Chapter 172: Sigh, True Immortals Are Indeed Hard to Kill

If I could find the opponent's weakness in time, perhaps it wouldn't even take one-fifth of that effort.

Li Changshou gently exhaled, immortal power circulating within him, as strands of Dao aura swirled around him. He embodied effortless freedom, pure and natural.

The surrounding seawater seemed to vanish, Li Changshou's long robe sleeves gently fluttering, and his long hair, bound by a Daoist headband, slightly drifting.

Just as he was about to take a step, he turned his head and asked: "Grandmaster, may this disciple borrow your name for a moment?"

"Of course," Archmage Xuandu said with a squinting smile, "feel free."

Li Changshou performed a Daoist salute, not daring to delay further. The three miniature spatial-temporal lock formations were already low on spiritual energy and were about to be breached by the Golden Immortal. Moreover, he didn't want his three paper effigies to be damaged if it could be avoided.

Creating the new version of paper effigies... well, that used up a lot of trees.

With a mere flicker of his figure, he transformed into a stream of water and vanished.

Archmage Xuandu casually pointed behind him, and a chair appeared out of thin air. He lifted the hem of his long robe and sat down, clearly settling in to watch a good show.

The Grand Heavenly Exquisite Pagoda, a treasure condensed from the primordial Yellow-Black Mother Qi of the Great Desolation, was obtained by Laozi, one of the Three Pure Ones.

When Laozi achieved sainthood, he was only one step away. The Heavenly Dao had bestowed an overwhelming amount of merit upon him for establishing the Human Religion. Unwilling to be tainted by such vast merit, Laozi infused most of it into this pagoda.

With this pagoda hovering above one's head, one becomes invincible. It is truly a supreme treasure on the same level as the "Three Artifacts of Creation" – the Pangu Banner, the Yin-Yang Diagram, and the Eastern Emperor Bell!

With the ethereal shadow of the Grand Heavenly Exquisite Pagoda protecting him, Archmage Xuandu was not worried about Li Changshou's safety at all, nor did he fear that a moment of carelessness on his part would lead to the loss of this young junior brother seedling he had waited so many kalpas for.

However, Li Changshou still maintained ninety percent vigilance.

This was because the Grandmaster's words contained preconditions like 'innate spirit treasure' and 'Grand Unity Golden Immortal'.

Although the Grandmaster was right beside him, what if that ferocious mosquito – capable of sucking three grades of merit from a twelve-petal Merit Golden Lotus with a single bite – suddenly attacked? How would he respond then?

Therefore, as Li Changshou rushed towards Ao Yi, he had already formulated several combat strategies in his mind, aiming for a quick, decisive battle.

Step One: Bluster, create confusion, feign weakness, and blur the lines between reality and illusion.

Li Changshou split his attention to control four paper effigies, while his main body swiftly rushed before Ao Yi and revealed his form.

He slightly turned his head, glancing at Ao Yi, who was being held down by the old woman paper effigy. His calm voice echoed everywhere, saying:

"This humble Daoist, Minor Archmage Xuandu, has come by His Majesty's command to assist His Royal Highness, the Second Crown Prince. What kind of demon or fiend are you? Why aren't you quickly surrendering and allowing yourself to be captured!"

Xu... Xuandu... Minor Archmage?

The Grandmaster, hidden in the shadows watching the show, was laughing so hard he was bending back and forth, almost tipping over with his chair.

Meanwhile, the "fake" Golden Immortal realm sea clan expert who had charged over menacingly instantly halted his advance, his eyes filled with shock and suspicion as he scrutinized Li Changshou from head to toe.

This sea clan expert could see through illusion spells and transformation arts, but what he ultimately saw was merely the face of a middle-aged man.

Immediately after, strands of Dao aura surged around Li Changshou, and a somewhat astonishing aura rose from the sea, but it instantly settled back into silence.

Heavenly Immortal realm?

And early stage?

Ao Yi immediately perceived the power disparity between the enemy and his own ally, and hastily said, "Fellow Daoist, please hide with me!"

Li Changshou smiled indifferently, ignoring his hot-blooded Second Chief, and continued to speak, his voice echoing in all directions.

"Four Protectors, retreat quickly."

The old woman, and the three paper effigies in front who had just used miniature formations to block the Golden Immortal expert, now simultaneously performed a Daoist salute towards Li Changshou, saying:

"Yes."

These four paper effigies performed water evasion, swiftly dispersing in two directions, and vanished from sight in an instant.

At this moment, the "fake" Golden Immortal of the sea clan rebels also reacted, his eyes fixed on Li Changshou, and the Golden Immortal's oppressive aura bore down.

This guy's Golden Immortal aura actually couldn't significantly affect Li Changshou.

But once Li Changshou formulated a combat strategy, he would naturally carry it through to the end, provided no unexpected circumstances arose.

His aura was suppressed, and he slightly frowned, his demeanor appearing no different from an early-stage Heavenly Immortal realm Qi Refiner.

Ao Yi immediately... grew even more worried...

At this point, Li Changshou had already placed two golden talismans on both of his arms.

Immortal Surge Talisman: When activated, this talisman instantly causes one's immortal power to surge forth, condensing into an extremely powerful strike and greatly enhancing the power of spells.

Not only that, Li Changshou secretly held onto a few never-before-used 'Absolute' paper effigies.

'Absolute' meant 'ultimate technique'.

The fake Golden Immortal of the sea clan rebels sneered, cursing, "A mere Heavenly Immortal realm cultivator, seeking death!"

"Haha! Ignorant fiend!"

Li Changshou threw his head back and laughed loudly, tossing Ao Yi downwards. He secretly activated the restrictions of the "Heartfire Burn" poisonous pills for immortal consciousness, scattered a handful of white powder with his left hand, and loudly declared:

"One Qi!"

"Transforms into Three Impurities!"

With a "poof," white mist enveloped Li Changshou.

As soon as this white mist appeared, the immortal senses probing from all directions were immediately blocked.

The next moment, four figures walked out of the white mist. They all simultaneously cast illusion spells, and all had the same appearance, uniformly at the early stage of the Heavenly Immortal realm, each holding a miniature formation disk!

In the courtyard, the Grandmaster was now laughing so hard he covered his eyes, truly unable to watch directly.

Minor Archmage Xuandu, One Qi Transforms into Three Impurities...

This is a true talent, a pillar of the Human Religion!

The divine ability of 'Paper-cutting into Human Forms' was almost being taken to new heights by this guy!

At this moment, Ao Yi's eyes were filled with shock...

The Grand Pure Saint's 'One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones' was said to be the most powerful divine ability in the world. The Saint directly manifested three Saint selves, and sweeping across the Great Desolation would naturally be no problem!

Could this 'One Qi Transforms into Three Impurities' be... a secret technique of the Human Religion?

The most surprised, of course, was Li Changshou's opponent, the fake Golden Immortal of the sea clan.

At this moment, this fake Golden Immortal glared furiously at Li Changshou's four figures, a wave of suspicion rising in his heart...

But his mind was influenced by the Blood Fiend Qi, so he naturally wouldn't retreat due to surprise or suspicion.

What's more, Li Changshou didn't even wait for this person to make his move; the four figures had already charged forward in unison!

Step Two: Turn illusion into reality, seize the initiative, dazzle and confuse, and find the enemy's weakness!

"You who play tricks and mysteries, do you think I'm afraid of you!"

For some reason, the fake Golden Immortal of the sea clan felt a few distracting thoughts arise in his heart... always recalling the unspeakable situations from his pleasure-seeking days.

Although his mind was somewhat unsettled, this monster acted even more ferociously. He opened his gaping maw, spewing streams of rainbow light!

The rainbow light actually condensed into arrows, transforming into clusters of 'arrow rain' in the seawater, flying towards Li Changshou's four figures!

Li Changshou slightly smiled. The formation disk in the hand of the leftmost paper effigy was thrown high, sending out dozens of streams of light, instantly deploying a protective formation that steadily blocked the incoming arrows.

The other three figures instantly threw out the formation disks in their hands. The three disks divided into upper, middle, and lower positions, transforming into three miniature formations!

Although they were miniature formations, their spiritual energy simply couldn't last long.

However, their instant burst still possessed at least sixty percent of the power of the original grand formation!

The first containment formation, the Spatial-Temporal Lock, locked down the cosmos!

The second killing formation, Myriad Swords Annihilating Souls, transformed its spiritual energy into sky-filling sword qi, condensing into a giant sword that swung forward!

The third poison formation, Darkwater Yin Thunder, caused a puddle of black water to appear under the feet of the repulsive fake Golden Immortal.

This fake Golden Immortal didn't expect Li Changshou's offensive to be so fierce. The space around him was briefly locked, making it impossible to dodge for a moment.

But how could he sit and wait for death? And why would he need to dodge?

A mere Heavenly Immortal!

The fake Golden Immortal of the sea clan summoned three precious pearls, directly smashing them forward. Streams of bloody light also surged around him, easily blocking the black water beneath his feet!

The precious pearls whistled away, directly shattering the giant sword flying towards him!

The might of the Golden Immortal realm was unrivaled for a moment!

Li Changshou remained unhurried.

The four figures each pulled out a paintbrush. Their figures spun freely in the seawater, having taken up stable positions in four directions, vaguely resembling a Four Symbols formation.

The four figures simultaneously raised their brushes, trailing a series of bubbles in the seawater, and drew four 'one-stroke dragons'.

The four dragons instantly came to life, crashing towards the fake Golden Immortal.

Immediately after, the four paintbrushes simultaneously wrote down lines of scriptures. These scriptures instantly condensed into various weapons and hundreds of flying creatures, continuously rushing towards the fake Golden Immortal of the sea clan from all directions.

The grand formation that locked down space suddenly ran out of spiritual energy. The fake Golden Immortal leaped up, immortal power surging throughout his body. He dodged the black water and shattered the painted dragons, but was instantly submerged by the sky-filling birds...

This offense...

Hmm? Ineffective?

Moreover, among the attacks coming from four directions, one was noticeably stronger than the other three.

Was one person using a spirit treasure paintbrush, while the other three used high-grade immortal treasures?

The fake Golden Immortal, already feeling troubled, immediately seized this weakness. He calmly defended against a few waves, then suddenly flickered his figure, charging fiercely towards the direction of the strongest attack!

Just at this moment!

A hint of panic flashed across Li Changshou's face, and he lightly shouted:

"Do you think I'm afraid of you!"

The Spirit Treasure Judge's Brush in his hand was as fast as an illusion, rapidly writing a huge character 'Jí' (Swift).

Suddenly, to the surprise of all observers, Li Changshou did not dodge backward. His figure suddenly lunged forward, directly dispersing the large character, and with a flicker, he strangely vanished!

When he reappeared, he was already behind the fake Golden Immortal of the sea clan, with their backs to each other, less than two feet apart!

This was the true 'Scripture into Law' technique!

Li Changshou suddenly turned around and struck the fake Golden Immortal's back with a full-force palm strike, causing him to stumble slightly.

Almost simultaneously, the three surrounding figures each wrote a 'Jí' character, and all simultaneously collided with the large drawn character, teleporting to the sea clan expert's surroundings!

Where had this sea clan expert ever seen such a spectacle?

But having long experience in both naval battles and the beds of noble sea clan ladies, although his mind was in turmoil, his reaction was not slow. A powerful immortal force burst forth around him, intending to push the figures away.

At that very instant, without any warning, the spatial-temporal lock reappeared around the fake Golden Immortal of the sea clan, forcefully cutting off his immortal power!

The four surrounding figures were, of course, all paper effigies!

At this moment, these paper effigies decisively charged forward. One slapped the fake Golden Immortal of the sea clan, and then they each extended their arms!

Four streams of immortal power from the same source intertwined, condensing into chains that instantly wrapped the fake Golden Immortal like a Zongzi.

The fake Golden Immortal couldn't move. He knew he had fallen into a trap and struggled to look up!

In the seawater a hundred zhang above, Li Changshou stood quietly, casually tossing down miniature formation foundations the size of chessboards.

Containment formations, killing formations, more containment formations, and killing formations...

At this moment, dozens of miniature formations were thrown out by Li Changshou.

Although the effect was good, it truly pained him.

Streaks of light flickered endlessly across the sky, the spatial-temporal lock breaking and then resuming;

The fake Golden Immortal below could only glare upwards, unable to unleash his cultivation at all.

The four paper effigies restraining the fake Golden Immortal circulated their immortal power and opened their mouths to spew out streams of Samadhi True Flames. The fake Golden Immortal was instantly engulfed by the flames, struggling continuously, burned beyond recognition.

The attacks from above were ceaseless, and the true flames below burned ever more intensely.

A short while later, the fake Golden Immortal lost his aura, lying motionless like a piece of charred deadwood. The four paper effigies that had bound him had already been reduced to ashes by the true flames they themselves released.

Not a single bit of immortal power from these four paper effigies was wasted, all transforming into Samadhi True Flames.

In the air, Li Changshou brushed his sleeves, slightly shook his head, and was about to step away.

A sudden change occurred!

The clump of charred wood below suddenly split open. A streak of bloody light flew out from within, surprisingly a flying blade, a blood-red dagger, which appeared beneath 'Li Changshou's' feet with lightning speed, directly slicing 'Li Changshou' in half from bottom to top!

The clump of charred wood gently trembled, slowly stood up, its aura gradually recovering. The terrifying wounds all over its body were rapidly healing, and a blood-red lotus was constantly flickering on its chest.

"Haha, hahahaha!"

The fake Golden Immortal of the sea clan threw his head back and laughed loudly, his laughter full of mockery, full of relief, the excitement of a victor.

But, halfway through his laughter, his voice abruptly ceased.

In the seawater above, the figure that had been sliced in half transformed into two paper pieces, gently drifting in the immortal light.

*Pfft...*

With a simple soft sound, a jade flute penetrated from behind this sea clan expert, effortlessly piercing the blood-red lotus.

Behind the jade flute, a figure slowly solidified. Golden light flickered within its sleeves; two Immortal Surge Talismans had already been activated, and immortal power at the late stage of the Heavenly Immortal realm instantly erupted along the jade flute!

The blood-red lotus directly shattered. The disfigured fake Golden Immortal of the sea clan swayed unsteadily, and streams of poisonous mist already enveloped his heavily damaged primordial spirit.

If quality isn't enough, quantity must make up for it.

Li Changshou released the jade flute, having already decided to discard this spirit treasure. Taking advantage of the Immortal Surge Talismans still being active for an instant, the immortal power within his body transformed into Samadhi True Flames.

Flames surged forth, instantly engulfing the person's primordial spirit and remaining body.

A 'pseudo' Golden Immortal, even if considered a Golden Immortal realm cultivator, after turning to ash, wasn't necessarily much more than a Heavenly Immortal or True Immortal.

Throughout this large sea clan city, streams of immortal consciousness captured this scene. Even sea clan and dragon clan experts at the Golden Immortal realm felt a slight chill in their hearts.

For some reason, they also began to feel inexplicably irritated in their hearts, with all sorts of indescribable images inexplicably appearing.

"A mere rebel, daring to act ferociously before me, Minor Archmage Xuandu! Today, with me present here, no one shall harm His Royal Highness Ao Yi."

Li Changshou snorted, and then said in a solemn manner:

"Where are the Four Protectors? Why aren't you coming to deal with the lingering soul?"

With that said, his figure transformed into a stream of water, performed water evasion, and swiftly vanished.

The four paper effigies from just now returned. This time, the "scattering ashes" work was 'personally' handled by the Heavenly Immortal realm paper effigies, as a small sign of respect for a Golden Immortal.

The old woman held a wooden fish drum, the old man held a clapper, the young woman held a soul-capturing bell, and the handsome young man, with a smile on his face, pulled out a suona instrument.

Amidst the mournful, lingering music, Li Changshou's main body had already rushed towards the Grandmaster's courtyard.

Golden Immortals are truly difficult to kill.

Fifty-six miniature formation foundations, four 'Absolute' paper effigies, and one 'Divine' paper effigy; two Immortal Surge Talismans, three high-grade immortal treasure brush-type artifacts, and twelve of the highest quality primordial spirit poisons he could currently refine...

Uh, it seems there's more than that.

His two spirit pill-level 'Heartfire Burn' pills, he didn't know if it was an issue with the refining process, actually... broke again...