Chapter 180: The Great Fortune of the Daoist Sect, Renewed for Billions of Seconds

When Wen Jing Dao Ren left, she was no longer as despondent as before.

It was clear that she had a lot on her mind, and she felt a strong urge to vomit.

This had nothing to do with Li Changshou doing anything to her; he was merely a Tianxian realm paper effigy in this place, something Wen Jing Dao Ren could crush effortlessly.

What made her nauseous was the nature of these grand dao oaths!

In just a few hours, she had sworn two such oaths, and even for someone like Wen Jing Dao Ren, it was hard to avoid planting some inner demons and casting a shadow over her heart.

What truly made Wen Jing Dao Ren feel that she couldn't outmaneuver this South Sea Sea God were the two realizations that came to her after she left.

First, Li Changshou had instructed her to return to Western Cult and continue serving it wholeheartedly, treating the incident as if it had never happened.

This showed that Renjiao and Heavenly Court were not interested in her personal strength, but rather her position within Western Cult.

In other words, Western Cult believed they had been acting flawlessly, stirring up relations among the three teachings and recruiting demons and monsters for their own purposes—but the Taiqing Saint had long been aware of all this.

Now, this mysterious Taiqing Saint had begun plotting against Western Cult in return, turning her into a hidden pawn, ready for use when needed.

The world is like a chessboard, all beings like chess pieces—only saints can hold the pieces.

Wen Jing Dao Ren had heard such words countless times, but today, she felt their truth more deeply than ever.

Second, after leaving Nanbuzhou, Wen Jing Dao Ren suddenly snapped out of it.

From the moment she was ambushed by the three fierce of Jiejiao, to being intercepted by the South Sea Sea God, and finally being recruited as a tool for Renjiao and Heavenly Court...

Every step, every link, had been under the other's complete control.

The only choice she had was between life and death.

What chilled Wen Jing Dao Ren even more was that during their earlier drinking, she had involuntarily developed some trust toward this South Sea Sea God!

In fact, she had even felt that he was in the same predicament as her.

Upon reflection, she realized she had been entirely manipulated in his palm!

In the end, all she knew was that the South Sea Sea God was a hidden expert of Renjiao—nothing more.

He was far more mysterious than Xuandu Great Mage by several degrees.

"Hum! Pretending to be mysterious!

Eventually, I'll make you know the power of this king!"

Wen Jing Dao Ren snorted coldly, casually ripped off the plain white dress she was wearing, and switched back to the gauzy skirt outfit that Qiongxiao Xianzi had called decadent.

Her figure vanished, leaving only a faint mosquito buzz echoing in the mountain ranges at the border of Xiniu Hezhou and Nanbuzhou.

At the same time, Li Changshou let out a sigh of relief.

It had been tough.

To ensure that Wen Jing Dao Ren would eventually go and "suck" that one, he had directly coaxed her into Heavenly Court's fold, preparing a hidden blade in advance for the Jade Emperor.

This approach was like...

If you wanted a stable spot for fishing, you'd just buy the entire pond.

But all the other methods he could think of were less reliable; in comparison, this was the steadiest path, and later he could persuade the Jade Emperor to eliminate any worries.

When the Fengshen Tribulation and the Wanxian Array arrived, Li Changshou wouldn't need to intervene much—the Taiqing Saint could simply give this mosquito a subtle hint, and while the two saints of the West were away, she could sneak in and take a bite of the 12th-grade Golden Lotus.

That would mark the successful completion.

Li Changshou waited for a while, and since the Saint gave no further instructions, it meant the Saint approved of his approach.

—If the Saint had been dissatisfied, there would have been a warning before the events unfolded.

Wen Jing Dao Ren was a poisonous blade, meant only for the shadows; if mishandled, it could backfire.

This time, he had coaxed her...

Tsk, if she found out he was just a minor disciple of Duxianmen with real cultivation only at Tianxian realm, would she go berserk and come after him?

He also needed to find a way to curb that nonsense from Zhao Deye's side.

What Zhao Deye had stirred up was already affecting the original plot of the Fengshen Tribulation, and it might lead to even bigger, more troublesome issues in the future!

But how to fix it?

Zhao Gongming and Qiongxiao weren't like Wen Jing Dao Ren.

She was already at odds with the West and had no retreat, so by offering her a path to survival, she would take the bait on her own.

In the tavern, Li Changshou's paper effigy couldn't help but give a bitter smile.

This was tricky.

All over the city, people were enthusiastically spreading the doctrines of the Sea God Cult, radiating prosperity; Li Changshou burned the wine cup and pot with Samadhi True Flame, erased the aura from the place, and quietly departed.

To stop this touch-porcelain nonsense, it had to start from Jiejiao itself.

Who could control Zhao Deye?

The Saint.

Did he really have to go and alarm Tongtian Jiaozhu over something so trivial?

That would be far too provocative!

This incident of Zhao Gongming touching porcelain on Wen Jing Dao Ren—the near-loss of the 12th-grade Golden Lotus—gave Li Changshou a profound lesson:

Every cause has its effect; retribution can't be evaded.

In the future, if causes and effects arose, it was best to resolve them quickly!

Coaxing Wen Jing Dao Ren this time also brought another hidden benefit.

The Dragon Clan's ascension was like a grand play, with roles divided into positive and negative factions.

Li Changshou now, with his right hand, could influence the Dragon Clan's decisions through the "positive" role of Ao Yi;

With his left hand, he could affect the West's actions through the "negative" role of Wen Jing Dao Ren.

It felt like he had gone from being a lowly crew hand to an assistant director and screenwriter—the schemes he could devise had multiplied.

But Li Changshou had deeply realized the value of going with the flow, practicing wuwei and purity, and acting in harmony with circumstances; only then could he minimize involvement in causes and effects.

For safety, he would avoid contacting Wen Jing Dao Ren as much as possible afterward and simply wait for events to unfold.

As for how he should view Wen Jing Dao Ren...

She was just a vicious expert, and that was all.

At the Sanjiao Yuanliu Conference site, Li Changshou sat quietly, opening his eyes just a slit to glance at his surroundings, then transmitted a voice to Xiong Lingli with a few instructions before closing his eyes again in meditation.

He began to go over his conversation with Wen Jing Dao Ren word by word.

As he carefully reflected, he quickly spotted a small issue.

What Wen Jing Dao Ren had mentioned at the end—about wanting to see Xuandu Great Mage in the future—seemed to carry some deeper implication.

Li Changshou had initially thought she was just using that to further confirm he was backed by the Taiqing Saint...

But now, upon closer analysis of her eyes, expression, tone, and that slight tremor in her final words...

Could it be that Wen Jing Dao Ren had developed some feelings for the Great Mage?

Oh no, oh no...

The oldest pure yang of the human race—Xuandu Great Mage—if he was truly targeted by this vicious Hongmong fierce beast...

Heavens above!

This had absolutely nothing to do with his own connection to Xuandu!

Li Changshou sighed inwardly; the Great Wilderness was indeed as dangerous as he had imagined, yet also more thrilling.

With no further instructions from the Saint, Li Changshou tentatively considered his "correction" task complete.

In the time that followed, he stayed put at the Sanjiao Yuanliu Conference site, pretending to have ongoing insights as he sat there with eyes closed in meditation.

In reality, he was pondering improvements for his paper effigy and the external preparations he could make for his own Jinxian tribulation.

Although he had gained benefits lately and his resources are growing, once he returned to the mountain, he would resume his usual leisurely cultivation pace.

Opportunities were rare, so he still needed to rely on alchemy to build wealth and continue the Xiaoqiong Peak wandering plan.

A few days later, the East Sea Dragon Palace sent people with a hundred boxes of various treasures for array use, leaving Li Changshou with a twinge of guilt.

Though he had actively schemed against the Dragon Clan, they were being far too generous, giving more than necessary...

This would make him feel a bit more remorseful in future schemes against them.

Half a month later, Ao Yi excitedly used divine thought to connect and meet him in a dream, and upon meeting, he said:

"Gege, my wedding date is set, just in twelve years!"

That "just" was quite vivid and expressive in Li Changshou's view.

Li Changshou encouraged Ao Yi a few words and asked about the Dragon Clan's recent situation.

The sea clans of the four seas were causing ongoing trouble, but things were still manageable.

However, the Dragon King had ordered that, leveraging Ao Yi's wedding, the Dragon Clan would consolidate their rule over the four seas, issue a show of force to the sea clans, and carry out a few "kill the chicken to scare the monkeys" actions before the wedding.

Li Changshou pondered this.

The Dragon Clan had their own reasons, but such actions might suppress the sea clan rebellions short-term while planting greater hidden dangers for themselves.

Still, Li Changshou understood his position and couldn't interfere with the Dragon Clan's plans.

If they didn't suffer and learn from it, how could they smoothly enter Heavenly Court's immortal ranks?

After chatting with Ao Yi for a while, the two ended their divine thought exchange.

Three days later, Dongmu Gong arrived with the Jade Emperor's oral decree to meet Li Changshou.

The Jade Emperor had agreed that on Ao Yi's wedding day, the Moon Elder would go to offer congratulations.

But the Moon Elder's identity for the visit, and whether an invitation should be sent to Heavenly Court in advance, all needed careful consideration...

Li Changshou had already made thorough preparations and now explained the details to Dongmu Gong; Dongmu Gong hadn't even warmed his seat before hurrying back to Heavenly Court to report.

This was exactly:

In the Great Wilderness, for reliable express, head to Heavenly Court's hall and find Dongmu!

Later, Li Changshou had another divine thought exchange with Ao Yi, asking him to send an extra invitation.

During this exchange, Ao Yi hesitated and made a small request.

"Gege, can I, in a few months, once you return to Duxianmen, bring Sisi for a visit?"

Sisi was the pet name of that Jiaoren little princess.

"Oh?" Li Changshou said seriously, "You two, is there some issue?"

"This," Ao Yi chuckled awkwardly, his youthful face full of shyness, "Usually, in front of her, I always talk about how Brother Changshou is like this or that...

Gege, you're the person I admire most, so I just want to bring Sisi to meet you."

Li Changshou: ...

What was there to see?

He and this sister-in-law couldn't afford to get too familiar.

However, since Li Changshou had just received a hundred boxes of gifts from the Dragon Clan, he couldn't refuse, so he set a date and agreed solemnly.

As the three-month lecture period neared its end, this uneventful Sanjiao Yuanliu Conference gradually drew to a close.

The conference was originally just the immortal sects of the three teachings gathering to trace their roots and recall their hardships.

From the start, Jiejiao, Chanjiao, and Renjiao each had prominent figures appear, and the conference's purpose had already been fulfilled.

On the 108th day after it began, the heads of the five host immortal sects appeared together, bowing and saluting in all directions.

In the basin, flocks of cranes took flight, hundreds of beautiful fairies flew about scattering flowers, and melodious music drifted from the lake.

In this scene, Li Changshou couldn't help but hum a few lines of "Unforgettable Tonight" in his heart.

Suddenly, a golden light appeared in the sky, and clusters of auspicious clouds gathered from everywhere, quickly forming three massive, ethereal figures in the heavens and earth.

These three figures were mere outlines; the one in the center resembled an old Daoist, the one on the right a majestic middle-aged Daoist, and the one on the left a sword-bearing young Daoist.

Some elder Jinxian immediately shouted:

"Disciples pay respects to the three teachers!"

At once, figures knelt throughout the basin, bowing to the three figures formed by the auspicious clouds.

In the next instant, every Qi Refiner there, regardless of cultivation level and based on their three teachings' origins, heard a single word—"good"—spoken in an old, middle-aged, or young voice.

The hundreds of immortal sects and tens of thousands of Qi Refiners in attendance were all deeply moved.

The saints' traces appeared only briefly before the auspicious clouds descended, with each immortal sect receiving a cluster.

The experts of the three teachings' immortal sects calculated and were overjoyed; each sect's luck and blessings had thickened slightly!

The Daoist path, already prosperous for many years, seemed poised to prosper even more, becoming ever more vibrant and flourishing!

Yet, Li Changshou couldn't help but think further.

When prosperity peaks, decline follows; the moment the great luck of the three teachings reached its zenith might be when the Fengshen Tribulation was destined to begin.

With that, the conference came to an end.

Half a day later, the Duxianmen group returned to their treasure ship.

The sect leader gave a brief instruction and headed back to the top-floor suite where a wonderful story had unfolded.

Li Changshou found his usual spot in the corner of the stern and walked over with Xiong Lingli.

Youqin Xuanya hesitated, glancing at Li Changshou's back and blinking lightly.

'In public, I must be careful—will this affect Brother Changshou? When we return to the mountain, I'll go to Xiaoqiong Peak to apologize...'

Youqin Xuanya sighed inwardly and didn't dare look more at his back, carrying the Fire Scale Sword Box to the cabin and finding a corner to meditate with eyes closed.

However, as soon as Li Changshou reached the stern, an unexpected event occurred!

He heard a light shout:

"Pai—Shan—Dao—Hai!"

A figure darted out from the side, burdened with great malice yet still agilely bypassing the tower-like Xiong Lingli, and with two small hands slapped toward Li Changshou's back.

With two light slaps, these palms carried no real force.

"Ha ha ha, finally heading back!

This uncle has been holding it in for so long!

Quick! Changshou, hand over those little toys you have! This uncle has put up with you for ages!"

Upon hearing this, Li Changshou immediately smiled with squinted eyes.

(End of the chapter)