Chapter 549: ‘Magnanimous’ Li Chang Geng

"Fellow Daoist, have you heard?

Lord Taibai Li Chang'eng's Duxian Gate, his original cultivation sect, was smashed by the Western Sect, and in retaliation, Li Chang'eng immediately went and smashed the Western Sect's mountain gate! He smashed the main gate of Spirit Mountain, not the entire mountain. Don't spread misinformation."

"How come I heard it was a Jie Sect immortal who smashed Duxian Gate? And even killed its sect master, Ji Wuyou?"

"Would a Jie Sect immortal do such a thing? What's Fairy Yunxiao's relationship with Lord Taibai? Given Lord Taibai's strategy, and that he's already gone to smash the Western Sect's mountain gate, do we even need to ask for the answer?"

"That makes sense... The Western Sect never does good deeds. At this point, they're still stirring up trouble every day."

"Mind your words, mind your words."

"Fellow Daoist, have you heard?

Lord Taibai smashed the Western Sect's mountain gate; the scene was truly bloody and terrifying!"

"Isn't everyone talking about this?

It seems the Western Sect controlled some Jie Sect immortals to cause trouble at the immortal sect where Lord Taibai cultivated in his early years, killing Duxian Gate's sect master, Ji Wuyou."

"Just know about this, don't spread it around. The Western Sect is a major sect; we can't afford to offend them."

"Indeed, indeed."

"Hey, Fellow Daoist, have you heard?

Lord Taibai smashed the Western Sect's mountain gate, and in front of two Saints, he tied up all the Western Sect disciples and hung them from trees to beat them."

"Oh, why is that?"

"You absolutely mustn't tell anyone, but it's said that the Western Sect tried to sow discord among the three Daoist sects. They secretly controlled Jie Sect immortals, using the name of Chan Sect immortals, to target Duxian Gate, a Human Sect immortal sect. Duxian Gate was where Lord Taibai cultivated in his early years, so he has deep feelings for it. As a result, the Duxian Gate sect master was killed, and thousands of disciples died. That's why Lord Taibai went and smashed the Western Sect's mountain gate. Because the Great Tribulation hasn't officially descended yet, he restrained himself from killing too many people."

"Hiss—so that's how it is!

Don't worry, Fellow Daoist, this humble Daoist will surely keep it secret as... Wait a moment?! Duxian Gate? Which Duxian Gate? The Duxian Gate, a Human Sect lineage, that this humble Daoist founded?"

At the banquet, True Lord Du'e suddenly stood up, staring at his old conversation partner beside him.

Before his Daoist friend, known for years and equally skilled at keeping secrets, could speak, True Lord Du'e had already turned and rushed out, not bothering to meticulously choose a cloud, and hurried towards East Continent.

True Lord Du'e performed a divination, but the heavenly secrets were veiled, yielding no conclusions. Only then did he remember that he had only kept in touch with Ji Wuyou. Now, the news about Duxian Gate had come from a banquet. And his disciple, whom he had painstakingly nurtured from a mere named disciple into a formal one...

Flying through clouds and mist, then swiftly like the wind, True Lord Du'e calmed down midway. After all, he had struggled and climbed his way up to achieve his current status as the Great Wilderness's biggest loudmouth—no, his current revered immortal status within a certain range. If, as rumored, the now influential second disciple of the Human Sect Master came from his Duxian Gate, then it was only a matter of time before Duxian Gate was embroiled in the conflicts between major sects.

What kind of people are the Western Sect? Since ancient times, they have continuously forced conversions, relying on the backing of two Saints to run rampant in West Niu He Continent. The rumors only said that Lord Taibai smashed the Western Sect's mountain gate, but didn't mention killing anyone specific from the Western Sect. Why is this? It's simple: those Western Sect disciples who could stand out in the open weren't important figures; they could be used at any time to settle karmic debts. The true core figures of the Western Sect were all hidden in the shadows. Killing them would actually be a loss. It's better to just smash their mountain gate and slap the two Western Sect Saints in the face. The Saints' prestige had previously been constantly 'deified,' but now it was worthless.

With a complex mix of emotions, True Lord Du'e finally arrived in East Continent. His immortal sense eagerly stretched towards Duxian Gate, startling quite a few cultivators flying past along the way. Before long, True Lord Du'e slowed his cloud, frowning as he looked at Duxian Gate, where the grand formation had lit up again, and the teams of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals patrolling the air around it. Heavenly Court troops stationed there—things were indeed unusual.

"Hold it!"

Just then, a soft shout was heard, a shadow of a green dragon flashed through the clouds, and Ao Yi descended from the sky, blocking True Lord Du'e's path.

True Lord Du'e performed a Daoist bow and hastily said, "Greetings, General. This humble Daoist, Du'e of Baguo Cave in Kunlun Mountain, is the patriarch of Duxian Gate. Hearing of Duxian Gate's misfortune, I've come to visit."

"True Lord, there's no need for formalities. This junior naturally recognizes you," Ao Yi said, bowing with cupped fists. He first sighed, then whispered, "Please temper your grief, True Lord. Sect Master Wuyou..."

"Wuyou, truly?!"

"Sect Master Ji Wuyou, to protect the disciples within the sect, forcibly burned his primordial spirit and channeled his divine abilities. He ultimately died of exhaustion. My sect master brother arrived half a step too late. Fortunately, most of the disciples within the sect were protected by the Lidi Flame Light Banner. Although there were casualties, their vitality remains. My sect master brother has ordered this junior to be stationed here for three hundred years to help Duxian Gate through this period. This junior has also invited several ancient elders of the Grand Unity realm from my clan to ensure no further trouble befalls this place."

Hearing this, True Lord Du'e was filled with sorrow. He opened his mouth but could only sigh softly, giving a bitter smile: "Truly, truly... Did Wuyou have any regrets or unfulfilled wishes when he passed?"

"Sect Master Wuyou had no regrets," Ao Yi said. "True Lord, there's no need to grieve too much. Sect Master Wuyou's remnant true spirit has been protected by my sect master brother and sent to the Six Paths Reincarnation Disc for recuperation. Aside from over a hundred disciples whose souls scattered, with only their true spirits escaping to the Underworld, my sect master brother has properly arranged all other souls that could be saved. Great Virtue Houtu personally intervened to enhance Sect Master Wuyou's aptitude, and his next reincarnation place has already been set in the Book of Life and Death. Sect Master Wuyou's last wish was to still be able to become your disciple after reincarnation. I wonder if True Lord would agree?"

"Agree, agree, how could I not agree?"

True Lord Du'e's expression brightened considerably. He frowned and said, "Senior Brother Chang'eng... Lord Star Lord has gone to much trouble."

"My sect master brother has two more things to ask of you, True Lord. Are you willing to set aside some dignity to help the Human Sect vent its anger and seek justice for Sect Master Wuyou and the deceased disciples?"

"I am willing!" True Lord Du'e, holding his horsetail whisk, firmly declared: "Let alone losing some dignity. If the Human Sect has needs, if Lord Star Lord has needs, and I can avenge my disciple, what does it matter if I risk my own life? General, what are Lord Star Lord's instructions?"

"True Lord, first appear within the sect and designate an elder to temporarily assume the role of Duxian Gate's sect master. Also, my sect master brother specifically instructed that Li Jing, who has higher fortune within the sect, delayed a powerful Golden Immortal enemy for a long time during the previous battle with his True Immortal cultivation. His future is promising, so please cultivate this child diligently, True Lord. As for the two matters... please lean in, True Lord."

Ao Yi explained the details. After a while, True Lord Du'e's face showed understanding, and he immediately agreed with a firm voice.

Soon, True Lord Du'e first went inside Duxian Gate, comforted the disciples and elders, and appointed an elder at the late Heavenly Immortal realm to temporarily act as sect master. He also healed the Ink Qilin, formally accepted Li Jing as a disciple, encouraged and praised him, then hastily left Duxian Gate. Afterward, True Lord Du'e rushed back to Kunlun Mountain and, according to Li Changshou's plan, began a rather sensational performance of crying, making a scene, and threatening to die.

Within half a day, True Lord Du'e's loud wailing on Kunlun Mountain, mourning his disciple Ji Wuyou, accompanied by the news of the Western Sect's mountain gate being smashed, began to spread across the Five Continents and all three thousand worlds. True Lord Du'e created a stir for four or five days, crying through five immortal banquets, six immortal gatherings, and seven cups of tea, stirring righteous indignation among many of his friends. Another three or four days passed. When the fervor subsided slightly, True Lord Du'e loudly invoked the venerable title of the Grand Pure Saint and sped on a cloud towards Spirit Mountain.

True Lord Du'e had over ten friends trying to stop and persuade him along the way, telling him not to act rashly, as going to Spirit Mountain would be like hitting a rock with an egg. On Spirit Mountain, the old Daoists convened an emergency discussion, and several Vice Sect Masters were so worried they were pulling out their hair. The Human Sect lost a disciple of a named disciple of a Saint, and Lord Taibai Li Chang'eng didn't say a word; he just directly smashed their mountain gate. If True Lord Du'e were to die on their Spirit Mountain, wouldn't the Human Sect Master come personally?!

"What is this about? How is the attack on that tiny Duxian Gate related to our Spirit Mountain? That Water God didn't investigate, didn't ask, didn't even dispute; he just directly demolished our mountain gate. Now, the gossip of the Three Realms of the Great Wilderness is all aimed at us! Does that Water God have any evidence at all that we did it?"

"What use is righteous indignation now? Why didn't you speak up before?"

"It's not that we couldn't react; everyone knows that Water God relied on rhetoric. Who would have thought he'd directly act this time?"

"What is this Daoist Du'e doing?" an old Daoist muttered in confusion, and all the Spirit Mountain old Daoists looked in unison towards the clouds outside the mountain.

They saw True Lord Du'e dissuade his friends, and he directly descended towards the mid-slope of Spirit Mountain, landing on the gilded steps. At this moment, there were still cracks on these steps, evidently smashed by Li Changshou's spear. But the mountain gate had been restored to its original state in the shortest time possible. *As long as I fix it fast enough, it's as if nothing happened.* Many old Daoists from Spirit Mountain collectively moved forward. This time, seeing that it was True Lord Du'e, and sensing no Saintly aura behind him, they felt the sky had cleared, the rain had stopped, and they were back in business. *As soon as True Lord Du'e gets close to the mountain gate, we'll give him a taste of our power!*

Just then, True Lord Du'e stopped, still some distance from the Spirit Mountain gate, stood on the steps, and sighed upwards.

"Disciple! Your master is useless!"

Question marks, like mushrooms, popped up above the heads of the Spirit Mountain old Daoists. True Lord Du'e shouted again: "Disciple, your master is useless!" After two shouts, True Lord Du'e was already emotional, tears glistening in his eyes. He couldn't help but cry to the sky, truly making listeners weep and onlookers saddened. Amidst his cries, a black coffin flew from True Lord Du'e's sleeve and landed on the gilded steps. Beside the coffin, he placed two stone tablets. On one tablet was written:

'Western Maitreya, return my disciple's life!'

On the other tablet was written:

'Grand Pure Teacher is watching this place!'

All the Spirit Mountain old Daoists immediately halted, daring not to advance. They looked at each other, then silently retreated a few steps. True Lord Du'e sighed deeply, looking up, and couldn't help but beat his chest and stomp his feet.

"This old Daoist only had this one promising disciple, and he had already attained the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit. Our Human Sect was originally not meant to be involved in the tribulation, so why should he be massacred by you!"

"Return my disciple's life! Spirit Mountain must give this humble Daoist justice!"

An old Daoist couldn't help but retort angrily: "Don't slander us without evidence!"

True Lord Du'e ignored him completely, continuing to wail loudly in front of the Spirit Mountain gate. His friends from various factions who had followed him, seeing this, quietly distanced themselves, and at the same time, quickly spread the news of what was happening here.

In Heavenly Court, within Taibai Palace.

Li Changshou looked at the scene displayed in the bronze mirror before him, pondered for a while, and confirmed that True Lord Du'e wouldn't suffer any unforeseen attacks. Only then did he set the mirror down and continue to examine the few paper effigies in front of him. These were paper effigies that had been destroyed by the enemy's magic artifacts and later retrieved. Li Changshou carefully inspected them, finding that the core restrictions on the paper effigies had been damaged. The talismanic restriction that stored a wisp of his primordial spirit energy and maintained constant contact with his main body had now melted away.

Since returning to Heavenly Court from Spirit Mountain, he had been researching this matter. He had a huge number of paper effigies distributed externally. If this divine ability could easily be rendered useless, he would find himself genuinely unable to deploy additional clones. Many important matters would be affected, and he couldn't have his main body rush over every time something happened.

Li Changshou pondered for a few moments, continuing to try and add a layer of protection to the restriction itself. From the time the paper effigy divine ability took form until today, this ability had helped Li Changshou with too many things. Previously, the paper effigy ability had only failed or been affected under the divine abilities of the Six Paths Reincarnation Disc and Saint Nuwa. After another half-day of diligent work, Li Changshou stretched wearily. He had found an idea for improving the paper effigies. For safety, he should also develop another form of clone. Allowing avatars to develop their own consciousness was absolutely impossible; that would be too unstable. Developing different forms of puppet clones, to complement and assist the paper effigy system, was the correct path.

What about severing the three corpses? Actually, the method of severing the three corpses in the Great Wilderness involves severing them and then merging them again, thereby entering the 'perfection' realm below the Saint realm. Like the Grand Pure Saint, severing the good corpse to become Grand Supreme Elder was purely due to his extremely high Dao realm and immense power. The path of severing the three corpses was not the only path for the Grand Pure Saint to reach the end of the Dao. Li Changshou planned that once his equilibrium Dao was further perfected and he could sever his corpses, he would gradually merge the three corpses with his main body, preventing them from developing their own consciousness.

But back to the present matter. Li Changshou waited two more days. Once True Lord Du'e's 'performance' was complete and he departed from before Spirit Mountain, the retaliation plan officially entered its second phase. His paper effigies became active, but primarily for communication and coordination. Within just half a month of Li Changshou's plan commencing, Spirit Mountain was already suffering immensely.

The first to make a move was the Immortal Alliance. Heavenly Court directly sent twelve marshals to form a 'supervisory group' to station within the Immortal Alliance, urging the Immortal Alliance to declare war on the Incense God Nation. And the two Vice Alliance Masters who hadn't been seen since the Immortal Alliance's founding day – Grand Disciple Our Lady Golden Spirit and Zhao Gongming of Jie Sect – also appeared in the Immortal Alliance with over twenty Jie Sect masters, joining the suppression of the Incense God Nation in their capacity as Vice Alliance Masters. With the assistance of Heavenly Court and Jie Sect, the Immortal Alliance began operating at high speed, temporarily masking its many existing flaws. In just a few days, they conquered several 'cities' and reclaimed several Great Thousand Worlds.

Next to act were the Heavenly Court soldiers. Under the pretense of hunting down anti-Heavenly demon tribes in West Niu He Continent, they searched various immortal caves throughout West Niu He Continent, causing chaos among the primordial fierce beasts and ancient remnant great demons. Furthermore, one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers practiced formations daily right next to Spirit Mountain. The Dragon Race was also unwilling to lag behind. Remembering the revenge for the destruction of the East Sea Eye, they dispatched large numbers of war dragons to assist Heavenly Court's operations. As soon as the traces of primordial fierce beasts were confirmed, they struck decisively, eradicating them. For a time, West Niu He Continent became bustling. The Western Sect's hidden forces could only retreat within the confines of Spirit Mountain, fearing liquidation by the Dragon Race and Heavenly Court if they ventured out.

Li Changshou decided this retaliation would last for three years. In just three years, the Western Sect's situation would become awkward and troublesome. Their prestige would directly collapse, their deterrent power would greatly diminish, and the experts attached to the Western Sect would likely make wise choices and decisions. The third stage of retaliation had also been arranged and incorporated by Li Changshou into his Investiture of the Gods calculations. The third stage would also proceed in three steps.

First step: utilize the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods to eliminate the Western Sect's effective forces.Second step: encourage Daoist Wen Jing to absorb more gains.Third step: plan the 'Transformation of Barbarians into Buddhas,' leaving no opportunity for the Western Sect, replacing them with a flourishing Buddhism, and then arranging all important positions within Buddhism for Daoist disciples.

The 'Transformation of Barbarians into Buddhas' was originally his teacher's scheme. He was merely assisting, making some secure and comprehensive arrangements. Weren't they trying to give him a taste of their power and make him wary?

Li Changshou shook his head slightly. What else in the world could provide more security and satisfaction than eradicating a major hidden threat without leaving any trace? These retaliations were not just for the tragically deceased beings of Duxian Gate; more importantly, they were to establish the image of him, the second disciple of the Human Sect and an ordinary powerful Heavenly Court deity, as 'magnanimous,' 'repaying grievances with virtue,' and 'with a heart wider than the ocean.' This way, when others considered threatening him using his close friends and relatives again, they would weigh whether they could bear the consequences and costs. Don't enjoy causing trouble momentarily, only to lose everything afterward.

Just as he was about to go out for a stroll and stretch his limbs, he saw Long Ji flying in on a cloud. She stopped her cloud in front of the palace and hurried inside to report something. In just a moment, Li Changshou walked with his hands behind his back towards the back of Taibai Palace. At this time, Little Qiong Peak was located behind Taibai Palace, no more than a hundred zhang tall. It naturally used the Mustard Seed Universe Array. When Golden Roc carried Little Qiong Peak back earlier, the same array had been at work. Li Changshou walked past a shimmering, water-like light wall, and the small mountain instantly reverted to its original appearance as Little Qiong Peak. At this moment, most of Little Qiong Peak was hidden in the clouds and mist; everything remained unchanged, only the surrounding mountain shadows were gone.

"Cousin!" Xiong Lingli sat up by the lake, vigorously waving at Li Changshou. Li Changshou smiled and nodded, wondering when Grand Supreme Elder would complete the battle armor he had promised to forge for her.

Ling'e arrived on a cloud from the thatched hut. Before she could speak, Li Changshou asked, "Do you want to get dressed up a bit more?"

"Huh?" Ling'e looked down at herself. Because she always wanted to make her Senior Brother's heart flutter, she was particularly mindful of her daily attire. She only wore loose, comfortable training clothes when she was sure Senior Brother was in long seclusion or off the mountain. *Why would Senior Brother suddenly ask such a thing... Was her face not radiant enough, or was her fringed long dress not flattering enough?*

Li Changshou chuckled, "His Majesty the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother have invited us to a banquet at the Jade Pool."

"Ah!" Ling'e immediately shivered, asking softly, "Senior Brother, do I *have* to go?"

"This is essentially His Majesty the Jade Emperor's decree," Li Changshou said seriously. "For safety, it's best not to defy it. Both of us are now in Heavenly Court, and you'll be cultivating here for a considerable time, so it's better to go and pay our respects."

"Th-this... Alright then." Ling'e's small face flushed slightly, brimming with nervousness. She turned and hurriedly flew back into the thatched hut, activating the formation and starting a flurry of activity.

Jiu Yushi remained at Duxian Gate to cultivate and did not ascend to Heaven. This was her own choice, and Li Changshou naturally respected it. Should he arrange an immortal position for Ling'e to gain merit? Never mind, better not let her peace be disturbed.

Just as he was thinking this, Li Changshou's immortal sense suddenly caught sight of Xiao Yin flying on a cloud towards Taibai Palace. Before entering the main hall, he shouted: "Senior Brother Chang'eng, Grand Supreme Elder wants you to bring Junior Sister Ling'e to pay respects!"

Well, Ling'e's chance for great fortune had arrived just like that.