Energy depleted, spirit exhausted…

Spirit depletion often came after consecutive massive spirit explosions, leaving one’s body feeling hollow and mind in a daze.

From within his heart came Tower Lord’s concerned inquiry: “What’s wrong? Is your spirit overtaxed?”

Li Changshou let out a sigh.

Not yet—he couldn’t relax just yet. Even though he had the Xuanhuang Tower’s protection, he still needed to remain vigilant while outside.

Li Changshou silently recited the Heart Clarifying Scripture, squeezing out a bit more energy before forcing his eyes open…

Ah, that flowing long hair.

And those two figures, striking poses from a classic movie in his previous life—one with arms spread wide, the other holding the waist of the person in front, feeling the rushing wind.

In this moment, accompanied by hazy light and shadows, it was truly nostalgic…

“Horse, your mane is getting in my mouth, moo!”

“Ox, stop talking! The atmosphere, the atmosphere! It’s not every day we get to ride a dragon! Neigh~”

Li Changshou jerked awake, instantly becoming more alert. He calmly walked to the edge of the dragon’s back and kicked Ox Head and Horse Face flying with one swift motion.

“Ao Yi, where are we now?”

“We’ve entered the North Sea, Sect Master Brother. Would you like to rest a while longer?” asked Ao Yi, who had transformed into an azure dragon.

Li Changshou slowly shook his head. With hands clasped behind his back, he walked to the dragon’s head and stood beside Ao Yi’s horn, gazing at the vast world before him. A slight smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

The battle at Monster Ascension Mountain had yielded considerable gains, but he had indeed taken an enormous risk.

For at least the next two hundred years, he would need to cease active scheming, allowing any potential “fortune” attached to him to slide away…

Though being recruited by Lord Heavenly Dao had earned him substantial merit, he also had to bear the corresponding risks.

This time dealing with the Monster Tribe, most of the karmic consequences were shouldered by His Majesty the Jade Emperor, but Lu Ya, who hadn’t been eliminated, had become a minor hidden danger for Li Changshou…

Better to honestly hide away and cultivate.

Thinking carefully, the greatest gain from this venture wasn’t the two portions of merit, but rather…

The Great Pure Lord had directly transmitted teachings to him!

In the Primordial World, hearing a Sacred Lord lecture once was enough to claim status as their registered disciple. This direct transmission was even “teaching according to aptitude”—the “Great Pure Water Virtue Chapter”!

If Li Changshou wished, he could already acknowledge the Sacred Lord as his master and casually claim the status of Sacred Lord’s disciple.

That he hadn’t been officially accepted as a disciple yet likely meant he still hadn’t done enough.

Better to secure a few more positions.

Question the heart, examine nature, know the self, seek tranquility…

The Dragon Tribe matter was settled, the Monster Tribe’s气焰 had been suppressed, and the Netherworld affairs could be dealt with gradually.

Soon he would only need to secretly move Little Jade Peak next to Doushuai Palace, then he could peacefully stay at home and comprehend the Dao of Non-Action.

This was the fundamental path to becoming stronger!

“Brother,” Ao Yi asked, “should we pick up the soul-collecting officials?”

Li Changshou glanced at Ox Head and Horse Face sprinting frantically across the sea surface, falling further and further behind the little azure dragon. He shook his head and had the dragon turn back halfway…

Detonating Monster Ascension Mountain, seizing the Man-Exterminating Sword—after several such busy days, Li Changshou successfully resolved the Barbarian Tribe’s infertility problem. Overall, it could be said he had overcome difficulties and achieved no small feat!

Upon reaching the Northern Continent, he met with all four Grand Barbarian Priests. Li Changshou took out a memory-recording pearl and gave a detailed explanation, complete with images, of the Monster Tribe’s schemes. He then produced the now-spiritless Man-Exterminating Sword…

The Grand Barbarian Priests took turns holding the Man-Exterminating Sword, sensing the traces of departed spirits upon it. Each of them was driven to extreme anger!

The Barbarian Tribe was naturally deeply grateful to Li Changshou, but they were impoverished and had nothing suitable to offer as thanks. Moreover, they had long sworn not to leave the Northern Continent, so they couldn’t even run errands for Li Changshou.

For a moment, the Grand Barbarian Priests were quite embarrassed…

Li Changshou smiled and said: “The Barbarian Tribe carries Pangu’s divine bloodline. Though you have made mistakes, you don’t deserve extinction. I merely followed circumstances and acted on His Majesty the Jade Emperor’s orders. In the future, the Barbarian Tribe’s prosperity in the Northern Continent will help stabilize the northern frontier, which already eases Heaven’s burden considerably. There’s no need to fixate on what thanks to give me.”

The four Grand Barbarian Priests repeatedly bowed, and Li Changshou waved his hand, taking his leave with flair.

One must know contentment.

The Barbarian Tribe was already this poor—taking advantage of them further would be most unseemly…

Due to his extreme mental fatigue, Li Changshou had Ox Head, Horse Face, and the other six Barbarian Tribe experts who had played minor supporting roles returned to the Ghost Realm on their own.

Li Changshou then asked Ao Yi to return to Heaven and help him request leave from East Wood Duke, saying he had expended too much mental energy earlier and needed to rest quietly for a month or two…

After handling these matters, Li Changshou used earth-travel techniques to return to Degree Immortal Gate.

The closer he got to Degree Immortal Gate, the more fatigue Li Changshou felt, with waves of mental exhaustion washing over him.

This was the aftereffect of those two consecutive activations of the Earth-Killing Spirit Explosion Array. Though artistically executed, the aftereffects were also extreme.

The best recovery method was to completely relax his spirit and have a good sleep.

“Tower Lord, could you make an exception and watch over me while I rest later?”

“No problem!”

Waves of spiritual thoughts came from the Heaven Earth Mysterious Yellow Spiritual Tower: “Little apprentice, you sleep as much as you want, sleep peacefully—even if you were lying in the Monster Tribe’s old lair, we’d still be fine! Little apprentice, that Spirit Explosion move of yours is getting more and more skillful! Though it still can’t harm those truly powerful experts now, it sure looks impressive!”

Li Changshou: …

That was praise, probably.

Relying on his still-robust willpower, Li Changshou endured until reaching Degree Immortal Gate’s mountain entrance, quietly returning to Little Jade Peak.

The last ninety miles are half the journey—the more one approaches such “final” moments, the harder it becomes to maintain focus.

Li Changshou had intended to find a corner and hide away using transformation techniques before resting.

But when he saw his rocking chair, his spirit could no longer hold out. He withdrew his paper avatar and fell backward, directly lying down.

Five consecutive Spirit Explosions had too strong an impact on the mind—better not pull such stunts in the future…

The Mysterious Yellow Tower gently flashed, appearing above Li Changshou’s primordial spirit, sprinkling streams of cool energy to help ease his fatigue.

Li Changshou’s miniature primordial spirit figure was already drowsy. He meant to thank Tower Lord and check on Little E’s cultivation, but as thoughts swirled in his mind, his primordial spirit figure directly plunged downward…

Having a Primordial Treasure guard his sleep—Li Changshou felt he was being a bit too extravagant.

He drifted into slumber, letting out soft snores.

A moment later, Little E, who had been in meditation at the entrance, was drawn by these snores she had only heard twice before. She slowly opened her eyes.

Senior Brother, asleep?!

Little E’s pretty face was full of shock. She stood up quietly and looked at the figure in the reclining chair.

Listening carefully to the snores—they were coming from this figure’s nose and mouth!

“Senior Brother?”

Little E raised her hand and gently poked Li Changshou’s hand. She nearly burst into tears of joy on the spot, her heart full of emotion!

How many years had it been since she had touched Senior Brother’s actual flesh and blood body?

Wait…

What an opportunity!

Little E’s eyes lit up, and she immediately revealed a mischievous smile. She ran to the pill room to find brush and ink, then began sizing up her Senior Brother.

Hmph, hmph, you annoying Senior Brother—I’ll write the entire Stability Scripture all over your face!

“If I’m going to be punished anyway, might as well do something worth punishing!”

Little E giggled, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled. She dipped her brush in ink and tilted her head, studying her Senior Brother’s sleeping face, considering where to begin.

The illusion on Li Changshou’s body had dispersed after returning to the mountain, but the several layers of charm-reducing disguise that operated automatically were still in effect…

Yet even so, she became somewhat entranced just looking at him, standing there in a daze with a brush in hand.

Gradually, Little E’s pretty face turned slightly red, her crystal-clear lips gently biting down as a soft call escaped between them:

“Senior Brother…”

Li Changshou naturally did not react at this moment, his subconscious already completely familiar with Little E’s presence.

This kind of thing… Senior Brother probably wouldn’t scold her…

Little E pressed her left hand against the rocking chair’s armrest, slowly bending down, her cheeks growing slightly warm.

Her eyes flickered gently as her field of vision gradually filled with Senior Brother’s face, slowly drawing closer…

Just… just once…

In the warm afternoon sunlight, those strands of dark hair falling like pearl curtains were caught by a slightly trembling small hand, tucked behind an ear and gently pressed there.

Perhaps there was sound, perhaps there was none. In that moment of gentle touch, time seemed to freeze, and even the wind stood still.

A solitary figure amidst falling flowers, as paired swallows fly in the light rain.

Shortly after, a graceful figure jumped back in panic, flushing red from neck to forehead.

With a “poof,” a small mushroom cloud burst from the top of Little E’s head. She turned and used wind-travel techniques, vanishing in a flash…

…

In the Heavenly Court, within the Jade Pure Treasure Palace.

East Wood Duke hurriedly entered and saw the Jade Emperor on his high platform, smiling at a memorial. He quickly bowed his head in greeting.

“Your Majesty! The Water God had Ao Yi seek me out to request leave for some time, saying he had expended too much mental energy and needed quiet rest.”

“Long Geng is unwell?”

The white-robed Jade Emperor stood up with a start. “What exactly happened? Was he injured?”

“Please be at ease, Your Majesty. I inquired about everything in detail,” East Wood Duke smiled and said. “According to Ao Yi’s account, the Water God overextended himself in casting spells, forcibly detonating Monster Ascension Mountain, thus depleting too much mental energy. With the Great Pure’s marvelous methods, he should be fine.”

“Ah…”

The Jade Emperor’s expression immediately relaxed considerably. “This devastating blow to the wicked monsters has raised Heaven’s prestige, and the Heavenly Court didn’t suffer a single casualty—all thanks to Long Geng’s painstaking efforts and careful planning.”

“Your Majesty,” East Wood Duke said, “I dare suggest that perhaps Your Majesty should issue an edict having the Water God focus on strategy in the future, leaving the actual fighting to the heavenly soldiers and generals. The Water God laboring so hard in both mind and body, personally handling everything, is truly too exhausting.”

The Jade Emperor nodded and said: “This can only be advised, I cannot issue such an edict. Long Geng sees that the Heavenly Court has just begun to improve and doesn’t want the Heavenly soldiers and generals to suffer losses, but this approach is also detrimental to training Heaven’s army. Wood Duke, how do you think we should reward Long Geng this time?”

“Well…”

East Wood Duke pondered for a moment. “Your Majesty, the Water God’s merits are sufficient for advancement in divine rank, but the formal edict appointing him as Water God hasn’t even been formed yet. To bring this up now would be too hasty and might cause discontent among the immortals.”

The Jade Emperor thought briefly, then smiled and said: “Long Geng most enjoys merit. This time, let’s give him… double merit salary for a thousand years and freedom of movement throughout the Heavenly Court’s mounts. Add some other rewards as well—the Water God’s Palace may summon the Moon Palace’s Chang’e attendants at will.”

“Yes,” East Wood Duke lowered his head to accept the decree, inwardly full of admiration.

Summoning the Moon Palace’s Chang’e attendants at will…

This treatment was nearly that of the Jade Emperor’s brother!

However, coming back to it, the Water God only had avatars in the Heavenly Court, and he never held singing, dancing, or drinking banquets normally, so such rewards merely sounded good without much practical meaning.

East Wood Duke couldn’t help but think of how Monster Ascension Mountain had been directly torn apart, and he silently sighed in his heart.

Some immortals simply couldn’t be compared to others.

More than half a month after the Monster Ascension Mountain battle, the various parts of the Heavenly Court were still discussing that day’s explosion.

By now the heavenly generals and soldiers had processed what happened, and many generals had analyzed and reconstructed the battle.

—That heavenly general “Ke Zhen’e” who never appeared again was an avatar of the Water God. The Water God had used a clever strategy to gather the Monster Tribe’s “radical elements” on Monster Ascension Mountain and eliminated them in one strike.

What does it mean to be a master of strategy?

In just a few days, starting from a small initial scheme, he took advantage of the Monster Tribe’s dismissive attitude toward the Heavenly Court to attract many powerful monsters to Monster Ascension Mountain.

By the time the Spirit Explosion occurred, these monsters realized…

They had been deceived!

Though this process seemed to have many hidden dangers, careful analysis revealed an underlying “grand momentum.”

When the Heavenly Court was continuously losing and monster morale was high, even if someone had told the Monster Tribe this was all Heaven’s plot, how many monsters would have believed it?

However, such schemes of the Water God work best the first time.

Now the Monster Tribe absolutely wouldn’t dare underestimate the Heavenly Court, and it would be unlikely to succeed so smoothly with such schemes in the future…

During this time, when the heavenly generals gathered to chat and discuss, they also considered how to trick and trap the Monster Tribe and enemies in the future. These leaders who previously only thought about deploying troops began, without prior agreement, to contemplate underhanded and ruthless tactics.

The atmosphere in the Heavenly Court thus became much “warmer.”

“Ke… Zhen’e?”

At the Central Heaven Gate, Bian Zhuang, who was currently on duty guarding the gate, softly mumbled this name.

He increasingly felt that he had been set up by the Water God from the very beginning!

‘If Ke Zhen’e was the Water God, then who was Ke Le’er…’

Suddenly, a call came from beside him: “Commander Bian, someone’s coming!”

Bian Zhuang immediately gathered his thoughts and looked up, his eyes brightening and his breath catching slightly.

It was an immortal maiden he had never seen before, slowly floating over on a cloud.

Her features were beautiful and delicate, her skin moist with a natural glow, far surpassing ordinary immortal maidens. With her celestial dress floating and gauze veils creating a misty effect, she possessed an indescribable beauty.

Bian Zhuang immediately stepped forward, chest out and head high, clearing his throat. He flicked a strand of hair from his forehead, his silver armor gleaming slightly, and used his most gentle deep voice to say:

“This is restricted heavenly territory. Please halt, immortal maiden.”

The immortal maiden descended from her cloud, looked at Bian Zhuang, and said: “Heavenly General, I come on orders to seek the Heavenly Court’s Water God. Please do not obstruct me.”

Bian Zhuang frowned slightly. Though his heart fluttered for this young lady…

He now had three or four immortal maidens in the Jasper Pool making his heart flutter, so he wasn’t as susceptible as he had been in the past.

That dark history of pining away in the Dragon Palace was simply too embarrassing!

“Immortal maiden,” Bian Zhuang smiled and said, “The Heavenly Court’s Water God is a high-ranking deity who cannot be seen casually. Why don’t you announce your background, and I’ll send someone to report to the Water God’s Palace. If the Water God wishes to see you, he will.”

The immortal maiden frowned slightly, seeming somewhat displeased, but still said softly: “In my view, General, it would be more appropriate to let me enter first, then send someone to report to the Water God’s Palace.”

“Oh?”

Bian Zhuang smiled slightly. “The immortal maiden seems quite confident. May I ask where you come from and whose orders you carry?”

“I come from the Holy Mother’s Palace, carrying Lady Nu Wa’s orders to request the Water God’s presence for a conversation.”

Bian Zhuang’s smile froze on his face, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he said firmly:

“Please proceed, immortal maiden. This humble general will escort you to the Water God’s Palace!”

The immortal maiden said a word of thanks, without adding another word.