Chapter 275: Memorial to Lingxiao Hall Ritian Personally Leads the Expedition

Sea God of the Four Seas, Chang Geng.

To His Majesty Yu Di, with utmost respect.

This humble god has carried out Your Majesty's orders, observing sea affairs and patrolling the four seas, and has recently made some discoveries.

Now that the dragon clan has begun to return to loyalty, more and more of them are developing admiration for the Heavenly Court. However, internal troubles within the dragon clan remain unresolved, and external threats persist. Future matters should be handled with caution rather than haste, seeking gains through stability.

This humble god has a strategy to propose: Use the pretext of the Heavenly Court training its troops to invite the dragon clan to send forces and jointly suppress the demons of the four seas.

This matter benefits the Heavenly Court in three ways...

"Hmm?"

In the Heavenly Court, at the Sea God's residence, in the study.

Li Chang Shou, who was carefully drafting his memorial, suddenly paused his brush. He sensed that the grand array around Xiao Qiong Peak had been breached and quickly shifted his mind back to the paper daoist he had left there.

It was a patrol disciple riding a white crane, hovering in the air and surveying the areas around Xiao Qiong Peak, with a mountain gate token in hand.

Li Chang Shou's immortal sense swept over the immortal gate area. He blinked in surprise, then tilted his head slightly, a small mushroom-like question mark slowly forming on his forehead.

He understood the logic...

No, this time, he didn't quite understand it!

How did Niu Tou and Ma Mian end up at Du Xian Men?

Don't think that taking off their headgear would fool anyone—their round bellies hadn't shrunk, there was a clear color difference on their necks, and the unique war rhythms of the witch clan, which others could hardly imitate.

Had Niu Tou and Ma Mian discovered something?

The patrol disciple on the white crane called out, "Is Senior Brother Li Chang Shou on the mountain? Some friends have come to see you!"

It was indeed for him...

At that moment, the "Du Xian Men Yuanxian Realm disciple Li Chang Shou" was sitting on a white cloud returning from Nan Zan Bu Zhou to Dong Sheng Shen Zhou.

Venerable Wang Qing was controlling the cloud, while Ancestor Jiang Lin Er was holding the reincarnated girl of Master Uncle Wan Jiang Yu, listening to Ling E play the qin and make music, with Qin Xuan Ya and Jiu Jiu accompanying them.

Master Qi Yuan had his back to them, sitting in meditation and cultivation alongside Li Chang Shou...

Li Chang Shou pondered in his heart, realizing he couldn't reveal any flaws.

The patrol disciple circled the lake area and found several thatched huts protected by arrays, each with a wooden sign saying "away."

Fortunately, the cries of the spirit beasts drew the disciple's attention. He spotted the iron tower-like girl in the spirit beast enclosure, wrestling and playing with the spirit beasts.

The disciple shuddered slightly, his Adam's apple trembling, as he carefully flew over on his white crane.

In the spirit beast enclosure, Xiong Ling Li pinned down a two-zhang-tall black bear and looked at its plump bear paw, feeling tears welling up inside.

It could be slaughtered!

When her cousin and the others returned, they could steam the bear paws together!

This bear was so sturdy and cute that just steaming it seemed wasteful. There were other ways to...

"Um, excuse me..."

The patrol disciple asked softly and politely, "Senior, is Senior Brother Li Chang Shou on the mountain?"

"Ah? Why call me senior? I'm not that old!"

Xiong Ling Li noticed someone and turned her head, her small face full of curiosity.

The patrol disciple was clearly stunned and recalled the rumors in the sect, quickly saying, "Oh, it's Master Uncle Xiong. This disciple is here to find Senior Brother Li Chang Shou. There are two friends of his waiting at the mountain gate."

Xiong Ling Li was about to speak when Li Chang Shou's voice echoed in her heart.

Her cousin wasn't out? Truly, the Sea God was everywhere.

Xiong Ling Li coughed and said word for word, "My cousin says he's not home."

The patrol disciple and Xiong Ling Li faced each other, both blinking.

Xiong Ling Li raised her sturdy hand, which was even larger than the bear paw, and smacked her cherry-like mouth hard, stamping her foot in urgency.

"No, what I mean is, my cousin isn't home—he's out on business! According to what he said, he'll be back in a few hours at most. Anyway, just relay that to his friends."

"Understood, this disciple will handle it."

The patrol disciple didn't dare linger and hurriedly left on his white crane, while Xiong Ling Li awkwardly scratched her head.

Who knew that someone as clever as her could be so tongue-tied!

Li Chang Shou transmitted with a smile, "It's fine, just pretend nothing happened and carry on."

Xiong Ling Li obediently agreed.

Now that her cultivation had improved, the margin for error was much higher, and Li Chang Shou wouldn't scold her over such minor details.

Using his immortal sense to track, Li Chang Shou watched the patrol disciple return to the mountain gate to report, then overheard Niu Tou and Ma Mian muttering and discussing...

The two seemed unsure of their purpose; they just said they were wandering around Du Xian Men and would come back to look for Li Chang Shou after half a day.

The gatekeeper elders also noticed that these two witch clan experts were extraordinary and politely agreed, promptly reporting the matter to the Bai Fan Hall.

Naturally, they didn't recognize them as the underworld's soul-reaping messengers.

Without their headgear, Niu Tou and Ma Mian just looked like ordinary witch clan youths.

As the ancient poem goes: The witch clan's strength is their main asset, humanity adds some intellect; without a fight, how can one tell a witch from the rest?

Li Chang Shou couldn't figure out why these two witch clan experts had come directly to Du Xian Men to find him.

Could it be that they were hiding their true intentions and had seen through his arrangements?

That shouldn't be...

Sigh, facing the divine envoys of Bear Village and the witch clan of the underworld, he felt powerless despite his strength.

Since he didn't understand, Li Chang Shou needed to find out; these were two significant figures whose combat power exceeded that of ordinary golden immortals like Ji Wu You by several times. Their sudden appearance near his core secrets demanded serious attention!

For now, Li Chang Shou observed carefully.

Niu Tou and Ma Mian roamed within several thousand li of Du Xian Men for two hours, knocking out and stuffing into sack-like storage treasures any spirit beasts that looked edible.

It seemed they were just hunting...

But judging from their path, they had thoroughly scouted the prime locations for attacking Du Xian Men!

This only deepened Li Chang Shou's confusion.

Coincidentally, after two hours of hunting, Niu Tou and Ma Mian returned to a dense forest near the Du Xian Men gate and sat on a tree stump.

Beneath them, about ten zhang down in the tree roots, Li Chang Shou's coachman paper daoist was silently maintaining the wood escape technique.

In other words, Li Chang Shou's true body was hidden right there.

—Earlier, his true body had been outside the mountain gate, conducting research on breaking through to half-step golden immortal with the paper daoist, while the one substituting his identity in the mountain had been temporarily called away by Ancestor Jiang Lin Er.

He hadn't completely given up on the research and still had a few not-so-bold ideas to test one by one.

So, his true body had stayed hidden there, ready to continue the spirit explosion experiments when things quieted down.

Niu Tou and Ma Mian sat on the tree stump, first counting one, two, three, four, five, tallying their harvested ingredients.

The headgear-less Niu Tou muttered, "The Sea God is so generous! All this meat will keep us fed for a while!"

"The Sea God is top-notch—speaks nicely and is polite to us, without any of that Heavenly Court minister's airs."

"Yeah, he's way better than those useless great demons from the demon court back in the day, who looked down their noses at everyone!"

Ma Mian sighed lightly, and without his headgear, he actually looked somewhat refined.

Back in the witch clan tribe, Ma Mian had been quite the handsome young man in the surrounding villages, with many witch women wanting to knock him out and carry him back to their tents...

Ma Mian sighed, "If the Sea God could go to the underworld and bring the Blood Sea under divine rule, that would be great."

"The Blood Sea isn't a sea—it's a filthy spring!"

Niu Tou grumbled discontentedly, "To rule the Blood Sea, you need a Filth God, not a Sea God!"

"Then how about Sea Filth God, or Filth Sea God?"

Li Chang Shou: ...

Why bring insults into the conversation?

He was now a fairly experienced pure yang daoist—how had he gotten mixed up with something filthy?

Then, Li Chang Shou heard an important piece of information.

Niu Tou sighed, "Stop daydreaming. No one knows if Old Ancestor Ming He is really dead. He might pop up and play dead anytime—let's not drag the Sea God into that mess."

Ma Mian agreed, and the two brothers continued muttering.

Soon, they got to the main purpose of their trip.

"Ma, what should we say later?

We can't just come out and say we want to use the underworld's conveniences to trade for some of his seasonings, right?"

"Exactly, Niu—the key is the secret recipe for the seasonings."

"Asking for the recipe might be too shameless. That should be Li Chang Shou's closely guarded secret."

"True..."

Ma Mian pondered for a moment, then instinctively reached up to touch his mane, only to realize he wasn't wearing his headgear.

Niu Tou suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Over there on that cloud to the south!

Look, is that Little Brother Chang Shou? Has he come back?"

"Let's go! Remember to put on the headgear and make cow and horse sounds. Today, we'll thicken our skins and get some of that seasoning no matter what!"

"If that doesn't work, we can give him some of our underworld specialties!"

With that, Niu Tou and Ma Mian put on their headgear, resuming their soul-reaping messenger identities. One let out a "moo," the other a "neigh-neigh," trying to get into character.

A blood-red cloud formed under their feet, slowly lifting them into the air—though their flying speed was a bit... lackluster.

Underground, on the cloud, in the Heavenly Court, and in An Shui City;

Li Chang Shou's true body and paper daoist were both holding their foreheads.

Who would have thought that Niu Tou and Ma Mian's visit to Du Xian Men was all for... barbecue seasonings.

Li Chang Shou's paper daoist on Xiao Qiong Peak immediately got busy in secret;

He couldn't let Niu Tou and Ma Mian stay at Du Xian Men for long—better to send them off quickly for peace of mind.

Two hours later, in front of the Sea God's residence in the Heavenly Court;

Li Chang Shou's Sea God paper daoist flew out on a cloud, looking relaxed and in high spirits.

Two teams of heavenly soldiers and generals moved to escort him, but Li Chang Shou laughed and said, "Why need guards for traveling in the Heavenly Court? Everyone, take a rest. I'm going to Ling Xiao Treasure Hall to seek an audience with His Majesty."

The heavenly soldiers and generals quickly bowed and agreed, watching as this elderly immortal rode his cloud toward the center of the Heavenly Court.

Li Chang Shou reflected on the earlier events in his heart, still feeling a mix of amusement and disbelief.

Niu Tou and Ma Mian had indeed come for the seasonings.

The two soul-reaping messengers suddenly blocked the path of the group escorting Master Uncle back, startling Qin Xuan Ya, Ling E, and the rescued girl. They thought it was a demon clan attack.

Fortunately, the worldly-wise Jiang Lin Er quickly stepped forward to bow and identified Niu Tou and Ma Mian as generals from the underworld's yin division, asking why they had come to Du Xian Men.

Niu Tou and Ma Mian immediately became hesitant, feeling awkward saying it in front of so many people, and just gazed at Li Chang Shou with deep emotion.

Ling E caught that look and exclaimed in her heart, "Could it be...!"

She quickly covered her eyes, impressed by her own imagination.

After the wall-slamming incident last time, Ling E had figured it out—her senior brother liked women, but only those who were steady and wouldn't bring him too much karma.

Since Niu Tou and Ma Mian were hemming and hawing, Li Chang Shou took the initiative, smiling and saying, "Have the two brothers been well?"

Niu Tou and Ma Mian nodded vigorously.

Li Chang Shou turned to Venerable Wang Qing and said, "Master Uncle, these are my old acquaintances. Please take everyone back to the mountain first. I'll have a quick word with them and follow soon."

"Very well," Venerable Wang Qing didn't ask more and led the group toward the mountain gate on the cloud.

The immortal ladies, aspiring immortals, great immortals, and mortal girl on the cloud all looked at Li Chang Shou with varying degrees of curiosity.

Only Qi Yuan, the old daoist, was focused on his meditation and cultivation, oblivious to everything...

When Li Chang Shou personally handed over two jars of seasoning to Niu Tou and Ma Mian, adding, "If you run out, just mention it to the Sea God. I'll make more and leave it with him."

At that moment, the grateful looks in Niu Tou and Ma Mian's eyes...

They almost dragged Li Chang Shou into a "cow-horse-human" sworn brotherhood at the mountain gate!

As the two left, it was quite entertaining—one shouted for Li Chang Shou to visit the underworld when he had time, the other wished him early immortality and no name in the Book of Life and Death.

Li Chang Shou could only smile and wave, urging them to hurry on their way.

Back at the mountain, he inevitably faced a thorough interrogation from the Xiao Qiong Peak foodie trio about how he had become brothers with these underworld experts.

Fortunately, Li Chang Shou's two visits to the underworld—one with Jiang Lin Er and one with Jiu Jiu—made it easy to explain, and he passed without issue.

Then, on Xiao Qiong Peak, the group discussed the undecided major matter from the trip—who would take Master Uncle Wan Jiang Yu's reincarnated body as a disciple.

Jiang Lin Er had considered taking another disciple but felt her own cultivation wasn't high enough; Venerable Wang Qing also volunteered to take a tenth disciple.

The couple discussed it, mainly because Jiang Lin Er was hesitant...

Li Chang Shou didn't get involved much, quietly meditating in the corner and handling some other minor tasks.

The minor tasks included:

Drafting the memorial, contacting the dragon clan, confirming their intentions, and having them scout the deep-sea demon gathering spots first...

And so on.

Li Chang Shou finished the memorial while Jiang Lin Er was still hesitating;

He continued his work, having the paper daoist stationed in the Heavenly Court fly on a cloud toward Ling Xiao Treasure Hall.

The memorial's content was essentially requesting Yu Di to send troops, join forces with the dragon clan, and eliminate the major deep-sea demons within the Five Parts Continent, trimming the branches of Western Teachings.

This step was extraordinarily significant.

It would deepen ties between the Heavenly Court and the dragon clan, making the dragon clan feel even closer to the Heavenly Court;

Li Chang Shou had already discussed terms with the dragon clan in advance: The Heavenly Court would appoint a general as commander, with dragon clan forces supporting the heavenly troops, initially establishing a superior-subordinate relationship.

Additionally, it would weaken the peripheral forces of Western Teachings, launch a proactive counterattack, and end the long-standing passive defense...

Truly, its significance was profound.

Entering Ling Xiao Treasure Hall, Li Chang Shou presented the memorial and stood alongside Dong Mu Gong.

Yu Di, dressed in white brocade robes, sat on the high throne. After reading the memorial, his eyes sparkled, and he slapped the desk, laughing heartily: "Ah, Minister Chang Geng, what a brilliant plan! Let's do this immediately! How many troops do you need? Fifty thousand should suffice!"

"Your Majesty," Li Chang Shou quickly replied, "The Heavenly Court's foundation is not yet solid. Deploying fifty thousand troops at once would make losses hard to control. Better to use ten thousand heavenly soldiers as the standard—select the elite, combine with the bean-scattering soldier-summoning technique, and support with battle formations and treasure armor. That would equal the strength of several hundred thousand!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Yu Di clapped his hands and laughed, "Minister Chang Geng, what I admire most about you is how thoroughly you consider everything. Dong Mu Gong, fetch the tiger tally to mobilize troops for Chang Geng!"

Dong Mu Gong immediately accepted the order: "This minister obeys!"

"Your Majesty," Li Chang Shou added, "I can offer strategies and serve as a military advisor, but I cannot be the commander. Please appoint a trusted and capable minister to lead the expedition. This is the Heavenly Court's first campaign to establish its prestige, so the commander must be chosen with great care."

"How thoughtful of you, Minister!"

Yu Di pondered for a moment, and Dong Mu Gong straightened up, chest out but not daring to look up, trying to make his presence known.

Li Chang Shou was actually hinting at this...

He didn't want all the credit; he would just handle the planning and mediation, leaving the fighting to Dong Mu Gong.

However, to the surprise of both Li Chang Shou and Dong Mu Gong...

"When it comes to a commanding general, I do have a suitable candidate," Yu Di winked at Li Chang Shou and said with a smile, "Dong Mu Gong?"

Dong Mu Gong suppressed his excitement and stepped forward: "This old minister is here!"

"You go summon General Jin Tung Hun Tian Hua Ri Tian. He will be the commander this time."

Uh...

Li Chang Shou chuckled inwardly—turns out Yu Di wanted to lead in person.

It was understandable for him to be eager.

But poor Dong Mu Gong might be worrying himself sick again.