Chapter 670: Go to His Heavenly Dao

The Heavenly Dao had directly taken action against Di Xin.

At Xiaoqiongfeng, in front of the alchemy room, Li Changshou stood by the yin-yang pattern pool. His gaze was unfocused, his hands clasped behind his back, lost in thought.

Reflecting on his journey to this point, it had far exceeded his imagination when he first regained consciousness in the prehistoric world. Now, the Heavenly Dao had completely thrown aside its pretense and struck directly at Di Xin. This was precisely the worst-case scenario Li Changshou had anticipated earlier, signifying that the Heavenly Dao's will would no longer hold back; it demanded that all beings adhere strictly to its predetermined script.

Plans could never keep up with changes.This feeling was truly unpleasant.

He was trying to navigate the rules while within their confines. The worst-case scenario was exactly like this: the opponent would shatter the rules and strike down mercilessly. The blow at Nuwa Temple was a ruthless one. It meant that the calculated and assessed odds of success he had made earlier were now largely invalid. For him, the future that was once seemingly controllable had become utterly unpredictable.

Today, the Heavenly Dao acted against Di Xin; tomorrow, it might target Yunxiao, Ling'e, or even Brother Zhao directly!

Of course, these were not comparable situations. Di Xin was a central figure in the Heavenly Dao's Fengshen script, an irreplaceable pawn. But Yunxiao and Brother Zhao were merely powerful experts; they lacked any unique characteristics that made them indispensable. If Li Changshou wanted to take them away, he just needed to persuade them and seek protection from his teacher and Uncle Tongtian. Even if the Heavenly Dao tried to stop them, they could still escape the prehistoric world. The cost would be never returning and abandoning most of his arrangements and preparations, losing the only chance to balance the Heavenly Dao.

He felt an inexplicable reluctance.Stay steady, stay steady—he couldn't afford to be reckless.

He had already worked so hard to this extent: pacifying the West, stabilizing the underworld, calming the Sea of Blood. He was just one step away from settling the Fengshen matter, and then he could rise above it all…Or was this the Heavenly Dao deliberately pressuring him?Were the subsequent steps something that didn't require a disruptor like him, forcing him to leave early?Or perhaps, the Heavenly Dao was testing him?

A flurry of thoughts swirled in Li Changshou's mind, even his empty and clear Dao heart struggling to cope.

“Sigh…”

He let out a hollow sigh.Another hollow sigh.

He stepped forward, his figure rising as if climbing invisible stairs, then flickered lightly through the woods before vanishing from in front of the alchemy room.

It happened to be the downtime at the gaming hall, so he could find that little bell under the trees.

The Hun Dun Zhong emitted a shadowy glow, and its spirit materialized nearby, dressed in a striking red skirt that was vibrant yet elegant, with a touch of ethereal illusion.

She blinked up at the air, tilting her head in confusion.

Li Changshou appeared in her line of sight, offering a gentle smile, then sighing wearily as he sat by the lake.

“Oh? What’s wrong?”

The Hun Dun Zhong’s spirit curiously leaned in, teasing with a grin, “Is there anything that could stump the Second Heavenly Emperor?”

Li Changshou glanced at her helplessly, pointing toward the grand array beyond, where the blue sky of the Heavenly Court stretched. He casually activated the sky-obscuring array of Xiaoqiongfeng.

“Big Sister Zhong, how well do you know the Heavenly Dao?”

“Who are you calling big sister?”

Zhong Ling widened her eyes and made a fierce choking gesture.

Li Changshou chuckled, “My mistake, my mistake—please don’t be upset, Aunt Zhong. How well do you know the Heavenly Dao?”

“Get lost! Just call me big sister!”

Zhong Ling grumbled, flipping onto a tree branch and swaying with the breeze as she thought it over.

“We are just treasures, after all, so our understanding of the Dao’s essence differs from that of living beings.The Heavenly Dao is really just that—it’s born from a single will, based on the rules of the prehistoric world’s great Dao, and now reinforced by the power of the six saints, giving it immense control over heaven and earth.Your Path of Balance should give you a thorough grasp of that.”

“Sometimes I wish I didn’t understand it so clearly,” Li Changshou muttered to the Hun Dun Zhong’s spirit in his heart, rubbing his brow. “Right now, I honestly feel like ignoring everything, charging in recklessly, firing off a shot, and then making a run for it.Just seeking my own pleasure and revenge, without caring about the disasters that follow.But strangely, even someone as selfish and afraid of death as me ends up caring about things I shouldn’t. Sigh, it feels a bit ironic.”

Zhong Ling glanced toward the thatched hut, where Ling’e was peeking out curiously.

“The instinct of living beings is to survive, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Zhong Ling said with a smile. “I don’t quite get what you’re saying, though.Do you know why I left Uncle Tongtian’s side and came to find you specifically?”

Li Changshou replied with a smile, “It can’t just be because of my position as an ordinary minister in the Heavenly Court.”

“The Heavenly Court is nothing but a puppet of the Heavenly Dao’s will. Even though it’s prosperous and well-ordered now, in my eyes, it’s still not as good as the ancient demon court.I sensed you’re a decent guy, full of contradictions—outwardly one way, but inwardly another.You say you don’t want to get involved in karma, yet here you are, entangled in all of it.”

Li Changshou shrugged nonchalantly. “Tell me about the ancient demon court.”

“The ancient demon court… what’s there to say?They couldn’t escape their predetermined fate either, but at least they had a period of true freedom. A group of beings came together for survival, striving against heaven and earth, and eventually establishing themselves in the world.Don’t take this the wrong way—I’m talking about the era before humans were born, when your human race naturally viewed the demon race as enemies.”

Li Changshou asked via voice transmission, “Was the Heavenly Dao’s taboo present in the demon court back then?”

Zhong Ling shuddered and quickly said, “Don’t ask that! The Heavenly Dao will tear off its mask!”

“Alright, I get it. I was just confirming.”

Li Changshou took a light breath, stood up, and glanced toward the thatched hut. “Big Sister Zhong, do me a favor—if things go south later, protect my junior sister and take her to the Chaos Sea.”

Zhong Ling blinked. “Are you planning to flip the table?”

“I’m just joking. I don’t have the qualifications to flip anything.”

Li Changshou sighed with a smile. “Tell Ling’e not to worry—I’m just going out for a casual stroll.She’s quite perceptive; I don’t want her overthinking.”

With that, Li Changshou’s figure turned into a wisp of green smoke, dissipating gently with the lake breeze.

In the thatched hut, Ling’e tilted her head, sensing something unusual.

The Hun Dun Zhong drifted over, growing to about three meters tall, and Zhong Ling, the spirit, sat gracefully on top, giving Ling’e a charming smile.

Ah, the Heavenly Dao.

By the Tianhe River, Li Changshou wandered aimlessly with his hands behind his back, feeling the vast, surging waves of the endless river and a subtle emotion rising in his heart.

When Di Xin visited the Nuwa Temple and showed disrespect to the holy mother of the human race, Nuwa, he first demanded to see her face and then gazed at her image with a foolish expression. He even wrote a poem on the temple wall:

The phoenix carriage and precious canopy are extraordinarily splendid,All adorned with intricate gold designs.Winding distant mountains fly with emerald hues;Dancing sleeves flutter like rosy clouds.Pear blossoms weep rain in a contest of beauty;Peonies hide in mist, vying in allure.If only this enchanting figure could move,I would bring her to the palace to serve the king.

He laughed heartily and then turned to leave the temple.

Within half an hour, earthquakes shook multiple places in Nanzhanbuzhou, the statues in the Nuwa Temple crumbled, dark clouds gathered over Chaoge City, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and faint dragon roars echoed.

Wen Zhong, who was on campaign, heard of this and nearly fainted from anger, hurrying back to Chaoge City.

Hah, letting the current human emperor flirt with the holy mother of the human race.Ridiculous!No, utterly shameful!

Even though Li Changshou had known about this incident from the Fengshen script earlier, he never imagined it would unfold in such a manner. The Heavenly Dao had directly acted, suppressing Di Xin’s protective imperial destiny and influencing his mind.

What the great tribulation’s destiny couldn’t achieve, the Heavenly Dao did itself.What the hidden pawn Maitreya had failed to accomplish, the Heavenly Dao fixed personally.For what?Just for this laughable script? For that predetermined end of heaven and earth?Absurd! Utterly absurd!

But what could he do?Someone like him, who was greedy for life and fearful of death, always avoiding trouble, was exactly why the Heavenly Dao had entrusted him with such a role—to be a being under its order who could influence the world.

Someone like him, who planned everything meticulously and saw the full picture of the Heavenly Dao, dared not easily disrupt its foundations.The Heavenly Dao had probably exploited that weakness.

This time, the Heavenly Dao’s move against Di Xin had shaken Li Changshou more than he expected. He had already thought of ways to counter it, but what he feared most was that this very approach was exactly what the Heavenly Dao wanted…

Explaining it was complicated, with layers upon layers, more than sixteen or seventeen deep.It wasn’t as simple as enduring a moment and growing angrier, or stepping back and regretting it. It involved too much and contained too many elements.

Simply put, Senior Lang had exchanged his life back then to give Li Changshou the only path to triumph over the heavens.But now, with the Heavenly Dao ignoring its own rules, that path was starting to collapse.

If he acted to correct these rules and stabilize the path, leveraging it to restrain the Heavenly Dao, he would expose his hand and lose his leverage. That might be precisely what the Heavenly Dao desired.

Yet, if he stayed silent, the Heavenly Dao might seize the initiative in the great tribulation, pushing those he wanted to save toward disaster, forcing him step by step to abandon everything…

It was infuriating.The extreme imbalance of power was his biggest dilemma right now.

To even qualify for a contest with the Heavenly Dao, Li Changshou had nearly exhausted all his efforts. But after ensuring the Heavenly Dao couldn’t erase him directly, he still lacked the power to change much.

Suddenly, it felt ridiculous.After striving for so long, in the face of the Heavenly Dao, he was still as helpless as an infant.

The Tianhe River’s waters crashed against the starlit banks, splashing waves that made Li Changshou’s Dao heart tremble slightly.

His empty and clear state of mind rebooted.Should he counterattack?Was he really going to risk it all for an unrelated human emperor, correcting the Heavenly Dao and stepping into its trap?

Though the matter was complex, the underlying logic was clear.Once he threw a punch he had been holding back, it would lose the force of a stored strike, and future blows would be far less effective.

The immediate and the ultimate—choosing between them was truly difficult.

From afar came shouts; without realizing it, he had wandered to the Tianhe River naval camp and spotted Bian Zhuang drilling his troops.That guy had probably noticed him early and was shouting extra energetically.

Li Changshou shook his head with a smile, his figure turning into mist and fading away.

Suddenly, a wave of melancholy hit.He had guided and arranged so many people by now—who could guide him?

He might have to go to the Taiqing Temple.No matter what step he took next or what he wanted to do, it would be based on his teacher’s support.

In a daze, Li Changshou arrived at the Jiuchong Tiange and found the small courtyard. Peering in from outside, the wooden gate was already open.

As he stepped forward, unlike before, the surroundings shifted rapidly as soon as he entered, as if he were enveloped in mist.

To his left was utter darkness, to his right a hazy white;The emaciated figure of the Taiqing Saint sat not far away, struggling to open his eyes and giving Li Changshou a somewhat awkward smile.

Though awkward, it was warm.

Li Changshou felt inexplicably at ease, bowing in respect to his teacher before being drawn to stand before him.

The Taiqing Saint summoned a meditation cushion, gesturing for Li Changshou to sit. Once he was settled, the saint asked via transmission:

“What’s wrong?”

“Teacher,” Li Changshou said, feeling an unexpected sting in his nose; he rubbed it away and smiled. “Your disciple is a bit lost.”

The Taiqing Saint spoke with effort, his voice gentle:“Speak.”

“Teacher, did you see what happened at the Nuwa Temple just now?”

The Taiqing Saint nodded slightly, as if aware his words came slowly.

Li Changshou smiled bitterly. “Your disciple truly doesn’t understand why the Heavenly Dao is so impatient, or why it insists on… well, your disciple actually knows the answer but doesn’t want to admit it.Teacher, do you know the specifics of what your disciple has been doing?”

The Taiqing Saint’s eyes showed thought; he started to nod but then slowly shook his head.“Some… I… can’t… figure out.”

“Your disciple shouldn’t have hidden it from you; it’s just that there was never a chance to report it.”

Li Changshou raised his fingers, gently moving them to lay out a chessboard before him.

“Your disciple has a thousand-year plan, already eight-tenths complete. It’s called the Disappearance of X, where X means variables or unknowns.In the language of the prehistoric world, it’s the element of change.Teacher, you must have noticed how actively your disciple has been involved in the growth of key figures in the Fengshen great tribulation. Did you think it was because of your disciple’s special origins, seeking some sense of involvement?”

The Taiqing Saint furrowed his brow slightly, his expression seeming to ask:Isn’t that it?

This was the first time Li Changshou had taken the lead in a conversation with his teacher, successfully avoiding the usual pattern of sparse words.

Li Changshou continued steadily, “Your disciple’s nature doesn’t really allow for such involvement. When I learned that my fellow traveler from another world was suppressed by the Heavenly Dao and Ancestral Master together, I resolved to leave.And that resolve was incredibly urgent, leaving me no room to breathe.It made your disciple restless, not daring to stop for a moment, constantly thinking about how to escape unscathed.In the end, I thought of it.To become the one that escapes.”

“Oh?” The Taiqing Saint’s eyes showed understanding, as if he had grasped Li Changshou’s full plan, but he gestured for him to continue.

Li Changshou sighed and went on, “More precisely, to be the one that escapes an era.When your disciple achieved Golden Immortal status and pushed open the gate of the great Dao, I saw the underlying principle of the prehistoric world: nothing is perfect, no true completion exists, truths have gaps—it’s the principle of fifty from the great Dao, with one escaping.The Heavenly Dao, to protect or control heaven and earth, derives endless Dao while also merging and accommodating these rules—that’s its foundation.Thus, the great Dao is fifty, derived as forty-nine, with one escaping, beyond the Heavenly Dao’s control.What your disciple aims to do is become that one for the thousand years around the Fengshen great tribulation.So, your disciple schemed and arranged for Yang Jian, for every key figure in the Fengshen tribulation, orchestrated the rise of the Heavenly Court, suppressed the prosperity of the Western Teachings, set up the Hall of Heaven in the three thousand worlds, the Immortal Alliance… and so on.Now, eighty percent of the variables in heaven and earth involve your disciple, and your disciple himself is a variable.From when His Majesty the Jade Emperor granted the title of Taibai Jinxing, overseeing change and warfare, and obtaining the Fengshen List and Divine Whip treasure from Zixiao Palace, your disciple has become the greatest variable.Your disciple has become that one for this era.”

Li Changshou sighed slowly, his eyes full of helplessness, yet seeing encouragement in his teacher’s gaze, he whispered, “In this process, your disciple had three major advantages.First, being originally a pawn of the Heavenly Dao—your disciple’s greedy and fearful nature, focused solely on leaving the prehistoric world, is exactly what it favors;Second, having your support, Teacher—if not for your protection all along, the Heavenly Dao would have erased your disciple the moment it detected these actions;Third, the gift from that senior, as a last resort.The Path of Balance is just the foundation of all this, and your disciple’s ability to comprehend it back then was likely orchestrated by the Heavenly Dao, so that when your disciple leaves, it takes away this threatening Dao.Between your disciple and the Heavenly Dao, it’s as if there’s an unspoken agreement;Once the Path of Balance is stripped from the sea of Dao rules in the prehistoric world, the Heavenly Dao loses some of its constraints.Now, the Heavenly Dao is waiting for your disciple to escape, or forcing it after the Fengshen great tribulation, so it can achieve a certain level of completion and gain eternal stability.After Master Qiyuan was killed by the Golden Crow’s flames, your disciple understood this path.But! But it!At the Nuwa Temple, it acted so brazenly!So unrestrained!It chose Maitreya to act! Why Maitreya?It’s mocking your disciple, showing that your disciple is just its pawn. It’s already pressuring your disciple!The Heavenly Dao is eager—either forcing your disciple to act and reveal the hand early, or driving your disciple to escape prematurely!True, the Fengshen great tribulation is fully underway now; it doesn’t need your disciple to do anything more.This Heavenly Dao!What does it see living beings as? What does it see the human race as?That current human emperor is a joke!He’s just a fool who doesn’t even know the true face of heaven and earth!”

“Be still.”

The Taiqing Saint’s light rebuke made Li Changshou’s agitated expression calm instantly as he exhaled slowly.

“Teacher, your disciple lost composure.”

“It’s fine,” the Taiqing Saint said with a softer smile.

The Taiqing Saint seemed to want to say more but only gazed at Li Changshou with approving eyes, as if pleased that he could see, understand, and accomplish all this.

“Teacher, your disciple truly doesn’t know what to do now.”

Li Changshou smiled bitterly. “Your disciple wants to go to Huoyun Cave to awaken Senior Suiren and demand an explanation for the human race from Ancestral Master in Zixiao Palace.But your disciple knows the Heavenly Dao is waiting for that—to play the Huoyun Cave card now.Without it, your disciple will be like a one-armed fighter in the Fengshen great tribulation and beyond, no matter what.Yet, if your disciple doesn’t intervene in the Heavenly Dao’s direct action, it will later use Yunxiao to coerce your disciple… Your disciple feels quite powerless.The rules are set by the Heavenly Dao, and your disciple hasn’t broken free of them.Your disciple thought that since the Heavenly Dao couldn’t erase him, there was a chance to contend, but in the end, everything is still in its calculations.The Heavenly Dao won’t give your disciple the opportunity to complete all plans; it won’t wait passively.Winning even half a step against the heavens—how easy is that?”

“You’ve… done… very well…”

The Taiqing Saint struggled to say, “Act freely.”

“But Teacher! If your disciple fails when the time comes to strike, you and the two uncles will… and living beings will suffer total defeat, with no chance of recovery!”

The Taiqing Saint slowly closed his eyes and uttered a single word:“Intercept.”

Li Changshou paused, and yin-yang energies began to swirl around him, streams of insight flooding into his Dao heart.

This was…The interchange of yin and yang, life and death!

Li Changshou’s Dao heart trembled lightly as yin-yang energies surged through his spiritual platform, layer upon layer of insights permeating his mind, yet he absorbed them deep into his primordial spirit.

Suddenly, he understood many principles.He suddenly saw the flaw in his own thinking.

To use one against forty-nine, to leverage zero-point-two against ninety-eight percent, one must grasp a truth:He couldn’t achieve perfection or grasp ninety-eight percent certainty; he had to seek that zero-point-two loophole.

The Jie Jiao teachings were about intercepting a thread of life for heaven, earth, and living beings.The Ren Jiao teachings emphasized going with the flow, pure inaction, the easy reversal of yin and yang, turning death into life.

Four ounces to move a thousand pounds, an ant can shake a tree!If he didn’t break free, how could he reach the Heavenly Dao’s level? If he didn’t play all his visible cards, the Heavenly Dao would never feel secure.

To challenge the heavens like this was folly; everything was under its control.Yes!Exactly!This time, he had to pretend to act recklessly—challenging the heavens never offered ninety-eight percent certainty; the thread of life had to be seized in that instant.

No matter how thorough he was, he couldn’t outplan the Heavenly Dao!Not just him—the six saints together couldn’t outcalculate it, because calculation itself borrowed the Heavenly Dao’s power!

Turning death into life—only by turning death into life for the prehistoric world’s beings! Li Changshou glimpsed the subsequent events; he himself would be quite safe.

“Teacher, your disciple understands…”

Li Changshou’s words trailed off as the yin-yang energies around him faded, the aura of the Taiji Diagram dissipating quickly. His teacher’s form became a faint shadow, nodding with a smile.

Go ahead.Indeed, his teacher had always known what he was doing.This was all part of his teacher’s contest with the Heavenly Dao; what the teacher had said about not figuring it out was probably to help ease the pent-up emotions in his heart.

Li Changshou stood, bowing deeply to his teacher’s shadow.

As the yin-yang energies vanished, a massive tree canopy appeared before him.The laurel tree!Guanghan Palace?

His teacher had truly foreseen even the first step he would take next.

Li Changshou exhaled lightly, his eyes gleaming with divine light as he descended with hands behind his back to Guanghan Palace.

My apologies, Chang’e.This time, I’ll borrow the identity of Senior Lang’s disciple.It’s time to reveal this Heavenly Dao taboo, air it out, and turn the pressure back on the Heavenly Dao.