Chapter 445: Heavenly Court Strikes Again, Water God Palm Gains Fame

Da Yi, a Great Shaman of the ancient Shaman Tribe, was renowned throughout the primeval world for shooting down the nine suns.

After the Ancestral Shamans, the Water God Gonggong, and the Fire God Zhurong, battled and toppled Mount Buzhou, Da Yi and Xing Tian, the two strongest Great Shamans, became candidates for the Shaman Tribe's Twelve Ancestral Shaman Formation. They both died in the ancient great war.

Unexpectedly, Da Yi's essence was acquired by the Demon Tribe.

Speaking of Da Yi, one cannot help but mention a female immortal: Heng'e, Da Yi's wife.

In ancient times, Heng'e was the daughter of the Human Emperor, and the union between Da Yi and Heng'e also carried a hint of political marriage.

However, after the end of the ancient era, Da Yi had already perished in the great war. Heng'e went to Guanghan Palace, leaving behind only the famous saying, "Chang'e must regret stealing the elixirs."

"There are clearly other stories involved here," Li Changshou mused, stroking his chin. Zhao Gongming seemed about to speak but then let out a laugh.

"It's not that complicated, really. Calamities rise and fall, life begins and ends," Zhao Gongming said. "Instead of pondering this, little brother, you should think about how to put this item back together."

Li Changshou's eyebrow twitched slightly, but he didn't press the matter, instead turning his head with Zhao Gongming to look to the side.

Bai Ze was currently sweating profusely, carefully arranging each wooden wedge and then binding them with immortal power. Most of the work was already done.

Li Changshou had thoroughly understood the "working principle" of the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger. Simply put: One only needed to gain the Great Shaman's essence's approval to effortlessly activate this immortal-slaying weapon.

However, Li Changshou's negotiation with Da Yi's essence yielded no results. Da Yi seemed to have lost all divine soul and will, leaving only the shell of his essence, almost in a state of slumber.

"Da Yi must have suffered endless torture at the hands of the Demon Tribe," Zhao Gongming lamented.

Li Changshou also sighed, saying nothing more, and waited with Zhao Gongming for Bai Ze to finish his work.

Half a day later, Bai Ze wiped the sweat from his brow and placed the large gourd, looking as good as new, before Li Changshou. "Finally, I haven't failed the Water God's trust."

Zhao Gongming walked over to where the gourd had been disassembled, revealing two black dots in his hand, and gravely asked, "Oh? Mr. Bai, how did you miss two small wooden pieces here?"

Bai Ze was startled and quickly turned to look, then ran back to carefully examine the smooth, flawless gourd, growing anxious.

Li Changshou and Zhao Gongming held back their laughter for a while, eventually nearly convulsing with mirth. This so angered Bai Ze that he transformed into his true form and chased Zhao Gongming, butting him repeatedly.

Joyful times with powerful male immortals were like playing with best friends in Li Changshou's previous life during school – such days always passed fleetingly.

Having grasped the core secrets of the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger, Li Changshou began to ponder how to awaken Da Yi's essence. His first thought was the Shaman Tribe in the Underworld. He considered bringing the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger with him when he went to seek help, along with the 108 Demon Soldiers.

Should he go to the Moon Palace to meet the Lunar Star Lord?

This...

It's better not to.

Although His Majesty the Jade Emperor was magnanimous, and there were no rumors circulating about him and Heng'e at the moment, who could guarantee that would remain true in the future?

The principle of "steadiness" was embodied in such small details; it was best for him to stay as far away from the Moon Palace as possible. That place was His Majesty the Jade Emperor's private garden. Who knew if some 'Qin Tianzhu' who inherited the will of 'Hua Rituan' would eventually become a frequent visitor to Guanghan Palace...

A slight tremor went through his spiritual senses; someone was requesting an audience at the Heavenly Court's Water God's Residence.

Li Changshou shifted his thoughts, sending this paper effigy back to Black Pool Peak with Gongming and Bai Ze, while a part of his consciousness settled into the Water God's Residence. He tidied his ordinary appearance, picked up his usual whisk, and once again assumed the role of an ordinary, influential official in the Heavenly Court.

Opening the door, Li Changshou looked at Bian Zhuang, Ao Yi, and Princess Long Ji standing outside. Li Changshou seriously asked, "Has the Heavenly River Naval Force encountered trouble?"

Ao Yi bowed with clasped fists and shouted with a smile, "Congratulations, Master Brother!"

Bian Zhuang also said, "Congratulations, Lord Water God!"

"What is there to celebrate?" Li Changshou calmly retorted.

Bian Zhuang chuckled, glanced around, and moved closer to Li Changshou, whispering: "Lord Water God, you don't know yet? During the recent court assembly, because Duke Mu reported that you arbitrarily descended to the mortal realm and interfered with the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother's tribulation, His Majesty was furious. He fined you half a month's merit salary and ordered you to serve as the chief instructor for the Chang'e fairies in the Moon Palace for ten years. Hehe, hehehe."

Li Changshou's mouth fell open; he was almost consumed by a dark aura of speechlessness.

Ao Yi, standing beside him, laughed and said, "Master Brother, this could be considered the most severe punishment for a male immortal in the Heavenly Court."

His Majesty's move... Why? I can't see through it. Could it be that he wants me to scout out the path?

The Chang'e fairies of the Moon Palace are professional dancers responsible for major Heavenly Court events. They possess unparalleled beauty and figures among immortal maidens, and they rigorously rehearse various dances daily. Being selected as a Chang'e is not simple; moreover, Chang'e is an official title, not a fixed designation, and practicing dances in the Moon Palace also earns merit.

Seeing Li Changshou's furrowed brow, Bian Zhuang asked in puzzlement, "Lord Water God, aren't you happy?"

Ao Yi kicked Bian Zhuang, truly wanting to scold him. If he showed happiness now, what would that make him?

"I shall go and speak with His Majesty," Li Changshou sighed inwardly, about to summon a cloud to rush to the High Heavens Palace. What kind of situation was this? If this got out, spreading to the Three Immortal Islands... would Qiongxiao and Bixiao really be as gentle as water? And would Fairy Yunxiao's command to "kneel" not affect him? But it didn't matter. As long as he remained true to himself, a pure and upright Heavenly God, he feared no slander!

"Teacher," Long Ji called softly from the side, her pretty face showing a hint of displeasure. She whispered, "Mother wants you to go to the Jade Pond immediately."

Li Changshou's thoughts turned, and he understood what the Queen Mother wanted him to do, his heart twitching slightly. Well, just a moment ago he had been thinking of staying far away from the Moon Palace, but now he was already entangled in the 'dispute' between the Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor.

A moment later, inside the splendid hall of the Jade Pond. Li Changshou, separated by a screen, bowed to the Queen Mother reclining on a soft couch, saying, "This humble deity greets Your Highness!"

The Queen Mother's somewhat languid voice came through the screen: "Everyone else, you may withdraw."

"Your Highness!" Li Changshou hastily called out, "Please let the immortal maidens... remain."

The Queen Mother chuckled softly, raised her hand to signal the surrounding immortal maidens serving her that they didn't need to withdraw, and said: "Chang Geng, my dear minister, His Majesty seems quite angered by your disruption of his tribulation."

"Alas," Li Changshou lowered his head and gave a bitter smile, "For the stability of the Heavenly Court and for His Majesty's reputation, this humble deity had no choice but to resort to such a measure." He made no mention of the phrase "you were the culprit."

The Queen Mother nodded with satisfaction and then said, "This time, His Majesty has punished you by sending you to the Moon Palace to be the chief instructor. Do you have any complaints?"

Li Changshou: ... Could he go? Could he really go? Just thinking about the miserable state of his Second Senior Brother in the future! All he wanted now was to resolve the Investiture of the Gods calamity and leave a clone in the Heavenly Court to serve as the 'Heavenly Emperor's messenger'! Never mind, there was no rush with this matter.

Li Changshou bowed and sighed, "This humble deity certainly would not dare to defy His Majesty the Jade Emperor's command."

"So you mean you want to defy, but dare not?" The Queen Mother chuckled a few times. "What is the Water God afraid of? Everyone in the Heavenly Court knows His Majesty's intentions. Just go. However..."

Here it comes!

"Please instruct me, Your Highness."

"I've heard many immortal maidens say that the Chang'e fairies in the Moon Palace have neglected their cultivation and only know how to amuse themselves. After you go, dear Chang Geng, you must make them train vigorously, so as not to bring shame upon the Heavenly Court's immortal maidens."

Li Changshou's heart twitched. Was the Queen Mother trying to make him train three hundred 'heroic women who rival men'? In the future, if His Majesty the Jade Emperor secretly visited the Moon Palace, would he find immortal maidens practicing martial arts, wielding swords and spears, donning armor and helmets...?

"This humble deity... understands." Li Changshou lowered his head and replied, feeling a headache coming on.

Back at the Water God's Residence, Li Changshou paced back and forth in his study, contemplating how to handle the situation. His reputation was not a major concern for him, but he still had to consider the feelings of the Jie Sect immortals. This was a critical period for uniting the Chan and Jie Sects, and he couldn't afford any mistakes. Yet, His Majesty the Jade Emperor had not considered these factors, directly assigning him this 'cushy job'. Hmm, perhaps he also harbored thoughts of having me scout the path to Guanghan Palace for him.

There was no other way; at this moment, he could only... He still had a task at hand: to escort Hua Yun to the Heavenly Court. He would use this to delay for three months.

As for later... Last time, His Majesty raised an army to suppress the Demon Tribe, but due to a lack of powerful experts, he reluctantly retreated, severely damaging the Heavenly Court's prestige. Now, with the Demon Emperor's Seal in his possession, he could deliver a fatal blow to the Demon Tribe's destiny!

The Jade Emperor was clearly agitated. He might as well advise another military expedition. He could crush the Demon Emperor's Seal in front of the Demon Tribe, then use a spiritual explosion array to cleanse most of the demons, and finally allow the Heavenly Court to overwhelmingly suppress the Northern Continent's borders! This time, why not invite experts from both Chan and Jie Sects to act? Leaving aside the issue of face for the Chan and Jie Sects' Saint disciples—if they didn't go before, and now they cowered when the great calamity was upon them, wouldn't they be ridiculed? From another perspective, if the Jade Emperor sent someone to invite them and was met with rejection, but he himself could persuade the Saint disciples to act, that would be too much of an affront to His Majesty the Jade Emperor. Once the demons at the Northern Continent's border were eradicated, he could then naturally request merit, offsetting the current punishment! Thinking it over carefully, it truly was an excellent plan, effectively killing several birds with one stone. The lost prestige of the Heavenly Court, the sooner it was recovered, the better.

Reason for the Demon Tribe's defeat: Three hundred Chang'e chief instructors.

Li Changshou calculated for a while, then immediately turned back to his desk, picked up his brush, and wrote a memorial. He also secretly arranged for a paper effigy to send the Demon Emperor's Seal to the Heavenly Court's Water God's Residence.

Meanwhile, the paper effigy Li Changshou had left in Quezhou City had long since secretly protected Hua Yun. There was one thing he didn't know if His Majesty the Jade Emperor was aware of: Hua Yun had already developed a deep admiration for Yang Tianyou... This matter was quite troublesome to explain, so he would make a long story short. Essentially, when Quezhou City faced a crisis and Hua Youming was nineteen, he wanted to go out and fight the enemy. So, he entrusted his mother and younger sister to a trusted friend, his academy classmate Yang Tianyou. The general survived countless battles, only for a splash of red to appear on the city wall. Xia Ningshuang carried Hua Youming back to the Xia family mansion. His recovery took a considerable amount of time, and then "that night" occurred, all within a period of about half a year. Afterwards, Hua Youming became a live-in son-in-law at the Xia mansion, and his mother and younger sister also bought another house next to the Xia mansion. The family lived happily together, and their interactions with the Yang family were quite frequent. Yang Tianyou's family was a wealthy merchant family in the city; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to enter the academy. Yang Tianyou himself possessed considerable business acumen, his reputation spreading far and wide at a young age, and he established a family at a suitable age. When Hua Youming and Xia Ningshuang ascended to the heavens, Yang Tianyou was already thirty years old and had a son. However, his original wife had unfortunately passed away from illness, and he had not remarried. At this time, Hua Yun was a girl of sixteen or seventeen. Due to her previous wandering life, her mind was more mature than other girls her age, and she had long since developed feelings for Yang Tianyou, who had taken great care of her. When His Majesty the Jade Emperor sent Hua Yun a dream, Hua Yun said she wanted to linger in the mortal world for a hundred days, specifically to express her feelings to Yang Tianyou. According to Li Changshou's observation, if Yang Tianyou accepted Hua Yun, Hua Yun would give up going to the Heavenly Court to become a princess. If Yang Tianyou didn't accept, Hua Yun would only be able to leave dejectedly. Li Changshou was also a little curious, wondering what choice Yang Tianyou would make...

Currently, Li Changshou summoned Ao Yi and Bian Zhuang, ordering them to rigorously train the Heavenly River Naval soldiers, as a major battle might be imminent. He stated that he would be carrying out His Majesty's orders and would return in three months. He also subtly hinted to them to spread these messages throughout the Heavenly Court.

And so, three months later.

By this time, Li Changshou had completed his arrangements concerning the Northern Continent—he had negotiated with the Shaman Tribe for a portion of their elite forces, discussed with the Dragon Kings to invite hundreds of experts, prepared the memorial and the Demon Emperor's Seal, and also readied three complete backup plans. This time, they intended to display the Heavenly Court's might and shatter the Demon Tribe's destiny, ensuring that the demons would never again be able to gather hundreds of demon kings with such formidable influence.

During breaks from his cultivation and enlightenment, Li Changshou also visited Golden Ao Island of the Jie Sect and went to True Immortal Taiyi's cave to discuss Nezha's recent changes, all while preparing for joint activities between the two sects. Although he also encountered Randeng along the way, which slightly spoiled Li Changshou's good mood; Li Changshou, however, changed his previous attitude towards Randeng, greeting him with a genuine smile. This left Randeng quite perplexed, and for a long time, he pondered why the Heavenly Court's Water God's attitude towards him had changed so significantly. Could there be some calculation involved?

On the day Hua Yun was scheduled to ascend, as arranged by the Jade Emperor (in his Hua Youming guise), Li Changshou placed two strands of immortal light outside Hua Yun's boudoir early in the morning. This was to remind Hua Yun that if she didn't confess her feelings soon, she would lose her chance. Hua Yun indeed became anxious. After a hundred days of hesitation, she finally overcame her shyness that day. She meticulously dressed for half a day, put on a magnificent long gown, and rode the mansion's ox-cart to the Yang residence.

When she alighted, Hua Yun, now a beautiful young woman resembling "the girl next door who has grown up," captivated countless mortals. She entered the Yang residence with her head lowered, and the Yang family servants naturally dared not stop her. Successfully finding Yang Tianyou in his study, Hua Yun bit her lip, her gaze fixed on the bewildered man before her, her beloved.

"What's wrong?" Yang Tianyou was no longer a naive youth, and he was quite familiar with Hua Yun. Seeing her troubled expression, he asked with concern: "Didn't you say you were also going on a long journey today, to find Brother Youming?"

"Brother Yang... Brother Yang..." Hua Yun accidentally bit her tongue. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she still couldn't utter them.

Li Changshou, secretly watching the scene, almost burst out laughing. Such youthful shyness truly was a rare and beautiful thing in the world.

"Just say what you need to say," Yang Tianyou chuckled. "Do you need travel money?"

"No," Hua Yun couldn't help but raise a hand to rub her brow, asking softly, "Brother Yang, do you have... any intention of... remarrying?"

Yang Tianyou paused, then seemed to understand something, and chuckled: "My deceased wife still holds a place in my dreams, and I have no desire to think further on this matter."

Hua Yun pursed her lips and whispered, "Hua Yun understands. Then... if fate allows, we shall meet again someday." Having said that, she turned and left.

Just then, Li Changshou, in the form of the Heavenly Court's Water God, appeared in the sky. With a gentle flick of his whisk, a ladder formed from white clouds and emitting immortal light descended before Hua Yun.

"Fairy," Li Changshou smiled, "It's time to return to the heavens." This action truly had a hint of 'deliberate showing off', but Li Changshou had to ensure that Erlang Shen could be born smoothly. As a last resort, he had used a small scheme on the two mortals.

Hua Yun stepped onto the cloud ladder, and her figure floated upwards on its own. She turned her head to look; Yang Tianyou was standing in front of his study, his face full of astonishment, and the mortals in Quezhou City were also gaping in awe. They always lacked the calm demeanor of the mortals in Anshui City.

This scene left behind many legends in Quezhou City, but Li Changshou knew that this was merely the beginning of Hua Yun and Yang Tianyou's story.

Li Changshou escorted Hua Yun to the Jade Pond, where the Queen Mother settled her and arranged for her cultivation to become an immortal.

No sooner had he finished this matter than Duke Mu sought him out at the Water God's Residence, urging Li Changshou to take up his post in the Moon Palace. Li Changshou, with a flick of his wrist, produced a memorial and a large seal. He then pulled Duke Mu back to the High Heavens Palace and presented them before His Majesty the Jade Emperor.

A short while later, the Heavenly Court trembled. Civil and military officials all lined up in the High Heavens Palace. His Majesty the Jade Emperor donned his golden armor again, while the Water God and Duke Mu stood on either side of the jade steps. They had experienced a similar situation not long before, when His Majesty the Jade Emperor personally led an army to suppress the demons of the Northern Continent, but eventually retreated due to the deliberate obstruction of the various Saint disciples, and out of concern for the Heavenly Soldiers' and Generals' casualties. But today, it was different. This was because the Water God, who always brought new vitality to the Heavenly Court, had fully returned.

The Jade Emperor summoned the Divine Authority Sword of the Heavenly Emperor, pushing it directly towards Li Changshou with a smile, saying: "For today's battle, Chang Geng will command the formation. From today onwards, the Water God shall be ranked as a third-tier righteous god, enjoy the merits of a second-tier righteous god, and oversee all matters of warfare in the Heavenly Court!"

Li Changshou received the divine sword with both hands, raised it above his head, and loudly declared: "By His Majesty's command!"

Below, the immortal gods of the Heavenly Court shouted in unison. Golden light shimmered throughout the Heavenly Court, and the power of the Heavenly Dao grew increasingly intense.

In a shadowy corner of Little Qiong Peak, a wooden box suddenly burst open, and a precious pagoda and a long bronze ruler spun round and round. On Black Pool Peak, Bai Ze also stopped drinking with Zhao Gongming, transformed into his true form, and gazed up at the sky...