Chapter 128: Senior Brother's 'Anger'

Inside the Sea God Temple, two Celestial Immortal guards stood in a corner of the backyard, holding the landscape spirit map. If one were to gaze intently at this map for a while, they would see that the two figures within it were like living beings, making subtle gestures such as raising hands or cupping fists.

These two figures were naturally Li Changshou's paper avatar and Dong Mu Gong. After exchanging a few polite words, they set up several layers of isolation formations around the Sea God Temple before entering the precious map, which could conceal them from immortal consciousness scrutiny and heavenly fate divination.

This map had a significant origin; it was a replica of the innate spiritual treasure, the Shanhe Sheji Tu (Mountain and River Map). Inside the map, after the two exchanged a few more pleasantries, Dong Mu Gong briefly explained his purpose.

“His Majesty the Jade Emperor benefited greatly from his last conversation with the Sea God. A few days ago, during the gathering of immortals at the Lingxiao Palace, His Majesty specifically named the Sea God of the South Sea for pacification and recruitment. An imperial decree will arrive here soon. Fellow Daoist, from now on, you and I will serve as officials in the same court.”

Li Changshou slightly frowned and said, “The phrase ‘soon’ can mean a long or short time. Fellow Daoist, please clarify how long it will be until the decree arrives.”

“At the quickest, a hundred years; at the slowest, two or three hundred years.” Dong Mu Gong stroked his beard and chuckled softly, a hint of awkwardness showing on his somewhat thin and gaunt face.

“You should be well aware of the current state of the Heavenly Court. Because most of the official god positions in the Heavenly Court are currently vacant, the functioning of the Heavenly Dao is almost entirely maintained by His Majesty alone. An imperial decree bestowing an official god position takes at least a century to receive a response from the Heavenly Dao.”

Li Changshou smiled inwardly and said, “There’s no need to rush this matter; even a thousand years would be fine. Moreover, I must ask Dong Mu Gong to return and inform His Majesty that even if I receive a divine position, I cannot immediately ascend to the Heavenly Court to heed the decree. It would be a laughingstock if a mere paper avatar were to ascend to heaven. When the time is right, I will naturally enter the Heavenly Gate, pay respects at Lingxiao, and offer my humble assistance to His Majesty.”

“Fellow Daoist, your calm and unhurried demeanor is truly admirable.” Dong Mu Gong praised, evidently having anticipated Li Changshou’s words. After all, during their previous meeting, Li Changshou had mentioned that it was inconvenient for him to ascend to the Heavenly Court for the time being.

Once the imperial decree for pacifying and recruiting the Sea God was issued, Li Changshou would receive a divine position in the Heavenly Court. Afterward, he would only need to instruct his divine emissaries to add portraits of the Jade Emperor in the most bustling temples, hanging them behind his and Ao Yi’s divine statues, thereby announcing that the Sea God Sect had pledged allegiance to the Heavenly Court. At that point, the incense merits would remain incense merits, unchanged from their current state. And the Heavenly Dao would also bestow Heavenly Dao merits upon him as the Sea God, much like a salary.

However, these Heavenly Dao merits were not easily acquired. Dong Mu Gong had directly brought six questions with him on this visit.

The first five issues were matters that the Jade Emperor was undecided about, and he wished to hear the Sea God’s esteemed opinions. In essence, this was to further ascertain his value as a strategist.

This time, Li Changshou was not in a hurry. After thorough consideration, he provided his humble 'shallow insights' on each point.

For the sake of caution, he self-restricted his 'vision,' and his advice was limited to what the Jade Emperor could perceive. This was distinctly different from the previous twelve pieces of advice, most of which Li Changshou had formulated by drawing conclusions from future events.

However, the last question Dong Mu Gong posed, which concerned a difficult matter of his own, gave Li Changshou a headache. This matter involved a Saint.

Li Changshou had already roughly deduced Dong Mu Gong's identity, fate, and even his story during their last meeting. Listening to Dong Mu Gong explain in detail today, Li Changshou couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion for the old man before him, who truly had a difficult path.

The so-called Dong Mu Gong was actually Dong Wang Gong, the previous incarnation of Lü Dongbin, the Pure Yang Immortal of later generations. When the Heavenly Court was first established, a Saint had appointed Dong Wang Gong to curb the Jade Emperor's actual power, placing him in charge of all male immortals in the Heavenly Court. This wouldn't have been much of an issue originally; although his authority overlapped with the Jade Emperor's, Dong Wang Gong was, in essence, a subordinate of the Jade Emperor.

The problem was that the divine position corresponding to Dong Wang Gong's was that of the Queen Mother of the West (Xi Wangmu), who oversaw all female immortals in the Heavenly Court. And the Queen Mother of the West was the same person as the later Queen Mother! She and the Jade Emperor were both the young attendant and attendant boy who served by Dao Ancestor's side in Zixiao Palace back then. They were true senior and junior disciples. According to Dong Mu Gong’s discreet observations, the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother were still the childhood sweethearts, innocently fond of each other, each performing their respective divine duties in the Heavenly Court. But Dong Mu Gong often saw the Jade Emperor frequenting the Heavenly Court’s Jade Pond, and sometimes the two would even go to the Jade Pond in West Kunlun together... Now, Dong Wang Gong and the Queen Mother of the West had become the chiefs of male and female immortals in the Heavenly Court, and were often mentioned side-by-side by Heavenly Court immortals... How could the Jade Emperor not feel a thorn in his throat?

Initially, Dong Wang Gong had thought that with the appointment given by the Saint, not even His Majesty the Jade Emperor could remove him. But soon, he was trained by the Jade Emperor to be utterly loyal! He had also come to deeply understand the Jade Emperor's methods, and now took pride in being able to assist such a ruler of the Three Realms! Although the Jade Emperor had never mentioned the 'Dong Wang Gong and Queen Mother of the West' matter, Dong Wang Gong dared not be unvigilant. Thus, Dong Wang Gong changed his name to Dong Mu Gong, and was exceedingly cautious in his daily life. He absolutely never used his authority to 'appoint male immortals to divine positions.' Whatever the Jade Emperor said, Dong Mu Gong would do. However, at present, the Jade Emperor had not yet risen to full power and had no capable subordinates. If the Jade Emperor were to become fully established, whether he wished to reclaim authority or for the sake of his reputation, Dong Mu Gong would certainly... certainly...

Dong Mu Gong had worried for many years, with no one to consult. Recently, seeing that even the Jade Emperor highly praised this Sea God of the South Sea, he truly had no other option, so he sought help here. “Fellow Daoist, you are skilled in strategy and full of wisdom. Could you please show this humble Daoist a clear path as well?”

Li Changshou pondered inwardly for a moment, and a hint of difficulty also appeared on the face of the old immortal, which was his paper avatar. Dong Mu Gong rose and bowed in Daoist fashion, taking out two storage magic treasures from his sleeve, and whispered, “If Fellow Daoist can offer some guidance, this humble Daoist will certainly offer a generous reward!”

Li Changshou was not someone easily swayed by external possessions, but what Dong Mu Gong offered was indeed too much... Ahem, no matter how much was offered for this matter, it wouldn't do! Even though Li Changshou already knew the optimal solution to this difficult problem, if he were to help Dong Mu Gong, it would be undermining a Saint. Regardless of which Saint had established Dong Wang Gong to vex the Jade Emperor, it was a karma Li Changshou could not afford to get involved in at this moment. Li Changshou naturally knew the difference between life and wealth.

Li Changshou sighed, “I can’t offer you much help with this. This matter mainly depends on how far you, Fellow Daoist, are willing to retreat.”

Dong Mu Gong hastily said, “If my life can be free from worry and my immortal Dao fruit can be preserved in the future, I dare not ask for more!”

Li Changshou thought for a moment and could only say, “Do not rush into anything; three steps of retreat can bring spring to withered wood.”

“May I ask, what are those three steps?”

“I truly dare not speak of it,” Li Changshou said with a smile, shaking his head, and pushed the two storage magic treasures back.

This karma he did not want to touch, nor could he.

However, as Dong Mu Gong was the Jade Emperor’s messenger, Li Changshou also knew well that he could not offend this person. Thus, he could only offer Dong Mu Gong a piece of advice for free, without incurring any karma...

‘Lately, why is everyone so eager to send me precious materials?’ In the Little Qiong Peak alchemy lab, Li Changshou muttered to himself, having already secretly instructed his paper avatar outside the mountain gate to head towards the edge of the South Sea. Dong Mu Gong insisted on leaving the two storage magic treasures, and was profoundly grateful to Li Changshou. Even though what Li Changshou had given him was merely a temporary solution, not a fundamental one, Dong Mu Gong seemed to have opened the door to a new world... Li Changshou secretly calculated that the precious materials he had now received were enough to keep him busy for several years.

After the sect's grand competition concluded, the various peaks of the Immortal Ascension Sect quickly quieted down, and the young disciples resumed their daily cultivation routines. Ling'e, Jiu Jiu, and Youqin Xuanya, who had just arrived half an hour ago, were currently drinking and enjoying themselves in the thatched hut. This was a gathering of their little fairy maidens, and it would be inappropriate for Li Changshou to appear. So he simply didn't go over.

Li Changshou took out a bamboo slip, and on it, inscribed numerous tasks he needed to complete from that day until the Three Sects Origin Conference:

First, to refine formation foundations and complete the grand formation, constructing the core foundation of Little Qiong Peak’s grand formation system.

Second, to continue improving the 'Turtle Breathing and Qi Equalizing Art,' in preparation for the possibility of not being able to avoid this ‘calamity’ when the time came.

Regarding this Three Sects Origin Conference, Li Changshou had already decided to feign illness (a deviation in cultivation) to avoid attending. As long as the two Golden Immortals of the sect didn't come to diagnose him then, he would naturally be able to get by.

But Li Changshou faintly felt that this matter would surely not be so simple...

Only after these two tasks would he focus on alchemy to amass wealth.

Two more essential tasks not inscribed on this bamboo slip were: monitoring the movements of Xianlin Peak and encouraging his master to overcome his reclusiveness.

Just like that, his cultivation life after the sect's grand competition resumed its usual fullness.

Li Changshou spent three years to transform the precious materials bestowed by the sect, along with part of Dong Mu Gong’s grateful gifts, into Little Qiong Peak’s 'defensive power.' The two storage magic treasures Dong Mu Gong had given him, Li Changshou, fearing they might have 'tracking' functions, directly discarded. He thoroughly inspected every precious material and spirit stone within them, and only then sealed each one individually with a Witch Clan secret talisman, storing them in his treasure pouch. As for the few magic treasures inside, Li Changshou directly assigned them to his rotating paper avatars, making sure they would never be near him... Subsequently, Li Changshou calculated the path and trajectory for his paper avatar's return, making it circle several times before returning near the Immortal Ascension Sect, where his master picked it up and brought it back to Little Qiong Peak. His current identity absolutely could not be exposed before the Jade Emperor. That would ruin the image of a 'resourceful old immortal' that he had painstakingly built up...

Having dealt with this portion of the formation foundations, Li Changshou then refined some pills. Calculating that his junior uncle's wine was almost gone, he brewed a batch of fine wine for him. He had completely phased out 'Beauty's Charm,' as it carried a slight karmic burden.

One day...

After several years of busyness, with everything stable, Li Changshou also wanted to relax a bit.

Cultivation was like this: it required a balance of exertion and relaxation. If one remained constantly tense, it would only exhaust the mind and body.

At such times, taking a stroll around Little Qiong Peak, wandering freely, was a rare form of rest. Moreover, it often allowed for insights to spontaneously arise from the heart, leading to sudden enlightenment.

Strolling through the woods, breathing in the fresh air, strands of emotion flowed within his heart.

As he wandered, he arrived at the spiritual beast enclosure he had painstakingly set up years ago.

Li Changshou raised spiritual beasts primarily for their 'medicinal value.' Some pills required spiritual beast blood. Besides that, there were also useful exotic beasts like the Three-Eyed Heavy Pupil Spiders.

Looking at the spiritual beast enclosure now, most of the spiritual beasts were actually no longer useful;

However, Li Changshou still had some affection for them. Whenever he had free time, he would tease 'Er Pang' at the west end, and play around with 'A Hua' at the east end, passing the time cheerfully and contentedly.

Today, Li Changshou habitually walked towards Er Pang’s enclosure, but the serene smile on his lips gradually vanished. Where was Er Pang? The enclosure was intact everywhere, so it didn’t seem to have escaped. With a sweep of his immortal consciousness... why were more than half of the spiritual beasts in his enclosure missing?

Li Changshou immediately checked on his junior sister and master, as well as his junior uncle, who was currently sound asleep on Ling'e’s bed. He found nothing unusual on Little Qiong Peak. When he usually refined formation foundations or cultivated, he would always spread his immortal consciousness across Little Qiong Peak. If anything unusual occurred, he would naturally be alerted. If there was nothing unusual, these scenes would transform into a part of his memories, stored in his mind without him consciously processing them. Cultivators often spent thousands of years cultivating, so this type of 'art' was a necessity for everyone. At this moment, Li Changshou used his fingers for divination and searched his own memories. He quickly saw a series of scenes, everyday occurrences that he had previously subconsciously overlooked...

Approximately three years ago, one afternoon, three beautiful young women appeared in the spiritual beast enclosure.

Ling'e looked troubled, gazing at a young beast that she had forgotten to feed and thus allowed to die. She felt a moment of helplessness.

Youqin Xuanya sighed, “Junior sister, please accept your condolences and adapt to the change.”

“This is actually fine,” Ling'e said. “I neglected it because of the sect’s grand competition; at most, my senior brother will scold me once.”

Ling'e gently shook her head, then smiled and said, “Coincidentally, today I, your junior sister, can show off my skills again. How about we go to the stream by the back mountain and roast it?”

Jiu Jiu immediately cheered, and although Youqin Xuanya slightly frowned, she didn't stop them.

Thus, half a month later...

“Little Ling'e, look at this one; doesn’t it look sick?”

“Hmm... it should be sick.”

“Barbecue or something else?”

“This kind needs to be stewed to make soup; that’s when it tastes the best.”

“Let’s do it!”

Then, ten days later...

“Little Ya rarely visits today, why isn't there a cute spiritual beast that just crashes into a tree on its own?”

A certain junior uncle secretly raised a hand and pointed. Er Hua immediately ran wildly, crashed into a large tree, died on the spot, and was very fresh.

Seven days later...

“This one seems to have heatstroke!”

Three days later...

“Wow, this one definitely looks like it has inner demons! Little Ya, don’t you agree?!”

“Mhm!” Youqin Xuanya nodded vigorously.

“This... can also be seen?” Little Ling'e asked, feeling a bit guilty.

And... and...

Li Changshou stopped examining, and raised a hand to support his forehead. No, he felt a bit dizzy. If he had remained in seclusion for another year, the entire spiritual beast enclosure would have been eaten clean by those three female Qi Refiners!

“Lan Ling'e!”

The young girl, who was currently copying the 'Steady Character Sutra' under a willow tree, trembled and raised her hands to cover her eyes.

It's over; the crime has been discovered...

Ling'e heard that wisp of voice, like a chilling wind from the Nine Netherworlds, piercing into her ears from behind.

“Go,” the voice said, “and invite your Senior Sister Youqin here. I have a few words I wish to speak with her properly.”

“Ah... ah!”

Ling'e’s small hands trembled, she lifted her skirt and rode a cloud, hastily flying towards Shattering Heavens Peak.