[“Earth Store, henceforth without my command, do not intervene too much.”]

In a corner of Spirit Mountain, just as the Dao Sect immortals had left and the elderly Daoists were returning with gloomy expressions, the young Daoist kneeling on the ground heard these words.

Earth Store sighed softly and said in a low voice:

“Thank you, Master, for the protection.”

After speaking, he stood up and returned to the divine beast Truth Listener’s side, honestly sitting cross-legged.

The matter was settled. The Western School had actually lost an unimportant disciple, the Sage had personally appeared, yet was openly and subtly mocked by the Dao Sect disciples…

Frustration, helplessness, indignation — these emotions brewed in Earth Store’s heart, but in the end, only relief at surviving the calamity remained.

“Listen,” Earth Store suddenly said, “monitor those Dao Sect immortals, see if their hearts reveal who orchestrated today’s events.”

Truth Listener slowly lit up with a green light, tilting its ear to listen.

Earth Store’s thoughts turned hundreds of times, his eyes gradually narrowing.

Now that the Dao Sect had returned victorious, it was the easiest time to let their guard down, and the person behind the planning could be easily exposed…

The Water God of the Celestial Court?

Regarding this Water God who had single-handedly drawn the Dragon Clan to the Celestial Court, and who had severely wounded Golden Cicada and forced their own Sage to appear, Earth Store quite admired him. He felt that if Water God had been scheming behind the scenes, today’s defeat wouldn’t be unjust.

But he couldn’t be certain whether the Water God had such ‘influence’ to mobilize the Three Schools’ Senior Brothers to appear together.

These three Senior Brothers of the Dao Sect’s Three Schools…

Honestly, facing them, Earth Store felt completely at a loss, his heart utterly stifled.

Grand Magister Xuandu, deeply favored by the strongest Sage Taiqing Laozi, casually uses primordial treasures, even without a known name;

Many Treasures Daoist of the Severing School, first in primordial treasures, most trusted by Master Tongtian, and personally coming and going without trace;

Broad Accomplishment Master of the Jade Void Palace who strikes the golden bell, who had shown the most ‘restraint’ earlier, yet gave an impenetrable feeling, steady as a mountain…

And behind these Three Schools’ Senior Brothers were Zhao Gongming, Golden Spirit Mother, Red Essence Master, Great Yi…

So many powerful beings, so many strong ones!

This was the Dao Sect?

Indeed, when truly facing this behemoth, one couldn’t help but feel suffocated…

Truth Listener beside him seemed to hear Earth Store’s inner voice and said softly: “Are you afraid?”

“No, I’m grateful.”

Earth Store’s lips revealed a slight peaceful smile, “Just thinking that the Dao Sect I face now is at its peak, with no room for fortune to increase further. Moving forward, besides striving to maintain the present, it must decline from prosperity.

Isn’t it fortunate to witness such a powerful Dao Sect gradually buried in the primordial world’s dust?”

Truth Listener closed his eyes and twisted his mouth corner, “Stop making excuses, you were almost scared to tears earlier. Being outmaneuvered is just being outmaneuvered, the Dao Sect didn’t directly attack either.”

A cross-shaped blue vein immediately bulged on Earth Store’s forehead, “Listen carefully!”

“You’re agitated, see, Master, your state of mind is disturbed, full of weaknesses.”

“Hmph!”

Truth Listener shook his head and continued eavesdropping, but quickly gave his answer: “Today’s show should have been led by the three Senior Brothers, with no other schemes involved.

Some weaker cultivators from the Enlightenment and Severing Schools are now thinking only about the three Senior Brothers, with no mention of the Celestial Court’s Water God.”

Hearing this, Earth Store slowly nodded, gently exhaled and began reflecting on his previous shortcomings and several missed opportunities to act.

Next time, it definitely wouldn’t be like this.

…

“Fellow junior brothers and sisters, after returning to your places, you must cultivate well…”

At Luofu Cave on Mount Emei, the Grand Magister was gently instructing the surrounding Enlightenment and Severing School immortals. After paying their respects, the immortals returned to their respective directions, chatting and flying northwest and southeast.

After the crowd left, only the Grand Magister, Many Treasures Daoist, Zhao Gongming, and Yellow Dragon True Person remained. The four returned to Luofu Cave, where Zhao Gongming opened two jars of good wine for a small celebration.

Many Treasures Daoist stared at Grand Magister’s sleeve and asked with a smile:

“Where’s Changshou? Come out, everything’s settled now!”

Li Changshou, his consciousness elsewhere, took a moment to respond;

The paper person flew from Grand Magister’s sleeve, transforming into his commonly used young face, standing behind Grand Magister.

Zhao Gongming invited him to sit, but Li Changshou smiled and said: “This is just a paper person, drinking would be wasteful, so I won’t sit.”

The several great ones didn’t insist.

Grand Magister smiled: “You stopped halfway through your transmission earlier, why?”

“Senior Brother’s response was more appropriate than the words I had prepared,” Li Changshou complained, “Senior Brother, you’re just too used to being lazy, when did you really need my help?”

Grand Magister smiled with narrowed eyes: “Since you know how to talk, say more, praise your Senior Brothers a bit.”

“Enough, enough!”

Many Treasures waved repeatedly, “I can’t handle Changshou’s praise, or I’ll float up to the Nine Heavens.

Today’s matter was truly satisfying!

After being schemed against by the Western School so many times, today we finally vented that nameless fire!”

Zhao Gongming said: “Today wasn’t entirely perfect, we still didn’t catch the real schemer.

Even if we couldn’t punish them, we should at least know who it was, so we can be prepared for the future.”

Li Changshou said seriously: “This person is skilled in scheming and quite troublesome. If I’m not mistaken, it should be a Sage disciple named Earth Store.

He has a divine beast mount called Truth Listener, this beast can hear the heart voices of all beings in the Three Realms and has the divine ability to distinguish truth from falsehood.

These were all divined by the Grand Magister using the Taiji Diagram.”

“Truth Listener?”

Many Treasures Daoist hummed a few times, his slightly chubby face showing some realization, “I have heard of such a strange beast.”

Zhao Gongming smiled: “Wouldn’t this strange beast be able to hear many interesting sounds between Dao companions?”

Beside him, Yellow Dragon True Person nodded and said: “This divine ability must have limitations.”

Grand Magister said: “The limitations are not small. If one’s cultivation is insufficient, just adding a bit of guard to one’s mind can prevent its prying.”

Zhao Gongming clicked his tongue and smiled: “Dao companions of higher cultivation are mostly indifferent to desires, so there’s nothing fun to listen to, right?”

Thus, the Grand Magister, Many Treasures Daoist, and Yellow Dragon True Person all looked at Zhao Gongming…

Zhao Gongming nervously stroked his beard, “This matter, what about it?”

“Junior Brother Gongming, why do you always return to such matters after three sentences?”

Yellow Dragon True Person advised: “We should focus single-mindedly on the Dao! What do mortal desires have to do with immortals?”

“This, it’s because my mood is improving, improving,” Zhao Gongming’s old face reddened, and then he glared at Li Changshou.

It was all because of that trip to the Barbarian Tribe, where Li Changshou had filled his mind with thoughts of yin-yang, reproduction, and matters between men and women!

Many Treasures Daoists hummed a few more times and said: “Rather than such precautions, we might as well eliminate this Truth Listener beast, it’s ultimately a menace.”

Li Changshou said: “If that Earth Store appears, we should naturally eliminate such a strange beast.”

Zhao Gongming smiled: “I fear he’s now scared witless and won’t dare show his face for some time.

Ah, this matter can be considered over, let’s drink, and in the future just let Changshou scheme step by step!”

Li Changshou: …

Going to use him for nothing?

Grand Magister and Many Treasures Daoist raised their cups to drink together, while Yellow Dragon True Person stood holding his wine cup, first thanking Li Changshou, then sighing:

“Regarding the Dragon Clan matter, this poor Daoist’s heart is full of debt.

Previously I hadn’t noticed anything, then suddenly had an insight, went into a meditation retreat on my own, and when I opened my eyes, the Dragon Clan matter had already passed.

Alas, when the Dragon Clan met calamity, if this poor Daoist had been in the East Sea that day, perhaps there would have been a glimmer of hope.”

Hearing this, Li Changshou’s eyebrows raised slightly, keenly catching a crucial point.

Suddenly had an insight.

Could it be…

Never mind, best not to think too deeply about this.

“The Dragon Clan’s fate was such, destined to face this calamity,” Li Changshou sighed, “However by now, the Dragon Clan is of one heart with the Celestial Court, their future circumstances should gradually improve.”

“Alas,” Yellow Dragon True Person’s face showed much shame, clearly intending to feel guilty for several hundred years.

Beside them, Many Treasures Daoists suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Zhao Gongming.

“Speaking of which, why was Junior Sister Golden Light injured, and why at your Mount Emei?”

Zhao Gongming almost choked on his wine and hurriedly said:

“This, I don’t know the details either, haven’t had time to ask who ambushed Junior Sister Golden Light…”

Many Treasures Daoist’s eyes lit up, understanding something, and turned to look at Li Changshou.

But Li Changshou was observing his nose and watching his heart, having no intention of joining the conversation…

In Luofu Cave, this small celebration soon dispersed.

Grand Magister returned to Doushuai Palace to cultivate, Zhao Gongming accompanied Many Treasures to Golden Turtle Island, while Yellow Dragon True Person rushed to the East Sea Dragon Palace to see if there was anything he could help with…

Li Changshou’s paper person that had gone to Spirit Mountain was directly burned in Luofu Cave, his consciousness returning to the Sea God Temple in the South Sea, continuing to organize the firsthand information he had obtained about the Three Schools’ immortals…

Looking at the results, this grand show of the Three Schools pressuring Spirit Mountain wasn’t perfect.

First, it gave Spirit Mountain a warning, giving them a chance to shift from open to hidden methods, inadvertently adding some difficulties to the Celestial Court’s future development plans.

Second, the Grand Magister had directly confronted the Sage.

This was a scene Li Changshou had anticipated might happen, but he hadn’t expected the Grand Magister would easily block the Sage’s treasure with his supreme treasure;

Even more unexpected was that the Grand Magister, who usually avoided karma, would show the bearing of the Dao Sect’s Senior Brother at such a moment…

Usually, when watching the Dragon Clan’s drama, Grand Magister maintained an attitude of ‘don’t act if you don’t have to,’ unless something truly touched a certain ‘bottom line,’ otherwise, Grand Magister just arranged for his little law master to do the work…

This time Grand Magister’s intervention made Li Changshou worry it would leave an inappropriate impression on the Three Schools’ disciples.

— The Sages are just so-so, without supreme treasures, couldn’t we confront them with more magical treasures?

Yes, speaking of the Severing School’s crowd of immortals!

Third, the Western School’s future actions would surely become more careful. Their previous arrogant and self-righteous teaching style would likely be transformed by this incident, requiring him to expend more effort in future schemes.

However, speaking of which, they couldn’t ignore the positive significance of the Three Schools pressuring Spirit Mountain just because of these drawbacks…

The positive impacts of this event were countless, with goals at every level perfectly achieved.

Overall, the Celestial Court should be able to develop steadily for the next five hundred years.

Looking at the ‘Three Schools Immortals’ information compiled in his hand, Li Changshou’s mind flashed through one figure after another…

In this era before the Great Tribulation of Canonization, the Three Schools’ stars shone brilliantly, the primordial world glittering with starlight.

This visit to Spirit Mountain left Li Changshou most impressed not by Golden Spirit Mother with her beauty and strength combined, nor by the three Senior Brothers with their surging acting skills and extraordinary bearing, not even by Great Yi True Person with his distinct personality and professional level-four skill in double entendre, but rather…

From the Enlightenment School, Jade Tripod.

For just a moment, when Jade Tripod True Person stepped forward, Li Changshou caught a strand of mysterious Dao rhythm.

This Dao rhythm was extremely familiar to Li Changshou, not entirely the same as his Turtle Breath Leveling Art, yet bearing many similarities!

This member of the Enlightenment School’s Twelve Golden Immortals had concealed part of his cultivation!

Moreover, the jade tripod that Jade Tripod True Person had suspended above his head today wasn’t his magical treasure, it seemed to be formed from divine abilities, yet also appeared to be manifested by the Great Dao. Upon careful sensing, it was rather a marvelous existence between primordial and posterior spiritual treasures!

This True Person had remained silent throughout, mostly wearing a smile…

An unremarkable appearance, minimal presence, the confidence to stand up to the Western School at crucial moments, that mysterious jade tripod, and more importantly, Jade Tripod True Person’s yet unborn disciple—

Erlang God Yang Jian!

This Jade Tripod must be an eight-tenths chance of being a hidden boss!

Li Changshou drew a circle around Jade Tripod True Person’s title, planning to actively build a relationship later, to see if he could acquire what was said to be the number one method of physical cultivation—the Eight-Nine Mystic Art.

He certainly wasn’t interested in the Eight-Nine Mystic Art for himself—his current cultivation was already considerable, his Great Dao had initially formed, and what he needed to do next was proceed step by step on this path, not rashly change methods.

But if this Eight-Nine Mystic Art, a method for rapid physical cultivation, could be used to train Little Jade Peak’s Security Team Leader Xiong Lingli, or the Sea God Church’s divine envoys…

That would be quite comfortable indeed.

Li Changshou carefully organized the jade talisman’s contents once more and sat in the back hall thinking for a long while, before finally using Earth Escape to return this paper person to the underground paper person storage.

By now the night was deep and stars were sparse.

On Little Jade Peak, Li Changshou slowly fanned himself while glancing at his junior sister meditating on a cushion beside him.

She was in deep meditation.

His immortal consciousness swept through various parts of the sect, seeing Master Alcohol Yu lecturing Master Alcohol Rain Poem, while Master listened quite happily beside them, wearing an excellent expression of auditing the class.

Thus he rose and rode a cloud toward Dan Ding Peak, to visit Elder Wan Linyun who had just had a breakthrough and emerged from seclusion, to encourage Poison Elder.

After spending half an hour at Dan Ding Peak, Li Changshou still felt somewhat uneasy and flew toward Breaking Heaven Peak…

What was he worried about?

Needless to say, naturally it was what he had seen earlier…

The Du Xian Gate’s Ancestral Master True Person Du E had once again become a key link in the rumors!

Arriving before the Du Xian Hall, two guardian elders asked Li Changshou what he was doing there when coughing already come from within the hall.

“This poor Daoist asked Changshou to come.”

The two elders immediately dared not obstruct him. Li Changshou made a Daoist salute, lowered his head, and entered the great hall, quickly going to the Sect Leader’s small hall.

After paying respects, the Sect Leader invited Li Changshou to sit, while using a barrier to cover this side hall.

Ji Wuyou smiled: “Changshou, if you have something to say, just say it. Why do you seem somewhat hesitant?

*cough, cough cough!* Don’t treat this poor Daoist as an outsider.”

“Well,” Li Changshou hummed a few times and said, “Sect Leader, is it possible to remind our sect’s Ancestral Master True Person Du E…”

The Sect Leader hurriedly asked: “Remind him of what?”

“Don’t believe rumors, don’t spread rumors,” Li Changshou sighed, “Grand Magister has requested a ‘Heavenly Emperor’s Righteous Virtue Stele’ from the Jade Emperor in the Celestial Court, specifically for investigating matters of rumors.

Earlier when the Three Schools’ immortals gathered, they saw Ancestral Master Du E flash past on it, becoming an indispensable link in the rumors’ fermentation…”

“Ah?!”

Ji Wuyou stood up, frowning: “Did Grand Magister blame us?”

“He did not, everyone was quite tacit, pretending not to see.”

Li Changshou sighed: “But this kind of thing really cannot continue.”

“Good!”

Ji Wuyou urgently said, “I’ll go to Mount Kunlun right away to seek Master, I’ll tell him this!

I’ll say Grand Magister sent someone to remind us!”

Li Changshou could consider one worry settled in his heart.

He was just about to bid farewell and leave, to discuss with His Majesty the Jade Emperor where to place the Heavenly Emperor’s Righteous Virtue Stele and matters concerning the Northern Continent’s Barbarian Tribe;

His heart stirred slightly, and he asked one more question:

“Sect Leader, earlier I saw Junior Sister Youqin hurriedly leaving, may I ask what for?”

“Oh, a small matter,” Ji Wuyou smiled, “A peacock demon has appeared in the Youqin Kingdom recently, specifically harming human lives, feeding on mortals.

The Youqin Kingdom isn’t just Xuanya’s homeland, it’s also an important source of offerings for our sect. After several elders discussed it, they sent Xuanya and several sect elders to handle it.”

Li Changshou slowly nodded, indeed a small matter.

“In that case, this disciple will return to cultivate, pardon for disturbing Sect Leader.”

“This poor Daoist will write the letter now, come directly if anything comes up.”

The two rose and exchanged Daoist salutes, Li Changshou turned and walked out the small door, heading toward the hall entrance.

After just two steps, Li Changshou’s feet suddenly paused as he caught something unusual…

A peacock… demon?!