Chapter 1052: Chapter 1052: Baiting Ziwei

Originally, Jiang Liu already had thoughts of taking action against the Heavenly Court. Putting aside other matters, he had naturally planned to obtain the Kongdong Seal.

However, this matter couldn’t be rushed, so Jiang Liu temporarily kept it to himself, without any immediate intention to act.

But now, while he hesitated, Empress wanted to act against Long Eyebrow.

In that case, should he strike first?

Both the Empress and the Emperor Ziwei are forces belonging to the Heavenly Court, and there’s not much difference.

Jiang Liu raised his hand, and the piece of paper he held quickly turned to ashes and scattered. Sitting on the back of the White Dragon Horse, his brow was filled with a look of contemplation.

Even though he decided to act against the Heavenly Court’s forces, how exactly should he proceed? Naturally, this required careful planning.

“Master, now that the Empress knows about Long Eyebrow’s resurrection, what should we do next? Should we move Long Eyebrow?” Sha Wujing, due to his strong build, easily saw what was written on the piece of paper, and immediately asked Jiang Liu.

“Yes, Master, Long Eyebrow has been discovered. The Empress is petty and will surely look to harm Long Eyebrow. Should we move him?” Following Sha Wujing’s words, Zhu Bajie also asked.

“Wukong, what do you think?”

After Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie spoke, Jiang Liu did not answer directly but turned his head and looked at Sun Wukong, then asked him.

Usually, the Scripture Seeking Team follows the Master’s unequivocal decisions, and all the disciples are used to him coordinating everything. Now, the Master was asking for his opinion?

Sun Wukong was slightly taken aback but then thought about it and replied, “Master, I, Old Sun, don’t think there’s a need to move Long Eyebrow. If the Empress truly wants to act against him, we’ll just deal with whoever she sends.”

It must be said, Sun Wukong’s words sounded reckless, yet they also aligned well with his personality.

Why overthink? Soldiers handle soldiers, water deals with earth.

“Hmm, what Wukong said does make sense….” Hearing Sun Wukong’s words, Jiang Liu nodded in agreement.

“Master? You mean, we should directly take action against the Heavenly Court?” Originally thinking Sun Wukong’s words were too hardline, the disciples were surprised that the Master agreed with him.

“Yes, now that we’ve reached this point, there’s no need for us to hide anymore!” Jiang Liu agreed, nodding affirmatively.

At this, He paused briefly, then continued, “Besides, we don’t have to passively wait for the Empress to act. I think we can strike first?”

“Strike first!?” Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie exchanged glances, their faces filled with astonishment.

The senior disciple’s words were already hardline enough, but the Master’s words were even more determined?

To actively strike against the Heavenly Court, to strike first?

“Hehehe, not bad, not bad, Master, your words are to Old Sun’s liking!” Sun Wukong wasn’t bothered with overthinking, cheerfully rubbing his hands.

Sun Wukong’s words made Jiang Liu smile slightly, as he had expected this reaction from him.

However, how to proceed? How to strike first? Jiang Liu thought it best to discuss this carefully with his disciples.

As the saying goes, three unskilled cobblers add up to a Zhuge Liang. Jiang Liu and the others brainstormed on how to strike first, even the White Dragon Horse occasionally chimed in with a suggestion.

However, the White Mouse Demon remained silent.

Listening to Jiang Liu and the others’ conversation, the White Mouse Demon was increasingly alarmed.

Even though it had been traveling with the Journey to the West Pilgrimage Team for some time, accustomed to many strange happenings, overhearing plans to attack the Heavenly Court was deeply shocking.

Compared to these current events, the previously surprising ones seemed insignificant.

“Unbelievable, is this really what the Journey to the West Team is like? Actually planning to attack the Heavenly Court?”

Despite their intention to act first, after some discussion between Jiang Liu and the others, they quickly had a clearer picture in mind.

Even if they strike first, they shouldn’t act against the Empress first. Instead, Jiang Liu believed that targeting Emperor Ziwei first and proceeding step by step was a good choice.

Moreover, the primary goal was to plan for the Kongdong Seal.

“Yes, Master, let’s do as you say, first act against Emperor Ziwei. At that time, the forces affiliated with the Heavenly Court definitely won’t stand by!” Jiang Liu’s words made sense, and coupled with trust in the Master’s wisdom, Sun Wukong and the others nodded in agreement.

“Master, how should we approach attacking Emperor Ziwei? Should we find an opportunity to go directly to his palace and eliminate him?” After the master and disciples confirmed their target, Sun Wukong asked Jiang Liu.

“I said you’re straightforward, but you really don’t use your brain, do you?” Hearing Sun Wukong’s words, Jiang Liu glanced at him in exasperation.

“Then master, what do you say we should do?” After Jiang Liu’s comment, Sun Wukong, not appearing angry, asked him again.

Meanwhile, Zhu Bajie and the others were also looking at Jiang Liu intently.

“How about this, Wukong, you take a trip to the Heavenly Court today, find the Tianxi Star, and have him visit the Lower Realm. Be careful not to let anyone notice…” In Jiang Liu’s mind, a general plan began to take shape and became clearer. He then turned to Sun Wukong and gave his instructions.

“Alright, Master, don’t worry, I, Old Sun, am not that easy to spot!” Reassured by Jiang Liu’s advice, Sun Wukong nodded with confidence.

With that, Sun Wukong wasted no time and leaped towards the direction of the Heavenly Court.

As for Jiang Liu, after pondering for a moment, he sent a message to Gaoyang.

As the saying goes, “train your soldiers for a thousand days for one single use,” and all the experts are being embedded into the Ming Sect.

So long in the dungeon, all the items that are not needed have been sent to the Ming Sect. By now, the strength of Ming Sect is not weak, and Jiang Liu felt it was time to utilize it.

“Gaoyang, have Long Eyebrow come to me, there’s something I need him to handle!” Jiang Liu directly sent a message to Gaoyang.

If they are going to take action against Emperor Ziwei, then the late-stage Great Luo Golden Immortal, Long Eyebrow, is definitely useful. Furthermore, they need to use Long Eyebrow as a mediator to go against the Empress, which makes him crucial.

“Alright, understood!” Upon receiving Jiang Liu’s message, Gaoyang, who was cultivating the Green Lotus Taoist Scripture in the Enlightenment Hall, paused his training and replied.

Immediately, he found Long Eyebrow and conveyed Jiang Liu’s task to him.

Without wasting words, Long Eyebrow nodded, then with a flicker of his body, flew straight towards Jiang Liu.

“Holy Monk, is there anything you need my service for?” Upon arriving in front of Jiang Liu, after a brief exchange of greetings, Long Eyebrow inquired directly.

“Here’s the situation…” Listening to Long Eyebrow, Jiang Liu explained the outline of the matter to him.

Then, Jiang Liu opened his inventory space, took out a small copper coin with wings.

“What’s this? The Cash-Dropping Coin!?”

Seeing the small copper coin with wings in Jiang Liu’s hand, Long Eyebrow exclaimed with astonishment on his face.

“That’s right, it’s indeed the Cash-Dropping Coin!”

Given Long Eyebrow’s lifespan, recognizing the Cash-Dropping Coin was not surprising. Jiang Liu nodded and said, “Your task is simple, use the Cash-Dropping Coin as bait to lure Emperor Ziwei to attack you, then when the time is right, we will strike together and eliminate Emperor Ziwei!”

Jiang Liu’s plan was indeed simple and wasn’t considered sophisticated.

However, sometimes simple plans can be extremely effective.

“With this Cash-Dropping Coin in hand, Emperor Ziwei will surely be unable to resist!” Hearing Jiang Liu’s strategy and seeing the treasure used to lure Emperor Ziwei, Long Eyebrow confidently accepted the Cash-Dropping Coin into his hands.

Then, Jiang Liu added Long Eyebrow to his friend list, discussed some detailed issues, and Long Eyebrow set off as well.

…

Emperor Ziwei sat on his throne, with numerous documents piled up in front of him waiting to be processed.

After spending a considerable amount of time handling these documents, he put down his pen and stretched long, feeling a bit fatigued.

Of course, it’s not physical fatigue, but more of a mental one.

Originally, under the Jade Emperor, there were Four Imperial Lords. But after the successive fall of Empress Qinghua and the Emperor of Longevity, only he and Emperor Zhenwu were left among the Four Imperial Lords, which invisibly doubled his workload.

Moreover, the main point was that, originally, Emperor Zhenwu’s responsibilities leaned towards martial matters.

For instance, if a powerful Great Demon appeared in the Mortal World and needed suppression, that task would fall to Emperor Zhenwu.

Now, with only him and Emperor Zhenwu remaining, Zhenwu’s duties were still aligned with martial affairs. Therefore, the tasks originally handled by Empress Qinghua and the Emperor of Longevity mostly fell on his shoulders.

Invisibly, his power did indeed expand somewhat, but his workload also increased significantly…