Journey to the West: The gods and Buddhas panicked when the monkey was trapped inside him.

"Brother, do you think if this old man goes back and complains, those gods in Heaven will be so angry they'll turn on him and send down 100,000 heavenly soldiers to cause trouble?"

Outside the Water Curtain Cave, Sun Wukong looked up at the direction where Taibai Jinxing had left.

They began communicating in their minds, their tone revealing a hint of excitement, as if they feared the world wasn't chaotic enough.

Within his mind, Li Chen's soft laughter conveyed a sense of complete control and composure.

"Don't worry, if the Heavenly Court sends troops, the Buddhist sect will definitely stop them."

"The Heavenly Court and the Buddhist sect have long since conspired to stage this grand Journey to the West drama; this is just the beginning."

"If they really capture you and take you to Heaven, how will they put on their show?"

"I, Old Sun, have truly humiliated the Heavenly Court today!"

"You want me, Old Sun, to ascend to heaven, and you don't even prepare a greeting gift? Do you really think I'm some beggar you can just fob off with?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Wukong scratched his cheek, suddenly becoming somewhat uncertain.

"But brother, isn't asking for three to five hundred Nine-Turn Golden Pills and several hundred Peaches of Immortality a bit too much?"

"What if the Jade Emperor is stingy and refuses to give it to us no matter what?"

Li Chen rolled his eyes in his mind, expressing extreme contempt for the monkey's limited perspective.

Li Chen rolled his eyes in his mind, expressing extreme contempt for Sun Wukong's limited perspective.

"What do you mean, 'a lot'? Three or five hundred Golden Elixir Peaches are nothing!"

"Don't you know that in the Tushita Palace of Heaven, the Golden Elixir is stored in gourds!"

"The peach trees in the Peach Orchard are countless!"

"The Heavenly Court's resources are beyond your imagination! When the time is right, you can eat your fill!"

Sun Wukong almost drooled when he heard this.

So the Heavenly Court is actually this rich!

He thought he was asking for the moon, but now it seems he was being too conservative!

"Understood, brother! Since they insist on inviting me, Old Sun, to serve in the Heavenly Court, then they have no choice but to give me the Golden Elixir and the Peaches of Immortality!"

Li Chen nodded in satisfaction: "That makes sense."

"The Buddhist sect values ​​the Journey to the West plan above all else. As long as you stay in Flower Fruit Mountain and do nothing, they will be the ones who are anxious."

"For the sake of the bigger picture, they'll bear this sunk cost!"

the other side.

Venus rode on auspicious clouds and hurried back to the Heavenly Court.

Inside the Lingxiao Palace, celestial clouds swirled.

The Jade Emperor remained seated high on his dragon throne, exuding boundless majesty.

Venus strode into the main hall and hurriedly bowed deeply, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty!"

The Jade Emperor glanced around and saw that there was nothing behind him; he did not see the monkey anywhere.

"Venus, where is the monkey demon from Flower Fruit Mountain? Why didn't it accompany you to Heaven to receive the decree?"

The Jade Emperor's voice was loud and majestic, and all the immortals in the hall turned to look at Venus.

Venus was visibly embarrassed and didn't know where to begin.

This is absolutely shameful!

He was representing the Jade Emperor to offer amnesty, but he ended up being blackmailed!

"Your Majesty, that Sun Wukong... he refuses to go to heaven." Taibai Jinxing took a deep breath and forced himself to speak.

"Refusing to ascend to heaven?" The Jade Emperor's expression darkened slightly, his imposing presence radiating authority.

"A mere demon immortal from the lower realm dares to refuse the Heavenly Court's offer of amnesty! What audacity!"

"Tell me! Why did he refuse?"

Venus gritted his teeth and could only relay the truth.

"The monkey demon said, 'Since Your Majesty sincerely invites him to serve as an official in Heaven, he absolutely cannot go empty-handed!'"

"He specifically requested that the Heavenly Court provide three to five hundred Nine-Turn Golden Pills, and also several hundred peaches as a gift!"

"He also said that if he didn't see these gifts, it meant the Heavenly Court wasn't sincere, and he would never go to Heaven again in his lifetime!"

These words were spoken.

The Lingxiao Palace erupted in chaos.

boom--!

Auspicious energy surged within the hall, and the immortals' magical power surged, their invisible anger soaring straight to the heavens.

The God of Martial Virtue took a step forward, and in his extreme anger, he laughed.

"Absurd! This is utterly ridiculous! Who does this demon monkey think he is, daring to openly extort money from our Heavenly Court!"

"He spouts hundreds of golden pills and peaches of immortality with every bite; does he think these are rotten cabbages from the mortal world?!"

Fire God also had flames flickering around him as he roared angrily.

"Your Majesty! This demon is incredibly arrogant and disrespectful to the Heavenly Court!"

"This immense favor of being granted amnesty has not only failed to earn his gratitude, but he's also trying to extort money from the Heavenly Court!"

"I believe that such evil demons must not be allowed to live and must be severely punished!"

Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, strode out, his body radiating a fierce aura.

"A mere mountain demon dares to extort the Heavenly Court; utterly arrogant!"

"Your Majesty! These monstrous beings are courting death! I request that you immediately mobilize 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals to lay a net that can trap us all!"

"I will surely raze Flower Fruit Mountain to the ground and bring that demon monkey to the execution platform!"

For a moment, the crowd inside the hall was filled with indignation.

The gods have been high above for millions of years, when have they ever suffered such humiliation from demons in the mortal world!

If they really gave it to them, wouldn't the Heavenly Court become a laughing stock and a money-giving boy in the eyes of the demons and monsters of the Three Realms?

The Jade Emperor's face also turned ashen.

"How dare you! This Sun Wukong is truly courting death!"

With this angry shout, a vast pressure swept out, and the immortals instantly fell silent.

"I considered his arduous cultivation journey and intended to spare him from the calamity of war, but he dared to so blatantly defy the might of Heaven!"

"Since this stubborn and unyielding demon refuses to be recruited, then we shall capture and punish him directly!"

"Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, heed my decree!"

Li Jing was greatly encouraged and immediately strode out of the ranks, clasping his hands in a fist salute: "Your subject is here!"

"I command you to immediately muster 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals to lay a net that can trap you anywhere!"

"Let's also take Nezha, the Third Prince, and the Nine Luminaries with us, and descend to Flower Fruit Mountain!"

"Capture that audacious monkey demon alive and bring him to the heavens, where he will be imprisoned on the Execution Platform to be punished!"

"Your subject obeys! I will make that demon monkey know the power of the Heavenly Rules!" Li Jing accepted the order and turned to muster his troops.

"King of heaven, wait!"

Venus was so anxious that his heart was pounding. He disregarded his pride and directly opened his arms to block Li Jing's way.

He knew perfectly well that if this army of 100,000 really went down in battle, it would truly break ties with Buddhism!

"Venus, do you still want to plead for that monkey demon?" The Jade Emperor looked down at him coldly, his tone revealing strong dissatisfaction.

Venus quickly turned around and bowed deeply to the Jade Emperor.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! This old minister has absolutely no intention of protecting that demon monkey!"

"For a mere mortal monkey demon from the lower realm, the Heavenly Court has mobilized a massive army of 100,000. This is far too much of an honor for him!"

"That monkey demon is ignorant and arrogant. If we kill him in a fit of anger, people will say that the Heavenly Court is intolerant of others."

"We implore Your Majesty to be tolerant and guide us, so as to avoid conflict!"

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor was so angry that he laughed instead, and his imposing aura pressed down on Venus.

"If I don't send troops to encircle and annihilate them, do you really expect me to go and offer gifts to that demon monkey and compromise?"

"To make me, the supreme ruler of the Three Realms, bow down to a mere monkey demon from the lower realms!"

"You actually came up with such a humiliating idea—the Heavenly Court sending golden pills and peaches of immortality to Flower Fruit Mountain!"

Venus was rendered speechless by the rebuttal, his mouth agape for a long time but unable to utter a single word.

Yes! If the Heavenly Court really sent gifts to the demons and immortals of the lower realm, it would lose all face.

However, if they don't send them away, the mission to recruit them into the government will be stalled, and the Buddhist plan will be shelved.

Caught in the middle, caught in a dilemma!

The entire hall was locked in a suffocating stalemate.

The Jade Emperor coldly surveyed the assembled immortals.

"Since you have nothing more to say, step back! Heavenly King Li, immediately muster your troops and descend to the mortal realm—there is no time to lose!"

At this critical moment!

The duty officer hurried into the main hall, his expression respectful.

"Your Majesty!"

"Western Guanyin Bodhisattva of the South Sea, I request an audience outside the hall!"

The loud voice instantly shattered the tense and solemn atmosphere inside the hall.