Chapter 102: You Don't Understand the Sea God

Returning to Xiaoqiong Peak, he entered the alchemy room.

Li Changshou used his immortal sense to admire once more the set of "Gelou defensive array" he had crafted for Jiu Jiu Shishu. Indeed, without the backdoor he had left, it would be impossible to see through those layers of light barriers...

After this incident, the safety factor for his junior uncle within the mountain gate had seen a relatively significant improvement. Although it had cost quite a bit in precious materials... the value of one's life was far beyond what those materials could measure!

Thinking it over, the "friends" he was now connected to included Jiu Jiu Shishu, Jiu Wu Shibo, and Wan Linjun Elder... Add in half a "poisonous" junior sister; the number of "friends" had already exceeded his expectations. In the future, he would need to be more cautious to avoid getting dragged into all sorts of strange affairs because of too many connections.

Next, he checked the various arrays on Xiaoqiong Peak and observed the activities on the other peaks within the gate. He sensed the Dao rhythm emanating from his junior sister's cultivation and secretly glanced at his master, who was diligently practicing in the thatched hut... Confirming that everything was as usual, Li Changshou activated the trapping and illusion arrays around the alchemy room, left a wisp of his mind to guard his main body, and projected most of his mind into the paper effigy.

The most pressing matter now was to resolve the karma with the South Sea Sea God and prevent the Sea God Cult from continuing to grow unchecked and expand wildly...

In the crevices of the underground rock veins, he slowly opened his eyes. Li Changshou checked the sensing stones on this paper effigy's body and the simple arrays he had set up around him. Good, no one had discovered them...

Stabilizing the paper effigy's aura, Li Changshou used earth-escape techniques to rise from a depth of a thousand zhang to about a hundred zhang. This depth was something he had carefully considered. At this level, earth-escape was faster, it wouldn't leave any aura disturbances on the surface, and he wouldn't accidentally collide with hard ore veins... Though if he did hit one, it might lead to a windfall of wealth...

At this moment, Li Changshou was in the border area between Dongsheng Shenzhou and Nanzhanbuzhou, passing through a few demon territories as he quickly approached the mortal world of Nanzhanbuzhou. To maximize safety, he had chosen the same route he had taken before...

As his immortal sense swept over, mountains and rivers greeted and bid him farewell; he came and went in haste. With a slight stir of his thoughts, he saw familiar scenes once again. For instance, the frequent battles among qi refiners, or the not-uncommon fights between mountain demons and spirits; that fortress's warfare had finally stopped, with the city walls stained dark red; and that uncle and his sister-in-law, who had run toward love and freedom, he coincidentally spotted traces of them at the edge of a mountain forest. But now, the uncle was still there, the sister-in-law was gone, and a young boy was nearby chopping wood and starting a fire...

This was probably just the way of the mortal world.

After two days of earth-escape, Li Changshou found a secluded spot beneath a large city in the mortal world and switched to another paper effigy for the journey. After all, the immortal power in a paper effigy couldn't recover on its own, and wasting the combat strength of one just for travel wasn't worth it.

Continuing nonstop like this, it took Li Changshou another seven or eight days to gradually approach his... Wait, no, that South Sea Sea God Cult matter had nothing to do with him to begin with! If he could return the incense merit and make the Sea God Cult vanish without consequences, Li Changshou would wholeheartedly support it.

At present, the Sea God Cult wasn't particularly large in scale, mainly spread across towns and villages along the edges of the South Sea, where most fishermen worshiped the Sea God...

The first spot Li Changshou chose to land was on the outskirts of the Sea God Cult's influence, an ordinary town situated on a plain. It had about five or six thousand residents, with many merchants stopping to rest, making it fairly prosperous... On the main road running through the town, you could see gentle beasts like oxen and horses pulling carts to transport people and goods.

A temple to the South Sea Sea God stood on the south side of the town, right by the main road. Incense burned vigorously there, and travelers coming or going would usually stop to light a stick and pray for a safe journey.

After secretly observing from an unoccupied corner for several hours, Li Changshou finally emerged from the dense forest... This paper effigy's appearance was that of a white-haired, white-bearded old Daoist with a kind and benevolent face. He wore a clean gray-white robe, a Daoist crown on his head, and held a duster, walking as if floating above the ground—like a worldly expert full of immortal aura...

Li Changshou first wandered around the town, where many ordinary people cast glances his way. This was the edge of the human mortal world, with simple folk customs, and they didn't often see qi refiners of this image, so their eyes showed curiosity. Beyond curiosity, the townspeople also showed their warmth.

Passing by a steamed bun shop, a vendor offered him hot steamed buns; walking past a teahouse, a waiter brought over a cup of hot tea with a smile; accidentally nearing an elegant wooden building, a window was pushed open, and a short stick used for propping it fell down, with a young woman behind the window covering her mouth in a light laugh...

Li Changshou paid it no mind, strolling onward and gradually approaching the South Sea Sea God's temple. The temple wasn't particularly grand; it was basically a square courtyard with a one-zhang-tall stone statue erected in the middle.

Entering the courtyard, Li Changshou looked up at the statue, whose face and figure closely resembled his own true form, and he sighed inwardly. It was because his skills weren't advanced enough yet, and he hadn't cultivated the ability to make people forget his appearance. Back then, after being struck repeatedly by heavenly tribulations and punishments, severely injured and lost in ascension insights, Li Changshou truly couldn't attend to such details... Now, he had to find ways to fix it.

"Yoh? Where are you from?"

A greeting suddenly came from the corner of the courtyard as a short and thin "qi refiner" in a dirty, tattered robe hurried over. This person's cultivation seemed to be only at the third stage of Qi Refining, barely able to cast some minor spells. He had set up a stall in the corner for fortune-telling and selling incense sticks of various prices, probably just scraping by here.

But Li Changshou didn't dare let his guard down at all. This person could be a spy planted by Western Teachings, or even a powerful expert that he couldn't see through... Though the latter was unlikely.

In any case, once he entered the sphere of influence of the Sea God Cult, Li Changshou reminded himself to be extremely cautious in everything.

The old diviner approached quickly, and when he was still three zhang away, Li Changshou had already bowed in salute.

"This Daoist friend, this humble one greets you."

"This?"

The old diviner was startled for a moment, his small eyes darting around, then he properly returned the salute with a smile:

"Daoist friend, you're too kind. Daoist friend, you're too kind. Where are you from, and what brings you to our little temple?"

"This humble one is traveling from afar. Seeing the prosperous incense here, I've never heard of this deity in the temple, so I came to take a look out of curiosity."

The old diviner frowned. "Haven't you heard of the great Sea God?"

This humble one shakes his head and smiles: "This humble one is new to this place..."

"Old man! Don't say such things in front of our Sea God!"

The old diviner scolded lightly, his face stern: "The name of our Sea God is known throughout the world! Old man, in front of the Sea God's statue, I urge you to watch your words. Not long ago, that wealthy household in town offended the Sea God by saying something wrong here, and the next day, after drinking a cup of wine, he dropped dead drunk, leaving his newly wedded wife a widow!"

Li Changshou: ...

"Oh? So this Sea God is that effective?"

"That he is," the Qi Refining old diviner chuckled proudly, and some worshippers nearby chimed in, all agreeing it was true.

Then, the old diviner launched into the story of the Sea God, speaking endlessly...

A dozen or so ordinary people who had come to offer incense gathered around; as the old diviner told the story, these people kept responding, each one acting as if they had witnessed it themselves.

Li Changshou patiently listened to the "legends" pouring from the old diviner's mouth, his heart twitching constantly.

Currently, the most widely circulated stories about the South Sea Sea God in the area were:

"The Sea God Battles the Carp Spirit," "The Sea God and the Little Dragon Girl's Six Plays," "The Sea God Says: This Pain in Wind and Rain Is Nothing," "The Sea God Brings the Fish Shoals," "Believing in the Sea God Brings Great Strength"...

Whether others believed it or not, Li Changshou didn't believe a single word of it. He absolutely hadn't done anything! He had never even seen that female carp spirit or the little dragon girl! And as for that young woman who supposedly became pregnant with the Sea God's child without being married—couldn't they investigate the real causes? He couldn't bear such unfounded accusations!

After talking for a while, the old diviner grew a bit parched and, seeing Li Changshou remain silent, huffed lightly.

"So, have you understood what I said?"

"I've heard it, but I'm not entirely clear on it," Li Changshou said with a slight smile; his kind and benevolent appearance still seemed quite approachable.

Li Changshou explained earnestly: "Gathering incense is also a cultivation method. From what I see, there don't seem to be any miracles here. Daoist friend, isn't there some exaggeration in what you've said?"

The old diviner glared. "Exaggeration?! Hey! Where are you from, and what are you here for? This is Sea God Cult territory, and our Sea God's divine messengers are incredibly strong!"

Li Changshou's thoughts raced, and he continued: "Incredible strength can be achieved with a bit of cultivation, so you might have been taken advantage of. If the South Sea Sea God is really that effective, I'll just stand here and let him show a sign."

The surrounding ordinary people immediately looked ready to fight, and the old diviner's face was full of righteous indignation.

"You... you just don't understand our Sea God at all! Forget it, just go, go away! The Sea God is still being lenient with you now; he might punish you lightly soon!"

Li Changshou was about to speak, but the old man was already shooing him away, sounding a bit anxious. As the two moved—one retreating and one advancing—the surrounding worshippers also joined in to drive him out. Amid the chaos, Li Changshou left a few strands of spider silk in the corner by the gate before being ushered out by the old diviner and the worshippers...

Standing outside the gate, Li Changshou felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. Being driven out of the temple that worshiped his own statue by his followers was quite the oddity.

Li Changshou sighed deliberately, and the paper effigy, disguised as an old immortal, casually waved his duster before walking south along the main road...

Originally, he had left the spider silk to better understand the Sea God Cult. To bring it down without bloodshed, he needed to figure out why so many people worshiped this Sea God who had never shown any signs, find those key points, and overturn them one by one.

But the spider silk he placed brought him a small, unexpected discovery that night...

In the dead of night, the old diviner slipped out of his side room, lit a paper talisman, and waited quietly in the courtyard.

Before long, under the moonlight, a crow landed in the yard, looked around, and transformed into a human figure.

The old diviner kept his head down, not daring to look directly, and tremblingly reported the matter of the old immortal he had encountered that day...