When exactly was the Crossing Immortal Gate exposed?

Li Changshou stood silently by the lakeside of the now-empty Little Qiong Peak, gazing toward Breaking Sky Peak, listening to the faint sounds of weeping carried through the air, his heart filled with clarity.

It probably wasn’t exposed all at once.

Perhaps it was because of Baize’s frequent visits with Elder Gongming and the Three Islands Immortals;

Perhaps it was when Dizang tricked the demon tribes into surrounding the Human Immortal Sect, and he revealed himself at Crossing Immortal Gate;

Or perhaps it was the Divine Beast Diting, who habitually played dumb while knowing everything, who revealed the truth to the Western Teaching.

Of course, there were two more likely possibilities—direct intervention by a Sage, or the other side making reasonable deductions from a series of events.

Was Maitreya directly declaring war on Human Teaching?

No, it wasn’t that simple.

This matter was already extremely severe, and though he wanted to use it to his advantage, it would produce too many negative effects.

But could they just let it go like this?

His Crossing Immortal Gate had lost a Sect Master. Though his remnant soul was preserved, the losses were still devastating.

Maitreya had truly presented him with a difficult problem, and no matter how he analyzed this problem, it would lead to results he didn’t want to see.

When things reach an extreme, they reverse course. Sometimes when people reach one extreme, they swing to the other…

“Senior Brother,” Ling’e’s call came from behind.

Li Changshou responded with a sound, putting away the magical treasure that nourished his primordial spirit into his robes.

Ling’e stepped forward quickly, taking hold of Li Changshou’s arm, and said softly, “Please punish me.”

“Why would I punish you?”

“Everything… everything was exposed.”

Li Changshou raised his hand and patted Ling’e’s head, speaking gently, “You deserve the most credit for minimizing the losses at Crossing Immortal Gate this time. The main fault lies with me—once the paper avatar technique was broken, I had no countermeasures left.”

“That’s not true, Senior Brother.”

Ling’e gently bit her lip, resting her forehead against Li Changshou’s shoulder and nuzzling slightly.

“Don’t feel guilty. You taught me, Senior Brother, that we shouldn’t feel guilty when we can’t stop evil people from doing evil things. The ones who commit evil are always the evildoers.”

Li Changshou smiled, “Now you’re the one comforting me. Go and get ready, I’ll be introducing you to quite a few people soon.”

Ling’e blinked, somewhat confused.

Suddenly, thunder flashed in the sky, and large patches of dark clouds approached from the southeast.

The immortals of Crossing Immortal Gate immediately rose into the air. Though they had been mourning their Sect Master and fallen fellow disciples moments ago, their eyes were now filled with fury and vigilance.

Li Changshou’s voice resonated everywhere:

“Fellow disciples, there’s no need to panic. I’ve summoned five thousand Celestial Soldiers to guard the sect gates and help us through this period.”

The sect’s immortals breathed sighs of relief and bowed toward Little Qiong Peak.

Though grief permeated the air at this moment, another piece of news was equally shocking.

The disciple of Crossing Immortal Gate—no, the immortal, that inconspicuous Li Changshou of Little Qiong Peak, who only occasionally gained some fame through interesting stories and mostly kept quiet…

Was their Human Teaching’s third-ranked figure, the Second Disciple of the Teaching Master, and the renowned Grand White Star Lord of the Celestial Court!

As these identity labels were revealed one by one, the ‘walls’ piling up around Li Changshou grew incredibly thick, making these fellow immortals completely hesitant to approach.

The dark clouds arrived, and figures rapidly descended. Squadrons of Celestial Soldiers and Generals took up positions in all four directions of Crossing Immortal Gate. Ao Yi, who led the troops, hurried to the outskirts of Little Qiong Peak with an urgent expression.

“Teaching Master Brother, five thousand troops have arrived!”

“Mm,” Li Changshou nodded, standing by the lake with his hands behind his back, gesturing for Ao Yi to wait aside.

Just then, a white cloud drifted in from the south, carrying True Lord Yuding and True Lord Taiyi, who had just received news of the attack on Crossing Immortal Gate and came to investigate.

Li Changshou sighed but still mustered his spirits to exchange greetings with his two Senior Brothers.

True Lord Taiyi asked directly, “What happened? Did the Western Teaching cause trouble again?”

“Those who raided this place were all Severing Sect immortals,” Li Changshou said softly, causing True Lord Taiyi’s brows to furrow tightly.

Li Changshou’s relationship with the Severing Sect couldn’t be said to be common knowledge, but it wasn’t hidden from anyone either.

No one would believe that Severing Sect immortals would come to raid Li Changshou’s original ‘old sect’.

Either there were traitors within the Severing Sect, or someone was deliberately sowing discord.

Seeing Taiyi and Yuding about to ask questions, Li Changshou said, “Let’s not discuss this matter further for now. We’ll wait for the Severing Sect’s response.”

Taiyi and Yuding exchanged glances, naturally able to see that Li Changshou was in an extremely bad mood, and immediately fell silent, waiting alongside him.

Soon after, a clear cry rang out as the Golden Roc arrived with its wings spread, and seven or eight figures jumped down from its back.

The leader was Golden Spirit Mother, followed by Zhao Gongming, Turtle Spirit Mother, Great Immortal Wuyun, Fire Spirit Mother, Heavenly Lord Qin, and a master-disciple pair.

As soon as they landed, Golden Spirit Mother stepped forward quickly and said to Li Changshou, “Changgeng, don’t be hasty. Our Severing Sect would never do such a thing. Someone must be scheming behind the scenes.”

Zhao Gongming said, “There’s scheming involved, but who’s doing the scheming? Someone who can’t stand our deep friendship with Changgeng.”

Li Changshou let out a slow sigh and said, “Now that most people are here, I’ll share my view. The Severing Sect immortals who attacked Crossing Immortal Gate today all had their primordial spirits tampered with, but we have no proof and can’t determine who did the tampering. Also, before Crossing Immortal Gate was attacked, I was lured far away by a Primordial Beast raised by the Western Teaching.”

Golden Spirit Mother’s eyes widened: “Then let’s go cut them down!”

The Severing Sect immortals hurried to stop her.

“Everyone, I don’t want this matter to escalate,” Li Changshou sighed and said, “The Sect Master of Crossing Immortal Gate has fallen, and over three hundred disciples within the sect were killed or injured. I know Crossing Immortal Gate’s scale isn’t enough to be called a major sect, but this place holds great importance in my eyes.”

Zhao Gongming said, “I understand this best. Changgeng, investigate it! Investigate thoroughly! If anyone dares to obstruct you, this old brother will make them pay!”

“What if the trail ends within the Severing Sect?”

Li Changshou gave a bitter smile: “Their strategy is quite clever. As long as I investigate, unless it leads directly to the Western Teaching, the three teachings of the Dao will develop rifts because of this matter.”

Fire Spirit Mother asked, “But Uncle Master, can we just let this matter go?”

“Of course, we can’t let it go just like that. First, regarding the Severing Sect…”

Li Changshou’s gaze swept past several people to look at the master-disciple pair standing in the back, and said calmly, “How about giving me an explanation about the Blood-Dissolving Divine Blade?”

Golden Spirit Mother frowned and looked at her disciple, the somewhat famous One Qi Immortal of the Severing Sect’s Penglai Island, Yu Yuan.

Yu Yuan trembled slightly and immediately looked at his disciple, Yu Hua.

Yu Yuan asked, “Yu Hua, did you complete the Blood-Dissolving Divine Blade?”

Just as Yu Hua lowered his head to speak, Golden Spirit Mother let out a light shout: “Kneel!”

“Yes,” Yu Hua knelt in the middle of the immortals with a pitiful expression, lowering his head and saying, “Ancestral Master, Master, this disciple did indeed complete the Blood-Dissolving Divine Blade, but it’s not a unique technique to this disciple. I have already explained to fellow disciples how to cultivate the Blood-Dissolving Divine Blade. This disciple is willing to swear an oath on the Heavenly Dao that I have absolute loyalty to the Severing Sect, harbor no harmful intentions toward Grand-Uncle Master Changgeng, and have absolutely no connection to today’s events!”

With a boom, the power of the Heavenly Dao came and went, showing no abnormalities.

Golden Spirit Mother was also somewhat troubled, frowning as she looked at Li Changshou.

Li Changshou said, “I hope… naturally, it’s just a hope. I hope the seniors and juniors of the Severing Sect will restrain their disciples, thoroughly investigate how these Severing Sect immortals were manipulated and became tools in others’ hands, and provide me with a detailed explanation of no less than fifty thousand words.”

“Agreed!”

Zhao Gongming immediately agreed and turned to say, “Yu Yuan, you’ll be responsible for this matter.”

That disciple of Golden Spirit Mother and master of Yu Hua immediately lowered his head in a Daoist salute and hurriedly said, “This disciple won’t disappoint Grand-Uncle Master Changgeng!”

Li Changshou slowly nodded and said, “I naturally trust the Severing Sect, so don’t overthink it. Let’s end this matter here, and thank you all for coming all this way. Old Brother, please help me deliver a message to her at the Three Islands—tell her I’m moving Little Qiong Peak to the Celestial Court, and she can use the jade talisman to summon me later if she needs to find me.”

“Ah… when are you moving to the Celestial Court?”

“Today.”

Li Changshou’s expression was somewhat cold, but soon showed a hint of a smile, leaving Zhao Gongming somewhat confused.

Half a day later, the Golden Roc transformed to the size of ten zhang, carrying Ling’e and Little Qiong Peak (which had been transformed to the size of a false mountain) toward the Heaven Gate under the escort of Celestial Soldiers and Generals.

The Severing Sect immortals had all returned. Li Changshou had asked them for an explanation, and they had provided one, immediately beginning a strict investigation into the identities of those thirteen Severing Sect immortals upon their return, gathering all immortals who knew how to cultivate the Blood-Dissolving Divine Blade for individual investigation.

Only Li Changshou’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

The Golden Roc carried Little Qiong Peak through the East Heaven Gate, flying toward the Grand White Palace under countless watching eyes.

Within the Six Realms Wheel, Li Changshou placed Season Wuyou’s remnant soul into the treasure pool, looking somewhat apologetically at Lady Houtu.

“I have to trouble you again.”

Houtu shook her head gently and said, “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You’ve already done very well.”

“Mm,” Li Changshou showed a slight smile, then stared blankly at Old Daoist Qi Yuan’s remnant soul for a while, his mood indeed improving somewhat.

Now, it was time to discuss settling accounts.

Whoosh—

At the top of the Six Realms Tower, Dizang’s mouth twitched as he looked at the wooden cabinet he had just repaired, now shattered again by Diting.

Diting had been kicked away by the young Daoist before him. The kick was heavy and skillfully executed, ensuring the force remained entirely on Diting without affecting the tower’s structure.

The kick left Diting lying there with limbs twitching, taking quite a while to recover.

It wasn’t that Dizang didn’t want to move or speak—rather, this young Daoist had barged in without explanation and used the power of divine authority to bark at him:

“Shut up, don’t move.”

After speaking, he grabbed Diting by the neck and dragged him aside, beating him with punches and kicks until Diting nearly coughed blood.

With divine authority suppressed, Dizang could neither move nor speak.

This was a microcosm of the God-Conferring Tablet’s power.

“Water… Star-Lord, Lord Star-Lord!”

Diting smiled bitterly repeatedly: “I truly didn’t leak the information about Crossing Immortal Gate. I’ve known about this for a long time, but I never told my master even when he asked. I know well the formidable power of Human Teaching’s Sage Lord—how would I dare offend the Human Teaching?”

Li Changshou stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, “Did Maitreya come?”

“Y-yes, he came.”

“Were you involved?”

“Not! I wasn’t involved! Maitreya deduced it himself. Your previous series of actions had already distinguished Crossing Immortal Gate from other Human Teaching sects! Especially that time when you, like a divine general, led a group of Dao soldiers to ambush those demon tribes at Crossing Immortal Gate…”

Diting stood up and said miserably: “At that time when Maitreya pressured me for information, I had already confirmed he knew about this matter. By the time I mentioned you had once cultivated at Crossing Immortal Gate, his people were already in the sky above it. This has nothing to do with me! Don’t be hasty, I’ll swear an oath on the Great Dao right now…”

Li Changshou pulled two scrolls from his sleeve and threw them before Diting, “Swear two oaths—that you will no longer participate in conflicts between the great teachings, and that you will stay here quietly accompanying your master. If not for considering your previous instances of bringing information, I wouldn’t spare you today.”

“Thank you, Lord Star Lord! Thank you, Lord Star-Lord, for sparing my life!”

Diting sighed, opened the scrolls with his paw, and couldn’t help but shed tears as he began reading word by word.

Li Changshou looked at Dizang and said, “You can move now.”

Dizang’s previously rigid body suddenly became mobile, and he showed a slight smile to Li Changshou.

“It’s rare to see you at a disadvantage.”

“This time is far from when you schemed against the Dragon Palace in the East Sea.”

“What do you want to know from me?”

“Maitreya,” Li Changshou said calmly.

Dizang nodded slowly, then asked, “Why should I betray my Senior Brother to help you?”

“You understand me,” Li Changshou’s gaze became somewhat sharp.

Dizang fell silent, then gave a cold laugh but said: “Senior Brother is an odd person, or rather, someone who only thinks about his situation. Because of this, he was once expelled from Spirit Mountain by the teacher. It’s just that now Spirit Mountain is declining, and my Senior Brother has achieved success in his cultivation and returned, claiming he was in seclusion. His attack on Crossing Immortal Gate today was just to make you uncomfortable, revenge for his previous setback in the Celestial Court.”

“Pure revenge plays only a small part; it’s just his excuse to save face.”

Li Changshou said: “He did this flawlessly this time. The marks in those remnant souls point to the Enlightenment Teaching immortal Chi Jingzi. He seems reckless but planned everything thoroughly. I’m afraid he’ll deny everything later, truly following the same path as a certain senior expert. Your Senior Brother’s most important purpose in this action was to tell me that he has the strength and determination to overturn the table at any time, with the bottom line being not to provoke a war between Sages, wanting me to be more restrained when dealing with the Western Teaching. Is that right?”

Dizang closed his eyes and gave a bitter laugh: “This approach of his indeed doesn’t work on you.”

“He must have been used to having everything go his way in ancient times.”

Li Changshou said calmly, but Dizang didn’t respond, sitting there without further words.

For a moment, in the Six Realms Tower, only Diting’s sobbing could be heard as he read the Heavenly Dao oaths, pitiful and uncontrollable.

Half an hour later, Diting lay wilted like frost-bitten eggplant behind Dizang.

As Li Changshou turned to leave, Dizang, as if having a habit of [asking questions when guests are leaving], spoke again:

“May I ask, fellow Daoist, where is your bottom line?”

“Teacher once said,” Li Changshou turned his head slightly, likewise showing Dizang his profile.

But while Maitreya’s profile always carried a strange smile, Li Changshou’s profile was as calm as still water.

“Sages cannot die.”

Dizang was visibly stunned.

…

After leaving the Netherworld, Li Changshou flew westward, organizing various thoughts in his mind.

Maintaining a clear Dao heart, he wouldn’t be swayed by emotions.

Regarding the Crossing Immortal Gate incident, he had to respond.

Whether from the perspective of Human Teaching’s dignity, his upcoming plans, or as a reverse warning to Western Teaching, he had to step forward.

The paper avatar technique being broken and Maitreya’s meticulous arrangements all reminded Li Changshou that his style of doing things and usual patterns of thinking had been figured out.

Stability was still necessary, but stability wasn’t without limits.

When others put a knife to one’s throat and made a slight cut, though it only scratched the skin…

If he didn’t counter-strike, people would mistake his thoroughness for compromise and his steadiness for weakness!

Wind teleportation, Heaven and Earth teleportation, traveling hundreds of thousands of li in an instant!

At the border of the Western Ox-Treasure Continent, Li Changshou’s figure suddenly stopped, frowning at the figure standing on the clouds ahead.

Wei Shenmo.

He sighed inwardly, stepped forward, and made a Daoist salute to Wei Shenmo, “Why is the General here?”

“Naturally to wait for you,” Wei Shenmo smiled, “I waited for you in the Celestial Court for a long time just now but didn’t see you come. I thought you might go confront the Western Teaching. With two Sages in the Western Teaching, I truly wasn’t at ease with you going alone without someone backing you… Though it does cost me an avatar.”

Li Changshou felt warmth in his heart and said solemnly, “Your Majesty, today let me…”

“Let’s go,” Wei Shenmo smiled, “With me here, do you think the Western Teaching’s two Sages can’t see? Today, curse to your heart’s content.”

Li Changshou pondered for a moment, merely smiled gently, and went forward together with Wei Shenmo.

Spirit Mountain rapidly drew closer, its golden peaks radiating brilliant light.

Bell sounds rang out, and Spirit Mountain was on high alert everywhere, with several Saint-disciple level Vice Teaching Masters flying together to the sky to welcome them.

But Li Changshou directly descended to Spirit Mountain’s halfway point, climbing up step by step along the broad and majestic golden stairs.

The assembled elders of Spirit Mountain frowned and looked at each other in confusion.

This fellow, showing such respect to their Spirit Mountain? Even ordinary Grand Luo immortals visiting Spirit Mountain wouldn’t take these golden stairs…

With fifty steps remaining, Li Changshou’s left hand lifted into the air, and the Primal Yellow Pagoda appeared above his head, spinning and sprinkling primal yellow energy downward.

With forty steps remaining, the Heaven and Earth Ruler appeared in his left palm, held in reverse grip.

With thirty steps remaining, Li Changshou looked up at the majestic golden mountain gate, where the entrance arch was inscribed with the characters ‘Spirit Mountain’, with the mark of a twelve-petaled golden lotus in the center.

He tucked up the hem of his Daoist robe and secured it in his belt.

At this moment, the Spirit Mountain elders were completely bewildered.

After Li Changshou took another ten steps, his left hand opened, and a golden line streaked across the sky as a black-red meteor crashed down, transforming into a long spear that Li Changshou firmly grasped.

The God-Slaying Spear weakened version.

How could the Spirit Mountain crowd not see that Li Changshou intended to attack directly? They quickly retreated one after another, crying out loudly.

“Li Changgeng, you dare?!”

“Quick! Quick! Ask the teacher to appear!”

Suddenly, Spirit Mountain erupted in golden light, clouds gathered, about to condense into a thousand-zhang-tall Sage manifestation.

In this instant, above Li Changshou’s head, General Wei Shenmo’s body burst forth with golden light, transforming to reveal the Jade Emperor of the Celestial Court, directly facing that about-to-condense Sage manifestation!

This wasn’t all.

A clear sword chime suddenly rang out above Spirit Mountain, as a thousand-zhang-tall phantom of a sheathed sword appeared, hanging in the high sky to Li Changshou’s right rear!

The Green Vine Sword!

Just as the Green Vine Sword took position, looking from Li Changshou’s left shoulder, one could see a Taiji Diagram phantom condensing within the clouds, also a thousand zhang in diameter, but the pressure emanating from this Taiji Diagram nearly dispersed all of Spirit Mountain’s golden light!

The Spirit Mountain Sage manifestation returned to clouds.

Clang!

Li Changshou now stood beneath the brilliantly shining gate, lightly tapping the ground with his spear, his gaze sweeping across Spirit Mountain.

Then, without a word, his figure suddenly leaped up, the long spear raised high and brought down vertically. The golden entrance arch surged with immortal light but only held for an instant before breaking in the middle!

The entire gate collapsed instantly, and Spirit Mountain erupted with continuous booming sounds as cracks appeared throughout the mountain.

In the dust, Li Changshou looked again at the assembled elders, seeing their righteous indignation, their worried expressions, and their unease, while his heart remained completely undisturbed.

The way to break the deadlock was to step out of the logic Maitreya had set up, transferring all conflicts to these ruins.

“Hmph!”

With a sweep of his sleeve, Li Changshou turned and rode the clouds skyward, not offering even half a word.