“Keep the treasure flag close, maintain full activation of the arrays near the pill room, and resist any thoughts of going outside. Senior Sister Yushi and Lingli are in cultivation, I’ve already sent them messages with these instructions, and these paper soldiers of mine must never leave your side…”
In the secret chamber of Little Jade Peak, Li Changshou emphasized each word carefully as Ling’e kept nodding, her large eyes filled with earnestness.
Finally, Li Changshou received a spiritual response from the Ground-Leaving Flame Banner, which said:
“I will certainly protect your junior sister completely, stop nagging.”
Only then did Li Changshou cease his instructions, making a ceremonial bow to the Ground-Leaving Flame Banner before his form dissolved into a wisp of green smoke and vanished.
Had he become a nag?
Really?
It was just that White Marsh wasn’t at Black Pool Peak, and his true body needed to go out, so he worried about his junior sister being affected by the tribulation fate.
After leaving the Immortal-Measuring Gate, Li Changshou used his paper avatar to sense Ling’e’s situation, finding her already humming a tune while carrying loose training clothes to her private chamber within the mountain’s secret rooms…
She was going to take a bath…
In the gentle breeze, Li Changshou manifested a blurry form, touched his chin, and shook his head with a light chuckle. His eyes flashed with green light as he transformed into a streak of azure radiance, flying swiftly toward the Eastern Sea.
It had finally come.
The Western Religion must be getting anxious. The matter Daoist Wenjing had mentioned to him was already being set in motion by the Western Sect, earlier than any of the timeframes Li Changshou had predicted.
Did the Western Religion want to reverse its passive situation before the Immortal Discussion of the Purple Void Palace regarding the God-Making劫?
But they were fated to encounter Shou…
As luck would have it, while Li Changshou was busy with Spirit Zhenzhu’s matter in the underworld, he had created a Ghost-Testing Palace capable of frightening even the King of Hell on a whim, which delayed him by half a month. This allowed him to sense the strange Great Dao disturbance that appeared in the depths of the Blood Sea, leading to his investigation…
Times had changed—Li Changshou’s Way of Balance was constantly in motion, giving him a keen perception of various anomalies.
However, if his paper avatar hadn’t been active in Fengdu City at that time, he wouldn’t have sensed it so promptly.
Naturally, Li Changshou couldn’t rule out the possibility that this was a hint from the Heavenly Dao.
Moreover, Li Changshou had to consider more…
First, there was the matter of his merits being in arrears, preventing him from condensing a Merit Golden Body, and now the Western Religion was causing trouble in the Blood Sea, trying to open a new cycle of reincarnation…
Li Changshou caught a whiff of rotting schemes.
No rush, first call for help.
Even if the timing was earlier than expected, the approach to handling this matter could remain unchanged—he would simply implement the plan he had prepared beforehand.
Jade communication tokens were scattered in all directions as paper avatars rushed about busily.
In less than half an hour, Li Changshou had notified several top masters of the Dao Gates whom he could call upon, as well as one non-Dao Gate expert.
For different masters, Li Changshou’s messages varied.
To the honest and straightforward True Lord Yellow Dragon, he simply said: “Senior Brother, if you’re free, could you come to the Netherworld? Your junior brother needs powerful masters to oversee a situation.”
True Lord Yellow Dragon headed straight for the nearest Netherworld entrance without a second word.
For someone like True Lord Taiye, he had to be more tactful:
“Senior Brother, Spirit Zhenzhu and I are in the underworld, and we’ve encountered some trouble here. If you’re free, please come to Fengdu City.”
Although “Spirit Zhenzhu being in the underworld” and “encountering trouble” had no actual connection.
To Senior Brother Duobao of the Severing Sect, Li Changshou had to directly explain the gravity of the situation, speaking of the Western Religion’s intention to recover their sect’s fate by opening a second reincarnation cycle.
The Western, Enlightenment, and Severing sects were all bound to face tribulation, and in this great tribulation, someone had to lose—Senior Brother Duobao naturally understood this logic.
Following Li Changshou’s instructions, this senior brother brought along three or four powerful masters from the same sect to provide support in the underworld.
As for someone close to Elder Zhao, Li Changshou used just one word:
“Come.”
The brevity showed intimacy—adding even one more word would have made it distant!
Then Zhao Gongming, standing on some island in the Western Sea, held the communication jade token with a bewildered expression. His divination methods yielded no results, and he didn’t know where to find Li Changshou, but fortunately, he later received Duobao’s message…
This was naturally within Li Changshou’s calculations.
He had his considerations, deliberately avoiding Three Immortal Island, hoping to keep Yunxiao out of this battle, but he couldn’t prevent Duobao from being cautious and sending word to Yunxiao as well…
Fairy Yunxiao didn’t hesitate, instructing her two younger sisters and the immortal ladies on the island to cultivate well and not cause trouble outside, then headed to the Netherworld carrying the Mixed Origin Golden Dipper.
Li Changshou’s true body arrived first outside Fengdu City, the entire process not disturbing any living beings or souls, as he casually retrieved his paper avatar from this location.
King Chu River was urgently mobilizing troops, with large squadrons of underworld officials beginning to gather before Fengdu City, but King Chu River only knew that “there would be a battle at the Blood Sea,” not knowing the specifics.
The situation here would certainly not escape the Western Religion’s notice, but Li Changshou had his countermeasures prepared.
The first to arrive at Fengdu City was not a Dao Gate master.
Five-colored divine light crossed the dim sky of the Netherworld, taking advantage of a momentary gap in the great arrays set throughout Fengdu City. This divine light had already descended outside the city near the Ghost-Testing Palace, revealing a slight smile to Li Changshou.
Wearing azure brocade robes, with long hair half-gathered before her.
Unique in the world, neither righteous nor evil, neither immortal nor god.
The leader of the Phoenix Clan, Kong Xua—ahem, Kong Xuan!
“What matter has made you so urgent,” Kong Xuan said gently, holding a five-colored feather fan and waving it lightly, “This time there better be some grand affair to handle, just right to repay this favor to you.”
Li Changshou smiled and said: “Wait until everyone has arrived, I’ll explain everything together. If you don’t wish to participate then, you can return on your own.”
Kong Xuan nodded slightly and said: “I will consider it carefully. Who else have you invited?”
Just as her words fell, a large hole suddenly appeared on the hillside nearby, and a slightly chubby Daoist rolled up his sleeves and jumped out, laughing:
“Well well, Changsheng, staying permanently in that secret realm with Junior Brother Lu Yue!
And not even bringing your senior brother along!”
This Daoist wore light yellow robes, with a slightly rounded belly, kindly eyebrows and eyes, a resonant voice, and carried himself with inherent steady dignity.
Judging by the hole, it was naturally Duobao of the Severing Sect.
Li Changshou hurriedly said: “Senior Brother Duobao, please don’t speak that way. While Junior Brother Lu Yue and I did hit it off, it’s just my avatar was busy with some Heaven Court matters in the World’s Edge Secret Realm.”
“Hmph!”
A cold snort came from within the hole.
The sound of wind chimes followed, and golden light rippled like water waves as Golden Spirit Holy Mother, wearing golden gauze skirts, came forth gracefully, her countenance sacred and solemn, wonderful eyes containing light and slight anger.
She lightly rebuked: “Even if you don’t care about such a reputation, you should consider Yun Xiao Junior Sister.”
Li Changshou smiled and said: “Senior Sister, rest assured, I will explain everything to her in detail.
Senior Brother Duobao, Senior Sister Golden Spirit, this is Kong Xuan of the Phoenix Clan, my good friend, whom I’ve also invited today to lend a hand.”
At this, the three great masters exchanged greetings, but none showed any intention of active interaction.
They all carried an inherent pride.
Duobao looked over this Ghost-Testing Palace and smiled: “What new curious thing is this? Did you make this, Changsheng?”
Li Changshou said: “The others should be somewhat slower to arrive, would Senior Brother like to take a look inside?”
“Oh?”
Duobao raised his eyebrows, clasped his hands behind his back, and chuckled, “Let’s give it a try then, how could your senior brother fear such underworld trinkets?”
With these words, Duobao sealed his cultivation and strolled inside, whereupon it immediately fell silent.
Soon after, water-blue radiance bloomed in the heavens and earth as a figure directly broke through Fengdu City’s outer array formation…
The Underworld Great Array Group: Just very angry.
And lacking in “Face.”
Zhao Gongming, wearing battle armor with his beautiful beard floating in the wind, was about to laugh heartily upon seeing Li Changshou when he noticed the Golden Spirit Holy Mother at the side. His expression immediately became proper, and his voice became much deeper and more mature than usual.
“Changsheng, is there some urgent matter?”
Just as Li Changshou was about to reply, his spirit stirred, and he turned to look toward the One Line Sky in the east, saying:
“Wait a moment, Brother, I’ll go receive someone.”
With these words, his form transformed into a gentle breeze, vanishing swiftly beyond One Line Sky.
There, a wisp of delicate cloud mist floated over, lingering in the air without directly breaking through the great arrays set by the underworld officials, instead waiting quietly.
Only when Li Changshou’s figure appeared in the high sky did this cloud mist gently disperse, revealing the jade-like true countenance within, offering Li Changshou a graceful smile?
Words couldn’t describe her immortal beauty like a painting, nor express the water-like tenderness.
Most precious was their mutual appreciation, most comfortable was the peace of mind, and with one glance beyond the clouds, there you were.
She wore her usual plain white long dress, adorned with jade ornaments and cloud shoes, a few strands of long hair exploring forward in the wind, her delicate and graceful figure untouched by any trace of mortal air.
Li Changshou made a Daoist bow forward, and she returned it with a slight courtesy, then stepped forward to within five feet of Li Changshou, asking softly:
“Encountering such matters, why didn’t you call for me?”
Li Changshou smiled and said: “I didn’t want you to enter into the tribulation fate.”
Yun Xiao didn’t know how to respond, showing a slight feminine gesture—pursing her lips slightly, moving her gaze to the side, but ultimately still maintaining the bearing of a contemporary great supernatural being.
She said: “Whether one enters tribulation is determined by heaven, whether one exits tribulation depends on us, it’s difficult to avoid.”
Li Changshou nodded with a smile, then said: “Let’s wait here for a while, the three senior brothers from the Enlightenment Sect should arrive soon.”
Just as his words fell, seven-colored mystical light flickered in the distance, and a jade tripod broke through the void to arrive, from which flew three streams of light—naturally True Lord Yellow Dragon, True Lord Taiye, and True Lord Jade Tripod.
True Lord Taiye’s eyes widened as he saw Spirit Zhenzhu meditating and resting on the mountain peak below, and he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Then, True Lord Taiye looked at Li Changshou, then at Fairy Yun Xiao beside him, his eyes profound, and opened with:
“You have it tough, with a fairy by your side for companionship, just lacking a few people to fight with?”
Li Changshou smiled and said: “I just wanted to give Senior Brother more sense of participation, hence the provocative words, not wanting Senior Brother to miss such a grand occasion.”
True Lord Taiye laughed and cursed: “So by that logic, I should thank you?”
“No need, it’s all what your junior brother should do.”
True Lord Jade Tripod said: “Stop bantering, what’s the matter here?”
True Lord Yellow Dragon also said: “Junior Brother Changsheng, how many fellow disciples have you invited?”
“Senior Brothers, please follow me first.”
Li Changshou glanced below at Ox-Head and Horse-Face who were looking up uncertainly, and transmitted some words to the two soul-collecting officials. Horse-Face galloped swiftly toward Fengdu City.
Ox-Head woke Spirit Zhenzhu and similarly went to hide in Fengdu City, though moving somewhat slower.
Before the Ghost-Testing Palace;
The powerful experts Li Changshou had called were all assembled: Golden Spirit Holy Mother and Zhao Gongming from the Severing Sect, True Lords Yellow Dragon, Taiye, and Jade Tripod from the Enlightenment Sect, the non-Dao Gate expert Kong Xuan, and Fairy Yun Xiao who had been invited by Duobao.
—Duobao had entered the Ghost-Testing Palace and hadn’t yet emerged.
Except for True Lord Yellow Dragon who lacked treasures, missing some fortune;
True Lord Taiye whose cultivation realm was somewhat inferior to other disciples of the same period from the Sages, almost caught up to Li Changshou.
Everyone else was a supreme expert below the Sages within the Primordial Chaos!
However, Li Changshou’s expression remained extremely solemn as he transmitted to everyone the information he had:
[The Western Religion has been secretly operating in the Three Thousand Worlds for tens of thousands of years, establishing Incense Fire Divine Kingdoms, using incense fire merits and their secret methods to trap countless common souls that should have come to the underworld for reincarnation.
The Western Religion plans to release these souls into the underworld, impact the netherworld order, and when the Six Paths of Reincarnation become blocked, establish another Reincarnation Palace within the Blood Sea, sending these souls to reincarnate in the world, thereby establishing their position as a second reincarnation cycle.
Through this, Western Religion can reverse their own fate by creating a second reincarnation cycle, strengthen their direct connection with the Heavenly Dao, and perfect their Incense Fire Divine Kingdoms, making the mortals in various Incense Fire Divine Kingdoms into their merit extraction magical tools.
Turning around their previously passive situation everywhere.]
As Li Changshou’s transmission ended, the faces of all the experts present became somewhat grave.
Golden Spirit Holy Mother’s eyes flashed with sharp light as she transmitted angrily:
“This Western Religion truly excels at scheming, Incense Fire Divine Kingdoms and a second reincarnation cycle, their ambitions must not be small, and the Three Thousand Worlds were indeed overlooked by us before, allowing them to exploit.”
However, True Lord Yellow Dragon sighed: “The Western Religion will stop at nothing for their great prosperity.
Doesn’t the Heavenly Dao have heavenly omens predicting their definite great prosperity? Why are they still so impatient?”
“Everything needs a process,” True Lord Taiye transmitted, “How would they know whether they’re useless or not if their Western Religion doesn’t try hard?”
Li Changshou looked at Kong Xuan and said: “Friend, I invited you here because of your overwhelming divine abilities, this matter has nothing to do with you.”
“No matter,” Kong Xuan smiled indifferently, “Your master went to the outer heavens, arduously guarding Xuandu City, I naturally should stand up for you.”
Li Changshou: …
Great Law Master Xuandu going to the outer heavens Xuandu City was true, but whether the guarding was arduous or not was another matter entirely.
Just earlier, the Taiji Diagram had complained that Great Law Master Xuandu had learned bad habits from his little disciple, and for the sake of sleeping peacefully, had even secretly raided the lair of the Outer Heavens Demons!
“Thank you, friend, however…
The situation might be more serious than we imagined.”
Li Changshou’s left hand opened, black and white yin-yang fish slowly rotating as the Taiji Diagram revealed itself, then the Primordial Yellow Pagoda appeared above Li Changshou’s head as his left hand gripped the Heaven-Earth Ruler…
Zhao Gongming couldn’t help but comment: “Isn’t this just, sweeping away all enemies below the Sages? Why did you still call us over!”
Li Changshou said solemnly:
“Brother, thinking that way would be wrong. There are no strongest treasures, only stronger beings.
Master arranged so many treasures to protect my life this time, showing this is certainly no easy matter. Senior Brothers and Sisters must put aside any carelessness and respond carefully.”
Hearing this, the gathered experts felt it quite reasonable, drawn into Li Changshou’s logic filled with the word “steady.”
Just then, a great shout came from the Ghost-Testing Palace nearby:
“Aiya! What thing! This poor Daoist will pile treasures as high as you, believe it or not!
Don’t come over, ah! Ah ah! Don’t come over!”
The gathered experts were immediately filled with question marks. Li Changshou hurriedly closed the great array and rushed into the palace, helping out Daoist Duobao who was covered in cold sweat.
The other three immortals from the Severing Sect immediately gathered around, and Yun Xiao asked:
“What happened to Senior Brother?”
“No, nothing.”
Duobao took a deep breath, grinned, released his self-imposed seal, and his dao heart immediately calmed down. He looked at Li Changshou with deep emotion.
“Junior Brother Changsheng, what did you make this place for?
It is!
For how many years have I not experienced such feelings, being scared and worried, not knowing what situation the next step would bring, but reflecting on it now, it truly was quite refreshing, beneficial to the dao heart.”
Li Changshou said seriously: “This place is for training the courage of Nephew Spirit Zhenzhu, consuming much of my effort and many precious materials.”
As he spoke, Li Changshou glanced at True Lord Taiye, but the latter calmly clasped his hands behind his back and looked at the sky, as if nothing had happened.
“Powerful enough!”
Daoist Duobao praised endlessly, strongly recommending several of his junior brothers and sisters to enter together, but was stopped by Li Changshou, who transmitted that they should attend to important matters first.
For this, Daoist Duobao was somewhat unwilling.
Following the principles of deceiving whoever could be deceived and sharing ‘good things’ with close friends, Daoist Duobao secretly tried to convince Zhao Gongming to go in for some dao heart training, speaking until Zhao Gongming was quite tempted.
Golden Spirit Holy Mother asked: “What should we do next? Go straight in for the kill?”
“Not appropriate,” Li Changshou transmitted, “Enemy situation unclear, circumstances unclear, if we go in grandly we’ll more easily alert them.
Now we should set up false formations, escape their line of sight, and then seize the opportunity to move, seeking their vital points.
Don’t move unless necessary, but when we move we must strike true, ruining their calculations!”
True Lord Yellow Dragon smiled and said: “Junior Brother Changsheng must already have a good strategy, we just need to listen.”
“Please, Senior Brothers and Sisters, enter the Six Paths Reincarnation Disc with me,” Li Changshou said, “Let’s use the Six Paths Reincarnation Disc to conceal our whereabouts.”
“Good!”
“Good!”
“I won’t go!”
True Lord Taiye swept his sleeve, “No need to persuade, even if you knock this poor Daoist unconscious, this poor Daoist absolutely cannot enter the Six Paths Reincarnation Disc again!”
Kong Xuan and Yellow Dragon didn’t understand, but the other Dao Gate experts all burst into laughter.
Li Changshou was prepared, saying seriously: “Senior Brother, do you not want to resolve the misunderstanding and reconcile with that Incarnation of Anger?”
True Lord Taiye’s mouth twitched and his eyelids rolled, saying: “Forgive me for not complying, better not to meet!”
Tap!
A finger pointed at True Lord Taiye’s shoulder, and his form instantly froze, like a clay statue.
True Lord Jade Tripod calmly wrapped True Lord Taiye in immortal power, saying: “Excuse us, let’s not delay the opportunity.”