HomePull StringsChapter 747: Summoned by Jieyin

Chapter 747: Summoned by Jieyin

Taking three steps for every search, hiding from east to west.

Li Changshou understood clearly that once Virtual Puti entered the Five Continents, he would inevitably be under Heaven’s Dao’s observation.

However, there was only a minute probability that Heaven’s Dao and the Dao Ancestor would directly eliminate Virtual Puti. This stemmed from the innate ‘arrogance’ of the Dao Ancestor, who viewed all living beings as mere ants.

The Dao Ancestor had stood at the peak of the Three Realms for far too long.

So long that the Dao Ancestor had grown accustomed to having everything under his control, thereby losing that ‘wariness’ and ‘fear’ that brought caution.

Li Changshou understood that this caution, this thoroughness, was the most important trump card in his game against the Dao Ancestors…

[Trump Card: Steadiness]

Virtual Puti secretly made his way from the South Sea to the West Sea, and after entering the Western Ox Continent, he completely concealed himself, quietly approaching Spirit Mountain.

His face always carried traces of unshakeable worry, and he would often feel hesitation. When looking at Spirit Mountain, now so changed from what it once was, there was always a hint of helplessness and resentment.

This acting was quite natural.

Li Changshou didn’t know if this performance would be effective; it depended on whether Heaven’s Dao would keep watching him continuously.

Following the principle of better safety than sorry, he maintained his act consistently from beginning to end.

After searching for most of the day, Li Changshou had a ‘Virtual Puti’ stop in a valley.

Though not far from Spirit Mountain, he now appeared hesitant and uncertain about whether to enter or not.

After all, when the Buddhist sect seized power back then, Virtual Puti had chosen to flee rather than firmly support Saint Jieyin. Now that he had no other choice but to seek Saint Jieyin to unlock Heaven’s Dao’s shackles, there was inevitably some guilt in his heart.

In reality, Li Changshou had divided part of his consciousness to monitor his other two false bodies.

The Number Two false body, the karmic demon, continued to observe the situation at Flower Fruit Mountain.

The Seven Great Sages had raised their banners, their self-proclaimed titles already breaking taboos, and now they were openly at war with Heaven Court.

Though they hadn’t directly shouted about opposing Heaven, it was written all over their faces.

The celestial army led by Li Jing had finally prepared to engage in a great battle with the demon army of Flower Fruit Mountain. The dark clouds in the sky had mostly dispersed, revealing layer upon layer of silhouettes.

Li Changshou carefully sensed the situation and sighed inwardly.

There were no Immortal Bean Soldiers.

In the upcoming battle, the celestial soldiers would have to fight the demon army with their lives.

How could there be warfare without casualties?

Li Changshou had always thought about minimizing friendly casualties while ensuring victory.

But the current Heaven Court was no longer so cautious, having overlooked or forgotten the observable effectiveness of Immortal Bean Soldiers in large-scale battles.

This must be related to the Dao Ancestor’s modification of living beings’ memories.

Li Changshou felt quite helpless about this.

At Flower Fruit Mountain, the demon army’s morale was at its peak.

Due to continuous reinforcements from other monkey demons, the monkey soldiers at Flower Fruit Mountain had multiplied several times over, though they were no longer the main force of the mountain’s demon army.

The demon shadows spreading across the mountains had gathered nearly sixty percent of all demon forces.

Gathering hundreds of thousands, igniting heaven-shaking flames!

Though the demon race had been manipulated by Heaven’s Dao throughout, they had at least experienced this moment of passionate resistance, representing living beings’ feeble resistance against Heaven’s Dao.

Li Changshou didn’t feel much about this grand spectacle.

Humans were the protagonists of this world, and the current Heaven Court represented human interests. Humans were the race protected by Heaven’s Dao, the race that followed Heaven’s way.

This wasn’t because humans had abandoned their spirit of struggling against Heaven and Earth.

On the contrary;

It was precisely because humans truly had the power to struggle against Heaven and Earth that Heaven’s Dao recruited them as a protected race. Though the Human Three Sovereigns had lost the Fire Sovereign, the foundation of Fire Cloud Cave remained.

Heaven’s Dao wished to eliminate the demon race, and Flower Fruit Mountain was the demons’ final counterattack.

The demon race had another way out: to bow to humans and seek reconciliation at Fire Cloud Cave, speaking of how they faced the same fate against Heaven’s Dao.

But the demon race, who would rather kill all humans in the world, could never do this.

Moreover, most demon leaders who might have had such foresight had already been eliminated by Li Changshou.

What awaited these demons now was nothing but a desolate end.

The Battle of Flower Fruit Mountain—the demon race’s last carnival.

Compared to the demon race, Li Changshou was more concerned about Sun Wukong’s current state.

However, controlling this karmic demon’s body, he couldn’t openly approach Sun Wukong. He could only use his immortal sense to look from afar at the unguarded Water Curtain Cave…

Wukong had drunk himself to sleep.

He was carefree.

“This monkey,” Li Changshou chuckled inwardly, leaving a small portion of his consciousness to watch the upcoming ‘great battle’ at Flower Fruit Mountain, then shifted his attention to his Number Three false body.

The Number Three false body was that Heavenly Immortal cultivator from the Central Divine State’s immortal sect.

This false body had now reached the northern part of the North Uttarakuru Continent, his immortal sense extending out to observe the dwelling place of the Northern Continent’s Wu Clan.

This place had become one of the rare peaceful havens in the Three Realms.

Continuous pine forests blocked the biting winds from the North Sea and smoke from cooking fires could always be seen rising where the snow lay thick.

In the villages at the edges of several Wu Clan settlements, young children ran barefoot in the snow, while elderly people processed various blood-enriching foods in front of their houses.

The able-bodied Wu Clan members went hunting and fishing at sea, while many Wu Clan women worked in the fields, cultivating cold-resistant crops.

Overall, life was stable and prosperous.

Li Changshou only looked from afar for a few moments before quietly retreating, feeling somewhat more at ease.

The Wu Clan was a rather special race in the Primordial World.

They were born from the Pangu God’s bloodline, and the Twelve Ancestral Wu naturally possessed dominion over the world’s principles.

The demon race was pieced together by gathering the power of all beings under the Dao Ancestor’s secret guidance, specifically to counter the Wu Clan.

In ancient times, at their peak, the Wu Clan fought against all beings in the Primordial World and had the upper hand.

Looking at the rise and fall of the Wu Clan, one could see a hidden trajectory.

A trajectory of how the Dao Ancestor brought down the Wu Clan.

From the three great Wu-Demon catastrophes to the great battle between Chi You and the Yellow Emperor, the Wu Clan declined again and again, finally falling completely from their position as the Primordial World’s greatest race. Before Li Changshou contacted them, they had nearly been schemed into extinction by the demon race.

This demonstrated the Dao Ancestor’s ability to plan for the long term.

After the ancient wars, those remaining demon forces were intentionally left by Heaven’s Dao and the Dao Ancestor to suppress the Wu Clan.

Thinking of this, Li Changshou could only sigh inwardly as he quickly left the North Sea area, heading to the eastern part of the Northern Continent to gather some medicinal herbs.

Although the Number Three false body was an unknown Heavenly Immortal cultivator, precautions still need to be taken.

After checking on the Wu Clan, Li Changshou felt somewhat more at ease.

He wasn’t planning to use the Wu Clan to oppose Heaven’s Dao; he just wanted to check on the Northern Continent’s Wu Clan tribes, who had once fought alongside him, before deciding victory or defeat with the Dao Ancestor.

Confirming that Pangu God’s bloodline still existed in the world and showed signs of flourishing revival truly gave Li Changshou a sense of reassurance.

Over the next half month…

The Number One false body, Virtual Puti, remained hidden near Spirit Mountain, seemingly hesitating and wandering, unable to find a way to reveal himself.

In reality, Li Changshou was just waiting for the perfect opportunity, as he could enter and exit Spirit Mountain at will.

The Number Two false body, the karmic demon, stayed near Flower Fruit Mountain, watching the great battle erupt between the celestial and demon armies, as the Seven Great Demon Sages repeatedly thwarted Heaven Court’s offensives.

At this time, casualties on both sides were still relatively light, but the demon race firmly held Flower Fruit Mountain, with the Seven Great Sages’ banners standing unshaken—they had undoubtedly won this round.

On Heaven Court’s side, Li Jing had tasted his first defeat, but he remained composed and unhurried, simply continuing to deploy troops and engage with the demons of Flower Fruit Mountain.

Li Changshou suspected this must be the fake Great White Star secretly giving orders to Li Jing.

Li Changshou knew exactly how powerful Heaven Court’s battle formation was—it would take at most half an hour to eliminate the current demon forces at Flower Fruit Mountain.

They were just toying with the demons.

At this moment, the Number Three false body had already left the Northern Continent with some minor poison injuries and a large collection of spirit herbs, entering the East Victory Divine Continent and heading toward the Crossing Immortal Gate.

When he reached within several thousand miles of the Crossing Immortal Gate, Li Changshou suddenly felt… incredibly nostalgic.

His paper avatars had once spread throughout the depths of this land;

His footprints had covered every mountaintop, gathering every last drop of spirit essence from the spiritual plants here;

His silhouette had appeared in various dense forests, searching for spirit-rich ancient trees, leaving behind countless tree spirits bearing grudges.

It was here that he earned his title as the ‘Paper-Cutting Master’;

It was also here that he established his foundation as a ‘Human Dao Disciple.’

Li Changshou controlled his Number Three false body, hiding on a mountaintop a thousand miles from the Crossing Immortal Gate. He set up several layers of formations and established several immortal force barriers, openly beginning to heal his injuries.

Although the area within two thousand miles of the immortal gate was considered ‘reserved territory,’ this Heavenly Immortal cultivator’s arrival hadn’t attracted the attention of the Crossing Immortal Gate.

This familiar level of vigilance was still as lax as he remembered…

Spreading his immortal sense, Li Changshou easily penetrated through the mountain-protecting formation of the Crossing Immortal Gate, which was as thin and smooth as silk, to ‘see’ the situation inside.

The Heaven-Breaking Peak stood unshaken, with numerous immortal silhouettes above it, once again harboring the aura of Golden Immortals.

Looking carefully, it turned out that a Supreme Elder had broken through, advancing to become a regular Golden Immortal combat unit, while Jiu Yu Shi was still only at the late stage of the True Immortal realm.

This newly promoted Golden Immortal Elder’s strength was probably about zero point nine Ji Wu You.

The number of disciples on various peaks was neither more nor less than when he had left.

The original site of the Small Jade Peak had become a lake surrounded by mountains on all four sides, with lush small forests all around, becoming a ‘sacred place’ for young cultivators to develop their dao companion relationships.

Looking at the Dan Ding Peak, checking the Immortal Rain Peak;

Exploring the Hundred Mortal Hall, he saw those familiar [OLD] faces.

Not bad, really not bad.

Li Changshou nodded with satisfaction, letting his Number Three false body heal here while constantly monitoring the situation at the Crossing Immortal Gate.

This was to prevent the Dao Ancestor from making desperate moves at the last moment.

This truly couldn’t be overlooked.

Now it was time to wait.

Wait for Wukong to cause havoc in Heaven Palace, wait for Kun Peng who had secretly received his orders to approach the Primordial World, wait for the Dao Ancestor and Heaven’s Dao to show a small ‘weakness.’

At this point, the chances of success were ninety-seven point five percent.

‘Just a little more… Your Majesty the Jade Emperor.’

And so, three months later…

Li Changshou hadn’t expected Li Jing’s patience to be this good.

The Eight Divisions of Celestial Army began taking turns in battle, each division deploying two hundred thousand troops, treating Flower Fruit Mountain as a training ground, and staging great battles every day or two.

The strategy of exhausting troops had nearly lost its effectiveness for both the demon race and celestial soldiers.

The demon race grew increasingly excited, while the celestial soldiers’ emotions gradually turned to irritation, and both sides were now fighting with real fury.

In terms of military command, Li Changshou admitted he couldn’t match Li Jing.

It was unclear how Li Jing managed it, but in every battle he could minimize celestial soldier casualties while inflicting greater losses on the demon army, yet still make the celestial army appear defeated and retreat accordingly, stimulating the demon race’s desire for battle.

If it happened once or twice, that would be understandable.

The problem was that Li Jing had been baiting the demon race for three months, through dozens of major and minor battles, while maintaining this same pattern.

This was somewhat frightening.

Though the celestial soldiers and generals inevitably had some dissatisfaction, Li Jing kept it firmly under control.

But the increasingly numerous demons on Flower Fruit Mountain couldn’t contain themselves anymore, one after another shouting slogans about attacking the South Heaven Gate and storming the East Heaven Gate.

Their arrogance was quite extreme for the moment.

It was as if the ancient Demon Court was about to be restored, and thousands of Great Luo Golden Immortals would emerge from the demon race tomorrow.

Emotions had clouded the demons’ minds, and even many ancient demons were swept up in these feelings, becoming solid support for the Seven Great Sages.

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Bull Demon King, had hesitated for two months before finally bringing a group of bull demons to provide support. However, this old bull put in minimal effort, focusing on self-preservation in every battle and never killing celestial soldiers.

Li Changshou observed an interesting point—aside from monkey demons, no other demons could enter the Water Curtain Cave.

Sun Wukong had moved his ‘throne’ to the mountainside, spending his days drinking, fighting, eating bananas, bragging with his brothers, and meeting with various old demons, quite happily.

He must have understood many things by now.

Li Changshou sighed inwardly, feeling that he had somewhat failed as a master, unable to treat the monkey as his teacher had treated him.

But there was no choice; his game with the Dao Ancestor was the most important confrontation between living beings and Heaven’s Dao, and there was no room for error.

He could only temporarily let the monkey suffer, treating it as an arranged tribulation for him.

In the Dao Ancestor’s script, the monkey’s life was not in danger, so there was no need to worry too much about his safety.

When should Virtual Puti go to Spirit Mountain?

Li Changshou carefully analyzed for a while, feeling that he should still wait for the monkey to be summoned by Heaven Court before going to Spirit Mountain himself to find an opportunity to deal with that Golden Cicada.

Even if it meant waiting another three to five years, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

However, just as this thought crossed Li Changshou’s mind, he suddenly felt a dao rhythm pass through his spirit platform, and a sigh echoed in his heart, followed by a voice very familiar to Virtual Puti.

Saint Jieyin.

“Puti, when did you arrive? Come over.”

Li Changshou’s heart twitched slightly.

He had previously considered that Saint Jieyin might discover his whereabouts, given that he had been wandering near Spirit Mountain; he had also thought that Saint Jieyin might actively call him over.

But he hadn’t expected Jieyin to take such an initiative!

Was the Great Saint feeling troubled? Wanting to find a disciple to complain to?

Li Changshou dared not delay. ‘Virtual Puti’ emerged from the valley and made a Daoist bow toward Spirit Mountain.

Golden light flashed ahead, and a golden doorway opened in space.

Li Changshou raised his guard to the maximum, directing ‘Virtual Puti’ to enter. With one step, he entered into the thick dao rhythm of a Saint, entering Saint Jieyin’s residence.

His dao heart returned to tranquility, all distracting thoughts vanishing.

This was a thatched cottage, and looking at the scenery outside the window, it was behind Spirit Mountain.

Saint Jieyin, wearing white robes, sat cross-legged on a cushion, smiling as he watched ‘Virtual Puti.’

Heaven’s Dao power?

Li Changshou keenly sensed something but didn’t point it out at this moment.

“Disciple pays respects to Master.”

‘Virtual Puti’ bowed his head in a Daoist salute, letting out a light sigh, not knowing what to say.

Saint Jieyin raised his hand to manifest a cushion, placing it before Li Changshou and said slowly: “Sit down, don’t worry too much. Although this place is under Heaven’s Dao’s surveillance, your master can still protect you somewhat.”

“Yes.”

Li Changshou responded, carefully maintaining Virtual Puti’s various habits as he sat cross-legged before Saint Jieyin, keeping his eyes lowered and not daring to look directly.

Saint Jieyin chuckled again and asked: “Could it be that you still can’t let go of your dao realm?”

“Master, disciple has gone through many hardships, barely…”

“Don’t think too much,” Saint Jieyin said gently, “Heaven’s Dao is like this, and so is the Dao Ancestor. The higher your dao realm, the more dangerous it becomes. If you cross that line and make them wary, you won’t be far from a terrible fate.

Your current situation is not bad, at least you won’t arouse their suspicion.”

Li Changshou: …

“But Master, alas, the disciple doesn’t know how to express it.”

Saint Jieyin slowly closed his eyes, the smile gradually fading from his lips, and finally, just let out a light sigh.

“Do you truly want to unlock your dao realm?”

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