Chapter 675: This Treasure is a Bit Interesting

Long Ji was about to enter the calamity.

In Yao Chi, within Wang Mu Niang Niang's warm chamber,

Wang Mu Niang Niang, speaking from behind the pearl curtain, brought up this matter, and Li Changshou fell silent, carefully analyzing the necessity of Long Ji's entry into the calamity.

Wang Mu's reason was that Long Ji's fate included a tribulation, requiring her to undergo mortal trials.

But Li Changshou couldn't help but wonder if this was Dao Zu testing his own limits.

Long Ji was his disciple, and in the original Feng Shen calamity, she was demoted to the mortal world due to certain events. She then assisted the Chan Jiao faction with numerous achievements, only to be forcibly married to a defeated subordinate and hailed as a model for female immortals.

In the end, she met a tragic death and was listed on the Feng Shen list as the Hong Luan Star.

This...

Seeing Li Changshou's expression turn uneasy, Wang Mu Niang Niang said softly, "Star Lord, I know you are Long Ji's master and care for her deeply, hence your reluctance.

But Long Ji facing her tribulation was decided long ago, inscribed in the heavenly mechanisms and difficult to alter."

Li Changshou looked up at the pearl curtain, as if trying to see Wang Mu Niang Niang's face and eyes.

Wang Mu Niang Niang showed no sign of unease, neither coerced by the Heavenly Dao nor harboring any guilt.

Li Changshou asked, "Niang Niang, why must Long Ji enter the calamity? I truly do not understand.

Furthermore, as disciples of Ren Jiao, we may choose not to participate in the calamity, so I implore you to reconsider."

Wang Mu Niang Niang hesitated for a moment before saying,

"Long Ji is the apple of my eye; I myself am unwilling to let her face such a perilous environment in the great calamity.

First, Long Ji's fate has a flaw; she was born only through the protection of the Heavenly Dao, owing it a karmic debt, which should be repaid through this great calamity.

Second, as a princess of Tian Ting, she lacks an official divine title, and this could be an opportunity for her to gain a position in the Heavenly Dao sequence.

Third, this great calamity is intended to expand the ranks of gods in Tian Ting. If the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor also participates, it can serve as a model for all immortals.

I ask you, Star Lord, to consider these details carefully. Long Ji will enter as the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor, not as a disciple of Ren Jiao."

"Niang Niang, you need not be so polite with me," Li Changshou pondered for a moment. "In that case, let Long Ji decide for herself. If she wishes to enter the mortal world for the calamity, I will find ways to ensure her safety.

As for setting an example for the immortals just because she is the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor, that is entirely unnecessary."

He couldn't voice the latter part directly.

He had just confronted Dao Zu at Zi Xiao Gong, and now Long Ji was being arranged to enter the calamity. The underlying situation was certainly not as simple as Wang Mu Niang Niang described.

The implication was that Dao Zu was still stubbornly adhering to the Feng Shen script, insisting on completing the great calamity's predetermined goals—this was Dao Zu's bottom line.

In this exchange, both sides were testing limits, allowing the Feng Shen calamity to proceed.

Then let us see how many people he could help gain physical forms on the list.

Li Changshou added, "Please, Niang Niang, when you speak to Long Ji later, choose your words carefully. Just say that the heavenly mechanisms reveal her path has a tribulation, but whether she enters it is up to her."

"This..."

Wang Mu Niang Niang pondered for a moment. "Very well. Please wait a moment, Star Lord; I will summon her now."

Li Changshou thought briefly and said, "I will wait outside the chamber to avoid meeting her and influencing her judgment."

Wang Mu Niang Niang naturally agreed and sent someone to summon Princess Long Ji.

Soon after, Long Ji arrived on a cloud, bowed and greeted Wang Mu Niang Niang. Wang Mu Niang Niang, following Li Changshou's earlier suggestion, asked Long Ji whether she wished to face her own tribulation.

If she did, they would protect her fully.

If not, it could be blocked directly.

Long Ji thought for a moment and asked softly, "Mother, does Tian Ting need me to enter the calamity?"

Wang Mu Niang Niang sighed lightly but did not answer.

Long Ji said, "If Tian Ting needs me to walk in the mortal world, I will go without regret."

"You may take more time to consider; do not rush to answer."

Wang Mu Niang Niang's words hinted at something, but Long Ji gently shook her head.

Long Ji said, "Mother, are you suggesting that I seek my master and use his status as the master of the calamity to block my tribulation? That would only put my master in a difficult position.

I was born in Yao Chi, surrounded by immortals and good fortune, with no dissatisfaction in my life.

Now, Tian Ting is on the rise, but many great immortals resent my father for initiating the calamity. The gods on the list may struggle to fulfill their duties and hold grudges against my father.

As the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor, if I also descend to the mortal world for the calamity, it can show that this great calamity has no direct connection to my father; it is decreed by the Heavenly Dao. Their resistance to my father might lessen...

Mother, let me go."

Long Ji looked up at Wang Mu Niang Niang, her face carrying a slight smile, her eyes sparkling like stars.

"I am willing to go to the mortal world for this trial. If I cannot face even this, I am not worthy to be my master's disciple."

Wang Mu Niang Niang frowned involuntarily, but Li Changshou smiled and shook his head, bowing to Wang Mu Niang Niang before his figure turned into a wisp of green smoke and dissipated.

Hmm...

He still needed to find a way to make the upper and lower ranks of Chan Jiao and Jie Jiao realize that if anyone touched his disciple, he would retaliate by targeting their disciples' masters.

To be safe, he would go to Dou Shuai Gong to ask Lao Jun to refine more Jiu Zhuan Jin Dan, then find Yang Jian and ask him to look after his cousin.

He would also have Jin Peng find a divine bird to serve as a mount for Long Ji.

As for the Long Clan, they must have a large number of water-based divine beasts hidden away. Getting a "Xu Kun" might be difficult, but acquiring a divine fish that can spray water would be like a "premium mount ready to claim."

Gathering some connections would provide extra protection for his disciple.

The best safeguard, however, would be to have Long Ji master the slogan "My master is Tai Bai Jin Xing" and place plenty of Tian Gang Di Sha Spirit Explosion arrays around her.

For this one disciple, he had to put in the effort.

The fine tradition of Ren Jiao protecting its own could not end with him.

Long Ji still had matters to attend to in Yao Chi, and Wang Mu Niang Niang likely wanted to have a good talk with her. Li Changshou, concerned about the reincarnation of Ling Zhu Zi, shifted his mind to Nan Shan Bu Zhou.

Should he have Long Ji help with some tasks?

If Long Ji could travel in Nan Shan Bu Zhou, she could handle many minor issues that he found inconvenient.

"Forget it."

Li Changshou chuckled.

After all, it was within the great calamity; the more active one was, the more likely problems would arise, and he wasn't incapable of handling it himself.

His mind swept over Chao Ge City, where Di Xin was sitting on the steps in front of the throne. Several elderly ministers paced back and forth, while Wen Zhong was nowhere to be seen.

One minister said, "Your Majesty, though this matter is suspicious, it is done and cannot be changed.

If those stubborn old officials seize on your poem as evidence that you disrespect the Holy Mother and ancestors, it would be a great crisis.

Perhaps you could pretend it was due to drunkenness and claim you simply favor women, intending to seek a few beauties from various countries as companions."

Another minister added, "For Your Majesty, favoring women is not a bad reputation and could cover up the crisis of disrespecting ancestors.

Nu Wa Niang Niang is the divine creator of humans and the ancestor of all, which makes this particularly troublesome."

A question mark slowly formed on Li Changshou's forehead.

Favoring women wasn't a bad reputation?

Well, everyone's values differ slightly; mutual respect and all that.

His mind passed over the Xuan Yuan clothing tomb, where only a group of minor demons remained, indicating that the fox spirit Xiao Lan, the pipa spirit, and the wild chicken spirit had been taken by Nu Wa Niang Niang's summoning banner to the Holy Mother Palace.

He swept over Qi Mountain, Dong Lu, Su Kingdom, and the Holy Mother Temple...

Li Changshou patrolled the lands of Nan Shan Bu Zhou and glanced at a few sects in Zhong Shen Zhou that were fighting to the point of exhaustion before shifting his mind back to Chen Tang Guan.

He really wanted to find a way to scout the situation in Yu Xu Gong; otherwise, he felt uneasy.

As for Huo Yun Dong, it wasn't appropriate for him to go there now.

If it made Dao Zu anxious and led to a sudden attack on Huo Yun Dong, that would be problematic.

In a corner of the Li residence, a senior servant stretched lazily, changed into his elaborate servant uniform, put on his unique jade identity badge, combed his handsome bangs, and wore a charming smile as he strolled out the door.

In the prehistoric world, without champagne or red wine, it was hard to achieve perfect elegance.

Accompanied by greetings like "Brother Wang, good morning" and "Brother Wang, hello," Li Changshou calmly arrived at the pavilion of Li Jing and Yin Shi. Li Jing had gone to the military camp to handle affairs.

Yin Shi, due to her prolonged pregnancy, could no longer move around freely, but with her cultivation foundation, it wasn't too unbearable.

At that moment, Yin Shi was asleep, so Li Changshou did not disturb her. He checked the spiritual talismans and arrays in place before sitting idly nearby, calculating the timing of Ling Zhu Zi's birth.

Yin Shi's endurance had limits; a prolonged pregnancy would damage her essence.

Considering both the mother and fetus, a gestation of three years and six months was a good choice, but Li Changshou intended to have Nezha born two months early.

No other reason—just to accumulate changes and alter the tragic fate of bone-scraping and flesh-cutting.

If everything followed the Heavenly Dao script, the nodes of Nezha's fate would light up, leaving him with less and less possibility.

When Li Changshou had discussed his plans with Tai Qing teacher and his master, he deliberately avoided a key issue.

—How to incorporate variables.

Taking Yang Jian as an example, the Heavenly Dao's binding force was not obvious back then. Li Changshou intentionally wrote the script for Yang Jian on silk cloth, making it visible to Dao Zu at a glance.

At that time, as long as the final purpose aligned with Dao Zu's expectations, he could act freely.

But now, in the midst of the great calamity, the Heavenly Dao's binding force was at its peak. To change Nezha's fate, Li Changshou had to seize it from the Heavenly Dao.

This was clearly different from arranging Yang Jian; he had to contend with heaven for control of the script.

Although both paths led to the node of "making Nezha the vanguard of the Feng Shen calamity," one was left and the other right, with outcomes of tragedy or joy.

The same applied to Long Ji.

His immortal sense stirred, and he saw Li Jing riding swiftly on the official road of Chen Tang Guan, with passersby shouting, "General Li! Has your wife given birth? When can we celebrate?"

Li Jing mostly just smiled and nodded as he galloped past.

As a Tian Xian, he could perform high-difficulty maneuvers like "horse trampling flying heads," and Chen Tang Guan's roads were well-planned, with separate lanes for horses and pedestrians, so there was no worry of collisions.

It was still morning, and Li Jing hurried back from the military camp, which could only mean one thing.

Returning to check on his heavily pregnant wife? No.

Discovering that the senior servant was "active" and rushing over? Yes.

Sure enough, Li Jing leaped into the residence gate and dashed straight to the senior servant "Wang Chang'an," instinctively about to bow, but Li Changshou had already jumped up and winked at him.

"Ahem!"

Li Jing cleared his throat and said sternly, "Chang'an, come with me for a moment."

"Yes, Master, after you."

This was in front of others.

Once they entered the study in the adjacent courtyard, closed the door, and activated an immortal power barrier, Li Changshou straightened up, and Li Jing bowed with hands clasped: "Father, please look at this!"

As he spoke, Li Jing took out a storage treasure from his sleeve and shook out a large amber-like stone from it.

Sealed inside the stone was a long bow and three divine arrows, covered in intricate patterns and ancient talismans, clearly an artifact from ancient times.

Li Jing asked, "Father, what is the origin of this?"

What else could it be? The Xuan Yuan Qian Kun Bow and Zhen Tian Arrows, one of the treasures Emperor Xuan Yuan used to defeat Chi You, though its whereabouts were unknown. In the future, the playful little Nezha would casually draw it and shoot the Bi Yun Tong Zi thousands of miles away, triggering the battle between Shi Ji Niang Niang and Tai Yi Zhen Ren.

"It's an ancient treasure," Li Changshou replied, then asked, "Where did you get it?"

"Last night, I felt uneasy and gazed at the sky. I saw the stars flickering and thought it was the broom star bringing bad luck. Unexpectedly, this stone fell from the sky and landed outside the military camp."

Li Jing lowered his voice: "I have strictly ordered that this not be spread. If it's a valuable treasure, please keep it for me, Father."

"How so?" Li Changshou laughed. "Are you afraid of the karma?"

Li Jing smiled bitterly: "Now I understand that sometimes, the things fate gives you require you to be strong enough to hold onto them.

I would rather use all my future fortune to protect them—mother and the four children. My own strength is insufficient, and even with treasures, I couldn't face great powers, so it's better not to have them."

Li Changshou nodded with a smile, then slowly paced, his eyes flickering with light.

Even if the Qian Kun Bow and Zhen Tian Arrows weren't used, there might still be things like the "Seizing Life Spear," "Soul-Chasing Lock," or "Bi Yun Tong Zi Death Curse" that end up linked to little Nezha.

Was this truly placed by the Heavenly Dao?

Not entirely.

According to Li Jing, he had felt something off at the time, which should have been during the Fa Tian event when the Xin Huo Da Dao gathered human will. The Heavenly Dao was occupied elsewhere, and any action would have been noticed by the human race, ruining Dao Zu's plans.

Dao Zu, being the ninth or tenth, wouldn't be so careless.

So, who placed this bow and arrows?

Whoever it was could be seen as a pusher of the Heavenly Dao script, no different from the Heavenly Dao itself.

Changing the surface form wouldn't alter the entire fate, and Tai Yi burning Shi Ji was a significant signal of the formal split between Chan Jiao and Jie Jiao, a key node in the great calamity.

He shouldn't interfere too much to avoid backlash.

In his mind, Li Changshou opened a small ledger and carefully reviewed his plans around this matter, pondering the before and after...

Half an hour later,

"Display this as a town garrison treasure," Li Changshou exhaled. "No need to ask more; it's not my arrangement. You'll soon know whose scheme this is."

Li Jing bowed in acknowledgment. Li Changshou pointed at the amber stone, turning it into wisps of spiritual energy, allowing the bow and arrows inside to slowly land like ordinary objects.

Li Changshou said, "Try pulling the bowstring."

"Yes."

Li Jing lifted the Qian Kun Bow into his hand, concentrated his breath, and tried to draw it, but the string didn't move at all.

"This?"

He channeled his magical power with both hands, his face turning red and his knuckles nearly splitting, yet the string remained still.

Li Changshou laughed: "It requires a method; you can't just use brute force. Let me try."

Li Jing quickly handed over the Qian Kun Bow. Li Changshou examined it closely, his right hand moving swiftly to tap various points on the bow, lighting up its patterns with brilliant glows.

Li Changshou pulled the string slightly, feeling as if he were tugging at a mountain, managing to draw it half a foot.

A flash of insight struck Li Changshou, brightening his eyes.

"Leave it with me for a few days; I'll add some modifications, like fingerprint authentication for security."

Li Jing was stunned, not fully understanding, but he nodded in agreement.

A few hours later, in the senior servant's private room, a diligent light shone.

Li Changshou sat at his low table, looking at the scattered "parts" on it, and then at the large gourd that had been delivered earlier by the coachman paper effigy.

From the gourd's mouth, a shadowy figure sat cross-legged, gazing at Li Changshou.

It was the essence soul of Da Wu Yi, the great archer who shot down the suns, the strongest bowman of the Wu Clan, and arguably the top divine shooter in the prehistoric world, an expert in bows and arrows.

As soon as he arrived, he glanced at the structure of the Qian Kun Bow and Zhen Tian Arrows and said directly,

"Simple, uses the same refining technique as the Zhan Xian Flying Knife; it was one of the most popular methods in ancient times."

Under his guidance, Li Changshou quickly disassembled the bow and arrows, thoroughly studying their restrictions.

This made Li Changshou exclaim that he was a professional and truly skilled.

As an ordinary minister of Tian Ting, he had to handle overall strategies and couldn't micromanage everything; experts should handle expert tasks.

Then...

"How do I reassemble it?" Li Changshou gestured at the parts, unsure how to proceed.

Da Wu Yi said, "Just put it back the way you took it apart... I suppose."

Li Changshou: ...

Fine, suppose so.

He took out a recording orb from his sleeve, carefully reviewed the disassembly process, and began to work meticulously.

Until the dawn broke.

"Mr. Bai? Ah, yes, there's a small matter here that requires your presence.

No rush, just arrive at the Five Parts Continent within two months. Yes, excellent; this task is perfect for you. Without Mr. Bai, it might not be resolved.

Thank you for your trouble, thank you."

Tsk, done.