Streams of light crossed through the void as the group of “pressure-appliers” arrived as expected.

The first batch of enemy cultivators to reach this location mainly consisted of True Immortals and Celestial Immortals, numbering around a thousand. They were led by two Golden Immortals whose cultivation wasn’t particularly profound—roughly equivalent to a single “Worry-Free” power.

Li Changshou wasn’t yet fully familiar with the customs of these Immortal factions from the Three Thousand Worlds, but he knew these thousand-odd people were merely appetizers.

Within the Skybound Secret Realm, not counting those “distinguished” holders of Greater Being jade tokens, just the group of elderly ladies from Skybound Pavilion alone would require at least ten to twenty Golden Immortals to subdue.

Moreover, their side had an expert like Elder Madam Bian.

In the Three Thousand Worlds where even supreme-grade post-heaven spiritual treasures were considered “supreme treasures,” cultivation realm was nearly equivalent to one’s combat ability.

Elder Madam Bian, who could maintain such a vast business empire as the Skybound Pavilion, was not to be underestimated.

Through paper avatars hidden throughout the void, Li Changshou employed his usual technique, forming an “immortal sense detection network.” He had already detected more experts hiding tens of thousands of miles away, slowly approaching this small world.

The opposition was also well-versed in the art of “applying pressure” and “negotiation.”

Among the enemy’s rear forces, two figures emanated deep qi and substantial Dao resonance, radiating a sense of perfection—they appeared to be disciples of the Western Sage arriving in person.

These circumstances were largely within Li Changshou’s expectations.

At this moment, Li Changshou and Lu Yue had stopped their conversation and were quietly stationed behind the first batch of enemy experts. Hidden in a minute “mustard seed universe,” they had already targeted several enemy vanguards bearing karmic burdens, preparing large doses of soporifics and poison pills.

It’s just…

“No wonder a Great Tribulation would descend,” sighed Qin Tianzhu, standing atop a tall building in Skybound Pavilion, gazing at the streams of light outside the small world’s grand formation.

Li Changshou smiled and said, “Humanity reproduces too quickly, and human bodies are inherently primal Dao vessels—there will always be those with superior aptitude. Although treasures may be limited in a great world, spiritual energy is nearly infinite. Now that cultivation methods are readily available, thousands of years can produce a batch of experts. As long as one reaches the Golden Immortal realm and avoids tribulations, one can achieve longevity. Such circumstances are only natural.”

Qin Tianzhu nodded slowly and added, “The number of Golden Immortal experts in the Heavenly Court doesn’t match even a single prosperous human great world.”

“Everything has its starting phase,” Li Changshou explained gently. “Since our Heavenly Court’s great victory over the demon race, seven human Golden Immortals have joined us, though only as wandering immortals. After the Purple Void Palace discusses the Great Tribulation, the Heavenly Court’s worry won’t be lacking experts, but rather having to tighten restrictions to prevent those solely seeking to avoid the Great Tribulation or harboring ill intentions from taking positions.”

Qin Tianzhu nodded with a smile and sighed, “With the Great Tribulation descending, who knows how many lives will be lost? To the Heavenly Dao, what difference is there between living beings and stones? The Heavenly Dao seeks stability in heaven and earth, preventing disasters like the initial Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation from recurring. Think back to the early ancient times when myriad beings cultivated freely, accumulating countless experts over endless years. The situation at the end of ancient times, when Great Luo experts were as common as dogs and Golden Immortals walked everywhere, truly cannot appear again… Today’s heaven and earth are more fragile than the primordial chaos of ancient times.”

Li Changshou pondered thoughtfully and nodded slowly, but a long sigh came from behind.

It was Elder Madam Bian, sitting in the rear, who sighed and said, “General Qin’s earlier statement that the Heavenly Court’s experts don’t match a single great world is truly mistaken. The Heavenly Court has the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother, who are of the same generation as the Sage Lords, presiding over heaven’s operations, receiving heaven’s protection, and leading the current Great Tribulation—this surpasses tens or hundreds of great worlds’ beings combined by far. In the primordial chaos, this old woman has reached this level of cultivation and experienced its hardships. Beings fight for survival, cultivators fight for opportunities—the rise of a single Golden Immortal is accompanied by untold bloodshed. But the Golden Immortal realm is merely a cultivation realm; eternal life and freedom are just jokes. Only Greater Beings and those with great divine abilities can achieve some measure of freedom. Above all beings are still the six Sage Lords, who can destroy great worlds with a finger and remake the elements with a wave of their hand! What are Golden Immortals, what is Dao completion, but ants and grass measuring their heights?”

—Dao completion refers to perfecting the Dao and achieving the Great Luo fruit position.

Qin Tianzhu smiled, “Elder Madam’s insight is profound.”

Li Changshou stood with his hands behind his back, gazing outside the formation where over ten enemy figures were approaching to challenge the formation, releasing their auras as if preparing to shout…

Heavenly Dao, years, heaven and earth;

Sage Lords, universe, insects;

The Dao of balance exists between all things—when the balance is lost, Great Tribulation arises.

As insights welled up in his heart, Li Changshou quietly suppressed them.

A fairly mild greeting came from beyond: “Would the one in charge of Skybound Pavilion be willing to come out for a discussion?”

“Still maintaining civility before force?” An elderly woman snorted coldly, her expression highly displeased.

At this moment, the dozen or so people standing or sitting on the building’s roof all turned their gaze to Li Changshou’s figure.

Although only an avatar of the Heavenly Court’s Water God was present, and merely a late-stage Celestial Immortal paper avatar at that, having been here for just four or five days, somehow…

He had become their backbone.

Li Changshou crushed the jade token in his hand, and instantly dozens of streams of light flew outward from the Skybound Secret Realm’s small world.

Three Golden Immortal elderly women flew out, while the rest were all late-stage Celestial Immortal cultivation. Most were women, each wearing battle armor and holding ordinary spiritual treasures, regarding the “visitors” with unfriendly expressions.

The two enemy Golden Immortals’ eyes were full of coldness as they said indifferently:

“Your pavilion won’t even send out a vice pavilion master to talk?”

An elderly woman replied, “You’re merely the vanguard—why should you meet our vice pavilion master? Tell those behind you to come more quickly! When your leaders appear, our leaders will naturally show themselves!”

Hearing this, one of the enemy Golden Immortal elders frowned and said:

“Does Skybound Pavilion truly have the confidence to handle today’s situation? Don’t choose the path to your destruction.”

He seemed to have some attachment to Skybound Pavilion.

The Skybound Pavilion side didn’t respond; someone held a jade token and opened a small gap in the formation behind them.

The sound of immortal music and laughter could be heard near and far, with scenes of dancing and revelry visible everywhere. Everything in the secret realm continued as normal, completely undisturbed by the commotion outside.

This was the best answer.

The dozen or so enemy immortals who had come to challenge them now fell silent, somewhat uncertain of Skybound Pavilion’s true capabilities.

Behind them, the slowly advancing “army” began to speed up. A river of light appeared in the void as thousands of light streams shot forward.

Among them was a small group of experts temporarily dispatched by Western Teaching.

In the small mustard seed universe, Li Changshou’s Golden Immortal paper avatar exchanged glances with Lu Yue, each showing a slight smiles.

Lu Yue transmitted, “The enemy hasn’t deployed ordinary immortal soldiers. Today we can act freely.”

Li Changshou also said, “They must have rushed here—if they had mobilized an army of immortal soldiers, it would likely take three days to reach this place.”

“Changgeng, shall we… proceed according to plan?”

“For our first battle in the primordial chaos that violates heaven’s will, we should at least give them a good scare.”

“Haha! Brother can’t wait any longer! Fighting alongside you, junior brother, truly brings me joy!”

The two whispered privately for a while before falling silent, quietly lying in wait.

Half an hour later…

More streams of light arrived outside the Skybound Secret Realm’s formation, arranging themselves into loose battle formations above and below, front and back.

Seventeen or eighteen Golden Immortal experts lined up in a row, men and women, young and old, with varying appearances, their auras all containing traces of karmic burden.

Of course, in the eyes of certain Sage disciples, they averaged only about 11.5 parts of “Worry-Free” power.

As coincidence would have it, the two experts suspected to be Western Teaching Sage disciples stopped right in the middle of the enemy immortal formation, just… half a zhang away from where Li Changshou’s Golden Immortal paper avatar and Lu Yue were hiding.

Lu Yue immediately wanted to act, but Li Changshou quickly pressed down on Lu Yue’s arm, shaking his head with a serious expression.

“Senior brother, there’s no rush.”

“I was too hasty, too hasty,” Lu Yue laughed. “Let’s proceed according to plan.”

The two continued hiding sneakily, beginning to release trace amounts of poison pill power…

Little by little, slowly wearing down the immortals.

Although these two enemy experts were hidden in the mist, at such close range they couldn’t escape Li Changshou and Lu Yue’s detection.

They were an elder and a young Daoist, with the young Daoist’s pressure being somewhat stronger. He wasn’t any Western Sage disciple that Li Changshou had previously encountered.

However, Li Changshou sensed an aura similar to Ksitigarbha from this young Daoist—they likely practiced similar cultivation methods.

Li Changshou secretly instructed Lu Yue that if they could only take down one person later, they should kill the old Daoist and spare the young Daoist’s life so he could bring back the news.

Of course, it would be best to eliminate both.

Just as Lu Yue was about to agree and say some confident, arrogant words, they heard the conversation from ahead.

The two experts were muttering…

The old Daoist wondered puzzled, “Brother Dao, why does it feel like someone is watching us?”

The young Daoist smiled quite confidently.

“No matter. With the Great Tribulation approaching, most Dao experts dare not move about freely. It must be some expert currently enjoying themselves in the Skybound Secret Realm. We’re only here to frighten Skybound Pavilion—those experts won’t bother opposing us. The Water God’s avatar is in Skybound Pavilion now. Today we just need to mock him a bit and force Skybound Pavilion to submit, and our great deed will be done. There’s no need to kill anyone or fight.”

“The Water God isn’t easy to deal with.”

“Indeed, we mustn’t be careless. Later we’ll just stand here and shout across the distance—what can his mere avatar do to us?”

“Brilliant!”

The old Daoist’s praise revealed their relative status.

Then the old Daoist gave a cold snort, his voice carrying through the mist with the trembling of the great Dao, pressuring the entire Skybound Secret Realm.

Elder Madam Bian lightly tapped her walking stick, and layers of formations rose around the pavilions and palaces.

At this moment, it would consume who knows how many spirit stones…

But for the sake of customer experience, Skybound Pavilion was going all out.

The old madam released her pressure, colliding with the old Daoist’s pressure as she returned half a cold snort.

The old Daoist outside scolded coldly: “This poor Daoist has arrived—why doesn’t the Skybound Pavilion Master come out to meet?”

His very first words were in the old Western style.

On that tall building in the Skybound Secret Realm, Bian Zhuang, wearing silver battle armor and holding his nine-toothed rake, was about to head out with two elderly woman vice pavilion masters.

Li Changshou revealed a slight smile and said gently:

“Bian Zhuang, come here.”

“Yes!”

Bian Zhuang quickly stepped before Li Changshou, holding his nine-toothed rake with both hands as he bowed.

Li Changshou extended his right hand, and within his palm, streams of primal yellow essence coalesced into the phantom of a Primal Yellow Pagoda. He sent this phantom into Bian Zhuang’s chest, then patted his shoulder.

“Relax. If you forget your lines, just mock them however you like.”

“Yes! Water God, sir, I understand!”

Bian Zhuang grinned, bowed again with clasped hands, then looked toward the outside of the small world and leaped into the void with his nine-toothed rake.

Qin Tianzhu and Li Changshou exchanged smiles, quietly waiting for the show to begin.

…

As Bian Zhuang flew out of the formation, the two elderly women behind him immediately raised their auras to their peak, protecting his left and right flanks as he flew to the front of the formation.

Bian Zhuang casually conjured a white cloud, and then… plopped down on it.

He crossed his legs, pulled out a handkerchief fragrant with a maiden’s scent from within his battle armor, and wiped his hands, completely ignoring the five or six thousand figures and the overwhelming pressure filling the sky.

The old Daoist hiding in the mist said indifferently: “Is Skybound Pavilion’s master truly such an irreverent and arrogant fellow?”

Bian Zhuang ignored him completely, put away the handkerchief, and his nine-toothed rake rapidly shrank to about three inches long. He used it to comb his forelock.

Two Celestial Immortal maidens approached with tea. Bian Zhuang took a sip, swished it around in his mouth, then turned and spat it into the teacup held by the other maiden.

Bian Zhuang drawled: “Who was that calling just now?”

In the mist, killing intent flickered in the old Daoist’s eyes as his pressure swept toward Bian Zhuang, barely blocked by the two elderly women behind him.

The old Daoist cursed: “Don’t seek your death.”

“Heh,” Bian Zhuang sneered, “Do you know whom you’re threatening? This general is a fifth-rank deity of the Heavenly Court, Deputy Commander of the Celestial River Navy, has bowed before the Jade Emperor in Lingxiao Hall, received treasures from the Great Dharma Master before Tusita Palace, and heard the Water God’s teachings in the Water God’s mansion. Those so-called experts like you who dare to yip and yap at our Heavenly Court just because you have some cultivation—the demon race used to have many such beings, but now, hehe, there aren’t many left.”

“Heh, has Skybound Pavilion truly lost its fear of death?”

The old Daoist said indifferently: “You’re just a minor Heavenly Court deity—what does it matter if we kill you here?”

“Is that so?”

Bian Zhuang recalled the lines Water God had given him, along with the instruction [No matter what they say, just follow this script and keep talking—don’t bother responding to them].

But at this moment, Bian Zhuang oddly felt that Water God’s lines were perfect for this situation.

Bian Zhuang held the nine-toothed rake in his palm, examining it carefully as he said: “You probably don’t recognize what treasure this is. Well, that’s understandable—not everyone can see treasures refined by Supreme Lord Lao.”

As these words fell, countless gazes landed on Bian Zhuang’s palm.

Not just the cultivators before the formation, but even those pleasure-seeking guests within the Skybound Secret Realm were now focused on this matter, staring at the nine-toothed rake in Bian Zhuang’s hand…

There was indeed a strand of profound and obscure Dao resonance.

Bian Zhuang smiled: “You bunch of fools rushing to your deaths since you’ve come knocking today, I have no choice but to teach you a lesson. This rake of mine, just one tooth, if I flick it gently like this…”

*Ding~*

Bian Zhuang’s finger lightly flicked the rake’s silver tooth, producing a clear ring.

“Within the range of my immortal sense, for anyone harboring hostility toward me, my precious rake will randomly select one person and ignite the karmic burden within their body.”

As his words fell, silence descended outside the formation—so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Someone laughed first, followed by laughter erupting from all around.

Suddenly!

Amidst the laughter, among the row of more than ten Golden Immortals, a middle-aged man’s eyes suddenly bulged as black blood seeped from his eye sockets, mouth corners, and nostrils!

He clutched his throat, his body collapsing forward powerlessly. His primordial spirit melted like a wax figure as his entire being instantly transformed into a puddle of black water, splashing down in the outer void…

Heaven and earth fell silent once more.

Bian Zhuang’s eyelid twitched slightly as he forced himself to stay calm and continue following the script.

Next, Bian Zhuang flicked the rake in his hand twice more, continuing to speak calmly and monotonously:

“I wonder if the Great Dharma Master will blame me for using this treasure right at my doorstep. Ah well, can’t be helped—the Heavenly Court doesn’t have many experts, so we can only rely on some treasures for self-preservation.”

“Ah—”

“Save me!”

Before Bian Zhuang finished speaking, two more screams rang out as a man and woman collapsed, meeting the same fate as the previous person.

Three puddles of black water, three eternal Golden Immortals!

Everything happened in an instant, occurring so naturally that it became supremely bizarre!

The enemy’s formation fell into chaos!

Three Golden Immortals from different great worlds, just… melted…

The old Daoist in the mist made a split-second decision, immediately moving to capture Bian Zhuang with divine abilities!

Bian Zhuang’s gaze focused as his finger slid across the nine silver teeth of the miniaturized rake, producing a series of light sounds.

The old Daoist who was about to charge forward suddenly startled and hurriedly examined himself internally, staring at the black qi that had somehow already invaded his primordial spirit!

He hadn’t noticed at all!

“Poison! Someone used poison!”

The old Daoist roared, immediately suppressing the poison and turning to flee, but as soon as he summoned his immortal power, his vision darkened as the strand of black qi in his primordial spirit transformed into dozens of rainbow-colored lights!

Because the angle of attack was perfect, the timing was ample, and the opportunity was too rare to miss, Lu Yue had followed Li Changshou’s guidance to experiment with over ten types of his Dao poison pills on this old Daoist.

The effect was excellent.

The old Daoist hurriedly reached out to grab the young Daoist beside him, only to find that the young Daoist was already deathly pale, collapsed in the mist, his entire body constantly trembling!

The sky above the small world suddenly darkened.

These thousands of figures fell into chaos, but the chaos lasted only an instant as thousands of True Immortals collapsed almost simultaneously, while one or two hundred Celestial Immortals fell without a struggle, their primordial spirits withering as they fell unconscious.

—This was Li Changshou’s handiwork, with about twenty paper avatars placed in various locations releasing poison simultaneously;

The bewildering poison naturally came from Lu Yue’s hand, colorless and odorless, not needing too much power.

The dozen or so enemy Golden Immortals reacted fastest, seeing the situation was wrong and immediately trying to escape, but their primordial spirits were already dissolving as they each transformed into puddles of black water.

—This was Lu Yue’s doing, using his proudest Dao poison.

Peace fell inside and outside the small world.

Atop the tall building, Elder Madam Bian and the other elderly women watched Li Changshou and Qin Tianzhu’s backs with traces of shock in their eyes.

In the various pleasure pavilions, some guests had their Dao hearts shaken, some frowned deeply, and others… might need timely intervention with Masculine Vigor Pills and Poison Dragon Wine for treatment.

The several dozen Skybound Pavilion experts outside were most impacted—several Golden Immortals turned pale while dozens of Celestial Immortals’ Dao hearts trembled lightly.

After cultivating painstakingly for so many years, in an instant, they inexplicably turned into puddles of black water…

Bian Zhuang’s Adam’s apple bobbed several times as he sighed softly: “Why did you have to force me?”

In the mist, the old Daoist spat out a mouthful of blood and cursed in a low voice: “Who exactly are you!”

“Deputy Commander of the Celestial River Navy,” Bian Zhuang smiled slightly, putting away his nine-toothed rake and calmly delivering his final lines, “And by the way, I’m also the young master of this Skybound Pavilion. Seniors, aren’t you going to flee?”

At once, the two elderly women behind Bian Zhuang were about to move forward when ten thousand rays of golden light suddenly shone around the young Daoist as a string of prayer beads appeared above his head.

The young Daoist opened his eyes, using the treasure to stabilize his severely injured primordial spirit, and reached out to grab the old Daoist, preparing to leave.

Just then!

A palm appeared from nowhere, black wind swirling in its center, striking the young Daoist’s chest with lightning speed as waves of black qi nearly destroyed his primordial spirit.

Destroying his Dao foundation, severing his great Dao!

“You dare!”

The young Daoist gnashed his teeth in fury, but he had already taken the full force of this palm strike. His form transformed into a ball of blood light, seemingly using some escape technique as he vanished into the void with a whoosh.

Just as this palm struck, another light flashed to the side and the old Daoist’s head flew off and fell, without any resistance…

The void finally quieted down.

Bizarre yet peaceful.

Li Changshou’s Golden Immortal paper avatar returned his sword to its scabbard while Lu Yue stood beside him with his hands behind his back, eyes showing regret.

When putting on a show, naturally one must perform the complete package.

Li Changshou called out: “General Bian, were you startled?”

“Hahaha,” Bian Zhuang laughed heartily, though his laughter sounded somewhat pale, “Many thanks to you both.”

“In that case, we shall take our leave for now. General Bian, if you need us, we will appear again.”

With these words, Li Changshou’s Golden Immortal paper avatar and Lu Yue transformed into two streams of light, flying straight into the void and vanishing in an instant.

Bian Zhuang now felt his mouth dry and tongue parched, rendered speechless.

On the tall building, Li Changshou turned to look at Elder Madam Bian, his mouth showing a slight smile: “These invading enemies can be handled by Skybound Pavilion as you see fit.”

Elder Madam Bian’s eyes flickered with light as she smiled and sighed:

“Water God is truly formidable, destroying an entire faction with just a flick of his finger. Someone, go and eliminate those invaders—no need to leave survivors. Post announcements stating that while our Skybound Pavilion welcomes guests, not everyone can come cause trouble. Also, spread the word that my eldest grandson merely holds a position in the Heavenly Court—certain major factions shouldn’t overthink it.”

The elderly women and matrons behind her lowered their heads in acknowledgment.

Qin Tianzhu pondered carefully before understanding most of the implications in the old madam’s words;

Just as he was about to offer some brilliant commentary, he discovered that his Water God had already begun discussing tea-brewing techniques with Elder Madam Bian, as if nothing had happened.

This…

There was some emotion in Qin Tianzhu’s eyes.

He should just focus on doing his simple job as the Jade Emperor—Changgeng’s world was a bit unsuitable for him.