Chapter 38: As Long as You Are Calm Enough, Nothing Will Happen

Puff...

Puff...

When arriving in a new environment, especially if you plan to stay for a while, it's a good habit to first check the 'safety exits'.

For instance, in Duxian Men's Bai Fan Dian, besides the main hall door that people regularly use, there are two side doors, a back door, and a less-known small directional teleportation array, which likely leads to the sect leader's secluded cultivation area.

Li Changshou had already scouted out these details when he was just a kid, during his second visit to Bai Fan Dian with his master to collect the monthly allowance.

Now, in the territory of Long Gong, not only are the dragon clan a different race with ongoing conflicts over East Sea resources with various immortal sects, but this place is also built on a large array. Who knows if the Water Lotus Platform hides some lethal formations...

So...

The first thing to do!

Shouldn't it be finding escape routes in case of a crisis?

Yet, before the elders could say anything, out of the eleven disciples including himself, six had already picked up the fruits in front of them and started eating!?

What happened to your usual decorum?

You're all promising immortal seedlings—has Duxian Men ever shortchanged you or owed you anything?

Or have you been cursed with something like 'unbearable discomfort if you don't eat grapes'?

Cough, oh well...

Even the elders' plates have some untouched grape clusters...

'Forget it, it's got nothing to do with me.'

Li Changshou sat upright, acting as if nothing was happening, and closed his eyes to focus his mind, temporarily giving up on his fellow disciples.

He released his spiritual sense to search for the 'safety exits' on his own.

On the way to the seating area, Li Changshou had already gotten a rough lay of the land and was now studying the properties of the Water Lotus Platform's array, along with any possible gaps.

Although the place was surrounded by water, the wind escape technique seemed more suitable for fleeing here.

First, water escape is slower, and Li Changshou had only started practicing it over a decade ago, so he wasn't as proficient as with wind escape.

Second, the sea has strong winds, and besides...

Suddenly...

That double burst of sound, desperately suppressed but impossible to hold back, finally released in full force!

Along with the strange odor that quickly spread, mixed with a slight fragrance and an odd sour tang...

It must be from the beauty-enhancing pills I took yesterday... the scent of zhù yán cǎo... the alchemist didn't refine the properties to perfection.

Since qi refiners no longer consume grains and have no impurities in their bodies, pure as the crystal-clear flesh of these grapes, even a minor impurity stands out starkly.

The smell is just... something else.

Li Changshou opened his eyes slightly and glanced toward the source of the sound, realizing this double burst was the work of a certain senior sister.

She sat there composed, as if nothing had happened, except her hands were firmly pressing down her skirt.

The two junior brothers beside her were so embarrassed they didn't know whether to sit or stand, their lips trembling.

This is quite a lesson, really.

Luckily, Long Gong is just playing pranks and didn't use poison or gu insects...

Everyone has their moments of... mishaps.

Although those at the sixth level of qi refining should have long learned to control their internal impurities.

At that moment, among the twenty-seven people from Duxian Men, eight showed strange expressions, and three had already lost control from the back, making sounds.

Youqin Xuanya suddenly stood up and hurried to the two most senior elders, whispering a few words.

These two elders were rather carefree, only just noticing the trap in the fruits.

Li Changshou felt truly helpless.

With a team like this, where's the sense of security?

This level of teamwork is worse than just bringing a couple more paper figures...

From now on, I should stay home more. Once I get back, I'll figure out how to handle Wine Wushi and make sure he doesn't cause me any more trouble.

Youqin Xuanya glanced over at Li Changshou, then bit her lip, her face slightly flushed, and quickly returned to her seat, closing her eyes to focus and endure.

She was actually fine, like Li Changshou, having only eaten one grape.

But the difference was, Li Changshou had intentionally wrapped it in his magical power, letting only a trace of the effect spread in his body, so he just let out a burp.

Then, he discreetly spat out the grape, but Youqin Xuanya hadn't done that.

Soon, another brother lost his composure.

Not long after...

A chain reaction?

Hmm, that junior sister's face is all red— she must be questioning her life right now.

After all, in everyone's eyes, a little fairy maiden must be graceful and composed.

Another burst...

May I ask, what kind of effort did you put into squeezing your muscles to produce that ringing sound with variations?

Li Changshou couldn't help but lower his head and cover his forehead with one hand—he never knew he had a talent for snarky commentary.

No choice, it was forced out of him.

Just then, he heard an elder transmit a message:

"Everyone, be careful. There are traps in these fruits in front of you. Long Gong is trying to make us look foolish. Don't eat the grapes, and don't drink the wine either—that wine is made from these grapes!"

Wine?

Since he hadn't planned to touch the wine, Li Changshou had subconsciously ignored the luminous cup filled with it.

At the same time, he instantly felt a gaze fixed on him.

Following that gaze, he saw Jiujiu Shishu sitting there, her body trembling slightly, her big eyes pleading for help, having switched from cross-legged sitting to a squatting position.

The wine cup in front of her was completely empty, not a drop left!

Well...

Personal tastes are understandable.

But...

Shishu, why are you suddenly standing up? And coming over here?

Before Li Changshou could say anything, Jiujiu had dashed over like a thunderbolt, bringing her cushion and placing it right beside him, her eyes full of apology.

That look clearly said:

'Sorry, nephew! Your shishu will make it up to you big time when we get back!'

Then, she sat down three feet away from Li Changshou, but with her left hand, she gently tapped his robe hem, making it flutter up and down, up and down...

In rhythm with that, from where Jiujiu sat three feet away came a series of—

Dynamic beats.

The pearl maiden nearby was holding back her laughter so hard she nearly bit through her lip!

Li Changshou acted completely unfazed and muttered,

"Sigh, since not many people are here yet, we could set up a couple of small soundproof and visual barriers here. Long Gong probably wouldn't mind.

After all, we need to discuss our strategy for the upcoming inter-sect sparring later."

Instantly, a female true immortal who had eaten the grapes up front caught the hint and called out loudly, "Let's discuss our strategy for the sparring lineup next!"

With that, she pointed at the air above and used her immortal power to create a transparent barrier, enclosing the twenty-seven of them.

The elder who had first transmitted the warning sighed helplessly:

"Quickly sort yourselves out! Honestly!"

In an instant, over ten people looked awkward, and sounds of puffing and whooshing filled the air;

Li Changshou glanced at Jiujiu Shishu beside him and saw her looking at him with disdain, as if to say, how could you be so unrefined?

Meanwhile, the sounds from her side kept going, and the hem of Li Changshou's robe continued to flutter up and down...

Li Changshou stared expressionless at the sky.

Shishu, can you really make clothes flap just by... that?

Finally, after a flurry of activity, things gradually calmed down.

In the adjacent seating area, figures descended—it was the delegation from Xiaoyao Donglin Men, a branch of Jiejiao from Dongsheng Shenzhou.

The two leading true immortals bowed with a dao salute to the Duxian Men group; the two elders at the front of their side returned the gesture with forced smiles and settled into their seats.

Once the sounds inside the soundproof barrier stopped, the Duxian Men true immortal waved it away and casually said,

"You eleven, remember what I just told you—don't make any mistakes."

Li Changshou and the other disciples chorused, "We will follow your teachings, Shishu (Shibo)."

Right then, a sea breeze blew over, carrying from Duxian Men toward Xiaoyao Donglin.

There were a few clangs, and several young disciples on the other side toppled over.

A bright-eyed girl suddenly changed expression and shouted toward the front, "Third Shishu, there's a demonic aura!"

A female immortal laughed and scolded, "Don't overreact—it's just the sea's fishy smell."

"With so many shrimp soldiers and crab generals below, and pearl maidens standing nearby... let's not dwell on that. This is Long Gong's territory, after all."

Immediately, the eight pearl maidens who had been enduring it beside the two sects' delegations emitted immortal light around them and retreated into their shells, the eight pure white shells shaking slightly.

Li Changshou watched his fellow disciples' reactions with interest, gathering a lot of information from it.

For example, Youqin Xuanya was genuinely innocent—her neck was flushed pink with shame, and she was still trying to breathe deeply to dispel the 'disaster' she caused.

Meanwhile, the shishus and shibos, all over a thousand years old, were a bunch of seasoned veterans, completely calm and showing no signs of discomfort.

One of the Duxian Men elders transmitted to the other twenty-six, "As long as we stay composed, we can pretend nothing happened."

The disciples quickly adjusted themselves.

Li Changshou withdrew his gaze from surveying the area, glanced at Jiujiu, who had returned to her seat, and then looked at the closed large shells nearby.

Are these pearl maidens hiding because they're afraid of being hit?

Without the prehistoric percussion ensemble's distraction, he focused on studying the principles of the local array's operation and the fastest escape routes in an emergency.

...

"The idle wind blows through the courtyard, I sing freely.

Unaware of the immortal forest's solitude, I brew wine on the azure waves."

On the white clouds, amid the short songs, the newly ascended immortals from Duxian Men returned slightly tipsy from the banquet.

Qi Yuan Laodao first landed in front of his eldest disciple's door and called out a couple of times, but got no response. He glanced at his youngest disciple, who was diligently in closed cultivation, then wobbled back to his own thatched hut.

As he was about to push the door open, Qi Yuan seemed to remember something and chuckled, "I've been in closed cultivation for the past ten years and haven't strolled around Xiaoqiong Peak properly.

Let me take a look at the scenery. I've managed to hold onto this lineage that my master left me for now."

With a soft sigh, Qi Yuan strolled off with his hands behind his back toward the nearby woods.

If the old daoist had taken just one more step and pushed open the wooden door in front of him, he would have seen a letter on the table.

And not just one—identical letters were placed thoughtfully on his meditation cushion, bed, and even on the beam where he could see it at a glance.

Li Changshou had made sure of that.

However, Li Changshou had miscalculated—his drunk master didn't go straight back to his favorite little hut...

The letter was simple: it congratulated the master on becoming an immortal, explained that he had been sent by the sect to the East Sea and would return in about seven or eight days, and cautioned the master not to go near the newly built alchemy room in the back, as it was surrounded by illusion arrays and trapping arrays.

He had activated most of them before leaving...