Junior Uncle is too cunning.

After hearing the gods' reports, Li Shundao dismissed them. He seemed reluctant to leave, as if he had something to say, but when he saw the golden-armored general from Lingxiao Palace enter, he could only slowly retreat.

"I've seen Tianzun."

"Hmm, is His Majesty looking for me?"

"Exactly."

"Let's go then," Li Shundao said. Since the newcomer was someone he didn't know and his cultivation level was only at the early stage of Golden Immortal, he didn't make a point of befriending him.

Putting aside his relationship with the Jade Emperor, he is already a Heavenly Venerable at the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm. Even if the Golden Armored General is the Jade Emperor's personal guard, he is not worth befriending. That would seem too much to care about and would not be suitable for the status of a Heavenly Venerable.

In the Heavenly Court today, apart from a few fellow Heavenly Venerables, the Five Elders of the Heavenly Court, and a few individual Great Luo Golden Immortal Heavenly Kings, only a few Emperors are worthy of Li Shundao's respectful treatment. As for others, even Hua Jian, who was extremely close to him, has not had much contact with him in recent years because he has been in seclusion for many years, let alone a mere Golden Immortal Golden Armor General.

As for the Jade Emperor's summons, Li Shundao was not surprised. After all, he had been in seclusion for so long, it was normal for the Jade Emperor to want to see him.

He knew about the protective measures the Jade Emperor had taken outside, especially since he was in seclusion during his cultivation. The actions of the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother over the years were slightly different from what he had seen in his previous life. Perhaps it was because he was now in line with their wishes. However, for now, the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother were quite humane, which was good for him.

As Li Shundao entered the Lingxiao Palace, the Guardian King appeared at the entrance. He smiled, a rare occurrence, upon seeing Li Shundao approach, though Li Shundao could still detect a hint of shock in his eyes.

Li Shundao's cultivation level had improved too quickly. Back when he first met him, Li Shundao was only a mid-stage Golden Immortal Heavenly Lord, while he himself had already reached the mid-stage of the Heavenly Flower and Earthly Flower Great Luo realm.

Not long after, Li Shundao surpassed him. Although he didn't know if Li Shundao was in the late stage or the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top stage, it was certain that he had surpassed him. After all, even when Li Shundao was in the early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, he could still sense a trace of Li Shundao's cultivation level. Now, however, he could only see a hazy outline of Li Shundao's cultivation.

"Greetings, Heavenly King! It's been a long time!"

Upon seeing the Heavenly King of the Palace, Li Shundao hurriedly bowed. Although his cultivation had now surpassed the other's, he still felt obligated to repay the kindness of the King who had protected him.

The Heavenly King of the Palace was, after all, a Great Luo Golden Immortal, and his emotional control had reached its peak. He immediately concealed his true feelings and said, "Greetings, Heavenly Venerable. His Majesty and the Empress have been waiting in the palace for quite some time."

Upon hearing this, Li Shundao quickly nodded, "Then I'll go in first."

Watching Li Shundao's retreating figure, the Heavenly King of the Palace felt for the first time that he had grown old. It was truly a case of one wave rising higher than the next, with the previous wave already dying on the beach.

He was originally quite satisfied with his cultivation progress. Although he was only the Heavenly King guarding the Jade Emperor's palace, he didn't have much to do on a daily basis, and his treatment was no worse than that of the Eight Heavenly Venerables, which made him very satisfied in the past.

Although he wasn't as imposing as the other Heavenly Venerables and the Five Elders of Heaven, he wasn't power-hungry either; a high position with few responsibilities suited him better.

After meeting Li Shundao today, he felt that he had been living too comfortably in the past. Although he admitted that Li Shundao was exceptionally talented, what he valued more was that Li Shundao seemed to have been either in seclusion or traveling around all these years, and every time he returned, there was a brand new change.

Maybe I should go out and explore, otherwise it's not good to stay stuck in the same place.

Li Shundao, who had just entered the Lingxiao Palace, had no idea that his actions had stirred up a restless feeling in this usually low-key and little-known Heavenly King who was the guardian of the palace.

As Li Shundao walked past the lotus pond, he immediately saw the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother sitting together. He quickly took a few steps forward and bowed to the two of them, saying, "Greetings, Master and Mistress!"

When the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother saw Li Shundao, a glint of light flashed in their eyes, followed by a beaming smile and an instant expression of joy.

The Queen Mother stood up from her throne, walked to Li Shundao's side, gently helped him up, and looking at the energetic Li Shundao, she turned to the Jade Emperor with satisfaction and said, "Shundao is such a promising child. You've really struck gold this time, having such a good disciple."

Although it sounded like a joke, the Jade Emperor could still detect a hint of envy in the Queen Mother's words. He laughed and nodded in satisfaction at Li Shundao.

Since taking Li Shundao under his wing, he really hadn't had to worry much, only providing some resources. The boy was quite promising, breaking through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm with unstoppable momentum, surpassing all his peers. Even Chen Fusheng of the Chan Sect was slightly inferior to him.

After all, when Li Shundao broke through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, Chen Fusheng was still at the Golden Immortal realm. It took him several thousand years to successfully break through. This made him, who had always compared himself to the Three Pure Ones and others, feel for the first time that there was something he could finally compare to them in.

However, Chen Fusheng truly lived up to his reputation as a disciple of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable. Not only were his weapon-refining skills superb, but his cultivation speed was also as fast as if he had cheated. Although he was overshadowed by Li Shundao at the Golden Immortal level, it seemed that the Great Luo Golden Immortals could not stop him at all. Some time ago, the Jade Emperor learned that Chen Fusheng had advanced to the late stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.

Fortunately, Chen Fusheng was in the Three Immortals Great World when he broke through to the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top realm. The Qiankun Cauldron suppressed his breakthrough and prevented the secret of his perfected Great Luo Golden Immortal realm from being revealed. Afterwards, he returned directly to the Jade Purity Realm of Kunlun Mountain and has not come out since. Therefore, even the Jade Emperor thought that Chen Fusheng was still in the late stage of Great Luo Golden Immortal.

After all, Chen Fusheng's ability to bloom three flowers in just a few thousand years was already considered extraordinary by the Jade Emperor. It was estimated that the Primordial Heavenly Venerable had used some precious natural treasures or elixirs. As for the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, the Jade Emperor really didn't believe it.

It's important to understand that while the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top may seem like a minor realm, for a Great Luo Golden Immortal, it tests their Great Dao cultivation and their Dao heart. Chen Fusheng, with the talent of an ordinary human, has already achieved remarkable progress by breaking through to the late stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm. As for Great Dao cultivation, this is precisely what he and Li Shundao lack most.

It should be understood that for a Great Luo Golden Immortal to break through the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top realm, he must not only cultivate his own Great Dao to the extreme of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, but also have a crystal-clear Dao heart. Most importantly, he also needs to prepare three innate spiritual treasures or innate spiritual roots to suppress his Three Flowers.

Although Chen Fusheng is indeed a master weapon refiner, he is only a low-grade master weapon refiner. The grade of the innate spiritual treasure that suppresses the Three Flowers determines the foundation of a Great Luo Golden Immortal's breakthrough to Quasi-Saint.

Given Chen Fusheng's aptitude, he certainly wouldn't use a low-grade innate spiritual treasure or spiritual root. Even if he were a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, his second senior brother wouldn't just be Chen Fusheng. At most, he could only provide him with one high-grade innate spiritual treasure or spiritual root. According to the Jade Emperor's estimation, Chen Fusheng should still have one high-grade spiritual treasure. Adding Yuanshi Tianzun's treasure, he would still be missing one. He would probably have to wait a while to achieve the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top.

It was at this time that Li Shundao went into seclusion. When he first heard the news, he was worried that Li Shundao was trying to break through forcefully because he was stimulated by Chen Fusheng. But when he saw the spiritual energy on Li Shundao's body, he immediately put his worries aside.

He thought Li Shundao had used the peaches given by the Queen Mother of the West, never imagining that he had eaten the Huangzhong Plum given to Li Shundao by Chen Fusheng. Although it was the second time he had used it, breaking through a small realm was still no problem.

Moreover, Chen Fusheng has many senior and junior brothers, but he, the Jade Emperor, only has Li Shundao. With Li Shundao's support, Li Shundao will surely enter the Holy Realm faster than Chen Fusheng.

Unexpectedly, Li Shundao gave him a pleasant surprise, breaking through to the late stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm in one go. This made the Jade Emperor, who had already prepared a plan, need to reconsider. This was probably a happy trouble.