Chapter 603: Twelve Golden Immortals of the Quan Sect How the Hell Do We Fight This?

Seriously, was it really necessary to go so far in teasing him? Grandmaster, why did you have to be so obvious? Couldn't you have at least left him some dignity?

Even if he had performed a minor deed later – like carrying an ancient fairy across the cloud path, helping the Underworld to guide some female vengeful spirits, or throwing Bian Zhuang's sealed immortal power into the Heavenly River – and the Dao Ancestor had then, feigning deep emotion, made up for the merit he was owed, that would have been acceptable. But now!

Doesn't Taibai Jinxing have any dignity? Does the Stable Sect Master not need to make a living in the Primordial World?

Amidst the golden light, Li Changshou rose to his full height, a serious expression on his face. His slender figure stood tall and erect as he looked directly up at the golden clouds in the sky. His demeanor was authoritative without anger, and his presence, though not overtly strong, was immensely powerful!

Ling'e, by his side, blinked, uncertain what to say or do, when Li Changshou loudly proclaimed:

“Thank you, Grandmaster, for understanding the difficulty of your disciple's cultivation and the challenges of managing affairs, and for bestowing boundless merit! Your disciple sheds his blood and sacrifices himself for the Heavenly Court, and resolving Grandmaster's worries and difficulties is simply a Daoist disciple's duty!”

He spoke with defiance.

The golden light in the sky slowly dissipated, and the numerous auspicious omens also vanished.

Li Changshou stood for a while, his silhouette appearing slightly desolate.

He sent a message for Xiong Lingli, who was secretly eating grilled fish in the spirit beast enclosure, to come out, dismissed the immortal gods who had come to watch the spectacle, and then silently lay back down in his lounge chair.

His Merit Pool in his spiritual consciousness had once again reached 80% full.

Li Changshou calculated that, judging by the merit repeatedly bestowed upon him for his achievements and contributions to the stability of heaven and earth, what he had just received was precisely what he had been owed. The Heavenly Dao is utterly just and impartial, and the Dao Ancestor is not one to deceive children; what he promised would definitely be given, but the timing of the bestowal was entirely at the Dao Ancestor's discretion.

Li Changshou placed two layers of enchantments over his Dao heart, activated the various grand arrays on Little Qiong Peak, and, while he was at it, activated the nearby Heaven-Shrouding Grand Array. Only then did he grit his teeth and curse inwardly:

‘This is utterly preposterous!’

This was too much of a blow to the enthusiasm of a mere ordinary high-ranking official like him.

Never mind... What else could he do?

He wouldn't dare confront the Dao Ancestor. He used to think that as long as he went with the flow and actively exerted his initiative during the changes in heaven and earth, he could achieve what he wished in eighty percent of matters. But having come this far, step by step, to this day, Li Changshou only now realized there were many restrictions and much caution required.

The Dao of Balance he had comprehended was both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing was that he possessed infinite possibilities, becoming the greatest variable in heaven and earth. If utilized well, he could even use it to balance, restrict, and monitor the Heavenly Dao. The bad thing was that his foundation was too weak, he had no significant accumulation, and he had to rely on the Heavenly Dao and the Heavenly Court to gain momentum. Now, a single misstep would lead to a stalemate.

“Senior Brother?”

Ling'e approached, holding the 'Shou'e Shuttle,' a post-celestial supreme merit-based escape spiritual treasure. “Can the merit inside still be extracted?” she asked.

“No,” Li Changshou said with a wry smile. “Don't worry, I'm fine, just a little depressed. Let me be alone for a bit. Later, prepare some food and drink, and have a glass with me.”

“Okay!”

Ling'e quickly agreed. Clutching the shuttle and putting away her exclusive lounge chair, she soared on clouds towards the lakeside stove. Although it felt somewhat inappropriate to be happy when her Senior Brother was depressed, Ling'e couldn't stop the smile at the corner of her mouth. Her entire being felt much lighter and livelier as she flew, and she even hummed a joyful tune as she flew out of the vicinity of the alchemy room.

Li Changshou: ... He greatly missed Chef Bai.

Though dejected and disheartened, he couldn't wallow in misery. Li Changshou quickly adjusted his mindset, forgot about the matter of the merit golden body, and began to consider what magical treasures he could refine with his merit.

Excluding the spiritual treasures his teacher lent him, among the few treasures he currently possessed, those that could be considered truly useful were only the Small God-Slaying Spear, which had strong offensive power and infinite potential, and the Heart-Piercing Lock, designed for surprise attacks and ambushes. His ideal would be to refine one or two defensive spiritual treasures as trump cards. What he had previously considered, a small garment for Yunxiao, was actually quite difficult and, upon careful consideration, not practical. Men, of course, can generally do needlework. But garment-type treasures were the most difficult to refine; it wasn't simply a matter of stitching some fabric together and adding some talismans to achieve defensive effects.

When Li Changshou used to resell elixirs in market towns and undercut his own Duxian Gate's elixir business, he had seen truly 'exquisite' immortal robes and skirts. Each thread was engraved with 'spirit-building,' 'spirit-gathering,' 'spirit-stabilizing,' and 'light-effect' type restrictions, and these threads were then woven into a treasure garment. The restrictions on each thread were interconnected, complementing each other to produce an outstanding overall effect. This was a profound discipline; one couldn't fully comprehend it without hundreds or thousands of years of dedication, and he didn't have that much time to immerse himself in this path.

Yunxiao was currently still within the tribulations. Li Changshou mused that although he already had the Jade Emperor's decree, it still couldn't resolve the issue of the Three Xiao Sisters sharing a common fate. The powerful treasures Yunxiao possessed were repeatedly just the Hunyuan Golden Dou and the Nine-Bend Yellow River Grand Array formation diagram. The Golden Flood Dragon Scissors and Dragon-Binding Rope were naturally for Qiongxiao and Bixiao to use. If she were to engage in battles or respond to tribulations in the future, they would easily fall short and be insufficient.

The Hunyuan Golden Dou was both offensive and defensive, and the Nine-Bend Yellow River Grand Array was an entrapment array. When she had previously pursued Kunpeng, she had been holding Uncle Master Tongtian's Green Ping Sword. Speaking of which, why hadn't Uncle Master Tongtian summoned him? He had previously agreed to use Kunpeng, but it had been over thirty years now; why had there been no news instead?

Getting back to business, he wanted to give Yunxiao a gift; it would be better to make an offensive magical treasure. A weapon? Or a brick? Li Changshou looked at his accumulated merit and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

What he was most skilled at refining was, of course, paper effigies. Next was the 'Tenfold Spirit Energy Cannon,' the core of Little Qiong Peak's defensive system – the main cannon that had almost blasted the Grandmaster's alchemy room back then. Coincidentally, he had just acquired "one ten-thousandth of the foundation" from a certain senior, so he was not short on treasure materials and could also seek 'technical support' at any time in the Tushita Palace.

Should he make a spirit energy cannon? When the dignified and gentle Yunxiao engaged in battle with someone, she would pull a spirit energy cannon out of her sleeve and shoulder it, then, before the opponent could react, unleash a destructive black beam...

Li Changshou pondered for a moment, a gleam of light flashing in his eyes. He stood up and rushed back into the alchemy room, his figure disappearing into the secret chamber below.

Two hours later, Ling'e, with jade plates floating around her, drifted over from the lakeside on clouds.

“Where's Senior Brother?”

She looked around for a moment and then heard Li Changshou's voice transmission:

“Set the table outside the door first; I'll be right there.”

“Okay,” Ling'e replied, skillfully setting up a low table and placing cushions outside the door. She arranged the jade plates, levitated by immortal power, into a petal shape and poured a cup of wine for her Senior Brother.

Li Changshou soon floated over, holding a jade talisman in his hand, and with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Ling'e, who had prepared several topics for conversation, seeing this, immediately understood she should be quiet and well-behaved. Her Senior Brother must be contemplating something important.

As expected, as Li Changshou ate and drank, he kept staring at the jade talisman in his hand and proactively started talking with Ling'e about some common knowledge regarding artifact refining. The Senior Brother and Junior Sister even discussed it thoroughly for a while.

“Senior Brother, are you refining a magical treasure for Sister Yunxiao?”

“Yes,” Li Changshou chuckled. “I can't hide anything from you. Come take a look.”

Ling'e assented, moved her cushion over, and sat down close beside her Senior Brother. Li Changshou lightly tapped the jade talisman with his finger. Streams of light enveloped the talisman, and immortal light condensed into a three-dimensional diagram, which was the Hundredfold Spirit Energy Cannon that Li Changshou was designing.

“What does 'Hundredfold Spirit Energy' mean?”

“This refers to the utilization rate of spirit energy,” Li Changshou chuckled. “If an ordinary Golden Immortal's utilization rate of spirit energy is one, then the Hundredfold Spirit Energy Cannon means a utilization rate of one hundred. Of course, there's still a lot of room for improvement here. I can't tell you too much about this path, so as not to affect your future cultivation; you just need to understand the basics. When Qi refiners use spirit energy, most absorb it into themselves, transforming it into magical power within their bodies. As their Dao realm improves, their utilization rate of spirit energy that aligns with their own Dao significantly increases. Under the premise of equal quantities, the purer the magical power and the more refined the immortal power, the greater the power of divine abilities and spells, right?”

“Yes!”

“But Ling'e, have you ever thought about this: from spirit energy to magical power, does the essence change?”

Ling'e blinked, indicating that this question was beyond her comprehension, and that her Senior Brother's profile looked very handsome when he was serious.

“It doesn't change?”

“No, it doesn't change. The divine abilities and spells unleashed still transform back into spirit energy in the end; the spirit energy itself experiences very minimal loss. An ordinary Golden Immortal probably only has a spirit energy utilization rate of about one-thousandth.”

Li Changshou showed a faint smile: “When I previously set up the grand arrays on Little Qiong Peak, I pondered how to fully unleash the energy of spirit energy. Ling'e, if you place two mirrors facing each other at a certain angle, shine a beam of light into them, it will return along the same path after two reflections. If a wisp of spirit energy continuously enters a special magical artifact pathway, it can release a significant amount of energy in a short period of time. This is the concept behind the spirit energy cannon, but there are still many problems that need to be solved. I've decided to go consult with Lord Lao later...”

Ling'e watched blankly as Li Changshou animatedly explained. Towards the end, Ling'e couldn't understand what her Senior Brother was saying at all, but she just felt it was very impressive...

Thus, fifteen years later.

By the lake on Little Qiong Peak, a cylindrical cannon, thirty zhang long, perfectly illuminated all its restrictions. Li Changshou lightly tapped with his sword-finger. Vortices appeared at the end of the long cannon, and winds swept across Little Qiong Peak from all directions. In almost an instant, these vortices drained half of Little Qiong Peak's spirit energy!

Li Changshou smiled contentedly, his eyes filled with emotion. Next, he just needed to find a place to fire it and test its true power.

Without further ado, Li Changshou's true body took the long cannon, secretly slipped out of Taibai Palace without even informing the Jade Emperor's avatar, used a false identity, and flew out of the Five Continents region. In the void, Li Changshou summoned a mountain, set up layers of inexpensive but sturdy arrays as a target, released the Hundredfold Spirit Energy Cannon, and fired a shot from afar.

The mountain shattered!

Before that pitch-black light pillar, emitting streaks of purple light arcs, this mountain and its arrays lasted only for half an instant! If Li Changshou hadn't stopped in time, and this stream of light had happened to strike a Great Thousand World, who knows how many living beings would have been killed or injured.

Hmm, the power is quite good.

Subsequently, Li Changshou returned to the Heavenly Court, chose an auspicious day, and after resolving a series of issues, officially infused the long cannon with merit. What surprised Li Changshou was that such a large cannon only used three-tenths of his merit and then could no longer absorb more. Li Changshou carefully perceived that it seemed the Heavenly Dao had imposed a limit. Any stronger, and it would easily damage the ecological environment of the Primordial World, causing irreversible harm to heaven and earth. Know when to stop; one must learn to be content. After all, it was just a weapon of offense for Yunxiao to use for self-defense and surprise attacks.

After being infused with merit, the long cannon appeared entirely like golden glazed jade, with streams of immortal light flowing within it and the muzzle emitting an obscure Dao aura. —The refining of some critical components was personally completed by the Grand Pure One.

Phase one of the project was complete. Next was to refine it further, focusing on aspects like portability, feel, accuracy, and concealment. This refinement took another ten years.

Years passed quickly in the mountains. Besides his cultivation and artifact refining, Li Changshou also continued to pay attention to major events in heaven and earth, escorting the peaceful Heavenly Court. Battles in the Three Thousand Worlds continued ceaselessly, but the casualties of living beings began to be controlled, with major battles moving into the void, which had become a rule that all factions needed to obey.

The Five Continents, instead of becoming quiet due to Mount Spirit's losses, had become incredibly noisy, with more and more immortal sects in Central Divine Continent truly engaging in fierce conflict, taken advantage of by the tribulation's destiny. Within the last twenty years, six immortal sects of the Three Religions were destroyed; non-Three Religions immortal sects, nineteen were destroyed. The ferocity of the chaotic immortal battles was imaginable; many powerful experts unwilling to fight fled to the Three Thousand Worlds, where half the areas were relatively stable.

South Continent, North Continent, and the Four Seas were peaceful and uneventful. Mortal merchant nations faithfully propagated their generations, steadily progressing towards that era under the protection of the Heavenly Dao. However, the problems of the Dragon Race of the Four Seas were becoming increasingly prominent. As time passed and the Dragon Race once again gained a firm foothold in heaven and earth, many privileged Dragon Race descendants, who had contributed little to the Dragon Race's resurgence, now began to become conceited with their newfound foundation.

Li Changshou also had a headache regarding these persistent Dragon Race issues. If he took drastic measures, it would seem unrighteous on his part, as if he were burning bridges after crossing. But if he allowed these Dragon Race members to continue their self-indulgence, a disaster for the Dragon Race would truly be unavoidable. After much thought, he could only write a few letters to the Dragon Kings and have Ao Yi deliver them to persuade them. Unfortunately, the old Dragon King was immersed in boredom and had no particular response to this. The most difficult part of this matter was Ao Yi's old father, the patriarch of the Dragon Race. Li Changshou could only continue to observe this matter and did not wish to intervene too early... To be safe, the Heavenly Court should also repeatedly condemn the various extravagant practices of the Dragon Race.

Finally, after twenty-five or six years of toiling over one magical treasure; combining the artifact refining techniques of the Grand Pure One, the Human Sect's leader's avatar, Li Changshou's ingenious ideas, and the support of Senior Lang's legacy, Li Changshou presented his relatively satisfactory finished product—

The Post-Celestial Supreme Merit Spiritual Treasure: Hundredfold Spirit Energy Crossbow!

There was no concept of 'cannon' in the Primordial World, so Li Changshou, on a whim, came up with the name 'crossbow.'

By the spiritual lake on Little Qiong Peak, Li Changshou shouldered the spirit energy cannon, which could now shrink to half a zhang in length, and mimicked a pose with it.

“Ling'e, look! Imagine your Sister Yunxiao shouldering this treasure cannon—isn't it majestic? Isn't it domineering?”

Ling'e blinked and quietly said what she hadn't dared to say for over twenty years:

“Senior Brother, are you sure Sister Yunxiao... would like a treasure with this kind of design?”

Li Changshou was visibly startled. He held the treasure cannon with immortal power, examined it himself from the side, and even specifically took out a female paper effigy and tried shouldering it...

“This? I actually overlooked this problem. The main consideration when giving a gift is whether the recipient likes it or not.”

Ling'e quickly said, “As long as it's from Senior Brother, Sister is so gentle, she'll definitely like it.”

“Giving a cannon to an immortal maiden, this is also inappropriate.”

Li Changshou folded his arms and observed for a while, glancing at his Merit Pool and Senior Lang's legacy, which had barely been consumed, then snapped his fingers stylishly.

“In that case, let's make a complete set!”

“A complete set of what?”

“Combat magical treasures.”

Thus, a century later.

Three Immortals Island.

Li Changshou slowly drifted over on clouds. Qiongxiao and Bixiao had long since gone to wait outside the mist. As soon as they met, Li Changshou took out two brocade boxes from his sleeve, saying, 'A small gift, merely a token of respect.' This made the two immortal maidens beam with smiles and call him 'Brother-in-law' repeatedly as they led Li Changshou into Three Immortals Island.

Bixiao giggled, “Brother-in-law, you haven't come to see Sister on the island for so many years. Did you bring any treasures?”

“I did, I did,” Li Changshou chuckled. “However, this item is of great importance and cannot be casually shown to others; I can only show it to your esteemed sister later.”

Qiongxiao snorted, “Stingy! You obviously didn't prepare anything!”

Li Changshou smiled without speaking and made no defense. This time, he had specifically come to give a gift.

Upon entering Three Immortals Island and reaching the immortal pavilion, Yunxiao, who was cultivating, was woken by Qiongxiao. Upon seeing Li Changshou's figure from the window sill, she couldn't help but smile inadvertently. She said, “Please wait a moment; I'll quickly freshen up.” Then she lowered her head and returned to her boudoir, her steps light. She set up several layers of enchantments and changed into a simple, elegant plain white long dress.

Qiongxiao and Bixiao teased Li Changshou for a bit, then laughingly went off to play elsewhere, but their immortal senses remained focused on this spot. Li Changshou waited quietly in front of the immortal pavilion for a while, choosing a beach on Three Immortals Island as the display location for later, a faint smile in his eyes.

Lord Lao, my thanks for your hard work! Thanks to Mei Wen Hua and the other four Mei, who were confined in Taibai Palace, for providing the visual inspiration! To be able to create something like this was also something he hadn't expected before. Considering the brutality of battles in the Primordial World and the 'speedsters' among cultivators, Li Changshou specifically added various grand arrays and perfectly integrated his concept of miniature arrays into it...

“Why did you suddenly come over?”

Yunxiao's gentle voice drifted over, interrupting Li Changshou's reverie. Li Changshou chuckled, “It's not that I was worried you lacked a magical treasure; I specifically refined one for you to use for self-defense.”

Yunxiao couldn't help but smile faintly and said, “I have the Golden Dou to use; I'm not lacking. You should keep it.”

“You still have tribulations ahead of you, and I am merely mediating in the Heavenly Court,” Li Changshou said, extending his right hand. “Come, let's find a quiet place.”

His gesture of extending his hand was very natural, but Yunxiao hesitated slightly before lifting a tender hand and placing it in Li Changshou's palm. The two walked hand in hand to the beach Li Changshou had previously chosen. Li Changshou then personally set up two layers of arrays and three layers of enchantments, making