Chapter 244: About to Ascend to Heaven

Your Majesty Yudi, what exactly did you come here to do?

Watching Yudi's incarnation ride the clouds back to Heaven, Li Changshou felt layers of doubt building in his heart.

Over the past two days, what had he been doing with Yudi? Strolling through streets, chatting about everything under the sun, wandering mountains, playing in waters, and galloping on horseback.

He, a newly promoted Yuanxian Realm disciple of Duxian Sect, the crafty strategist for the Longzu, the Nanhai Haishen, and a minor expert of Renjiao, had essentially been acting as a male companion for entertainment for two whole days?

This...

Could it be that before taking up his heavenly position, Tianting's ultimate test for him was whether he could accompany Yudi on outings and leisure activities?

These days, truly baffling behaviors were everywhere...

"Three years later."

Li Changshou murmured to himself, beginning to carefully analyze the matter.

This was the only valuable piece of information Yudi had given during this "inspection" visit.

The decree would be issued in three years, which was much earlier than he had anticipated.

Hadn't it been said that the decree would take one or two centuries to form? Had they opened some kind of Tiandao download acceleration for him and arranged it ahead of time?

Still, having Tianting formally intervene in Longzu affairs at this juncture was a good move.

The small plan he had prepared decades ago could now be put into action early...

After waiting for a while, the mosquito that had been hiding in the distance cautiously flew over and landed on Li Changshou's shoulder.

"My lord, that incarnation made of merit just now was..."

"Some matters and some people—you shouldn't ask about them. You'll know when it's time for you to know."

Li Changshou spoke gently, and Wen Jing Dao Ren immediately understood.

Wen Jing Dao Ren said directly, "It was I who spoke out of turn, my lord. The Xihai Dragon Palace is about to select thirty-six dragon princes and princesses to join the lineages of the Three Teachings, with half of them entering the six lineages of Renjiao.

This is a scheme by Xifangjiao, proposed by a fierce spirit named Jin Chan, who has a similar origin to me.

These dragon princes and princesses will be controlled by the West and will seize the opportunity to anger the Three Teachings, thereby isolating the Longzu completely."

"Mm," Li Changshou nodded slowly and said, "Thank you for the trouble."

"This is something I can do. I shall take my leave."

The blood mosquito transformed into a wisp of crimson mist and gradually dissipated.

Li Changshou added another burst of Sanmei True Flame, completely burning away the mist without leaving a trace.

Had Wen Jing Dao Ren really changed?

Of course not.

As the saying goes, it's easier to change rivers and mountains than a person's nature. Wen Jing Dao Ren was merely showing, in front of him, the behavior he wanted her to exhibit.

He would never trust such a vicious spirit; even after instilling some success principles in her, she hadn't turned into a benevolent being.

After checking around the Haishen Temple once more, this paper daoist quietly returned to the underground paper daoist courtyard and sat down beside the Yearning Treasure Tree.

At the base of Ling Mountain, in the mosquito cave;

Wen Jing Dao Ren, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, slowly opened her narrow phoenix eyes, a hint of confusion in them.

If her calculations were correct, that incarnation, almost entirely made of merit, should be the Dao Ancestor's attendant, Yudi Haotian, who is on the same level as the saints...

Yudi, Renjiao, Nanhai Haishen...

When she first encountered the Nanhai Haishen, the promises he made were now unfolding before her eyes.

In the great struggle of teachings, the chaos was hard to control, and Wen Jing Dao Ren was gradually losing sight of the current situation.

"Humph!"

This queen will follow you for a few years and see how things play out later.

Still, what he said before made some sense.

The pursuit of my true self...

'Me, all these years, what have I been pursuing?'

Wen Jing Dao Ren's eyes gradually became vacant and bewildered. She slowly shifted from sitting cross-legged to lying on her side, then curled up her body...

The cave was somewhat empty, with only the faint sound of dripping water echoing gently.

Fortunately, Li Changshou had only brought up a few minor issues back then. If he had raised the three ultimate questions—'Who am I, where do I come from, where am I going'—the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Yudi's incarnation left Anshui City, and the entire divine realm was filled with vitality, his heart feeling utterly at ease.

'Inspecting mortal affairs with my dear minister Changgeng is actually quite enjoyable.'

Yudi chuckled lightly and, instead of hurrying back to Tianting, rode the clouds toward the northeast, using his immortal sense to observe the lives of mortals below.

'Upon closer thought, every word from my dear minister Changgeng seems to hit the mark perfectly—subtle, without revealing too much, yet endlessly thought-provoking. Marvelous, truly marvelous.'

Where did Changgeng learn such ways of interacting with people?

If possible, he should have the immortals and gods of Tianting learn from it, so his role as Yudi wouldn't be so dull and tedious.

Traveling through the mortal world, Yudi suddenly had a realization and glimpsed a path of cultivation.

This path was still somewhat vague at the moment, not fully revealing itself, and Yudi could only sense it without grasping it firmly.

"The mortal world—could there be opportunities for me here?"

Yudi raised an eyebrow but didn't dwell on it, riding the clouds higher into the sky.

Yudi naturally understood that he was suppressed by the Tiandao and could never reach the saint realm; yet, with Tiandao's protection, no one below the saints could harm him.

Better to devote himself fully to managing the Three Realms rather than obsessing over cultivation.

Along the way, his figure was elusive, with clouds and mist swirling.

When Yudi's incarnation returned to Tianting, it was at the border of Dongsheng Shenzhou and Nanbuzhou, so he naturally headed to the East Heaven Gate.

This would also allow him to assess the heavenly generals guarding the East Heaven Gate.

As Yudi's incarnation approached the East Heaven Gate, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

How could the grand East Gate of Tianting have...

Someone lying outside it?

In front of the East Heaven Gate, a figure lay on the cloud path, seemingly sound asleep, while several guarding heavenly generals furrowed their brows, and the group of heavenly soldiers gritted their teeth in frustration.

Not far from the gate, several elders squatted behind a white cloud, each covering their faces, clearly too ashamed to be seen.

The young daoist lying there was at the Tianxian Realm, and among those elders hiding in the distance, one was a Jin Xian expert.

'What kind of situation is this?'

Yudi's incarnation frowned and moved forward to the East Heaven Gate.

The young Tianxian on the ground opened his eyes and glanced at Yudi's incarnation.

"Hua Big Brother, are you just getting back from outside?"

A heavenly general greeted him with a forced smile.

"Yes, I went out to handle some personal matters," Yudi's incarnation asked. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, don't even ask!"

One heavenly general sighed. "That guy outside is quite the lovesick fool. He fell for one of the fairies in Yaochi of Tianting and insisted on joining us.

We wouldn't let him in, so he just lay down here and started acting like a deadbeat!"

Yudi's incarnation laughed. "Which fairy did he fall for?"

A heavenly general leaned in and whispered, "It's the Lamp-Lighting Fairy who serves before Wangmu Niangniang. She's the only one who's come in and out of the East Heaven Gate in the past century."

Yudi nodded slightly and said, "Then why not just drive him away?"

"Well," the heavenly general said with a bitter smile, "Tongming Hall issued an order ten thousand years ago: if anyone wants to join Tianting as a soldier or general, we should take them to the Soldier Pavilion for review.

By the rules, we should let him in.

But his motives are impure, and his background is unclear, so we're not sure whether to send him away or let him through."

Yudi's incarnation thought for a moment and smiled. "This isn't hard to resolve. Just take him to the Soldier Pavilion for review first, let him join as a heavenly soldier or general, and then he'll have to follow Tianting's rules and regulations.

If he dares to offend the Yaochi fairies, we can just strip his cultivation with chaotic lightning and banish him to the mortal world, right?"

Hearing this, the one lying on the ground, Bian Zhuang, shuddered and opened his eyes to glare at Yudi's incarnation.

"You, how can you be so vicious?"

The heavenly generals, however, brightened up and stepped forward with smiles, gently asking Bian Zhuang if he wanted to join Tianting's ranks...

Yudi's incarnation shook his head slightly and drifted inside.

Those words were just to scare the person outside.

He was simply infatuated and came to join Tianting, refusing to leave the East Heaven Gate—his offense didn't warrant that. A bit of physical punishment would suffice.

Tianting might be short on soldiers and generals, but they didn't need someone like this, who was clearly a spoiled disciple from some Honghuang force.

That said...

Those heavenly generals didn't even check his identity or tokens before considering letting him in.

Tsk, deduct three hundred years of merit pay from each of them.

At Xiaoqiong Peak, in the underground chamber,

"Three years—neither long nor short."

Li Changshou muttered, rummaging through the pouch in his sleeve and pulling out a stack of silk scrolls.

Back when Xiaoqiong Peak was quite poor, most resources went into cultivation and contingencies, so they often used inexpensive animal hides or bamboo slips for writing.

But adhering to the principle of 'never skimp on the children' and 'a well-provided younger sister is less likely to be swayed,' Li Changshou had never let Ling'e cut corners.

Now that Xiaoqiong Peak had reached a modest 'Honghuang middle-class' level, they could afford silk scrolls and jade talismans.

After laying out one stack of silk scrolls, Li Changshou brought out another, repeating this several times and spreading them out on the ground in order...

Immediately, a densely packed mind map appeared before Li Changshou.

This was just a part of that small plan.

Using the 'Tianting decree and Haishen ascending to heaven' as an opportunity to stir things up was a strategy Li Changshou had set long ago, and he'd been waiting for Yudi's decree.

This was also a crucial step in the Longzu's heavenly ascension matter.

He needed to invite the Longzu to attend the ceremony, letting them see the benefits of ascending to Tianting—the power of Tiandao merit must be visibly apparent and impactful to the Longzu.

He also had to be careful that this wouldn't expose his true location, since the divine position couldn't be given to a paper daoist—it would definitely descend on his main body.

This was his first time becoming an official god, so he had no experience.

Beyond that, Li Changshou had even more to consider...

On the strategic level, he needed to make a grand display and assert his presence, but on the tactical level, he should play it safe, seeking stability and profit.

He had to use this opportunity to further promote Tianting's prestige and enhance its presence in Honghuang.

If he arranged everything well, he could also borrow momentum from various sides to further solidify the foundations of Nanhai Haishen.

As for whom to invite, it didn't need to be too many—just those with enough weight.

In his initial guest list, Dongmu Gong needed to represent Tianting.

There must also be a sufficient number of heavenly soldiers and generals to boost Tianting's might, giving off the impression that 'Tianting has unknowingly developed.'

For the Longzu side, Ao Yi had to be there, and the more Longzu experts Ao Yi could bring, the better, but they had to guard against any spies from Xifangjiao causing trouble.

For the Three Teachings, he could invite some Jinao Island cultivators, like Jin Guang Shengmu, who held a middling position in Jiejiao and had some connections with him—she was a good choice.

For Chan Jiao, inviting just Huanglong Zhenren would be enough, and it could also help ease relations between Huanglong Zhenren and the Longzu.

Experts like Zhao Daye, Yunxiao Xianzi, and his own Grand Mage shouldn't appear at such an occasion—the stature of Nanhai Haishen alone wasn't enough to warrant their presence.

Everything in moderation.

Li Changshou quickly sat on the ground, gazing at the silk scrolls before him. With a gentle flick of his finger, a brush dipped in ink floated in front of him and began writing and drawing.

"Let me go through this again—this can't have any mistakes..."

Li Changshou busied himself in the underground chamber for half a year, confirming that his plan had no major flaws, before fully implementing it.

First, he coordinated with Tianting on the decree's timing.

Li Changshou took the initiative to contact Dongmu Gong, submitting a memorial on the matter, and received a reply from Yudi telling him to proceed freely without constraints.

With about two years and five months left for the decree to fully form, Li Changshou, to be safe, postponed it by another half year as the official issuance date.

Why postpone it? What if the decree got stuck at 99 percent during downloading?

He'd encountered that often in his previous life!

Next, Li Changshou summoned Ao Yi and explained the details to him.

Once Nanhai Haishen obtained the official divine position, Ao Yi, as the Second Teacher and Great Protector, would automatically receive an auxiliary divine role, though only at the sixth tier, which would grant him pure Tiandao merit and slight Tiandao protection.

This should provide some stimulation to the Longzu.

Li Changshou repeatedly urged Ao Yi to be extremely cautious, not to leak any information in advance, to avoid giving Xifangjiao a chance to sabotage.

This would truly test Ao Yi's skill in telling convincing lies.

With the Longzu side secured, Li Changshou personally used a paper daoist to visit Huanglong Zhenren's cave at Erxian Mountain, Magu Cave, to invite him to attend the ceremony on that day.

Huanglong Zhenren readily agreed.

For Jin Guang Shengmu, Ao Yi could handle the invitation, so Li Changshou didn't need to go himself.

Unfortunately, Renjiao was short on people—even the named disciples of the saints were few—so he couldn't find anyone suitable to invite.

He couldn't just call their founding ancestor, Du'e Zhenren, could he? Nanhai Haishen didn't even know this great figure, so inviting him out of the blue would be pointless.

"With Huanglong Zhenren as the main guest, that should be sufficient."

Li Changshou sighed lightly and began the intensive preparations.

However, what Li Changshou didn't know was...

In Doushu Palace, the winds had grown noisy once again.