Servant Bi Yun still died.
When Li Jing brought Ne Zha to the city tower, Li Changshou had a rather strong premonition. When Li Jing discovered the Heaven-Earth Bow was undamaged and Ne Zha’s eyes were eager to try…
One could only say it was fortunate that Li Jing wasn’t the one who drew the Heaven-Earth Bow in the end, otherwise today’s matter would have been problematic for his Orthodox Unity Sect as well.
“Father, can I try drawing the Heaven-Earth Bow? I drew it before!”
Little Ne Zha called out excitedly.
Li Jing’s eyes held some tenderness as he raised his hand and patted Ne Zha, saying softly, “Don’t be mischievous. This bow is a treasure from beyond the heavens, used to suppress evil spirits, not your plaything.”
Ne Zha’s eyes rolled, and just as he was about to speak, Li Jing had already placed the Heaven-Earth Bow, wrapped in streams of immortal light, before him.
“Don’t touch those arrows, and don’t become smug because of this.”
“Thank you, Father!”
Ne Zha was so happy he almost jumped up, hugging the Heaven-Earth Bow as he rushed to the city wall’s edge, flipping onto the battlement, quite proudly raising his head and puffing out his chest, attracting the attention of many soldiers and civilians below.
“Ahem!”
Little Ne Zha cleared his throat, gripped the Heaven-Earth Bow backward, inhaled, gathered power, and struck a standard ‘drawing bow to shoot great eagle’ pose, pulling the bow to his limit.
Just then!
A Thunder-Shocking Arrow vanished and appeared in little Ne Zha’s hand.
Li Jing’s brows furrowed tightly, about to speak up to stop him, feeling today’s events were somehow strange.
But little Ne Zha’s fingers had already been released!
The bowstring vibrated, and the Thunder-Shocking Arrow tore through the air, leaving a long trail in the azure sky before instantly vanishing.
“Woah—”
The soldiers and civilians below:
“Oh—”
All couldn’t help but marvel.
Ne Zha raised his head to look, then turned his head somewhat nervously and said, “It can shoot pretty far, huh.”
Li Jing: …
“Father, don’t be angry, your son will go retrieve the arrow right now!”
Ne Zha muttered softly, pulling out two small wheels from the pouch at his waist and throwing them before him. The wheels spun rapidly, becoming wrapped in flames.
Ne Zha kicked off his shoes, stepped barefoot onto them, and under the unsurprised, loving gazes of the local people, sped northwest in search of the Thunder-Shocking Arrow’s trail.
Meanwhile, at the cave-dwelling on Skeleton Mountain.
“These are the flowers you gathered yesterday? How can you be so careless in your tasks? Go gather them again! Otherwise, I’ll punish you with a hundred years of closed cultivation!”
Under the cave master’s scolding, the small servant walked out dejectedly carrying his flower basket.
What could a servant say?
This was life, just life.
*Roar—*
Again hearing the beast’s roar from the back mountain, Servant Bi Yun trembled several times, mumbling in his heart about how frightening Elder Brother Ma Yuan was, following the familiar mountain path toward the valley below.
Looking at the clouds on the horizon, wading through the cool stream, humming the immortal music he had heard when Master took him to Golden Turtle Island.
A servant’s life was carefree, without worries or debts.
Master blocked everything troublesome, just had to fear sudden accidents.
Eh?
Why were there stars twinkling in the sky? Wasn’t it daytime? The Morning Star should be in the east.
With a soft “puff” sound, Servant Bi Yun stared blankly down at the large hole in his chest, hearing the piercing whistle that had only now reached his ears.
His primordial spirit instantly shattered, his vision darkening as he slowly fell, quickly revealing his jade stone true form.
‘What… what happened?’
“Master… ah, I’m dead.”
*Thud!*
Bi Yun fell into a pool of blood, pressing down on that deep and tiny piercing hole beneath him, its depth momentarily impossible to judge.
The ground suddenly trembled, alarming cultivators thousands of li around. Many experts who had already been attracted by that space-piercing arrow now happened to extend their divine sense here.
From the cave dwelling on the mountainside, Stone Rooster rushed out in a black gauze dress, her delicate brows furrowing at the sight of Bi Yun’s corpse.
Her expression instantly became ice-cold as her form transformed into flowing light rushing over, looking down at Servant Bi Yun’s wounds…
His soul had completely scattered.
“Who! Such a vicious arrow!”
“If any fellow Daoist has grievances with Stone Rooster, please come directly to me. You and I fighting would follow proper conduct, but what skill is there in secretly attacking Stone Rooster’s servant!”
“Who plotted against my servant!”
Over ten figures flew out from Skeleton Mountain, most bearing karmic obstacles, watching this scene from afar.
Among them was one with a fierce countenance and a third hand growing from his back, who frowned watching Lady Stone Rooster’s form, hesitation flashing in his eyes.
Lady Stone Rooster had already discovered the Thunder-Shocking Arrow’s location, her delicate hand beckoning to retrieve it from deep within the earth, wrapping it in immortal power.
She carefully examined the Thunder-Shocking Arrow for several moments but couldn’t recognize its origin. She tried calculating with finger divination, only then remembering the heavenly mechanisms were screened by the great tribulation.
Li Changshou, who captured this scene through his paper bird and bronze mirror system, also nodded slightly.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Dao paid attention to details this time, and the Ancestral Master had put away that “arrogance,” not carving any words about Chen Tang Pass on the Thunder-Shocking Arrow.
At least this made him, the Heavenly Dao’s small opposing force, feel somewhat respected.
He felt like he had become something of an overseer for the Heavenly Dao.
Honestly, the Thunder-Shocking Arrow was an ancient treasure – in ancient times, Chen Tang Pass was just a small border town in the human realm’s territory. Why should it bear the characters of Chen Tang?
If it had to bear any name, it should have been the mighty ancestor Emperor Xuanyuan’s surname – that would have been impressive.
A Daoist raised his hand to point: “Senior Sister Stone Rooster, this arrow came from that direction.”
“Thank you!”
Stone Rooster expressed her gratitude, immediately summoning another servant from her cave to carry Bi Yun’s corpse and the Thunder-Shocking Arrow, following behind her as she headed in the direction the Daoist had indicated.
The path ahead seemed to lead toward the northeast of the South Jambudvipa Continent.
Later, Stone Rooster would naturally encounter Ne Zha pursuing the arrow, the two sides would likely have a dispute, and True Lord Tai Yi would be drawn over, triggering the Heavenly Dao’s script of Tai Yi killing Stone Rooster.
This script was unreasonable, very unreasonable.
First, Senior Brother Tai Yi rarely acted alone, always bringing along Jade Tripod. True Lord Jade Tripod was steady and mature, and would naturally stop Tai Yi.
But this time, Tai Yi should come alone, because he had been hiding in Chen Tang Pass watching over his precious disciple.
Second, if Stone Rooster wasn’t consumed by tribulation fate when facing the powerful Tai Yi, she would use delaying tactics, at least finding some friends to help support her position.
When investigating the matter of “Severing Sect selling degrees” before, Li Changshou had dealt with this Stone Rooster. She was a very loyal female immortal, quite renowned among the Severing Sect’s non-core disciples.
But there was no help for it – Stone Rooster’s death seemed to be key to the Heavenly Dao’s pushing forward of the Great Investiture Tribulation.
The Ancestral Master had even personally come to “talk” with him about this.
Li Changshou had made many arrangements before to avoid the tragedy of Ne Zha’s suicide, flesh-cutting, and bone-scraping. The conflict between the Dragon Clan and Ne Zha erupting years ahead of schedule had Li Changshou’s hidden influence.
But with Stone Rooster’s matter, he truly couldn’t change it, or it would be directly declaring war on the Heavenly Dao.
Moreover, even without Stone Rooster, the confrontation between the Enlightenment and Severing sects would still happen.
This was the Heavenly Dao’s will.
“Keep watching,” Li Changshou stood up and stretched, “I need to handle some Heavenly Court business. There will be more battles later.”
Ling E stood up, seeing her Senior Brother seemed unhappy, and asked softly, “Senior Brother, do you need help?”
“No need,” Li Changshou turned to look at Ling E, his eyes showing a warm smile.
He said, “Just stay here and enjoy yourself. What’s happening here has nothing to do with the Orthodox Unity Sect. I’m just frustrated that I can’t prevent the Great Tribulation from erupting between the Enlightenment and Severing sects.”
Some pressures, he alone could bear them.
The Chaos Bell Spirit said, “How could the disciples of the Enlightenment and Severing sects face themselves if you did that? This Great Tribulation was meant for them. Your interference – no, your mediation – has already made the Western Paradise bear much of the tribulation fate, essentially saving many disciples from both sects. To still blame yourself for not being able to prevent the Great Tribulation, isn’t that underestimating what ‘Great Tribulation’ means?”
“Perhaps. I need to go attend to matters now.”
Li Changshou smiled, hands clasped behind his back, slowly flying toward the thatched cottage.
Deep in the Grand White Palace, a paper dao avatar maintaining the Grand White Star’s appearance slowly walked toward the Middle Heaven Gate.
“Sometimes, I don’t know what exactly Senior Brother Changshou is doing,” You Qin Xuan Ya said, “but I feel like we’re getting further and further from him, wanting to chase but unable to even see his shadow.”
Ling E sat back on her cushion, her small hand holding You Qin Xuan Ya’s delicate hand, saying softly:
“Senior Brother hasn’t gone far. No matter what great things he does or what position he reaches, his true body will always be on Little Jade Peak.”
Bell Spirit snickered, muttering, “I estimate our departure isn’t far off. Now that the Great Tribulation is about to erupt, I can’t understand its direction at all.”
“How so?”
You Qin Xuan Ya frowned, “Could Senior explain in more detail?”
“This is the Bell’s exclusive secret art, don’t spread it around,” Bell Spirit snapped her fingers, and the Chaos Bell scattered streams of immortal light, covering all four of their heads.
Xiong Ling Li, who had been dozing off, opened her eyes wide, curiously watching the scene inside the Chaos Bell.
Bell Spirit tapped her fingers on the table, just short of saying ‘these points will be on the test.’
She said softly:
“I am a Primordial Treasure, I’ve opened the heavens. When observing the Heavenly Dao’s operations, it’s naturally different from your living beings.
Great Tribulations have their patterns, following one line of development forward.
Take the Battle of Immortals and Demons – the core conflict was the discord between the two races’ upper echelons, this line ran through it all.
Then there’s the Dragon-Phoenix Great Tribulation, which was fundamentally about dominance, fighting over control of the primitive world for several grand cycles.
But this Investiture Great Tribulation – I originally thought it might be triggered by differences in the great sects’ doctrines, but later found that even with different doctrines, they could coexist under the Orthodox Unity Sect’s mediation.
The Enlightenment and Severing sects never had inherent contradictions, just various frictions.”
Bell Spirit deliberately deepened her voice, imitating the Ancestral Master stroking his beard, saying solemnly, “The Heavenly Dao bringing down this Great Tribulation is equivalent to telling the Dao Sects – ‘you, die down to this number.’
That line disappeared, and the Heavenly Dao became the direct pushing hand of the Great Tribulation.
This is the main reason for the current conflict between the Heavenly Dao and Dao Sects, and the problem your Senior Brother now faces.”
You Qin Xuan Ya couldn’t help but ask, “Why does the Heavenly Dao treat the Dao Sects this way?”
“This question is very complex. Your realm is too low – considering these things would prevent you from cultivating,” Bell Spirit shook her head and smiled. “In any case, just trust your Senior Brother.
This fellow has a good heart and has his plans for doing things.
He could have stood above all beings, below heaven but above all spirits, but now he chooses to stand beside living beings, looking up to observe the Heavenly Dao.
This is a quality rarely seen in those great capable ones and great divine ones since ancient times. They all wanted nothing more than to replace the Heavenly Dao, absorbing all spiritual qi to achieve Mixed Origin Ultimate Saint status.
It seems his homeland must be an extraordinary place, for two lonely souls from there to make such choices…”
“Hm?”
“Lonely souls?”
“Ah!” Bell Spirit covered her mouth somewhat dramatically, “I said too much! Look at my loose mouth, everyone just pretends you didn’t hear that~”
Ling E looked at the soundly sleeping Xiong Ling Li, immediately appearing thoughtful.
Lonely souls?
Well, they were stable lonely souls at least.
…
“Star-Lord.”
“Greetings, Star-Lord.”
At the Middle Heaven Gate, several greetings rang out as the celestial soldiers and generals clasped their hands and bowed. Li Changshou stepped on white clouds, hands behind his back, his eyes full of serenity and relaxation.
As if his mood hadn’t been affected at all.
He smiled as he passed through the Middle Heaven Gate, heading straight down toward an immortal island.
Looking at this immortal island, golden light shone from it, the Heavenly Dao’s power so concentrated it nearly matched the Jade Capital Palace.
For good reason – the Investiture Platform was set here.
Looking at the Investiture Platform now, its overall shape was that of a twelve-petaled lotus, but each petal was closed, forming a huge ‘flower bud.’
Each petal was several hundred zhang large, with rows of empty seats on the inner walls, totaling three hundred and sixty.
There were also five thrones in the center, their specific divine positions not yet manifest.
Below the lotus platform was a square precious platform, nothing particularly noteworthy about it except its squareness and orderliness. Each huge stone block was soaked with Bai Jian’s sweat.
“Star-Lord!”
Bai Jian called out loudly, his form flying out from the Investiture Platform’s crevices, repeatedly bowing to Li Changshou, “Bai Jian greets the Star-Lord, Star Lord’s well-being, Star Lord’s well-being.”
Li Changshou smiled and replied, “General, no need for such a ceremony. Thank you for your hard work guarding the Investiture Platform.”
“Not hard work, not at all,” Bai Jian said with a simple smile, “Please come inside and look around. This humble one truly doesn’t know how to arrange the interior scenery of the Investiture Platform.”
“Very well,” Li Changshou agreed, entering the Investiture Platform with Bai Jian.
Thinking back to their first meeting in the North Sea, that unyielding Yellow Emperor’s general.
Then thinking of today’s slightly bowing builder of the Investiture Platform, the Golden Guard…
Tsk, with tempering, there would naturally be growth.
Entering the Investiture Platform was like entering an independent universe similar to the Six Paths Reincarnation Disc, but this place’s connection to the outside world wasn’t severed.
The scenery inside was quite dreamlike, yet very spacious.
Above, the Heavenly Dao’s power projected countless stars, showing innumerable Three Thousand Worlds slowly rotating around the Five Continents.
Below was a layer of glazed mirror, with countless markings crisscrossing like a chess board.
Li Changshou looked around and quickly found a lonely figure sitting cross-legged in a corner.
Ao Bing.
Bai Jian frowned and said, “This dragon prince, how can he be so insensitive? Hey you! Come pay respects to Star-Lord immediately!”
That figure trembled slightly, opened his eyes to look at the two figures under the starry sky, sneered, and retorted:
“Can’t I make my own decisions even after death? Worst case, I’ll die again!”
Bai Jian’s eyes widened as he cursed, “Failing to recognize kindness! Do you think entering this place means you can avoid death? Where is the thunder!”
*Rumble!*
Hundreds of thunder dragons suddenly lit up under the starry sky, showing off their might to Ao Bing.
Ao Bing’s eyes widened as he stood up in an imposing manner, sneered at Bai Jian and Li Changshou, then bent his knees and knelt.
“I was wrong! I recognize the kindness!”
Such unyielding spirit!
*Handled.*
Li Changshou chuckled softly, raising his hand to guide the nervous soul of Ao Bing closer.
He took out several jade talismans from his sleeve and handed them to Bai Jian, smiling as he said, “Trouble you, General, to build up the interior of the Investiture Platform according to the blueprint inside.
The Investiture is no child’s play, and being a deity is no simple matter.
Therefore, I want to establish an Investiture Academy within the Investiture Platform, to teach those immortals who enter early how to be good deities, responsible deities.
This endeavor will benefit thousands of generations to come, I hope the General will handle it with care.”
Bai Jian straightened his chest and raised his head, his whole body radiating a sense of mission as he made a deep bow to Li Changshou.
“This humble one accepts the command!”
Li Changshou patted Bai Jian’s shoulder and walked toward the trembling Ao Bing, saying gently, “Don’t be afraid. I am friends with your second brother, and I’ve come this time to make amends to you.”
As he spoke, Li Changshou’s finger lightly pointed, creating a low table and two cushions from nothing.
“Let’s sit and talk.”
Ao Bing hurriedly nodded, then said, “Ah, this, I’ll stand… I’ll just stand.”
Li Changshou couldn’t help but laugh softly – this fellow now understood what humility meant.