When the Law Master was intoxicated, his inner fire rising and thoughts disordered, Kong Xuan of the Phoenix Clan entered through the side door. She wore a robe of colored clouds, her appearance exquisite—transcending mortal beauty—and embraced him from behind.

The Law Master, maintaining righteous thoughts, addressed her with the title of Fellow Daoist. Sensing something amiss, he attempted to make her withdraw, saying:

“Fellow Daoist, you come at an improper time.”

Kong Xuan’s vermillion lips curved as she spoke with alluring charm:

“I come at precisely the right time.”

With gentle words of persuasion and delicate hands parting clouds, accompanied by endless tender affection, she finally caused the Law Master’s inner fire to blaze and his dao heart to fall into chaos. They spoke of three lifetimes of devotion and vows to remain together, then embraced with loosened robes, completing a tale of immortal romance.

Indeed, desire is the origin of spirit, and spirit is driven by desire.

The Law Master had once been overwhelmed by his dao nature and transformed into divinity, recently merging with the dao itself. Thus, Supreme Purity intended to return him to the human heart and nature, leading to today’s circumstances.

Afterward, Kong Xuan rose to wear a thin robe, her bearing incomparably beautiful and beyond compare, saying:

“Since you are now my husband, you should take Kong as your surname.”

The Law Master whimpered and sobbed, clutching the blanket and sighing deeply. Using immortal power, she prevented him from leaving, and they remained in the warm chamber for three nights.

At that time, in the palace of Star-Lord Great White in the Celestial Court, You Huang was extremely anxious, pondering this scheme and fearing the Law Master would retaliate, calculating the Master’s moves from every angle.

“Ha ha ha ha!”

“This Great Law Master, who usually schemes against the disciples of the Human Immortal Sect, has ended up being tricked by a disciple from the same sect, becoming dao partners with Kong Xuan.

Ha ha ha ha!”

In a corner of the Great White Palace, Quan Dong sat leisurely with two strings of spirit beast meat in his left hand and a jar of jade wine in his right, drinking contentedly and laughing with joy.

When the Celestial Court was weak, it was the Elder Lord and the Great Law Master who guarded it. Though the Great Law Master held no divine position, he commanded great respect among the court’s senior officials, and the Jade Emperor was deeply grateful to him.

Seeing the Great Law Master find such a beautiful partner brought genuine joy to Quan Dong, however…

“It seems Kong Xuan is also caught in the tribulation.”

Quan Dong frowned, divining while biting on the meat skewer, and realized matters weren’t so simple. “Has Elder Brother Supreme Purity given any guidance?”

Li Chang Shou hummed softly…

Currently, the heavenly mechanisms were obscured by tribulation fate, and divination methods couldn’t be used. Your Majesty the Jade Emperor, could you show some restraint and respect the rules of the Great Tribulation? Directly calculating the contents of the Investiture of the Gods tribulation face-to-face, even discovering that Kong Xuan might have to fight against the Western Teaching.

Truly… formidable!

“Master should have arrangements,” Li Chang Shou smiled, “According to this humble deity’s deduction, Kong Xuan’s involvement in the tribulation stems from following my suggestion years ago to protect the Shang nation, using the Dark Bird to sustain Shang’s fate, thereby reviving the Phoenix Clan’s destiny.

Thus, the Phoenix Clan owes humanity some karma.

But this karma is minor and won’t endanger them. With Elder Brother’s protection nearby and Master’s support behind, they should easily pass through the tribulation.”

“Indeed,” Quan Dong smiled, “Why don’t you mention yourself?”

“This humble deity will certainly try to prioritize public duty over private matters when the time comes, guarding this gate of the Investiture for the Celestial Court.”

The Jade Emperor’s avatar immediately smiled with narrowed eyes, continuing to discuss Kong Xuan and the Great Law Master’s matter.

As they talked, Li Chang Shou thought of Cultivator Wen Jing.

Now that Kong Xuan had succeeded, the resistance on Wen Jing’s side had naturally increased significantly. However, Wen Jing’s desire to get close to Elder Brother’s broad face was never going to be easy.

The background of being a Primordial Fierce Beast had become the greatest obstacle in this matter.

Suddenly he felt that all matters in the primordial chaos, all the schemes and calculations, ultimately returned to classic emotional and ethical drama.

Quan Dong smiled, “Why is Long Geng lost in thought?”

“I’m thinking about how Elder Brother will punish me later,” Li Chang Shou made a bitter face, “I set up this situation for him, got him drunk, and used such underhanded methods…

I expect I’ll have much to suffer.”

“Speaking of this, why is your wine so extraordinary? Is there truly only one jar?”

“About that,” Li Chang Shou smiled calmly, taking out a potted plant stripped of leaves from his sleeve and placing it before Quan Dong, “Your Majesty, please forgive me, I used all the leaves from the Spirit Lovesick Tree you bestowed to brew wine.”

“This…”

Quan Dong couldn’t help but laugh and cry, “Brewing wine with the Lovesick Tree? No wonder the Great Law Master couldn’t resist, this is too… powerful, I am thoroughly convinced.”

After speaking, Quan Dong asked quietly: “Is there any more?”

Li Chang Shou: …

So this was your true purpose in coming here?

Thus Li Chang Shou took out another small jar of the same fine wine from his sleeve, and with a serious expression advised:

“Your Majesty, this wine can only be used by great immortals, just one cup per drinking session is sufficient.”

“Eh, I am the august Heavenly Emperor, how could I drink such wine?”

Quan Dong declared righteously, waving his hand grandly while smoothly catching and tucking the wine jar into his robes, saying solemnly: “I am concerned about this item spreading through the Celestial Court with no way to handle it, so I must study it in advance to prevent future confusion.”

Li Chang Shou bowed quite formally: “Your Majesty is most diligent.”

“Ah, small matter, small matter.”

Then sovereign and minister laughed together and began discussing the struggles of the Three Thousand Worlds, only parting ways when their conversation was exhausted.

Li Chang Shou put away the leafless little Lovesick Tree, returned to Mount Small Jade, and lay in his rocking chair for a while, fanning himself with a reed fan, his eyes revealing traces of contemplation.

He wasn’t truly worried about the Great Law Master punishing him; as far as he was concerned, that matter was already settled.

Many great matters in Heaven and Earth still awaited his response.

He could sense that the will of the Great Tribulation had begun sharpening its blade, and tribulation fate had started surging through Heaven and Earth.

What he had perceived through the Purple Qi of Primal Chaos… matched his previous speculations—something was unusual about the Heavenly Dao, specifically, there existed some kind of obsession, an almost fanatical pursuit of stability in Heaven and Earth.

The remaining will of Pan Gu that the Ancestral Master spoke of could suddenly emerge at any time.

Should he eliminate this will, or choose some other method of handling it?

Li Chang Shou remained uncertain about this, as it belonged to a series of ‘black swan’ events outside his plans.

The impact was difficult to estimate, and the consequences impossible to predict, requiring Li Chang Shou to prepare for improvisation.

And those four characters “improvise as needed” were precisely his greatest taboo.

Truly troublesome.

Looking at Ling E quietly practicing cultivation in the secret chamber, watching the golden lotus flowers slowly floating around her, Li Chang Shou’s mood finally improved somewhat.

This girl would soon face her Golden Immortal tribulation, ultimately reaching it before You Qin Xuan Ya.

Later during the tribulation, he would invite more guests to observe the ceremony, make it lively for her, and celebrate.

Eyes closed, thoughts concentrated, consciousness returning to his paper avatars.

After patrolling Heaven and Earth once through his paper avatars, Li Chang Shou rode one in the form of a middle-aged man toward the immortal mountain by the East Sea.

Assuming that when he previously visited the Holy Mother’s Palace, half of what the Holy Mother said was true and half was testing him, while also intentionally providing cover for him, he still needed to go to Flower Fruit Mountain to see for himself.

In his thousand-year plan, the Stone Monkey’s role was quite significant, requiring advanced contact and assessment to set his mind at ease.

Whether it was carefully arranged by the Heavenly Dao or intentionally done by Goddess Nu Wa, the immortal mountain that had just emerged from the East Sea had been occupied by the demon race.

It had already become the ‘headquarters’ of the Eastern Continent’s demon race.

The last time Li Chang Shou saw it from afar, various immortal sects were still fighting over this place, yet the demon race had unexpectedly emerged victorious.

Affected by the Great Tribulation’s fate, the Three Schools of the Central Divine Continent were locked in conflict, drawing large and small sects into bloody battles, and the Eastern Continent’s various sects were also implicated.

This led to the originally weak demon race of East Victory Divine Continent straightening their backs and securing their territory.

These demons were the ‘good’ demons that Li Chang Shou had divided out when clearing the Northern Continent’s demon race years ago to reduce pressure on the Celestial Court, primarily consisting of neutral demon clans that didn’t provoke humans, such as the Blue Hill Clan and the Chi Tie Clan.

Li Chang Shou looked from afar at Flower Fruit Mountain surrounded by demon energy, but most of this energy was pure and righteous, with few karmic obstacles.

Most demon experts had already been cleared away. Li Chang Shou’s paper avatar secretly infiltrated this place, walking between various demon king caves, inspecting them in detail for a while.

There was small-scale corruption and vice, but no great evil or treachery.

The demon race could no longer achieve much.

Flower Fruit Mountain had pleasant scenery, with mountain springs, clear streams, and flying waterfalls too numerous to count. Besides the main peak, there were still more than ten companion peaks, rising and falling in ranges upon ranges.

Li Chang Shou’s immortal consciousness swept past, not discovering the traces of that heaven-mending stone on the first pass; sensing carefully again, he discovered a natural formation behind the main peak’s back mountain, detecting Goddess Nu Wa’s dao charm.

No wonder the demon race treated this place as sacred ground; it was because of this dao charm’s presence.

He calmly walked into the formation, and without much effort, discovered that heaven-mending spirit stone emanating seven-colored auspicious light on the edge of a mountain stream cliff.

This was Brother Monkey’s previous form.

The spirit stone was ten feet tall, half embedded in the cliff wall, overall shaped like an oval egg, with a weak spirit consciousness gestating within, having only the shallowest fluctuations.

Such pure true spirit generation.

Li Chang Shou raised an eyebrow; he had thought the Stone Monkey would likely be some great immortal’s reincarnation, but unexpectedly it was an original spirit, simply a spirit born from stone.

Step by step forward, with each step Li Chang Shou took, an image appeared in his mind.

These images came from his imagination, and also from the videos he had watched dozens or hundreds of times in his previous life in his hometown.

Capturing the Demon King, seeking immortality, born of Heaven and Earth, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

Li Chang Shou’s lips bore a faint smile as he unconsciously raised his left hand to touch the edge of the spirit stone.

At that moment, a gray shadow materialized before the Stone Monkey, condensing into the blurred figure of an old cultivator, whose cold gaze fixed upon Li Chang Shou.

Li Chang Shou awoke as if from a dream, quickly withdrawing his hand. His paper avatar made a Daoist salute to the old cultivator and smiled:

“Lord Heavenly Dao, please do not take offense. This disciple was merely delighted to see it, without the slightest scheme in mind.”

The old cultivator slowly nodded, his figure dispersing with the wind, leaving neither dao charm nor words behind.

But his meaning was very clear…

Li Chang Shou could look, but not touch.

‘The Heavenly Dao is truly strict.’

At this, Li Chang Shou took a few more glances at the Stone Monkey before turning to float away.

Nothing could be done—the Heavenly Dao now guarded against him as if watching for a thief.

After leaving this natural formation, Li Chang Shou showed no intention of departing the area. Instead, he took out a set of jade talismans and began recording the demon forces and various demon kings of this region.

Creating a backup for the Celestial Court, guarding against demon unrest during the Investiture of the Gods tribulation.

Wandering the mountain until the moon was bright and the stars sparse, Li Chang Shou was just about to leave when his ears twitched slightly. The Wind Speech Spell he had been passively maintaining brought him an interesting conversation…

“Little Lan, are you leaving? The Clan Leader has already pleaded so much, why won’t you listen?”

“Whether here or in clan territory, I truly cannot stay any longer.

That great one spoke correctly that day—when I pleaded for the demon race, I gained nothing good from it. Whether it’s the demons who survived the Northern Continent tribulation or demons like us who fortunately escaped the Celestial Court’s attention, they all view me as a thorn in their side.

What’s the point?

I’m too tired already, and with such words within the clan, my heart has grown cold.”

Li Chang Shou followed the sound and quickly found two demon women’s graceful figures halfway up Flower Fruit Mountain.

It was Little Lan of the Blue Hill Clan, with a more voluptuous Blue Hill fox clan woman.

Little Lan wants to leave?

Li Chang Shou raised an eyebrow, already thinking of something. His paper avatar sank into the ground, and after Little Lan bid farewell to the fox demon, he secretly followed for a while.

This fox girl Little Lan left the Eastern Sea’s Sacred Demon Immortal Mountain, riding clouds toward the border between the Southern Continent and East Victory Divine Continent.

Though the primordial chaos was vast, places that could accommodate demons had grown few, and the border between the Southern and Eastern Continents was still a decent option.

Little Lan’s mood was low, her cloud-riding unhurried, occasionally spacing out once or twice.

After flying five or six thousand li, she suddenly stopped mid-cloud, her right hand producing a short sword, her left hand gripping two rings, her long hair continuously floating behind her, her eyes revealing vigilance.

“Who goes there!”

The fox girl called out lightly, her beautiful eyes full of anger, “I’ve already left the Sacred Mountain, do you still wish to harass me?”

Suddenly, creepy laughter echoed through the night sky, several green flames flickered beneath the stars, and seven or eight black shadows had already surrounded fox girl Little Lan.

Without a word, they each displayed their divine abilities and threw magical treasures, dozens of streaks of light smashing toward the fox girl, showing no restraint.

“You all!”

Little Lan cried out softly, her form shooting skyward, trying her best to dodge most of the light streams, turning to scatter pink petals while her short sword deflected an incoming silver shuttle.

It was apparent that although Little Lan had already reached the Golden Immortal realm, she had little combat experience. While instinctively responding with composure, she appeared somewhat flustered.

Those attacking her were not great experts either, just two Golden Immortal realm demon immortals leading several late-stage Heaven Immortal realm demon immortals.

Li Chang Shou watched this scene…

And made no preparations to intervene.

This matter was not his concern; he was merely watching casually. His karma with Little Lan had been settled when she spoke up to plead for some of the demon race.

This battle was quite intense.

On Mount Small Jade, Li Chang Shou summoned a pot of tea, fanning himself with a reed fan, occasionally sipping from the pot’s jade spout, content and quite leisurely.

He wasn’t purely watching for entertainment, but also pondering and researching the Heavenly Dao’s methods of intervention, conducting a small study.

After dozens of exchanges, fox girl Little Lan’s shoulder and waist were injured, while her opponents remained unscathed.

At this time, whether intentional or not, the demon experts surrounding Little Lan revealed several openings, which Little Lan perfectly missed.

Her eyes reddened as she cried out: “I owe the demon race nothing, why won’t you leave me be!”

“Hmph!”

An elderly voice cursed: “Turncoat, bootlicker, traitor! Today this poor dao will eliminate this rebel for the demon race!”

Li Chang Shou: …

How ironic indeed.

These demon immortals had survived the Celestial Court’s subsequent purges thanks to Little Lan’s pleading, yet now turned their blades against her.

Why such behavior?

When Little Lan pleaded to him, she had already separated from her original ‘group,’ and those demons who dared not face the Celestial Court now took pride in killing fox girl Little Lan.

Twisted dao hearts.

Li Chang Shou quietly observed, his paper avatar taking out another jade talisman to make some records.

The ‘fierce battle’ gradually escalated, and fox girl Little Lan’s injuries grew increasingly severe, but her opponents still couldn’t deliver truly serious damage.

As they fought, Little Lan found an opening and escaped from their encirclement, fleeing urgently toward the southwest.

The demon experts pursued from behind, each showing some anxiety, seemingly not acting.

Li Chang Shou’s paper avatar followed step by step underground, watching Little Lan charge into the Southern Jambudvipa Continent’s border, passing through the divine punishment barrier set by the Celestial Court.

—The heavenly lightning showed no reaction.

But when the pursuing demons reached the Southern Continent’s border, the night sky suddenly lit up with lightning dragons, and hundreds of divine lightning bolts struck down, reducing several demon immortals to ash.

Little Lan dared not stop, flying on with her injuries.

Finally, when Little Lan could no longer hold on, she fell outside a small city in the northeastern region of the Southern Jambudvipa Continent, crashing into a hillock, startling several small demons hiding inside.

Li Chang Shou’s paper avatar secretly observed, his heart filled with sighs.

The Heavenly Dao’s arrangements were so precise, and respected the stories that ‘should happen.’

Then, who had determined that such stories must occur?

On the hillock, two young women quietly approached the fox girl’s side, discussed briefly, and brought the fox girl back to their cave dwelling to treat her injuries.

Of these two young women, one was transformed from a pheasant spirit, and the other’s true form was a jade pipa, seemingly a tomb burial item with somewhat gloomy and cold energy.

Besides them, there were several small demons in the cave-dwelling, barely able to take human form.

Li Chang Shou quietly waited for a while. Little Lan woke from unconsciousness, first dazed for a moment, then rose to thank the local demons.

The jade pipa asked: “Senior, who are you, where do you come from, and where are you going?”

“I…”

Little Lan slightly pursed her lips, gave a bitter laugh, and said: “I no longer have a name, no origin or background, and don’t know where to go from here.”

The two demon girls, already knowing Little Lan was “extraordinarily capable,” wanted to find a patron in this demon-scarce Southern Continent, and repeatedly asked Little Lan to stay and cultivate together.

Little Lan didn’t insist otherwise and thus stayed.

Li Chang Shou searched around this demon-inhabited hillock for a while, quickly discovering a stone tablet. After contemplating before the tablet, his paper avatar sank into the earth and disappeared.

Inside the cave-dwelling, great and small demons celebrated together, with clear pipa sounds accompanying the dancing pheasant spirit.

Outside the cave-dwelling, streams of starlight fell, layers of mist rose around this place, and mortals would unconsciously avoid the area.

On that stone tablet, two ancient human characters were faintly visible, barely recognizable as meaning “Xuan Yuan.”

Xuan Yuan’s Memorial Tomb.

“Nine-tailed fox demon, nine-headed chicken spirit, jade stone pipa…”

Li Chang Shou muttered for a while, a bold idea rising in his heart, but he immediately suppressed and crushed it.

He couldn’t carelessly move the Heavenly Dao’s chess pieces.