Primordial Era: I cultivate the Great Dao of Unparalleled Power, driving even sages mad!

At this point, Li Bai did not elaborate, leaving everything to be experienced by Yaochi himself!

It's not that Li Bai really thought Haotian was malicious, but the future would be just like that. The words "The Sage celebrates the Queen Mother's birthday" will forever be nailed to Yaochi!

If such a huge karmic consequence is not stopped, then Li Taibai will simply declare the company bankrupt.

Li Bai has now offered up shares in this sacred Yaochi, but how can a shareholder not consider these factors?

The key question here is whether Li Bai thought about this matter openly or whether he tricked someone into announcing it!

Keeping it a secret and then announcing it suddenly on the spot—that's called a setup, a trap, not an unintentional mistake.

Doing this would mean the end for Yaochi, leaving it completely unable to control the immortals, resulting in its immediate demise and the collapse of its prestige.

Yaochi was very clever. She suppressed the surging thoughts that had just crossed her mind, calmed herself down, and turned to look at Li Taibai.

"Taibai, you just said that it can be verified through words. How can it be verified?"

Yaochi now has to wonder whether Senior Brother Haotian was intentional or unintentional. He has only just arrived in the Heavenly Court and he has already plotted like this. If it was unintentional, then he can be forgiven. If it was intentional, then he should be frozen to the bone!

Li Taibai tucked his whisk into his arm and took half a step forward: "Reporting to the Great Heavenly Venerable. When the Great Heavenly Venerable returns, he only needs to inquire about one thing: how is the Peach Banquet planned?"

Yaochi frowned slightly: "How should we arrange this?"

"That is the time for the wording of the invitation and the announcement."

Li Bai held up one finger: "First, we must send out invitations to inform the sages and all the great gods. The invitations clearly state that the Peach Banquet is to celebrate the birthday of the Great Heavenly Venerable Yaochi Golden Mother."

Li Bai paused for a moment, then extended his second finger.

"Secondly, the invitation only mentions the Peach Banquet, without mentioning the words 'birthday celebration.' After all the saints and great gods have arrived and taken their seats, the Jade Emperor will announce to the public that today's banquet is actually to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday."

Upon hearing this, Yaochi frowned even more deeply and asked, "What's the difference between the two?"

Yaochi certainly understood the key point, but it had to be said by Taibai.

Li Bai immediately said, "Your Majesty, the difference is huge."

Now Li Bai realized that addressing the two Great Celestial Venerables was confusing, so he simply changed his address to "Your Majesty"!

Calling someone the Great Heavenly Venerable is the most formal, while calling him Your Majesty is also acceptable. Calling him Your Highness is more intimate, like a term of address among family members. However, calling someone Your Highness is most easily misunderstood as Haotian's wife, directly turning it into a subordinate title and forgetting the true title!

"If it's the first type, the invitation will clearly state that it's a birthday celebration. When the Sage sees it, he'll only think that the Empress is arrogant, rude, and doesn't know her place. What will he think? A newly appointed Great Celestial Venerable dares to have a Sage come to celebrate her birthday? What a big shot! In that case, the Sage will most likely not come. Not only will he not come, but he'll also treat this as a joke and let it spread throughout the Three Realms."

Yaochi nodded after hearing this: "That's why Haotian wrote the invitation directly, so no one will come!"

Li Taibai continued, "In this way, the goddess will be branded as arrogant, but ultimately, since the person hasn't come, the cause and effect haven't truly been formed. The sage may laugh, but it won't necessarily create an irreconcilable enmity between him and the goddess. Although the various deities may also feel dissatisfied, since the sage isn't coming, they will simply refrain from coming as well, and they won't truly break ties with the goddess."

Yaochi nodded slightly. She understood this principle.

"But what about the second option?"

Li Bai's eyes changed.

"If it's the second type, the invitation only mentions the Peach Banquet and doesn't mention birthday wishes. When the Sage sees it, he'll think it's just a regular banquet held by the Heavenly Court to entertain the Three Realms. Out of respect for the Dao Ancestor, he'll most likely come. When the great gods from all sides see that the Sage has come, they'll naturally come too. Once everyone has arrived and taken their seats..."

"The Great Heavenly Venerable Haotian stood up again and announced to the public that today's banquet was actually to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday."

Yaochi was already imagining this scene!

Li Bai's voice continued to ring out!

"By then, the Sage will already be seated at the banquet. If they leave, they will lose face, be petty, and disrespect the Dao Ancestor. If they stay, it will be tantamount to agreeing to celebrate the Great Heavenly Venerable's birthday. Your Majesty, think about it: the Sage has been tricked into attending the banquet and is now being used as a pretext for birthday celebrations. What will he think?"

Li Bai's gaze met Yaochi's.

"The first is impolite, the second is making an enemy. The first is arrogance, the second is deception. Arrogance can be excused as youthful ignorance or a lack of understanding of the rules upon first ascending to the throne. Deception, however, is treating the sage like a fool. Your Majesty, please consider, is there any difference between the two?"

Yaochi's back was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

"If it comes to that point..."

Yaochi's voice trembled slightly as she had to consider whether Haotian had plotted against her.

"How should I deal with this?"

Li Taibai straightened up: "When the Great Celestial Venerable arrives, Your Majesty will be able to verify whether this is of great importance and whether it is necessary to announce the birthday wishes to the Queen Mother at the grand ceremony!"

Yaochi then remembered something else and asked, "Why didn't Haotian hide it from me, but instead came to discuss it with me?"

Taibai smiled slightly: "Once this matter is over, we can speak to Your Majesty about it. This is what Your Majesty promised. Now that things have come to this, we must share both honor and disgrace. The Heavenly Court and the Jade Pool Immortal Realm never share fate or honor. Your Majesty should understand, right?"

Yaochi took a deep breath: "In that case, I can only be a subject from now on. But why did he dare to blaspheme the sage!"

Venus naturally understood that Yaochi was using this opportunity to humiliate himself and find the Dao Ancestor, which was the reason for the Investiture of the Gods!

Of course, Venus wouldn't say, "Perhaps there's something deeper, but this humble immortal can't fathom it or see through it. However, having spent many years in the Jade Pool Immortal Realm, this humble immortal knows a great deal about the power struggles of the Heavenly Court, and naturally saw that there was a problem with what the Great Heavenly Venerable just said, so I fulfilled my duty as a subject to offer this guidance!"

Yaochi immediately understood. It was normal for Taibai Jinxing to have overheard the conversation of the ancient Heavenly Court's strategists here, and to have such a deep understanding of the power struggles within the vast Heavenly Court.

"Venus".

"Little Fairy is here."

"You said that my senior brother Haotian and I spent countless years in Zixiao Palace, were enlightened together, listened to the Dao together, held bells and chimes together, were conferred the title of Great Heavenly Venerable together, and came to this Heavenly Court together."

"Why is this happening as soon as I arrived in Heaven?"

Yaochi didn't look at Li Taibai, but stared at the blue pool. Her face was pale, and she couldn't understand why she would have ruined everything if she hadn't done this, without Li Taibai's guidance.

Li Taibai remained silent for a long time: "Your Majesty, I dare not speculate on the reasons behind this. Whether it was intentional or unintentional, whether it was a momentary lapse in thought or a ulterior motive, whether it was his own idea or the work of other forces, I do not know."

"But there is one thing that I know."

Yaochi turned her head to the side.

"The Empress and the Great Heavenly Venerable Haotian are beings of the same level, both being Great Heavenly Venerables personally appointed by the Dao Ancestor, and jointly ruling the Heavenly Court. But if this Peach Banquet is truly held under the guise of celebrating a birthday—then from now on, the Three Realms will only know of the Great Heavenly Venerable Haotian, and will not know of the Great Heavenly Venerable Yaochi."

Yaochi's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Because the Great Celestial Venerable offended the Three Realms and became a laughing stock. The Sages were dissatisfied, the Great Gods were contemptuous, and all the authority of the Heavenly Court fell on the Great Celestial Venerable, while the Empress became the target of arrogance, rudeness, and unworthiness."

Li Bai did not continue speaking.

"If Senior Brother Haotian truly insists on using a birthday celebration as a pretext, what should I do?"

Li Bai answered without hesitation: "Test them, see how persistent they are. Through testing, they will know everything. Through testing, they can also understand whether it is a scheme. If they have no intention of scheming, once Your Majesty refuses, they will surely accept it and no longer insist on their own ideas. If they insist on their own opinions, Your Majesty will naturally understand!"

Yaochi understood at that moment, and then confirmed another matter.

Yaochi was silent for a moment before asking, "But Haotian and I have just ascended to the throne, and relying on the Dao Ancestor's decree, we still have some influence, so we will both come, isn't that right?"

"We do have face, but that face is for the Dao Ancestor of Zixiao Palace. For a simple Peach Banquet, the great powers and saints of the Three Realms would certainly be able to attend. This time, we have only one purpose: to see if this new Heavenly Court, personally chosen by the Dao Ancestor, is stable and worthy of ruling the Three Realms."

"This opportunity only comes once."

"once!"

Yaochi's delicate body trembled slightly. Once she used it up, she would be completely finished!

"Exactly!"

Li Taibai raised his eyes, his gaze sharp: "If the Peach Banquet is held properly and legitimately, the Heavenly Court's orthodoxy will be established, and the Three Realms will naturally recognize it, thus enhancing its prestige. However, if it is held in chaos, arrogantly, and impolitely, they will immediately conclude that the person chosen by the Dao Ancestor is nothing more than this, unfit for great use."

Yaochi took a deep breath: "What will the consequences be?"

"The consequence is that the face given by the Dao Ancestor has been used up in one go. In the future, when the Heavenly Court wants to command the Three Realms again, no one will truly obey. This test will only be done once, and face will only be given once."

Yaochi's voice trembled slightly: "But if it's really under the guise of celebrating a birthday..."

Li Taibai said, "That would be to place the Great Heavenly Venerable above the Sage. If the Sage doesn't get angry, all is well, but once he does, all the overwhelming karma and criticisms of the Three Realms will be attributed to the Great Heavenly Venerable."

After listening, Yaochi pondered for a moment and asked, "Taibai, this opportunity only comes once. Is there another pretext for holding this Peach Banquet so that I can truly control this event?"

Upon hearing this, Li Bai immediately pondered for a moment.

Yaochi then asked, "Taibai, if you have a plan, please tell me."

Li Taibai raised his head and said, "Great Heavenly Venerable, this humble immortal does have a plan, but it is a long story and I'm afraid the Great Heavenly Venerable will find it cumbersome."

"Please speak, Taibai!"

Li Bai immediately said, "The Great Celestial Venerable may choose a beautiful and spiritually significant place in the Jade Pool Wonderland to build a temple."

Yaochi raised an eyebrow slightly: "A temple?"

Li Taibai explained, "This matter needs to be tested with the Great Heavenly Venerable Haotian before we can take advantage of this opportunity. On the day the temple is completed, the Goddess will personally invite the Dao Ancestor's divine tablet into the temple. Afterwards, she will invite all the saints of the Three Realms and all the great gods to the Peach Banquet. In this way, the Goddess's lineage will be established!"