Hua Ri… Ritian?

Why would His Majesty…

Ahem, being serious now—Ritian was just another way to write Haotian. The Primordial World didn’t have so many extended meanings!

The question was, why was the Jade Emperor choosing to challenge the rules of his Sea God Temple?

Watching the Jade Emperor’s avatar go to a nearby stall to get a stick of incense, Li Changshou’s thoughts raced as he quickly made a decision.

This wasn’t too difficult to resolve.

As the crowd gradually dispersed, the Jade Emperor’s avatar held incense in his left hand and a folding fan in his right, floating inside under the watchful eyes of the two Divine Envoys, appearing completely at ease.

At this moment, Li Changshou keenly caught a key concept about the Jade Emperor—

Rules.

The Jade Emperor walked a few steps and saw Li Changshou’s elderly immortal paper avatar. He couldn’t help but laugh twice, then cupped his hands in salute to Li Changshou and said: “This humble general comes to pay a visit.”

The words “humble general” indicated that the Jade Emperor didn’t want this avatar’s identity known to others.

Li Changshou, who had been about to perform a Taoist salute, immediately stopped his motion upon hearing this. Instead, he gave a slight bow, shook the whisk in his hand, and said:

“General, you must be tired from your journey. Please follow me.”

With that, Li Changshou made a welcoming gesture. The Jade Emperor’s avatar swept his gaze across the sky, casually waved his sleeve, and a faint golden immortal light disappeared from his palm, appearing in the sky the next instant to pierce a blood mosquito.

“Changgeng, it’s truly not peaceful here. I’m very worried.”

Li Changshou: Give him an entry pass to the Toulong Palace, and he’d move there in an instant!

Ahem, just kidding, just kidding. Avatar nodded with a smile and followed beside Li Changshou, circling the main hall toward the back courtyard.

Passing by a corner outside the main hall, the Jade Emperor glanced at the Sea God Temple’s main hall, seeing the two statues—one large and one small—as well as the dragon-carved golden pillars standing to their left and right, and the colorful murals throughout the hall.

The content could be said to be quite rich.

The Jade Emperor’s avatar casually asked:

“Belo… Changgeng, why is there a white wall behind the divine statues? Why not add some paintings or hang some gauze curtains?”

Li Changshou smiled and transmitted his voice: “This minor deity has received Your Majesty’s great favor with the promise of being appointed an official deity, so naturally I must leave the main position in the temple empty, to hang Your Majesty’s divine image in the future, properly showing allegiance to the Heavenly Court.”

The Jade Emperor’s avatar raised his eyebrows and nodded slightly, transmitting back: “Beloved Official Changgeng is thoughtful.”

Li Changshou said: “It is proper according to both heavenly law and reason. Your Majesty, please rest in the back hall. With your sudden arrival, this minor deity’s abilities are limited—I truly couldn’t detect you and couldn’t make any preparations.”

“I came on a whim, just walking around casually. No need to be nervous.”

The Jade Emperor laughed softly in response, holding up the incense in his hand, “Then this…”

“Your Majesty mustn’t mock this minor deity,” Li Changshou immediately gave a bitter laugh, “Besides the Heavenly Dao and the Master in the Purple Void Palace, who else could receive Your Majesty’s pure incense? Your Majesty, well… When I set the rules for the Sea God Temple back then, it was only about bringing incense inside, not about offering it.”

“Hahaha!”

The Jade Emperor’s avatar couldn’t help but laugh heartily, “I wanted to test you, but you answered so easily. How boring, truly boring!”

Amid his laughter, the Jade Emperor handed the incense to Li Changshou, who hesitated for a moment before accepting it.

“There are no outsiders today, no need to be too formal,” the Jade Emperor’s avatar patted Li Changshou’s arm, “Come, show me around your Sea God Temple properly.”

Li Changshou agreed but inwardly began wondering what the Jade Emperor’s true purpose was for coming here.

To be safe, he assumed the Jade Emperor had come to question him about ineffective work, and he would just need to be careful in his responses later.

However, thinking about it, the Dragon Clan’s ascension to Heaven that he, Li Changshou, was tasked with planning had been going quite well so far;

If he was still going to be punished for this, then he might as well give up on taking the ‘kindly old immortal’ route to the Heavenly Court and just aim to sneak into the Toulon Palace instead.

Even immortals need to have a conscience!

Ninth Junior Uncle was simply a legend in the realm of conscience!

Ah, but that was just his assumption—looking at the Jade Emperor’s demeanor, he probably hadn’t come to assign blame.

Later, the Jade Emperor would likely just offer some words of encouragement and supervision, telling him, “I’ve been watching you…”

Li Changshou led the Jade Emperor’s avatar on a half-circuit of the Sea God Temple’s back courtyard, then looked at the endless stream of worshippers in the front hall before finally sitting down in the back hall.

When entering the Sea God Temple’s back hall, visitors with deep cultivation would first appreciate that landscape painting, and the Jade Emperor was no exception.

“Changgeng, this painting…”

“It was gifted by Immortal Lady Yunxiao,” Li Changshou smiled, “This minor deity didn’t know where else to place it, so I hung it here.”

“Hiss, Master Tongtian’s original work—truly a rare treasure!”

The Jade Emperor’s avatar’s eyes lit up, while Li Changshou stood smiling silently beside him without commenting.

If this were a painting by anyone other than a Sage, no matter how valuable, Li Changshou would have unhesitatingly offered it to the Jade Emperor;

But this was Sage’s brushwork, gifted by Immortal Lady Yunxiao—the karmic consequences of regifting it would be too great…

The Jade Emperor’s avatar looked at Li Changshou’s paper avatar, his eyes showing even more appreciation.

“Changgeng, you truly have extensive friendships.

According to rumors, the Three Xiao Immortal Ladies have vast divine powers and formidable abilities, especially Yunxiao’s Mixed Origin Golden Dipper, which is considered a fierce treasure weapon.”

“Well, this minor deity doesn’t know much about that—I just had some minor interactions with the Three Xiao seniors due to small matters.”

Li Changshou smiled and changed the topic, “Your Majesty, please take the seat of honor.”

With that, Li Changshou immediately removed the chair from his main position and replaced it with a jade throne.

The Jade Emperor didn’t say much about this, naturally taking his seat.

“Changgeng, sit as well. I am merely a guest—this is already becoming too formal.”

Li Changshou nodded with a smile, and without being overly modest, sat directly to the side.

Although he would serve under the Jade Emperor in the future, establishing a ruler-minister relationship, there was no need to be overly submissive. Even immortals should maintain their dignity, especially since he had the two leaders of the Human Dao backing him;

Strictly speaking, the Jade Emperor was also just appointed to his position by the Heavenly Dao, responsible for leading the various official deities.

After they both sat down, there was a brief awkward silence.

Although Li Changshou couldn’t fathom why the Jade Emperor had come, he couldn’t let the atmosphere remain awkward. He quickly took the initiative to report on his arrangements regarding the Dragon Clan, as well as the current troubles and concerns they faced.

The Jade Emperor’s avatar listened carefully for half an hour and suddenly realized…

Things were far more complex than he had imagined.

The Jade Emperor sighed: “I didn’t expect that you, Changgeng, would need to calculate so many major and minor matters. Originally I… I thought it was just adapting to circumstances.”

Li Changshou smiled: “Actually, this is also adapting to circumstances.

It’s just that we make all preparations first, and when the opponent makes their move, we can naturally counter accordingly.”

“Changgeng’s words are quite reasonable,” the Jade Emperor said seriously: “You alone have exhausted your mental efforts—it’s truly not easy. Even if this matter ultimately doesn’t succeed, you should still be credited with great merit, Changgeng.”

Li Changshou said: “If it fails, there should be punishment—how dare I accept merit?

Your Majesty, please rest assured. The Mandate of Heaven lies with the Heavenly Court and with you. This minor deity is merely going with the flow.”

“Excellent! With you planning this matter, Changgeng, my heart is at ease!”

This exclamation from the Jade Emperor came from his heart. He then continued:

“Changgeng, your divine mandate will descend in three years.

I have appointed you as Sea God of the Four Seas, concurrent with the position of Heavenly Court Supervising Marshal, ranked after East Wood Minister. What do you think?”

Li Changshou quickly stood up and made a Taoist salute, “This minor deity has not yet established merit, how dare I receive such generous rewards!”

“Precisely because your merit is not yet visible, I can only give you these divine positions and official ranks,” the Jade Emperor smiled, “Heavenly Dao divine positions are divided into six ranks in total, and this is merely the fourth rank.

Once the Dragon Clan’s ascension to Heaven succeeds, you can directly enter the second rank like Minister Wood—only then will others be convinced.”

Li Changshou finally relaxed a bit.

So it turned out that Supervising Marshal wasn’t such a ‘high position’—he had been startled for nothing.

The higher his position, the more he would have to plan for the future; although he wasn’t lazy, he wasn’t a workaholic either and wouldn’t create extra work for himself unnecessarily.

Moreover…

[Excessive praise] was also a major taboo on the path of stability!

“Your Majesty, may this minor deity be bold and ask you to explain these Heavenly Court divine positions,” Li Changshou’s expression was solemn, “So this minister can be prepared in the future and avoid offending anyone.”

“Hahaha,” the Jade Emperor also laughed, “Changgeng, you are cautious about everything.

Very well, I have nothing else to do today, so I’ll explain these Heavenly Court positions to you properly.”

Then, the Jade Emperor personally became an explicator, completely explaining this system of divine positions that was largely created by his hand.

The Jade Emperor’s method of dividing divine positions was somewhat… simple.

Divine positions differed from official ranks, with six ranks of divine positions, while the Three Pure Ones transcended Heaven and Earth and were not included.

The first rank consisted of the Jade Emperor, Queen Mother, and Lord Lao.

The second rank included figures like East Wood Minister who led the male immortals, and typically included powerful regional deities like the Four Directional Emperors, although those positions were currently vacant.

The third rank included those with the title of True Lord or Heavenly King, and the main deities of various departments were also in this rank.

The fourth rank consisted of various Star Lords and official deities of different departments, responsible for monitoring celestial operations and maintaining the stability of the Heavenly Dao;

Heavenly Court-appointed marshals commanding over 100,000 troops were also included in this rank.

The fifth and sixth ranks were more varied, mainly consisting of ‘assistant deities’ to the second and third-rank deities.

Additionally, there were Heavenly Court immortal officials and wandering immortals who weren’t ranked.

—The various departments mainly referred to Thunder, Fire, Fighting, Plague, Smallpox, Year Star, Wealth, and other eight departments;

Star Lords mainly referred to the Twenty-Eight Constellations.

Divine positions had no direct correlation with strength, only representing one’s position in the Heavenly Court’s divine hierarchy, determining their treatment and the amount of Heavenly Dao merit rewards…

Li Changshou secretly calculated and found that the Jade Emperor’s six ranks of divine positions could be more finely divided into nine or twelve ranks.

However, from the slight pride in the Jade Emperor’s voice as he explained this system…

Well, this was the most perfect system of divine positions!

No problem!

Starting at the fourth rank of divine positions upon entering Heaven was something Li Changshou hadn’t expected.

—This was mainly because most of the Heavenly Court’s official deity positions were currently vacant, so the Jade Emperor could casually hand out high positions.

As Li Changshou discussed this matter with the Jade Emperor, he pondered in his heart, and suddenly had a flash of insight, discovering a key point.

Could it be that the many divine positions corresponding to the six-rank structure the Jade Emperor had created now were the vacancies that would need to be filled in the future Investiture of the Gods?

Then, if he were to influence the Jade Emperor’s current conception by adding, reducing, or adjusting various divine positions, wouldn’t that directly affect the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods?

As soon as this somewhat crazy idea emerged in Li Changshou’s mind, he immediately killed it.

He even dug a hole, buried it thoroughly, and stomped on it twice for good measure…

What was he thinking, making such calculations?

The Investiture of the Gods was a Tribulation of Measurement—how could he, a mere ordinary Yuan Immortal realm disciple of the Degree Immortal Gate, participate in it?

After chatting with the Jade Emperor about divine positions for a while, Li Changshou noticed…

The Jade Emperor’s interest in conversation was growing.

By now, lanterns were being lit outside, and the Jade Emperor smiled:

“Changgeng, why don’t we go outside for a walk? I rarely visit the mortal realm.”

“If Your Majesty is interested, this minor deity will naturally accompany you. Would you like me to make some arrangements first?”

“No need, what arrangements?”

The Jade Emperor waved his hand, “The original flavor is most tasteful.”

Li Changshou smiled and followed beside the Jade Emperor, leaving the back hall and heading toward the Sea God Temple’s back door.

What had the Jade Emperor come to do?

There should be other deeper meanings, but despite probing several times, he still couldn’t figure it out.

In any case, it couldn’t possibly be that he was bored and came to chat with him for entertainment.

Just as they were about to leave, the Jade Emperor’s avatar slightly furrowed his brows, looking toward a certain corner of the back courtyard; there, a black shadow quickly hid in the darkness, silently disappearing.

“Changgeng, it seems things aren’t very peaceful here.”

“Your Majesty must find it amusing,” Li Changshou transmitted his voice, “Someone has been watching this Sea God Temple, and it’s been this way for many days now. This minor deity is already used to it.”

“Oh?”

The Jade Emperor’s avatar’s brows furrowed deeper as he transmitted: “Do you need assistance?”

“Thank you for Your Majesty’s concern, but there are no major issues here,” Li Changshou smiled, “These are all just my avatars here, and they’re only investigating.”

“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten,” the Jade Emperor’s avatar gave a light laugh, “Let’s go. After we pass through this door tonight, let’s stop using voice transmission.

I’ll call you Brother Changgeng, and you call me Brother Ritian. Today, let’s just walk around and see the mortal realm properly.”

Li Changshou: …

Your Majesty, couldn’t you choose a different name? These two characters are truly difficult to say.

However, he was probably overthinking it…

Li Changshou followed his words, constantly calling out “Brother Ritian, Brother Ritian,” making the Jade Emperor even more cheerful.

Whether it was truly coincidence, or if when it rains it pours…

Li Changshou was accompanying the Jade Emperor on a street walk, looking at mortal scenery, and exploring the night market.

The Jade Emperor seemed enthusiastically interested in everything, especially things like candied fruit, candied hawthorns, and opera masks, showing intense interest, though he didn’t try any.

Li Changshou naturally just accompanied him to play, browse, and chat, quietly waiting for the moment when the Jade Emperor would reveal his true purpose.

At that very moment, a thread of familiar mosquito buzzing wormed its way into Li Changshou’s ears.

The Jade Emperor’s avatar swept his gaze across the heights, casually shook his sleeve, and a streak of pale golden immortal light vanished from his palm, only to appear in the sky an instant later, piercing through a blood mosquito.

“Changgeng, this place of yours is truly restless. I am very concerned.”

Li Changshou: Get him an entry ticket to the Toulong Palace, and he’d move there the moment he got it!

Ahem, just a joke, just a joke.