Like a dumbfounded fruit on a dumbfounded tree, he trembled before the Sage’s image.
How had it suddenly shown efficacy?
Li Changshou’s mouth twitched continuously. He hadn’t said a single word, hadn’t uttered a single phrase, only offered incense and kowtowed to the ancestral master of their Dao lineage…
This trace of Dao rhythm felt familiar.
Previously, to invoke this trace of Dao rhythm, Elder Brother Jiuwu had cried, poisonous Junior Sister had cried, and they had painstakingly revised their lines to barely get the painting to show efficacy.
But now…
Was it this casual?
Li Changshou immediately became alert, honestly staying prostrate, his heart filled with emotions.
Finally, he had become a familiar face before the Sage Lord!
Though his life safety coefficient hadn’t skyrocketed, it had increased severalfold compared to before!
But what puzzled Li Changshou was…
This trace of Dao rhythm kept enveloping him, yet he heard no voice giving instructions, nor did he have any insights in his heart.
A moment later…
The Dao rhythm remained, but the painting had returned to normal.
The two elders who had also sensed that trace of Dao rhythm were now somewhat puzzled, not detecting any other unusual situations.
Looking at those three “great incense sticks,” the two elders simultaneously had the same thought:
‘It must be… because the incense offering was different.’
Another moment passed…
Only Li Changshou could still feel the Dao rhythm, but by now the painting showed no abnormalities, and the observing elders no longer paid much attention to this side.
After all, this wasn’t the first or second time Li Changshou had come to offer incense…
Though Li Changshou was confused and bewildered, he still quietly remained prostrate, waiting for the Sage Lord’s next instructions.
However, Li Changshou wasn’t the only confused one at this moment…
…
In the back garden of the Doushuai Palace in the Nine Heavens Court, under that familiar old tree.
Today’s wind, though not particularly noisy, carried a strange taste…
Oh, it was the Supreme Lord’s two young attendants attempting to refine spirit pills, and it seemed this batch would be scattered again.
Great Master Xuandu, wearing a black long robe, sat cross-legged on a rush cushion under the tree, frowning as he calculated repeatedly.
In the scenes appearing in his mind, there was a young disciple kneeling before his teacher’s painting, silent and wordless, just kneeling there.
This situation…
Naturally, it was his beloved teacher, the Supreme Pure Sage Laozi, who had directly transferred the “response” to Xuandu using divine abilities that even Xuandu couldn’t understand.
But Great Master Xuandu was quite puzzled at this moment.
No matter how he calculated, he could only know that this situation occurred in the East Continent’s Crossing Immortal Gate, which had nearly been destroyed by someone recently;
What this young disciple was seeking, why he was kneeling – he knew nothing of these.
The Crossing Immortal Gate was currently quite peaceful everywhere, with nothing major happening.
“To alarm Teacher, there must be something significant…”
Xuandu murmured half a sound, beginning to calculate this young disciple’s past life experiences and what had happened, but…
“Interesting, someone has concealed his heavenly fate?”
Xuandu raised an eyebrow, his left hand grasping at empty air, fingertips moving slowly like spilled ink, and a shadow of a Taiji diagram floated above his palm.
His right hand formed a sword finger, lightly pointing at the Taiji diagram shadow. Xuandu closed his eyes in concentration, carefully deducing.
Soon, a flash of understanding arose in Xuandu’s heart.
The person he was sensing in his heart at this moment was called Li Changshou, a young disciple of the Crossing Immortal Gate, not yet two hundred years old…
“That’s it?”
Xuandu was somewhat startled, carefully pondering the information deduced through the Taiji diagram, then raised an eyebrow.
Being unable to deduce a small disciple’s background even with the power of the Taiji diagram was a bit excessive.
Xuandu deduced further, quickly confirming that his teacher had previously intervened, concealing something for this small disciple…
It seemed to have happened not long ago.
Interesting.
How many years had it been since Teacher had intervened?
After the Great War of Immortals and Demons, when the human ancestors Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors returned to the Fire Cloud Cave, the six Sages had lived in seclusion, not appearing before people to show their divinity.
Now, the Teacher would actively intervene to help conceal the heavenly fate of a small disciple from a “remote” Dao lineage…
What major event could this be?
Great Master Xuandu dared not ask his teacher directly, as that would easily result in being grounded, with each punishment starting at ten thousand years…
Since this matter revolved around this young disciple, he could just go find this disciple and ask directly.
Xuandu slowly stood up, his robes flowing like water, and another flash of insight arose in his heart…
[Dragons Enter Heaven]
— This was the hint given by his Sage Teacher.
Xuandu immediately understood that this young disciple kneeling below was a key figure in [Dragons Enter Heaven]!
As for how the dragons would enter heaven, why they would enter heaven, and what role this young disciple could play in this matter – these were things Great Master Xuandu didn’t know at this time…
Great Master Xuandu couldn’t help but frown, muttering:
“Teacher, couldn’t you just send your disciple a message directly? Making your disciple have insights like this makes your disciple feel that his own Dao is meaningless.”
After speaking, another flash of insight arose in Xuandu’s heart…
[Next time for sure]
Xuandu: …
Lowering his head with a dejected sigh, Great Master Xuandu took a step forward, his form disappearing from the Doushuai Palace.
In the misty clouds of the Nine Heavens Court, no one knew of his passage through the Heaven’s Gate.
This premier disciple of the Human Dao took several steps, crossing thousands of mountains and waters, one glance back passing over the five continents…
In just a moment, Xuandu appeared directly above the Crossing Immortal Gate, standing on that thin, smooth formation.
Yet no one could see his form.
With one sweep of his immortal consciousness, Xuandu immediately smiled slightly.
Setting aside other matters, the Crossing Immortal Gate’s custom of Dao companions was quite well done, with so many pairs within the gate.
If they could increase their efforts and multiply more, how could the Human Dao not prosper?
Xuandu pointed a finger at Breaking Heaven Peak, his form silently disappearing again without disturbing a single person.
At the Hundred Mortals Hall of Breaking Heaven Peak.
Still, prostrate there, Li Changshou felt the Dao rhythm around him slowly disappear, first feeling relieved, then somewhat lost.
The Sage had given no instructions…
Could it be telling him — boldly proceed with the South Sea God Religion, you have a Sage backing you?
Li Changshou quickly dismissed such somewhat arrogant thoughts.
The Crossing Immortal Gate was originally founded by Sage’s registered disciple, and their own Sect Master probably didn’t even have this kind of treatment from the Sage Lord…
Especially the [Chicken Leg], who was famous for being peaceful and non-interfering, not meddling in affairs.
Kneel a bit longer?
Let’s kneel a bit longer.
Just as he was thinking this, a voice transmission entered his ear, the voice quite clear:
“Come three thousand li southwest of the Crossing Immortal Gate for a meeting.”
Hmm?
Li Changshou frowned, his immortal consciousness sweeping through various places before quickly withdrawing.
No results.
He stood up and looked at the Sage’s painting, which showed no trace of Dao rhythm fluctuation. Though puzzled in his heart, he decided to continue paying respects here for a while.
If the person transmitting the voice was a Human Dao expert, why couldn’t they appear within the Crossing Immortal Gate? This itself was somewhat problematic.
A moment later…
That voice transmission came again:
“Did you not hear the previous transmission? I am the Great Master of the Human Dao. You were paying respects before Teacher’s painting, surely you have some difficulty, so I came to see.”
Li Changshou was startled in his heart but then became somewhat suspicious.
Could such a good thing be true?
He had just burned three incense sticks before the Sage’s painting, without saying a word, and it alarmed the Sage, making the Sage’s only disciple appear to meet him.
Though it might be true, however, you look at it…
It seemed less believable than “I am Xuandu, betting spirit stones”!
Li Changshou muttered: “How can Senior prove your identity?”
“Hmm?”
Great Master Xuandu was also stunned, encountering such a situation for the first time in his cultivation.
‘How do I prove I am who I am?’
This small discipline was quite interesting indeed.
Xuandu pondered for two sounds, then transmitted his voice to Li Changshou again, this time directly speaking several lines from the Scripture of Non-Action.
Changing his tone, Xuandu then told Li Changshou two more lines, which were in line with the Scripture of Non-Action but more profound.
Seeing Li Changshou still showing doubt in his eyes, Great Master Xuandu couldn’t help but feel both amused and helpless, revealing a trace of his own Dao rhythm to Li Changshou across space…
Under such helplessness, this Great Master also transmitted four words:
“Dragons Enter Heaven.”
Hearing these words, Li Changshou immediately understood something in his heart, finding the logical fulcrum.
Li Changshou confirmed based on this trace of Dao rhythm that the other party was an existence with terrifyingly profound cultivation…
If they wanted to strike at him, the Crossing Immortal Gate would probably be directly erased from the East Victory Divine Continent.
Before such a figure, he currently had no room for maneuvering.
Finally, Li Changshou stood up before the Sage’s painting.
His expression is normal, he went to ask familiar elders for a jade tablet to leave the mountain gate, then turned to leave the hall.
After leaving the Hundred Mortals Hall, Li Changshou muttered:
“Senior, should I call my Sect Master?”
“No need, just come yourself. If I were a villain wanting to harm you, why would I say so much?”
“Please don’t blame me, Senior,” Li Changshou muttered, “This disciple didn’t react quickly enough, I’ll go pay my respects now.”
After speaking, he rode the clouds toward the mountain gate, successfully leaving with the jade tablet, taking the southwest route, leisurely flying several hundred li.
Great Master Xuandu didn’t continue to urge him;
Li Changshou looked at the sensing stone for a while before landing in a forest, using earth travel to quickly traverse two thousand li.
‘Should I use a paper avatar to probe first?’
Li Changshou considered left and right, quickly dismissing this idea.
With such an expert, whether they were Great Master Xuandu or not, he couldn’t play tricks…
Use sincerity in exchange for opportunity.
Using immortal consciousness to repeatedly search, he couldn’t detect a single figure;
But when Li Changshou jumped out from the earth and rode the clouds toward the “three thousand li point,” following his heart’s sense, he happened to look down and saw in a river valley that young Daoist wearing black robes;
This person had his sleeves rolled up, sitting by a stream, with a fire lit in front of him, roasting several fish, completely at ease.
In this instant, Li Changshou’s heart settled by half. He slowly descended on his cloud, stopping ten zhang away, and made a deep Daoist salute:
“Crossing Immortal Gate disciple Li Changshou pays respects to Senior!”
Great Master Xuandu shook his head with a sigh, holding the roasted fish, and said:
“In all my years of cultivation, I truly haven’t seen such a fussy little disciple as you… Hmm?”
Great Master Xuandu seemed to suddenly discover something, turning his head to look at Li Changshou and laughing in amazement.
“Your method of concealing cultivation is quite excellent. I hadn’t looked carefully before and was also deceived. Your cultivation… How are you still just a young disciple? Why hasn’t the Crossing Immortal Gate given you an elder position?”
Li Changshou pondered for several sounds, then lowered his head and said:
“This disciple crossed his tribulation only several decades ago. During the tribulation, I was fortunate to receive an opportunity to ascend, gaining such cultivation benefits. But before crossing tribulation, I was only an ordinary disciple in the gate. If I suddenly revealed such cultivation, I feared being seen as an anomaly by fellow disciples. Therefore, this disciple used such concealment methods. It wasn’t intentional deception, and I have no ill intentions toward my own Dao lineage.”
Xuandu slowly nodded and said:
“These are just small matters, come sit. The more ceremonious you are, the less I like it. Our Human Dao never had so many rules… I now somewhat understand why the Teacher would have me come to talk with you. There have been ascenders before, but one who ascended like you is rarely seen since ancient times. You’re a talent.”
Li Changshou looked up with a smile, now carefully observing this young Daoist before him.
The first impression was of ordinariness;
But carefully sensing, he felt this Daoist before him was like great mountains and peaks, yet without giving any sense of pressure, and was completely impenetrable.
The Great Master just sat here casually, holding a tree branch with half-cooked roasted fish on it, yet seemed to merge with nature, resonating with heaven and earth, without any sense of disharmony.
At this point, Li Changshou finally confirmed that this was indeed the second-ranking boss of the Human Dao.
Great Master Xuandu!
“What are you spacing out for?”
“Meeting such an expert as Senior for the first time feels like a dream.”
Li Changshou slowly exhaled, stepped forward twice, sat before Xuandu, and proactively reached out saying: “Let this disciple do the roasting.”
“You’re quite sensible.”
“When elders have requested, disciples serving their labor is only natural and right.”
Hearing such a response, Xuandu immediately smiled with squinting eyes, passing over the firewood, and then stretching lazily.
Xuandu seemed to think of something and casually said:
“Oh right, I had previously broken your marriage clay figure, forming some karmic connection with you. The spirit pill I had Elder Du’e pass to you last time, have you taken it? How was the effect?”
“I haven’t taken it,” Li Changshou smiled and said, “This disciple’s body has no abnormalities, so I wanted to save that spirit pill for my master who walked the Earth Immortal path. Great… Master, may this disciple boldly ask, can Muddy Immortals truly only cultivate to True Immortal?”
“Yes, Muddy Immortals are just the Earth Immortal path, they can only become True Immortals,” Xuandu slowly nodded, “You should… accept your grief and adapt to changes.”
Li Changshou: …
Truly a conversation genius.
“Tell me, what difficulties do you have,” Great Master Xuandu looked at Li Changshou, “Since Teacher had me come down to find you, I will naturally help you escape your predicament. Also, what connection do you have with the Dragon Clan?”
Li Changshou’s mouth showed a slightly bitter smile as he said: “Does the Great Master know of the South Sea God Religion?”
Xuandu calculated with his fingers and said: “I’ve heard of it recently. Everyone in the Heaven Court is talking about how Junior Uncle Jade Emperor highly praised this religion, wanting to incorporate this wild god religion into orthodox gods.”
Li Changshou sighed and said: “This disciple is… the leader of the South Sea God Religion.”
“Oh?” Xuandu’s eyes brightened, “If you say it like that, now I’m interested! You’re not even two hundred years old, how did you become the leader of the South Sea God Religion? Back then I also had people secretly start a religion, but it failed after just a few hundred years… Ahem! Quick, tell me, how did this happen?”