Chapter 340: Coincidentally Passing By

In the Heavenly Court, within the Lingxiao Hall.

Yu Di sat upon his throne, gazing at the civil and military officials in the hall, as well as Bian Zhuang, the deputy commander of the Heavenly River Water Army who had just returned. A faint smile played at the corners of his eyes.

"My dear Changgeng, you are truly always thinking of the Heavenly Court's interests."

Although Yu Di knew that this immortal he favored most was simply thorough in his considerations, weighing every aspect carefully...

At that moment, the Heavenly River Water Army, acting on Li Changshou's orders, was marching along the Heavenly River, heading toward the North Heavenly Gate to prepare for the next wave of "descent from the heavens."

Bian Zhuang had brought two heavenly generals and escorted Ao Shi to the Lingxiao Hall to report back.

Following the Water God's instructions, Bian Zhuang was now bowing his head as he reported on Ao Shi's rebellion.

And to his credit, Bian Zhuang mentioned the Water God in nearly every sentence...

"...The prince of the West Sea Dragon Palace, Ao Shi, has now been captured by the Water God. The rebel forces in the Dragon Palace have been driven back, and after the Water God detoxified and healed the West Sea Dragon King, he has rushed to guard the West Sea's sea eye.

Since Ao Shi holds a divine position, the West Sea Dragon King has handed him over to Your Majesty for judgment..."

After the report, Yu Di nodded slowly and asked, "What is the current state of the West Sea Dragon Palace?"

Bian Zhuang sighed and said, "It's gone."

"Gone?"

"I saw it with my own eyes, Your Majesty. Only about one-tenth of the West Sea Dragon Palace remains, and there's a massive pit on the seabed, filled with dragon corpses everywhere."

Bian Zhuang's throat bobbed as he lowered his voice and continued, "According to an elder of the West Sea Dragon Clan, most of the creatures in the West Sea Dragon Palace had their minds controlled.

Around the West Sea Dragon King, only a few hundred loyal followers remain.

From what I witnessed, the Water God must have engaged in an epic battle with those rebel dragon forces!

He single-handedly protected the West Sea Dragon King and the Dragon Mother!"

Yu Di furrowed his brow, his voice tinged with urgency. "Is the Water God unharmed?"

"Your Majesty, rest assured," Bian Zhuang replied quickly. "Not even a wrinkle on the Water God's robes."

Only then did Yu Di relax slightly and chuckle, "I was overthinking it. My dear Changgeng comes from the Ren School—how could such petty villains harm him?

Bian Zhuang, where is my dear Changgeng now?"

Bian Zhuang answered, "The Water God instructed me and the Heavenly River Water Army to head to the North Heavenly Gate to support the North Sea Dragon Palace at any time. As for his exact location, I'm not entirely sure, but he should be on his way to the North Sea."

Yu Di nodded slowly, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Dongmu Gong, standing below the platform, stroked his beard and murmured softly as he stepped forward and bowed.

"Your Majesty, conflicts have already erupted in the South Sea and East Sea.

The Water God is handling everything single-handedly, which must be stretching him thin. Although you have ordered him to oversee the Four Seas, the situation is critical, and the Heavenly Court cannot afford to ignore it."

"You speak wisely, Dongmu Gong," Yu Di pondered for a moment and commanded, "Go at once and mobilize one hundred thousand troops to aid the East Sea Dragon Palace, and send another great general with one hundred thousand troops to reinforce the South Sea Dragon Palace."

Dongmu Gong immediately accepted the order and hurried off to the Tongming Hall to muster the forces.

This time, the Heavenly Court's response was not slow. Soon, one hundred thousand troops assembled at the South Heavenly Gate and East Heavenly Gate.

For such a grand event—cough, such an important matter—it naturally required the presence of a certain upright and broad-minded figure, the Huari Tian Yuan Shuai!

The one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers heading to the South Sea were led by Huari Tian and two heavenly generals whose names need not be mentioned.

Considering that other heavenly generals lacked sufficient strength, and with fierce battles raging in various parts of the South Sea between the dragon forces and the sea rebel armies... Huari Tian had no choice but to personally set out, concealing his form as he rushed to the South Sea Dragon Palace to rendezvous with the dragons.

It was logical and irrefutable.

Yu Di's incarnation had originally intended to rendezvous with his dear Changgeng, but upon arriving at the South Sea Dragon Palace in his role as the heavenly marshal, he did not see any sign of Changgeng.

When he inquired of the South Sea Dragon King, the king said the Water God had not yet arrived...

Huari Tian sighed inwardly, realizing he had chosen the wrong direction. His dear Changgeng must have gone to the North Sea or East Sea instead.

Just as he regretted not being able to fight alongside Changgeng, Huari Tian's heart stirred—he suddenly sensed the presence of the Water God's divine power, seemingly within a radius of ten thousand li.

—This was a minor ability of the Heavenly Emperor.

Huari Tian quickly agreed on a signal for deployment with the South Sea Dragon King and left the South Sea Dragon Palace in a hurry, intending to meet up with Li Changshou.

But to Huari Tian's utter surprise...

He accidentally obtained firsthand information about his minister's habit of slacking off and flirting with fairies during work hours!

As Huari Tian emerged from the Dragon Palace, he extended his immortal sense toward the sky where he had detected the presence, but found nothing.

After a more thorough search, he still came up empty-handed.

This sparked a bit of his competitive spirit.

Thus, the main body in the Lingxiao Hall closed his eyes and directly invoked the power of the Heavenly Dao, enhancing his incarnation!

Huari Tian's eyes glowed with golden light, piercing through the empty expanse. He saw the white-haired elder and the graceful figure enveloped in immortal light and mist...

"My dear Changgeng seems to be... courting someone?

Wait, no...

Oh, you sly Li Changgeng—you use an incarnation in front of me, but your true form only appears in situations like this!"

Yu Di's incarnation chuckled to himself, then a new doubt arose...

Who was this fairy?

Even with the power of the Heavenly Dao bolstering his incarnation, he could not see through her at all.

Afraid of startling the female immortal, Huari Tian did not linger in his gaze. Instead, he deliberately released his aura and flew boldly toward the South Heavenly Gate.

After all, as the Heavenly Emperor, he could not just fly up and greet his own minister directly. Besides, abruptly exposing him might be awkward, so this way gave the minister some time to prepare.

—A small detail of the Heavenly Emperor.

"My dear Changgeng is always so steady; he shouldn't be so careless as to not notice my incarnation."

However, until Huari Tian caught sight of the heavenly troops in the distance...

What nonsense about being wholly devoted to the Heavenly Court!

Still...

"Seeing my dear Changgeng like this puts my mind at ease."

Huari Tian narrowed his eyes with a smile, first rendezvousing with the heavenly soldiers and generals.

After a brief thought, he led the one hundred thousand troops in a grand procession toward where Li Changshou was located.

Well, they were simply on their way to support the dragons and happened to take a detour, passing by coincidentally.

In the northwestern region of the South Sea Dragon Palace, atop a white cloud.

Li Changshou maintained the appearance of the Sea God, hands clasped behind his back as he walked on the cloud. He explained in detail to Yunxiao, the fairy beside him, the grudges and causes involving the West, the Dragon Palaces, and himself.

Naturally, Li Changshou concealed most of his schemes, adding a touch of drama for effect.

He wove together the development of the South Sea Sea God Cult, the gradual shift in the dragons' attitude toward the Heavenly Court, and the Western Cult's constant pressure, narrating it all clearly and logically without any confusion.

Yunxiao listened intently, occasionally asking a few questions, each one hitting the mark precisely.

This gave Li Changshou a sense of deep understanding, as if she truly "got" him.

He thought of peaches, thought of peaches.

In reality, it wasn't that Yunxiao understood him; she simply saw straight to the core conflicts and issues.

At this point, Li Changshou also began to grasp why the big shots of the Jie School held varying degrees of reverence for Yunxiao...

Her questions were genuinely hard to answer.

For instance, she asked:

"How can you be certain that the events you've deduced will definitely happen?

The Heavenly Dao has variables, the Great Dao often resonates, and deductions can be obscured by others—these things aren't reliable.

If saints can obscure heavenly secrets, perhaps they can also reshape them.

With your cultivation not even reaching the Golden Immortal realm, if you miscalculate a single step, aren't you gambling with your life?"

Li Changshou pondered for a moment and answered seriously:

"I'm not skilled at deduction or divination.

As you know, my years of cultivation are few, and my Dao realm isn't that advanced, so my deductions don't touch upon many heavenly secrets."

Yunxiao asked curiously, "Then how have you achieved all this?"

"By thinking."

Li Changshou pointed to his heart—following the customs of the Honghuang world, he couldn't point to his head.

"Thinking?"

Yunxiao blinked. "Could you explain it to me in detail?"

"Of course," Li Changshou smiled. "First, the deductions I make focus on the overall direction of events, trying to ignore minor variables; otherwise, it would overwhelm my mind.

The method I use is to list out every possible scenario, then turn the key events in those scenarios into simple options.

It's like stringing squares along a line, then branching into different paths...

Can you picture that in your mind?"

Li Changshou gestured with his hands, and Yunxiao nodded gently.

He continued:

"Once all the possibilities and directions are listed, I can prepare responses for each scenario based on their likelihood and varying degrees.

As events unfold step by step, lighting up the squares along the line, the probable path ahead becomes clear."

"It's like that..." Yunxiao murmured softly, then her eyes filled with admiration. "If we're talking about comprehensive planning, this is exactly how it should be done.

It's just that this must be incredibly taxing on the mind."

Li Changshou laughed. "For the dragon matter, I thought about it for over seven years."

Yunxiao frowned slightly and asked softly, "Don't you find it mentally exhausting?"

"A bit, but compared to the rewards, this fatigue is nothing," Li Changshou replied with a smile.

"Then, what's the longest time you've ever spent thinking on something?"

Li Changshou sighed. "Seventeen years."

As soon as he said seventeen years, the "chatty" spiritual thought that had just quieted in his heart started buzzing again...

The Pagoda Master laughed and scolded: "You rascal, no wonder the lord took a liking to you—scheming on one thing for seventeen years straight!

You're the darkest one yet!"

The Qiankun Ruler chimed in: "Niaogong, wute nonggang, ge a xiao ning fu dediao ah!"

Li Changshou smiled calmly, taking it as simple praise.

Yunxiao said gently, "May I ask what matter required you to think for so long?"

"The Dao School."

Li Changshou smiled. "Though the primary motivation is because I'm part of the Dao School.

Well, enough about that—since you're asking me so openly, can I ask you a few questions in return?"

"Heh," Yunxiao chuckled lightly. "Go ahead. If you're being honest with me, how could I not be forthcoming with you?"

Li Changshou spread his hands. "At least it's not about baring our hearts and livers."

Yunxiao's smile grew warmer.

After thinking for a moment, Li Changshou asked, "People often say, 'grow strong against the strong and weak against the weak'—is that good or bad?"

Yunxiao lightly chided, "Are you really testing me now?"

Even her rebuke was so gentle.

After careful consideration, she answered, "In my view, it's mostly good."

"You're wrong; no matter how you look at it, it's bad."

Li Changshou said seriously, "First, it means your own strength is unstable, with too many variables.

Second, relying on the enemy's strength to determine your own means you're being led by the nose.

In scheming, the most important thing is to control your own rhythm and not be influenced by the enemy...

Of course, that's just my humble opinion."

Yunxiao pondered this carefully, then nodded slowly and smiled. "I've learned something from you here."

Li Changshou cleared his throat and asked again, "If you were competing in strategy against someone else, and you thought five layers deep while they only went three, would that mean you've won for sure?"

Yunxiao instinctively adjusted a strand of hair by her ear and said:

"Not necessarily. Sometimes, overthinking can lead to being accidentally outmaneuvered by the other side."

"Good point," Li Changshou acknowledged silently.

Yunxiao smiled and countered, "Then, Water God, do you have a way to handle such situations?"

"It's simple: stand on every layer."

Yunxiao fell into thought, savoring the idea...

Just then, Li Changshou's brows twitched as he spotted the white cloud approaching in the sky, along with the array of heavenly soldiers on it.

Heavenly Court troops?

Why aren't they at the South Heavenly Gate? Coming here would just expose our hidden forces!

Then, Li Changshou saw Huari Tian Yuan Shuai standing at the front of the troops...

Ah, that changes everything.

Li Changshou said, "Would you like to come with me?"

"Mm," Yunxiao replied softly. "As long as it doesn't cause you trouble, I'm fine with it."

Li Changshou laughed breezily and flew on the cloud, bringing Yunxiao toward the heavenly troops.

As they drew closer to the one hundred thousand-strong army, Yunxiao murmured in surprise, "A body of merit, blessed by the Heavenly Dao—could that be Emperor Yu's incarnation?"

Li Changshou: ...

It turns out all the big shots of the Dao School can recognize it at a glance!

How ineffective is Yu Di's incarnation!

Though it still makes me envious...

Yunxiao stopped at the edge of the cloud, not following further, clearly unwilling to meet the Heavenly Emperor face-to-face—whether to bow or not would be awkward.

Li Changshou went forward and exchanged greetings with Huari Tian, who raised his eyebrows at him suggestively.

"Water God, who is that fairy?"

Huari Tian laughed. "Why not introduce her to us?"

Li Changshou said seriously, "She is my friend, the outer disciple of the Jie School, Yunxiao."

Huari Tian's eyes lit up, and he stepped forward, casually draping an arm around Li Changshou's shoulder and giving him a light punch in the ribs as he whispered:

"Not bad, Water God!"

But...

Huari Tian felt as if he had struck the barriers of the universe, with a rebounding force traveling back along his fist.

The Xuanhuang Pagoda?

Huari Tian glanced at Li Changshou, then at the distant figure still shrouded in mist, which he couldn't see clearly. As the dignified Heavenly Emperor, he actually felt...

A twinge of jealousy.

Li Changshou transmitted a message: "Yunxiao has already recognized Your Majesty."

Huari Tian instantly withdrew his arm, straightened his posture, and let his armor emit a subtle glow to appear more imposing and majestic.

"Cough, um!

Water God, where are the critical battles in the South Sea? We should hurry to provide support and save more lives from suffering."

"Don't worry, Yuan Shuai," Li Changshou said seriously. "The situations everywhere are still manageable for the Dragon Palaces. Since we're here, let's go guard the area near the sea eye—that's the dragons' vital point."

"Excellent!"

Huari Tian nodded, and the two exchanged a glance, both showing a hint of confusion.

The sea eye... how do we get there?

The dragons had hidden the Four Seas' sea eyes, and Dao Ancestor had used great power to obscure the secrets of the Nine Filth Springs to prevent chaos in the world.

At this moment, without guidance from the South Sea Dragon Palace or a saint's deduction, it would be impossible to find...

Suddenly, they heard Yunxiao's voice transmitted to their ears:

"Dao friend, there's some unusual activity nine thousand li to the southeast. The universe is trembling there, as if a large group of creatures is being relocated."

Li Changshou's heart stirred, and he quickly discussed it quietly with Huari Tian.

Then, Li Changshou and Yunxiao went ahead first, rushing to the site of the disturbance, while Huari Tian followed with the heavenly troops.

On the way, Yunxiao took the opportunity to ask, "If this place is just a feint by the West, what would you do?"

"It's not yet clear if it's a feint, but their attack could target any of the Four Seas' sea eyes, since what they want is to force the dragons to hand over their treasury."

Li Changshou said seriously, "But, Fairy...

What I said about standing on every layer wasn't just casual talk.

Though my confidence isn't absolute, I've prepared for it."

"Then, what's your specific level of certainty?"

"About ninety-four or ninety-five percent," Li Changshou thought for a moment, adding for accuracy, "roughly."