Looking toward the voice, Yuding saw Li Changshou’s paper man and showed a somewhat stiff smile, stepping forward to return the Daoist salute.

This True Person was also an ‘honest person’ – his first words upon meeting declared his purpose, without exchanging pleasantries.

“Junior Brother Changgen, do you have any Barbarian Tribe battle techniques that my disciple could practice?”

Li Changshou stepped aside in invitation and smiled: “Senior Brother, let’s talk in the inner hall.

Previously, Spirit Zhenzhu had trained with the Barbarian Tribe and obtained quite a few of their battle techniques. I have several copies here, and if they’re not enough, I can have my paper man in the underworld search the Barbarian Tribe for more.

Isn’t Nephew Yang Jian practicing Dao sect techniques?”

True Person Yuding’s smile was somewhat… between embarrassment and shyness, making it difficult for Li Changshou to gauge too precisely.

This True Person said gently: “The Eight-Nine Mysteries Art emphasizes physical cultivation. Though it also generates spiritual power, the power is somewhat uneven, and not particularly pure.

My thought was to have Yang Jian cultivate both spirit and body. Today I’ve worked out some Dao technique texts that won’t conflict with the Eight-Nine Mysteries Art, but it should still primarily focus on the Eight-Nine Mysteries Art.

But for combat techniques, Barbarian Tribe battle methods naturally complement the Eight-Nine Mysteries Art better.”

“So that’s how it is,” Li Changshou invited True Person Yuding to sit, not taking the host’s position himself but sitting in a round chair beside True Person Yuding.

Li Changshou said: “Senior Brother, please wait here a moment while I look for some.”

“Very well.”

True Person Yuding acknowledged, seeming to have more to say, but only added: “Is there anything this poor Daoist can do to help the Barbarian Tribe?”

Li Changshou smiled and said: “I’ll discuss this in detail with Senior Brother later, please don’t worry too much about it.”

After speaking, Li Changshou closed his eyes to concentrate, shifting his consciousness to his main body, searching in his chest for a while before taking out two jade talismans.

When helping Lady Houtu resolve the trouble with her seven emotional incarnations, he received the ‘Barbarian Tribe Secret Records,’ which contained many battle techniques.

Now he could give them to True Person Yuding, let Yang Jian try which set best complemented the Eight-Nine Mysteries Art, and thus…

His cultivation efficiency would undoubtedly improve significantly later.

Yunxiao asked from the side: “Is there some trouble?”

“Just Senior Brother Yuding coming to seek some Barbarian Tribe battle techniques,” Li Changshou smiled, “Probably for Nephew Yang Jian’s cultivation.”

While speaking, Li Changshou had already made a copy of the jade talisman in his hand, took out a paper man from his sleeve, and controlled the paper man to grip the jade talisman firmly and use teleportation techniques to rush to the Southern Jambudvipa Continent.

Lady Yunxiao asked softly: “You care so much about Fairy Yunhua’s children – is it because of the Jade Emperor’s orders?”

“This isn’t the Jade Emperor’s intention.”

Li Changshou laughed lightly. At this time, he was sitting with Yunxiao on two meditation cushions in the tree’s shade on shallow grass, not far from where the scholar was constantly scratching his head by the riverside.

Then came Li Changshou’s gentle sigh, his eyes showing rare warmth as he said softly:

“I can’t always be busy in the Heavenly Court. After the Heavenly Court gets on track and order returns to Heaven and Earth, I will retire to the mountains and forests. By then, there must be one or two successors to assist His Majesty the Jade Emperor in governing the Three Realms.

Yang Jian is naturally upright and strong, with an unyielding dao heart. He’s shown promise since childhood – he’s the best choice to succeed me.

If I had a choice, I actually wouldn’t want to leave Little Qiong Peak…”

Yunxiao asked gently: “Is it because circumstances compel you?”

“It’s wanting to be more stable,” Li Changshou sighed, “Being in Heaven and Earth, one can’t avoid being manipulated by Heaven and Earth. Though I wish to cultivate in seclusion, I can’t help that great trends are turbulent and my cultivation is insufficient.

In the end, it’s all about giving and taking.

Fortunately, I did step out then, saw the splendor of the primordial world, saw the nature of beings behind those divine statues I could only look up to before, saw…”

Li Changshou paused, gazing into Yunxiao’s eyes, and smiled: “Saw the joy and sorrow of the fairy in the clouds, saw how this senior expert disturbed my heart and increased my worries.”

Yunxiao lowered her head and turned away, saying softly: “Then I’ll come to see you less in the future, so I won’t disturb your heart…”

A finger reached out from the side, stopping three inches before her lips.

The fairy couldn’t help but follow this finger with her gaze, only to see Li Changshou now looking at her sideways, his eyes pure and clear, yet full of warmth.

Yunxiao suddenly realized his voice had unconsciously filled her entire consciousness, saying:

“My heart moves willingly, and gladly savors these worries.”

She didn’t know what had come over herself, her consciousness a blank expanse, yet through that blankness flashed image after image, reflecting his face, his profile, his joys and sorrows…

“Yunxiao?”

Li Changshou called softly, his voice gentler than ever before.

For a moment, Yunxiao found her dao heart somewhat lost, yet this loss didn’t disturb her dao heart, and she didn’t resist it, but rather wished to continue immersing in it.

Even those who don’t partake of mortal smoke and fire can have hearts beyond their control;

Even those lacking that heart’s desire might find it hard to refuse deep feelings and warm intentions.

In her daze, she felt that face drawing closer and closer to her, her dao heart light and ethereal yet secretly anticipating, though within that anticipation was some unwillingness to leave.

Just as she was experiencing this marvelous state of mind before she could do anything, the space between them had shrunk to just a few inches.

This was…

“Water God, I choose the third one!”

By the river, the scholar’s soul gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, turned around, and shouted with his eyes closed.

But then, he felt the atmosphere was somewhat strange, and when he opened his eyes to look, his whole ghost form wavered…

Eh?

Under the tree, the scene instantly froze.

The scholar saw that the Water God, who maintained a youthful appearance, now looked somewhat different. He was leaning sideways, his upper body reaching forward, and with that fairy…

Hehe, very close.

The fairy, whose face the scholar had never been able to see before, now revealed her true appearance – truly without equal on earth or match in heaven, cold and beautiful beyond compare, unknown to others.

The problem was that the Water God and this fairy were so close now, seemingly about to…

In the scholar’s hometown dialect, it was called ‘dabor,’ in books it was written as ‘husband and wife’s courtesy,’ some called it ‘wuza,’ but the scholar, well-read as he was, preferred ‘eating rouge.’

Elegant, truly elegant.

Just… the atmosphere now seemed wrong…

The scholar suddenly felt a killing intent and immediately shouted at the two figures who seemed frozen under the tree:

“This- this! I didn’t see anything!”

Yunxiao’s beautiful face instantly flushed red, white light flashed around her, and she disappeared directly.

Li Changshou very calmly performed a ‘helping someone arrange their hair’ pantomime, then showed a smile and calmly stood up, looking toward the scholar by the river.

“Made your choice? Hehe.”

Gulp!

The scholar’s soul trembled slightly and hurriedly said: “Water God, it was purely an unintentional mistake, I didn’t mean to peep at you and the fairy…”

“It’s nothing, nothing,” Li Changshou smiled with narrowed eyes, walking step by step toward the scholar’s soul, saying: “This matter is my fault too, I was carried away for a moment, not thinking that this was in broad daylight, affecting public morals.

After all, I’m not some evil deity, don’t be afraid.”

The scholar was about to cry. When alive, he had been beaten black and blue by life – how could he not know the Water God was on the edge of fury?

The scholar’s legs went weak and he fell straight to his knees, but Li Changshou stepped forward to grab the scholar’s arm, summoned a cloud, and took the scholar flying toward a large city not far away.

The city was bustling with noise and extremely prosperous, with a great river flowing quietly past its edge, villages, and towns dotting upstream and downstream like stars.

Li Changshou smiled and said: “Look, this is location B, also your first possible choice.”

The scholar blinked.

“But you didn’t choose it.”

Li Changshou said gently, and the scholar immediately made a crying face, then forced out a smile.

Subsequently, Li Changshou took the scholar flying to the northern border of the Southern Jambudvipa Continent, finding the second river.

The scenery here was extraordinarily beautiful, with groups of spirits nearby and many beautiful female-form spirits playing in the water – truly a paradise on earth.

“Look, this is location A, also your second possible choice.”

The scholar looked at the beautiful scenery everywhere and couldn’t help but pursed his lips, muttering: “But I didn’t choose it…”

Li Changshou continued smiling with narrowed eyes: “This is probably what they call karma and destiny – you missed this destiny, so you lost such benefits.

After all, if you became the river god here, you might have developed wonderful friendships with many spirits.”

The scholar silently clutched his chest and asked quietly: “Weren’t you not angry…”

“Oh? When did this god mention being angry? Come, I’ll take you to location C.”

Shortly after, Li Changshou brought the scholar near the capital of a Shang tribe nation and raised his hand to touch the scholar’s forehead, letting the scholar see the magnificent destiny gathered in this place.

“This is location C. This place is where human destiny gathers. If you cultivate properly here, someday you might join the ranks of immortals and become a proper deity.”

The scholar was stunned, looking at Li Changshou with deep gratitude, saying softly:

“My lord, your- your breadth of mind is truly vaster than the ocean. I disturbed your romantic moment, yet you still…”

Li Changshou still smiled with narrowed eyes, slowly turning his head:

“However, now I’ve changed my mind.”

“Eh?”

And so, two hours later…

In a remote mountain wilderness in the southeast of the Southern Jambudvipa Continent, there was a winding small river and several sparsely populated villages.

A certain scholar stood in the river water with a dazed expression.

The warmth emanating from the thumb-sized ‘seal’ in his hand couldn’t warm his utterly chilled heart.

‘From today on, you are the river god of this river. May you work hard to benefit this region, regulate the river water, resist disasters, and prevent drought. When your merit is complete, you can naturally advance to a higher position.’

Just then, the seal flickered with a faint light, constructing a simple wooden bridge over the river and condensing a palm-sized temple beneath the bridge.

The newly appointed human river god now had tears streaming down his face, letting out a long sigh in his heart.

‘After all, he’s not some evil deity.’

…

In the Sea God Temple, Li Changshou’s paper man had arrived and handed the jade talisman to True Person Yuding.

For the convenience of communication and to avoid confusing True Person Yuding, Li Changshou put away one paper man and smilingly introduced the battle techniques within the jade talisman.

True Person Yuding said solemnly: “I don’t know how to thank Junior Brother.”

“Ah, it’s nothing, nothing,” Li Changshou smiled and waved his hand, then thought of what he had just…

He couldn’t help but let out a long sigh, sitting there in a daze.

Such circumstances were hard to come by.

The atmosphere had to be right, the emotions had to be in place, the light and shadow had to be harmonious, and there had to be topics that touched both their hearts – truly a perfect alignment of timing, location, and people.

Li Changshou hadn’t calculated any of this, he had just suddenly encountered such a feeling and followed it.

That fellow had decision-making difficulties, so why did he just…!

*Human Sect profanity.*

True Person Yuding asked: “Is there some difficulty?”

“Ah, no,” Li Changshou hurriedly said, “I just parted with Lady Yunxiao and feel somewhat reluctant to part, making Senior Brother laugh at me.”

True Person Yuding showed a slight smile and said: “I truly am somewhat envious of you and Senior Sister Yunxiao. If there’s mutual affection, it should naturally be harmonious and beautiful.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Senior Brother.”

Li Changshou cupped his hands, thoughts turning slightly in his heart, and sighed again: “Has Senior Brother heard the news? About the Red Lotus entering Azure Void Palace?”

True Person Yuding said: “Did something go wrong?”

“Indeed,” Li Changshou frowned and said, “After erasing Old Ancestor Minghe’s remnant soul, Uncle Master Tongtian wanted to use that Red Lotus to suppress the Severing Sect’s destiny, but the Red Lotus couldn’t bear it and shattered directly…”

“Oh?”

True Person Yuding calculated with his fingers, then frowned in thought for a while before saying: “Looking at it this way, the Severing Sect’s catastrophe far exceeds what you and I imagined.”

“I have this feeling too…”

Li Changshou changed the subject and asked: “When that Red Lotus was destroyed by Old Ancestor Minghe, it produced three lotus seeds. One is with the Western Sect, one with the Severing Sect – I’ve seen both with my own eyes.

Has Senior Brother heard who took the third Red Lotus seed back then?”

True Person Yuding asked in return: “Could you suspect someone tampered with the lotus seeds?”

“Indeed,” Li Changshou said seriously, “We still can’t rule out this possibility. To this day we still don’t know who threw those lotus seeds into the Blood Sea.”

True Person Yuding said solemnly: “Those four experts who appeared that day?”

“I thought so too at first, but somehow feel it’s not them,” Li Changshou stood up and walked slowly, “This matter is of great importance.

If someone deliberately arranged this, and they’re not enemies we currently know of, their intentions… we must guard against them.”

“The great catastrophe is indeed a time of many incidents. Junior Brother now stands at the center of the three sects and should take good care.”

True Person Yuding also stood up and cupped his hands to Li Changshou, saying: “This poor Daoist will return now to instruct Jian’er.

Regarding the matter of Jian’er’s parents, shall we proceed as originally arranged?”

“Indeed,” Li Changshou said seriously, “The future pillars of the Heavenly Court will rely entirely on Senior Brother’s guidance.”

“Very well.”

True Person Yuding smiled and nodded, put the jade talisman in his sleeve, exchanged Daoist salutes with Li Changshou, and left on a cloud.

After seeing True Person Yuding, Li Changshou stood silently for a while before Patriarch Tongtian’s painting.

The original holder of the third Red Lotus seed…

Scene after scene flashed through Li Changshou’s mind, the characters for ‘Enlightenment’ and ‘Severing’ constantly spinning in his thoughts, finally only turning into a light laugh as his form vanished into the ground.

The Sea God Religion now didn’t need him to do anything, having a system for selecting and training divine envoys.

Xiong Lingli’s father, Old Third Xiong, had now gained considerable longevity and had merit protecting him, letting Li Changshou temporarily not worry too much about Sea God Religion matters.

As for renaming the Sea God Religion…

Better not, as in the blink of an eye he would advance from Water God to Star Lord.

When his merit golden body was complete, he would let the Dragon Clan manage the Sea God Religion.

Li Changshou’s main body quietly returned to Little Qiong Peak, glanced at Ling’e who was comprehending and cultivating in the underground secret chamber, then went to the study to organize matters regarding the ‘Immortal Alliance’ and ‘Heaven-Approaching Palace.’

This lowering of his head lasted three to five days.

This day, Li Changshou’s communication jade talisman lightly vibrated – it was Baize giving him a message reporting safe arrival after returning to Heaven-Approaching Palace as he had said.

— When Li Changshou left Azure Void Palace, he sent the Golden-Winged Great Peng back to the Water God Manor in the Heavenly Court, while Baize returned to hide in the Three Thousand Worlds on his own.

After all, being an old auspicious beast, he was quite professional at knowing the way.

Stretching lazily, Li Changshou’s heart moved slightly as he thought of Ao Yi and the others helping lost souls in the underworld, so he activated his [Little Judge] paper man in Fengdu City.

His immortal consciousness swept past and found Ao Yi, Bian Zhuang, and Spirit Zhenzhu still earnestly reciting scriptures…

This fellow Bian Zhuang had made quite some progress.

To be safe, he should still notify Spirit Zhenzhu to leave temporarily;

Avoid too much contact with Ao Yi, to prevent things from being more difficult if they truly become enemies in the future.

Li Changshou was just about to transmit a message with his immortal consciousness, the fluctuations already floating to the three’s ears, when he suddenly heard Bian Zhuang say:

“Big Brother, Third Brother, after we finish helping the souls here, shall we go somewhere nice to play for a few days, also to celebrate our sworn brotherhood!”

Ao Yi snorted: “Come to my home, don’t think about luring Third Brother to your place!”

Bian Zhuang smiled sheepishly: “Well, my place has more atmosphere, right, Third Brother?”

Spirit Zhenzhu smiled innocently beside them.

Third… Brother?

Li Changshou stood on the somewhat dark street of Fengdu City, his entire paper man swallowed by black lines, his restrictions almost falling into chaos.

This…

How would Nezha’s story work out?

Would there still need to be a friendly competition with the Dragon Clan, would they still need to stage the ‘peak confrontation’ with Ao Yi from when he hadn’t yet become immortal?

Forget it, whatever, better think about early retirement or something, get out early.

Shaking his head, Li Changshou turned and floated away, his face full of having lost the will to live.

…

Cicada sounds — Cicada sounds —

As the day grew late, a sturdy woodcutter carrying a large bundle of firewood, with two wild game animals and an iron axe at his waist, walked with tired steps to the riverside and suddenly stopped.

“How come there’s a wooden bridge?”

The woodcutter chuckled, “Well, it’ll save a few steps.”

After speaking, he stepped onto the wooden bridge with a cheerful stride, when unconsciously, the iron axe at his waist suddenly slipped off.

Thunk!

“Ah, my family’s hereditary axe!”

The woodcutter cried out anxiously, put down his firewood, and was about to strip off his clothes to jump in.

Just then!

A golden light suddenly rippled in the river water, and an elegant young male deity wearing a scholarly robe slowly emerged halfway, his left-hand brewing golden light, his right hand shining with silver light.

“Foolish mortal~ I am the local river god~

Do you want my golden axe in my left hand, or my silver axe in my right hand, or this wooden axe passed down in your family?”

The woodcutter was stunned, looked at the golden axe, looked at the silver axe, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

“I want my hereditary…”

“Hehe,” the river god smiled with narrowed eyes, the three axes in his hands suddenly disappearing, “This god has suddenly changed his mind, here’s your new axe~”

A flash of white light sailed over, landing steadily in the woodcutter’s hand. The woodcutter looked closely and saw that this axe was in his hand…

Was a rotting piece of wood with a palm-sized stone shard tied to it with grass rope.

Splash!

The woodcutter threw the stone axe away and dove headfirst into the river.

“River god, your grandmother’s leg, I’ll fight you to the death! Give me back my hereditary axe!”

“Ahahahaha~ After all, I’m not some evil deity~”

And so the narrator spoke — The river god and the woodcutter began their happy and blessed life together.