Chapter 300: Taking the Jade Emperor to Fish

The Sea God Temple in Anshui City was originally destroyed by Ox-Head and Horse-Face...

Ahem, after it was demolished by the Asura Clan, they took the opportunity to expand and renovate it.

Nowadays, the relationship between the Sea God and the Dragon Clan has evolved far beyond its early days. To express their gratitude to the Sea God, the Dragon Clan directly mobilized their own craftsmen, along with numerous Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals.

With the blessing of immortal and magical powers, they completed the new landmark of Anshui City—the New Sea God Temple—in just half a month.

The temple's scale has multiplied several times over, making it even more grand and solemn, with an added touch of opulence.

Following Li Changsheng's arrangements, the Dragon Clan redesigned the main hall into a three-section layout.

The front hall is the Sea God Hall, featuring statues of the Sea God, the Great Protector, and True Dragon Guardian Pillars, among other elements.

After worshiping the Sea God, visitors can circle around to the left or right to enter the more majestic middle hall, where a painting of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall hangs high, depicting the Three Realms Heavenly Emperor seated within, his face obscured.

After paying respects to the Heavenly Emperor's painting and continuing onward, one reaches the rear hall, which is simply arranged with only a Taiji Diagram painting hanging in the center.

—Li Changsheng had considered directly copying a Sage's portrait from Duxian Gate, but he feared it might offend the Sage, so he used the Taiji Diagram to represent the Human Teachings lineage instead.

Beyond the Taiji Diagram lies the true core of the Sea God Temple: the inner hall, adorned with Sage calligraphy and imbued with a trace of the Taiji Diagram's power.

At that moment, the white-clothed youth who had caught Li Changsheng's divine sense was standing alone in a corner, admiring the murals crafted by Dragon Clan masters.

The many worshipers visiting the temple subconsciously overlooked his presence, avoiding any gaze that might disturb him...

The temple's divine messengers and priests had all received Li Changsheng's instructions beforehand, so they would not interfere with any "immortals or extraordinary beings."

The white-clothed youth was clearly in high spirits; since arriving, a smile had never left his lips.

In the story system promoted by the Sea God faith over the past decade, the role of the "Heavenly Emperor" has been heavily emphasized. As a result, most worshipers at the Sea God Temple now make a point to pay respects to the Heavenly Emperor's image in the middle hall.

What's more, the content of these murals has been completely refreshed, changing from "how the Sea God did this or that" to "how the Heavenly Emperor commanded the Sea God to do this or that."

Of course, those spiced-up, entertaining unofficial tales like "The Unspoken Story of the Sea God and Widow Wang from West Street" could never be altered to something like "The Unspoken Story of the Heavenly Emperor Commanding the Sea God and Widow Wang from West Street."

Attention to detail is what makes it thoughtful.

As the white-clothed youth was deeply engrossed in the murals, a hurried voice transmission came from the rear hall.

"This humble god pays respects to Your Majesty!"

The white-clothed youth turned at the sound and saw the familiar, slender old immortal.

Li Changsheng hurried over with his dust whisk, ignoring the startled worshipers and the surprised divine messengers, and bowed deeply to the white-clothed youth.

The white-clothed youth waved his hand and transmitted: "In the presence of mortals, no need for such formalities."

Li Changsheng frowned slightly and transmitted back: "Your Majesty, why have you... come down in person?"

"Heavenly Court has no pressing matters, so I came down for a stroll," Yu Di chuckled. "Let's find a quieter place to talk."

Li Changsheng stepped aside with a gesture of invitation and led Yu Di to the rear hall.

Only then did Li Changsheng's immortal sense carefully scan the area and notice several white clouds hovering high in the sky, where Dongmu Duke waited obediently with a large contingent of soldiers.

They had likely been ordered by Yu Di not to follow.

Once seated in the main position of the rear hall, a divine messenger brought fragrant tea, and Li Changsheng personally served it, not daring to be discourteous.

Yu Di smiled and said: "My dear minister, your temple has been built even more impressively."

"The last time it was damaged by evil spirits, the Dragon Clan helped with the repairs," Li Changsheng replied with a smile, standing attentively beside him, his posture relaxed on the outside but alert within.

"Oh? What happened?"

"It was the Asura Clan..."

Li Changsheng proceeded to recount the incident of the Asura Clan's attack in detail, and Yu Di listened with a furrowed brow.

It was indeed cause for concern.

The demon clan, the Asura Clan, the Hongmeng Fierce Beasts...

The Western Teachings were revealing more and more of their peripheral forces. If one disregarded the strength of the Sages and the gap among their disciples, the Western Teachings' overall structure was already quite "vast."

And these peripheral forces were pawns that the Western Teachings could discard at will; even if they were wiped out, it wouldn't harm the core of the Western Teachings.

Yu Di sighed: "If the Western Teachings gain control of the dragons, my Heavenly Court might remain forever ineffective. Thankfully, I have you, Changsheng, to assist me."

Li Changsheng laughed: "Your Majesty, I haven't done much. It's simply that the Heavenly Court is destined to rise, and Your Majesty is fated to rule the Three Realms."

"Ha, ha, ha! It's all thanks to the guidance of the Taiqing Sage."

Yu Di laughed heartily for a moment, then winked subtly at Li Changsheng.

Li Changsheng couldn't help but frown and winked back a few times.

Yu Di nodded, then winked again...

Li Changsheng lowered his head in thought for a moment, feeling a sense of helplessness in his heart.

Yu Di had come down this time specifically to deal with Lu Ya, and he was quite confident about it—as if finding Lu Ya would allow him to dispatch him effortlessly.

This was...

Yu Di said: "Dear Minister Changsheng, why don't you take me on a patrol of the Four Seas?"

"Your Majesty, how can you risk yourself so lightly?"

The white-clothed Yu Di chuckled: "Why, do you think that during the ancient Witch-Demon War, the Demon Emperor of the Demon Court just hid in his palace?"

"Well," Li Changsheng pondered briefly, but couldn't help muttering inwardly.

Was the Heavenly Dao's "poisonous blessing" from that little leopard so powerful?

They had just set up an altar for Lu Ya and started worshiping him, and now Yu Di had personally appeared to go after him.

If things continued like this, would the Investiture of the Gods calamity end up completely rewritten?

"Your Majesty," Li Changsheng transmitted, "I dare to offer a few words of advice.

Your Majesty wishes to observe the sufferings of the living beings and understand the woes of the Three Realms—this stems from your compassionate heart, and as a minister of the Heavenly Court, I should not obstruct it.

But Your Majesty embodies the dignity of the Heavenly Court, the stability of the Three Realms, and the workings of the Heavenly Dao.

I implore you to prioritize your own safety and consider the greater interests of the Three Realms first."

"Excellent!"

The white-clothed Yu Di responded seriously, his eyes filled with approval.

Yu Di added: "In that case, let's not delay any further. Shall we set off now?"

Li Changsheng smiled and asked: "Your Majesty, would you prefer something more leisurely or more formal?"

"Seeking out those demon remnants is just one goal, and I also want to venture out for a bit to relieve some boredom," Yu Di said with a laugh. "How about we find a small boat and drift with the waves, enjoying the freedom and ease?"

Li Changsheng bowed in acceptance and asked Yu Di to wait a moment while he quickly arranged for the divine messengers to prepare.

After Li Changsheng accompanied Yu Di on a stroll around Anshui City, they rode the clouds to the seaside port, where a wooden ship over thirty zhang long was already waiting, with several veteran musicians and a few popular dancers from Anshui City on board...

Meanwhile, high in the sky on the clouds,

Dongmu Duke observed the scene below through his immortal sense and sighed.

"His Majesty trusts the Sea God the most now..."

"Clearly, I was the one who served first..."

"Sigh, His Majesty's side has already welcomed a new favorite..."

As the saying goes, only the new arrival laughs—who listens to the old one's cries?

Then, a voice transmission reached his ear: "Duke Dongmu, don't just stand there. His Majesty wants to enjoy a boat ride across the Four Seas for leisure. Quickly select a few highly skilled heavenly generals, have them change into plain clothes, and come to provide close protection. When else will you seize this chance for merit?"

Dongmu Duke perked up and silently praised:

"Sea God, you and I are brothers in arms!"

He promptly selected several heavenly generals, had them change into robes and short jackets, and they descended toward the sea.

They positioned themselves along the path of the wooden ship, and when the ship arrived, Dongmu Duke offered a li of apology and smoothly boarded to watch the dances and listen to the music—cough, to serve as Yu Di's personal guard.

Li Changsheng's Sea God divine power finally found its use today.

—To pilot the ship!

Back at his main body in Duxian Gate, his primordial spirit grasped the Sea God divine authority treasure, instantly granting the paper effigy the enhancement of Sea God power.

He summoned a surge of seawater to envelop the wooden ship, suspending it slightly above the ocean surface. As it sped along, it remained perfectly steady, with no one on board noticing any waves or wind.

In the ship's cabin, the mortal musicians played with full concentration, and the dancers moved gracefully, without a single misstep.

After all, everyone here had ties to Anshui City—who hadn't seen a few immortals before?

Besides, they were being paid extra!

Although the cabin was spacious for a mortal vessel, it wasn't particularly luxurious.

In the main cabin, there was only a low table. Yu Di sat in the place of honor, with Li Changsheng and Dongmu Duke on either side, while the dancers maintained a distance of about half a zhang.

Li Changsheng knew that Yu Di hadn't come just for a casual outing; he was getting impatient waiting for his strategies and had descended to personally seek out Lu Ya for some retribution.

Thus, the ship skimmed along the coast toward the Western Sea.

At the very least, they needed to go to the place where they had last encountered Lu Ya and make a show of it for His Majesty.

Along the way, Yu Di chatted with his two key ministers about several recently active heavenly generals, assigning them promotions.

As they spoke, the musicians and dancers could only sense that these immortals were chatting and laughing, but they couldn't hear the specifics.

Originally, the conversation among these three rulers and ministers was quite normal, but somehow, it shifted to the topic of the Queen Mother...

"Changsheng," Yu Di frowned slightly, "the Queen Mother has been planning to host a Peach Banquet at Jade Pond, and this time it's different from before—she wants to invite some immortals from the Three Teachings.

This is her way of showing goodwill, using the Peach Banquet to give our Heavenly Court more weight among the Three Teachings' immortals.

What do you think of this?"

"This matter..."

Li Changsheng pondered for a moment, thinking it through carefully.

He really wanted to say it wasn't appropriate.

Inviting immortals from the Three Teachings to the Heavenly Court for peaches would only benefit in two ways—increasing the Three Teachings' immortals' goodwill toward the Heavenly Court slightly and boosting the Heavenly Court's presence in the world a bit.

But the risks were substantial.

At this point, most Three Teachings immortals looked down on the Heavenly Court, seeing it merely as something established by the Daoist path, with the three Sages above it.

If the Heavenly Court focused too much on formalities and emphasized the Heavenly Emperor's status, it could easily provoke some of the Three Teachings' disciples.

Even a few sarcastic remarks could escalate things greatly.

What's more, there were figures like Ran Deng, who might want to see the Heavenly Court and the Daoist path fall out.

Li Changsheng said: "Your Majesty, I feel the timing isn't quite right yet."

"Oh?" Yu Di laughed. "Then, Changsheng, when do you think would be the right time for the Peach Banquet?"

That would naturally be when the peaches are ripe, the calamity is over, and the monkey is born...

Cough, just kidding—that's not related.

"After enfeoffing the Four Seas Dragon Clan and establishing the Heavenly Court's prestige," Li Changsheng said. "I believe that would be the mature opportunity."

Yu Di's eyes lit up at this, and he nodded in agreement.

Dongmu Duke, sitting nearby, listened quietly without intending to speak.

Li Changsheng then elaborated to Yu Di on the subsequent developments regarding the Dragon Clan. At this point, they had seized some initiative and didn't have to wait for the Western Teachings to make a move.

However, they couldn't rush it; steadily roping in the dragons step by step was the best approach.

The music flowed on, and the toasts continued.

Under the enhancement of Li Changsheng's Sea God divine power, the ship quickly passed the southwestern corner of the Five Divisions Continent and entered the Western Sea.

Yu Di, who had been chatting animatedly with Li Changsheng, suddenly raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Changsheng, about thirty-six thousand li to the northwest, it seems there are a few dragon princes enjoying themselves.

This is a perfect chance—I'll go take a look at how these dragon heirs conduct themselves."

Li Changsheng nodded with a smile, though he couldn't help muttering inwardly.

A gathering of dragon princes?

Why hadn't Ao Yi informed him about this?

But this wasn't the time to dwell on that. Li Changsheng immediately adjusted the ship's direction toward the location Yu Di mentioned.

Yu Di grew excited and said: "Come, come!

Later, I'll pose as one of your assistant gods, and you mustn't reveal my identity.

Since we're going to use the Dragon Clan in the future, I need to get a sense of their character first."

Li Changsheng explained: "Your Majesty, the Dragon Clan has existed since ancient times and carries heavy karma. Most of their people live in indulgence, especially the dragon princes, who are the worst offenders.

From what I know, Ao Yi is the most promising among them."

"Ao Yi is indeed a fine talent and can be of great use in the future," Yu Di nodded, then urged Li Changsheng to switch seats.

Li Changsheng sat down reluctantly as Yu Di concealed his aura, restrained his imperial majesty, and hid his merits and destiny.

Yu Di also had Dongmu Duke change his appearance to that of a middle-aged man, then continued chatting with Li Changsheng.

Li Changsheng thought:

This Majesty is basically just coming down for a joyride, hoping to run into Lu Ya along the way, right?

In this matter, he couldn't do much for the Dragon Clan—it all depended on how those dragon princes behaved.

If they encountered something unseemly, there was no need to cover for the Dragon Clan, as their alliance with the Heavenly Court was just a mutually beneficial cooperation anyway.

The ship sped onward, covering over thirty thousand li in no time.

From afar, they saw a massive sea shell, hundreds of zhang in diameter, floating on the water. It was ablaze with treasures and lights, with schools of sea nymphs dancing and music echoing for a hundred li.

Rows of immortal flood dragon soldiers lined the edges, facing the sea with solemn expressions.

On the east side of this sea shell vessel, there were over a dozen low tables laden with delicacies, surrounded by beautiful attendants. More than ten young and middle-aged figures were there, drinking and reveling, already quite unrestrained.

"Are we really going?"

Li Changsheng asked quietly.

"Yes," Yu Di said with a narrowed-eye smile, transmitting: "Dear Minister, quickly release your aura and see how they react."

This was basically "fishing for dragons," right?

Li Changsheng sighed inwardly but didn't hesitate. He released his aura and divine power fluctuations, sending a shock from afar.

Yet, this shock truly flushed out a big fish.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

At one of the tables beside the dragon princes, a handsome young man stood up, his eyes gleaming sharply as he locked onto Li Changsheng, his voice piercing through the miles.

"So the Sea God comes seeking me out—truly saving me a lot of effort."

This familiar aura...

This slightly arrogant voice...

Li Changsheng frowned slightly, recognizing him immediately.

The Hongmeng Fierce Beast, Six-Winged Golden Cicada.

"Sea God, are you willing to have another chat with me?"