Chapter 108: I Take the Merits, You Take the Blame

Thank you, Brother Changshou, for your guidance!

At the edge of the forest, Ao Yi, with dragon horns on his head and in the form of a young man, bowed deeply to Li Changshou.

He had just gone against the dragon race's principles by making such an excessive request to Brother Changshou...

Although it was a mutually beneficial arrangement, it was still an improper desire on his part, putting Brother Changshou in a difficult position.

Brother Changshou struggled with the limited teachings of Renjiao and his pursuit of a reputation for tranquility and non-interference, so the matters of the Nanhai Sea God Cult had to be handled in secret and kept strictly confidential.

—Though Brother Changshou hadn't said it outright, something so obvious wasn't lost on Ao Yi, who wasn't a foolish dragon.

Now, the Nanhai Sea God Cult was gaining momentum, with shamans as divine messengers, profound doctrines for spreading civilization, and Renjiao experts as backers!

The abundant incense fire merit was something Ao Yi had seen with his own eyes, and it was absolutely genuine.

What did the dragon race lack most right now?

Merit!

In the distant ancient era, the dragon and phoenix races had shattered the Great Wilderness, incurring boundless karmic obstacles;

The phoenix race had withered away, suppressed under the undying volcanoes;

The dragon race, with its stronger reproductive abilities, had barely survived by using countless treasures to stabilize their clan destiny and sacrificing innumerable clan members to seal the raging Nine Foul Springs of heaven and earth...

In the ancient times, the dragon race had secretly formed good karma with the emerging human race, becoming totems for some tribes, thereby quietly accumulating some merit, which had eased their situation considerably.

Thus, the dragon race understood all too well how crucial merit was and how terrifying karmic obstacles could be.

Earlier, though it was hard to bring up, Ao Yi had still said:

"Brother Changshou, may I come to the Nanhai Sea God Cult to help out, serve as a protector, and earn some merit for my own protection?"

In truth, Ao Yi wanted to bring a bit of merit to the dragon race.

To Ao Yi's surprise...

Li Changshou agreed quickly.

But it was clear that Li Changshou's agreement was reluctant;

Ao Yi understood in his heart, for Li Changshou wasn't the true decision-maker, just a proxy pushed forward;

Li Changshou must have valued their friendship to reluctantly agree and tell him to come to Anshui City in half a month...

Just in time, Ao Yi could use these half months to return to the Donghai Dragon Palace, seek out his father, and have a good discussion with him.

Plan with the dragon, succeed with heaven!

Ao Yi's heart was now filled with determination. He said a word of thanks and bowed repeatedly to Li Changshou.

Li Changshou returned the courtesies and pondered for a moment, subtly expressing his slight concerns...

Soon, Ao Yi made a Great Dao oath on the spot, reciting an incantation and swearing that he would never reveal the connection between Li Changshou and the Nanhai Sea God Cult to any third party.

With that, Li Changshou felt a bit relieved.

And in Ao Yi's heart, he sighed deeply...

This friend, Ao Yi had made for life!

Watching the young dragon ride the clouds and speed away, Li Changshou shook his head gently.

From now on, treat this second cult leader a bit better.

Since he's joined our Nanhai Sea God Cult, how could he just be a mere protector?

Li Changshou had already arranged everything, directly appointing Ao Yi as the second cult leader and the Great Protector of the Azure Dragon!

After tidying up the cult's affairs and dealing with those divine messengers, he would add a statue of the second cult leader next to each of his own statues, directly allocating 20 percent of the Nanhai Sea God Cult's incense fire merit to the dragon race!

If not for the fact that the Heavenly Dao had already recognized him as the Nanhai Sea God, and the cult leader position couldn't be changed without destroying the cult,

Li Changshou might have even imitated the ancient human sages and passed the cult leader role to some expert from his own Renjiao.

—Still, he couldn't just give away this incense fire merit for nothing to the dragon race.

Using earth escape, Li Changshou continued his busy work.

The most critical step had been taken; now it all depended on the dragon race's reaction.

What to make of this incident?

Originally, the true Nanhai Sea God had come to destroy the Sea God Cult, but plans were interrupted one after another, and due to interference from various forces, he had fallen into a crisis of exposure...

Li Changshou hadn't overlooked the possibility that if his identity as the Nanhai Sea God was exposed, how Degree Immortality Sect and Renjiao might react, or whether he could cling to the thigh of a Renjiao expert to fend off the schemes of Western Cult experts.

But after repeated calculations, the outcomes were all dead ends.

Never mind the might of saints—for instance, the "Ding Tou Seven Arrow Book" could curse a Daluo Golden Immortal to death from afar just by setting up an altar!

At the critical moment, Li Changshou reversed his thinking, seeking survival from desperation, turning factors that harmed him into conditions that benefited him!

He actively embraced the role of Nanhai Sea God, leveraging his identity as a Renjiao disciple and his understanding of Ao Yi to draw the dragon race in;

Then, use the dragon race as a shield to bear the pressure from Western Cult in the future and attract attention from all sides;

Moreover, Li Changshou would reorganize the Sea God Cult's internal affairs, refine the doctrines, perfect the structure of divine messengers, strengthen self-supervision within the cult...

At the same time, let the dragon race serve as the best tools for manifestations and have them step forward to protect the cult followers, avoiding bloody conflicts among them.

This would solve the fundamental purpose of his trip to the South Sea—to avoid attracting karmic obstacles.

His payment to the dragon race would be the 20 percent of incense fire merit that Ao Yi would receive.

No matter how Li Changshou calculated, he wasn't losing out.

The dragon race lacked merit and destiny the most right now;

Li Changshou was certain that after Ao Yi returned to the Donghai Dragon Palace, there might be some hiccups, but he would still come back on time.

And there was a high probability that Ao Yi would bring dragon race experts to station at the South Sea's edge.

He only needed to do three more things to extricate himself and let the Nanhai Sea God Cult run on its own—

Subdue the divine messengers of Xiong Village with knockout drugs;

Find a way to obscure the faces on his many statues;

Restrict the development of the Nanhai Sea God Cult, limiting their preaching to a certain coastal range without touching Daoist interests.

This was Li Changshou's first major initiative...

Well, not entirely proactive—it was more like he was forced to the edge of a cliff by these people, so he had to take the risk and strike back.

Plan for the worst, refine the details!

Li Changshou's paper daoist hurried to Xiong Village, using the only thing he could do through the statues for now—sending dreams.

Combined with knockout drugs, he continuously manifested in Xiong Village, turning these mostly inbred, simple-minded folks into devoted followers of the Sea God.

Would Wu Clan experts investigate?

And how would they investigate?

The Sea God Cult's divine messengers had improved these shamans' lives, bringing them benefits.

Besides, this Sea God Cult was originally established by these shamans, and Li Changshou was the 'victim' in the first place.

Half a month passed in a flash.

Li Changshou was working hard in the remote areas of the South Sea, even secretly sending more paper daoists because his immortal power was depleting too quickly.

He poured in all his effort, planning everything meticulously to eliminate any oversights.

Effort pays off;

In half a month, over half of the 1,700 statues had their faces obscured, and new statues would deliberately blur the features.

—In the early days of the cult, clear faces were needed to direct the incense fire merit.

But now that the Nanhai Sea God Cult had developed, there was no need to show the true face anymore.

Ao Yi didn't disappoint Li Changshou either.

Initially, Ao Yi returned with 300 immortal flood dragon soldiers and several Tianxian realm experts.

But Li Changshou secretly ordered the Xiong Village divine messengers to gather the followers and manifest again, announcing Ao Yi as the second cult leader and Great Protector of the Azure Dragon, which left Ao Yi a bit stunned.

Afterward, Li Changshou explained to Ao Yi the reasons he had prepared in advance:

The South Sea was remote, and Li Changshou couldn't attend to it daily, so it was reasonable for the dragon race to put in more effort, justifying the extra merit for Ao Yi.

Ao Yi didn't refuse, using a transmission talisman to call for more help.

The dragon race had suspicions about this matter, but when their experts took turns to divine the origins of the Nanhai Sea God Cult's leader, they found...

No trace of this person.

Yet, Ao Yi had sworn that he had direct communication with the cult leader.

This must be the work of some great expert, incidentally confirming the 'Renjiao background' of the Nanhai Sea God Cult...

Thus, the Donghai Dragon Palace dispatched six experts and 1,000 immortal flood dragon soldiers to be permanently stationed at the South Sea's edge, with forces from the Nanhai Dragon Palace available for dispatch at any time.

Since Ao Yi had to return to Jin'ao Island for cultivation and couldn't stay in the mundane world too long,

With Li Changshou's permission, Ao Yi arranged for several dragon race experts to serve as True Dragon Protectors for the Nanhai Sea God Cult, allowing them to earn a small amount of incense fire merit as well.

These protectors would patrol various areas daily, safeguarding the cult followers along the coastal borders.

As for Ao Yi, he was full of energy, constantly planning the next steps for the Sea God Cult's preaching, aiming to expand in thirty years and spread throughout the South Sea's edge in three hundred years!

Regarding Xiong Village, Li Changshou and Ao Yi had discussed it in detail, and Li Changshou had cautioned Ao Yi not to get too deeply involved.

Ao Yi, while not following Li Changshou's every word, was deeply grateful and trusting.

He no longer called him 'Brother Changshou,' but changed to 'Cult Leader brother'...

Nothing else—just to sound more intimate!

Li Changshou reserved the right to tease him about it and was glad he was only 'Cult Leader brother' and not something like 'Royal Brother.'

Though he could extricate himself from here, how could Li Changshou truly relax?

He continued to work secretly, and three months later, most of his paper daoists had exhausted their immortal power and were destroyed on site by Li Changshou.

He left two paper daoists at the South Sea's edge for contingencies.

With that, Li Changshou's basic plan was successfully achieved.

He got the merit, and the dragon race took the blame;

Moreover, it was the dragon race that had proactively joined the cult, owing him a karmic debt to be repaid later.

—Of course, Li Changshou wouldn't do something like that; it was just mutually beneficial cooperation.

The Nanhai Sea God Cult was now on the right track, with practices of accumulating wealth suppressed and the Xiong Village divine messengers properly recognized by the Sea God.

With true dragons manifesting continuously to protect the followers, the number of cult members was increasing rapidly every day.

But Li Changshou still couldn't completely relax, so he carefully planned for a few more months, continuing to anticipate potential issues and prepare responses...

Half a year later.

Li Changshou finally emerged from the underground chamber, deciding to tell his master and junior sister that the problem was temporarily resolved and they didn't need to worry too much.

However, as soon as he saw Ling E, he startled her.

"Senior brother, what happened to you?

Why do you look so haggard!"

In the thatched hut, Ling E quickly set down her needlework, stood up to greet him, and looked worriedly at Li Changshou's somewhat pale and weary face.

What happened?

After handling this major affair for half a year and deducing the greater heavenly trends for so long, it was just mental and physical exhaustion.

After all, these matters involved beings like saints and Daluo Golden Immortals...

Li Changshou yawned, holding two paper figures in his hand, floated to his junior sister's bed, and lay down.

"I'll sleep here for a while to recover my spirit. Please keep watch for me, junior sister, and later tell Master that everything's fine for now, so he doesn't need to worry..."

With that, he closed his eyes to rest, though he kept a portion of his mind alert, remaining vigilant subconsciously.

Ling E blinked lightly. Her senior brother...

Had voluntarily gotten onto her bed...

"The issues are resolved, that's good, senior brother. Make yourself comfortable."

Ling E said softly, slowly stepping forward and lifting his legs that were hanging off the bed to tuck them in properly.

Bending down to look at Li Changshou's tired face, Ling E pursed her lips, her eyes filled with a touch of pity...

But pity was pity—how could she pass up this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity!

Ling E licked her lips lightly, a scheme forming in her mind as boldness grew, and she tiptoed behind the screen to change into her previously prepared sheer gauze skirt, her fair skin faintly visible.

Of course, she didn't dare do anything directly to her senior brother;

But while he was asleep, she could hide nearby and secretly alert Master to catch them in the act...

As long as she begged Master to arrange their marriage, wouldn't it be settled...

She had this plan ready for a long time, just waiting for her senior brother to slip up.

Today...

Heaven's gift, a match made in heaven, a destined union!

She had to seize the moment and make it happen...

"Is there anyone from Xiaoqiong Peak who isn't in seclusion?

I'm the disciple on gate duty today, and there's someone outside the mountain gate looking for someone from Xiaoqiong Peak."

A shout came from outside, and a figure had already entered the outer isolation array.

At that moment, Li Changshou sat up on the bed.

The screen was smashed by a small fist.

"What happened?"

Li Changshou yawned and asked.

"Nothing, just swatting a mosquito!"

Ling E replied.

A mosquito?

Li Changshou jolted awake, all traces of sleepiness gone.