Chapter 241: Adding a New Member to Xiao Qiong Peak

"Shibo Zu? How is the Zhangmen?"

At the front of Duxian Dian in Duxian Men, Li Changshou, Jiang Lin'er, and Youqin Xuanya, who had returned to the sect just half an hour earlier, saw Wangqing Shangren and several elders emerging from the inner hall. They hurried forward to greet them.

Li Changshou asked with concern, and Wangqing Shangren couldn't help but let out a few bitter laughs.

Wangqing Shangren said, "The Zhangmen has gone into seclusion to recover. He only injured his Yuan Shen from the backlash, and with a hundred years of rest, he should make a full recovery."

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

It was unstoppable—this was truly unstoppable!

The incident happened on their way back from beyond the heavens...

Li Changshou had heard Ji Wuyou mention that the Shen Tong involved cultivating 'Qiao Zhong Xianqi,' and he immediately sensed something was off. He quickly sent a voice transmission to Wangqing Shangren, explaining that the Zhangmen had previously been wounded by a similar Shen Tong.

For safety's sake, they naturally wanted Wangqing Shangren to advise the Zhangmen to give up this unreliable Shen Tong...

However, as soon as Li Changshou finished his transmission, the Zhangmen declared:

'Let this poor Daoist show you a demonstration first!'

He then took a deep breath, and wisps of white smoke gathered in front of his nostrils, his face turning a bright purple!

'Humph!'

The void ahead rippled slightly!

But...

'Pfft!'

A mouthful of blood sprayed from the Zhangmen's mouth, startling the four of them. They quickly rushed to his side.

And that was how it went.

Although the Zhangmen kept saying 'It's nothing, it's nothing' and 'Just a minor issue, just a minor issue,' the blood had already stained his robes red, leaving the others shocked and deeply worried.

On the way back, Wangqing Shangren controlled the cloud, while Jiang Lin'er helped stabilize the Zhangmen's injuries.

Fortunately, Li Changshou was right beside the Zhangmen at the time, and this paper Daoist body still had some Xian Li left in it.

As Li Changshou supported the Zhangmen, taking advantage of Wangqing Shangren and Jiang Lin'er's distraction, he channeled his own Xian Li into the Zhangmen to steady his breath and Yuan Shen...

After returning to Duxian Men, Wangqing Shangren alerted several elders, and it took half an hour of commotion to confirm that the Zhangmen was out of danger...

A Taishang Elder said in a low voice, "We should keep the Zhangmen's injury quiet to avoid unnecessary panic among the disciples."

The others acknowledged or accepted the order as appropriate.

Since the Zhangmen was now in seclusion for healing, they couldn't visit him, so they each returned to their own peaks.

The little tree spirit's injuries were nearly healed by then, but because its true spirit was damaged, it remained drowsy in Jiang Lin'er's palm, likely needing more time to recover.

On the way back to the Five Parts Continent, Youqin Xuanya had listened to Li Changshou's lectures on the Dao, gaining much insight and enlightenment. Now, she bid him a temporary farewell and returned to her and her master's cave to meditate and cultivate.

She was incredibly diligent.

As usual, Li Changshou flew on a cloud at a moderate height, heading back to Xiao Qiongfeng.

Recalling the Zhangmen's attempt at the Shen Tong, Li Changshou couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Was Du'e Zhenren's Qiao Zhong Erqi Miaofa really that hard to cultivate?

From Li Changshou's observation, it seemed to involve refining a breath of innate Qi and then releasing it in a wave-like manner...

That 'humph' or 'ha' was just a natural sound made when the innate Qi surged out. Once the Shen Tong was mastered, it could be replaced with 'ah' or 'wa.'

However, screaming or exclaiming before a fight would make the scene far too bizarre.

It would be better to just go 'humph, ha, humph, ha' a few times and then gather around a bonfire to dance and sing something like 'Who Brought You to My Lips.'

Just kidding, of course.

When Li Changshou returned to Xiao Qiongfeng, he followed his habit and used his immortal sense to check what his junior sister Ling'e was up to, then chose an appropriate 'reward' based on her actions.

This time, Ling'e didn't disappoint him. She was by a pond in the back mountain, laughing and playing with her junior uncle and Xiong Lingli as they chased butterflies.

Li Changshou stood in front of the pill room and watched for a while with his immortal sense.

Ling'e's hair was disheveled from laughter, her junior uncle's clothes were a bit messy, and Xiong Lingli, like a several-hundred-jin child, swung a massive net over ten zhang wide, joyfully chasing the two in front.

"Oh well, no punishment this time," Li Changshou said with a shake of his head. This paper Daoist body returned to the pill room to ponder ways to handle the Jin Xian Jie.

After witnessing the group tribulation last time, Ling'e had changed her attitude toward cultivation, spending more time on it. Even when playing with Jiu Jiu and Xiong Lingli, she kept it to within two hours each time.

Li Changshou was quite pleased with Ling'e's progress.

At the very least, the tribulation preparation plan he had meticulously prepared wouldn't go to waste...

"The matter with Shibo has been settled for now."

Li Changshou didn't dwell on it further. He recalled his experiences in the underworld, took out a few pieces of cloth, and carefully wrote down places where he thought he could acquire Gong De.

The Wu clan has always been straightforward and a bit naive.

Of course, there are wise ones among the Wu clan, but generally, they aren't very shrewd.

This was evident from how the two great ancestral witches, Gonggong and Zhurong, were manipulated into a deadly fight...

It made sense that the Wu clan managing the underworld and Fengdu cycle would lead to some chaos.

Li Changshou realized he knew very little about the underworld and had limited understanding of the Netherworld.

As the ancients said: Without investigation, one has no right to speak.

He didn't dare to jump to conclusions about the underworld yet. When he needed to plan for Gong De in the future, he would go to the underworld first, investigate thoroughly, make all preparations, and then seize a big haul of Gong De!

There was no choice—Gong De's golden body was one of the effective defenses against saints.

Life and death are no trivial matters; one only lives once.

Earning Gong De would be his main pursuit in the coming period!

Gong De was like heavenly approval. If he wasn't considering transcending beyond the heavens, the more the better. He'd start with a little, then aim for a two-zhang golden body, and maybe even acquire a few postheaven Gong De treasures!

Uh...

As Li Changshou was calculating his underworld plans, he suddenly burst into self-deprecating laughter.

In his previous mortal life, he had pursued profits tirelessly to live more comfortably and easily, always racking his brains like this.

In this life of cultivation, though he had the leisure of the mountains, the splendor of the immortal path, divine abilities, and immortal companions, his essence hadn't changed.

This was probably the nature of living beings.

And he had always been just an ordinary person.

"Others mock me for my thorough frugality, but I mock them for their cold, lifeless bones."

Hey? Was that a spontaneous clever line?

His 'poetic endeavor' had unexpectedly made a breakthrough!

Three days after returning to the mountain, Jiang Lin'er, who had moved to Wangqing Ju, 'quietly' came to Xiao Qiongfeng and launched a righteous ambush on Jiu Jiu, who was fishing by the lake.

The scene turned chaotic in an instant. Jiu Jiu, unwilling to be suppressed, fought back fiercely, and the two ended up falling into the water together, prompting Ling'e and Xiong Lingli to watch from afar and burst into laughter.

A moment later, Jiu Jiu sat under a tree, hugging herself with an undeniable sense of grievance, sobbing quietly.

Jiang Lin'er, in high spirits, laughed with her hands on her hips for a while, then called Ling'e and Xiong Lingli over to announce something important!

But Jiang Lin'er rolled her eyes and sighed first:

"Xiao Jiu, I won't mess with you anymore from now on."

Jiu Jiu, who was pretending to cry, froze and weakly wiped her eyes, muttering, "Hmph, as if I'd believe that!"

"Xiao Jiu, you know..."

Jiang Lin'er looked up at the sky, her voice drifting lightly, "All these years, I know you've resented me deep down for being so forward.

But that's just how this Shishu expresses her affection for you!

Still, it won't happen again..."

Ling'e suddenly had a bad feeling and quickly asked, "Shizu, is something wrong with you?"

Jiang Lin'er sighed deeply, suddenly looking dejected, murmuring, "It won't ever happen again."

Even Jiu Jiu, the victim, couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt and got up, clutching her short robe, asking softly, "Shishu, are you okay?"

Xiong Lingli whispered, "This feels like those stories where someone is making their final..."

"Pah, pah!"

Ling'e lightly smacked Xiong Lingli and scolded, "Don't say such inauspicious things! How could Shizu be in trouble?"

Immediately, Jiu Jiu, Ling'e, and Xiong Lingli crowded around Jiang Lin'er, anxiously asking what was wrong.

This was the truly simple and kind Xiao Qiongfeng.

Jiang Lin'er pursed her lips and asked softly, "Xiao Jiu, don't you blame me?"

Jiu Jiu pondered for a moment and whispered, "Shishu, you always pick on people, but at least you're a woman, and it's just playful scuffles like with me. I just get frustrated because I can't fight back.

Actually, Shishu, you're... pretty good to me."

Jiang Lin'er's eyes filled with emotion as she asked gently, "Then, can Shishu get one last bit of your good fortune?"

Jiu Jiu smiled bitterly, "Shishu, don't do this. What if I want to find a Dao companion later, and they mind..."

"Shishu has only this one wish now, Xiao Jiu..."

"Then, fine, ah!"

Jiu Jiu squeezed her eyes shut, straightened up, and gritted her teeth, "I'm drunk and asleep—I don't know anything!"

"Alrighty!"

Jiang Lin'er's eyes lit up, and she wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth as her mischievous hands slowly rose.

Beside them, Ling'e couldn't help but facepalm, pretending not to see.

Her senior uncle was completely at the mercy of her junior Shizu...

Just then!

"Cough!"

A light cough came from the side. Li Changshou arrived on a cloud and called out from afar, "Shizu, how is the tree spirit's injury?"

Jiang Lin'er paused, then rolled her eyes.

'That brat, ruining my fun!'

But with Li Changshou there, Jiang Lin'er's outstretched hands just patted Jiu Jiu's shoulder instead.

Playful or not, Jiang Lin'er couldn't let Jiu Jiu actually suffer in that way, especially not in front of Li Changshou.

Jiang Lin'er held Jiu Jiu's shoulder and said earnestly, "From now on, I'll be your Shiniang, so we can't keep roughhousing like this.

Come on, Xiao Jiu, say 'Shiniang' a few times for me."

Jiu Jiu: ...

If she weren't outmatched, she'd have pounced right then!

When Li Changshou flew over, Jiang Lin'er pulled out a pale green jade stone from her embrace. As she opened it, a three-inch-tall figure emerged, timidly looking around.

Ling'e's eyes lit up. "Is this the..."

"Shh!"

Jiang Lin'er made a hushing gesture. "It's just a tree spirit—don't overthink it.

Well, now that I'm getting along so well with Xiao Jiu's master, I can't keep her in Wangqing Ju anymore. Longevity, Ling'e, I'm entrusting you with an important task today!

Take good care of this little tree spirit and let her live out her remaining lifespan peacefully. According to the underworld records, she only has less than ten years left."

Li Changshou and Ling'e nodded solemnly in agreement.

Ling'e said firmly, "Shizu, don't worry—we won't let the... little tree spirit suffer any hardship!"

"Well," Jiang Lin'er laughed, "Tree spirits are different from us humans; they only have simple intelligence. Just place her on a tree..."

After giving detailed instructions, Jiang Lin'er handed the tree spirit over to Li Changshou and Ling'e, then left feeling relieved.

Perhaps sensing that Ling'e was the gentlest among them, the little tree spirit clung to Ling'e's finger, kneeling in her palm with her eyes gently closed, afraid of the unfamiliar surroundings.

Several faces crowded in, filling the tree spirit's view.

Xiong Lingli softly exclaimed, "Wow, cousin, how can someone be so tiny?"

"This is a spirit," Li Changshou said with a smile, "To be precise, she doesn't have a physical body; she's more like a human's Yuan Shen and soul."

Jiu Jiu curiously asked, "What's the tree spirit's connection to your Shizu? Is she like a pet?"

Li Changshou smiled awkwardly. "Not a pet. She's the reincarnated form of a Shizu's friend. We're just waiting for her lifespan to end, then sending her back to the cycle of reincarnation to be reborn as a human."

Jiu Jiu suddenly understood and poked the tree spirit's soft body with her finger.

The tree spirit let out a soft "Ah" and hugged Ling'e's finger even tighter.

Xiong Lingli, seeing this, had her eyes sparkle with affection. She put her large fists up to her mouth in an oversized shy pose...

"The tree spirit is so adorable!"

Li Changshou smiled calmly and gave them a few instructions on how to care for the tree spirit before drifting away without interfering further.

What Li Changshou hadn't anticipated was that...

Most tree spirits sustain themselves on morning dew and spiritual energy, but this new one in their home quickly learned to... drink heavily and eat heartily.

The next time Li Changshou saw the little tree spirit, she was dressed in a tiny fairy skirt, sitting on Xiong Lingli's shoulder.

With a small mouth wide open, she chomped away quite fiercely...

And so, spring turned to autumn, summer to winter.

Another seven years of mountain cultivation slipped away unnoticed.

The tribulation fever in Duxian Men was underway and expected to last another decade or so. Li Changshou took the opportunity to go out for a stroll and accidentally passed his Chengxian Jie.

The sect celebrated this, and the Zhangmen, who had been in seclusion recovering, ordered the Chuan Gong Elder to give Li Changshou the latter half of the Wuwei Jing.

Unfortunately, Li Changshou didn't dare look at it much now—if he did, the Zhan Dao realm would be useless.

His status officially shifted from a sect prodigy to a new immortal, blending in among the many ordinary disciples.

As the chaos in the Four Seas, the schemes of the West, and the rise of the Heavenly Court unfolded...

This disguise as an ordinary Duxian Men disciple grew increasingly vital and couldn't be discarded lightly.

Just as Li Changshou was calculating that the West was due for another scheme, something closely related to him was quietly unfolding.

In the Heavenly Court, at the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.