Chapter 327: The Sense of Crisis in Longevity

What about the promised eloquent discussion, the Peach Banquet debate? How did it suddenly turn into an execution?

Li Changshou acted quickly, but the Dragon race's response was even faster.

The elderly dragon elder who had just spoken was still stunned by Li Changshou's ruthlessness and hadn't yet come to his senses when the West Sea Dragon King, standing beside Li Changshou, abruptly turned around!

The old Dragon King's face filled with rage; his wide robes billowing, he made a low leap and directly pounced on the dragon elder.

The elder's expression changed drastically!

He felt the chilling murderous intent concealed by his Dragon King and immediately rushed towards the six old Daoists of the Western Sect, intending to ask their experts to uphold justice for the Dragon race.

—This was also a part of their pre-arranged plan.

However, the moment this dragon elder made a move, the West Sea Dragon King's body suddenly accelerated in mid-air, leaving several afterimages, and he arrived almost in a flash!

The deterrence of his bloodline and the pressure from a powerful being rendered the elder almost unable to move, utterly powerless to retaliate, when facing the West Sea Dragon King.

The Dragon King struck out with a palm, pressing it directly against the elder's neck, pushing the dragon heavenward.

The dragon elder let out a low roar, his entire body erupting with surges of bloodline power; on the brink of death, he was naturally unwilling to submit to execution and began to struggle frantically.

But the West Sea Dragon King's large hand was like a steel vise, and his gaze seemed to be choosing a dragon to devour, as if he intended to directly twist off the elder's neck!

Light surged around the elder's body; at this moment, he held nothing back, and in a flash, he transformed into a brown ancient dragon hundreds of zhang long!

But...

This ancient dragon had not yet managed to stretch its body when a colossal dragon head had already materialized before it; just this dark dragon head alone was several times larger than the brown ancient dragon's coiled body!

Beyond the dark dragon head, a ten-thousand-zhang-long dark dragon body was concealed amidst the ethereal clouds of the Heavenly Court, and a dragon claw descended from the sky.

The brown ancient dragon, which the elder had transformed into, urgently cried out:

"King!"

Before the cry had even finished, this brown dragon body was already pressed down by the dark dragon's claw and, like swatting a fly, was slammed directly onto the sea of clouds, stirring up surges of wind and waves...

The entire body of the dark dragon descended from the clouds, standing outside the Jade Pond, amidst the sea of clouds. Its slender dragon body embodied the majestic posture of an ancient primordial overlord as it lowered its head and let out a deafening roar at the small brown dragon!

The sea of clouds churned, and the Heavenly Court trembled!

At the Peach Banquet, the three families from the East Sea, South Sea, and North Sea—from their Dragon Kings to their Dragon Princes and elders—simply stood there with lowered heads, without turning to look further.

This was an internal affair of the West Sea Dragon Palace; the West Sea Dragon King could suppress it by himself, without needing their interference.

A moment later, the West Sea Dragon King reverted to his human form, carrying the bloodied, heavily injured, and unconscious elderly dragon elder, and returned on a cloud to the Peach Banquet.

The West Sea Dragon King placed the elderly dragon elder in front of Li Changshou, performed a Daoist salute, and said in a deep voice:

"Please, Water God, deal with him. This has been most disrespectful, and I hope the Heavenly Court will not take offense."

Li Changshou nodded calmly and flicked his whisk.

He could have said many eloquent things, praising the West Sea Dragon King's righteousness and listing the elder's transgressions of disrespecting his Dragon King and the Heavenly Court.

But Li Changshou did not say these things at this moment, simply stating:

"Drag him to the Heavenly Punishment Hall!"

Immediately, four Golden Immortal realm Heavenly Generals stepped forward, bound the elderly dragon elder with chains, and dragged him to the Heavenly Punishment Hall.

Li Changshou's voice drifted after them:

"Destroy this dragon's spirit with divine thunder, and scatter his ashes into the Heavenly River. This disgrace to the Dragon race must not leave even a trace in the Heavenly Court!"

The several Heavenly Generals responded in unison. After flying out of the Peach Banquet, more than ten Heavenly Generals followed from behind.

Although, at this time, the Heavenly Generals in the Heavenly Court were not particularly strong, perhaps not even as skilled in combat as some civil officials.

But once they reached the Heavenly Punishment Hall, it was to carry out 'Heavenly Dao Annihilation' with the power of the Heavenly Court; even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal would instantly turn to ashes.

Li Changshou, with a smile on his face, walked towards the more than ten dragons from the West Sea Dragon Palace who were still standing at their seats.

He quipped:

"Everyone, aren't you going to follow your Dragon King? Or do you also have something to confide to the Heavenly Court?"

"N-no, we don't."

Ao Shi, the Crown Prince of the West Sea Dragon Palace, was the first to lower his head. The other dragons from the West Sea dared not meet Li Changshou's gaze and hastily moved behind the West Sea Dragon King.

Li Changshou saw the West Sea Dragon King's retreating figure, which was surprisingly desolate and withered, and he sighed inwardly.

This, too, could not be blamed on others.

Without the West Sea Dragon King's initial indulgence and probing, how could the West Sea Dragon Palace have become a den of double-dealers now?

Later, when he realized that what was done could not be undone and that the West Sea Dragon Palace was secretly controlled by the Western Sect, the Dragon race as a whole had aligned with the Heavenly Court too swiftly, leaving the West Sea's predicament unsolvable. Today, he could only take drastic action to prevent the destruction of the Dragon race's destiny...

The dragon elder who had just stepped forward was not actually irrational; rather, he had been waiting a long time for the moment to make trouble.

The elder's mind had also been influenced, so his considerations were naturally from the perspective of the Western Sect...

This dragon elder and the six Western Daoists originally thought they would have a heated debate with the former Sea God.

—In the Western Sect's judgment, this was the former Sea God Li Chang Geng's most preferred and skilled way of handling problems.

However, they did not know that Li Changshou was also a vanguard of the Human Sect for annihilation and a pioneer of the spiritual explosion path.

Whenever it was time to act, Li Changshou never hesitated.

This led to the Western Sect group preparing many contingencies and numerous arguments, and even preparing to use the matter of the West Sea Eye as a threat, openly and secretly forcing the Dragon race to abandon their ascent to Heaven.

But they still encountered the same problem...

Their thoughts couldn't keep up with the pace; they couldn't utter a single word.

The Peach Banquet fell silent once more. Many immortals and gods pondered how they should deal with this 'esteemed official Chang Geng' in the future...

The Jade Emperor's aura of authority grew denser around him, while Lord Lao Zi remained as calm as an ancient well.

Li Changshou, as if nothing had happened, strolled to his seat, offering the six old Daoists a lesson in unobtrusive power.

This paper effigy of his only possessed Golden Immortal realm strength and could not emit too much oppressive aura, but at this moment, it was like a towering mountain, giving people a feeling of being insurmountable.

The six old Daoists of the Western Sect were utterly at a loss as to how to proceed.

They were struck by one of Li Changshou's swift and decisive actions, leaving them with no cards to play. Besides sitting there pondering how to scheme for later, they could only wait for the Peach Banquet to end.

Li Changshou's standing position at this moment was a clear declaration of his stance to the Western Sect.

If they secretly incited the West Sea Dragon race to cause trouble again, for every one that jumped out, Li Changshou would eliminate one. With Lord Lao Zi present and before the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Court, the Western Sect would not be allowed to play their hidden tricks.

Suddenly, a despairing dragon roar came from afar, followed by a series of thunderous blasts.

All the immortals, gods, and dragons looked in the direction of the sound, seeing the brown ancient dragon break through layers of clouds and mist, as if trying to pierce through the Heavenly Court!

But it had only flown a thousand zhang when it was bound by thunderous chains, thicker than a dragon's body, tied up like a sticky rice dumpling.

More than ten Heavenly Generals shouted in unison:

"Execute!"

Lightning flashed, and the brown ancient dragon was directly torn apart by the chains...

Li Changshou quickly walked back to the Jade Emperor's throne, performed a Daoist salute, and said clearly:

"Your Majesty, the evil dragon has been executed!"

"Esteemed official Chang Geng," the Jade Emperor frowned and said, "Are the Dragon race perhaps not united from top to bottom?"

Li Changshou smiled slightly and said clearly, "Your Majesty, based on this humble deity's understanding of the Dragon race, they possess many wise and talented individuals. Perhaps the Four Seas have been peaceful for too long, and the four Dragon Kings have rarely displayed their authority, which is why there are now so many dragons who are ignorant of the times, disrespectful of royal decrees, rebellious towards superiors, and arrogantly ignorant! This humble deity is willing to guarantee, with his Water God divine position, that the Four Seas Dragon race as a whole is fine, and today, they sincerely wish to submit to the Heavenly Court and pledge allegiance to Your Majesty!"

As Li Changshou's words fell, the Four Sea Dragon Kings behind him performed a Daoist salute and said in unison:

"We, the Four Seas Dragon race, sincerely submit to the Heavenly Court!"

Behind them, the Dragon Princes and Princesses, elders, and generals also shouted in unison:

"We, the Four Seas Dragon race, sincerely submit to the Heavenly Court!"

"Excellent!"

The Jade Emperor chuckled a few times, stood up again, and made a gesture of support with his hand, saying, "Esteemed officials, please rise."

Li Changshou moved to the side, standing quietly and calmly, as the Jade Emperor said clearly:

"By my decree, I hereby confer upon the Four Sea Dragon Kings the title of Sea Gods of the Four Seas, to govern the Four Seas and fulfill the Heavenly Mandate, granting them Fourth-Rank divine positions. The Four Sea Dragon Palaces shall be led by the East Sea Dragon Palace, and the East Sea Dragon King, Ao Guang, is additionally granted a Third-Rank righteous god position to preside over all maritime affairs of the Four Seas! The Four Sea Dragon Kings shall continue the Dragon race's system within their Dragon Palaces."

The moment the Jade Emperor's words fell, a golden light flew from the Tongming Hall. Within the golden light was an imperial decree, which landed before the East Sea Dragon King and transformed into a golden...

...three-pronged steel trident.

The East Sea Dragon King's expression was exceedingly solemn. He grasped the steel trident with both hands, and golden light flickered from it, as rays of light drilled into the bodies of the dragons present.

Those like Ao Yi, who had already cleansed their karmic debts, received a portion of merit.

As for the other dragons who came here today, a wisp of black dragon soul emerged from the top of each of their heads, which then directly dissipated in the golden light.

Their karmic debts were cleansed!

The dragons were immediately overcome with inexplicable excitement, while the expressions of the more than ten dragons from the West Sea were subtly complicated...

From this moment on, the Dragon race's greater righteousness was aligned with the Heavenly Court; the Four Sea Dragon Kings became the Sea Gods of the Four Seas and jointly held the divine authority and treasured artifacts of the Sea Gods.

And just at this moment, the sea of clouds around the Jade Pond churned. Golden clouds formed out of thin air, rapidly approaching the Peach Banquet and shedding a shower of golden light in the air.

Merits of the Heavenly Dao!

Most of these golden light showers fell upon the dragons, while a smaller portion fell upon the Heavenly Generals and soldiers of the Heavenly River Navy.

Only Li Changshou stood there quietly, with not a speck of merit clinging to him.

Music began to play from various places, and Li Changshou slowly closed his eyes.

The Jade Emperor saw this and smiled slightly, not continuing to speak, waiting for Li Changshou's consciousness to return.

In a certain river in the East Continent, Divine State.

Li Changshou poked his head out of the river water, looking at the golden clouds filling the sky, his lips trembling slightly.

So much merit...

But why did he suddenly feel a little uneasy?

He quietly said, "Thank you, Heavenly Dao, for bestowing merit."

The golden clouds above suddenly changed, instantly condensing into streaks of golden lightning, like a Heavenly Tribulation thunder pool, pouring down upon Li Changshou!

Li Changshou: ...

Fortunately, these lightning bolts were harmless, directly entering Li Changshou's body, giving him a false scare, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

Even the merit was in the shape of a heavenly punishment!

Li Changshou wanted to complain a few more words inwardly, but then he couldn't help but shiver.

The lightning bolts, upon entering his body, surprisingly 'expanded' in an instant, and surges of vast and surging merit power seemed as if they would burst his immortal body...

But merit was not immortal power and would not actually cause an explosion; it merely filled every part of Li Changshou's Dao body.

At this instant, Li Changshou felt like a sponge saturated with water, or a provoked pufferfish; the merit he possessed rapidly multiplied several times over, and the incense merit accumulated over many years was all pushed to the corner.

His primordial spirit figure opened its mouth and inhaled, and surges of merit power returned to the primordial spirit, then manifested outside it, condensing into a set of glittering golden armor.

Li Changshou roughly calculated that he could now condense a good portion of a Golden Body of Merit!

This merit from the Dragon race's ascent to Heaven was several times more abundant than he had imagined!

From this, it seemed that the Dragon race was indeed incredibly important to the Heavenly Court.

And Li Changshou, from his meeting with the Jade Emperor at the Sea God Temple until today, had planned and calculated every step of the way.

He had worked tirelessly and pondered for several years within his sect;

traveled extensively throughout the Four Seas, widely distributing paper effigies...

battled the Western Sect, subdued the Blood Mosquito, organized the rebel army, and annihilated the Golden Cicada...

Finally, another twelve years smoothly concluded, ensuring his previous efforts were not wasted and achieving complete success.

Without time for much excitement, Li Changshou's body transformed into a swimming fish, and he disappeared using a water escape technique.

The merit had been fully received, so his main body naturally had to return to his sect and hide.

After the commotion caused by the Jie Sect earlier, his current safety and stealth levels had plummeted; he still needed to quickly devise a countermeasure.

In the Heavenly Court's Jade Pond, Li Changshou, having received the merit, immediately returned his consciousness.

He then heard the Jade Emperor laugh and say:

"Now, esteemed official Chang Geng has surveyed the waterways of the Southern Jambudvipa. Rivers, lakes, and seas require various Water Gods to govern them. The waterways and seas are interconnected, and the various Water Gods shall be proposed and enfeoffed by the East Sea Dragon King and esteemed official Chang Geng. Esteemed official Chang Geng, where are you?"

Li Changshou quickly stepped forward, saying, "This humble deity is here."

The Jade Emperor said, "Regarding the Dragon race affair, your contributions have been immense. However, as you have just been promoted to a divine position today, it is not suitable to increase it further. When you achieve further meritorious deeds in the future, you shall be rewarded accordingly."

"This humble deity thanks Your Majesty for your graciousness!"

Li Changshou bowed in thanks, and then he and the dragons returned to their respective seats.

Most of the dragons were beaming with smiles, completely free from their previous feelings of depression and grievance. The seating area of the West Sea Dragon Palace, however, was the quietest, but they were all well-behaved and dared not act recklessly.

Li Changshou sat back in his seat. Beside him, Eastern Wood Duke raised his wine goblet in greeting and offered a few words of congratulations.

Zhao Gongming pulled Li Changshou's arm again and transmitted his voice with a chuckle:

"Brother Changshou, I've known you for so many years. I can't believe you have such a decisive and swift side to you—an old dragon, and you just chopped him down as soon as you said it."

"It was due to circumstances, due to circumstances," Li Changshou replied with a chuckle, but his paper effigy's figure suddenly froze, and he turned his head to glare at Zhao Gongming.

Zhao Gongming couldn't help but blink. "What's wrong?"

Divine light flashed in Li Changshou's eyes. "Brother, what did you just call me?"

Zhao Gongming pondered for a few moments. "Did I say it wrong? I just wanted to be a bit more intimate with you, so I called you by your given name... Was that disrespectful?"

"N-no, not at all," Li Changshou merely frowned and asked in a low voice, "But where did you hear the name 'Changshou', brother?"

"A couple of years ago, when I went to the Three Immortals Island, I overheard my third and fourth sisters mention it by chance..."

Zhao Gongming now understood something and also frowned, looking at Li Changshou. "Is there anything critical about this?"

"It's nothing, just a bit surprised and a little unaccustomed to it for a moment."

Li Changshou had regained his composure and said with a smile, "I haven't used this name when out and about for a long time. Brother, have you mentioned this to anyone else?"

"Of course not."

"That's good. Please keep it a secret for me, brother," Li Changshou whispered. "My gambit with the Western Sect to bring in the dragons is largely successful now, but there will certainly be more struggles afterward. If this name gets out, it will be very easy for the Western Sect to exploit it. My cultivation is far inferior to yours, brother, and if they use some evil curse, I might be in danger."

Zhao Gongming listened and nodded with full solemnity. He also said he would go to Three Immortals Island later to remind his two sisters to absolutely never mention the name 'Changshou' to anyone else again.

As for Zhao Gongming, Li Changshou still trusted him;

But at this moment, Li Changshou clearly realized...

...that his current 'security system' needed a major upgrade. The Little Qiong Peak Wandering Plan was imminent, and he absolutely could not wait any longer.

Li Changshou was just deliberating when he suddenly heard a fairy attendant from the side report, "Empress, the peaches are ripe and are on their way here."

The Peach Banquet was finally about to officially begin!

Meanwhile, at Duxian Sect, on Little Qiong Peak.

Faint immortal light glowed in the lakeside thatched cottage. A graceful figure floated up from the bed, hovering in mid-air, her immortal dress gently fluttering, as gentle breezes began to blow from all directions towards her...