In the earth cave, Duobao Daoist first blinked when he heard Ran Deng's words, then burst into silent laughter, repeatedly patting Li Changshou on the back.
"Ha ha ha, Changgeng, you've got quite the talent!
Quick, what will he say next?"
Li Changshou pondered for a moment, his paper avatar feeling a bit unsteady from the pats, and transmitted his thoughts:
"It's hard to predict exactly what this senior will say next, but there are likely two scenarios: either appealing to emotions or using threats and bribes.
It's probably the former. This deputy leader will likely discuss the relations among the three teachings and talk about how the three are like one family."
Duobao Daoist immediately tilted his head as if listening intently.
Above the valley, Ran Deng scanned the surroundings with his gaze, while the Liuli Lantern probed in all directions, but still found nothing.
After pausing for a while, Ran Deng saw the chaos in the valley and spoke again to deceive.
This time, his voice boomed like muffled thunder, making the ox demons dizzy, and those with cultivation below the Jin Xian realm couldn't even understand what he was saying.
Li Changshou could hear it clearly, and Ran Deng's tactics were indeed as he had expected.
Ran Deng said:
"Duobao, my nephew, if I, a humble Daoist, have offended you in the past, please bear with it. But heavenly secrets indicate that this treasure has a great connection with me, and it must not be lost today.
The three teachings are fundamentally one, and the Daoist school's destiny is flourishing.
I, as the deputy leader of Chan Jiao, have a deep bond with you, my nephew. Why must you make things difficult today?"
In the earth cave, Duobao Daoist turned to look at Li Changshou, his smile fading into a touch of bewilderment, and he asked with a laugh:
"Changgeng, do you have some divine ability to read people's hearts? You've guessed it right again!"
"Actually, this junior is just familiar with these kinds of tactics."
"Tactics?"
"Yes, just some habitual methods.
In this situation, the tactics this deputy leader can use are limited.
At this moment, he still isn't sure if we've left. If he had discovered our traces, he would have forced us to show ourselves first, then issued threats."
Li Changshou chuckled lightly and transmitted an explanation to Duobao Daoist.
Duobao Daoist nodded repeatedly as he listened, recalling the more than ten times he had dealt with Ran Deng in the past. His slightly plump face showed a hint of annoyance as he transmitted to Li Changshou:
"I've truly been tricked by him so many times! No wonder I always end up at a disadvantage!
That Ran Deng is incredibly scheming!
He's taken his tactics against me to this level and still has the nerve to call me his nephew!"
Hearing this, Li Changshou felt a bit awkward.
Duobao Daoist quickly thought of something and chuckled softly, saying:
"Changgeng, don't overthink it. A fine young talent like you is... as clever as can be, completely different from that Ran Deng Daoist.
Come on, let's set another trap. What do you think he'll say next?"
Li Changshou smiled and continued to think.
Those skilled in tactics are also skilled at unraveling them.
Li Changshou simply put himself in Ran Deng's position, listing out the possible tactics at this time and analyzing their likelihood of use.
Ran Deng tried to deceive with another three or five lines, but Li Changshou began to find it hard to predict Ran Deng's next move.
After all, tactics have their limits, and he was not Ran Deng, so their ways of thinking differed.
But Duobao Daoist was already laughing so hard he was bending over.
"Refreshing, so refreshing!
This is even more satisfying than stuffing that deputy leader into a sack and beating him!"
Li Changshou laughed at the remark, then furrowed his brow in thought, saying:
"Senior, hiding here like this won't resolve the matter.
Since he recognizes your alms bowl and is so interested in this treasure, he might go to the Jie Jiao territory next."
Duobao leaned in and whispered, "Changgeng, you're so good at planning. Just come up with an idea to send him away!"
Li Changshou: ...
Did he really think he was some all-knowing star of the Honghuang or the three teachings' Zhuge Liang, able to dismiss Ran Deng with a casual idea?
Li Changshou had clashed with Ran Deng before and knew how formidable this elder was.
Under the intertwining conditions of the 'Fuxi divine divination' and 'Duobao's encounter,' he had taken the Luobao copper coins first, so Ran Deng was truly after him.
Duobao Daoist understood this, as the only things they had obtained in the ox demon valley were those two 'copper coins of unknown power.'
But whether out of loyalty or dissatisfaction with Ran Deng, after his own treasure 'Purple Gold Bowl' was exposed to Ran Deng, Duobao had naturally shouldered the karma for Li Changshou.
Thus, Li Changshou couldn't just leave.
He was carefully planning, not wanting Jie Jiao to suffer from this and incur karma with them, nor wanting to expose himself and be more resented by Ran Deng.
The best outcome would be to use Jie Jiao's influence to block Ran Deng today. Otherwise, for safety, he would have to go back to Doushuai Palace and leave the Luobao copper coins with his master for safekeeping.
After weighing these in his mind, Li Changshou had a strategy.
He transmitted to Duobao Daoist:
"In my view, we should wait and see if this deputy leader can figure out what treasure he's after and whether he'll go to the Jie Jiao sacred ground.
If he doesn't even know what treasure he's seeking, let him cause a fuss as he pleases.
Senior, this junior dares to offer a small tactic."
Duobao Daoist shook his sleeve and said, "Heh, go on, tell me!"
Li Changshou transmitted his words, explaining how to deny everything outright, turn the tables, stick to facts, and demand evidence.
And so on, in that manner.
Duobao Daoist nodded repeatedly, his thick eyebrows and eyes full of 'goodness.'
After a while, Li Changshou relaxed a bit, his mind at ease.
It was because the three Jin Xian realm ox demons had flown to Ran Deng and reported their earlier inventory.
They found that nothing was missing in the valley, and the treasure vault hadn't lost anything—only some treasures were slightly out of place.
Ran Deng frowned slightly and let out a soft hum, a trace of Dao rhythm flowing out, causing the three Jin Xian realm ox demons to spit blood and fall from the air, severely injured.
Duobao...
Ran Deng slowly narrowed his eyes, a hint of hesitation and thought in them.
Soon, Ran Deng continued on... the path Li Changshou had predicted.
"Since you, my nephew, refuse to show yourself," Ran Deng said calmly, "then I shall go find other disciples of the saints and discuss today's matter properly!"
With that, Ran Deng rode his cloud toward the southeast and sped away, vanishing in an instant.
In the earth cave, Duobao Daoist gave Li Changshou a thumbs-up, then pulled him along to dig a tunnel and leave, secretly following Ran Deng.
As for Duobao Daoist's tunneling divine ability, it was quite remarkable.
This was neither an escape technique nor a universe shift; it was simply pushing the art of digging to its extreme.
The earth cave didn't exist in the world but was attached to it, much like using the Taiji Diagram to move outside the five elements and then return, achieving a similar effect.
This was probably the mastery of a tunneling expert.
Unmatched, indeed.
After Ran Deng, Duobao, and Li Changshou's Jin Xian realm paper avatar left,
In the ox demon valley, in that unassuming wooden hut,
A hand slowly emerged from the ground, flicked two ordinary copper coins from the southern continent into a child's cloth bag,
Then the hand was enveloped in flames, instantly turning to ashes and merging into the earth, leaving no trace.
"Where is he going?"
Shortly after leaving the ox demon valley, in the deep sea bottom, Duobao, who was tunneling, stared at the copper mirror in his hand and asked with some bewilderment.
Li Changshou said with a smile, "Judging by this direction, he's probably heading to Jin'ao Island."
"It seems so," Duobao frowned slightly and said, "There are two fellow disciples on Jin'ao Island today hosting a banquet for guests, formally becoming dao companions.
Uh, I think they invited me to be a witness.
I smelled a treasure about to emerge when I went out and completely forgot about it."
Li Changshou: ...
Duobao Daoist laughed, "If their happy occasion gets disrupted today, there's no helping it. I'll just give them more gifts later."
Li Changshou felt quite emotional about this.
It was likely that when Jie Jiao cultivators formed dao companion bonds, they all proactively invited this senior brother from Jie Jiao as the witness.
And the gifts would definitely not be lacking!
Along the way, they tunneled through the sea bottom, closely pursuing Ran Deng, and soon Jin'ao Island came into view.
Ran Deng still advanced with great momentum, as if someone had stolen his Liuli Lantern or seized his life-bound artifact.
But upon reaching Jin'ao Island, Ran Deng restrained most of his aura and called out loudly to the island: "Is there anyone here who is a disciple of the saints?
Please come out and meet this humble Daoist!"
The Jie Jiao immortals on the island were immediately alarmed. A lively hall full of people flew out hundreds of figures in an instant, with many more watching from afar.
"Isn't that the deputy leader of Chan Jiao, Ran Deng?"
"What brings him here? I don't recall inviting such a senior to the ceremony."
"That must be right; his arrival here is surely unusual!"
In the earth cave, Li Changshou and Duobao exchanged a glance.
The latter said, "You've predicted it accurately again, Changgeng. Wait here for a moment; I'll go change direction and bump into him!"
The former bowed his hands and said, "May you achieve victory, senior!"
"Wa ha ha ha!"
Duobao Daoist laughed heartily, his figure turned, and with a thought, a deep earth cave appeared before him.
Tunnels as he wished, traveling as the tunnels went!
This divine ability was something others couldn't cultivate; it was purely innate talent.
In no time, Duobao reached a spot a thousand li southeast of Jin'ao Island, changed into a new robe, tidied his hair, held his dust whisk, and was about to use his divine ability to appear in the sky.
But just then, before he could leap, his immortal sense caught two familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar auras on Jin'ao Island.
And Li Changshou's transmitted voice had already come through the earth cave to Duobao's ears—
"Senior, hold on! Look at the island!"
Without Li Changshou's reminder, Duobao Daoist had already noticed the anomaly on the island.
Clouds and mist suddenly rose on Jin'ao Island, and under the feet of the hundreds of airborne Jie Jiao immortals, white clouds appeared, subtly protecting them.
The mist slowly dispersed, and a graceful figure flew out from the grand hall, with the Jie Jiao immortals retreating to both sides and bowing continuously.
Ran Deng's aged face showed a trace of compassion as he focused on the approaching figure, his brows furrowing deeper.
The newcomer's exquisite beauty needed no description, her slender figure perfection itself.
If anything had to be said, it was her cascading black hair and elegant cloud-like chignon, her plain white dress and simple cloth shoes—all so fitting, exuding elegance, beauty, grace, and gentleness.
Li Changshou couldn't help but murmur, "Why is the immortal here?"
And Duobao Daoist, from a thousand li away, pondered and frowned, saying, "Why have my junior sisters Yunxiao and Qiongxiao come here when they rarely go out?"
"Changgeng," Duobao Daoist transmitted, "should I show myself now?"
"Don't rush, senior," Li Changshou replied via transmission. "Let Immortal Yunxiao handle it first. You can appear at the key moment; that should have a better effect."
Duobao Daoist nodded immediately, looking at Yunxiao's back and couldn't help but smile bitterly. He transmitted to Li Changshou:
"Why isn't Junior Brother Zhao here...
This Junior Sister Yunxiao can be quite stern when she lectures; I can't handle it..."
Li Changshou recalled the power of that "kneel" on Sanxian Island and couldn't help but smile.
Yunxiao Immortal arrived before the Jie Jiao immortals, about three to four hundred zhang from Ran Deng. She gave a slight dao salute and directly asked:
"Ran Deng, deputy leader, what brings you here so suddenly?"
Ran Deng replied coldly: "It's the good deeds of your senior brother!"
"Senior brother?"
Yunxiao said calmly: "Has Duobao senior brother offended you, senior?"
"Humph!" Ran Deng scolded, "He relied on his treasure-seeking divine ability to forcibly seize my destined treasure! If I had been half a step later, I might not have even seen his shadow!"
"Oh?"
Yunxiao frowned slightly upon hearing this.
If it were any other of the eight great disciples of Jie Jiao, they might have believed Ran Deng's righteous words and thought that Duobao senior brother had indeed snatched his opportunity, leading to this outburst from Ran Deng.
But Yunxiao pondered for a moment and calmly asked three questions.
"I don't know the details, but words shouldn't be spoken like that.
May I ask, deputy leader Ran Deng, was that treasure seized by Duobao senior brother from your hands?"
Ran Deng frowned slightly, and Yunxiao was already calculating with her slender fingers right in front of him.
Ran Deng said: "Though it didn't pass through my hands, that treasure is indeed connected to me!"
Yunxiao asked again: "In that case, was the treasure something you already knew the location of but hadn't retrieved?"
"Correct!"
Ran Deng said calmly, "I knew its location early on, but the time for it to emerge hadn't come, so I was waiting."
"Then why didn't you guard the place, deputy leader Ran Deng? Why wait until Duobao senior brother took it before coming here to demand justice?"
Yunxiao asked softly, her words unhurried and composed.
Before Ran Deng could respond, Yunxiao added lightly:
"Deputy leader Ran Deng, this is no longer ancient times. You can't just see a treasure and claim it's yours by saying it's fated, then snatch it.
If we're talking about fate, since the treasure has fallen into Duobao senior brother's hands, it's clearly more fated to him. Why must you be so aggressive?"
Ran Deng was about to retort, but in the earth cave, Li Changshou was already transmitting to Duobao Daoist:
"Go ahead, senior. Immortal Yunxiao is truly formidable. Now, just one word from you can settle it all!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Duobao Daoist laughed loudly, his figure flashed, appearing in the sky, and in an instant, he was above Jin'ao Island, landing in front of Yunxiao.
"Thank you, Junior Sister Yunxiao, for speaking up. I've been listening from the side.
Deputy leader Ran Deng, I have one question: if you can answer it, we'll discuss today's treasure matter!"
Ran Deng's eyes showed some wariness, but he still asked calmly: "What question?"
Duobao chuckled, "The treasure you mentioned, deputy leader—what exactly is it?"
Ran Deng said: "Naturally, it's the object fated to me!"
"Tch!"
A light laugh came from behind Yunxiao—it was Qiongxiao stepping forward.
Qiongxiao said with a smile: "Deputy leader Ran Deng, if you don't even know what it is, how do you know where it is?
You probably just happened to pass by and saw Duobao senior brother seeking treasure, then got greedy, right?
Oh dear, my senior brother's 'one touch and it falls' technique is nothing compared to your thick skin."
Ran Deng's face darkened like the bottom of a pot.
He nodded slowly, realizing today's matter couldn't proceed, but he showed no anger, saying only:
"Very well, I'll remember this.
Later, I'll report to my leader and come back to seek an explanation from all of you!"
With that, Ran Deng rode his cloud and turned to leave, uttering a final threat as he departed.
Duobao Daoist watched Ran Deng's retreating figure, his face beaming with joy, hands behind his back, feeling utterly content.
Once Ran Deng was far away, a mist enveloped Jin'ao Island, temporarily isolating it.
"Senior brother?"
Yunxiao's voice came from behind, and Duobao Daoist shuddered instinctively, his smile turning slightly bitter as he slowly turned his head.
As Yunxiao was about to speak, Duobao Daoist acted quickly, flicking his sleeve and waving his left hand. In an instant, the light and shadows shifted before Li Changshou in the earth cave.
In the blink of an universe shift, Li Changshou appeared at Duobao Daoist's side, his arm grabbed by Duobao.
Duobao Daoist laughed:
"Junior Sister Yunxiao, look! This time, your senior brother has, heh, really picked up a treasure!"
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