436: The complex division of power

Solar Star Lord wished he could slap himself twice. He looked at Tang Ku with an ugly expression, his mouth twitching. He wanted to say something but couldn't, and in the end, it only turned into a helpless sigh.

"Heh, so that's how it is!"

Tang Ku smiled and said, "I roughly understand what you mean by the radical and conservative factions!"

Come to think of it, the goals of these two factions are actually easy to guess. Think about it carefully: the Nine Luminaries Star Lords are officials directly responsible to the Jade Emperor. This includes Taibai Star Lord, also known as Taibai Jinxing, whom Sun Wukong calls the 'Old Angel'. Just imagine, if the Nine Luminaries Star Lords at this level were divided into two factions, what would those two factions be?

I believe many people can guess that one of these factions must be extremely loyal to the Jade Emperor. When the whereabouts of the Jade Emperor are unknown, they will definitely try every possible means to find him first; after all, he is the core figure of the Heavenly Court's centralized power.

And the actions of the other faction are intriguing. If they were to oppose the faction loyal to the Jade Emperor, what kind of situation would that be?

That's right, it would be declaring themselves king... or supporting someone else with more power to be king!

Undoubtedly, Solar Star Lord and his group entering Chang'an and seizing the opportunity to take Luck might only be secondary; what they really want to do is find the whereabouts of the Jade Emperor.

Solar Star Lord looked at Tang Ku helplessly and suddenly smiled bitterly: "Why does it seem like you know everything... The name Tang Sanzang was, in the past, a piece of succulent meat that anyone could target, basically no different from a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. But after you went on the pilgrimage, in less than two years, you actually have your current strength and insight, and your wisdom is even more profound... I really... have to admire you!"

Tang Ku suddenly smiled playfully: "I originally thought you people in the Heavenly Court were very united!"

"The Heavenly Court is not like the Western Buddhist Realm, which is led by religion. The Immortal Realm is filled with various forces and factions. It can be said to be chaotic yet orderly, and it has never been a monolith. The Jade Emperor's power seems stable, but once a major disaster is encountered, the centralized power will inevitably collapse!"

Solar Star Lord said helplessly, "Now, the Immortal Realm has suffered a great disaster, and the power of the Heavenly Court has been completely dismantled. As I said before, I stand on the side of the conservative faction, advocating for finding the Jade Emperor first before discussing subsequent matters. Our direct superior is Grand Tutor Wen, the Heavenly Lord of Thunder of the Nine Heavens Response and Origin Mansion..."

"Hmm, I can see that on this point! Otherwise, Xin Huan would not be willing to be used by you!"

Tang Ku said, "And who are the other factions?"

"Hmm... our completely opposing Mortal enemies are the Gouchen Shanggong Heavenly Emperor supported by Luo Hou, Ji Du, and Ying Huo. Among our various forces, they have the strongest power. The Twenty-Eight Mansions have basically leaned towards them. Due to the Possession of Mortals, plus occupying an entire country and having the blessing of Luck, their magic power has recovered the fastest. Currently, basically ninety percent of them already have the power they had back in the Heavenly Court!"

"Then there is the lineage of the True Martial Great Emperor of the North Pole, which is also relatively conservative. Currently, Guan Sheng Di Jun stands with him. They do not participate in the various conquests, but they have also sent people to compete for Luck. They also have people in Chang'an this time, but I am sure that although they did not participate in our plan, they secretly support us a bit!"

"Then there is another branch, which is the lineage of Taiyi Relief-from-Suffering Heavenly Lord. He does not have many strong subordinates, but he has the largest number of Star Generals. Although the one hundred and eight Star Generals are not as strong as the Twenty-Eight Mansions, the number is there. And he has an extremely powerful figure helping him, which is Wang Lingguan, who once fought Sun Wukong for hundreds of rounds without a winner!"

Hearing this, Tang Ku couldn't help but frown slightly: "Then is this faction a conservative faction or a radical faction?"

"Unfortunately, they do not belong to either of these two factions!"

Solar Star Lord smiled bitterly, "They are the separatist faction, hoping to divide the Heavenly Court's power according to the Daoist sect, with each managing its own affairs!"

Tang Ku couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh: "Heh, this is a bit brain-dead. You already can't beat the others, and the more scattered you are, the faster you will die!"

"That is true!" Solar Star Lord smiled bitterly, "There is another faction, which is the reclusive faction led by Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing, who does not attach to anyone and does not want to participate in anything. He leads his Li family's private soldiers. Whether it is power or hard strength, he cannot speak, nor can he intervene. After all, Li Jing without his pagoda is really lacking in combat power!"

"What, Li Jing has also descended to the Mortal world?"

Tang Ku couldn't help frowning slightly, suddenly thinking of something, and couldn't help but smile slightly, "So that's it... If those two meet, it will be lively!"

Solar Star Lord looked bewildered, looking at Tang Ku and saying: "Why is the Holy Monk smiling so strangely?"

Tang Ku squinted his eyes slightly: "Is my smile strange? Heh, let your subordinates retreat. I won't do anything to you... Hmm, however, some of the people you sent out earlier were killed by me. You won't blame me for that, right!"

Solar Star Lord smiled bitterly: "Do you think I dare? Hmm... everyone, retreat, I'm fine!"

Swish!

There seemed to be movement in the palace, but it soon quieted down. It turned out that Xin Huan was afraid that Solar Star Lord was in danger, so he brought reinforcements from outside. However, Solar Star Lord knew in his heart that with their current half-baked strength, they would be wiped out by Tang Ku within a single round.

"Tang... Holy Monk..." Solar Star Lord changed his words, "Although we did not participate in the affairs of the Daughter's Country, we did not stop it in order to preserve our strength and protect ourselves. To be honest, we cannot shirk the responsibility for such a thing happening. After all, as deities, as the belief of countless common people, we should have protected them, but... sigh, things have come to this, I also know that quibbling is useless. I can only say that in the future, if they have any major actions, I will notify you immediately. If you don't mind, I will report to the Heavenly Lord, and we... how about we form an alliance?"

Tang Ku was slightly stunned, then narrowed his eyes and said: "You are lacking in strength, so you want to find a protective talisman?"

"You could say that. After all, their strength is too strong, and with our current power, we are completely not their match. Our goal is to find the Jade Emperor, so we will not pose a threat to you, and you also need information, don't you?" Solar Star Lord said.

"Hmm, understood. So you have also planted undercover agents in the various factions, right?" Tang Ku smiled.

"Uh, you can guess this too?"

Solar Star Lord continued to be bewildered.

"Is it hard to guess? Heh, where did your information come from?" Tang Ku asked back.

Lunar Star Lord couldn't help but smile awkwardly: "Fine, I asked a stupid question!"

"Heh, let's forget about the alliance, but I guarantee I won't attack you for the time being. However..." Tang Ku's expression turned stern, and he sneered, "But that Luo Hou Star Lord, I want to collect some interest from him... Also, I want to remind you, just as you can plant undercover agents on their side, they can naturally plant undercover agents around you, so you must be careful!"