Chapter 147: I Have an Appointment with the God of Wealth

The woman standing outside the temple, at first glance, seemed to be an ordinary mortal.

She was wearing a light blue coarse cloth dress, and her figure was somewhat unremarkable, lacking the graceful and slender form typical of female Qi refiners without any excess flesh.

Yet, no matter how she tried to conceal it...

The faint and profound Dao rhyme surrounding her still deeply betrayed her identity as a master.

This was a classic case of poor disguise.

Or perhaps, it was a more sophisticated ploy—making you think you've seen through the disguise, when in fact, it was only a surface layer of deception...

After seeing off his little grandmaster earlier, Li Changshou had a few words with his junior sister and master, then returned to his underground chamber on his own. There, he continued refining array bases and studying ways to improve his Paper Daoist divine ability.

Just over a day later, Li Changshou felt a sudden intuition that something was happening at this South Sea Sea God Temple. He projected his divine sense into the small temple.

In recent years, the Sea God Cult had been in turbulent times. Since Li Changshou had taken on this karma voluntarily, he wouldn't complain about it...

With support behind him, there was no need to panic.

But what puzzled Li Changshou was that this intuition was neither good nor bad;

There were no omens of danger, nor signs of fortune;

It seemed like a mix of good and bad, with both arriving at once...

When Li Changshou's divine sense arrived at the small temple, he immediately noticed the woman pacing outside and sensed the Dao rhyme around her, confirming that she was no ordinary Golden Immortal.

His first thought was of the Western Teachings, and since she had appeared openly, she was likely not one of their hidden "blades" but rather a renowned expert from the Western Teachings.

Moreover, based on Li Changshou's deductions, it was about time for an expert from the Western Teachings to show up and hint at matters involving the Dragon Clan...

If it was a disciple of a Western Saint?

Who could it be?

To be cautious, Li Changshou summoned Ao Yi's divine sense.

To leave no room for the Dragon Clan to suspect anything, Li Changshou decided that for any future meetings with anyone from the Western Teachings, he would always have Ao Yi "present."

"Teach Master, who is this person?"

Ao Yi communicated via divine sense.

"I don't know," Li Changshou replied, "but it's almost certainly not someone from the East.

Earlier, a great expert taught me a divine ability, and I created a simple incarnation from it.

Today, I'll use this incarnation here to meet her and gauge her depths.

Brother Yi, you just watch from the side. If my incarnation meets with mishap, notify the Dragon Clan experts immediately to respond."

Ao Yi quickly agreed: "Teach Master, be careful."

Li Changshou pondered for a moment without responding, slowly withdrawing most of his divine sense.

As if sensing the divine sense on the main idol in the temple slipping away, the woman outside immediately stepped forward and entered the Sea God Temple.

She hurried inside, a bit anxiously, and shouted toward the idol in a full, rough female voice:

"Dao... Sea God, please wait!

This humble... woman has a matter to request!"

Li Changshou thought to himself: ...

This great immortal had managed to reveal so much information in just one sentence!

No, this must be "extreme negation leading to reversal"—deliberately making it full of flaws to lower his guard...

In that case, Dao friend, you're underestimating me a bit too much.

This woman, with her unclear origins but intimidating Dao rhyme, was either someone extremely bad at disguise or a deeply scheming individual!

Following his principles, Li Changshou always prioritized the worst possibilities...

'This is going to be a tricky one.'

Li Changshou made up his mind in his heart, keeping a wisp of divine sense on the idol while sending his Paper Daoist—which would serve as his future Sea God form—from near An Shui City to rush over on clouds.

The Paper Daoist's appearance was that of a slender and benevolent elder, often seen meeting with Dong Mu Gong.

The woman quickly approached the main idol, and the temple attendants and several worshippers inside were eyeing her with curiosity...

The gazes of these mortals around her made her quite uncomfortable.

'Seeking help is truly a torment!'

She sighed inwardly, frowned at the Sea God idol, and performed a proper arch of hands, then pondered for a while.

The jade statue nearby looked familiar, but she had inquired beforehand that it was just a protector; she needed to find the main one!

After hesitating, she finally spoke, her tone full of uncertainty:

"This, Sea God, could you perhaps show yourself?"

A few chuckles erupted from the worshippers burning incense nearby.

Ao Yi, observing in secret, was also swayed by this "suspected Western Teachings" elder sister.

If it were the Ao Yi from back when he first went to Jin'ao Island to study, he would have certainly caused a scene and confronted her directly, fearless.

But the current Ao Yi was no longer that reckless youth;

He had learned to analyze karma, to endure and hide, to observe in the shadows...

The old temple attendant in blue long robes stepped forward, bowed to the woman, and said with a smile:

"This young lady, you must not be so disrespectful before the Sea God.

If you wish for the Sea God to manifest, at least offer incense and kowtow; perhaps the Sea God will grant you a dream."

The woman frowned. "How could that work?"

The temple attendant also frowned. "How could it not?"

"Forget it, forget it, I won't ask. Why should I argue with you mortals?"

The woman waved her hand dismissively, a bit disappointed, turned, and headed toward the temple door, her steps exuding the poise of a dragon and tiger.

Ao Yi's brows twitched secretly; he suddenly recognized that trace of Dao rhyme she had forgotten to hide...

It felt very familiar.

Just then, the Paper Daoist, who had already flown to the area, looked down at the woman from the air and sent a voice transmission:

"Dao friend, are you looking for me?"

Li Changshou saw she was about to leave and his first instinct was to let her go—better to avoid trouble.

But since she had shown up, she must have some agenda, and if he let her leave, he wouldn't feel at ease...

So, he called out to stop her.

The woman looked up, assuming the elder overhead was just passing by on clouds, but upon hearing this, she focused her gaze.

An incarnation?

She glanced around, about to speak, when the Paper Daoist above descended on clouds.

Several worshippers exclaimed in awe and crowded forward, awestruck by the sight of a true immortal, though they were at a loss for what to do.

Li Changshou took out a wooden plaque from his sleeve and showed it to the temple attendant, who perked up immediately.

The Paper Daoist smiled and said: "Please have these followers withdraw and close the temple doors; you wait outside."

"As you command!"

The temple attendant bowed and complied, ushering the worshippers out with a mix of coaxing and urging, then shut the wooden doors.

Li Changshou waved his hand to set up a barrier before turning to the peculiar "woman" and performing a Daoist bow.

Li Changshou said: "I've made a fool of myself before you, Dao friend. Please, let's discuss inside the hall."

The "woman" instinctively clasped her hands behind her back, straightened her chest, and adopted her habitual tone;

But then she realized her current state was inappropriate, and her hands suddenly had nowhere to go.

Li Changshou remained inwardly vigilant, leading the way into the hall with her following, deliberately conversing under the Sea God idol in front of Ao Yi.

The "woman" secretly calculated with her fingers but couldn't deduce the origins of this incarnation.

Li Changshou spoke first, in a benevolent voice with a slightly slow tone, smiling gently:

"This humble Daoist is the Sea God here; this is one of my incarnations. Dao friend, you wished to see me—may I ask what this is about?"

His gaze held just the right amount of wariness, mixed with a hint of 'I'm just an incarnation, so no need to worry' confidence.

A refined disguise technique.

The person replied: "Since this is your incarnation, mine is also a false form and face, so we're even, in a way.

Why don't you reveal your true form, and I'll restore my original appearance? How about that?"

Hearing this, Li Changshou thought inwardly, 'Clever.'

The other seemed to speak casually, yet their words were sharp, hitting the key points in just a few sentences.

Of course, it wasn't out of the question that this person was simply straightforward.

But given their cultivation and Dao rhyme, in the environment of the Great Desolation...

Li Changshou would rather believe that the Three Pure Ones had fallen out over a minor dispute than take this person's words at face value!

Li Changshou replied calmly: "Dao friend, you're joking. If my true form were easy to show, why would the idol be so indistinct?"

"You're right; it was my oversight."

"Dao friend might as well change to a male form," Li Changshou added. "Your tone and manner are so far from a woman's; it's rather awkward."

"This, ha-ha-ha, is it?"

The "woman" laughed awkwardly, stood up, and with a turn, immortal light flashed around her, transforming into the image of a sturdy, dignified man.

He had a square, upright face, a black beard, and narrow eyes holding clear light; truly, his forehead was full and prominent.

That profound Dao rhyme became even more evident now.

The man stroked his beard and laughed, saying: "Very well, I'll appear in my true form. Dao friend, do you recognize me?"

His words carried a touch of anticipation.

Li Changshou frowned inwardly...

True form?

This was boldfaced lying with such a natural expression—Li Changshou had to admit defeat and feel inferior!

Li Changshou smiled: "Forgive my ignorance; I'm not familiar with the world, so I truly don't recognize Dao friend's true form."

"Uh, you really don't know me?" The man frowned.

"This humble Daoist has lived in the mountains for a long time and doesn't venture out much, so I truly don't."

"Then that's even better!"

The man clapped his hands and laughed heartily, his mood greatly lifted, as he sat cross-legged on a cushion, his speech becoming much lighter.

"Ha-ha-ha!

Not knowing is good; not knowing me means no loss of face!

I came today to seek advice from the Sea God on how you've so quickly grown a small Sea God Cult to its current scale.

To be honest, many friends in my cult have established divine cults in various places across the Five Parts Continent, but they just can't get them off the ground. Even if they force it, the worshippers are few, and the incense merit is far less abundant than yours.

I'm here on their behalf to ask, Dao friend—could you share the secret?

I won't take it for nothing; if you agree, I'll offer a treasure in return!"

Li Changshou frowned inwardly.

Asking outright for the secret behind the rapid development of the South Sea Cult?

The matter was simple, really. First, you needed a group of greed-driven, strong-as-oxen shaman envoys to use their muscles to convince mortals.

Once it reached a certain stage, get the ancient Dragon Clan involved, and use two and a half parts of merit to lure them into fully supporting the cult's growth, having real dragons appear everywhere to manifest...

Of course, Li Changshou wouldn't say that; he decided to give a vague response.

"If there's a secret, it's about sincerity: use true heart to exchange for true heart; I treat the followers with sincerity, and they offer incense with true hearts."

Unexpectedly...

"Use true heart to exchange for true heart?"

The man stroked his beard, pondered for a while, then showed a look of realization and said:

"Dao friend, you're absolutely right; I overthought it.

They only wanted to use such divine cults as a convenient way to gather incense merit, forgetting to protect the mortals who trust them."

As he spoke, the man stood up and bowed to Li Changshou;

Then he took a folding fan from his sleeve and said seriously: "This is a small token; it's not much, but thank you for the guidance."

With that, he turned and strode out of the temple, laughing aloud as he rose on clouds.

Li Changshou was filled with deep suspicion, looking at the faint spiritual light from the folding fan, unsure whether to pick it up.

This was... not quite what he expected...

Just then,

Ao Yi sent a divine sense message to the main idol: "Teach Master, that line about true heart for true heart is truly admirable."

Li Changshou thought: ...

His casual words to outsiders had been taken seriously by his own Second Teach Master.

Then he heard Ao Yi sigh with a smile: "Facing my shishu and handling it so calmly, I truly don't know how to praise you, Teach Master."

Li Changshou was startled and asked via divine sense: "This person is an immortal of the Jie Teach? Who exactly is he?"

"You really don't recognize him?" Ao Yi asked, puzzled.

"Of course not; why would I lie to you?"

Ao Yi laughed: "From his Dao rhyme, form, face, and temperament, I'd say it's him for sure.

He's one of the outer sect's great disciples of the Jie Teach, one of the eight disciples under the Teach Master's seat, and one of our cult's most prominent figures. His title is...

Gongming Daoist."

Li Changshou's eyes widened, and the Paper Daoist turned and flew out quickly, snatching the folding fan in mid-air.

Cough, no crude language.

This guy who disguised himself as a woman to visit the temple was actually Zhao Gongming!

The sworn brother of the Three Xiao Niangniang, a key figure in the Investiture of the Gods, capable of defeating several of the Chan Teach's Twelve Golden Immortals single-handedly!

He couldn't just accept this treasure casually;

He had to go fix this misunderstanding!

The Paper Daoist hastily pursued, and in no time, he had covered over a hundred li, spotting Zhao Gongming's figure in the distance, and shouted from the clouds:

"Dao friend, please wait... just a moment!"

As Zhao Gongming was about to turn, a sudden change occurred up ahead.

A streak of light shot from afar, transforming into a hunched Daoist in tattered robes, leaning on a staff, blocking the Paper Daoist's path.

This hunched Daoist's aura was very harmonious, with a smiling face and an ordinary appearance that evoked a sense of familiarity.

What was going on today?

Why were experts popping up one after another?

Li Changshou immediately halted, on guard; in the distance, Zhao Gongming also turned back.

The hunched Daoist glanced at Zhao Gongming out of the corner of his eye, seemingly unconcerned, and smiled at the Paper Daoist:

"This humble Daoist is the third disciple under the Ling Shan Saint, and I've been waiting here for the Sea God for quite some time.

If my calculations are correct, the Sea God and my Western Teachings have..."

"Hold on!"

Li Changshou shouted, startling the hunched Daoist.

At that moment, Zhao Gongming was already flying over, while Li Changshou's thoughts raced;

The Western Teachings expert he had anticipated had indeed appeared!

Now...

First, he feared the Great Desolation's truism of 'you have a connection with our Western Teachings';

Second, he didn't want to get caught in the vortex between the Western Teachings and the Jie Teach...

Li Changshou decided swiftly; the Paper Daoist bellowed:

"This humble Daoist is a Qi refiner of the Dao gate, from the Xuan Men True Wonder Sect! How could I have a connection with your Western Teachings? Dao friend, don't speak nonsense!"

With that, flames suddenly appeared all around the Paper Daoist, and in front of both the hunched Daoist and Zhao Gongming, it exploded instantly!

"I use this incarnation to discern the Dao mysteries, and have no ties with your Western Teachings!"

The self-destruct restriction he had prepared for years was finally put to use.