Sun Wukong escorted Jin Chanzi all the way back to Wanling City.

"Great Saint, there's no need to escort me this far."

Jin Chanzi felt a bit embarrassed.

Ao Luan glanced at him. *Didn't Jin Chanzi know the reason why Sun Wukong had to escort him back?*

"Ao Luan, please take care of the little Phoenix for now."

Sun Wukong handed the little Phoenix to Ao Luan and said, "I need to go find my master."

"Yes,"

Ao Luan said as he took the little Phoenix and left.

Just as they departed, Immortal Zhenyuan flew over.

"Brother, it's really you!"

He had sensed Sun Wukong's presence and rushed over, also spotting Jin Chanzi.

"Jin Chanzi, you don't need to fall into hell anymore,"

Immortal Zhenyuan said.

Immortals had to keep their promises, especially with vows. If they failed to adhere, they would face divine retribution.

Jin Chanzi avoided a calamity by being sent back early by Sun Wukong.

"Thank you, Great Saint."

Realizing what had happened, Jin Chanzi expressed his gratitude to Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong was a bit taken aback, chatted briefly, and then sent Jin Chanzi back to the temple.

After bidding farewell to Immortal Zhenyuan, he planned to head to Mountain and Sea City.

Immortal Zhenyuan stopped him.

"Brother, since you're rarely back, why not come to my place for a chat? I have something good to offer you,"

the Immortal said.

Sun Wukong chuckled after a thought, "If it's Ginsengfruit, you should keep it for others."

He couldn't think of anything else good from Wuzhuang Temple other than Ginsengfruit.

But Ginsengfruit had no effect on the current Sun Wukong; eating it would be in vain, and it was better left for others more in need.

"It's not Ginsengfruit,"

Immortal Zhenyuan shook his head, appearing mysterious. "You'd never guess what it is, Brother."

Only then did Sun Wukong become interested.

He glanced at the time; it was still early, and there was no rush to visit Master Puti.

Sun Wukong followed Immortal Zhenyuan back to Wuzhuang Temple. After just sitting down, the Immortal had a few maidens come in to serve tea.

"Oh, so that's it..."

Sun Wukong glanced around and immediately knew the identities of these maidens.

"Brother, please,"

Immortal Zhenyuan said as he raised his tea to Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong looked at the Flower Dew in his cup. "Where did you trick these flower spirits from?"

"I didn't trick them,"

Immortal Zhenyuan snorted, "They are my new disciples."

After having some Flower Dew last time, it suddenly occurred to him why he shouldn't accept flower spirits as disciples.

This way, he could enjoy Flower Dew openly and legitimately.

Moreover, with many disciples already, adding a few flower spirits wouldn't matter.

Sun Wukong couldn't help but find it amusing and exasperating.

*To take on disciples just for Flower Dew, Immortal Zhenyuan was indeed the foremost in Wanling Country.*

"Probably..."

Because other immortals were also peculiar, Sun Wukong couldn't be entirely sure.

He stayed at Wuzhuang Temple for several hours, catching up with Immortal Zhenyuan, before using the Translocation Technique to arrive at Mountain and Sea City.

At the Winter Palace, the Grandmaster was playing chess with the Jade Emperor. Seeing Sun Wukong suddenly appear, they were both taken aback.

"Great Saint, how did you suddenly appear?"

Gold Star Taibai, who was serving on the side, was also startled.

"Your Majesty, Gold Star Taibai, I didn't expect you both to be here,"

Sun Wukong greeted the Jade Emperor and Gold Star Taibai.

The Grandmaster and the Jade Emperor paused their game and had refreshments brought up.

Sun Wukong didn't eat, instead briefly recounting his experiences in the Northern Continent.

All three were a bit surprised, not expecting that the truth of Jile Pure Land required one to abandon the physical body.

"No wonder it can become Jile..."

The Grandmaster sighed. It was unexpected, yet made sense.

"The Buddha does not kill, so there's no need to worry,"

he continued.

Since the Buddha did not kill, the beings of the Northern Continent wouldn't simply reincarnate.

The complete formation of Jile Pure Land would take a long time, though under the Buddha Light, people there were not fond of romantic relationships, so formation was inevitable.

Before that, how the Pure Land could coexist with mortals posed a challenge for the Buddhist sect.

The Jade Emperor speculated, "It will take about three hundred years."

This estimation was longer than the previous calculations made by Sun Wukong and the Jade Emperor.

Such a long period would actually benefit the other Divine Continents.

"Wukong, your contest with the Buddha must have yielded significant insights,"

the Grandmaster said.

Sun Wukong nodded but showed little joy.

The Grandmaster found it curious. "You also brought Jin Chanzi back; what else is on your mind?"

The Jade Emperor also found it strange.

This time, Sun Wukong had indeed achieved great success.

"Although I competed with the Buddha, the Buddha also saw through me,"

Sun Wukong replied.

With no one else around, he didn't mind speaking candidly.

"The Buddha found my weakness, which will surely lead to my failure,"

he told the Grandmaster and the Jade Emperor. His weakness was Wanling Country.

If Wanling Country failed, it meant the failure of his path.

Therefore, the Buddha would definitely make Wanling Country fail — but he couldn't openly block or destroy it, for that wouldn't mean failure.

The only thing the Buddha could do was utilize Wanling Country's inherent issues.

"Utilize Wanling Country's own problems,"

the Grandmaster interjected.

"Yes,"

Sun Wukong nodded. "I've already warned Ao Luan."

The only way for Wanling Country to fail was due to its own issues.

There were two issues: one was the contradiction between class and distribution, for which the only remedy was institutional reform.

The leadership of Wanling Country was nearly entirely immortals. Immortals generally had higher qualities and seldom fought over interests, so the class issue wasn't particularly severe.

As long as Ao Luan was mindful, with assistance and forecasting from Emperor Donghua and other immortals, they should be able to ensure relative fairness in distribution.

But another aspect that could easily cause problems was beyond Ao Luan's control.

"Do you mean education?"

The Grandmaster suggested, thinking along the same lines.

Sun Wukong nodded.

With Wanling Country developing rapidly, education had to keep pace, else the void in thought due to development would surely present a great problem.

Sun Wukong presented his thoughts, and the Grandmaster nodded in agreement.

"I will take note,"

he said. Suddenly, he asked Sun Wukong, "Wukong, what is governing a country?"

"Governing a country is like regulating one's breath,"

they both answered simultaneously.

Sun Wukong looked at the Jade Emperor in surprise.

The Jade Emperor shook his head, indicating for Sun Wukong to speak.

"Governing a country is like regulating one's breath. When it's healthy and vigorous, every challenge can be overcome,"

Sun Wukong said.

This had been his long-standing sentiment.

The Grandmaster smiled and looked at the Jade Emperor.

"I don't demand sweeping momentum like your Imperial Brother does,"

the Jade Emperor gave a wry smile.

His approach to governance was to maintain stability. As long as the breath of the Three Realms was smooth and gentle, all was well.

"You are emperors who can perceive the breath of all beings,"

the Grandmaster sighed, never expecting this answer.

Sun Wukong and the Jade Emperor could see a country's "breath," much like identifying whether a person was ill.

Clearly, he saw no need to say more on that matter.

Sun Wukong stayed at the Winter Palace, chatting with the Grandmaster and the Jade Emperor for three days and nights. He also discussed ideas about equality and fairness found in the Heavenly Book.

He didn't detail much, touching briefly, but both the Grandmaster and the Jade Emperor were deeply influenced.

"I know what you aim to do, leave it to me,"

the Grandmaster told Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong had been doing well in the past, managing everything adeptly, but the issue now lay not with him but with others.

The cooperation of others couldn't be lacking either.

The Grandmaster, versed in the thoughts of the Three Religions, understood how to enlighten Wanling once reminded by Sun Wukong.

"Master, don't rush,"

Sun Wukong reminded the Grandmaster before he left.

The Grandmaster nodded. "Rest assured, I have it in mind,"

"With me keeping an eye on it,"

the Jade Emperor added.

His approach to governance differed from Sun Wukong, but he understood that extremes should be avoided in all matters.

If, one day, the atmosphere of Wanling Country became too sharp or utterly muddled, it would be challenging to resolve.

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