After leaving the Lingxiao Treasure Palace, on his way back to the Sea God Manor, Li Changshou smiled with narrowed eyes.

Using public office for private gain once felt quite good…

No, that wasn’t right—when both public and private interests benefit, how could it be called using public office for private gain?

Glancing at the golden-glowing Great Yu’s Flood Control Map in his sleeve, Li Changshou felt thoroughly satisfied.

It directly saved him a great amount of merit power!

This treasure would only need some minor consecration to become a post-heaven supreme-grade merit spiritual treasure with both offensive and defensive capabilities!

Moreover, according to Li Changshou’s calculations, once he completed the survey of rivers and lakes, the Heavenly Dao would bestow more merit, and this treasure might advance even further!

So when leaving the Lingxiao Palace earlier, seeing that moved and emotional look in the Jade Emperor’s eyes, Li Changshou felt somewhat…

Embarrassed.

The twelve-year dragon subjugation plan had been fully initiated, and Li Changshou had arranged everything that needed arranging.

Going forward, he wouldn’t personally handle everything. After visiting the Orthodox and Severance Schools, and then paying a visit to the East Sea Dragon King in his palace, he would take a public-funded boat trip around the South Continent, waiting for the Peach Banquet to begin.

Whether this plan was the most effective was debatable.

But for Li Changshou, this was the most stable option and one where he could avoid offending either side…

Returning to the Sea God Manor, Li Changshou placed the Heaven Emperor’s Demon-Slaying Sword in the most prominent position in the main hall and then made a respectful bow.

Afterward, he moved a rocking chair outside to bask in the Heavenly Court’s sun, waiting for East Wood Lord to deliver the Immortal Peaches.

Heavenly Generals brought tea, Jasper Pool’s immortal maidens delivered fruit platters bestowed by the Queen Mother, and Li Changshou leisurely enjoyed it all…

Although his paper avatar’s sense of taste was somewhat lacking when sampling these, appearances still had to be maintained.

If he didn’t have so many paper avatars and his true self were in this position, the Heavenly Court life would probably be incomparably leisurely, comfortable, and boring.

Speaking of the Queen Mother, since ascending to Heaven, Li Changshou had never seen this Heavenly Empress’s true appearance.

—Actually, Li Changshou had deliberately avoided meeting the Queen Mother.

Avoiding suspicion?

That wasn’t necessary.

Li Changshou wasn’t confident enough to think that with his elderly-looking paper avatar, there could be any misunderstandings. He didn’t interact with female immortals daily, at most just joking and chatting with the Heavenly Generals.

Not paying respects to the Queen Mother was because Li Changshou worried about conflicts between the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother regarding ‘Heavenly Court authority’.

The Queen Mother had similar origins to the Jade Emperor, and the Dao Ancestor had them jointly manage the Heavenly Court back then;

Nominally, the Queen Mother’s authority was not below the Jade Emperor’s.

Now, Li Changshou still couldn’t understand what exactly the relationship was between the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother, but the Heavenly Court’s power was concentrated in the Jade Emperor’s hands, while the Queen Mother only cultivated in the Jasper Pool.

Therefore, actively paying respects to the Queen Mother risked being misunderstood by the Jade Emperor; not paying respects to the Queen Mother would cause him no loss.

Comparing the two, he chose the lighter option, emphasizing stability above all.

With these thoughts crossing his mind, Li Changshou gave a light laugh, this elderly immortal paper avatar closing its eyes to rest.

In the wind, he could hear whispered conversations beyond the wall, the orderly footsteps of patrolling Heavenly Soldiers, and from some distant immortal mountain, the soft laughter of immortal maidens.

Each sound entered his ears but did not enter his heart.

Visiting the Orthodox and Severance Schools to meet those managing affairs meant seeking audiences with Guangcheng Zi and Duobao Daoren.

The Severance School would be easy to visit, but for the Orthodox School, there was also Vice Patriarch Burning Lamp to consider. He would need to prepare in advance to avoid being deliberately made difficult.

Li Changshou had heard East Wood Lord mention before that because the Heavenly Court’s previous Peach Banquet had few guests, the Jasper Pool treasury had a severe surplus of Immortal Peaches, with many peaches dispersing into spiritual energy after a thousand years, causing serious waste.

So this time, when giving gifts to the Orthodox and Severance Schools, the Heavenly Court should not be stingy.

‘How should I hint to His Majesty that I’d also like some peaches?’

Although Immortal Peaches weren’t of much use to himself, they would certainly greatly benefit his Master, Junior Sister, Uncle Master, Ancestral Master, and soon-to-be Master’s Wife.

When Junior Sister emerges from closed cultivation after ascending, bringing back some Immortal Peaches to celebrate would be quite fitting.

Thinking of this, Li Changshou split his attention, leaving a small portion of his consciousness in the Heavenly Court’s Sea God Manor while most returned to his true body.

His immortal sense carefully examined every part of the sect entrance again, confirming everything was normal with no heart demons at work, before finally withdrawing his gaze at ease.

Just then, a graceful figure flew out from Breaking Sky Peak toward Small Jade Peak.

She rode colored clouds, wearing an elegant long dress, her long hair not done up in clouds but simply tied in a ponytail, her jade face breathtakingly beautiful when cold, making one unconsciously wonder what she would look like when smiling.

“Wasn’t You Qin supposed to be in closed cultivation?”

Li Changshou was somewhat puzzled.

Having just helped her deal with heart demons, this should be when insights were flooding in, so why would she be out and about?

Could it be there were still knots in her heart?

“Well, helping someone should be done thoroughly, just as tricking Buddha should be done to the West.”

Li Changshou gave a light sigh, actively went outside, stood outside the pill room, closed all formation arrays, and quietly waited for You Qin Xuanya to arrive.

You Qin Xuanya, who had originally intended to go directly to the card room, spotted Li Changshou’s figure and immediately changed course on her white cloud, heading straight for the pill room…

When she lightly jumped down from her cloud, her dress fluttered slightly, her jade feet flawless as white jade, quite pleasing to the eye.

“Senior Brother Changshou.”

Xuanya clasped her hands in greeting, her thin lips slightly pursed, the corners of her mouth revealing a faint smile, those eyes clearer than the starry night sky expressing the peace and joy in her heart.

“Junior Sister You Qin,” Li Changshou returned the greeting with cupped hands, smiling, “Have you encountered any difficulties in your recent cultivation?”

You Qin Xuanya hummed thoughtfully and nodded very seriously, her expression showing some shame…

Shame?

“I have disappointed Senior Brother,” You Qin Xuanya’s pretty face was full of gloom, “While cultivating, I was almost taken advantage of by heart demons. Though my Dao’s heart is now stable, this truly…”

Li Changshou smiled and said: “Heart demons are nothing special, most of us cultivators must experience them, there’s no need to be concerned about it.

Rather, Junior Sister should reflect on why there were gaps in your Dao heart, to avoid being taken advantage of by heart demons in the future.”

“Senior Brother Changshou’s words, Xuanya has noted them all.”

You Qin Xuanya raised her head to look at Li Changshou, saying softly: “May we walk on the mountain? I have several confusions, also related to the gaps in my Dao’s heart, that I wish to ask Senior Brother about.”

Li Changshou: …

She couldn’t be wanting to share her heart demon experience with him, could she?

It was so.

Li Changshou walked casually with You Qin Xuanya in the mountain forest surrounding the pill room, listening to her describe roughly what happened during the heart demon experience.

She even refused to lie, enduring her shyness to tell how she had happily cultivated with the ‘Senior Brother Changshou’ that the heart demon had transformed into.

A very pure version.

“Senior Brother Changshou,” You Qin Xuanya turned her head to gaze at Li Changshou’s profile, asking softly, “There is one thing Xuanya doesn’t understand.

That heart demon had some improper actions toward Xuanya, specifically, that heart demon moved forward…”

“No need to say the specifics!”

Li Changshou interrupted You Qin Xuanya’s narration, smiling: “I already understand the general problem.

The dual cultivation life Junior Sister yearns for is cultivating together, discussing together, being free spirits, playing qin and xiao together, and walking the path to immortality together.

This is actually what many cultivators think of when considering Dao companions, pure and elegant, quite nice.”

You Qin Xuanya blinked, saying softly: “Senior Brother, that’s not what Xuanya wanted to ask about…”

Li Changshou smiled: “Then what is it?”

“Umm…”

You Qin Xuanya thought slightly, her white teeth lightly biting her thin lips, waves rippling under her eyebrows, and with the gentle breeze blowing through the forest, she said softly:

“I just asked Master, and Master said that what the heart demon showed was Xuanya’s obsession.

Xuanya has also questioned her true heart, but is still somewhat confused, so came to seek an answer from Senior Brother.”

“Mm,” Li Changshou said seriously, “Junior Sister, just speak, if I can give you this answer, I certainly will.”

“Then… um…”

You Qin Xuanya hummed softly, her hands hanging in front of her, fingers interlaced.

A deer leaped lightly in her heart, words came after a moment, just a few.

Li Changshou waited patiently, finally hearing You Qin Xuanya say:

“Senior Brother Changshou… Xuanya might… have some thoughts about you… different from those of cultivation companions…”

Li Changshou couldn’t help but hold his forehead with one hand.

Could it be she took the heart demon’s extending of ‘An Lushan’s claw’ as her inner obsession?

This made sense, but that was just, ahem, just a drastic measure Li Changshou took to shock her.

And in the heart demon illusion, he only made a show of it, without any actions crossing the line!

What to do…

Like comforting a child, telling her such thoughts are wrong, are impure, and make her feel guilty and ashamed?

That would be rather unfair.

Li Changshou carefully chose his words, clasping his hands behind his back and raising his head to look at the white clouds through gaps in the forest canopy.

He said gently:

“Junior Sister, before you and I cultivated, we were mortals.

Mortals are weak and need to reproduce to maintain the stability of their groups and to allow their bloodlines to continue.

Therefore, some things are written into the bloodline, including matters of human reproduction.

The thoughts that appeared in your heart are very normal—how could even Golden Immortals be without desire unless they cut off all emotions? So you needn’t feel ashamed about this, feeling that you aren’t pure enough.

Desire, emotion, heart—these are all parts of oneself. Learning to control them, face them, overcome them is also a form of cultivation.”

You Qin Xuanya listened intently, pondering carefully, and couldn’t help but let out a light breath.

The knot in her heart had indeed been untied.

Li Changshou smiled: “Moreover, Junior Sister’s thoughts are truly very pure.

For example, do you know how mortal couples specifically act to have children?”

You Qin Xuanya immediately answered:

“Xuanya has seen in books that it’s said to be the merging of yin and yang energies that can nurture life.

Generally, two people sit facing each other, palms pressed together, each circulating their magical power and immortal power, using primordial yin and yang energies as guides to condense life energy, which returns to the woman’s belly.”

Several question marks appeared on Li Changshou’s forehead, “Who taught you this? This is a misunderstanding.”

You Qin Xuanya blinked in confusion, made a bow to Li Changshou, and said seriously:

“Please teach me, Senior Brother Changshou!”

“I’ll teach!”

Li Changshou couldn’t help his old face turning red, hurriedly saying: “You should ask your Master about this matter, or ask Ling’e and Master Uncle Jiu.

You and I are different genders, this isn’t something I can easily teach.”

You Qin Xuanya became even more confused, while Li Changshou actively changed the topic, beginning to discuss the ‘graduation destinations’ of disciples from the same period.

As You Qin Xuanya was the current top senior disciple of the Crossing to Immortality Gate, she naturally paid attention to this matter and was easily led away from her previous train of thought by Li Changshou.

Half an hour later, she returned to Breaking Sky Peak with that confusion still in her heart.

Li Changshou wiped the hot sweat from his forehead, and silently sighed in his heart, wondering if he should submit a memorial to the Jade Emperor specifically about establishing Ancient Wilderness enlightenment education.

There should be quite a bit of merit in that… probably.

“Palms pressed together, sitting cross-legged, tsk, it’s amazing you could come up with that.”

Li Changshou shook his head, his form floating back to the pill room.

Speaking of which, when the Dao Ancestor established the Heavenly Court and the various sages settled great matters of Heaven and Earth, Sage Nüwa used the Innate Spiritual Treasure Red Embroidery Ball to establish matters of marriage, establishing Heaven, Earth, and Human marriages.

The Heaven Marriage referred to the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother, this pair of senior and junior disciples setting an example, becoming the model for marriage matters in the Three Realms. However, because the Heavenly Court was relatively weak, it didn’t have much impact, but the marriage template was written into the Heavenly Dao.

After that, the various races established marriage customs and ceremonies.

Unlike the Ancient times of the Shaman and Human races, when finding partners mainly relied on tribal gatherings, with the custom at that time being—that women would launch surprise attacks if they liked a man they would go up and knock him unconscious, then carry him back to their tent.

When Li Changshou saw this custom in ancient records, he couldn’t help but imagine.

If some tribe had a very handsome man who attracted women fighting over him, wouldn’t he end up with his skull shattered by club after club?

Ah, Ancient Wilderness…

Not just women, but men also needed to protect themselves.

…

After seeing off You Qin Xuanya, Li Changshou waited another half day.

As the sun slanted west and the Great Yin Star was about to show its head above the sea of clouds, East Wood Lord came riding clouds with a squad of Heavenly Soldiers.

After seeing Li Changshou and exchanging a few pleasantries, East Wood Lord took out two treasure pouches.

“A total of three hundred Immortal Peaches of the best quality,” East Wood Lord smiled, “One hundred each for the Orthodox and Severance Schools, and one hundred for the Human School.

This was decided by the Queen Mother.”

After speaking, he gave a slight wink, and Li Changshou immediately understood the meaning.

Who was in the Human School?

Besides the Sage Lord, wasn’t it just him and the Great Master?

These hundred Immortal Peaches were meant for Li Changshou!

Li Changshou felt deeply moved in his heart, but maintained a very calm exterior, putting away the Immortal Peaches and saying: “Does Wood Lord have any other instructions? I’ll go to Golden Turtle Island first thing tomorrow morning.”

“About that,” East Wood Lord turned his head to look at the Sea God Manor’s main gate, saying softly, “There’s a small matter, also entrusted by the Queen Mother.

Sea God, do you need disciples?

Not disciples for cultivation teaching, but disciples for strategy and planning, unrelated to the Human School’s Dao inheritance.

If you need disciples, just say the word, and I’ll send one over right away.”

Li Changshou couldn’t help but slightly furrow his brow, asking softly: “Who could make the Queen Mother make such a request?”

East Wood Lord transmitted his voice: “It’s a princess, His Majesty’s flesh and blood, the Queen Mother’s pearl in hand, though it’s never been announced publicly…”

Li Changshou pondered for a moment, “What’s His Majesty’s stance on this matter?”

“This was proposed by His Majesty.”

“Then there’s no problem,” Li Changshou smiled, “How could I not respect His Majesty’s command?

Where is this princess? I’ll go pay my respects right away.”

“She’s right outside,” East Wood Lord turned around and called toward the main gate, “Princess Longji, please come in, the Sea God has agreed!”