Chapter 103: The First Battle of the Self-Destruction Cult

Regarding the old diviner secretly meeting with the "Wuya Yao" in the dead of night, Li Changshou only felt slightly surprised and was not overly shocked.

After all, in his previous life, he had already understood that the second most complex thing in the world is the human heart.

Calling the shadowy figure that appeared that night the "Wuya Yao" wasn't entirely accurate.

At that moment, Li Changshou was only observing the area through his Heavy Pupil Spider Silk, while using a wisp of immortal sense to watch from afar.

Apart from sensing that this entity had cultivation at the early True Immortal Realm, he couldn't directly determine whether it was a demon cultivator.

It was also possible that the earlier crow was just an illusion technique or a shape-shifting spell.

After listening to the old diviner report in a low voice for a while, the figure nodded, tossed two gold ingots and a paper talisman onto the ground, then transformed back into a crow and silently flew away, vanishing in an instant.

After thinking for a bit, Li Changshou decided against pursuing for the sake of caution.

Half an hour later, he used Earth Escape to travel from a forest a hundred li away and quietly arrived beneath the temple.

If you looked at this from another angle,

It would be shocking to see the Sea God sneaking into his own temple in the dead of night, reaching out with his dark hand toward the old temple attendant!

It even felt a bit thrilling in a strange way.

He had to consider the possibility that the earlier encounter was a setup to lure him in,

So Li Changshou's actions at this time were extremely careful.

He didn't show himself directly; instead, he remained underground and used the tip of his fingernail to release a trace of Soft Immortal Powder, completely knocking out the old diviner who was sleeping with the gold ingots in his arms.

Then, Li Changshou took out a hair-thin rope artifact.

The rope extended on its own, quietly emerging from the ground and wrapping around the old diviner's forehead.

The minor soul-searching technique: Mi Luo Qi Meng Jue.

This method could plunge the subject into a dream state, where they would voluntarily reveal their memories, but it only worked on those with lower cultivation, hence why it was called a minor technique.

A moment later, after reviewing the old diviner's "turbulent life," Li Changshou used Earth Escape to slip away quietly, not lingering any longer.

On his way out, he casually dispersed a bit of sobering powder to neutralize the effects of the Soft Immortal Powder, ensuring the old diviner would wake up normally the next day.

He completed the entire round trip stealthily, without leaving a single trace.

Afterward, Li Changshou found a remote mountain forest and had his Paper Daoist stop and rest underground while he organized the various pieces of intelligence he had obtained from the old diviner.

This old diviner...

On the surface, he was a temple attendant for the Sea God Cult, but in reality, he was also a spy for seven different cults within three thousand li, including the Wuya God Cult, the Male-Female Cult, the Old God Cult, the Great Omen Cult, and others!

For such a double agent, Li Changshou, as the Sea God, felt...

Deeply moved.

If there were more talents like this, would he still need to go to all this trouble to come here and personally bring down his own cult?

The crow from earlier was the divine messenger of the Wuya God Cult, and it had ordered the old diviner to monitor any "extraordinary individuals" in the area.

The cult conflicts that Li Changshou had sensed before were due to the Wuya God Cult clashing with the Sea God Cult over incense offerings and territory, with the Wuya God Cult launching the first attack.

Li Changshou had to ponder a very serious issue.

The core of the entire Sea God Cult was actually the villagers of Xiong Village, where the entire population had become "divine messengers"—hundreds of strong villagers running around everywhere.

They expressed the Sea God's benevolence through the vast sea, proclaimed his teachings with their muscles, and demonstrated his power with their fists.

Li Changshou had never interfered here, not even once through dreams or divine guidance.

How exactly were these straightforward folks from Xiong Village holding their own against cults that had True Immortal Realm divine messengers?

Li Changshou was quite puzzled by this and even suspected that someone might be deliberately nurturing the Sea God Cult only to slaughter it later.

As for information about the Sea God Cult's internals, the old diviner knew quite a bit.

Although he was currently just a minor temple attendant with seven side jobs, he still harbored ambitions to climb the ranks and become an official divine messenger!

On this point...

Li Changshou even considered manifesting once to promote the old diviner, placing him in a position where he could more easily undermine the Sea God Cult.

Cough, enough with the jokes.

Li Changshou came here to let the Sea God Cult collapse naturally, to rid himself of this karma and eliminate this hidden threat.

The process couldn't trigger a war among mortal cults, attract karmic burdens, or backfire and cause the Sea God Cult to grow even stronger.

Before arriving, Li Changshou had already thought through several plans.

The simplest and most effective one was to find a way to make the South Sea Sea God lose his "divine ring,"

Making these mortal followers believe they had worshiped the wrong god.

Pulling the rug out from under them!

Li Changshou had now learned that in three days, there would be a massive Sea God festival in Anshui City by the sea.

The old diviner, as a temple attendant here and quite far away, wouldn't be attending,

But according to the information he had, many "important figures" from the Sea God Cult, along with tens of thousands of followers, would gather in Anshui City for a grand Sea God sacrificial ceremony!

This was a prime opportunity.

At that time, as long as Li Changshou's Paper Daoist appeared, shattered the idol on the spot, and defeated those "important figures" from the Sea God Cult face-to-face,

He could directly prove that the Sea God didn't exist.

Then, by doing a few more similar things, the Sea God Cult would naturally fall apart!

Although the plan was straightforward and there weren't any real experts to deal with, Li Changshou still didn't dare to be careless in the slightest.

He had to investigate thoroughly, plan meticulously, arrange everything in detail, and consider all angles!

Strive to strike only when ready, and when he did, bring down the Sea God Cult for good!

That very night, Li Changshou began his actions.

He first quickly circled the Sea God Cult's sphere of influence, using his immortal sense to inspect the various Sea God temples.

Two days before the grand ceremony, Li Changshou arrived near Anshui City, conducted a detailed investigation of the divine messengers there, and secretly tested the villagers from Xiong Village.

He had confirmed that his so-called "divine messengers" were at most ordinary people with strength around a thousand or eight hundred jin, with a few having some cultivation, but only at the Qi Refining or Soul Formation Realm.

Next, Li Changshou kept plugging holes and addressing potential issues in his plan.

To prevent the Wuya God Cult from disrupting the Sea God festival, he hid two top-grade Paper Daoists outside Anshui City, ready to strike at any moment.

If the Wuya God Cult caused trouble, it would inevitably lead to cult conflicts, possibly resulting in bloodshed and adding more karmic burdens to him as the Sea God.

He had to guard against that.

Afterward, Li Changshou secretly investigated any Qi Refiners possibly connected to the Sea God Cult.

In the end, he only uncovered that the daughter of one of the Sea God Cult's high-ranking divine messengers had gone to the immortal world in the north and taken an immortal as her master.

It was probably just some girl from Xiong Village who had joined an immortal sect in Central Divine State.

Li Changshou couldn't help but picture the girl named Xiong Lingli, with her tower-like figure.

But time was too tight to verify.

A disciple who had just joined an immortal sect a few years ago couldn't do much anyway.

Although he had to account for this possibility, there was no need to get overly anxious about it.

Over the next two days, Li Changshou kept refining the details and fixing any vulnerabilities, striving for a flawless plan.

He prepared for every scenario he could imagine.

This time, it should be secure.

Cough, he couldn't say things like that lightly.

He had to stay vigilant and rule out any absurd possibilities.

The night before the Sea God festival, in Anshui City,

Li Changshou's Paper Daoist hid in the small courtyard he had rented, lost in thought.

The festival would open in the morning, with celebrations lasting a full day and night.

Anshui City was packed due to the influx of Sea God Cult followers, with streets bustling and lively.

Within a thousand li around, Li Changshou hadn't detected any threats.

In a state of high alertness, half the night passed, and before he knew it, dawn arrived with the sun rising in the east.

Amid the clamor of gongs and drums, the city was filled with roaring crowds, and colorful banners were hung everywhere.

A two-zhang-tall Sea God idol was carried out of the local temple by eight burly divine messengers from Xiong Village, starting a procession through the streets.

Countless followers crowded around the idol, while men, women, and children along the route rushed to offer incense and kowtow.

Li Changshou could clearly feel his incense-based merit surging a little!

If I were a Golden Immortal of the Great Firmament now, I'd just accept this merit.

Unfortunately...

He sighed quietly in his heart but didn't feel particularly regretful.

After all, compared to merit, preserving his life was the priority.

This was still just the pre-festival procession; once the idol was set up outside the city and the followers gathered,

That would be his perfect moment to strike!

He continued to monitor everything, even though he was dealing with mortals, Li Changshou remained completely focused.

Meanwhile, in a place beyond the reach of Li Changshou's immortal sense,

In the South Sea, two thousand li from Anshui City,

A treasure ship enveloped in immortal light was drifting on the sea surface. The ship resembled a massive shell, over a hundred zhang in diameter from front to back.

At the edge of the ship stood a group of immortal flood dragon soldiers from the South Sea Dragon Palace.

To properly host Ao Yi and Han Zhi, the second prince of the South Sea Dragon Palace, Ao Mou, had brought his personal guard team for protection.

These several hundred immortal flood dragon soldiers were all at the late True Immortal Realm!

Such soldiers were a grand display for the Dragon Palace,

A force that even the Heavenly Court would struggle to assemble.

Over the past half month, Ao Mou had led Ao Yi and Han Zhi on a joyful tour of the South Sea, visiting immortal islands, admiring undersea wonders, touring the Dragon Palace's treasure pools, and exploring hidden sea clan domains.

Han Zhi's mood had eased a bit;

The loss of her master, who had raised her, was like losing a parent, and it would take her some time to fully recover.

Today, they were simply drifting in this sea area, passing the time idly.

At that moment, Han Zhi was discussing music with several female musicians from the sea clan at the Yuan Immortal Realm,

While a group of beautiful sea women danced gracefully, but the two second princes from the dragon palaces—their own and the East Sea's—stood at the bow, gazing toward the northern land, ignoring the dance.

Ao Yi was talking about the current dilemmas facing the dragon race, and Ao Mou sighed repeatedly, offering his own subtle opinions.

The Ao Yi of ten years ago felt like "everyone is drunk while I alone am sober."

The Ao Yi of eleven or twelve saw that many around him were just pretending to be drunk.

Now, Ao Yi fully understood that the problems of the dragon race were known to many, but they were powerless to change them.

Of course, there were also those who didn't care about such matters and lived in true drunken stupor.

Ao Mou was one of them.

Ao Yi stood with his hands behind his back, his somewhat handsome youthful face showing the maturity and steadiness forged by reality.

"When will our race soar once more through the nine heavens, dominating among the hundred races?"

"You're worrying about too much, Second Brother," Ao Mou laughed beside him. "Isn't it tiring to live like this?

Anything we can think of, the elders have probably already considered.

Whatever they could do, they've done, so we're just wasting energy worrying."

"How can we know without trying?"

Ao Yi sighed lightly, about to say more, when he suddenly spotted a cloud of mist rising in the north.

The mist carried a faint golden light, quietly dissipating in the high sky.

Ao Yi asked,

"What is that?"

"I don't know," Ao Mou said, turning his head and shouting,

"Gui Chengxiang, come over and explain!"

The turtle immortal waiting nearby quickly responded, carrying his turtle shell and leaning on his cane as he stepped forward to observe, then replied,

"Reporting to the two princes, that is the merit and fortune cloud phenomenon produced by the human race worshiping the South Sea Sea God.

In recent years, a Sea God Cult has risen rapidly in the South Sea, and we've investigated it discreetly, but we don't know the true identity of that Sea God."

"Fortune from destiny... How wonderful."

Ao Yi gazed with a touch of emotion, a faint bitter smile on his lips.

Seeing this, Ao Mou immediately flew into a rage.

"The majestic South Sea Dragon Palace doesn't even dare to call itself the South Sea Sea God!

Summon the troops! Come with me to where that phenomenon is and check it out!

I want to see just what this Sea God Cult's Sea God is all about!"

The turtle chancellor hesitated but said nothing, while the leaders of the immortal flood dragon soldiers nearby responded in unison.