Li Changshou truly hadn’t expected Heaven to fall into such chaos during the mere half-day he spent in the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk.

At this moment, the one hundred and eight demon soldiers sat beside the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk, surrounded by numerous Underworld officials.

Li Changshou had originally planned to bring one demon commander and seven of the previously “best” recovered demon soldiers into the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk to attempt to restore their seven emotions and six desires…

Just as his foot touched the soft soil of the Reincarnation Immortal Island and his consciousness reconnected with his paper puppets everywhere, he sensed the commotion at the Water God Manor in Heaven.

Several celestial soldiers were shouting at his study, calling Li Changshou to meet in the Lingxiao Palace.

His Majesty the Jade Emperor seemed to be in quite a hurry. Ao Yi had also rushed to the Moon Palace, and Bian Zhuang, who had unexpectedly unlocked “Water Combat Mastery” after soaking in the Heavenly River for three years, was leading people in a search…

Since Li Changshou had entered the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk earlier, cutting off contact with the outside world, they naturally received no response.

Half a month had passed since Fairy Cloud Flower’s incident – what was troubling the Jade Emperor now?

Growing angrier the more he endured?

Feeling more wronged with each step back?

In the Underworld, Li Changshou made a Daoist salute to the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk, signaling the demon soldiers to rest here, then sat down cross-legged, his consciousness returning to the Water God Manor in Heaven.

As a mere employee, when the boss calls, one must hurry over.

Moments later, Li Changshou rode his cloud straight into the Lingxiao Palace. The white-robed Jade Emperor, who had been pacing back and forth in the hall, raised his hand to activate the palace’s multiple protective formations.

The Jade Emperor, slightly drunk, tried to speak several times but only managed heavy breaths. Finally, he stamped his foot and cursed:

“I cannot bear this indignity!

Changgeng, think of a way for me to get back at them! Get back at them right now!

If not, I’ll go cause havoc at their Spirit Mountain, and kill a few of their disciples! I’ll show him what it means to be unscrupulous! I’ll show him what it means for a mighty Sage to kill mortals! Where is heavenly justice? Is there any reason left?

Master said the Six Sages are the foundation of the Heavenly Dao – is this the foundation? Is this what a Sage should be?”

“Your Majesty…”

Li Changshou wanted to offer some words of comfort, but seeing the Jade Emperor in such a rage and somewhat drunk, he could only quietly wait below.

What was there to be so angry about…

Everyone with any cultivation in the world knew what the Sixth Sage was like. A simple “I see your entire family has karma with our Western Paradise” – that was truly the ultimate essence of Western Teaching.

One should never overestimate an enemy’s moral standards.

The Jade Emperor ranted for nearly half an hour, fueled by alcohol. Seeing Li Changshou remain silent, he began to lose steam and frowned:

“Changgeng, what’s with that expression? Do you think my complaints are wrong?”

“Your Majesty’s complaints are justified, but…”

Li Changshou smiled: “It’s fine for Your Majesty to vent before this minor deity, but such words shouldn’t be spoken outside.

All six Sage Lords are Sage Lords. Though their temperaments, characters, and cultivation levels vary greatly, once one reaches the Sage realm, it’s equivalent to entering another level entirely.

If you criticize a Sage of poor character, other Sage Lords will also feel offended.”

The Jade Emperor frowned and slowly nodded, speaking softly:

“I understand this. Senior Brothers Taiqing, Yuqing, and Shangqing all have the foundation of Great God Pangu’s divine spirit. Their temperaments, whether noble or unrestrained, are all pure streams in the primordial world.

The Holy Mother especially possesses great virtue and compassion – creating humans, mending the sky – which of these isn’t an act of boundless merit!

Even Senior Brother接引, though his thoughts run deep, wouldn’t act so recklessly and without any concern for Sage’s dignity!

But Zhunti? This Zhunti relies on being a Sage to do whatever he pleases!”

Li Changshou: …

This was nothing.

Based on what could be predicted, there would likely be more incidents of Sage Zhunti causing trouble, including “Emperor Xin’s lewd poem at the Holy Mother’s temple” – that would truly be an event affecting the great destiny of Heaven and Earth.

Li Changshou made a Daoist salute: “Please calm your anger, Your Majesty. Rage solves nothing.”

“I’m not angry, I’m stifled!”

The Jade Emperor gritted his teeth and cursed: “I had thought you, Changgeng, could strike back, but now half a month has passed, and the primordial world is full of slander against you. The Western Teaching is even deliberately adding fuel to the fire, saying you and I persecuted Fairy Cloud Flower for Heaven’s dignity.

That I used my sister to establish Heaven’s authority!

Absurd! Preposterous!”

Li Changshou frowned: “Your Majesty, please don’t let emotions cloud your judgment. Fairy Cloud Flower was indeed at fault. If Heaven doesn’t punish her, it cannot convince others. This is the foundation of Heaven’s governance of the Three Realms – we must not lose sight of this.

I understand Your Majesty’s frustration at being bullied so… if Your Majesty wishes to retaliate, this minor deity has three strategies – superior, medium, and inferior.”

The Jade Emperor’s eyes lit up. He sat at the highest point of the jade steps, straightened his sleeves, and said, “Speak!”

“The inferior strategy is the simplest – investigate the Immortal Fu Yuan incident thoroughly,” Li Changshou said calmly. “Your Majesty need only preside in Heaven, using the power of the Heavenly Dao to protect Heaven. Afterward, no one can impersonate Heaven’s immortal officials.

This way, we can claim black is white if we wish. This minor deity has partial evidence of Immortal Fu Yuan’s scheming.

Other evidence can be fabricated as needed, and when evidence is insufficient, we can find trusted immortal officials to testify, record their statements with memory pearls, and use this to pressure Western Paradise.

This inferior strategy – I had considered it before but subsequently abandoned it.”

The Jade Emperor frowned: “Why abandon it?”

“Without the power to slay a Sage, no matter how hard we try, we can only make the Sage lose some face and reputation,” Li Changshou sighed. “That Lord dares act this way because he knows that no matter how low he stoops, he will remain unharmed.

Conversely, would that Lord even care about such things?

Moreover, his actions wouldn’t cause other Sage Lords to start a war among Sages…

Thus, this strategy would be ineffective.”

The Jade Emperor had calmed somewhat by now and continued asking: “What of the medium strategy?”

“Request the Dao Ancestor to pass judgment… but the Dao Ancestor would merely reprimand him a few times – what use would that be?”

“And the superior strategy? What is the superior strategy?”

“Wait patiently for the right moment, then strike back.”

Starlight gleamed in Li Changshou’s eyes as he looked up at the Jade Emperor and spoke softly:

“This minor deity must report something to Your Majesty. Seven years ago, I had already deduced that Sage Zhunti might have intervened in Fairy Cloud Flower’s matter early on.

Your Majesty doesn’t yet know that among Fairy Cloud Flower’s two children, her son Yang Jian was born with great destiny!

I secretly investigated his aptitude for immortal cultivation – while not unique, it rivals that of the earliest humans of high antiquity.

When Yang Jian was born, I already understood what Sage Zhunti intended to do. He wants Yang Jian to oppose Heaven, then secretly arranges for Yang Jian to cultivate the Enlightenment Teaching. Once Yang Jian’s cultivation succeeds, he will incite Yang Jian to wage war against Heaven!

Just yesterday, Yang Jian was discovered by an Enlightenment Teaching immortal who ‘happened’ to pass by.

Your Majesty, please note that this ‘happening’ was no coincidence.

Now Yang Jian has taken True Lord Jade Cauldron as his master. True Lord Jade Cauldron had been studying the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art gifted by Lady Houtu, and he is already a great power of the primordial world.

I estimate that within a few hundred years, Yang Jian will become a formidable expert!”

The Jade Emperor suddenly realized: “So that’s why you imprisoned Cloud Flower – to make Yang Jian bow to Heaven when the time comes?”

“Your Majesty, how could the grudge of a murdered father and imprisoned mother be so easily resolved?”

Li Changshou smiled slightly and took out a treasure pouch from his sleeve, using immortal power to send it to the white-robed Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor was puzzled. Opening the pouch, he found more than ten memory pearls inside, labeled “One, Two, Three, Four.”

The Jade Emperor picked up the first memory pearl and probed it with his divine consciousness, then froze in surprise.

It showed scenes from the Muhua Academy, with Yang Tianyou, Xia Ningshuang, and Hua Youming attending class together. Hua Youming had turned to toss a picture book to Yang Tianyou sitting behind him.

Black lines appeared on the Jade Emperor’s forehead as he spoke softly:

“Changgeng, why did you record this? You even used treasures to record all of these back then?”

Li Changshou gave an embarrassed laugh.

He had to keep some contingencies, in case the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother took issue with the Mu Qinghua matter. It was good to have some convincing evidence on hand.

“Please continue watching, Your Majesty.”

The Jade Emperor picked up the “Two” memory pearl, which showed Li Changshou escorting Fairy Cloud Flower back to Heaven, including her farewell to Yang Tianyou.

The “Three” memory pearl, recorded by Long Ji, showed scenes of touring Heaven’s mountains and waters with Fairy Cloud Flower.

The “Four” memory pearl showed Fairy Cloud Flower coming to the Moon Palace, telling Li Changshou about her desire to descend to the mortal realm, with Li Changshou warning her this violated Heaven’s rules…

As he watched pearl after pearl, their contents seemed unrelated, but when pieced together, they told the story of Fairy Cloud Flower and Yang Tianyou.

The two most crucial memory pearls – one showed the Jade Emperor in the Lingxiao Palace ordering the return of Fairy Cloud Flower’s family to Heaven;

The other showed the scene in the Yang mansion, filmed from a corner, capturing both Li Changshou protecting Fairy Cloud Flower and the sudden golden light flashing in those celestial soldiers’ eyes…

The second-to-last memory pearl showed Li Changshou repeatedly asking if Fairy Cloud Flower acknowledged her crimes in the Lingxiao Palace, and her kneeling to beg Heaven to spare Yang Jian and Yang Chan.

The final memory Zhenzhu showed the two small ones huddled under a tattered blanket at a street corner on the long night…

“This…”

The Jade Emperor remained silent for a long time after watching, returning the memory pearls to the pouch and pondering while holding it.

Li Changshou continued:

“Now we need only wait a few hundred years. When Yang Jian gains the power to tear apart Golden Immortals, that’s when he’ll become the Western Teaching’s blade against Heaven.

As long as Western Teaching continues pushing this plan, we’ll turn their scheme against them.

Of course, I will continue to intervene, ensuring True Lord Jade Cauldron doesn’t tell Yang Jian the truth.

Let me boldly speak some heartfelt words to Your Majesty.

After seeing Yang Jian’s aptitude and destiny, I had already planned to use the Western Teaching, letting them plant obsession in Yang Jian’s heart – only this way could he possibly reach the Golden Immortal realm within a few hundred years.

Though obsession and hatred are dangerous, in ancient times, humans used these to forge demon soldiers and defeat the Monster Court…

Thus, I didn’t make foolproof arrangements at the Yang mansion. I had already calculated Yang Tianyou and Yang Jiao’s fatal tribulation, but based on my brief connection with Yang Tianyou, I merely tried to save them, doing my best without forcing the issue.

When Yang Jian rises and attacks Heaven, Your Majesty need only arrange for the Immortal Bean Soldiers to meet him, first dispersing his sharp edge. Then I will step forward to lead him to Fairy Cloud Flower’s location.

Please keep these memory pearls safe, Your Majesty, in case Yang Jian comes to wreak havoc in the Lingxiao Palace first…

I’ve made seven sets of these memory pearls and will set up some formations around Fairy Cloud Flower that can turn the scenes from the memory pearls into illusions.

When the time comes and Yang Jian charges into Fairy Cloud Flower’s prison, after seeing all this content, he’ll see Fairy Cloud Flower standing in her cage.

No matter how firm Yang Jian’s Dao heart is or how deep his obsession is, it should shake him.

If Yang Jian still hates Heaven, I have one more trump card to use.

At that point, if Your Majesty wishes to strike back at the Western Teaching, let Yang Jian cause havoc at Spirit Mountain. I will draw upon the Dao School’s influence to pressure the Western Paradise!

If Your Majesty wishes to securely keep Yang Jian, then persuade him, let him know who his true enemy is, and then bestow rewards upon mother and son.

This is the superior strategy I could devise.”

As Li Changshou’s words fell, the Jade Emperor on the jade steps held the treasure pouch and let out a gentle breath.

The Jade Emperor wanted to laugh while holding the pouch but couldn’t, his expression both complicated and somewhat relieved.

“Changgeng, how… how can you think of all this?”

Li Changshou smiled helplessly and sighed: “Actually, this minor deity is also a schemer behind the scenes.

But the Western Teaching schemes against the Enlightenment Teaching, against Heaven, against the greater situation.

I scheme to gain another powerful general for Heaven.

Always having a civil official like me handle military matters is truly… somewhat unseemly.”

The Jade Emperor started, then clapped and laughed heartily.

Li Changshou showed a hesitant expression, carefully considering and calculating, before finally deciding to reveal the other parts of his plan.

The timing was just right.

Li Changshou smiled: “Surely Your Majesty doesn’t think my schemes end here?”

The Jade Emperor was also surprised, “What other schemes could you have, Changgeng?”

“Your Majesty,” Li Changshou pointed upward, then made a gesture for silence.

The Jade Emperor understood and waved his sleeve, wrapping the Lingxiao Palace in the intense power of the Heavenly Dao. “Speak freely.”

“Your Majesty mustn’t forget, in ninety years the Purple Void Palace will discuss the matter of God Investiture.”

“Oh?”

“This minor deity pondered this at length while recovering from injuries. There is one thing Your Majesty must fight for.”

“What?”

The Investiture List!

Of course, he couldn’t say this outright. Li Changshou could only say: “The right to lead the Great Tribulation of God Investiture!”

The Jade Emperor showed contemplation and slowly nodded, “Explain in detail.”

“Whoever holds the leading authority for the God Investiture can better plan this Great Tribulation.”

Li Changshou said: “If this authority falls to any Sage Lord of the Three Schools, Heaven will be constrained, and that Sage won’t let too many of their disciples enter Heaven.

Originally, I thought to have Your Majesty contend for this authority from two angles – ‘since this invests gods for Heaven, Heaven should decide who gets godhood’ and ‘if any Sage of the Three Schools holds this power, it would be unfair.’

I even prepared a backup plan – if Your Majesty couldn’t secure this authority, I would suggest before the Six Sages and the Dao Ancestor… that Master Taiqing take this authority.

Now, the Western Paradise has given us a perfect reason.”

“What reason?”

“A Sage has lost virtue,” Li Changshou said. “When the time comes, Your Majesty should present Fairy Cloud Flower’s matter, show these memory pearls I’ve given Your Majesty, and bring the hidden rules to light, but don’t directly name Sage Zhunti.

Your Majesty should say: A Sage has already shown they have the Dao but lack virtue – how can such a one invest gods on behalf of the Heavenly Dao?”

The Jade Emperor asked puzzled: “Why not name him? Wouldn’t it be more satisfying to curse him directly?”

Li Changshou couldn’t help but feel a headache.

Since he came to Heaven, His Majesty the Jade Emperor’s thinking had truly become simpler and simpler…

Li Changshou smiled:

“If we name him, Your Majesty would be comparing the other Sages to this virtuous-lacking Sage – the other Sages might not appreciate that.

If Your Majesty makes the point without naming names, it both preserves the other Sages’ dignity and will make them dissatisfied with the Sixth Sage.

Sages don’t enter tribulations and don’t fear the Great Tribulation – this is Sage’s confidence.

But what the Heavenly Dao gives always comes with a clear price. Now that tribulation’s destiny descends, the Sages’ calculations are interfered with.

That Sage directly moving against Heaven was indeed brilliant and unexpected, but not impossible to counter, and his very action has already left hidden troubles.

He may not enter tribulation, but what about his teaching, his Dao, and his disciples?

Your Majesty!

I request Your Majesty’s permission!

Once we secure this authority, disciples of the Western Sages cannot take positions as proper gods of Heaven!

I predict that when the Great Tribulation falls, for those who die in it, becoming a god in Heaven will be their final path to survival;

As for the Western Paradise…

Let them bear it themselves.”

“Excellent! Let’s do it this way!”

The Jade Emperor stood up, his previous rage now turned to surging emotion, wishing the decades would pass in an instant.

Li Changshou sighed inwardly.

Easier said than done. All these plans needed details filled in step by step, and some things said here couldn’t be spoken outside – he couldn’t even discuss them with Master Bai.

And so, ninety… breaths later.

Li Changshou left the Lingxiao Palace and returned to sit quietly in the Water God Manor, while his avatar in the Moon Osmanthus Palace also assumed a meditation posture.

His consciousness returned to the ghostly Underworld, beginning to lead the demon soldiers into the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk to research how to restore their normal emotions…

However, what Li Changshou didn’t know was that as soon as he entered the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk and lost contact with the outside world, an honored guest arrived at the Moon Osmanthus Palace.

This honored guest made several bows and calls to Li Changshou, but Li Changshou ignored them, finally leaving in anger, becoming an odd tale discussed in Heaven.