In the heart of the Lake of Tears, nine figures sat cross-legged around Little Ai, each deep in meditation.

From the Orthodox Teaching: Grand Master Xuandu and Li Changshou;

From the Enlightenment Teaching: Master Guangcheng, True Lord Taiyi, and True Lord Yuding;

From the Severing Sect: Master Duobao, Golden Spirit Holy Mother, Zhao Gongming, and Immortal Yunxiao.

Nine masters of the Dao, nine core disciples of the Immortal Sages, now gathered beneath the eighteenth layer of the Underworld’s hell. They sat less than ten feet from Little Ai, the Sadness Incarnation of Empress Houtu’s Seven Emotions, focusing intently on their task…

The Grand Master’s earlier words still echoed in their ears:

“To contend with the power of the Seven Emotions, we must first understand its true nature. It is neither divine ability nor magical technique, but rather a resonance with one’s own emotions. We must each find our way to resist the Seven Emotions’ power by confronting feelings of sorrow.

For instance, when facing Little Ai, try to focus on happy thoughts to counteract the negative emotions in your heart. If you feel overwhelmed, simply retreat—the further you are from Little Ai, the weaker her influence becomes…”

And so…

The impressive tableau of nine Sage disciples sitting in meditation lasted barely a quarter-hour before True Lord Taiyi burst out laughing, tears glinting in his eyes. He hurriedly turned and fled into the distance, simultaneously crying and laughing, all traces of his masterful bearing gone.

Master Duobao sighed, “Who would have thought Brother Taiyi was so sensitive to emotions?”

Master Guangcheng could only smile awkwardly, saying nothing.

The other eight managed to maintain their positions, though True Lord Yuding, who had arrived with Taiyi, showed absolutely no reaction, appearing to simply meditate quietly at the side.

“Ah,” Little Ai lay there, sighing softly as tears rolled down her cheeks, murmuring:

“What a pitiful incarnation I am. Already so wretched, yet still made to serve as others’ whetstone, surrounded and observed…

This must be the fate of us incarnations.

Our existence is false, merely an extension that shouldn’t exist.

You gather around me thinking only of how to eliminate me, yet I feel a ridiculous hint of joy in my heart at this bit of attention and company…

How even more tragic…”

“Alas, this humble Daoist can take no more!”

Master Duobao stood up, made a Daoist salute to Little Ai, and turned to flee into the distance.

“I can handle the other emotions, but this is too much! She is truly too pitiful!”

“Ah, even the only one who felt sorry for me has left.”

Little Ai showed a miserable smile, gently tapping the surface of the Lake of Tears, speaking in a daze:

“What happiness is there in existing at all?”

Golden Spirit Holy Mother rose and walked away, leaving only a sigh as she reached the distance. She wiped tears from the corners of her eyes, saying:

“I’m with the Senior Brother.”

The casualties increased to three.

Li Changshou looked with concern toward Immortal Yunxiao beside him, seeing her Dao resonance and emotions remain stable, his heart settled somewhat.

Half a day later, the remaining six stood up, each making a Daoist salute to Little Ai before joining the three who had retreated to the lake’s edge, convening the first special meeting on “Saving Empress Houtu.”

The Grand Master said: “Fellow junior brothers and sisters, do you now have a clear understanding of the Seven Emotions’ power?”

The immortals all nodded.

Master Guangcheng said gently: “The seven emotions and six desires are unavoidable for all living beings, including us cultivators of many years, though we usually don’t show them.

The Seven Emotion Incarnations of the great virtuous Empress Houtu aren’t born from her own emotions, but rather from the incomplete emotions discarded by all beings before entering reincarnation. Their power far exceeds what divine abilities can match.

We must have hearts that can embrace her Seven Emotion Incarnations if we wish to truly transcend the Seven Emotions.”

“Senior Brother speaks wisely,” True Lord Taiyi nodded with folded arms, showing strong agreement, then added, “Though thinking carefully, it seems he didn’t say anything.”

Master Guangcheng glared at True Lord Taiyi, who calmly rolled his eyes.

“Then you tell us,” Master Guangcheng casually produced a great seal and held it, saying indifferently, “What specifically should we do?”

True Lord Taiyi’s expression turned solemn as he said seriously:

“This humble Daoist has just carefully considered it… Senior Brother is right! We must embrace and protect!”

“Let’s not jest,” Grand Master Xuandu said with a smile, “Fellow junior brothers and sisters, do you need more time to understand?”

The immortals all shook their heads, having grasped how to counter the power of the Seven Emotions.

The Grand Master continued: “Previously, Changgen and I entered the Six Paths of Reincarnation disc and encountered Evil and Desire.

*Ahem*, under my cover, Changgen successfully passed through the Desire Incarnation to contact Empress Houtu…”

“Oh?”

Zhao Gongming’s eyes lit up as he looked at Li Changshou, smiling:

“My second sister is here as well. Changgen, why don’t you tell us more details about this?”

Immortal Yunxiao hurriedly said: “Elder Brother, please don’t be like this, we’re discussing important matters.”

“It’s fine,” Li Changshou responded with a smile, taking out several scrolls from his robes and sending them to the male immortals with spiritual power.

Li Changshou’s expression turned serious as he said:

“The Desire Incarnation can take myriad forms. For different cultivators, she can be either very strong or very weak.

Unlike Little Ai, the Desire Incarnation actively stirs up the desires in our hearts—these could be for cultivation, power, others’ respect, and so on. Once she takes advantage of these, the heart of our Dao becomes consumed by desire, leading to deviation.

After I withstood several of her attacks, she revealed an incredibly powerful ability—she can transform into the desires of living beings themselves, directly interfering with our Dao’s hearts.

Fortunately, when dealing with me, she transformed into carnal desire, and I happened to have some artifacts that could calm the Dao’s heart… these paintings.

Everyone can keep these with them. If you’re affected by the Desire Incarnation during battle, you can take them out to look at.”

The male immortals curiously opened the scrolls one by one, carefully examining them. The entire white expanse of the Lake of Tears’ realm suddenly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop…

Suddenly, someone coughed, and all the male immortals turned their heads to give Li Changshou very complicated looks.

Zhao Gongming took out a Sea-Calming Zhenzhu and squeezed his eyes hard, shooting out two small jets of water.

Master Duobao chuckled, his eyes rolling several times, clearly thinking of something.

Golden Spirit Holy Mother curiously peered at the treasure scroll in Zhao Gongming’s hand, her expression turning strange as she looked at Li Changshou’s current appearance and muttered:

“Junior Brother, do you perhaps look at these masterpieces of yours before meeting Sister Yunxiao?”

Li Changshou smiled, “These are merely for self-defense. Why would I need to guard against Immortal Yunxiao?”

Yunxiao suppressed a smile but said nothing.

True Lord Taiyi laughed with a sigh: “No wonder all the Dao disciples nowadays can’t compare to you.

Water God, able to do what others cannot, truly extraordinary.”

Li Changshou smiled without speaking, taking the opportunity to control the conversation’s direction, saying slowly:

“After finding Empress Houtu, I spoke with her at length.

Senior brothers and sisters surely understand how the Seven Emotion Incarnations came to be and why they emerged, so I won’t elaborate. Let me explain how to deal with them.

According to Empress Houtu’s guidance, resolving the Seven Emotion Incarnations’ difficulty requires a process of channeling and release. The Seven Emotions cannot be suppressed, only guided out.

This process requires all Seven Emotion Incarnations to manifest in the world simultaneously, affecting and restraining each other until they reach a stable state like the emotions of ordinary people.

Then, we can help the great virtuous Empress Houtu return from within the Seven Emotion Incarnations, completing this rescue mission.”

He paused briefly, giving the masters time to consider.

Master Duobao pondered, “We must have all Seven Emotion Incarnations appear simultaneously and achieve emotional balance.

This will be quite difficult…”

Li Changshou nodded, summarizing:

“This process has four steps: First, bring Little Ai back to the Six Paths of Reincarnation disc. Second, release Empress Houtu’s Seven Emotion Incarnations. Third, adjust the power of the Seven Emotion Incarnations. Fourth, rescue Empress Houtu.”

Golden Spirit Holy Mother frowned, “Then, what about Little Ai?”

Li Changshou fell silent for a moment.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the Orthodox Teaching’s top strategist?” Golden Spirit Holy Mother showed reluctance, “Why not save her?”

“We could, but we shouldn’t.”

Li Changshou transmitted: “They are all originally parts of Empress Houtu, just with different emotional tendencies that developed independent Dao hearts.

Neither you nor I are the ones involved—we don’t know how painful it is to have one’s Dao heart split like this. Isn’t Empress Houtu herself the main body of the Seven Emotion Incarnations?”

Golden Spirit Holy Mother wanted to speak but stopped herself. With her high level of cultivation, she was merely affected by emotions of sadness now, and naturally understood Li Changshou’s reasoning was correct.

Li Changshou glanced at Yunxiao, quickly shifting his gaze away as he continued:

“We now need to determine the division of labor for the third step. I will make a detailed plan later.

Currently, among the Seven Emotions’ powers, Little Ai is strongest, Evil second, and Desire third, followed by Fear and Anger, with Love and Joy last.

After all, few beings have happy thoughts when facing death, so not much Love and Joy were left for Empress Houtu…

Evil and Anger are the most aggressive, but we need to weaken Evil’s power and strengthen Anger’s power, to ease Evil and quickly intensify Anger.

Evil has fought with my Senior Brother before, so let’s have Senior Brother deal with it again—what do you all think?”

The Grand Master nodded with a smile, and the other immortals nodded as well.

Li Changshou continued: “Now there’s a question: who can make the Anger Incarnation most angry in the shortest time?”

The immortals thought for a moment, and eight gazes simultaneously turned toward…

The handsome and graceful True Lord Taiyi in his red robes.

True Lord Taiyi’s mouth twitched slightly as he took out a mirror to look at himself, saying indifferently:

“These days, even being a genuine male immortal makes one a target!

Fine, this humble Daoist will go deal with the Anger Incarnation!”

“That would indeed be suitable,” Li Changshou smiled with narrowed eyes, “after all, the Anger Incarnation isn’t particularly strong overall.”

True Lord Taiyi laughed and cursed: “You rascal Changgen! Come drink with me at Mount Qianyuan when you’re free!”

“Certainly,” Li Changshou agreed, continuing to discuss the assignments with the other immortals.

Soon, the list was finalized.

Zhao Gongming would handle the Fear Incarnation, while True Lord Yuding volunteered to deal with the Desire Incarnation;

Golden Spirit Holy Mother would manage the least challenging Love and Joy Incarnations, while Li Changshou and Immortal Yunxiao would jointly handle the most contagious Sadness Incarnation.

Master Guangcheng and Master Duobao would serve as the rescue team, providing timely support where needed.

Li Changshou cautioned: “This isn’t merely about magical combat. For instance, with the Joy Incarnation, the goal is to make her even happier.

The Love Incarnation has special arrangements—this isn’t just about romantic love between men and women but encompasses all forms of worldly love…

Senior Brother Guangcheng, there’s something here that requires the Enlightenment Teaching’s assistance.”

Li Changshou produced a jade talisman and handed it to Guangcheng, who read it and nodded, promising to make arrangements soon.

The arrangements were similar to those made with the Severing Sect.

Immortal Yunxiao asked softly: “How can we make Little Ai more cheerful?”

The Grand Master smiled: “Changgen, go demonstrate for Sister Yunxiao, and set an example for everyone.”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

Li Changshou stood up, made a Daoist salute to his senior brothers and sisters, and then rode a cloud toward the lake.

“Ah~~”

Little Ai’s sighs and murmurs drifted from afar.

“Poor me, to be used as a demonstration subject…

When sadness is so vast, how can it be filled?”

Li Changshou descended from his cloud and said gently: “Friend, how can you know I don’t understand your suffering when you are not me?”

Little Ai replied listlessly:

“Is mutual understanding necessary? Does anyone truly want to understand others? Aren’t people just pretending to understand others to get a response?

Isn’t it exhausting?”

Li Changshou: …

No point arguing—in this situation, no matter what reasoning he offered, there would be even more reasoning to counter it.

Well then, time for a different approach.

Li Changshou calmly sat before her, took out a book from his robes, and began reading, occasionally showing slight smiles and sometimes even putting down the book to laugh heartily.

The group of Dao immortals in the distance showed sudden understanding, seemingly grasping the essence of his approach.

Distract her attention, spark her curiosity!

Unfortunately, Little Ai just lay there silently weeping, completely ignoring Li Changshou’s behavior.

Li Changshou continued reading his book, showing no concern about his strategy backfiring…

After a while, Little Ai opened her eyes, tears glistening, with a trace of helplessness in them.

“Must you mock a sorrowful person here?

You have your happiness, I have my sorrow, can’t you laugh somewhere else?”

Li Changshou closed his book and asked puzzledly: “Friend, what do you truly have to be sad about?”

“Isn’t existence itself false, something that shouldn’t be—isn’t that worth being sad about?”

“Then, what is real?”

Li Changshou asked gently: “You said before that everything comes from beings’ perception of the external world, all glory is as false as passing clouds, nothing has any meaning.

But Little Ai, who defines these meanings?

Is it you?

Or did other beings give you such concepts?

Aren’t you truly existing right now as we talk?”

Little Ai murmured: “But my existence needs to be erased, must be corrected, so it’s still false.”

“Before that correction, don’t you want to experience other emotions?”

“What’s the point?” Little Ai asked sadly, “Can’t you just let me fade away?”

Li Changshou continued gently:

“It may have no meaning for yourself, but it has great meaning for the being who gave birth to you all and needs your help.

Even Little Ai, whose mind is occupied by sorrow and grief, isn’t she still that being?

You, who hide here afraid to go out for fear of hurting others, and she, who bears all suffering yet still thinks of helping others, are ultimately the same being.

The same gentleness.”

Little Ai’s lips trembled as she cried: “How can I help her? I’m just a useless thing that only knows sadness and despair!”

“Come, let’s play a simple game that might help you.”

Li Changshou extended his right hand toward Little Ai, “Just for her sake, can you make an effort to sit up?”

“There’s no point…”

“Well, lying there is fine too, watch.”

Golden points of light appeared in Li Changshou’s right hand, each containing the scene of him laughing while reading the book earlier.

“This is a portion of my happiness, bring out an equal amount of your sadness.”

Little Ai’s finger trembled, and a light blue orb slowly floated over, hovering in Li Changshou’s palm.

Li Changshou closed his eyes to channel his technique, kneading the two orbs together. Within them, the two colored light streams chased each other, transforming into taiji, and then returning to chaos.

Little Ai tilted her head watching, and though she sensed profound Dao resonance, she couldn’t understand its meaning…

Soon, Li Changshou took out a treasured pearl, injected the taiji sphere into it, and covered the pearl with a black cloth.

“Little Ai, tell me, is there joy or sorrow inside? You should understand the Yin-Yang Dao I just demonstrated?”

“Neither… it’s the chaos of emotions…”

“Chaos is constantly evolving, but the direction of evolution isn’t certain. I can tell you definitively that the emotions inside have already taken form.

Chaos gives birth to yin and yang, and here it has produced the two most basic emotions: sorrow and joy.

So, there’s a fifty percent chance it’s sorrow and a fifty percent chance it’s joy, right?”

“Mm, it seems so.”

“Then if you never lift this black cloth, can sorrow and joy be said to exist simultaneously?”

“I suppose that’s one way to look at it…”

Little Ai tilted her head, and the Dao immortals in the distance all tilted their heads too, growing increasingly confused.

Li Changshou smiled: “So, sorrow and joy have overlapped, and as long as you don’t lift this cloth, both can exist simultaneously.

Now look forward—you might be able to see the next moment, the next hour, but what about further?

If time is distant enough, in that unseeable future, aren’t those emotions also in a state of chaos?

In emotional chaos, sorrow and joy exist simultaneously, undetermined, only collapsing in one direction when you reach that point.

Fifty percent chance of sorrow, fifty percent chance of joy, right?”

“No, what you’re saying is sophistry,” Little Ai shook her head immediately, “I won’t live that long, everything about me is predetermined.”

“Then tell me,” Li Changshou shook the sphere under the black cloth, “is there sorrow in here?”

Little Ai was stunned.

Li Changshou smiled with narrowed eyes and said, “Look down.”

Little Ai instinctively looked down and saw that she had unknowingly propped herself up to sit at an angle, the black gauze dress strap sliding gently off her shoulder…

Li Changshou stood up, placed the cloth-wrapped pearl in front of Little Ai, and said softly:

“Sadness isn’t the meaning of your existence, feeling the sadness of living beings is.”

With that, Li Changshou turned and rode his cloud back to the group of Dao immortals.

Little Ai looked at the black cloth-wrapped pearl, slowly sat up, and reached out her small hand, but withdrew it just before touching the black cloth, repeating this several times.

The sorrowful atmosphere pervading the Lake of Tears had already thinned considerably.

“Hey, Senior Brother Xuandu,” Zhao Gongming moved close to Grand Master Xuandu and whispered: “What realm is Changgen in now?”

“Unknown,” the Grand Master looked at his own hands, where two orbs of light slowly rotated.

Zhao Gongming smiled: “What are you doing, Senior Brother Xuandu?”

“Learning it for later use when confronting Little Evil,” the Grand Master crushed the light orbs, and smiled calmly, already confident.

The essence of taiji? Simple, couldn’t be more familiar!