Of all the events at the Jade Pool Immortal Banquet, what moved Li Changshou most deeply was the Elderly Lord’s words of praise.

However, what left the deepest impression on Li Changshou was neither the later arrival of Immortal Chang’e with her heaven-stirring dance of supreme beauty, nor the rather spectacular sword dance performed by Spirit Zhenzhu and Jade Rabbit, but rather…

The gift from Master Gongming.

At that moment, while Chang’e’s song and dance were in full swing and the banquet atmosphere was at its peak, Spirit Zhenzhu and Jade Rabbit had yet to take the stage.

Zhao Gongming arrived in haste, wearing battle armor different from his usual attire, with traces of bloodstains still lingering on his inner garments.

If not for this lord’s slightly raised eyebrows and gentle smile upon seeing Li Changshou, the latter would have thought something terrible had happened.

Just as Zhao Gongming was about to circle past the dancing Chang’e to move forward, he suddenly sensed an unusual spiritual essence in the area. Looking up, he immediately trembled several times.

Having arrived in such haste, he hadn’t noticed the Elderly Lord was present!

Zhao Gongming hurriedly circled to the side of the high platform to pay his respects, then accordingly made a Daoist bow to the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother. Only then did he lower his head and walk to Li Changshou’s side. Under the watching eyes of surrounding immortals, he sat beside Li Changshou, unable to suppress a slight smile.

“Changgen, your elder brother has brought you a great treasure!”

Li Changshou: …

This tone, this manner, was exactly like those street vendors from his previous life selling ‘USB drives filled with study materials.’

Zhao Gongming pulled out a black staff about two feet long from his sleeve and placed it before Li Changshou.

The black stuff was currently sealed by Zhao Gongming, appearing weightless like charred wood. However, upon slight sensing, it contained strands of profound yet simple essence, along with a faint pressure.

Li Changshou merely stared at the object for a few glances when a corner of his Dao’s heart rippled with several images… glimpsing endless beings constantly churning in a sea of blood, countless soul spirits in heaven and earth being torn apart by a long spear!

Looking at it again now, this black staff was like the spine of a mighty mountain, condensed by great divine powers into a length of two feet.

This familiar essence…

Such thick killing power…

At his side, the well-informed, tight-lipped, Human Path certified honorary disciple True PersonDue spoke in amazement:

“Could this be… a fragment of the killing treasure, the Demon-Slaying Spear formed from the Chaos Blue Lotus stem?”

[On the importance of reaction roles in alleviating awkward atmospheres.]

“Correct,” Zhao Gongming stroked his beard with a light laugh, then remembered something and looked somewhat nervously at his Second Sister beside Li Changshou.

Seeing Cloud Maiden’s expression unchanged, Zhao Gongming finally settled his mind.

Better to face a hundred scoldings from the Master than three points of anger from the Second Sister.

Then they heard the Great Lord Zhao say with a laugh: “For today’s gift, I… ahem, this poor Daoist also went to great trouble.

Originally, I thought to gift some spiritual treasures or precious materials, but felt that Changgen doesn’t lack these things. Considering that this poor Daoist has known Changgen the longest and our friendship runs deepest, I couldn’t just go through the motions.

This poor Daoist pondered deeply and suddenly recalled that during the last demon elimination at the Ancient City of Asuras, your beloved general Golden Peng Marshal obtained a spear reforged from a Demon-Slaying Spear fragment.

A flash of inspiration struck this poor Daoist, reminding me of an ancient legend. So I rode the Sea-Calming Zhenzhu through the cosmos, rushing at full speed to the edge of the Three Thousand Worlds, racing like wind and lightning to find a secret location at the edge of heaven and earth. There I slew hundreds of demon insects to obtain this half fragment of the Demon-Slaying Spear.

Later, Changgen, when you merge this fragment into that small Demon-Slaying Spear, it will surely increase its power!”

As the words fell, Zhao Gongming smiled calmly.

The difficulty of this gift lay in the rarity of finding such a treasure and retrieving it in such a short time. Its value lay in the thoughtful consideration of what Li Changshou needed.

The surrounding immortals all praised in unison, looking at the nearly two-foot-long fragment while discussing the great battle between the Dao Ancestor and Demon Ancestor of years past.

The Demon-Slaying Spear fragment was certainly a great treasure, but its worth depended on whose hands it fell into.

If it fell into the hands of an ordinary Grand Luo immortal, refining it would be extremely difficult. Even refining a single fragment alone would only forge an innate spiritual treasure of sharp quality.

But with the spear that Golden Peng had obtained last time, this fragment became extraordinarily precious. It might even create a supreme-grade innate spiritual treasure!

Even if it couldn’t match the original Demon-Slaying Spear, having two or three-tenths of its power would still be an extraordinary weapon.

How could Li Changshou not be deeply impressed?

However…

Empress Houtu had Lord Yama deliver nine drops of Ancestral God blood, and now Great Lord Zhao brought a Demon-Slaying Spear fragment…

What did this mean?

Were they expecting him, a civil official of the Heavenly Court, to focus on cultivating the Eight-Nine Mystical Art?

In the future, if they encountered powerful enemies and the Heavenly Court’s warriors were routed, would he leisurely ride clouds forward in his elderly immortal appearance, then suddenly tear open his robes before the mighty enemies to reveal a gleaming golden chain mail, unfurl a dark banner behind him, with the Xuanhuang Pagoda above his head and the Heaven-Earth Ruler gripped reversed in his left hand, taking a step forward while his white hair danced and his muscles bulged wildly as he roared:

‘Spear, come!’

This scene was very… Heavenly Court.

Li Changshou clasped his hands and said: “Thank you, Senior Brother!”

“Ah, what formalities between us?”

Zhao Gongming stroked his beard with squinting eyes and a smile, then took out a treasure pouch from his sleeve, saying: “By the way, this poor Daoist killed a Grand Luo realm demon beast, just right for refining pills and medicines.”

Li Changshou smiled and said: “Enough, enough, Senior Brother your generous gifts are truly enough. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay such kindness.”

“No need for such courtesy!”

Zhao Gongming laughed heartily twice, in quite good spirits. “Your elder brother will find a place to rest, you go about your business.

Second Sister, I’ll go sit over there.”

“Elder Brother, you’ve worked hard,” Cloud Maiden said softly, making Zhao Gongming lift his head high with his chest out, his mind completely at ease!

East Wood Duke immediately came over from the side, leading Zhao Gongming to sit in the Severing Sect immortals’ area.

Li Changshou specifically called over Golden Winged Peng, had him take out that small Demon-Slaying Spear, then passed this object over, instructing Golden Winged Peng to keep it safe and later find a way to merge them into one.

— Here, ‘way’ specifically referred to the Toulan Palace.

After receiving most of the gifts, the subsequent proceedings became rather uneventful.

Though Spirit Zhenzhu and Jade Rabbit’s sword dance was spectacular, it left only a shallow impression;

This was because Immortal Chang’e appeared shortly after, her dance shocking the Three Realms, firmly establishing her reputation as the First Beauty of the Three Realms, and raising the Heavenly Court’s prestige by another level.

One Chang’e, one super celestial soldier – these could be considered the current Heavenly Court’s core competitiveness…

Li Changshou specifically observed the expressions of several ancient powerful beings when they saw Chang’e and noticed only Great Immortal Zhenyuan appeared thoughtful, seeming to want to speak but holding back when Chang’e finished her dance and left.

It seemed that Great Immortal Zhenyuan’s side should also have clues about ‘Senior Lang.’

Unfortunately, Li Changshou wasn’t particularly interested in this.

The only value in investigating Senior Lang’s past was to probe the ‘upper limit’ of how much Heaven’s Script could be altered. Back then, whether Senior Lang wanted to prove the Dao through force or reverse some great event, he must have crossed a line to be erased.

But probing Heaven’s ‘elastic range’ wasn’t limited to just this method.

To be safe, Li Changshou wanted to avoid matters concerning ‘Senior Lang’ as much as possible, focus on being a good Venus Star-Lord, and plan out his retirement process…

Come to think of it, thinking about retirement on the first day of taking office – he was something else.

After Chang’e’s dance performance, another half hour passed when the music suddenly became magnificent, with light pink petals floating everywhere.

The Jade Pool immortal maidens formed arrays riding clouds at the edge of heaven, and a beautiful young immortal maiden with a delicate figure slowly flew over from the depths of the Jade Pool.

She wore formal attire – an inner short jacket of ice cloud silkworm silk, and an outer gorgeous dress embroidered with dozens of spirit birds. The train of her dress dragged through the clouds, making her particularly eye-catching as she floated forward.

This was naturally Longji.

At this time, Longji had her hair done in complex double buns, with golden flower ornaments dotting her forehead, light rouge on her pretty face, and carefully trimmed long eyelashes, with fine eyebrow corners and spirit-like ears.

Now she slowly walked forward under everyone’s gaze, knelt before the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother’s high platform, and said:

“Your child pays respects to Father and Mother.”

The Jade Emperor showed a smile, calmly looking around, his demeanor not without smugness… ahem, pleasure.

At this time, it was the Queen Mother who spoke: “Rise, my child.”

“Thank you, Father and Mother.”

Longji responded softly as she gracefully rose.

Li Changshou shook his head with an elderly air at the side and smiled, saying: “In the blink of an eye, Princess Longji has grown into such an elegant young lady…

Yuelao?”

Yuelao, who had been sitting towards the back on the same side, was suddenly called out and immediately stood up, bowing to Li Changshou, hurriedly saying: “Present.”

Li Changshou smiled and said: “You must guard your Marriage Palace well, don’t let anyone sneak in and tie Princess Longji’s red string.

Princess Longji is Your Majesties’ precious pearl. Although His Majesty maintains impartiality and hasn’t let the Princess join the ranks of proper Heavenly Court deities, the Princess’s marriage is no small matter.”

Yuelao’s forehead broke out in cold sweat, truly not knowing what Venus Star Lord meant by such words, and could only hurriedly lower his head in agreement, repeatedly saying such a situation would never occur.

Thus, one path of future schemes against Longji was cut off.

After Yuelao sat down, Long Ji’s pretty face blushed as she said softly:

“Mother, your child has been following Master Venus to learn strategy and could be considered half a disciple. Today I wish to offer Master a cup of tea in gratitude for his constant guidance.”

Li Changshou: Speaking of this, one must mention those three large boxes of homework…

The Queen Mother looked towards Li Changshou and was about to speak, but Li Changshou had already stood up, cupping his hands to the Queen Mother and taking the initiative to say:

“Your Majesty, I am also quite fond of Longji. Would Longji be willing to formally take me as her master?”

Since he had previously mentioned taking disciples, there was no need to wait for the Queen Mother to personally make the request – better to take the initiative.

Longji was overjoyed, forgetting how to respond and simply nodding repeatedly.

The Queen Mother smiled and said: “Many thanks to Venus Star-Lord for this favor.”

Li Changshou bowed with clasped hands, then walked to the side of the high platform, made a Daoist bow to the Elderly Lord, and said clearly:

“Elderly Lord, Princess Longji of the Heavenly Court is naturally intelligent, of good character, studious and progressive, humble and courteous. This disciple wishes to take her as a senior disciple of the Human Path.”

“Good.”

The Elderly Lord nodded slightly, and three streams of light flew from his sleeve, landing before Li Changshou and transforming into three treasures.

Strands of Dao essence dispersed from these three treasures, immediately causing the assembled immortals to gain some understanding, knowing how precious these three treasures were.

Anything bestowed by the Elderly Lord was bound to be extraordinary.

That small cyan-blue net the size of a handkerchief was named the Mist and Dew Heaven-Earth Net. When spread out it could cover ten thousand miles, being a water-element innate spiritual treasure specifically countering all types of true fire.

That elaborately crafted ice-blue treasure vase was named the Four Seas Bottle, also an innate spiritual treasure, specifically countering fire-system magical treasures, able to pour out floods of water across the heavens.

There was also a divine needle half a foot long, named the Heaven-Earth Needle, a supreme-grade acquired spiritual treasure that could break through the cosmos for instant teleportation, and could also serve as a treasure for stealthy attacks.

These three treasures were all refined by the Elderly Lord, their power far exceeding treasures of the same grade, representing the peak of ‘artifact refining’ in the primordial world.

Of course, the truly supreme treasures of the primordial world, except for items like the Xuanhuang Pagoda which was forcibly elevated by the Great Pure Saint’s enlightenment merits, the vast majority were naturally formed in the primordial era.

The way of artifact refining was always restricted by Heaven’s laws.

At present, Li Changshou returned with the three treasures and asked Longji with a smile:

“Longji, are you willing to take this poor Daoist as your master? Join the Great Pure lineage and cultivate the Way of Non-Action?”

Longji immediately knelt and performed the discipleship ceremony, hurriedly saying:

“Longji is willing to follow Master. This disciple pays respects to Master!”

“Hahaha!”

The Jade Emperor laughed heartily atop the high platform, saying clearly: “Many thanks to the Elderly Lord for this fulfillment!

My daughter Longji, henceforth you must respect your master’s commands and honor the teacher’s rites, cultivate the Great Pure Dao well, and do not bring shame to the Great Pure lineage.”

Longji rose and responded: “Your child will certainly not disappoint Father and Master.”

Li Changshou placed the three treasures in Longji’s hands, urging: “Quickly put away the treasures and go pay respects to the Elderly Lord and Grand Master.”

“Yes!”

Longji didn’t dare examine what the treasures specifically were, holding them in her hands as she rose and went before the Elderly Lord.

She was about to kneel when she found clouds and mist blocking her from kneeling, immediately understood the meaning, and only made a deep Daoist bow.

Afterward, Longji hurried before the Grand Master, respectfully bowing and calling out sweetly:

“Grand Uncle Master.”

“Mm, good, good.”

The Grand Master sat formally, having no experience dealing with such occasions, but he went along with it, taking out several spiritual treasures that he had originally prepared for Li Changshou but hadn’t used, counting them as meeting gifts.

In the blink of an eye, Longji returned before Li Changshou carrying three innate spiritual treasures and two supreme-grade acquired spiritual treasures.

This scene made many immortals quite envious, and the Severing Sect immortals also sighed with emotion.

With fewer disciples, treasures were truly abundant!

Li Changshou said gently: “Come find your master in a few days, and I will transmit to you the Great Pure Dao methods.

Henceforth as my senior disciple, you must remember these four words ‘Great Pure Non-Action’, avoid karma, seek your true nature, do more good deeds in the world, punish the strong, and help the weak.”

Longji bowed deeply and said seriously: “Disciple will carefully follow Master’s teachings.”

Afterward, Longji looked at Cloud Maiden, unsure whether to call her Master’s Wife.

Cloud Maiden at this moment… inexplicably felt somewhat nervous.

Li Changshou added: “Go now, and remember to associate more with Elder Brother Supreme Unity’s disciples from the Enlightenment Sect.”

“Yes,” Longji immediately understood, lowering her head in a bow before retreating to the side.

One could see that the Jade Emperor was in an exceptionally good mood about Longji becoming Li Changshou’s senior disciple.

At present, the Jade Emperor raised his wine cup, all immortals joined in, and over ten more Chang’e maidens from the Moon Palace entered to dance.

The various immortals became talkative, the Elderly Lord had left at some unknown time, and the Jade Pool was filled with endless laughter and merriment.

And so, three days later…

…

The music ended, the dance concluded, people left and the hall emptied.

Celestial soldiers cleared away the low tables, cups, and plates, and the Venus Palace once again became spacious.

The center of the great hall was filled with various treasures, all congratulatory gifts Li Changshou had received earlier. The precious ones had naturally been put away, while those displayed here were just some treasure materials, piled here to show festivity.

Having anticipated that the Jade Emperor’s avatar would come, Li Changshou had sent Golden Winged Peng and the others away in advance, familiarizing himself with the various formation arrangements in the hall, and admiring his new residence.

It was certainly big and spacious, but it was just… too monotonous.

Just this one great hall standing here, no study, no side rooms – where would he live later, where would Golden Peng and the others stay? Where would Spirit Zhenzhu and Jade Rabbit play happily?

Li Changshou thought for a moment and decided to modify the hall’s arrangement later, using formations to make divisions, creating an entertainment-linked-formation array.

It was a pity that the Ghost Palace from the Underworld couldn’t be moved up here – otherwise, it would have made for quite a nice divine official’s life, having nothing to do but cultivate, scheme, and scare rabbits when free.

Stare—

Sensing the gaze from the hall entrance, Li Changshou smiled and said: “Just come in, there’s no one else here.”

At the hall entrance, the golden-armored female war goddess who had been peeking around the door frame blinked gently at these words and flashed into the Venus Palace.

Li Changshou activated the isolation formation around the great hall, watching the female celestial general slowly approaching.

She was still the same, with beautiful features — a graceful figure, her form-fitting battle armor having a unique charm, her figure neither more nor less than perfect, everything exquisite to the extreme.

The most beautiful is naturally formed, enchanting only because it’s just right.

Walking to within ten zhang, she stopped her steps, gazing at the elderly immortal before her.

Li Changshou transformed, taking on the appearance of a young man. Though not showing his true face, this looked more pleasing.

“Xuanya, will you move here later?”

“I’m fine staying in my original residence,” Youqin Xuanya said softly, a smile blooming at the corners of her mouth, her beautiful eyes full of emotion, “Congratulations to Senior Brother on becoming Venus Star-Lord.”

Li Changshou smiled and said: “This is nothing worth congratulating.”

Having spoken, he lightly tapped his horsetail whisk, setting two chairs before him, and invited: “We haven’t had a good chat in a long time. Have you been well lately?”

“Everything is fine.”

Youqin Xuanya didn’t step forward, her hands somewhat unsure where to rest as she avoided Li Changshou’s gaze, saying softly:

“Lately I’ve been constantly campaigning against demon tribes… just some inconsequential demon tribes, haven’t encountered any experts.

Thank you, Senior Brother, for arranging for me to serve in the Heavenly Court. Here, Xuanya can feel that she’s truly doing something within her capabilities, contributing her effort to the righteous path.

Originally cultivation always felt like it was missing some meaning, but now I’ve found it.”

“That’s good,” Li Changshou sighed, “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, you’re already doing very well now.”

“I will continue doing this.”

Youqin Xuanya gently bit her lip, her gaze no longer hesitant but full of determination as she stared into Li Changshou’s eyes.

This determination made even Li Changshou feel… somewhat embarrassed.

She said: “I know Senior Brother’s heart is with the beings of the Three Realms, know that Senior Brother wants to make heaven and earth clear and bright, establish an order that can protect the weak and restrict the strong.

Xuanya is not a genius in cultivation, nor do I have any outstanding abilities, and even less can I keep up with Senior Brother’s pace.

But I will always chase after Senior Brother… um, even if I can only see Senior Brother’s back!

Xuanya has said too much, please don’t blame me.

A division of soldiers is still waiting for me at the Heaven Gate, I should… should go now.”

Li Changshou was about to speak up to keep her back, to correct Youqin Xuanya’s somewhat ‘overly correct’ thinking, but outside the great hall, General Wei Shenmo’s figure was already slowly flying over.

After a slight hesitation, Youqin Xuanya turned to leave, and Li Changshou called out behind her:

“Xuanya!”

She turned her head at the sound, an immortal light shining on her pretty face, her skin so delicate.

Li Changshou threw over a treasure pouch full of healing and life-saving spirit pills, which Youqin Xuanya caught steadily.

“Take care of yourself,” Li Changshou smiled, “Life is the foundation of everything.”

“Mm!”

Youqin Xuanya nodded solemnly, gripping the treasure pouch in her hand as she stepped outward.

When almost at the hall entrance, she held the treasure pouch to her chest, her eyes showing joy, not even noticing Wei Shenmo as they passed.

Wei Shenmo looked into the hall, then at Youqin Xuanya’s figure flying away on clouds, his eyes brightening.

So that’s how it was…

Mm, need to find a way to arrange this.