Chapter 150: Senior Brother Teaches Again, Passing on the Steady Method

When the hunched Daoist left, his expression was incredibly complex and his demeanor quite somber. This prominent figure of the Western Sect, who was once so imposing, now walked with the dejected steps of a defeated immortal. The sight greatly amused Zhao Gongming.

To strike someone, render them speechless, and then receive an apology from them in the end... this was an unprecedented and quite novel feeling.

Zhao Gongming glanced at the cloth scroll lying on the ground. With a subtle flick of his finger, he effortlessly retrieved the oath template and tucked it into his sleeve. "What a useful item," he thought.

After this small task was done, Zhao Gongming spoke, "Fellow Daoist, he's gone. You may come out now." Li Changshou responded telepathically, but it was a good while before the white-haired, benevolent-faced old Daoist finally emerged from the ground. Apparently, the paper Daoist had burrowed a little too deep.

The old Daoist raised a hand to set up an immortal power barrier, then bowed to Zhao Gongming. "Many thanks, Senior, for your timely assistance." "Hahaha," Zhao Gongming immediately stroked his beard and laughed heartily. "Was it I who acted, or were you the one guiding my hand? We averted a potential disaster today, so it is I who should be thanking you, fellow Daoist!" "Senior, please don't say that..." "Stop calling me senior. I, Zhao Gongming, always enjoy making friends. Let's simply address each other as fellow Daoists!"

Li Changshou thought, 'But I don't want to be your friend, nor do I want you in my story, much less become sworn brothers with you.' Of course, such thoughts could never be spoken aloud. Compelled by the situation, Li Changshou had to put on a sincere smile and, playing to the situation, said to Zhao Gongming, "Then this junior shall not decline and will address you as fellow Daoist."

"Hahahahaha," Zhao Gongming laughed a few more times. "Sea God, you truly are a remarkable person. Oh, what is your Daoist name?" As he spoke, Zhao Gongming bowed to the paper Daoist, formally introducing himself. "I am Zhao Gongming, a Qi Refiner of the Jie Teaching." "I am..." Li Changshou's mind raced. He couldn't possibly introduce himself as 'Little Master Xuandu.' That was a title used by others for many years, and only Master Xuandu himself would use it. For Li Changshou to just blurt it out would be truly unreasonable, though shame was not his main concern. "My self-proclaimed Daoist name is Chang Geng." "Oh? Chang Geng? That's quite a good Daoist name."

Zhao Gongming secretly performed a divination but gained no insights. However, he sensed a faint Dao rhythm of the Taiji Diagram, confirming that this was one of his own. "The method you described earlier, Fellow Daoist Chang Geng, was truly ingenious. Now that I think about it carefully, I find it quite brilliant." Zhao Gongming mused for a moment, then, without hesitation, asked directly, "May I use such an idea in other situations in the future?"

Li Changshou felt a little uneasy. Was this future God of Wealth planning to continue 'accidentally' causing trouble for others? "As long as you don't disclose today's events to anyone else, it naturally has nothing to do with this junior," Li Changshou said. "Ultimately, these are just emergency countermeasures. Senior still needs to deliberate carefully; such actions could easily harm your reputation." "Hahaha," Zhao Gongming laughed a few times, clearly unbothered.

He took out the folding fan again, adding a milky-white treasure bead, and said with a smile, "This is the treasure that fell when your incarnation perished earlier. Consider this bead a thank-you gift from me to you, fellow Daoist. If you truly consider me, Zhao Gongming, a friend, please accept it without hesitation!" "This..." Li Changshou paused. "Many thanks, fellow Daoist."

Li Changshou took the paper fan again, but when he received the stone, his heart trembled slightly. A Primordial Spirit Stone! This was a precious material found only in the Chaos Sea, capable of being refined into Post-natal Spirit Treasures or directly into a 'Primal Chaos Pearl' for ambushing, sneak attacks, or even smashing spiritual root walnuts. One could only say that Uncle Zhao was indeed Uncle Zhao, casually giving away such valuable materials for Post-natal Spirit Treasures. If he were to encounter Duobao Daoist, the eldest inner-sect disciple of the Jie Teaching, wouldn't that be... Of course, it was better not to meet him if possible.

"Fellow Daoist," Li Changshou said earnestly, "Earlier, I only shared part of the secret behind the Sea God Sect's thriving incense offerings. There is actually one more important item." "Oh?" Zhao Gongming put his hands behind his back and playfully chided, "You were still holding something back, fellow Daoist." Li Changshou replied, "Before, I wasn't very familiar with you, so I didn't dare to say too much..." "That's true," Zhao Gongming waved his hand, then quickly nodded and declared, "Now, we've gone through things together and shared difficulties. Our friendship is already quite deep!"

Li Changshou thought, 'It's the same routine as my 'Poisonous Junior Sister.' But while she preferred to make her own assumptions, this grandmaster, with his cultivation and treasures, simply blurted things out.' 'Never mind,' he decided, 'I can't say more; if I'm dragged into becoming sworn brothers at a temple, that would be troublesome.' So, Li Changshou immediately took out the hardcover edition of *The Teachings of the Sea God Sect*, which he had previously given to the Jade Emperor, and presented it to Zhao Gongming. The content of these teachings was about how to persuade mortals to do good and how to encourage followers to live positively. If the immortals of the Jie Teaching could learn from this when collecting incense offerings, Li Changshou could also gain some minor merits. This was a good thing; it wouldn't incur any karma, and most of the Jie Teaching's incense collection was within the Three Thousand Worlds.

Zhao Gongming held the teachings and read carefully for a while, quickly gaining enlightenment. He sighed, "Indeed, the Dao Sect should protect the Human Sect. This is a problem that we Qi Refiners often overlook. Many thanks for your guidance, fellow Daoist. I understand now. These incense merits are actually irrelevant. When I go back, I'll tell them to just cultivate peacefully."

Li Changshou was completely taken aback. He had utterly failed to anticipate Zhao Gongming's thoughts. When Zhao Gongming left the small Sea God Temple, he was in high spirits, his face beaming, and his entire being exuded an agitated aura.

Li Changshou carefully calculated the potential aftermath of this incident in his mind. The hunched Daoist was bound by the Grand Dao oath, and Zhao Gongming and the Dragon Clan were there to take the blame. Hidden dangers were always unavoidable, and since such dangers already existed, he still needed to be prepared to self-destruct his incarnation at any time. This time, Zhao Gongming's forceful involvement added many variables. Firstly, the Western Sect would likely assume the Dragon Clan was colluding with the Jie Teaching. If they investigated thoroughly, they would also discover Ao Yi cultivating on Jin'ao Island. This could alleviate some pressure on the Dragon Clan. However, the downside was that if the Western Sect truly targeted the Dragon Clan, they would certainly scheme and plan with even greater caution than before. Overall, this matter was a good thing for him.

'Before, I was worried about how to deal with the Western Sect's pursuit of me this time, but now I don't have to worry about that,' he thought. Using this incident to temporarily free the Sea God Sect from the Western Sect's schemes against the dragons was also a positive outcome.

Li Changshou's paper Daoist summoned the temple caretaker, gave him some gold and silver, and instructed him to soothe the local followers later. Afterward, Li Changshou used telepathy to 'analyze' the situation for Ao Yi, instructing him to seize the opportunity later to form a good relationship with this grandmaster, which might help the Dragon Clan at a crucial moment. Li Changshou was quite attentive to his 'second cult master.' He also gave Ao Yi two keywords to improve Grandmaster Zhao's favorability: 'loyalty' and 'saving face.'

To befriend Zhao Gongming, one must first adopt a humble posture and give him ample face. Then, retreat half a step and, when Zhao Gongming proposes to interact as equals, express that your cultivation is too low and your abilities too shallow to dare to associate. At that point, Zhao Gongming would wave his hand grandly and say something along the lines of, 'When I make friends, I never consider their cultivation level.' Besides this, Li Changshou instructed Ao Yi for hundreds of sentences, ensuring he would handle all relevant follow-up matters properly.

After dealing with this matter, Li Changshou observed from the shadows for three months. Only after confirming there were no further disturbances did he put the paper Daoist into 'standby' mode. 'Another batch of paper figures needs to be sent over,' he thought.

In the underground secret chamber of Little Qiong Peak, Li Changshou opened his eyes. He swept his sleeve over the desk before him, and several paper figures tumbled out, saluting him in unison. Li Changshou chuckled softly, but quickly composed himself, used a wind-whisper spell to inform Ling'e that he was going into seclusion, then got up and walked to a corner.

The year-long planning for the Dragon Clan's ascension to Heavenly Court now seemed not entirely secure. After timely self-reflection, Li Changshou understood why his previous mindset had fluctuated and thus solidified his Dao heart once more. 'Next, I need to add several scenarios where the situation might develop differently,' he mused, 'such as when Master does not appear at crucial moments, or when experts from the other two sects get involved.' Taking a breath, Li Changshou cleared his mind and began to ponder unhurriedly. The Dragon Clan's entry into the Heavenly Court, while seemingly an act by 'Chicken Leg' to thwart the schemes of 'Orchid' and 'Slingshot,' might also draw the attention of 'Luminous Cup' and 'Bamboo Basket'—two other grandmasters. All these situations had to be considered.

Several months later... 'The canvas is getting a bit small,' a voice said. 'Has Senior Brother Changshou not come out of seclusion yet?' 'No, Senior Brother informed me three years ago that he was going into seclusion, and he still hasn't emerged.'

Little Qiong Peak, which had long since returned to its usual tranquility, saw Ling'e and Youqin Xuanya strolling through the spirit beast enclosure, chatting idly. Youqin Xuanya nodded gently, her beautiful eyes showing a hint of joy. Ling'e chuckled, "Senior Sister, do you have some happy news?" "No," Youqin Xuanya replied, "I just have a feeling that Senior Brother Changshou's long seclusion this time must mean he has gained enlightenment and made significant progress."

Just as he was about to step out of the alchemy room, Li Changshou silently adjusted his external cultivation level up by one stage, reaching the second stage of the Return-to-Dao Realm. Breaking through had indeed been difficult. Afterward, he slowly stepped out of the alchemy room, stifling a yawn. He glanced at the detection stones hanging around and dispersed the formations outside the room. Li Changshou had originally thought that his junior sister would detect his whereabouts as soon as he emerged from seclusion. Unexpectedly, he had already flown on a cloud to the outside of the spirit beast enclosure, yet these two pretty girls, who were busy figuring out which spirit beast had heatstroke, hadn't noticed his presence at all. 'Did I activate a stealth spell?' Li Changshou checked his status, quickly shook his head, and mentally noted down 'Three Hundred Times of the Steadiness Sutra' for his junior sister. Later, they would recite three thousand times silently, together!

Li Changshou flew into the spirit beast enclosure, and the two finally noticed his presence. "Senior Brother!" "Senior Brother Changshou!" they both called out, rushing forward, but then their expressions changed. Ling'e anxiously asked, "Senior Brother, did you overexert yourself again? Why have you made yourself look like this?" "Senior Brother Changshou, why are your eyes sunken, your eye circles dark, and your appearance so gaunt?" Li Changshou smiled helplessly. "Cultivation is too taxing; forcing a breakthrough is truly not advisable," he said. "I'll go sleep in the alchemy room for a bit later. I just came to check on things first." Youqin Xuanya quickly said, "Senior Brother Changshou, please rest quickly. I'll take my leave now." With that, she hastily bowed and flew on a cloud towards Potian Peak with a slight worried expression, not looking back. Li Changshou blinked, realizing he seemed to have gained a new skill...

Ling'e leaned in closer and whispered, "Senior Brother, are you truly tired or just pretending?" Li Changshou raised a hand and tapped her smooth forehead, sighing, "Your elder brother is truly tired. There are many things you can't access with your current low cultivation. When you're older... Never mind. Just cultivate in peace and don't run around; that will be enough." "Mhm!" Ling'e immediately smiled happily.

Li Changshou added, "Tomorrow, bring your stone tablet to the alchemy room and find me. Your cultivation realm is gradually catching up, and in another ten or twenty years, you'll also be able to enter the Return-to-Dao Realm. Next, I will teach you some combat techniques, as well as methods for resolving karma after a fight. Learn well. These are all un-passed-down secrets that your elder brother has discovered little by little." Ling'e blinked, then obediently agreed.

Li Changshou yawned again and turned to fly back to the alchemy room. He truly needed a good rest. However, he dared not truly sleep; he could only meditate in a shallow sleep, allowing parts of his mind to rest in shifts.

Meanwhile, in a remote corner of Western Ox-He Continent, within several layers of advanced formations, an old Daoist in tattered clothes lay on the ground, bruised and swollen, tears and snot streaming down his face, with twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Beads suppressing him. 'Hmph, you injured my sworn sister's friend several eons ago. Now that I have obtained a wondrous method, how can I not avenge my old friend?' Zhao Gongming thought to himself, then reviewed the next steps. Confidently, he retrieved the Sea-Calming Divine Beads and prepared several record-keeping magic treasures, along with the cloth scroll containing the oath template.

Zhao Gongming gritted his teeth and cursed, "Hmph! I've been terribly bullied by you today!" The person on the ground immediately sprang up at the words, glaring at Zhao Gongming with a somewhat dazed look in his eyes, while Zhao Gongming had already retreated a few steps, spitting out a curtain of blood from his mouth. "My Dao foundation has been severely damaged by you; it will take tens of thousands of years to recover! Come with me to Spirit Mountain! This matter isn't over today!"