Chapter 266: You See This Pit Is Big and Deep Again

As the saying goes, when one walks by the sea, it's hard not to slip. However, Li Changshou hadn't expected that immediately after bidding farewell to Fairy Yunxiao, he would be tied up by Bixiao and Qiongxiao and brought back to the deserted island where they had previously hidden.

At the edge of the deserted island, a fish flicked its tail, blending into the school of fish, and slowly swam away into the distance.

On the island, with two sharp clicks, the dazzling Golden Dragon Scissors swung before the bound 'maiden.' The paper effigy gave a bitter smile, ignited itself, and from the flames, a wisp of green smoke flew out, condensing into Li Changshou's form.

As soon as he appeared, he was bound by the gleaming golden spiritual treasure rope.

Looking at the two Daoist seniors and Jie Sect masters beside him, Li Changshou was truly bewildered.

These two mischief-makers...

Ahem, what exactly are these two lovely fairies up to?

Qiongxiao, dressed in a silk skirt, squinted and chuckled, her slender fingers stroking her smooth chin, seemingly plotting how to torment Li Changshou.

Bixiao, in a light blue short skirt, was squatting beside the ashes of Li Changshou's self-immolated paper effigy, her eyes filled with astonishment as she looked at the small pile that remained.

A paper effigy within a paper effigy—just how many paper effigies are there? She had seen this before!

Qiongxiao raised her hand and set up several layers of barrier formations. Li Changshou stood quietly on the beach, calmly awaiting the two powerful figures to speak.

“You... ahem!”

Qiongxiao cleared her throat, then walked around Li Changshou twice with her hands clasped behind her back.

“Sea God, Li Changshou, Human Sect disciple, important Heavenly Court official... is that right?”

Li Changshou nodded slowly and asked with a gentle smile, “Senior, do you have any instructions for me?”

Qiongxiao puffed out her chest, raised her head, and said indifferently, “We didn't invite you here today to make things difficult for you.”

Li Changshou: ...

He was already tied up; how could this *not* be difficult? If he wasn't mistaken, this rope had to be an Acquired Spiritual Treasure, and a very high-quality one at that!

“I'll ask you a few dozen simple questions. If you answer truthfully, I will naturally let you go and even give you some treasures as a congratulatory gift for achieving the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit.”

Qiongxiao snorted, extended her small hand to the side, and Bixiao promptly tossed her a light green pearl.

Qiongxiao continued, “This is a Truth Pearl; it can discern the truthfulness of your words. If you dare to lie, beware my ruthless Golden Dragon Scissors!”

Li Changshou: ...

Senior, your deliberately fierce demeanor practically spelled out 'This pearl is just for show' on your face. Logically, if such a pearl truly existed, shouldn't it be secretly used from within one's sleeve to determine the truthfulness of one's words? But to state it so directly... how effective could that be?

Li Changshou chuckled lightly, “Senior, please ask away.”

“Are you male?”

“Yes.”

“You've been cultivating for less than five hundred years?”

“That's right.”

“Did Senior Brother Xuandu order you to capture my sister?”

“Nonsense.”

Qiongxiao was about to continue asking when Li Changshou frowned, staring at her, and spoke first:

“Senior, this kind of joke is a bit much. If this were to spread, my reputation wouldn't matter, but what about Senior Yunxiao's reputation? Everyone in the Primordial World knows that among the three fairies of the Jie Sect, Fairy Yunxiao is pure and unsullied, Fairy Qiongxiao is intelligent and graceful, and Fairy Bixiao is sharp and witty. Such words must never be spoken outside.”

Qiongxiao blinked gently and snorted, “No matter how eloquently you speak, you cannot bewilder this senior's Dao heart!” Despite her words, the corners of her mouth unconsciously lifted into a slight smile.

Bixiao also stepped forward, standing on either side of Qiongxiao. Both sisters folded their arms and began a new round of questioning.

Li Changshou had a clear conscience, and each answer was given without hesitation. The 'Truth Pearl' remained still, like a mere ornament, showing no unusual signs.

Before long, Li Changshou understood why the two fairies had tied him up.

—They were concerned he was intentionally approaching Fairy Yunxiao, fearing it was a Human Sect scheme. They believed their elder sister, having long been in secluded cultivation and out of touch with worldly affairs, was too naive and would thus fall victim to a plot.

Their intentions were actually good; it was just their method... It was certainly typical of the Sanxiao sisters.

Li Changshou was somewhat speechless about this. From his perspective as an outsider, Fairy Yunxiao's composure was hundreds of times greater than that of her two sisters combined.

But since Fairies Qiong and Bi had come knocking, Li Changshou seized the opportunity to scheme, aiming to make them help him keep the secret of his origins.

During the questioning, Li Changshou fully utilized the art of language, subtly taking the initiative in the Q&A. Through surface flattery and hidden guidance, within moments, he left Qiongxiao and Bixiao with nothing more to ask, eliciting soft groans of frustration.

Qiongxiao's delicate brows furrowed slightly. “So, are you saying we misunderstood you?” she asked.

“It was also this junior's carelessness that led to the seniors' misunderstanding,” Li Changshou sighed. “Seniors, could you please untie me now?”

“Untie you?”

Qiongxiao raised an eyebrow, lifting the pearl in her hand. “Oh, Sea God, Sea God,” she said, “no matter how clever your schemes are, you've still fallen into my trap. You probably thought this pearl was just to scare you, didn't you?”

Li Changshou pondered for a moment. “Wasn't it?” he asked.

“Hmph!”

Qiongxiao lightly twisted her fingers, and a dazzling white light emanated from the pearl. From within it, a voice spoke.

It was Qiongxiao's twenty-fourth question: 'Do you harbor any improper thoughts about my sister?'

Li Changshou's answer was decisive: 'No.'

The pearl then lightly trembled, and its light immediately brightened.

“You lied,” Qiongxiao said with a triumphant smile. “Does this round count as my win? I told you before, if you utter a single lie, then...”

As she spoke, Qiongxiao took out the Golden Dragon Scissors, swinging them back and forth in front of Li Changshou with a clicking sound.

“Well...” Li Changshou was not flustered. He merely said, “How else could this junior have answered? Should I have said I harbored improper thoughts about Senior Yunxiao? This junior dares to ask, if Senior were a man, would you harbor such thoughts?”

“No.”

“Huh?” Li Changshou was caught off guard.

Bixiao and Qiongxiao both shook their heads.

Qiongxiao chuckled and sighed, “My elder sister looks gentle and refined, but she's actually incredibly nagging. She meddles in everything we do and is always worried about this or that.”

“Exactly,” Bixiao added from the side. “Sister is really fierce when she gets angry! Haven't you seen how scared our Big Brother gets?!”

“And sister is in secluded cultivation all year round, which is incredibly boring.”

“After coming out of seclusion, she tests us on the principles of cultivation. If we can't answer, she'll ground us—the kind of grounding where we can't go out for tens of thousands of years!”

“Sister also loves to dance when she's drunk, and her dancing... *ahem*, it's hard to describe.”

Why did this feel like the 'interrogation session' was turning into a 'complaint session'?

Li Changshou cleared his throat and said, “Seniors, it would be best to keep these words... to yourselves. Senior Yunxiao is also worried about you two.”

Qiongxiao's mouth twitched. She put away the Golden Dragon Scissors, walked two steps with her hands clasped behind her back, and then spoke again:

“To tell you the truth, we tied you up and brought you here today not for any other reason, but just to test your intentions. As for you, your background is barely passable, and you're a Human Sect disciple valued by Grand Senior Uncle. It's a pity you're not yet a Saint's disciple.”

Bixiao continued:

“However, the Old Monarch taught you the Dao of Alchemy, and Senior Brother Xuandu protected you during your cultivation. This is quite impressive, so you've passed the 'background' test! But why did you go to the Heavenly Court? Serving as a minister for others feels a bit demoralizing.”

Qiongxiao added, “Moreover, we just asked you forty-nine questions. You were only insincere in the twenty-third question; all others you answered truthfully. In my book, you've barely passed. Now, your problem is that your cultivation is still too weak!”

Bixiao shook her head as she looked at Li Changshou. “Well, we're not asking you to step half a foot into the Saint realm,” she said, “but at least you should quickly achieve Grand Unity Golden Immortal, right?”

“You should at least have a few more powerful treasures. Only then can you fully protect our sister...”

“And the betrothal gifts can't be too few...”

“Seniors! Both of you!”

Li Changshou genuinely felt a headache coming on. He hastily asked, “This junior presumes to ask, have the two seniors been away from Three Immortals Island for a while now?”

“That's right.”

“Didn't Senior Yunxiao previously ask you two to stay on the island and not wander around recklessly?”

Qiongxiao and Bixiao exchanged glances, suddenly realizing something, and their expressions changed simultaneously.

Just then, wisps of cloud and mist converged from all directions, giving Qiongxiao and Bixiao no chance to react as they enveloped their legs and feet.

“Sis...”

Qiongxiao's small face turned a little pale, while Bixiao, already practiced, pinched her earlobes, her eyes filled with panic.

The Dragon-Binding Rope wrapped around Li Changshou quietly dissolved into golden light and vanished. He immediately bowed to Qiongxiao and Bixiao and said:

“Three seniors, this junior will take his leave now.”

After speaking, wisps of flame ignited all over this body, and in a moment, completely consumed him. In the wide, staring eyes of Qiongxiao and Bixiao, he turned into ashes and scattered with the wind.

An avatar?!

Meanwhile, Qiongxiao heard a wisp of Li Changshou's transmitted voice...

“This round, I'm afraid this junior has luckily won. Senior Yunxiao is easily persuaded; you know this better than I do. Seniors, please don't worry. This junior only has respect for Senior Yunxiao and harbors no extraordinary thoughts. Uh, take care.”

Li Changshou's voice quickly dissipated, and Yunxiao's figure had already appeared in Qiongxiao's sight...

This fairy, usually as gentle as water, now had a cold expression on her beautiful face.

“Kneel!”

Almost simultaneously with Yunxiao's appearance:

On the East Sea coast, a fish quietly emerged from the water and transformed into the figure of a muscular middle-aged man, landing on the Southern Jambudvipa on a desolate beach. He lightly tapped his foot, and his figure dissolved into a wisp of green smoke, instantly vanishing.

This was precisely:Evil may be three feet tall, but the Dao is three and a half.

Although he really wanted to witness the upcoming domestic 'discipline' at Three Immortals Island, he ultimately couldn't stay there for long, lest he bring trouble upon himself.

According to Li Changshou's estimation, for at least the next few thousand years, he wouldn't have to worry about these three powerful figures, who knew his origins, roaming the Primordial World.

Li Changshou felt a little more at ease. His next task was naturally to return to the Immortal Ascension Sect and hide.

Incidentally, Li Changshou changed direction and went to the mortal city where his paper effigy resided. There, he saw the maiden practicing swordplay in the general's mansion's backyard.

Twelve years had passed in a flash, and she was now in the bloom of her youth. Because previously, after Jiang Lin'er emerged from seclusion, she had visited once with Jiu Jiu. They had already planted an immortal seed within her and made an agreement with her parents for her to cultivate immortality. In another year or two, she would be officially brought to the Immortal Ascension Sect.

It would still be Jiang Lin'er who would take her as a junior disciple. Truly a junior martial uncle.

Li Changshou didn't need to worry too much about this. He simply continued to use his paper effigy to protect her fully, ensuring she received the standard care of Little Qiong Peak.

Observing the maiden's aptitude, which was considered upper-middle, and watching her every move in martial arts and swordplay, he felt her comprehension must be quite good.

However, he wondered what his master would feel when facing this 'junior sister' who bore a six-tenths resemblance to Martial Uncle Wan Jiangyu. What happened with Martial Uncle Wan Jiangyu back then should also be made known to his master...

Li Changshou turned and left the great city, then used Earth Evasion, swiftly heading towards the path he was most familiar with. In the blink of an eye, he had crossed a thousand mountains, leaving the mundane world behind in the clouds.

After reaching the Golden Immortal realm, Li Changshou's evasion techniques had made a huge leap. In just two hours, he had already arrived at the mountain gate of the Immortal Ascension Sect. —And this was still with considerable reservation.

Returning to the mountain was simple: Li Changshou used a paper effigy for his travels, while his true body returned to the mountain gate, leaving no traces.

He first went to Potian Peak, knelt before the Saint's portrait, and quietly bowed... for half a day...

When night fell, Li Changshou returned to Little Qiong Peak, greeted Ling'e and Xiong Lingli, and then went back to his alchemy chamber. Previously, within the Primordial Golden Cauldron, he had only accepted all the insights but had not fully digested them. He would need to be in seclusion for at least several more decades to fully consolidate his current realm.

With Li Changshou having entered the Golden Immortal realm, the Little Qiong Peak Wandering Plan could be significantly advanced.

Before he became a Golden Immortal, Li Changshou's thoughts were limited to formations and restrictions. Now that he had obtained the Dao Fruit of Longevity and his cultivation realm was no longer low, he could fully begin with divine abilities, combining them with the formation foundations he had already laid, to slowly refine Little Qiong Peak into a large-scale magic treasure!

Li Changshou had also determined the first destination for the 'Little Qiong Peak Wandering Plan'.

The backyard of the Tushita Palace! He naturally dared not dream too big. However, the bean-planting area near the Tushita Palace would be an excellent place to settle. This would require his foundation in the Heavenly Court to be more stable. Only after achieving great merits would it be appropriate to petition His Majesty the Jade Emperor.

Actually, there was another matter: Old Daoist Qiyuan was still concerned about when to ascend to the Heavenly Court to become a minor official, thereby paving the way for his two disciples' future ascension.

Li Changshou pondered carefully and decided to let his master continue on this path; otherwise, his master would truly have nothing to strive for... From now on, Sea God Li Chang Geng would naturally remain Sea God Li Chang Geng, separate from Li Changshou and his junior sister Ling'e becoming minor officials in the Heavenly Court.

This could also provide an extra layer of... cover...

Wait! Li Chang Geng?!

A small bolt of lightning suddenly flashed through Li Changshou's mind. After the Golden Immortal tribulation, a piece of information from his significantly clearer memories of his past life suddenly surfaced. He performed a quick calculation with his fingers, pondered back and forth, and finally couldn't help but stand up, pacing back and forth in the underground secret chamber.

Heavens above! What had he done before!

A thin old immortal in white robes, with white hair, holding a whisk, serving as the Jade Emperor's strategist, and radiating an aura of mystery... Isn't this the Jade Emperor's messenger from the Journey to the West calamity—the old immortal who shouted 'Great Sage, Great Sage' to trick Sun Wukong into becoming the Stable Master in Heaven, and was the errand-runner who cried 'Quickly go invite the Tathagata Buddha'...

Taibai Jinxing?! Taibai Jinxing Li Chang Geng?!

Li Changshou's legs went weak, and he plopped down onto a circular chair. He couldn't help but scratch his ears and cheeks. Thinking he might appear in stories after the Investiture of the Gods, he then grinned. But then he thought, maybe it was just a coincidence, and the karma associated with Taibai Jinxing was already too great...

What was this? He dug a big pit for himself, and then jumped right into it?

Human Sect vulgarity.

“Burp!”

At the border of North Kuru, in a certain mountain forest, several figures sat in the woods, drinking and eating meat heartily, each with a gaping maw. Among these figures, however, sat an elegant middle-aged man, with a pile of tree bark in front of him, eating it with great relish and even unable to help but burp. He couldn't help it; ever since eating tree bark for three years, he just couldn't put it down.

“Lord Leopard, you should also try this fine wine and meat our brothers brought!”

“Hehehe,” the leopard demon, who had only recently transformed, said with a smug smile. “No thank you, eating this is quite satisfying, and my mind is at ease. Everyone eat quickly, we can't delay the task the King assigned us.”

The black leopard demon's mouth twitched. He simply didn't believe in such bad luck. He thought to himself: ‘This time, we will surely succeed, expand the territory for King Rhino, and capture that mountain!’

And so, half a month later...

Primordial World Express News: At the border of North Kuru and East Victory Divine Continent, a Heavenly Immortal realm old rhino demon was jointly annihilated by three demon clan forces, and his territory was completely divided.