Chapter 186: The answer can't be this simple

A golden light flashed, and the dragon youth, with horns on his head and dressed in brocade robes, reappeared by the treasure pond, looking slightly lost in thought.

"Brother Changshou…"

"No, Sect Master Brother, is he already this intimidating when it comes to making friends?"

Just thinking about how he had lost composure several times earlier in his master's cave due to extreme shock, Ao Yi felt his face flush.

A slight sea breeze blew, carrying a faint salty tang.

Ao Yi gently shook his head, and his mind couldn't help but recall the dignified beauty and elegant demeanor of that Senior Aunt whom he had seen from afar just moments ago.

Ao Yi had grown up seeing beautiful women; sea-folk women chosen for the Dragon Palace, regardless of their character or inner qualities, simply had to be exceptionally beautiful in their transformed human forms.

Even so, today, just a glimpse of that Senior Aunt from afar had left Ao Yi profoundly shaken.

What was even more astonishing!

'Sect Master Brother is actually being thought of and cared for by this Senior Aunt!'

Indeed, this time, when his master, Immortal Wuyun, called him over, there was no major issue; it was merely to inquire about the preferences of their Sea God Sect's Sect Master.

Of course, his master wasn't the one asking. His master's primary form was this great island itself, and his secondary form served in Biyou Palace. If the Sect Master didn't come to Jin'ao Island, his master wouldn't have any interaction with his Sect Master Brother.

The one inquiring about this was that Senior Aunt, the most mysterious and rarely seen among the eight great disciples of the Jie Sect's Sage Master...

The eldest of the Sanxiao, Fairy Yunxiao!

'How did they get... cough, connected?'

Ao Yi frowned in thought, staring at the fine ripples on the pond's surface, disturbed by the sea breeze, unable to snap out of his reverie for a long time.

Alas, the Sect Master is truly the Sect Master!

Even before becoming an immortal, he was already highly regarded by the Grand Master Xuandu of the Human Sect, and now he had the concern of Fairy Yunxiao, the most mysterious of the Sanxiao.

According to his master, Senior Aunt Yunxiao owed the Sect Master a favor and wanted to give him a gift to settle this karmic debt.

This...

Did they really think dragons were simple-minded and easy to fool?

Ao Yi chuckled to himself.

Of course, if it were himself from a few decades ago, he might indeed have been easy to fool.

But now, he, Ao Yi, had been with the Sect Master for so long that he could long ago see through the superficial meaning of many things and uncover their deeper implications!

If it was just about owing the Sect Master a favor, wouldn't simply giving him an Acquired Spirit Treasure suffice to settle it?

This Fairy Yunxiao even specially came to Jin'ao Island to ask him, 'the Second Prince of the Dragon Palace and a minor figure in the Jie Sect', about the preferences and temperament of the Sea God Sect's Sect Master, and if he had any particularly favorite treasures.

Such attention, how could it not make a dragon speculate?

However, the question posed by Senior Aunt Yunxiao truly stumped Ao Yi.

He genuinely didn't know what the Sect Master liked, and had been troubled by this question for a long time.

Beautiful women?

The Sect Master wasn't interested in them. Moreover, the Sect Master already had a junior sister by his side, who was both beautiful and intelligent, and a childhood friend.

If the Sect Master liked beautiful women, how could his side be lacking in dragon girls or sea maidens?

Among the dragon race, there were so many useless gluttons lost in debauchery, good for nothing except being number one in lust; they had long accumulated substantial 'capital' in this regard.

Merits?

The Sect Master didn't lack merits either. He was the merit agent for the Human Sect's Grand Master, and the incense merits he could obtain from the Sea God Sect in the South Sea were surely far more than what he, a mere Second Sect Master, could get.

Treasures?

That would be a joke.

Did the Human Sect lack treasures?

To take those Spirit Treasures or Acquired Spirit Treasures that even their dragon race looked down upon and give them to Sect Master Brother, who was already highly regarded by the Human Sect's Grand Master, wouldn't that be inviting humiliation?

Therefore, Ao Yi pondered carefully at the time, and his answer was exactly what he thought in his heart.

Apart from what was bound by the Great Dao oath, which prevented him from revealing that Sect Master Brother was Li Changshou, a disciple of the Immortal Ascension Sect, there was no concealment whatsoever; it was all Ao Yi's genuine truth.

He said:

"Reporting to Senior Aunt, my Sect Master is refined and easygoing, wise and resourceful. Your disciple does not know my Sect Master's specific preferences."

"My Sect Master is upright and eager to help others. He is skilled in the art of war, adept at planning and strategy, and has already bestowed great favors upon the dragon race multiple times."

"In fact, it's not just you, Senior Aunt, who wants to know my Sect Master's preferences. My father, the disciple's king, has also asked. My mother even wanted to bestow all sorts of treasures and maidens for his cave dwelling, but your disciple stopped her."

"My Sea God Sect Master is a man of refined taste. How could he be defiled by such vulgar things?"

Ao Yi saw...

After hearing his reply, his master, Immortal Wuyun, stroked his beard, smiled, and gently nodded.

That Senior Aunt, Fairy Yunxiao, also smiled, seemingly quite satisfied with his answer.

His master then asked what divine abilities Sect Master Brother excelled at, and what magical treasures he commonly used.

Ao Yi pondered for a moment and replied:

"The Sect Master hasn't cultivated for very long, but at a young age, he gained the high regard of Grand Master Xuandu of the Human Sect, who entrusted him with important responsibilities."

"He is skilled in array formations. He once used arrays to trap experts whose cultivation realms were unknown ranks higher than his own. His talent in this regard is extremely high, and he is formidable."

"He is also skilled in escape techniques, and once guided this disciple in improving water and air escape techniques. His insights are so profound that even the dragon race's many experts cannot compare!"

"Furthermore, my Sect Master excels in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, especially his painting skills, which are truly astonishing!"

At that time, after hearing him say all this, his master immediately let out a soft chuckle, saying that he was praising the Sect Master to the heavens.

How is that boasting?

This is clearly what he had observed and witnessed with his own eyes!

Of course, Ao Yi couldn't talk back to his master and dared not argue with him, so he could only add a sentence:

"In this disciple's opinion, my Sect Master is probably the most talented and poetic... man among humans."

And then, he was thrown out of the cave by his master, thrown to this very spot.

Was this an exaggeration?

It was clearly all the truth!

Although his dragon race was proud and arrogant, they rarely boasted, especially since Sect Master Brother was of human origin.

Thinking it over carefully, his words shouldn't have revealed any information, right?

After a few moments of contemplation, Ao Yi remembered something else and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

In another half a month, he would take Sisi to the Immortal Ascension Sect to visit the Sect Master and play. If he could know the Sect Master's preferences and prepare a present befitting the dragon race for him, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?

What does the Sect Master like?

"But this, I can't just directly ask."

Ao Yi thought for a moment, kept this matter in mind, and hurried out of Jin'ao Island to rendezvous with several dragon experts and quickly return to the East Sea Dragon Palace.

It's truly difficult to give Sect Master Brother a gift.

'Alas, after swindling the dragon race out of a hundred chests of treasures, why am I still so poor?'

Half a month later, in the underground secret chamber of Little Qiong Peak.

With his immortal sense, Li Changshou watched the figures busy renovating the spiritual beast enclosure. As he mentally calculated the treasures needed for the next step of his 'Wandering Little Qiong Peak' plan, he let out a soft sigh in his heart.

The deficit was too large, too difficult to make up.

Li Changshou, however, did not want to lower the performance requirements for Little Qiong Peak's grand array just because of his poverty.

The array foundations buried now were also laying the groundwork for future enhancements and could not be taken lightly.

This was like cultivation: one could not be short-sighted, but must plan well and calculate for the long term.

Being too eager for quick success in cultivation was like Qin Xuan'ya undergoing her Heavenly Tribulation; had it not been for the birdcage, she would have long been annihilated.

On a side note...

A few days ago, Li Changshou had already begun to ask Ling'e to suppress her Dao realm and slow down her breakthrough speed.

Originally, Li Changshou urged Ling'e to break through faster because when the South Sea Sea God Sect was not yet stable, he worried he might be pursued by the Western Sect, in which case he would have to leave the Immortal Ascension Sect.

Therefore, at that time, Li Changshou wanted Ling'e to gain the Immortal Ascension Sect's attention early so that she could take good care of herself and their master.

Now, although there were still hidden dangers in this regard, it was much more stable, so there was no longer a need to demand Ling'e to break through too hastily.

Letting Ling'e proceed steadily, consolidate her Dao foundation, and unleash her potential to the fullest was the most important matter.

If Ling'e didn't manifest the nine-petal lotus phenomenon before her tribulation, Li Changshou would personally intervene to suppress her cultivation realm.

His junior sister's Great Dao was shaped by Li Changshou himself, so he naturally knew how to assist her.

In addition, the tribulation 'gift package' Li Changshou prepared for Ling'e was also complete.

It included the essential three-piece life-saving set for tribulations: the birdcage, Immortal-Melting Pill, and God-Locking Pill.

There were also guidelines for conduct before tribulation: instructing her to clearly state she was a Daoist disciple, thank the Heavenly Dao for taking time out of its busy schedule to strike her, and thank the Heavenly Dao for sending down divine punishment to maintain the stability of heaven and earth.

In addition, there were twelve types of pills specifically for tribulations, defensive magical treasures specifically for tribulations, methods for controlling lightning that could be practiced before tribulation, two recently acquired magical treasures for protecting the primordial spirit and resisting heavenly tribulations, and if she gained insights into ascension after the tribulation, miniature arrays and pills to enhance insights that would be needed.

And so on.

Ling'e was now starting to feel a bit worried about her Immortal Ascension Tribulation.

But she didn't know that her senior brother had already stabilized her tribulation success rate at 95 percent.

The remaining 0.3 percent depended entirely on whether she cultivated diligently.

The other 0.2 percent was, as per old rules, for the Heavenly Dao's random whims.

Unfortunately, his master had damaged his Dao foundation, so no amount of preparation would help. At that time, only the Immortal-Melting Pill could save his master's life.

The enemies had already been eliminated, the enemy's Dao companion had remarried, and the enemy's disciples had taken new masters. Furthermore, under his immortal sense's surveillance, Xianlin Peak had not targeted Little Qiong Peak, so there was no need to dwell on his master's past matters.

He only needed to wait for Grandmaster to find Senior Uncle to resolve the regret in his master's heart.

Later...

Li Changshou expected that when his master's lifespan ran out, he should already have established himself in the Heavenly Courts, and then arrange for his master's reincarnation and re-cultivation by forging connections in the Underworld.

Indeed, not to mention Qi Yuan's current life, even his next life had already been mostly arranged by Li Changshou.

Of course, it was mainly out of respect for his master's wishes; he was just giving his master more options.

Li Changshou sighed and continued to worry about the huge treasure deficit.

Being a bit poor, he could still live. But if the safety factor went up, his happiness index would surely skyrocket!

After spending some time, Li Changshou drafted a detailed financial plan for the next two hundred years, rationally allocating his time for enlightenment, cultivation insights, alchemy, and artifact refining.

After finishing these tasks, Li Changshou then took out one of the two divine abilities given by the Grand Master: 'Scattering Beans into Soldiers'.

Li Changshou carefully examined the jade slip. Below the slip, there was a vertical line of small seal script characters:

"Daoist Canon of the Carefree Immortal Sect."

This divine ability was probably too low-tier; the Grand Master himself hadn't practiced it and was too lazy to create a new one, so he just found an existing one and threw it to him.

With a light chuckle, Li Changshou used immortal power to push the jade slip three zhang away.

Because it was a gift from the Grand Master and directly taken from the dream by the Old Man Under the Moon, Li Changshou didn't push it ten zhang away this time, and only set up the minimum three layers of protection for himself before slowly opening the jade slip.

Prudence was an attitude in immortal cultivation.

Soon, Li Changshou confirmed there were no mechanisms in the jade slip, only then did he bring it before him and read it carefully.

The method of 'Scattering Beans into Soldiers' was broadly similar in concept to 'Cutting Paper into Humans'. It appeared that by casually scattering a handful of beans, they could transform into a troop of guards.

In reality, these beans themselves were already magical artifacts, requiring complex craftsmanship to produce.

They were even more complex than the 'paper' used in 'Cutting Paper into Humans'.

Li Changshou carefully pondered the value of modifying this divine ability and the scope for operation, unconsciously falling into deep thought.

Outside the secret chamber, the sun set and the moon rose.

In the dead of night, just as Li Changshou had a slight inspiration for modification, a figure quietly flew from Potian Peak, looked left and right, seeing no one, and entered the isolation array outside Little Qiong Peak.

Why was Junior Sister Poison here at this hour?

Li Changshou put down the jade slip, activated the paper effigy pretending to meditate in the alchemy room, rose and went to the front of the alchemy room, temporarily deactivating the outermost layer of the grand array.

Qin Xuan'ya soon noticed Li Changshou, pursed her lips, and descended with her head bowed.

Just as Li Changshou was about to exchange pleasantries, a slight ripple suddenly arose in his heart. He frowned, performed a quick divination with his fingers, and a wisp of his consciousness descended upon the main statue of the Sea God Sect's grand temple in Anshui City.

He immediately saw a woman enveloped in a thin mist, standing in the brightly lit, increasingly opulent main hall of the temple, observing the surrounding murals with great interest.

This aura, this Dao charm...

Uh, why did this esteemed figure suddenly come to the Sea God Sect?

Li Changshou's spirit was instantly alert. He quickly transmitted a message to Qin Xuan'ya, telling her to wait for a moment inside the alchemy room, and focused all his attention on dealing with this Jie Sect expert who had suddenly arrived.