Chapter 447: The Modest Moon Palace

South of the Northern Continent, a battle that shook the heavens unfolded. The war between the Heavenly Court and the demon race lasted for a full half-day, an almost one-sided affair where the demons resisted, fled, and were pursued for half a day. Fortunately, the Heavenly Court did not pursue a plan of complete annihilation, nor would it later hold accountable demon factions not involved in the Northern Continent's rebellion, thereby keeping casualties within a certain range.

The demon race cannot be entirely eradicated. What the Heavenly Court needed to do—or rather, what Li Changshou intended to do through the Heavenly Court—was to redefine the demon race. How could balancing the Heavenly Dao be so simple? Li Changshou not only sought to promote his own system of living being equilibrium—the 'Human, Spirit, Immortal, Demon, Devil, Ghost' framework—but also needed to start with subtle changes, gradually accumulating them to form a restrictive power over the Heavenly Dao, with the ultimate goal of achieving his own Dao through this! His own Dao was the greatest guarantee for the future.

The battle within the miasma cloud in the Northern Continent twelve years prior had helped Li Changshou understand many things. Strength was the ultimate determining factor, not position. Without this strength, even if opportunities were thrown at him, he couldn't seize them firmly, and they might even cost him his life.

A certain ancient figure mused: "I constantly feel provoked by this rising generation."

Now, when planning various matters, Li Changshou would always ask himself one question: whether it would benefit his Dao. Annihilating the demons of the Northern Continent, severely damaging their luck and destiny, and dragging the demon race into a weak position within the heavens and earth, greatly benefited his Dao. Thus, he did it without hesitation, even if it meant incurring a slight karmic debt. After this battle, the merits gained purely from killing demons just balanced out the slight karmic debt accumulated from ordering the slaughter of the demon multitude.

Returning to this decisive battle between the Heavenly Court and the demon race: In fact, when Li Changshou's three decisive moves—'Rectifying Heavenly Might,' 'Demon Slaying Seal,' and 'Great Spirit Explosion'—fell, the demon race had already lost all chance of victory and had no will to fight further. The overall deployment of the Heavenly Soldiers was to surround on 'seven' sides, leaving one open. Under Li Changshou's command, a gap was intentionally left open, allowing a large number of demon soldiers to flee towards Xiniu Hezhou... Unfortunately, these demon soldiers had not yet reached Spirit Mountain before they scattered in disarray, with most killed or wounded, failing to achieve the feat of staining Spirit Mountain with blood.

Li Changshou's arrangement contained several hidden calculations. He wanted to force the Western Sect to make a choice. At that time, everyone in the heavens and earth knew that the Western Sect had previously vigorously assisted the demon race and incited them to oppose the Heavenly Court. Now that the demon race's luck and destiny were broken and most of the ancient great demons had been slain, if a large number of demons fled to the vicinity of Spirit Mountain, would the Western Sect kill them or protect them?

If the Western Sect killed these demons, its credibility would be ruined. Although a certain Saint, on the verge of withdrawing from the group, didn't care about such things, with the Great Tribulation approaching and the Investiture of the Gods involving the Chan, Jie, and Western Sects, if the Western Sect acted in such a way, it would be difficult to gain allies later. If the Western Sect protected these demons, it would stand in opposition to the Heavenly Court, the orchestrator of the Great Tribulation. Li Changshou could then seize the opportunity to escalate the conflict between the Jade Emperor and the Western Sect to an irreconcilable level, thereby causing the Western Sect to bear more tribulations during the Great Tribulation!

Unfortunately, these demons were truly useless. Li Changshou later hinted to his Heavenly Generals not to pursue too closely, yet the demon horde still couldn't hold out until Spirit Mountain... With a slight regret, Li Changshou cast a distant glance at Spirit Mountain, then turned and vanished. The inability to fully exploit this opportunity was indeed regrettable.

A century later, when the Investiture of the Gods would be signed in Zixiao Palace, natural rifts would appear between the Chan and Jie Sects, and the Western Sect would surely oscillate between them, pitting the Chan and Jie Sects against each other. By then, the relationships among the Western, Chan, and Jie Sects would undoubtedly be intricate; the Jie Sect's 'Ten Thousand Immortals Come to Court' would surely draw apprehension, and the Daoist framework would exist in name only. The competition among the great sects would gradually escalate to its peak. That would be the true moment to expend effort in dealing with the Western Sect. What needed to be done now was to accumulate reserves and increase his trump cards against the Western Sect, so that at critical moments he could pull out something from under his Daoist robe to turn the tide. Participating in the struggle among the great sects and contending with Saints required steady and meticulous steps; one wrong move would mean total defeat. Saints were not like their disciples, who varied in quality; they were the biggest winners of the ancient and primordial eras!

Pondering these thoughts, Li Changshou's palm emitted a burst of lightning. His main body took the opportunity to return with Bai Ze, withdrawing from the battle. The Water God paper effigy calmly flew back into the sky to report to the Jade Emperor.

This battle was, of course, a great victory. More than three hundred demon kings of the demon race were mostly killed or wounded, a small portion of demon soldiers scattered, and most of the demon soldiers were routed by the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals. The dragon race slew more demon experts than the witch race, simply because in the pursuit, the witch race, skilled at running but not at flying, could not quite match the fleeing speed of the demon race. After all, in ancient times, two legs being unable to outrun a gust of wind or two wings was already a significant factor limiting the population of the witch race.

Once the borders of the Northern Continent were littered with corpses, Li Changshou ordered the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals to collect the remains of their comrades, and then used true fire to burn down the hills within a thousand-li radius, allowing the ashes to accumulate there. In a few decades, this place would naturally recover its greenery. Green is the color of life and hope.

Before the Nine-Dragon Chariot, Li Changshou made a Daoist salute and reported clearly: "Your Majesty! The demons have been vanquished, and the soldiers return victorious!"

The Jade Emperor, leaning on his great sword, calmly asked, "Where is Duke Mu?"

Duke Dong Mu, his long robes stained with blood, hurried forward, bowed with clasped hands, and replied, "Your old subject is here!"

"For this great battle, the soldiers of all divisions shall be rewarded according to their merits," the Jade Emperor said calmly. "My beloved minister Chang Geng has achieved the foremost merit and shall be bestowed with divine merit. Should he achieve another great feat, his divine rank shall be elevated."

Li Changshou was about to speak immediately... Why did he go to such great lengths to destroy the demons of the Northern Continent? Wasn't it to avoid taking up a post in the Moon Palace!

However, just as Li Changshou opened his mouth, a golden light descended from the horizon, enveloping him, as streams of merit flowed into the merit pool surrounding Li Changshou's primordial spirit. The merits he had spent previously to save his master's soul had returned! However, it was still just a little short of achieving a Merit Golden Body... This slight shortfall was not an issue; he only needed to visit the Netherworld later and present the Netherworld reform plan he had already prepared to Empress Houtu. As long as Empress Houtu nodded her approval, this merit would be obtained, and his Merit Golden Body would be within reach!

"My beloved minister Chang Geng, you have worked hard in this battle," the Jade Emperor said. "After returning to the Heavenly Court, you should still assume your post in the Moon Palace as soon as possible. Do not let my words be like flowing water."

Li Changshou: ... He felt as though he had been played. But why?

He replied weakly, "Your humble servant obeys."

The Jade Emperor chuckled and sighed, stood up from before his chariot, gazing at the swirling ashes below with a glint in his eyes, and his figure seemed even more majestic. He wanted to say something, just as when he had journeyed through the West Sea and made grand declarations to Duke Mu and Li Changshou, or as when he and Li Changshou, when no one was around, would sit on the steps and discuss poetry and distant dreams. But today, feeling the sorrow of living beings and the anguish of heaven and earth, the Jade Emperor could only softly sigh: "Return to Heaven."

"Did you see that? That is our future enemy."

Tens of thousands of miles from where the demon ashes swirled, two figures stood at the edge of a cliff. In robes of crimson gauze, accentuating her seductive figure, Daoist Wenjing leaned against a large tree and spoke with such leisure. The silver-haired maiden slightly lowered her head, clutching the treasured sword in her arms.

"Do you feel a sense of despair?" Daoist Wenjing whispered telepathically, and the silver-haired maiden nodded slightly.

"Despair is the correct feeling," Daoist Wenjing's voice seemed to carry a certain magic, eroding the silver-haired maiden's Dao heart. "Let's go," she continued. "The Great Tribulation is coming, and you and I should reduce our outings so as not to cause trouble for the Saints."

"Oh," the silver-haired maiden replied. Before turning to leave, she cast a few more glances at the embers of the great battle.

Meanwhile, on Black Pond Peak, a ripple slowly spread from beside the pond as Bai Ze, carrying Li Changshou on his back, revealed his form and slowly lay down by the pond.

"Sigh," Bai Ze sighed. Once Li Changshou floated to his side, he transformed into his human form.

Li Changshou chuckled, "Mr. Bai, do you feel some pity in your heart because of the demon race's great defeat today?"

Unexpectedly, Bai Ze shook his head and said earnestly: "I was thinking that your Dao, Water God, is a bit too ruthless when battling. Balancing all things, you balance the extreme speed of agile flying demons, balance the formidable physique of powerful physical demons, and just as you're about to kill a great demon, you even balance its injuries with other great demons. This, this... what's left to fight? Anyone who engages you in a group battle would be courting death, wouldn't they?"

"Hahahahaha!" Li Changshou burst out laughing, waving his hand as he explained: "Mr. Bai, you are mistaken. What can be balanced must be within the limits of one's primordial spirit. These are merely divine abilities extended from my own Dao. Just as with the Dao of Fire, once it approaches perfection, one can directly unleash fire to harm others; it's just that my method of harming is somewhat different. What I used today was merely an elementary version of the Dao of Equilibrium. I have a sure-kill move still kept as a trump card."

"Oh?" Bai Ze blinked and mumbled, "Given our relationship... would you mind revealing it?"

Zhao Gongming, who was sound asleep in the Kitchen Palace, couldn't help but perk up his ears.

Li Changshou smiled slightly. Since he dared to say it, it naturally meant he had developed even more trump cards. This was just a subtle hint to Bai Ze, with a tiny purpose. Li Changshou said, "If I disregard everything, ignite the power of my primordial spirit, and prepare a Nine-Revolutions Golden Elixir, I can balance... with a mighty cultivator."

"...their lifespan."

Bai Ze was momentarily stunned, pondering it carefully, and immediately his face turned pale with shock. "Then wouldn't you be—!"

"I won't gain cultivation out of nowhere from this; the Great Dao has its limits. But it will pull the opponent down to the realm they were at when they were the same age as me. Unfortunately, I've calculated that if this move is used, it's no different from a mutual destruction, and even a Nine-Revolutions Golden Elixir might not be able to save my primordial spirit. The implications are simply too vast." Li Changshou sighed, full of regret, turned and floated towards Little Qiong Peak, flying on a cloud at a moderate height, and left behind a remark: "Useless."

"Pah!" Bai Ze stamped his foot and unleashed his unique skill at Li Changshou's retreating figure—the old goat spitting.

Zhao Gongming stretched and walked out, chuckling, "It's rare to see Brother Chang Geng speak of his divine abilities to others."

"Brother Gongming, you probably misunderstood," Bai Ze sighed. "The Water God was merely giving this poor Daoist a hint, and by the way... well, it's not convenient to say too much about these matters. Ultimately, the Water God can only have seven or eight tenths of trust in this poor Daoist at most; it's hard for him to trust completely. Otherwise, why would this poor Daoist call him Water God and not Chang Geng? A mere mount and cook are not worthy, that's all."

Zhao Gongming was puzzled: "Why?"

"The Water God has such a temperament," Bai Ze chuckled. "Only when the Water God feels he can casually erase this poor Daoist will he gain nine-tenths of his trust."

"I'll go talk to Chang Geng about this. How can he treat Mr. Bai like that!" Zhao Gongming said.

"Don't go, Brother Daoist, don't go," Bai Ze quickly stopped Zhao Gongming and smiled somewhat awkwardly. "To speak from the bottom of my heart, with such a Water God, this poor Daoist feels most secure."

Old Master Zhao was instantly bewildered with questions, completely failing to understand, and quietly moved a little further away from Bai Ze. "Mr. Bai, are you..."

"Please choose your words carefully, Brother Daoist," Bai Ze's eyes glowed with immortal light, and with a puff, he transformed into his original form, his single horn on his head gleaming coldly.

Zhao Gongming chuckled, took two steps back, and sighed: "If I were to go to the Heavenly Court, I'd be a martial general; I truly don't understand the ways of you civil ministers. Mr. Bai, as long as you're happy, as long as you're happy... Hey, I didn't say anything! Mr. Bai, don't push! I am a dignified great disciple of the Jie Sect's outer gate; I also need to save face! Hahahahaha!"

On Little Qiong Peak, Li Changshou's immortal sense swept over the two great beings at play, and he shook his head with a smile. Old Master Zhao was truly 'salty'—ahem, truly idle.

The Jade Emperor had personally urged him to assume his post in the Moon Palace. What method should he devise to distance himself from the one in the Moon Palace? This matter seemed small, but was actually very subtle. His strongest connection with the Jie Sect at this time was that Immortal Yun Xiao and he were in a phase of 'gradually warming affections.' So even if he said something out of line, the Jie Sect immortals would listen. The Jade Emperor's action seemed to be an intentional move to weaken his connection with the Jie Sect and firmly place him in the Heavenly Court's position... When a leader bares their heart to you, it's precisely when they want to entrust you with great responsibility, but also fear you might jump ship. This principle is similar to when a leader talks about dreams with you: it's precisely when they don't want to raise your salary but want you to work more.

If the Jade Emperor were to suddenly say he would bestow Hua Yun or Long Ji in marriage to him, the Water God, Li Changshou wouldn't be surprised at all. This was the position the Jade Emperor was in, and the decisions and precautions he had to take. The matter of going to the Moon Palace seemed like a somewhat whimsical act by His Majesty the Jade Emperor, but actually contained more than ten layers of profound meaning. Li Changshou pondered carefully, deciding to play it safe and make some preparations.

His 'popularity' in the Heavenly Court was currently high, and once he went to the Moon Palace, he might fall into a 'peach blossom trap,' especially having to face so many top-tier beauties among the immortals dancing gracefully before him. With the 'Hundred Beauties Elderly Empress Portrait' series of magic artifacts in hand, Li Changshou naturally wasn't afraid of these things, but rumors and gossip were prone to misinterpretation by others... His strategy had to be clear.

Once he arrived, he must create an opposition with Heng'e, at least spreading rumors that Heng'e was annoyed by the Water God over some matter, and that the Water God rebuked Heng'e for being disobedient. To achieve this was actually simple.

Li Changshou raised his hand and wrote a line of large characters on the blank paper before him—

*One Hundred Ways to Cook Rabbit Meat.*

This was, of course, just to scare the Jade Rabbit. He only needed to 'accidentally' drop this item, and then, while training Chang'e to rehearse dances, he could grill some meat and prepare some delicacies nearby to relax and pass the time. Then again, it was only his paper effigy going there; what could it really do? At most, it could affect one's Dao heart. He, the dignified Water God of the Heavenly Court and the third most important figure of the Human Sect, how could he possibly be afraid of those immortal maidens? I act righteously and stand firm!

"Senior Brother?" A soft call suddenly came from beside his ear. Li Changshou's hand trembled, almost tearing the document he had just written. He turned his head to look at the jade talisman flickering on the wall, summoned it with a casual wave, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I made some soup, would you like to try some?" Ling'e's words carried a full sense of anticipation.

Li Changshou's forehead instantly furrowed in exasperation. This is an emergency lifeline! Can't you be serious?! Jade talismans have a limited number of uses!

"Send some over. My main body will be in the alchemy room later."

Regarding the matter of going to the Moon Palace, should he mention it to Ling'e? After all, rumors and gossip would surely spread later, and dispelling Ling'e's doubts in advance would be good. As Li Changshou thought this, he took another piece of paper and wrote down an alternative plan.

*The Grand Purity Pure Yang Youth Divine Art: Abridged Edition.*