Chapter 233: Little Moon Elder of the Du Ren Xian Jiao

"I'll leave this matter to Huanglong Zhenren... Is that okay?"

Li Changshou pondered this in his heart.

Although it was a minor issue, he wasn't very familiar with Huanglong Zhenren, so he still felt a bit worried.Mainly, he was afraid that Huanglong Zhenren might fall into someone else's trap again.

The reason he spread rumors through the Chan Jiao immortals to build momentum for the Nanhai Sea God was that Li Changshou had two main goals.

First, to create a smokescreen, making the Western Teachings focus on ancient figures, thereby protecting his true identity.

Second, to use Chan Jiao as a shield for himself.

As a result, the information the Western Teachings would have is something like this:A great mage from Ren Jiao appeared in the territory of the Nanhai Sea God's cult;Ao Yi, the second prince of the Dragon Race and a disciple of Jie Jiao, is the second leader of the Nanhai Sea God's cult, and the Nanhai Sea God has a good relationship with Jie Jiao's big figure Zhao Gongming;Chan Jiao immortals praise the Nanhai Sea God's virtues and seem to have a good rapport with him.

In this way, the Western Teachings should have more reservations before making a move against him...

And the most important reason for doing this is that there are no negative side effects.

Li Changshou shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

He began to restore the decoy arrangements within the Sea God cult's range to counter methods like the 'Suo Shen Die'.

Besides that, Li Changshou set up some emergency measures.For example, a mental command to instantly activate the linked restrictions on all his paper daoists, or to sever the connection between his yuan shen power and yuan shen; and the trigger-based self-ignition restrictions in the paper daoist storage under An Shui City...

Next, he just needed to be extra careful and cautious. Unless Mu Gong from the Tian Court came looking for him, or some big shots from the three teachings showed up, he would keep his paper daoists completely still.

These were all standard precautions;The real trump card for protecting his origins was his own great mage, which was the core deterrent.

Since it was a trump card, it couldn't be used lightly, or he'd be in real trouble if he had nothing left at a critical moment...

The next two and a half years, Li Changshou passed quietly while staying on high alert.

Within the Sea God cult's range, some suspicious figures occasionally appeared, but they were mostly just probing, with no other incidents.

Wen Jing Daoist didn't send any more messages and focused on lurking, which put Li Changshou's mind at ease.

Ren Jiao didn't need Wen Jing Daoist for these trivial matters; they just needed him to... make a big splash later...

During this time, the Dragon Race entered a period of 'torment'.

Externally, the Sea Race kept causing chaos; internally, conflicts between 'Hua Long' and 'Jiao Long' kept emerging, and the Dragon Race's ruling class gradually split into two camps: one for change and one for maintaining the status quo.

Ao Yi had discussed this with Li Changshou several times.

Li Changshou's advice to him was to observe quietly, not take sides, not speak out, keep his stance vague, and firmly stand by the East Sea Dragon King's side.

If this were the young Ao Yi, he would have been wholeheartedly loyal, ready to risk everything—uh, cough!

He would have been wholeheartedly loyal, willing to offer his liver and gallbladder to the Kunlun!

But now, although Ao Yi still had a youthful appearance, he was a mature young dragon with a lover, no longer the reckless boy he once was.

He had learned to observe and wait, to calculate behind the scenes, and to become more steady...

Li Changshou wasn't just passively waiting;The timing for his next move would be when the Western Teachings acted again and the Dragon Race's internal conflicts erupted, but before that, he could make many arrangements.

For example, he had Ao Yi build a network of connections within the Dragon Race, befriend various influential dragons, and secretly get close to some powerful but low-ranking dragon generals.

Another example, Li Changshou asked Mu Gong to arrange for a few Tian Court heavenly generals to patrol the Four Seas regularly and strengthen exchanges with the Dragon Palaces.

Once the Dragon Palace situation stabilized, Li Changshou returned to his daily routine: refining pills to accumulate wealth, perfecting Xiao Qiong Peak's defense system, and making time to reward his junior sister.

Of course, preparing for the Jin Xian tribulation was necessary;And that Tian Xian realm expert in the sect, Wang Fugui—cough, Forgetful Elder—after achieving a perfect dao heart and having no regrets in life, he was now on the edge of tribulation and expected to undergo it within fifty years.

This made Li Changshou quite emotional;All the efforts he had made for that fierce little grand-uncle and the reserved pure yang Wang Fugui hadn't been in vain!

With a reference like that, his own chances of success would be much greater!

It's worth mentioning that the little grand-uncle really moved to Forgetful Residence;And as a form of 'non-equal exchange', Jiu Jiu, who was avoiding the little grand-uncle, completely settled in Xiao Qiong Peak's gaming room.

In a way, Xiao Qiong Peak seemed to have... profited!

The only pity was that luxurious pavilion defense array; Li Changshou even thought about dismantling the array foundations there and reinstalling them in the gaming room.

One day, while Jiu Jiu was drunk and in closed cultivation, Li Changshou called over Ling E, who had been diligently practicing lately, and Xiong Lingli, who was working hard but lacked talent in cultivating the yuan shen path, to the lakeside thatched hut.

He set up a barrier and activated the array. Looking at the sturdy and the delicate figures before him, Li Changshou's mood lightened considerably.

"Today, I'm going to teach Ling E about cultivation methods and how to build a foundation for becoming an immortal.Xiong Lingli, since you're also on the yuan shen path, you can listen in.If you have any doubts, feel free to ask; don't be too reserved."

Ling E and Xiong Lingli both replied, "Yes!"

With that, Li Changshou began to explain the ways of cultivation and enlighten them on practice methods.

To make it easier for them to understand, he drew from various sources, explained deeply yet simply, often using clever analogies, and occasionally made Ling E hold back her laughter.

Listening to her senior brother teach was one of Ling E's favorite things;It's just that as her cultivation improved, the intervals between his teachings grew longer.

This wasn't because Li Changshou was lazy or distant; it was just that the principles he taught were becoming more profound, and Ling E needed more time to digest them.

From dawn to dusk.

Ling E asked a few questions about cultivation, and Li Changshou answered them in detail;Xiong Lingli wanted to ask some too, but after hesitating for a long time, she didn't dare trouble the Sea God and only mustered the courage to ask one off-topic question that puzzled her the most...

A trivial fact about the Primordial World.

"Cousin, can I ask a question that's not related to cultivation?"

"Of course, go ahead."

"Why do the spirit beasts on our Xiao Qiong Peak taste so much better than the ones I caught while hunting outside?"

Li Changshou couldn't help but chuckle, and Ling E burst out laughing beside him.

Ling E said, "That's because you raised them well!"

"Not entirely."

Li Changshou shook his head with a smile and said,"All things in the world have their own ways;The mundane and immortal realms all follow their principles.The question Xiong Lingli asked might seem like a joke, but it actually follows an inner logic.The Primordial World has existed since ancient times, through endless ages, and now, with human cultivators in charge, many people enjoy grilling, boiling, frying, and stir-frying, following the way of flavors.The common edible spirit beasts we can buy in the markets are no less tasty than wild ones; in fact, they've been carefully selected, bred, and optimized for taste by countless cultivators over time.Those spirit beasts that weren't selected over the long ages mostly taste worse than these that have been 'passed down'.So, don't always chase after novelty; the ancients have already done the selection for us.That's a kind of dao.Dao is hidden in heaven and earth, in bowls and chopsticks, in dust...Enough, I won't say more; you wouldn't be able to digest it all at once."

"Wow..."

Xiong Lingli cupped her small face with her large hands, her eyes shining with admiration.

Ling E's mouth slightly open, she gazed at her senior brother in fascination...

She just loved how he could turn any topic into such profound reasoning!

Of course, she couldn't say that directly.

Night fell, with stars sparse in the sky.

Li Changshou had Xiong Lingli catch a spirit beast and demonstrated the secret technique of 'Shou Ding Jie Shou' on the spot, opening up a new level of Primordial cuisine for Ling E and Xiong Lingli.

As they were enjoying the meal, a five-foot-tall figure rode the clouds to the outskirts of Xiao Qiong Peak. Seeing no one around, he slipped into the upgraded isolation array and headed toward the lake.

Jiu Wu looked at the scene by the lake—Li Changshou feasting with Ling E and Xiong Lingli—and was slightly stunned.

"It's rare to see Longevity not in the pill room."

The short daoist hesitated for a moment but still descended on his cloud.

He had already boasted to that elder, so he had to get this done!

Li Changshou noticed the hesitation in Jiu Wu and said a few words to Ling E and Xiong Lingli before going to greet his uncle-master.

As soon as they met, from Jiu Wu's shifty eyes, Li Changshou spotted something fishy.

"Uncle-master, did something happen between Forgetful Elder and my grand-uncle?"

"No, no," Jiu Wu quickly shook his head, knowing he didn't need to beat around the bush with this nephew-disciple...

Beating around the bush would only make it easier to get arranged.

Jiu Wu glanced around and whispered, "Longevity, have you stopped supplying the Ambition Pills to the Hall of Hundreds in the past few months?"

"Yes," Li Changshou smiled, "I've been preparing for my tribulation, so I've had less time for pill refining.Besides, according to the outer affairs elder, no elders or stewards have exchanged for Ambition Pills in the last two months, so I halted the supply.Logically, there should still be some left in the Hall of Hundreds."

"Well," Jiu Wu chuckled awkwardly and whispered, "Actually, some elders still need Ambition Pills, but due to... face...You know."

Li Changshou said calmly, "Is uncle-master here for the Ambition Pills?"

"Yes," Jiu Wu nodded and smiled, "One of our elders has a friend..."

"Here," Li Changshou handed over a jade bottle and sighed, "The last bottle, with thirty pills total. Uncle-master, please deliver them carefully."

Jiu Wu immediately beamed, took the jade bottle, and pulled out two treasure pouches from his sleeve.

"This is the thanks from that elder; I won't take any for myself...Hey? Wait, the last bottle?Nephew, you're not refining Ambition Pills anymore?"

"That's right," Li Changshou said, "I've mentioned several times before that I wouldn't refine them, but I keep getting entangled in these favors.At least before my tribulation, I won't make these useless pills."

Jiu Wu's expression turned serious, and he said, "This is my fault. Okay, you don't need to worry about it anymore; I won't get involved in such things either!"

Li Changshou nodded with a smile, letting go of this minor concern in his heart.

Interfering in matters of fate, like matchmaking, as he had taught Ling E, was a significant karma.

If Ambition Pills helped those old immortals regain their ambition, confidence, and a second spring, that would be good karma and a good deed;Even without merit, it would earn a lot of favors.

But if the pills were used for things like 'openly robbing fairies' or 'secretly coercing immortals', that would be bad karma.

Now, using the tribulation as an excuse to stop completely wouldn't offend anyone...

After seeing Jiu Wu off, Li Changshou hummed a tune that Ling E often played and floated back to the pill room.

From tomorrow on, be a fulfilling cultivatorCultivate, refine pills, strive for longevityFrom tomorrow on, care for the spirit trees and immortal beansI have a Xiao Qiong Peak, facing the Tian Court, with warm springs and blooming flowers

'Starting tomorrow, I won't have to play matchmaker for Du Xian Men anymore.'

Li Changshou sighed softly. Just as he sat down in front of the pill furnace to refine a batch of 'special effect' pills for Ling E's tribulation, his heart suddenly stirred.

The Sea God Temple had a visitor.

His divine sense fell on the statue in one of the temples, and he immediately saw that familiar figure...

Dong Mu Gong.

Li Changshou carefully checked Dong Mu Gong's aura and compared the details to confirm it was him, then activated the underground paper daoist. He appeared as a kind-eyed old immortal and exchanged greetings with Mu Gong.

This time, Mu Gong didn't sit down or want tea; instead, he pulled Li Changshou to a corner and chuckled...

Why did today's Mu Gong, the future pure yang sword immortal Lü Dongbin, seem a bit...

Improper?

"Sea God, guess what I brought you this time?"

An official appointment decree?

No, if it were that, it should be grand, with immortal lights, divine music, and an entourage!This was a great opportunity to show the Tian Court's majesty; it couldn't be wasted.

So, what could it be?

Could it be...

Li Changshou smiled, "Is it a treasure for reconstructing the dao body?"

"Not at all," Mu Gong shook his head gently and said, "Treasures like that aren't very precious, but they're rare and hard to find, and no one specifically collects them.Last time, Sea God, you asked if the Tian Court had any spiritual herbs with effects similar to the Yearning Treasure Tree, right?"

Li Changshou suddenly had a bad premonition.

"Yes..."

"Heh, let me show you a little treasure!"

Mu Gong reached into his wide sleeve and pulled out a potted plant that looked familiar to Li Changshou but was much smaller...

This dense Tian Dao merit, this profound dao rhythm...

Wasn't this...

The Yearning Treasure Tree from the dream when he first met Yue Lao, the one Yue Lao used to prick himself!

While Li Changshou was still in a daze, Mu Gong had already shoved the miniature treasure tree into his hands and said with a smile,"When His Majesty heard your request, he waved his hand and said—use merit to cultivate one for Qing Guan beloved minister and send it directly.We kept it from you before because it wasn't ready yet.Today, it's finally done, so I fetched it from Yue Lao's place overnight and brought it to you!"

As he spoke, Dong Mu Gong patted Li Changshou's arm, "Dao friend, this is a Tian Dao heavy treasure, a post-heaven merit spiritual treasure, and truly His Majesty's great favor!"

Li Changshou: ...

"I!"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you," Li Changshou held the merit-filled miniature Yearning Treasure Tree and forced a grateful smile, "Thank you for His Majesty's grace!I'll offer my thanks to His Majesty right here!"

Dong Mu Gong immediately smiled happily, "In that case, I'll head back. This treasure...Use it well, use it well."