Chapter 479: Hope Everyone Is Safe

What is the meaning of this?Are they really just picking on honest people?

The merit from last time was said to be owed. Thankfully, it happened in a deserted corner, only witnessed by a passing attendant near a vase. The Landlord claimed there was no surplus to give, and so I let it go.

This time... it's utterly outrageous!

In the Netherworld, right in front of countless immortals and ghost officials, a huge amount of merit was being distributed. Yet, only a single bolt of lightning struck *his* head, the Water God of the Heavenly Court. How can this possibly be explained?

What a scene!

It's like the landlord is telling his long-term laborer, with a bitter expression, "There really is no surplus grain at home," while a group of chubby girls gnawing on braised pork hocks run away nearby!?

Isn't this clearly bullying me?

Two huge amounts of merit! His own Merit Golden Body could have been significantly enhanced!

As others received their merit and Li Changshou was struck, he clutched his bruised forehead, unable to suppress the anger rising within him. He roared:

"This!"

Booming!

In the low-hanging sky of the Netherworld, gray clouds churned and rolled, as if about to coalesce into a face.

Li Changshou's thoughts raced as he weighed the pros and cons, analyzing the immediate situation. His words subtly changed, and he continued to roar:

"Could this be the Heavenly Dao Lord's admonition to this humble deity!?"

At that moment, the scene was beyond mere 'silence.'

Whether it was Immortal Mother Golden Spirit or some immortal maiden who had banished ghosts in Fengdu City, someone chuckled softly. Many immortals and gods burst into laughter simultaneously, filling the air with joy. It seemed to mark a pleasant... comma to the seemingly successful resolution of the Netherworld crisis.

Li Changshou, however, truly couldn't smile.

The power of the Heavenly Dao, circulating in his mind, coalesced into four large characters:

Next time, you're included.

Li Changshou could only perform another Taoist bow, pondering whether to seize the opportunity to act outrageously and play the fool, perhaps even forcing the Heavenly Dao Lord to give him a written guarantee.

He truly felt uncertain.

Beside him, Qin Tianzhu sent a voice transmission, "Why is this? Why would the Lord deduct your merit?"

Yet, golden light still shimmered everywhere, and the power of the Heavenly Dao had not receded; the merit had not yet finished being distributed. Li Changshou could only smile, gaze at Qin Tianzhu, and transmit his voice:

"General Qin, how could this be a deduction of merit? This is the Heavenly Dao Lord's admonition to me, telling me that the Merit Golden Body is not so easily formed. Even a sliver of security requires undergoing severe trials from the Heavenly Dao."

Qin Tianzhu blinked, raised a hand as if to cough, then turned his head and burst out laughing.

Li Changshou sighed, feeling a bit helpless, and tidied his hair. Meanwhile, familiar immortals and gods had already gathered around him, greeting him with concern.

Everyone already knew that the Heavenly Dao had once owed Li Changshou merit, but today...

It was truly a case of "seeing is believing," an experience unparalleled even in ancient times.

Mu Gong felt a bit indignant on Li Changshou's behalf and said firmly:

"This matter was properly resolved, and the Water God should receive primary credit. Why did the Heavenly Dao not grant merit, but instead impose punishment?"

Daoist Duobao laughed, "This actually highlights that Chang Geng is different from us; he receives special favor from the Lord. If not for that, how else would the Heavenly Dao Lord show such unique affection to Chang Geng? Hahahaha!"

As he spoke, Daoist Duobao casually took a spirit treasure to store the merit he had just received, enhancing its spiritual essence.

"'Senior Brother has a point,' Zhao Gongming said, stroking his beard and laughing loudly. 'Only Chang Geng, indeed, only Chang Geng.'"

Immortal Taiyi's mouth twitched. "Here's a joke: the Heavenly Dao is utterly just and selfless."

The surrounding laughter instantly froze. With a few whooshes, dozens of figures dodged left and right, leaving Immortal Taiyi standing alone.

Immortal Taiyi, clad in his flamboyant pink Taoist robe, calmly looked up at the sky, discovering a gray cloud hovering directly above his head. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Li Changshou: ...

Hoping something bad happens to him.

That day, Li Changshou witnessed someone else being struck by divine punishment up close for the first time—the kind that inflicted pain and injury but was not fatal.

He had also found a second companion in misfortune who had survived being struck by the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder.

Now, back to the main topic.

Ksitigarbha's primordial spirit condensed into the Reincarnation Pearl, and the second cycle of reincarnation was incorporated into the Six Paths of Reincarnation system as a "backup" option. Ninety-five percent of the souls accumulated there were subsequently placed in reincarnation.

Acting expediently this time, the karmic debts and merits of these souls were temporarily preserved. After being sent back to various incense divine kingdoms via the Reincarnation Pagoda, they would all be settled before their next reincarnation.

In fact, there was one more crucial issue that required the Heavenly Dao to mediate—

Mortal pregnancies.

In the next two to three years, the Three Thousand Worlds would experience a baby boom. It was expected to see many "iron trees blooming" and "old trees rejuvenating," signifying an influx of unexpected pregnancies. Twins and triplets would likely be common, and it would take twenty to thirty years for things to return to normal.

There was no other way; the Western Sect's actions this time were simply too significant.

The Heavenly Court immortals and gods stayed in the Netherworld for another day to strengthen their ties with the Yama Kings and judges of the Underworld. Afterward, they gradually returned to the Heavenly Court to continue maintaining cosmic order.

The changing seasons, wind, snow, rain, and dew—these were currently the Heavenly Court's "main business."

Upon returning to the Heavenly Court, there would naturally be the Jade Emperor's rewards. This time, the Heavenly Court's soldiers, generals, immortals, and maidens indeed played crucial roles.

And they even expanded their side business of digging.

Li Changshou secretly apologized to Qin Tianzhu, taking leave instead of returning to the Heavenly Court for celebrations. Instead, he hosted a banquet for the nine experts he had invited to assist.

Li Changshou invited Duobao and the others to the back hall of the Sea God Temple in Anshui City, where he personally cooked and prepared a lavish feast.

This was exactly:

The Jade Emperor bestowed Yaochi brew, immortal maidens delivered jade peaches.Rare delicacies were not precious enough; laughter floated, and fragrance wafted.

Daoist Duobao was naturally invited to the main seat, followed by Immortal Yellow Dragon. Then came Immortal Mother Golden Spirit, Immortal Yunxiao, Li Changshou, Kong Xuan, and several other prominent Daoist figures.

After a cheerful conversation, the immortals discussed Ksitigarbha's vow to transform into the Reincarnation Pagoda, sighing with mixed emotions.

Zhao Gongming praised, "This Ksitigarbha is quite a figure; he truly emerges from the mud unstained. That's extremely rare."

Kong Xuan, however, said, "He was merely trying to save the Western Sect."

"'On that point, fellow Daoist, you are mistaken,' Li Changshou said with a smile. 'Though I have met Ksitigarbha few times, I understand him quite well. He once schemed regarding the Dragon Clan's sea eyes and also manipulated the demon race, causing many casualties. However, these actions were within his moral boundaries. In the conflicts between great sects and the struggles for destiny, he could accept such casualties and considered them normal; that was his nature. Today's events, however, far exceeded Ksitigarbha's bottom line. His motivation for sacrificing himself to complete the Reincarnation Pagoda was, of course, for the Western Sect. However, what truly made him make that decision and act unhesitatingly was the compassion deep in his heart. He could actually have ignored this matter. His performance that day was already the best among the Western Saints' disciples, and I don't believe the two Western Saints had no other backup plans. When Ksitigarbha debated with me then, he didn't actually lose. It was because I played a trick that led one of his senior brothers to admit defeat himself.'"

"You really tricked them?"

Immortal Mother Golden Spirit blinked.

"'As Ksitigarbha himself mentioned, I simply didn't have time to do those things. To avoid being discovered, I merely used memory orbs to record some rather tragic scenes to use for today's confrontation.'"

He paused, as saying more would easily expose his informant within the Western Sect.

In this confrontation, the Primal Chaos fierce beasts did not appear. Clearly, the Western Sect knew they couldn't allow anyone to seize more leverage.

Immortal Yunxiao's beautiful eyes gleamed as she asked, surprised, "Were you already certain then that playing such a trick would definitely make Western Saints' disciples other than Ksitigarbha fall for it?"

"Precisely."

Immortal Yuding sighed, "In such circumstances, before the Saints, you were actually able to consider all of this."

"It wasn't just consideration; it was deliberate planning from the start."

Li Changshou put down his chopsticks, picked up his wine cup, and took a sip of the sweet fruit wine. He gently exhaled and said slowly:

"'Ksitigarbha is skilled at scheming and understands the greater trends. He acts within his own moral boundaries and has the divine beast Di Ting to assist him. If not for Mr. Baize's initiative to join us and subdue Di Ting, I would truly have worried myself sick. The Western Sect is different from our Daoist Sect. Do you still remember the time our three sects joined forces to pressure Spirit Mountain?'"

All the immortals nodded simultaneously, listening attentively.

"'When we pressured Spirit Mountain, I noticed that group of Western Sect Saints' disciples, each gathering in clusters and sorted by seniority, subtly divided into several different 'small teams' within. Because of the successful scheme against the Dragon Clan, which swept away the previous gloom of the Western Sect, Ksitigarbha was then at the height of his influence within the Western Sect. He was also Jieyin's beloved disciple, even being granted the Azure Lotus Treasured Banner for protection. At that time, I realized that if one wanted to kill such a core disciple of the Western Sect Saints, it would surely alarm the Saints. Killing was out of the question. So I began to secretly employ methods to expose Ksitigarbha's name to the Three Realms and elevate him; when he schemed for the demon race to wage war against my Human Sect, I took the opportunity to spread word externally that he and I had been secretly collaborating and had a profound spiritual connection for a long time, and that this time, we had very tacitly tricked so many karmically indebted great demons. A person like Ksitigarbha is like a pearl amidst a pile of fish eyes; he would naturally incur jealousy from others. Indeed, after that, he lost his influence in the West, and a Saint's disciple named Xupunti filled his position.'"

Immortal Yellow Dragon rubbed his forehead and said, "As a powerful deity in the Heavenly Court, do you really have to consider so much?"

"'Junior Brother, don't interrupt,' Daoist Duobao complained. 'This is getting interesting! Chang Geng, what else did you scheme?'"

Li Changshou continued:

"'Other methods were similar; the idea was to sow discord between Ksitigarbha and the other disciples of the Western Sect's Great Saints. Last time, Ksitigarbha accompanied us to resist the extraterrestrial demons, which also highlighted the importance the Western Sect's Great Saints placed on him. I deliberately let him stay there for a longer period, returning first to build momentum, so the Heavenly Court would specifically praise Ksitigarbha, giving him as much renown as possible. How would other Saints' disciples think? Disciples who originally had no connection to Ksitigarbha would also come to stand against him. After several such instances, Ksitigarbha, with his inherent arrogance, lost his popularity within the Western Sect. Therefore, when he stepped forward before the Reincarnation Pagoda and spoke eloquently with me, other core disciples of the Western Sect would surely be unable to restrain themselves. Looking at the Western Sect's long history of scheming, and what I saw in the incense divine kingdoms, there were indeed core disciples within the Western Sect who lacked cunning and were overly eager for quick success. This was the breakthrough. However, I also miscalculated; that old Daoist who stepped forward was so foolish as to destroy the Reincarnation Pagoda. And when Ksitigarbha came to sacrifice himself, I should have stopped him, but because I couldn't bear to see lives being trampled, I didn't intervene. What made me most helpless was that all of this was within the Western Sect's Great Saints' calculations; both Ksitigarbha's and my natures were factored in... It's possible that the Heavenly Dao wasn't the one controlling that deranged old Daoist at the time; the Reincarnation Pearl shattered too strangely. If our act of saving souls went against the will of the Heavenly Dao, why would the Heavenly Dao then bestow so much merit?'"

As he spoke, Li Changshou smiled self-deprecatingly, picked up his wine cup, and drained it.

"'These people from the West... some are truly clever but only care about themselves, while others are genuinely foolish and merely being used. Ksitigarbha's current situation is both destiny's decree and a result of his nature. However, that he cares for the common people and can so decisively sacrifice himself, I truly admire him for that.'"

Immortal Taiyi muttered, "Tell me, how many layers of scheming went into this cup of wine?"

"'One layer: thinking how to get you drunk, Senior Brother, and leave you at the gate of Spirit Mountain.'"

Immortal Taiyi immediately shivered and glared fiercely at Li Changshou.

"'I stood up for you, and got struck by the Heavenly Dao Lord!'"

"'That has absolutely nothing to do with me,' Li Changshou immediately raised his hand in a swearing gesture, causing Immortal Taiyi to grit his teeth."

If Immortal Yunxiao hadn't been right next to them, he would have long since pounced on Li Changshou and started wrestling.

Immortal Taiyi: No way, I have to find a way to get back at him!

Beside them, Kong Xuan added:

"'This time, ultimately, the West lost, losing such a disciple, leaving only a bunch of useless individuals.'"

"'Fellow Daoist, please don't think that way,' Li Changshou said solemnly. 'There are many capable individuals within the Western Sect, and several of Ksitigarbha's senior and junior brothers are formidable. Ksitigarbha's entry into the Netherworld this time surely also involved their schemes. One must know that Ksitigarbha's mount, the divine beast Di Ting, is actually more intelligent than its master. It can hear the thoughts of beings in the Three Realms, so it must have long mastered various forms of scheming. Why does Di Ting often pretend to be foolish? In fact, it's out of pressure; it also wants Ksitigarbha to leave the Western Sect. Ksitigarbha entering the Netherworld, although it damaged his Dao body, exchanged for his primordial spirit's eternal existence with the Heavenly Dao. At least Ksitigarbha won't be tormented by his senior and junior brothers to the same fate as that deranged old Daoist. The one who saw all of this most clearly was actually Di Ting... As expected, I still need to find a way to take a tour around the Reincarnation Pagoda.'"

Daoist Duobao frowned and said, "This poor Daoist only thought that the two Saints of the Western Sect, with their unity from top to bottom, should not be underestimated. I never imagined they fought so fiercely amongst themselves."

Immortal Yunxiao said, "The Daoist Sect put too much pressure on the Western Sect, making it difficult for the Western Sect itself to find peace."

"The two Saints..."

Li Changshou stopped himself from speaking further, changing the subject with a smile. "This time, the Western Sect had a small victory, and we had a small win. The Saints' schemes are truly formidable, beyond our reach. Although the Reincarnation Pagoda was forcibly placed under the charge of Empress Houtu by me, the Heavenly Dao would still grant this destiny to the Western Sect. The Heavenly Dao's destiny is to guide living beings towards the stable development of heaven and earth. The Western Sect gained an additional pillar of destiny, and the Heavenly Dao gained a backup second reincarnation, making it more stable. In the future, when discussing the Investiture of the Gods calamity in Zixiao Palace, they would also gain a bit more say. This is the problem we need to consider now."

"Chang Geng, do you have a brilliant plan?"

"'We still need to focus on the fact that incense divine kingdoms are a great scourge,' Li Changshou shook his head. 'However, after this battle, the Western Sect will certainly promote their compassionate and benevolent image everywhere, temporarily suppressing the drawbacks of incense divine kingdoms. This is disadvantageous to us, but it is also a good thing for the human race in those incense divine kingdoms. In another ten years, I will join forces with various powers in the Three Thousand Worlds to form an anti-Western Immortal Dao alliance...'"

Zhao Gongming said, "When and where? Your senior brother will go to support you!"

"'It's not appropriate for Saints' disciples to directly intervene. Although there are many Qi refiners in the Three Thousand Worlds, top experts are scarce,' Li Changshou said. 'With Senior Brother Lü Yue present, he is sufficient to handle various situations. I also ask Senior Brother Duobao, in your capacity as the Eldest Senior Brother, to give Senior Brother Lü Yue a letter...'"

Daoist Duobao immediately understood and repeatedly approved.

Immortal Taiyi, seizing the opportunity, laughed. "Wasn't it widely rumored before that you and Lü Yue often stayed in brothels... Ah, my mistake, my mistake. I shouldn't have mentioned that in front of Immortal Yunxiao. I'll punish myself with three cups, three cups."

Stare—

Immortal Yunxiao's gaze 'attacked,' and Li Changshou immediately covered his face with his hand. Through the gaps in his fingers, he saw Immortal Yunxiao's lips twitching slightly, and he chuckled softly in his heart.

She really does care...

Don't worry, I've prepared for this.

Li Changshou took out a Grand Dao vow template from his sleeve. After unfolding it, he cleared his throat and began to recite.

There was no more reliable way to prove he hadn't experienced any temporary romantic entanglements than through a Grand Dao vow.

He is pure!

In his previous life, he had heard in some foreign myths about categories like "virgin goddesses";

He, Li Changshou, the Water God of the Heavenly Court, was a true "Pure Yang God"!

This doesn't seem like something to be proud of.

On second thought, the Heavenly Dao Lord wouldn't deliberately mess with him, would he...?

Surely not, right?

Meanwhile, in the Lingxiao Palace. The Jade Emperor, clad in white, sat on the high platform and called out to those below, "Mu Gong."

"Your old subject is here."

"Beloved Minister Chang Geng's divine position truly needs to be raised. Later, during the discussion, you should submit a memorial. As for the specifics, do you understand?"

"Understood, this old subject understands!"

Mu Gong answered firmly twice, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. He then asked, "Your Majesty, if the Water God is to be promoted, we should first determine his divine position. Or, perhaps this old subject should yield his position to the Water God?"

"Mu Gong, your efforts have been great; do not doubt yourself," the Jade Emperor smiled. "Currently, there are twelve vacant second-tier divine positions in the Heavenly Court. I do not wish for him to guard the four corners of the world; I want him to stay in the Heavenly Court and offer strategies for me. Mu Gong, which divine position do you think is most suitable?"

East Mu Gong acknowledged with a sound, lowered his head in thought, and soon said:

"Among the third-tier divine positions, there is a star-god position named Taibai, who serves as Your Majesty's chief advisor, is in charge of the Heavenly Court's punitive affairs, and symbolizes the catalyst for cosmic change. Why not Your Majesty exceptionally promote this divine position to second-tier and have the Water God concurrently hold it?"

"Excellent," the Jade Emperor nodded with a smile. "As Mu Gong suggested, go prepare the memorial."

"Yes, this old subject obeys."

At this very moment, in the great temple of Anshui City.

"...If I utter a single falsehood, the Heavenly Dao shall send down a warning."

As Li Changshou's voice, having recited the vow, fell, he smiled calmly and looked at Immortal Yunxiao, whose gaze lingered beside him.

He's actually not a reckless man...

Crack!

Booming!

A thunder dragon clawed and roared outside the back hall. Its purple lightning illuminated Li Changshou's frozen smile, Immortal Yunxiao's gently blinking eyelashes, Immortal Mother Golden Spirit angrily drawing her sword, Kong Xuan bowing his head with a faint smile, and Immortal Yuding secretly frowning.

Immortal Taiyi and Zhao Gongming, unable to restrain themselves, burst into laughter.

A realization dawned in Li Changshou's heart: he seemed to have received a reward from the Jade Emperor, changing his divine position's rank, which triggered a Heavenly Dao response...

This... at this moment...

A divine position, my foot!