No one could have imagined it.
Taibai Jinxing, who once claimed to be Li Er's younger brother, was now increasingly degenerate and demonized, following the Jade Emperor towards extremism and the opposite direction.
For the merit and benefit of the Heavenly Court, he would not hesitate to do such a despicable thing!
It turned out.
Since the eighth tribulation, when everyone saw the Pangu bloodline flash on Sun Kong and Luohu simultaneously, others retreated, not daring to inquire. However, the Jade Emperor saw some clues.
To prevent the Heavenly Court from continuing to lose face.
And because all the Sages dared not interfere with matters related to Pangu, and temporarily relaxed their monitoring of subsequent tribulations, the Jade Emperor, instead of being angry, smiled.
He simply dispatched the largest contingent since the first round of Journey to the West began in the Immortal Realm.
His other confidant, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing, was injured last time and still needed to recover, which was naturally unnecessary to mention.
However, Taibai Jinxing, the head of the civil officials, was sent by him to impersonate Gao Taigong.
He devised a scheme that would make Wuzhiqi fall into the trap within minutes.
This was not just to restore the plot so that the Heavenly Dao could also reward them with merit, but the greater goal was to make it difficult for Sun Kong to continue being arrogant.
It was also to make more people in the Three Realms of the Great Desolation have to admit the power of the Heavenly Court and obey!
Besides that.
Almost everyone in Gao Laozhuang was a mortal.
They were all subordinates of the Jade Emperor!
Gao Cuilan was the avatar of a palace maid from the Heavenly Court.
Her sole purpose was to restrain Wuzhiqi, not only to prevent him from refuting in the twelfth tribulation but also because they thought she might be useful in the future.
Of course.
She also had to accept Taibai Jinxing's deployment.
Gao Cai, Gao Xianglan, Gao Yulan, and the others in Gao Laozhuang were all elites of the Jie Teachings selected from the Investiture of Immortals list after the Jade Emperor and Tongtian Sect Master had discussed it.
There were no less than dozens of them.
It could be said to be a grand affair!
Although, due to the heavy losses in the eighth tribulation, the two dared not send out too powerful subordinates, for fear of being struck to death by Sun Kong's staff again.
But they also selected the gods of the Jie Teachings to join, so as to both annoy Sun Kong and avoid too many elites being lost.
Another point was.
Even before Wuzhiqi was captured, the Jade Emperor and Tongtian Sect Master had made a rough estimation.
Not everyone, including Luohu, was fully committed in every tribulation, so they concluded that even in the twelfth tribulation, Sun Kong would be displeased to see so many people from the Heavenly Court and the Jie Teachings involved.
While he would undoubtedly be resentful, it was unlikely that he would become furious and fight them, giving others an opportunity to take advantage.
Not to mention, their biggest move was to capture Wuzhiqi and force him to marry a palace maid from the Heavenly Court, leaving a small handle behind.
They were not truly trying to make Sun Kong lose his second brother.
They figured that Sun Kong would not truly make a big fuss.
Thus.
Under such speculation, the Jade Emperor and Tongtian Sect Master simultaneously completed their discussion and dispatched this group led by Taibai Jinxing.
As it turned out.
The first step had been quite effective.
Although Wuzhiqi had been mingling with mortals around Fuling Mountain and had been on guard beforehand, refusing to come to Gao Laozhuang, he still made a wrong step due to his kindness.
Next, all they needed to do was to get him married to Gao Cuilan and wait until Sun Kong and his party appeared.
Everything would be as they wished!
Then.
The second step.
And the third step.
Should be put on the agenda as soon as possible!
"The first step was personally instructed by His Majesty, to scheme against Wuzhiqi but not to harm him. This time, at least, I have not done anything wrong."
"But for the second and third steps, more effort must be exerted."
"Otherwise, if things are not handled well and Sun Monkey is given another opportunity to resort to force, it will be troublesome."
Seeing Wuzhiqi being honestly carried in for the wedding with Gao Cuilan, and being forced to consummate the marriage that very night.
Leaving a handle that he had to acknowledge, however reluctantly.
Taibai Jinxing, while chuckling to himself, was also considering the other two steps that the Jade Emperor had instructed him on before he left.
The second step was to wait for Sun Kong and his party to arrive and complete the twelfth tribulation, using the advantage of their large numbers to maximize the merit reward from the Heavenly Dao to the Heavenly Court's participants.
This would restore the Jade Emperor's prestige.
To achieve this effect, in addition to their current large numbers, where everyone had participated in scheming against Wuzhiqi, it was even more important to quickly select a persuasive person.
Before Sun Kong became enraged, they needed someone to reason with him, resolve the temporary military conflict that the Heavenly Court did not wish to initiate, and turn towards peaceful compromise.
In this regard, besides himself, Taibai Jinxing, there was hardly anyone else in the Heavenly Court.
However, unlike the situation hundreds of years ago when he dared to go to Mount Huaguo alone to recruit Sun Kong, Taibai Jinxing now dared not take on this task again.
But fortunately.
Before he left, he had met another trusted friend who had agreed to this matter.
This also allowed Taibai Jinxing to relax significantly.
But.
Now that the first step was completed.
The second step was about to begin.
Why had that person not arrived yet?
"That person is my eldest disciple, the Great Master Xuandu. Since his master has remained neutral, the Eight Immortals of the Upper Heaven have contributed very little in the mortal realm. If he misses this opportunity again, won't their losses be even greater?"
"Could it be that this fellow is deliberately standing me up, and would rather offend our Heavenly Court than truly face Sun Monkey..."
While Taibai Jinxing was still in doubt, he suddenly saw a dashing figure, stepping on the supreme innate spiritual treasure, the Xuandu Purple Mansion Sword, and gracefully landing. Who else could it be but the Great Master Xuandu?
Seeing this.
Taibai Jinxing's expression immediately changed from gloomy to sunny, and he walked forward with a smile.
On the other side, the Great Master Xuandu clearly carried Laozi's expectations. Seeing that the Eight Immortals of the Upper Heaven were not performing well, he had to come here to earn some merit.
Without any arrogance.
Nor any self-conceit.
Instead, he temporarily joined forces with Taibai Jinxing and, after a few words, agreed to wait for a few years for Sun Kong and his party to arrive and personally act as a mediator!
"Thank you, Daoist Brother Xuandu."
"With Daoist Brother Xuandu here, I believe even Sun Monkey will have to show some respect. The next third step will be much easier to discuss."
Taibai Jinxing laughed heartily and truly treated the Great Master Xuandu as a distinguished guest, ushering him into Gao Laozhuang to discuss in detail.
Upon hearing that the Heavenly Court not only invited him to act as a mediator but also schemed against Wuzhiqi, and had a third step, the Great Master Xuandu could not help but show some surprise.
Just as he was about to inquire further.
He saw that Taibai Jinxing clearly did not want to reveal too much too soon, so he casually changed the subject. The Great Master Xuandu could only pretend not to ask, and the two continued their treacherous alliance!
...
At almost the same time.
Zhenyuanzi, who had received hints from the Heavenly Dao and Ancestor Hongjun, had to go to the Bottomless Cave of Black Wind Mountain. After an inspection, he informed them that Xingtian was still there and the prohibition was intact.
Hearing this.
The Heavenly Dao and Ancestor Hongjun were greatly relieved.
However, they did not expect.
Just as they stopped paying attention, an unremarkable monkey hair from below the Bottomless Cave flew up and returned to Sun Kong!