palace side by side. Upon reaching the center of the palace, they bowed in unison and said, "Your subjects pay homage to the Great Heavenly Venerable."

"No need for formalities." The Jade Emperor smiled and waved his sleeve, and four auspicious clouds immediately appeared on the right side of the hall. "Please sit."

"Thank you, Great Heavenly Venerable." After the Four Emperors bowed in gratitude, they flew down to the auspicious cloud and sat down cross-legged. After sitting down, Zhuang Yan from the formation bowed slightly and nodded with a smile.

Then the Jade Emperor said, "I will be in seclusion for several years to deal with the counterattack of the Five Elements Heavenly Dao. The affairs of the Great Luo Heaven will be entirely managed by the Four Emperors."

The four emperors bowed and said, "Your subjects accept the decree."

The Jade Emperor then said, "The Great Emperor Shenxiao is a Golden Immortal of the Great Luo. I hereby appoint him to oversee the mortal realm on my behalf. If you have any unresolved matters in Heaven, you may ask the Great Emperor Shenxiao to preside over them."

The Four Emperors received the decree again, then bowed to Zhuang Yan and said, "We are willing to obey the decree of the Divine Firmament Emperor."

Zhuang Yan cupped his hands and smiled, "My focus is still on the mortal realm and the three realms. You four can decide on matters in the heavens yourselves. If you encounter any difficulties, you may inform me."

The Four Emperors nodded in agreement, saying, "Good."

After arranging everything, the Jade Emperor held a celestial banquet and feasted with Zhuang Yan and the Four Emperors. After the banquet, the Four Emperors took their leave.

After the Four Emperors left, Zhuang Yan also rose to bid farewell and depart.

Three days after Zhuang Yan returned to Buzhou Mountain, the Jade Emperor announced that he would go into seclusion to deal with the counterattack of the Five Elements Heavenly Dao, and issued an edict ordering Zhuang Yan to take charge of the affairs of the Great Luo Heaven in the presence of Pangu.

This event did not cause any disturbance when Pangu appeared in the world. People simply paid homage to the Great Luo Heaven or went to the Jade Emperor Temple to burn incense and pay their respects.

With the Jade Emperor supporting them from above, all the beings that Pangu brought to the world felt very happy.

Especially in recent years, with the governance of the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm, the entire Jambudvipa Great World has experienced an unprecedented period of prosperity, and even the number of cultivators in the world has increased.

In contrast to the Jade Emperor's announcement of seclusion, another event caused quite a stir in the world of Jambudvipa: Marquis Crimson Pearl, Lin Daiyu, was ordered to investigate the practice of feeding demons with humans in the Four Continents.

Lin Daiyu first conducted an investigation in Zhongshan Haizhou, which was right under the nose of Chenhuan Yufu, so it naturally took the lead.

However, the situation in Zhongshan Haizhou was not serious. Firstly, there were few people there, and secondly, since the Zhongyue Emperor's Palace moved here, it had conducted a major assessment of all the large and small divine palaces in Zhongshan Haizhou. During this assessment, many celestial officials and deities who violated the laws of heaven were severely punished, and then many virtuous people in the human world were promoted and recruited as deities in various places after they died of old age.

Therefore, the overall Taoist community of Zhongshan Haizhou is very upright and pragmatic. After Lin Daiyu conducted an investigation, there were only twelve cases in the entire Zhongshan Haizhou, and the scope of involvement was very small, with no celestial officials or deities involved.

All of this was thanks to the governance of the previous Minister of the Central Mountain, the old minister who had recently perished in the calamity.

After Lin Daiyu thoroughly investigated the case, she sent all the principal offenders, accomplices, and evidence of their crimes in the twelve cases to the Zhongyue Imperial Palace. Tu Wudang, who had already taken over as the Minister of the Zhongyue Imperial Palace, immediately sentenced the criminals in accordance with the Heavenly Law.

The 57 ringleaders were all executed, and their souls were subsequently cast into hell to suffer for a hundred years. Those who were mortals were punished with violent death, and their souls were cast into hell to suffer for half a year.

Of the 398 accomplices, all those who were immortals or demons were executed. Those who were mortals were exiled to desolate and barren lands.

The so-called desolate land is a place without spiritual energy or earth veins. Once you get to such a place, it is difficult to survive, let alone anything else.

After investigating Zhongshan Haizhou, Lin Daiyu immediately divided her forces into four groups to simultaneously investigate the four major continents.

There was nothing that could be done about it. Zhongshan Haizhou was right under the nose of Chenhuan Yufu, and there weren't many cases or many people involved, so not much news got out.

But the four continents are different. Once the news spreads, people in each region will inevitably begin to destroy evidence or flee.

Therefore, Lin Daiyu divided her forces into four groups to begin the investigation, and Xue Baochai's initial force of one thousand soldiers eventually increased to ten thousand.

Therefore, Lin Daiyu applied to the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm for manpower, and the Fire Spirit Immortal specially issued an edict to Erlang Shen of the Heavenly Pivot Province, ordering him to send several people to help.

This was also an opportunity to make a name for himself, so Erlang Shen sent Yao Gonglin, Guo Shen, and Zhijian over.

Yao Gonglin led two thousand heavenly soldiers and two law enforcement officers to Beiju Luzhou to investigate crimes.

Guo Shen led two thousand heavenly soldiers and two law officers to Xiniu Hezhou to investigate crimes.

Zhijian led two thousand heavenly soldiers and two law officers to Dongsheng Shenzhou to investigate crimes.

As for Lin Daiyu, she and Xue Baochai personally led four thousand heavenly soldiers to the Southern Continent to investigate crimes.

The case was uncovered starting from the Southern Continent, so the Southern Continent had to be investigated first. Because of the edict of the Fire Spirit Immortal, Lin Daiyu was essentially an imperial envoy, and all the major and minor deities in the Southern Continent had to cooperate with her in handling the case.

In the past six months, Lin Daiyu has practically turned the entire Southern Continent upside down.
She not only rigorously investigated the immortals and demons who bought and sold living people, but also ordered all immortals and demons to "inform" on others. Any immortal or demon who informed on others, even if they had previously participated in buying and selling living people, could have their punishment reduced by one degree, and those with minor offenses could even be exempted from punishment altogether.

Those who had not participated in the buying and selling of living people could even receive a reward of one thousand purple coins after their informant was reported and the case was solved.

Under Lin Daiyu's policies, almost every immortal and demon in the Southern Continent who bought and sold living people lived in fear, because many people would inform on them.

The majority of those involved were accomplices. They felt their crimes were less serious than the principal offender's, and that if their sentence was reduced by one degree, they could live. So they eagerly informed on the principal offender.

The ringleaders were different. Lin Daiyu did not allow them to turn themselves in, and they dared not inform on others. Even if their crimes were reduced by one degree, they would still die.

Therefore, during this period, the karma in Jambudvipa (the southern continent) became noticeably heavier, because the immortals and demons involved in buying and selling living people were killing people to cover their tracks and destroy evidence.

But the more they kill, the faster they are exposed. You kill the first batch of accomplices, and then there is a second batch. You kill the second batch, and then there is a third batch. When the third batch of accomplices see the fate of the first two batches, and think about Lin Daiyu's decree, what are they waiting for if not to inform on the secret?
Therefore, in just half a year, twelve Divine Lords of the Southern Continent were captured, one hundred and four seventh-rank deities were captured, and ninety-five eighth-rank deities were captured.

The entire families of the twenty-four immortal clans were captured and, along with the aforementioned immortal officials and deities, were all sent to the Southern Mountain Emperor's Palace for imprisonment.

All of these are people Lin Daiyu cannot kill. As for those demon caves, Xue Baochai destroyed more than 600 of them in the past six months, and more than 100,000 demons who clearly ate living people were killed.

The fairies throughout the entire Southern Continent were so frightened that they dared not go out, either hiding in their caves or deep in the mountains and forests.

When Lin Daiyu handed over all the evidence of crimes in Nanzhanbuzhou to the Nanyue Emperor's Palace, Ye Meicang, the Minister of the Southern Yue, quickly made a judgment.

Of all the immortals involved, the ringleaders were all executed, their souls cast into hell to suffer for two hundred years, and the accomplices were all executed.

All mortals involved in the case will be punished and executed. The ringleader will be sent to hell for a hundred years, and the accomplices will be punished for ten years.

All celestial officials and deities below the seventh rank involved in the case, whether principal offenders or accomplices, will be stripped of their official rank and divine office and sentenced to death for their crimes.

However, Ye Meicang did not dare to make decisions on the disposal of those divine marquises on his own. After consulting with the Great Emperor of Nanyue, he reported to the Chenhuan Jade Palace.

Buzhou Mountain, Bamboo Wind Cliff.

This place has more than 60,000 pure and elegant bamboo trees. When the wind blows, the bamboo trees sway all over the cliff, hence the name Bamboo Wind Cliff.

Zhuang Yan leaned against the bamboo couch, with two boys, Baojie and Xiuhuang, standing on either side to serve him. Baojie held a plate of sliced ​​ginseng fruit, while Xiuhuang held a plate of yellow plums.

At this moment, Huo Ling Zhenxian came over and reported to Zhuang Yan: "Your Majesty, Marquis Jiangzhu Lin Daiyu has been ordered to investigate the crimes of buying and selling living people and feeding demons with people in the five continents. The case of the crimes in Nanzhanbuzhou has been presented. Because it involves twelve divine marquises, the Nanyue Imperial Palace does not dare to make a decision on its own, so it has submitted a memorial to the Chenhuan Jade Palace to request an imperial decree."

Zhuang Yan said, "Strip him of his title and all official rank and duties, punish him with death, exile his family to the mortal realm, and confiscate all his illegal gains, which will be turned over to the Jade Palace. If this happens again, it will be handled in the same way."

Fire Spirit Immortal bowed and said, "As you command."

With the issuance of the imperial edict from the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm, all twelve Divine Marquises were stripped of their titles and executed, all their ill-gotten gains were confiscated, and all members of their families were exiled to the mortal realm.

Three days after the case concluded, it was published in the Human World Gazette, causing widespread shock among all the immortal cultivators in the Southern Continent. They immediately restrained their families and disciples, declaring that anyone who had violated heavenly laws would be directly arrested and sent to the nearest ruling divine palace to surrender. (End of Chapter)