Chapter 289: Have You Ever Seen the Ugly Hour of the Primordial Era... The Divine Punishment Thunder That Can Take a Detour?

"Sect Master, the spirit explosions have started again in the past half-month, and they are more frequent this time than before."

"Cough, cough, cough... This poor Daoist is not deaf; I heard them ages ago."

Inside the Immortal Du Sect's Du Immortal Hall, the Void Sect Master Ji Wuyou, clad in a sky-blue robe, covered his mouth and coughed a few times, looking somewhat helplessly at the elders before him.

Could he possibly control these spirit explosions?

Ever since unexplained spiritual energy disturbances began appearing around the Immortal Du Sect, Ji Wuyou had led the elders to investigate numerous times. Ultimately, he and the elders arrived at two vastly different conclusions.

The elders of the Immortal Du Sect unanimously believed these were either "spirit surges" caused by unstable spiritual veins within the earth, or that two masters were constantly sparring and clashing nearby, creating such commotion.

However, neither explanation was entirely convincing.

Yet the Sect Master had guessed the correct answer long ago. He suspected it was highly probable that Changshou was practicing some great divine ability taught by his master.

Each time a spirit explosion occurred, it was two thousand li away from the Immortal Du Sect, appearing irregularly and unpredictably in various directions.

Although the Sect Master had no concrete evidence, all signs corroborated his guess.

"It seems some powerful individual is cultivating a divine ability, cough, cough," Ji Wuyou said, wiping a trace of blood from his lips with a smile. "There's no need to be alarmed. Elders, please ensure the disciples of your respective peaks continue their cultivation peacefully. The Great Mountain Opening Ceremony is fast approaching, and there are many complex matters to attend to. Furthermore, our Immortal Du Sect is about to send off another group of successful cultivators, and ensuring their arrangements are in order is paramount."

The elders exchanged glances, seemingly understanding that the Sect Master knew something more. Each agreed and departed to carry out their orders.

"Hmm..."

A faint smile appeared on Ji Wuyou's pale face. After a moment's thought, he clasped his hands behind his back and rode a cloud towards Little Qiong Peak, leaving a trail of soft coughs.

After only a few hundred zhang, the Sect Master's figure vanished into thin air, preventing the many prying gazes and immortal senses within the sect from tracking him further.

A short while later, the Sect Master's figure appeared outside the array surrounding the alchemist's lab on Little Qiong Peak. He transmitted a message to Li Changshou inside the lab, then coughed twice.

The surrounding grand array opened in sequence. The Sect Master stepped forward, his figure flickering several times before appearing before the lab entrance.

However, Li Changshou sat motionless inside the lab, not stirring for a moment.

Ji Wuyou frowned slightly. He was, after all, the nominal Sect Master; surely, he should be greeted.

But then, Ji Wuyou let out a soft exclamation of surprise, realizing that Li Changshou, seated by the alchemy furnace, seemed off.

He couldn't pinpoint it, but Li Changshou felt like an empty shell.

The Sect Master's arrival was quite coincidental.

At this moment, Li Changshou was at the critical stage of 'pill coagulation.' His consciousness was focused on his main body, which was hidden in an underground rock crevice three thousand five hundred li away, observing the 'pill' emitting shimmering rainbow light within the medicinal cauldron.

Allowing the Sect Master to enter just now was the only distraction Li Changshou could afford.

However, after only a few breaths of delay, Li Changshou's main body swiftly used an escape art to flee several hundred li away.

He had already completed all the steps before the pill's formation; whether it exploded or stabilized depended on the pill's own fortune.

On Little Qiong Peak, in front of the alchemy furnace in the lab, 'Li Changshou's' body trembled slightly as a wisp of his consciousness returned to the 'paper effigy' that served as his proxy there.

He immediately stood up and performed a Daoist bow towards Ji Wuyou at the entrance.

"Sect Master, please forgive me. This disciple was engrossed in refining a pill and couldn't recover his senses at once!"

"Hahaha, cough, cough, it's alright," Ji Wuyou chuckled, stepping into the lab, his heart instantly feeling much more at ease.

Why had the Sect Master suddenly come?

Li Changshou took a chair from his treasure pouch, placed it in the center of the lab, and respectfully invited the Sect Master to sit.

Ji Wuyou asked with a smile, "Changshou, has your cultivation been smooth recently?"

"Replying to the Sect Master, this disciple's cultivation has been relatively smooth."

"Mm," Ji Wuyou nodded, pondering for a moment before directly asking, "There have been constant disturbances outside the sect gates recently. Are you cultivating a divine ability?"

Li Changshou subconsciously wanted to give a triple denial: How could that be? Impossible. How could this disciple possess such an ability? he thought.

But seeing that the Sect Master seemed quite certain, likely having solid evidence, Li Changshou replied, "Well, this was indeed unintentionally caused by this disciple..."

"Those sixty-plus incidents before, and the hundred-plus incidents in the past half-month—were all caused by you?"

"This disciple is refining a special type of pill," Li Changshou said, a little embarrassed. "However, this disciple always conducted the refining outside the immortal sect's boundaries, and recently, I've been doing it underground, so it only causes a slight tremor in the earth."

"Mm, refining pills is good, but you must pay attention to your own safety."

Ji Wuyou casually lectured him, then looked at Li Changshou and lowered his voice to ask, "Changshou, what pill are you refining? How does it cause such a commotion?"

"This disciple cannot easily explain it at the moment..."

"No need for extensive explanation, this poor Daoist was just curious," Ji Wuyou chuckled. "Since it's confirmed you're the cause, then there's no issue. I will inform the sect members later, so they can cultivate in peace. Changshou, how much longer will you be refining pills like this?"

"Well..."

Li Changshou thought carefully for a moment, then suddenly realized something. That pill just now, it didn't explode?

"Sect Master, please wait a moment while I make a calculation," Li Changshou replied. While this paper effigy stood before Ji Wuyou, his main body, over three thousand li away, eagerly investigated the 'pill's' location.

The small medicinal cauldron was perfectly intact. Inside, a pill emitted rainbow light, enveloped by a layer of yin and yang energy, and within it, five stars chased each other.

It stabilized?!

Li Changshou's eyes widened. He quickly picked up his jade tablet and compiled the pill's previous refining process: the dosages of various precious and medicinal ingredients used, the order and timing of adding them, the control curve of immortal power... and so on!

This Sect Master was practically his lucky star!

Li Changshou carefully examined the pill's various characteristics, suppressing the joy in his heart.

What did this signify?

Immortal research often involves explosions; how else can one proceed? As long as the explosions are instructive failures, success is inevitable!

Once Li Changshou confirmed the pill was truly stable and met his expectations, he immediately packed up his setup and headed towards his next temporary location!

Within the Immortal Du Sect, Li Changshou's paper effigy showed little change in expression. At this point, it provided the Sect Master with a precise timeframe.

"Sect Master, this disciple will be able to fully refine this pill in another half-month at most."

"That's good, cough, cough," Ji Wuyou chuckled. "The Great Mountain Opening Ceremony is imminent; we mustn't let this matter alarm the disciples coming to seek tutelage. Changshou, do you have any intention of taking on disciples?"

Li Changshou smiled, "This disciple has only just reached the Primal Immortal realm; it might not be appropriate to take on disciples."

"Right, I forgot it's inconvenient for you to reveal your true cultivation," Ji Wuyou said, flicking the hem of his Daoist robe and standing up. "In that case, this poor Daoist won't delay your alchemy studies. If you need anything, come find this poor Daoist in the Du Immortal Hall. The sect has been busy and complex recently, so this poor Daoist cannot calmly enter secluded cultivation."

"Sect Master, please feel free to command this disciple for any matters. And please, Sect Master, take more rest."

"Good."

Ji Wuyou waved his hand, then rode a cloud away from the lab, his figure disappearing into the sunlight and vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Li Changshou slightly relaxed, yet felt a little perplexed. Although last time, by borrowing the aura of Grand Pure Dao, he had let the Sect Master know that he was acquainted with the 'Master' and had received benefits from 'Master,' still, why was the Sect Master so polite to him?

Li Changshou couldn't figure out why, so he could only attribute it to the 'Master's' formidable reputation.

Time to cause some commotion!

The paper effigy sat back before the alchemy furnace, activating the various arrays around the lab. A wisp of immortal sense enveloped Little Qiong Peak as Li Changshou wholeheartedly dedicated himself to his grand project of creating avatars.

The core pill was complete; the most difficult step for the Golden Immortal realm paper effigy had been taken!

He couldn't rush; he needed to be steady. The successful refining of a single pill often had a significant element of chance.

Li Changshou moved to a new experimental site. Following his previous method, savoring the feel of his earlier success, he perfectly replicated the previous pill-refining process, and the result was...

It exploded.

But this time, the 'pill' exploded at the very last moment. Li Changshou keenly captured the subtle changes in the five-elemental forces within the pill just before the explosion.

Overall, the pill's fundamental design was now stable. Based on these subtle changes, Li Changshou immediately back-calculated, quickly pinpointed the problem, and made corresponding adjustments.

A second and then a third success followed in quick succession!

Two more days passed. Li Changshou, who had caused six more spirit explosions, finally revealed a satisfied smile as he looked at the 'immortal energy core' pills laid out before him.

The rest would be much easier.

Li Changshou took out a new type of paper effigy and carefully placed one of the pills into the numerous restrictions within its abdomen, making the pill the core of these restrictions.

The next instant, shimmering rainbow immortal light burst forth. The restrictions within the paper figure's body and its dozens of layers slowly lit up. Immortal power was channeled throughout, activating on its own.

Li Changshou placed his left hand on the paper figure's back, injecting threads of immortal power...

Approaching the Golden Immortal bottleneck, breaking through the Golden Immortal bottleneck...

Immortal power circulated rapidly throughout the paper effigy's body, channeled through its 'pill' core.

A moment later, Li Changshou quietly let out a breath. His main body used earth遁 and disappeared, his consciousness settling into this paper effigy.

He wasn't as happy as he had imagined at this moment.

No other reason than this thing... it was too expensive to produce!

One of the great advantages of paper effigies was their low cost. However, this Golden Immortal realm paper effigy, even excluding the vast amounts of medicinal and precious materials consumed during the 'R&D phase,' cost almost sixty times more per unit than a Heavenly Immortal realm paper effigy.

Just the requirement for spiritual tree sap was incredibly stringent; only sap from trees over a thousand years old could be used to construct such a paper effigy.

Nevertheless, having a Golden Immortal realm avatar would certainly make it much more convenient to handle matters outside.

At this point, looking at the overall picture, the greatest advantage of the paper effigy method turned out to be that the paper effigies possessed no sentience, acting merely as 'bodies' capable of carrying his consciousness and primordial spirit's power.

"Let's test its power."

Li Changshou closed his eyes to feel, noticing that the paper effigy was more nimble to control, and manipulating immortal power through the core 'pill' had also become easier.

With a thought, a faint mist emerged around the paper effigy, and a middle-aged man stepped out from it—this was the appearance of the paper effigy.

Li Changshou tried casting a few spells; their power was indeed impressive, and the internal immortal power was stable. Next, he prepared to test the paper effigy's stability under various extreme conditions. For example, being ganged up on by three hundred Golden Immortal realm strongmen, and so on.

But just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly heard rumbling thunder. The paper effigy looked up.

A layer of dark clouds obscured the starry sky, and vast heavenly might suddenly appeared!

A wisp of Dao charm, incredibly familiar to Li Changshou, locked onto this paper effigy.

Did a Golden Immortal realm limitless avatar need to undergo a Heavenly Tribulation?

No, that's not right.

This wasn't a Heavenly Tribulation; this was...

Heavenly Punishment!

Li Changshou's lips twitched frantically a few times, but this paper effigy immediately performed a Daoist bow towards the sky, declaring: "This disciple is willing to accept the punishment!"

As soon as the words left his 'mouth,' the thunderous roar overhead became deafening. The dark clouds, though only a few hundred li in diameter, emitted a terrifying pressure that made even Golden Immortals tremble!

Li Changshou could only respond with a wry smile.

All his hard work over such a long time had ultimately been in vain. The Heavenly Dao did not permit paper figures to possess Golden Immortal realm combat power.

Why? Other great mighty figures' avatars could possess Golden Immortal or even Grand Unity realm combat power. Although he had used many clever tricks, he also didn't allow the paper figures to develop 'their own thoughts.' Could the problem lie here?

At his current stage, he truly had no intention of mass-producing Golden Immortal realm paper effigies, and the amount of precious materials consumed was something he couldn't afford anyway. At most, he would assemble all twelve 'core' pills he had just successfully refined from the prepared materials.

Never mind. He thought, 'Thank you, Heavenly Dao Elder, for taking time out of your busy schedule to smite me!'

This paper effigy, he could only abandon it.

CRACK!

The dark clouds in the sky shuddered, and a purple-red lightning bolt as thick as a water bucket vertically cleaved down!

The paper effigy closed its eyes as if resigned to its fate. Li Changshou's consciousness swiftly returned to his main body, ready to immediately escape far away underground...

A wisp of heavenly might quietly descended, suddenly locking onto Li Changshou's main body!

Just as the purple-red divine lightning was about to strike the paper effigy, it strangely veered, passing three zhang above the effigy's head!

After the divine lightning flew several hundred zhang horizontally, it traced a 'zigzag' path in the air before directly plunging into the earth!

A deep hole several dozen zhang in diameter appeared on the ground, its earth and rocks vanishing into thin air...

And at the bottom of the deep hole, Li Changshou only managed to erect over ten layers of immortal power barriers before being directly engulfed by the lightning!

Wh-What the heck! Heavenly Punishment can curve? Who could possibly withstand that!

Underground, Li Changshou spat out a mouthful of blood with a cry, but immortal light shimmered all over his body, indicating he hadn't suffered severe injuries from that blow.

He understood the reasoning behind it.

But... why did it strike his main body?

Li Changshou had heard that when a heaven-defying spirit pill appeared during alchemy, the Heavenly Dao would send down Heavenly Punishment to destroy such a pill; and when a heaven-defying spirit treasure was forged during artifact refining, the Heavenly Dao would also send down Heavenly Punishment to destroy such a treasure.

His paper effigy was entirely a type of Dharma artifact, right? And it absolutely had no sentience whatsoever; it was simply a special magical treasure of his!

The Heavenly Punishment divine lightning just now was clearly striking the paper effigy directly!

That 'zigzag' divine lightning was simply too much!

Just then, another Heavenly Lightning bolt fell from the sky. Li Changshou's immortal power surged throughout his body. He raised his left hand high, threads of immortal power blossoming from his palm, forming a slowly rotating water-fire Taiji diagram to directly resist the divine lightning!

However, when the divine lightning's power was halfway exhausted, the Taiji diagram in Li Changshou's palm shattered, and he was squarely struck, his Daoist robe on his back torn open, leaving a charred scar...

Was there no reason to this anymore?! He dared not curse such words aloud, so Li Changshou could only grumble silently in his heart.

He swiftly leapt out of the deep pit, casually collected the paper effigy, and dashed towards a nearby dense forest.

In the sky, the rolling dark clouds quickly condensed into a small gray cloud, hovering steadily above Li Changshou, occasionally sending down a purple-red divine lightning bolt.

Facing the Heavenly Tribulation, Li Changshou couldn't hide and could only continuously endure it. Fortunately, he was no longer at the stage he was at when he first underwent tribulation; even if he encountered another twelve Heavenly Punishments, Li Changshou wouldn't suffer too severe injuries.

At this moment, he desperately missed Fairy Yunxiao... and her Primordial Golden Dipper!

Gradually, the rhythm of the Heavenly Punishment strikes became leisurely and comfortable.

It was as if an old man was sitting on this gray cloud, brewing a pot of fine Dao-comprehending ancient tea, taking a sip of primeval spiritual dew, savoring it carefully, and incidentally flicking the whip of Heavenly Punishment.

Beneath the gray cloud, that figure darted around, his Daoist robe tattered, running with his head in his hands like a scurrying rat, yet still looking so dashing and unrestrained even in flight.

But Li Changshou soon realized that by taking the Heavenly Tribulation on behalf of his paper effigy, he had, in a way, preserved his painstaking efforts.

The Heavenly Dao had recognized his Golden Immortal realm paper effigy!

Immediately, even as he spat blood into his treasure pouch, Li Changshou revealed a brilliant smile.