In the Jade Emperor’s Crystal Palace, shortly after Li Changshou took his position at the Moon Palace.

“Changgeng hung a bronze mirror there, allowing people to see what he’s doing at any time?”

“Not only that, but the Water God also lost his temper with Heng’e’s handmaiden because Heng’e hadn’t shown herself. The poor handmaiden was nearly driven to tears.”

“Hahaha! This Changgeng!”

The Jade Emperor couldn’t contain his laughter, clapping his hands in delight. “He truly… ahem, always comes up with something new! To think of such an idea – impressive, truly impressive.”

Master Wood smiled from below the high platform: “It’s clear that the Water God is genuinely concerned about this matter. Your Majesty, how should we counter this move?”

The Jade Emperor pondered carefully before asking puzzledly: “Why should we counter it?”

Master Wood blinked and asked softly: “Your Majesty, wasn’t sending the Water God to the Moon Palace meant to weaken the Severing Sect’s influence over him…?”

The White-Robed Jade Emperor was visibly stunned for a moment, but then slowly nodded and sighed: “My such worries truly cannot escape Master Wood’s notice.”

Eastern Master Wood breathed a sigh of relief – this time, he hadn’t misread the Jade Emperor’s intentions.

The Jade Emperor stroked his chin in contemplation before quickly saying: “With the Great Tribulation approaching and the Three Schools’ discussion of the God-Making Ceremony in a hundred years, Loyal Minister Changgeng indeed shouldn’t have too much contact with the Severing Sect. This would prevent excessive interference during the Great Tribulation and avoid its backlash. So, Master Wood, how do you think we should counter Changgeng’s move?”

Eastern Master Wood thought for a moment before shaking his head. “This old servant is too foolish to devise any clever plans.”

The Jade Emperor hummed in thought while sitting there, carefully considering before shaking his head with a smile.

“No matter. Let Changgeng decide for himself. Let him do whatever makes him comfortable there – it’s only ten years after all.”

Master Wood seemed to want to say something but held back, simply bowing his head in agreement, not daring to speak further.

The Jade Emperor changed the subject, his expression becoming serious: “How goes the investigation into Fu Yuan’s background?”

Eastern Master Wood’s expression also became extremely solemn as he began to report his findings in detail. The Crystal Palace was enveloped in golden light, cutting off all external probing.

Setting aside the Jade Emperor and Master Wood’s secret investigation of Heaven’s traitors;

In the Moon Palace, Li Changshou began his leisurely teaching career in perfect tranquility.

Originally a gathering place of Heaven’s beauties in the Moon Osmanthus Palace, he showed little romantic interest, instead starting…

‘Bronze Mirror Broadcasts’ by his side, with three small barbecue meals a day.

The beautiful Chang’e maidens were initially somewhat shy, but after half a day, under the arrangement of several female immortal officials, they began taking turns performing dances to show their skills to the Chief Instructor.

In the great hall, music flowed smoothly, and graceful shadows multiplied.

Li Changshou ate the excellent fruits and delicacies that Ao Yi continuously sent over while calmly appreciating the beautiful scene.

Although it was just a paper avatar with somewhat dulled senses, Li Changshou still felt quite content.

At moments like these, the experience of Ao Yi, the Second Prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace, demonstrated its supreme effectiveness!

In the Heavenly Court, those who could face such beauty without being fixated could be counted on one’s fingers, but Ao Yi was one of them.

There was no other reason – he had seen too much.

The songs and dances in Heaven still belonged to the ‘refined’ category. When it came to entertainment, the ancient noble dragon race knew how to truly enjoy themselves.

However, after just a few days, Bian Zhuang became somewhat restless.

Logically speaking, Bian Zhuang’s childhood living environment was even more luxurious than Ao Yi’s. As the young master of the Skyreach Pavilion, the leading temporary karma-resolution establishment outside the Five Continents, Bian Zhuang had seen plenty of such scenes since childhood.

But for Bian Zhuang, the Heavenly fairies seemed to hold some inexplicable attraction.

The first time he came to the Moon Palace, Bian Zhuang came to report the shortage of military equipment in the Heavenly River Navy, and Li Changshou tolerated it.

But not half a day later, Bian Zhuang came again to report that soldiers in the Heavenly River Navy had gotten into a fight…

After another hour, Bian Zhuang came to report that someone in the Heavenly River Navy had suffered heatstroke from overtraining…

Li Changshou immediately sealed Bian Zhuang’s immortal power, called for Ao Yi, had Bian Zhuang tied up, and sent them to soak in the Heavenly River until he came to his senses.

This Second Senior Brother truly had the mind of a pig.

Since liberating his nature, he had become far too unrestrained – he would surely stumble because of this in the future!

Thinking of Bian Zhuang reminded Li Changshou of the Journey to the West and that Golden Cicada who he had sent back for reforging.

Currently, he needed to focus all his energy on dealing with the God-Making Tribulation, so the Journey to the West matter didn’t need to be rushed.

Looking at the results of the two tribulations, the Journey to the West was merely about the Western Region’s rise to prominence; but the God-Making Ceremony could determine who would be in charge of the Western Region during its ascendance.

Coming to the Moon Palace once, Li Changshou couldn’t return empty-handed, and he needed to show some results as an instructor.

He planned that half a year before his departure, he would introduce a new performance style to the Chang’e maidens – singing and dancing.

There would be no soft landing here.

He would probably have to torment that little Jade Rabbit too, making her learn that “Ho, Ha, Ho, Ha, Shariva, Shariva” routine.

Getting some early participation in the Great Tribulation.

Ahem, back to serious matters.

While Li Changshou was dealing with his duties, the signing of the God-Making List was imminent. He couldn’t waste time playing around with a group of Chang’e maidens in the Moon Palace.

A single avatar naturally couldn’t bind all his attention.

The act of broadcasting from the Moon Osmanthus Palace wasn’t just about setting an example for male immortals and distributing some benefits, or about rectifying his reputation.

There were several layers of consideration during this period that others didn’t know about.

— Li Changshou wanted to use this opportunity to investigate the Western School thoroughly!

Knowing both oneself and the enemy leads to victory in every battle.

Li Changshou felt that his understanding of the Western School had always remained superficial, only knowing that the Western School had two Sages, numerous Sage disciples, and controlled large numbers of primordial fierce beasts and ancient demon races.

Beyond that, he knew very little.

Because in ancient times, the Western School had established itself directly outside the Dao Gate, the Sages achieved their status by making great vows and gaining boundless merit, and since ancient times, the Western School had possessed an urgent desire for expansion.

Over so many years, how many experts had they converted? And how large had their influence grown outside the Five Continents?

It was probably incalculable.

Although using the phrase ‘harbor evil’ to describe Sage’s great teaching was somewhat disrespectful, the Western School was indeed very Western in this aspect.

Sage Jieyin had many disciples who hadn’t yet appeared, and so far he had mainly crossed paths with Dizang, while Golden Cicada barely counted as half a Sage’s disciple.

Dizang and Hearing had caused him considerable trouble, and although White Tiger had now restrained Hearing, they couldn’t be underestimated;

Furthermore, Virtual Bodhi had twice attempted to incite the demon race, trying to use them to weaken Heaven and delay Heaven’s rise to power. His intentions were extremely obvious and his approach very clear, both times operating subtly and allowing the Western School to withdraw unscathed.

It had to be said that this Virtual Bodhi would also be a troublesome enemy.

From Lu Ya’s death until today, the reason the world appeared peaceful was that with the Great Tribulation approaching, Heaven had become its main driver. The God-Making Ceremony would inevitably revolve around Heaven, so the Western School could only restrict its disciples and wait quietly for the Great Tribulation to reveal its specific patterns.

Not just the Western School – the Severing Sect and the Enlightenment School didn’t dare to move rashly at this moment.

But Li Changshou could sense undercurrents flowing beneath Heaven’s surface, constantly surging throughout the primordial world.

Regarding the traitors in Heaven, Li Changshou wasn’t in a hurry to root them out. They could also serve as his chess pieces, becoming important components in some backup plans…

Calculation wasn’t simply about countering moves; one must also learn to leverage circumstances.

Taking advantage of this brief window, Li Changshou lounged carefreely in the Moon Osmanthus Palace, ‘broadcasting’ his whereabouts for all of Heaven to know.

Some ‘beautiful stories’ began circulating in the primordial world, such as how the Water God feared his wife or was wary of Cloud Fairy.

Really!

How could an immortal’s matters be called fear?

It was merely appropriate respect!

But in secret, Li Changshou’s paper avatars departed from the eastern and southern edges of the world, transformed into the appearances of young women and old ladies, gradually moving farther away until they disappeared.

Li Changshou didn’t dare to comment rashly on the Sages, but whether it was the Sage Lords or most of the experts in the primordial world, they all subconsciously treated the Three Thousand Great Worlds as appendages of the Five Continents, holding a somewhat dismissive attitude toward the Three Thousand Worlds.

But how could Li Changshou overlook this matter?

When dealing with the dragon race, the Western School had already used ‘forces’ from the Three Thousand Worlds several times.

What Li Changshou wanted to investigate this time was precisely this outer circle of the Western School’s influence.

To be safe, both of Li Changshou’s paper avatars had undergone six layers of disguise processing. If exposed or if they appeared within a thousand li of a Golden Immortal, they would self-destruct immediately.

However, this investigation revealed much – after personally investigating, many of Li Changshou’s previous understanding underwent changes.

Thinking carefully, he had also been influenced by cultivators’ ‘habitual thinking’ before, believing that even though many forces had risen in the Three Thousand Worlds over the past ten thousand years, their influence on the Five Continents remained limited, ultimately remaining just ‘accessories’ to the Five Continents.

This wasn’t the case.

After just two years of external investigation, Li Changshou’s level of attention to the Three Thousand Worlds rose sharply.

The most direct reason was that the human race and human cultivators in the Three Thousand Worlds were truly too numerous.

This world had never lacked people with outstanding talent, and the Three Thousand Worlds had nurtured large numbers of experts, long since dividing into forces both large and small.

Some large forces could occupy an entire Great Thousand World, radiating influence to many nearby Great Thousand Worlds and Small Thousand Worlds, truly deserving to be called ‘vast.’

The Western School possessed many forces of such scale!

In two years, Li Changshou, taking advantage of his superior movement techniques, had tirelessly investigated a hundred Great Thousand Worlds.

Among these, more than thirty had been ‘unified,’ with half showing the Western School’s influence!

And of the other sixty-plus Great Thousand Worlds, the majority also had the Western School’s forces reaching out with their long arms!

The Western School had never utilized this portion of its foundation.

“It’s a bit scary.”

In fact, not just dealing with the Western School – to rewrite the rules of heaven and earth and perfect the way of balance, Li Changshou also had to fundamentally adjust his attitude toward the Three Thousand Worlds.

The Five Continents were the holy land in cultivators’ hearts, and the mortal realm of the Southern Jambu Continent was especially the gathering place of human destiny – the most crucial of all;

But the Three Thousand Worlds contained immense potential, far from being merely simple ‘recruitment grounds.’

Li Changshou had discovered that the Western School was heavily promoting ‘incense worship religion’ in some Great Thousand Worlds, with massive numbers of mortals providing them with the power of worship. Though not as effective as the Southern Jambu Continent’s mortal realm, it accumulated considerable merit over months and years.

This reminded Li Changshou of a certain existence that would appear after the God-Making Tribulation –

The Buddhist Kingdom.

The Western School’s ambitions weren’t as simple as repaying their ‘loan’ of heavenly merit. These two Sages seemed unwilling to remain forever overshadowed by the Dao Gate Sages.

“What else can I do?”

In a dark corner somewhere, Li Changshou muttered to himself, continuously pondering as he caused his two dispatched paper avatars to spontaneously combust and dissipate.

Since Heaven currently couldn’t spare the resources to conquer everywhere…

Why not secretly establish some forces, using Heaven’s resources and destiny to let these forces develop and grow independently in the Three Thousand Worlds?

Li Changshou’s eyes brightened as he wrote down this idea, his paper avatar writing furiously in the secret chamber.

Once the train of thought opened up, Li Changshou’s ideas multiplied.

He had previously considered ‘Heaven’s shadow forces,’ but that was merely an idea forced out to settle future Monk Wenjing, and he hadn’t paid it much attention.

Compared to then, what more did he have now?

White Tiger.

White Tiger’s strategies and wisdom were sufficient to support a great force!

With the addition of a few experts and his paper avatars following at all times, establishing a foothold in the Three Thousand Worlds wouldn’t be difficult.

There was also Ancestral Master Jiang Lin’er…

This iron-plate Ancestral Master who had experience in the Three Thousand Worlds could also be of great help when the force was just starting!

He wouldn’t need to spend too much effort on this force – White Tiger’s appearance could completely serve as his shadow!

This matter would only need a secret decree from the Jade Emperor. Taking advantage of the current chaos in heaven’s mechanisms where others couldn’t calculate outcomes, with the secret cooperation of the Dragon Race and the Underworld, it would become a wildfire spreading across the plains!

Suppress the West, let Heaven rise, protect the Dao Gate, and balance the Heavenly Way!

Li Changshou picked up his brush and wrote three large characters on the white paper before him:

[Approaching Heaven Palace]!

Hmm?

Li Changshou frowned, closed his eyes, and took a breath, as points of blue light flickered around him.

He activated the advanced version of the Clear Void Dao Heart – Sage Moment, carefully sensing his condition.

There was no tribulation interference; these thoughts had been circling and accumulating in his mind for years.

So when to begin this matter?

Maintaining his clear void state of mind, Li Changshou thought carefully, then took another sheet of paper and wrote down a row of peculiar ‘codes.’

A dog, implying Howling Celestial Dog, meaning Yang Jian’s matter;

A small skirt, representing You Qin Xuanya’s ascension to Heaven, the supercelestial soldier plan;

A character for illness, representing the one hundred and eight demon soldiers and Underworld matters;

A stone, implying Stone Sovereign Mother, someone he needed to visit soon…

A dining table, representing the fellowship activities of the Enlightenment and Severing Sects’ Sage disciples…

A cave, implying the Fire Cloud Cave;

A cloud, referring to visiting Five Elements Mountain’s Great Immortal Zhenyuan, to try to win over such neutral powerful beings…

After these were seven or eight more objects, and only then did Li Changshou draw a simple wooden house, representing the establishment of the Approaching Heaven Palace.

“There isn’t a small amount of work here.”

Li Changshou chuckled lightly. His thoughts were clear and insights suddenly arose. He was about to close his eyes to concentrate when his thoughts wavered slightly.

His paper avatar in the Moon Palace detected Princess Longji bringing her young aunt – Hua Yun, toward the Moon Osmanthus Palace.

Hua Yun had already changed her name by now, being called Cloud Fairy, and in just two years had reached the True Immortal realm.

This cultivation level wasn’t achieved through cultivation, but directly bestowed by the Queen Mother. It would later increase to the Heavenly Immortal realm. The drawback was that she completely lacked combat abilities; the advantage was possessing a pure immortal spirit body.

Although this method couldn’t directly raise one to the Golden Immortal realm, Heaven had the Peach of Immortality Spirit Root, which could naturally grant Cloud Fairy a long lifespan.

Cultivation cheats were just occasional enlightenment sessions.

The Jade Emperor and Queen Mother were the true standard ‘cheat sellers’!

Li Changshou waited for a while as Longji brought Cloud Fairy flying from the side of the great hall, not disturbing the Chang’e maidens practicing their dance, arriving before Li Changshou’s seat.

Li Changshou adjusted the bronze mirror’s position, temporarily shutting off its ‘sound transmission’ function, letting the bronze mirror at the Water God Manor only show his face.

“Teacher,” Longji called softly.

“Mm,” Li Changshou nodded with a smile, rising to perform a Daoist greeting to the two Heaven ‘princesses,’ then summoned two meditation cushions, indicating they should sit.

“What brings you here?”

Longji took the initiative to transmit sound: “Teacher, my aunt has something to ask of you… Teacher is Father’s most trusted person, could you please help intercede, let my aunt go down to the mortal realm once?”

Cloud Fairy’s eyes held some apologetic intent as she said softly: “Sorry to trouble you.”

“Go down to the mortal realm?”

Li Changshou frowned and transmitted: “What’s the point of going down to the mortal realm for no good reason?”

Cloud Fairy sighed lightly and handed Li Changshou a letter. Li Changshou opened it for a look – it was a letter Cloud Fairy had written to Yang Tianyou…

The letter was full of yearning emotions and heartfelt suffering.

Li Changshou glanced at it a few times before returning the letter, saying softly:

“Cloud Fairy, on the day you decided to ascend to Heaven, you cut off all ties with the mortal realm.

I know your feelings have taken deep root, but here I can only remind Cloud Fairy one thing… go find His Majesty and reveal the truth. Only with His Majesty’s permission can this romance have any outcome.

His Majesty also has memories of mortal tribulation and has long known of this matter. If you are frank with His Majesty, perhaps His Majesty might even bring Yang Tianyou up to Heaven for you to reunite.”

— This was indeed the most perfect version for the birth of Erlang God Yang Jian, and Li Changshou was even confident he could convince the Jade Emperor.

But unfortunately, he couldn’t forcefully interfere.

“This…”

Cloud Fairy frowned slightly, softly humming, “I’m still somewhat afraid.”

Li Changshou smiled: “If you’re afraid, better to forget it.”

“If I could forget, ai…”

“Longji,” Li Changshou said seriously, “you shouldn’t get too involved in this matter. Don’t think that having a bit of cleverness means you can hide from others’ eyes.

In Heaven, we must also heed the four characters that mean ‘public opinion is fearsome.'”

After speaking, Li Changshou waved lightly. Cloud Fairy’s eyes reddened as she bowed in farewell, turning to leave on her cloud.

Longji beside him seemed to want to say something but held back. However, Li Changshou’s gaze was extremely stern at this moment, making Longji pause and lower her head in agreement.

Several days later.

In the immortal palace where Cloud Fairy lived, a dark shadow silently appeared, fingers lightly touching the forehead of the sleeping Cloud Fairy, interfering with her dreams before quietly departing.

After this shadow disappeared without a trace, two figures slowly materialized in a corner of the immortal palace.

The one on the left, with an ordinary young Daoist’s face, was naturally Li Changshou’s paper avatar;

While the young military commander on the right wearing battle armor and an angry expression was the Jade Emperor’s new avatar – Qin Tianxu.

The name was also suggested by Li Changshou.

The two were wrapped in an immortal power barrier. With Cloud Fairy’s cultivation level, she naturally couldn’t detect their presence.

Qin Tianxu cursed in a low voice: “This Fu Yuan truly deserves death!”

But Li Changshou said: “Your Majesty, look around Her Highness Cloud Fairy.”

Qin Tianxu’s eyes flashed with golden light as he looked at Cloud Fairy’s back, seeing a faint gray energy twining around her.

“Tribulation energy…”

“When Cloud Fairy came to find this minor god a few days ago, she had already entered the tribulation. We shouldn’t interfere rashly.”

Qin Tianxu took a deep breath and said softly: “Changgeng, keep a close watch on this matter. If Hua Yun truly undergoes tribulation, I want that Fu Yuan to die horribly!”

Li Changshou asked: “What if Her Highness Cloud Fairy wants to descend to the mortal realm?”

“She is driven by tribulation energy. I also cannot act against the will of the Heavenly Way…

Ai, let her be.”

The Jade Emperor’s avatar sighed lightly, then gritted his teeth and cursed:

“That bastard Yang Tianyou! Arrange some more trials for him, must make him suffer! Is it easy having a sister!”