Conferred Gods: Start with a Phoenix clone

Chapter 1790 Complaint
Zhuque came to complain today, taking advantage of his rest time.

At this moment, she said angrily, "Your Majesty, Princess, I have guarded the southern border for millions of years and have never made the slightest mistake."

Phoenix and Longji immediately nodded. This third brother of the Phoenix Clan was one of the few reliable people in the clan. Compared to the foolish Yuan Feng, compared to Kong Xuan who impulsively went to work for Yin Shang, and Da Feng who seemed normal but was actually restless, Zhuque could be described as hardworking and steady.

The Dragon Clan has the Ancestral Dragon overseeing the overall situation, the Qilin Clan has the First Qilin helping to steer the course, only the Phoenix Clan has been saddled with an unreliable fellow.

Zhuque truly shouldered the burden of the Phoenix Clan at the most critical moment, despite being a junior. If it weren't for her perseverance over countless millennia, the Phoenix Clan would have been wiped out long ago, and they wouldn't have had the chance to wait for Deng Chanyu to make the Phoenix Clan great again.

She said that her work had never gone wrong, a point that Phoenix acknowledges.

Zhuque continued, “I have been resting on the Heavenly Pillar in the southern direction. A hundred years ago, the White Tiger Supervisory God wandered to the southwest and asked to rest on the Heavenly Pillar in the south. I was not so petty as to agree. As a result, in the past hundred years, the White Tiger has repeatedly occupied the Heavenly Pillar and even claimed that I should rest on the Heavenly Pillar in the far west. This is simply absurd! Why would I go to the far west?”

It's clear that Zhuque has been holding back for a long time, but this is also related to Deng Chanyu's attainment of sainthood. Her tolerance threshold for some things has changed. Things she could tolerate before, she no longer needs to tolerate!
Without investigation, one has no right to speak on this matter. Whether it is the Pillar of the South or the Pillar of the Far West, they are both located on the edge of the primordial wilderness, where divination is greatly interfered with.

As an administrative body, resorting to divination at every turn lacks persuasiveness.

Phoenix first offered some comforting words, then had Longji accompany Zhuque while she summoned her subordinates to gather all the information related to the two celestial pillars, which she wanted to examine.

The Celestial Masters' Mansion, which was in charge of the Four Celestial Masters, was somewhat like a secretariat or office. The Four Celestial Masters were the Four Secretaries. They assisted the Jade Emperor, handling some trivial matters on a daily basis, and were responsible for giving advice to the Jade Emperor when major events occurred.

In the past, during the reign of Emperor Haotian, people would consult Taibai for both internal and external matters.

Phoenix doesn't distrust Venus; rather, it hopes to govern the Three Realms through systems rather than relying on the personal abilities of a particular minister.

The Celestial Master's Mansion was a product of this idea.

Not long after, a somewhat overweight secretary came over carrying a tall stack of documents.

These are all records about the two great celestial pillars.

Phoenix didn't even look at it, and asked directly, "My dear minister, please give a brief summary."

This chubby secretary was none other than Zhu Bajie (Pigsy).

After Journey to the West, Zhu Bajie served as the Clean Altar Messenger for only a few years before being ostracized by the former disciples of the Western Sect. Sun Wukong, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, was at least a high-level fighter, and his interests did not conflict much with those of the former disciples of the Western Sect. In addition, apart from a few big shots like Maitreya, most people could not defeat Sun Wukong. Even if they disliked each other, they could tolerate his existence.

Pigsy's situation is different. He's the Cleansing Altar Messenger, which, literally, sounds like a cushy job where he enjoys offerings, but in reality, the benefits are much greater.
Various overt and covert suppressions led Pigsy to abandon Buddhism and return to Heaven.

Now that he has been reincarnated and is on the official path again, he is essentially still the former Marshal Tianpeng. He cannot be measured by his five hundred years of lifespan in this life, so we can continue to call him Old Zhu.

Old Zhu deeply regretted his past greed. Looking back, he realized he had taken a detour of over a thousand years, which stemmed from his arrogance and overconfidence as a senior official who believed he could do whatever he wanted. As a result, he was brought down to earth in one fell swoop.

After shedding his pig form and being reincarnated, he decided to continue his career in the Heavenly Court, but this time he abandoned martial arts and embraced literature.

Marshal Tianpeng? Whoever wants to do it, let them do it. I'm not doing it! He felt that his previous lack of legal awareness, insufficient understanding of the superior's instructions, failure to strictly demand of himself, failure to study in time, and failure to adhere to the principle of always following the leader were the reasons for his five-hundred-year calamity.

After much painful reflection, he decided to enter the Celestial Master's Mansion and is now a secretary under the Grand Celestial Master Ge Xuan.

When it comes to matters of promotion and wealth, Old Zhu is quite capable. He quickly recounted the disputes between the two pillars over the past century.

He spoke clearly and logically, with appropriate detail.

After listening, Phoenix nodded gently. The four pillars of heaven were taken from the limbs of the divine tortoise. In terms of sturdiness, these things were a notch below the original pillars of heaven, but they were living creatures after all and had the ability to regenerate themselves.

As Hollywood star Jake Gyllenhaal once said, "Not showering helps with skin care; our bodies can clean themselves automatically."

As a limb of the Divine Turtle, the Heavenly Pillar should have a stronger self-cleaning ability, so what could possibly go wrong?
She summoned Master Ge.

"It seems there's a problem with the Heavenly Pillar in the far west. Minister Ge, lead five hundred heavenly soldiers and generals to the far west to investigate."

It would be too undignified for the Jade Emperor to handle everything.

Sending a Grand Celestial Master to investigate is already a sign of taking it very seriously.

Master Ge had been in charge of many affairs with the Western world and Buddhism, which is why Old Zhu became his disciple.

Master Ge quickly arrived at the hall. After hearing the order, he asked, "Your Majesty, if the White Tiger God resists our investigation, how should we respond?"

The Four Great Divine Lords obeyed the orders of the Heavenly Court, but they were not actually members of the Heavenly Court.

During the reigns of Emperor Jun, Emperor Renhuang, and Emperor Haotian, they were all in a state of obeying orders but not decrees. The Heavenly Court only maintained nominal control over them, and in reality, the Heavenly Court's decrees did not have much effect there.

As one of the Four Celestial Masters, Ge Tianshi possessed profound Taoist skills. However, he was several levels below the Four Divine Lords, who made their living through battle. How could a level 30 mage possibly defeat a level 80 warrior? It was simply impossible.

The phoenix drew a talisman in mid-air, and then a golden pattern fell into Ge Tianshi's palm: "Hold this talisman of mine. If the White Tiger God Lord defies the decree of Heaven, you may use this talisman to subdue him."

The four Divine Lords all possess combat power comparable to Quasi-Saints. When facing ordinary immortals, the difference is like heaven and earth. However, when facing Saints, the difference between them and ordinary immortals is not that great.

"The minister obeys the order."

Master Ge immediately led his elite troops to the west to investigate the Heavenly Pillar in the far west. As the former Clean Altar Messenger, Old Zhu was also summoned.

Old Zhu's martial arts skills are quite good. During Journey to the West, his pig form completely limited his abilities. Now that he is a celestial being, he can almost fully unleash the abilities he once had as Marshal Tianpeng.

He carried his nine-toothed rake and stood majestically beside Master Ge, following him to the far west.

(End of this chapter)