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Chapter 222 Five Hundred Years Ago
Within the confined space, the fragrance of the elixir lingered, and an invisible pressure seemed to solidify the air. The Supreme Lord Laozi's gaze was calm and indifferent as he looked at the slightly uneasy Chen Guangrui before him, his voice utterly flat.

"Do you think the position of Marshal Tianpeng is too hot to handle?"

Chen Guangrui's throat was a little dry, and he dared not hide anything, so he answered honestly.
“My ancestor is wise. I am new to the Heavenly Court and have a shallow foundation. Furthermore, I have offended Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, because of the Lion Camel Ridge incident. The Heavenly River is a very important place, and many fierce generals of the Heavenly River Navy are under the command of Li Jing. If I were to take this position, I fear that I would find it very difficult to move forward, and I would be unable to take a single step.”

He recalled Li Jing's gloomy face and Nezha's gloating eyes, and his heart sank.

"No need to worry." Laozi's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unwavering certainty, as if embedded in the very laws of heaven and earth, leaving no room for doubt.

"You just need to do it with peace of mind. There has never been anything I have arranged that I have failed to accomplish. If I cannot accomplish it, no one in the Three Realms can. Of course, this matter is only for your consideration. Whether you go or not is up to you to weigh."

That calm tone contained a power heavier than thunder, making Chen Guangrui's heart tighten suddenly.

Chen Guangrui appeared respectful, but inwardly he was seething with rage, and couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"This isn't a discussion; it's like forcing a cow to drink water! I just took the Buddha's thunder for you at Lion Camel Ridge, and before I could even sit down properly, you want me to be a target in the Milky Way. Are you trying to make me look like a Buddhist monk?"

But he didn't even dare to show a bitter smile; he could only bow his head and agree.

"I won't make things difficult for you," Laozi said, as if seeing through his inner resistance, with a barely perceptible flick of his whisk.
"Sitting firmly in the position of Tianpeng will have its benefits. I will find a way to help you improve your cultivation level. You have shown your prowess in Lion Camel Ridge and have already incurred deep resentment with the Buddhist sect. This position... will also be a protective talisman for you."

Chen Guangrui cursed inwardly, "This isn't even difficult; it's worse than abducting a woman. And the benefits? They'll probably put me on the hot seat first."

Circumstances forced him to back down, and he lowered his head, saying, "This junior obeys."

Suppressing his deepest doubts, he couldn't help but press on, "Laojun, this junior is foolish and truly doesn't understand. Why must it be the position of Marshal Tianpeng? And what does this have to do with Buddhism?"

Laozi's gaze was profound, as if piercing through the enclosed space and looking towards the distant Lingxiao Palace.
"The Heavenly River Navy symbolizes the military power of the Great Celestial Venerable and is one of the cornerstones of the Heavenly Court. Once you sit in this position, you will be a key minister under the Great Celestial Venerable. If the Buddhist sect wants to harm you again in the future, they will have to consider their attitude. This is the most important matter."

Chen Guangrui was even more confused and blurted out,

"Guangrui, I don't understand, Ancestor, why are you targeting Buddhism in this way?"

“It’s not that I’m targeting them,” Lao Jun said in a calm tone, as if recounting an old story unrelated to himself, but his plain words carried immense weight. “It’s that they’re targeting me.”

"boom!"

Chen Guangrui was stunned for a moment, and immediately wanted to cover her ears. How did you end up talking about these things while I was asking questions?

This isn't just wrong, it's something I shouldn't know at all! If I knew so much, what would you do if you ever realized what was going on and killed me?

Chen Guangrui thought that he should just sneak out.

However, as soon as he made a move, he discovered that the sealed space that Laozi had casually created was as solid as a copper wall and iron wall, with no gaps. Where was there any door?

Not even a crack or a wisp of wind can get in.

Laozi completely ignored Chen Guangrui's reaction and asked directly,
"Do you know why, with so many people in Heaven back then, a monkey was sent to guard the peaches? And who had the audacity to steal the pills I refined from my Tushita Palace?"

Chen Guangrui's heart was in his throat, and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

"It's over, it's over, please, don't say anything." He wailed inwardly, "How dare I, a mere stable boy, listen to such things? Anyone who hears this secret is doomed, I would rather die than know it." He wished he could disappear from this secret room immediately, but the walls were solid, without even a crack.

Laozi continued speaking, seemingly oblivious to the world around him.

"Back then, before the Peach Banquet, the Great Celestial Venerable sent a monkey born of nature to guard the Peach Orchard, which was already very strange. Why choose a monkey out of so many celestial officials and generals in the Heavenly Court? And to guard the peaches, how ridiculous. Once this happened, I understood his intention."

Chen Guangrui kept his head down, eyes downcast, wishing he could just faint. "Stop talking, please stop talking..."

He felt as if each word was a red-hot branding iron, burning him with fear.

Laozi's voice was calm and even, as if he were chatting casually.
"In the Heavenly Court, there are two things that are most important and scarce. One is the peaches of immortality, which increase lifespan and maintain the foundation of immortality for gods and immortals. The other is the elixirs in my Tushita Palace, which increase one's cultivation and enhance the foundation of one's magical power. In recent years, the number of peaches of immortality has increased so much that they have become somewhat abundant and therefore less valuable. I can still control the number of elixirs."

He paused, then continued.

"The Great Celestial Venerable's actions are nothing more than using that monkey to reduce the number of peaches in the Peach Garden. Scarcity increases value; when things are scarce, their worth becomes more apparent, and this makes it easier to win people's hearts. Therefore, I have seen how long the monkey slept in the Peach Garden, whether anyone went to pick peaches, and whether he was discovered. Such a large Peach Garden produces so many peaches; how long would it take for a monkey to finish eating them all? But this matter is none of my concern, and I can't be bothered to care."

Laozi's tone remained completely calm.

Chen Guangrui felt a chill run down his spine, a coldness shooting from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He never imagined that behind that Peach Banquet years ago lay such blatant scheming. He just wanted to shrink himself even further, hoping that Laozi would completely ignore him. Otherwise, he felt he might faint from banging his head against a wall. If the Jade Emperor knew he knew so much, would he let him off the hook?

Chen Guangrui was still grumbling about the Peach Garden when Laozi's voice suddenly turned cold, carrying a hint of barely perceptible anger, "But what I didn't expect was that the monkey was actually led to my Tushita Palace."

Chen Guangrui's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.

“At that time, I was sitting and discussing the Dao with Dipankara Buddha. For many years, no one had ever dared to trespass into the Tushita Palace. I was careless and did not expect that someone would dare to cause trouble here. I suppose someone must have done something to make me unaware that someone was causing trouble.”

A hint of regret and coldness finally crept into Laozi's voice.

"By the time the drunken monkey burst in, it was too late. He swallowed whole batches of painstakingly refined elixirs. At that time, the Heavenly Court was empty of my elixirs. The Great Heavenly Venerable was left with only a few peaches of immortality. From that moment on, many immortals and gods, and much power, naturally fell into the hands of the Great Heavenly Venerable."

Chen Guangrui felt his mouth was parched, and his blood was almost frozen. This was no simple matter of stealing peaches and elixirs; it was clear that someone had used the incident of the havoc in the Heavenly Palace to reorganize the Heavenly Court's layout.

"And at the same time," Laozi's voice returned to its usual calm, yet sounded even more somber,

"Just when I invited Dipankara Buddha to Tushita Palace to discuss the Dao and he was unable to remain at Mount Ling, the Tathagata Buddha on Mount Ling in the west led his monks to attack Mount Ling. By the time Dipankara Buddha finished his discussion with me and realized something was wrong, Mount Ling had already changed hands. Dipankara Buddha became the Buddha of the past, and the Tathagata became the Buddha of the present."

The enclosed space was deathly silent, except for the echoing of Laozi's calm words, each word carrying immense weight.

"This series of events was interconnected and caught me completely off guard. By the time I realized what was happening, a power shift had already occurred in the Heavenly Court."

Lao Jun's gaze fell on Chen Guangrui, his eyes so deep they seemed to see through his soul. "Over the years, I have been refining pills and have replenished all those rare elixirs. But this situation is already set in stone, and without any unexpected events, there is naturally no chance of a turnaround."

“Then,” Laozi paused, his voice carrying a hint of meaning, “until you appeared.”

"I see, a turning point is coming."

(End of this chapter)