What exactly did His Majesty the Jade Emperor come to do?

Watching the Jade Emperor’s avatar ascending to heaven on a cloud, layers of confusion built up in Li Changshou’s heart.

These past two days, what had he been doing accompanying the Jade Emperor?

Shopping, chatting, discussing everything under the sun, sightseeing, playing in the water, galloping on horseback.

He—a newly promoted Yuan Immortal disciple of the Immortal-Crossing Gate, the Dragon Clan’s cautious strategist, the South Sea God, and a minor Law Master of the Human Teaching—had been a male companion for two days.

This…

Could it be that before his heavenly appointment, the Heavenly Court’s ultimate test for him was whether he could accompany the Jade Emperor on leisure activities?

These days, there were truly too many confusing behaviors…

“Three years.”

Li Changshou pondered, beginning to carefully analyze this matter.

This was the only valuable piece of information given during the Jade Emperor’s “inspection” visit.

The imperial edict would be issued in three years, which was considerably earlier than he had anticipated.

Wasn’t it said before that the edict would take one to two hundred years to form? Could it be that they had opened a heavenly path download acceleration channel for him, arranging it in advance?

However, having the Heavenly Court officially intervene in Dragon Clan matters at this time was good timing.

A small plan he had prepared decades ago could now be put to use earlier…

Li Changshou waited for a while, and the mosquito that had been hiding in the distance carefully flew over, landing on his shoulder.

“My Lord, that virtue avatar just now, was…”

“Some things, some people, don’t ask too much. When you should know, you will be told.”

Li Changshou said gently, and Wenjing Daoist immediately had her answer.

Wenjing Daoist spoke directly: “This servant spoke out of turn. My Lord, the Western Sea Dragon Palace is about to select thirty-six dragon princes and princesses to join the Three Schools’ Dao lineages, half of whom will join the six Human Teaching Dao lineages. This is a Western Teaching scheme, proposed by a fierce spirit named Golden Cicada, who has similar origins to this servant. These dragon princes and princesses will be controlled by the Western faction, waiting for the right opportunity to anger the Three Schools’ Dao lineages, thereby leaving the Dragon Clan isolated and helpless.”

“Mm,” Li Changshou nodded slowly and said: “Thank you for your trouble.”

“This is what this servant can do. This servant takes leave.”

The blood mosquito transformed into a wisp of blood-colored cloud and gradually dispersed.

Li Changshou added another breath of Three Realms True Flame, completely burning away the cloud, leaving no trace.

Had Wenjing Daoist changed so much?

How could it be so easy?

As the saying goes, it’s easier to move mountains than to change one’s nature. Wenjing Daoist was merely showing him what she wanted him to see.

For such a fierce spirit, Li Changshou would never believe that she had become benevolent just because he had instilled some success principles in her.

After inspecting various places in the Sea God Temple, this paper puppet quietly returned to the underground paper puppet courtyard and sat down beside the Acacia tree.

At the foot of Spirit Mountain, in the Mosquito Cave;

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Wenjing Daoist slowly opened her narrow phoenix eyes, confusion in their depths.

If her calculations just now weren’t wrong, that avatar composed almost entirely of virtue must have been the Jade Emperor Haotian’s avatar, the Dao Ancestor’s servant who was of the same generation as the Sages…

The Jade Emperor, Human Teaching, Sea God…

When she first encountered the South Sea God, those promises the Sea God made to her were now concretely manifesting before her.

The struggle between great teachings and chaos was difficult to control—Wenjing Daoists gradually found it harder to understand the current situation.

“Hmph!”

This queen will just follow you for a few years first and see how things develop.

However, what he said before did make quite a bit of sense.

The pursuit of self…

‘What exactly have I been pursuing all these years?’

Wenjing Daoist’s eyes gradually became hollow and confused. She slowly changed from sitting cross-legged to lying on her side, gradually curling up her body…

The cave-dwelling was somewhat empty, with only the slight dripping of water echoing softly.

Fortunately, Li Changshou had only posed a few small questions then. If he had brought up the three ultimate questions of ‘Who am I, where did I come from, where am I going’…

The consequences would have been unimaginable.

…

After the Jade Emperor’s avatar left Anshui City, he was full of vigor and felt completely comfortable in his heart.

‘Inspecting the mortal realm with Minister Changzhen turned out to be this interesting.’

The Jade Emperor gave a light laugh and didn’t hurry back to the Heavenly Court, instead riding clouds northeast, using his divine sense to observe the lives of mortals below.

‘Thinking carefully, every word of Minister Changzhen’s seems to hit exactly the right point, without showing any edge yet leaving endless room for reflection. Marvelous, truly marvelous.’

Where did Minister Changzhen learn such ways of dealing with people and affairs?

If possible, having the Heavenly Court’s immortals and gods learn from this would surely make his role as Jade Emperor less dry and dull.

Walking this path through the mortal world, the Jade Emperor suddenly had a revelation, seeing a path of cultivation.

This path was still somewhat blurry and hadn’t revealed its true form. The Jade Emperor only had some insights but couldn’t grasp it concretely.

“Could it be that the mortal world still holds my destiny?”

The Jade Emperor’s avatar raised his eyebrows but didn’t think too much about it, riding clouds toward the high heavens.

The Jade Emperor naturally understood that he was constrained by the Heavenly Dao and absolutely could not step into the realm of Sagehood, yet he also had the Heavenly Dao’s protection, and none below Sage level could harm him.

Rather than focusing on cultivation, it was better to devote himself fully to managing the Three Realms.

Along this journey, his whereabouts were ethereal, clouds and mist churning.

When the Jade Emperor’s avatar returned to the Heavenly Court, he was already at the border between the Eastern Victory Divine Continent and the Southern Jambu Continent, naturally heading for the Eastern Heaven Gate.

Incidentally, he could also assess the celestial generals guarding the Eastern Heaven Gate.

When the Jade Emperor’s avatar flew near the Eastern Heaven Gate, he couldn’t help but frown slightly.

How could there be…

Is someone lying outside the grand Eastern Gate of the Heavenly Court?

In front of the Eastern Heaven Gate, a figure was lying on the cloud path, seemingly sound asleep. Several gate-guarding celestial generals were frowning deeply, and that group of celestial soldiers was also gritting their teeth.

Not far from the Heaven Gate, several elderly men were crouching behind a white cloud, each covering their faces, clearly too ashamed to show themselves.

The young Daoist lying there had Heavenly Immortal realm cultivation, and among the elderly men hiding in the distance, one was even a Golden Immortal expert.

‘What kind of situation is this?’

The Jade Emperor’s avatar frowned and moved forward, arriving at the Eastern Heaven Gate;

The young Heavenly Immortal lying on the ground even opened his eyes to look at the Jade Emperor’s avatar.

“Brother Hua, just returned from outside?”

A celestial general greeted him with a forced smile.

“Indeed, went out to handle some personal matters,” the Jade Emperor’s avatar asked, “What’s going on here?”

“Ah, don’t mention it!”

A celestial general sighed and said, “This fellow outside is a lovesick fool. Because he took a fancy to one of the immortal maidens in our Heavenly Court’s Jasper Pool, he insists on joining the Heavenly Court. When we brothers wouldn’t let him in, he just lay down here, acting shamelessly!”

The Jade Emperor’s avatar also laughed, “Which immortal maiden has he taken a fancy to?”

A celestial general came forward and transmitted: “It’s the Lamp-Lighting Immortal Maiden who serves before the Queen Mother. In the past hundred years, only this immortal maiden has passed through the Eastern Heaven Gate.”

The Jade Emperor nodded slightly and asked: “Then why not drive him away?”

“Well,” a celestial general smiled bitterly and said, “Ten thousand years ago, the Tongming Hall issued an order that if anyone wants to join the Heavenly Court as a soldier or general, they should be taken to the Military Palace for examination. According to the rules, we should let him in. But his motives are impure and his background unclear. In such circumstances, we’re unsure whether to drive him away or let him in.”

The Jade Emperor’s avatar thought for a moment and smiled, saying:

“This matter isn’t difficult to resolve. We can first take him to the Military Palace for examination, let him join the ranks of celestial soldiers and generals, and then he must follow the heavenly rules and regulations. If he dares to offend the Jasper Pool immortal maiden, we can directly strike him with chaotic thunder to destroy his cultivation and banish him to the mortal realm, right?”

Hearing these words, Bian Zhuang, who was lying on the ground, shuddered and opened his eyes to stare at the Jade Emperor’s avatar.

“You- how can you be so vicious?”

However, those celestial generals’ eyes lit up, and they walked forward smiling, gently asking Bian Zhuang if he wanted to join the Heavenly Court ranks…

Seeing this, the Jade Emperor’s avatar shook his head slightly and floated inside.

Those words just now were merely to scare that person outside.

Simply being lovesick and coming to join the Heavenly Court, lying at the Eastern Heaven Gate refusing to leave, wasn’t a crime deserving such punishment. Making him suffer some physical discomfort would be enough.

Though the Heavenly Court was short of soldiers and generals, they didn’t need such a spoiled youngster from some primordial power.

However, speaking of which…

Just now, several celestial generals didn’t even check his identity or tokens before letting him in.

Tsk, deduct three hundred years of merit salary from each person.

…

Small Jade Peak, underground secret chamber.

“Three years, not long if you consider it long, not short if you consider it short.”

Li Changshou muttered, searching through the treasure pouch in his sleeve for a while, taking out a stack of fabric scrolls.

Previously, Small Jade Peak was quite poor, and resources were invested in cultivation and trump cards, so most of the time, they used relatively cheap animal hides and bamboo slips for writing materials.

However, following the principle of ‘you can be poor in anything but not with children’ and ‘junior sister might be taken away if not raised in wealth,’ Li Changshou didn’t let Ling’e economize at all.

Now Small Jade Peak could be considered barely at the ‘primordial middle-class’ level, and they could use fabric scrolls and jade tablets.

After bringing out one stack of fabric scrolls, Li Changshou brought out another stack, repeating this several times, laying out these fabric scrolls on the ground according to their numbers…

Instantly, a densely packed mind map appeared before Li Changshou.

This was part of the content of that small plan.

Using the ‘Heavenly Court’s edict and Sea God’s ascension to heaven’ to make things happen was a strategy Li Changshou had already determined, just waiting for the Jade Emperor’s edict.

This was also a relatively important step in the [Dragon Clan’s Ascension to Heaven] matter.

He needed to invite the Dragon Clan to witness the ceremony and let them see the benefits after ascending to the Heavenly Court, with the power of merit necessarily visible to the naked eye, moving the Dragon Clan.

He also needed to be careful about whether this matter would expose his true location, as the divine position couldn’t possibly be given to a paper puppet—it would necessarily be bestowed by the Heavenly Dao onto his true body.

This was also his first time becoming a proper deity, so he had no experience.

Beyond this, Li Changshou had even more to consider…

At the strategic level, he needed to be grand and imposing, but at the tactical level, he should still be stable when possible, seeking benefits within stability.

He should take this opportunity to further promote the Heavenly Court’s prestige, enhancing its presence in the primordial world.

If he arranged and planned well, he could also borrow power from various sources to continue thickening the South Sea God’s background.

The people to be invited later didn’t need to be too many; enough weight would suffice.

In his initial draft of the witness list, he needed East Wood Lord to represent the Heavenly Court.

There must also be enough celestial soldiers and generals to increase the Heavenly Court’s might, giving people a sense that ‘the Heavenly Court has developed without notice.’

On the Dragon Clan’s side, Ao Yi must be present, and the more Dragon Clan experts Ao Yi could invite, the better, but they needed to guard against Western Teaching’s planted spies causing trouble.

Regarding the Three Schools, he could invite Golden Turtle Island’s practitioners, such as Golden Light Holy Mother, who had a medium position in the Jie School and some connection with him, making her quite a suitable candidate.

As for the Orthodox School, inviting Yellow Dragon True Immortal alone would be enough, and they could take the opportunity to ease the relationship between Yellow Dragon True Immortal and the Dragon Clan.

Experts like Elder Zhao, Immortal Yun Xiao, and his own Grand Master weren’t very suitable to appear on such occasions—the South Sea God’s status alone wasn’t worth such experts coming to witness the ceremony.

Too much of anything isn’t good.

Li Changshou quickly sat cross-legged on the ground, watching these fabric scrolls before him. His finger lightly hooked, and an ink-dipped brush floated before him as he began to write and draw.

“Let’s deduce it one more time, this matter can’t have any mistakes…”

Li Changshou busied himself in the underground secret chamber for half a year, and after ensuring his plan had no major flaws, he began implementing it comprehensively.

First was confirming the time for the edict’s descent with the Heavenly Court.

Li Changshou actively contacted East Wood Lord once, submitting a memorial about this matter, and received the reply that the Jade Emperor told him to proceed freely, without constraints.

At this time, the edict would probably be ready in about two years and five months. To be safe, Li Changshou pushed it back another half year as the day for the Heavenly Court’s edict to descend.

Why the delay…

What if the edict downloaded to ninety-nine percent and suddenly got stuck?

He had encountered such things too many times in his previous life!

Afterward, Li Changshou found Ao Yi and explained this matter to him in detail.

If the South Sea God obtained a proper divine position, Ao Yi, as the Second Sect Master and Great Protector, would automatically receive an assistant deity position. Although it was only sixth rank, he would still receive pure Heavenly Dao merit and receive “slight” protection from the Heavenly Dao.

This should provide some stimulation for the Dragon Clan.

Li Changshou repeatedly instructed Ao Yi that this matter must be handled with extreme caution, not to be revealed in advance, to avoid giving the Western Teaching opportunities to scheme and disrupt.

This point would test Ao Yi’s ability to tell bald-faced lies.

After stabilizing the overall situation with the Dragon Clan, Li Changshou personally used a paper puppet to go to Yellow Dragon True Immortal’s cave dwelling—Two Immortals Mountain’s Magu Cave—to invite Yellow Dragon True Immortal to come witness the ceremony on that day.

Yellow Dragon True Immortal naturally agreed immediately.

As for Golden Light Holy Mother’s side, he could have Ao Yi extend the invitation, so he didn’t need to make the trip personally.

Unfortunately, the Human Teaching had few people, and even the Supreme Lord’s registered disciples were few, so Li Changshou couldn’t find suitable people to invite.

He couldn’t possibly call his sect’s founding ancestor True Immortal Du’e, could he?

The South Sea God didn’t know this great figure, so there was no reason to invite him over.

“Having Yellow Dragon True Immortal to add prestige should be enough already.”

Li Changshou let out a light sigh and began the bustling preparations.

However, what Li Changshou didn’t know was…

The winds in Doulu Palace had stirred once again.