Chapter 83: Poisonous Alliance

On the back of Little Qiong Peak, Li Changshou stood beside several nearly withered old trees, frowning and sighing as he patted one of their trunks.

"You've worked hard," he said.

A gust of wind blew, causing the bare branches of the old trees to sway gently, as if whispering, "It's fine, it's fine." In reality, they were probably trembling.

There was no alternative. To create more paper effigies for practical use, Li Changshou had repeatedly extracted tree sap over the past six months, then continuously tried various methods to restore the trees' vitality. Over and over again... These ancient spiritual trees, which originally could have lived for tens of thousands more years and held the potential to birth wood spirits, were now barely clinging to life.

'Rest well,' Li Changshou sighed, a hint of guilt welling up in his heart. He glanced at the patch of replanted branches nearby and thought to himself, 'If you don't make it, I will take good care of your children.'

Another breeze swept through, and the old trees shivered slightly again. Perhaps, this was gratitude.

Ahem, no jokes. Li Changshou tapped his foot, his body drifting away with the wind like a willow catkin. He floated towards the lakeside, landing on the treetop of a large tree within a thicket. He closed his eyes and focused, his simply tied long hair swaying in the breeze, the hem of his robe gently shifting with the treetop. At rest, he was as light as a feather; in motion, he could shatter clouds and rend the earth. Achieving such a state without using divine abilities or spells was a level only attainable through advanced cultivation of vital energy.

Over the past six months, thanks to the old trees' sacrifice, the first phase of the combat readiness plan was barely complete. Fortunately, those who coveted Immortal Ascension Sect in secret had granted him this preparation time. Otherwise, if a major battle had truly erupted, he wouldn't have been able to do much. Over the last six months, the original and newly added formations on Little Qiong Peak had not been updated. However, these formations were now completely integrated. Throughout the forest, ancient patterns seemed to have grown, blending seamlessly with the mountains, grasses, and trees, no longer instantly evoking a sense of dread.

Confinement and illusion formations were for hindering enemies, while killing formations were naturally for eliminating them. A killing formation that made enemies sense danger and hesitate to enter was certainly not an excellent one. The grand formation beneath Little Qiong Peak, as conceived by Li Changshou, was now fully optimized. The Art of Paper Effigies, having benefited from high-level magical artifact restriction scrolls, had also been slightly refined and perfected, meeting Li Changshou's minimum requirement: not needing to fully invest his mind into them. For this divine ability to completely transform into an outer incarnation technique, there was still a long way to go. For now, being usable was sufficient. After all, they were emotionless, all-weather, multi-purpose "divine ability products" capable of dispensing poison, breathing fire, chanting scriptures, and indirect control.

Of course, there were also less satisfactory aspects. The divine ability, Poisonous Luo Hand, acquired from Elder Wan Linjun, was only just at the introductory stage due to the short cultivation time. This ability transformed the art of dispensing poison into a magical technique and a divine ability, making dispensing poison more efficient and actions more confident.

Li Changshou opened his eyes and looked towards the lake, where his master and junior sister were diligently practicing escape techniques. Due to Li Changshou's insistence, his master, unable to refuse, had begun cultivating Earth Evasion six months ago. His junior sister, having encountered Five Elements Evasion earlier, was also under strict orders from Li Changshou to intensify her practice, and she was currently mastering Water Evasion.

So, occasionally, one could see a graceful figure, robes fluttering and dark hair dancing, emerging from and descending into the lake, sending water droplets scattering—a rather pleasant sight. It was just that...

"The speed is too slow." Li Changshou frowned and shook his head. He had clearly taught Ling'e all the tricks for quick Water Evasion, but she still had a strong interest in "entrances" and "exits," paying great attention to overall aesthetics. This vain little girl... Why didn't she create two luminous pearls around herself for a soft-focus effect? Li Changshou couldn't really say much about it, as his junior sister was at an age where she cared about appearances, and she was naturally beautiful anyway.

"Aren't those guys making their move yet?" Li Changshou muttered to himself, closing his eyes once more to sense his surroundings. The sky was clear and vital energy pure in the distance, while near humans, turbidity lingered.

By his reckoning, more than ten months had passed since Jiuwu and the two elders returned injured. The sect seemed to have grown quiet again, and the attack incident appeared to have faded without resolution. Li Changshou had asked Jiuwu about the follow-up, but Jiuwu's responses were always vague. It was likely that the subsequent investigation yielded no significant findings. Experts from the Three Sects of Daoism weren't foolish; such a low-level and obvious scheme of using someone else to kill was easily recognizable. However, who secretly wielded this borrowed blade remained untraceable. And cracks would gradually emerge from suspicion... This, ironically, was the shrewdness of those plotting from behind the scenes.

During this time, Li Changshou had also been contemplating the manipulation methods used by the schemers: controlling puppets, causing the puppet's primordial spirit to instantly wither. What kind of divine ability was this? It should be considered an evil art. There were truly too many experts in the Primordial Era; the visible ones were countless, not to mention the sinister individuals constantly hiding in the shadows.

His immortal sense slowly spread out. Combat readiness was entering its second phase today. He was waiting for Elder Wan Linjun's communication jade slip; the two would act together.

...

After spending three days in the underground secret chamber contemplating various potential future scenarios, Li Changshou immediately headed to Pill Cauldron Peak to meet with Elder Wan Linjun. His strategy for convincing Elder Wan Linjun was actually quite simple. A combination of dream-telling, oath-swearing, emotional appeals, speculation, and logical deduction quickly persuaded the elder, who then believed that powerful enemies might indeed attack Immortal Ascension Sect later.

Ever since the dream with the Old Man Under the Moon, Li Changshou had found "dream-telling" to be a very effective excuse. It wasn't uncommon for Qi Refiners to connect with the Dao and have vague premonitions. It was just that his dream-telling was... a bit too frequent.

Under Li Changshou's "suggestion," Elder Wan Linjun, acting in his own capacity as an elder, also warned the Sect Master and other elders. If the matter had been brought up in Li Changshou's name, the sect's level of concern would surely have been greatly diminished. However, the effectiveness of the warning was beyond Li Changshou's control. He had already done everything he could.

"Why hasn't the Elder left yet? It's already the agreed-upon departure time," Li Changshou murmured, feeling a slight puzzlement in his heart as his immortal sense continuously probed Pill Cauldron Peak. Recalling the past six months, he hadn't actually done much. Most of his time was spent in the closed pill chamber refining poisons and tinkering with paper effigies. This time, the poison refining was purely to maximize the potency and quantity of the poison pills. Li Changshou refined all the poisonous herbs he had bought from Linhai Town, collected from North Continent, and obtained from Elder Wan Linjun into poison pills. He then specially processed these poison pills, turning them into colorless and odorless powder. In addition, he also made many poison-inducing artifacts similar to the 'long sword' — which didn't require high-grade materials but relied on ingenuity — and equipped a few for each of the Paper Effigies from 'Heavenly Character One' to 'Heavenly Character Twelve'.

While tinkering with the paper effigies during this period, Li Changshou also discovered a major use for them: immortal energy storage units. He could infuse immortal energy into the paper effigies and also directly extract it from them. If he were to face an enemy in the future and his immortal energy ran out, he could throw out a few paper effigies to draw energy from. Truly, a Primordial Era immortal power bank! His main body's immortal energy could recover constantly, so he simply filled the twelve paper effigies with energy intermittently during breaks from refining poison pills. Actually, upon closer thought, this use was rather superfluous. How could he ever run out of immortal energy? After so many years of primarily cultivating escape techniques, it wasn't for nothing...

The culmination of the first phase of combat readiness was the deployment of paper effigies. Previously, he had his master "risk his life" to go out and place seven paper effigies in hidden mountain ravines and spiritual veins outside the sect's protective formation. Each effigy carried a large number of original paper figures and sufficient "poison pill" reserves. Li Changshou's idea was simple: If external enemies attacked the protective formation, he would remotely control these seven paper effigies, outflank them from the rear, use poison pills to achieve a surprise victory, and effectively eliminate the invading foes. Additionally, his master and Ling'e each carried a paper effigy for their continuous protection.

Martial Uncles Jiuwu and Jiushi had already visited Pill Cauldron Peak to pay respects to Elder Wan Linjun. Elder Wan Linjun, as instructed, handed the "Cry-Character Secret" pouch to Jiuwu, using very stern words to ensure Jiuwu would only open it when the sect faced a crisis. For the second phase of combat readiness, Li Changshou planned to work with Elder Wan Linjun to set up arrangements.

Here he comes. Li Changshou's immortal sense detected a streak of light emerging from Pill Cauldron Peak, and he hadn't expected Elder Wan Linjun to come directly to Little Qiong Peak. He lowered his gaze to his paper effigy incarnation. It shouldn't be exposed, right? As long as Elder Wan Linjun didn't personally touch this body... Never mind, he should proactively explain to Elder Wan Linjun later that this was a clone made using the Art of Paper Cutting to Human Form. One must be especially honest with people of such simple character.

Before Elder Wan Linjun could fly down, Li Changshou had already ascended into the sky on a cloud. Simultaneously, his main body, cutting paper in the underground secret chamber, also looked up. His attention needed to be focused on the paper effigy. Although he had trained his multitasking abilities for a century, there was still a chance he might show a distracted expression.

...

Elder Wan Linjun's warning to the sect should have had some effect. The guards at the sect gate were indeed more numerous than usual. Li Changshou walked with his head bowed behind Elder Wan Linjun. The several immortals guarding the sect gate simultaneously bowed and said, "Elder, you are going out."

"Mm," Elder Wan Linjun offered a hint of a cold smile. The immortals' expressions immediately stiffened. They bowed their heads, used their formation-controlling artifacts to open the sect gate's grand formation barrier, and respectfully saw off the elder on his inspection tour. As for what the Poison Elder was doing or what matters he was attending to outside, they dared not inquire at all.

Having exited the protective formation, Li Changshou felt a stronger connection to the seven paper effigies he had previously deployed. Wan Linjun turned to look at Li Changshou, a somewhat "gentle" smile appearing on his gaunt face. He said softly, "Where shall we patrol first?"

"Let's head east first, Elder," Li Changshou replied with a smile. "We need to conceal our presence. Elder, could you display the aura of a True Immortal?"

"Mm, simple." Elder Wan Linjun tapped his copper staff, and his aura changed naturally.

Flying east on a cloud, Li Changshou continuously observed the surrounding mountains and rivers, quietly pondering in his heart. The white cloud soon flew a thousand *li* beyond the sect, gradually slowing down as they began searching carefully for something.

Elder Wan Linjun suddenly asked, "Look at that valley over there; it's quite hidden. Could powerful enemies be hiding there?"

"Elder, let's pretend we haven't discovered anything," Li Changshou immediately transmitted. Elder Wan Linjun, who usually maintained a poker face, also showed no change in expression. The two continued their previous flight path, investigating various areas on clouds, when Li Changshou and Elder Wan Linjun almost simultaneously discovered an anomaly in a dense forest on the sunny side of a slope. There were faint fluctuations of aura.

Elder Wan Linjun transmitted, "As expected, someone is spying on our Immortal Ascension Sect. Changshou, you go back first; I'll deal with them!"

"Elder, startling the snake might not be wise. Judging by the distance they're hiding at, they're not ready to act yet," Li Changshou said. "Let's finish our patrol and return to the sect, then quietly come back out and catch them off guard. Only then can we succeed."

"Indeed, Changshou makes sense!" Elder Wan Linjun glanced at Li Changshou and then showed his signature 'cold smile.' "Although I am much older than you, I am not as skilled in such calculations."

Li Changshou smiled wryly, "Elder, these are just minor clevernesses of mine. Your achievements in the Dao of alchemy are unprecedented in Immortal Ascension Sect."

Wan Linjun smiled, shook his head, and sighed, "It's just a pity my late master couldn't witness it. Changshou, how shall we proceed next?"

"We'll just..." They then discussed the full arrangements.

The two figures, imbued with poison, gradually floated away from the slope, appearing as if they had noticed nothing unusual. Even after they had traveled approximately a thousand *li* away, two immortal senses remained locked onto them, only disappearing near the sect gate.

Li Changshou transmitted, "Elder, I'm afraid there are at least two Heavenly Immortals there. Should we find assistance?"

"It's fine. Even two more wouldn't be an issue," Elder Wan Linjun said calmly. "Changshou, you just devise the schemes; the fighting will be my responsibility."

"Elder, you've forgotten that the disciple accompanying you is merely a paper effigy formed by the Art of Paper Cutting to Human Form. I'm hoping to witness your glorious display of vanquishing enemies later."

Elder Wan Linjun nodded with a smile. After entering the sect gate, the two exchanged a glance, conveying everything without words. Less than half an hour later, two wisps of green smoke drifted out from the sect gate, quietly disappearing underground. The immortals guarding the gate were currently being supervised by two deacons from the Hundred Mortal Hall. None of them dared to speak or make a move. Some situations, in Li Changshou's view, simply had to be guarded against.