Chapter 267: Take Care, Old Buddies

"Where has my Senior Brother been all these years?"Inside the straw hut, Ling'e sat before a glazed mirror, quietly combing her long hair.

It was the second day since Li Changshou returned to the mountain. Yesterday, she had seen her Senior Brother's paper effigy leave and quickly return, then heard his voice. Her anxious heart finally settled considerably, but then a new curiosity began to pique her.

Twelve years! If he had been pursuing romantic endeavors, he might have had three or four children by now! However, if she were to ask him directly, he might think she was meddling too much, which could lead to him distancing himself from her…

Ling'e pursed her lips, pondering for a moment. The more she thought, the more apprehensive she became.No!She still had to probe her Senior Brother's intentions!Hmm, no matter what… she would treat her Senior Brother's children as her own!

Having made up her mind, Ling'e immediately began to busy herself. She carefully adorned herself in front of the mirror, yet tried to make it seem as if she hadn't put on any makeup. She dabbed blush on her cheeks, styled her hair into a cloud bun, and colored her lips crimson. In no time, she was dazzlingly beautiful, radiating an extraordinary spiritual charm.

Carrying the prepared dishes and wine, and humming a tune she had recently composed, Ling'e slowly floated towards the alchemy lab on a cloud. As she reached the boundary of the formation, the outer array around the lab automatically disengaged.

However, a voice transmission entered Ling'e's ear."Unless it's urgent, let's meet again in half a month. I am consolidating my realm."

Ling'e blinked, a little hesitant to speak, then quickly said, "Alright, Senior Brother, you must be busy. I just wanted to welcome you back!"

Li Changshou chuckled lightly and said, "Is it truly just to welcome me back?"

"Well…"Ling'e immediately gave a silly, light laugh. Unable to lie, she could only feign ignorance.

But Li Changshou then transmitted, "My recent absence was for important matters."

"Oh," Ling'e sighed in relief. It seemed her Senior Brother had seen through her thoughts and given her this answer."Important matters" meant he hadn't been involved in anything beyond those matters…Right, her Senior Brother's cautious nature wouldn't allow him to be easily caught in twelve years!

"Then, Senior Brother, I'll take these offerings to Master.""Go ahead," Li Changshou replied. The grand formation around the alchemy lab slowly reactivated.

With his spiritual sense, Li Changshou watched Ling'e's retreating figure, then tapped his fingers on the desk, continuing to ponder a significant issue…Taibai Jinxing, oh Taibai Jinxing.His pseudonym actually corresponded to that "old fellow" in the Heavenly Court!

At that moment, Li Changshou was truly speechless. The same phrase kept echoing in his mind…"This humble Daoist is the chief civil official of the Heavenly Court and deeply trusted by the Jade Emperor.""You were beaten by a monkey.""This humble Daoist comes from the Human Sect, is familiar with the Grandmaster, and even received profound alchemy methods from Lord Lao.""You were beaten by a monkey.""This humble Daoist…""You were beaten by a monkey."Li Changshou: …This humble Daoist has a coarse Human Sect expression, but he's not sure if he should voice it.

It took him about three days to adjust his mindset and accept the matter with a skeptical attitude."There's nothing to be particularly happy about."

Knowing that he might become the future Taibai Jinxing of the Heavenly Court didn't mean he could safely pass through the Cataclysm of Investiture of the Gods, much less that he could rest easy from then on…

First, it couldn't be ruled out that if something happened to him during the Cataclysm of Investiture of the Gods, the Sages might simply create another artifact person to fill the void.Second, becoming the Jade Emperor's chief civil official was not necessarily a good thing.

Everything had two sides.Just as the Dao Sect could flourish and then decline, the Heavenly Court would also be subject to this principle. Although the Heavenly Court hadn't fully risen yet, he still needed to make long-term considerations…

The Heavenly Court granting him merit and him working for the Heavenly Court, with neither owing the other afterwards — that was the ideal state Li Changshou sought.

Furthermore…There was a joke he'd heard in his previous life: A young man had his fortune told, and the fortune teller said he would live to eighty. He then lived recklessly, indulging himself, only to become a quadriplegic and still live to eighty.Although it was a joke, the principle was profound.

He wanted longevity, but more importantly, sound longevity. Safely avoiding the Cataclysm of Investiture of the Gods was paramount!

"Alas, it would be better to pretend I don't know this. It will surely affect my judgment on future matters."Li Changshou pondered this for a long time.

To be safe, he decided to take drastic measures against himself…He spent a few days devising a simple spell to temporarily seal his memories related to "Taibai Jinxing Li Chang Geng" using a restrictive enchantment!

Should he hear the words "Taibai Jinxing" in the future, these memories would automatically unseal.Moreover, he retained the knowledge that he had "sealed a small portion of his memories," allowing him to consciously recall them at any time…

After reaching the Golden Immortal realm, he could indeed begin to devise some simple spells.

Li Changshou took out a piece of cloth and began to outline his future cultivation plan.For the next hundred years, he would primarily focus his mind on his main body, quietly comprehending the Dao and experiencing its profound mysteries. Other matters would mostly involve observation and watching how events unfolded.

Although he had achieved Golden Immortal status, he still lacked the power to contend with the disciples of the Western Sages, or formidable figures like Daoist Wen Jing and Jin Chanzi.The gap remained significant.

Li Changshou maintained this self-awareness.

After the Golden Immortal realm, cultivation would become slow and tedious. With vast lifespans, one also needed long periods to fully comprehend one's own Great Dao…

Consequently, Li Changshou's perception of time changed once again.

In the blink of an eye, half a month quietly passed.

On the day he had agreed to meet Ling'e, Li Changshou specifically set aside half a day. He called Ling'e and Xiong Lingli to his straw hut by the lake to lecture Ling'e on the Dao.

Xiong Lingli was simply tagging along for the lesson.

Ling'e gazed at Li Changshou for a moment, her nose twitching slightly. She murmured,"Senior Brother, why do I feel like you're a bit different now?"

Li Changshou smiled and nodded, asking, "How am I different?"

"Hmm… I can't quite put my finger on it," Ling'e hummed softly, pursing her lips, and could only blink.

Li Changshou said gently, "Sit down. I'll explain how to achieve immortality."

Ling'e's delicate brows furrowed slightly. Her Senior Brother was indeed a little different…He had never been so gentle with her before!Something was amiss, definitely something was amiss!

However, Li Changshou's next sentence was, "Regarding your laxness in cultivation, I will naturally punish you by making you copy scriptures later. This time, it will start from a thousand copies and go up to ten thousand, so don't worry."

Upon hearing this, Ling'e giggled, her heart instantly settling.This was the true taste of her Senior Brother!

As Li Changshou now guided Ling'e on the path to immortality, he also gained different understandings himself. Reviewing old knowledge revealed new insights, and he experienced subtle realizations.

Witness him:He spoke of the wondrous methods of the Grand Pure One, expounding the true meaning of non-action.

Before long, two illusory lotus flowers condensed around Li Changshou. One floated into Ling'e's body, and the other into Xiong Lingli's, pulling both of them into a state of Dao comprehension.

This was a method of imparting the Dao, a "skill" only available after reaching the Golden Immortal realm.

Back then, when the Dao Ancestor lectured in Zixiao Palace, most of the powerful beings in the heavens and earth gathered together. As the Dao Ancestor spoke, lotus flowers accompanied his words, each lotus carrying a Great Dao.

The three lectures in Zixiao Palace were considered the greatest opportunities in the ancient primordial world.It was also from that time that the "dominant" position of the Nascent Soul path was established, with almost no physical cultivators left apart from the Wu Tribe.

The lotus flowers that appeared during Li Changshou's lecture naturally couldn't compare to those from the Dao Ancestor's lectures in Zixiao Palace.What the lotuses carried was merely his understanding of the Dao, which he "swallowed whole" and imparted to Ling'e and Xiong Lingli, allowing them to slowly comprehend it in the future.

This single lotus was enough to benefit Ling'e all the way to the True Immortal realm!

Seeing that Ling'e and Xiong Lingli had entered seclusion in his straw hut, Li Changshou set up two layers of immortal power barriers, corresponding to the strength of a Profound Immortal, then rose and left the hut.

He went to the spirit beast enclosure to check on the growth of the spirit beasts, then headed to the back mountain to visit the meritorious trees of Little Qiong Peak.

Alas…It could be said that without the successive generations of these spirit trees' contributions, there would be no Li Changshou today!

And to express his respect for them, Li Changshou decided to retire this batch of spirit trees early. He would uproot them all, burn them with Samadhi True Flames, and personally scatter their ashes.

There was no alternative; they simply knew too much.

Watching the ashes flutter across the sky, Li Changshou felt much relieved…Since his main body hadn't been out and about for a long time, and he now mostly focused on calculations and planning, he hadn't had many opportunities to personally scatter ashes.

However, in his upcoming plans, Li Changshou intended to moderately and systematically acquire some spirit treasures for self-protection. This would inevitably lead to his paper effigies engaging in battles with other Qi Refiners.

And scattering ashes was a necessary means to sever karmic ties during a fight.

It was highly unlikely for his main body to go treasure hunting; that would be prioritizing the trivial over the essential, putting the cart before the horse.

Moreover, with the alchemy methods he had received from Lord Lao, becoming a master alchemist was well within his grasp. Although truly precious spirit treasures couldn't be acquired with mere wealth, accumulating smaller gains could lead to a qualitative change.

Watching the dust and smoke, Li Changshou murmured,"Take care, old friends."

He also needed to acquire some higher-grade spirit trees to provide better quality tree sap.

After upgrading various escape techniques, he would attempt to improve the Paper Effigy divine ability.

While it was impossible to create Golden Immortal-level paper effigy avatars, he should be able to improve the quality of his paper effigies…

Furthermore, since his own immortal power was incomparable to before, with the support of his Golden Immortal-level immortal power, the overall strength of his paper effigies was expected to reach the late Heavenly Immortal realm.

With a large number, they would constitute a relatively formidable fighting force.Combined with the "Sowing Beans into Soldiers" divine ability, the number of bean soldiers that a single paper effigy could summon at once would also increase several times over.

Paper effigies confronting Golden Immortals, one person forming an army of a hundred thousand – none of this was a pipe dream anymore!

However, if the Jade Emperor truly sent his avatars to lead a hundred thousand bean soldiers to conquer various places…That would be a different price…

Li Changshou strolled through the mountains for another half an hour. Just as he was about to return to the alchemy lab, the bell of the Immortal Ascension Sect suddenly chimed, signaling that the Sect Master was summoning the peak masters to the Immortal Ascension Hall for a meeting.

Li Changshou soon saw his Master, bleary-eyed, rush out of his straw hut. Holding his Daoist robe and stroking his beard, he hastily flew on a cloud towards Potian Peak.

He wondered how long his Master had been asleep…

Perhaps in a year or two, when Senior Uncle Wan Jiangyu's reincarnated self returned, his Master might regain some vitality.

This summons of the peak masters was likely to discuss matters concerning the mountain-opening ceremony.

He would still need to caution his Master later, to prevent him from taking on another disciple on a whim.

His spiritual sense slowly extended within the sect, and Li Changshou overheard the whispers of several patrolling disciples…

"Our Immortal Ascension Sect now has three Golden Immortals. I wonder which of them has the stronger divine abilities?""Naturally, it's the Sect Master! How many years has he been a Golden Immortal?""Elder Qilin is from the ancient divine beast lineage…""That's not necessarily true. I always feel that Daoist Forgetful's divine abilities are the most formidable, and it's said that he broke through his realm again soon after becoming a Golden Immortal.""Stop talking about that! Let's just focus on patrolling and figure out how we're going to pass our immortal ascension tribulation!"

The whispers drifted away with the wind…Li Changshou smiled faintly, and his figure vanished without a trace.

A few days later, Li Changshou went to the Lingxiao Palace to pay respects to the Jade Emperor, then hurried to the Tongming Hall to examine the imperial decree that was about to take form.

In about half a year, the decree would successfully condense, granting the Dragon Race some low-ranking divine positions.

The candidates for the divine positions would naturally be provided by the Dragon Race.

However, how to bestow these positions was quite a headache for Li Changshou.

This process needed to highlight the majesty of the Heavenly Court, make the Dragon Race understand that Heavenly Court divine positions were hard-earned, and also seize the opportunity to gain favor with the Dragon Race…

After half a year of stable life in the mountains, besides comprehending the Great Dao and studying alchemy, Li Changshou had been contemplating this matter and finally drafted a plan.

Adhering to the principle that His Majesty the Jade Emperor should be involved in every detail, Li Changshou drafted a memorial for the Jade Emperor's review.

Only after receiving the Jade Emperor's approval did Li Changshou go to Tongming Hall to collect five thousand elite Heavenly Soldiers, who would later accompany him to issue the decree and proclaim the grace.

Subsequently, even before Li Changshou could proactively contact Ao Yi, Ao Yi had already sent an invitation for spiritual sense communication.

No sooner had the two established a connection through the divine statue than Ao Yi joyfully called out the long-awaited…"Big Brother Cult Master!"

"You seem so happy, is there good news?"

"Yes!" Ao Yi nodded eagerly, then hesitated, finally whispering, "Well, it's a bit hard to say."

"Do you and I still need to be so formal?"

"You're right. My brother's friends are Ao Yi's friends," Ao Yi said, his youthful face brimming with excitement. "My mother is considering having another child, so I might have another younger brother or sister!"

Li Changshou's eyes immediately lit up.Was Ao Bing about to be born?

Li Changshou cleared his throat and chuckled, "Congratulations, congratulations… Is it very troublesome for a Dragon King to have children?"

"Indeed," Ao Yi sighed. "It's mainly due to the influence of karmic hindrance. Although my mother has the intention and my father shares the idea, there's no telling when there will be any progress."

"Let's not worry about that for now. I have some good news to tell you first: the Heavenly Court's decree has solidified, and I have obtained it."

"Really?!"Ao Yi immediately broke into a wide grin. "Big Brother Cult Master, I'll have my father prepare right away! We must celebrate properly this time!"

"No rush. I've thought of some even better ideas that can help the Dragon Race stabilize their situation, deepen the relationship between the Dragon Race and the Heavenly Court, and also encourage His Majesty the Jade Emperor to bestow more divine positions in the future."

"Please enlighten me, Brother!"

And so, after much discussion in the hazy spiritual sense space where their two figures lingered, Ao Yi finally left with great excitement.

Meanwhile, at the border of Beiluzhou, a black panther, covered in wounds, ran through the forest for a while until he finally reached an unfamiliar lake. He transformed into human form and lay battered in the lake water, gasping for breath.

Strands of spiritual energy in the water swiftly penetrated his wounds, healing him.

Being a demon was truly too difficult.

After King Rhinoceros was killed, he had sought refuge with a group of minor demons, this time pretending to be mute.

However, to his surprise, just as he had let his guard down slightly, a few days ago, his entire group was annihilated…

What was happening to him?Did he owe karmic luck, lack merit, or had he committed all sorts of evil in his previous life?

He had cultivated for so many years since gaining sentience, yet he hadn't dared to accumulate any karmic sin. Why was Heaven treating him this way?

"Alas…"Lord Leopard sighed softly, his heart dead silent. He lamented, "Rather than endure this, it would be better for me to die here than to be tormented like this in the future."

No sooner had he spoken than small whirlpools appeared in the nearby lake. A rather pretty water demon surfaced, curiously sizing him up.

Afterward, she dragged him back to her cave dwelling, meticulously cared for him, and forcibly made him her husband…