“Changshou! If it weren’t for that poison pill from Elder Wan Linyun that you gave me, I wouldn’t be seeing you today! Alas!”

These words echoed through Brother Wu’s chambers in the Wine Immortal’s residence atop Breaking Sky Peak.

Two and a half months had passed since their safe return to the sect after the ambush at the Crossing Immortal Gate. Li Changshou had waited until Brother Wu’s injuries had stabilized and the flood of disciples visiting the wounded had subsided before bringing Ling’e to visit Elder Brother Wu.

His master had remained in secluded cultivation, undisturbed by these events.

During these two and a half months, Li Changshou worked day and night to enhance the outer and inner arrays of Small Jade Peak to their absolute limit within his current capabilities. He had completely depleted his stored collection of precious materials!

But at least it brought him some peace of mind.

Just as Sister Jiujiu led them into Brother Wu’s chambers, Li Changshou heard these sentiments from Brother Wu, who sat cross-legged on his bed…

Li Changshou stepped forward with a solemn expression, performing a Daoist salute alongside his junior sister to Brother Wu.

Ling’e set down the medicinal wine she had brought before being pulled away by Jiujiu to a side chamber.

The wine was specially brewed by Li Changshou for Brother Wu, designed to replenish vital energy, stop depletion, stabilize one’s foundation, and strengthen tendons and bones.

“Ah,” Li Changshou also sighed as he walked to the bedside.

Due to Li Changshou’s repeated warnings to Jiujiu, she didn’t reveal his “dream” incident. Even so, Brother Wu remained deeply grateful to Li Changshou, all because that poison pill had saved his life at the crucial moment.

“Elder Brother, how are your injuries?”

“They’re manageable,” Brother Wu let out a gentle breath and said with emotion, “But the two fellow disciples who traveled with me met with a tragic fate, their souls scattered in the Middle Continent, never to return.”

Li Changshou nodded, only able to sigh at the vicissitudes of life.

After lamenting for a while, Li Changshou went straight to the point…

“Elder Brother, how goes the investigation?”

“We have some clues, but it might be better if we had none,” Brother Wu’s eyes revealed slight helplessness. “I don’t even know how to explain it… This matter might be related to the major Dao inheritance of the Enlightenment School. Someone seems unwilling to let the Three Schools Conference proceed smoothly, apparently attempting to cause trouble in secret.”

Li Changshou thought to himself…

‘This matter certainly isn’t that simple.’

But he didn’t say much, only sighing, “This matter indeed has vast implications.”

“Indeed it does,” Brother Wu shook his head, his eyes full of contemplation. “Changshou, about that poison pill…”

“Does Elder Brother want two more for protection?”

Brother Wu said firmly: “That’s right, I can exchange them for treasures, immortal pills, any precious items you desire!”

Li Changshou slowly shook his head, his expression serious, saying: “The poison pill I gave Elder Brother last time was bestowed by Elder Wan Linyun for me to study pill refining techniques. Perhaps Elder Brother should seek Elder Wan Linyun directly… Elder Brother, let me whisper something to you.”

After some hushed discussion, Brother Wu quickly nodded in agreement, his face thoughtful.

Although Elder Wan Linyun indeed had an “infamous reputation” within the sect, the potency of that poison pill could only be truly appreciated after using it once…

Sometimes a life-saving pill equals one life, and a lethal poison pill can also equal one life.

Brother Wu said: “Very well, I’ll take Shishi to pay our respects to Elder Wan Linyun shortly.”

Li Changshou nodded slightly, then remembered Elder Wan Linyun’s self-created divine ability.

He would also need to visit later to request the Elder to teach him this divine ability called [Poison Sky Pure Net Hand]… for self-protection.

Li Changshou inquired with great concern about many details regarding the ambush in front of the Golden Palace Gate last time;

Brother Wu held nothing back.

When Li Changshou asked why the five of them had gone out in secret, Brother Wu transmitted:

“I’ve only told the Sect Leader and the Elders about this matter, and the sect has ordered that it not be spread outside;

If it weren’t you, I definitely wouldn’t speak of it.

It was a fellow disciple…

Sigh, it was a sect official who said someone claiming to be a high-level expert wanted to meet our Crossing Immortal Gate party in secret, to tell us something about the Three Schools Conference, leading the four of us into an ambush;

Among those who ambushed us were three Celestial Immortals and sixteen True Immortals;

Before the battle even began, this official suddenly collapsed…

When we checked later, like those who attacked us, his primordial spirit was shriveled, his spiritual power and soul completely drained.

We can only vaguely deduce from the attackers’ identities that they seem to be from the Enlightenment School’s immortal sects.”

Li Changshou’s heart trembled, though his face only showed slight fear as he joined Brother Wu in another round of sighs.

These two transmitted whispers for quite a while, causing several streams of immortal consciousness from the adjacent room to investigate.

Soon, Li Changshou asked his final question about this visit:

“Brother Wu, I found a jade slip in the inner hall of the Dao Scripture Palace that seemed to mention… a transportation array in the underground meridians for escape…”

Brother Wu immediately gave a bitter laugh and transmitted to Li Changshou:

“Indeed there is one. The Elders, Peak Lords, and older generation officials all know about it, though they keep it quiet.

After the calamity of the monster invasion ten thousand years ago, our Crossing Immortal Gate’s Sect Leader felt we must keep a backup plan, so they created an escape route for disciples whose combat abilities were insufficient.

That meridian leads to the East Seashore. If powerful enemies attack, disciples can go underground from the Hundred Mortals Hall and use the transportation array to leave, avoiding harm.

However, the only way down is through the Hundred Mortals Hall.”

Li Changshou showed sudden understanding, while inwardly smiling…

Now, he could officially announce that there were two routes to that meridian transportation array!

He had never actually seen any jade slip about the underground meridian escape route, purely because…

He had dug right into it!

Half a month ago, while preparing to create Small Jade Peak’s meridian escape route, Li Changshou had dug through the meridians beneath Small Jade Peak and nearly destroyed that array.

The so-called meridian transportation array wasn’t complex. Despite having “transportation” in its name, it wasn’t a “Heaven and Earth Array.” It simply used the momentum of the meridians to “transport” directly along them, allowing instantaneous appearance thousands or tens of thousands of miles away.

The sect’s arrangement had saved Li Changshou considerable effort.

However, for safety’s sake, he still left a smaller transportation array in a more secluded location, pointing in exactly the opposite direction from the sect’s main array;

This had consumed his last store of precious materials.

Brother Wu cautioned: “This matter also can’t be spread around, it could make disciples anxious.”

Li Changshou nodded in agreement and changed the topic to discuss matters of recovery and healing…

Half an hour later.

Shi brought over a bowl of soup and a bottle of pills, saying softly:

“Wu-wu, it’s time for your medicine.”

Seeing this scene reminiscent of the “famous painting” from his previous life titled “Dalang, Time for Your Medicine,” Li Changshou tactfully stood up and bid farewell to his two elder martial siblings.

His junior sister also floated out from the room, paying respects to Wu and Shi.

Jiujiu had wanted to go play at Small Jade Peak with them, but thinking she shouldn’t be too carefree, she joined Sister Shi in seeing Li Changshou and Ling’e out, waving goodbye before returning to stay by Fifth Senior Brother’s side…

Even play needs appropriate timing.

Li Changshou took his junior sister to the Hundred Mortals Hall, where they paid respects to the portrait of the Grand Pure Laozi before returning to Small Jade Peak…

On the cloud path, Ling’e saw Li Changshou’s somewhat dark expression and asked softly:

“Senior Brother, is the situation very serious?”

“We know too little information to determine that,” Li Changshou transmitted to his junior sister, “I’ll go into seclusion in the pill room for a few days to think this through carefully.

If there’s any abnormality in the sect, immediately crush the communication talisman I gave you.

Don’t worry about waste, I can make more.”

“Oh, alright.”

Ling’e nodded sweetly, watching her senior brother descend to the pill room, standing on the cloud and sighing softly.

Although she wanted to be as alert as her senior brother, but…

Looking around the sect, seeing the flowing clouds and auspicious cranes everywhere, everything remained as peaceful as always…

‘Is Senior Brother… being too sensitive?’

Ling’e sighed softly, riding her cloud toward her thatched cottage.

The arrays around the pill room activated, and at this moment the surrounding forest became quiet, without any spiritual energy fluctuations;

But if someone with a keen spiritual sense stood outside this dense forest and looked in, they might feel their hair stand on end…

…

Entering the pill room, Li Changshou casually left a paper clone and returned to the underground secret chamber in a puff of smoke.

Taking out a stack of blank scrolls, he laid them out one by one on the ground, then took off his shoes and walked on them.

This wasn’t because he needed a special “posture” to think quietly…

Half an hour later, Li Changshou took out a self-made charcoal pen, sat cross-legged, and wrote a vertical line of small characters on the leftmost side of the topmost scroll:

[If I Were the Schemer Behind This]

Then he drew two arrows – one straight, followed by [The ambush is unrelated to the previous Dao discussion with Golden Turtle Island cultivators];

One arrow pointing diagonally down to a large blank area, written with [Related to the Dao discussion with Golden Turtle cultivators];

After pondering for a while, he drew more arrows from these two items, slowly listing out all possible development paths he could think of, and then analyzing them one by one…

This time, he couldn’t overlook even the smallest possibility!

“We truly don’t have much information right now.”

All they knew was that those who plotted against the Crossing Immortal Gate possessed vast divine abilities, with techniques to control Celestial and True Immortal cultivators, able to instantly destroy these puppets.

The motives could be divided into several categories:

Having grudges against the Crossing Immortal Gate, coveting the sect’s “family wealth”…

But the most likely “enemy motive” was circled by Li Changshou for emphasis:

[Interfering with the Three Schools Conference, provoking conflict between the Three Schools]

Analyzing from the source, verifying through results, not missing any logical chain;

Li Changshou wrote and drew with his head down, his immortal consciousness covering all of Small Jade Peak, the charcoal pen in his hand getting shorter and shorter.

After exactly three days.

Li Changshou let out a long breath, sitting behind the desk in the underground secret chamber, before him a “white background with black curtain” supported by his immortal power.

On it were dense characters, symbols, arrows, and patterns;

Over ten “storylines,” hundreds of possible situations…

Even though the culprit was unknown, as long as they took their next action, he could find the corresponding “storylines” for what might follow!

Li Changshou wasn’t trying to find out who the culprit was, that had no meaning;

Because they were most likely someone he currently couldn’t touch – someone who could kill him with a mere touch.

Li Changshou just wanted to be able to quickly react and respond correctly when the opponent made a move that he detected…

Directly revealing his cultivation level would only add one more elder-level fighting force to the sect, not much use.

Were there too few peak elders?

He absolutely couldn’t obtain authority in the Crossing Immortal Gate in a short time.

Therefore, it was better to hide his cultivation as a trump card, secretly doing his utmost to protect himself and support the sect…

And in terms of actual effect, staying hidden in the dark would allow him to accomplish more.

Taking out three wooden tablets, Li Changshou took out a carving knife and began working with his head down;

Using “disappearing after reading” medicine water, he wrote three strategies on them and placed them in three silk pouches.

First strategy: Cry.

He had already planted the seeds with Elder Brother Wu, who would soon go find Elder Wan Linyun;

This pouch would be passed to Elder Brother Wu through Elder Wan Linyun, with strict orders for Brother Wu to stay within the sect, and if the sect was attacked and the protective arrays were broken, ensure that Wu would open this pouch.

The so-called “cry” wasn’t random crying – one must know how to cry properly.

Li Changshou wrote on this wooden tablet:

[Go to the Hundred Mortals Hall, find the Ancestor’s portrait, cry heartily from the depths of your lungs, saying the Crossing Immortal Gate honors the Grand Pure’s wonderful methods, originally wanting no quarrel with the world, yet was used by others who intended to destroy the People Teaching’s Dao inheritance through the Crossing Immortal Gate, to provoke conflict between the Three Schools of the Dao, begging the Ancestor to show his divine presence…]

The second pouch was for Aunt Jiujiu, but this couldn’t be given to her directly – it had to wait until after major events occurred.

The third pouch was for his master, explaining how he needed his master’s help in covering up matters, actually asking his master to protect his junior sister’s escape.

If sect warfare broke out, his master would certainly get carried away, so preparations had to be made in advance.

As for Li Changshou himself, he didn’t need protection. After discovering various omens, his true body would definitely be in an extremely safe place…

After sealing the pouches, Li Changshou shouted:

“All forces prepare for battle!”

Uh, the entire force was just himself.

He casually swept his hand across the table, and two rows of small paper people jumped out from his sleeve, bowing to Li Changshou in unison.

Li Changshou smiled and tried again.

“All forces prepare for battle!”

The paper people instantly became fierce, waving their arms menacingly, adorably fierce.

No more joking around.

The three most urgent things he needed to do now—

Rapidly expand his “poison tool arsenal,” increase poison powder quantity without limit;

Strengthen his paper avatars, allowing him to divide his spiritual consciousness to control them, absolutely not investing all his spirit into the paper avatars;

Gain Elder Wan Linyun’s deep trust – this was a powerful backer with deterrence not inferior to a Golden Immortal!

Standing up, Li Changshou looked at the two characters [Culprit] written in the center of the “black curtain” before him, his eyes flashing with sharp light.

‘Whether you’re from the West or the North, or have a grudge against my Crossing Immortal Gate, or are from the Enlightenment, Ending, or People Teaching Schools who bear grudges against the other two schools and don’t want the Three Schools to reconcile…

Just dare to make a move!

Hmph!

Brother will dare to run…’

…

Half a year later, at the Golden Palace Gate in the Middle Continent.

Three figures flew out from the immortal island – these were three cultivators from Golden Turtle Island, agreeing to return home as they had grown tired of staying here.

These three were exactly those who had visited the Crossing Immortal Gate that day;

The other two had heard Elder Yuan Ze’s complaints and sympathized, deciding to return early to Golden Turtle Island for cultivation.

Wasting time here wasn’t as good as returning to live freely and easily!

After the white clouds flew a thousand miles, Elder Yuan Ze stood at the rear, a streak of blood flashing through his eyes as he stepped forward twice and suddenly said: “Fellow Daoists…”

The two turned their heads to look back, suddenly hearing a buzzing mosquito sound, and before they could react, felt a pain in their necks, and their bodies immediately began to fall backward.

Elder Yuan Ze casually supported these two middle-aged men and continued flying the cloud southeast, as if nothing had happened;

Half a month later;

Elder Yuan Ze rode this white cloud, stopping in a dense forest at the border between the Middle Continent and East Victory Divine Continent, in monster territory.

As if arranged beforehand, black shadows gathered from various parts of the forest, surrounding the three people, all kneeling and unable to rise.

These figures included monsters, humans, and spirits, all wrapped in black clothes, using all their power to conceal their auras;

Their only common point was perhaps the barely visible, already-healed scars on their necks.

A monster came forward carrying three trays, kneeling before the three people, blood light flashing from the trays containing three fist-sized, seven-petaled blood-colored lotus flowers.

At this moment, visible only to Elder Yuan Ze and his two companions, a blood-colored graceful figure kept flickering and floating around them…

This figure had blurry features and an exaggerated, overly alluring figure.

She whispered something by the ears of the three, those gentle voices penetrating their hearts.

“Take it… take it…

This is the longevity you’ve always sought…

The Three Schools Source Flow Conference was originally just for the Enlightenment School to suppress the Ending School, and now you have a way to stop it…

Only you can stop it…

Quickly go destroy the Crossing Immortal Gate… the Crossing Immortal Gate…”

Led by Elder Yuan Ze, the three Golden Turtle Island cultivators each held up a seven-petaled blood lotus and said in unison:

“Your servants obey!

This time we will not fail!”

Tens of thousands of miles away, in a deep valley, Daoist Wenjing sitting cross-legged on a jade cattail cushion gave a cold laugh.

She didn’t concern herself further, turning to fly westward.

Controlling Ending School cultivators, and arranging puppets to attack those five immortals from the Crossing Immortal Gate at the Golden Palace Gate, was meant to make this Crossing Immortal Gate draw attention from all sides;

Then, having Ending School cultivators disguise themselves as Enlightenment School immortal sects working with monsters to destroy the small Crossing Immortal Gate…

The scheme would be complete.

To her, this was just a small plot, those three Golden Turtle Island cultivators were her arranged disguise.

Once this matter occurred, regardless of the outcome, it would continue to widen the gap between the Three Schools.

It was both a hidden scheme and an open one.

As for her…

How could she continue to show herself? If she accidentally attracted People Teaching’s Big Senior Brother, she wouldn’t be confident in escaping.

Leaving before things happened, secretly returning to the Western Teaching, watching a good show from afar – this was the wise move;

If she discovered these three succeeded or failed, she would directly make them vanish without a trace, leaving clues pointing to the Ending and Enlightenment Schools, and that would settle everything.

‘When this succeeds, what will those bastard vice sect leaders use as rewards?

Hmph, what will they use to show filial respect to this queen?

These few cowards, if not for the two masters protecting them…

Sooner or later I’ll drain you all dry!’

Daoist Wenjing gave a cold laugh, her figure vanishing, leaving only a mosquito’s buzz that gradually faded into the distance.