“Where has Senior Brother been all these years?”

In the thatched cottage, Ling’e sat before the crystal mirror, quietly combing her long hair.

It was the second day after Li Changshou’s return to the mountain.

Yesterday, she had seen Senior Brother’s paper clone go out and quickly return, and heard his voice transmission. Her tender heart had finally settled somewhat but then began to feel puzzled.

Twelve years – if he had gone to find a Dao companion, they could have had three or four children by now!

But if she asked Senior Brother about this directly, he might think she was being too nosy and distance himself from her…

Ling’e bit her lip, pondering briefly, growing more anxious the more she thought about it.

No!

She still needed to test Senior Brother’s attitude!

Yes, no matter what… she would treat Senior Brother’s children as her own!

Having made up her mind, Ling’e immediately got busy, carefully grooming herself in the mirror while trying to make it appear as if she hadn’t done any grooming at all.

Rouge on her cheeks, cloud-like hair buns, crimson lips – before long she had made herself radiant yet still maintaining that ethereal grace.

Carrying the prepared wine and dishes, humming a tune she had recently composed, Ling’e slowly floated on a cloud toward the Dan Chamber. When she reached the boundary of the formation, the outer barrier automatically dissolved.

But a voice transmission entered her ears.

“Unless it’s urgent, let’s meet in half a month. I’m stabilizing my realm.”

Hearing this, Ling’e blinked, seeming to want to say something but holding back. She hurriedly said, “Then Senior Brother, you focus on your cultivation. I just wanted to welcome you back!”

Li Changshou chuckled and said, “Is it just a welcome?”

“Well…”

Ling’e could only respond with a silly laugh, not daring to lie but playing dumb instead.

But Li Changshou then transmitted, “This time away was for official business.”

“Oh,” Ling’e felt relieved. Senior Brother seemed to have seen through her concerns and given her this response.

‘Official business’ meant he hadn’t done anything besides official matters…

That’s right, with Senior Brother’s troublesome personality, it wouldn’t be something that could be settled in just twelve years!

“Then Senior Brother, I’ll go offer these dishes to Master!”

“Go ahead,” Li Changshou’s transmission ended as the outer formation slowly activated again.

Watching Ling’e’s departing figure with his divine sense, Li Changshou drummed his fingers on the desk surface, continuing to ponder a major issue…

Tai Bai Jin Xing, oh Tai Bai Jin Xing.

His alias corresponded to that ‘old fellow’ in the Heavenly Court!

At this moment, Li Changshou truly found it hard to express his feelings, with that exchange constantly echoing in his mind…

‘This poor Daoist is the head of civil officials in the Heavenly Court, deeply trusted by the Jade Emperor.’

‘You were beaten by the Monkey.’

‘This poor Daoist comes from the Human Teaching, is well-acquainted with the Great Law Master, and received wondrous alchemical methods from the Old Lord.’

‘You were beaten by the Monkey.’

‘This poor Daoist…’

‘You were beaten by the Monkey.’

Li Changshou: …

This poor Daoist has a crude Human Teaching expletive but isn’t sure whether to say it.

It took him roughly three days to adjust his mindset and accept this matter with a skeptical attitude.

“There’s nothing really to be happy about.”

Knowing that he might become the future Tai Bai Jin Xing of the Heavenly Court didn’t mean he could safely pass through the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods, much less rest easy about the future…

First, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that if something happened to him during the Investiture of the Gods tribulation, the Sage Lord might casually create another treasure person to fill the vacancy.

Second, becoming the Jade Emperor’s top civil official in the Heavenly Court wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Everything has two sides;

Just as the Dao School could reach its peak and decline, the Heavenly Court couldn’t escape this principle. Although the Heavenly Court hadn’t risen yet, he still needed to consider the longer term…

The Heavenly Court gave him merit, and his working for the Heavenly Court, then being even with no debts – this was the ideal state Li Changshou pursued.

Furthermore…

There was that joke he heard in his previous life – a young man had his fortune told, and the fortune teller said he would live to eighty. So he lived wildly and recklessly, ending up paralyzed from the neck down until he was eighty.

Though it was a joke, the principle was profound.

He wanted longevity, but more importantly, he wanted healthy longevity. Safely avoiding the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods was of utmost importance!

‘Ah, it would be better to pretend I don’t know this matter, as it will surely affect my judgment of certain things in the future.’

Li Changshou pondered this for half a day.

To be safe, he decided to take matters into his own hands…

After spending several days working it out, he devised a simple spell to temporarily seal his memories about ‘Tai Bai Jin Xing Li Changgeng’ with restrictions!

If he heard the words “Tai Bai Jin Xing” in the future, this part of his memories would automatically unseal;

Moreover, he retained the knowledge that he had ‘sealed away some memories,’ and could actively recall this matter at any time…

After reaching the Golden Immortal realm, he could indeed work out some simple spells.

Li Changshou took out a piece of cloth and began planning his future cultivation path.

For the next hundred years, most of his attention would need to stay on his main body, quietly comprehending the Dao and experiencing the mysteries of the Dao realm, while mainly monitoring other matters and observing changes.

Although he had reached Golden Immortal status, he still had no fighting chance when facing disciples of the Western Sages, or fierce characters like Wen Jing Daoren and Jin Chan Zi.

The gap was still very large.

Li Changshou was self-aware enough to know this.

After the Golden Immortal realm, cultivation would become slow and monotonous. Having gained a long lifespan, he also needed long years to comprehend his own Great Dao…

Along with this, Li Changshou’s perception of time changed once again.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had quietly passed.

On the agreed day to meet with Ling’e, Li Changshou specially set aside half a day, calling both Ling’e and Xiong Lingli to his thatched cottage by the lake to lecture Ling’e about the Dao.

Xiong Lingli was just there to audit the class.

Ling’e stared carefully at Li Changshou for a while, her nose twitching slightly as she muttered:

“Senior Brother, why do I feel you’re somewhat different from before?”

Li Changshou smiled and nodded, saying, “Different how?”

“Hmm… I can’t say specifically,” Ling’e pursed her lips and hummed twice, only able to blink her eyes.

Li Changshou said gently, “Sit down, I’ll teach you about becoming an immortal.”

Ling’e’s fine eyebrows furrowed slightly – Senior Brother was different…

He had never been so gentle with her before!

Something must be wrong, definitely wrong!

However, Li Changshou’s next words were: “Regarding your negligence in cultivation, I will later punish you by having you copy scriptures, starting at a thousand times and capped at ten thousand times, so don’t worry.”

Hearing this, Ling’e instead giggled, her heart finally settling down.

This was more like Senior Brother!

When Li Changshou now guided Ling’e on the path to immortality, he had a different understanding himself, gaining new insights while reviewing the old.

Watch how he:

Spoke of Supreme Pure’s wonderful methods taught the true meaning of non-action.

Before long, two illusory lotus flowers condensed around Li Changshou’s body, one entering Ling’e’s body, and one entering Xiong Lingli’s body, both simultaneously being drawn into the state of Dao comprehension.

This was the method of teaching the Dao, also considered an ‘ability’ only available after reaching the Golden Immortal realm.

When the Dao Ancestor lectured in the Purple Void Palace years ago, most of the powerful beings in the world gathered in one hall. When the Dao Ancestor lectured, it was accompanied by lotus flowers, each flower carrying a Great Dao.

The three lectures at Purple Void Palace were considered the strongest opportunity in the ancient times of the Primitive World;

From that time on, it established the ‘dominant’ position of Primordial Spirit cultivation, leaving almost no physical cultivators except for the Deity Tribe.

The lotus flowers that appeared during Li Changshou’s lecture naturally couldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as the Dao Ancestor’s lectures at Purple Void Palace;

What the lotus flowers carried was only his understanding of the Dao, transmitted ‘wholesale’ to Ling’e and Xiong Lingli, letting them slowly comprehend it in the future.

This lotus flower would benefit Ling’e until the True Immortal realm!

Seeing that Ling’e and Xiong Lingli were now in closed cultivation in his thatched cottage, Li Changshou set up two layers of immortal force barriers corresponding to the Primordial Immortal realm, then rose and left the cottage.

He went to the spirit beast enclosure to check on the growth of the spirit beasts, then went to the back mountain to visit the meritorious trees of Small Jade Peak.

Ah…

It could be said that without the generations of dedication from these spirit trees, there would be no Li Changshou today!

To express his respect for them, Li Changshou decided to let this batch of spirit trees retire early, uprooting them all, burning them with Three-Flavored True Fire, and personally scattering their ashes.

There was no choice – they knew too much.

Watching the ashes dancing in the sky, Li Changshou felt much relieved…

Since his main body hadn’t moved about outside for a long time, now engaged in more calculations and planning, there weren’t many chances to personally scatter ashes.

But in Li Changshou’s plans, he would need to methodically and strategically obtain some magical treasures for protection, which would inevitably involve his paper clones fighting other Qi cultivators.

Scattering ashes was a necessary means to resolve karmic ties when encountering magical battles.

It was unlikely for his main body to go out treasure hunting, as that would be losing the greater for the lesser, putting the cart before the horse.

Moreover, now that he had the Old Lord’s alchemical methods, becoming an accomplished junior alchemist wasn’t out of reach. Although truly precious magical treasures couldn’t be bought with wealth, small accumulations could lead to qualitative changes.

Looking at the smoke and dust, Li Changshou muttered:

“Take care, old friends.”

It was also time to acquire some higher-grade spirit trees to provide better-quality sap.

After upgrading various escape techniques, he would try to improve his Paper Clone divine ability.

Although creating Golden Immortal-level paper clones was impossible, he could enhance their quality somewhat…

And because his immortal force was incomparable to before, supported by Golden Immortal realm power, the paper clones’ overall strength was expected to reach the late Heaven Immortal realm.

With greater numbers, it would be considerable combat power;

Combined with the Scattered Beans Become Soldiers divine ability, the number of bean soldiers each paper clone could summon would increase several fold.

Paper clones challenging Golden Immortals, one becoming an army of a hundred thousand – it was no longer a dream!

However, if the Jade Emperor had his avatar lead a hundred thousand bean soldiers to battle everywhere…

That would be a different price altogether…

Li Changshou walked around the mountain for another half hour. Just as he was about to return to the Dan Chamber, the Crossing Immortal Gate’s bell suddenly rang, with the Sect Master summoning the peak masters to discuss matters at the Crossing Immortal Hall.

Li Changshou soon saw his Master rush out of the thatched cottage with drowsy eyes, holding his Daoist robe and stroking his beard, hurriedly riding a cloud toward Breaking Heaven Peak.

Who knew how long Master had been sleeping…

In a year or two, when Elder Rain Master Wan Jiang’s reincarnated body returns, Master should be able to raise his spirits somewhat.

This gathering of peak masters was probably to discuss matters regarding the mountain opening ceremony.

He would still need to remind Master later not to impulsively accept any more disciples.

As his divine sense slowly spread within the sect, Li Changshou heard several patrolling disciples whispering…

“Our Crossing Immortal Gate now has three Golden Immortals, I wonder which of the three has the strongest divine abilities?”

“Naturally it’s the Sect Master! How many years has he been a Golden Immortal?”

“Elder Qiling is from the ancient divine beast lineage…”

“That’s not necessarily true. I always felt Forgotten Emotion Immortal’s divine abilities were most formidable, and they say after achieving Golden Immortal realm, he quickly broke through another boundary.”

“Let’s not talk about this, just patrol properly and think about how we can break through the immortal ascension tribulation!”

Those whispers faded with the wind…

Li Changshou smiled faintly, his form vanishing without a trace.

…

A few days later, Li Changshou went to the Jade Emperor’s Lingxiao Palace to pay respects, then headed to Tongming Palace to check on the soon-to-be-formed imperial edict.

In about half a year, this edict would successfully form, bestowing some lower-ranked divine positions to the Dragon Clan.

The candidates for these positions would naturally be provided by the Dragon Clan.

But how to bestow the rewards had Li Changshou quite troubled.

This process is needed to demonstrate the Heavenly Court’s dignity, let the Dragon Clan know heavenly positions don’t come easily, and take the opportunity to gain the Dragon Clan’s goodwill…

After staying peacefully in the mountain for half a year, comprehending the Great Dao, and studying alchemy in his spare time, Li Changshou had been pondering this matter and finally drafted a procedure.

Following the principle of “having the Jade Emperor participate in matters great and small,” Li Changshou drafted a memorial for the Jade Emperor’s review.

With the Jade Emperor’s approval, Li Changshou then went to Tongming Palace to lead five thousand elite heavenly soldiers, who would later accompany him to proclaim the edict and bestow grace.

Before Li Changshou could actively contact Ao Yi, Ao Yi had already sent an invitation for divine sense communication.

As soon as they established the bridge through the divine statues, Ao Yi called out with joy that long unheard…

“Teaching Master Brother!”

“You seem so happy, did something good happen?”

“Mm!” Ao Yi quickly nodded, then seemed somewhat hesitant, finally saying softly: “Well, it’s rather hard to say.”

“Do we need to be so distant with each other?”

“That’s true, Brother’s close friends are Ao Yi’s close friends,” Ao Yi’s youthful face was full of excitement as he said, “My Royal Mother has had thoughts again, wanting to give me another younger brother or sister!”

Li Changshou’s eyes immediately lit up.

Ao Bing was about to be born?

Li Changshou coughed and smiled, “Congratulations, congratulations… Is it difficult for Dragon Kings to have children?”

“Indeed,” Ao Yi sighed, “It’s mainly affected by karmic obstacles. Although Mother has the intention and Father has similar thoughts, who knows when there might be movement.”

“Let’s not worry about that matter. I have good news to tell you first – the Heavenly Court’s edict has formed, and I already have it.”

“Really?!”

Ao Yi immediately broke into a grin, “Teaching Master Brother, I’ll let Father King prepare right away! We must have a proper celebration this time!”

“No rush. I’ve thought of some better ideas that can help stabilize the Dragon Clan’s situation, deepen relations between the Dragon Clan and Heavenly Court, and encourage the Jade Emperor to bestow more divine positions in the future.”

“Please instruct me, Brother!”

Thus and so, this and that.

In the hazy divine sense space, two figures stood still, conferring for a long while before Ao Yi finally left excitedly.

…

Meanwhile, at the border of the North Fulu Continent.

A badly wounded black panther ran through the mountain forest for a while, finally reaching an unfamiliar lakeside. He transformed into human form and lay down ungracefully in the lake water, panting heavily.

Streams of spiritual energy in the water quickly entered his wounds, helping him recover.

Being a demon was truly too difficult.

After Rhinoceros King was eliminated, he joined a small demon force, this time simply pretending to be mute.

But unexpectedly, just as he had slightly lowered his guard, total annihilation came a few days ago…

What was wrong with him?

Was he lacking in fortune, deficient in merit, or had he done too many evil deeds in his past life?

Since gaining spiritual awareness and cultivating for so many years, he hadn’t dared accumulate any karmic obstacles, so why was Heaven treating him this way?

“Ah…”

Lord Panther sighed softly, his heart dead quiet, lamenting: “Rather than this, I might as well die here, better than being tormented like this in the future.”

As soon as he finished speaking, small whirlpools appeared in the lake water nearby, and a rather pretty water demon surfaced, curiously looking him over several times.

Subsequently, she brought him back to her cave dwelling, carefully tending to him, and they became a couple…