Seriously, was it necessary to mock him like this?

Honored Ancestral Master, why make it so obvious? Couldn’t you have left him a shred of dignity?

Even if he could establish some minor merit later—perhaps carrying the Ten Thousand Year Fairy across the cloud path, helping the Underworld purify some female vengeful spirits, or tossing Bian Zhuang with his sealed immortal power into the Celestial River—the Dao Ancestor could then pretend to be moved and compensate him for the previously owed merit power. That would have been something at least.

But now!

Did Tai Bai Golden Star not need to save face?

Did the Stabilizing Sect Master not need to maintain his standing in the primordial world?

Within the golden light, Li Changshou rose to his full height, his face stern and his tall figure standing straight as he lifted his head to face the golden clouds above.

His countenance carried authority without anger, his bearing magnificent without force!

At his side, Ling E blinked, unsure of what to say or do, when Li Changshou already called out in a resonant voice:

“This disciple thanks the Ancestral Master for understanding the difficulties of cultivation and the challenges of managing affairs, bestowing boundless merit! For this disciple to shed blood and sacrifice for the Heavenly Court, to resolve troubles for the Ancestral Master—these are simply the duties of a Dao sect disciple!”

*How resolute.*

The golden light in the sky gradually dispersed, and the various auspicious signs vanished.

Li Changshou stood for a while, his silhouette somewhat desolate.

He sent a message to Xiong Lingli, who was stealing grilled fish in the spirit beast enclosure, to go out and dismiss those immortals and deities who had come to watch the commotion. Then he silently lay back in his reclining chair.

The merit pool in his spirit platform had once again reached eighty percent capacity.

Li Changshou calculated that, based on the merits he had established and the merit repeatedly bestowed for his contributions to heaven and earth’s stability, what he had just received was exactly what had been owed previously.

The Heavenly Dao was supremely impartial, and the Dao Ancestor wasn’t one to deceive children—what was promised would be given, though the timing was entirely at the Dao Ancestor’s discretion.

Li Changshou layered two barriers over his dao heart, activated all the arrays around Small Jade Peak, and conveniently opened the nearby Sky-Covering Grand Array. Only then did he curse in his heart:

‘This is just fucking ridiculous!’

This was dampening the enthusiasm of an ordinary minister like himself.

Well… what else could be done about it?

He wouldn’t dare to confront the Dao Ancestor. Previously, he had thought that as long as he followed the trend and actively exercised his initiative during the transformation of heaven and earth, he could achieve his desires in eighty percent of matters.

But having walked step by step to today, Li Changshou discovered that there were many limitations and many precautions to take.

The Way of Balance he had comprehended was both a blessing and a curse.

The blessing was that he possessed unlimited possibilities, becoming the greatest variable in heaven and earth. If utilized well, it could even be used to balance, restrict, and monitor the Heavenly Dao.

The curse lay in his weak foundation and lack of accumulation. He had to rely on the Heavenly Dao and the Heavenly Court to rise, and now one wrong step would lead to deadlock.

“Senior Brother?”

Ling E approached, holding the posterior-heaven supreme-grade merit escape treasure ‘Shou E Shuttle.’ “Can the merit still be extracted from this?”

“No,” Li Changshou smiled bitterly. “Don’t worry, I’m fine, just a bit depressed. Let me be alone for a while. Later, I’ll prepare some wine and dishes, and you can drink with me.”

“Mm!”

Ling E hurriedly agreed, holding her shuttle and putting away her exclusive reclining chair. She rode a cloud toward the lakeside stove.

Although it might not be entirely appropriate to be happy when Senior Brother is depressed, at this moment Ling E couldn’t suppress the smile at the corners of her mouth. Her whole being became light and quick as she flew, and after flying out from near the pill room, she even started humming a cheerful tune.

Li Changshou: …

He missed Chef Bai.

One could be dejected, one could be down, but one couldn’t live like Little Ai.

Li Changshou quickly adjusted his mindset, forgot about the merit golden body matter, and began to consider what treasure he should forge next with his merit.

Not counting the magical treasures borrowed from his teacher, among the few treasures in his possession that could be considered notable were only the Small Slaughter God Spear—strong in killing power and unlimited in potential—and the Heart-Piercing Lock for surprise attacks and ambushes.

Ideally, he wanted to forge one or two defensive magical treasures as trump cards.

His previous idea of making a small garment for Yun Xiao was quite difficult and, upon careful consideration, not practical.

Sure, most men knew basic needlework.

But clothing-type treasures were the most difficult to forge. It wasn’t just about sewing some fabric together and adding some talismans for defensive effects.

Years ago, when Li Changshou was reselling pills in the market town and undermining his own Crossing Immortality Gate’s pill business, he had seen truly “elaborate” immortal robes and dresses.

Each thread was inscribed with formations for “spirit building,” “spirit gathering,” “spirit fixing,” and “light effects,” and these threads were woven together to make treasure garments.

The formations in each thread were interconnected, complementing each other to achieve excellent overall effects.

This was a field of study that couldn’t be mastered without several hundred or thousand years of dedication, and he didn’t have that much time to immerse himself in this path.

Yun was still in the midst of tribulation.

Li Changshou pondered that although he had the Jade Emperor’s decree, it still couldn’t solve the problem of the Three Xiao Sisters’ shared fate.

Looking through Yun Xiao’s powerful treasures again and again, there were only the Mixing Yuan Golden Dipper and the Nine Curves Yellow River Formation Chart. The Golden Flood Dragon Scissors and Dragon Binding Rope would naturally go to Qiong and Bi.

If she were to engage in magical combat or respond to tribulations in the future, she would easily be at a disadvantage, lacking sufficient resources.

The Mixing Yuan Golden Dipper was good for both attack and defense, and the Nine Curves Yellow River Formation was a trapping formation. Previously, when pursuing Kun Peng, she had been wielding Junior Uncle Tong Tian’s Green Pine Sword.

Speaking of which, why hadn’t Junior Uncle Tong Tian summoned him?

They had previously agreed to use Kun Peng, but after more than thirty years, why had there been no news instead?

Back to the main point—if he wanted to give Yun Xiao a gift, why not make an offensive treasure?

A weapon? Or perhaps a brick?

Looking at his merit, Li Changshou fell into deep thought.

What he was most skilled at forging were, of course, paper avatars.

Second to that was the “Tenfold Spirit Cannon”—the main cannon that had nearly blown up the Grand Magus’s pill room—which was the core of Small Jade Peak’s defense system.

As it happened, he had received “one ten-thousandth of the foundation” from a certain senior, so he wasn’t lacking in treasure materials, and he could seek “technical support” from the Dou Lai Palace at any time.

Make a spirit cannon?

The image of the elegant and gentle Yun Xiao in magical combat, pulling out a spirit cannon from her sleeve and shouldering it, firing a line of destruction before the opponent could react…

Li Changshou pondered for a while, light flashing in his eyes. He got up and ran back to the pill room, his figure disappearing into the secret chamber below.

Two hours later, Ling E, surrounded by floating jade plates, came drifting over from the lakeside.

“Senior Brother?”

She looked around, and then heard Li Changshou’s voice transmission:

“Set up the table in front of the door first, I’ll be right there.”

“Alright,” Ling E agreed, skillfully setting up a low table and cushions in front of the door, arranging the immortal power-supported jade plates in a petal pattern, and pouring a cup of wine for Senior Brother.

Li Changshou soon floated over, holding a jade talisman in his hand, his eyes somewhat thoughtful.

Ling E, who had prepared several topics for conversation, immediately understood that she should be quiet and obedient—Senior Brother must be pondering something important.

Sure enough, while eating and drinking, Li Changshou kept staring at the jade talisman in his hand. He initiated a conversation with Ling E about some common knowledge of artifact forging, and the senior-junior pair discussed it carefully for a while.

“Senior Brother, are you forging a treasure for Sister Yun Xiao?”

“Mm,” Li Changshou smiled, “Can’t hide it from you. Come take a look.”

Ling E agreed, hugging her cushion as she moved over and sat down next to Senior Brother.

Li Changshou lightly tapped the jade talisman with his finger. Light circled the talisman, condensing into a three-dimensional image—it was the [Hundredfold Spirit Cannon] that Li Changshou was designing.

Though this cannon appeared unremarkable—a straight-barreled long tube, narrow at the front and wide at the back—it contained over a thousand magical device components, which together formed a complete magical treasure.

“What does hundredfold spirit mean?”

“That refers to the utilization rate of spirit energy,” Li Changshou smiled. “If a normal Golden Immortal’s spirit energy utilization rate is one, then the hundredfold spirit cannon means its spirit energy utilization rate is one hundred.

Of course, there’s still a lot of room for improvement.

I can’t say too much about this path to avoid affecting your future cultivation; just understanding this much is enough.

When cultivators use spirit energy, they mostly take it as their own, transforming it into magical power within their bodies. As their dao realm improves, the utilization rate of spirit energy that aligns with their dao will significantly increase.

Under the same quantity, the more pure the magical power, the purer the immortal power, the greater the power of supernatural abilities and spells, right?”

“Mm!”

“But Ling E, have you ever thought about whether the essence changes from spirit energy to magical power?”

Ling E blinked, indicating this question was beyond her capability range, and besides, Senior Brother’s serious profile looked so handsome.

“Has it not changed?”

“It hasn’t changed. The supernatural abilities and spells that are released eventually turn back into spirit energy, with very minimal loss of the spirit energy itself.

Ordinary Golden Immortals only have about a one-thousandth utilization rate of spirit energy.”

Li Changshou revealed a faint smile: “When I was arranging Small Jade Peak’s formation earlier, I pondered how to fully unleash the energy of spirit energy.

Ling E, if you place two mirrors facing each other, leaving a certain angle between them, and shine a beam of light in, it will return along its original path after two reflections.

If a thread of spirit energy continuously enters a special magical device pathway, it can release considerable energy in a short time.

This is the concept of the spirit cannon, though there are still many problems that need to be solved. I’ve decided to seek Old Lord’s guidance later…”

Ling E stared blankly as Li Changshou spoke animatedly. Towards the end, Ling E couldn’t understand what Senior Brother was saying at all, but she felt it must be impressive…

And so, fifteen years later.

By the lake at Small Jade Peak, a cylindrical long cannon, thirty zhang in length, perfectly illuminated various formations.

Li Changshou lightly pointed with his sword finger, and whirlpools appeared at the ends of his long robe as the wind began to blow from all four directions of Small Jade Peak.

Almost instantly, these whirlpools had drained half of Small Jade Peak’s spirit energy!

Li Changshou smiled with satisfaction, his eyes full of emotion.

Next was finding a place to fire a shot and test its true power.

No sooner said than done—Li Changshou’s true body took the long cannon and secretly slipped out of Tai Bai Palace without even telling the Jade Emperor’s avatar. Using a false identity, he flew beyond the Five Continents.

In the void, Li Changshou drew forth a mountain, arranged layers of cheap but sturdy formations as a target, deployed the [Hundredfold Spirit Cannon], and fired a shot from afar.

The mountain shattered!

Before that jet-black beam wreathed in purple arcs of light, the mountain and formations lasted barely half an instant!

Had Li Changshou not withdrawn in time, if this beam of light had struck a great world, who knows how many lives might have been lost.

Hmm, the power was quite good.

Afterward, Li Changshou returned to the Heavenly Court. Choosing an auspicious day, and after resolving a series of issues, he formally infused merit into the long cannon.

What surprised Li Changshou was that such a large cannon only absorbed thirty percent of his merit before it could take no more.

Upon careful consideration, Li Changshou sensed it was likely the Heavenly Dao imposing restrictions.

Any stronger and it might damage the primordial world’s ecology, causing some irreversible harm to heaven and earth.

Know when to stop; one must learn to be content.

After all, it was just meant as a killing weapon for Yun Xiao’s self-defense and surprise attacks.

After the merit fusion, the whole cannon appeared like golden crystal, with streams of immortal light flowing within, its muzzle emanating abstruse dao patterns.

—Some key components had been personally forged by the Old Lord.

Phase one was complete, and next came refining aspects like portability, handling, accuracy, and stealth.

This refinement took another ten years.

Mountain years came and went swiftly. Besides cultivation and artifact forging, Li Changshou also kept watch over major events in heaven and earth, safeguarding the peaceful Heavenly Court.

The Three Thousand Worlds saw endless warfare, though casualties among living beings began to be controlled. Fighting in the void had become a rule that all forces needed to follow.

Far from quieting down after Spirit Mountain’s setback, the Five Continents grew even more tumultuous. In the Central Divine Continent, more and more immortal sects erupted into true conflict, falling prey to tribulation.

Among the Three Schools’ immortal sects, six had been destroyed in the past twenty years;

Among non-Three Schools sects, nineteen had been destroyed in the past twenty years.

One can imagine the brutality of the immortals’ battles. Many experts unwilling to fight retreated to the Three Thousand Worlds, where half the regions were relatively peaceful.

The South and North Continents, along with the Four Seas, remained peaceful. Mortal merchant nations dutifully passed down their lineages, advancing toward that era under the Heavenly Dao’s protection.

However, the Dragon Clan’s problems became increasingly prominent.

As time passed and the Dragon Clan regained their footing in heaven and earth, many privileged dragon youths who had contributed nothing to the clan’s revival began to grow arrogant now that they had resources.

Li Changshou was also somewhat troubled. Taking harsh action against these dragon clan ailments would make him seem unrighteous as if burning bridges after crossing the river.

Yet if he allowed these dragons to continue their expansion, a catastrophe for the Dragon Clan would truly be unavoidable.

After much consideration, he could only write several letters to the Dragon King, having Ao Yi take them to persuade him.

Unfortunately, the old Dragon King was obsessed with tedium and had no response to this.

The most difficult aspect of this matter was Ao Yi’s father, the Dragon Clan patriarch.

Li Changshou could only continue to observe, not wanting to intervene too early…

To be safe, the Heavenly Court also needed to criticize the Dragon Clan’s various extravagant behaviors more frequently.

Finally, after twenty-five or twenty-six years of toiling over one treasure;

Combining the Human Sect Master’s avatar Tai Shang Lao Jun’s artifact forging techniques, Li Changshou’s ingenious ideas, and Senior Lang’s inherited support, Li Changshou produced a creation he was relatively satisfied with—

[Posterior-Heaven Supreme-Grade Merit Spiritual Treasure – Hundredfold Spirit Crossbow]!

The primordial world had no concept of “cannon,” so Li Changshou had a flash of inspiration and went with the name “crossbow.”

By Small Jade Peak’s spirit lake, Li Changshou shouldered the spirit cannon—now shrinkable to half a zhang in length—and made a show of gesturing with it.

“Ling E, look! Imagine your Sister Yun Xiao shouldering this treasure cannon. Isn’t it imposing? Isn’t it magnificent?”

Ling E blinked and softly spoke words she hadn’t dared say for over twenty years:

“Senior Brother, are you sure Sister Yun Xiao… will like this style of treasure?”

Li Changshou was visibly stunned. He used immortal power to suspend the treasure cannon and examined it from the side, especially taking out a female paper avatar to try shouldering it…

“Ah? I did overlook this issue. When giving gifts, the main consideration is whether the recipient will like it.”

Ling E hurriedly said: “As long as it’s from Senior Brother, Sister is so gentle, she’ll surely like anything.”

“Giving a cannon to a fairy, that doesn’t seem right.”

Li Changshou crossed his arms and examined it for a while, glanced at his merit pool and Senior Lang’s barely-used inheritance, then snapped his fingers stylishly.

“In that case, let’s make a complete set!”

“What complete set?”

“Combat treasures.”

And so, a hundred years later…

…

Three Immortals Island.

Li Changshou drifted over leisurely on his cloud. Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao had gone early to wait outside the mist.

As soon as they met, Li Changshou took two brocade boxes from his sleeve, saying “Small gifts to show my respect,” making the two fairies beam with joy. They called him “Brother-in-law” repeatedly as they led him into Three Immortals Island.

Bi Xiao giggled: “Brother-in-law, you haven’t come to the island to see Sister for so many years. Did you bring any treasures?”

“I did, I did,” Li Changshou smiled. “However, this item is of great importance and can’t be shown casually. Later, only your honored elder sister can see it.”

Qiong Xiao snorted: “Miser, you didn’t prepare anything!”

Li Changshou smiled without arguing.

This time, he had come specifically to deliver gifts.

Entering Three Immortals Island and reaching the immortal pavilion, Qiong Xiao called to wake Yun Xiao who was cultivating. Seeing Li Changshou’s figure from the window sill, she inadvertently smiled.

Saying: “Wait a moment, let me freshen up a bit.”

She lowered her head and returned to her chambers, her steps light as she set up several layers of barriers and changed into an elegant plain white dress.

Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao teased Li Changshou a few times before laughing as they went elsewhere to play, though their immortal awareness remained locked on this area.

Li Changshou waited quietly before the immortal pavilion for a while, selecting a beach on Three Immortals Island for the later demonstration, his eyes carrying a faint smile.

Old Lord, thank you for your hard work!

Thanks to the Four Mei sisters led by Mei Wenhua, locked in Tai Bai Palace, for providing image references!

Being able to create something like this was beyond what he had imagined before.

Considering the brutality of primordial world combat and various “high-speed players,” Li Changshou specially added various formations and perfectly integrated his miniature formation concepts…

“Why did you suddenly come?”

Yun Xiao’s gentle voice interrupted Li Changshou’s musings.

Li Changshou smiled: “I was worried you were short on treasures, so I specially forged one for your protection.”

Yun Xiao couldn’t help but reveal a slight smile, saying: “I have the Golden Dipper to use, I’m not lacking. You should keep it.”

“You still have tribulations ahead, and I’m just meditating in the Heavenly Court,” Li Changshou extended his right hand. “Come, let’s find a secluded spot.”

His gesture was very natural, but Yun Xiao hesitated slightly before finally placing her delicate hand in Li Changshou’s palm.

The two walked together to the beach Li Changshou had picked out earlier.

Li Changshou set up two more layers of formations and three barriers, making Yun Xiao even more curious.

“This treasure is extraordinary, it’s the limit of what I could do with the Heavenly Dao’s permission, with the Old Lord’s help throughout the process.

Remember, only you can use this item. You absolutely cannot give it to Qiong Xiao or Bi Xiao, even if they roll on the ground begging. Don’t let your heart soften.

If misused, it will create great karma.”

Hearing Li Changshou speak thus, Yun Xiao grew even more curious.

Yun Xiao asked: “What kind of item makes you so nervous?”

“You can understand it as a garment, or treat it as a special avatar.

Look.”

Li Changshou’s left hand turned over, palm holding a palm-sized jade statue.

This jade statue bore Yun Xiao’s countenance and figure, wearing a long dress, lifelike in every detail.

Yun Xiao was quite delighted to see it, but before her smile could fully bloom, Li Changshou lightly tossed it, and the jade statue blazed with treasure light, flying a hundred zhang away, its form suddenly expanding!

The next instant!

A two-hundred-zhang-tall jade statue stood silently on the beach, its entire body having a jade-like quality, with streams of spirit power surging from top to bottom, inside and out.

In the sunlight, it appeared semi-transparent. Looking closely, one could see it was filled with formations and talismans.

“This is…”

Li Changshou smiled: “Treasures obtained from the Chaos Sea, half were used on it.”

As he spoke, Li Changshou opened his palm, and aimed it at the jade statue’s side, and light surged from his palm.

Hum—

Hum hum hum—

Urgent sounds came from up and down the jade statue, layers of light rings fluctuated up and down, the statue’s tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and whirlpools appeared behind its back as endless spirit energy from the East Sea frantically poured in!

It raised its right arm, and an unbreakable defensive formation instantly activated!

The slender legs under the “skirt” stepped forward, shaking heaven and earth as more than ten grand formations instantly deployed. Even Yun Xiao felt her immortal power somewhat restricted.

It raised its left hand, and a black muzzle appeared in its palm.

“This is the main crossbow, with the greatest power.”

Li Changshou explained with a smile.

The jade statue’s raised hand gently swayed, and immortal light flashed on that fixed layer of skirt, from which emerged three hundred and sixty slightly smaller black holes.

Full coverage, no blind spots!

“Do you like it? It perfectly complements your Nine Curves Yellow River Formation.”

Li Changshou asked gently.

Yun Xiao: …

“Mm,” Yun Xiao nodded slightly, seeing a line of small text written on the jade statue’s right arm, her eyes filled with nothing but tender affection.

[For the Most Gentle Yun].

“Achoo!”

In Central Divine Continent, Two Immortals Mountain, Ma Gu Cave.

Yellow Dragon True Person was startled while sitting in meditation, unexpectedly sneezing while comprehending the dao. He opened his eyes and muttered, changing to a large bedroom in the cave to continue resting with closed eyes.