Chapter 332: Arrangement From Cultivation to Ascending to Heaven

In the thatched hut, Ling'e pouted and carefully wiped the water stains from her cheeks with a handkerchief.

Li Changshou gave an apologetic smile, then furrowed his brow tightly and crossed his arms, using his immortal sense to observe the young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes kneeling outside the mountain gate. In his heart, the three questions of longevity arose:

What on earth is going on?

This shouldn't be happening.

How is this even possible?

This young man, Li Jing, was the commander of Chen Tang Guan, the husband of Yin furen, and the father of the three Zha brothers. He was a hundred percent destined to... well, that particular fate might not be certain.

Could it be that the Feng Shen Da Jie is about to begin in a few decades?

That clearly doesn't make sense!

In Nan Zhan Bu Continent, there's no sign yet of the "Xuan Niao giving birth to Shang." From a mortal perspective, the main target of Feng Shen, the Shang kingdom, doesn't even exist as a shadow.

Li Changshou had investigated this many times. The secular world of Nan Zhan Bu Continent at this time was equivalent to the post-Xia dynasty era of warring states and fragmented rule.

Due to the vast expanse of Nan Zhan Bu Continent, development levels varied greatly across regions. Some areas still followed tribal customs where men and women "settled matters by knocking each other out," with uneven progress overall.

Moreover, the sequence of events in Feng Shen Da Jie should be:

First, the Jade Emperor feels offended by the disciples of the Three Teachings and goes to complain to the Dao Ancestor.

Second, the Dao Ancestor summons the Three Pure Ones and makes the Three Teachings sign the Feng Shen Bang, using their disciples to fill the divine positions in Heaven.

Third, after signing the Feng Shen Bang, some time passes before Niangniang Nvwa is offended by Emperor Xin of Shang's frivolous poem and decides to punish him, thereby triggering the great calamity.

At that point, the saints realize the calamity is tied to the change of mortal kings in Nan Zhan Bu Continent. The Chan Jiao adopts a strategy of "taking disciples to ward off disasters," while the Jie Jiao opts for "sealing the islands and staying out."

Li Changshou had sorted through this logic hundreds of times over the years, and the chances of any error were minuscule.

Just completing those steps alone would take more than a few centuries!

Li Changshou gazed at the young man kneeling before the mountain gate and fell into deep contemplation.

To play it safe, he wouldn't jump to conclusions yet. The information he had now was far from sufficient.

How to get more information? That was straightforward...

Li Changshou pinched his fingers to calculate, carefully analyzing the memories from his past life.

After stepping into the Golden Immortal realm, many details from his previous life that he had forgotten could be "recalled" through divination methods.

In fact, even for someone like his master, who had lived for an unknown number of years as an old pure yang immortal, recalling distant memories involved using divination.

Soon, Li Changshou extracted several pieces of information about Li Jing from Chen Tang Guan in the context of Feng Shen Da Jie from his memories.

Li Jing, the commander of Chen Tang Guan, was a key general of the great Shang.

He was loyal to his king and patriotic—or at least, he later defected under pressure—and upright, though he occasionally showed cowardice.

He claimed to have studied Daoist arts for many years but failed to achieve success in cultivation, so he returned to the secular world as a general. This contradicted his claim of his family having guarded Chen Tang Guan for generations.

After Feng Shen Da Jie, his physical body was listed on the Feng Shen Bang, and he became the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Tianwang of Heaven's military in later eras. His eldest and second sons, Jin Zha and Mu Zha, followed their masters, Manjushri Guangfa Tianzun and Cihang Dao Ren, respectively, and joined the Western Teachings. His third son, Nezha, served under the Jade Emperor alongside Li Tianwang.

Li Changshou pondered for a moment and continued thinking.

The most famous story about Li Jing was his rift with his third son, Nezha.

As for Nezha, Li Changshou was all too familiar with him—he was one of the most notorious troublemakers in mythological tales.

From Li Jing's perspective, Nezha killed the Dragon Prince, bringing disaster to Chen Tang Guan, and accidentally shot dead the child servant of Shi Ji Niangniang, which warranted punishment.

At this thought, Li Changshou's mind wandered a bit...

As an ordinary human, Li Jing probably found it hard to feel any "paternal connection" to the spirit pearl reincarnation born after his wife's three-and-a-half-year pregnancy.

If Li Changshou were to judge, Li Jing was a typical paternal authoritarian, negligent in educating his children yet unwilling to take responsibility for his failures.

The biggest instigator behind the tragedy of Nezha flaying his bones and carving his flesh was actually Taiyi Zhenren, who spoiled his disciple excessively and gave him all sorts of treasures.

After Nezha forged his Lotus Treasure Body, his pursuit and killing of Li Jing seemed like a rebellion against paternal authority, but it went too far.

Here's the key point...

Li Jing was being chased by Nezha when Nezha accidentally stabbed Ran Deng Dao Ren with a spear, leading Ran Deng to help Li Jing.

Ran Deng granted him the exquisite pagoda, with which Li Jing subdued Nezha. Afterward, Li Jing honored Ran Deng as his teacher.

Before that, Li Jing had always claimed to be a disciple of Du E Zhenren from Kunlun Mountain.

Considering how those secular generals loved to exaggerate—turning two hundred thousand troops into eight hundred thousand soldiers—perhaps...

Li Jing's so-called "disciple of Du E Zhenren" was just a reference to entering the Du Xian Men?

He had cultivated in Du Xian Men for a time, realized immortality was out of reach, and returned to the secular world to seize opportunities in Feng Shen Da Jie for eternal life?

Li Changshou's eyes lit up!

In that instant, he felt as if he had pierced through the fog surrounding the mythological truth!

But a more practical question followed...

What could he scheme with Li Jing?

Li Changshou transmitted his voice to Li Jing outside the mountain gate:

"For now, wait patiently. I will arrange for you to enter and begin your cultivation shortly. I hope you will train diligently and not forget your initial resolve today."

Outside the mountain gate, the young Li Jing kowtowed repeatedly toward it.

Li Changshou didn't pay further attention. He sat there, lost in his own thoughts.

Ling'e, still feeling aggrieved, wiped her face clean and saw her senior brother shaking his head and nodding to himself. Not daring to interrupt, she quietly slipped away to bathe and freshen up.

Before long, Li Changshou had sorted out his ideas.

A pawn delivered to his door—might as well use it!

He was already at odds with Ran Deng, so he couldn't give Ran Deng another chance to act, but he still needed to find a way to get that exquisite golden pagoda.

Li Jing was a key general in the anti-Shang forces, and his three sons were outstanding talents, especially Nezha with his infinite potential from the Lotus Treasure Body, which was also connected to the Chan Jiao's Twelve Golden Immortals, including Taiyi Zhenren.

Li Jing's flaw was obvious: he didn't care enough about his sons and didn't know how to educate them, hiding his shortcomings behind a facade of loyalty and patriotism.

If he could get Li Jing to cultivate in Du Xian Men later, Li Changshou could subtly intervene, letting the "family atmosphere of Du Xian Men" influence Li Jing, making him more responsible and fostering a sense of family duty.

In that moment, Li Changshou thought of how to train Li Jing, how to quickly elevate him to a powerful Tianxian, and how to provide him with extra fatherly care.

He even planned the clever strategies he would prepare for Li Jing when he descended the mountain.

He would call it...

"Fetal Education"!

The arrival of this big fish in Du Xian Men drew Li Changshou's attention back from his waning interest in sect affairs.

Properly training Li Jing would play a significant role in Feng Shen Da Jie—

During the calamity, Li Changshou could gain more opportunities to interfere;

Afterward, through the karmic ties from Du Xian Men, he could build a good relationship with the future Heavenly King of the military, consolidating his position as a powerful minister and making it easier to earn merits.

In Heaven, there was no such thing as merits shaking the ruler or mutual suspicion between sovereign and minister.

With the Heavenly Dao suppressing everything and the Dao Ancestor backing it up, who could rebel against the Jade Emperor?

Even after discovering Li Jing, Li Changshou was already considering...

Once he condensed his merits into golden form, he could cultivate a set of "reliable subordinates" for Heaven to serve as the Jade Emperor's right-hand arms, allowing himself to semi-retire and enjoy immortal life.

Arranging things was an art that had risen in the Hong Huang era in modern times.

It sounded much more elegant than scheming.

However, Li Changshou soon realized that getting Li Jing into the mountain gate would involve quite a few hardships.

Li Jing was first targeted and mocked by other young men seeking to become disciples.

Then, he ran out of the rations he had brought, went hungry for days, and nearly fainted.

Fortunately, Li Changshou noticed in time and sent an immortal crane with a bottle of satiating pills, solving two problems at once.

The trouble Li Changshou faced was finding a master for Li Jing.

There was no way he could take him as a disciple himself.

With Li Jing's massive karmic entanglements, accepting him would only bring unnecessary headaches. If he had to take him just to arrange things, Li Changshou would rather give up this "key to the great calamity."

After thinking it over, he felt that Elder Wan Linjun was the best choice.

Elder Wan Linjun was outwardly cold but inwardly warm. He could initially scare Li Jing half to death, but as his kind side gradually showed, it would make Li Jing feel...

That true human emotions and love existed in the world!

Fatherly love like a mountain, great love without boundaries!

However, Elder Wan Linjun was currently in seclusion, preparing to face his Golden Immortal tribulation.

Li Changshou pondered for a moment and had to rule out that option.

After more consideration, for someone like Li Jing, who would become a famous figure in the Three Realms, it really should be Du E Zhenren who came in person to take him as a nominal disciple.

That way, when Li Jing rose to an immortal position in Heaven, his background and resume would look impressive.

After hesitating for a few days, as the mountain gate ceremony approached,

Li Changshou suddenly felt a slight warning in his heart...

If he couldn't handle the matter of Li Jing's master, it was likely that on the day of the opening ceremony, a decree from the saints would force him to accept Li Jing as a disciple!

The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed!

What should he do?

How could he convince unfamiliar people to take on a disciple with mediocre qualifications and give him one hundred percent fatherly love?

Among those he knew, there wasn't a suitable candidate...

Should he ask his master for help and invite Du E Zhenren to Du Xian Men?

What reason could he use?

Was he going to say that his divination skills had suddenly advanced to rival the saints, allowing him to foresee Li Jing as a key figure in the future calamity?

That would probably get him beaten by his master and dragged by the saints to Zixiao Palace for his primordial spirit to be dissected.

If all else failed, he could let Uncle Jiuwu step in!

But Uncle Jiuwu couldn't provide much of a "fatherly authority" image and was always being scolded by Uncle Shi Shi...

In the vast Du Xian Men, was there really no suitable "father figure" for Li Jing?

"Ah-choo..."

A faint sneeze came from outside the thatched hut. Li Changshou looked up and saw his master riding a cloud toward the back mountain, probably to check on Uncle Jiu Yushi's cultivation progress.

His own master...

Even if he suddenly appeared to make his presence known, there was absolutely no way he could take another disciple!

Li Changshou stood up and paced back and forth in the hut, pondering one strategy after another in his mind.

This seemed like a trivial matter, but it involved a lot, and no approach felt entirely safe.

He thought carefully, constantly deducing possibilities, testing each one repeatedly.

This time, there was no sudden inspiration. Li Changshou simply followed his method, calculating forward and backward, backing out of dead ends promptly, shifting perspectives, and adjusting his thinking...

First, focus directionally, then expand, and finally abstract...

Gradually, a clear thread emerged in his grasp.

Starting from how to get Du E Zhenren to come in person and take a disciple, and working backward to what special qualities Li Jing had that could attract him, Li Changshou suddenly seized the key point!

Qi Yun!

Just now, Li Jing had triggered his blood pulse and made him pay extra attention, even speaking up to inquire—it must be related to Li Jing's own qi yun!

How could the qi yun of someone destined to be listed on the Feng Shen Bang be weak?

Moreover, as the future Heavenly King of the military in Heaven, with his sons forming a prominent family, how could his qi yun not be extraordinary?

Quickly, Li Changshou settled on a plan. His paper effigy in Heaven became active and headed straight for the Dou Shuai Palace...

Half an hour later, Li Changshou breathed a slight sigh of relief and sat back in his chair, looking at the stack of scrolls in front of him with a serene smile.

There were no miraculous schemes falling from the sky—it was all the result of hard effort.

Two days later,

One of Li Changshou's paper effigies returned from Heaven, bringing back a precious pouch.

By then, a large crowd of immortals and mortals had gathered outside Du Xian Men.

Those with immortal backgrounds waited in the air;

Those without floated near the steps at the mountain gate.

Roughly counting, there were two or three thousand children and youths, making it much livelier than the last opening ceremony.

Clearly, over the past two hundred years, Du Xian Men's reputation in the Five Parts Continents had grown considerably.

The sect was as festive as a mortal New Year, with the sorrow of the previous disciples leaving washed away to the ninth heaven. The elders and disciples who wanted to take on students wandered around the mountain gate when they had nothing else to do.

They wandered without showing themselves, as if being seen would make them a laughingstock.

Li Changshou grumbled about this internally, then called over everyone on Xiao Qiong Peak for a test...

He took out a disk-shaped artifact resembling a solar corona and placed it in front of the hut, having his master, junior sister, Uncle Jiu Jiu, Uncle Jiu Yushi, and Xiong Lingli each step forward and press their palm against it for a moment.

This artifact was from his master and had only one function: to determine a person's qi yun.

Li Changshou had originally planned to learn the art of observing qi, but when he saw his master had such a treasure, he cheerfully talked his way into borrowing it.

The disk was marked with twelve levels, depicting twelve progressively deeper colors from white to red, then purple and deep purple.

For ordinary human cultivators, qi yun mostly ranged from light red to deep red, as humanity was the protagonist of the heavens, with flourishing destiny.

—His master's result was light red.

Uncle Jiu Jiu and Uncle Jiu Yushi's qi yun were about two levels higher than his master's, which was normal.

But Ling'e's qi yun actually reached deep red, nearly approaching light purple, which surprised Li Changshou.

When Xiong Lingli pressed her large hand on it and waited seriously...

"Cousin?"

Xiong Lingli turned her head timidly and asked softly, "Is this thing broken?"

Li Changshou stared at it carefully and said, "Look, there's a projection, it's just that the rise is a bit small... Don't be upset; right now, you're in a phase with no bad luck."

Xiong Lingli relaxed at his words.

Then, all eyes turned to Li Changshou.

Li Changshou just smiled calmly, put the artifact away, and said, "I'll go find Uncle Jiuwu and discuss how to use this thing properly."

With that, he used earth escape, not giving them a chance to speak.

It was better to be cautious; qi yun was the highest secret, not something to reveal even to his master or junior sister.

Though he said he was going to Uncle Jiuwu, he actually veered off and went to Du Xian Hall.

By this point, Li Jing's initiation plan, along with his cultivation plan, personality reform plan, and family education training plan, had been securely...

Arranged.