Chaos Spirit Field

Inside the imperial palace of the Great Zhao Kingdom's capital, Zhao Yunlong sat upright on the dragon throne, his expression gloomy as he gazed upon the two uninvited guests before him—Jiang Shang and Bifang. A sense of foreboding welled up in his heart, a sense of impending trouble. Frowning, he asked, "Uncle Jiang, dear Bifang, what brings you here? Has something happened to the Western Expedition?"

Jiang Shang replied with a serious face, "Junior Brother Zhao, I'm afraid the Jade Void Palace can no longer participate in your Western Expedition. News has arrived from Heaven that the Tianhe Navy has assembled 50,000 demons. The Emperor of Heaven has issued a call for all immortals above level ten to defend Heaven. Anyone who dares to disobey this order and fail to report will be stripped of their position and expelled from the immortal world."

Upon hearing this news, Zhao Yunlong's face grew grave. He looked at the other man and said with difficulty, "Your Majesty, the situation is the same here. The demon tribe has also received a call from Heaven. Goddess Nuwa has personally issued an order, requesting us to go to Heaven for support. I am truly powerless to do anything!"

Zhao Yunlong sighed, waved his hand helplessly, and said, "My dear Bifang, I understand the principle of the lips and teeth being cold. Since Goddess Nuwa has ordered this, you don't have to worry about it. As for the Western Expedition... we'll have to put it on hold for now. I'm a little confused. How could the God of Destruction suddenly mobilize nearly half of his demons when the decisive battle hasn't even begun? 50,000 demons assembled—is that even possible?"

Jiang Shang frowned and replied in a serious tone, "Junior Brother Zhao, the Heavenly Court has had Clairvoyance carefully count the demons, and the number is indeed 50,000. These demons haven't launched an attack yet, so it seems they have a unified commander."

After hearing Jiang Shang's words, Zhao Yunlong's doubts deepened. He knew the true nature of the catastrophe in the Three Realms. Those so-called demons were actually cosmic pests. They could destroy the world, but they could also serve as nutrient for its evolution. The number of these cosmic pests entering the world had always been fixed, perfectly matching the number of one yuan, or 129,600. Previously, around 10,000 demons had entered the Three Realms from the Endless Abyss. Now, with these 50,000, that number was almost half. Could it be that the God of Destruction, having learned of Zhao Shanhe's departure, was planning to start the war prematurely?

Jiang Shang knew Zhao Yunlong's identity. Seeing that he had been silent for a long time, he asked, "Martial Nephew Zhao, is there anything wrong?"

Zhao Yunlong frowned and replied, "Uncle Jiang, it makes no sense for the God of Destruction to send out so many demons at this time. Can a saint participate in the battle?"

Jiang Shang nodded and replied, "Nephew Zhao, allow me to consult the Grandmaster and then get back to you."

Zhao Yunlong nodded slightly, cupped his hands and said in thanks, "Thank you for your help, Uncle Master."

After a while, Jiang Shang said to Zhao Yunlong, "Nephew Zhao, the Grandmaster cannot leave Yuxu Palace."

Zhao Yunlong frowned, wondering, "Has the Heavenly Dao still not lifted the Saint's restrictions?" It seemed the time for a decisive battle wasn't right yet. Could something have happened in the Heaven Beyond Heaven? Perhaps it was related to the unforeseen circumstances surrounding his father, Zhao Shanhe? Thinking of this, he sighed deeply, then addressed Jiang Shang and Bifang, "Master Jiang, my dear Bifang, please be extremely careful on your journey."

Jiang Shang and Bifang responded in unison, "Yes, sir!" and then turned and left.

Zhao Yunlong sat alone on the dragon throne, lost in thought. Even without the support of the Xianjiao and the demon race, the Western Expedition plan wouldn't be significantly impacted. The call from Heaven would draw a large number of immortals from the Western Niuhe Continent, which would inevitably increase the pressure on the Great Liang and Great Feng kingdoms. If the Great Zhao took advantage of the situation, it wouldn't be too difficult to annex these two kingdoms. However, doing so would lose the support of the people, prevent him from becoming the Human Emperor, and ultimately lose his chance to compete for World Mastership. For now, he could only take it one step at a time.

In the Great Leiyin Temple, the Tathagata Buddha was troubled by the contents of the Heavenly Court's summons. Wasn't this a threat to the Western Sect? He pondered for a long time, frowned, and said, "Venerable Kasyapa, please go and invite Zhao Yunxiao, the deputy leader of the Jie Sect. I have something to discuss with her."

Guanyin Bodhisattva stepped forward and said, "Buddha, if you approach Zhao Yunxiao at this time, she will definitely ask for a huge price."

The Tathagata Buddha replied, "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, the Western Religion has been severely weakened since its journey westward. How can it now face the demons of Xiniuhezhou on its own? We can find a solution after we overcome the crisis if we lose territory. But if we lose people, the Western Religion will be completely destroyed. I hope the Jie Religion will not be so reckless. Venerable Kasyapa, you go."

Following the Celestial Emperor's call to heaven, immortals flocked to report for duty. However, the sect least affected was undoubtedly Jiejiao. Few Jiejiao disciples responded to the call, and the reason for this can be traced back to Tongtian Patriarch's destruction of the Investiture of the Gods.

As we all know, during the Conferred Gods War, the Jie Sect had the most disciples on the list, accounting for approximately 70%. However, the Conferred Gods List was later destroyed by Tongtian Patriarch, an act that created an irreconcilable conflict between him and the Emperor of Heaven. Since then, the Jie Sect disciples have been stripped of their divine positions.

By now, the Jiejiao immortals who had appeared on the Conferred Gods List had largely returned, but this presented a challenge: despite their immense power and wealth of talent, they lacked sufficient territory to recruit followers. To make matters worse, ever since Tongtian Patriarch supported Zhao Yunxiao in his battle with Zhao Yunlong for the title of World Master, the Jiejiao's space for survival had been further squeezed. After all, one cannot allow others to sleep beside one's own bed. Consequently, Zhao Yunlong issued an expulsion order for the Jiejiao disciples in the Great Zhao Kingdom, leaving them with nowhere to go but to retreat to the Great Liang Kingdom.

Venerable Kasyapa arrived at the Biyou Palace and said, "Kasyapa of the Western Sect greets Master Zhao. My Buddha invites you to the Great Leiyin Temple for a chat."

Zhao Yunxiao jokingly said, "First of all, the Tathagata Buddha is here to ask for help. We won't go to the Great Leiyin Temple. The Jiejiao Sect has taken over the area from Wanku Mountain to Cuiping Mountain."

Venerable Jiaye said with some embarrassment: "Master Zhao, can Jiejiao take over such a large area?"

Zhao Yunxiao replied coldly, "With the Jie Sect's thousands of immortals coming to pay homage, even the entire Xiniu Hezhou Continent can be swallowed up. Otherwise, if the Western Sect withdraws, the Jie Sect will take on this karma. You can't make the decision, so just wait for the Buddha's reply."

These words seemed to be addressed to Venerable Kasyapa, but were actually directed at the Western Sect leaders of the Great Leiyin Temple. Samantabhadra Bodhisattva stepped forward and said, "Buddha, Zhao Yunxiao is truly arrogant. Our Western Sect should simply give up Xiniu Hezhou. I want to see how she ends up."

The Buddha Tathagata couldn't help but give Samantabhadra Bodhisattva a blank look. He suspected that this person was a spy sent by the Jie Religion. He could actually say such words, which would only add fuel to the fire.