Honghuang: Creation of the Green Lotus, the beginning of the Three Pure Ones

With tears streaming down his face, Old Master Gao said, "The Bodhisattva is merciful, allowing my daughter to reunite with her husband. But this journey to the Western Paradise is thousands of miles long, and I don't know when we will meet again."

Upon seeing this, Gao Cuilan's eyes reddened slightly. Although she was an incarnation of a true spirit, her father-daughter bond had been deeply ingrained over the years, with Gao Taigong treating her as his own daughter.

Guanyin Bodhisattva said gently, "Old man, there is no need to be sad. They are on their journey to the West to obtain the scriptures. After they have succeeded, we will meet again. I will now give you two longevity pills, which will ensure that you and your husband live a long and healthy life."

As he spoke, two glittering golden pills fell into Gao Taigong's hands. Gao Taigong was about to bow again, but Zhu Ganglie stopped him.

"Father-in-law, rest assured, after the journey to the West is over, I will definitely bring Cuilan back to see you. Then I will take you to Flower Fruit Mountain to live as a carefree immortal."

The master and his disciples then stayed in Gao Village for a few more days before continuing their journey towards the Western Spirit Mountain.

……

While everyone here was overjoyed, little did they know that thirty-three heavens away, in the Lingxiao Palace, chaos had already broken out.

The Jade Emperor sat upright on his dragon throne, his face grim. All the celestial officials in the palace remained silent, only Venus stepped forward with a stiff upper lip.

"Your Majesty, that Water Fairy's threat to return to the Void is truly outrageous. However, the journey to the West to obtain the scriptures is of paramount importance, so perhaps we should exercise restraint for now..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Grand Duke of the year staggered into the hall and knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, please forgive us. We are incompetent and failed to capture Ruoshui and bring her to justice."

The Jade Emperor sneered, "Sixty Tai Sui generals are no match for a single Weak Water? What use are you to me?"

The Grand Duke Jupiter of the year kowtowed repeatedly, pleading incessantly with the Jade Emperor, fearing that the Jade Emperor, in a fit of anger, would send him to the execution platform, making him a tragic scapegoat.

Just then, a celestial official came from outside the palace to report: "Your Majesty, Guanyin Bodhisattva of Buddhism is outside requesting an audience."

Upon hearing that Guanyin Bodhisattva had arrived, the Jade Emperor's expression softened somewhat. He sat back down on his dragon throne and then spoke, "Summon her."

Before long, Guanyin Bodhisattva stepped into the Lingxiao Palace, first bowing to the Jade Emperor before directly stating the purpose of her visit.

"Your Majesty, this humble monk has pledged himself to Gao Cuilan to accompany Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West. I have come here specifically to request Your Majesty's instructions."

This isn't a consultation with the Jade Emperor; it's just a notification. They didn't even intend to ask for your consent.

This inevitably made the Jade Emperor's face turn extremely gloomy. He glared at Guanyin Bodhisattva and said, "Ruoshui is a fairy of my Heavenly Court. How to deal with her is not for your Buddhist sect to interfere with."

Guanyin Bodhisattva slowly raised her right hand, and a primordial spirit pearl appeared in her palm.

"This is the Water Fairy of Heaven. The one who accompanied Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West is Gao Cuilan, the daughter of Gao Taigong. She is not the Water Fairy of Heaven."

Venus only glanced at it before recognizing the extraordinary nature of the Primordial Spirit Pearl. He spoke with a look of astonishment.

"Ruoshui has actually separated her essence from her primordial spirit. Doesn't that mean she has now become a mortal?"

Venus's voice was very loud, its purpose being to inform everyone. This is Guanyin Bodhisattva, the explanation from Buddhism to the Heavenly Court.

This explanation would definitely save face for the Jade Emperor. At the same time, it also tells the Jade Emperor that it's time to back down gracefully.

At this moment, Guanyin Bodhisattva nodded and said, "Indeed, as I have said, the matter of the Weak Water requires an explanation to the Heavenly Court. I wonder if Your Majesty finds my explanation satisfactory?" The Jade Emperor and Taibai Jinxing exchanged a glance, their expressions finally softening somewhat. They then spoke to Guanyin Bodhisattva.

"Since the Bodhisattva has already made arrangements, I naturally cannot interfere with the eastward transmission of Buddhism. Let's just leave it at that."

At the same time, the Jade Emperor also instructed Taibai Jinxing to retrieve the Yuan Shen Pearl that sealed the source of the Weak Water.

Furthermore, she was to be personally sent to the Milky Way to merge with the wisp of primordial spirit left behind by the Weak Water. At the same time, she was to be imprisoned in the Milky Way for ten thousand years as punishment for her transgressions.

Guanyin Bodhisattva clasped her hands in prayer: "Since Your Majesty has already agreed, then this humble monk will not disturb you any further."

Thus, the turmoil temporarily subsided. However, the biggest winner was not Buddha, nor even Weak Water and Pigsy, but the Jade Emperor sitting atop the Lingxiao Palace.

The Jade Emperor's goal was to use the pilgrimage team, using the incident at the Weak Water as a pretext, to suppress the Buddhist sect's influence in Heaven.

Although not many were killed, the desired effect was achieved. Even the Antarctic Longevity Emperor Maitreya Daoist lost face because of this incident.

This would be enough to keep them quiet in Heaven for a while. Then, the Jade Emperor could use a few more tricks to carry out the final strategy of dividing and winning them over.

In truth, the Jade Emperor was quite helpless. Sometimes, he wished he could tear up the Investiture of the Gods list himself. He even broke the God-Slaying Whip into pieces to burn as fuel.

On the surface, the Investiture of the Gods could restrain the gods listed, and the God-Slaying Whip could lash their primordial spirits. But in reality, this was not the case.

It could even be said that what it can restrain are only those little-known gods, such as the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends and the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals.

The true eight main gods had already had their bodies reforged into golden statues by their respective sects through merit. The Investiture of the Gods had no real binding effect on them.

Otherwise, the Jade Emperor wouldn't have needed to go to such lengths. He could simply hold the God-Slaying Whip in one hand and the Investiture of the Gods in the other; which minor deity would dare to challenge him?

Most importantly, even Hongjun, the Jade Emperor's backer, remained silent on the matter and showed no intention of supporting the Jade Emperor.

Otherwise, if Hongjun were to speak, which of the famous figures on the Investiture of the Gods would dare to outwardly comply but inwardly defy him?

Therefore, even though the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother of the West possess the God-Slaying Whip and the Investiture of the Gods, and have even attained sainthood, their situation remains extremely awkward.

Everything I'm doing now is to gain a voice. Even if I don't control the Three Realms, I at least need to control the Heavenly Court, right?

Few people cared about the Jade Emperor's predicament, especially the pilgrimage team, who had already left Gao Village.

We traveled for more than half a month without encountering any danger. We enjoyed the scenery and had a very pleasant time.

Especially Pigsy and Gao Cuilan, who constantly flaunted their affection for Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang. This angered Sun Wukong so much that he complained to Tang Sanzang more than once that he shouldn't have brought Gao Cuilan along.

On this day, a group of people entered a mountain. As soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, Sun Wukong sensed a demonic aura rising into the sky, and that this demonic aura was mixed with a trace of Buddhist energy.

He immediately posted in the Journey to the West chat group: Something's not right in this mountain. There's a mix of demonic and Buddhist energy. It seems the Buddhist sect is going to cause us trouble again.

Tang Sanzang: It's a matter of one blow; no need for further explanation. (End of Chapter)