Chapter 352: A Little Thing

Dizang, from now on, if I am not here, do not act rashly.

In a corner of Ling Shan, just as the Dao Men immortals were leaving and the group of old Daoists returned with heavy hearts, the young Daoist kneeling on the ground heard these words.

Dizang sighed softly and whispered, "Thank you, Master, for your protection."

With that, he stood up and returned to the side of his divine beast Di Ting, sitting down cross-legged with a composed expression.

The matter was concluded. Western Teachings had lost an insignificant disciple, and a Sheng Ren had personally appeared, only to be subtly and overtly challenged by the Dao Men disciples...

Feelings of frustration, helplessness, and indignation welled up in Dizang's heart, but ultimately, they were superseded by a sense of relief at surviving the ordeal.

"Di Ting," Dizang suddenly said, "monitor those Dao Men immortals and see if any of them have thoughts about who truly orchestrated today's events."

A faint green light slowly pulsed around Di Ting as it tilted its ear to listen.

Dizang's mind raced with thoughts, his eyes gradually narrowing.

At this moment, with Dao Men having won and returning, they were most likely to be relaxed, making it easy for the mastermind behind the scenes to be revealed...

The Heavenly Court Water God?

Dizang actually felt considerable admiration for this Heavenly Court Water God, who had single-handedly drawn the Dragon Clan to the Heavenly Court, severely injured Jin Chan Zi, and forced their own Sheng Ren to appear. He felt that if it were this Water God plotting from behind, his own defeat today would not be unfair.

But he could not be certain if the Water God had such "influence" to summon the three Great Brothers of the Three Teachings to appear together.

These three Great Brothers of the Three Teachings...

Truth be told, facing them, Dizang felt completely overwhelmed, his heart filled with stifled frustration.

Xuan Du Da Fa Shi, deeply favored by the most powerful Sheng Ren Tai Qing Lao Zi, freely using innate treasures, and even lacking a personal name;

Duobao Dao Ren of Jie Jiao, the foremost among spiritual treasures in the Hong Huang era, most trusted by Tong Tian Jiao Zhu, and himself elusive and unpredictable;

Guang Cheng Zi of Yu Xu Gong, who had previously acted with the most restraint, yet gave off an impression of being utterly impenetrable, steady as a mountain...

And behind these three Great Brothers stood Zhao Gong Ming, Jin Ling Sheng Mu, Chi Jing Zi, Tai Yi Zhen Ren...

So many great powers, so many strong figures!

This was Dao Men?

Indeed, when truly facing this colossal entity, one could not help but feel suffocated...

Di Ting, nearby, seemed to sense Dizang's inner thoughts and whispered, "Are you afraid?"

"No, I am grateful," Dizang replied, a faint serene smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. "As long as I believe that the Dao Men we face now is at its peak, with its destiny unable to grow further, and that any future development will only maintain the status quo or lead to decline from prosperity, it is a fortunate thing to witness such a powerful Dao Men gradually fade into the dust of the Hong Huang era."

Di Ting closed its eyes and curled its lips. "Stop exaggerating. You were nearly in tears earlier. If you can't out-scheme them, you can't—just admit it. Dao Men didn't even attack directly."

Dizang's forehead tensed with a vein. "Listen carefully!"

"You're getting agitated. Look, Master, your state of mind is disrupted—full of flaws."

"Hmph!"

Di Ting shook its head and continued eavesdropping, but soon gave its response: "Today's events were likely orchestrated by the three Great Brothers. There was no one else involved. Some Qi Refiners from Chan Jiao and Jie Jiao with weaker cultivation are only thinking about the three Great Brothers and haven't mentioned the Heavenly Court Water God at all."

Upon hearing this, Dizang nodded slowly, let out a soft breath, and began reflecting on his previous shortcomings and the missed opportunities to act.

Next time, he would not fail.

"The various junior brothers and sisters, after returning to their dojos, should focus on diligent cultivation..."

On Emei Shan, in Luo Fu Dong, the Great Mage spoke warmly, instructing the immortals from Chan Jiao and Jie Jiao around him. After they bowed in respect, they each departed, chatting and laughing as they flew toward the northwest and southeast.

Once the immortals had left, only the Great Mage, Duobao Dao Ren, Zhao Gong Ming, and Huang Long Zhen Ren remained. The four entered Luo Fu Dong, where Zhao Gong Ming opened two jars of fine wine for a small celebration.

Duobao Dao Ren stared at the Great Mage's sleeve and laughed, "Chang Geng, come out quickly. The matter is all settled!"

Li Chang Shou, whose mind was elsewhere, delayed a moment before responding;

A paper effigy flew out from the Great Mage's sleeve, transforming into his usual youthful appearance, standing behind the Great Mage.

Zhao Gong Ming invited him to sit, but Li Chang Shou smiled and said, "This is just a paper effigy of mine. Drinking would be a waste, so I'll pass."

The others did not press him.

The Great Mage chuckled, "You were halfway through sending a message earlier—why did you stop?"

"Shixiong, your handling was more appropriate than what I had prepared," Li Chang Shou complained. "You're just too laid-back; you didn't even need me to step in."

The Great Mage smiled with narrowed eyes, "If you're going to speak, say more and praise your shixiongs a bit."

"Oh, forget it!"

Duobao waved his hands repeatedly, "I can't handle too much praise from Chang Geng, or I'd float up to the Ninth Heaven.

Today's events were truly satisfying! We've finally vented that nameless anger after being schemed against by the Western Teachings so many times!"

Zhao Gong Ming added, "Though today wasn't entirely perfect—we never caught the real schemer. Even if we couldn't punish them, at least we'd know who it was, so we could target them in the future."

Li Chang Shou said seriously, "This person is skilled in scheming and quite troublesome. If my guess is correct, it should be a Sheng Ren disciple named Dizang. He has a divine beast as his mount, called Di Ting, which can listen to the heart voices of all living beings in the Three Realms and discern truth from falsehood. These details were deduced by the Great Mage using the Tai Ji Tu."

"Di Ting?"

Duobao Dao Ren murmured thoughtfully, a look of sudden realization on his slightly plump face. "I've heard of such a beast before."

Zhao Gong Ming laughed, "Doesn't that mean this beast can hear all sorts of interesting sounds between Dao companions?"

Huang Long Zhen Ren nodded beside him and said, "This divine ability must have limitations."

The Great Mage added, "The limitations are significant. If one's cultivation isn't sufficient, just adding a simple layer of protection to your mind can prevent it from prying."

Zhao Gong Ming chuckled, "For Dao companions with higher cultivation, most are pure-hearted and desireless anyway, so there's nothing fun to hear."

At that, the Great Mage, Duobao Dao Ren, and Huang Long Zhen Ren all turned to look at Zhao Gong Ming...

Zhao Gong Ming stroked his beard a bit self-consciously. "What's the matter?"

"Shidi Gong Ming, why do you always bring up such things?"

Huang Long Zhen Ren admonished, "We should focus on the Dao! Mortal desires have nothing to do with immortals."

"This is just... well, just because my mood is improving," Zhao Gong Ming said, his face reddening. Then he glared at Li Chang Shou.

Wasn't it from that trip to the Wu Clan, where Li Chang Shou had filled his mind with ideas about yin and yang, reproduction, and matters of men and women!

Duobao Dao Ren pondered for a moment and said, "Rather than guarding against it, we might as well eliminate this Di Ting beast—it's a real threat."

Li Chang Shou replied, "If Dizang shows himself, we should certainly deal with that beast."

Zhao Gong Ming laughed, "He's probably scared out of his wits and won't dare show his face for a while. Ah, let's consider this matter closed. We'll drink up, and in the future, let Chang Geng continue to plan step by step!"

Li Chang Shou: ...

Was it all for nothing?

The Great Mage and Duobao Dao Ren raised their cups to drink, while Huang Long Zhen Ren stood up with his cup in hand, first thanking Li Chang Shou, then sighing, "The Dragon Clan matter weighs heavily on my heart. I didn't notice anything before, and suddenly I had an insight, so I entered seclusion. When I opened my eyes, the Dragon Clan's events were already over. Ah, the Dragon Clan suffered this calamity—if I had been in the East Sea, perhaps there would have been a chance to save them."

Upon hearing this, Li Chang Shou's eyebrows twitched slightly, keenly catching a key point.

A sudden insight?

Perhaps...

But he decided not to dwell on it.

"The Dragon Clan's fate was destined for this calamity," Li Chang Shou sighed. "However, now that the Dragon Clan is united with the Heavenly Court, their situation should gradually improve in the future."

"Ah," Huang Long Zhen Ren said, his face full of remorse, clearly intending to carry this guilt for centuries.

Duobao Dao Ren suddenly thought of something and turned to Zhao Gong Ming. "Speaking of which, why was Jin Guang Shimei injured, and right on your Emei Shan?"

Zhao Gong Ming nearly choked on his wine and quickly said, "I don't know the details yet—I haven't had time to ask who ambushed Jin Guang Shimei..."

Duobao Dao Ren's eyes lit up, as if he understood something, and he turned to look at Li Chang Shou.

But Li Chang Shou kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, with no intention of responding...

The small celebration in Luo Fu Dong ended after half a day.

The Great Mage returned to Dou Lu Gong for cultivation, Zhao Gong Ming accompanied Duobao to Jin Ao Island, and Huang Long Zhen Ren hurried to the East Sea Dragon Palace to see if there was anything he could help with...

Li Chang Shou's paper effigy that had gone to Ling Shan was simply burned in Luo Fu Dong, and his mind returned to the South Sea Hai Shen Temple, where he continued organizing the firsthand information on the Three Teachings immortals...

From the results, this grand play of the Three Teachings suppressing Ling Shan was not perfect.

First, it served as a warning to Ling Shan, giving them a chance to shift from overt to covert actions, which invisibly added difficulties to the Heavenly Court's future development plans.

Second, the Great Mage directly confronted the Sheng Ren.

This was a scenario Li Chang Shou had anticipated might happen, but he hadn't expected the Great Mage to block the Sheng Ren's treasure so easily with his own treasure. Even more, he hadn't expected the usually cause-averse Great Mage to step up as the Dao Men Great Brother at such a moment...

Normally, when watching events like the Dragon Clan's drama, the Great Mage always adopted a "if possible, don't act" attitude, leaving the work to someone like him unless a true bottom line was crossed...

This time, with the Great Mage's intervention, Li Chang Shou worried it might leave an unstable impression among the Three Teachings disciples.

—Sheng Ren are just like that; without treasures, can't a bunch of spirit treasures take them on?

Well, that was exactly what the Jie Jiao immortals might think!

And third, in the future, the Western Teachings would likely act more cautiously, reversing their previous arrogant and self-assured style, which would make scheming against them require even more effort.

However, one couldn't overlook the positive significance of the Three Teachings' suppression of Ling Shan just because of these drawbacks...

The positive impacts of this event were countless, with goals achieved at every level.

Overall, the Heavenly Court should be able to develop steadily for the next five hundred years.

As Li Chang Shou looked at the compiled "Three Teachings Immortals" materials in his hands, various figures flashed through his mind...

In this era before the Feng Shen calamity, the Three Teachings shone with brilliant stars, and the Hong Huang era was full of radiant lights.

What left the deepest impression on Li Chang Shou from this trip to Ling Shan was not the beautiful and powerful Jin Ling Sheng Mu, nor the three Great Brothers with their extraordinary performances, nor Tai Yi Zhen Ren with his distinctive personality and mastery of Yin Yang dialogue, but rather...

Chan Jiao's Yu Ding.

In that instant when Yu Ding stepped forward, Li Chang Shou caught a trace of profound Dao rhythm.

This rhythm was incredibly familiar to him, similar but not identical to his own Gui Xi Ping Qi Jue!

This Yu Ding Zhen Ren had concealed part of his own cultivation!

Moreover, the jade cauldron he had atop his head was not his magical treasure; it seemed to be a divine ability manifested, or perhaps a manifestation of the Great Dao, something wondrous that existed between an innate spirit treasure and a post-heaven spirit treasure!

This Zhen Ren had remained silent throughout, mostly wearing a smiling expression...

His ordinary appearance, low presence, confidence in facing the Western Teachings at critical moments, that mysterious jade cauldron, and more importantly, his yet-to-be-born disciple—Erlang Shen Yang Jian!

Yu Ding was likely a hidden great figure!

Li Chang Shou circled Yu Ding Zhen Ren's name on the list, planning to actively befriend him later and see if he could obtain the rumored top physical cultivation method, Ba Jiu Xuan Gong.

Of course, he had no interest in practicing Ba Jiu Xuan Gong himself—his current cultivation was already substantial, and his Great Dao was initially formed, so he needed to progress steadily along this path without changing it easily.

But if Ba Jiu Xuan Gong, this rapid physical cultivation method, could be used to train someone like Xiao Qiong Peak's security captain Xiong Ling Li, or the Sea God Cult's divine messengers...

That would be quite convenient.

Li Chang Shou carefully organized the jade talisman's content again, sat in the back hall pondering for a long time, then used Tu Dun to return this paper effigy to his underground paper effigy storage.

By now, it was deep into the night with sparse stars.

On Xiao Qiong Peak, Li Chang Shou slowly fanned himself and glanced at his junior sister meditating on the cushion beside him.

She was deeply in meditation.

His immortal sense swept over the doors, seeing Jiu Jiu Shishu lecturing Dao to Jiu Yu Shi Shishu, while his master listened happily, wearing an excellent expression of someone auditing the class.

So, he rose and rode the clouds toward Dan Ding Peak to visit the newly breakthrough elder Wan Lin Jun and encourage the Poison Elder.

After spending half a shichen on Dan Ding Peak, Li Chang Shou still felt uneasy and flew toward Po Tian Peak...

What was he uneasy about?

No need to say—it was what he had seen before...

Du Xian Men’s ancestor Du E Zhen Ren had become a key link in the rumors!

Arriving at Du Xian Hall, the two guarding elders asked Li Chang Shou why he was there, and a coughing sound came from inside the hall.

"It was I who asked Chang Shou to come."

The two elders immediately dared not block him. Li Chang Shou bowed and entered the main hall quickly, heading to the head's side chamber.

After the formalities, the head invited Li Chang Shou to sit and set up a barrier around the side chamber.

Ji Wu You smiled and said, "Chang Shou, speak freely. Why do you seem hesitant?

Cough, cough! Don't treat me as an outsider."

"Well," Li Chang Shou pondered for a moment, "Head, could you remind our sect's ancestor Du E Zhen Ren..."

The head asked hurriedly, "Remind him of what?"

"Not to believe or spread rumors," Li Chang Shou sighed. "The Great Mage obtained a 'Tian Di Zheng De Bei' from the Heavenly Court Jade Emperor, specifically for investigating rumors. During the gathering of the Three Teachings immortals, Du E Zhen Ren appeared briefly on it, becoming an indispensable link in the rumor mongering..."

"Ah?!"

Ji Wu You stood up, frowning. "Did the Great Mage hold it against us?"

"Not at all; everyone tacitly ignored it."

Li Chang Shou sighed, "But this kind of thing really can't continue."

"Understood!"

Ji Wu You said urgently, "I'll go to Kun Lun Shan right away to see my master and tell him about this! I'll say it was the Great Mage who sent the reminder!"

With that, Li Chang Shou felt one less worry in his heart.

Just as he was about to take his leave and go find the Jade Emperor to discuss where to place the Tian Di Zheng De Bei and matters concerning the Bei Zhou Wu Clan, a slight stir in his heart made him ask casually, "Head, I saw Junior Sister You Qin rushing out earlier—what was that about?"

"Oh, just a minor matter," Ji Wu You smiled. "Recently, a peacock demon appeared in You Qin Nation, harming lives and feeding on mortals. You Qin Nation is not only Xuan Ya's homeland but also a major source of offerings for our sect. After discussion among the elders, they sent Xuan Ya and several sect elders to handle it."

Li Chang Shou nodded slowly—it was indeed a minor matter.

"In that case, this disciple will return to cultivation and not disturb you further, Head."

"The poor Daoist will write a letter; come find me if anything arises."

The two stood and bowed to each other. Li Chang Shou turned and walked out the side door, heading toward the hall entrance.

After a few steps, he paused, suddenly sensing something unusual...

A peacock... demon?!