...If Chan Jiao has traitors from Tian Ting secretly causing trouble, then why did Jie Jiao refuse Mu Gong?
Changgeng, aren't you on good terms with Yunxiao Xianzi and close friends with Zhao Gongming and other Jie Jiao disciples?
In Lingxiao Baodian, on the steps of the high platform.
His Majesty Yu Di was reclining, casually picking up a purple crystal grape offered as tribute from Long Gong and popping it into his mouth, asking with some puzzlement.
Li Changshou: ...
Why does this grape look so familiar?
Ahem, no.
Has His Majesty Yu Di calmed down so quickly?
Not flying into a rage and cursing bitterly—this doesn't quite seem like His Majesty's temperament.
Li Changshou sighed and said, "It was I who wrote a letter in advance to Duobao Shixiong."
"Oh?"
Yu Di was full of confusion. "Changgeng, why did you take the initiative to involve Jie Jiao in the calamity? You should have been trying to keep them out of it."
"Your Majesty might not know," Li Changshou said in a low voice, "from the time I schemed against the Dragon Clan, I had already influenced the calamity's fate, and as soon as the calamity arose, I suffered backlash.
"Although I killed Lu Ya Daoren in Bei Continent to avenge my master, I was targeted by the Heavenly Dao as a result, with a will borrowing the calamity to manifest and closely watching my primordial spirit.
"If I dare to hinder the calamity, my primordial spirit will be severely damaged, and I might not wake for a hundred or eighty years.
"The calamity is already fated; I cannot obstruct its arrival. Yet, with my thoughts for the Dao Gate and Tian Ting, I made a choice."
"Oh? How did you choose?"
Yu Di summoned several plates of fruits and melons from the jade table, placing them between the two of them, listening more intently.
Li Changshou said slowly, "Chan Jiao and Jie Jiao are destined to enter the calamity. Tongtian Shishu knows it, Duobao Shixiong knows it, and anyone in Jie Jiao with some cultivation knows it. This isn't something I can save them from, except for a Heavenly Emperor like Your Majesty who can interfere with the Heavenly Dao's operation—no one else can stop it.
"But if the calamity only targets the Dao Gate, wouldn't that benefit the West?
"The two shishus of Xifang Jiao became saints through great vows, and they have an urgent desire for their teachings to flourish. If the Dao Gate declines, the West is bound to rise.
"So, I took action myself, negotiated with Jie Jiao to let them enter the calamity, selling a favor to the will in the calamity. Then, using that favor, I secretly asked Mu Gong to go to Xifang Ling Mountain, pass by without entering, and return to Tian Ting.
"It's called a favor, but it's really about balance.
"Then, borrowing Your Majesty's hand, I drew the West into the calamity and removed Ren Jiao from it...
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Brilliant!"
Yu Di laughed heartily while sucking on a grape, his laughter echoing through the hall as he waved his hand gently.
This white-robed Yu Di had a hint of starlight in his eyes as he said with a smile, "No problem! I myself was previously influenced by the calamity and became the key to unlocking it.
"Instead, your scheme this time, Changgeng, though it used my power, has put my mind at ease.
"I never understood before what you were seeking, why you entered Tian Ting, or why you came to assist me. Now I have a rough idea.
"Taqing Shixiong is like this, the Grand Mage is like this, and so are you."
Li Changshou blinked. Like what?
Is there some subtle misunderstanding here?
"For this calamity, Changgeng, where do you think Tian Ting should stand?"
"At the top," Li Changshou pointed upward, "Tian Ting itself shouldn't participate in this calamity; it just needs to wait until the dust settles.
"That golden pillar outside the hall, Your Majesty, should be used wisely."
"How to use it wisely, and what if it's not used wisely? Most things are already predetermined."
Yu Di laughed. "I intend to entrust this matter to you, Changgeng. Once the calamity officially begins, I'll grant you the authority to supervise.
"Then, you'll be Tian Ting's special envoy, the envoy of the Heavenly Dao. It will make it easier for you to save some people during the calamity if you wish."
Li Changshou immediately stood up and bowed to Yu Di.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your favor!"
"Returning a favor for a peach, it's only right," Yu Di said with a shake of his head and a smile. "If Dao Zu hadn't told me some things, I truly wouldn't have thought of all your previous efforts, Changgeng.
"You don't need to worry too much. Some words don't have to be kept bottled up; discuss them with me when you can.
"You treat Tian Ting with sincerity, and me, this Heavenly Emperor who was once ignored by all, so I'll treat you with sincerity and lend you a hand.
"When Tian Ting flourishes, it will be thanks to you, Changgeng.
"No matter what Tian Ting becomes after the calamity, as long as I'm still the head of the immortals, you'll enjoy the second position."
Li Changshou rose and met Yu Di's gaze, his smile becoming more carefree.
Yu Di sighed lightly again: "Let's not talk about that. This calamity is called Feng Shen, so it's naturally about the Heavenly Dao expanding Tian Ting.
"In a hundred years, Chan Jiao, Jie Jiao, and Xifang Jiao will go to Zixiao Gong to sign the Feng Shen list, and I'll have to go too. Would you like to accompany me to pay respects to Dao Zu?"
"As Your Majesty commands, I will follow."
"I wonder how this Feng Shen will work," Yu Di said with a twitch of his mouth. "Any calamity must involve killing karma.
"Changgeng, do you think it might make the immortals of the three teachings fight directly? Like one attacking the other's dojo, or one killing the other's disciples?
"If so, what would the basis for Feng Shen be?
"Would it be their original status in the three teachings, their magical power, or their character?"
Li Changshou laughed. "Dao Zu has probably arranged it all."
Yu Di muttered, "Dao Zu said the same thing, that the Heavenly Dao has already arranged it.
"By the way, Changgeng, when will Taqing Shixiong formally take you as his disciple?"
"This..." Li Changshou pondered for a moment and joked, "It depends on my teacher's will, but then I could call Your Majesty 'Shishu'."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha!"
Yu Di burst into laughter. "Come on, say it a few more times!"
Li Changshou: ...
"Your Majesty, we still need to respect Tian Ting's rules."
"How dull. Changgeng, you're not as fun as when you were Mu Qinghua."
Yu Di peeled an orange and tossed it to Li Changshou, saying with a smile, "I was even thinking that when you first entered the hall, I'd call you 'teacher' and see if it would make you break out in a cold sweat.
"You helped my shimei, and even became a teacher yourself, deliberately matchmaking!"
Li Changshou was full of helplessness, sat back on the lowest jade step, and said with a bitter smile, "Your Majesty, when you sent a bit of your divine soul into the Wheel of Reincarnation and connected the three realms of heaven, earth, and humanity, the entire Nan Jambudvipa was filled with auspicious signs. Great powers could calculate it, so it was impossible to hide.
"Arranging the matchmaking between Your Majesty and the Empress was truly out of necessity...
"Your Majesty, at twelve or thirteen years old, your heart stirred with spring feelings, adding five red strings at once—Moon Elder was almost scared to tears."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Was I that bold?"
Li Changshou coughed and ate the sweet, not-too-greasy immortal orange, asking softly, "Could Your Majesty tell me in detail what you did when you went to Zixiao Gong?"
Yu Di sighed deeply and said in a low voice, "Alas, I was probably influenced by Hua Youming during my mortal tribulations. I felt a surge of anger, seized by the calamity, and went straight to Zixiao Gong.
"When I reached the palace gates, I knelt down and called out 'Lord,' and then..."
"Then?"
Yu Di covered his eyes with one hand and sighed, "I actually burst into tears. What a loss of face for an immortal."
Li Changshou showed a look of sudden realization. So, the crying was real, not just exaggerated rumors.
Men cry, cry—it's not a crime; the Immortal Emperor cries, kneels before the Dao Gate.
"If Tian Ting can flourish and take control of the three realms, then this cry of mine was worth it," Yu Di stretched lazily, stood up, and gazed at the sea of clouds beyond Lingxiao Baodian.
"Changgeng Qing, receive the decree."
"I am here."
"In three months, go to the mortal world and bring back the sister of my tribulation body to Tian Ting.
"I previously sent a dream to Hua Yun about this, telling her to linger in the mortal world for another hundred days."
Li Changshou smiled. "I accept the order."
"Ahem," Yu Di suddenly coughed, glanced around, leaned close to Li Changshou, shoulder to shoulder, and whispered, "Changgeng, when you go, remember to visit the estate where my tribulation body last retired. There's a wooden box under the wardrobe—just burn it with fire. It's full of... you know.
"If this gets out, I'd lose all face."
Li Changshou nodded seriously, his expression more solemn than when discussing the calamity by hundreds of times.
He understood this feeling.
In his previous life, before dying, he had grabbed his good brother's collar and whispered in his ear to format, rewrite, and repeatedly overwrite the massive hard drive that was full but hidden, ideally physically damaging it and burning the parts for him.
This is it!
A man's dignity.
As Li Changshou left Lingxiao Baodian, he felt a slight emotion in his heart.
Yu Di's descent to the mortal world once had added much 'human touch' to him, and his speech and mannerisms now had a more 'fleshed-out' feel.
Especially when Li Changshou heard Yu Di's bold declaration of wanting to have seven daughters to make up for not having sons during his tribulations, he felt deep admiration.
The Seven Fairies were probably born from this.
When his incarnation returned to the Water God Mansion, before even entering the gate, his Dao heart sensed 'the waves are still,' and there was a visitor at the Anshui City Sea God Temple.
Li Changshou didn't dare neglect the guest and sent a paper daoist flying from underground to meet them.
The visitors were three members of Chan Jiao's 'Twelve Golden Immortals'—Huanglong Zhenren, Taiyi Zhenren, and Yuding Zhenren.
If he guessed right, they were here to inquire about the Feng Shen calamity.
After the Bei Continent war, Li Changshou had deliberately 'recovered' on Sanxian Island for twelve years. It wasn't just for enlightenment and planning; it also served to 'avoid disaster.'
Now, facing the Chan Jiao immortals, Li Changshou could simply say that he was seriously injured at the time and unaware of the details, resulting in Chan Jiao being schemed against...
This way, it wouldn't hurt the relationship between them.
With Jie Jiao, there was no need; Li Changshou had discussed everything in detail with Yunxiao Xianzi before making arrangements.
He then activated the paper daoist repository under Anshui City and sent one to meet the three Chan Jiao Twelve Golden Immortals.
The upcoming struggles were truly battles between great teachings;
In previous confrontations, saints' disciples were mostly unharmed, but future fights would be far from just bumping into each other or reasoning—it would be that simple.
Under the calamity, without sufficient divine powers or destined fate, all would turn to ashes.
Setting aside Li Changshou's meeting with the three Chan Jiao immortals in the Sea God Temple, after he left Lingxiao Baodian, Dong Mu Gong was summoned by Yu Di.
Yu Di sat back on his throne, holding a memorial, and said, "Mu Gong, what sin should we assign to Changgeng?"
Mu Gong was stunned and quickly said, "Your Majesty, please investigate clearly!
"The Water God acts with restraint and is absolutely loyal to Tian Ting. He's made great contributions over the years!
"I can vouch for him—everything was forced by the Empress!"
"Enough, don't I know what kind of person Changgeng is?"
Yu Di threw the memorial in his hand. "Mu Gong, just find a minor offense, and I can punish Changgeng by sending him to the Moon Palace to teach those Chang E's. It would also let Changgeng rest and relax for a while."
Dong Mu Gong was taken aback. "Your Majesty, forgive me; I failed to fully understand your intent. The Water God...
"Unauthorized descent to the mortal world, interfering with Your Majesty's and the Empress's tribulations—such a sin deserves punishment."
"Good, let's settle it like that," Yu Di said with a smile. "Tomorrow at noon, summon the various immortals for a meeting.
"After I finish speaking about the calamity, you can present the memorial accordingly."
"As you command!"
Dong Mu Gong bowed and withdrew.
Yu Di chuckled lightly in his throne, stretched his body, and left Lingxiao Baodian with his hands behind his back, heading to Yaochi.
He had made such bold claims, so he had to put in the effort.
Seven might be a bit much, but he had given birth before—Longji had already grown up so much...
In the rear hall of the Sea God Temple.
Li Changshou sat in the main seat, with Huanglong Zhenren, Taiyi Zhenren, and Yuding Zhenren seated to his left, sipping mortal fragrant tea and discussing the calamity.
Huanglong Zhenren cursed, "That guy who came to Yuxu Gong that day, that Tian Ting official named Fu Yuan, was clearly stirring up trouble on purpose!
"Who knew he turned around and reported to Yu Di, who then went to Zixiao Gong in anger?
"He's just caused such a big mess for our Chan Jiao!"
Taiyi Zhenren snorted, "Tian Ting recruiting immortals and gods really doesn't discriminate."
"You can't say that," Li Changshou said with a helpless expression. "Tian Ting is just starting out; it's inevitable that some with ulterior motives slip in."
Yuding Zhenren said, "This matter can't be reversed by Tian Ting. Chan Jiao and Jie Jiao should enter the calamity; it's just that we didn't expect the West to be drawn in too."
"Oh?"
Li Changshou asked curiously, "Yuding Shixiong, could you explain in detail?"
"Poverty Dao isn't very good at explaining," Yuding Zhenren pondered for a moment and said seriously, "This relates to understanding the Heavenly Dao.
"If we compare the Heavenly Dao to a living being, then within it, the most abundant are the human race—the so-called protagonists of heaven and earth, the human race is the collection of living beings' fortunes.
"The ancient great calamity fell on the dragon, phoenix, and qilin;
"The ancient calamity fell on the witch and demon races.
"This calamity falls on the human race, but the human race's fortune gathers in the mundane world. In other words, the protagonists of heaven and earth are actually mortals. In Tian Ting, aside from Yu Di and Wangmu, the main body is the human race.
"Our Dao Gate's three teachings were established by educating the human race. Apart from Ren Jiao, we haven't done much teaching since ancient times, yet we've gained the protection of human race's fortune.
"The more we borrow from the human race's fortune, the more we have to repay in the calamity. That's the case for our Chan Jiao, and the same for Jie Jiao.
"Jie Jiao is even more troublesome; it's like borrowing the human race's fortune to protect all spirits. Any cultivator not connected to the human race will likely struggle to survive this calamity.
"I previously divined the calamity and realized these things; I just didn't expect the disaster to be triggered by Yu Di instead of a human emperor.
"All of this is predestined. Even without that Fu Yuan, it would have happened differently."
After Yuding finished speaking, the entire inner hall fell silent. Li Changshou, Huanglong Zhenren, and Taiyi Zhenren were all looking at Yuding in astonishment.
Yuding Zhenren frowned. "Did poverty Dao say something wrong?"
Li Changshou quickly said, "Shixiong's insights are profound and truly incisive!"
Huanglong Zhenren frowned and asked, "Yuding Shidi, how did you come to these realizations?"
"Hey!"
Taiyi Zhenren jumped back a step, staring at Yuding Zhenren and pulling out the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Hood. "What demon is this impersonating my Yuding Shidi? How could my shidi have such insights!"
Yuding Zhenren said helplessly, "These are just some realizations. It's you, Shixiong, who spends all day thinking about how to scold people and refine treasures, neglecting your own cultivation."
"Really?" Taiyi Zhenren chuckled awkwardly.
Li Changshou and Huanglong Zhenren exchanged glances and burst into laughter together.
Li Changshou had people prepare a feast and chatted with the three immortals about the matter, while secretly inviting Zhao Gongming to come.
The three teachings entering the calamity are Chan Jiao, Jie Jiao, and Xifang Jiao. Since Dao Gate and the West are two sides, it's best to quickly divide the camps and strengthen ties between Chan Jiao and Jie Jiao.
Li Changshou knew that the West would definitely try to win over Chan Jiao, so he needed to arrange for that.
Soon, the rear hall was filled with a banquet, laughter, and joy.
At the same time, on Sanxian Island.
A white figure left the thousand-li mist and vanished into the heavens, heading toward Dongsheng Shenzhou.
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