Chapter 149: The First Standard Porcelain Scam in the Great Wilderness

Taking advantage of the brief conversation with Zhao Gongming, Li Changshou had already sorted out his follow-up strategy.

The key to adapting to changes was never to focus solely on the immediate impact.Even if time was pressing, he had to think through all possible future developments, then select the path that minimized harm to himself.

Beyond that, several core principles were absolutely essential:He must uphold his identity as a Dao Men disciple and unwavering align with the camp of the Dao Ancestor and the San Qing Saints.He must adhere to the ideal of Dao Men as one family and the shared origins of the three teachings.He must protect the interests of the Ren Jiao, preserve the dignity of any Saint or top expert, and avoid bringing disaster upon himself.

In addition to these three must-haves, there were five necessary preparations and nine major action guidelines.And finally, the most important point...Do not show off.The word "show off" was the greatest taboo on the path to stability.

In his previous life, what Li Changshou remembered most vividly was the story of "Yang Xiu being executed"—that was actively showing off, leading to a senseless death.After arriving in the Hong Huang world, what influenced him most was the parable of "Xuan Gui being beheaded."The turtle was innocent, but its body was too massive, so its legs were cut off to support the sky.This was the perfect example of passively "showing off"!If Xuan Gui had hidden away or gone to the Chaos Sea or the void to shrink itself, the Saints probably would have used other great mountains or peaks to refine new sky pillars, and they wouldn't have conveniently beheaded that turtle.

So...Avoid exposure if possible.Never reveal any clues about your origins if they can remain unknown!For early self-protection, find a reliable backer and leave no trace, ideally making sure the Three Realms don't even know your name.For mid-term self-protection, rely on a merit golden body plus a backer, and ensure the Three Realms remain unaware of your existence...Otherwise, wouldn't that waste the efforts of his own Saint in concealing heavenly secrets for him?

In the future, besides the alias Chang Geng Dao Ren, Li Changshou decided to create titles like "Xuan Du Little Mage" or "Xuan Du Little Gentleman" to evade karma.

Of course, these matters would need careful planning later.For now, the priority was to resolve the current crisis:Zhao Gongming had beaten a Western Saint's disciple, and the Hai Shen Cult might get dragged into it, facing potential retaliation.

The main challenges in this matter were threefold:The Saint's disciple couldn't be killed;The enemy might seek revenge on the South Sea Shen Cult later, waving the banner of the Saints;Zhao Gongming was someone he was meeting for the first time, so his exact temperament was unknown, and any miscalculation could escalate things while still needing to save face for both sides...

Thus, Li Changshou, based on his principles, commitments, preparations, and action guidelines, selected the most reliable solution. He used an undetectable immortal sense transmission to relay it to Zhao Gongming...

It went like this, and like that.

When he heard the immortal sense transmission, Zhao Gongming initially frowned.But Li Changshou cleverly brought up what Zhao Gongming cared about most—the life and death of his fellow sect members—and Zhao Gongming quickly nodded in agreement.By the time Li Changshou finished his elaborate explanation, Zhao Gongming even felt that, although this approach was troublesome and carried a slight hint of cunning...If it truly achieved the effects that the Sea God described, it was indeed far superior to simply killing the disciple!

In his heart, Zhao Gongming thought:'This South Sea Sea God seems to be a fellow disciple of the Ren Jiao...What a pity—if he could join our Jie Jiao, he'd earn merit for us and come up with great ideas.He's way more reliable than those Ten Heavenly Lords.'

And so, in this small Sea God temple,Li Changshou's paper effigy retreated deeper underground and prepared for a possible self-destruction at any moment.He used his divine sense to watch the two experts in the courtyard and exchanged hundreds of mental messages with Ao Yi, who had been observing from the sidelines.

Half an hour later, Li Changshou sent an immortal sense transmission: "Everything's ready. I'm counting on you, senior."

In the courtyard...Zhao Gongming nodded, flicked his sleeve, and put away the twenty-four Ding Hai God Pearls. He stared down at the hunchbacked Daoist and gritted his teeth:"Get up. Come with me to your Ling Shan!"

The hunchbacked Daoist on the ground furrowed his brow and glared at Zhao Gongming.

He retorted coldly:"You still dare to go to Ling Shan with me!"

"What do I have to fear?"

Zhao Gongming scolded:"Today, you provoked Dao Men first, so I must go ask my two masters what this is all about!"

In his mind, Li Changshou thought it over and felt that Zhao Gongming's emotions weren't quite intense enough.It should carry a touch of righteous indignation.This was the first step—forcefully framing the incident as a conflict between Dao Men and the West.

Hearing this, the hunchbacked old Daoist jumped up, gripping his crutch as if to strike...

Zhao Gongming stepped forward half a pace, his eyes gleaming with divine light and his beard fluttering forward.

The hunchbacked old Daoist flinched instinctively and retreated several steps, his gaze full of wariness.

The space around them was still sealed by Zhao Gongming, and the old Daoist, having just experienced the might of the Jie Jiao outer sect's senior disciple, knew he couldn't escape.

He cursed:"Today, it was your Dao Men people who schemed against me! How can you turn around and accuse me?Look at how miserable I am now! I'll go to your Bi You Palace and demand an explanation!"

"You think you're miserable?"

Zhao Gongming sneered, recalling the method the South Sea Sea God had suggested, and felt a spark of interest.

Suddenly, without warning, Zhao Gongming let out a retch and spat out a mouthful of blood, clutching his chest and coughing violently...

At the same time, his aura weakened, his Dao rhythm scattered, and his previous momentum vanished, as if he had suffered a serious injury.

He gritted his teeth:"It's clearly me who was wounded by your spiritual treasure. During our fight, you damaged my Dao foundation—I'm afraid it'll take tens of thousands of years to recover!Come on, follow me to Ling Shan. We're not done with this today!"

The hunchbacked old Daoist's eyes widened. Even with his cunning mind, he had never encountered such a situation.

From his hidden observation through the idol, Li Changshou breathed a slight sigh of relief. The most difficult step had gone smoothly.One had to admit, Zhao Gongming's on-the-spot reactions were quite impressive—he was a true veteran of the Hong Huang world...

This was the second step—switching concepts and seizing the moral high ground with a self-inflicted wound scheme.

The next third step had six variations, corresponding to six possible paths.

Zhao Gongming wiped the blood from his mouth and scolded:"Who could be more miserable than Sea God friend? His external incarnation was forced to perish by you!Cultivating an external body is no easy feat—he's lost so much of his foundation and cultivation!How do you plan to account for that?"

The hunchbacked old Daoist snapped:"You're twisting words and spouting nonsense!"

Zhao Gongming shot back:"I have my injuries as proof—you're the real culprit! Come with me to Ling Shan to face this out!"

"You, Zhao Gongming! Do you have any shame left?"

The hunchbacked old Daoist shouted, then suddenly had an idea. He raised his crutch and smashed it hard against his own shoulder.

A thunderous boom echoed for miles around!

His arm hung limp, his shoulder shattered, and he sneered:"You're the real villain! Let's go to Bi You Palace!"

Seeing this, Zhao Gongming clenched his teeth, staggered back several steps, and suddenly spewed out a spray of blood...

The hunchbacked old Daoist, steeling himself, struck his own chest several times—they seemed to be competing in self-harm.

Abruptly, Zhao Gongming's body shook, the blood he had spat out evaporated instantly, and his aura returned to normal. He looked refreshed once more, his beard as pristine as ever.

From his sleeve, he pulled out a shadow-recording orb wrapped in layers of immortal power. Leisurely, he activated the twenty-four Ding Hai God Pearls and opened the orb.

Immediately, a phantom image appeared before him, showing the scene of the hunchbacked old Daoist harming himself...

The hunchbacked old Daoist realized what was happening and moved to act, but the Ding Hai God Pearls activated again, immobilizing the already injured old Daoist.

This was the third variation of the fourth path—turning the tables by exposing the opponent's leverage.

The smoothness of this surprised even Li Changshou.

Zhao Gongming looked at the hunchbacked old Daoist and said calmly:"Daoist friend, why are you injuring yourself in front of me? Are you trying to tarnish my reputation and stir up conflict between Dao Men and Western Teachings?It seems I'll have to show this to some friends.If I remember correctly, you claimed to be the third disciple of the West.I know my two masters worked hard to establish the Ling Shan lineage, but using such tactics to extort treasures is hardly honorable."

"You! You!"

The hunchbacked old Daoist trembled with rage, his lips quivering, then lowered his head and spat out blood, his eyes filled with grief and anger.

"Zhao Gongming, everyone says you're straightforward and true-hearted. Today, I've truly experienced it!I've truly experienced it!"

Zhao Gongming stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky, but in his heart, he sighed slightly.He never thought he'd resort to such scheming...However, as the South Sea Sea God had said, loyalty was for his brothers and sisters in the sect, for Dao Men disciples—not for outsiders like this.A bit of cunning was just to prevent this from escalating into a full conflict between Dao Men and the West, thereby protecting his fellow disciples.

Afterward, Zhao Gongming said nothing, waiting for the hunchbacked old Daoist to speak.

By now, the old Daoist had figured things out and suppressed his anger:"Daoist friend, what exactly do you want?"

"What do I want? Today, you humiliated me, so what else can I do?"

Zhao Gongming replied indifferently:"Be straightforward, Daoist friend. Do you want to settle this quietly, or blow it up even bigger?"

The hunchbacked old Daoist shook with fury, itching to level the area for miles, but he didn't want to waste his merit pointlessly...—Though he was still trapped by the Ding Hai God Pearls and couldn't move freely anyway.

He asked coldly:"How would we settle it quietly? And what if we blow it up?"

"If you want to settle it, we'll clear the air between us today, and you'll make a great Dao oath. I'll smash this thing right away."

Zhao Gongming waved the shadow-recording treasure in his hand.

"If you want to blow it up, then I'll take this and first show it to my three sworn sisters for a laugh, then go to Jin'ao Island, Penglai Island, and other places where Jie Jiao cultivators gather, so everyone can see it as a warning.The world today is full of schemes compared to ancient or primeval times.If that doesn't work, I'll visit Yu Xu Palace, tour the Heavenly Court, and wander through Central Shen State."

Zhao Gongming paused, recalling the South Sea Sea God's instructions...Though he didn't fully understand them, things had progressed smoothly to this point, just as the Sea God had planned.

'If it's for the sake of my fellow Daoists in the sect, I wouldn't hesitate to do this.'

But this feeling...It was actually quite satisfying.

So, Zhao Gongming said:"I have no interest in your petty schemes in the Four Seas. I was just here to chat idly with the South Sea Sea God."

Hearing this, the hunchbacked old Daoist's eyes flickered as he made his decision and said quietly:"This matter... I was in the wrong.I'll make the great Dao oath right now."

"Hold on, hold on," Zhao Gongming said with a smile, "Please wait a moment."

The old Daoist was puzzled and about to speak when a low dragon roar came from the South Sea.

An elder with a dragon head arrived on clouds, bowed in mid-air, and used immortal power to send a silk cloth to Zhao Gongming's hand.Without a word, the elder rode the clouds away.

This was the fifth step that Li Changshou had planned—diverting the opponent's attention and shifting the grudge toward the Dragon Clan and Jie Jiao.

How could the hunchbacked old Daoist not see through it now?Today, it was all a setup by Jie Jiao and the Dragon Clan targeting him!The Dragon Clan truly wouldn't give up without a fight!

Zhao Gongming tossed the silk cloth over. The hunchbacked old Daoist opened it with immortal power and saw it was filled with tiny characters.It began with the oath invocation...The content swore that he would never trouble Jie Jiao, the Dragon Clan, or the Sea God Cult again, and that today's events would be treated as if they never happened.Otherwise, he would be abandoned by the great Dao, lose all merit, and have no destiny!

How ruthless...And how meticulously detailed the oath was!

Zhao Gongming waved the shadow-recording treasure and laughed:"Daoist friend, why are you hesitating? Is a simple great Dao oath this troublesome?"

In the old Daoist's eyes, the dignified face of this Jie Jiao outer sect senior disciple now looked utterly sinister.

He gritted his teeth. The oath only bound him personally; he could just withdraw from plots against the Dragon Clan and never return here, keeping silent about it to others.It wouldn't interfere with Western Teachings' grand plans...Truth be told, even without this oath, the hunchbacked old Daoist wouldn't have mentioned it to anyone.Did a Saint's disciple have no pride?

Yet, the one hiding deep underground—likely near the underworld's "sky"—in his paper effigy form, insisted on this.Li Changshou had Ao Yi base it on Ao Yi's own past oath format, adding sixty percent more conditions to cover every possible scenario. Only then had he finalized this oath and had it swiftly delivered by a South Sea Dragon Palace expert.

Soon, the hunchbacked old Daoist sat cross-legged, first reciting the oath invocation, then the oath content.As a powerful expert made the oath, heavenly might descended, and the great Dao recorded it.

Zhao Gongming, standing nearby, couldn't help but blink, listening to the oath's details and glancing at the densely written silk cloth with his divine ability. His mouth twitched.

This South Sea Sea God...It was better to be friends with him than enemies.