Chapter Thirty-Three: Undercurrents Surge

  "Welcome Queen Mother of the West."

  Upon hearing the announcement at the entrance, all the immortals in the grand hall bowed in unison. Even Gou Chen, who was normally proud and arrogant, couldn't help but lower his head in respect. Hou Tu nodded slightly towards Wang Mu's direction of arrival, a faint smile appearing on her icy face like a blooming spring flower.

  "I didn't expect Yaoji's popularity to be so high, I don't know if it's because of the arrival of Dongwang Gong or her own personal charm?"

  Zhang Youren secretly compared and found that it's no wonder the Jade Emperor in TV dramas has such a sticky rice old lady image. Compared to Queen Mother, he himself is really useless.

  A humble family background, the youngest daughter of the Eastern King Gong, the leader of the ancient immortals, is high above, but she herself is just a lucky immortal who has achieved great merit in one go, barely managed to become the master of the three realms, and is still a puppet emperor who cannot govern his own position, now even the four Yu under her command dare to raise their eyebrows and give her a cold look.

  Secondly, his cultivation is also a weakness. Not to mention the Golden Immortal cultivation of the Queen Mother, the golden hairpin on his head is one of the strongest attacking weapons, second only to the Pre-Heavenly Treasure. With a casual swipe, he can split open the Milky Way and overturn rivers and seas. But as for him, with a mortal body and an ordinary physique, even the Huatian Mirror cannot be activated by him.

  To say nothing of prestige, it's hard to find a fairy in the three realms who dares not to give face when the Queen Mother takes action.

  "Ah..."

  He let out a sigh of relief, "Fortunately, she is still my nominal wife!"

  With a change of mind, Zhang Youren suddenly felt enlightened and invited the Queen Mother to sit beside him on the dragon chair. As they sat side by side, he couldn't help but admire her majestic and elegant demeanor, which was also a visual treat.

  "Ministers, you may dispense with the formalities."

  The Queen Mother sat on the phoenix carriage, her crimson lips slightly parted, and her voice was like pearls falling onto a jade plate, causing the spirits of all the immortals in the great hall to be stirred.

  After everyone calmed down, Queen Mother Wang smiled slightly at Zhang Youren, and in her heart, she began to look forward to Zhang Youren's next move.

  It is well known that the Peach Festival is not just a gathering of immortals to taste the divine roots of heaven and earth, but also contains a deeper meaning. The ginseng fruit festival of the Earth Immortal Old Ancestor, who has been invited by the Town Yuan Great Immortal, is a gathering of friends who can help him understand the ultimate truth of the Heavenly Way. With the cultivation of the Town Yuan child, there are naturally very few participants. Huang Zhong and Li Yin were destroyed in the great calamity of heaven and earth and no longer exist in the three realms. Now only the Peach Tree remains in the world, and it just so happens that a despicable Jade Emperor has planted it in his backyard to use as a powerful aid to gain an advantage for the Heavenly Court.

  So, every year at the Peach Conference, there is always a conventional ritual where the participating immortals will take the opportunity to bow their heads to the Heavenly Court in order to obtain cultivation resources. This is also a great opportunity for the Heavenly Court to select talents.

  However, since the Quantitative Tribulation, the Heavenly Court's power has been weak, and various major forces have been intertwined. In the past few Peaches of Immortality festivals, the Jade Emperor not only failed to gain useful talents but also inadvertently provided a platform for other powerful families through the Peaches of Immortality festival, becoming the biggest loser.

  According to Zhang Youren's idea, this is a grand gathering of talents from all over the world.

  However, in the past few times, it was the Heavenly Court that invested in organizing talent exchange conferences, providing all accommodation and even meal allowances, with full reimbursement of travel expenses. But, they were ruthlessly poached by several large multinational companies from outside. The remaining inferior goods were mostly unusable, and they still had to be picky and choosy, which made the Jade Emperor very angry.

  However, from the recent events, Queen Mother seems to have understood that Zhang Youren has other plans, and is planning something with confidence, even the most uncooperative Monkey King Sun Wukong sent an invitation, which made Queen Mother regain her trust in Zhang Youren.

  She gazed at the man with phoenix eyes like silk, under the cover of the nine-dragon purple gold crown with twelve pendants. Zhang Youren appeared more mysterious, and his face, which was slightly feminine in appearance, had also added a few points of masculinity after completing the first turn of the Nine Turns Xuan Gong, making him look truly imperial.

  "What will he do next?"

  The Queen Mother's little heart was racing with excitement.

  "I really miss you."

  The Queen Mother couldn't help but smile at Zhang Youren's clever ideas, and that one smile made the eyes of the immortals below her dizzy. They secretly cursed Zhang Youren's good fortune. Of course, this kind of jealousy would never be revealed on their faces.

  Actually, no matter how unreliable the Eastern King's education of his children is, he still taught Yaoji to have the temperament of a mother who dominates the world. Although she clearly knew that her marriage to Zhang Youren was a transaction, a balance. However, after being together for a long time, a kind of emotion would naturally arise, and she would naturally put herself in the role of the Three Realms Emperor's wife.

  The Queen Mother had already placed her heart and mind on Zhang Youren for a long time without realizing it herself. However, Zhang Youren's past behavior and way of handling things had repeatedly disappointed the Queen Mother, and as an unconventional and free-spirited woman, she would often feel sad when thinking about these things alone.

  However, several recent events have sparked her interest and raised her expectations of Zhang Youren. Whether it was a coincidence or good fortune, these recent happenings have earned Zhang Youren a lot of points in the eyes of Wang Mu Niang Niang, causing her long-dormant heart to begin to revive.

  As usual, Zhang Youren should have given a passionate speech of encouragement at this time, and then start entering the main topic, move to the banquet hall to taste the peaches, and take the opportunity to see the competition between the various major forces, select the excellent seedlings that have been cultivated for thousands of years, and cultivate them under their own command.

  Alternatively, three or five knowledgeable friends gather together, taking advantage of the banquet to exchange and discuss their cultivation experiences, debate the gains and losses of the Heavenly Way, and talk about the rotation of the Earth's origin. When the wine reaches half drunkenness, the guests and host are all delighted and return home, leaving only Zhang Youren alone in the great hall, lamenting that this year's Peach Festival has again brought shame to the face of Heaven.

  However, this year's situation seems to be different. The guests have not arrived yet, and Zhang Youren is sitting in the dragon chair with a calm and confident attitude.

  As the atmosphere was almost right, Zhang Youren burst out laughing and glanced at the officials, saying: "Your Majesty, the Peach Conference is held once every ten thousand years, and each time it's the same old thing. This year I'll let you see something new."

  He nodded slightly, and the old man took his orders, stroking the feather duster in his hand as he floated away. The crowd of officials was left behind, looking at Zhang Youren with a mixture of curiosity and fear, whispering to each other.

  "What's this new trick... What is Zhang up to now?"

  He furrowed his brow and gazed at Zhang Youren, who seemed somewhat mysterious and profound, speechless.

  "This can't be about summoning the Taishanggong from the Yin Division to sing and dance, it's impossible, people from various sects haven't arrived yet, Your Majesty wouldn't be so rude, would you?"

  "Yes, yes, this year's Peach Festival, Your Majesty has indeed become incomprehensible. However, speaking of which, I haven't seen the one from the Taiyin Palace dance for a long time, tsk, tsk, that slender waist, those energetic eyes, tsk, tsk..."

  "Hum, each and every one of you are officials under the heavenly court, yet instead of thinking about how to serve the heavenly court, you're discussing the physical appearance of a female immortal in the imperial court. How utterly shameful!"

  "What's wrong with you, I was just joking about her and you bite me. Ah... Tian Peng Yuan Shuai, I didn't know it was you, forgive me, forgive me. Actually... actually I was just kidding around, haha... haha..."

  After Tian Peng turned around, the minister's mouth twitched and said: "Relying on having a good teacher, you really think you're superior, what's so great about that? Strip off that flashy outer garment and throw it into the crowd, nothing is left, just a fart."

  "You'd better keep your voice down, or he'll hear you and have the Heavenly River Water Warriors throw you into the Heavenly Dungeon, where you'll be in for a world of suffering."

  "How dare he!"

  The great immortal previously had an arrogant face, "Not even looking at who I am, as long as he dares to move a single hair of mine, see how the Great Emperor will deal with him."

  "Hmph... That's, that's you, you're quite bold, having the Great Emperor Xuanchen backing you up. If it were us, we'd be in trouble. Sigh, when can the Great Emperor Xuanchen also bring our sect under his wing?" The deity who spoke from behind looked even more sullen, gazing at the Great Emperor Xuanchen's face that was not smiling, and became even more respectful.

  "Shh, keep your voice down, I heard something big happened in the Imperial Palace recently."